Chapter 54: Our Oppa (Hyung) Has Changed
Chapter 54: Our Oppa (Hyung) Has Changed
I was sleeping deeply when someone shook me. I groaned and opened my eyes to find Ahn Sol’s clear eyes looking down at my face. The Black Forest at dim dawn entered my vision, and cold air enveloped my body in the middle of the woods. After circulating mana to restore sensation throughout my body, I sat up despite my stiffness. My head felt pleasantly clear.
“Anything unusual?”
“No. Nothing happened. Did you sleep well, Orabeoni?”
Ahn Sol called me Oppa when everyone was together, but strangely, whenever we were alone she invariably called me Orabeoni. It was a little embarrassing, though not unpleasant enough to make my skin crawl, so I had never objected. Watching Sol bow politely in greeting, I thought that whoever her parents were, they had raised their daughter remarkably well.
I answered Sol’s greeting with a gentle smile and turned to wake Hyun and Yoojung, only to feel someone repeatedly tug my collar. When I looked back, Sol was fidgeting and moving her lips as though she wanted to tell me something. I spoke as kindly as I could.
“Yes, Sol? Is there something you want to say?”
“Orabeoni… I…”
At my question, Sol continued to avoid my gaze, staring at the ground. But soon, she bit her lip and lifted her head with a look of grim determination. I had no idea what she was about to say, but I braced myself for her next words.
“…I need to pee.”
“……”
“I’m too scared to go alone… I want to go with you, Orabeoni.”
“…Go on, then.”
I shook my head, exasperated. This time, however, Sol didn’t back down. Despite my firm (?) refusal, she kept biting her lip, her hand still clutching my clothes. I was about to scold her for acting so childish when I saw her eyes trembling.
In the end, I decided to give in just this once. Still, I couldn’t help but have my doubts about Ahn Sol. It had been over three months since we’d entered the Hall Plain, which meant Sol was a twenty-year-old adult. Of course, her baby face made her look much younger, but she had a mental age too. Yet, sometimes, the things she did made her seem like a complete child.
I was not the only one who found her behavior strange at times. A casual observer might miss it, but Yoojung and I had spent enough time with Sol to recognize that something was unusual. Yoojung had once asked Ahn Hyun directly, yet he had evaded the question. He seemed to be hiding something concerning his sister. Resolving to ask again when an opportunity arose, I left the camp with Sol.
“This should be far enough.”
“……”
“Sol?”
“Orabeoni… you won’t leave me here and go somewhere else, will you?”
“I’ll stay right here. Don’t worry, just go do your business.”
“I’m trusting you. I really am. You promised.”
After getting my reassurance two or three times, Sol finally let go of my clothes with an anxious look on her face. As she crept into the bushes, I pulled a cigarette from my pocket and placed it between my lips. I lit it and took a drag, hearing the rustle of clothing from the thicket. A moment later, the trickling sound of Sol relieving herself reached my ears, and I felt a wave of awkwardness. Did she feel no shame doing this in front of a man? Or did she not even see me as one? Either way, it wasn’t a pleasant thought, so I just took long, hard drags from the innocent cigarette.
By the time the cigarette had nearly burned down to the filter, the trickling sound faded. Then came the soft crunch of footsteps on grass. When Sol saw me waiting patiently, her face brightened so visibly that I felt a sense of relief.
“Thank you.”
“Geez. You’re such a baby. You can’t keep acting like this.”
“Hehe. I’m sorry.”
She was grinning, for some reason incredibly pleased. I chided her lightly and was about to turn back when Sol suddenly threw her arms around me in a tight hug. The abrupt embrace startled me so much that I dropped the cigarette I was holding. Why was she being so forward all of a sudden? Finding my flustered expression amusing, Sol nuzzled her face against my chest with a gentle smile.
“Orabeoni.”
“Y-Yes?”
“To be honest… you were a little scary yesterday, Orabeoni.”
“…I was?”
So that was it. My decision to just stab the woman in the neck to avoid any hassle must have seemed cruel to her. Still, the face and body pressed against my chest weren’t trembling, so I quietly waited for her to continue. After savoring the embrace for a moment, Sol spoke again in a careful voice.
“But… you’re always strong and kind, Orabeoni. If it weren’t for you, Orabeoni, I…”
She trailed off, unable to finish, and closed her eyes. I sighed inwardly. But holding her now, I had to admit it was a strange feeling.
The female User in my arms was the famous woman who would later awaken as the Priestess of Radiance. Her renown became so great that rumors claimed the Odin Clan—a gathering of the continent’s most powerful Users—had personally invited Ahn Sol to join them.
I had been plenty active in my own right, but in terms of fame or innate ability, I was no match for her. That’s how far above me Ahn Sol was back then. The fact that this same person was now in my arms, relying on me, filled my entire being with a truly peculiar sensation.
Led by that feeling, I wrapped my arms around her without thinking. Sol gasped in surprise at my action, but then I saw her expression soften and grow warm. With my left hand on her back and my right stroking her ebony hair, I whispered gently.
“Should I have let that female Vagabond live yesterday…? Is that why you’re scared of me…?”
Sol shook her head vigorously, the movement tickling my chest. It was the reaction I’d hoped for, and a faint smile touched my lips. My touch seemed to please her; her initial anxiety was gone, replaced by a relaxed expression and the occasional smile as she spoke.
“N-No. I won’t be afraid. Hyun-oppa said that, if we wanted to survive, we had to act like Soohyun-hyung… that all of us needed to stay alert. He said we would have died without Hyung… and that we should remain right beside you and do what you told us. So I’ll trust you too, Orabeoni. Please… don’t abandon me, Orabeoni.”
Was that so? Had Ahn Hyun really said something so commendable? It meant I had now firmly established myself in the kids’ hearts. Their former blind dependence had transformed into definite trust after entering the Black Forest.
“I won’t abandon you. And Hyun was wrong about one thing. I don’t want you to obey without thinking. I want all of us to think together and work hard. As for this childishness…”
“I know. I know. But… I just wanted to be like this for a little while.”
I felt like holding her a bit longer, but I wasn’t so lacking in self-control that I couldn’t stop. I gently began to pull away from her. However, ignoring my hands, Sol pressed her face back into my chest and nodded forcefully.
“I’ll work hard too. I’ll work so hard that you can be satisfied with me, Orabeoni… so… so…”
“So?”
“Can we stay like this for just a little longer?”
“……”
“Please stroke my head, too. Hurry.”
Taking my silence as a yes, Sol snuggled against me again, pestering me. I just shrugged and obediently raised my hand. Still, I felt that from today onward, Sol’s perception of me had changed significantly.
*
“How’s your body?”
“I feel great. I checked this morning when I woke up, and my Durability stat went up by 1. My recovery is so amazing, I can hardly believe this is my own body. I feel more flexible than before, too.”
“Haha. Since you’re a melee class, you need to pay attention to your Durability. Otherwise, you’ll be fragile as glass.”
“Hehehe.”
Ahn Hyun laughed repeatedly, plainly delighted by his stat increase. Yoojung pouted beside him, but he seemed too pleased to care. Watching him made me a little envious. I want to raise my Stamina too…
Sustaining an injury that far exceeds your stat limits can potentially lower your Durability. However, if the injury only slightly exceeds it or pushes you right to the edge, your Durability can increase, provided you heal completely. It’s like how a cleanly broken bone grows back even stronger; the body adapts to a certain level of damage.
Leaving Ahn Hyun to demonstrate his recovery by whirling his spear, I packed up the camp. After a simple breakfast, we resumed our journey toward Ancient Alchemist Vivian’s Dungeon.
I was certain the tracks found near the entrance to the Black Forest did not belong to the Vagabonds, because I was currently following the same trail. It continued without disappearing, suggesting that the caravan had gone quite deep into the forest.
From its middle section onward, the Black Forest was a place even fairly capable Users could never underestimate. The fact that the caravan had pushed farther inside despite the danger strongly suggested it had found something. I suspected that something was Ancient Alchemist Vivian’s Dungeon.
“I have a feeling we’re going to run into another spooky horde today.”
Ahn Hyun, who had been scouting our right flank, walked up beside me and spoke. He was probably referring to yesterday’s battle with the wolf pack. I opened my mouth to reply, noticing that he remained vigilant even as he talked.
“That battle was definitely the most dangerous one. It’s not rare for them to attack in such large groups, but it’s not common either. Anyway, once we finish this expedition and head back, let’s get you some gloves.”
“Gloves…? Ah. You mean armor? I’m wearing the basic armor I got from the User Academy…”
“That armor is only leather, so you cannot expect much protection from it. Since you’re a Spearman, Chain Mail or Scale Mail that allows easier movement would suit you better than Plate Mail.”
“I see. I know a little about weapons, but not much about armor. Thinking back on yesterday’s fight, it would definitely be good to have. If I don’t have to focus on defending, I can swing my spear more… But won’t it cost a fortune to buy all that at once?”
I nodded at Hyun’s words. Proper armor from a reputable armorer was generally beyond a novice User’s means. Most beginners were too busy securing daily food to consider purchasing armor. To them, our new weapons for a first expedition would already look extravagantly luxurious.
“That’s true. Unless you hit the jackpot somewhere, there’s no guarantee you’ll have a steady income even after you become a skilled User. In the end, you have to save up diligently from the start and buy things one by one.”
“Well, if it comes to it, I still have the GP I received from the Rite of Passage, so don’t worry too much.”
“Denied. Like I said before, that’s an absolute last resort. You must save your GP. You never know when you might need it later. For now, let’s make do with what we have.”
“Sigh. Money is a problem everywhere you go.”
I chuckled and nodded at Hyun, who was already talking like a world-weary old man. Of everyone in our party, Hyun had adapted to the Hall Plain most successfully. His recognition that weak defense meant he needed armor, and his willingness to think far ahead, deserved praise.
After chatting with Hyun for a while, I activated Sensing and Third Eye. The trail left by the Users ahead was becoming clearer; at the earliest, we would catch them tomorrow, and at the latest, the day after.
Of course, I didn’t have the slightest intention of teaming up with them. If we were lucky enough to find the dungeon first, I would naturally claim the rights to it. Any existing User would know about the rights of first discovery. But even if we didn’t find it first, I wasn’t particularly worried.
〈They seemed to have discovered it by chance, failed, and all died. No—calling it death might not be quite right. Hm? There were three of them. Or should I say one? What do I mean? Well…〉
Ancient Alchemist Vivian’s Dungeon was not supposed to be discovered yet. I remembered it being found several months after I discovered the Cave of Screams two years in the future. But if the caravan ahead had found the dungeon now, and my prediction was correct, they would soon be annihilated. Most likely, they would fail the dungeon and be wiped out inside.
If they found it first, all we had to do was take a step back. We could set up camp near the dungeon and wait a few days. When we went in, we would find their corpses. In fact, if they cleared out some of the traps and monsters near the entrance for us, it might even make our entry easier. Plus, we could collect their equipment, which would be a handsome profit.
Having finished my calculations, I quickened my pace. I wanted to clear this dungeon quickly so we could move on to the next locations I had my eye on: the Ruined Laboratory and the Cave of Screams. The others, oblivious to my plans, simply followed my lead as I picked up the pace.