I’ll Retire After Saving the World

Chapter 71: Portrait of a Kidney Bean (2)

TL: SHW

“Woo Hwijae.”

It’s not the usual voice I hear. A voice hardened with sternness. Unconsciously, I shrank back, gauging the situation.

Did I do something wrong? I finished all my homework, didn’t I? The old man isn’t the type to scold me for not doing homework anyway.

So why?

Did he find out about the lie I told a long time ago?

“Hwijae.”

“…What is it?”

“That.”

He took my hand. His touch was so gentle that I knew he wasn’t scolding me.

Right. The old man is different from those people.

Not that he never scolds me, but there’s always a reason. Like if I fought with a friend at school, or didn’t put something back after using it, or lied to him.

Always for reasons I could understand.

He never forced me to take medicine or get a shot if I didn’t want to.

Actually, he even promised that he wouldn’t make me take medicine or get a shot unless I was really sick.

It’s been over a year since I followed him from the orphanage. In that time, he’s never broken a promise.

So, I can trust him.

“This thing.”

He lifted the coin I was holding.

A large, golden, gleaming coin. On the front, there’s a small fairy drawing, and on the back, some unknown letters are engraved.

Oh. That.

He told me not to play with the stuff he brought back from the dungeon.

“I-I’m sorry….”

I made myself as small as possible, making my voice tremble like I was about to cry and looking down at the floor. He always gets flustered when I do this and ends up not scolding me. Sniffling or wiping my eyes with the back of my hand works even better.

It’s always effective, no matter how many times I do it.

Sure enough, he waved his hands in a fluster.

“No, Hwijae. I’m not trying to scold you….”

“I won’t do it again….”

“It’s not that…. Uh, well, of course, you shouldn’t touch the things I bring from the dungeons carelessly. Even though I don’t bring anything dangerous, you never know, so that’s why. You understand what I’m saying, right?”

His words were jumbled.

But it still needs a perfect finish.

“Sniff.”

“Ah. Don’t cry. Okay?”

See? It’s easy.

“I just wanted to ask you something.”

“Sniff. What is it?”

“That thing you did just now. Can you do it again?”

“What I did just now?”

“Your hand and the coin were glowing, remember?”

“Oh, that?”

His expression was so serious that it scared me for no reason.

I took back the coin he had taken from me. I held it in my hand and gave it a little shake. Tiny grains started to flow out from inside the coin and slowly fell.

I caught them with my other hand, the one not holding the coin. They floated down like feathers, so it wasn’t hard. The grains melted away as soon as they touched my palm, leaving no trace.

“Done!”

I held out my hand, now glowing white.

Unlike those people, he’s generous with praise. Since I did what he asked, I thought he’d praise me, but his expression was strange.

“…Uncle?”

It definitely didn’t seem like he was going to scold me. What is it?

He carefully took the coin from my hand, just like before. The coin that had been faintly glowing as the grains fell went dark as soon as it transferred to his hand. The light from my hand flickered and then faded.

“Hwijae.”

He smiled faintly. His voice carried none of the usual playfulness, but was so soft it tickled my ears.

He used the same voice the last time I saw my older brother at the research lab. And then I never saw him again.

Suddenly, a wave of anxiety washed over me. But he’s different from my brother. He always spoke with confidence.

He always said he was the strongest in the country.

I glanced at his neck. I could see the worn leather string through his clothes. I had one around my neck too. A small, blank metal piece hung from it.

He’s not going to disappear like my brother.

“The thing you did just now. Have you ever shown it to anyone else?”

“…No. You’re the first one to see it.”

“Never show it to anyone else, okay?”

“……”

The grip of the old man’s hand on mine gradually tightened. When I tried to gently pull my hand away, he held onto it even tighter.

“Uncle, my hand hurts.”

“Hwijae, you must never show this to anyone. Understand? Promise me.”

“Okay, I got it. Now, please let go of my hand.”

“Oh? Ah, right. Sorry.”

His embarrassed smile looked just the same as usual. I glanced at the coin in his hand.

“But why?”

“Not everyone can do this. If people find out you can, a lot of them might get jealous of you.”

“Do I have to worry about those people?”

“…Haha, well, that’s true.”

He let out a short laugh and patted my head.

“But Hwijae, you don’t like it when people keep asking you questions, right? Think of it as avoiding annoying situations in advance.”

“…But it’s nothing special. I just have to pick up the grains. Can’t you do it too?”

“Grains?”

“Yeah. They fall out when you shake the coin. Look.”

“……”

“Uncle?”

The hand that was patting my head stopped.

Sensing something strange, I moved his hand away and looked up at him. He smiled awkwardly.

“Hwijae.”

“Yes?”

“Do you want to go hiking with me?”

“Hiking?”

“I’ll teach you some exercises.”

“Exercise? I don’t want to.”

“No, I’ll teach you. Come on, let’s go.”

“Right now? I don’t want to.”

“This is something you need to do right away. Come on, let’s go!”

It wasn’t until much later that I realized no one else could make their hands glow like I did. Not even uncle.

It wasn’t until much later that I realized the grains I had seen were actually mana.

Of course, seeing mana with the naked eye isn’t something just anyone can do.

The reason I could do it?

Isn’t it obvious?

The two people who provided me with their genes. It’s thanks to those two.

Project Pioneer.

An experiment conducted by the Ark to create artificial awakened individuals.

Two years since Hong Seok-young forcibly shut down the experiment. The first successful sample had been born.

* * *

“Can you see this?”

The activated rune draws in surrounding mana. That’s the effect of the auxiliary rune.

The principle of the auxiliary rune is to hold the mana in the air around the rune to maintain its effect. For runes that need to be in contact with the user, like the mana concealment rune, it sometimes slightly extracts mana from the awakened person.

As a result, blue grains of mana are slowly swirling around the auxiliary rune.

Only I can see them, though. If Kang Tae-woo has been affected by the experiment…

“Huh? See what?”

But Kang Tae-woo asked back with a dumbfounded expression.

Hmm.

“You don’t see anything?”

“…Am I supposed to?”

He doesn’t seem to be lying.

“If you can’t see it, then never mind.”

To prevent him from asking unnecessary questions, I quickly handed him the rune.

“Don’t touch it; just place it on your palm without smudging the drawing.”

“Like this?”

“Yes, now don’t move….”

The rune now takes on the role that the coin did when I was little.

Of course, that coin was an item the old man brought back from a dungeon. It was a key that opened blocked doors in a maze-like dungeon, and he had brought it back as a keepsake.

Since it was that kind of item, it was imbued with mana. It had great mana conductivity too.

Back then, the old man had a habit of bringing back a souvenir from each dungeon he raided. But after seeing me play with that coin, he broke that habit entirely.

It’s all memories now.

Now, the old man isn’t around, nor are there any items like the coin he brought. So I have no choice but to mimic it as best I can.

“It might tickle a little.”

I pinched the edge of the paper with the rune drawn on it using my hand imbued with mana. There’s no need to inject too much mana. If I do, it defeats the purpose of the test.

I must also be careful not to make direct contact with Kang Tae-woo. The mana must go through the rune. This is also a test of Kang Tae-woo’s conductivity.

The mana slowly seeps into the paper. After circulating once around the rune drawn on the paper, the mana starts to transfer to the surrounding area. Most of it spreads across Kang Tae-woo’s hand.

If it were a natural Awakening, there would be no change. At most, his palm might feel a little itchy.

But.

For an artificial Awakener like me.

“Ouch!”

Kang Tae-woo’s hand flinched, seemingly ticklish, but I grabbed his wrist with my other hand, preventing him from pulling away.

The mana in the air quivered finely.

“Is this… how it’s supposed to be?”

Kang Tae-woo’s hand began to faintly glow.

It’s almost funny.

The experiment at Ark had continued for more than ten years. Ark had its own goals, so even without significant results, the research carried on. However, the general perception was that the experiment was a failure. Even if it hadn’t been for the old man, the research would have eventually been discontinued.

Kidnapping the children of Awakeners was probably their last desperate attempt. I once overheard the head of the lab talking about how they’d soon dispose of the test subjects and look for other methods.

But both Kang Tae-woo and I only Awakened several years after the experiment ended. Maybe the effects only manifested after we stopped taking the lab’s drugs. After all, I showed no signs of Awakening while I was still in the lab.

Maybe in time, Kang Tae-woo will also be able to see mana.

I crumpled the rune. The light on Kang Tae-woo’s hand quickly faded.

“All done.”

“All done?”

“Simple, right?”

“What were you checking?”

“Your sensitivity to mana. You’re pretty sensitive.”

“Does that mean… I passed?”

“What? Oh, no, nothing like that. Whether you’re sensitive or not doesn’t really matter when it comes to being a Hunter. I just wanted to know for reference, for when I’m teaching you. It’s not something I really needed to check, but it helps me decide how best to teach you.”

Kang Tae-woo doesn’t need to know that his Awakening was a result of the experiment. It’s better for him to remain unaware—better to stay ordinary.

“Once you adapt to your Awakened body, your stamina will improve quickly. Anyway, as you learn how to use your body, your stamina will naturally increase. So, is there any weapon you already know how to use…?”

I looked at Kang Tae-woo’s face.

“Of course, you wouldn’t know any. Have you ever learned any kind of martial arts?”

“No.”

“I see… Then we’ll start from the basics. Is there a weapon you’re interested in trying?”

Kang Tae-woo still looked confused and unsure.

“Well, even if you say that, I don’t really know… Weapons?”

“You don’t have to look so serious. I’m just asking because you’ll be more motivated if you learn something you’re interested in.”

The old man never gave me choices like that. He simply handed me a spear.

But even if the old man had asked me, I probably would’ve responded with the same confusion as Kang Tae-woo. In modern society, who besides Hunters would ever have held a weapon?

I can’t teach him to use a spear. The reason I only use a sword when teaching the kids here is because my spear technique is identical to the old man’s.

The sword is the most versatile option, after all.

The old man taught me a lot more than just how to use a spear. He always said that a true Hunter should be able to fight with any weapon.

“How about learning the sword? If it doesn’t suit you, we can switch.”

Seeing Kang Tae-woo nodding reluctantly, I glanced over at the training field. The mages were taking a class with Kim Chae-min, and the other students were being trained in combat by Daseon’s Hunters, who Lee Mi-seon had brought to the school.

In the afternoon, I’ll be teaching dungeon raids….

“Let’s see…. Student Tae-woo, do you know the most basic skill a Hunter needs?”

“Huh? No, I don’t.”

“It’s falling techniques.”

I smiled gently.

Boom!

Right at that moment, Sun Sun-jin, who had been kicked by a Hunter, rolled across the field. I was satisfied with how she held her head to protect it. She got up, casually wiping the corner of her mouth.

Kang Tae-woo’s face turned pale.

*****

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