95. My Buff is a Drug
95. My Buff is a Drug
〔 ...You didn't overexert yourself just for this, did you? Please make sure you're taking care of yourself too. 〕
Kwon Jin-ah's telepathic message was laced with worry.
Taking care of himself? She must mean the fall earlier.
〔 I know my own body. Don't worry about it. Anyway, what are you going to do about the Combat Tournament? 〕
'The Combat Tournament? Didn't expect Boss to ask about that. Guess he isn't completely indifferent to grades after all.'
〔 I'll give every event a shot. 〕
〔 Do you have a team yet for the Team Battle? 〕
〔 I decided to go with friends. 〕
Ah. So she already had teammates.
Hye-yong gave up on it cleanly.
〔 Can't be helped, then. 〕
〔 Wait, Boss... were you trying to team up with me? 〕
〔 Yeah, was thinking about it. But if you've already got people, I'll let it go. 〕
〔 I-I could tell my friends and drop out! We could still be on the same team... 〕
Hearing Kwon Jin-ah's transmission, Hye-yong shook his head slightly. Don't do that.
〔 No need to go that far. I'll be rooting for you. 〕
With that, he turned and walked away.
'Ah....'
Kwon Jin-ah watched his retreating figure, looking deeply regretful.
'I wanted... to be on the same team as Boss, for the tournament....'
She'd naturally assumed he would have zero interest in the exam, but apparently that wasn't the case.
If she had known, she would have asked him first.
'Right now, Boss comes before anyone else for me. Unconditionally.'
Kwon Jin-ah turned away, carrying her own regret with her.
-
'Hmm. What now?'
He had planned to slot Kwon Jin-ah and Lanfang into the team. He hadn't known Kwon Jin-ah was already spoken for.
'...No way Lanfang's got someone else, right?'
Still, he contacted her just in case.
Might as well put the Resonance Buff on Lanfang too.
'How do I explain this to Lanfang, though?'
He decided to frame it as an extension of the Exclusive Buff.
It was Lanfang, after all.
'I'll call her over on messenger, then....'
[ Choi Hye-yong : Lanfang, where are you? ]
[ Lanfang : I was just about to head into the dorms. ]
[ Choi Hye-yong : Can you wait in front of the dorms for a minute? ]
{ Lanfang : Yes! ]
He headed toward the women's dormitory.
When he got close, he spotted Lanfang waiting.
"Buffer-nim!"
As she waved and called out to him cheerfully, he cast the Resonance Buff on her.
〔 Lanfang! 〕
"Huh? Huhhh?"
Lanfang, startled by the will transmission plugging directly into her head, looked at Hye-yong.
〔 Master...? 〕
Then, as if the buff itself told her how, she figured it out on her own and sent her will back.
〔 Yeah, Lanfang. It's me. 〕
〔 How is this happening? We aren't even speaking, but we can talk! 〕
〔 It's sort of a side effect of my trait. Our bond's grown stronger, so we can talk without meeting face to face. 〕
Whoa.
Is something like that... possible?
A flicker of doubt passed through Lanfang's mind, but it vanished just as quickly.
The man she served as master had the power to increase a person's talents.
Compared to that, this was nothing.
〔 That's amazing, Master! 〕
Lanfang was perfectly clear on this.
Her job was to keep her master in a good mood. Unconditionally.
And to be loved for it.
That was all.
〔 My little puppy, have you decided who to go with for the Combat Tournament? 〕
〔 I don't have anything like friends! Master is my everything! 〕
No... jeez.
She should make some friends too....
A little thrown by the unexpected answer, but deciding it didn't really matter anyway, Hye-yong wrapped up the conversation.
〔 Come with me, then. 〕
〔 I'd love to! I'm going to fight alongside Master! 〕
That left just one more person. Someone did come to mind.
〔 I'll see you at the exam, Lanfang. 〕
〔 Goodbye! 〕
Leaving behind Lanfang, laughing and waving, he opened his terminal and sent a message to Park Yuri.
[ Choi Hye-yong : Yuri. ]
[ Park Yuri : What! ]
[ Choi Hye-yong : Want to do the Combat Tournament Team Battle with me? ]
'...What?'
To Park Yuri, Hye-yong's invitation was simply unexpected.
Were we that close?
Does this guy... not have any friends?
'It's just... not a great situation for me right now, though.'
Lately, Park Yuri had been getting a lot of feedback that her form had dropped.
Unable to concentrate properly in spars, neglecting her training... her skills were definitely rusty.
Because of Hye-yong, of course.
No one was exactly eager to actively team up with a Park Yuri in that state.
At least, no one at a similar skill level.
The exam's purpose was partly about forcing people to coordinate with those they didn't normally run with, anyway.
That was why the teams were three people.
'That guy is strong, though....'
Choi Hye-yong was also the one who had instilled that sense of helplessness in her. The feeling that he was an opponent she could never beat.
[ Park Yuri : Have you found other teammates? ]
[ Choi Hye-yong : Lanfang. ]
'Lanfang....'
Lanfang was a fairly reliable teammate too.
At first, she had ranked in the lower tier of D-grade.
Park Yuri had thought there was no way Lanfang could ever be her opponent.
But as the days passed, she grew stronger and stronger, forcing Park Yuri to fight seriously. Her growth rate was impressive.
'By now, she might even be able to fight me on equal terms.'
Hye-yong's proposal had been a pretty appealing offer from Park Yuri's perspective.
She'd been planning to end up in the leftover pool tomorrow if she still hadn't found a team anyway.
'So it's a three-person party, huh. It bothers me a little that they're all Melee Dealers, though.'
Still, it beat a party thrown together from leftovers.
And besides....
'I'm curious what it'll feel like... fighting on the same side as that guy.'
[ Park Yuri : I'm only going because Lanfang is there. ]
Park Yuri really wasn't honest with herself.
[ Choi Hye-yong : Okay. That settles it, then. Want to try a rough coordination run? ]
[ Choi Hye-yong : Let's do it until lunch. Come to the front of the Sparring Ground building. ]
'First... should I call Park Yuri alone and explain the Exclusive Buff?'
People received this Exclusive Buff thing differently, too.
For Park Yuri, I planned to appeal to her playfully and slightly dial down its performance when I cast it.
My relationship with Park Yuri was just physical, after all. Not that close.
-
"What the hell, where did Lanfang go?"
"She'll be here soon. Let's just go in, the two of us first."
He entered the private sparring room with Park Yuri.
'Ah, dammit. Seeing her face makes me want to screw her again.'
The libido of a body in its prime.
'Wish I could use that sexual desire suppression buff on myself too.'
This lower half — it's great when you're actually going at it, but honestly, it's nothing but a hindrance in daily life.
"So it's confirmed? Us three for the Team Battle?"
"Yeah."
"Is it gonna be okay with three Melee Dealers? Feels like we'll get wrecked by ranged dealers before we can even get close...."
"Three Melee Dealers?"
When Hye-yong replied with a questioning tone, the corners of Park Yuri's eyes lifted slightly.
"It's not?"
"It's not. I'm a Blessing Mage. I'll be supporting attack and defense."
What kind of...?
She was momentarily bewildered.
"...Blessings?"
"Why? Is that weird?"
Come to think of it, she had said her sub-class was Martial Fighter.
Still, I thought you were a body-type fighter.
"What kind of blessings can you use?"
"Shields, and also...."
No need to explain. He decided to cast the buff he had prepared on Park Yuri.
[ Martial Artist's Tenacity ]
Strength Stat: 7-Level Increase
Agility Stat: 7-Level Increase
Stamina Stat: 7-Level Increase
Combat Proficiency: 6-Level Increase
Exclusive to Park Yuri
Proficiencies under the martial fighter class are consolidated into Combat Proficiency.
This should do it.
Hye-yong double-checked the buff, then cast it on Park Yuri.
"...What is this. My... exclusive?"
"Yeah. All yours."
"I-I've never seen or heard of anything like this!"
"Unique, right? It's my trait. I can give an Exclusive Buff to people I think are special."
People he thinks are... special...?
Park Yuri mulled over those words, her mind mostly going blank.
'I'm special? To this guy?'
She wanted to hear the reason, so she spoke carefully.
"In what way... am I special...?"
Hye-yong thought about it.
In Park Yuri's head, he was already a piece of trash anyway.
He decided to just stay shameless. Remain trash to the end.
That route felt like it would satisfy his darker ego better.
"I think you're incredibly adorable. Head to toe."
This bastard, seriously....
'Saying such cringey, cheeseball crap right to my face. Has he got no shame? Is his face made of iron plating or something?'
The problem was, even while she found it repulsive, it didn't feel bad.
As if she wanted to hear those words again, Park Yuri's mouth denied what her ears had heard.
"Th-that's just empty flattery...."
"No, it isn't. You can't help but be special to me. How could I not care? I was your first guy."
Hye-yong stepped closer, wrapped an arm around Park Yuri's waist, and pressed his stomach against hers.
"Right now, I'd love to hold you tight, kiss you, and roll around with you. You get that?"
Park Yuri's expression twisted ferociously.
"Y-you...! Is that all you've got in your brain?!"
Thump, thump!
She punched his chest lightly while in his arms, but it didn't hurt at all.
Right now, Hye-yong had no buffs whatsoever, and Park Yuri had the Exclusive Buff — albeit at reduced power.
If she wanted to pull free and leave, she could do it anytime. If she wanted to hit him hard enough to hurt, she could do that too.
But she deliberately stayed in his arms, and even her punches were clearly pulled.
Hye-yong couldn't help howling with internal laughter at that.
Because the situation itself felt so damn good.
He decided to let Park Yuri go around then.
"Jeez... do all guys hide this kind of thing inside?"
When he smoothly dropped his arm from her waist, she backed away on her own.
It probably would be like that.
If someone offered a no-questions-asked, wild fuck with a girl like Park Yuri, you could maybe expect one or two people out of ten thousand to barely turn it down.
Unless they were the type who could control their libido with mana, that is.
'If I'd kept pushing right then, would Park Yuri have let me?'
He was suddenly curious, but he didn't act on it.
Because Lanfang, whom he had called earlier at just the right timing through Resonance, would be arriving soon.
Ding!
〔 Master! 〕
"Lanfang, you're here."
Through the resonance, she'd greeted him with a "Master!" that sounded incredibly excited, but now, maybe mindful of Park Yuri who'd been there first, she shuffled in hesitantly and stood next to me.
"My little puppy. It's okay, come into your master's arms."
"Huh...?"
At the sudden gesture, Lanfang was simply bewildered.
This was clearly supposed to happen only when it was just the two of them....
"It's okay. Come on. Like always."
Thinking she couldn't keep Hye-yong waiting, standing there with his arms wide open, Lanfang jumped into his embrace.
As always, Hye-yong hugged her around the hips, pressed their bodies tightly together, then lifted her as if spinning once before setting her back on the floor.
And when he stroked under her chin, she accepted the touch happily.
'Ah... he's stroking me longer than usual.'
Stroking longer than usual meant lower your posture.
Lanfang dropped to all fours completely, like a dog, in front of Hye-yong.
And then....
"Master, I love you...."
Delivering her usual line, she looked up at Hye-yong with eyes overflowing with adoration.
Then Hye-yong stroked her head.
"Good girl, my puppy. Pretty. So pretty."
"Hehe...."
"......!!"
Park Yuri, who had been watching all of this from the side, couldn't hide her horror.
'Wh-what the hell is that....'
Kneeling there, gazing up with desperate eyes as if she had truly become a dog — Lanfang's appearance was, to anyone watching, that of someone who had given up on being human.
'A pet... so that's why. I thought he was dragging her around by force, against her will....'
That wasn't it.
Lanfang was simply, completely conditioned.
But it was strange.
'Somehow... she looks incredibly happy....'
Even Park Yuri, watching this scene in shock, had that thought.
Right now, Lanfang looked happy.
Could becoming a pet really be such a happy thing...?
'N-no! This is messed up!'
Park Yuri hurriedly snapped herself back to her senses and spoke.
"L-Lanfang! A-are you really okay with that?! He's treating you like a pet! You're a person!"
Lanfang glanced over at Park Yuri.
And slowly opened her mouth.
"I much prefer being Master's pet dog over being a person. Before I became a pet dog, no one loved me. I was showered in nothing but hatred, burdened with nothing but baggage. So deeply depressed and miserable.... But even for someone like me, Master said if I became a pet, he could love me forever. The fact that I can keep receiving affection as long as I remain a pet dog is, to me, a more reassuring truth than anything else...."
Her reddish eyes were filled with blind faith in Hye-yong.
"I, Lanfang, am Master's pet dog. And I am truly happy."
By this point, it wasn't just conditioning. It was fair to call it brainwashing-level.
Park Yuri, half-seriously, felt something close to both fear and awe toward Hye-yong.
How on earth could someone turn a person into that state?
'Is that how it is? Is kneeling and obeying someone that reassuring... that nice...?'
It was something she never would have even considered before meeting Hye-yong.
Gulp.
She swallowed dryly without realizing it.
Completely impossible to understand rationally, yet in some way... she could sort of see it.
"If... you like it yourself... then I'm not gonna say anything more, but...."
After all... back then, when Hye-yong whispered in her ear.
After shouting out those vulgar words, she had felt incredibly refreshed.
If she were to become like that herself....
"Now you get it clearly, right? This is the relationship Lanfang and I have."
"Yeah, I get it!! More importantly, let's just hurry up and coordinate already!!"
Park Yuri, trying to shut down the thoughts surfacing in her head, raised her voice and changed the subject.