Chapter 9
**CHAPTER TITLE: Hard Mode Challenge**
It was the day to challenge hard difficulty.
Kang Do-yoon had been feeling oddly excited since morning.
When they arrived at the gate, Yoo Chae-won was already waiting there.
“G, General Do-yoon! I have a request to make.”
“What is it?”
“If you enter the gate, please immediately use Shield on yourself!”
If it had been her usual self, she might have added a few more words.
But this time, Kang Do-yoon obediently nodded.
“Understood.”
Yoo Chae-won paused for a moment.
She hadn’t expected him to accept so readily.
“Why?”
“Ah, no.”
Yoo Chae-won shook her head.
Then she pulled a small bottle from her inventory and offered it to him.
“Take this as well.”
“This is…”
“A potion.”
“The most basic one. I completely forgot.”
They had prepared equipment and mindset.
But nothing for consumables.
‘Oh no, that could have been a disaster.’
Kang Do-yoon accepted the potion with a slightly embarrassed expression.
“Thank you. I really forgot about that.”
“It’s fine!”
“How much do I owe you?”
Yoo Chae-won immediately shook her head.
“No need. Just use it.”
“Still…”
“I won’t charge anything.”
Yoo Chae-won was adamant.
Kang Do-yoon stared at her for a moment, then casually added, “If I accept it for free, I’ll feel like I can’t stay in the party long.”
“……!”
Yoo Chae-won’s expression stiffened instantly.
“T, that’s not possible.”
“Then how much did it cost?”
“Twenty Mana Stones.”
Kang Do-yoon almost laughed.
‘This works.’
He took out a Mana Stone from his inventory and handed it to her.
“Here.”
“No, really, it’s fine…”
In the end, she reluctantly accepted the Mana Stone.
Yoo Chae-won immediately approached the female staff member.
“I have achieved Level 5 and will challenge hard difficulty starting today.”
The female staff member’s eyes widened slightly.
“You’ve already reached Level 5. Impressive.”
She glanced between Kang Do-yoon and Yoo Chae-won.
“Even so, hard is hard. If it gets too tough, don’t force it. Just quit right away. Quite a few interns end up injured.”
Kang Do-yoon nodded lightly.
“Understood.”
Yoo Chae-won answered right away.
The two of them walked toward the gate.
The atmosphere around the gate looked different from usual.
A semi-transparent window had appeared in the air before the gate.
─────────────────
[Please select the difficulty.]
- Normal
- Hard
─────────────────
They selected hard and entered the gate.
The familiar forest scene appeared inside.
The atmosphere was not drastically different from normal.
Kang Do-yoon activated Shield on himself.
“Perfect. Let’s move.”
The two walked slowly along the forest path.
Not long after, a monster emerged from the bushes ahead.
[Elite Trash Mob 1]
“…”
Kang Do-yoon’s expression changed the moment he saw it.
Its color was different from the trash mobs in normal mode.
He knew that.
He had known it from the game.
But seeing it in reality left him feeling only one thing.
‘This is seriously irritating.’
He had known it was a color thing, but with the elite tag, he had expected a massive aura.
Yoo Chae-won drew her sword and charged straight at the elite trash mob.
Slash!
The elite trash mob didn’t fall.
It staggered a bit but held its ground.
“Whoa! It didn’t die in one hit!”
Kang Do-yoon couldn’t help but exclaim.
“That’s not something to be impressed about!”
The moment Yoo Chae-won’s gaze shifted to him.
The elite trash mob swung its arm and grazed Yoo Chae-won’s side.
Thud!
Yoo Chae-won’s body shook.
And for the first time, the health bar above her head decreased.
“Wow, amazing… Ah.”
Before he could finish speaking, Kang Do-yoon snapped out of it.
Now wasn’t the time to be impressed.
He raised his hand toward Yoo Chae-won and shouted, “Heal!”
Warm light bloomed at his fingertips.
At the same time, he felt something draining from inside his body.
It was like a faint electric jolt followed by a gradual release.
‘Is this the feeling of MP depleting?’
The moment the heal was cast, Yoo Chae-won corrected her stance.
“Die…!”
She must have been quite angry.
There was killing intent in her voice.
Slash!
“Kyaaak!”
Slash!
“Kyaaah!”
Slash!
“Kyik!”
The attacks became much more savage than before.
Kang Do-yoon stared blankly at the scene.
The elite trash mob couldn’t hold on any longer.
Once the monster disappeared, the forest grew quiet again.
Kang Do-yoon looked at Yoo Chae-won.
“Are you all right?”
“I’m fine… I won’t take hits anymore.”
“No, it’s…”
Kang Do-yoon scratched his head.
After all, hard mode was different from normal.
Yoo Chae-won hadn’t taken down the monster in one hit.
And she was using heals for the first time.
Kang Do-yoon couldn’t help but glance at his palm.
It felt strangely odd.
Until now, he had basically been a spectator.
But now it felt different.
Even though it was short, he had felt like a protagonist.
Yoo Chae-won sheathed her sword and said, “Let’s keep going.”
Kang Do-yoon nodded.
Elite trash mobs 2, 3, and 4 were not much different.
The only difference was that they didn’t die in one hit.
Yoo Chae-won really didn’t take any damage, as she had said.
Kang Do-yoon was back to watching from behind.
But the atmosphere changed in the final stretch.
[Elite Trash Mob Boss]
Kang Do-yoon narrowed his eyes.
He hadn’t expected anything too flashy just because it was a boss.
It looked exactly like the trash mob boss from normal mode.
Except for the color.
‘That’s lazy.’
The only thing that stood out was the red glow in its eyes.
Yoo Chae-won gripped her sword tighter.
“General Do-yoon.”
“Yes.”
“Be careful.”
After that short warning, Yoo Chae-won charged at the boss.
Slash!
The first strike cut through the boss’s body.
But the boss didn’t even stagger.
“Tch.”
Yoo Chae-won clicked her tongue and stepped back a pace.
Then she reset her stance.
Just as she was about to attack again, the boss lunged first.
It was clearly faster than the normal mode trash mob boss.
Yoo Chae-won twisted her body to dodge and immediately counterattacked.
The sword grazed its side.
The boss growled and turned around.
‘Its HP is high.’
Kang Do-yoon’s eyebrows furrowed slightly.
It seemed at least twice as tough as the normal mode boss.
There wasn’t much he could do right now.
Moving closer would only hinder it.
So the only thing he could do was wait for the moment she took damage and cast heal.
He focused all his strength at his fingertips and watched the fight.
Throughout, Yoo Chae-won’s sword moved without pause.
She dove low.
Then stepped back one pace.
Then found another opening.
Every time the sword sliced through the air, her long black hair flowed gracefully behind her.
Smooth.
Yet sharp.
Kang Do-yoon watched in silence.
‘Wow…’
The way she swung the sword looked like water flowing—natural, almost like a dance.
The beautiful sword lines combined with light footwork.
Yet at the end, the monster’s flesh was being carved away.
Beautiful.
A sudden thought crossed his mind.
Of course, it was also a little scary.
‘Pretty, but scary.’
At that moment, the boss swung its arm wide.
Yoo Chae-won dodged but couldn’t fully evade.
Even with just a slight impact, her health bar dropped by half.
Kang Do-yoon immediately raised his hand.
“Heal!”
The heal restored her movements.
Yoo Chae-won stepped back one pace.
“I’ll end this.”
A faint light gathered at the tip of her sword.
And then.
“Single Flash.”
It looked as though Yoo Chae-won had vanished.
Boom!
A single slash split the elite trash mob boss’s body deep.
“Whoa.”
Kang Do-yoon’s mouth fell open in amazement.
Thud.
The massive body collapsed to the ground.
At that exact moment.
Ding.
A semi-transparent window appeared before him.
─────────────────
First Gate Clear
Reward Granted
- Mana Stone x100
─────────────────
Another message soon followed.
─────────────────
Level Up!
Lv.5 → Lv.6
Level Up Reward Granted.
- Mana Stone x50
─────────────────
“… Just Mana Stones.”
It was disappointing.
Kang Do-yoon approached Yoo Chae-won.
She looked slightly out of breath.
“Are you all right?”
“I-I’m fine.”
Yoo Chae-won straightened up immediately.
“Nothing to worry about!”
“No, you seem a bit tired.”
“I’m perfectly fine!”
Kang Do-yoon grinned.
“That skill just now was amazing.”
“Th-thank you.”
The tips of Yoo Chae-won’s ears turned faintly red.
When they exited the gate, it was already lunchtime.
“Let’s eat lunch.”
“Understood.”
The two of them ate a light meal nearby.
Kang Do-yoon emptied his tray and pondered his afternoon schedule.
Since he had cleared hard mode once, should they finish here?
Or would he run a few more normal modes just to farm Mana Stones?
While he was thinking.
“G, General Do-yoon.”
“Yes?”
Yoo Chae-won asked cautiously.
“If it’s not too much trouble, would you like to challenge hard mode again?”
Kang Do-yoon blinked.
“Hard mode? Again?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t mind, but…”
Kang Do-yoon set down his chopsticks and looked at her.
“Weren’t you tired?”
“I’m fine.”
“You even used a skill this time.”
Yoo Chae-won thought for a moment, then answered as if it was obvious.
“Pattern memorization is complete.”
“… What?”
“I won’t take any more hits.”
Kang Do-yoon was momentarily at a loss for words.
What?
That self-confidence.
He couldn’t help but laugh.
“As long as you’re fine, I’m okay with it.”
“Understood.”
Yoo Chae-won nodded.
In the afternoon, the two entered the hard gate once more.
The result?
“Whoa.”
Kang Do-yoon couldn’t help but exclaim.
It was true.
Yoo Chae-won didn’t take even one hit this time.