Chapter 140: Rising Dawn, Surpassing the Past (2)
As everyone began to engage in the fight with their own renewed determination, the aspect of the battle shifted rapidly and incomparably.
While they had been struggling just to hold their ground before, one could now say they were clearly launching an offensive.
Of course, they had not achieved some immense enlightenment in that short span of time.
Unless someone had regressed and returned to this point in time, such a thing was impossible.
Even though Ryu Jin-oh had awakened a new talent, it was difficult to say that something had changed drastically.
In terms of basic abilities, almost everyone remained the same as before.
In short, the cadets—excluding Im Seong-cheol—were still lacking in experience and were being outmatched in terms of coordination.
"Urgh!"
Then, what was making such sounds escape from the Apostles' mouths?
What exactly had changed to allow the cadets to push the Apostles back like this?
The answer was surprisingly simple.
"I just need to kill you before I die!"
It was their mindset.
Many Players say this:
The moment a Player most often decides to retire is when they witness someone's death for the first time.
They say that once you are seized by the fear of death, you reach a state where you can no longer remain active.
At the same time, they also say this:
However, there are certainly those who do not succumb to that fear and instead surpass it.
That mindset alone will act as a great help in real combat.
BOOM!
Indeed.
The reason Kim Su-hyeok and the others were able to fight so hard was that they had surpassed that fear.
Of course, that did not mean they were entirely devoid of the dread of dying.
From a young age, Players are educated that they are in an occupation where it would not be strange to die at any moment.
However, fearing death is a primal human emotion.
How could one erase that so easily? Especially at the age of seventeen.
Nevertheless, there is always a reason for them to act this way.
"I will not be carried behind everyone; I will walk together with you."
That reason was Choi Yu-seong.
It was exactly as Kim Su-hyeok had just said.
Choi Yu-seong had thrown himself into a situation where he might die to save Ha Eun-ha; could they really hold back out of fear of getting hurt?
At the very least, no one in this place harbored such a thought.
Even though their personalities were all different, none of them were lying about their desire to care for their friends and comrades.
"You will never get past me!"
That was why all of them were fighting as if they were throwing their lives away.
They did not back down even when a blade passed by their necks or an arrow grazed their cheeks.
Because right now, behind them, there were friends they had to protect.
There was a friend who had been targeted by mysterious villains, and a friend who had lost consciousness while protecting her.
And...
"Please... please wake up, Yu-seong...!"
If there are those who have resolved to protect, there are naturally those who are being protected.
Ha Eun-ha was still using her healing magic while shedding tears, just as she had been doing before Choi Yu-seong lost consciousness.
"......"
However, Choi Yu-seong still did not respond.
The more he remained still, the more her heart felt like it was burning.
Without a doubt, she felt it more intensely than anyone else in the group.
After all, had he not ended up like this while protecting her and no one else?
Her psychological pain would surely be greater than that of the other children, never less.
"Sob..."
However, if all problems were solved simply by praying, why would there be people dying or suffering in the world?
Despite her wishes, there was no sign of him regaining consciousness.
...In fact, even this much was close to a miracle.
Normally, it was a situation where it would be natural for his breath to stop immediately, but Ha Eun-ha was holding onto his life.
But how could she be satisfied and step back just by prolonging his life?
Therefore, Ha Eun-ha maintained her healing magic without resting for even a single moment, even while she poured out tears.
"Why... why...?"
Perhaps because her voice was thick with weeping, it did not even come out properly.
If one were to translate her words, they would mean something like this:
Why did he go so far to save her?
They had known each other for less than a year and had not even interacted that much, so why did he go out of his way to throw his life away for her?
In reality, the reason was simple.
To Choi Yu-seong, she was the hero he admired.
However, there was no way she could know that simple reason.
Thus, Ha Eun-ha’s feelings could only become more complicated.
"I... I was always a nuisance, so why every time...!"
Looking back on the past, it was always like that.
The first time her life was targeted at the Gate, she had done nothing and simply fainted.
She had no memory of it, but she knew nonetheless.
That if Choi Yu-seong had not been there, she might have been in real danger.
"And during the final exams, too..."
At that time, unlike at the Gate, there were many other cadets, but the situation itself was similar.
Had she not survived because Choi Yu-seong fought until he was on the verge of fainting to change Baek Ha-seong’s mind?
And... even in that situation, she had never accomplished anything significant.
She had simply used healing because she did not want to see the cadets get hurt.
Even though she knew she might die, she had stepped forward when Kim Su-hyeok and the others faced Baek Ha-seong, but she could not stop herself from trembling.
Yes, she was nothing more than a cowardly nuisance.
"And..."
Now was no different.
Even though all she had was her healing, she could not save a single friend who had thrown his life away for her.
Yes, she was still a half-wit who could not save the one person who had sacrificed himself for her.
"Please...!"
Therefore, Ha Eun-ha did not give up despite her unending tears and her heart that felt like it would collapse. She poured out her healing magic without caring that her mana was running dry, and at the same time, she prayed inwardly.
'Please, please...'
Let her save her friend.
"Sob..."
Had she ever prayed this desperately in her life?
No. She likely never had.
It was not because she had lived a prosperous life and never felt a lack of anything.
'Because I was exhausted.'
A world where everyone treated her with a facade.
Even if she prayed, what would have changed?
Even if something did change, her heart, which was already pierced with holes, would surely never return to how it was.
In that case, it was easier for her to live within a facade herself.
So she had lived that way, and she had planned to continue living that way.
But.
'Now it is different.'
The friends in this place absolutely did not treat her with a facade.
Every one of them was protecting her with sincerity.
Every one of them sincerely believed she was their comrade.
'So, please...!'
In the past, she had resolved to face facades with a facade of her own.
If so, then is it not natural logic to face sincerity with sincerity?
Perhaps it sounds like a simple logic of "an eye for an eye," but the words she wanted to say were not merely such simple logic.
Yes, she desired it deeply from her heart, more truly than anything else.
For the sake of those who were sincere toward her, she wanted to be able to repay them.
'Of course, it is true that I am still in pain.'
The memories of her childhood remained, and the wounds she received back then had not yet healed.
It was true that those memories were still causing her pain, and that they would continue to do so in the future.
However...
'Clinging to the pain of the past and failing to protect the present... that makes no sense...!'
If it still caused her pain, she could just carry it with her.
If she could just protect the friends who treated her with sincerity, she could cover that pain with happiness.
Because as much as she was in pain, she could be equally happy.
That was the answer to the dilemma she had been unable to resolve since the incident at the Gate.
The final conclusion, which could never be overturned, reached after endless agonizing and soul-searching since that day.
'Therefore...'
Please, please give her the power to protect the present.
She begged and begged for the power to not lose the friends who were fighting for her.
[......]
At the moment Ha Eun-ha prayed from the depths of her heart while pouring healing magic into Choi Yu-seong.
[Talent awakens.]
A system notification was heard as if responding to Ha Eun-ha’s prayer.
And that change was noticed not only by Ha Eun-ha, but by everyone engaged in the battle.
"Wh-What...?"
It made sense, as an immense light burst out from around her.
A brilliant flash of light that was intense yet simultaneously gentle and warm.
Everyone could not help but stare at her, briefly forgetting the battle.
[Conditions have been met.]
[Talent—'Healing' awakens into 'Rising Dawn.']
[Sub-abilities of Rising Dawn are generated upon confirming the talent awakening.]
[From this moment, 'Salvation Crafted by the Dawn' is available.]
[From this moment, 'Benevolence Colored by the Dawn' is available.]
[From this moment, 'Miracle Harbored by the Dawn' is available.]
New information flooded into Ha Eun-ha’s mind in an instant.
However, that was not the only thing that had changed.
"Eun-ha's appearance is..."
It had been mentioned before.
Some Players undergo physical changes upon awakening as a Player.
This usually occurs in cases like Han Su-yeon, where all talents are connected to a single attribute.
And it was the same for Ha Eun-ha.
Though it was odd to call it an attribute, her talent was fixed entirely on healing.
As if to prove that, her entire form was tinged with a silver hue.
"...She looks like a Saintess from a novel."
Indeed.
Her appearance was enough to be called a Saintess, just as Kim Su-hyeok had said.
Previously, only her hair was silver, but now even her eyes and eyebrows were entirely silver.
On top of that, her two eyes were deep yet felt soft.
Probably anyone who saw her now would naturally call her a Saintess.
"......"
However, unlike the others expressing surprise, her heart was very calm.
Was it because she was relieved now that her talent had awakened?
That was not the reason at all.
'My heart is calm, unlike the thoughts in my head.'
The reason she was this calm was precisely because it was one of the effects of her talent.
It was because she had an ability that allowed her not to lose her composure in any situation.
They say a doctor must not lose their composure when dealing with a patient.
That was likely why Rising Dawn possessed such an ability.
'And... I think I understand now.'
She had not known before her talent awakened, but she felt like she knew now.
She knew what had been necessary for the awakening.
'The determination to give everything for truly precious people.'
In the past, Choi Yu-seong had said this:
That Ha Eun-ha’s ability had not awakened yet, so it was unavoidable.
And that a "trigger" was needed for awakening.
In the original story Choi Yu-seong remembered, she would have gained the trigger and awakened during an incident where Im Seong-cheol met his death.
Because of that, Choi Yu-seong had worried a lot about that part... but it was a pointless thought now.
After all, she had now awakened her ability through Choi Yu-seong, not Im Seong-cheol.
At this point, she had realized that people who sincerely cared for her were by her side.
She was now determined to move past the past and stand together with them.
'In that case...'
What should she do first with this newly awakened talent?
That had already been decided.
Had she not just said it?
That she awakened her ability with the determination to stand together with those who cared for her.
Therefore, there was only one thing she would do from now on.
'To save Yu-seong.'
She had not checked the information of the talent, but she knew.
It felt as if her instinct were speaking to her.
She felt like she knew what she had to do right now to save Choi Yu-seong.
Therefore, without hesitation, she followed her instinct and used her talent immediately.
"Miracle Harbored by the Dawn."
The ability of the talent began to manifest through her voice.
Then, a light of immense brightness burst forth from her hands once again.
"Phew..."
At the same time, several beads of sweat rolled down her forehead.
Perhaps because it was named a "miracle," unlike the other abilities, Salvation and Benevolence.
The amount of mana consumption was beyond imagination.
It was a consumption level that was extremely taxing and made her feel as if she would tire out at any moment...
"Hah..."
Ha Eun-ha had no intention of stopping.
How could such a hardship be a problem when it was for the person who had risked his life?
Despite the difficulty, Ha Eun-ha did not stop and deployed her ability.
"Urgh..."
Eventually, she was rewarded for her efforts.
Although the mana consumption was immense, Choi Yu-seong began to open his eyes slightly, as if proving the name "Miracle" was not for nothing.
Seeing this, Ha Eun-ha surpassed the talent's ability to maintain composure and shouted loudly.
"Yu-seong! Are you awake?!"
"Mm... Ha Eun-ha? It is not your time to come here yet... go back quickly. I think you can come back in about eighty years."
Choi Yu-seong answered Ha Eun-ha’s voice.
However, it was a bit of a dazed remark, quite different from the answer she had expected... but that did not matter much to Ha Eun-ha.
"Yu-seong!"
Ha Eun-ha immediately grabbed Choi Yu-seong and hugged him.
And the tears that had stopped after her talent awakened began to flow from her eyes once again.
But they were clearly different from before.
If the tears before her awakening had signified sadness, the tears now were... yes, they were definitely joy.
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