Saving My Favorite in a Doomed World

The press conference schedule, mock battles, and training had all come to an end. The only education Hwashin, who had already been formally appointed to Unit 1, needed to receive was the basic theory about awakened ones and ability control training.

 

During the training period, all the instructors in charge of teaching him unanimously said:

 

‘This person has nothing more to learn.’

 

Just watching him left them speechless. What more could they say? He would dance with experimental D-rank monsters and sometimes even control the abilities of the instructors.

 

They heard that using his ability was quite tiring for him, but that rumor seemed completely wrong. How could such an energetic man be struggling?

 

Anyway, following the opinions of those instructors, the training ended earlier than scheduled.

So, returning to the present. SH1 Unit arrived in Ilsan, Gyeonggi-do, in response to a rare gate warning alert. Since gates weren’t occurring simultaneously enough to require moving in pairs, and with training finished, everyone was deployed.

 

“Hyung, how many seconds can you manage?”

 

“Hmm, 10 seconds?”

 

“That should be enough!”

 

“I’ll go to the opposite side.”

 

After coughing up blood at the press conference, Unit 1 members placed some restrictions on Hwashin when using his ability. Yoo Jian, in particular, strongly insisted:

 

‘Do you want to vomit blood every time you use your powers? From now on, you have to tell us exactly how many seconds you’ll stop before using your abilities. Got it?’

 

When Yoo Jian brought this up, Hwashin was slightly puzzled.

 

“Aren’t you supposed to push yourself to the limit to achieve some level of completion?”

 

It had been a while since someone worried about him, so it was hard to get used to.

 

However, Hwashin had no intention of using his ability to its full extent, so he agreed.

 

It was not that he wanted to hide his abilities, but he had a reason for this.

 

First, he hadn’t fully grasped this body yet. If it was similar to his original body, he would have manipulated karma even if it meant pushing himself.

 

‘It feels like I get stronger, but my durability decreases.’

 

His control over his abilities and range had improved. However, the time it took to recover his body was getting longer and longer.

 

‘Have I experienced this before? No, I haven’t. This problem arose purely after coming here.’

 

The second reason was more important: this ability wasn’t helpful in achieving his goal.

 

So far, he had shown his abilities to some extent to enter SH1 Unit.

 

“If I continue using my abilities in every mission, it will only hinder their growth.”

 

In <YHH> after the episode where Ha Chengwon awakened as an S-rank, the nature of the gates drastically changed. Simply dealing with monsters was no longer enough to close the gates.

 

The gates, previously blue, turned red. It was almost as if they were warning about the future of this world.

 

‘That’s when the gate’s dungeon transformation starts, and the growth of Unit 1 accelerates.’

 

Maybe he’d be able to find clues on how to prevent the apocalypse around that time.

 

Well then! Looking at it up to this point, what Hwashin needed to do was somewhat clear.

 

Of course, he would take lots of photos of the team, manage an SNS account to show off their close relationship…

 

No, that was not it.

 

He had to help the characters grow. Certainly, even if things proceeded as per the plot, they would perform well. Very well, in fact. But even so, he needed to accelerate their growth.

 

“Strength enhancement.”

 

Yoo Jian’s speed in front of the monster instantly increased. Twice, no, three times her normal speed. At that speed, she went behind the monster and kicked its long jaw, causing it to fall with a loud noise.

 

As if supporting Yoo Jian, Jeong Mueum lifted the smaller monsters into the air and slammed them down.

 

Any lower-ranked hero would have watched that incredible coordination with their mouth agape.

 

However, Hwashin, who was observing the scene, let out a soft sigh.

 

‘….As expected, it’s still not enough.’

 

Of course, Unit 1 was already strong enough. There weren’t many heroes in Korea who could defeat monsters at this speed. In fact, Unit 1 might be the only one.

 

But even Unit 1 would struggle with dungeons. They would have to deal with things in a slightly different way.

 

So basically, right now, the abilities of the Unit 1 members were a bit…

 

“Lacking?”

 

…Oops.

 

He shouldn’t have said that out loud. Good thing the kids were far away. Hwashin tapped his own mouth.

This troublesome mouth.

 

With his puffed-up lips, Hwashin watched Unit 1 running wild, his arms crossed as if observing.

 

In fact, the standard of ‘strong’ was a bit subjective. The ‘strength’ when appreciating it through a book and seeing it directly with his own eyes was different.

 

Anyway, from Yoo Hwashin’s—Elric’s—perspective, they were still lacking. But he could somewhat support what they lacked.

 

Of course, that was why he set the goal of preventing the apocalypse.

 

However.

 

“Recently, I’ve been feeling like something is stuck inside.”

 

Maybe it was because this dimension was different. Hwashin vaguely felt that the sensation of operating karma here was distinctly different from before.

 

And this led to one potential issue.

 

Really. No, really. It should be impossible, but. If, he became unable to use magic. Could the protagonist and company who didn’t grow steadily according to the original work prevent the apocalypse?

 

As Hwashin was pondering, Jeong Mueum landed lightly beside him. Putting his headphones back around his neck, Mueum started nagging.

 

“Hyung, cut down on using your ability. It’s already been 10 seconds, you know? Are you trying to cough up blood again?”

 

Look at the nagging. It felt overwhelming.

 

“Ah, has it been that long already?”

 

“…Ha. Let’s go to the hospital tomorrow. You must have received the check-up notification.”

 

“I haven’t received the text yet, but I heard about it. What’s wrong? Is our Mueum worried about me now?”

 

Hwashin smiled, looking at Mueum who had come down from the sky. Mueum replied gruffly.

 

“Yes, I’m worried.”

 

“Cute, so cute.”

 

Right. If they continued growing like this, perhaps these cute main characters…

 

‘Won’t be able to prevent it.’

 

The apocalypse.

 

So, what he had to do now was not only find the mastermind behind the destruction but also elevate the skills of Unit 1 to a certain level as quickly as possible.

 

‘While at it, It’d be great if Ha Chengwon could awaken a bit earlier too.’

 

“Should I stop worrying?”

 

“No, it’s just amusing to hear it after so long.”

 

Right. He couldn’t solve everything with his strength alone. Hwashin, or Elric, knew this better than anyone. In the past, he lost a precious friend because of his arrogance.

 

…And Cha Jaehwa resembled that lost friend.

 

‘Maybe that’s why.’

 

Jeong Mueum was dealing with the fallen monster like crushing a can. Across from him, Cha Jaehwa had finished extinguishing the fire and spoke up.

 

“This side is finished.”

 

Hwashin wanted to help them more.

 

On the way down, Yoo Jian talked about what she found lacking in their first mission. She suggested that since they were moving together, they should speak more casually with each other.

 

In Hwashin’s case.

 

“Okay~”

 

It was what he wanted. Jian seemed relieved at the straightforward answer and smiled brightly.

 

Whoosh!

 

Yoo Jian and Hwashin’s heads snapped towards Cha Jaehwa. Their eyes seemed to say, ‘You’re the same age as us too!’

 

Sparkling.

 

Faced with those sparkling eyes, Cha Jaehwa let out a short sigh and nodded.

 

“…Okay.”

 

Then woosh!

 

The next target was Jeong Mueum. With a sound of resignation, Mueum was briefly flustered but quickly composed himself.

 

“I absolutely won’t speak casually. There’s a big age difference.”

 

“What do you mean~ It doesn’t matter whether you’re 25 or 18~.”

 

“It’s a seven-year difference. That’s quite an age gap. But will we continue going around together after this incident?”

 

Jeong Mueum glanced at Cha Jaehwa. His discomfort was evident. It seemed he was still a bit uncomfortable being completely friendly.

 

“Isn’t it a waste of manpower?”

 

Yoo Jian, seemingly noticing that atmosphere, put her arm around Mueum’s neck and answered.

 

“I don’t think so? As you said, sending high-grade manpower like us all in one go would be wasteful. But since we’re a team, maybe we could work in pairs or something like that?”

 

At that, Cha Jaehwa glanced at Hwashin.

 

“In pairs, huh.”

 

Most of Cha Jaehwa’s activities had always been solo. This allowed him to use his abilities freely. But if he had to work with Unit 1 like today, there would be some constraints.

 

Moreover, everyone’s abilities were still too disparate to call them a team. Yoo Jian and Jeong Mueum had some coordination from pairing up a few times. But that was all. Cha Jaeha couldn’t shake off the feeling of being slightly out of place.

 

‘No.’

 

Was it because of him? That sense of alienation.

 

“What are you thinking about so deeply?”

 

As if reading his mind, Yoo Hwashin poked his head over. Yoo Jian and Jeong Mueum had already arrived at the vehicle sent by the Association.

 

“It’s nothing.”

 

“Your expression says otherwise.”

 

Never mind. Hwashin, with his hands behind his back, went down the slope first. Cha Jaeha, walking behind him, asked quietly.

 

“Yoo Hwasin. Do you think this team fits well together?”

 

It was a question that had been lingering in his mind.

 

Though they had grouped together several S-ranks, was it really effective and efficient? Cha Jaeha couldn’t shake off the doubt. The team seemed glamorous but it was ultimately hastily assembled. And he had always fought alone until now.

 

As a result.

 

He felt out of place here.

 

“Why? Do you think it doesn’t?”

 

Hwashin looked up with a playful tone. Cha Jaehwa kept his mouth shut. Hwashin’s playful expression quickly turned serious.

 

“Yoo Jian is strong. In close combat, she could probably beat anyone among S-ranks. She has all sorts of physical enhancement abilities, from strength enhancement to internal energy enhancement. Plus, she’s often paired with Mueum, so their teamwork is quite good. Yoo Jian excels in close combat, while Jeong Mueum has an advantage in long-range combat.”

 

Hwashin looked down at the two getting into the car.

 

“But that’s not everything.”

 

No ability was invincible. This was true for all the heroes in this book. It was almost as if to prove that no one was perfect.

 

Yoo Jian had difficulty surveying her surroundings, and Jeong Mueum had clear limitations in using his ability.

 

“Isn’t it your ability, Cha Jaeha, that fills those gaps?”

 

When dungeons appeared, it wouldn’t be enough to just take out five monsters at once like before. The scale of situations that need to be controlled would keep growing.

 

So this team must stay together. Ultimately, they would compensate for each other’s weaknesses.

 

Those three were perfect together.

 

‘If there’s an unwelcome guest here, it would be me. I came all the way here saying I’d stop the apocalypse.’

 

Hwashin’s face, which had been silent for a while, regained its mischievousness.

 

“Oh! Of course, I’m perfect, so you don’t need to help me.”

 

Just do well with the others. Right?

With a playful smile, Hwashin resumed walking.

 

And that night, Hwashin received a message from the Association.