Even Hana Falls for the Reaper's Walk

After finishing the mutant hunt, we returned.

"Good work, Hana."

"Yeah." Hana let out a heavy sigh. She looked pretty drained.

"Suhyuk, thank you."

"Huh? Out of nowhere?"

"After this raid, I realized all over again how much you've devoted yourself this whole time."

Huh? Me, devoted? I don't remember doing anything like that.

"Wasn't it hard and burdensome when you helped with my growth?"

No, honestly it was just fun. It made me think, So this is what raising a newbie feels like. Plus, Hana's reactions were so entertaining that I enjoyed it.

"Hana, you understand me…."

I put on a desperate performance. The lonely, forlorn man who desperately needed comfort. Now, Hana! This is your cue to hug me!

Hana approached with a look of pity on her face.

"Of course… But why are you smiling?"

"I'm smiling because I'm happy. Because you understand me."

"That smile looks suspicious for something like that, though?"

Tsk. This is exactly why sharp ones are annoying. I fixed my expression again, but—

"This guy is reading the mood and messing with me!"

It was already too late.

"Why? I was just matching the atmosphere."

Chop chop chop! It hurts, damn it, it hurts! Still, it hurt less than I expected. As expected of the stamina stat. In fact, it almost felt good.

I smoothly slipped away from the pleasant but persistent touch. Hana struck my afterimage and froze in surprise.

"Ah?! What the—?"

Reaper's Walk only applies to hostile targets. So I played a little prank to test whether I could apply it to allies as well.

Guess it worked.

When I consciously treated her as an enemy, it activated.

"Huh? Suhyuk, where did you go?"

I was right behind Hana. I moved in perfect sync with the moment she turned her head. To her, neither my footsteps nor my presence would register at all.

Heh heh heh.

A chuckle slipped out. When she couldn't find me no matter where she looked, she even tilted her head up toward the sky. How thorough.

"Did I hit you too hard and you got buried in the ground?"

That doesn't even make sense.

"Maybe you went home?"

I secretly poked Hana's back with my finger.

Poke.

No reaction, as expected.

Huh? This…

A brilliant idea suddenly flashed through my mind. But I quickly shook my head and erased it. I didn't want to die just yet.

I sat down on the bench and removed Hana from my list of hostile targets.

"Hana."

"Ah?! Why are you there?"

I now clearly understood how to adjust the skill's range.

"You definitely weren't there a second ago?"

"Heh heh heh. Hana, you're still far from mastering this."

"Ugh! How did you do that?"

As expected, Hana's reactions were delicious.

"Who knows?"

Even if I didn't tell her right away, she'd figure it out soon enough.

"Is it that skill you said you obtained last time?"

"That's right."

"It really suits you, Suhyuk."

"Doesn't it?"

It also paired perfectly with Random Tower Summon.

"Yeah, the way it pisses people off is very you."

"Kk kk kk."

While we joked around, her exhausted expression melted into a smile. As expected, Hana looked best when she was smiling.

"By the way, what were you doing?"

"I helped Chaei. She needs to start building up real combat experience too."

"Oh, I see!"

Huh? Why did she suddenly look dissatisfied?

"What's wrong?"

"What do you mean?"

The way she was grumbling made it obvious she was pretending to be upset. But I couldn't figure out why. In that case, I should strike first. I'd pretend to be upset myself!

"Hmph!"

"This is ridiculous. Suhyuk, why are you acting like that?"

She even whipped her head away.

"What?"

"Why are you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠upset?"

So she really was sulking. At Hana's question, I glanced at her for a second before turning away sharply again.

"This is seriously ridiculous!"

"Don't you know why I'm upset?"

"Why are you upset?"

"You don't understand my heart."

Hana opened and closed her mouth, completely dumbfounded. You try it too. See how confusing it is when someone pretends to be mad without giving a reason.

"Ugh!"

Hana glared at me with an annoyed expression.

"Are you going to hit me?"

"Yes!"

Before she could reach out, I left an afterimage and moved behind her.

"Where did you go this time?!"

"Was my prank too much? Sorry, sorry."

I apologized in advance before she could hit me.

Slap!

But in the end, she still smacked my back. If the skinship was like this, I didn't entirely mind.

Just then Chaei walked over. She was carrying her sword, so she must have come out to practice.

"Chaei, save me!"

Instead of rescuing me, Chaei stopped in her tracks. Why? Her face was bright red. Did she catch a cold or something? Then she turned around and ran away.

"Why is Chaei acting like that?"

"Suhyuk, you did something weird again, didn't you?"

"I didn't!"

This time I was genuinely wronged.

"Then why did Chaei run away?"

"Run away? She probably just forgot to turn off the lights."

The suspicious look in Hana's eyes didn't disappear. I was innocent!

"So how exactly did you help Chaei?"

"I didn't really do much. I just helped her gain experience safely. The same way I helped you."

"Tsk. If that's how it is, you should've taken me along too."

"We had to go mutant hunting with the raid leaders this time."

Hana knew that perfectly well; she was just saying it anyway. Was the raid really that difficult? She ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠just had to do it like usual.

"Since we're talking about it, want to go together now?"

"Can we?!"

Hana's eyes sparkled. So it really had been hard.

"Then I'll call Chaei."

"Okay."

I sent a remote command. Chaei, can you come back?

After waiting a little while, Chaei approached hesitantly, her face still flushed red.

"Chaei, did something happen?" Hana asked, full of concern.

"N-no?!"

Chaei glanced at me. No, Chaei. Why are you looking at me right now?!

"Did Suhyuk do something to you?!"

"I'm wronged! I'm completely innocent!"

Regardless of my innocence, Chaei's face grew even redder.

"Suhyuk, you little—!"

"Sister, oppa didn't do anything."

"Really? Maybe you caught a cold?"

"No, I didn't catch anything. I'm perfectly fine!"

Hana. Is this real life? You didn't believe me, but the moment Chaei said one word, you completely changed your attitude?

"Chaei, can I watch you fight the zombies too?"

"Yeah! It'd be even better if sister watches! I want to see sister fight too!"

"Alright, alright! I'll give you a demonstration!"

The two of them were over the moon. Was I just going to be forgotten again?

"Chaei, if it's too hard, don't push yourself."

"It's okay, oppa…."

Why was she avoiding my eyes? That only made her look more suspicious.

Hana hugged Chaei and shot me a glare.

"Suhyuk, you're forbidden from speaking to Chaei today."

"Where's that rule even from?!"

Inside Hana's arms, Chaei kept sneaking glances at me. But the moment our eyes met, she looked away again. What the hell was going on?!

Even inside the moving car, Chaei kept glancing over. Even though she was right beside me, I observed it all through Territory Control.

Why is she avoiding my eyes?

She wasn't like this during the zombie hunt.

Was the zombie hunt the problem? I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

"Then I'll show you a demonstration first."

"Yeah."

Hana went first.

"Chaei, this must be your first time seeing Hana fight zombies, right?"

"Yeah."

The skills were different, but it would still be helpful for Chaei. Besides, the two of them had a lot in common, so there would be plenty to learn just by watching.

Both had been martial arts athletes, and both mainly used swords. They were both beautiful, too.

Slide. I felt a tug and looked down to see Chaei holding onto my sleeve. It reminded me of when she had still been a zombie.

"What is it?"

"Nothing."

She said nothing, but she didn't let go. Her eyes stayed fixed on Hana's movements.

Tap tap— Stab! Tap—

The combos flowed as smoothly as if she were copying Hana exactly. Even Chaei looked surprised.

"I want to fight like sister!"

Hmm. Unfortunately, that wouldn't be easy. Chaei didn't have a skill tree. At least not yet.

"You'll be able to someday."

"Yeah…."

Chaei seemed to understand and drooped a little.

"How was it, Chaei?"

"Sister, you were so cool!"

The two of them held hands and squealed with excitement. They really looked like close sisters.

"This time I'll give it a try?"

"Yes, Chaei, fighting! Don't get nervous!"

"Got it."

Shing— The moment she raised her sword, Chaei's entire aura changed. She became as cold and composed as a single sharp blade.

Tap tap tap.

Until now she had stood still and waited for the zombies to come to her. But this time Chaei charged forward first.

In truth, swinging a sword while running wasn't easy. The movements were difficult and the blade tip shook easily. That was what made Hana so impressive. How much blood and sweat had she shed to achieve that insane level of precision?

Even Hana's finishing move was a lunge—stopping and thrusting. But if Chaei tried to slash while running like this—

Slash—

She split the zombie's abdomen in one fluid motion, like a watercolor painting. Even the scattering droplets of blood became paint that decorated the scene.

She had clearly aimed for the neck at first. But with the arm extended, hitting the neck was awkward. So the movement shifted smoothly, as if she'd intended it from the beginning, and carved through the waist instead.

"Wow! Chaei, that was seriously cool!"

"It really was."

"You were the only one who got to see that cool scene, Suhyuk?!"

She glared at me with jealous eyes. I looked down at her with a winner's smile. You should've treated me better.

"Yesterday you abandoned me and went on a date with just the two of you, right? Today I got to date Chaei. Heh heh heh!"

"Ugh!"

When I imitated her, she got so annoyed that she slapped my shoulder repeatedly.

Chop chop chop.

Yes, give me a massage to your heart's content. Since I was wearing the rampaging beast's hide, it didn't hurt at all.

"Sister, how was I?" Chaei asked with sparkling, expectant eyes.

"You were really, really cool!"

Now they were hugging each other and spinning ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in circles, making a huge fuss. What on earth had they talked about yesterday to get this close?

Chaei's zombie hunting continued. At first there were only one or two. But the numbers gradually increased. Even when she faced three or four at the same time, her movements never faltered. Each slash reliably neutralized one zombie.

When the count exceeded ten, she started using the terrain to her advantage as she cut them down.

At this speed, she'll grow fast.

The only shame was that she lacked a movement skill. If she had one, she'd become much stronger. Still, I couldn't let her learn just any skill. At the very least, it had to match the nature of swordsmanship.

Rare and powerful passive skill books are seriously expensive.

Regular passive skill books were far cheaper than active ones. But anything above the Bash level was worth its weight in gold. They existed to nurture promising raid prospects. Sometimes even the veterans would delete their characters and restart just to learn ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠them.

Since you could create up to three characters per server, if you obtained one early, there was no reason to hesitate.

I guess I'll have to get it myself.

There probably weren't any on the market. It was rare even in the game—how much rarer would it be in reality? If it was better than the skill they'd awakened, anyone would learn it the moment they obtained it. I know I would.

Skill books started dropping from mutants at minimum. But even then, the drop rate was extremely low.

Still, there was a way. Dungeons had been added in the patch. If we went around hunting dungeon bosses, we could get as many as we wanted. Surely some of them would be suitable for Chaei.

And while we were at it, if we actively used the Altar to gain permanent stat and skill points?

Good. Shall we head out tomorrow?