Kim Songcheol sat cross-legged in the center of the living room, his eyes closed.

Inside his body, two circles were rotating.

The outer circle was still wobbling precariously.

It swayed as if a plate were spun obliquely on a table.

Furthermore, as the second outer circle swayed, it even affected the inner circle.

“Whew…”

Kim Songcheol exhaled a long breath.

He didn’t think it was impossible.

He just hadn’t had enough time to correct it.

From Seo Gangjin’s injury to the enthusiastic atmosphere that followed the C-class Gate deletion.

Kim Songcheol had just barely escaped the chaotic scene where sorrow and joy intertwined.

Quiet and serene.

He needed time entirely to himself.

Swaaa…

As the circles gained rotational force, mana began to react around Kim Songcheol.

Drawn by the rotation of the circles, the mana formed a consistent flow, softly enveloping him.

At some point, the circles expanded, and the two circles emerged from Kim Songcheol’s body.

Kim Songcheol’s circles were large.

They rotated, extending beyond the living room, through the master bedroom wall, and the small room wall.

Mana is not significantly affected by matter anyway.

The walls could not interfere with the rotation of the mana.

The circles emitted a blue light, proudly displaying their form.

The thick inner circle, and the thin, thread-like outer circle.

The outer circle was vibrating very slightly.

It was swaying, unable to fix its axis of rotation.

It was hard to distinguish with the naked eye.

However, this phenomenon is tantamount to a death sentence for a mage.

Because correcting a misaligned axis of rotation is almost impossible.

But this was not the case for Kim Songcheol.

Kim Songcheol gently pressed the circles up and down.

It was an image created by immense mana control and Kim Songcheol’s ‘will’.

Under such almost explosive control, the slender second circle could not offer proper resistance and gradually began to align its axis of rotation with the first circle.

After about five minutes, the second circle began to rotate smoothly, as if nothing had happened.

The axis of rotation had perfectly aligned.

“Whew…”

Kim Songcheol exhaled a long breath again.

The circles rapidly contracted and disappeared back into his body.

‘As much as possible, create circles in a safe situation.’

Kim Songcheol resolved.

A phenomenon that was a death sentence for other mages merely left a small lesson for Kim Songcheol.

Kim Songcheol got up and took a belated shower.

As he stood under the hot water, what had happened in the dungeon suddenly flashed through his mind.

‘It was definitely strange.’

The Lightning Spear had twisted its trajectory.

The problem was that he couldn’t clearly remember that moment.

It was too urgent, and he was disoriented.

Moreover, afterwards he had to move the injured Seo Gangjin, and briefly participate in the festive atmosphere after the C-class Gate deletion.

And during all those moments, he had to constantly focus on keeping the unstable circles in check.

It was a series of situations where even if he remembered, he would easily forget.

There was nothing he could do.

‘If I get a chance later, I should ask a higher-ranking mage about it.’

Kim Songcheol concluded that for now.

The next day.

Kim Songcheol visited Seo Gangjin with Oh Songhui and Moon Gijeong.

Seo Gangjin was currently hospitalized in the medical facility attached to the Training Institute.

Lying alone in a private room, with his mobile phone plugged into a stand watching a movie, Seo Gangjin whipped his head around at Oh Songhui’s cheerful greeting.

“Are you feeling better?”

“I’m so bored I could die.”

Seo Gangjin was currently recovering from spinal and rib fractures, various organ contusions, and a Thunder Shock bath.

In simple terms, he was bruised all over, but despite the variety of injuries, his condition wasn’t bad.

Although there were fractures, they were micro-fractures except for a few ribs. The organ contusions, or organ bruises, weren’t too severe, and the Thunder Shock bath was mild.

This was possible because his physical endurance had increased while training his Aura.

“How long do you have to be hospitalized? How many weeks of recovery did they say?”

Moon Gijeong asked.

“Three weeks? Four weeks? That’s what they’re looking at.”

“Is that all?”

Kim Songcheol asked, surprised.

“Come on, aren’t I a Hunter?”

Seo Gangjin proudly lifted his arm, then grimaced and put it back down.

Rough movements were still out of the question.

“Take care of yourself. Don’t move unnecessarily.”

Kim Songcheol tucked Seo Gangjin’s blanket back in, then refilled an empty water bottle with water.

A long straw extended from the water bottle next to the bed, fixed near Seo Gangjin’s mouth.

Kim Songcheol opened his mouth as he laid out some snacks he had brought next to the bed.

“Aren’t your parents coming? Did you tell them?”

“Oh, well, I don’t have parents…”

“…Huh?”

For the first time in a very long time, Kim Songcheol felt his hair stand on end.

His eloquence, which he thought he had honed over many years, failed him at that moment. He just gaped.

“He does have parents. It’s just that they’re abroad. Why are you pulling a Talullah?”

At Oh Songhui’s subsequent explanation, Kim Songcheol belatedly breathed a sigh of relief.

He wondered how much self-reflection he had just done for thinking everyone had parents.

“Oh, right. But did you see hyungnim’s face just now? Even when I was about to get chokeslammed by a Golem, his face wasn’t like that, haha, ack! Ugh!”

Seo Gangjin, who had tried to laugh as usual, felt pain all over his body and grimaced intensely.

Any exertion of force in his body led to pain.

It was the fate of the injured.

“Karma.”

Of course, Kim Songcheol watched him with great satisfaction.

“It’s karma.”

“It is karma.”

Moon Gijeong and Oh Songhui also nodded, adding their two cents.

***

Kim Myeongju took out a tea set from the display cabinet for the first time in a long while.

It had always been left neglected like an ornament in a corner of the training center.

The tea ceremony was his old hobby, but he could only enjoy it very occasionally.

The reason was simple.

Neither the time nor the psychological余裕 to brew tea came easily.

Kim Myeongju leisurely waited for the water to boil, then put a little tea leaves into the teapot.

It was the best tea he had.

Kim Myeongju poured boiling water into the tea set and neatly arranged the teacups.

Just looking at the tea set placed perfectly in their spots filled his heart with a peculiar sense of satisfaction.

It could also be said to be the reason he enjoyed the tea ceremony.

‘By now…’

The tea leaves would have steeped well. It was just as Kim Myeongju was about to pour the tea into the teacup.

Knock, knock.

There was a knock.

Kim Myeongju’s expression brightened even more.

It would be perfect if there was someone to enjoy it with.

“Come in.”

Kim Myeongju replied cheerfully and righted one of the inverted teacups.

Soon, the door opened and Kim Songcheol entered.

Kim Myeongju beamed.

He was his most precious trainee, so just seeing him made him smile naturally.

“Oh, you must be tired, what brings you here?”

“Ah, well…”

“Please, have a seat, haha.”

Kim Songcheol seemed to hesitate for a moment, but seeing the tea set spread out on the table, he sat down in front of Kim Myeongju.

“Let’s have some tea.”

Kim Myeongju poured tea into the teacups.

His movements seemed incredibly familiar.

Kim Myeongju filled both teacups, then put down the teapot and picked up a teacup.

“The aroma will be good. But what brings you here?”

“Ah, I wanted to request a leave of absence.”

At Kim Songcheol’s reply, Kim Myeongju, who was bringing the teacup to his lips, froze.

Request for leave of absence.

It was a right guaranteed to trainees by the Training Institute’s regulations.

However, Kim Songcheol’s request for leave was like a bolt from the blue for Kim Myeongju.

Kim Songcheol leaving the Training Institute?

He could clearly imagine what would happen.

Foreign dukedoms in Korea would use all sorts of methods to contact Kim Songcheol.

Kim Myeongju, his tea suddenly unappetizing, put the teacup back down without even wetting his lips.

“But for what reason do you need to leave…?”

“I want to see my friends and my parents.”

“Friends… parents… you should meet them. You really should meet them. It’s right to meet them.”

“Can’t I?”

“Of course you can.”

Kim Myeongju smiled as normally as possible, but he couldn’t stop his lips from trembling.

Kim Songcheol’s demands had to be granted unconditionally.

Especially if he blocked a right guaranteed by regulations, Kim Songcheol might harbor resentment.

There was nothing more terrible than that.

It would be better to let him stay out overnight.

“Then I’ll leave today.”

Kim Myeongju could only nod at Kim Songcheol’s demand, which was like a royal decree.

Whether Kim Songcheol knew Kim Myeongju’s feelings or not, he drank his tea and nodded with satisfaction.

“The tea is delicious.”

“…Yes. It’s high-grade tea.”

After finishing all the tea, Kim Songcheol left the training center.

Of course, Kim Myeongju didn’t touch the tea until then. No, he couldn’t.

Kim Myeongju, who had smiled as he saw Kim Songcheol off, pulled out his mobile phone as soon as the door closed.

“This is Special Tactics Instructor Kim Myeongju.”

[Ah, hello? What’s the sudden matter…?]

A slight tension flowed in National Intelligence Service Director Kang Haksang’s voice.

The fact that a Special Tactics Instructor was calling the National Intelligence Service Director directly was practically proof that something had happened.

“Trainee Kim Songcheol has requested an overnight leave.”

Kim Myeongju’s voice was so low it was solemn.

[What did you say?!]

Kang Haksang asked again, startled.

A rare sight unfolded as the Director of the National Intelligence Service and the Education Director sweated over a mere Trainee’s outing.

“It’s an overnight stay. For Trainee Kim Songcheol.”

Kim Myeongju stated again with certainty.

[Ugh… this is driving me crazy.]

The National Intelligence Service Director’s low curse.

“How many foreign Duke members have been identified so far?”

Kim Songcheol lightened the mood with an appropriate question.

[Currently, 21 countries. Estimated to be over 50 countries. The number of personnel deployed is impossible to estimate. All countries that could send people must have sent them.]

…That’s a lot.

[Yes, it seems so.]

“We must do our best to prevent contact. As discussed in the last meeting, I request the initiation of ‘Operation Truman’. I will request Hunter support. There should be Hunters available since the C-class Gate was just cleared.”

[Then how much time do we have left?]

“Hunter Kim Songcheol’s scheduled departure… he’ll probably leave the Training Institute in 30 minutes.”

[Understood for now. Come to Headquarters.]

“Yes, I’ll go as soon as I’m ready.”

Kim Myeongju hung up the phone and began making calls elsewhere again.

She thought she would have some leisure time after blocking the C-class Gate, but that was a complete misconception.

30 minutes passed in a flash.

Kim Songcheol, who had been waiting in front of the Dormitory, got into the car provided by the Training Institute and left the Main Gate.

That was around 10:12 AM.

And at 10:13 AM, the car carrying Kim Myeongju quietly exited the Main Gate and began trailing Kim Songcheol.

It was the moment Operation Truman began.