Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Not getting involved is best

Boom! Boom!

Successive explosions rang out from outside. Each time, the air trembled fiercely.

But none of the customers inside the samgyeopsal restaurant reacted to it.

Jeong Sang-cheol, as if only now realizing something was strange, looked around hurriedly with a flustered expression.

"Hyung-nim, this is weird?"

"Stay still."

Seo I-hyeon said quietly.

Jeong Sang-cheol quickly shut his mouth and only looked at Seo I-hyeon. He was doing as told and staying still for now, but he was dying of curiosity.

"Um, can't I just go take a quick look?"

Seo I-hyeon didn't answer. He was in the middle of grasping the situation that had unfolded.

It was a clear anomaly. Explosions kept sounding from outside, yet no one could hear them.

Then what about Jeong Sang-cheol?

A rough picture of the situation formed in Seo I-hyeon's mind.

'A barrier.'

Right now this place was inside a barrier. And the barrier's role was clearly to hide that phenomenon outside from ordinary people.

'So there was one here too. I just didn't know.'

Seo I-hyeon let out a quiet sigh.

The situation had gotten complicated. He had thought that once he adapted to this world, he could live an ordinary and safe life. But that might become difficult.

At Seo I-hyeon's sigh, Jeong Sang-cheol quickly said.

"No. I'll hold it in. An adult should know how to endure curiosity too. Yes. Of course."

Seo I-hyeon stared blankly at Jeong Sang-cheol.

Then, what on earth was this guy?

In any case, the fact that he could perceive the situation outside while inside the barrier meant he wasn't ordinary. Yet he didn't know that.

'Talent?'

Or he might be deceiving Seo I-hyeon.

'Frustrating.'

Seo I-hyeon was extremely dull when it came to sensing mana.

Mana was the foundational power of all supernatural abilities. One had to be able to sense it to handle various supernatural abilities.

So being sensitive meant having outstanding talent.

But Seo I-hyeon being dull wasn't because he lacked talent.

It was because he had too much mana.

Seo I-hyeon's soul was special. It was a passageway connected to an infinite sea of mana.

Because of that, Seo I-hyeon's body was always overflowing with mana. It filled his entire body.

For example, it was like walking around with one's whole body submerged in water. No, it was similar to being deep underwater.

When you're in the deep sea, how can you judge whether the humidity around you is high or low?

Even if it rains, there's no way you could tell.

For something to touch Seo I-hyeon's senses, at minimum he would have to face a massive flow of mana head-on enough to make the mana in his body react, or for some reason the mana in his body would have to drain out.

'Well, that doesn't mean my talent is outstanding, though.'

Seo I-hyeon muttered inwardly, chuckled, and looked toward the entrance of the samgyeopsal restaurant.

A desire related to human curiosity rose very naturally.

But he had to hold it back.

Not getting involved with things like that was best.

However, in the end, a situation of getting involved arrived.

Booooom!

With a massive explosion, the wall of the samgyeopsal restaurant collapsed.

Seo I-hyeon and Jeong Sang-cheol reflexively looked that way.

Several customers caught in the collapsed wall fell, bleeding.

Even so, no one paid attention to the collapsed wall. Everyone showed an astonishing lack of interest. Even the injured people.

Through the collapsed wall, the outside was visible, and two beings were fighting.

No, one person and something shaped like a person.

A person wouldn't have a tail that long, and instead of hair, that many tentacles wouldn't be waving around.

"Uh, uah. W-what is that?"

Unlike the calm Seo I-hyeon, Jeong Sang-cheol gaped with an expression of cognitive dissonance before barely managing to ask.

"I don't know either."

He really didn't know. For now, the human side looked like something similar to a knight.

He was holding a sword, handling speed and power that would be impossible without using mana, and an unusual power surged from the sword as well. Well, if the air around the sword hadn't been distorting, Seo I-hyeon wouldn't have recognized it.

On the other hand, he couldn't grasp the identity of the monster he was facing at all.

What he had thought was a tail earlier actually seemed to be a somewhat thick tentacle.

Dozens of tentacles that had been waving from the head poured out all at once. The man holding the sword blocked them one by one.

At that moment, the thick tentacle that looked like a tail moved at a speed close to the speed of sound.

Boom!

The moment the man's sword struck the tentacle, an explosion rang out.

So the explosions that had been ringing until now were that sound.

Jeong Sang-cheol blankly watched the fight between the two beings. He couldn't come to his senses.

In contrast, Seo I-hyeon examined the ones fighting more than the fighting scene itself, and checked the surroundings.

Because he was dull to mana, he couldn't grasp the center of the barrier or the source of the barrier, but he could still find things that were heterogeneous.

For now, the human side fighting was a man of ordinary appearance. He was wearing a tracksuit and using a long, broad sword.

Sometimes he blocked tentacles with the broad face of the sword, and his skill was truly remarkable.

When Seo I-hyeon was in the other world, he had seen countless knights and watched their fights. But knights with that level of skill were rare.

The tentacle monster fighting the man wasn't only in human form in appearance. It was also wearing human clothes.

As for the tail, there were traces of it forcibly piercing through the back of the pants, as if it hadn't originally been there.

It was wearing a gray suit, but the jacket was already tattered, revealing skin in places.

But the revealed skin was extremely disgusting. Black blood vessels stood out over grotesquely wriggling muscles, and every time they pulsed, thread-like tentacles popped out and went back in repeatedly.

It was a truly horrific monster. He hadn't seen a monster like that even in the other world.

The tentacle monster was strong too. It wasn't just strong; it was a tricky one.

The bundle of tentacles waving instead of hair all moved separately, as if each had its own ego.

The large tail was also a problem. It was incredibly fast and powerful.

The fight was almost even. But in Seo I-hyeon's view, if it continued like this, the side that would eventually win was the tentacle monster.

The tentacle monster hadn't tired at all the entire time he watched. But the human side was different. Little by little, his stamina was decreasing, albeit minutely.

Of course, that was if the two were fighting alone, and here there were others besides those two.

People in black suits appeared from various places and took positions as if largely surrounding the two who were fighting.

Men and women were mixed, and they were all holding something in their hands.

Some held crystal orbs, others held talismans, some held things like talismans, and others held mirrors of peculiar shapes.

"Preparations are complete, Section Chief!"

At the shout of the woman holding a mirror, the man who had been swinging his sword hard shouted.

"Then start right away! It's getting tough!"

At that moment, faint silver light burst from everything held in the hands of those surrounding them.

The light bursting from all directions touched each other and twisted, then soon became silver threads.

The ten strands of silver thread that came out flew straight and began to tightly wrap around the tentacle monster.

Cold sweat streamed down the faces of those handling the silver threads. Veins popped out on their hands, and the hems of their clothes fluttered madly.

Everyone was struggling so hard that blood came from their tightly clenched teeth, but the effect was certain.

The speed and power of the tentacles the tentacle monster swung decreased noticeably.

The sword of the man called Section Chief moved quickly here and there, striking down the tentacles.

Rat-tat-tat!

The bundle of tentacles flew away from the powerful force, revealing the tentacle monster's face.

It wasn't the appearance of a person's face.

The eyes were wide open, and a bundle of tentacles was wriggling there too, and tentacles were wriggling from the nostrils and ear holes as well. From the open mouth, a bundle of tentacles popped out and scanned the surroundings.

And a pitch-black jewel was embedded in the forehead.

The man thrust his sword as is and stabbed the jewel on the forehead.

Crack!

The black jewel shattered into pieces.

"Gyaaaaaah!"

The tentacle monster screamed. At first it was a scream made only of sound. But soon the scream changed into something other than sound.

"⎯⎯⎯⎯!"

It was a scream containing a power that existed beyond cognition.

The man hurriedly pushed the sword in further and waved his hands this way and that.

A mysterious power that came from his hands tore the surroundings to shreds.

Blood tears flowed from the man's eyes, and blood flowed from his ears as well.

It was the price of facing the scream the tentacle monster poured out. But thanks to him blocking it, the aftereffects of that power didn't flow out to the surroundings.

The tentacle monster went limp.

When the man pulled out the sword, the tentacle monster collapsed as is.

From the body of the fallen tentacle monster, black water gushed out in clumps. Soon the tentacle monster became black water and disappeared.

In that place, one book with an ominous black cover was neatly placed.

It was as if the black water was supporting the book.

The man plopped down on the floor and exhaled.

"Haa. It's over. Clean up."

At his instruction, those in black suits moved in perfect order.

Seo I-hyeon watched up to there and said to Jeong Sang-cheol.

"Turn your head. Just pretend you don't know. You see the people around, right? You do the same."

Jeong Sang-cheol snapped to his senses at Seo I-hyeon's words and picked up the tongs to start grilling the samgyeopsal.

As if he knew nothing, he grilled samgyeopsal and drank soju like the other people.

To really pretend not to know, he should continue the conversation as before, but that was too much.

It wasn't that they didn't talk at all, but they spoke very sparingly.

In the meantime, those in suits busily moved around.

What they were doing could be known quickly. Because two of them came to the samgyeopsal restaurant as well.

They were a man and woman holding a mirror and a crystal orb, and as soon as they arrived, they glanced around the inside and held out the crystal orb and mirror toward the collapsed wall.

A soft light flowed from the crystal orb and mirror. And an amazing thing happened.

As if rewinding time, the collapsed wall returned to its original state.

The two set up the tables and chairs that had fallen on the floor and sat the people who were still collapsed and blank in their seats. Then they restored the damaged parts to their original state with the light of the crystal orb and mirror, and treated the injured people.

They were very skilled and fast, as if they had done this kind of thing more than once or twice.

They looked around the interior again thoroughly. It didn't seem like they were looking carefully. Then they nodded once and went outside.

Probably the rest of the people besides them were all doing similar things.

Seo I-hyeon chewed samgyeopsal while looking at Jeong Sang-cheol.

Jeong Sang-cheol was putting in quite a bit of effort to manage his expression. If he hadn't had his back to the people who had come in earlier, he probably would have been caught.

Then Jeong Sang-cheol suddenly flinched in surprise.

"Whoa, hyung-nim. Did something get refreshing? Suddenly it feels chilly?"

Seo I-hyeon looked at Jeong Sang-cheol with fresh eyes.

Right now Jeong Sang-cheol had felt with his body that the barrier had disappeared. At this level, it meant his senses were considerable.

"It means the situation is over."

At Seo I-hyeon's words, Jeong Sang-cheol exhaled a sigh of relief.

"Haa. I really got startled. Hyung-nim, what on earth were those guys?"

"I don't know either. Only that it's dangerous if you get involved."

"That's definitely true, right? By the way, I still don't understand the situation. I don't know what's what at all."

Jeong Sang-cheol's expression was quite confused.

Seo I-hyeon said casually.

"Forget it. Not getting involved is best."

Jeong Sang-cheol nodded vigorously.

"Of course. I absolutely won't get involved. Whoa, scary."

They just had to pretend not to know and live like this. Probably there wouldn't be many chances to get involved from now on. Even if they got involved again, they just had to pretend not to know again.

The two people settled it that way and diligently ate and drank the remaining samgyeopsal and soju.

Of course, even doing that, it was impossible to forget what had happened today.

© Kim Kang-hyeon #12i09