True Carry Through Overpowered Gear (1)

Two weeks had passed since I opened up to Shin Suyeon. After that day, all the headaches that had been plaguing me vanished like ghosts. I hadn't run into Lee Seol once, even though she used to be tangled up with me constantly. Even Han Yuri, who had always gone her own way during solo play, now seemed somewhat willing to cooperate with us.

The result was this.

"The rank-up test is coming up soon."

"Wow… yeah. There was a time I seriously wondered if we'd make it. As expected of our knight! Super ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠comfortable ride, five stars!"

"Heh. If you know that, then do better."

Choi Ahyeon flashed a thumbs-up at the snickering Han Yuri. The team that had once been on the verge of falling apart was now on the cusp of climbing the ranks.

Twenty assignments might sound like a lot or not much at all. But after tasting bitter defeat in that variant dungeon during our first attempt, we blasted through the rest at an overwhelming pace. Thanks to that, we had claimed first place among the first-years.

'It's only a one-clear difference… but beating Lee Seol by that much is pretty solid.'

No wonder Han Yuri looked satisfied. I smiled and turned to Ahyeon. She was the one whose growth had slowed the most lately.

"Ahyeon, you confident about the test? You won't freeze up and piss yourself, right?"

"Hehe! No way. A test like that? Just down a bottle of soju and it's solved!"

"If you're talking like that, you must be fine. What about you?"

Han Yuri answered without even looking my way.

"Are you actually asking because you want to know?"

"Nah? Just being polite."

"…You've gotten a lot more sarcastic compared to the beginning. Want to get hit?"

"Why are you jumping straight to violence? Let's keep things friendly, friendly."

Over the past week, I'd realized something. Between Han Yuri and Choi Ahyeon, one of them had already sprouted the Witch's seed. That much was certain.

'But so what?'

If it didn't interfere with my daily life or cause any problems, I could just leave it alone. And if it ever reached the point where it threatened my sanity…

'I'll just get strong enough to kill her before the flower fully blooms.'

In the previous round, the obsession hell had begun the moment the flower bloomed. For now, I just needed to savor this precious freedom and focus on getting stronger. Strong enough that no one on this earth could ever touch me again.

"Alright, let's head out."

When we stepped out of the dungeon, the noisy Hall of Challenge greeted us. It was currently 4 PM — peak hours.

"Whoa. Team 2 is already taking the test. Han Yuri really is strong, huh."

"Ha. I should've just switched when Lee Seonghyun asked."

The second-string kids I'd once tried to trade with were now pounding the ground in regret and envy.

"Tsk."

"Freeloading bastards."

The first-string kids glared at me and Choi Ahyeon like we were parasites. They all believed Han Yuri had carried the entire team to first place by herself.

Wasn't it unfair that we'd tried our best too? Well.

'Two of the bottom-ranked students in the whole grade. Of course they'd think that.'

I'd probably think the same in their shoes.

As we left the hall, Ahyeon waved first.

"I've got a lecture, so I'll head out first. Bye-bye!"

"Sure. Drink in moderation and come back early."

"Ugh, nagging is the worst. What about you? Aren't you going to attend any lectures? You've had zero attendance so far."

"Hmm…"

Lately, my assigned professor had been blowing up my phone with texts urging me to attend class. Apparently I was the only student in the entire academy with zero participation rate.

"Practical training suits me better than theory classes. I get restless just sitting still."

"Well, if that's how you feel, there's nothing I can do. See you later then. Bye-bye~ Yuri, have a safe trip home~."

"Yeah. See you."

Choi Ahyeon dashed off toward the dorms. She was probably going to change clothes. 'Guess I'll head out too.'

I generally wanted to avoid being alone with Han Yuri. I spoke to her while she was skimming through a monster summary.

"Good work today. You said you'd be back home for about a week, right?"

"Yeah."

"Alright. Get plenty of rest."

"Hey."

She lifted her eyes from the summary to look at me. Those cold, icy pupils. In a cool tone, she continued.

"Let's drop Choi Ahyeon."

Han Yuri's sudden words caused my brain to short-circuit. She came in without even signaling first. I calmly responded.

"…What are you talking about?"

"Remember what you told me?"

"That Ahyeon and I could stand on equal ground with you?"

Han Yuri gave a small nod and kept going.

"I've been watching you and Choi Ahyeon for the past two weeks. She won't make it. There's no hope for her."

"But I do?"

"…Don't get cocky. At best, you can barely keep up with me. But Choi Ahyeon? No. Her growth is slow, and her skills aren't anything special. If we take the test like this, we'll all fail together because of the team evaluation system. For her sake and ours, it's better to let her go now."

Han Yuri knew. She understood how overwhelming the sense of inferiority and despair ordinary people felt when facing true genius. That's why she was saying this now. It was better to give up on being a hunter early and find another path than to be crushed by despair later.

'She seems to like drinking. Bartender wouldn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be bad.'

But.

"Her timing on killing blows is good, and her combat sense isn't bad. If we just give her a little more time…"

"How many times do you think I heard that exact line during middle and high school? Anyway, I've given you fair warning. I don't want to deal with that same bullshit again, and I'm sick of being the only bitch in the group."

"……"

"I'll give you a week. Make your decision by then."

After spitting out what she wanted to say, she turned her back on me. One mountain after another. There really was no easy path.

From Han Yuri's perspective, it was understandable that Choi Ahyeon looked inadequate. Her talent was on another level. But we'd finally gotten our team synergy working. Bringing in someone new would mean starting from scratch again.

Besides.

'Who knows what kind of bomb might come next.'

Outside of combat, Choi Ahyeon was practically perfect. Sociability, social awareness, the ability to get along with people. She perfectly filled in the gaps that Han Yuri and I lacked.

'She's worth the investment.'

At the very least, I judged that she deserved a share of the opportunities I would claim. Having made my decision about her treatment, I walked toward the first-year main building.

About two hours had passed since I started pacing in front of the main building. Classes must have ended, because students began pouring out. Among them were Choi Ahyeon and a group of girls. From the snippets of conversation I caught, it sounded like they were heading out for drinks again.

"You're late?"

"Huh? What? Seonghyun, why are you here?"

"I have something to say to you real quick."

At my words, the girls squealed and made a huge fuss. But Choi Ahyeon couldn't smile. It was probably because of the unusual atmosphere I was giving off. I led her toward the grassy field. It was the same lawn plaza where we'd first met.

The girl who usually grinned like an idiot now had a stiff, frozen expression like a child about to be scolded. I carefully chose my words and spoke.

"You know that if things stay like this, your chances of failing the test are pretty high, right?"

"Yeah…"

Just as I thought. She squeezed her eyes shut. She already knew. That she was falling behind compared to me and Han Yuri.

"So. For the time being, let's do some special training together."

"Okay. I'll leave the team… huh?"

An unexpected answer. Her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠eyes widened in shock.

"You're… not abandoning me?"

"Why? Would you rather I did?"

"Well… I'm not stronger than Yuri, and I keep getting help from you all the time."

"There's only one person in the first-year class stronger than Han Yuri. And I get a lot of help from you too, just not in combat."

If Choi Ahyeon hadn't been there, I probably would've fought with Han Yuri hundreds of times by now. Whenever she sensed a sour atmosphere, Ahyeon would jump in and lighten the mood. Thanks to her, I could still work with Han Yuri.

"So let's go together. To E-rank."

"I don't have the confidence that I can…"

"You can do it. I guarantee it. So."

I held my hand out to Choi Ahyeon.

"Come with me."

"……"

She stared blankly at my hand for a moment, then slowly lifted the corners of her mouth. Finally, she took my hand.

"But… Seonghyun."

"Yeah?"

"You probably shouldn't say things like that to other girls."

"Why not?"

"Just… there's a reason."

With a mysterious smile in her eyes, she pulled me along by the hand.

"Alright! To celebrate the start of special training, dinner's on me! Let's go!"

"Yeah, yeah."

Since we'd be training hard starting tomorrow, it was fine to let her enjoy tonight.

The next day, Choi Ahyeon and I were wandering around the shops near the academy to buy weapons.

"You really don't have to buy me anything…"

"Your current one's pretty worn out, and we'll need better gear to hunt E-rank monsters anyway. Plus, I'll chip in from the team funds, so stop complaining and just follow me."

"Still, I feel too bad…"

"If you feel bad, just pay me back once you succeed later. Okay?"

"Okay…"

She looked both sorry and grateful, scratching her cheek with a small smile. A student who'd just entered the academy as an F-rank wouldn't have much money. The supplies provided by the academy were barely enough to hunt F-rank monsters. Especially for damage dealers — the difference in weapon performance compared to a tank like me was huge.

'Just switching her to a decent weapon should be enough for her to pull her own weight. But…'

That alone wouldn't convince Han Yuri. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠She needed overwhelming power through overwhelming gear. My plan was to fully arm Choi Ahyeon with items.

After walking for a while, we turned into an alleyway.

"Whoa… there are so many weapons…"

"First time here?"

"Yeah! I only ever went around the front gate. So there was a place like this by the back gate…"

Choi Ahyeon looked around excitedly at the display tables lined with weapons. She looked like a girl at an amusement park, and it made me smile. I led her deeper into the darker, more secluded part of the alley.

A narrow path where sunlight barely reached. At the end of it, a shabby little shop greeted us.

"This is the place?"

"Yeah."

Contrary to my expectation that she'd be disappointed, Choi Ahyeon's expression didn't change much from before. She probably assumed we couldn't afford expensive weapons given my wallet situation. Trying not to show it was very much like her.

What she didn't know was that thanks to my parents' inheritance, I had some financial breathing room. I grabbed the rusted doorknob and opened the door.

Creak.

With an unpleasant metallic screech, the door opened. Beyond it stood a girl about 140cm tall with long blonde hair that reached down to her waist. Her beauty was enough to rival a child actress. The girl looked back and forth between me and Choi Ahyeon, her eyes widening. Then she greeted us brightly.

"Welcome! I'm Yu Cheong~!"

This place was… the shop of the god-sent blacksmith. The Gold Dragon Yu Cheong's store.