Chapter 36
Chapter 36
‘s.h.i.+t! It still hurts . ’
Sungyoon frowned as he ma.s.saged the location on his arm where the Needle Hedgehog’s needle had pierced it . The needle was much weaker compared to the Mad Dog’s teeth and the Slash Cat’s claws . This was why he had chosen to tank the damage . Still, it was an attack from a real monster, and there was no way he would walk away with a minor injury like scratches on his skin . In fact, the Needle Hedgehog’s needle had pierced 5 cm into his skin .
‘Thankfully, it didn’t hit bone . ’
His flesh felt like it was on fire, but he didn’t feel any aches in his bone . This was why he a.s.sumed the needle hadn’t hit bone . Of course, he didn’t have any evidence that supported his claim . He hadn’t received any close examination by a doctor .
It was said that Connectors recovered from injuries really quickly . It seemed that claim was true . His wound was clearly smaller . It wasn’t just his mind tricking his body . He was feeling less pain . At this rate, he would have no problem working tomorrow . Of course, this was only a feeling, and he didn’t have any evidence to back up his feelings .
His room was like a chicken coup . He was lying down on the hard floor as he extended his arms to each side . He started to feel around the floor to find something, and soon, his hand grabbed something hard . Sungyoon didn’t hesitate as he raised it in front of his eyes .
‘Should I consider myself fortunate for finding this?’
He had been barely able to withstand the attack from all sides . It had been a nightmare, but as a reward, he had gained something more precious than the three moonstones . Another reward had been left behind .
Sungyoon slowly rotated the item in front of his eyes as he inspected it .
It was a necklace . The chain was thin, and it had a long frame attached to it . As a regular necklace, it wouldn’t be worth much . However, the frame had slots that were supposed to be adorned with gems . It would have made the necklace s.h.i.+ne more if it had gems, but the gems were conspicuously empty . There were only empty holes . To be specific, the hole was shaped like a star, and there were two holes next to each other in the middle .
It was a Device . Maybe, it was the price of withstanding an attack from multiple monsters . The Slash Cat had left a useful item behind as it left this world .
‘It is shaped like a star . Didn’t they say a star shaped Gem increases one’s physical abilities?’
Sungyoon smacked his lips . Gems, which would increase his physical abilities, would be a great help to him . However, as he just had a near-death experience, a part of him wanted a bigger and st.u.r.dier s.h.i.+eld . He wanted armors for his arms and legs . However, the s.h.i.+eld summoning Gems were shaped like a cross and the armor summoning Gems were shaped like an X . The two holes on the necklace were shaped like stars .
‘Moreover, both slots are Purple rank . ’
Both slots carved into the frame were letting out the last color of a rainbow . Basically, it was similar to the bracelet Device he possessed . He could mount only the lowest ranked Gems . He would have to use purple Gems . He could forcefully activate a higher ranked Gem using it, but that was a one-off move .
Sungyoon controlled his emotions .
‘Let’s not rush this . ’
He shouldn’t expect everything to be perfect from the beginning . However, his life had been threatened . This was why he was in a bit of a rush to find ways to protect his body . Still, this was his first big reward aside from the moonstones . If he could find Gems that fit the Device, he would be able to become much stronger .
‘I took a step closer to going to the Great Labyrinth . I’ll think of it in those terms . ’
He took a very small step, but still, he had taken a step . It was much better than being stalled in one place .
‘So, the next mission is to find Gems that’ll fit?’
He had gone through a lot of hards.h.i.+p to earn the Device . He probably had to go through similar hards.h.i.+p to acquire the Gems .
Sungyoon placed the Device down next to him, and he used his uninjured arm to create a pillow for his head .
It happened at that moment .
Dee dee dee dee! Dee dee dee dee!
Sungyoon heard a phone ring next to him . Sungyoon turned his head, while he remained lying down . His room was basically a large coffin, and the phone was mounted on the wall . The extension phone was connected directly to the front desk of the support center . Sungyoon placed the phone to his ear .
“h.e.l.lo . ”
[I’m sorry to bother you when you are resting, Mr . Woo Sungyoon . ]
It was a familiar voice . It was the voice of the receptionist, who always gave him water and vitamins every day .
“What’s the matter?”
[There is someone here who wants to meet Mr . Woo Sungyoon . ]
Sungyoon tilted his head in puzzlement . He wasn’t close to anyone on the moon . Even if he expanded the search criteria to earth, he didn"t know anyone who would look him up . This was especially true after his business went under . He wondered if something had gone wrong, and the president had to come back to the moon . He was curious and wary . He asked for the ident.i.ty of the person, who was asking to see him .
“Who is it?”
[Her name is Chelsea Strobe . She claims to be a friend of Ms . Hahn Jimin . ]
‘Her?’
Sungyoon finally remembered that he actually knew someone on the moon .
‘But why?’
Sungyoon had met Chelsea once when she was introduced to him by president Jimin . In truth, they were one step removed from being strangers . They had spoken half-heartedly to each other in their last meeting . Moreover, she was a beautiful woman . She wasn’t in Jimin"s cla.s.s, but she was beautiful enough to turn heads . Basically, she was the type of person he wanted to avoid . This was why he felt reluctant to meet her .
However, it didn’t mean he would decline meeting her .
‘She is the president’s friend . ’
Sungyoon was unhappy, but he forcefully pushed down such emotion .
“Understood . Please tell her I’ll come down to meet her . ”
[Yes, sir . ]
The receptionist ended the call before Sungyoon could say anything further . Sungyoon put the phone back, then he opened the door to his room . His movements were oddly weighed down . It wasn’t a trick of the eye .
* * *
“We meet again . ”
It had been a couple days since he had met Chelsea Strobe . The first thing he noticed was the fact that she was still cheerful and lively as before .
“Yes . Right . ”
Sungyoon had greeted her, but he remained gloomy and dark .
“What brings you here?”
Sungyoon asked point-blank .
She had this thought last time, but this man was different from all the men she had met before . Currently, Sungyoon wasn’t that welcoming towards Chelsea .
‘Ughh . I’ll be a bit more patient . ’
Chelsea was a bit upset, too . Sungyoon didn’t hit on her like the other guys, so she felt favorable towards him . However, that good feeling didn’t carry that much weight . Who would want to befriend someone that was openly avoiding her?
Chelsea pressed down on those negative feelings since she had to find out what kind of person Sungyoon was .
‘If he is like those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds from the past trying to use Jimin, I won’t stand by and do nothing . ’
When the time comes, she would kick him in the b.a.l.l.s . Her personal feelings would be expressed through her foot .
However, it wasn’t time yet .
“I’m trying to see how you are doing . Jimin asked me to check in on you . ”
“Is that so?”
That was all Sungyoon said . His blank eyes stared back at her . It made Chelsea feel more annoyed towards Sungyoon .
‘I hate men that hit on me, but the worst type of men are those that are uncooperative like this!’
It was an odd day for her . She was able to meet two people today from the complete opposite spectrum . Sungyoon was the exact opposite of the man that had tried to hit on her earlier . Both of their personalities grated on her nerves .
Chelsea once again held herself back .
‘Jimin . Next time we meet, you’ll have to pay me back with more than a single steak . ’
She was going through with this ridiculous charade, because she was indebted to her friend .
In addition, she became prideful now that she was here . Chelsea knew that it was useless to be obstinate, but her personality wouldn’t let her back down now .
‘Maybe, he is trying to get rid of me by treating me like this . He might try to take advantage of Jimin after losing me . ’
She used this plausible excuse to convince herself . She held firm in front of Sungyoon .
“How are you doing?”
“I’m doing ok . I’m getting used to everything . ”
Sungyoon didn’t mention the injury to his arm . It wasn’t a deep wound, and he didn’t want to reveal his injury to someone that he had met only for the second time . It didn’t matter that she was a friend of his president .
“That’s a relief . Do you have some spare time? I want to talk to you . ”
In truth, he wanted to go rest in his room . He had been injured today, and the fight he had experienced today was too spectacular . However, Jimin had asked Chelsea to look in on him . There was a good chance that Jimin would hear about his situation from Chelsea .
He couldn’t refuse .
He didn’t trust Jimin, but he was indebted to her . He had to be earnest in his duty towards her . If it didn’t cause harm to his daughter, he would do as asked . Unless Jimin betrayed him, he would put his best step forward .
“…let’s do that . ”
Sungyoon reluctantly nodded .
“Great . Shall we walk a little bit? It would be a bit awkward to have a conversation here . ”
Chelsea looked at her surroundings as she spoke . There were a lot of people going in and out of the support center, and a good number of them were looking towards them with interest .
Chelsea walked in front of Sungyoon as she left the support center .
“There is a park nearby . Let’s go there . ”
Sungyoon silently followed behind Chelsea .
He hadn’t known there was a park nearby . His recent life pattern was simple . He woke up and he went to hunt in the labyrinth, and finally, he returned to his dorm to sleep . Rinse and repeat .
It was as Chelsea had said . After they walked a distance, a large park came into view . There were a lot of benches on the side . There was also a store selling soda, coffee and dessert . Of course, Sungyoon and Chelsea didn’t even glance towards the shop . Both of them were too afraid to check the price of the food .
The two of them sat on a bench .
“Take this . ”
Chelsea handed over the paper bag that she had been carrying . It was the paper bag containing the roasted potatoes . The Connector, who had hit on her earlier, had made fun of her for possessing it .
“You probably subsisted on vitamins only after we ate steak with Jimin . You should eat this . Connectors don’t need to consume calories, but it doesn’t mean they don’t like to eat . Humans are happiest when they are eating food . ”
The bag rustled in Sungyoon’s hands . He saw baked potatoes inside . The baked potatoes were cold, and they had hardened . It was a common food seen on earth . However, even potatoes were extremely expensive on Armstrong .
He wasn’t hungry . However, it had been awhile since he had eaten anything . Even this humble food made his mouth water .
“Please feel free to eat it . The research facility rations out the bare minimum of food, but I can afford to give you this . Also, I’m starting to get sick of eating potatoes . ”
Chelsea didn’t want Sungyoon to feel burdened, so she spoke those words . However, there was also some truth to her words . She was truly getting sick of eating potatoes . It was part of the reason why she had brought the potatoes for Sungyoon . It probably made up over half of her reason .
Sungyoon stared at the potato in his hand . It was obvious that he was hesitant to eat it .
“If you really feel burdened by it, you can think of it as payment for the story you’ll tell me . ”
Chelsea added those words . Sungyoon silently thought for a moment, and then he nodded . He ate the potato in one bite . The potato was cold, so it was starchy . However, it was as delicious as any food he had eaten on earth . Sungyoon carefully chewed on the potato as if it was food sent down by the G.o.ds .
Chelsea stared at Sungyoon, who was eating the potato . He almost looked happy . It seemed the potato was very delicious to him . She felt good, because she had given him the food . Suddenly, she thought about the Connector, who had hit on her earlier . He called the potato cheap and low brow food . He had made fun of the researchers, who had to eat these types of food .
“Is it tasty?”
When Sungyoon came to his senses, Chelsea asked him a question . Sungyoon just nodded .
“Your station in life will improve as you explore the labyrinths . Later, you’ll probably ridicule it by calling it cheap food . ”
She thought of Sungyoon to be on the same level as the earlier Connector . This was why she spoke in such a sarcastic manner . Chelsea was a bit shocked after she spoke those words .
‘It sounded like I was taking my anger out on him . ’
She had decided not to take out her frustration of today’s events on Sungyoon . However, those words had escaped her mouth . Sungyoon stopped eating for a brief moment as he looked at Chelsea . Chelsea quickly tried to apologize, but Sungyoon spoke before she could .
“I don’t know what my future holds, but at the very least, this is the most delicious food to me right now . ”
After he spoke those words, Sungyoon started shoveling in the rest of the potatoes .
Chelsea was speechless . To be frank, she was caught off guard . She had never expected Sungyoon to say such words .
‘At the very least, he isn’t like the last two . ’
Chelsea suddenly remembered the words spoken by Jimin before she had departed . Chelsea looked at Sungyoon’s face once again . Sungyoon was breaking the remaining potatoes into little pieces so he could prolong his meal .
It wasn’t as if she had thrown away all her suspicion . His earlier words might be some words he came up with to deceive her .
But…
‘Still, I think Jimin has a point . ’
Chelsea lowered her guard a little bit towards Sungyoon .