Three Events, Not Once Halfhearted

He had never once moved half-heartedly while the three events ran.

In the first, he killed more than nine and a half million players, and even that wasn't enough—he went hunting the strong so he could drill his swordsmanship in real combat. In the second, he cleared the level ten objective, then tracked down the hidden piece, the level eleven objective, and cleared that too, wrapping the event by finishing several more level ten objectives on top of it.

The third event needed no explanation. He had already poured his enormous stock of points into the General Store. After ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that he found a God's Minion and killed it, and learned the thing was worth ten million points. He cut down the remaining five and gathered sixty million, and a trip to the God Realm and back brought him another forty million.

Across the three events, he had earned close to a hundred and fifty million points. Measured in points, his performance punched a hole clean through the sky. A meager final reward would have made no sense at all.

Even Yujun, whose standards had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠climbed from monopolizing good rewards all this time, couldn't help looking forward to it. Manuela, by contrast, looked thoroughly unimpressed.

"Why the face?"

"I don't have anything to get a reward for."

"Ah. You just kept wandering around the whole time. Looking for materials."

"Yeah. So I could give you an enchant stone."

"Uh... right."

"I'm not trying to make a show of it, but I'm grateful to you now, too... and being with you is kind of fun, I think, and lately I've been feeling a little happy... no, pretend you didn't hear that."

Manuela mumbled it, working her mouth around the words.

"What are you saying?"

His hearing was sharp ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠enough that he caught it, but Manuela's pronunciation had smeared together until it was hard to make out.

"Ah, nothing."

"Anyway, thanks."

"Yeah... me too."

That was the moment.

Yujun's eyes went wide.

A Transcendent Stone?

They were giving him this? Another Transcendent Stone as a reward, when he had already bought one at the General Store. What kind of windfall was that?

That makes three, then?

A smile spread across his lips. It felt like an unexpected gift, and his mood lifted. Even so, he had no intention of using the Transcendent Stone right away.

I'll save it for when I get a better Mythic-grade weapon.

Spending it on armor would be a waste. Unless Transcendent Stones started overflowing, he didn't see himself casually using one on defensive gear.

Next came the EX-rank random skill book. A chance to gain one more skill—and with the rank locked in as EX. If he had a single weakness, it was how few skills and traits he possessed. He had always been waiting for a skill book to turn up, and here one was again.

Wonder what it'll be.

With his current stats and attack power, he was confident he could put any skill that came out to better use than anyone else.

Yujun spread his senses wide. A thin wave of mana swept the whole of the laboratory, but he couldn't reach any farther than that. Sourtul Forest was so vast that he could grasp only a portion of it. He had already wiped out every Demon God Worshipper he had been facing, though a few of the ones originally stationed at the laboratory still remained. Even so, they didn't seem worth much concern. They were a fair distance off, and perhaps because the event had only just ended, the Demon God Worshippers weren't making any large moves.

Come to think of it, I still haven't found a way out of Sourtul Forest.

No—was still even the right word? Maybe because he had gained so much from this sudden event, it felt as if a long time had passed, but the reality was different. Only the briefest instant had gone by. While the three events ran, not even five seconds of real time had elapsed.

"It's been a while."

Yujun addressed Jo Su-a. She nodded and opened her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mouth.

"Thank you."

"Pardon? For what, all of a sudden?"

Yujun asked it back at her thanks.

"During the first event. You tracked down the top rankers and killed them. That's what I mean."

"Ah..."

Well, he had helped her in that sense. His original aim had been seeking out high-ranked players for real combat practice, but the fact that it had helped her remained unchanged, so he didn't deny it. Still, how had she known? She hadn't even been nearby.

"You don't have to do that from now on."

"Why not?"

"I might get spoiled."

"I see. I understand."

Jo Su-a's drive to rise and improve was exceptionally strong. She preferred tempering herself and growing stronger on her own power to growing stronger on someone else's help.

She really does remind me of someone.

Looking at Jo Su-a, Yujun recalled a user he had raided with right up to the very end. He had often wondered whether she might be Only I Don't Have a Cat. But as far as he knew, Only I Don't Have a Cat was a male user. The man had said so himself, and he had even told stories about things that happened to him in the military. The odds that it was Jo Su-a were low.

More than anything, if she had been that user, she would have recognized at a glance that he was No-Pay Casual Gamer. He had used consumable items that absolutely could not exist in the Tower of Infinity, and unless she was unusually dull, there was no way she would have failed to notice.

"Jo Su-a."

"Yes?"

"Before we look around the laboratory, would it be all right if I checked the rewards first?"

"Yes. Of course."

Jo Su-a had received her final reward as well. She needed time just as much as he did.

"I'm the only one without a reward..."

Manuela muttered it, her lips pushed out in a pout.

A few Demon God Worshippers still remained inside the laboratory, but Yujun paid them no mind at all and drew out the Summon Skill Grant Stone first. Enemies on the level of the worshippers he had just faced were no threat to him.

He held the grant stone and sank into thought. Paranet, or Tapagol. Which of the two should he use it on?

Thinking purely in terms of level, giving it to Tapagol was the right call. His level was high and his bulk was large, so he was useful for all sorts of work. But Paranet was no less formidable than Tapagol. As for that one's strengths...

"Hmm."

Yujun's eyes went wide. Wait a second.

"Huh? What even is Paranet's strength? Why have I been using this guy?"

That was when it happened. Paranet suddenly revealed himself.

"That is too cruel!"

"What? Why are you out?"

He hadn't summoned Paranet. Right after the event ended, the summon should have been forcibly dismissed.

"Setting that aside—I have no merits?! What manner of thing is that to say!"

"No, why did you come out on your own? I didn't even call you."

"In a moment of crisis, an emergency summon is possible, that I might protect Master!"

"...So you're saying you can come out of your own will, whenever you please?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"I do not know myself. My chest grew tight, and when I thought that I wished to go out, I was able to move to Master's side."

"..."

This was the first he had heard of a summon summoning itself. No—it was impossible in the first place.

Is it because of Paranet's spatial movement?

Don't tell him the ability worked even while he was unsummoned. To call it absurd... well, plenty of unrealistic things happened in the Tower of Infinity.

"Then this emergency summon. What is that?"

"I made the term up. Forgive me, Master!"

Setting aside how outrageous Paranet was, it was fascinating. And Yujun thought it had value he could use. If he ever faced a dangerous situation, couldn't Paranet step in and serve as a punching bag in his place? Looked at a certain way, it was groundbreaking, and rather slick.

"Fine. Whenever I'm in danger, show up and protect me."

"Of course! Only leave it to me!"

"Good. I like the spirit. Now get back in."

"...What?"

"I said get back in."

"Wh-why?"

"Because I'm about to make a choice I'll owe you an apology for. It hurts me too."

"...Surely not. Surely Master would never make such a decision."

"That 'surely' is exactly it."

Paranet's face was stricken with grief.

"This cannot be, this cannot..."

"Want a skill?"

The moment Yujun held out the grant stone, Paranet startled and nodded over and over.

"Yes? Yes!"

"Do you have anything that makes you better than Tapagol?"

"For one, there are the years we have shared. The bond between Master and myself is not a thing one may simply disregard. And is that all? My instinct for survival. As Master well knows, it is a trait that lets one sense a crisis before it arrives. To perceive danger first—how efficient, how practical an ability! And beyond that, spatial movement of EX+ rank! Kyah, a bowl of makgeolli over here! Ah, but to stop there would be a shame. Granted, it was a gift from Master, yet I possess Horidan's Ring. Should a skill tied to mana so much as appear... why, that would be the end of the game."

"A game? Do you even know what a game is?"

"War of the Gods, something of that sort, is it not? A trash game? That manner of thing."

"You've been picking up a lot of what I say, haven't you."

"Not a single strand of Master's words escapes me; I engrave them properly into both ears. They say the birds hear words spoken by day and the rats hear words spoken by night, but Master's words—I daresay I hear them best of all."

"..."

What was this guy even saying? He had always been a little talkative, but not to this degree. It felt as if he were growing stranger and stranger. Or was he truly desperate? Afraid he was about to be discarded? If so, Yujun felt a little sorry.

"Hmm."

At Paranet's speech, which amounted to a full oration, the furrow between Yujun's brows deepened. The fellow had run his mouth like a swindler, but his words weren't entirely without merit. Spatial movement alone was quite useful, and he had already given the guy Horidan's Ring. Tapagol's mana was low, so handing the ring over to him would have been meaningless. Only Paranet could properly make use of Horidan's Ring. That, too, counted as an ability of his.

If Tapagol puts out great power in limited situations, Paranet's the one with the versatility.

Even the body slam, the more he watched it, had turned out to be a very usable skill. The damage was damage, but being able to send an opponent flying a long way off was a major merit.

Paranet kept sneaking anxious glances at Yujun. Having made his decision, Yujun let out a short laugh.

"You want it?"

"Yes! Hah. Hah."

The moment Yujun seemed to waver even slightly, the guy started panting hard. Seeing him like this suddenly made Yujun not want to give it to him.

"Master! I beg of you!"

Desperate eyes. Yujun had no choice but to hand over the grant stone.

"Aaaah! My thanks! I shall not forget this grace for the rest of my life!"

Deeply moved, Paranet dropped to his knees.

Incredible.

How could a skeleton manage such a rich range of expressions? Paranet looked around with gleaming, darting eyes—or the impression of them, since he had no eyeballs at all. He shot a glare at Manuela, then glared at Jo Su-a as well.

"Heok, hah! It's mine now, this is! M-my precious..."

"Just use the thing already."

"Yes, sir!"

Yujun wore a satisfied smile. In truth, he had meant to give the Summon Skill Grant Stone to Paranet from the start. A new skill was what Paranet needed most, and he had the hardware to wring proper efficiency out of it. Yujun had teased him a little because he was curious about the reaction, and sure enough, it was exactly as expected. Teasing him was fun.

"Master. I shall use it at once!"

"Go ahead."

With a trembling hand, Paranet poured mana into the grant stone. A low, heavy hum rose from it. Everyone watched him. Jo Su-a's gaze, Manuela's, and Yujun's all fixed on Paranet.

A brilliant light burst forth, and the grant stone vanished without a trace. Paranet's expression grew complicated. It was impossible to tell whether he liked what he had gotten or hated it.

"What's wrong?"

"Well..."

He hesitated, then opened his mouth.

"Please see for yourself. It is a little awkward for me to put into words."

"All right."

Yujun checked Paranet's information.

Huh?

He tilted his head.

What is this?