The ship picked up everyone, and they all sat together in the back after paying 5 credits to get on.
The conversation quickly turned to the upcoming Trial of Courage.
They also talked about Iseul, her studies, and her future.
"How's Iseul-ya's studies going? Still top of the grade?" Hyung Joon-seok teased as he dropped into the seat across from her, next to his sister Hae-won.
"Hmm… still ranked one." She nodded with a slight smile.
"Haha, that's our little Iseul-ya! We can leave it all to her!" Hyung Yong-joon clapped her shoulder as he sat down beside her and unnie Choon-hee.
"Tsk. You're gonna break my baby with your boltbrain strength. Can't you understand women need to be handled gently? Hmm." Unnie Choon-hee swatted his hands off Iseul.
"Ah—oof!" Iseul was suddenly pulled down into a chest.
Choon-hee hugged Iseul's head tight against her D-sized chest, nearly suffocating her.
"Hey! Don't kill her!" Hyung Chul-jun picked up the purple-faced Iseul.
"Gasp—"
Iseul hurriedly took gulps of air, her face slowly regaining its original color.
"Please put me down?!" she asked, rushed and pleading, but her words fell on deaf ears.
Iseul pitifully looked at the others, but they acted like they had seen nothing.
"Tsk…"
She pouted, glaring at her dangling feet.
Unnie Hae-won finally snatched Iseul away from him, hitting him in the arm. "What are you monsters trying to do to my jagi Iseul-ya?!"
Iseul gave up altogether, looking listless and drained of the will to live.
"Is she still breathing?!" Hyung Ji-ho laughed as he leaned over his seat, poking Iseul's cheek. He even exaggerated a panicked expression.
Loadon stood nearby, only able to watch his poor master being poked and prodded by others. He felt helpless and could only silently send goodwill thoughts to his creator.
"Have you been able to upgrade your gift strength?" Hyung Chang-min chuckled, watching Iseul's lifeless expression. He slapped Ji-ho's hand away.
"Hmm… it's been upgraded, but my profile is permanently locked until further evaluation," she explained, finding a comfortable spot against Hae-won, who still refused to let her go.
"Aww, permanent? Is your gift a mutated new kind, right?" Unnie Lee Choon-hee tapped her chin thoughtfully.
"Yeah… something of that sort, or so." Iseul's tone was hesitant; she still didn't know what exact category her gift belonged to.
They told her she should be practicing more, strengthening herself, and trying to attract attention for the Courage Trials.
Iseul sighed. "I'm already planning ahead. I'll either join the military communication intelligence reserves… or an extraction rescue support unit."
"What?!" Hae-won almost dropped her. "Iseul-ya, both of those require crazy-high aptitude!"
"That's right," Ji-ho added, suddenly serious. "You'd need a rare or mutated high-potential gift. Not something scouts can ignore."
The group fell quiet. If they remembered correctly, Iseul was F-class.
No one wanted to discredit her, but unease settled in their hearts.
In the end, they said nothing harsh. Instead, they encouraged her, telling her she would have to work harder than anyone else to reach those goals.
Finally, they made it to the junkyard.
Unfortunately, they ran right into Jeong Do-yoon and his posse.
Iseul felt a bit nervous—after the last encounter, how could she not? Still, she made sure not to show it. But unnie Hae-won noticed her unease instantly. Protective as always, she and her brother stepped forward to block the path.
"Is there a problem here?" Joon-seok asked sharply.
Do-yoon and his friends didn't answer. They only kept glancing at Iseul, eyes burning in a way that made everyone's stomach turn. They all knew Do-yoon was a glitchspawn, and his posse were nothing but boltbrains.
Do-yoon smirked. "Why can't I look? Public ass, untouched piece of ass… just makes me so horny thinking about it—"
The words barely left his mouth before Joon-seok grabbed him and punched him square in the face.
"Say that again, you trash!"
Do-yoon's friends rushed forward, but the rest of Iseul's group blocked them, fists ready.
Loadon's eyes shifted without anyone noticing—blue to red to purple. He silently marked Do-yoon and his entire posse as "must-eliminate targets."
Iseul was shielded on all sides as Joon-seok kept hammering Do-yoon.
Finally, the others dragged him back, breaking the fight apart.
Do-yoon, bloodied and humiliated, pointed a trembling finger at Iseul with a silent threat.
She went quiet for the rest of the walk to the D section of the scrapyard.
The others tried cheering her up, but her thoughts were heavy.
Loadon's eyes glowed purple again, simmering with anger at the filth who had dared hurt his creator's spirit.
"Master," he said quietly, voice only for her. "If you want to support your siblings, yourself… and me, then you must work harder. Find good metal, energy chips, and other valuable scraps. We'll strike it rich. Then you can open your secondhand shop, just like you dreamed."
Iseul blinked at him, startled, but his words hit home.
"…You're right," she whispered.
That motivation reignited her determination. She reminded herself why she was here today—to strike it big and open her shop.
She needed to support her brothers for their upcoming gift test. She needed to stop neglecting herself.
She needed money, resources, and upgrades—before the Trial of Courage.
If she was going to get selected, she had to bedazzle the scouts so thoroughly they couldn't look down on her permanently locked F-class profile.
Thinking of this, her steps grew lighter.
Then—
The surrounding radiation vibrated and began to drift toward her.
'Oh crap… I forgot about the radiation!' Iseul mentally cursed herself.