EP.129 Yay! A Shortcut! (1)
Alice glanced sideways at Yu Parang, who was deep in thought.
Through a series of deductions, she had figured out what had happened with the World Governnt.
‘Han Siwoo planted sothing in Yoo Sungjun, then made him witness the eyeball monster, which triggered a reaction that resulted in the birth of a low-level Kraken... That’s the gist of it.’
The problem was that Alice couldn’t reveal this truth to Yu Parang.
Yu Parang must not know that Han Siwoo was still alive, or that Alice was collaborating with him.
If she found out, she would undoubtedly try to find Han Siwoo, and if they finally t...
‘Parang would rember everything.’
Yes, literally all her mories.
It was a process she would have to go through eventually, but not now.
Their eting had to be postponed until Yu Parang grew enough to forgive Han Siwoo.
So Alice had to hide the root of the events happening within the World Governnt from Yu Parang.
Alice ended up telling another lie to her dear friend.
"…I watched it all, but honestly, I don’t get it. The existence of sothing similar to a Kraken within the World Governnt is beyond my understanding."
Her heart ached.
It wasn’t just the guilt of lying.
It was a deeper, more persistent feeling.
Guiding Yu Parang down a path by hiding the truth and lying to her made Alice feel guilty.
Of course, there wasn’t a single impure motive behind her actions, so technically, Alice had no reason to feel guilty.
Yet, her heart showed no signs of easing.
The feeling of manipulating and using soone precious.
It was quite unpleasant.
"Looks like you don’t know everything either."
For that reason, Alice’s expression as she replied to Yu Parang couldn’t even be called a joke.
"Yeah. I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help."
Yu Parang’s eyes held a mysterious light as she looked at Alice.
"No, just seeing this person’s mories was a significant gain."
Saying so, she approached the small Capulus floating in the corner of the stone chamber.
Soon, the sound of a warp activating filled the air, and Yu Parang vanished from the stone chamber.
Left alone, Alice quietly gazed around the empty stone chamber, then stood up and slowly walked to the center.
Like a butterfly landing on a leaf, she gently sat down and leaned her body on the cold stone floor.
She should have felt the hard, cold stone beneath her, but Alice felt nothing.
She had lost her sense of touch long ago.
Alice’s eyes slowly closed.
‘Just a little rest, just a little.’
And with that, she fell asleep.
#
After leaving Alice’s place and returning ho, Yu Parang’s ti flew by in the blink of an eye.
Of course, she hadn’t rested.
She was busy sharing what she saw in Yoo Sungjun’s mories with Silo Corporation and Oceanos, discussing and preparing counterasures.
Thus, a week passed in the blink of an eye.
Finally, the morning of that day arrived.
The third day of the Undersea Hunter Grade Exam.
It was the day of Yu Parang’s broadcast.
"Alright…"
With a thickly packed backpack on her back, she stretched in front of the entrance.
It felt refreshing.
With that, she was ready to leave the house! She headed to the pier with light steps.
It was less than 20 ters from the front door to the sea.
Anyway, it felt good to be light on her feet.
"Hop!"
Yu Parang jumped into the water, letting the sea embrace her.
She closed her eyes for a mont, enjoying the sensation of the bubbly water wrapping around her body...
Then, with a trendous speed, she surged forward, diving rapidly.
Her destination was Busan. Estimated arrival ti...
‘About 20 minutes should be enough.’
She had more ti than she thought.
#
Splash, splash—
With the sound of water splashing, Yu Parang arrived at a pier in Busan.
Thanks to the arrangents made by Silo Corporation, she was the only one at the pier.
This was to prevent a crowd from gathering before the official broadcast started.
The empty pier, so desolate it seed almost barren, had a rather bleak atmosphere.
‘Did they really need to go this far?’
Yu Parang still didn’t fully grasp her own popularity. Of course, she wouldn’t. She only saw the chat ssages on the screen every day, never experiencing it firsthand.
Yu Parang was having a rather carefree concern.
Fortunately, Silo Corporation, acting as Yu Parang’s supporter, had a much better grasp of reality than she did, preventing her carefree attitude from turning into a disaster.
Rummage, rummage—
Yu Parang rummaged through her large bag and pulled out sothing black to wrap around herself.
It was an artifact gifted to her by Silo Corporation.
[Concealnt Cloak]
[Category: Artifact]
[Grade: S]
[A mysterious cloak that hides the user’s appearance and presence. It’s classic and cliché, but that’s what makes it tiless.]
[Granted Options]
[General]
[Protection: Protects the user from external physical impacts.]
[Durability: Resists breaking, tearing, or crushing from physical impacts.]
[Special]
[Concealnt: Hides the user’s appearance and presence, making it seem as if they aren’t there.]
‘This should do it.’
With the cloak roughly draped around her, Yu Parang set off for her destination.
#
Yu Parang stopped in front of a massive building, a little distance from the pier.
This was the Undersea Hunter Grade Exam Hall, ‘Blue Sea Hall,’ built right by the sea in Busan, almost like Yu Parang’s own ho.
The contrast between the large white building and the colorful crowd gathered around it created an image reminiscent of an ink painting.
‘They weren’t kidding when they said they were promoting it with their lives on the line.’
People entering for the exam, those coming out after taking it, friends and family cheering them on.
People with caras talking about sothing, broadcasting crews, street vendors, and just onlookers.
A myriad of people gathered, chatting noisily, creating a scene that could only be described as a bustling marketplace.
"Those who have arrived, please co this way to collect your exam tickets!!"
The surprising thing was how well-organized the large crowd was.
‘Well, maybe that’s to be expected.’
Unlike on her ho planet, here, the ones organizing the lines were Hunters.
Who would dare cut in line, not knowing what might happen?
Yu Parang was slightly startled by the crowd, which was larger than she had anticipated.
The cloak she wore felt reassuring.
After observing the bustling crowd for a while, Yu Parang moved away and headed to the back of the building.
The back of Blue Sea Hallwas a sheer coastal cliff, strictly off-limits to non-staff for safety reasons.
"Hello."
"Ah, Hunter Yu Parang, it’s an honor to et you."
"Thank you."
Of course, Yu Parang was staff, so she could enter freely.
There was no way she would line up with the crowd to get an exam ticket.
Beep— Clang.
Creak—
Opening the thick iron door marked with the ominous words [No Entry for Unauthorized Personnel], a stark corridor was revealed.
"I’ll guide you to the waiting room."
Following the staff mber who let her through, Yu Parang walked down the corridor, asking questions she was curious about.
"How many high-grade Hunters have erged? I’ve heard the exam is quite challenging."
Challenging indeed. Yu Parang knew this better than anyone, as she had been directly and heavily involved in setting the questions for the high-grade Hunter exams, especially those for S-grade and above.
"Surprisingly, quite a few high-grade Hunters have erged. Globally, there are already a significant number of people who have passed the A-grade, and six have passed the S-grade. Moreover, yesterday, a Hunter passed the SS-grade exam in Sydney."
"Oh…"
A Hunter who could pass the SS-grade exam was imdiately capable of being deployed to coastal defenses against Monster fish.
Yu Parang was pleased with the progress, which was smoother than she had anticipated.
‘Since Silo Corporation has done so much, I must do my part well from my position.’
Yu Parang felt a renewed sense of determination.
"You can rest here until the ti we inford you of earlier, then head down to the lobby on the first floor."
"Ah, thank you."
With that, the staff mber closed the door and left, leaving Yu Parang alone in the cozy waiting room.
"…Phew…"
Yu Parang sat quietly in the waiting room, nibbling on a Lotus biscuit that had been prepared in advance.
She appeared calm on the outside, but her hands were trembling slightly.
‘You can do it, Yu Parang… You can do it…!’
What she felt was extre nervousness and anxiety.
‘Just do what you’ve always done. It’s just a different location.’
Why was she so nervous?
Well, it was obvious.
‘When you’re ready, head down to the lobby on the first floor.’
‘To the lobby on the first floor.’
‘First floor lobby.’
Today, she had to stand in front of a cara, out of the water.
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