I'll Take Full Responsibility!

I’ll take full responsibility for everything!

The moment the words left my mouth, I realized how they sounded. Kim Soyeon’s shoulders twitched violently. Her gaze dropped to the floor, and the tips of her ears flushed a deep crimson.

“Well… being tied to me would cause you a lot of trouble, wouldn’t it…?”

Her voice was barely more than a whisper, as if she were forcing the words out.

…Huh? Trouble? Who? Me?

I stared at her, completely dumbfounded.

If anyone’s going to be in trouble, it’s you, not me.

Getting entangled with an unknown man and taking a hit to her image would obviously affect her far more than me. As for me, I didn’t even have an image to worry about, so it didn’t…

Ah, wait. That wasn’t entirely true.

I’d be in trouble too. Her fanatics would probably try to kill me.

When I didn’t answer, she must have taken my silence as agreement. Kim Soyeon fidgeted restlessly, her fingers twisting together.

“W-what I mean is…”

Then she cautiously lifted her head and looked at me. Those large eyes held a strange mix of shyness and fierce determination.

Why is she looking at me like that?

She took one deep breath, then stared straight into my eyes and shouted.

She would bear it all.

“…Excuse me?”

I asked, utterly bewildered. Responsibility? For me?

“So, um… if rumors spread, or people start bothering you… No, no matter what situation comes up! I’ll take responsibility for everything…”

Her face grew redder by the second. By now, even her neck was flushed. She must have been embarrassed by her own words. She dropped her gaze again, biting her lip hard.

I watched her quietly and thought,

She really is cute.

Now I understood why she had so many followers. Why they’d gone crazy trying to hunt me down and kill me. It all made sense.

But admiration was one thing. Reality was another.

If anything happened, she would step forward and handle it all. She would protect me.

In other words, she was volunteering to be my shield.

Was there any reason to refuse?

To be honest, her offer was exactly what I had been hoping for. The net around me was tightening, and I was the one feeling cornered.

…Still, something about this felt off.

The way Kim Soyeon looked right now—face burning, like she had made some monumental resolution.

Well, whatever. Not my problem.

“You really mean it?”

I asked, deliberately serious. Kim Soyeon flinched but nodded vigorously.

“…Yeah. Is that… not okay?”

Her voice was tiny. And those eyes, full of fear that I might reject her. She looked exactly like a girl confessing her first love.

I shrugged with an exaggerated casualness and gave her a relaxed smile.

“Alright, I got it. But if anything happens, you really have to take responsibility.”

“……!”

At that moment, Kim Soyeon’s big eyes widened even further, her pupils trembling wildly. They shook like crazy. She looked up at me with her mouth slightly open, as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Her expression was overflowing with joy, like she had the whole world in her hands.

Why is she reacting this strongly?

It was almost embarrassing to watch.

Besides, there was no way Lee Chaeyeon—an Association employee—would ever leak my personal information. So the scenario she was worried about would never happen.

“Okay, now that that’s settled, you should head out. I need to…”

Kim Soyeon smacked her lips with clear reluctance but didn’t throw another tantrum. She carefully adjusted her cap, pulled up her mask, and said,

“Then… I’ll go. Make sure you apply the medicine properly and don’t overdo it.”

“Yeah.”

This exchange felt like something lovers would say.

The moment that thought crossed my mind, Kim Soyeon suddenly lifted her head. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at me. It was the look of someone who had just made up her mind. Or like a child who wanted something, her eyes shining brightly.

She gave a firm nod toward the empty air, then looked back at me and said shortly,

“Give me one too.”

She wanted one for herself.

“Give you what?”

I asked, genuinely confused. What was she asking for?

The phrase ‘give me one too’ implied she had seen me give something to someone else and was now demanding the same. But what exactly had I given to whom?

“Your number.”

“…Ah, just like that?”

“You gave it to that Association employee.”

“…?”

Why did that matter… Well, if she was asking for it herself, it was actually a good thing.

“Here, add it.”

Thinking that, I simply handed her my phone. She could input it herself.

She must have been incredibly happy about it. Kim Soyeon’s face brightened noticeably as she took the phone. After tapping away for a while, she waved goodbye and left the house.

Leaving behind her flushed, excited figure, I locked the door and let out a long sigh.

“Whew.”

It really felt like a storm had just blown through.

All of this had happened in a single day. She showed up at my house unannounced, stubbornly insisted on staying, fell asleep here, took off her own clothes (by herself?!), even hit me when I hadn’t done anything wrong, and then escaped through the balcony instead of using the perfectly good door.

“Holy crap. Just how much chaos did she cause?”

Time passed, and it was now 11:55 PM.

I stood at the entrance to the Tower, right on schedule. I took a deep breath to steady my mind.

From the spatial expansion bag slung over my shoulder, I pulled out a single ring and held it up to the moonlight.

The Mana Recovery Ring.

One of the spoils Kim Soyeon had brought me.

And the first reason I had come to the Tower tonight.

As soon as I slipped the ring on, I felt a gentle sensation as my mana core activated pleasantly.

“…Carrying this bag around is still pretty annoying.”

I thought as I reached back into the bag.

They said that if you cleared the Tower, you might luckily obtain the Inventory skill from a Black-grade reward. Of course, the spatial expansion bag Kim Soyeon gave me was a great item too. But Inventory was my own personal space, completely risk-free even if lost. It was the perfect skill.

I swore to myself that I would obtain it one day and burned with even greater motivation.

There were two reasons I had come here tonight.

First, to test how well this Mana Recovery Ring could handle the mana consumption of Yggdrasil’s Gauntlet.

Second, to consume the Special Elixir inside a stage.

I still remembered it clearly. The terrifying memory of my first awakening, when the lightning went berserk and burned my entire room ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to ash. Consuming an elixir that dramatically increased mana was good, but another rampage would be disastrous.

That was why the Tower—completely isolated from the outside world and a place I could destroy as much as I wanted—was the perfect testing ground.

I chose YES.

I stared at the system window floating in the air and slowly began equipping Yggdrasil’s Gauntlet on my right hand.

Click. Clack.

The gauntlet adjusted its size to fit my hand perfectly and clung tightly to my skin. The familiar, heavy pressure washed over me.

“Hoo…”

I let out a short breath and, without hesitation, tapped the [YES] button.

Rumble—!

The barren rocky mountain terrain shook ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as three massive silhouettes appeared in the distance, kicking up clouds of dust.

One High Orc, flanked by two regular Orcs acting as its guards.

“Shriiiiek!” “Shriek!”

The moment they spotted me, they radiated killing intent, raised their weapons, and charged all at once.

Normally, I would have pointed my hand at them and cast Lightning Bolt.

But today was different.

I drew up my mana and poured it straight into Yggdrasil’s Gauntlet.

Crackle!

The moment the runes engraved on the gauntlet spat out red light, I channeled lightning into it.

At the same time, I felt my mana draining away like crazy.

“Ugh, damn it.”

I pulled my right fist back close to my waist.

The additional effect that doubled the power when infused with lightning. I wanted to see it for myself.

“Alright, let’s see what you’ve got.”

Ignoring the High Orc leaping toward me with its massive battle axe raised, I twisted my waist like a martial artist, put my full weight behind it, and threw ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a punch with everything I had.

KWAAAAAAAAAAAANG—!!!

The instant my fist cut through the air.

A tremendous roar followed the path of my punch as lightning exploded outward.

Not one bolt, but dozens of branching streaks of lightning.

They writhed like living snakes, devouring everything in their path.

The High Orc’s battle axe melted into molten iron the moment it touched the lightning. Its ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠massive body didn’t even have time to scream before it was reduced to nothing but ashes that scattered in the wind.

The fan-shaped lightning continued onward, erasing the two following Orcs without a trace.

Even the rocky mountain behind them was obliterated.

“…Insane.”

An involuntary gasp escaped me.

The lightning was on a completely different level from Lightning Bolt. The moment I witnessed it, every hair on my body stood on end.

But my awe lasted only a moment.

Dizziness began to wash over me.

“…Ugh.”

I quickly removed the gauntlet and stuffed it back into the bag.

Eight seconds.

Compared to the three seconds I could barely last before, wearing the Mana Recovery Ring had allowed me to use Yggdrasil’s Gauntlet for nearly eight seconds.

More than double the time.

With this much improvement, it was more than enough to use as a trump card in real combat.

“That’s that, then.”

Now it was time for tonight’s main event.

I pulled a small ampoule bottle from the spatial expansion bag.

The small ampoule Kim Soyeon had given me.

The golden liquid inside shimmered.

A Special Elixir that raised the density of magic power and explosively increased the total amount of mana.

Staring at its brilliant glow, I swallowed dryly.

I hoped it would solve my chronic mana depletion problem.

“Well then… shall we give it a try?”