"Why are you just getting here now? I thought I'd run out of patience waiting for you."
The person sitting on the circular chair in the training room spoke. His posture as he sat, his tone as he addressed me, it was all so natural, as if nothing was missing. Anyone would think this training room belonged to him. It was a staggering sight to behold.
Kang Haewoon muttered to himself, singing the song of the shared training room. It almost felt like it had turned into a genuine communal lounge.
By now, the significance of having a personal training room seemed to have vanished, leaving Sihyun feeling absurd. It took him a while to speak up.
"...What are you doing here?"
The man chuckled at his flustered tone. From his left dimple to his unique pupils, it was unmistakably Russ.
It was baffling why someone who had disappeared through the cracks between the instructors was now in his own training room.
The scene in front of him was unbelievable. No, he didn't want to believe it. Rubbing his eyes, he was snapped back to reality by the man in front of him, reminding him that this wasn't a dream.
"Why the sour expression? Acting like I'm intruding on some private space. Is that really offensive to you?"
Sihyun grimaced at the teasing remark.
"Before you get offended, could you at least consider that this is my personal training room?"
"If it's your personal training room, does that mean I can't come in?"
"That's not it, but as the owner, shouldn't you ask for permission from me?"
"Just because you call it your training room doesn't mean you made it, sprout."
Well, technically it was the principal who allocated it. With that realization, Sihyun wondered if he had any authority to enforce his ownership. Tilting his head, he was met with a smirk from the man who assured him that he had obtained permission from the principal.
"If you really want it, ask for my permission too. Can I come here, kiddo?"
"...You're already here."
Not like he was begging or anything. The gap between wanting to retort and actually speaking grew wider. With a shrug at the response that felt both blunt and awkward, the man gestured as if beckoning him over. Irritation briefly flashed across Sihyun's face before dissipating.
He wasn't dealing with someone he could have a conversation with. Instead of informing him not to enter someone else's training room without permission, it seemed more fruitful to ask why the esteemed Triple Awakened was so insistent on being in his training room.
"So, what brings you here?"
"You little one, you signed a contract with Redem."
"Ah...."
Was he here to pick a fight over that?
Recalling the soaked business card and the manic grin of Russ, Kang Sihyun furrowed his brow. He had already stamped the contract and concluded discussions with Hyuk. It would be quite troublesome now to try and undo what was already done.
Come to think of it, he had heard rumors about Redem Guild not having a good relationship with the IRS. They were considered rival guilds, if he remembered correctly.
The dazzling eyes seemed to bore into him, demanding some sort of explanation. Was this what they meant by bringing a shrimp to a whale fight? Carefully choosing his words, Sihyun finally spoke up.
"I did sign the contract."
"So, you're just going to discard my proposal like that?"
"The circumstances were different back then."
"Did that slippery fellow find some weakness in you?"
"Pardon?"
Slippery fellow?
When he voiced his confusion, the man corrected himself, referring to Russ as the Redem Guild Master. A sigh that resembled a lament escaped him. Even though Hyuk hadn't treated him as human, he seemed to have his reservations about Hyuk as well.
"It seems like you two don't get along."
"It's not about not getting along. I just don't like young ones who hide their true selves. It's unsettling not knowing what they're thinking. Especially with the Redem Guild Master being so young."
"Do you dislike young people?"
"It's not about disliking them. It's about being uncomfortable with young ones completely hiding their intentions. Who knows how many snakes are hiding inside."
"..."
Indeed, compared to his age, Hyuk had a certain level of maturity and aloofness. Compared to the surroundings, it seemed like he was living his life for the second time. Nodding at the thought of a twenty-year-old guild master being uncommon, Russ brushed aside his blonde hair.
"Anyway, if you signed the contract because some weakness was found, tell me, kid. It's not like you're running away to a foreign country alone."
"It's not exactly like that."
"Is that so? Well, that's a pity then."
He had hoped for a chance to confront the Redem Guild Master after a long time.
With a disappointed expression evident on the man who had regained his appetite, he muttered under his breath. Having heard that fighting between S-Class Rankers could cause significant collateral damage, Sihyun looked at Russ with a gaze of disbelief. There was always something different about genuine madness.
As he stood there dumbfounded, Russ met his gaze.
"So, are you coming?"
"Pardon?"
"I thought I told you to come closer earlier."
"Didn't you finish your business?"
"That was just small talk. The real issue is something else. If you don't come, I'll leave."
The man rose from his chair and started walking. As Sihyun stared blankly, wondering what was going on, Russ approached him, rolling his eyes to check his condition.
The shadow of the man, standing over 190 centimeters tall, loomed over him. Tilting his head to examine Sihyun, Russ narrowed his eyes.
"What's up? Why do you look like that?"
"Pardon?"
"Kid, did you do something strange?"
"…?"
"Hand it over."
The man frowned and extended his large hand as he spoke. Unlike their previous playful and chatty interactions, the atmosphere was now serious. Taken aback by the sudden change, Kang Sihyun cautiously extended his hand, which Russ grabbed as if to seize it, then placed his fingers over Sihyun's wrist, almost as if checking his pulse. Feeling the pressure of the man's grip, Sihyun's breathing became more careful.
Russ closed his eyes. After a few seconds, he opened them again and asked in a lowered voice, "…How many marks have you awakened, kid?"
"Three."
"Have you undergone core transplant surgery?"
"Yes?"
His blue eyes widened upon hearing the familiar term suddenly. Wondering how Russ knew about the 'core', Sihyun's expression turned to one of surprise, prompting Russ to tighten his grip on Sihyun's wrist.
"Just making sure Redem doesn't know the information we do. Quit acting like you're ignorant about other countries' intel. Answer my question. Did you undergo core transplant surgery before taking the class test, yes or no?"
In response to Russ's coercive tone, Sihyun sifted through his memory. If it was before the class test, it would have been in the life of Kang Sihyun. If he had undergone core transplant surgery, he would have been the kind to mention it beforehand, so he shook his head.
"No, I haven't."
"Then why is there a mana collision?"
"Pardon?"
"It wasn't like this before, why is there suddenly a mana collision?"
"Mana collision?"
Even if I tended to doze off sometimes, I always made sure to review the class material, even borrowing others' notes. But 'mana collision' was a term I hadn't heard before, so when I expressed my doubt, the man clicked his tongue, expressing his displeasure, asking what kind of school didn't teach such things.
"I'll skip the part about the core since you seem to know. You understand that mana flows once the path is opened through awakening marks, right?"
"Yes."
"Normally, mana emitted from the core flows through the blood vessels. However, if the core is not properly situated or is misplaced, the mana reverses. It often occurs in patients who have undergone core transplant surgery and is rarely congenital. So why is this happening to you suddenly, kid?"
Whether out of irritation or haste, the man's speech quickened. Was it because of that? Feeling a slight deterioration in his perfect Korean pronunciation, Sihyun swallowed the words 'Yes, that's right.'
"Honestly, tell me. Have you really never undergone transplant surgery?"
Pain tingled from his wrist. Anticipating that there would surely be red imprints if the man released his grip, Sihyun frowned at Russ, who was staring at him with a harsh expression.
Kang Sihyun was not the type to undergo core transplant surgery. Besides, who would even be willing to undergo such a procedure? It was an obvious scam, a surgery that most people didn't even know existed. How could Kang Sihyun have managed to receive it?
"…I really haven't."
"Then is this a congenital case?"
Letting out a bitter laugh, Russ gripped Sihyun's wrist even harder, staring at the white spot intently. Following his gaze, Sihyun pondered Russ's words. He had said that mana collisions occur when the core is not properly placed. He had also said that congenital misplacement was rare, so the only possibility left was...
'Overload.'
Suddenly, the boy's voice echoed in his mind. Kang Sihyun widened his eyes in that moment and looked at Russ. The man was still intently examining his wrist.
Could it be…?
He remembered the chaos during his third awakening, blood pouring out as if it were reversing, the horrifying pain. Recalling it made Sihyun shudder, and he came to the most plausible conclusion.
The core within Kang Sihyun's body must have been there from the start, properly intact. But the sudden addition of two more cores, as a result of his possession of this body, was unexplained. Neither he nor Kang Sihyun knew how his own core came to be.
Thinking once again that this guy's possession might be the problem, Sihyun exhaled and shook his arm to free it from Russ's grip. Somehow, things had resolved too easily back then, indicating that something must have gone awry internally.
"...Can you let go of my wrist for now?"
"This isn't the time to be casual about it, kid."
"So, what can we do then?"
"...There's nothing we can do for now."
If they were to forcibly extract the misplaced core, ten out of ten would die.
The man's murmuring reminded Sihyun of what he had seen in the research logs. Sihyun's eyes showed resignation. If it had been the second... it would have been regretful.
"See, there's nothing we can really do about it... Ugh!"
"Do you know what happens to patients experiencing mana collisions?"
The grip on his wrist intensified to the point of pain, and a groan escaped him. When Sihyun looked up, Russ's expression was cold. Sihyun opened his mouth a beat late in response to the unfamiliar expression.
"...What happens? It might just be uncomfortable when using skills, or the total mana might decrease—"
"Is that the best a smart guy like you can come up with?"
"...."
"You know what mana flows through, right?"
Of course, it flows through the blood vessels. As Sihyun recalled that, he suddenly realized and looked at Russ. Russ, with enlarged eyes almost unsettlingly large, frowned.
Mana flows through blood vessels. If mana reverses, so does blood. Then people...
"If things continue like this, you might end up dead, kid."
Dead.
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