Chapter 35
Part 6. The Dragon’s Shadow (4)
I handed Haesol a water bottle while standing beside him.
“Drink.”
“Thanks.”
Haesol took a few sips, caught his breath, and then glanced at me.
“Do I… look strange?”
“You look a little tired.”
“Yeah.”
Haesol nodded, as if that much was only natural.
Yoo Hanseong watched the two of us for a moment, then spoke.
“We’ll check mana circulation now.”
“Put your hands on the potion bottle.”
I took out a small empty bottle from my bag.
It was usually used for basic sensitivity training, but today I planned to use it as a temporary measuring tool.
The inside of the bottle was thinly coated with manna-reactive liquid.
When a hand was placed on it, it would glow faintly in response. That was all it did.
Haesol placed his hand on it first.
A very faint blue light bloomed inside the bottle.
The glow hesitated midway, broke slightly, then connected again.
I observed quietly.
“There’s a break in the flow.”
I said honestly.
“It looks like part of your mana circuit took some impact.”
Haesol lifted his hand.
“Is it bad?”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“It’s not severed. It’s more like the line is still connected, just uneven.”
“It’ll settle down over time.”
Yoo Hanseong asked,
“It’s not dangerous, right?”
“No.”
I answered firmly.
“You’re not going into a dungeon right now.”
“If you keep training lightly like this and slowly restore the flow, you’ll be fine.”
Haesol’s shoulders dropped just a little.
Relief was clearly visible.
Next, Yoo Hanseong placed his hand on the bottle.
Inside, a deep, dark glow spread slowly.
It was closer to shadow than light.
Black lines layered over one another.
I tried hard to keep my face neutral as I watched.
The density was already far beyond human standards.
Still, it didn’t feel suffocating.
There was a heavy, steady sense of stability to it.
“How is it?”
“Yoo Hanseong?” he asked.
“It’s normal.”
I replied calmly.
“Nothing strange.”
Hanseong lifted one corner of his mouth briefly, then erased the expression.
“That’s good.”
Finally, I placed my hand on the bottle.
As always, my manna was light white.
It hovered somewhere between pale green and gold.
An ordinary, unremarkable flow.
But there was one thing that had changed recently.
The speed at which the light rose was slightly faster than before.
It probably happened naturally from making potions nonstop.
Yoo Hanseong peered into the bottle and said,
“Your reaction speed’s faster than it used to be.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
He added seriously,
“At this level, you’re pretty stable, even among F-ranks.”
I made a face like it was nothing.
“I guess I just got used to it from making potions.”
“That is skill.”
Yoo Hanseong cut in.
“Most people never get used to it at all.”
The words felt unfamiliar but not unpleasant.
Hardly anyone ever evaluated my ability like that.
Most people are judged by rank first.
Once they saw the letter F, nothing else mattered.
“Training ends here.”
Yoo Hanseong shook out his wrist.
“Today, resting your mind is more important than pushing your body.”
Haesol asked quietly,
“Are we training again tomorrow?”
“We are.”
Yoo Hanseong answered without hesitation.
“You, me, and Jin Hari. I’m still persuading the other three.”
Haesol looked at me.
I smiled faintly.
“I’ll be there on time.”
As we left the track and headed back inside, two teachers were standing in the distance, talking seriously while holding documents.
“Calling it luck feels… questionable, doesn’t it?”
“But there’s no other explanation.”
I heard them but walked past anyway.
The words clearly reached my ears, yet only one conclusion remained in my mind.
They were lucky.
That was enough.
Today ends here.
Moon Halo is over, and there’s still time before the next dungeon.
In the meantime, my work stays the same.
Make potions. Practice. Share them when needed.
Move only within what I can handle before the end comes.
‘And maybe… I should start healing, too.’
The walk back to the dorm was quiet.
At the end of the hallway, Haesol slowed when he ran into students from another class.
They hesitated, unsure whether to talk to him.
In the end, they exchanged brief greetings and passed by.
Watching that, I felt a little relieved.
What Haesol experienced in Moon Halo had already spread as a rumor, but it hadn’t turned malicious.
More than anything, people were curious.
“How did they survive?”
“What kind of support did they have?”
That wasn’t bad.
Curiosity fades with time.
Interest without hostility never lasts long.
That was much more comfortable.
The three of us went down the central stairs toward the first-floor hall.
On the bulletin board inside were notices following the Moon Halo announcement.
[Supplementary stamina evaluation schedule updated]
[Dungeon access restrictions adjusted]
[Moon Halo–related counseling applications open]
Haesol stopped to read them.
Yoo Hanseong said quietly beside him,
“You don’t have to do it.”
“The counseling?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll go if I need it.”
Haesol replied shortly.
I could tell his tone was firmer than before.
That alone meant he’d held up well.
When we stepped outside, cool air brushed against my face.
Yoo Hanseong spoke casually.
“Tomorrow, four p.m.”
“Come to the north training ground instead of the track.”
“Why?”
I asked.
“To recondition the ground.”
He continued evenly.
“Fewer people than the track. Less noise. Haesol still gets tired if it’s too loud.”
Haesol lowered his head slightly.
“Thanks.”
I looked at the two of them and smiled faintly.
They were clearly more natural with each other than before Moon Halo.
They didn’t talk much, but the way they paid attention to each other had changed.
This was probably the beginning of the flow where they would become a team.
I said quietly,
“So I come tomorrow too, right?”
Yoo Hanseong turned his gaze to me.
“You’re coming?”
“Yeah. I’ll be there on time.”
The corner of his mouth lifted, just barely.
It was almost imperceptible, but it was definitely a good expression.
“Alright.”
He left with just that word, heading toward the opposite side of the dorms.
Haesol followed with a brief goodbye.
“Hari… thanks for today.”
“That’s a given.”
I smiled.
His shoulders relaxed, his expression softening.
Haesol went inside the dorm.
Until the door closed, I could see how steady his steps were.
Left alone, I took a light breath.
Then something brushed my ear.
[You talked a lot today.]
Erich’s voice was the same as always.
“I’m usually like that.”
[I don’t think so.]
“Why?”
You usually keep your words superficial. And even then, you don’t talk much. Honestly, it’s unexpected.
“Hmm…”
His observation piqued my interest a little, but I brushed it off and answered anyway.
“…Because of who I was with.”
Erich fell silent for a moment.
Then he said quietly,
[Strange.]
“What is?”
You. The way you look when you’re with those two. You seem unusually at ease. Did you know them before?
I didn’t answer right away.
Even if I said no, Erich would probably see through it.
So I just waved my hand lightly and said,
“Erich.”
[Speak.]
“I’m F-rank. Not useful. Someone who can be replaced at any time.”
[And?]
“If I enter a dungeon, I’m the one who dies first.”
[…]
“So let’s say it’s preparation for that kind of situation.”
Erich surely knew that all I could really do was make a few potions and hand them over when needed.
His voice dropped slightly.
[A vague answer. Hmph. But fine. It’s not entirely wrong.
I looked up at the stairs and smiled quietly.
[This could all be solved if you simply asked me!]
“You’ve misunderstood. I like things the way they are now.”
[You mean being ignored after doing something so significant?]
“The world isn’t that simple. Sometimes, if you’ve done something well, it’s better to hide it. Especially if you don’t have the power to protect yourself.”
