Chapter 256: Tea Time

"What? Yoojin-ssi!"

Noah was startled and jumped up from his seat. Sigma also stopped forking. On the other hand, Yoohyun and Moon Hyuna.seemed to be unaware and looked puzzled.

"You said you didn't want to receive the imprint."

"I'm talking about the imprint that is connected to that side. Do you know about that imprint, Noah?"

"...Yes. It's not the entire imprint, but Medsang often performs the procedure up to about one-third. I also have an imprint from the back of my neck to between my shoulder blades. But for ordinary people, that's the limit. Even if healing guards are mobilized, it's going beyond that becomes life-threatening."

"Hyung!"

Yoohyun shouted as if blaming him, and Moon Hyuna frowned.

"You should take care of your body Director Han. Just like how you worried about your younger brother too."

"I have an extra life, so I'm willing to do it. Yoohyun, even if I go outside, it will still be effective. So I don't want to miss this opportunity. Although it may be burdensome for my body right now, if my mana control ability improves, it could become safer in the future. My utilization skill will also increase, and maybe I can even raise my skill grade. It's almost impossible for someone with my stats to raise the grade of a higher-level skill so."

Continuously using a skill makes you familiar with it and raises its grade. But with my mediocre mana stat, it was impossible to even become familiar with an intermediate-level skill. It was because I couldn't properly feel the movement of the skill and the flow of mana.

"If my stealth skill goes up one grade, how much easier would it be to avoid danger in a similar situation?"

"But..."

Yoo Hyun, who still had an uneasy expression, looked at Noah.

"Is it very dangerous? Are there any side effects?"

"Up to about one-third is definitely safe. There have been cases of Awakening users who have self-healing skills succeeding up to the middle of their backs. But Medsang has not yet attempted anything beyond that. In Yoojin-ssi situation even with about one-third, there will be effects. Your mana control ability will increase to almost D-grade."

D-grade. It was high for me. But...

"Yoohyun, I'll insist on it one more time. It's really the last time."

Even after deciding to receive the imprint, I hesitated several times. I even thought about quitting for the sake of my younger brother. I was also swayed by Irin's words, who came to protect me instead of Yoo Hyun.

But at the same time, I wanted to have the power to protect myself. So that I could stay safe until a little further into the future.

After a few more exchanges, we finally decided to receive the imprint only up to the waist, not the entire body. With the condition that I would use only one extra life.

"The flow of mana lasts for an average of 30 minutes after death. If the flow of mana stops, the procedure becomes impossible. So if something goes wrong with Yoojin, I will finish the procedure within 20 minutes. Even if the imprint is not fully engraved as you wish."

"I hope my body can hold on as long as possible."

Resurrection was planned to be done between 25 and 30 minutes after death.

Preparations for the imprint procedure were made immediately. Anesthesia was performed, and I lost consciousness immediately. How long had passed?

"I think one visit to this place is enough."

The dark vision gradually brightened, and a familiar face came into view. Sung Hyunjae was looking down at me.

A gloved hand was extended towards me. After hesitating for a moment, I took that hand and stood up.

"I must have died. Do I come here every time I die?"

"Currently, Yoojin-ssi's death goes through system processing. To be more precise I came here."

Come to think of it, I couldn't appear here before I was called. Is it okay this time? I reached out and grabbed one of Sung Hyunjae's arms that disappeared at the end of his gaze. He said he lost an arm back then.

"Are your eyes okay? You didn't come all the way here just to pretend, did you?"

I shook my hand in front of Sung Hyunjae's eyes. Both of his golden eyes moved along with my touch. They seem fine, but maybe he's pretending. If it's this guy, it's definitely possible.

"Close one eye. How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Two."

"The other eye too."

"Five."

Fortunately, it seemed like everything was intact. Hopefully, he didn't eat any other parts besides his eyes. He has two ears, his remaining arm is fine, he has two legs, and he can speak well, so his tongue should be fine too. Sung Hyunjae looked at me with a slightly puzzled expression as I inspected myself.

"The person who should be worried right now is Yoojin-ssi, not me."

"I'm fine with all my limbs. Even if it's not my real body, please I'll take care of it since I'm using it. Why can't an adult like you take care of your own body?"

"I'll return those words to you."

Sung Hyunjae grabbed me and turned me around. His hand touched the exposed back for the imprint procedure.

"It seems like the imprint has already been engraved up to this point."

It was near where the heart is. Suddenly, an old memory came to mind.

"Oh, you made a reservation there. I'm sorry about that. Should I ask if it's okay to have physical damage for the imprint?"

He probably wanted to raise his own fighting power. Instead of answering, Sung Hyunjae withdrew his hand. At the same time, the scenery around us changed. The empty space turned into a garden with a gentle breeze. A table adorned with magnolia flowers had a tea set placed on it. Purple petals fell one by one.

"Please have a seat."

Sung Hyunjae politely pulled out a chair, I spoke.

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

"I thought I would treat you to some tea."

"Can I drink it in my current state?"

"It's similar to eating food in a dream."

I guess that's true. Despite feeling uneasy, I sat down. Sung Hyunjae stood next to the table and lifted the teapot. Tea poured into the cup, spreading a gentle aroma. I've never really had this kind of tea before. If it was yuja tea, yulmu tea, or barley tea, I wouldn't know, but this is definitely an expensive kind.

"If you didn't like getting the imprint, you could have sent a quest or something. You could have avoided engraving it above the heart."

"If I thought you would listen to me, I would have sent one."

Sung Hyunjae placed the teacup in front of me. Even though he probably never had to do this kind of serving, his movements were precise. This tea is unfamiliar, but I was captivated by its fragrance and took a sip.

"...I-It's delicious."

"You can be honest."

"I will say again, the tea is delicious."

What is this? It strange. The aroma is nice, and the color is beautiful. I looked down at the tea and took another sip. Ugh, it tastes even weirder. Sung Hyunjae handed me a snack, wrinkling his nose in disdain. I quickly ate it, and it melted on my tongue. The subtle taste of the remaining tea mixed with its rich aroma, making it even smoother and sweeter.

"It does taste good, but it's too sweet."

"Then try drinking the tea again."

Will it taste better if we have it together? I lifted the teacup and took a sip, eww!

"It's even stranger now!"

Sung Hyunjae laughed. He handed me another snack. Wow, this snack is really delicious.

"Can I send a few of these as rewards for quests? I want to give them to the kids."

"I will send them. But they might taste different if you eat them separately."

So, I have to rinse my tongue with this strange tea to taste this flavor. I thought about drinking the tea again but decided against it. If it tastes even stranger than before, I might vomit.

"I will spare my tongue from this torture."

"Good to hear."

Sung Hyunjae handed me the snack and sat down on the opposite chair. The snack was delicious enough without the need for unnecessary suffering...

"Wait, are you telling me not to throw my body around because I might be tempted by the rewards?"

"It's a rest time until you wake up."

"I don't think so."

Sung Hyunjae drank his share of tea amidst my suspicious gaze. He really is disgustingly elegant. If he were someone I would never meet on TV, I would genuinely admire him.

"I also hesitated this time. It's not easy to throw away my body so easily. I will make sure this doesn't happen again in the future."

"Even if it puts you in danger, Yoojin?"

I closed my mouth for a moment and then opened it again.

"I have to be there for Yoohyun to be happy."

"That's right. Of course."

"I just wanted my brother to be safe."

I never wanted to put myself in danger again, or... leave. But...

"But in the end, it's better to be happy."

If the same thing were to happen again, I would never be able to endure it. I would rather take his place. I wanted to make a vow, even if it sounded like a threat, that he shouldn't protect me, that even if he protected me, I wouldn't be able to live.

But how could I do that? Irin's words about not knowing kept echoing in my mind. I wanted to keep not knowing. Why my brother was smiling, among other things.

"Anyway, I think I should live longer than my brother. ...Why am I saying these things? So, well, I should take better care of my body too. Well he's an S-rank, he should have a long lifespan so I don't really need to worry about it. Right I should take care of my health."

"The tea has gone cold."

"Huh? It's still warm. A new cup was filled with a new tea. This time, the aroma wasn't as strong. It was a tea that had a slightly nutty and smooth taste without any bitterness. It's kind of like barley tea, but it feels more sophisticated.

"Even though Sung Hyunjae is also an S-rank, he should take good care of his health."

"I live longer than Han Yoojin."

"Isn't that obvious?"

The more I drink, the warmer my stomach feels. But there's not much time left, and I'm just talking nonsense. There are so many things I want to ask to Sung Hyunjae when I meet him again.

"You mean Sigma, right? Is he really the real deal? Did you send the quest?"

"Han Yoojin is the one who acknowledged him as the real deal. I sent the quest, but I can't say much about that guy."

"...Does it become real just because I acknowledged it?"

"What's clear is that this world is trying to eliminate that guy. It's just the beginning now."

...The start of monsters swarming in. Isn't the difficulty too high?

"Um, what happens if Sigma dies? Will the strategy fail and we won't be able to get out here forever?"

"If we just install all the discs, we should be able to escape. But..."

Sung Hyunjae smiled silently, closing his mouth. This must be the part he can't talk about. The information that disappears into a blank.

"It's my responsibility, so I won't give up easily, but is it really that important? It's about Sigma's problem."

"Usually, special main quests have special and big rewards."

The reward was just a key to clearing the dungeon, but could there be hidden additional rewards?

"That's all I can say for now..."

Crack!

the surroundings suddenly shook. I saw a large crack in the blue sky. Sung Hyunjae looked up and stared at it.

"It's starting to move."

"What? What is it?"

"Of course, there are remnants of the corrupt and the fallen ones in this world. And among them..."

Crack, crack. The gold in the sky broke even more and fragments fell. Sung Hyunjae lightly swung the coat he was wearing, sending countless fragments flying away. The coat settled on top of my head.

"I advise you, to go find the little girl."

"You mean Yerim?"

"She's the most powerful Awakened in this world."

Yerim? Our Yerim was already strong, but to be called the most powerful. And to hear that from Sung Hyunjae.

Crash!

The hole in the sky grew even bigger. Dark energy was shaking beyond it. It was night. The gentle moonlight seeped into the night sky.

["So, you were here, System □□□□□□□□□□□."]

A faint voice echoed from beyond. Could it be the corrupt or the filial addict? My body trembled involuntarily at the overwhelming presence spreading from the crack in the sky.

"I hope this is the last time we meet in this place."

Sung Hyunjae filled the empty cup with tea and disappeared. The shattered sky, the garden, everything scattered in an instant, leaving only the teacup, the chair, and the coat in my hands.

I sat there in a daze for a moment, then drank the tea. It's still warm.

"...What are you doing alone, really."

"It should be fine, that human. From what I see, they seem to have aligned themselves with one of the factions after all. Anyway, I'll go meet them alone. Even though I managed to take down one of their arms, I'm not sure if it's really okay. Even though he won't die even if he's not in his original body, I couldn't help but worry a lot.

I sipped my tea in silence. It felt lonely being alone. I wonder when I can go back. After the teacup completely cooled down and a little more time passed, the scenery around finally changed. The imprinting procedure room that I saw before being anesthetized....

"We've approached within 500 meters!"

"Prepare for high-speed movement again."

"Yes!"

But, there were unfamiliar faces. Amidst the busy movements of the uniformed Medsang guards, Noah stood tall. Yoohyun, dressed in surgical attire, sat next to me as if he had completed the imprinting procedure. Even though I knew I would come back to life, his face was dark.

I immediately pressed the resurrection message.

"What..."

"Hyung!"

I froze without being able to utter a word. Goosebumps ran all over my body. I could still feel magic, mana, to some extent, but now all the flows were so vivid. Not only the sensation in my body but also the air felt heavy. It felt like being submerged in water. Or in the midst of a typhoon.

Especially around Noah, mana was moving fiercely.

"Are you okay?"

"This feeling is... strange."

It'll be fine once I get used to it. Wow, even though I couldn't see the guards around me, I could still feel them. It seemed like the S-grade individuals were being overly sensitive. I got up with the support of my brother.

"What's going on?"

"A SSS-grade monster appeared at the Akates Mana Hole."

"What?"

"If we had faced it head-on, not only the chances of winning but also the Akates City would have been destroyed, so we moved immediately, as you can see."

Yoohyun nodded towards a large monitor set up on one side. There, something huge was moving, not even fully visible on the screen.

"It's following obediently as we lead it away as far as possible."

An SSS-grade monster. There were several SS-grade guards, but still, it was burdensome. Was this what Sung Hyunjae meant by "just the beginning"? Surely, they wouldn't come out up to L-grade.

"Noah, Hyuna!"

Both of them turned their heads to look at me when I called their names.

"Where could Yerim possibly be?"

Should I go find Yerim according to his advice?I hope it won't be dragged into another fight.

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