Chapter 61

Chapter 61

HEL SCANS

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In stark contrast to the dungeon, which had been gloomy and tense throughout, the gathering place had a very comfortable atmosphere.

It was adorned with appropriate lighting that revealed every nook and cranny, along with refreshing and pleasant air.

It was a space where the tension built up during the battle could gently dissipate.

crackle...

Children gathered closely around a warm bonfire, looking at the Hero standing in front of them.

“You’ve all worked hard. You must have learned and realized a lot during this practical training. Please don’t forget and apply what you’ve learned in the next session.”

The Hero finished speaking and gestured to Pia.

The children’s eyes widened as they saw the cart Pia had brought.

Zoom-!

Cuculli landed gracefully on it, her horns swaying from side to side.

“Heuk, heuk. Meat! It’s meat!”

“Oh, there’s also alcohol!”

The forgotten hunger now made its presence.

The current time was noon.

They had been fighting on an empty stomach for almost six hours since dawn.

Their stomachs were practically sticking to their backbones.

The Hero grabbed Cuculli’s tail, pulling her out and concluding his speech.

“I’ll give you two hours now. Take a break and share your thoughts and feedback with each other.”

“Wow!”

“Hurry, hurry!”

Thus, an unexpected feast unfolded.

“Well, let’s eat!”

Children gathered around naturally, without picking specific groups.

The one that attracted the most attention was, unsurprisingly, the victorious group.

“Is this a cheerful rebellion?”

“Wow, honestly, we didn’t really expect you guys to win.”

“No, how did you do it? We thought you would lose since your group never encountered ours.”

As they perceived the other group as relatively weaker, there was even more focus on them.

Gerald, at the center, wore an extremely proud expression as he sincerely answered each person.

His shoulders almost reached his ears in triumph.

“Hmm, that’s right...,” he mused.

He had been receiving pitiful looks ever since the brutal education he received from the Hero in the first class.

Weren’t there even some mean-spirited people who openly laughed at me to my face?

“Hahaha! Fool, you’re a fool!”

Now, the days of insult and contempt are over.

He was filled with emotion and patted the back of the person responsible for this victory.

Bang, bang!

The girl’s black hair swayed rhythmically.

Group 5 was the first to place the explosive artifact in the heart of the simulation.

This was thanks to their swift breakthrough of the early stages densely packed with traps.

“Hey, good job. Were you some kind of detection hound? It felt like it!”

“Yeah... thanks.”

Nyhill nodded as she toyed with the meat in her hands.

Gerald gazed at her indifferent face with a strange expression.

Under the silky black hair, her clean and fair skin, tinged reddish by the warmth of the bonfire, was revealed.

When their eyes met, she casually averted her gaze.

Gerald suddenly realized something.

‘Come to think of it, this is the first time I’ve had a conversation with her.’

Of course, he was aware of her existence.

However, amidst extreme personalities with excessive quirks, Nyhill, with no distinct features, was just vague.

A quiet, commoner-origin colleague.

If forced to point out a characteristic, it would be her unyielding calm expression.

Anyway, she gave off a feeling of not standing out in anything.

“Today was a bit different, though.”

It was in the early trap zone.

When team members were gradually falling into traps, Nyhill took the lead.

Since then, it has been a series of impressive scenes.

‘Is she some kind of ranger?’

She instinctively seemed to grasp the intention of every trap.

Her momentary instincts and agile reactions were also at an extraordinary level.

Thanks to her, they could quickly navigate through the trap area.

Even when facing the guardians, she reliably covered his blind spots and assisted in combat.

To others, she might seem to have made little contribution, but Gerald, standing at the forefront, felt with his entire being how invaluable she was.

Gerald felt an urge to add another word.

“By the way, you worked really hard today.”

The training ground was bustling with activity.

Everywhere she looked, it was filled with children sweating and exerting themselves.

Even though they gasped for breath as if they were about to collapse, their eyes didn’t lose their vitality.

“Euhaha, take my spear!”

“Gerald, you’ve gotten slower! Is that all you can do? Do you want to burst out like in orientation!?”

“No, suddenly painful memories...”

Although Gerald had achieved first place in this practical training, his treatment towards Nyhill seemed unchanged.

Nyhill blinked for a moment.

‘How interesting. Do they find training enjoyable?’

A bright smile lingered on their lips as they swung their weapons with more vigor, as if competing with each other.

Joy, passion, a sense of accomplishment.

Suddenly, ghosts of the rigorous training she had undergone to become a ghost candidate flashed through Nyhill’s mind.

The long and harsh training that took place in an unknown abandoned building.

It was a time when even a smile was hard to come by.

She wondered how the ghost candidates she lived with at that time would be if they were still alive.

If she had lived with them, would she have learned to smile like that?

‘...’

Probably not. Nyhill’s eyes, which had scanned her face reflected in the darkness, turned back to the present.

Children who had lived entirely different lives from them.

And children who would lead entirely different lives.

For an ordinary person, this might have been a somewhat awkward moment, but Nyhill didn’t pay it much mind.

Her eyes, with a hint of crimson, shifted from her past to the front.

The hands that had tightly grasped her growling stomach.

In one hand, a bag of bread; in the other, the hand of a village child holding onto her mother’s hand.

She, remembering that scene, was already accustomed to this kind of dissonance.

The once vivid jealousy had long disappeared without a trace.

...Certainly, it must have been like that.

“5th team, if any of the 8 members have something they wish for, come to my research lab.”

“Wow! A wish ticket!”

It was a few days ago, towards the end of the class.

Most of the classmates from her team seemed to have visited the Hero.

There were also a few posts on the connector.

– Hoho, I thought of a wish to ask the Hero. I’ll be back.

└ What wish are you asking for!?

└ There is something like that!

└ Please block this person....

– I never thought he would grant such a wish.

└ What wish did you ask for!

└ It’s a secret!

└ Sigh....

...something they wish for.

Nyhill pondered on that phrase for a moment.

To the ‘Ghosts,’ rewards were a distant and alien concept.

Performing the tasks assigned to them was a natural part of their existence.

Situations like this, where rewards were given for outstanding performance, felt very unfamiliar.

‘Since the Hero asked for what I wish for...’

Of course, as her real identity was not a student, such a thing would not happen.

But imagination was supposed to extend beyond reality.

Nyhill thought for a moment about what she might wish for.

‘Even me...’

In an instant, Nyhill fiercely shook her head.

The cool voice of a phantom echoed in her ears.

“Hmm, for No. 3 it’s always slow to realize. Emotions, desires, memories... who would want a tool with an inner self?”

“Burial. It’s all about burying them.”

She knew very well what the fate of an unwanted tool was.

Nyhill rigidly refocused on her original mission.

.

.

.

That night, an anonymous post appeared on the connector.

– If you could make a wish to the Hero, what would you wish for?

Amidst countless posts covering various topics on the anonymous bulletin board, a single post written with the courage of a lifetime had appeared.

Unfortunately, due to the abundance of similar posts, it disappeared without a trace, buried and forgotten.

[TL/N: Man she doesn’t deserve this....she’s a kid too.]

HEL SCANS

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