The Returnee Wants to Live Comfortably

For My Boyfriend (2)

Today marked the final day of the school competition.

It was the day when the last remaining teams from School 2 and School 3 would face off against each other.

Even those who normally didn't watch decided they had to see it this time and switched to that channel.

Thanks to this, the viewership ratings soared several times higher than usual for the competition.

"Mom and Dad must be watching too, right?"

"Hearing that it's the last one makes me nervous."

My teammates also took deep breaths and hardened their resolve.

They were the very people who had been in my group for the past few months.

As soon as they saw me, these friends stood up straight like soldiers.

Then, bowing their heads, they spoke.

"You're here, hyung-nim!"

"..."

It felt a little awkward for a welcome.

The title attached at the end made me chuckle wryly.

"All right, just raise your heads."

"Yes! Hyung-nim!"

With just that one command, these friends promptly raised their heads.

There was nothing quite like these robots that obeyed my every word.

But seriously, why hyung-nim?

'It's not like I'm some kind of thug.'

Actually, they hadn't been this loyal when the group was first formed.

If anything, my head spun from how defiant they were.

They'd dumped the role of leader on me, tried to run away to avoid keeping promises—these were basics.

They were as bad, if not worse, than Sang-ah's group members.

'But there's no way I would just sit quietly and watch that.'

Unlike Sang-ah, I drove my team members as if catching rats.

When I became the group leader, I told them they had to follow my orders...

Do you know what they said?

― Yes! Leader!

That's how readily they agreed.

So I trained them my way.

If they broke their promises, I would call them out the next day, request a spar, and beat them up; if they didn't do the research, as payment I'd stimulate their nerves, making their entire bodies itch.

'So much that they'd rather scream for death.'

It wasn't exactly one-sided violence, so they couldn't even report me to the student council or places like that.

Besides, there were records of their messages disobeying me, so a report would only put them at a disadvantage.

'Not that I worked them to death, though.'

Being overly authoritarian only comes back to bite you later.

Unless it was a meeting between group members, I didn't bother calling them out.

On days off, I let them rest, and if they wanted to eat something, I treated them freely.

I gave plenty in return for what they did, so they had no more reason to rebel.

After months of such a life repeating...

"If it's an operation commanded by hyung-nim, I have some ideas ready."

"I've finished researching this object, too!"

Now, they had become truly loyal subordinates.

If I think about how their standing here was due to me, it wouldn't even be strange if they bowed.

Perhaps the biggest reason was none other than...

'It's probably because of the Golden Gate.'

If we won this match, we'd gain entry to the Golden Gate held in December.

There, we could hunt monsters ourselves and even obtain mana stones.

If an item that teaches a new skill dropped, it would be a huge gain.

'There's no downside to entering.'

The Sura Guild would also be participating this time in the Golden Gate event.

We would be able to observe the Sura Guild up close.

It's not a common opportunity to see 'Sura', the highest authority in that guild, in person.

"Hyung-nim! It's about to start soon!"

"We're ready!"

My team members spoke to me, burning with fighting spirit.

Why did they still call me hyung-nim rather than just team leader?

"All right, I got it."

"By the way, we have to be careful to avoid any hitches in the plan. The monsters that'll come out as saboteurs this time are especially powerful."

The monster set as this object was of the "Wyvern" type.

With its two wings, it flies at high speed and unleashes fire down toward the ground.

Unlike other flying monsters, it doesn't come down to attack directly, which makes it hard to catch.

Because it rains fire from afar, from above, it's nothing but a nuisance for the students.

"What's worse is the elite mob."

"It's called Red Wyvern, the grown form of a regular wyvern."

The strongest among them was the red wyvern.

Not only did it retain its powers from its adult period, but its stats were on another level entirely.

And apparently, there were three Red Wyverns in this field.

'They sure decorated the finals forest splendidly.'

Just taking down one of them grants you a huge buff.

But there's no need to risk things by seeking them out unnecessarily.

The same should go for the opposing team.

Red Wyverns are tough enough that even with all five group members, they'd be hard to beat.

"All right, I'll go scout. If anything happens, contact me via telepathy."

"Yes! Hyung-nim!"

I said, don't call me hyung-nim.

As soon as the match started, I immediately wandered through various parts of the forest.

The field changed every time, in every match.

Plus, the positions of monster nests varied, so I had to scout to find them out.

'Hm?'

I was about halfway into the woods when it happened.

Suddenly, I sensed numerous presences surround me.

It felt like I was being surrounded 360 degrees by an army of ants.

― Kuwaaaah!!

― Kyaaeeeeek!

― Krrrgh!

Dragon roars echoed from every direction.

Thud! Thud! Their heavy footsteps could be heard, getting closer.

And soon, three gigantic shadows appeared before and behind me.

Somehow, my ominous predictions always turned out to be right.

****

Meanwhile, things were chaotic outside the test area for Hand.

The school competition final everyone was watching had suddenly gone dark.

Chiiiii—

Like a broken TV, the screen turned to white noise and showed nothing.

"What's with this all of a sudden?"

"I know, right?"

"What about the other channels?"

At Sung Chohyang's words, Sang-ah switched channels.

Then, the screen on other channels appeared just fine.

But back to the school competition channel, it went dark again.

"Is it just a problem here?"

It was just when the match had begun and Seongjin went out scouting.

The screen had stayed like this ever since.

Wondering if maybe just their TV was broken, Sang-ah tried accessing the channel on her phone.

She didn't really like the small screen, but she could watch anytime with the Hand app installed.

However...

"Uh?"

"Why's this messed up too?"

It was just the same on her phone.

Realizing it wasn't only their TV, she guessed it must be the same everywhere.

What on earth was happening in the test arena? ᴛhis chapter is ᴜpdated by novel★fire.net

'Seongjin will be okay, right?'

Sang-ah prayed nothing had happened to him.

.

.

"It seems the screen hack is complete."

At a base in the school competition arena, a male student spoke as if following an order.

"Well done. That deserves a reward."

A blond-haired girl patted the boy's head affectionately.

But the boy's complexion wasn't great.

Seeing that, the girl's face suddenly twisted.

"What, you don't like it?"

"It's not that..."

"You better call me Emily-nim, you brat!"

She suddenly got worked up and grabbed the boy by the hair, then slammed his head with her knee. Blood started to drip from his head.

"What do you think you're doing lying down? Stand up straight!"

"Ye... Yes!"

With blood trickling into his eyes, the boy blinked his eyelids.

Seeing his suffering face, Emily Luin wore a satisfied expression.

To her, anyone besides Michael Kang was just a crawling bug.

"Anyway, the hack is done, right?"

"Yes..."

"Listen up. Now you're all accomplices. Got it?"

"..."

The teammates all wore aggrieved expressions.

Winning the competition would be nice, but the more Emily lost her mind, the more disgusted they became.

Getting beaten up like this was a regular occurrence by now.

Their bodies were covered in scars, but if anyone asked, they had to pretend it was from training.

Otherwise, they'd face Emily's retaliation.

"Don't worry though. Once we cripple Ma Seongjin, your suffering ends too. Blame that bastard, not me. Got it?"

"Yes..."

"Why so meek? Are you siding with that bastard now?"

"No!"

She was crazy—always had been.

At first, they were happy a strong person joined their group... but then it became hell.

A small mistake meant a beating out of sight, and whenever she felt bored, she'd take their money.

She'd say if they wanted to go to the Golden Gate, they'd better obey her orders.

"Remember this. That bastard murdered my boyfriend! Got it?! If any of you side with him, you're first to die!"

"Yes!"

She was already unhinged, but today was even worse.

Because she'd brought something into this match, something that should never have been allowed, vowing she'd tear that Ma Seongjin limb from limb.

"With this... Ma Seongjin is finished."

Emily touched the necklace she'd hidden beneath her scarf, grinning.

It was a device that could manipulate all objects in the field at will.

Even hacking the broadcast footage had all been thanks to this necklace's power.

'Thank you so much, uncle McLean.'

Michael's father, McLean Kang.

Apparently, he joined a group to help avenge his son, Michael.

She didn't know exactly who they were, but they'd supplied McLean with this device.

With it, Emily could control every object in the field.

'There are supposed to be three Red Wyverns, right?'

By now, the monsters were following Emily's will.

At this moment, they'd attack Ma Seongjin on sight.

No matter how strong he was, he was still just a student—he'd have his limits.

'Just a little longer, Michael. Now you can finally rest easy in heaven.'

As Emily was lost in ecstasy—

― Kyaaaargh!

A dragon's roar rang from far away.

"Is it starting already?"

Excited, Emily ran toward the sound.

Her teammates, bewildered, followed her.

Anyway, thanks to her necklace, there was no way the monsters would attack their base.

In fact, they kind of didn't care anymore.

Why... they didn't know why.

'If the necklace is discovered...'

That ornament on Emily's neck—

The moment it was known to control objects, it became something that should never be used.

If discovered, expulsion was certain, not mere suspension.

However, Emily hid it well under her scarf.

It was already late October, the season was growing cold, so no one questioned her scarf.

― Kyaaaargh!

The dragon's roars drew nearer.

Emily sprinted toward the sound even faster.

By now, Ma Seongjin had probably been torn apart by the Red Wyverns.

Objects had safety settings, but this necklace made them ferocious, overriding that.

"Ahahahahaha!!"

Emily finally stepped onto the scene.

Laughing maniacally, she envisioned the spectacle she'd wanted.

"Huh?"

But then, her laughter ceased.

Emily's face, which had been intoxicated with ecstasy, stiffened in an instant.

"So you're here?"

Ma Seongjin.

He was perfectly fine.

Unlike what she'd expected, not even a drop of blood was on him.

But that wasn't all.

"So this is why these things ganged up on me... It was you, after all?"

Wyvern corpses were strewn everywhere.

Even elite mobs—the Red Wyverns—were collapsed at his feet.

At the sight of the field dominated by wyvern carcasses, Emily's face crumpled in horror.

"How... could this happen...!"

All the monsters had died by Ma Seongjin's hand.

Those dead objects began vanishing one by one.

And the moment the Red Wyvern faded away, blue energy swirled around Ma Seongjin.

"So this is the buff, huh? Looks more useful than I expected."

"How did you defeat all these monsters...!"

Emily trembled, refusing to accept reality.

Two of the Red Wyverns had vanished, and one lay lifeless.

Ma Seongjin sneered at her and spoke.

"So, how did you control so many of them?"

"...."

"Ah, I see now."

Suddenly, Ma Seongjin stared right at her.

With eyes that seemed to see through her, he curved his lips into a smile.

"The necklace. Show me your necklace!"

He darted forward with incredible speed and tore off Emily's scarf around her neck.

Riiip—!

Finally, the abomination that should never be used in the match was revealed.

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

【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】