Raising Lee Hana
The sun was setting as I wrapped up the battle.
"Everyone head back and get some rest."
"Yes!"
Their faces were all drenched in exhaustion, but the gloomy atmosphere from yesterday was gone. They finally felt like they could handle this.
"Second-class residents, clean up the zombie corpses."
The waiting residents hauled the zombie bodies over to the altar.
"Raid Leader."
I was about to head back when Lee Geonwu approached with Lee Hana.
"What's up?"
"Could I get some advice on Hana's skill tree?"
"You're a WAW player too, aren't you?"
"Honestly, I didn't play that much. Plus her skills are a bit... unusual."
Just how unusual were they?
"What's her first skill?"
"It's called Deadly Pierce," Lee Hana said, stepping closer. A refreshing scent of shampoo wafted over. She'd finished off the zombies with such clean thrusts that almost no blood had splattered on her.
She really is beautiful.
I set my appreciation aside and focused on the skill. Deadly Pierce was something I'd never heard of before. Was this an updated skill too?
"And it says it's a passive."
"Your first skill is a passive?"
"Yes."
It wasn't unheard of for the first skill to be a passive, but those characters were usually called trash. Passive skill starts were basically reserved for completely rotten builds. Most players would immediately delete their character and start over if their first skill was a passive. Early-game passives were practically useless.
The reason people usually started with active skills was simple: the mana cost came with real power. It let them safely get through the dangerous early stages. Passives also tended to have a lot of conditions attached. Thrust-type skills wouldn't activate at all with weapons that couldn't thrust, for example.
Of course, they weren't all downsides.
The ceiling is definitely higher. Those rotten builds don't start with passives for nothing.
If you could just survive the dangerous early game, the high point was guaranteed. Besides, the character in the game and Lee Hana were different. Her body movements were on another level from a normal person.
She'd already proven it in real combat. Zombies weren't even worth her time. With just a little support from me, she'd get strong fast.
While I was calculating in my head, Lee Hana showed me the options.
Deadly Pierce
Lv. 3
⦁ Passive
⦁ When striking a vital point accurately, ignores the target's defense.
Her passive was incredibly strong for a first passive skill.
Defense ignore? She's going to become a real monster.
It didn't mean much against zombies right now, but it was a skill that would shine more and more as time went on.
First, I needed to check her level.
"What level are you right now?"
"Level 5."
The veteran raid members were around level 4 or 5 too. Her level wasn't particularly outstanding within the raid.
The veterans got field boss experience, after all.
But Lee Hana had reached level 5 through regular combat alone. In terms of pure combat experience, she was overwhelming.
"Have you played WAW before?"
"No. Only my brother did."
She'd never played WAW, yet she was already at the top of the level rankings. This is going to be fun to raise.
Back on Server 1, my playstyle had never involved raising anyone. This seemed like a good chance to try raising Lee Hana.
"Then what's your skill tree?"
"Um... Fencing Arts, Physique, and Discipline."
"Fencing Arts?"
I hadn't expected that. It was surprising enough that a Fencing Arts skill tree tab even existed, but what were the odds that a fencer would awaken it?
Or maybe it awakens according to the person's talent?
Characters in WAW were generic. But in reality, perhaps awakening skills changed based on individual traits.
Come to think of it, that auntie was really good at cooking too.
It all fit together. I'd rolled the gacha in the game, so I was an exception, but it probably didn't apply to everyone. Lee Geonwu was built like a gym trainer but had only gotten Bash, after all. Maybe she had just gotten really lucky.
"How did you spend your skill points?"
"I haven't spent any yet. My brother stopped me."
"Good call."
Better than picking randomly and ending up with a trash character. It was honestly impressive that a newbie had survived this long without spending any skill points.
"The basics for close-combat skill trees are simple. First, take actives that let you attack, defend or evade, and move."
"Then should I take Fente for the attack skill?"
"Yeah."
I'd heard the term Fente a lot while watching fencing matches. It was the motion of extending the body and arm in a lunge to thrust. For defense, I had her take Parry, the skill that deflects an opponent's attack. Since I wasn't familiar with fencing terms, I listened to her explanation and made recommendations. Taking Parry would also let her learn the follow-up Riposte later.
"What movement skills do you have?"
"I have Marche and Retraite, which mean forward step and backward step."
"Hmm, take both."
It was a shame they were split into separate skills for forward and backward, but at least they were actives that didn't consume mana. That was some consolation.
"After that, you should invest in Physique or Discipline."
Physique improved physical abilities. Discipline was a passive-heavy skill tree. Both were solid choices.
"Since mana is scarce in the early game anyway, focusing only on actives is more efficient."
She could take more actives later once she had items that increased her maximum mana.
"How did you spend your stat points?"
"I haven't spent any of those either."
Whoa. She massacred zombies without spending any stat points?
It was truly astonishing. The difference between an elite athlete and a normal person was that big. Stats only affected skills, but when the gap was this large, the story changed. Not every movement could be turned into a skill, after all.
"Put 1 into Strength, 2 into Agility, and 1 into Stamina. After that, invest in whatever you feel you're lacking."
"Got it."
Her lips were pressed tight in concentration, eyes staring into empty space. Even that looked like the heroine of a youthful romance drama. And that woman was out there slaughtering zombies.
"How is this possible? It feels like my body is flying!"
"Just don't actually fly, okay?"
Lee Hana bounced around in every direction. With that physique plus the stats, just how strong would she become?
"That's it for today. Ask me again later if you have more questions."
"Thanks for teaching me."
"Thank you for looking at Hana's skill tree."
"Sure. Good work. Go get some rest now."
As I turned to leave, Lee Hana called out to stop me.
"By the way, how old are you, Raid Leader?"
"Why do you want to know?"
"You look young but you're speaking casually... so. Hehe."
I didn't sense any real malice, but why so suddenly?
"Hey, what are you doing! I'm sorry. That was rude."
"It's fine. You can speak comfortably."
"Huh?"
I had never demanded polite speech from anyone. I simply didn't use it with people who didn't deserve the respect. And since Lee Geonwu and Lee Hana were clearly around my age, I'd spoken casually.
"Is that really okay?" Lee Hana asked, only poking her head out from behind her brother who was blocking her.
"You really—!"
Lee Geonwu looked unusually cautious.
"What's your name?"
"Kim Suhyuk."
Lee Hana had no reservations.
"Suhyuk, how old are you?"
"Twenty-two."
"I'm older then? So you should call me—"
Whoosh! Lee Geonwu grabbed her clothes and bowed his head.
"I'm sorry. Can we leave now?"
"Sure."
Lee Geonwu glared at his sister with a deeply furrowed expression.
"Suhyuk-ah, Nuna's going now!"
But Lee Hana paid him no mind. I waved back at her as she waved enthusiastically.
"Hey! Do you even realize what you just did?"
"What did I do? I didn't say anything wrong."
The siblings continued bickering even as they walked away.
Thud. Thud.
As I passed the apartment shelter, Han Chaei was knocking on the wall again.
How does she always know?
I'd barely made any sound with my footsteps. There was no way she could react to just my presence.
Since I'm here, should I check on Han Chaei too?
Click.
The moment I opened the door—
"Kuuup!"
Squeeze.
Han Chaei threw herself into my arms.
"There, there. I know, let's go inside."
I walked in with Han Chaei clinging tightly to me.
"Hmm. I wonder if Han Chaei awakened some special skill too?"
If she had, that would be perfect. Once I fed her the cure and turned her back into a human, she'd become my slave.
I could raise her and use her as a bodyguard.
She could guard Auntie Yeonhee too. Though the towers were already keeping watch, so extra guards weren't really necessary.
Either way, during the second wave—
"Kup!"
Han Chaei grabbed at my neck as if demanding my attention. It only tickled because of my gloves.
"Hold still."
I pinned her in a back hug and sat her down.
Slide.
Today as well, I slipped my hand inside her clothes to check if her heart was beating.
"Yeah, still nothing."
Squeeze. Squeeze.
I'd confirmed it, but I didn't bother pulling my hand out.
"Oh, now I'm curious."
I wondered if Han Chaei's nipples would get hard right now. Pure curiosity. I gently rolled her nipple between my fingertips to stimulate it.
"Oh, for real?"
As I persistently teased it, the nipple gradually swelled and hardened.
This is exactly how a living person's body reacts.
Zombies were becoming more and more incomprehensible. Regardless, I didn't stop massaging her breasts. Zombie or not, a breast was a breast.
When is she going to hit level 10?
Enjoying the soft sensation of Han Chaei's breasts, I checked my status window.
"This..."
My stat points had increased by one more.
Is this the altar's influence?
To think it even gave stat points. The altar was definitely an overpowered skill.
I need to hit level 10 soon.
I decided to hold off on using my skill points. The hidden parts of the skill tree might unlock at level 10.
After playing with Han Chaei for a while, I returned home. After washing up, the sharp smell of kimchi stew filled the air.
"You worked hard again today. You must be hungry. Come sit down quickly."
"Thank you, Auntie. Wow, that smells amazing."
My eyes unconsciously drifted to the pure white thighs visible beneath the table. When I looked up, Auntie was smiling at me with eyes that said she knew exactly what I was thinking.
Was it just my imagination, or had her seductiveness grown even stronger lately?