Shall I Give You a Massage?

The dizzying fog in my mind dissipated instantly, and the stinging pain that had tormented my body vanished as if it had never been there.

The first thing I did was check the time.

‘…A day has passed.’

Only a single day had elapsed here.

Having been warned by Grandfather that the flow of time might differ, I had felt incredibly anxious. Yet, while a week had passed in that other place, only a mere day had gone by here.

If there was one slight regret, it was this.

“Tsk, I could have touched him one more time…”

My unique skill, ‘Stronger with Each Touch!’, possessed a cooldown of seven days.

If I had only stayed a little longer, the cooldown would have reset. Then, with a bit of luck, I could have massaged Grandfather once more and significantly boosted my stats.

That was a genuine pity.

“Well, perhaps you can’t use it on the same target multiple times anyway.”

Shaking off my regret, I hastily changed my clothes and quickly departed from the lodging.

The current time was 9:55 AM.

The training was about to commence. Given that I had missed a full day according to the local time, if I were to be late or absent for this session, I might fail to complete the training.

Since the next training would likely be scheduled months later, it was better to finish it now while I had the chance. With that thought, I infused a subtle trace of internal energy into my feet and dashed forward at a brisk pace.

Soon, the lecture hall came into view. My hearing, already superior to that of an ordinary person since my awakening, was further enhanced by the internal energy I circulated, allowing me to focus completely. Thus, I could distinctly hear the faint sounds emanating from the classroom.

“Has Park Minhyuk not arrived?”

“……”

“He hasn’t. If he’s absent again today, he’ll have to retake the training…”

At that precise moment, I was already sprinting at full speed, throwing open the lecture hall door with a resounding bang.

CRASH!

“I, Park Minhyuk! I’m here! Not absent!”

Only after feeling all eyes in the classroom fixate on me did I realize the truth.

I had made an exceedingly dramatic entrance.

****

“This body, Park Minhyuk, has arrived! I’m here!”

Lee Heejin mimicked my voice, hands planted firmly on her hips. Then, finding herself amusing, she chuckled softly to herself.

“…I never said, ‘This body has arrived.'”

“It was the nuance, wasn’t it? The nuance!”

“…Sigh…”

She had been teasing me about it all day.

“If I missed another day, I’d have to wait months to re-register for the training… I was in a rush.”

“Then why were you absent yesterday? You lectured me endlessly about how the training was vital information, blood and flesh and whatnot.”

“Ahem. There were unavoidable circumstances.”

Indeed, I had been involuntarily dragged into a dimensional rift, where I experienced unbelievable events and heard incredible tales.

“Right, right, I’m sure. Anyway, let’s go eat. I’m hungry.”

Following Heejin, who stretched languidly as she walked, I headed towards the cafeteria. It was lunchtime, so the line was quite long, and we passed the time exchanging silly jokes.

Once again, I was struck by her unreserved personality.

After a short wait, we were granted the glorious opportunity to pile food onto our plates. ‘How long had it been since I’d had a proper meal?’ For seven days in the dimensional rift, all I remembered eating was some unidentified raw meat, grilled over a fire.

Surprisingly, Transcendent Beings reportedly did not need to eat. Of course, while they didn’t require sustenance, they could still taste, meaning some Transcendent Beings enjoyed gourmet dining. Unfortunately, this had no bearing on Grandfather Cheongeom.

Therefore, I was currently brimming with anticipation. The menu featured mushroom bulgogi and doenjang jjigae. Lee Heejin and I found a table and sat facing each other.

As I felt my mouth water, I reached for a piece of bulgogi to put it in my mouth, when suddenly—

“Hello. Can I sit here?”

The owner of the voice, without waiting for our reply, unceremoniously set his tray next to Lee Heejin and settled into the seat. He was a tall, handsome man, and for some reason, he looked vaguely familiar.

“My name is Kim Gwanhyo. We’re in the same class, but I don’t think we’ve ever properly introduced ourselves. Haha.”

Kim Gwanhyo. The name struck a chord. He was a promising talent ambitiously promoted by the mid-to-high-tier guild Baekje, whose name and face had frequently appeared in the media for a while. With his good looks and exceptional abilities, he was quite a celebrity.

However, my mind was entirely preoccupied with the mushroom bulgogi and doenjang jjigae, so my reaction was both delayed and peculiar.

“…Bulgogi… No, that’s not it! It’s you, Gwanhyo!”

“Pfft!”

I tried to recover belatedly, but it was far too late. ‘Why did he suddenly appear when my mind was completely consumed by mushroom bulgogi?’ Lee Heejin, finding it all incredibly amusing, turned her head and stifled giggles.

“…It’s Kim Gwanhyo, not bulgogi. I’m slated to join the Cognac Guild this time.”

“Ah, of course, I know that well. My apologies. I’m just extremely hungry right now…”

“…Please eat.”

“Yes…”

While I might have made a slight blunder, that wasn’t what mattered to me at the moment. Devouring the bulgogi before me was far more important than appeasing the suddenly appearing Kim Gwanhyo.

I frantically stuffed bulgogi into my mouth. The taste was incomparable to the unidentified meat I had eaten, which had been merely grilled over fire without any seasoning.

‘This… This is the taste!’

As I diligently ate my bulgogi, Kim Gwanhyo spoke again from across the table.

“You’re Lee Heejin, right?”

“…Me? Ah, yes. That’s right.”

“Actually, I’ve always wanted to get to know you. Let’s be friends, okay?”

Kim Gwanhyo offered a refreshing smile as he spoke.

“Yes, well. Sure.”

Lee Heejin replied, glancing at me repeatedly. Her eyes were brimming with mischief, as if she desperately hoped I would say something strange again.

But I wasn’t a fool; I wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. I forced myself to swallow the food in my mouth to introduce myself, then opened my lips.

“I’m Park Minh…”

“Heejin, what kind of awakening did you experience? Magic-based? Or support-based?”

“I’m a close-combat type.”

“Oh! How fiery! That suits you incredibly well.”

Kim Gwanhyo, the promising talent, didn’t seem to care to hear what I had to say. He completely turned his body to face Lee Heejin, addressing only her.

“After you complete your training and get your registration, would you like to come visit us at Cognac? My guild leader and I are close, so it’s no trouble at all. If your abilities are good, I can put in a good word for you to join the guild.”

I had wondered why this tall, handsome, capable, and highly promising man, who had no reason to lack anything, would bother with us. Now, I understood.

‘He’s here to pick up a girl.’

This wasn’t some dating pub. Still, I could understand his actions. Objectively and subjectively, Lee Heejin was a rare beauty. Her large, double-lidded eyes and fair skin were striking. Moreover, the deep dimples that appeared whenever she smiled were undeniably captivating. Didn’t they say a woman who looked good with short hair was a true beauty?

However, Lee Heejin was not an easy woman to approach. She was a fortress unto herself.

“No, that’s alright. Let’s just eat. I’m hungry.”

“Ah, really? Haha.”

Kim Gwanhyo was even more brazen than I had imagined. He continued to speak without pause throughout the meal, and miraculously, every single one of his hundred words was directed at Lee Heejin. Was I invisible to his eyes? He probably thought of me as nothing more than an extra who had been lucky enough to sit next to Lee Heejin.

‘…Well, he’s not wrong.’

And Lee Heejin, dealing with Kim Gwanhyo, was even more remarkable. If Kim Gwanhyo launched a hundred attacks, Lee Heejin would go one step further and defend 101 times. At that point, it was beyond a mere fortress; it was a diamond wall.

At that point, I completely tuned them out. I had felt a little bad about my initial blunder and had tried to pay some attention, but with him so overtly clinging to Lee Heejin, it made things easy for me. Thanks to that, I could fully savor the flavors of the bulgogi and doenjang jjigae, and just like that, lunchtime concluded.

From that day forward, Kim Gwanhyo naturally began to accompany us. More precisely, he accompanied ‘us,’ excluding me.

****

The theoretical training was drawing to a close. Today marked the seventh day of the course. Tomorrow, all training would conclude with a final practical session.

At the front of the lecture hall, the familiar theoretical instructor was diligently explaining, flipping through slides displaying monster photos. I watched him, chin propped in my hand, lost in thought.

‘It’s all futile, though.’

He was earnestly describing the monsters’ ranks and behaviors, but soon, all of it would become meaningless. According to Grandfather Cheongeom, these creatures were mere dregs. They were beings so weak that they were the first dregs to spill out of Hell. And here we were, struggling even with such dregs.

Soon, these monsters would all vanish, and the full-scale invasion of Hell would commence. Knowing this truth, how should I act?

After a week of extensive contemplation, my conclusion was simple: ‘There’s nothing I can do!’ I should just finish the training and get my registration certificate! Who would believe the words of a freshly awakened novice if I went around proclaiming that Hell was about to open?

Even if, by some one-in-a-thousand chance, someone did believe me, I had virtually no other information. What were their weaknesses? How should we counter them? I hadn’t had the chance to ask Grandfather about such things. Therefore, the conclusion I reached was: ‘Just don’t make a fuss and observe the situation.’

Still, I was diligently training in the Thunder Emperor’s Heart Art. While techniques like the Severing Sword were too crude to practice here, I was, in my own way, training to wield a sword while rapidly shifting its attributes. And recently, one particular concern had been weighing heavily on my mind.

‘Ah, I want to touch someone!’

The cooldown for my unique trait, which allowed me to copy abilities by touching, was seven days. It had been nearly two weeks since I last touched someone to gain an ability.

I was experiencing a severe case of ‘touch deprivation.’ Despite this, there were two reasons why I hadn’t yet tried. First, touching just anyone could easily brand me a pervert. Second, I ideally wanted to touch a powerful individual.

I had gained abilities a total of two times, and both instances involved Transcendent Beings with ridiculously strong powers. This meant I could likely acquire many abilities from them. But what if I just randomly touched someone, and then, in the interim, I was dragged into the dimensional rift again?

I might lose the opportunity to touch a Transcendent Being. I had been putting it off for that reason, but now I had decided to act. I hadn’t touched anyone for too long. It was time to touch someone.

With that firm resolve, I had activated ‘Stronger with Each Touch!’ in my lodging before coming to the lecture hall today. Now, on the bodies of the people in the classroom, palm prints visible only to me were emblazoned.

And I needed to touch the ripest one. After all, everyone gathered here had only recently awakened. Therefore, I should touch the most outstanding individual among them. Coincidentally, that individual with a brilliant future was currently chattering excitedly around me.

“Your big brother, he drinks with our guild leader, you know? And eats with him, you know? You know the Cognac Guild, right? Isn’t a guild ranked 28th in Korea pretty amazing? Once your big brother joins, we’ll immediately break into the top 10…”

The next person I would touch was Kim Gwanhyo. This man was, once again, glued to Lee Heejin’s side, bragging about himself with endless ‘your big brother’ pronouncements. He was sitting with his back completely turned to me, so I tapped his shoulder to get his attention.

“…So, your big brother, he said…”

“Excuse me, Kim Gwanhyo.”

“…Yes?”

Believing I had interrupted what he thought was an incredibly entertaining story, Kim Gwanhyo turned around, his brows furrowed in annoyance. Could he really not read Lee Heejin’s expression, which clearly screamed ‘I’m so annoyed I could die’?

Regardless, I had a different objective in mind, so I offered him a polite, customer-service smile and spoke.

“Shall I give you a massage?”