Dongjak Gate (2)
Monsters of the bovine lineage kept appearing in every form imaginable.
When they came in numbers, my master would sow chaos among them and mop them up. When a handful of stronger ones showed themselves, the Association President took the front while my master supported from behind.
Together, the two of them felt invincible.
So that's why just the two of them came—they're this strong.
Ordinarily, a gate was something you entered with a team of twenty or more. Once you stepped inside, there was no leaving until the raid was finished, so people shoved in as much manpower as they could—almost to excess.
If they're tearing a gate like that apart with only two people, just how strong is my master?
Thanks to them, we were clearing the place far more safely than I'd expected when I first walked in trembling.
"We're approaching the core soon."
"Siyu, the Guardian is dangerous. Be careful."
"This time, staying a little farther back will actually be safer."
The two of them had been strolling along as if they were out for a walk, so hearing both of them issue warnings at once made me a little uneasy.
"I'll go in first."
My master dropped her smile and nodded.
The Association President walked ahead. After a moment, a glittering structure came into view—and beside it stood a massive centaur that had to be a full ten meters tall.
Is that the core and the Guardian?
The Guardian was enormous.
Is that really a size a human can fight?
As the Association President drew closer, the centaur locked onto him.
Kiiiiii—
With a sharp, keening sound, the centaur drew the bow in its hands. A lightning arrow formed on the empty string.
The arrow sliced through the air. The Association President wrapped his entire body in fire.
KWAANG—
The arrow struck the spot where he had been standing. But the Association President was already gone. In an instant he had moved behind the centaur's head, and a fist wreathed in flame—dyed a deep red—slammed straight into the creature's skull.
It didn't look like a decisive blow, but the centaur flew into a rage and began thrashing about.
I was still watching their fight when the air around me started to tremble. I turned my head. Above my master's head, a black spear larger than a person was spinning at a terrifying speed.
"Now!!"
At my master's shout, the Association President pulled away from the centaur. The spinning black spear shot forward, leaving afterimages in its wake.
What it met was not the heart it had aimed for, but the centaur's right arm. The spear that should have pierced the heart only managed to blow the arm clean off.
"Tsk."
My master clicked her tongue and prepared the next attack.
After the same exchange repeated a few more times, they finally brought the centaur down.
I walked over to the Association President with my master. He was covered in ash, burn marks left across every corner of his body.
"Even among A-Class, that one was exceptional."
"I'm exhausted. Just smash the core already so we can go home."
My master approached the core and readied her black spear.
In that instant, a sharp crackling sound rang out—and my vision flipped.
Keuhk—
A horrible foreign sensation filled my stomach. From behind me, I heard my master's voice.
What is she saying?
In one corner of my vision, the dead centaur was still smiling.
"Oh, fuck."
A burning heat in my gut and the feeling of warmth draining out of me hit me at the same time. Barely managing to lift my head and look down, I found a hole the size of two fingers punched clean through my stomach.
Is this how I die… This is way too pointless…
Through my wavering consciousness, the Association President's shout reached me.
"Hang% on a #% bit. It'll #$ hurt."
What is he saying?
Suddenly a pain completely different from anything before crashed into me.
"Kyaaaaah—!"
A tearing scream ripped from my throat, and I lost consciousness.
When I opened my eyes, a white ceiling greeted me.
My whole body felt heavy. No—I couldn't move at all.
With difficulty, I turned my head, and the scenery of a hospital room came into view.
This is… ah…
My stomach had definitely been pierced, and the Association President had…
"The patient has regained consciousness."
Ugh, so sleepy. Just a little more…
Unable to fight the eyelids closing on their own, I shut my eyes again.
When I opened them once more, my master was sitting beside me.
"Siyu… are you with us?"
At her voice I slowly turned my head, and she came into view. The neat appearance she always maintained was a mess, and dark circles filled the area around her eyes.
I opened my mouth to try to answer something—and a terrible thirst hit me.
"Thirsty? Hold on just a little… just one hour…"
One hour? I had no desire to sit through this horrible sensation for a whole hour.
"It's only been a short while since the surgery ended. Just hang in there a little, Siyu."
With the sensation that had returned even a little, I fidgeted my hands.
At this rate, I'll be stuck in bed for days.
"But Siyu."
Our eyes met.
"Did you have a skill you were hiding from me?"
Ah…
I'd been wondering how I'd ended up taking the hit at the end—looks like Absolute Master Protection!!! had activated.
"You were definitely at a distance from me. But you took a surprise attack in my place that even I didn't notice…"
A surprise attack? Weren't there no enemies left?
"There was an artifact on the centaur's neck that activates upon death."
I felt so wronged.
Why is that damn centaur still causing trouble even after dying?
"The bleeding was so severe that if the Association President hadn't cauterized it right away, you would have died."
So that was the identity of the final pain, too. I should thank him later.
"So why did you do it? Why did you protect me?"
It's not like I protected you because I wanted to…
Still, seeing my master sitting there with that haggard face felt strangely affecting.
Even that pretty face of hers is ruined now.
"Never mind. Get some rest. I'll come again later."
My master stood up and left the hospital room.
I opened my status window.
Good thing it isn't touch-based.
Class: Maid | Synchronization Rate: 14.13%
Level: 14
▸ Absolute Master Protection!!!(A) — [View Details]
▸ Maid's Techniques(B) — [View Details]
▸ Maid's Instinct(EX) — [View Details]
Both my Synchronization Rate and my level had shot up enormously. Every stat except Mana and Intelligence had jumped into double digits in an instant.
Where does that put me, roughly?
And if I was level 14…
Then a new function of Maid's Techniques should have unlocked.
I selected [View Details] in my mind.
Detailed Description
— As your level rises, you acquire techniques befitting a maid.
Level 1 — Cleaning(Proficiency: D−)
—— No stain remains wherever you have cleaned.
—— Those who reside in a place you have cleaned recover at an increased rate.
—— Your cleaning speed increases by a fixed amount.
Level 5 — Cooking(Proficiency: F+)
—— A maid's devotion is imbued into your cooking.
—— Beneficial effects are granted according to the time spent cooking.
—— Your cooking maintains a respectable standard of taste.
Level 20 — [Locked]
* Beneficial effects apply only to the master and those the master has recognized.
So this time it was cooking.
At this rate, am I a maid or a housewife?
But this time the proficiency hadn't started at a bare F.
Did my old bachelor cooking get factored in?
Either way, the things I could do had expanded. And cooking would be easier to raise proficiency in than cleaning.
At least I won't be bored for a while.
That was a post-discharge problem, of course.
Come to think of it, I used that skill I'd been sitting on, too.
Detailed Description
Upon recognizing that the master is in danger, the user is teleported to the master's vicinity and takes the crisis in their stead. Damage received is partially reduced according to proficiency.
What kind of proficiency jump is that…
The proficiency had risen absurdly high. From F to C—nine whole ranks by a simple count.
And what good does raising it do me.
I closed the status window. There was no chance I'd ever use that skill again. No—there shouldn't be.
Not long after I closed it, the door opened and a doctor walked in.
"How are you feeling? You're on painkillers right now, but you may still feel some discomfort."
The doctor checked the IV line connected to my arm as he continued.
"Thanks to rapid first aid and the help of a professional healer, you made a miraculous recovery—but you'll need to rest and recover for a while. We'll bring you some thin rice porridge shortly; from then on, you're free to drink water as well."
Hearing a doctor use the word "miracle" told me just how bad my condition must have been.
Well, I did have a hole punched through my stomach…
"That said, being an Awakened means your recovery is fairly quick. You should be able to leave the hospital in about two weeks. Please rest comfortably until then."
After the doctor left, I stared blankly up at the ceiling.
Not even a full week had passed, and here I was lying in a hospital bed.
All I've done is get dragged around by my master and do a bit of cleaning…
I planned to rest thoroughly while I had the chance. If my master had any sense at all, she wouldn't work me too hard after I'd taken a hit for her like this.
She won't work me too hard… right?
I pushed the idle thoughts aside and stopped thinking altogether.
No more worrying today.
Once the fretting stopped, my throbbing head felt a good deal lighter.