Chapter 42: Make an Offer |
I had intended to bring it up casually at the drinking party tonight if the opportunity arose. Besides, since it was highly likely Han-byeol and I would go our separate ways, I figured it wouldn’t matter if I revealed some of my true feelings. If I had known things would turn out like this, I wouldn’t have spoken to her that way in front of the cabin. A belated regret washed over me, but it was a fact that our feelings for each other had changed.
“If you ask me why... that’s a little difficult to answer.”
“Is it... difficult to tell me?”
Seeing Han-byeol put a particular emphasis on the word “me,” I shook my head. That wasn’t what I meant.
“That’s not it. Do you remember what we talked about on the stairs in front of the cabin?”
“...Yes.”
“I... well... I had a lot of time to think over the past three months. My perspective changed somewhat as I saw the world of Hall Plain. In any case, I’m not going to join the Golden Lion Clan, or any other clan for that matter.”
Even though I trailed off a bit at the end, Han-byeol was as sharp as ever. She seemed to mull over my words for a moment before looking at me with widened, surprised eyes. Her quick mind seemed to have grasped my intentions.
“Then. Are you saying you’re thinking of creating a new clan, Oppa?”
“I also...”
The moment I finished speaking, Han-byeol reflexively started to say something but quickly shut her mouth. I felt her breath hitch slightly. A look of conflict flickered across her face. After biting her lip for a moment, she seemed to make a decision and spoke in a voice higher than usual.
“I feel the same way. My perspective has changed a lot comparing before and after entering Hall Plain. You were amazing during the Rite of Passage, Oppa. Even after entering the User Academy, you proved you were special, different from everyone else. I probably know better than anyone that you’re capable. But...”
But. That was the signal that she was about to say what she really wanted to tell me. I listened with a somber expression.
“The world of Hall Plain is so vast and immense. It’s a place where anything can happen anywhere. It’s not a space where one person’s ability can handle everything, like it was during the Rite of Passage. I’m sure you’ll say you’re not alone, that you have the other three.”
I had been about to say just that, but I closed my mouth and nodded. Han-byeol, her cool composure now restored, looked at me steadily and continued.
“I’m not trying to say whether you can or can’t do it. I’m not trying to be negative, either. But... I still feel like, even if you say you’re not, you inevitably carry everything on your own. In Hall Plain, it’s too dangerous for a group to depend on a single person.”
Han-byeol wasn’t underestimating the abilities of the other three. She was, however, pointing out my attitude in relation to theirs. In the end, her point was that one person can’t do everything alone, and she had a valid argument. But there was one thing she was overlooking.
She took a deep breath, as if she had said all she needed to. I gave her a moment to catch her breath while I organized my thoughts. Then, I slowly began to speak.
“You have a very single-minded way of thinking, Han-byeol.”
“...?”
“It’s good to think rationally. But you tend to head in only one direction.”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“I’m saying you shouldn’t rashly judge me and the others by your own standards and criteria.”
Startled by my cold tone, which she had never heard before, Han-byeol quickly fell silent. I stared at her with a frigid gaze. It was a little pitiful to see her lips tremble slightly at my unfamiliar tone. However, now that I had decided to treat her as just another user, I would say what needed to be said.
“I... I’m sorry. But I thought we were similar, Oppa. Always rational...”
“Similar? You may think so, but to me, joining a clan isn't what I’d call a rational choice. Especially not the Golden Lion Clan.”
“...Why? Are you saying I’m wrong?”
“Does being right or wrong matter? Every choice has its pros and cons. Isn’t a rational choice one that weighs them, considers the surrounding situation including oneself, and then picks the best option?”
Kim Han-byeol made a rational choice based on the present. I made a rational choice based on the past and the future. Despite this simple logic, Han-byeol looked confused. For the first time, I felt a tightness in my chest as I looked at her. We were failing to understand each other.
“The Golden Lion Clan is the top large-scale clan in the Northern Continent. It’s an open secret, but... they’ve already established their foundation and are preparing to advance into the Steel Mountains. It’s completely different from starting from scratch. I honestly don’t see any advantages to the path you’re trying to take, Oppa.”
“Who can guarantee that the advance into the Steel Mountains will be a success? You said they recommended you for an executive position, but have you thought about what that really means? No, more importantly, do you really think the users in the clan you’re about to join are trustworthy people?”
I shot back at her, my tone laced with a hint of sarcasm. Despite this, Han-byeol listened in silence. A brief silence fell between us, and a cold atmosphere formed. Just as I paused and was about to continue, she spoke first.
“Then are you saying you’re someone who can be trusted?”
“...”
One sentence. Just one sentence. With that single phrase, the subtle chill between us transformed into a biting silence that settled over us. The only sounds were our breathing. A myriad of expressions flickered across her face: frustration, sadness, regret—a whole spectrum of negative emotions. It was the first time I had seen such a variety of feelings from her since we met.
I quietly opened my mouth. But my subsequent words were laced with an undisguisable emotion: disappointment in you.
“You once asked me, ‘Why are you doing this, Oppa?’ If I were to answer that question again now, I would say... I...”
I.
“I wanted to be a shield for you all back then. I wanted to give trust, and I wanted to receive it. I’m not naturally a trusting person. So, it’s not like I never considered going it alone. But, just as you said, I was also well aware that I couldn’t do anything by myself. I couldn’t ignore that fact.”
I took a breath and immediately continued.
“So, once I made that decision, I felt I should at least choose the people I started with. People who trust me. And people I can trust. It’s a clan, after all. When creating a clan... I wanted to have at least one or two people who felt like family.”
As she listened to me, Han-byeol’s eyes trembled violently. Her lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to say something. But by then, the massive library building had already come into our view.
Once before, she and I had stood at a fork in the road. At that time, she had followed my choice. And now, we were once again facing the same two paths. I had already chosen my direction; she had not.
I calmly ascended the stairs and grasped the doorknob. Han-byeol remained motionless. When I gently pushed the door, it opened smoothly this time, without a creak. And I slowly stepped inside.
I did not hear the sound of Han-byeol following me.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
An Hyeon and the others were already deep into their drinking party. In the end, I couldn’t bring up what I had wanted to talk about that day. Seeing them laugh and carry on, I sighed internally. A bitter thought crossed my mind that these guys would never understand how I felt, no matter what. Such carefree souls.
Still, I didn’t let it show on the outside. A day like this might never come again. From tomorrow, the path I and the others would walk was a thorny one, by no means easy. I would push them and grind them down to the point they’d think the User Academy was heaven.
The drinking party ended in a grand success(?). An Hyeon and Yu-jeong got carried away and eventually lost their minds. Fortunately, Sol was still awake, so we were able to carry one person each back to our dorms. After tossing An Hyeon into a corner, I also lay down, lost in thought.
Now that I had entered Hall Plain and my perspective had shifted, there were so many things to do immediately. First and foremost, the priority was to receive the mission reward points tomorrow and leave Barbara right away. As I mulled over various plans, I drifted off to sleep.
And the next day, the long-awaited morning arrived.
The graduation and departure ceremony was, frankly, quite boring. They said a lot of things, but it all boiled down to a message of thanks for our hard work and hopes for our future activities in the Northern Continent.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
You have completed the User Academy in the Northern Continent's metropolis, Barbara. As a mission reward, you have gained 4 ability points.
After the graduation ceremony and receiving the reward points, the users' situations diverged clearly: those who received offers and those who didn’t. The ones with offers joined the clan members who came to welcome them, while the rest could only stand by and watch.
They could find a clan to join even in a regular city or a small town, not necessarily a metropolis. Seeing them still loitering around after the ceremony ended, I felt a little sorry for them. Not that it was any of my business.
My first priority was to run to the warehouse and collect the items I had purchased with GP, but that plan was thwarted as the others immediately flocked to me. An Hyeon, Lee Yu-jeong, and An Sol. As the four of us gathered, I could feel the gazes of people who looked like clan scouts on us. I had already politely declined all offers, but it seemed they still held some lingering hope.
An Hyeon was overshadowed by me, Woo Jeong-min, and Seon Yu-un, but he had shown enough potential to make clans drool. Yu-jeong’s performance was also above average. Both had received numerous offers from mid-sized clans, but they had rejected them all because of me.
Frankly, if we were talking about treasures, Sol was the greatest treasure of all. Brilliance Priest. The ultimate priest class, a representative figure among female users who would one day stand alongside the Princess of Execution and the Shadow Queen. Even if she hadn’t obtained this class, her initial stats of 75 Magic Power and 100 Luck provided an enormous advantage.
However, Sol surprisingly didn’t attract much attention. I heard from An Hyeon that she was having a hard time controlling her magic power. It made sense; it would be strange for a user who was still a novice to control mid-to-high level magic. Her true value would likely become more apparent as time passed and she grew more accustomed to it.
The scout from the Golden Lion Clan was looking at the users with a dumbfounded expression. I learned after the ceremony that the clan had made offers to a total of five new users this time. However, only two of those five had accepted.
“I’m sorry. I have companions I’ve been with this whole time. I have no intention of joining alone and leaving them behind.”
When I skillfully turned away the scout who came for one last attempt at persuasion, An Hyeon and the others looked quite apologetic. They seemed to be taking my words at face value. While this misunderstanding wasn’t necessarily bad, it left a slightly bitter taste, so I thought it would be better to tell them the truth when I got the chance.
As we stepped out of the academy's main gate, the outside was bustling with new and existing users. I could see the emblems of various clans, with the Golden Lion Clan members being the most prominent.
Then, a scene caught my eye, and its protagonist was Lee Ji-young. She seemed to have joined a fairly well-known clan, as she was looking down on the users who hadn’t received offers with an arrogant expression. She was flaunting her position with her arm linked through the instructor’s. I thought to myself how pathetic she looked. I was curious to see how her face would change in six months, but I turned my steps away.
It occurred to me that Kim Han-byeol must be somewhere here. I had been feeling a persistent gaze pricking at my face for a while now. Turning my head in the direction of the gaze, I found her, just as I expected, watching me and my group endlessly. However, I no longer wanted to be entangled with her. Since the fact that she was a Jewel Mage hadn't spread yet, it seemed they had decided to keep it a secret within the clan for the time being.
The others followed me closely, their faces full of anticipation. Just as I was about to hurry away from this place, a voice calling my name forced me to stop. I turned my head to see Woo Jeong-min and his group. When Woo Jeong-min greeted me with, “So you didn’t join either,” I knew who the other two who had rejected the Golden Lion Clan’s offer were. (Of course, I had already guessed as much.)
While we exchanged some pleasantries, Woo Jeong-min proposed that we act together for a while. Honestly, the offer was a bit tempting. It would be easier to just wipe them out cleanly now, before they could gather their strength as the Red Fang Clan. However, before I could even answer, Won Hye-su from Woo Jeong-min’s group and Lee Yu-jeong from mine showed their mutual disgust, and the idea fizzled out.
Won Hye-su still seemed to harbor feelings against me, occasionally glaring in my direction. I understood her feelings. But there’s a limit to how much I can tolerate, and if she kept acting like that, my opinion of her wouldn’t be favorable either. I’d let her go for now, but I resolved to teach her a firm lesson someday. And so, I bid them a short farewell.
When I glanced back, the others were staring at me with blank faces, having stopped when I did. They, too, must have rejected offers from decent clans to follow me blindly. They hadn't quite shed the attitude of chicks following their mother, but I felt a growing desire to put my trust in them.
To do that, the first step was to tell them my plan for the future.
============================ Author's Note ============================
Hello, this is Royujin.
Haha. As expected, Han-byeol is getting a lot of hate. She's one of the characters I put a lot of effort into, so I feel a bit sorry that she's being criticized. As such, she is not a one-off character. She still has many appearances to make, so please watch over Han-byeol a little longer. :)
『Re-Replies』
1. Aillyllia: Congratulations on first place. I was surprised to see the comment pop up almost as soon as I posted. Thank you for pointing out the typo. I fixed it as soon as I woke up this morning. If I had written Ji-young as Han-byeol... well. I probably would have been flamed immensely. Hahaha.
2. rhkdel2: That's a very tempting offer, but... I can only blame my fingers. Sob.
3. SaramInsaeng: Oh. Your birthday is on Thursday. Congratulations! I hope you eat lots of delicious food and get plenty of gifts that day. :)
4. GradeRown: Oh dear... I'm an author with bad eyes. ㅜ.ㅠ It was certainly tough to level up a mage in the early days of Maple Story. Hehehe. To be a mage-type in Hall Plain, having high magic power is a prerequisite. That's the most important thing. Of course, a certain amount of study and training would also be necessary. The rest is pretty much just grinding, I suppose? :)
5. Gayeon-eul-i: Please don't hate Han-byeol too much. She may seem this way on the outside, but on the inside... Hup. (Spoiler alert!)
6. Yu-un-cheoreom: It's in this chapter. You guessed correctly. Clap clap clap! (Applause!)
7. Blami: Ahaha. Honestly, the protagonist isn't that attached to Han-byeol. The secret class is a bit of a shame, but for now, it's something he can take or leave. Because... (The following content is a spoiler, so no comment!)
8. BigeuguiSalm: You can just think of her as a supporting character. Though for a supporting character, she will have a certain amount of story.
9. Han-geoleum-han-geoleum: You can consider the Rite of Passage part as the beginning. In the long run, the User Academy could also be seen as the beginning. As for your other questions, Kaion-nim and Toranoanal-nim have explained them in such detail in the previous chapter's comments that there's nothing more for me to add, so please refer to those. (Or refer to 후기 11번.)
10. Yeo-ok-a-nolja: Hahaha. That is indeed a charming offer, but... I must blame my fingers. ㅜ.ㅠ I've read your question carefully. It was too long to write as an afterword, so I sent you a private message. Please give it a read!
11. Toranoanal: [It was hinted at in the beginning but came out rather faintly, and was supplemented bit by bit in the middle.] [Because the author only showed us that much.] You've pinpointed the core of my intention and the flow of that part. It's the perfect answer, with nothing more to add.
12. Bong-in-doen-Tolstoy: I was waiting for a question like this. If you read the story properly and accurately, it's natural to have this question.
Your first question can be considered the protagonist's mistake. However, he didn't check on the spot, and though he thought about it occasionally afterward, Han-byeol didn't show her face much. By that time, their relationship had also become distant. You can think of it as him not paying as much attention as before after separating Han-byeol and Han So-young. The latter case is deeply related to Han-byeol's personality. A detailed explanation could be a spoiler, and it's a question that will be answered as the story progresses, so please wait a little longer.
True Name. A True Name has no effects. However, there is a [Place To Use It] in Hall Plain. Items bought with GP are not classified by rank. But if I had to compare, you can consider them to be above S-rank and below EX-rank.
Well then, I will take my leave for today.
I hope you always read with a comfortable heart.
Bookmarks, recommendations, comments, critiques, and questions are always welcome.