The Returnee Wants to Live Comfortably

For My Boyfriend (1)

Because of Sang-ah's sudden actions, not only the other team but also the spectators were collectively shocked.

She had committed such a crazy act in a match being observed by the evaluating faculty members, so it was only natural for everyone to be appalled.

She had beaten none other than her own teammates.

Considering the purpose of this match—which was meant to simulate real combat inside a Gate—it was an infuriating incident from the faculty's point of view.

Beating up one's teammates who entered the Gate together was something only a murderer or a corrupt Hunter would do.

― Good job, Sang-ah. You did your best.

However, her homeroom teacher actually praised her.

It was true that she had behaved insanely during the match, but the reasons behind her actions were convincing enough.

How Sang-ah's team came to be, how the team leader was chosen, and how they followed the leader's orders—all of this had become known.

All those facts became public, and as a result, Sang-ah ended up receiving sympathy.

Even the faculty evaluating the match told her to hang in there.

'It was their fault in the first place for trying to freeload without doing anything.'

Apparently, after getting beaten up during the match, those guys couldn't even approach Sang-ah anymore.

Whether they'd developed PTSD or what, whenever they ran into Sang-ah, they would shriek, "We're sorry! Big sis!" and bolt.

'Serves them right.'

They completely brought it on themselves.

They tried to freeload and ended up tasting hell instead.

There was no room for sympathy.

In this way, the situation surrounding Sang-ah could be glossed over positively in the public eye.

However, the fact remained that she had ruined the interschool competition.

It was only natural that not only those guys, but also Sang-ah's evaluation scores, took a hit.

"Come on, focus."

"Ugh..."

In the end, Sang-ah was studying next to me to make up for those lost points.

Even if it was just the written exam, doing well could somewhat cover the deficit.

"So, skills and traits are similar but..."

In the cafe, with quiet music playing, I explained a problem from the textbook.

Just then, the sound of the girl yawning reached me.

"Ha... Why is this so hard?"

Sang-ah was already hitting a wall with her written studies.

During the midterm and final evaluations of last semester, her written grades weren't exactly great.

So she desperately needed my help.

She had to make up the deficit with written scores if she wanted to move up to the senior division.

"Let's take a short break."

"Yeah..."

I closed the book for a moment and went up to the counter to order snacks.

While I was gone, Sang-ah's pent-up sleepiness seemed to explode, and she sprawled out on the table.

Just how boring was this for her to react like that?

'She normally acts like a model student, though.'

Even though she'd been eliminated in the interschool competition, Sang-ah was in a better position than those guys.

Because it was revealed that she did her best as a team leader, she at least got some basic points.

Those guys, on the other hand, had it revealed that they'd done absolutely nothing, so they got zeros.

'Normally, it would've been a "if you go down, I go down too" situation.'

But in the end, only those guys were screwed over.

The only penalty Sang-ah received was a reduction in her evaluation score.

If you considered that she had even left those guys psychologically traumatized, you could say Sang-ah was the final winner.

"Seongjin, what brings you here?"

At that moment, someone entering the cafe spoke to me.

It was Go Donghyuk, the student council president of the 3rd Academy.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that, Donghyuk?"

"This is a place I come to study often. Didn't I mention it before?"

Come to think of it, this was where I'd first been introduced to Go Yun, Donghyuk's acquaintance.

So it wasn't unreasonable for him to frequent this place.

"Are you ordering something? I'll treat you."

He kindly paid for me and sat at our table.

Then he asked what we were doing here.

"I watched that match too. It's super famous at our academy."

"Really?"

Sang-ah was shocked to learn that her violent display had spread to another school.

"I think you're the first one ever to beat the hell out of your own teammates like that. It was so intense that funny mashup videos are already circulating at my school."

"Mashups?"

"I mean UCCs—the kind where you edit videos to make someone look funny."

"Don't tell me...!"

Sang-ah must have realized what he meant, because her face turned pale.

Her hands and feet trembled, and a chill ran down her spine.

The thought that she had become a meme, like that famous Korean reaction meme, made her dizzy.

"If you're curious, do you want to watch one?"

"No! No! No! I'll never watch it! I'd rather die than see that!"

She frantically waved her hands to decline.

If she saw those, she felt like even her soul would leave from the sheer embarrassment.

"If you're curious, stop by our school's forum and search for '2nd Academy Berserk Girl.' You'll see the edited videos..."

"I said I don't want to see it!"

Sang-ah yelled abruptly, but it was understandable.

Honestly, I'd go crazy with embarrassment too.

Imagine a 4-minute human-reed instruments UCC clip about myself, going viral.

Could I really watch that for 4 minutes straight?

I'd rather just end myself.

"So, you're studying here because the competition didn't go well, huh?"

"At least Seongjin is here with me. There are a lot of things I don't know."

All the written subjects were about magic power theory.

It might be difficult for newly enrolled students to answer, but to me, having mastered all this, it was child's play.

"But Seongjin, aren't you busy? The interschool competition isn't over for you."

"True."

Now that he mentioned it, my schedule was pretty packed.

Not only did I have to tutor Sang-ah, I also had to gather my teammates for the next round.

The only consolation was that my teammates would never disobey me.

I'd trained them thoroughly, after all.

"By the way, did you hear? The team that wins the interschool competition will get entry rights to the Golden Gate."

"The Golden Gate... That super-rare Gate?"

Thanks to paying attention in class, Sang-ah's eyes went wide at the mention of that name.

I'd also heard about it during class lectures.

Ordinary Gates don't disappear until their power weakens.

But the Golden Gate appears at set intervals and vanishes quickly.

Its appearance is literally a gold-hued fissure.

And its contents are also... literally gold.

"The Golden Gate. Just as the name says, it's a Gate packed full of gold nuggets."

More precisely, it's filled with monsters comparable in value to gold.

Even defeating a single minor monster could get you a mana stone or equipment worth tens of millions of won.

It was essentially a Gate version of the golden goblin jackpot.

"Don't tell me that Gate is opening here at this Academy?"

"Yeah. According to Jo Yun, there's been a sign of a Golden Gate manifesting here. Other research teams reached the same conclusion."

The research staff would predict Gate appearances and assign risk ratings.

One of their main duties was to help prepare citizen evacuation plans based on those ratings.

But the Golden Gate was a different matter.

If it were a normal Gate, it'd be a disaster, but the Golden Gate was more like a special event.

"If you can enter the Golden Gate, there's no greater honor. I heard there's even an artifact inside that grants wishes."

"Isn't that just a rumor?"

"Well? Given how special the Golden Gate is, it might actually be true."

After this benefit was announced, everyone had been going crazy for a shot at victory.

The news had reached Sang-ah too late, so she was clearly disappointed.

"And to see the Gate, all the major higher-ups from various regions are coming."

"Like National Assembly members or chaebol presidents?"

Sang-ah said, but Donghyuk shook his head.

In this era, hunters were the true elite.

"All the heads of the giant guilds. In fact, not just from our country, but big shots from abroad are flocking to see the Golden Gate."

"...."

"Including the Sura Guild."

At that word, my eyebrow twitched.

It was a guild with close ties to Mewzealand and of particular interest to me.

"But apparently the guildmaster isn't coming—their main star is."

"Who?"

"Sura."

Sura of the Sura Guild.

Within the guild, sura was said to be a symbol second only to the guildmaster.

Being at the very top, hardly anyone in China could go against them.

"Jo Yun was originally trying to investigate the guildmaster, but since the visitor was Sura instead, he's troubled."

"Then tell him to look into Sura instead."

"Got it."

It was easier to look into the actual visitor first.

Besides, I was curious just what kind of being this Sura—their object of worship—really was.

"By the way, are you aiming to win the competition, Seongjin?"

"If it's possible, of course."

My curiosity over what the Golden Gate looked like was growing.

"In that case, you'd better watch out for that girl."

"Emily Ruin."

Emily? The rıghtful source is novęlfire.net

I'd broken her down completely with a nightmare long ago, turning her into a perfect wreck.

She could barely function, let alone compete. What did he mean?

"She's been winning match after match in this competition. Just like you."

"What?"

Surprisingly, she had been on a winning streak, barreling her way to the finals.

"Emily's team knocked out most of the other teams from your academy. Only a few from the Middle School 2—including yours—are left."

"When did she suddenly get so strong?"

She'd even overcome the nightmare I planted in her?

What?

It's not like she got some kind of cheat buff.

"Rumor has it she unlocked her third trait. She got so powerful there's no other explanation."

Did she overcome my nightmare thanks to that third trait?

I wasn't sure what power it was, but I had a hunch that mental attacks wouldn't work on her anymore.

"If you meet her, be careful. Even from what little I saw, she wasn't normal."

Donghyuk added that she seemed like a runaway train charging at something—

Not one that simply crashed wildly, but a missile with a fixed target.

****

Several months had passed since the interschool competition began.

Of Middle School 2 and 3, only one team remained from each.

All the other leftovers had already been handled by the teams led by each Academy's strongest student.

Like how two dragons can't share the same sky, only one team would soon stand victorious.

But, oddly, one of those "dragons" seemed extremely tense.

"Ma Seongjin... Ma Seongjin...!"

Late at night, in the basement dorms of the 3rd Academy—where no one would visit.

In a tiny hidden room in the corridor, Emily was muttering as if possessed.

"Finally, that guy and I..."

The day had come for their confrontation.

In truth, she'd been waiting for this day all along.

It was her chance to avenge Michael, her one and only lover.

Yet, every time she thought of him, chills ran down her spine.

'I'm sure I've awakened up to my third trait...!'

Thanks to that, she had escaped her fear.

That guy was no longer a monster—merely a tadpole to her now.

But still...her body instinctively rejected the idea.

Considering the overwhelming magic power she felt from him back then, it was understandable.

'There's no way I can beat him by ordinary means.'

Although she'd gotten stronger, her chances of winning remained slim.

Yet she couldn't give up.

If she lost, she'd never be able to face Michael in heaven.

'I'm not alone, anyway.'

She wasn't the only one who cherished Michael.

In that empty room, Emily quietly made a call.

"Uncle McLean, is everything ready?"

― Is that you, Emily? Perfect timing.

McLean Kang.

The father of Michael Kang and the chairman of an American Hunter equipment distribution conglomerate.

Burning with revenge over his son's death, he had been collaborating with Emily.

― That Ma Seongjin—is he really the one?

"I'm sure. He said this to my face."

[Your boyfriend was crazy, huh?]

― What?!

A voice full of rage came from the other side of the phone.

There wasn't yet definite evidence that Ma Seongjin was involved in Michael's death, but his words could not be overlooked.

― My poor son...

To make matters worse, Ma Seongjin's father had meddled with the law, so Michael ended up imprisoned.

Now, just hearing the name Ma Seongjin made him furious.

― Don't worry. I prepared something just in case.

"What is it?"

― That Ma Seongjin's team is about to compete in the inter-school contest, right?

"Yes."

― There, you'll break his arms and legs...!

When Emily asked how, mcLean chuckled darkly.

― Of course, you, a student, can't do that directly.

"Yes..."

― But what if you controlled the Field's objects instead?

"Objects...?"

He meant the monsters.

Depending on the grade, all kinds of monsters would appear as obstacles—including A-rank level elite monsters.

Of course, as objects with safety settings, they couldn't inflict mortal wounds...

― But what if you controlled those objects?

"Is that even possible?"

No matter how strong Ma Seongjin was, he couldn't handle an A-rank-level monster.

If a monster like that attacked, ignoring safety mode?

"But how are you going to do it?"

― I have a new helper.

"The Sura Guild?"

― No, they've turned me down, saying they're busy these days.

Some secret organization had approached McLean while he was grieving.

Lost in despair, he was told by that group—they could grant him his wish.

― Emily, have you ever heard of the Divine Faith?

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

McLean seems to have been contacted by the Holy Church...

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