Chapter 18

Episode 18

Chapter 4 – The Door to Anywhere

1

Late at night.

No, it’s almost morning.

Logged into Road of Academy, I hesitated with a hammer in hand.

What I held was the 17-strengthened Black Blade Araman.

Having gathered all the materials for the 18th strengthening, I had been pondering whether to proceed for an hour.

[Juk-sim: Just hit it, they say.]

“Juk-sim, why do you chat when you’re right in front of me?”

[Juk-sim: Don’t make a fuss, they say.]

Beside me was a girl character in a black hood.

Her(?) nickname was Juk-sim.

Though she looked like a female character, her real gender was unknown.

Juk-sim, who had only ever chatted, had never once used her voice.

Despite her unique nickname and concept, as Juk-sim said, it was no longer surprising.

After all, it was Juk-sim who taught me how to play Road of Academy.

Though I was closer to Ayu, I had known Juk-sim longer.

We were gaming friends even before I started playing Road of Academy.

“Ha, I’m really nervous.”

[Juk-sim: That’s the fifth time you’ve said that.]

“Ah, I don’t care!”

It’s almost time to go to work anyway.

Closing my eyes, I swung the hammer.

Thud thud thud-

In the midst of a heart-pounding moment.

I tightly shut my eyes to the sound of drums during the strengthening process.

“Juk-sim, Juk-sim, how did it go?”

Then, I turned off the sound and shouted towards Juk-sim with my eyes closed.

But for some reason, there was no response from Juk-sim.

……No, this person only communicates through chat.

With my eyes closed, I couldn’t see the chat, so I had no choice but to open them.

At that moment, I saw a girl’s face filling my vision.

It was none other than Juk-sim’s character, and I blinked at her blocking my view.

Juk-sim silently stared at me.

“What’s wrong?”

Knowing what she was hiding, I looked at the silent Juk-sim.

Then, with a trembling voice, I said.

“Please tell me it’s not what I think.”

In game strengthening, there’s a chance of failure and destruction.

Though the probability is very low, it still exists.

Despite my question, Juk-sim remained motionless.

No.

It can’t be.

Memories with Black Blade Araman flashed by, and I swallowed my tears while holding Juk-sim’s shoulders.

“It’s not, right?”

Juk-sim closed her eyes.

I closed mine too.

“What, were you two here? Let’s do the morning raid!”

Turning towards the voice, there stood a character in a pink gothic dress with a muscular build, a ridiculous taste.

Above his head was a bold guild mark, and I knew exactly who he was.

Ediknorjeva

Why he chose such a character and such a hard-to-read name, I don’t know.

So, I called him Eva, the embodiment of contradiction.

“Hey, Domi, is that your Black Blade Araman? It’s gone, huh?”

And right off the bat, he said the thing I least wanted to hear.

I already knew.

Because behind Juk-sim, who had sacrificed herself to shield me, dust was scattering.

That dust.

Only appears when an item is destroyed.

“Eva.”

I muttered blankly.

Fuck, damn this game, I’m quitting.

“So you’ve been moping all day?”

After a tearful farewell to Black Blade Araman and going to work.

I sat in front of the laptop with Ji-eun.

Seeing my dazed state, Ji-eun persistently asked what was wrong.

After I explained everything, she looked at me with pity.

“Ji-eun, you don’t understand the value of game items. That one was…”

I barely held back the urge to bite a handkerchief.

My precious Black Blade Araman.

Even if destroyed, it could be restored, but having to strengthen it from scratch again was daunting.

At that moment, I felt a soft touch on my arm.

Startled, I turned to see Ji-eun leaning against me, looking up.

“Is that item more important than the time you spend with me?”

“In terms of public and private matters, public is naturally more important.”

“I wish it were private.”

“Stop teasing adults.”

Having worked together so openly, Ji-eun occasionally played pranks that could embarrass an adult.

Turning twenty next year, such pranks could lead to trouble, but despite my warnings, she showed no intention of stopping.

“Do you dislike me, Ha-chan oppa?”

“Why would I dislike you, Ji-eun?”

“Well, it’s just that. When the opposite sex is aggressively pursuing, you only push away.”

She pouted and rested her cheek on the café table.

Perhaps because she’s similar to Ayu.

I didn’t feel overly embarrassed by her actions.

Ayu would get embarrassed herself after teasing, making her harder to deal with.

“Considering the age difference, isn’t the answer obvious?”

After all, she’s a minor.

No matter how mature she acts, to an adult, she’s still a child.

Those who harbor such feelings towards minors should be socially eradicated.

‘And probably.’

Ji-eun doesn’t get along well with her school friends.

Naturally, she feels isolated, and that isolation, no matter how much she hides it, has built up inside her.

I am the adult who listens and advises her in such situations.

To her, I’m the perfect person to lean on.

She could never tell her parents about her loneliness due to lack of friends.

To the young and lonely Ji-eun, I am a suitable presence.

Someone to alleviate her isolation, lean on, and indulge her whims as her handler.

‘That’s why she’s mistaken her feelings for me.’

Anyone in my place would have been enough for her to develop such mistaken feelings.

Immature children often mistake their feelings like that.

The adult beside them seems cool and admirable.

Just like how I admired and feared middle school seniors during my elementary school days.

That was just a fleeting moment.

As I grew older and reached that position, those thoughts naturally faded.

And Ji-eun will be the same, I believe.

That’s why I deliberately drew a clear line with Ji-eun.

I wanted to teach her, a child who hasn’t yet grasped her own feelings, how not to be swayed by situations as she becomes an adult.

‘Though I’m not much of an adult myself.’

I need to set a better example. Right.

“I’ll be twenty soon.”

“Yes, but not yet.”

“I don’t think I’ll change much in a year.”

“You’ll change a lot. The people around you will change, for starters.”

That’s a common misconception among minors.

Even if you’ve just become an adult, your perspective and range of actions expand rapidly.

Ji-eun seemed unaware that this aspect made her feel more like a child.

Seeing me like this, Ji-eun turned her head away, pouting.

I forgot that kids hate being treated like kids the most.

“Ji-eun?”

Knowing that asking if she’s pouting would earn me a scolding, I calmly recalled how to handle a pouting woman.

By the way, I learned this online.

“Was I too harsh?”

Ji-eun glanced at me briefly.

Fortunately, it seemed to work.

“I was worried about you, Ji-eun. I wasn’t treating you like a child.”

As I began to soothe her, Ji-eun, who had been looking away, turned her head back.

Finally, she’s looking at me.

“Okay. Then at least drop the formal speech with me! How long are you going to use honorifics with me?”

“That’s.”

Ji-eun’s eyebrows began to furrow again.

Well, we’ve known each other for quite a while, so it’s only fair.

“Alright. I’ll speak casually with you.”

“Nice!”

Did she pout just for this?

Thinking she wouldn’t go this far just to get me to drop formalities, I smiled wryly.

“More importantly, today’s the day the video goes up, so let’s focus on this first.”

“Okay!”

Excited that I dropped formalities, Ji-eun beamed.

Meanwhile, the video was uploaded, and we checked it.

The video featured Ji-eun and a neighbor’s dog she knew.

The theme was using Bonding Ability to communicate with the neighbor’s dog, which had recently stopped eating well.

At first, the dog translated nonsense like the neighbor gaining weight, but by the end, it conveyed the news of the dog’s pregnancy.

With the company’s support, the video quality was naturally high.

Appropriate subtitles, situation-fitting elements, etc.

It had quality comparable to famous YouTubers.

Most importantly, Ji-eun looked cute and pretty.

The professional shop’s touch elevated her pretty face even further.

‘It’ll catch on.’

I’ve been watching YouTube for quite a while.

This will catch on.

The problem is whether it will catch the algorithm’s attention or not.

The current view count was a mere 3.

Considering we were watching, it meant almost no one had seen it.

“The views aren’t picking up.”

Though I didn’t expect it to do well from the start, Ji-eun seemed slightly disappointed.

“It’s okay. The company said they’d promote the video on their YouTube channel. That should bring in some viewers.”

Though Rodri Company is newly established, it has quite a few well-known hunters.

Thus, the company’s YouTube channel, featuring its hunters, has 510,000 subscribers from existing fan bases.

Being featured there would certainly help with promotion.

“You can’t be full from the first bite. Let’s take it slow.”

“Okay, got it.”

Though a bit down, she soon replied with a bright smile.

She’s a spirited girl after all.

No need to worry too much.

After discussing plans for the next video, I returned to the company.

Since Ji-eun is still a student, I sent her off in a taxi first, intending to handle some remaining tasks.

“Ha-chan.”

At that moment, I turned towards the voice calling me.

There stood the team leader, and I greeted him as I approached.

“Team leader, hello.”

“On your way back from work?”

“Yes, had a meeting with Ji-eun.”

“Keep up the good work. I saw the video too. With good promotion, it’ll blow up, right?”

The team leader has a good eye.

I also had some expectations, so I cleared my throat, and the team leader smiled before exclaiming ‘Ah.’

“Look at me. This isn’t the time. I was about to call you, Ha-chan.”

“Yes? What’s up?”

Seeing my puzzled look, he grinned.

“We can’t fill the hunter team with just Ji-eun, right? A new member has joined. Same age as Ji-eun.”

Since Ji-eun hasn’t debuted as a hunter yet, they must have matched the age on purpose.

It seems my hunter team will soon be filled with kids about to become adults.

‘It’s good to get close before becoming hunters.’

Getting familiar with each other before actual missions is necessary.

Being the same age should help them get along.

“What’s she like?”

“For now, she’s a female student. Mixing genders in hunter teams…”

“Usually causes problems.”

It’s common for love to bloom among comrades who cross life-and-death situations together.

The problem arises when conflicts between lovers lead to breakups, potentially ruining the team.

Prioritizing one’s lover can also lead to dangerous situations.

Thus, most company-run hunter teams are gender-segregated.

“It’s expected, so it’s fine.”

“Then let’s check the list like last time.”

Following the team leader, I returned to my department’s seat.

He promptly pulled up the data, and upon seeing it, I had to make a surprised face.

“19 years old and A-grade?”

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