Everyone was moving busily, and I saw people I spent time with at the academy among them. Some were talking while smiling, some were going around while frowning, and some seemed excited for some reason.

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Based on their expressions, I could deduce who ended up getting recruited to a familia and who couldn't make it. I also saw people wandering around, hoping that they would get an offer, but unfortunately, there were no second chances.

People with potential had received offers a long time ago, so those who hadn't were mere second-rate adventurers.

‘They’ll die in a few months.’

The fate of some of these second-rate adventurers had been decided, and it was either they would die from starvation or die at the hands of a monster.

My time was limited, but their time was shorter than mine.

There were probably talented people whom the GENIUSES and the recruiters of the familias had yet to recruit, but they were definitely the minority. I was sure some people regretted not trying harder, but it was too late for regrets.

Of course, I didn’t really care about them.

“Y-You have to keep in touch,” Lim Cheong-Ha stuttered.

“How many times are you going to tell me that, Cheong-Ha noona? I’ll stay in touch,” I reassured her.

“You promise, right?” Lim Cheong-Ha asked.

“Of course,” I answered.

“Stop making him uncomfortable… and let’s just leave, Cheong-Ha. It’s time to let Ki-Young go. There are other people waiting to say goodbye to him,” Han Seung-Yoon said.

“But still…” Lim Cheong-Ha mumbled.

“I’m sure we’ll see each other again soon, noona,” I said.

‘We’re in the middle of a touching farewell.’

Despite the fact that we already said our farewell yesterday, I still grabbed their hand. I shook so many hands that my arm was in pain. Of course, it was also a pain to let these little kids approach me and mess my hair up, but I was crying as well.

‘That jerk might be watching from somewhere.’

[The Goddess of Flower and Fertility♥ hopes that your adventure is filled with happiness.]

[The Goddess of Flower and Fertility♥ has donated 10,000 coins.]

[The God of Sunset♥ congratulates the new graduates and applauds them.]

[The God of Sunset♥ has donated 20,000 coins.]

[The God of Sunset♥ says that he has finally created a new job. It’s called the Saint of Sunset, and it’s a priest-type job that uses the sunset’s holy power… The possibilities and potential are so enormous that you can’t even begin to imagine it.]

[The Gatekeeper of Heaven♥ has donated 10,000 coins.]

[The Gatekeeper of Heaven♥ really respects the friendship you have shown with your academy classmates as well as your creativity and energy in making the impossible possible. They mumble that although your start isn’t a strong one, they believe you’ll become the light of Rohen someday.]

[The Crooked Guardian says that you've made a pathetic choice. They’re warning you, saying that you’ll someday regret not joining the Flower and Fertility Familia.]

[The Slender Tentacle Queen♥ hopes that you don’t forget where you started.]

‘There’s also these guys.’

I was sure Woo Hyo-Yeol was somewhere staring at me, as I couldn't see him near the warp gate.

I wanted to spend more time reflecting, but I had no time to do that.

Han Seung-Yoon was right; there was a line of people waiting to say goodbye to me.

“Mr. Lee Ki-Young,” William greeted.

“Ah! Mr. William. You’re here…” I greeted back.

“...”

“You really didn’t need to come all the way here…” I said.

“We’re a family serving one god. It’s only natural that I come,” William said.

“Well, when you say it like that… Rejecting such a good offer keeps bothering me,” I confessed.

“It’s fine. The goddess also told me to respect your decisions because you might have a plan of your own. I would be really happy if you joined the Family and Fertility Familia, but that’s just me being greedy. I heard you’re heading to Harizel,” William said.

“That’s right,” I confirmed.

“I spoke to the main familia there—”

“Ah! You didn’t need to do that,” I interrupted him.

“I hope you’ll take it as a gesture of goodwill,” William said.

“What? Well… I mean…” I mumbled.

“Under the condition that you’ll someday visit the Family and Fertility Familia’s house,” William added.

“W-Well, when you put it like that… guess I have no choice,” I agreed. I could still remember how upset he looked when I rejected his offer, but it was a good thing that it didn’t last long.

The fact that he was already congratulating me while smiling brightly told me that…

‘He’s really something.’

I did think that it was a shame. If I trained him well, I could transform him into someone a bit useful to me, even if he couldn't be on the same level as Kim Hyun-Sung.

‘No, I promised to focus on Woo Hyo-Yeol.’

Our conversation ended, and I heard another voice. When I looked over, I saw the master of the Slender Tentacle Queen Familia along with her adjutant. She was walking through the academy in a slightly provocative outfit, but it made her look more dangerous than obscene.

“You have to visit our familia as well, cute little genius commander.”

“Ah! Sure. I’ll make sure to visit—”

“Hehe. This is a small bribe from our familia. It should be enough to start your new life,” the master said.

“Master! Please stop. Can’t you see that Mr. Lee Ki-Young is flustered? You’re too close to him. It’s rude!” her adjutant shouted.

“Aww, how cute. So our innocent commander is embarrassed?” the master remarked.

‘I keep thinking about him because she keeps calling me "Commander."’

“That’s enough. I will not allow you to get any closer to Mr. Lee Ki-Young,” William joined in.

“William, must you act like this here? It’s not like the genius commander has agreed to join your familia… I don’t think you have the right to stop him from accepting my graduation present,” the master remarked.

“Your existence itself—”

“You’re too serious, and that's why you’re not popular,” she interrupted William.

‘I should visit the Slender Tentacle Queen Familia when I have time.’

“Anyway…” the master paused.

“...”

“What happened to that rude brat, William?” she asked.

“...”

“As far as I know, the Flower and Fertility Familia sent an offer to Woo Hyo-Yeol,” the master added.

“...”

“...”

“We got rejected,” William revealed.

“The Flower and Fertility Familia getting rejected twice is a rare sight,” the master commented.

‘Will, so you did send an offer to Woo Hyo-Yeol. Were you… going to try to fix him?’

“I definitely thought he had potential. The goddess seemed displeased… but I thought I could change him. From what I heard, he rejected all the offers from other major familias,” William informed us.

“At least he has guts. Ah! That wasn't directed at you, my genius commander. It’s true that both of you are going to start on your own, but he’ll start without any other support,” the master remarked.

“Ah…”

“I didn’t hear where he was going, and he didn’t seem like he wanted to talk about it in the first place… Wherever he goes, I’m sure he’ll be just fine,” William said.

“That’s a nice review from someone like you.” the master pointed out.

“I don’t exactly know what it is, but something about him has changed,” William said.

“What?”

“I’m talking about Woo Hyo-Yeol,” William clarified.

“Hmm… he doesn’t seem like someone who would change that easily… The moment you think people like him had changed, they'd backstab you in the back,” the master said.

‘She’s right.’

“Well, we’ll see about that. Anyway… I’ll excuse myself here, Mr. Lee Ki-Young,” William said.

“Oh, sure… Mr. William.”

“I hope—”

“Yes, I’m really grateful,” I told him.

“He rejected all offers… so I don’t understand why he’s still here,” the master commented.

“What?”

“Woo Hyo-Yeol, our genius commander. He’s been hanging around the warp gate. It’s not like there’s anyone who'll come and say goodbye to him, and he doesn’t have any plans as well…” the master explained.

“Ah…”

‘Maybe he hasn’t decided on his destination yet.’

I thought maybe he had no idea where to start, but…

‘I don’t think he’s that stupid.’

Of course, not everyone was the type to plan things out thoroughly.

I was sure he hadn't memorized every single thing that happened in his first life, but it was highly likely that he remembered when and where an incident had occurred.

He definitely knew where his enemies were, where the hidden pieces were, and where the butterfly effect would start. Of course, my sudden appearance had changed the continent, but it wasn't like those hidden pieces were going anywhere.

‘Is it… because of me?’

Was there something else he needed to talk to me about? Was he thinking that he needed to observe the foreigner a bit more? Was he still confused?

Honestly, my heartbreaking story wasn’t enough to make an impact.

Of course, I couldn't rule out the possibility that it actually worked on him, but personally, I could guarantee that it hadn't worked on him.

Woo Hyo-Yeol obviously didn’t pity me. He just met me, after all, so of course, he wouldn’t feel anything upon hearing that I was going to die in just two short years.

‘It’s the same for me.’

It was none of his business whether the players he was seeing were going to die soon or not. My story was crafted to give him a push and to ensure that he would become even more interested and curious about me.

Although we were two different people, I wanted him to be curious about how I viewed the world as a genius. I also wanted him to know my perspective.

Moreover, I was running out of time. There was nothing more stimulating and entertaining than that kind of story. It was easy to ignore it in the beginning, but it was not so easy to stop being interested once he became interested in it.

‘Maybe it really is because of me.’

He was probably staring at me as if he was watching a soap opera. If that was the case, he'd be no different from the Crooked Guardian and the Wolf Crying Under the Crescent Moon.

‘He wants to know where I’m going.’

'You’re curious about the dying genius’ next destination, right? You want to see how I’m different from you, right? You want to know why you failed in your first life and why the GENIUSES chose me to help you, right?

'I have a feeling I got those right.'

After I said goodbye to the Master of the Slender Tentacle Familia, I heard a voice somewhere.

“Damn it.”

“...”

“I shouldn’t have gotten involved with Woo Hyo-Yeol… If I were in the same group as Lee Ki-Young, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

“We were just unlucky. Even here, the winner wins. The guys who worked with Lee Ki-Young all received an offer from major or at least mid-sized familias. Damn it… how are we going to make a living now? What if we end up in the streets…”

“Seriously…”

“Who knew one mock battle would put us in this situation? Come to think of it, did Woo Hyo-Yeol even go over the plan with us? He was too busy getting all the attention.”

“He ruined the party.”

“He ruined it for all of us.”

The losers were feeling sorry for themselves again. They hadn't noticed that I was nearby because they grouped up and grumbled among themselves. The sight made me sigh to myself.

‘They don’t even know anything.’

I tried to walk past them while pretending that I couldn't hear them, but I stopped in my tracks.

‘This is…’

I felt like the dying Lee Ki-Young was about to burst out of me when I realized that Woo Hyo-Yeol could be watching me from somewhere.

Obviously, Flower Ki-Young disliked him, and like I told him, I was denying Woo Hyo-Yeol, but a part of me was envious and respectful of him.

I could have acknowledged and respected his way of life, as he had been living on the continent as a free bird and did not care about what other people thought about him.

That was what my inner self was telling me.

He didn't deserve to be looked down on by someone like these guys.

He was scummy and disrespectful, but he didn't deserve such treatment, at the very least.

“Take back… what you said,” I said.

“What?”

“I want you to…” I paused.

“...”

“Take back! What you said!” I shouted.

“We… didn’t even do anything… so why—”

“I said to take it back!” I yelled.

‘I’ll use them as sacrifices to summon Woo Hyo-Yeol.’