Chapter 273

Words : 1624 Updated : Oct 9th, 2025

Chapter 273 [The bond with ‘Inoue Ren’ has grown to Lv. 2.] [Since the bond has grown to Lv.2, a Relationship has been established. Your Relationship with 'Inoue Ren' is currently 'Observation’.] [Relationship: Observation] [To form or sever this Relationship, one needs basic information about the other first. Every tiny action of the other will be closely observed, and once one has deemed they have enough information, the nature of the Relationship will be determined. *Every time the subject successfully observes what they are looking for, a Fatestone is created. *The maturation rate of the Fatestone increases while the subject is observing the target. *Currently created Fatestones: 1] Glancing at the series of notification messages that appeared before his eyes, Se-Hoon confirmed that the gazes he had felt earlier had vanished along with Ren before putting away the alchemical weapon he had been holding. Looks like it was those guys from yesterday. Were they planning to take him hostage? Before, he could have quickly figured out the reason, but it wasn’t so simple anymore. There are too many reasons for someone to target me these days. It was to the point that it felt like there were more of them than the ones who weren’t trying to kidnap or kill him. So instead of dwelling on who was behind the attack, he turned his attention to the newly formed Relationship with Ren. Observation, huh.... So he’s still planning on watching me from afar. It seemed like Ren would decide whether to involve him in his plans or eliminate him to avoid interference once this observation phase ended. It was uncertain what Ren would decide, but Se-Hoon only pondered it briefly. Well, it doesn’t really matter either way. If Ren were to become his ally, he’d help out. And if Ren became an enemy, he would just crush him. He decided to just wait and see. Leaning back in the limousine, Se-Hoon rested until he arrived at the Void Space Terminal and returned straight to Babel. *** Click- Back in his dorm after just one day, Se-Hoon took a quick look around. Then, only upon confirming that nothing had changed in his absence, he entered his bedroom and collapsed onto the bed. “Phew...” The tension drained from his entire body in one go, releasing the hidden fatigue he had been storing, and his body started aching under the strain. With the exhaustion weighing on him, he barely managed to roll over. Judging by how tired I am, I must’ve had a lot of stress built up. While his physical fatigue could easily be wiped away with Soul Honing, he was too mentally drained to bother. Not wanting to do anything due to the rare feeling of such exhaustion, he simply stared at the ceiling. Come to think of it, it’s been a while since I could relax like this... Before he regressed, ninety percent of the Earth had been consumed by the devastation caused by the Harbingers of Destruction, with the remaining ten percent corrupted by demonic aura. In that apocalyptic era, there was no place to rest. He lived every day on edge, constantly checking his physical state. It’s not like I’m completely relaxed now either... but I’ve definitely loosened up a bit. His current state was one that his past self—or even the Three Dogs—would have called “soft.” But even knowing that, he intentionally let his body relax even further. He knew better than anyone that pushing himself too hard could lead to burnout and that such a mindset could make him seem too otherworldly to others. There are a lot of sharp people out there, after all. In a world still functioning relatively well, acting as though the world was still on the brink of destruction would only make him look crazy. And even if others didn’t find him otherworldly, others would likely mark him as a madman. However, if someone troublesome—like the Perfect Ones, the Ten Evils, or even Watchers—regarded him as a nuisance, it could potentially lead to much bigger problems. If anyone finds out I’ve regressed... hmm... I’d end up dissected either way. No matter how he looked at it, there wasn’t a good outcome. Sighing, Se-Hoon brushed the thought aside and focused on other matters. Taking the chance, he began sorting through the lingering doubts, questions, and plans he had been putting off for far too long. The mental optimization was something he liked to do when he felt particularly stressed, but since he had the time, now was also a good time. The cleanup is almost done... I should decide who to target next. The remaining Ten Evils, Watchers, and the Harbinger Shards hidden within the Six Great Demon Realms—as his thoughts swirled around potential targets, Se-Hoon felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Dismissing his thoughts for now, he pulled his phone out to check the message. Luize: Whatcha doing? She didn’t sound particularly urgent, so Se-Hoon replied casually. Se-Hoon: Breathing. The marked-as-read symbol came immediately, and Luize sent another message after a brief moment. Luize: Where? “Hm. I didn’t expect her to ask something like this...” Surprised by the response, Se-Hoon debated answering for a moment before he sent another reply. Se-Hoon: In my room. You can come over if you want to see me. Again, his message was read instantly, and Luize replied faster than before. Luize: You think I won’t? Just wait there. “Heh.” Luize pouted again, pursing her lips in annoyance. And upon seeing that, Se-Hoon just chuckled and sat down across from her. “Let’s eat before it gets cold.” “...Fine.” Finishing the impromptu lunch together, Se-Hoon cleared the table and finally asked, “So, what was with the sudden cooking?” “...Well, judging by your lazy replies, I figured you’d say it’s too much of a hassle if I asked you to come out and eat.” “If that’s the case, you could’ve just said so. You don’t even know how to cook,” Se-Hoon teased, shaking his head. Subjected to his teasing, Luize narrowed her eyes in annoyance. “I did it because you looked too tired! I wasn’t planning to actually cook it all myself—” Halfway through her rant, Luize froze, realizing she had said something she shouldn’t have. But unfortunately for her, Se-Hoon’s face had already lit up in amusement. “So what you’re saying is, you did all this for me—” “If you say another word, I’ll kill you.” Luize glared at him, her ears and neck bright red. Completely amused now, seeing her flustered reaction, Se-Hoon only hesitated momentarily before making a big smile. “How thoughtful of you.” “You son of a—!” *** After a brief scuffle with Luize, which Se-Hoon considered a fun little post-meal exercise, they relaxed with dessert and drinks. “So, are you just going to rest for the rest of the break?” Luize asked. “If nothing comes up, yeah.” With less than two weeks left of the summer vacation, it was a good time to wrap up any loose ends before the school year began. However, Luize gave him a skeptical look. “I’m not buying it. There’s no way you are just going to rest.” Though anyone else might have believed him, Luize had seen him claim to take breaks before, only to run off on some mission. Unable to deny it, Se-Hoon shrugged. “I mean it this time. I really don’t have anything else going on.” Most of the promises he made had been taken care of, and the external matters were finally settling down, so there wasn’t much to worry about. It was the perfect opportunity to take it easy for once. “Hmm...” But despite his reassurance, Luize remained unconvinced. Staring at him suspiciously, Luize turned away and cleared her throat, trying to shift the mood. “Then, um... since we’ve both been busy, maybe we could—” Vrrr- Her words were cut off by the buzzing of Se-Hoon’s phone, creating an awkward pause. Jerry: Please check the transaction statement. Glancing at the message, Se-Hoon read the text from an unfamiliar name. It seemed like a standard message about a purchase, but Se-Hoon knew otherwise—it was a code sent through one of the communication channels used by Dawn. I thought I told them to contact me only if it was important... Frowning, Se-Hoon wondered what had happened as he picked up his phone and began decoding the hidden message. Two days from now. At the symposium. Major issue. All members required. A symposium? Seeing that it was some sort of gathering, he didn’t understand why it was labeled as a “major issue”. What was going on? Pondering what the issue could be, his eyes landed on the final phrase: All members required. All... It didn’t seem like it was referring to just Dawn. Moreover, it was highly unlikely they’d contact him, Dawn’s leader, in such an indirect manner. And that left only one possibility. Watchers. The five factions comprising Watchers, which included Dawn, were going to convene at an all-hands meeting. Participating would be extremely dangerous, but... it was also a massive opportunity. With his decision made, Se-Hoon was about to reach out for more details when Luize’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “Hey.” He looked up to see her smirking as if she’d caught him red-handed. “What was that you said earlier? Something about meaning it this time?” “...” Se-Hoon looked away, embarrassed by the timing. “I’ll rest after this, I swear.” But Luize just stared at him, unconvinced. “Yeah, sure... you keep telling yourself that.” Sighing, she resigned herself to the inevitable and mentally scrapped any plans for the rest of the vacation.

Chapter 273

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