Declaration of Extra Strike

“Why, such a……. I think it’s a lot of waste on this side.”

The driver laughed and waved his hands at the words he uttered with a serious look.

“Hahahaha!! God no, I’m married.”

“Oh, really?”

The driver even showed me the ring on her hand. I was so happy with the good news that I didn’t notice that the diamond on the ring worn by the driver was quite large and high-quality.

The driver frowned, as if he had noticed her particular taste.

“Yes, of course. Do I dare to do something? He’s so handsome that he’s popular with the public these days and he has good manners. Even more than my husband.”

“Well, let’s say so.”

‘He’s an old man, though.’

The driver liked him so much that I swallowed my words and nodded.

As the bus running on the main road turned around and entered, a familiar examination center was seen.

“We’ll be at the examination center station soon.”

It took longer than when I took Yeon Seung-yeon or Han Seo-jin’s car to go through various stops, but it was not boring at all.

The bus door that stopped at the station opened.

“We’ve arrived! Good-looking customer, get home safely.”

I stepped into the stairs to get off, paused, and looked back.

“What’s the driver’s name?”

“What?”

The driver opened her eyes wide and spoke with a smile.

“It’s Oh Nayeon. What about you, guide?”

“…… Joo Ho-hyun.”

***

“Hohyun-nim!”

Yeon Seung-yeon, who was contacted in advance before going to the Examination Center B floor, came out to the lobby and was waiting. We took the elevator together and went up to the lab. As soon as I opened the door and entered, I smelled the unique scent of the potion. I couldn’t say it was fragrant, but I felt comfortable because I was used to it.

“Here’s the Guide card.”

“You found it!! Hohyun-nim is amazing. I’ll try harder and find out quickly!”

After I washed my hands and entered the manufacturing room, Yeon Seung-yeon followed me. Unlike before, when we added this and that and turned them all into trash, the pot’s condition was much better, focusing on two difficulties to deal with.

“Was it in the middle of production?”

“Oh, yes…. I was making a revised part that you told me last time. Oh, and I wasn’t able to obtain the cost of the ingredients.”

“Well, it looks fine. There will be people who will buy it if they get a 90% discount. Even though it won’t be able to cover the cost of the ingredients.”

Yeon Seung-yeon’s face brightened as he recognized a modest compliment among severe criticism.

It was also quite talented to hear the passing advice and see that the terrible waste was so successful. If I had made it with my skills, I would have added several times more ability.

‘It’s not that he doesn’t have a hunch. He can be a little annoying, but I don’t mind  raising him.’

I couldn’t produce it directly because I didn’t have any skills, so I looked around a little and came out of the lab.

While sitting comfortably and eating cookies and drinks that Yeon Seung-yeon took out, I thought of the pill that I took along with the guide card.

“That’s right, Seungyeon ah.”

“Yes, Hohyun nim!”

Yeon Seung-yeon held out his hands with a puzzled look as he took a handful of tissues out of his pocket and handed them over.

“Open it.”

As he shook his head, Yeon Seung-yeon unfolded the tissue with a careful touch. Two white pills came out of the crumpled tissue.

“This is…”

“Do you have the ingredient test skill? If so, please find out the ingredients.”

“Yes, I do, but it’s low-level, so it’s only possible to classify whether they’re for awakeners or not….”

“Joking. What kind of skill is that? What’s the use of being a major classification?”

“…….”

Suddenly, the atmosphere became chilled. Yeon Seung-yeon was crying in an instant and was flinching her hands as if she was about to commit suicide.

“I’m-I’m….Hiccups- I’m sorry.….”

“What, it’s true……?”

“It’s useless. It’s a skill but… hiccups.”

There’s no grade mark next to my passive skill, so I thought he was just kidding…….

I shook my hand, a little embarrassed.

“No, hey, Seungyeon. No. I don’t even have that. Just, uh, find out if it’s for the awakeners.”

“Yes, my best…my best…  I’ll try my best to find out.”

All that is required is a single use of a skill. What are you trying your best for…?

However, I just nodded my head to thank him because I thought he would burst into tears if I said this.

Yeon Seung-yeon closed his eyes tightly with the medicine in his hand. Light poured out of the gap in the hand and shone from the tightly clasped hand. After a while, there was nothing left in Yeon Seung-yeon’s hand that unfolded again.

The disadvantage of component analysis was that once the skill was used, the object was destroyed.

Yeon Seung-yeon said carefully,

“Yes. It’s definitely for awakeners, and it seems like a stabilizer. Of course, we need to investigate further, but it doesn’t seem to have a strong effect…”

“That’s ambiguous.”

Stabilizers for awakeners are drugs that calm the excitement that follows hard work. Their uses were very general, from small effects such as fever to anesthesia that puts you to sleep for more than a day.

It’s not unusual for Joo Ho-hyun to have… but I had no idea what it was for.

“Good job. Please request an analysis of the ingredients for the other one. How long does it take?”

“If I reveal the purpose, it comes out in two days, and if I hide it, it takes about a week.”

“……It can’t be helped. Go ahead and analyze it in secret.”

“Yes!”

Now that I came here, it was a shame that I didn’t bring an ampule. It looked suspicious even to look at it, so I couldn’t help it because I thought it would be dangerous to carry it out recklessly. If I knew it would take this long, I would have brought it.

I tried to empty out the thoughts and regrets that filled my head. There was nothing unknown to me. If you take time and wait slowly, the answer will come out someday. I’m sure it’s the same. Maybe it’s not that important. Well, it’s not that urgent anyway.

I spent time playing with Yeon Seung-yeon, who shook off my uncomfortable feeling.

Compared to working alone at Nox, it was quite interesting to hear about the center or its producers from Yeon Seung-yeon. I also talked about the bus driver I met on my way, and apparently Yeon Seung-yeon knew about the visit of the Cheon Rang guild leader in the previous consecutive years.

“Everyone said they went to see him, but you didn’t.”

“Of course. Ho, Hohyun nim said he was coming so…….”

Even I think it would be more profitable to see me than the grandfather.

“Why did Seong Hwon become so popular all of a sudden?”

“What?”

Yeon Seung-yeon looked at me curiously at my question.

“What do you mean……. The one who came here today is the chief of the Cheon Rang Guild.”

“Yes. The head of the Cheollang Guild is Seong Hwon.”

“What? No! It was changed a few months ago. From Seong Hwon to Seong Sanha. I heard that Sung Hwon will only remain as the president of Cheon Rang Enterprise.”

“……what?”

At the first word, I blinked and questioned.

“Isn’t that grandfather?”

“No, he is very young.”

The bus driver earlier was not talking about the grandfather, but the new guild leader.’

Only then could I smile with a relieved heart.

Indeed, a few months ago, when I was busy preparing to hit Tae Je-heon in the back of the head, Tae Je-heon seemed to be away every day for some reason; was this related to the Cheollang guild leader’s succession?

Han Seo-jin wouldn’t let me come to Yeon Seung-yeon’s lab again when he returned, so I stood up after playing for a long time until I could hold out.

“I’m going to take the bus”.

“Then I’ll escort you to the station.”

Yeon Seung-yeon removed his gown and followed him even though he didn’t have to come out.

The long-awaited elevator opened, and Yeon Seung-yeon froze as if he had become a statue when he encountered a man who looked strict and uptight.

“Yeon Seung-yeon ssi?”

“Oh, do-do-doctor!”

“Where are you going? The performance announcement is just around the corner, so you mustn’t have a lot of time. What an amazing result you produced to come down at this time.”

“Well, that’s…….”

“The one besides you…I have never seen you before. Are you with Yeon Seung-yeon?”

When the cold gaze through the glasses turned to me, I immediately tucked myself in front of the closing elevator.

“No? I don’t know him.”

He seems like Yeon Seung-yeon’s senior, but it would be easier for him to make excuses without me. Before the bewildered doctor turned around, my eyes met with Yeon Seung-yeon’s nervous ones. While beckoning to contact me later, the elevator door closed and Yeon Seung-yeon and the doctor disappeared from view.

“Han Seo-jin probably hasn’t returned yet. When will he return…….”

I was taking out my cell phone to try calling, and I felt like my body was floating, so I looked up. The elevator that was supposed to go down was going up. Only then did I realize that I hadn’t pressed the first floor. I sighed quietly.

The elevator door that arrived somewhere opened, and people rushed inside, making me take a step back.

When I raised my head curiously at the shadow cast over my head, the back of the man standing right in front of me was full of vision.

‘Is he an individual?’

I couldn’t see the face of the very tall man, but his bright hair color was unusual enough to make me think he was blond at first glance. The soft color of the hair captivated my eyes.

‘It looks like the mane of a liger. It must have been very expensive…….’

On each floor, people came into the elevator one by one. The man who was backing away from people bumped into me.

“Excuse me.”

“It’s all right.”

I roughly waved my hand at what he said without looking back, but there was no reply. When I looked up slightly, his eyes were looking at me as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have.