He returned to Unit 301 with Kaeul. Bom, Yeorum and also Gyeoul who was later called up, all came to the front door after receiving the news from Clone 2.
“Oi Goldie!”
“Kaeul. You did great.”
“…!”
Since it was her first time seeing Kaeul in a long time, Gyeoul dashed into her arms as Kaeul raised her up into the air and Bom followed suit by hugging Kaeul and raising her up. It was Doonga Doonga time.
Once to the left, and once to the right.
Kyahaha, they laughed.
Despite being glad for her return, Yeorum pondered whether she should join that stupid Doonga Doonga thing or not.
“No. I can’t…”
“Why? Unni. Come here and join.”
“No, I’m fucking fine. It’s great to see you back but I just can’t make myself do that…”
It was apparently so childish that it gave her goosebumps. In any case, after that, the kids chatted about what happened when Kaeul was away.
Meanwhile, Clone 2 who was standing next to the protector in the living room, quietly walked out. After a respectful salute to Yu Jitae, Clone 2 was about to leave Unit 301 but suddenly stopped. Yu Jitae sensed his thoughts through their mental connection and noticed that he had something he wanted to say.
“Why.”
Yu Jitae asked after bringing Clone 2 outside.
“Yes. My lord… Aren’t you going to ask about what happened with Miss Ha Saetbyul?”
“Why would I.”
Since he had cut off the memory regarding the whole matter, he didn’t exactly know what happened but wasn’t interested in it either. The one thing he was certain about was that Ha Saetbyul would escape the agony she had fallen into due to being involved in his matters and will live a happy life elsewhere.
“You sound like you are itching to talk about it.”
“N, no. That’s not…”
“Right. So what happened.”
“…”
Clone 2 replied after some hesitation.
He listed the things that had happened. By finding a new house together, helping her work at the new workplace as a teacher and helping her meet new people, he had an emotional exchange with her which Yu Jitae had allowed.
Listening to the stories of the clone, Yu Jitae thought to himself.
In the 1st iteration, Yu Jitae was raised at an orphanage after losing his family and had seen bad examples of orphanage teachers so that might be why he was attracted to Ha Saetbyul, a genuine teacher, in the 2nd iteration.
It was a fresh take on those memories of a distant past.
“Those were the things that happened…”
There was actually one thing he was curious about.
“Did you sleep with her?” he asked.
“Sorry? N, no. I did not.”
Clone 2 replied in a fluster.
“Things did go slightly strange as we got drunk but, there was a feeling that we shouldn’t do it…”
“Who thought that first,”
“…I’m not sure which of us felt disinclined first.”
Clone 2 conveyed his memories to Yu Jitae.
Ha Saetbyul’s lips were right in front of his eyes. Their lips were millimetres away from overlapping. As they smelled the dense scent of alcohol from each other’s breath, Clone 2 froze on the spot while Ha Saetbyul gave a smile.
– We might do something bad at this rate…
Clone 2 hurriedly distanced himself and straightened his clothes.
– I’ll be on my way now…
– Yes. I took too much of your time.
It wasn’t a short encounter. In front of the door where they would separate again, Ha Saetbyul asked Clone 2.
– Will we, meet again in the future?
Clone 2 opened his mouth.
…That was when the memories paused.
“Ah, sorry… th, the thing is… it’s because I actually had something I became curious about.”
“What is it.”
“If you separate with someone, will you definitely be able to meet them again?”
With a sincere voice, Clone 2 asked Yu Jitae. Even though he was made based on the young Yu Jitae of the 1st iteration, it wasn’t something an existence created by a concept rather than by nature would usually ask.
And thus, this in fact added another evidence to Yu Jitae’s experiment.
“How can you restrain hearts from walking away, when you can’t even control your own,” he replied.
“But can’t you approach the one you have separated with as long as you want to?”
“Can it be called a re-encounter if you’re the only one doing it? Trying to selfishly hold other people back is greed.”
In other words, he meant that meeting again after a separation was out of one’s control. The old proverb, ‘Those who meet must part and those who part shall meet,’ was one that he didn’t necessarily agree with.
Soon, the memories of Clone 2 started playing again. Clone 2 said, ‘Yes’ to her before turning around. Yu Jitae was quite intrigued by that response because it meant that was probably how he himself would have answered in the past.
“But if you long for them, they sometimes come out in your dreams.”
Yu Jitae gave awkward words of consolation.
“Thank you, my lord…”
Leaving those words behind, Clone 2 left Unit 301. It was now time to meet the Witch.
Clone 2 understood the reply that ‘no-one knows whether you will meet again or not’ because he knew about Yu Jitae’s past. It was in fact quite an obvious answer for his lord because not a single thing that left him had returned in its original shape.
But after thinking through Yu Jitae’s words, he started feeling more and more sorry for his lord.
They come out in your dreams if you long for them?
Yu Jitae hasn’t been able to sleep in the past 200 years though…
***
[Release Output Amplification Core]
It all started from this shining sphere that was as small as a ping pong ball.
“…”
Yeorum glared at the ball.
Mana core. It was like a supportive battery of an artifact and amplified the output capacity of the user to allow a smoother battle.
“Why did you buy that? I thought you always wanted to fight using only your own strength, unni.”
Yeorum frowned in response to Kaeul’s question.
“I did.”
“Did you change your mind?”
“No.”
Yeorum had been going to Europe these days to apply for duels with large combat guilds. Her winning streak was then smashed by a stronger opponent.
There were still many superhumans in the world that were stronger than Yeorum.
“Then why?”
“Look. Even 4 digit rankers put their lives on the line in duels and dope their weapon, dope their bodies and freaking do everything they can to fight. Isn’t it unfair for me to fight bare-handed against them?”
“Uum… but there are people that still don’t use them right?”
Doping one’s body had a high likelihood of causing accidents. There were many people that ended up in bad states due to trying to reach above their abilities through those means.
That was why there occasionally were ‘natural superhumans’. They were those that refused to dope their bodies and solely relied on their given abilities and blessings to fight. Yeorum was closer to this group.
“…”
But Yeorum frowned again.
Kaeul became slightly nervous. She knew Yeorum was quite sensitive these days due to the constant losses she was suffering.
Hehe. Did I make a mistake?
Worried, she looked back at Bom who shook her head in response, suggesting she stay quiet and read the mood.
Noo, did I make a mistake…?
“Ah, fuck.”
Mommy..!
“Ah, whatever. This is so unfair. Do you think I can’t do the same? Fuck it. I’m gonna dope myself as well. I’m gonna add a battery to my sword and also take those pills.”
“Ah. Y, yes! There’s also cigarettes apparently…!”
“Whaat? Cigareettess?”
“You know, those doping cigarettes…! Sillardo Leo sticks two of them into his nostrils right!”
“Haigo~ fuck. Two is nowhere near enough. If I was using them, I’d stick it into my mouth, my nose, ears…”
She then started listing all sorts of holes. “Uahh! Don’t say that!” Kaeul said with a fright while Bom quickly covered Gyeoul’s ears.
Her outrage stopped at a cute level without going too far. Fortunately, it seemed that she was only frustrated despite the loss.
“And you. Goldie.”
“U, unn?!”
“I didn’t lose. You get that?”
“Yes yes…!”
“Repeat after me. I have to suffer due to being a natural.”
“H, have to suffer due to being a natural…!”
Without stopping there, Yeorum flicked her head to glare at Gyeoul.
“…Have to soffer… a natural.”
Gyeoul also returned a cursory nod and said what she wanted to hear with a sigh. Even though Yeorum didn’t show it, she seemed quite content by it.
“Anyway, so you’re going to be opening those cores now right?”
“Yeah. Fortunately they released a whole stack of them a few months ago, so I used up all my fortune to buy 5 of them.”
The kids turned their eyes towards the small spheres.
[Release Output Amplification Core]
They were highly expensive cores that reached hundreds of thousands of dollars each. By using up all the money she earned at Las Vegas, she bought five of them. They were cores that could be attached to artifacts and weapons to support their output.
But there was something unique about these cores…
“Isn’t this the one?! Where they increase in output as you crack more seals…!”
“Yeah.”
These cores that had a total of 10 layers of seals around them unleashed more power as more and more layers were opened with mana.
That was why they were also referred to as ‘onion cores’.
“Apparently the chance to have a higher output when you crack each layer is 20%.”
“Then what happens in the remaining 80%?”
“You get fucked. That’s all.”
The problem was that the formulae of these cores were completely [random]. They were random and undecided at birth so there was not a single technique or magic that could allow one to see the end result beforehand.
If they had some sort of internal mechanism, Yu Jitae would be able to foresee the end result but they didn’t have any mechanism at all.
As a solution to that problem, Yeorum bought 5 of them.
“Bom-unni.”
“Nn.”
“20% means one out of five is definitely going to be a hit right.”
“I guess?”
“And because I’m on the luckier side, two of them should be a good pull at least.”
What was that about? Bom tilted her head while Yeorum handed a core each to Yu Jitae and the kids.
“Let’s crack them open. Just two layers will do.”
“The chance is too low though. The possibility of getting two in a row is 1 out of 25. Even if we try with 5 cores, that’s less than a 20% chance.”
“Sounds very doable.”
“Hmm…”
In any case,
Going straight to work,
“I’m doing it right now.”
Yeorum started off by pulling a layer of mana surrounding the core.
Pasasak…
It was a fail.
The ambient light of the core immediately turned dark.
“Ah fuck.”
Hundreds of thousands of dollars evaporated into nothing right before her eyes.
“Aoh, my money…” Yeorum was lamenting with a frown when the core in Gyeoul’s hands also dimmed out with a crumbling sound. Surprised, Gyeoul dropped the core.
“Oi, oi! You should’ve said something before opening it. Why would you do it like that?”
“…You didn’t, mention that.”
“No, that’s common sense, you idiot. Do you know how important these things are? Ahh, it’s two down already. I should’ve done it myself.”
“…Do it, …by yourself then.”
“What did you say, you brat?”
Yeorum and Gyeoul growled at each other when Kaeul quickly chimed in and waved her hands.
“Don’t fight…! I, I, I’ll try it. I’m good at things like this!”
“No. Don’t do it. Just give it to me. I’ll probably blame you guys if you do it so just let me open all of them.”
“No! Don’t you trust me? There’s been tons of great things happening for me recently right…!”
It was true. Kaeul was indeed quite lucky these days.
“Hmm… Alright. I’ll trust you then. Go, Goldie!”
“Let’s gooo! Aht, wait…!”
Kaeul popped the core into the blanket that was covering her legs and cut off both light and sound. She widened her eyes as Bom and Gyeoul, let alone Yeorum, all looked and waited for her reaction.
“Did you open it?”
“Uun…!”
“How’d it go? Did you succeed?”
“I don’t know…!”
The answer should be inside the blanket. Kaeul slowly stood up, leaving the blanket on the ground, as Yeorum slowly took a deep breath in and out.
In that nerve-wracking situation, where even Gyeoul became nervous upon realising that it was very expensive, Yeorum quickly lifted the blanket.
Lying inside was a black core.
“Oi! Yu Kaeul!”
It was another fail! Yeorum shouted looking for Kaeul but she had already escaped out of Unit 301 with a blink.
“Oiii! Where did this freaking goldie fool go—!”
Yeorum furiously shouted in distress. Gyeoul giggled from the side but soon quietly avoided eye contact after being glared at by Yeorum. She had a fit for a while before snatching the core that was in Yu Jitae’s hand.
“I wanted to do it though.”
“No, I’m gonna do it myself. Let’s goo–!”
The result was the same as always. It was another fail.
“Is this rigged or what… Why can’t I get a single success!?”
Looking at the last remaining core, Yeorum sweated profusely. Has the wall of 20% always been this high? How could she possibly open four and fail all four of them?
“Shouldn’t one of them be a good pull at least?”
“…You still, have one left?”
“You, be quiet and shut up.”
“…Hing.”
In any case, the last one was in Bom’s hand and after reminding her to not open it at any cost, Yeorum went outside for a bit. “Oh no, she’s going to kill Kaeul.” Worried about Kaeul, Bom sent her a message but fortunately that didn’t seem to be the case. When Yeorum returned home, she brought with her the smell of a cigarette.
“Huu, huu…”
The last core was in the hands of Bom, who said while handing it over to Yeorum.
“Here. At least this should work.”
“No. I thought about it outside but I think you should open this one, unni.”
“It’s fine. I’m not that lucky with things like this.”
“Is there anything you can see by any chance? Don’t you see this and that everyday?”
“Nothing.”
Bom continued with an awkward smile on her face.
“You do it. Ever since I was young, I was really unlucky when it came to gachas like this. You remember right; how the fruit I got from the Spirit Tree looked when we went over to play at Peace City?”
This was something Yu Jitae was also curious about. The dancing Spirit Tree that only stopped when someone was nearby – when staying still, it would collect the voices of the people nearby and form corresponding fruits.
Back then, Kaeul got a soft and moist fruit, Gyeoul got a sour and bitter one while Yeorum’s was extremely spicy. He heard how it was as spicy as a chilli pepper.
However, he never got to hear what Bom’s fruit was like.
“What did you get.”
Yu Jitae asked but Bom again shook her head with an awkward smile, but this time, Yeorum gave her no way out and exposed her.
“It was a rotten fruit. With fungus on it.”
“Hey. I asked you to keep that a secret…”
“You should all watch out. Yu Bom has a terrible personality it seems.”
“No… I looked it up. Apparently one out of a thousand fruits of the Spirit Tree immediately turns bad. I was just unlucky…”
It seemed that Yeorum thought otherwise.
“But isn’t that good in fact? It means you pulled a 0.1% chance right?”
“Shouldn’t that be considered unlucky?”
“No. 0.1% chance. Let’s see… that’s more than enough for 4 consecutive successful cracks!”
Yeorum clapped her hands as Gyeoul similarly flickered her eyes from the side. Wasn’t this an expensive artifact that got more and more expensive with more successes?
“You should try it. I bet you can do it, unni.”
“I don’t have money. I can’t pay you back.”
“I swear I won’t ask for anything. And you know what, I always thought the green race was a perfect fit for things like this.”
“Like I said, that’s not the case… I haven’t talked about it but I’ve been mysteriously unlucky ever since I was young.”
“Ahh, just put your tongue on hold and open it. Hurry up!”
Because of the constant rush, Bom curved her eyebrows in displeasure. She turned towards Yu Jitae but he simply gestured for her to try and she received a similar response from Gyeoul.
With a worried look on her face, Bom heaved a deep sigh.
“It’s not my fault…”
She pulled out a layer of the core’s mana.
Panng—
Fragments of light resembling stars scattered as the light turned slightly brighter. The kids widened their eyes in shock.
It was a success..
“We did itt! Yesss! Look! What did I tell you!”
“Huh? Why is this…”
“Unni. Let’s have sex! Ahhh! I love you so fucking much! Come here, let me give you a kiss!”
“No, wait—”
Chuup, chuup! Yeorum jumped on top of Bom and hugged her. “Uakk…!” shouted Bom after dropping the core as she struggled to save herself from Yeorum’s lips. Gyeoul sneakily snatched the core and gazed at the ‘expensive object’ that had jumped several-fold in price.
“Ahahaha! We did it—!”
However, the first success was just a starter.
“Huh…?”
After exactly 5 minutes,
Unbelievable things started to happen.