First Encounter (1)
The walk home after meeting Shin Suyeon felt a little lighter than usual. My steps, which had always dragged like they were weighed down with lead, now carried a faint spring.
Always relying on her like this. She was there to help every single time I struggled, so it was impossible not to grow attached. I let out a long sigh. This complicated tangle of emotions defied words. Still, the suffocating pressure that had been crushing my chest was gone, leaving behind a strange sense of relief.
When I reached home, unlocked the door, and stepped inside, my eyes met Han Yuri’s head-on. I’d assumed she’d be asleep, but it looked like she’d been waiting for me.
“I’m back.”
“Yeah…”
Han Yuri stared at me intently, then tilted her head. A moment later, her face twisted into pure bewilderment.
“…You’re better now?”
“What?”
“Never mind. Those dead-fish eyes that looked like they’d been rotting for days just turned into the eyes of someone who died five minutes ago.”
“What kind of comparison is that…”
“No, seriously, how can you bounce back this fast…? Are you going through menopause or something?”
She kept spouting nonsense. It wasn’t even worth engaging with, so I headed straight for my room.
“Stop talking crap and go to bed already.”
“……”
Even as I disappeared into my room, Han Yuri kept tilting her head with that dumbfounded expression. She really was impossible to read. As I changed out of my clothes, the door creaked open.
“Are you in there…?”
It was Choi Ahyeon’s voice.
“I’m changing.”
“Hehe, then let’s see how big our grandson’s little sprout has gotten…!”
She made that creepy comment in a hushed tone and slipped into my room anyway. Then she dove straight onto my bed like she owned the place. The girl had zero boundaries. She rolled around on the mattress for a bit before burying her nose in the blanket.
“Sniff sniff! This smell, this subtle fabric softener scent…! No matter how many times I smell it, I never get tired of it.”
“Ugh, that’s gross.”
“How can you say something so cruel to a lady…! That’s too mean!”
“You’re the one being mean. So why’d you come to my room?”
“Do we really need a reason to visit each other? I was just bored.”
Just bored? From her? The girl whose senses were sharper than anyone’s? Yeah, right. Plus, she’d been sneaking glances at my face ever since she walked in.
“You’re gonna get stuck like that. Just look at me straight.”
“Hehe. Busted?”
“Busted.”
“I’m glad you’re feeling a lot better.”
“…Is it that obvious?”
“Yeah. Super obvious.”
I wasn’t sure if it was because my face showed emotions too easily, or if the women around me were just unusually perceptive. It was a difficult question. While I was lost in thought, she suddenly shouted.
“Hup!”
In the blink of an eye, Choi Ahyeon used Wind God to knock me onto the bed. She wrapped her arms around me and inhaled deeply.
“You smell like sweat.”
“I just got back from going out. If it bothers you, shouldn’t you let go?”
“But I don’t want to?”
She laughed playfully and kept hugging me tight. Then she poked my side a couple of times.
“As expected, the power of love is amazing.”
“Out of nowhere?”
“You went to see Sister Suyeon, right?”
“……”
“Seonghyun, do you even realize how different your face looks before and after you meet her? It’s like you went to get healed or something…”
Choi Ahyeon buried her face in my neck. Her warm breath tickled my skin.
“It’s fine to lean on her, but sometimes… talk to us too. Yuri and I are always on your side, no matter what.”
“…Yeah. Got it.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
“Okay! Now that I have your word, I’ll take my leave! Sleep well~!”
She came like the wind and left like the wind. That girl, seriously. She was impossible to pin down. I let out a small chuckle and turned on a video on my computer.
Phalanx S
It was a support-type skill that created transparent barriers or wrapped targets in protective shields. But in the footage, Han Jaehyuk was using those barriers to smash monsters to death.
—Grrrrrrk!
The barriers crushed monsters or slammed into them with brutal force. This was the true power of Phalanx. A unique skill that represented the pinnacle of versatility.
I printed out a photo using the printer. It was an image of a bracelet.
Solute.
Another card I needed to kill Han Jaehyuk. The name sounded grandiose, but it was essentially a skill storage device. And not just any storage—a massive one. The Thunder God that rained down from the sky had a long activation time and carried enormous risk. That was why I needed to prepare in advance.
From the memory replay I’d seen last time, it seemed the enemy could control monsters. To tie their feet, this was essential. The only problem was…
It costs way too much money.
Unlike Eve, whose location was unknown, I knew where to find these. There were usually one or two available at auction houses. The issue was the price. The money I currently had wasn’t even close to enough.
Should I use the professor card?
But that was a last resort. I’d look for another way first.
The next day, I was sparring with Lee Jun for the first time in a while. It was more of a real fight than practice.
BOOOOM!
The sound that rang out was far too heavy to come from a fist colliding with a sword. Still, there was one clear difference from before.
I can see it.
It was faint, but I was starting to read his intentions. His attack trajectories were becoming familiar.
“One more time!”
In an instant, Lee Jun vanished.
Left!
Synchronization Rate: 10%
Thunder God has been activated.
I raised my sword while using both Eve’s synchronization and Thunder God. A heavy THUD echoed as I was sent flying backward.
“Whoa! That was good just now! Keep blocking like that!”
Fuck!
I’d originally planned to take hits and build up my pain threshold, but…
It refuses to rise any higher.
Even after getting hit by an S-rank, this was apparently my limit. I was starting to question how I’d ever reached 105 in the previous round. Still, I’d gotten what I wanted.
From Heaven to Earth S / 1 use
📍 Restriction: Can only be used on humans.
📍 Effect: Lowers the target's rank by one stage.
📍 Note: Cannot be obtained again after use.
The difference between S-rank and A-rank was like heaven and earth. So—
I’ll drag him down.
If he was A-rank, I’d at least have some footing to fight on. As I fell into thought, a fist flew toward me.
“Right side!”
Lee Jun’s eyes gleamed as he pressed the attack. BOOOOM!
You son of a—!
The man had flipped some kind of switch. His control suddenly vanished. After barely managing to finish the spar, Lee Jun approached, scratching his head.
“Sorry. I got excited because you blocked my attack so well.”
“It’s fine.”
We sat on the bench and he handed me a drink.
“Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”
“It’s nothing. By the way, I don’t think I’ll be able to spar with you tomorrow either. I feel really bad about it.”
“…Can’t be helped. Investigating the Demon Sect takes priority.”
“I really am sorry. Their tails are slowly starting to show, so it’s hard to stop halfway.”
It didn’t matter. In the end, Lee Jun had to keep biting at the Demon Sect for them to come after me. After finishing the spar with him, I found myself at a park.
It was famous as a popular date spot for couples. Sure enough, laughter and chatter from couples filled the air without pause.
“……”
“……”
I felt extremely uncomfortable in this place. If you’re going to call me out, at least say something. The person who had invited me here was Han Yuri. I’d tried to refuse using the excuse that I had plans, but she insisted it was something truly important, so I came all the way here. Yet she hadn’t said a word since I arrived. She was just fidgeting like a puppy that needed to pee, her eyes darting everywhere.
Then she placed a hand over her chest and took a deep breath.
“Huu…”
She pulled something out of her bag. A small box. She carefully held it out to me.
“What is it?”
“Open it.”
At her request, I opened the box.
…!
It was the Solute. The exact bracelet I’d been desperately trying to buy for the past few days.
“I got it especially for… huh?”
I snatched the bracelet and stood up. Han Yuri’s face went blank. She looked like she couldn’t comprehend the current situation. It was the dumbest expression I’d ever seen. I turned my back and started running.
“H-hey…? Hey…?”
Her face said, This can’t be happening? This isn’t how it was supposed to go? She reached out toward me. Then fury flooded her expression.
BOOOOM!
A meteor slammed into the ground right in front of my feet.
“Aren’t you coming back…?”
She was smiling viciously while crooking her finger at me.
“I was just joking around. No need to get all serious. God, I hate people who can’t take a joke.”
“That thing costs billions…! Get over here right now!”
“Yeah, yeah.”
When I sat back down on the bench, she had returned to her usual prickly self. Yeah. This was the Han Yuri I knew.
“So. What is this? A gift?”
“You’ve been dragging your feet lately. If you keep that up, it’ll ruin the whole team’s mood. So take this and cheer up already.”
“……”
She was giving me something worth twenty billion won just for that? What a joke. Just to be sure, I activated my sense of smell again.
Witch of Love-Hate
— State: Sprout
— Growth: 21%
Fortunately, it hadn’t grown. But how did she know I wanted this…?
“Did you go into my room?”
“Ahyeon goes in there too! There’s no rule saying I can’t…!”
“You don’t let me into your room.”
“……”
She fell silent like she’d swallowed a whole jar of honey. Logically, I should refuse. But a gift was a gift, so turning it down wasn’t easy.
“Anyway, thanks. I’ll make good use of it.”
“Good. I like that you’re accepting it so obediently. And…”
“And?”
“Remember how you promised to grant me one request last time?”
Han Yuri gave me a meaningful smile.
Portan Guild 10th Anniversary Party.
I stood in front of the Portan building wearing a suit. In the distance, Han Yuri approached in a dress.
She really is beautiful.
The luxurious dark crimson dress suited her perfectly. With every step, her blonde hair and the dress swayed elegantly. The cinematic sight drew every eye around her.
“You came?”
“Yeah…”
“Let’s go.”
“Yeah…”
Today’s Han Yuri seemed unusually shy. The request she’d asked of me was simple: to attend the party with her. That was it.
It’s the founding anniversary party, so Han Jaehyuk will definitely be here.
I couldn’t miss this opportunity. As we tried to head up from the lobby—
“Oh? Hyun-ah!”
Lee Seol’s voice came from behind us. She was wearing a clear, sky-blue dress and waving at me.
“It’s been a while.”
“Yeah. My assignments finally ended… By the way, you look really good in a suit!”
“Someone picked it out for me. Of course it looks good.”
“Ah… Yuri, did you choose it for him?”
“Yes.”
At some point Han Yuri had lifted her chin with pride. Somehow I’d been pushed into the background while the two of them chatted away.
Should I do it now?
I swallowed hard and activated my sense of smell. The message that appeared made my face harden like stone.
Witch of Purity
— State: Seed
— Not germinated
Something… was off.