When I accepted the bet, the middle-aged graduate nodded his head.
“Good. We’ll go inside and wait.”
He lightly placed his hand on the shoulder of the woman with the tear mole, and the two walked toward one side of the building.
Then they passed through the wall and disappeared inside.
Dang Gyu-young watched them go and then asked,
“Kim Ho, honestly, this all started as a prank, but… hasn’t this gotten out of hand?”
Dang Gyu-young had just wanted to see me flustered for a moment and took my napkin, but she hadn’t expected me to claim I could manage without a mark.
Before she could respond, the graduates had joined in the conversation, and in just a few exchanges, things escalated rapidly and the bet was made before she could even stop it.
It was an understandably troubling situation from Dang Gyu-young’s perspective.
I agreed that things had escalated.
“It wouldn’t look good if I failed.”
If I traced back to the start of the bet, it was my unintentional slight to their pride that caused it.
So if I failed, the graduates would think of me as a “first-year who got in over his head”.
Dang Gyu-young who had introduced me as a “junior I value” would also take a hit.
But I remained nonchalant.
“That’s why I just need to succeed.”
“…You really have confidence. Are you sure your sense is that good? Is it reliable?”
“At least, I trust it.”
As for the identity of my “excellent sense”?
It was the sense of a stagnant water honed through countless experiences.
As I kept constantly producing S-rank heroes like a factory, my own skills steadily improved, and I developed an uncanny ability to detect even the slightest oddities.
Long ago, I used to scrutinize the reasons behind every little oddity, but now I don’t bother with the trivial ones.
The important thing is, I just know at a glance.
Like seeing through the invisible ghillie suit in an instant.
Dang Gyu-young sighed softly as if to say she didn’t know anymore.
“Fine, do as you will. Our 200-time graduate, or rather our great senior, must know best.”
She then stepped back a little and folded her arms.
It seemed she had switched to observer mode.
I turned my back on Dang Gyu-young and began to move forward.
The distance between me and Exchange A wasn’t far.
The building was within sight, and with just a little more walking, I would be inside.
As long as I handle the formation well.
If I handled it poorly, this short distance could stretch indefinitely.
As I moved a bit further, my stagnant water senses kicked in.
It meant I had entered the influence of the formation.
At the same time, I roughly identified what kind it was.
A confusion formation.
A formation that disoriented the sense of distance, speed, and direction of anyone within its range.
For example, I might perceive myself as running forward but could actually be slowly walking backward.
Or I might think I had turned a corner at a 90-degree angle when, in reality, I might be walking in place.
In this way, the formation guided unwelcome guests lurking near the exchange in another direction and eventually made them leave the area.
And according to the woman with the tear mole, this process was done so naturally that the person involved wouldn’t even notice.
Just like now.
After taking a few more steps, my stagnant water sensor sent a signal and I immediately made a sharp turn.
However, despite the sudden change in direction, the scene before me was exactly the same as it had been a moment ago.
The formation tried to lead me away but I saw through it and corrected my path.
After going a little further, I suddenly took a sidestep and moved to the side.
But if I moved sideways like that, the Exchange A in front of me should have shifted to the opposite side of my view, yet I was actually getting closer.
Once again, I had intentionally sidestepped to correct my path and to anyone watching it would seem like I was walking straight.
Now the entrance was right in front of me.
But it’s not over yet.
I didn’t go in but instead turned 45 degrees and walked straight toward the building’s outer wall.
Because I trusted my stagnant water sensor 100%, I even closed my eyes.
When I opened my eyes again a few seconds later, I found myself inside the building rather than colliding with the outer wall.
I had broken through the formation.
I’ve succeeded halfway for now.
Of course, the formation was also set up inside, so I couldn’t let my guard down.
On top of that, I had to pass through walls affected by [Throughwalk] to reach the two graduates.
Looking around, I saw a series of rooms with tightly closed doors.
I approached one of them, opened the door as if it were my own bedroom, and stepped inside.
It was a room arranged like an office.
The details were so vivid that it seemed someone had been working there just moments ago.
Since they must have decorated not one or two rooms but entire buildings like this, I could guess how much effort the thieves’ club put into the black market.
While I was impressed, I turned my head towards one wall as indicated by the stagnant water sensor.
It’s this way.
As I walked straight toward the wall, I passed into the next room without feeling any obstruction.
The next room was also arranged like an office.
Again, I immediately turned my head in one direction.
This time, it’s this way.
And I moved on to the next room without hesitation.
“…….?”
Dang Gyu-young blinked her eyes blankly.
Did I see that correctly?
It was hard for her to believe what she had just witnessed.
The senior graduate had said that this formation was “so natural that the opponent might not even realize they were caught in it.”
But no matter how natural it was, when someone struggles to escape the influence of the formation, there should be some sign.
There should be at least a bit of confusion, hesitation, or glancing around.
Yet what Dang Gyu-young saw was Kim Ho walking casually into the building, as if the formation didn’t even exist.
Dang Gyu-young blinked her eyes a bit more blankly, then manipulated the receiver in her ear to confirm that she wasn’t just imagining things
It was used to communicate with the control tower.
“Chae Da-bin.”
– Yes, president-nim.
“Are you watching this?”
– Yes, I am.
“Send me the video from just now.”
– Yes, one moment.
Before long, Chae Da-bin sent a message with a video attached.
It was footage of Kim Ho seen through the crystal ball.
Dang Gyu-young was observing him from behind, but the crystal ball was installed above so it provided a different angle.
So she thought if she just examined the video carefully, she might catch something.
“…”
But contrary to her expectations, Kim Ho’s gait was no different from what she had seen herself.
It was utterly ordinary.
After completing the cross-verification, the next thing that arose was doubt.
Did they not do it properly?
Did the seniors set up the formation carelessly?
Or did they not set it up at all?
Wait? Did they secretly conspire with Kim Ho? To trick me?
Is this a hidden camera prank?
However, the two graduates were equally baffled.
They were watching Kim Ho through the screen shared by the control tower, and they saw the same scene Dang Gyu-young did.
They exchanged puzzled looks.
The middle-aged graduate asked,
“Did you set up the formation properly?”
“Of course I did. I set it up properly but…”
The woman with the tear mole tilted her head in confusion.
Did I miss something important?
For example, what if she had miscalculated or set the range incorrectly and that prevented the formation from functioning as it should?
The fact that the [Throughwalk] spell was working properly was demonstrated by Kim Ho who was effortlessly moving from one room to another in the video.
On the other hand, the formation’s manifestation wasn’t directly visible.
Especially with formations designed to confuse the opponent like this one.
One could only guess based on seeing the opponent wander around.
However, Kim Ho’s movements were so natural that even the person who set up the formation felt doubtful.
“Hmmm…”
Dang Gyu-young rested her chin on her hand, furrowed her brow, then relaxed it, and frowned again.
No matter how much she thought about it from different angles, a clear answer didn’t come to her mind.
In that case, there was only one way left.
I’ll just have to try it myself.
If she wanted to confirm whether the formation was working correctly, she would have to experience it personally.
After all, there was no risk of getting hurt, and as the president, she had the right to verify its performance.
Dang Gyu-young handed a napkin to a member who was waiting nearby.
“Hold this for a moment.”
“Yes.”
Since she had handed over the marker, she would now be fully affected by the formation.
Dang Gyu-young trudged forward and started following in Kim Ho’s footsteps.
The entrance to Exchange A was gradually getting closer.
…It really seems like nothing’s happening.
She didn’t sense anything strange at all.
However, what she didn’t notice was that the speed at which the surroundings moved slowed down imperceptibly each time she took a step.
Dang Gyu-young who had been walking forward without any issue suddenly stopped in place when she finally felt something was off.
Despite having walked quite a distance, the entrance to the exchange was still at almost the same distance.
She quickly gathered her thoughts and looked around before realizing that she was about to enter the downtown area.
The sound of people’s chatter and laughter filled the air.
Dang Gyu-young let out a wry smile.
The formation’s performance is solid.
She was kicked out quite naturally and without her realizing it.
This meant the formation was working perfectly.
And it was also proof that Kim Ho had broken through the formation.
“His sense is really sharp, for real.”
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