Chapter 210: Same Time, Waiting For The Same Moment (3)

Chapter 210: Same Time, Waiting For The Same Moment (3)

“What are you talking about...?”

“Why? You’re damn strong. Why do you attend the academy? People might think you’re a Flower underling.”

I naturally hardened my expression at Champi’s rapid-fire remarks.

I tried to play it cool, but did this person shift into reverse gear?

I knew that S-rank hunters, including Baekdo, acted as they pleased, but I didn’t expect it to this extent.

“You’re not seriously connected with Flower, are you?”

Champi’s question.

“Don’t make groundless assumptions. I’m not.”

“But you’re strong, right?”

The skilled recognize each other.

However, they usually stayed silent to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Unless you actually fought, you couldn’t tell who’s stronger if you hid your power.

But I couldn’t trust these people enough to reveal my strength.

Yet, it seemed Champi was determined to test my limits.

She flicked a chopstick on the table, making it hover in the air.

-Ping.

Champi grabbed the spinning chopstick and pointed it at me, holding it backward.

Even a blunt chopstick in the hands of an S-rank hunter was as good as a weapon.

-Whoosh!

Although it wasn’t infused with magic, the quick thrust came straight for my eye.

I had no choice but to raise my palm to block the chopstick.

-Thud!

“See?”

Champi, holding the chopstick, sneered at me.

“You reacted.”

The chopstick bent at a right angle against my palm.

Champi sat back down and straightened the chopstick as if nothing had happened, whistling innocently.

“Both of you, calm down.”

Sung Jiho, who could no longer watch, stepped in to mediate with a bewildered look.

“Why do you keep interfering, Champi?”

“I thought it would speed up the conversation. Why? It’s good if we help each other. He said he wants to help our Sansuyu.”

“But does that mean you should stab people?”

“I hate being frustrated.”

“No...”

Listening to their conversation, I looked at my reddened palm.

A round mark, like a dot painted with red paint, appeared.

“So~!”

Starting to conclude the conversation, Champi spoke.

“Jiho, you want to reduce the number of people associated with the Cornus Family. And he wants to help Sansuyu, right? Am I right or wrong?”

“That’s right.”

I nodded at Champi’s question.

It wasn’t wrong, after all.

“But this guy is at least S-rank. You’d want someone to protect Sansuyu, right? You were going to assign a guard for the Forester Selection Competition anyway. I guarantee his skills.”

“...Yes? But that would make him directly involved.”

“He says he doesn’t mind.”

The Cornus Family was doomed.

Their associates were all in danger.

I only kneew the gist, but not the details.

“I don’t mind being targeted, but can you tell me exactly what’s going on?”

“See, he doesn’t mind.”

Champi reinforced my words, and Sung Jiho sighed, rubbing his forehead.

Champi forcibly pushed the conversation forward. Jiho probably needed time to think.

After some time, he reluctantly began to speak.

“It’s confidential.”

Each word was filled with agony.

He wondered if it was okay to tell this to a mere academy student and worried about what might happen to Sansuyu.

I nodded silently.

Next to me, Champi sat with a relaxed smile as if she was finally satisfied.

‘Well, it’s a gain for me too.’

The extreme performance worked well. Although I got caught up in it too.

“By the way, you know that Miss Sansuyu has trouble remembering names, right?”

“Yes, I know. She always mixes up Siheon and Siwon.”

“I’m Champi.”

With a serious expression, Sung Jiho slowly explained the situation to me.

“The Cornus Family has been conducting an ongoing experiment for a long time. Miss Sansuyu has been part of it since she was young.”

“What kind of experiment?”

“Well...”

When Sung Jiho hesitated, Champi chimed in.

“Tell him everything. If you don’t, I will.”

“...Sigh. It’s an experiment to create an eternal being, something beyond the World Tree.”

Beyond the World Tree. Did that mean surpassing the beings called gods?

“The World Tree must have kept it in check.”

“The Cornus Family and the World Tree Sect were in a symbiotic relationship. If they fought, mutual destruction was likely. But that only postponed the conflict...”

“Is it about to explode soon?”

“The family head’s alliance with Flower played a big part.”

“...Just stay by her side. Continuously.”

It wasn’t a big deal.

And it was the best I could do.

Even if the Cornus Family fell, I might be able to hide Sansuyu somehow.

“Is that the answer?”

“If Miss Sansuyu’s life is in danger.”

“Yes.”

I interrupted Sung Jiho’s words and answered first.

I knew what he was about to say.

Protection – I wouldn’t have the official title, but I would serve that role.

Since I would be with her during the Forester Selection Competition, it wouldn’t be hard.

“Is the conversation over?”

Champi interrupted, stuffing her mouth with the cookies in the center.

After gulping them down, she looked at me.

“If it’s over, come with me. Jiho, you can go.”

“What do you mean...”

“Seeing you reminds me of the old days. Do you have time?”

It seemed Champi had more to say to me.

-Wooong.

The sound of a machine hummed in the quiet capsule.

-Tsik.

The sound of air escaping from the syringe.

The strong smell of the drug.

A purple liquid flowed into the woman’s back through a long tube, causing her to convulse violently.

[...Ugh, Ugh!]

The woman thrashed inside the capsule, then lost consciousness with her eyes open.

Her body went limp, sinking into the liquid.

Soon, the capsule opened. A doctor approached and checked her pulse.

“...As expected.”

After quickly determining her condition, the doctor injected a neutralizing agent into her neck.

The clear liquid flowed from the syringe into the woman’s body.

This prevented her from becoming an Ent.

“Damn.”

A curse escaped the doctor’s mouth.

After a long silence, a researcher spoke up with difficulty.

“It seems that the only suitable person for this drug is Miss Sansuyu.”

The deceased woman was a member of the Cornus Family.

A branch family, but still related by blood to Sansuyu. She was similar in age to Sansuyu and considered a promising talent. But why?

Her blonde hair gradually lost color and turned white.

The researchers frowned as they looked at the dead woman.

“We thought we had finally created a perfect drug, but it only works on Miss Sansuyu?”

“...Miss Sansuyu has developed resistance through all the previous experiments. Following that path might lead to resistance in others too.”

It was a valid assumption.

Since Sansuyu could endure the perfected drug, perhaps injecting the earlier drugs in sequence into other family members could achieve the same result.

But this method wasn’t feasible.

First, Sansuyu had the most potent blood and the largest capacity among the family members.

She was considered more talented than the current head, San Hyukwon.

There were also financial reasons.

“...Should we increase the ratio of Menedel?”

“No. That will just kill them.”

“We’re short on materials. We must find a solution with what we have.”

“Yes.”

“If it becomes impossible, we must at least complete Miss Sansuyu.”

The researchers, engaged in heated discussions, turned their gaze to a woman sitting in a chair.

She sat there blankly, staring at the ceiling.

Her white outfit and even paler skin made her look like a sickly angel.

“But can Miss Sansuyu endure it?”

Sansuyu’s hair color was gradually fading.

“We’ll administer the completed drug. We need to observe her condition during the Forester Selection Competition.”

Activating the drug wasn’t easy.

Even if Sansuyu was confined out of sight, the drug’s power wouldn’t manifest without extreme conditions.

Power emerged in dramatic situations.

But what triggered it... even the researchers didn’t fully understand.

It had long been confirmed that a power greater than a dragon lay dormant in Sansuyu’s heart.

If they could trigger it, the experiment would succeed.

“Even past successful cases haven’t identified a clear trigger. We’ll have to leave it to chance.”

“Yes.”

A researcher cautiously suggested that extreme situations and the will to survive might trigger it, but no one knew for sure.

If emotions triggered it.

Could Sansuyu activate it?

“...”

Sansuyu’s golden eyes had a faint red tint.

Her dry lips parted, and a weak, cracked voice came out.

“...It hurts.”