The Returner Chapter 201

"Euh, euh…."

Yi Ji-Hyuk emerging from the Gate suddenly shuddered and quickly hugged himself.

"What's up with this chill, man?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

He couldn't quite understand the reason. It wasn't as if he felt sick or something, yet why did he suddenly feel this ominous chill?

"Did something strange happen to me?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk took a look at his body.

"There's nothing wrong with me, though?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

What a strange thing this was, this creeping chill overtaking him. It kind of felt like the last time he sensed such a chill was quite a long time ago.

Just like back when……

"….It can't be that. No way." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk shuddered again and shook his head around violently.

Such a thing should not happen. Never!

"No, it can't be!!" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Kim Dah-Hyun next to him frowned deeply.

"What can't be it?" (Kim Dah-Hyun)

"Groan…."

Kim Dah-Hyun had recovered some of his sanity while going through the Gate and stopped treating Yi Ji-Hyuk as crazily as before. However, his still-sullen tone of voice hadn't been addressed yet.

Yi Ji-Hyuk knew what the best method to deal with that att.i.tude was, but doing that to Kim Dah-Hyun right now didn't really seem all that kosher for some reason.

‘Like, it's tugging at my mind, you see.' (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

This whole thing was Affeldrichae's fault, but then again, if one thought about why that d*mn lizard woman was here in the first place, even Yi Ji-Hyuk himself could not completely escape the blame for this one.

"Groan…."

If only he was completely not guilty here. He'd have proceeded to beat that mouth up until it resembled a bill of a duck already. But now….

"Okay, so where are we supposed to go now?" (Kim Dah-Hyun)

"She's back in the office." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"Eh?"

Kim Dah-Hyun asked back in a rather displeased tone of voice.

"She's hurt, so why is she at our office?!" (Kim Dah-Hyun)

"I told you, it's not that serious. Besides, that injury? That's not something a doctor can fix, you see." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"Eiii, sh*t!!" (Kim Dah-Hyun)

Kim Dah-Hyun managed to convey his thoughts of ‘I might not be able to retort to that, but doesn't mean I have to like it' rather succinctly.

‘….Should I just beat him up?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Since when did I ever get p*ssed off while talking about who's in the right or wrong?!

Should I just pretend I didn't see anything and slap him silly now? (Yi Ji-Hyuk's inner monologue)

Kim Dah-Hyun left behind Yi Ji-Hyuk stewing in serious contemplation and strode gallantly towards the NDF office.

"Eh-whew…."

Yi Ji-Hyuk failed to reach a decision in time and simply shook his head before following after him.

"Dah-Som-ah!!" (Kim Dah-Hyun)

Kim Dah-Hyun saw his little sister Kim Dah-Som lying on a bed and tears erupted out of his eyes. He quickly ran over to her side and held her hand.

Kim Dah-Som was half asleep by then, but she woke up and opened her eyes to stare in Kim Dah-Hyun's general direction.

"….Oppa?" (Kim Dah-Som)

"Yes, Dah-Som-ah! It's your oppa!" (Kim Dah-Hyun)

"Ji-Hyuk oppa?" (Kim Dah-Som)

"…………"

Kim Dah-Som's eyes drifted towards Yi Ji-Hyuk walking in right behind Kim Dah-Hyun. Suddenly relegated to the role of an invisible man, his dejected, tearful face confronted Yi Ji-Hyuk.

The latter nodded his head in the direction of the former.

Yes, I understand how you feel.

I know all about it, dude. So stop crying. (Yi Ji-Hyuk's inner monologue)

"…Hey." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk replied somewhat awkwardly.

Since the girl was hurt, he did think about being a bit more gentler and friendlier than before, but then again, he might get burned alive by the laser beams shooting out from Kim Dah-Hyun's eyes if he did that. So, in the end, he couldn't bring himself to sound friendly at all.

‘How can a human being carry such an amount of intense hatred for anything?!' (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk shook his head helplessly.

He had been subjected to countless people's grudges. But, he could swear that this would be his first time being subjected to this sort of grudge in his entire life.

Griiit….

Yi Ji-Hyuk heard Kim Dah-Hyun grit his teeth and began wondering just what rotting pile of rubbish was stinking up this fool's head. It was at this point that Affeldrichae walked into the room.

"Just what the h.e.l.l happened back there?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk had heard the gist of the situation, but details hadn't been provided yet. Affeldrichae heard his question, but she answered in a nonchalant manner.

"It's just the Mana Deviation." (Affeldrichae)

"You taught her magic?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"Yes." (Affeldrichae)

Yi Ji-Hyuk tilted his head.

"But how? There's no Mana in this world…." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"We still have Mana crystals, yes?" (Affeldrichae)

"Ohh…."

Right, we still have some Mana crystals left, don't we?

If you extract some Mana out of those and let it enter a person's body, then well, humans of this world should be able to use magic as well. (Yi Ji-Hyuk's inner monologue)

"How long have you been teaching her magic?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"Not that long." (Affeldrichae)

"But then, she experienced the Mana Deviation?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"Yes." (Affeldrichae)

Yi Ji-Hyuk stared at Affeldrichae with an expression that clearly said, "I don't get it."

Simply put, ‘Mana Deviation' was kinda like a job-related illness unique only to wizards.

When you failed to control Mana properly and it deviated from the correct pathway to go on a rampage, that phenomenon was called the Mana Deviation.

The weird point here was - such a phenomenon would only occur to a wizard of certain calibre who possessed a fair amount of Mana in the first place. So, the fact that a girl who didn't learn magic for that long, and the fact that she experienced this phenomenon, simply contradicted each other.

"How did that happen?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"It'll be a long story if I were to get into the details." (Affeldrichae)

"M-mm…."

Yi Ji-Hyuk glared at Affeldrichae with deeply unconvinced eyes, before asking her another question.

"Okay, but why did you even teach her magic in the first place?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"She wanted to learn it." (Affeldrichae)

"Why?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"She wanted to become stronger." (Affeldrichae)

"……….."

Yi Ji-Hyuk found it hard to understand. Why did a regular person like this girl want to learn magic so that she could become ‘stronger'?

"H-mm…."

He realised that the origin of the problem wasn't Affeldrichae and s.h.i.+fted his gaze over to Kim Dah-Som.

"Dah-Som-ah, are you in pain? Did you go to a hospital before coming here? Did the doctors say anything? Your complexion look so pale, so like, shouldn't we go and get you another test? Or, should I kidnap a doctor and bring him over here?" (Kim Dah-Hyun)

"Oppa." (Kim Dah-Som)

"Ng?"

"You're making me dizzy, so please step outside the room for a while." (Kim Dah-Som)

"…….."

"Hurry." (Kim Dah-Som)

"M-mm." (Kim Dah-Hyun)

Kim Dah-Hyun now resembled a dejected dog with his tail lowered all the way to the ground. He then slunk off to the outside of the room.

"Euh-heuph…." (Kim Dah-Hyun)

Yi Ji-Hyuk heard the sounds of a man trying to hold back his tears and looked at the back of departing Kim Dah-Hyun with a bit of pity.

‘What a helpless idiot.' (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Initially, he felt a bit of kins.h.i.+p due to the fact that they shared a similar sort of violent little sisters, but now that he got to know that fool a bit better, there was no doubt in his mind that Kim Dah-Hyun needed more beatings in his life.

He now even felt sorry for Kim Dah-Som since she had to live with a brother like that everyday.

Yi Ji-Hyuk s.h.i.+fted his gaze back over to the girl and asked.

"Okay so. Why were you doing something so useless?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

She didn't reply and sneakily avoided meeting his gaze.

"What's wrong? Did you feel left out cuz everyone around you was an ability user while you were a regular person?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"No, not really." (Kim Dah-Som)

"Okay, then why?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"………"

Yi Ji-Hyuk spat out a helpless sigh.

"Here's the thing about being ability users or wizards or whatever. You think people became one of those because they really enjoy being one?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"Pardon?" (Kim Dah-Som)

"A person is at their happiest when they are being themselves. You see those ability users on TV doing their thing and you think it looks cool and all that, don't you?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"…………"

"No, it ain't. Being normal is for the best. I'm telling you." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk closed shut his mouth at the end of those words.

Kim Dah-Som saw the bitter, lonesome expression on his face and cautiously reached out to grasp his hand.

"Mm?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"….I'm sorry." (Kim Dah-Som)

"About what?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"I made you worry." (Kim Dah-Som)

"Haaah?"

What U on about, me worry?

Why would I worry about you?!

It's already a full-time job worrying about my own life, so where would I find time to worry about someone else? (Yi Ji-Hyuk's inner monologue)

Yi Ji-Hyuk snorted right away. However, he didn't yank his hand loose from her grasp, either.

Well, she was a patient, after all. She wasn't feeling okay, so he might as well behave a little bit better.

"Don't push yourself, got it?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"I won't." (Kim Dah-Som)

"You planning to keep learning magic?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"I'll be more careful in the future." (Kim Dah-Som)

"……It's your life, so you do what you want." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

In all honesty, this matter didn't have a lot to do with him. It was an incident involving Affeldrichae and Kim Dah-Som, so he didn't really have any right to b.u.t.t in and tell them what to do.

No, he could only lament to himself. By her wanting to learn magic, that also implied that she wished to live in the frontlines, as well.

She may lament the fact that she had no powers right now. However, the moment she witnessed blood being spilt and torn flesh flying up in the air, her thoughts would do a 180 quickly enough.

Just who out there fought because they liked it?

"Do what you want." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk shook his head and left the room as well. Affeldrichae cast sleeping magic on Kim Dah-Som and followed after him.

"What are you trying to do here?" (Yi ji-hyuk)

Affeldrichae's expression didn't even flicker once as she replied.

"She wanted to learn, so I only taught her some magic." (Affeldrichae)

"But then, she experienced the Mana Deviation?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"….She possesses talent." (Affeldrichae)

"What was that?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

She turned her head towards the now-closed door and spoke.

"She is very talented. Her skill level rose up so fast that I almost ended up thinking that maybe, all the humans of this world would be like her if they got to learn magic." (Affeldrichae)

"Hmm…."

"If we're talking purely about talent, then it's possible that she exceeds even you, Mister Ji-Hyuk. So, she kept pus.h.i.+ng herself a bit more and more, until she stumbled over her own limit." (Affeldrichae)

"You're supposed to be a Dragon, so couldn't you have made a logical deduction? Or did you lose your sanity for real now?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"Well, technically, what she experienced wasn't Mana Deviation. Simply put, her physical body couldn't handle the sudden increase of her Mana reserve." (Affeldrichae)

"So? What's the conclusion, then?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"She's a born wizard. It is worth teaching her, I think." (Affeldrichae)

"Hah??"

Yi Ji-Hyuk glared straight into Affeldrichae's eyes and spoke.

"Now listen here, lizard woman." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"…………"

"Have you thought about how long the ‘born wizard' might need before becoming a part of our combat force?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"I'm sure it might take a bit of time." (Affeldrichae)

"A talent exceeding mine? Even I needed over a thousand years to get to where I am. No matter how much of a genius you are, nearly ten years are needed before you can realistically partic.i.p.ate in a serious battle. It looks like the notion of a decade comes across as a blink in the perspective of a Dragon, but let's be logical here. You can't even guarantee that this world will last even that long. So, what are you trying to achieve by teaching her magic now?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"You do have a point." (Affeldrichae)

"Hah…."

Yi Ji-Hyuk bared his fangs and growled menacingly.

"Stop with your unnecessary rubbish, okay? I'm telling you, stop trying to mess with my surroundings. If you insist on doing that, I might not be so gracious anymore." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Affeldrichae stared at Yi Ji-Hyuk with puzzled look on her face.

"This is so strange." (Affeldrichae)

"What now?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"I had no idea that you had any awareness of your surroundings." (Affeldrichae)

"………….."

"Haven't you always divided the world as you and everyone else? Are you actually feeling some sort of an emotional attachment with that little girl?" (Affeldrichae)

"Don't make me laugh." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk snorted derisively again.

"In that case, isn't it fine?" (Affeldrichae)

"Looky here, lizard." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"Yes?" (Affeldrichae)

"Humans are social creatures, got it? Doesn't matter if I'm emotionally attached or not, I'll still end up minding whatever happens around me. You understand what I'm saying to you?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

"But, if you wish to talk about humanity's social norms, I should understand it far better than you, Mister Ji-Hyuk. Weren't you the very person that broke away from all the social norms in the first place?" (Affeldrichae)

"I didn't break away from it." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

No, I just chose to stay away from it, you dang dumba*s lizard woman.

Humans of Berafe and I had nothing to do with each other.

Besides, they didn't even see me as a human, anyway. (Yi Ji-Hyuk's inner monologue)

"I guess there's always something that you would never understand, regardless of how smart you are." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Affeldrichae tilted her head this way and that as if she was lost in a maze.

"I've been feeling this often in the past, but well, talking to you makes me feel confused and lost." (Affeldrichae)

"What a relief, then. I thought it was only me." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Confused and lost.

Even Yi Ji-Hyuk was feeling the contradiction in his heart as he spoke those words. In all honesty, he was not related to this thing of Kim Dah-Som wanting to learn magic and Affeldrichae teaching her.

She might have gotten hurt during the process, sure, but the onus was on Kim Dah-Som and no one else.

But then, why was he getting this annoyed?

His head kept saying that he shouldn't get annoyed at this development, but then, he was still getting rather p*ssed off about it.

‘Well, I've been feeling pretty unhappy the whole day….' (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

His thoughts were too muddied right now to figure out whether his annoyance stemmed from his unhappiness, or it was the other way around.

Still feeling dissatisfied, he decided to close the lid on the situation, It was right then, his smart.w.a.tch suddenly issued a ring.

"h.e.l.lo?" (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

– "Mister Yi Ji-Hyuk, this is Choi Jung-Hoon speaking."

"I have functioning eyes that can see the caller ID. Speak, please." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

– "….The American ability users have arrived." (Choi Jung-Hoon)

"….Well, now. That's excellent news." (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Cuz, I was looking for something to do, you see.

Annoyance disappeared from Yi Ji-Hyuk's face, only to be replaced by a streak of mischievousness.

< 201.="" what's="" up="" with="" this="" chill="" -1=""> Fin.