Yelloy Barrier Fortress (8)

Se-jin flinched at the voice that rang out inside her head. Before she could blurt out anything she shouldn't, the voice quickly added:

Se-jin's typically stoic expression cracked for a moment, but she slowly nodded.

She still looked far from convinced, but at least this cut down the odds of my identity being completely blown.

Damn it. If I'd been in human form on the carriage ride to the fortress instead of a fox, I wouldn't have had to reveal myself like this at all.

Of course, I was about to drive them off anyway, so I could have kept quiet if I really wanted to. But there was always the what if.

If I ended up partying with them, my nickname would show whether I liked it or not, and connecting the fox Se-jin had seen back then with how I looked now wouldn't take much. She'd already known that fox wasn't an ordinary one.

If Se-jin said something strange and the other two started getting suspicious too, things would get several times messier.

I clicked my tongue under my breath and, arms crossed, turned to Ho-jin.

"In any case, the two of us shall suffice for the forest. You are not needed."

"With a surprise event stacked on top of nighttime, I don't think just the two of you will manage. Wouldn't five be better than two?"

Ho-jin said this while showing off a shield nearly as large as his own body. In answer, I conjured fox-fire behind my back.

"A mage? At that level?"

"Do you understand now? Why I said you were not needed."

"Hmm..."

Ho-jin let out a small groan and scratched his head.

"...Still, won't it be tough? Even if you're a mage, tossing a few Fireballs isn't enough for safe, sustained hunting."

"That is hardly any of your concern, is it?"

"Well, that's true..."

This is a bust, Ho-jin muttered, then let out a long sigh.

"Um, could you lean in for a second...?"

"I refuse. Why should I put my ear to some man?"

"I have something to say, that's why — I have something to say..."

"I have nothing I wish to hear."

"Choco, come on, let's hear him out. He's begging that earnestly, yeah?"

"Whose side are you on?"

I stared at Yeon in disbelief as she suddenly took Ho-jin's side.

Yeon fidgeted, then mumbled in a voice so small it barely crawled out of her throat.

"But watching an adult who looks older than me keep bowing his head like that... it's hard to look at..."

"Kh..."

Ho-jin clutched his chest at Yeon's entirely innocent remark, swallowing back tears.

"I'm... not that old..."

Poor guy. I clicked my tongue and looked him over.

The man was only twenty-three — a fresh-faced youth who hadn't even done his military service — but unfortunately he had one of those faces. You could easily take him for someone in his thirties.

Even I had been shocked the first time I heard his age. I was an adult now, but I hadn't been back then. And his face hadn't changed a bit since.

I glanced at the now-dejected Ho-jin and let out a small sigh.

"Haa... Fine. I shall hear what you have to say."

"Thank you..."

Ho-jin sniffled, composed his expression, and leaned in close to my ear.

"Do you happen to know the username DefenseIsInSeason?"

"I do not."

"That's my main. Level 400, and I'm a fairly high-ranking player. This is the alt."

I already knew that, but I couldn't let it show. I kept my face as neutral as I could manage.

"And how am I supposed to believe that? There is no way to verify it."

"You're on an alt too, aren't you? Learning Fireball costs five hundred thousand gold — there's no way you farmed that at this level. Let's help each other out, alt to alt. Events like this don't come around often, you know?"

"This is not an alt."

"What? Then how did you..."

"Skillfully."

I don't owe you an explanation that far, my expression said, and Ho-jin's face soured. Of course, he was the one in a hurry, not me, so I spoke at my leisure.

"If that is all you had to say, may we be on our way? I should like to hunt and gain some levels before night ends."

"Wait, wait. How about I give you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a million gold? On the condition that if we die, we leave the party on our own."

"I already told you, money is of no concern..."

We were still going back and forth when it happened.

"Huh?"

"Eh?"

Ho-jin and I both blinked at the system window that had suddenly appeared before our eyes. Then, as if on cue, we turned to look at Yeon.

"Ah, haha... so, um..."

Yeon, who had somehow ended up next to Se-jin, gave an awkward laugh, then winked at me and called out.

"Sorry! Se-jin unnie asked me to, so I just—!"

"What..."

"Nice one, Cute!"

At Ho-jin's words, Se-jin — her face still completely expressionless — made a tiny V-sign.

I stared at that, dumbfounded, then immediately turned my gaze on Yeon. Unlike a moment ago, my eyes were blazing, and Yeon flinched the instant they met hers.

"C-Choco?"

"...Yeon. Did I not tell you? We would not accept a party if we could help it."

"Y-you did..."

"And the moment I look away, you let a party in on your own...?"

"I honestly didn't think it would actually go through!"

What kind of nonsense was that? I thought, about to punish Yeon, when something occurred to me and I turned to Ho-jin.

"You lot — who is the party leader?"

"Well, that would be me... wait, no. If I were, the merge wouldn't have gone through."

"That's me."

Se-jin raised her hand slightly as she spoke.

"It was Ho-jin at first, but after we died and logged back in, I formed a party with Blue Sky while we were waiting for him."

That explained everything. Parties could merge if the two leaders agreed, without needing consent from the other members. That was why I'd assumed Ho-jin was the leader and had been talking to him this whole time.

But as it turned out, it wasn't Ho-jin — it was Se-jin. And Se-jin had sweet-talked Yeon into letting them join just like that.

"C-Choco...?"

Should I scold her or not? I held Yeon's arm, deliberating for a moment, then sighed and let my shoulders slump. She'd been tricked because she didn't know any better. Chewing her out for that wouldn't be very adult of me.

Instead, I glared at Se-jin and Ho-jin.

"You lot may follow if you wish. I shall not lift a finger to help you."

"Yes, sir! We'll do our best!"

I gave the playfully answering Ho-jin the nastiest look I could muster, then led Yeon toward the forest.

Thinking, all the while, that I'd just gotten saddled with a bunch of experience thieves.

"Kraaagh!"

A fireball dropped into the charging pack of kobolds and exploded. The single blast erased one Enhanced Kobold Warrior from existence without a trace, and left the two nearby kobolds half-dead.

But it wasn't just one fireball. Two more dropped in succession, and the pack of five Enhanced Kobold Warriors was wiped out clean.

So that's why she was so confident.

It was a pattern that had already repeated several times. Whenever a pack of Enhanced Kobolds — their aggro range widened — came near, fireballs bloomed from Choco and dropped straight onto their heads. She picked them off before they could even close the distance, so Ho-jin and the other three never even needed to draw their swords.

This is just... we're not even getting carried at this point.

Ho-jin thought this with a distinctly sour look. He'd wanted to tag along because Yeon's party was the only one heading into a forest ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hit by both a surprise event and nighttime, but he hadn't planned on being hauled along this hard. The idea had been to take it slow, grind the relatively low-level Enhanced Kobolds together, level up, and then try the boss.

The problem was that this high school girl named Choco was stronger than expected. Sure, it was convenient — they could level up easily without swinging a sword. But they'd muscled their way into a party that hadn't wanted them in the first place, using connections. Just standing around like this felt a little... awkward.

Then again, if we offer to take the lead, she'll probably say "perfect" and shove us straight into the monsters.

She was the smallest person here, and yet she was the coldest by far. Her face was cute enough, but it felt like there was a beast living inside.

"Hoo..."

Along with the now-familiar level-up chime, Choco — walking at the front — let out a long sigh.

"Getting tired?"

"I am growing somewhat weary. Five more times, and I shall reach my limit."

The "five more times" Choco mentioned wasn't how many spells she could cast — it was how many more kobold packs she could handle. Ho-jin stared at her, unable to make sense of someone who said something that outrageous so casually.

He was starting to wonder if the magic Choco was using was even the Fireball he knew. As far as he understood, Fireball was something a seasoned mage could use like a basic attack — but a player who'd only just hit level twenty-four shouldn't be able to spam it like that.

Even if she'd learned Fireball from level one and dumped every stat into Magic Power, it still shouldn't be possible.

And besides, Fireballs aren't that small.

What Choco was using felt like she'd taken a regular Fireball and cut it down to size. If a normal Fireball was a soccer ball, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hers were baseballs. And yet they hit even harder.

Strength that doesn't match her level... don't tell me it's a hidden class?!

The thought flashed through Ho-jin's mind, and then he snorted at himself.

A hidden class! That was the kind of term you'd only find in old game-fantasy novels.

Al Fantasia had been out for nearly seven years, and not even a hint of a hidden class had ever surfaced. Players had uncovered countless secret areas and new dungeons, but nothing like that had ever been found.

Ho-jin chuckled at the absurdity of his own idea.

What's he suddenly laughing about...

Blue Sky, watching from behind, muttered this to himself and let out a heavy sigh.

Why am I even here...

Honestly, after dying, he hadn't planned on logging back in. By the time the death penalty wore off it would be the crack of dawn, and he was still a student — he needed to get ready for tomorrow.

But somehow, ending the party like that felt like a waste. After a lot of thinking, he'd logged back in the moment the penalty lifted.

Not that that was the only reason.

Blue Sky snuck a glance at Pretty Cute, walking a little ways off to the side. As if sensing his gaze, a pair of blue eyes turned his way. Blue Sky snapped his head forward as if he'd never been looking at all.

"?"

Pretty Cute tilted her head, then lost interest and looked away again. Blue Sky watched this out of the corner of his eye and let out a small sigh.

Honestly, it was also his first time being around a girl this pretty, so yes — he was a little thrilled. They didn't talk much, but there was a saying for that, wasn't there?

A work of art fulfills the heart just by being looked at...

If this were real life, I wouldn't even get to be near someone like her.

Blue Sky thought this and let his shoulders slump for no real reason. Yeah — it was only because this was a game that he could even be here with her.

"Hold."

"What now..."

Choco, walking at the front, came to a stop. Blue Sky, still lost in his gloomy daydream, was about ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to snap something when—

Shwick— A sound split the air. Blue Sky turned toward the sudden noise, and—

"Wh—"

Found himself staring at an arrowhead that had already closed to right in front of his face.