The Fool's Smile and the Final Phase

"Benefactor!!"

Seo Ian?

But I couldn't just trust that blindly!

I activated Hawk's Eye.

Found her. I really found her.

At least I confirmed that this Seo Ian was the real deal.

After all, the [??? Status Window] text only appears when I look at people.

"But are you really my benefactor?!"

I could feel the glint in her eyes behind the helmet, even through the fog.

Now, the problem was getting Seo ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Ian to recognize me as the real thing...

"I am."

Time to confidently spill the truth.

"Really?"

The thumping sounds and the "book-book" noises were still closing in on me.

In the midst of that, I saw the round glint in Seo Ian's eyes sharpen into a straight line.

Ugh. I knew she wouldn't believe me even if I told the truth!

I couldn't exactly rip my heart out to show her, and there was no way Ian had Hawk's Eye.

But I never said there was no way.

I pressed the stark white paper against my tongue.

It looked a bit ridiculous, but if it could prove my innocence, I’d do anything!

"I am Kim Uju!"

The paper turned blue.

"Oh, you really are my benefactor, huh?"

The suspicious glint in her eyes vanished, replaced by an instant sparkle.

"Benefactor! I tried to wait in the safe zone like you told me, but there wasn't one here! Still, I waited well, right?"

She had that look in her eyes, fishing for a compliment in this situation.

"But what's that 'book-book' thing behind you? Looks like it's chasing you."

The shadows trailed long tails, persistently chasing Seo Ian's heels.

If you looked at it the wrong way, it looked like... fish poop.

No. There was too much of it to be fish poop. It was gross.

"Oh, this? It's gonna die soon. Time to clear it out once and for all!"

Suddenly, Ian turned her back on me and plunged one of her swords into the ground.

'Ah, is it that one again! The one where a million swords pop out of the floor!'

And as if to mock my expectations,

"Hyaaaah!!"

Leaving the sword she’d plunged into the ground, she swung the sword in her other hand.

In an instant, a red sword aura spread out in a fan shape from the tip of her blade.

The extended aura exploded in all directions, burning every single one of those "book-book" shadows to a crisp.

Only after the shadows disappeared did the wind burst forth, whipping my hair back.

"Wow, that's insane speed..."

I couldn't help but be impressed.

"Pretty cool, right?"

"...Is that a new skill?"

A new skill? Flashy and powerful? And an area-of-effect one at that?

"Yeah! How is it? Pretty cool, right?!"

There's a problem here.

Me? No cool skill. No powerful skill. No AoE skill.

At this point, I have to wonder: is the System not just playing favorites, but actually hating my very existence?

"I want a skill like that too."

"But why are you wearing a rabbit mask?"

"Because you said you met someone inside. I was just being cautious. It never hurts to be prepared for anything."

I took off the rabbit mask and shoved it into my inventory.

"Here. A handheld fan and an ice pack."

Since there was no space, I took them out while I was at it.

"Oh, those? I needed them earlier, but I don't now. Keep 'em."

"My inventory is full."

So, I decided to donate them to the hidden dungeon.

"Anyway, the boss is Lumen, and it seems like it can transform."

"We have to catch that, right?"

"Exactly."

"Are you going to catch it?"

"I have to, don't I?"

"Sounds good."

I was slightly worried she might say it sounded too hard.

"It shouldn't be difficult, right? Those things have low intelligence, so it's easy to tell if they're fakes."

"True. They were definitely low-intelligence."

Just the fact that it transformed into Seo Ian, called me 'Mr. Uju', and used formal language was a dead giveaway.

"Still, if it looks dangerous, I'm running away immediately, so keep that in mind."

Book! Book! Book! Book! Book!

Why am I running right now, with my wrist grabbed by Seo Ian?

Because we’re 'herding' the mobs for the sake of mana, skill cooldowns, and time efficiency.

The bait is me and Seo Ian. No, just Seo Ian.

Since she’s the Tower Lord who first set foot here and the 'Target' receiving the most buffs for dealing the most damage, there was no reason for me to be running.

She should be herding the mobs for efficiency, and I should be safely mining special reinforcement stone fragments while gathering materials—that would be the perfect situation.

So why am I running with her right now?

Because the moment I shook off her hand, I looked like I’d be trampled to death by the 'book-books' behind us.

"No, Ian, brother—no, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sister, I'm gonna die. Can't we start fighting them now?"

"Yeah, you won't die from running a bit~."

"You won't die, sure... but couldn't I die...?"

"Don't worry. I have top-tier recovery potions."

Even in this situation, Seo Ian never let go of my hand.

'You... you... you crazy bitch!!'

The harsh words rose to my throat. I had the courage to say them, but I couldn't, because I was already out of breath, and if I screamed, I felt like I would truly suffocate.

"When... exactly..."

Until when, exactly?

"Just 3 more minutes."

I feel like I've heard that '3 more minutes' a million times now.

Ian. If I add up all those 3 minutes, it’s been well over an hour...

Then, suddenly, a thought occurred to me.

'Is this why Rackcho sold me the 'Tower Merchant Room Forced Teleportation Ticket'?'

I even thought, 'Should I just use it?'

But the thought of the 10,000 ticks made me hesitate.

"Benefactor, you've worked hard."

At that moment, Seo Ian turned around and instantly gripped the twin swords on her back in both hands.

Is it time?

"Once won't be enough, so please step back a bit."

She said, sliding in front of me to block the way.

But I didn't step back; instead, I took a step forward.

"Ian, let me take one hit."

"Huh?"

Seo Ian glanced at me, looking puzzled for a moment, then replied, "Sure," and readily stepped aside.

The boss here? I’d hit it if things got desperate, but if possible, I wanted to let Seo Ian take it down alone to boost our guild's ace.

That’s why I wanted to squeeze out at least a little contribution here.

I fired my crossbow, which I had strapped to my back, a few times, excluding the tracking and Hawk's Eye.

The blind bolts thudded into the floor. A mist of damage-over-time effects rose up.

'This is secretly an AoE skill, isn't it?'

But something was...

"Today, isn't the DoT triggering a bit slowly?"

"I was just thinking the same thing."

"Benefactor. You didn't drink an elixir, did you?"

"Ah. You're right."

I had planned to drink the elixir right before the boss, just in case.

I’d left the mobs to Seo Ian and planned to collect special reinforcement stone fragments to enhance my glove skill.

Therefore, was there any reason for me to drink the elixir early? None.

It wasn't exactly cheap, after all.

"That thing isn't going to be caught, is it?"

Seo Ian gestured toward the shadows making the 'book-book' sounds, but I looked at her instead.

"It'll be caught."

At my answer, doubt filled her eyes.

"At that speed? Yeah, right."

It wasn't that the speed was exceptionally slow, but the damage wasn't landing exceptionally well either. It was ambiguous.

But I wasn't confident that we couldn't catch it.

"Still, we can catch it. I have you, don't I?"

I didn't say I would catch it.

I smiled brightly, and my gaze met the eyes behind her helmet.

"That's right, there's no way we can't catch it! Not with me here!"

Her eyes curved into sharp arcs behind the helmet.

After hitting those 'book-books' and securing some contribution points, I asked Seo Ian.

"But Ian, can you really catch that Lumen thing?"

If we can't catch it, it's all for nothing. If we escape midway, all our contribution and items will vanish. That's the penalty of an emergency escape.

Before heading off to gather materials, I asked one last time.

"I should be able to catch it, right? It seemed like a mental-type, and mental-types are pushovers once you figure out how to break their patterns!"

"And can you break them?"

"Probably. It seems to appear based on trauma, but I've overcome most of my traumas."

Trauma?

"I don't think it's trauma."

I was certain it wasn't based on trauma.

Because...

"For me, it appeared in your image."

Because my trauma isn't 'Seo Ian'.

"...Have I ever hurt you, Benefactor? That shouldn't be it, right? I treated you very kindly even when you were the wandering merchant rabbit, and when you were the new Awakened Kim Uju!"

Seo Ian, with her hand on the chin of her helmet, said with a serious look.

"No, that's why I'm saying Lumen's manifestation isn't trauma! Why are you so convinced it's trauma?"

"Well, for me... my old senior appeared."

Seo Ian paused for a moment and answered in a calm tone.

"Did that senior bully you enough to become a trauma?"

"No, that senior passing away in the line of duty is my trauma."

"Hmm... then Ian, could Lumen be manifesting the 'ace' in one's heart? Like someone you can rely on."

That seemed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like the most plausible hypothesis.

"Huh? That sounds right, doesn't it?"

Book!

Slash!

It seemed there weren't many 'book-books' left, as the frequency of their appearance decreased.

"Anyway, I can catch it. No, I absolutely have to catch it."

Whether something happened while I was away, Ian's fighting spirit was burning brighter than ever today.

"But Ian, are mental-types also illusion patterns?"

"Do clones or changing appearances count as that?"

"Got it for now. But Ian."

"Yeah?"

"Let's rest a bit before catching Lumen."

"Why?"

"There are some materials I want to collect."

Since we're already in here, let's get some special reinforcement stone fragments. I want to enhance my glove skill. If I don't have skill power, I want at least a little item power—that's my stance.

"Should I help?"

"Do you know how to use a pickaxe?"

"Of course!"

Well, she had something called a fire axe, so there was no reason not to trust her.

"But do you have a pickaxe?"

"No? Can't I use a sword? Can't I just use it with a similar feel?"

It wouldn't hurt to try, so we did.

Isn't there a saying, 'If you try and succeed, it's an achievement; if you fail, it's experience'?

However, a moment later.

"Ian! I'll give you something to eat, so please just rest while eating! You're breaking the materials and they're all flying away!"

It didn't take long to realize that the equipment a firefighter uses is for destruction, not mining.

The harvest was quite decent, better than expected.

By spending time, I was able to put 1.5 special reinforcement stones into my inventory.

That meant they would be entirely mine if I just cleared the dungeon.

Beside me, Seo Ian started doping, and I did the same.

And finally, I put on a mask.

Not the rabbit mask, but a bizarre clown mask.

They said Lumen changing its appearance was also an illusion pattern.

Since I got it in a special floor and couldn't even sell it, I might as well use it.

If it really doesn't work, it's not too late to dismantle and sell it then.

"I'll be the Target, so stay as far away from me as possible."

"Personally, I want you to catch it alone. That way, the world announcement will go out again. I want everyone to know how amazing our guild ace is."

A place where only one person excels is hard to maintain for long. You need many people to be great for it to last.

And one of those many people should naturally be our ace.

"I'll try!"

Her eyes burned with competitive spirit.

I only just realized it now, but Lumen's appearance looked different to each person.

To my eyes, it still looked like Seo Ian, but I could tell because Seo Ian looked at it and called it 'Senior Ryu'.

And then.

I feel this every time, but this shitty system is unkind and inconsistent.

Entering the final phase with 1% boss HP left is a matter of conscience, in my opinion.

At least I seemed to have avoided the illusion pattern.

But it didn't look like Seo Ian had.

"Ian!!"

Even when I called her, she stood stock-still, offering no response.

Lumen, floating in the air, slowly began to approach her.

I threw the one remaining debuff-clearing potion, but it was useless.

Status ailments and illusion patterns must be handled differently, as it didn't work.

Without hesitation, I ran to her side and reached out to her back.

The moment my fingertips touched the cold texture of her plate armor!

"Ah, my life savings!"

Mourning my precious 10,000 ticks, I used Rackcho's Blue Room access ticket.