Level Up (5)
Level Up (5)
Hoyeon began to subtly lick the corner of her mouth. It wasn't a particularly good habit, but in her beastkin-transformed state, instinct suppressed her reason.
In the end, unable to hold back her excitement, Hoyeon charged first. Her hot head struggled to interpret the mysterious ability Eunha had just shown, while her cool heart prepared to deal with whatever happened calmly.
Her beastkin-transformed movements were now too much for Eunha, who had only just begun learning martial arts, to chase after.
That's why Eunha gave up trying to follow her movements. She didn't need to chase her in the first place. After all, the only thing Hoyeon was aiming for was her own body....
Just like her habit from fighting monsters in the Dungeon, she charged at Hoyeon. It was like throwing herself in front of an oncoming 1-ton truck.
And so, when Hoyeon faltered in surprise instead, the fist she'd practiced hundreds, thousands of times loaded up naturally.
Kkiiik-!
Eunha focused on the sound of the muscles in her body tensing. A moment later, based on her experience, at the instant her muscles reached maximum tension, she relaxed them and exploded her body forward.
All the power she possessed was packed into this one strike.
Seeing that fist, Hoyeon instinctively crouched her body. But that wasn't nearly enough.
The strike completely ignored the physical law that mass equals destructive power and slammed into her solar plexus.
"Keheok!"
Hoyeon exhaled roughly. She immediately used the Tiger Tribe's unique secret technique to steady her breathing.
The process was seamless, without a single waste of motion. It ended before even 0.1 seconds had passed. Then. The fist she'd thrust out millions of times whipped straight out and smashed into Eunha's head.
"Uh-."
Eunha collapsed straight to the floor. At the same time, a intense shock hit Hoyeon's head as well. Coming back to her senses from the impact, Hoyeon realized what she'd done.
'Crazy.'
She had just smashed the head of a guest who said she had no martial arts experience and came to join her dojo.
And in her beastkin-transformed state, no less.
"A-are you okay!?"
"Ugh......"
Even without pain, the damage remained. Eunha realized she couldn't control her body. Her head felt dazed. No strength entered her limbs.
Is this what death feels like?
"Oh no."
Dojin, who had been watching, coldly checked Eunha's condition. Then he immediately hoisted her up.
"W-wait!? You can't handle a patient like that......"
"I'll take her to a doctor I know, so don't worry. We'll come back tomorrow, so think about what to teach her. Oh, and how much is the membership fee?"
"H-huh?"
At Dojin's utterly nonchalant attitude, Hoyeon ended up thinking there really was no problem.
And so, having not only beaten the prospective student until she collapsed but also received money for it, Hoyeon blankly stared at Dojin's retreating back.
The more civilization regresses, the more finicky death becomes.
In ancient or medieval times without proper medical technology, they called losing several liters of blood, getting stabbed by a contaminated weapon, catching some unheard-of disease, or your heart stopping—death.
So Eunha's condition was plenty enough to call it death. If it weren't for the Class President.
"Healing's done......"
Having finished healing with her ability, the Class President staggered as she tried to stand. I quickly grabbed her shoulder to steady her.
"You okay?"
"Thanks, I'm a bit dizzy... Maybe because the injured area was the head?"
"......Isn't that dangerous?"
"I'm fine. You know that. The penalty hits my whole body."
She said that and sat on the edge of the bed where Eunha was sleeping. Her ability was Original Regression. The power to revert the state of objects or living beings a few hours prior.
However, when reverting a living being's time to heal injuries, she takes those injuries divided across her whole body.
In other words, she can't revive the dead, and she can't heal too many injuries at once.
"I know, but...... Well, whatever. If you say you're okay, then you are. Class President."
"......Yeah. I'm fine. Don't worry."
As she said that and lifted her head, the Class President's smile carried some poignant emotion somewhere in it. It was a smile that seemed like it would break if left alone.
I confirmed Eunha still hadn't woken up and sat next to her.
"Weren't you heading out?"
"Nah, suddenly I feel tired too."
"I bet. Aren't you exhausted? I want to help somehow......"
"You doing the healing like this is plenty. Right?"
As I said that, I checked her condition. Even if I do say so myself, I'm pretty good at reading the room. She was pushing herself too hard with something.
'Well, the Class President never splurged or anything.'
Unlike the other three girls who spent money like they were on an overseas vacation rather than dropped into the Otherworld, she holed up alone in her room and quietly passed the time.
She only spent on truly necessary things, and even then, she'd return whatever was left over.
I had no idea what she was doing, but holing up in a room in this world without even the internet couldn't be good for her.
She was slowly eating away at herself to death.
"Class President."
"Yeah? What?"
"......Don't you have anything hard going on?"
"Hard stuff? Nope?"
She said that and smiled brightly. Such a bright smile. She exuded a vitality that made you wonder where on earth that energy came from.
But I knew. She had no outlet for that kind of vitality.
'She's forcing it.'
No dreams, no goals. Just a slowly rotting corpse going through the motions.
To break out of that state, she needed intense stimulation or desperate longing. Things she didn't have at all.
Just as a tree can't grow in the dark on its own power, she needed a sun.
"Class President... I said I'd help with anything, right?"
"Y-yeah? I did say that. Why? Ah, you wanna ask for something naughty? No way."
"Tomorrow. Come down to the Dungeon with us."
"......Huh? Suddenly?"
"Yeah. Get some sun, some fresh air and all that. What do you do at home all day?"
"Ahaha, yeah. Just hanging out at home makes me a total shut-in...... right?"
I carefully told her she had to go down to the Dungeon tomorrow, making sure not to hurt her feelings.
The next day, I told Seoyun that the Class President should come down to the Dungeon with us too.
Seoyun nodded nonchalantly.
"I don't care."
From her perspective, whether we all went down to the Dungeon together or she went alone didn't make much difference. No, if she went alone, she'd have to pick up the Magic Stones by herself, so that might've been a bit inconvenient......
"Then it's settled, we'll all go down today...... Class President?"
"Yeah. What?"
"Ready?"
"Hm, I packed all my gear...... What else do I need?"
"Mentally prepared?"
"Ahaha, that one's been good since last night."
"Then we're good."
Today, she would level up. And with that, all the mind-rotting diseases her brain harbored, including depression and a few other mental illnesses, would be washed away in one go.
Of course, it was close to a kind of spiritual abuse, but she looked that precarious.
"Alright then. Let's head down."
We went straight down to the Dungeon. I observed the Class President as she entered.
On the first day we fell into this world, we witnessed a classmate from our class get murdered. That must've left quite the trauma, PTSD.
And yet, she stepped into the Dungeon without a care. Not because the Dungeon didn't scare her anymore. It meant she was so swamped she had no room to worry about things like that.
I approached Seoyun and whispered in her ear.
"Today, go all out with your ability."
"......Why?"
"So the Class President can level up."
"You know what happens if you overuse your ability, right?"
"......I'll serve you tonight. Madam."
Seoyun smirked at my joke. Thin, invisible cold air stretched out from her whole body like threads.
A moment later, screams mixed with roars echoed from all directions. Goblins' screams. Hearing them, the Class President flinched.
"W-what was that just now?"
"Ignore it."
"But......"
We ignored the screams and pressed upward, ever upward. Higher-floor monsters giving more experience wasn't just a game thing—it applied in reality too.
When we reached the 10th floor, Seoyun scattered her ability wildly without a thought for side effects or rational mana use.
When she reached the point of exhaustion where she couldn't use her ability anymore, she recovered her stamina via the Class President's ability.
Thus, an endless chain of abilities unfolded like infinite power. Even as cold air poured from Seoyun's body, she was sweating so much her whole body was drenched when the Class President let out an exclamation.
"Ah......"
The Class President's eyes, filled with created vigor, brimmed with fighting spirit. It shifted to vigor, to passion, to ecstasy.
The Class President's legs trembled. Feeling orgasmic pleasure from the level up, she hugged her own arms and sank down slightly.
Since it was a familiar sight, we waited for the Class President to recover from the level-up pleasure.
I didn't want to waste even that time and went around picking up the Magic Stones from the fallen Orcs. By the time I'd gathered them all and returned, the fully recovered Class President was waiting for me.
"......Forget everything you just saw."
"What happened?"
At my straight-faced response, the Class President let out a sigh of relief.
Right after the Class President's level up, we had to leave the Dungeon and return to the mansion.
Because Seoyun, our party's main force, insisted strongly on heading back.
"I'm beat. Can't work anymore today."
She glared at me as she said that, and looking into those eyes full of longing, I could easily predict the future I'd face tonight.
'Trouble......'
I checked Seoyun's heat level. With superhuman mental strength, she was holding it at 99.
If she set her mind to it, it could hit 100 any second, and she wouldn't care about onlookers at all as she pounced on me.
We had to get back to the mansion ASAP.
Fortunately, the way back was even faster than the way there. The Class President, who had complained of physical limits on the way up from the Dungeon, had gained considerable stamina from leveling up.
We barely made it back to the mansion, and Seoyun immediately headed to the bathroom saying she'd wash off the sweat. As she did, she signaled me to follow soon after.
Understanding the signal, I nodded and headed to my room to grab a change of clothes. On the way, I spotted Deokgu and the Maid standing in the hallway.
'What? Looks like he finally rescued her......'
I froze when I saw the Maid's face. Because it was a face I knew very well. Deokgu, seeing me standing right there in the middle of the hallway, greeted me lightly.
"Ah, Dojin. You're back early today."
Deokgu smiled and introduced the Slave and Maid he'd hired.
"You know her, right? Charles, the popular waitress from our Inn. Took a lot of effort to hire her."
"Please take care of me."
The familiar-faced blonde Maid was glaring at me from there.