Chapter 16: Shadows That Save

“If I’d known you’d be this scared, I would’ve saved you much earlier.”

Yoo Hee-ro’s worried voice came out with a sigh. The subject and object of his sentence seemed reversed, but Sung Ji-woo stayed silent. After all, he had tried to save Hee-ro—only to end up being the one saved by him.

“What? Does that mean you could use your power all along?”

Hye-rin, realizing something was off, jumped into the conversation. Hee-ro’s expression stiffened slightly.

“No… actually, that was just wishful thinking. I had no idea I even had that kind of ability. I was so shocked that all I could think about was saving Sunbae… and then…”

“So you’ve got a bit of a flair for drama too, huh? I knew it had to be coincidence.”

Hye-rin smirked, patting his shoulder.

“Anyway, good job. We would’ve been screwed without you.”

“Yeah, really. Thanks.”

Ji-woo felt nothing but gratitude and awe toward the boy who had just saved his life. As he and Hye-rin continued praising Hee-ro, Yoon-jae, who’d been quiet for a while, finally spoke up.

“So, what you’re saying is… your power first awakened when the ground collapsed?”

“Yes.”

Hee-ro nodded. Yoon-jae tilted his head.

“Then what about that stone golem? The one that got smashed to pieces?”

“…”

“Wasn’t that you?”

Hee-ro fell silent. His expressionless gaze met Yoon-jae’s sharp eyes. The latter was almost certain—ninety percent sure—that the black tendrils that had attacked the golem came from Hee-ro. Their stares clashed, tense as drawn wires.

“Wait, that was you too?”

Ji-woo, confused, asked in disbelief. Hee-ro hesitated before answering quietly.

“To be honest… my memory gets fuzzy after the middle of it. I wasn’t going to say anything because it’s embarrassing, but… I don’t actually remember when my power first appeared.”

Hye-rin’s expression softened with sympathy.

“Of course. Maybe your ability went wild as a defense mechanism. The way that thing was pounding at you, anyone would’ve snapped back! And you—why are you interrogating him when he’s clearly mortified?”

Yoon-jae got scolded into silence, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

“Sorry, man. Still, that power of yours is crazy strong. I’ve never seen anyone attack that hard unconsciously.”

“Well, he was S-rank,” Hye-rin chimed in. “It’s not strange that even a reflexive strike would be that powerful.”

“S-rank?”

Yoon-jae, who hadn’t heard much about Hee-ro, widened his eyes. He suddenly looked enlightened.

“Oh, that explains a lot. I’ve never met an S-rank before—guess it’s a whole different world from A-rank.”

At the compliment, Hee-ro’s face turned bashful.

“Even so, I can’t control it properly yet…”

From where he sat on the ground, Ji-woo craned his neck upward.

“That’s why I’m teaching you.”

“You’re right. It’s all thanks to you, Sunbae.”

Hee-ro crouched down in front of Ji-woo, meeting his eyes at level height.

“If you hadn’t put that shield around me, I probably would’ve died or been seriously hurt. Thank you.”

“It’s… nothing, really.”

Ji-woo coughed awkwardly and looked away. Hee-ro smiled faintly, while Hye-rin immediately ratted him out.

“Yeah, he’s pretending to be all cool, but Ji-woo literally sprinted into danger to save you. A supporter charging a monster bare-handed—I thought he’d lost his mind!”

She shuddered at the memory. Hee-ro’s eyes sparkled with delight hearing how worried Ji-woo had been. Ji-woo, embarrassed, muttered softly,

“…I should be the one thanking you. And… sorry. To you guys too.”

“Don’t be stupid. If anyone should apologize, it’s me for dragging us into that gate in the first place. If we hadn’t gone in, none of this would’ve happened.”

For all four of them, the day had been like a bolt from the blue. Ji-woo couldn’t bring himself to tell Hye-rin the truth—that it wasn’t her fault at all, but his own.

“No, seriously. Don’t blame yourself.”

It was all he could say. He regretted how casually he had treated his second chance at life. His regression had already changed countless things in the present and future—he needed to be more careful about the ripples it caused.

The moment they escaped the gate, a dozen people rushed toward them—teachers, researchers in white coats, and special forces officers standing guard at the gate’s entrance. Their smartwatches chimed in unison: beep!—signaling a successful gate clear. Unfortunately, the record for fastest completion was out of reach.

The medical researchers hurried to inspect the group, fearing the worst. To their relief, all four only had minor bruises. Still, they insisted the students visit the research building for a full checkup.

Once the doctors had finished, the homeroom teacher came running.

“What on earth happened in there?”

Just hearing that a training gate had triggered a core activation had been shocking enough. But finding out that three of his students were trapped inside? The teacher had spent the entire time feeling his blood turn cold.

To make things worse, the gate had sealed itself, preventing any rescue attempt. Only now—after the four had somehow escaped—had the entrance returned to normal.

“We’re not really sure ourselves. It all happened so suddenly…” Hye-rin explained.

“How did you get out? Was the gate’s core neutralized?”

Unfortunately, the dungeon had collapsed before they could locate the core.

“No, sir. We escaped right after clearing the last dungeon. The core’s still inside…”

The teacher immediately ordered the waiting strike team to enter for recovery.

“Temporarily shut down all training gates, including this one. Full safety inspection.”

“Yes, sir.”

The vice principal, who had been overseeing the situation, issued the order to prevent further incidents.

“Good work, all of you. I’m just glad you’re safe.”

“…Thank you.”

“The school will handle everything from here. If you feel even the slightest abnormality, report it immediately. And… please don’t spread this around to your classmates. No need to cause panic.”

All four nodded. Their teacher smiled faintly and patted their shoulders.

“You’ve had a hard day. Go rest.”

The cleanup was left to the adults. The four walked across the schoolyard, finally free from the gate.

The setting sun cast long shadows across the field. The crimson sky bled into orange and gold, a final sigh of the day. Their bodies felt heavy, yet light—like runners crossing a finish line.

“Holy crap, we almost died!” Hye-rin shouted.

“Hey—watch your language!” Yoon-jae snapped.

“What? It’s true, isn’t it? Not like I have any morals left after that!”

“What?”

Yoon-jae gawked, while Hye-rin burst out laughing and sprinted ahead. Ji-woo could only shake his head, amazed she still had energy to run.

I’ve really seen it all now…

******************************

A few days passed. Life returned to normal as if nothing had happened. Then the end-of-term exams began. Mentoring sessions were suspended, and Ji-woo threw himself into training for the upcoming third-year finals right after.

He realized something crucial after that gate incident—knowing how to use an ability didn’t mean being able to wield it freely. His power still hadn’t fully merged with his body.

To push his limits, he trained hard with Hye-rin, finishing the exams without trouble. Their team ranked first in the entire grade.

And for the first time, Ji-woo achieved a “Triple Crown”: first in theory, first in practicals, and first overall—a record he’d never reached in his previous life.

But an even bigger surprise followed.

“Hey, Ji-woo! Did you hear? Yoo Hee-ro ranked 30th this time!”

Hee-ro’s score had skyrocketed—an incredible jump of 177 places.