The Great Power of Placebo
This is a chance.
A chance to snag a Hidden Piece legally, with full support, without anyone knowing!
No way… no way this novel-like situation is happening again…!
This time too, Cha Yaeun shouted "Yes" alone when everyone else said "No," trusting the "real Hidden Piece" setup from the novel.
Of course, this wasn't some half-baked resolve born of delusion. She knew full well she could die, and that the novel might just be fiction.
But—
I can't live like this forever, right?
They say life is either a Han River view or the Han River itself. She'd graduated from F-rank and awakened a skill, but she was still living hand-to-mouth. What if she got seriously hurt somewhere down the line? The current situation was proof enough. There was no guarantee she wouldn't get dragged into something like this again, so when the opportunity arose, she decided to bet her life as the chip and take the gamble.
It was a calculated move, a decision made after careful thought.
With buffs and item support from Crimson Guild's elites, she figured she couldn't win but could at least buy time. If it was just playing bait instead of fighting to victory, even an F-rank could manage it.
She'd resolved to die if needed, but Cha Yaeun had no intention of actually dying.
I'll use this as my springboard to leap forward.
She knew it was insane, but the Guardian before her eyes looked like pure "opportunity" to Cha Yaeun—something she couldn't let slip away. What everyone else feared and shunned appeared as her shot at a Hidden Piece.
And how could it not? With the webnovel Lebalheonda unfolding in such eerily similar fashion, who wouldn't believe?
Sure, the details differed. But that was true of the villain incident last time too. Similar events like this had happened not once, but twice now. Once might be coincidence, but twice? No matter how absurd it sounded, dismissing it as "just some ordinary webnovel" was impossible for Cha Yaeun.
Thanks to referencing the novel, she'd already survived once. So this time—
Humans are animals swayed by their own "experiences." To Cha Yaeun, this wasn't madness—it was resolve.
But if she died, it was all meaningless. That was why the other hunters hesitated.
Just buy time. There were buffers and healers, so they could manage somehow. The goal wasn't defeating the Guardian, so even non-high-rankers could do it.
Easy to say, like claiming you'd study liberal arts and sciences to get into Seoul National University. Putting it into practice was another matter entirely.
Still, she'd said she would. She'd made up her mind. So she did it.
With resolve hardened, Cha Yaeun borrowed a shield from a Crimson Guild member and stepped forward, swapping places with Lee Seoryul. Buffs stacked on her body, she faced off against the Guardian.
As if asking "What are you?", the Guardian swung its halberd.
"Ugh!"
As expected from Crimson Guild elites' gear—the shield was top-notch. It blocked an attack that could cleave a mountain.
Even with buffs, the massive impact slammed into Cha Yaeun. Gritting her teeth, she held firm, locking her gaze on it.
She tried to engrave the Guardian's halberd swing into her eyes.
So it puts that much weight into the swing.
The Guardian's foot moved. Left foot first, pressing the ground ever so slightly. Then waist, shoulder, arm—all movements linked organically.
Cha Yaeun barely reacted in time. She blocked the halberd with her shield again. Her arms buzzed numbly from the shock, but she endured.
Thanks to the support fire from behind. Still, the unmitigated force slid her back. Catching her breath, Cha Yaeun felt the urge to flee creeping up.
Even if she'd rolled a moral stat jackpot, Crimson Guild had C-ranks and even B-ranks among the new recruits. The injured veteran vanguards might not fight, but why was an F-rank like her doing this?
Weak thoughts and resentment bubbled up, but Cha Yaeun shook them off.
I'll make it all mine. Like protagonist Kim Min…!
She'd chosen this as her springboard precisely because it was her. Plus… maybe thanks to the buffs, or her high potential, it was surprisingly doable.
The Guardian's attacks weren't simple. No repeated trajectories. But there was a flow. Heavy weapon meant inevitable wind-up motions.
Cha Yaeun strained not to miss those moments, imprinting the Guardian's attacks—no, its demonstration—into her eyes.
The halberd swung again. This time, she tilted the shield slightly. Not blocking head-on, but deflecting the force.
No teacher—just instinct, tips from the novel turned into real combat application.
The impact was definitely less than a direct block, but her deflection was clumsy. Her body spun, nearly toppling, but she barely regained balance. A flush of excitement lit Cha Yaeun's face.
Yes… like this!
She was getting the knack. Her heart raced—not just from fear, but exhilaration at realizing she could do it.
Right now, Cha Yaeun's mind cataloged the Guardian's movements like a textbook with laser focus. Each motion became an explanation-free manual teaching her.
The Guardian closed in. Reflexively, Cha Yaeun backpedaled, shield up.
How long can I hold out?
Honestly, the thrill was real, but realistically, her limits loomed. Blocking a few attacks had pushed an F-rank to the brink.
Buffs and heals forcibly extended it, but… She itched to glance back and check retreat progress.
Frailty screamed to run. But Cha Yaeun endured, suppressing it. For the leap—for soaring to become life's protagonist.
Toward such a Cha Yaeun, the halberd swept wide.
Danger…!
She barely blocked and rolled across the ground. Impact jarred her back; breath caught. Vision shook briefly, but she sprang up. Stopping meant death. Keep moving, eyes on the Guardian.
Next… that angle.
In the back-and-forth, Cha Yaeun gradually slipped into a trance.
This moment wasn't battle or stalling for her. It was growth.
Cha Yaeun was certain: she was learning martial arts right now.
And that belief triggered the placebo effect.
Her desperate blocking began to change. Clumsy, but hints of counterattacks emerged.
Watching, the Crimson Guild members gaped.
"That's… a porter?"
"Two hidden powerhouses pretending to be F-ranks?"
"No, no! That's…! She's growing mid-fight!"
"Real-time combat growth? I thought that was manga stuff—"
"Shut up and support! Block monster moves instead of yapping! More buffs on that girl!"
"Who cares about that, you idiots?! If something happens to her, our guild's rep doesn't just tarnish—it plummets to hell! Keep up the suppression!"
"But if guild master hears… we save face, but we're already dead men…?"
Crimson Guild overflowed with awe.
In truth—it was all illusion.
They say nothing beats real combat for experience. Cha Yaeun's skill Growth Acceleration was working overtime in this life-or-death struggle.
Not some novel-like serendipity.
But sometimes, truth doesn't matter.
Using the monster's motions as a textbook, Cha Yaeun reaped effects like truly receiving martial arts transmission.
Though now, she was truly at her limit.
Even with Crimson Guild support, her stamina drained against the Guardian's murderous strikes. Heals and buffs were like pouring water into a sieve.
But fortunately—
"Duck!"
Just before too late, Lee Seoryul shattered the barrier, shouting as she aided Cha Yaeun.
Cha Yaeun ducked reflexively. A slash whistled over her head, striking the Guardian.
Cracks split its bronze armor; chunks sheared off. The once-impenetrable plate finally broke.
The impact hurled the Guardian into a rubble pile far off.
"Now! Everyone, retreat!"
As if they'd waited for this, they orderly gathered wounded and fled at Lee Seoryul's cry.
Tension released with the end; fatigue crashed over Cha Yaeun, staggering her.
"Ah?"
Lee Seoryul scooped her like luggage under the arm and bolted like a bullet.
Cha Yaeun panicked at the indignity, but now wasn't the time for delicacy.
The Guardian wasn't dead. Proof: it pursued relentlessly.
Shaking off the chase, Lee Seoryul finally escaped, sighing deeply in relief as she set Cha Yaeun down.
"Ugh…."
Hauled at breakneck speed like baggage, Cha Yaeun's head spun from the motion. She collapsed, struggling to regain equilibrium.
"It won't leave the area it guards, so focus on recovery without worry."
No idea the basis, but the confident tone strangely inspired trust.
"Th-thank you…."
Cha Yaeun reflexively bowed. Tension fully gone, she slumped and muttered.
"Gotta send a thank-you note to the author when I get back…."
Author…?
Lee Seoryul, catching her breath, blinked at the words. A forgotten fact resurfaced amid the Guardian chaos.
This woman—that girl from the Blood Demon capture?
She'd wondered, but it was certain. Coincidence?
Yeah, probably.
Poor girl had rotten luck. With that thought, Lee Seoryul turned away.
Impressive, but not the priority now.
Slip away before the confusion invited hassle.
Honestly, it was a major incident. Crimson Guild's core forces and rookies nearly wiped out; a hidden master posing as porter saved them.
Lee Seoryul knew Witch Seo Dami, Crimson Guild master, would make it a huge pain if she learned.
So she slipped out in the gap.
Far from expectations, but satisfactory. Wounded but no deaths; she'd recognized her own shortcomings.
…Maybe investigate her later.
Glancing at the intriguing Cha Yaeun, she quietly departed.
By the time the site report reached Crimson Guild leadership, she was long gone.