Chapter 128

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Translator: uly

Chapter: 128

Chapter Title: How to Steal the Protagonist's Woman

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Flexible thinking.

That's the most crucial thing I needed right now.

I'd never really clashed with people much, nor had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I ever formed proper relationships.

Even in groups, I was always by myself, and I didn't particularly hate it.

No, I loved it.

The best life for me was just holing up in my room playing eroge.

Friends, lovers, family... they were all right there in those games.

Besides, most of the games I played were story-driven ones.

The problem was that it made my thinking inflexible.

But a hint.

A hint that kept flashing before my eyes, one that finally made it click.

I saw it in Min Ha-yeon's archery.

When she stepped out of the safe zone to shoot her bow, it hit me.

'That's right! I didn't think of that!'

'I'll deal with this first!'

While I was spacing out for a moment, shock bees were closing in on Min Ha-yeon.

I flicked beans at three of the shock bees, grabbed her arm, and headed for the safe zone.

Then I messaged Armonia.

'Armonia! Make me a bow!'

'No! Just give me one like Ha-yeon's!'

Pure performance-wise, the cadet bow from the embassy would vastly outperform that old bow.

But if I suddenly produced a modern-world bow right now, with Min Ha-yeon watching, it might put me in an awkward spot.

More importantly, what I needed right now wasn't a strong bow.

In the pitch-black darkness, a bow materialized in my hand.

That was the moment.

'Whoa! This is what I wanted! ...Fuck?'

The moment I cheered through comms, another line appeared.

It was a cheat before, but not anymore.

Up until now, I'd just been lucky.

If it was just using hands, maybe, but archery involves the whole upper and lower body, not just hands.

You need to move sometimes, and twist your torso flexibly depending on the situation.

That's why Min Ha-yeon, a former recurve archer, had low archery skill here.

'What the fuck!'

'No! It's fine.'

Armonia seemed puzzled by my response but didn't ask further.

As I was about to message her again, the safe zone came into view.

And inside it, I spotted Han Yeo-reum.

"What!? Don't come here!"

I inwardly sighed as I looked at Han Yeo-reum yelling at us.

‘Fuck, has that bastard been useless his whole life?’

Han Yeo-reum hurled curses while urging us to get the hell out fast.

Damn, ditching your girlfriend like that...

Min Ha-yeon and I left Han Yeo-reum behind for now, but the moment the safe zone vanished, he screamed and ran toward us.

"Save me!!"

"..."

Min Ha-yeon and I couldn't see each other in the pitch darkness, but we could read each other's expressions.

Please just fuck off...

But right now, surviving with Min Hayeon mattered more than dealing with Han Yeo-reum.

I messaged Armonia while running beside Min Ha-yeon.

'Armonia! Can you make arrows with superconductor tips?'

'Make three for now.'

Low Archery level? Then compensate by combining it with other abilities.

I pulled out Artemis's potion, chugged it, and checked my level.

'Good! First, secure a safe zone...'

"Aaagh!"

"What?"

Min Ha-yeon's voice, who should have been right beside me, came from behind.

I whipped around, and in the dim silhouette, I barely made it out.

Han Yeo-reum was running toward me, leaving Min Hayeon behind.

And... Min Ha-yeon, moments from being hit by a shock bee.

I’d never fired a bow even once in real combat. In this darkness, I might hit Min Ha-yeon by mistake.

But...

"Screw it!"

This wasn't the time to worry about that.

I nocked an arrow with a superconductor tip and took aim.

A split-second dilemma.

Weak magic circle or strong one?

If my Archery was higher, I would go with weak, no question. That'd be plenty.

...Weak it is!

Decision made.

It was a gamble.

A strong circle couldn't be undone once activated.

After using it, no guarantee Min Ha-yeon would survive until recovery.

A coin-sized magic circle sparking yellow formed in front of the arrowhead on my bowstring.

Two on each side, total four.

And the skill supporting my archery.

Thanks to Aiming, no shaky fingers, no blurry focus.

Just silhouettes, so hitting the head precisely was iffy.

I aimed at the shock bee flying right at Min Ha-yeon's face and released.

Paang!

Direct hit.

The shock bee I struck plummeted to the ground, and I fired at the other two just the same.

Paang! Paang!

The arrows struck home, sending the remaining pair crashing down.

I ran to Min Ha-yeon after firing, helped her right up.

"You okay?"

"...Yeah."

Min Ha-yeon's slender arms and legs trembled; she couldn't stand straight.

She clung to my arm, shaking.

I gripped her shoulders firmly and spoke calmly.

"Get it together. Let's run first."

"O... Okay!"

The moment Min Ha-yeon nodded and steadied herself.

Flash!

"Huh!?"

"Ack!"

The forest, where we couldn't even see the face of the person next to us moments ago, suddenly blazed with light.

And in the center of that light, a fairy appeared.

Her scrunched-up face radiated pure annoyance.

The fairy just cocked her head up at us and spoke.

"Seriously!? Who's doing a boss fight at this hour!? You!?"

"...Huh?"

"What do you mean? Aren't we in the middle of a boss fight?""

The fairy snapped at me.

"If you'd just died, fine! But why clear it at this goddamn hour!?"

"..."

Min Ha-yeon and I didn't get it, so we cautiously turned around.

Behind us...

"..."

Three shock bees twitched on the ground, heads and bellies burst open.

..

..

Me, Min Ha-yeon, and Han Yeo-reum, who'd done jack shit, gathered as the fairy explained.

The spot wasn't the boss forest anymore; it was a village with a few wooden buildings.

No sign of other people around.

The fairy, the only source of light, sighed heavily as she went on.

"Sigh... I'll just proceed according to protocol. Congratulations on the clear. Now, for the reward."

"..."

Despite mentioning "protocol," the Fairy spat out the words with a completely disinterested expression and tone.

Fair enough. If I were sleeping at night and suddenly called to work, I'd be pissed too.

The reward was some postcard-like card.

And at the top, a single word was written:

-Class Voucher-

The fairy explained.

"What you got is a Class Voucher. It lets you have one extra class beyond your original choice."

Originally, those summoned into Yggdrasil are governed by the principle of having only one job.

Even if it's possible to change jobs later, it is said to be impossible to hold two jobs simultaneously.

But this voucher.

The Fairy explained that it was a special privilege given only to those who clear the boss fight while staying in Zephyrum village.

It was a fitting reward for a clear that was incredibly difficult and achieved in a situation devoid of information.

"And haa... you there."

"Me?"

The fairy singled me out.

"Come with me for a second."

"..."

Wondering what, I followed.

Min Ha-yeon eyed me worriedly; Han Yeo-reum glared like I was trash.

That piece of shit is always like that...

I'll deal with it after.

The fairy led me to a building in the village center, shut the door, and said.

"First of all, as a result of our internal discussions, we simply could not find a suitable reward."

"..."

The reason the Fairy called me over was indeed for a reward..

What reward?

"Never thought you'd shred the shock bees like that."

"Huh? Didn't you say someone cleared before?"

"No! That was a year ago! Those were caught by beings who came with completely broken balances because the initial summoning ritual went wrong!"

The fairy kept ranting excitedly.

"Besides, the Shock Bees back then weren't as strong as they are now! They didn't use paralysis waves! They were about a hand-span smaller than they are now!"

"Still, aren't they strong?"

"...Yes. Actually, we received so many complaints that the current paralysis wave was too problematic that we were planning to remove it.... But why the hell did you clear it!!"

According to the Fairy, so many summoners were dying that they were considering removing that particular skill.

But because of me, it would probably stay in the game....

"Hey, I cleared it to survive...."

"Huuuu...."

Crazy. I was just struggling to stay alive, and I'm actually getting scolded?

Still, there's no point in talking back to someone who could blow my head off....

The Fairy, which was about the same size as a Shock Bee, fluttered its wings, closed its eyes, and fell silent.

After about a minute of silence, it finally spoke.

"We have reached a conclusion regarding a suitable reward."

"Oh, what is it?"

That Job Ticket seemed like a good thing, so if I caught the boss, they'd give me something much better, right?

Suddenly, with a bright light, something smaller than a finger joint floated in front of the Fairy.

Its identity was....

"...A bean?"

No matter how I looked at it from the left, right, top, or bottom, it was a bean.

A shiny, green-colored bean.

Is this one of those things where if you eat it, you aren't hungry for ten days and all your wounds are healed?

As I looked at the bean with curiosity, the Fairy spoke.

"It is the Seed of Yggdrasil."

"Eh? Isn't it a front bean?"

"...What is that?"

"Ah, never mind. My mistake...."

The Fairy ignored my comment and continued.

"The Seed of Yggdrasil. It will be the thing that saves you in a moment of absolute desperation."

The ability of this bean—no, seed—was simple.

While living in Yggdrasil, energy would accumulate, and once that energy reached 100%, it would detect the owner's moment of crisis and save their life.

"For your information, it is not a one-time consumable. It can be used continuously by absorbing the energy of Yggdrasil."

"Holy shit... that's completely broken."

"However! The energy recharge takes a very long time. It is currently at 0%, so keep in mind that it will not activate until it reaches 100%."

"Oh.... Thanks, thanks~"

Then, the floating Yggdrasil bean... no, seed, flowed into my chest.

"Ooh...."

It wasn't a concept of carrying it in the Inventory like an item; it was absorbed into my body to protect me.

"Now! I have something to say to the three of you!! Let's wrap this up quickly!!"

I called out to the Fairy as it turned to fly back toward Min Ha-yeon and Han Yeo-reum.

"Hey."

"What now!?"

The Fairy turned back to me, frowning as if wondering why I was being so bothersome.

Its expression was exactly like a gremlin.

I extended my arm to the gremlin-like Fairy.

Kyahaaa...

Is this brat actually going to bite my arm?

"...What is this?"

"Didn't you say you receive points as tips? Since I got something good, I thought I should give you some points."

"Ooh!!! As expected of the one who cleared the boss fight! I instinctively knew you were a wonderful person!!"

The Fairy, which suddenly transformed from a gremlin into Tinkerbell, reached out to me with a soft, sweet expression.

I felt like if I only gave 100 points, it might still bite my arm, so I decided to be generous and give ten thousand points.

Once I gave the ten thousand points....

"Whoaaa~~~~ I knew you were a good person!"

"...."

What a liar.

The Fairy beamed and handed me a business card.

=====

Name: Lower Fairy No. 108

Rank: Lowest-Grade Guide

=====

To have a name and rank so pathetic....

"...And this?"

"If you ever need anything in the future, please be sure to call me! I will serve you with all my heart!"

"Sure."

The Fairy wore a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sycophantic expression, grinning like some ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sleazy booking agent.

It then led me back to the other two, as if guiding me to a VIP room.

When I arrived with the Fairy, the two of them were in the middle of a spat while I was gone.

"I told you not to stick to that guy!!"

"Sigh...."

"That piece of shit is completely different from what you think he is, Ha-yeon!"

The subject of the spat was me.

Don't stick to me.

Han Yeo-reum, who knows what happens to the relationship between me and Min Ha-yeon through his regressions, wanted to tear me away from her by any means necessary.

But the funny thing was....

"...Ah! You're back?"

"Yeah."

"What were you talking about?"

"I'll tell you later."

It was just that all three of us here were regressors, and we were simply pretending not to know.

And among us, the most deficient was undoubtedly Han Yeo-reum.

The relationship between me and Min Ha-yeon that Han Yeo-reum worried about was no longer a relationship that he could sever.

No matter how many times he regresses now, he will never be able to get Min Ha-yeon back.

Han Yeo-reum stepped between me and Min Ha-yeon, looked down at me, and spoke in a low, menacing voice.

"Hey, why don't you get away from Ha-yeon?"

"...."

Suddenly, I became curious about something.

Does this place count as part of Zephyrum?

Since the location of the boss fight was counted as Zephyrum, wouldn't this place, though separate, also be judged as the same region?

Just in case, I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠said to Han Yeo-reum.

"I've had enough. Put your hands up and stand next to me."