CHAPTER 43: [TEST RUN]

"I didn’t have time... to dodge," Eli mumbled, still catching his breath, because he’d only realized he was being attacked a split second too late.

Caelen let go of him without warning.

Eli hit the floor with a thud, groaning as pain shot up his side.

’This... this jerk!’ He bit back the glare threatening to rise, forcing himself to keep his expression neutral as Caelen’s shadow loomed over him.

"You were able to dodge the dagger I threw at you. You can dodge these." Caelen’s voice was steady, almost bored, as he turned his back on Eli to face the simulated elves.

The group had already regrouped, their longbows gleaming under the lights as they prepared for their next strike. "I suggest you do what you did with Kairo, or you’ll face real consequences."

Eli’s head snapped up in irritation. "What does that even—"

Ding.

[SYSTEM WARNING]

Target’s wariness is rising.

Once it reaches 100%, your mission will be considered a fail.

Current wariness level: 96%

’What the actual fuck?!’

He bit down on his tongue hard, stopping himself from saying anything else that might push that number higher. Caelen glanced over his shoulder, eyes narrowing faintly.

"Get up," he ordered.

And Eli—grudgingly—did.

"I’m not going to do anything," Caelen continued, tone calm but firm. "You’re going to tell me what to do. Just like you did with him."

Eli froze, eyes widening. "...With all due respect, but are you crazy?" His voice was deliberately even—careful not to sound annoyed.

"What? These are simulations. This should be easier for you. When you were with Kairo facing a real threat, you instructed him the whole time." Caelen’s gaze sharpened. "Or do you also want me to carry you?"

’This guy...’

Heat rushed to Eli’s face instantly. His eyes widened further, and he looked away in flustered panic. "I can instruct you from here just fine," he muttered quickly.

"Great," Caelen said, turning back toward the enemy. "Now—though these are simulations, I should tell you—they can still injure. Or kill you."

Eli’s stomach dropped. "...What?!"

"You’re surprised? Why do you think I pulled you away?"

He looked past Caelen, and the elves were already watching them with cold precision, bows raised. But something was off.

He didn’t feel it.

No rush of dread, no alarm bells from his ability. Nothing.

"Wait, hold on. Something’s wrong."

"You’re babbling an awful lot," Caelen replied without slowing, suspicion threading through his tone. "Almost as if you don’t want to do this."

The elves drew their bows back further, magic swirling at the arrowheads.

Ding.

[SYSTEM WARNING]

Target’s wariness is rising.

Once it reaches 100%, your mission will be considered a fail.

Current wariness level: 97%

’I don’t understand.’

Eli’s pulse spiked. Why was Caelen so wary of him? Why wasn’t he listening?

"I’m not complaining... I’m not sensing any danger!" Eli insisted, his voice sharper now.

"How come?"

"I—I don’t know," Eli admitted, frustration boiling. Between the system, Caelen’s stubbornness, and his own inability to sense the threat, his mind was a mess.

He’d been able to read the ogres instantly.

Even Caelen.

So why nothing now?

’It’s like when I was kidnapped...I didn’t sense danger at all.’

And Caelen... he wasn’t stopping. His strides carried him straight into their line of fire.

"Caelen, just stop for a bit—"

But the S-Class hunter didn’t answer. His attention was locked on the enemy, as if daring them to try.

Eli’s breath caught when he spotted the far-left elf move. Fingers loosened on the bowstring—

The icy arrow was already in flight.

Eli’s body moved before his mind could catch up. He sprinted forward, boots pounding the floor, the rush of cold magic screaming past his ears.

"Watch out!" he yelled, throwing himself at Caelen.

The collision sent both of them crashing to the floor—Caelen hitting hard, the air leaving his lungs in a muted grunt, while Eli landed squarely on top of him.

His palms pressed against the firm planes of Caelen’s chest, the heat beneath his fingers a sharp contrast to the cold rushing in from behind.

The arrow slammed into the reinforced wall with a deafening crack, exploding into a cloud of jagged frost. Ice shards splintered through the air, scattering across the floor with a metallic hiss, and a ghostly mist unfurled around them.

Caelen’s gaze locked on Eli from below, his face unreadable, lips parting just enough to speak.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"I keep telling you I’m not sensing any danger!" Eli’s voice rose, his frustration boiling over. "I don’t know why you think I’m lying—or why you think I’m just not willing. It’s not like I want you to get hurt, if that’s what you think!"

Caelen blinked slowly, studying him. He started to speak—

—but Eli barreled on.

"You know when I got kidnapped, I didn’t sense any danger either! You think I would’ve opened the door if I did?" His glare sharpened, eyes narrowing on Caelen. "I don’t know, maybe because they weren’t really into kidnapping me, and these—"

Eli froze mid-sentence, a flicker of realization striking like lightning.

’Wait... that’s it.’

Punzo and Jabby’s expressions earlier flashed through his mind—relaxed, almost teasing.

They hadn’t looked like people about to harm him.

They’d just been following orders.

When Caelen had thrown that dagger at him earlier? When the ogres had lunged for blood?

That had been real intent to harm.

Elione’s abilities weren’t purely physical.

They were tied to intent. To emotion.

That’s why, right now, the silence in his head was deafening.

These weren’t living beings. They weren’t thinking, calculating threats—they were programmed simulations. They could mimic danger, but there was no genuine malice for his ability to detect.

Caelen’s eyes narrowed slightly. "You look like you just realized something."

"I can’t sense danger because they’re not real," Eli said, voice firm. "I can’t help you with this test run—not because I don’t want to, but because it’s not real. If you want me to test my abilities, get me a real enemy."

Of course, Eli didn’t mean a damn word of that.

’I just need him to stop looking at me like I’m hiding something... to stop thinking I’m refusing to help him.’

Because for whatever reason, Caelen’s wariness wasn’t going away.

And Eli wasn’t in the mood to go through the penalty again.

Caelen was silent for a moment—only a moment.

Then his voice cut through the space, low and even. "Lorraine, remove the elves."

There was a brief pause before her voice came through the intercom. "Alright."

The shimmering figures on the field began to dissolve, pixel by pixel, until nothing but the empty arena remained. The quiet hum of the facility’s systems replaced the clash of magic and steel.

Eli blinked.

Was... was that it?

Was he done?

Could he actually go home now?

Had Caelen stopped being so damn suspicious of him?

...Well, probably not. But still.

’One could hope. Right?’

"If you need real enemies," Caelen began, and Eli turned toward him—only for a cold shiver to run down his spine at the look on Caelen’s face, "that’s no problem. I’ll bring you to real enemies."

"W-What...?" Eli asked, his voice cracking.

’Is he joking? Please tell me he’s joking.’

But deep down, Eli already knew he wasn’t.

Caelen shoved him off, rising to his feet in one fluid motion. He brushed imaginary dust from his clothes, every movement sharp and deliberate, as though Eli had somehow dirtied him by touch.

"Arman," Caelen said, his tone carrying easily into the air. "I know you can hear me. Tell the guild master to find us an A-Class or S-Class dungeon. I don’t care who we have to fight. I don’t care what needs to happen. Just tell him to get us one. Now."

There was a faint crackle over the speakers before Arman’s voice replied, "Got it."

Eli’s stomach dropped like a stone.

’A real... dungeon? He’s taking me inside a dungeon?!’

Caelen looked back at him, a smirk curving his lips in a way that made Eli’s blood run cold. "Now we wait. I’m sure you won’t have any qualms now? You’ve been on a few dungeon raids here and there—B-Class, of course—but what’s the difference?"

’THE DIFFERENCE IS I’M NOT ELIONE, I HAVE NOT EXPERIENCED A DUNGEON RAID, AND I’M A FUCKING B-CLASS AND YOU ASKED FOR AN A-CLASS OR S-CLASS DUNGEON?!’

Eli’s eye twitched violently as Caelen’s smirk deepened.

"Let’s get out of here and wait," Caelen said, turning toward the door. Then he glanced over his shoulder, and his gaze sharpened like a blade. "Oh, and... the next time you raise your tone at me, I will make sure those are the last words you say. My curiosity toward you is the only reason you’re still alive."

He didn’t wait for a response—just walked out, each step as calm and measured as if he hadn’t just issued a death threat.

Eli stood frozen in place, caught between confusion and a creeping dread.

And then—

Ding.

[SYSTEM MISSION UPDATE]

Target’s wariness is lowered.

Once it reaches less than 50%, your mission will be considered a success.

Current wariness level: 95%

’BUT HE LITERALLY JUST THREATENED ME?!’