Chapter 30: The Hand That Reached Me.

Aegis Project.

A strategy simulation game depicting the great war between humanity and interdimensional beings called [Encroachment].

The narrative within the game revolves around the protagonist, ‘Yunia’.

It’s a journey where a child, raised as an inhumane experiment, gradually comes to understand human emotions and becomes a true hero…. The girl meets so many people along the way.

From the mentor who directly rescued and cared for the ‘protagonist’ from a deserted laboratory, to friends her age, future colleagues, and bonds where they can truly trust and rely on each other.

One of them is ‘Cynthia Rose’.

She was one of the most popular characters in ‘Aegis Project’.

The first place Seo Jin met that girl was at ‘Union Academy’.

Union Academy,
An ability user training institution established by the Allied Forces worldwide.
Anyone with magical power manifestation is required to enroll. This is because only after completing two years of education there can they be issued a legal combat license.

Magic is that dangerous of an ability.

If not handled properly, it’s violence that can drag down everyone around you, including yourself.

Education and training were not a choice but a duty for those born with such power. ‘Union Academy’ was the place that served as the starting point for living together with ability users of the same generation who would later fight on the same battlefield, forming relationships, growing together, and moving forward.

Therefore, the [protagonist]’s admission to the academy was a predetermined event in the game’s progression.

However, Seo Jin was still worried.

At the time, Yunia had grown up solely as an experiment, so she was a blank slate with no basic common sense or skills in human relationships.

He couldn’t help but worry whether such a socially inept child could properly adapt to school life.

Therefore, Seo Jin followed Yunia to the academy to help her. Of course, not as a student, but as a short-term lecturer. It was a result achieved using his experience in the Allied Forces and some connections.

It was from then that he began to be called ‘teacher’ by the children.

Looking back, it’s an impressive memory.

As it was the first point highlighted in the original game, he could directly encounter the childhoods of many important characters.

‘Cynthia Rose’, whom he met there, was a cadet entering in the same class as the protagonist.

She is also a character who plays an important role in the main story later on.

So, Seo Jin already knew.

He could grasp everything about that child’s character and background, the secrets she was hiding, and her future destiny… without even exchanging a single word.

He even knew that she was being bullied at the academy as a child….

Even though he remembered everything, he couldn’t rashly intervene.

Because he had already bitterly realized what kind of butterfly effect his choices to try to change the established story could bring….
Even knowing the girl’s situation of being bullied, he had no choice but to turn a blind eye.

『”…….”』

『”Look over there, the orphan is here again. Oh, she made eye contact. How unpleasant~”』

『”Her magical aptitude is at the bottom again this time, right? Why is she still sticking around here? I don’t understand.”』

『”Well, with that kind of talent, she’ll only starve to death if she goes out there, right?”』

『”I feel sorry for the group members, seriously. I wonder if she even knows she’s a nuisance.”』

He thought he had to.

In order not to disrupt the original story,

In order not to repeat irreversible mistakes,

He had no choice but to pretend not to know….

But Seo Jin already knew.

This world is not a simple game, and the people he met here are not just created characters….

The person who first made him realize that was Arcel.

He realized through his time with her.

That the people here, like himself, can laugh, cry, enjoy, and suffer, that they are living people. Because he remembered that at least all the emotions they felt and expressed were genuine-

He couldn’t turn a blind eye to the sight of the girl being bullied.

So, he ended up reaching out.

『”Cynthia…. Can I call you Cindy?”』

Even knowing the dangers of his intervention in the predetermined destiny,

Even though he thought he would never repeat that mistake….

『”Teacher, look! I’m the top student!! No way…! This is, really… T, thank you. It’s all thanks to you, teacher….”』

But Seo Jin didn’t regret his choice that day.

Even if the future unfolds differently due to his actions….

He justified it by saying that it was worth enduring just for gaining the trust of ‘Cynthia Rose’, a character who would become one of the strongest Aegis alongside the future protagonist.

『”If I hadn’t met you back then… If you hadn’t been there, I would have, really-“』

In reality, there was no such calculation.

It was merely an impulsive action, unable to turn a blind eye to a pitiful child.

It was a choice that could have further twisted the established plot.

Fortunately, the result turned out well. He just rationalized it and moved on.

But now, he was belatedly realizing.

Perhaps, he didn’t know it at all back then….

“I was always with you, teacher.”

Had he really made a terrible mistake…?

Seo Jin was speechless at his former student’s shocking words.

He froze in the face of the surreal situation, seeing Cynthia cherishingly holding a glass bottle containing a part of his original body that was supposed to be his.

He couldn’t understand why that was here now, in her hands…. He was so confused that he felt dizzy.

“Hehe….”

She smiled, looking at Seo Jin’s pale face.

Her expression, drawing a pure smile as always, clearly didn’t know what was wrong. Why did that attitude feel so perplexing yet somehow familiar-

Perhaps it was because he already knew.

Even though he only remembered her as a kind and obedient student,

No matter how accustomed he was to that child’s appearance,

The original nature given to the original game character, ‘Cynthia Rose’…

It was clearly Seo Jin’s mistake that he knew it but didn’t anticipate it.

That the devotion she held would skip over several years and turn towards him…

In the past, 12 years ago when humanity first encountered an unprecedented nemesis.

Back then, when the areas where humans survived began to be divided by the concept of defense lines rather than national borders, Cynthia lost her parents to a mutant species attack as a child.

In front of the pieces of flesh torn beyond recognition, the girl realized that she would no longer meet the two people who cherished her the most in this world.

From then on, Cynthia locked her heart.

Because the pain of losing those she loved and those who loved her was so painful, in order not to experience it again…

She had rather given up on relationships with others.

[“Hey, where are your parents?”]

[“…Can’t she speak?”]

It was a kind of mental defense mechanism triggered by such a traumatic experience.

If there had been even one adult who sincerely understood and embraced the girl’s situation, things might have been different.

However, the environment of the orphanage where Cynthia was left after losing her parents was extremely poor due to the war, and the adults working there did not have the余裕to take care of each and every passive child.

Therefore, from then on, Cynthia did not associate with anyone.

The girl’s frozen heart only hardened more over time.

After several years of living like that, Cynthia manifested magical power one day.

It was quite sudden, but since it was mandatory for children with abilities to complete a certain period of education, she naturally left the orphanage and entered the ‘Academy’.

However, the girl, who had already locked her heart, did not properly associate with those around her even in the changed environment. Rather, she was more alienated and excluded than before.

Was it due to a lack of social skills?

Or was it due to insufficient talent?

Perhaps, in a group of adolescents who considered their own abilities to be chosen, it was only natural that even a slightly eccentric loner would be rejected.

[“Hey… Can you answer properly?”]

[“Are you mute or what.”]

Whatever the initial cause, as time went on, some of the malicious classmates began to look down on the girl and soon extended their hands to direct bullying.

The more that happened, the more Cynthia chose to be alone.

Relationships with others were pain to her.
She only knew how to endure and bear it, so that it would be a little less painful.

She thought that she could just lock her heart tightly and wait for the pain to pass someday.

But some kinds of wounds only fester if left unattended.

Ignoring it wouldn’t solve anything. By the time she realized that, there was already a wall that was too high and too solid in her heart.

The way of thinking that had hardened since childhood had become a barrier that she herself could not break down. She was trapped inside, not knowing what to do, just enduring the days.

Then, a voice heard from beyond the fence.

[“If it’s okay, I think I can help you. Would you trust me just once?”]

[“I guarantee it. Cynthia. You will become a more outstanding hero than anyone.”]

[“Right now… you just haven’t properly realized your true talent yet.”]

It was the meeting with ‘Teacher’.

At first, she didn’t believe it. He was just another person. As always, she wanted to ignore him and push him away by building a wall.

Because if it was a relationship that would be lost and painful anyway, it was better not to have it from the start.

Anyone who faced such rejection from the beginning would give up or become discouraged.

But the teacher was different.
From the time he first met her, he seemed to have a certainty about Cynthia and a deep understanding. He approached her so naturally and changed her life as if by magic.

[“I know it’s hard to ask you to believe me right away… Then, how about we make a bet on one thing?”]

He instantly recognized and unleashed the talent that no one had noticed, not even herself.

He transformed a failing student who was ignored for her weak talent into the top student who everyone looked up to in just half a year. It happened simply by following him with half-doubt and half-belief.

Moreover, the relationship with the teacher did not end there.

He made a friend for the girl who had no ties in the world.

[“Cynthia, there’s a child in the same grade as you that I’m taking care of, and I’d like you to be close to her.”]

[“The child’s name is… Yunia, Yunia Daylight.”]

[“I’m sure you both will grow into outstanding heroes someday. But there will be many difficult things as well.”]

[“At that time, if you have a bond you can trust and rely on… it will definitely be helpful….”]

[“I hope you become such friends to each other.”]

He also taught her about relationships with others that a child with a closed heart did not know.

Bonds that gave her comfort and joy, not suffering….

[“There’s no one who will hate you for being clumsy. Sincerity is important.”]

[“You wanted to say thank you, right? It’s okay. I’m sure it was conveyed.”]

[“You’re getting good at it now? I’m glad. You’ve improved a lot.”]

She was praised for the first time too.

[“Congratulations on being the top student. You really worked hard. I knew you could do it.”]

The recognition she received from the only person who recognized, understood, and needed the girl.

Did the teacher ever realize that it had become the reason for the girl to live tomorrow?

[“Cynthia, I’m so proud of you.”]

He must have known.

To her, the teacher was such a belief.

He knew everything and was never wrong.

Sometimes, as if he had foreseen the predetermined destiny in advance.

The choices and teachings he offered ultimately led to the correct answer.

The trust, which had transformed into emotions beyond trust while the time spent together accumulated, became so solid that it would not waver no matter what happened.

That’s why, after graduating from the academy and being assigned to the defense line for the first time…

[“An Epsilon-class appeared on the 32nd defense line…? If it’s that place, surely….”]

Even when she heard that something had happened to the teacher, she only thought that there was some kind of error or that it was one of the predetermined plans.

[“I’m very sorry to tell you this-“]

Because she knew that there was always only inevitability in that person’s choices.

[“The dispatched member Yu Seo Jin…. passed away last week during a defense operation.”]

There were always many arrangements she didn’t know about in the teacher’s actions.

No matter what happened, he would eventually be safe. She didn’t doubt it.

Foolishly.

A mountain of mutant corpses piled up like a mountain.

The sight of a creature born as a predator being crushed and torn apart by overwhelming violence… at first glance, it looked like a disaster swept away by a natural disaster.

But what created that sight was not any natural disaster, but only one magical power.

A woman sitting on the hill of corpses, the pink hair that she had cherished and grown after being praised for being pretty one day, was all soaked in blood. Her battered face only showed the determination that she had been longing for and searching for with only one purpose.

That’s why, no matter how tired she was, she could only catch her breath for a moment and get up again.

What was contained in the grayish-brown eyes that raised her head was the body of a particularly huge mutant.

It looked like a dragon from mythology.

Four pairs of eyes embedded in the face.
A body larger than an average building.
A shell that would not be scratched even by a large-scale bombing.
And the cyan magical core formed in the center of the chest, containing energy comparable to a nuclear reactor.

Its identity was an Epsilon-class mutant.

The highest-level evolved entity, classified except for the queen, who is the origin and pinnacle of the encroaching species.

The fiend that single-handedly collapsed the 32nd defense line just a year ago.

It was a monster whose power was comparable to a fully armed legion.

But now, it was just a lump of flesh with its wings and limbs torn off.

If anyone else saw this scene, they would have been speechless with astonishment.

The sight of single-handedly defeating the highest-level dangerous target, which even several Special-grade Aegis had participated in and retreated from…

They would have been overwhelmed by the feat that they couldn’t believe even after seeing it.

However, the person who achieved such a result only reached out indifferently in front of the body that was twisted and torn apart and was coldly cooling down.

Even if the corpse alone was worth an astronomical amount, especially the magical core containing tremendous energy was close to the supreme treasure that could not be compared to anything, but in reality, she showed no interest in by-products at all.

She just casually cut open the belly skin.

To find something that she had dared to swallow before.

“[Extraction]”

“[Regression]”

“[Reharmonization]”

“[Restoration]….”

The voice that muttered lowly while digging into the intestines covered in blood contained incantations.

“[Implementation], [Combination]….”

The result of overlapping a series of high-level formulas that would be difficult for ordinary ability users to implement even one with only short chants finally returned something that had already been digested in the mutant’s stomach to its original form, defying providence.

It was a part of someone.

Of the person she had lost, the most precious person….

A torn right arm.

Cynthia held the cut-off part of the severed arm tightly with trembling hands.

When she realized that the magical power connected to the end of it was still somewhere in this world.

“I knew it… I believed it, I believed it…”

Her shoulders, soaked with blood that wasn’t hers, trembled slightly,

And in the grayish-brown eyes that shimmered with rainbow colors,

Dangerous emotions that had never been seen before were swirling.