Chapter 73
“So, you’re not going to remove it?”
“That’s what I decided.”
Garisto stood facing him again after they left the Training Room.
When Ju-hyeok explained the conversation he had with the newly awakened ego during the brief time Garisto was gone, Garisto looked intrigued.
“Then all that talk about demons being used as test subjects—was that just an illusion the Training Room showed you?”
“…Oh. Right. That happened too.”
There had been so much important information that he had completely forgotten about it.
As Ju-hyeok hesitated, unsure because he hadn’t gotten to ask about it, Garisto’s voice echoed in his head again, just like before.
[Yeah. I made all of that.]
“……”
So now that it had developed an ego, it could speak constantly with a voice instead of sending messages?
Hearing a voice no one else could hear didn’t seem like a good thing, but for now, Ju-hyeok decided to let it slide.
“It says it made everything itself.”
“Hm… The Training Room shouldn’t have had that kind of ability. Is it an effect of the Dream Grass?”
Because of the Dream Grass, the Training Room had developed an ego—and even gained the ability to show illusions.
Compared to before, it had gained quite a few new functions.
‘Doesn’t really seem helpful to me, though.’
Still, having some kind of ability meant it might become useful someday.
“Well, it’s yours now, so I hope you make good use of it.”
“Yeah. Thanks for checking it out.”
“If anything, I’m the one who enjoyed seeing something interesting.”
Garisto began packing up his tools as if it were no big deal.
Glancing sideways, Ju-hyeok spoke again with a hint of expectation.
“But if you’re grateful, couldn’t you convince it to let me experiment with it just a little more…?”
[No.]
The firm refusal came in the exact same voice.
Ju-hyeok relayed the answer on its behalf.
“It says it’s absolutely not interested.”
“…Sigh. Can’t be helped.”
After finishing everything, they left the laboratory.
Ju-hyeok deliberately ignored the disappointment in Garisto’s eyes as he said goodbye to the estate.
[I want to eat magic stones.]
“No.”
After returning from Garisto’s estate, the Training Room—now openly speaking—whined every day like a hungry baby, begging for magic stones.
“You were fine without eating magic stones before.”
[I always wanted to eat them. I just couldn’t talk back then.]
“…Seriously.”
He had thought magic stones were only needed to operate it.
But like human appetite, it constantly wanted to consume magic stones.
It whined so much that he bought a B-rank magic stone and fed it one, which quieted it—for a while.
By the next day, it was already complaining about being hungry again.
“Still, not right now.”
[Why noooot?]
“I told you. I need to raise funds to establish a guild.”
He didn’t have the luxury to waste magic stones on the Training Room right now.
The costs of founding a guild would keep piling up.
And since S-rank Gates weren’t that common, running A-rank Gates nonstop didn’t bring in money fast enough.
‘Isn’t there some other way to make money?’
Was there something profitable he could do during rest periods between Gates?
He thought about it for a while, but nothing came to mind.
‘Escort missions? Those are rarely short-term, though.’
It would’ve been nice if there were paid escort missions like the one where he first met Hyunsoo—but those weren’t common.
“Ha…”
Did he really just have to wait like this?
If only the legally mandated rest periods didn’t exist, he’d be running Gates every day.
But since all Gates went through the Association, sneaking in wasn’t an option.
‘…All Gates?’
A memory suddenly resurfaced.
Every Gate he’d entered so far had been through the Association.
Was that really true?
Thinking back, there were times he’d entered Gates not managed by the Association.
“Mephisto.”
The Gates that opened on the way to meet Mephisto.
They appeared briefly in remote countryside areas with no people around—and closed quickly.
‘How did those Gates avoid detection?’
Even in a remote mountain area, the Association should’ve detected a Gate opening almost immediately.
Yet Mephisto opened and closed Gates in the same spot every day.
‘Is there some method?’
He didn’t have enough technical knowledge about Gates to be sure.
But the important part was that Mephisto could create Gates without being detected by the Association.
And she could open and close them at will.
‘The problem is, she won’t do it for free.’
Mephisto always prioritized equivalent exchange.
Last time, she had demanded the absurd condition that he stay attached to Jia for a whole week.
If he asked her again, who knew what kind of contract she’d propose.
‘And I messed up at the end last time, too…’
He recalled the final day of the contract.
Her sudden, unreasonable behavior had made him lose his temper, acting unlike a rational adult.
Because of that, his friends had seen a scene they could easily misunderstand, and he’d struggled quite a bit to calm her down afterward.
‘She’d definitely try to drag Sung Jia into it again.’
Even if Mephisto opened a Gate, it wouldn’t help much.
All magic stones had to have a clear origin—proof of which Gate they came from.
Magic stones sold on the market required verified Gate information and strict inspections.
Trying to sell fake or unverified stones would almost certainly lead to trouble.
Of course, there were black-market routes—but those could cause issues later when founding a guild.
He didn’t want to risk it.
‘And even if I got magic stones, they’d all just end up as food for the Training Room.’
Was it really worth making a contract with Mephisto just to get feed?
No matter how he looked at it, the cost-benefit ratio was terrible.
Suddenly curious, Ju-hyeok asked the Training Room.
“If you eat one S-rank stone, how long does it last?”
[About a week, if it’s a big one like before.]
“Terrible fuel efficiency.”
[What’s fuel efficiency?]
“Never mind.”
So feeding it an S-rank stone meant a week of peace.
In that case, it was better to just endure the whining for a week.
He didn’t want to contract Mephisto just for food.
He was thinking of just training and rationing the remaining B-rank stones—
‘Wait. I don’t need Mephisto, do I?’
A memory suddenly clicked.
[I can create normal Gates with monsters too. From F-rank to S-rank—all of them.]
Jia snapping her fingers and instantly creating a Gate.
She’d gained that ability after contracting with a demon.
And not just B or A ranks—even S-rank Gates.
[I’ve used it before. There’s nothing better than a Gate when you want to deal with bad guys without evidence.]
She’d already used it and still hadn’t been caught.
That meant the risk of exposure was low.
And she could erase the Gate instantly if it wasn’t needed.
There was barely any risk of leaving evidence.
‘I can’t sell the stones, but if I stockpile them as food, the Training Room should behave for a while.’
That would basically secure all the magic power needed to operate it.
Ju-hyeok jumped to his feet.
[Where are you going?]
“To feed you.”
[Really?]
“Yeah. So wait patiently.”
Today was supposed to be a training day—but something more important came up.
Ju-hyeok immediately texted Hyunsoo that he’d be skipping training today and got ready to head out.
“Why do you look so drained lately?”
“I’ve always been drained.”
Jia, unusually early at work today, lounged around after arriving at the office.
After finishing a sweet yet eventful week-long vacation, she was back at Hyunho Candy.
“Is it because you haven’t seen Jung Ju-hyeok?”
“There you go again.”
Every chance they got, it was Ju-hyeok this, Ju-hyeok that.
Especially since his sudden stunt on the last day, her friends brought him up every time they met.
“He hasn’t even contacted me.”
They’d exchanged contact info just in case during that week together.
But aside from a formal thank-you and an apology for his mistake on the last day, Ju-hyeok hadn’t contacted her at all.
“I’m fine just being casually friendly.”
“We’re already more than satisfied with how things are now.”
They’d grown fairly close during that week.
Going forward, they’d probably remain on friendly terms with Hyunho Candy.
Jia also seemed less resistant toward the company now.
Yeonho was perfectly satisfied with things as they were.
“But you don’t look satisfied.”
She always lounged around—but unlike her usual lazy smoking, she looked oddly melancholic.
She kept zoning out, like she was missing someone.
“I’m more than satisfied, so drop it.”
Of course, Jia herself didn’t notice her own behavior.
She just felt extra lazy and unwilling to work after returning.
Annoyed, she put on her wireless earbuds to watch short videos—
[Jung Ju-hyeok]
Speak of the devil.
Just as they were talking about him, he called.
She’d been hearing his name every day lately, so it almost felt like some kind of summoning ritual.
But what mattered was that he’d contacted her.
Jia sprang up from the sofa, cleared her throat, and answered in a casual voice.
“Hello?”
[What are you doing?]
“Just working.”
She wasn’t working at all.
But admitting she was lounging around would look bad, so she brushed it off.
[I was wondering if you had time to meet briefly.]
“…Me?”
[Yeah. Are you busy today?]
“Well… not sure.”
She had plenty of free time—but didn’t want to seem too eager.
“Maybe around lunchtime.”
[Then let’s meet for lunch. It’s on me.]
“…Fine.”
[I’ll come by your office.]
The call ended.
Yeonho looked over at her.
“Was that Jung Ju-hyeok?”
“Yeah. I guess.”
She answered like it was nothing and stood up from the sofa.
“I’m going out for a smoke.”
“…Okay.”
Yeonho didn’t react.
And he didn’t bother pointing out that the corners of her mouth were stretched nearly to her ears.
