Chapter 4

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Translator: MadScientist

Chapter: 4

Chapter Title: Experience and EXP Return to the Main Body

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Instructor Cheon Da-eun glared at me before letting out a sigh.

"Fine, whatever. I'll let it slide this once. Judging by your condition, it'll take quite some time to learn my skills anyway. Your mana capacity is pathetically low to begin with."

"I-is that so?"

"...You should start by learning how to properly assess your own body's condition. Here, grab on. I'll take us to the exit."

Wait, the exit?

Snapping back to reality, all I could see was the endless primordial forest stretching out before us.

How the hell were we supposed to escape from the middle of this forest?

It couldn't mean going back the way we came.

"There's an exit in the middle of a forest like this? It's just trees everywhere."

In the game, you just hit the EXIT button and done.

But things were different here.

As I glanced around, Instructor Cheon Da-eun clicked her tongue in disappointment.

"Your observation skills really are scraping the bottom of the barrel, Kang Ihyeon. In a 'pathfinding-type' rift like this, the exit doesn't conveniently appear as a glowing door."

She pointed with her slender finger toward a massive, grotesquely twisted dead tree in the distance. Unlike the surrounding trees, it almost seemed alive, writhing in an eerie shape.

"Look over there."

"Huh? That tree? It just looks a bit weirdly shaped."

"That's the 'rift point.' It's like a weakened tear in space."

"Oh, so we smash it and get out?"

"...Smashing is a bit crude, but not entirely wrong. The key is to inject mana into these rift points scattered around and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠find the one that leads to the real outside."

Got it.

There were rift points all over the 11-1 Rift, and one of them was the exit.

"Then hold on tight so you don't fall off."

The moment she said that, Instructor Cheon Da-eun's body floated lightly into the air.

I didn't have time to prepare and instinctively wrapped my arms tightly around her waist. My face flushed hot from the recent memory, but now wasn't the time to worry about that.

"Ugh! W-wait a second, Instructor!"

"Hold on tight, Kang Ihyeon. If you fall, it's on you."

Instructor Cheon Da-eun tossed out the warning and immediately sprang into action.

BOOM!

With a gesture from her hand, a burst of blue light exploded from the twisted dead tree she'd pointed out earlier.

The space around the tree rippled and warped like the surface of water.

"Miss."

She then glided through the air like a butterfly—gracefully, yet at an unbelievable speed—toward another point. I could only cling desperately to her waist, getting flung this way and that.

The scenery whipped by in front of my eyes, and there was nothing but empty air below my feet.

I didn't have a fear of heights, but this was too much! I was on the verge of getting motion sick.

"G-gah! Instructor, please take it easy!"

"Quiet! I might lose control of my mana."

"I'm your master! Is a summon supposed to treat their master like this? What if I fall and die?!"

"Don't worry. I've got everything under control."

Yeah, right!

"Urp... I'm gonna puke..."

"Hold it in. Or I'll freeze your mouth shut."

"Ugh..."

Ignoring my pleas, she precisely fired mana at the other rift points scattered throughout the forest.

I couldn't tell if she'd mapped them all out in advance or was spotting them on the fly with her keen senses, but her accuracy was astonishing.

Each time a blue flash erupted, space warped, and black fissures briefly appeared in the air, seeming to lead somewhere before vanishing.

Most were duds that closed immediately, but after a few tries, we finally hit paydirt.

A stable black vortex appeared before us, distinctly different from the other fissures.

"Found it."

Instructor Cheon Da-eun spoke curtly in satisfaction and flew straight toward the vortex without hesitation.

I squeezed her waist even tighter and squeezed my eyes shut.

The oppressive pressure enveloping my body vanished, and I felt solid ground under my feet.

I steadied my wobbling body and opened my eyes.

The dark vortex that had swallowed us was slowly closing behind us, revealing the familiar scenery around the tower entrance beyond it.

"...We're out."

Ugh, I really thought I was done for.

I braced my shaky legs and finally managed to stand straight.

Looking around, dawn hadn't broken yet; the area was still dim. Thankfully, we had some time.

Instructor Cheon Da-eun—no, the clone instructor—casually straightened her clothes as if nothing had happened.

'Urp, elites really are on another level.'

Honestly, I was impressed.

Why would anyone drag a high-level character into a lowbie dungeon in a game?

I pulled myself together and rasped out in my near-dead voice.

"F-first, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠let's hurry back to the dorms. It'd be trouble if anyone saw us."

"Who'd be out at this hour?"

"Still... urp, you never know."

I grabbed her arm and urged her along.

"What a rotten disciple."

Instructor Cheon Da-eun looked displeased but followed my pace obediently.

The path to the academy dorms through the chilly dawn air felt strangely long, despite being short. Was it because we'd just survived a near-death experience, or because of her?

Thump.

The memory from earlier made my chest heat up.

Before long, we arrived at the dorms. Curfew had just ended with morning.

"Well, time to send you back, Instructor."

"Mm."

"Ah, Instructor Cheon Da-eun."

"What?"

"When you get back... um, will the real Instructor remember what happened today?"

Instructor Cheon Da-eun shook her head immediately.

"Probably, the memories from here stay here. At best, she'll just get your pitiful EXP transferred over."

Oh, right.

Separate from what I'd absorbed, about half of the EXP the clone had earned from her activities would transfer directly to the original Instructor Cheon Da-eun.

'She's so high-level compared to me, it probably won't even fill 5%.'

Still, knowing she'd gained something eased the lingering guilt in my chest a bit.

"Well then, looking forward to working with you more."

"Yeah. Don't slack on your training."

"Return."

At my command, blue particles began rising from her body. The lively spark in her eyes faded, her color drained away, turning her into a cold, gray wooden doll—the emotionless puppet form I'd seen the first time.

"...Feels like a dream."

I flopped onto my bed and stared at the doll.

Truly amazing.

A skill ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that let anyone create and summon a clone.

It fought in my place and even... well, that other stuff.

"Ahem, honestly, I had no choice. What else is there to 'direct absorption' besides that?"

Every idea that came to mind was lewd.

Today it was Instructor Cheon Da-eun, but next time it could be someone else—maybe game allies. I might have to repeat similar things anyway.

"For now, no guys..."

What? It's not a weird thought.

Korean games always have strong female characters anyway, right?

Anyway, it had been a hectic night.

"Snooore..."

.

.

.

***

I woke up after some sleep.

"Yawwwn..."

Sunlight filtered through the window blinds.

Glancing at the time, it was already 5 PM—early evening.

My schedule was wrecked from all the dawn activity.

Oh well, can't be helped.

After that ordeal at dawn.

I changed into light training clothes and left the dorm.

'At least it's cooler in the evening.'

I stuck to the shadows to avoid the sunlight.

It wasn't Earth, but there was a sun.

Game settings were like that—conveniently designed.

'Infrastructure's all here too. Convenience stores, PC bangs, you name it.'

From that perspective, Tartaros could be seen as Earth 2.0.

They'd ripped entire chunks of Earth's cities and shoved them into rifts. Powered by magic stones instead of electricity, but modern civilization was preserved.

Sure, there was criticism for the convenience, but what can you do?

That's how their world worked.

More importantly, what lay ahead.

No matter how convenient, Dominant Evil was a malicious game that pushed players into crisis.

New rifts popped up, hunter manpower got thrown in, and frontline heroes—elite hunters—got whittled down first.

The order sped up, until it was the protagonist's turn.

I'd finally toed the starting line in that brutal game.

"So, this isn't from thinking dirty thoughts or anything...?"

Yeah, honestly, I woke up to a new skill.

Growth Spurt—a strangely named one.

Fit a puberty-stricken teen, huh?

With a bad feeling, I looked down and peeked.

Sticky underwear and a decent-sized... thing.

Ah, damn, wet dream.

Nocturnal emission after just one first kiss yesterday?

"Maybe I do need some growth..."

Everything in moderation, right?

The description didn't sound impure at all!

I rushed through a shower and headed to the academy.

The clone doll came with me.

Normally life-sized, but I'd found a command to shrink it.

Can't lug around a full mannequin everywhere.

'Training grounds first.'

It was a holiday, but I couldn't just laze around.

Thanks to last night's 'distribution,' I had Freezing Magic and Cold Control, but they weren't ingrained in my body yet.

Needed to get familiar beforehand.

Holiday meant no one around; I could train without eyes on me.

Creeeak—

Opening the training hall door, I was met with an unexpected sight.

In the center of the wide hall, a familiar silhouette trained alone.

Chilly air swirled around, ice shards scattering in beautiful arcs with her movements.

It was Instructor Cheon Da-eun.

Not the clone—the real one.

So diligent...

Last night's events flashed in my mind, heating my face.

As I instinctively stepped back, she spotted me first and stopped.

"Kang Ihyeon?"

A cool voice, laced with some subtle emotion. She didn't remember, right?

I knew she wouldn't, but it still stung.

"H-hi, Instructor Cheon Da-eun."

"........."

Oh, right. She's still mad about yesterday!

I'd almost forgotten, confusing clone and original. Asking something so absurd the next day...

I approached and bowed deeply.

"I'm really sorry about yesterday! I made an overly presumptuous request!"

Silence stretched on.

Swallowing dryly, I peeked up. She gazed down at me with eyes subtly different from usual.

What was that look?

"...Training on a holiday?"

"Y-yes! That's right!"

S softer tone than expected.

Normally, she'd scold me harshly for being late.

Good mood today?

"I need to improve even a little. Can't keep troubling you, Instructor!"

"Good that you're finally getting your act together. Rare sight."

"Th-then I'll head to Training Ground 3 for some basics."

"Do as you like."

"Yes, ma'am!"

As I tried to bolt,

"Catch."

She tossed me a water bottle.

Ah, cold!

Ice-cold water chilled my hand on contact.

"Uh, this is..."

"Train hard."

She returned to her training ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠indifferently.

Did she freeze this herself?

Her unusual kindness left me flustered. I'd expected anger.

Made me feel even more sorry. What grace after such a request.

"Phew, let's do this!"

I tore my gaze from her and picked an empty training ground.

Couldn't flaunt last night's skills in front of the real her.

Using 'Freezing Magic Lv.1' or 'Cold Control Lv.1' right there? She'd ask, "How do you have that?"

I had an excuse ready, though...

My old handmade mute gloves.

Cheap junk that tore easily, useless in combat...

'Use magic with these on, and she'll think I finally made something decent.'

My own idea, but plausible.

"Hoo."

I took a deep breath and awakened my mana sense.

Using mana was like crafting: gather faint mana forcibly and channel it to my palm.

Aim: make even a tiny ice shard.

A faint chill tingled.

'It's working.'

Subtle, but real. I focused harder, solidifying the chill in my palm. Frost began forming—a tiny speck.

Not worthy of 'magic' yet, but my first freezing effect.

Chest swelled with emotion. Pitiful compared to her pinky toe, but a definite step.

'Good. Repeat to build proficiency.'

Like leveling crafting: simple repetition.

That's what I needed now.