The S Classes That I raised:Geunseo( 근서) 218+

Chapter 248: The Real and The Fake (2)

(⁠ ⁠ꈍ⁠ᴗ⁠ꈍ⁠)[Changing mana hall--> mana hole]

"Didn't you hear the minor details before? That I'm your partner."

"All I heard was useless information."

Well, that was true. How much should I tell him? Since Sung hyunjae even sent a quest asking for a personal introduction, I guess I don't need to worry about that.

"First of all, he's an S-class Awakener."

"Just an S rank?"

...It's okay for me to say "just"', but it's slightly annoying when someone else says it. He's my partner. I'm the one who's supposed to belittle him.

"He's about ten years older than you. He looks similar, but there's no denying the years. You, Sigma, are still young. Ah, you're getting upset again."

"I've never been upset."

"He's also the guild master of the Seseong Guild. Roughly in the same position as you, Sigma. His skills are similar, and his weapon seems to be the same, can I check the item description?"

Sigma gave me a suspicious look. As if I would steal it... But I've stolen a lot, haven't I? It's understandable that he's suspicious.

After saying that I would only confirm it and hold the end, or even write a contract, Sigma finally took out the chain.

[Elegant Seeker's Chain - Contractor's Rank +1 (up to Mythical)

A chain forged with the deepest moonlight of the crescent moon. It appears to be metal, but its essence is light.]

The status window of Sung Hyunjae'scase chain that I saw before was exactly the same, not a single letter was different. What's happening?

"The weapon is exactly the same. Where and how did you get this chain?"

"I'm the one asking questions."

"You can tell me that much. Where are you from? It would be nice if you could tell me your real name. What about your family? I'm very interested in you, Sigma.
How about we exchange personal information? I have a kind and cute younger sibling, and my parents passed away a long time ago."

I don't know about Sung Hyunjae's past, and it would be hard to get an answer even if I asked, but maybe Sigma would spill if I coaxed him well.

"Why should I tell you?"

"For smooth communication. Hey, don't frown. Then, at least talk about your family. I told you about mine. Are your parents still alive?"

"Where is Sung Hyunjae now?"

Sigma ignored my question and asked. Should I count this as the second question? The question 'who is he' doesn't include location information.

"He's with the system."

"...What? You definitely said he was an S-class Awakener."

"It's a long story. That was your second question, so you have one left. Think carefully before you ask. Or you can exchange it with your personal information. I'll give you a good deal."

Sigma's eyebrows twitched.

"I don't need to answer until I clearly say it's my third question."

He belatedly set a limit.

"And the information about Sung Hyunjae is insufficient."

"What exactly do you want to know? Height? Weight? I think he's similar to you. His birthday is August 30th, and he destroyed a cruise ship on his last birthday. I don't know much else. The more I think about it, the less I really know. He seems to be unmarried, but who knows, with that face and that age, he must have dated. Do you have a girlfriend, Sigma?"

"No."

"What a waste of a face. You should smile more. Smile~"

Sigma's face hardened even more. Maybe I overstepped a bit. But I think he would look much better if he smiled. He probably doesn't have any friends. Should I introduce him to Yoohyun? Or maybe Noah. The three of them would make a good match, but then I suddenly remembered reality.

Hyuna said this place was as real as it gets, but still...

Just then, I heard the sound of the chain moving. I was mindlessly staring at it slithering over the table like a snake, when suddenly...

"Isn't this a breach of contract?"

"If I had injured you, it would have been. It's not my responsibility if you get hurt trying to escape."

Sigma said shamelessly. He does resemble Sung hyunje when he's like this. My body bound by the chain, was pulled onto the table. What's bothering him? Could it be...

"What were you thinking just now? While looking at me."

His low, suppressed voice sent shivers down my spine. Did my inner thoughts show on my face? What kind of face was I making? Maybe he sensed something like pity. That would be totally out of line.

I tried to look up at Sigma's expression, but I was practically lying on the table and he had stood up, so it was impossible. I could only see his legs.

"I was thinking that it would be nice if dear Sigma had friends, dated, and got married."

"You're lying."

"You don't have to answer. Use your last remaining question. I won't recommend it though. It's a waste."

Sigma bent down. His scarf came loose, and the tip of his finger touched the back of my neck. Despite the contract that guaranteed each other's physical safety, I felt a slight chill.

"If you fail to meet the contract conditions, C-class, you become my property."

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch. Ah, you wouldn't know what kimchi is."

"If I had known that you wouldn't die, I would have finished the engraving then."

"I don't have dozens or hundreds of lives. I'll die next time."

"You're lying. How many lives do you have left?"

"What do you mean, how many lives? Of course I only get one chance."

"The main mana flow of the human body is not just at the back of the neck, but extends throughout the spine."

The finger that had lightly pressed the back of my neck slowly moved down. It was as if he was giving a lecture with a human model.

"Although we only engrave a small mark on the back of the neck for safety reasons, there have been attempts to engrave the entire spine."

His hand paused just above my waist.

"However, not a single person was able to withstand it."

"Human experimentation, that's the worst."

"If all the main mana routes are engraved, theoretically, it would be possible to perfectly manipulate even the minute mana flow in the human body. This would allow one to handle one's own mana with utmost delicacy, increasing skill efficiency, but at the same time."

His paused hand started moving again.

"Depending on the settings, one could also be completely controlled by others. There's talk that it's possible to manipulate the brain with mana. It's not an outrageous claim, considering that there are mental skills."

This time, it wasn't Sigma's intimidation, but my own imagination that made the back of my neck feel cold. Theoretically, but if it's Sigma, he seemed capable of such manipulation. Just looking at how he handles electricity, his control ability was no joke.

"I'll let you confirm it directly with your body, C-class. Then you'll have no choice but to be honest."

...I seemed to have underestimated him too much because he was in his twenties. He seems even more reckless than Sung Hyunjae. My dear partner prefers to quietly ensnare and bind rather than finish things off with one move like an engraving... He's not a nice guy either.

Well, he did pin me down before. He's changed a lot since then. Still, even if I'm considered an inanimate item, Sung Hyunjae wouldn't resort to such a creepy engraving. Young guys are rough.

'Come to think of it, partner, aren't you being too quiet?'

He's not just watching and munching on popcorn, is he? A young guy who looks like you is harassing me.

"I'm sorry, but I'm confident I can meet the contract conditions. So, you should just hug a doll instead."

"You're confident. Speak."

"Can you loosen this up first?"

Sigma didn't budge. Right, it was a bit awkward to talk while looking at his face.

Even if Yoohyun was excluded from the contract penalty, I thought it might be okay not to meet the conditions. It might be more convenient to take him around if Sigma belonged to me, and I would naturally be released once this dungeon raid was over.

But that kind of engraving, no. I was a little short of points to buy the Haewoo item right now. I could hunt monsters to earn points, but it would be a problem if I was immediately taken away and engraved. I should have gone out with Yoohyun in the morning to hunt some monsters.

I swallowed a sigh and opened my mouth. I was prepared to lose a life.

"I'll tell you the information that is the price of the contract....

This world has already been destroyed."

There was no response.

"The world now is just a simple record, and it's a fake created based on that data. Sigma, you're not real either. Just... leftover data. I don't know if there's a game here, but you're like a character in a game. A virtual reality character that moves, speaks, and thinks almost like a real person because it contains the exact information of a human being that once existed."

"You're saying I'm fake."

Sigma's voice was more composed than I thought.

"Yes."

"Then, C-class, you are."

I felt his hand on my neck and head.

"To you, C-class, I must have been fake from the start."

"No, I am."

The chain was released. I got up. Sigma was just staring at me. It was a hard-to-read expression. He spoke calmly.

"The real one is Sung Hyunjae."

"You don't have to say that!"

Of course, it's true that I mistook Sigma for Sung Hyunjae. I even considered him a knockoff.

"From the beginning, you're a different person, right? Sung Hoon e is just Sung Hyunjae, and you're like... traces of yourself......"

I should have just kept quiet. There was no need to tell him this fact. But this was the most certain information that could be the price of the contract. It was related to Sigma and was information about this world itself that he didn't know.

Unlike me, who felt guilty for no reason, Sigma seemed calm on the outside. He observed me and then opened his mouth.

"Did you also enter to someone in this world?"

"...No. It's my original body. At least I'm completely real."

I'm definitely real. I unconsciously touched the back of my neck. There was nothing to catch on my fingertips.

"I guess I'll take this with me when I leave. And at least for me. Regardless of what happened to the original Sigma, for me, Sigma is only you. The real one probably didn't even know me. I also don't know him."

As I spoke, I felt even stranger. The Sigma I know is just this guy in front of me. Whether it's real or fake, I only know one.

I also remembered what Moon Hyuna said. She was sincere to this world, and she said that this world was real to her.

Damn, what's real and what's fake. At least for me, there's only this Sigma in this world right now. There's no real or anything. There's only one. I don't care about someone I've never seen.

"Sigma."

I looked into his golden eyes.

"I'll take back what I said about you being fake. To me, you're the only one, so of course you're real. How can the only person be fake? The one who kicked my stomach, the one who got his item warehouse robbed by me, and the one who followed me here are all the same person."

Sigma tilted his head slightly.

"Of course, I'm real."

...What?

"Hey! You said you were fake too!"

"It was to you, C-class. Not from my perspective."

"Right, good for you. Must be nice to have such high self-esteem!"

Really, I don't need to worry about Sung Hyunjae, let alone someone who looks like hyunjae.

"But I don't like this guy called Sung Hyunjae."

"That has nothing to do with me. You have one question left, so ask."

Sigma looked down at me, who sat back down on the sofa saying let's finish this quickly, with a smile in his eyes. What's with him? He seems happy. Is it because he heard he's real?

"In the end, the information you gave was wrong."

"...Huh?"

"You said I was fake and then said I was real, so it's false information."

"What, wait, hey!"

Does it work like that? But it's true that this world is data left from the real world, right? Sigma smiled even more.

"I guess I'll have to give the doll to Han Yoohyun as a gift. He'll need a replacement."

"What are you talking about! You haven't thrown that away yet! What kind of gift is that!"

I checked the contract in a hurry with a gloomy face. Damn, it really says I broke the contract. The content of the contract automatically changed to focus on the penalty conditions.

"Spare me the engraving!"

"Why should I."

"Because I'll use the Haewoo item and run away."

Sung Hyunjae, are you watching? Please give me some minor quests. I just need 30,000 more points. Sigma made a displeased face.

- Kiiiiik!

Suddenly, the monster's scream was heard. The sound is close. We both reflexively looked at the living room window, but only the daytime cityscape was visible. Then is it the other way? As I was about to head towards the door, someone shouted loudly from outside.

"A monster has appeared in the mana hole!"

In broad daylight, from the mana hole. Sigma also seemed to be experiencing this for the first time. We immediately ran outside.
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(⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠) What's with this tension I almost forgot I wasn't reading a bl novel lmao