**** Skillbook
“How about coming to my place to wash up and grab something to eat?”
“···!”
“I have some things I want to discuss about Imin, and I need to express my gratitude for helping Rohan too.”
Rohan jumped into the conversation, trying to relay Clara's intentions on her behalf and extract her from the situation.
He figured there was no way the girl's timid nature would let her accept that invitation.
“Th-thank you! Then··· if it wouldn't be any trouble···.”
But what was this?
Before Rohan could even move, Clara bowed her head deeply in acceptance.
‘···Clara?’
He had no idea what was going through her mind to make her accept Juyeon's offer.
Rohan's heart did a somersault at the response, his throat tightening in shock.
It was less admirable and more bewildering.
His words failed him in the face of this incomprehensible situation.
The girl lifted her gaze to meet Rohan's.
Though she'd voiced her agreement to go, Clara didn't look well.
Her hands trembled from tension, her face pale as a ghost.
Accepting the invitation had clearly overloaded her mind.
‘Then why go through with it?’
Why had she accepted Juyeon's proposal?
Rohan racked his brain, wondering if he'd missed something in her actions. Should he ask now and stop her?
But the resolve in Clara's eyes seemed firm.
“Rohan. What's wrong all of a sudden?”
“Ah, sorry.”
Juyeon's voice snapped Rohan out of it.
She let out a dry chuckle, brushing back her red bangs as she continued.
“You said you barely ate anything while drifting. It'll be late, but how about you join us for dinner too, Rohan?”
“Is that okay with you?”
“She seems more at ease with you around. And I want to hear more details.”
“···!”
Juyeon's sharp insight and judgment.
Clara blushed shyly, but the tension in her face eased a bit.
“Rohan. The security officers will drive you back to the dorm. Go wash up properly and take your time coming over.”
At that, Rohan glanced down at his outfit.
‘Just a total rag now.’
His cadet uniform was torn to shreds like rags, crusted with bloodstains.
Stepping out like this would definitely draw stares.
“Don't wander around alone. Roaming like that might get you reported and dragged back to security.”
“···.”
Rohan wordlessly boarded the security vehicle at Juyeon's insistence.
On the way, he didn't forget to exchange messages with Clara to check her intentions.
··
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‘I wanted to go to Oppa’s place···.’
Watching Rohan drive away, Clara thought about how much she'd changed lately.
She'd grown in good ways, but moments like this—showing ridiculous boldness—kept popping up.
Her mouth moved before her rational mind could catch up, leaving her flustered after the fact.
Even she couldn't pin down what impulse had led her to accept the invitation.
Now, left alone with Juyeon, the situation felt dizzyingly precarious.
Juyeon mulled over Clara's overclocked tension and the news that Rohan had returned safely, as the girl finally snapped to.
Their conversation was decidedly one-sided.
“Shall we head out too, then?”
“Y-yes···.”
After Rohan left, Clara wilted like a flower deprived of sunlight.
The timidity she'd shown so far was nothing compared to this—she could barely squeeze out answers to Juyeon's questions, sweat beading on her brow.
Still, Juyeon stayed composed.
Wasn't she an Orion Academy instructor who dealt with girls Clara's age?
By the time they reached her home, the girl's lips had cracked open—just a tiny bit.
Beep!
Juyeon unlocked the door and gestured for Clara to enter.
“Make yourself at home.”
“P-pardon the intrusion···!”
Clara slipped off her pitch-black boots in the entryway.
Lifting her head, she took in the sight ahead—and froze in awe.
‘Whoa···.’
Juyeon's residence in Academy City. Was this a house or a palace?
Either way, it crushed Clara's expectations of wealth. Her shoulders hunched involuntarily.
She followed Juyeon down a hallway wider and longer than her own room.
Then they entered a living room the size of a sports field.
Juyeon tugged the hesitant Clara along, opening a cabinet to pull out toiletries.
Her voice was gentle.
“Set your weapons aside somewhere comfortable. I won't touch them. Washing them like that would ruin either the washer or the gear.”
“···.”
She knew without being told.
Clara complied without resistance, aware of how insignificant and pathetic her blades seemed before Juyeon.
Skipping the ones hidden in her boots, she laid them out on the table.
Two classic fixed blades, one karambit, two folded balisongs, a silencer and pistol.
Even the empty magazines from the dungeon.
Once arranged neatly, Clara kept only her most vital weapon—Arachne—in hand.
“Bathroom's through that door. Leave your clothes outside, and I'll wash them. Don't worry—just clean up. I'll set out spare clothes too.”
“Ah, th-thank··· you···.”
Clara took the items from Juyeon and scurried to the bathroom.
‘The bathroom's bigger than my room···?’
Another involuntary gasp as she passed through the door.
She closed it softly and undressed methodically.
Down to her underwear last.
She cracked the door, extending only her hand to pass out the laundry.
Before heading to the shower—where hot water might run out any second—she examined her naked reflection in the mirror.
Twisting this way and that.
‘Am I··· too small?’
She cupped and kneaded them. Soft and pliant, but they didn't quite fill her hand.
She'd never cared before, but lately it nagged at her.
‘Noah-unnie's are big, Sion-unnie's too··· and even that lady···.’
The women around Rohan all had outrageously voluptuous figures.
Everyone except her.
Being around such impressive people made her own body feel woefully inadequate.
“···.”
Would the curves have been fuller if she'd eaten better during puberty?
Clara gazed mournfully at her slender reflection.
Meanwhile, outside the bathroom.
“Hm?”
Gathering Clara's discarded clothes for the wash, Juyeon froze in surprise.
Her mouth fell open unconsciously.
‘Where does she even get underwear like this···.’
She'd thought Clara's outfits were flashy and unique. But the hidden layers were even more so.
In her hand: scandalously sheer see-through lingerie. A tiny scrap barely covering the essentials.
It looked like it'd reveal her hips completely, thin enough to see her fingers through.
‘D-do girls wear stuff like this these days?’
Juyeon was flustered.
To her—who sought only plain, comfortable fabrics—this was something out of a fantasy.
As the washer hummed, she seriously pondered if it was okay to lend Clara her own bland clothes.
*****
“Phew!”
Back at the dorm, Rohan finally had time to leisurely check and savor his rewards.
There'd been some commotion, but it had resolved more cleanly than expected.
He peeled off the blood-crusted cadet uniform that clung to his skin with a grunt.
Rummaging through his jacket, he pulled out the reward from Sion.
Clara had consumed hers on the spot, but his remained. These required focus after ingestion.
‘This is big.’
Two fingernail-sized fruits rolled in his palm.
Upon exiting the dungeon, knowledge of them had flooded his mind. He knew them from before anyway.
◇ Fruit left by the carnivorous flower Ivy Roselia.
◇ Slightly increases physical abilities and mana upon consumption.
◇ Repeated consumption yields diminishing returns.
In Abyss City, you could farm these by running dungeons endlessly, but reality might differ.
Either way, he needed power. No refusing good intentions.
Rohan swallowed both fruits, including the one from Sion.
“Mm.”
Sweet at first, then a bitter tang lingered on his tongue.
He could see why Clara had grimaced.
How long after gulping them down?
He focused on the changes rippling through him.
‘Oh! This is mana?’
Low-grade elixir or not, his mana fizzed like popping candy.
The sensation faded quickly, but the "slight" boost felt more satisfying than described.
‘Good. Next up.’
Time for the real prize.
He hadn't grasped what "Seneca's Luck" meant from the name alone—even after receiving it.
Opening the Shop revealed the answer.
◇ **** Skillbook - 5,000P (1 purchase available - Granted by Seneca's Luck)
◇ Lowest-grade Stamina/Mana Potion - 100P
◇ Restaurant Reservation Ticket - 50P
◇ Concentration-Enhancing Incense - 50P
··
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◇ Samhwa Nation Flower Pastry Set - 10P
◇ Rainbow Macaron Set - 8P
◇ Chicken/Pizza - 8P
◇ Bulk Combat Rations - 5P
··
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The thrill of abundant points lingered, even after all the food and potions he'd bought.
The Random Skillbook text was glitched. Clearly that "Seneca's Luck" guy's doing.
It piqued his curiosity intensely.
No point overthinking.
Rohan acted immediately.
**** Skillbook acquired.