155. Butterfly Effect (6)
155. Butterfly Effect (6)
"Im Ga-eul─!!!!!!"
A voice, suddenly shouting from behind.
'······?'
Im Ga-eul didn't even realize at first that the voice was calling her.
After all, Jin Yu-ha's master, who had taught him the sword, was here too.
And there was also that newly arrived hoobae who, despite being a freshman, possessed ability and courage that no one could dismiss.
'But, I'm Im Ga-eul······?'
Me?
It seemed like the first time she'd heard Yu-ha hoobae call her name with such urgency.
He'd always called her name in a voice that was vaguely pitying, or laid-back, or teasingly sly······.
A hoobae one grade below her, yet a kid who always looked after the entire party with such reliable steadiness.
Why would a kid like that be searching for her so desperately?
"Grab the Magic Stone!!!!!!!!"
'A Magic Stone? Grab a Magic Stone?'
Im Ga-eul glanced down at the Magic Stone in her hand.
The Magic Stone he meant couldn't be the Highest-grade Magic Stone she was holding right now.
If that were the case, she'd been gripping it since before they entered this place, so hard her palm had gone white.
The Magic Stone Yu-ha hoobae was talking about was probably—
Im Ga-eul slowly turned her head.
A single massive Black Magic Stone, floating in the air.
She still hadn't properly grasped what was happening, but from the conversation just moments ago, she could at least guess that this Magic Stone was something dangerous and terrifying.
Thump—
Thump—
The Black Magic Stone was pulsing fiercely, like a heart.
'Grab that?'
It was clearly ominous.
Both instinct and reason were screaming in unison that she absolutely must not touch it—no, must not even go near it.
'I'd die······?'
As she fixed her eyes on that utterly ominous Magic Stone,
time suddenly felt as though it were flowing slowly.
In truth, the old her wouldn't have been able to take a single step from this spot.
Back during the Live Gate Training, when they'd first met Yu-ha hoobae and Yu-ri hoobae and had been caught off guard by an ogre ambush—
she'd hidden behind Yu-ri hoobae's back and done nothing but use skills.
'Come to think of it, back then too, Yu-ha hoobae told me to grab a Magic Stone.'
The Highest-grade Magic Stone that her hoobae had abruptly thrust at her.
That was the moment her life had changed dramatically.
Dead-last supporter of the whole grade, trash, retard, scrap, waste, the deficient one······.
Her academy life had been more familiar with those derogatory labels than with the name Im Ga-eul.
But from the moment she'd taken the Magic Stone Jin Yu-ha handed her,
she had changed.
Into a supporter with exceptional abilities.
And after putting down a friend who had transformed into a Demonized Human in the blink of an eye,
she'd found herself bound together with kids she'd never even dreamed of sharing a table with, tied by the single bond of the Utopia Party.
They were all such kind and strong, amazing hoobaes.
Far too good for her.
Sometimes she wondered if she was having a dream that was just a little too perfect.
'Mm— I guess, in the end, that was why?'
The comments she'd seen on YouTube before coming here.
Remarks about her having no presence.
The words of people who couldn't even remember her name.
The reason she'd bristled even at their jokes was probably because, deep down, she'd already known.
That in Utopia, she was the one who lagged behind the most, the one who didn't fit.
What could she do?
She was just an ordinary person by nature.
Becoming the best supporter.
Living large on stacks of money.
Achieving some great feat that everyone would look up to.
She didn't dream big dreams like that.
Just being one of the ordinary hunters who helped people.
And hearing a 'thank you for your help.'
Honestly, that much was enough for her.
But,
when someone like her
heard that amazing, outstanding hoobae shouting at her like that, with a desperate face that said only she could do it······.
'I kind of want to live up to that expectation, you know?'
With one hand, Im Ga-eul gripped the Highest-grade Magic Stone Jin Yu-ha had given her and drew her Mana up.
"Acceleration."
She cast Acceleration on herself.
And then flung herself toward the pulsating Black Magic Stone.
* * *
"You! Wha—what do you think you're doing right now?! If you touch that Magic Stone! The entire country of Korea will become uninhabitable land! That is not my art!!!"
Watching Im Ga-eul suddenly charge toward the Magic Stone, Yeon Woo-jin shouted in a flustered voice.
"Slaughter-Crazed Woman! Stop her! Are you just going to stand there and watch—?"
Slice—
Baek Seol-hee sent his head flying again.
"······You speak as if I were some friend of yours."
And in that moment,
Im Ga-eul succeeded in placing her hand on the Magic Stone.
Only after confirming that did I breathe a sigh of relief.
'Holy shit, that seriously scared the hell out of me······.'
While I'd been dealing with the Demonized Human bastards up above, one of them had shouted.
—Yeon Woo-jin, where the hell is that son of a bitch and what's he doing?! He dragged us all here! At this rate we're all gonna fucking die!!!
Heading straight here the moment I heard that shout had been the right call.
'That bastard Yeon Woo-jin showing up here of all places. The butterfly effect is way too brutal, seriously.'
I looked toward the severed head that was yelling something at Instructor.
Yeon Woo-jin.
Originally, that guy was a Demonized Human who appeared in the mid-story.
In other words, about a year from now.
Honestly, the guy's not much.
A slick character model, a madness-soaked manner of speaking.
A striking entrance scene.
Anyone could tell he was a villain who was about to pull something.
But compared to all those elements that made him seem like a big deal, he was an extra villain who got booted out almost immediately.
That said, Yeon Woo-jin did have a certain role in Velvetsra.
Namely, a branch point.
Around the middle of the second year, the characters that Players raised became considerably strong.
Strong enough that most ordinary Demonized Humans weren't even a match for them.
Even the small fry—I alone could handle nearly a hundred Demonized Humans right now,
so what do you think characters plastered with every resource in the game can do?
In other words, it's the point where the power balance spikes significantly and enemies start feeling trivial.
That's when Yeon Woo-jin appears and announces the emergence of a new enemy type: the Demons.
Far stronger and more dangerous than Demonized Humans.
A presence that rekindles tension in Players who've grown complacent.
But since they can't crank the difficulty into brutal territory from the very first Demon appearance, it's tuned just enough for Players to still have fun!
And so Yeon Woo-jin and the Demon he summons are easy to defeat.
'The problem, though, is that right now isn't the mid-story—it's just barely past the early story.'
We don't yet have the strength, the stats, or the gear to face a new species like Demons.
We're desperately lacking in every category.
What do you think happens if a Demon shows up at this stage—when we're still teeming with Demonized Human bastards who are a struggle to handle?
'Total party wipe.'
Later on, even on auto-battle they'd be easy to deal with, but not now.
Of course, since Instructor Baek Seol-hee is here, maybe we wouldn't get completely stomped······.
But this is way too dangerous an enemy to gamble on right now.
'Im Ga-eul being here saved us······. For real.'
I looked at Im Ga-eul's back as she kept her hand pressed to the Magic Stone.
She uses Magic Stones as fuel for her skills.
Normally, to use a Magic Stone, it has to go through a purification process.
And even then, humans aren't supposed to use them directly. Extracting the energy or fashioning them into artifacts and magic tools is the best you can do.
But Im Ga-eul could directly harness a Magic Stone's Mana.
Thanks to her trait—Receptivity.
Receptivity is a trait that embraces a Magic Stone's Mana and transforms it into the color of her own Mana!
And that applied just the same to a Black Magic Stone billowing with dark energy.
'Hmm, but······. I'm not sure if it's okay for her to be handling a Black Magic Stone this early······.'
Originally, Im Ga-eul didn't start handling Black Magic Stones until about a year later, when Demons first appeared.
This was the first time she'd been handed one so early.
Still, I had no choice but to trust her.
If not Im Ga-eul, there was no one who could stop the summoning.
Thump—
Thump—
Thump—
The pulsing grew faster and faster.
Then. The demonic energy of the Black Magic Stone churned, and thicker streams of demonic energy began to spill out in tendrils.
"Aaaah—. At last, they descend! The Demon bastards have finally started hauling their heavy asses into motion!"
Yeon Woo-jin, his head severed, gazed up at the Magic Stone with eyes full of anticipation.
Baek Seol-hee had waited, judging that Jin Yu-ha must have some plan, but seeing the situation, it seemed too late.
She bit her lip and gripped her sword hilt.
Craaaaack—
The whole room began to shake and shudder as if an earthquake had struck.
Then, above the Magic Stone, a pitch-black fissure appeared, like a long tear slashed across empty space.
A precursor sign that the summoning was beginning.
Even then, Im Ga-eul kept her hand on the Black Magic Stone, completely motionless.
But suddenly—
—it stopped.
The Magic Stone's vibrations halted all at once.
"Wh—what······? Why, why is, the su—the summoning······!?"
Flustered, Yeon Woo-jin's eyes flew wide open.
"······Heh, kuh-hoot?"
Slowly, the corners of Im Ga-eul's lips curled upward, and she let out a laugh.
"······Sunbae?"
Haaaaaaah—
She tilted her head back and let out a languid sigh.
"The power's overflowing······."
Wondering if something had gone wrong, I asked.
"Are you okay?"
"Ahh, I'm okay. More than okay. There's no way I wouldn't be."
A decadent voice, breath and sound mingled together, utterly unlike her usual soft, blank tone.
"Right now······. How I feel."
Im Ga-eul opened her closed eyes and covered the left side of her face with one hand.
"Is the best."