Yelloy Barrier Fortress (10)

They'd managed to put down the kobold pack that had ambushed them, but hunting any further was out of the question. Choco, their heaviest hitter, had completely run dry of mana and couldn't so much as lift a finger — and on top of that, the main shield Ho-jin had been tanking with had shattered. He had spares, sure, but they were mostly the small kind you strapped to a forearm, nowhere near substantial enough. In short, they were in no condition to keep going.

Ho-jin suggested heading back to the fortress to regroup, and nobody in the party objected. And so they were now making their way back.

Still, it wasn't all bad.

When the ambush first hit, Ho-jin had been feeling pretty pessimistic. Aside from Choco — their only mage — the remaining four weren't exactly a dream team. Half of them were either unproven or just plain weak.

Blue Sky's raw skill was average at best, but the real problem was that he had no initiative and even less confidence. He'd rather wait for orders than take action on his own, which meant he couldn't even bring his full ability to bear in a situation like this.

As for Yeon, Ho-jin had honestly written her off as a passenger — one of those players who latched onto Choco and coasted to easy levels. That was why he'd originally planned to send her after the kobold archers: to draw their attention by any means necessary while he, Pretty Cute, and Blue Sky dealt with the main force. It was basically treating her as a sacrificial pawn, but he'd figured it was their best shot.

That assessment hadn't lasted long.

At this rate, we might actually be able to fight with just the four of us — without leaning on magic at all.

Yeon's ability had blown his expectations out of the water. The way she moved put even Pretty Cute — the one he'd rated as an actual skilled player — to shame. Ho-jin had rubbed shoulders with plenty of high-rankers and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠seen all kinds of things, but he could count on one hand the people who'd ever wielded a sword as naturally as Yeon.

No matter how you look at it, these two aren't newbies.

With that thought still turning over in his ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mind, Ho-jin clapped his hands in front of the fortress gates — which they'd somehow already reached — and gathered everyone's attention.

"Alright, everyone, great work out there! Let's take about thirty minutes to rest up, then meet back here at the gates!"

"Um, would it be okay if I sat this one out?"

"Huh? You're leaving?"

Ho-jin stared in surprise at Blue Sky, who had timidly raised his hand. And for good reason — parties this stable, this easy to level with, were few and far between at their current stage. They might even take down a boss and walk away with a massive reward if things went well. Walking away from that was a decision Ho-jin simply couldn't wrap his head around.

But Blue Sky's next words left him with no choice but to concede.

"Well... I've got school..."

"Ah..."

It had already been the crack of dawn when they'd logged back in. Now that the hunt was over, it went without saying. Any ordinary student should have been asleep hours ago, getting ready for morning classes.

Ho-jin hesitated for a moment, then spoke.

"This might be out of line, but... couldn't you just sleep at school?"

"...Excuse me?"

"I'm not trying to pressure you. I just think it'd be a real waste. Being in this party right now is a huge opportunity."

They had a mage — something you almost never saw at low levels — plus a current high-ranker keeping their identity under wraps, and two more players who could reasonably be called skilled for their level bracket. If Ho-jin were in Blue Sky's shoes, he'd skip school for a day just to stay in a party this stacked. Walking away from this to go sleep was, as a gamer, leaving a fortune on the table.

But Blue Sky just shook his head.

"Honestly, I wasn't even going to log back in after I died the first time. I'm just... exhausted. I want to call it here."

"Well, if that's how it is... we'll catch you next time, then."

"Yeah. See you."

With that, Blue Sky logged out. Ho-jin clicked his tongue, thinking what a waste it was — then suddenly remembered that Choco and Yeon were around the same age, and turned toward them.

"Come to think of it, you two are students as well, aren't you?"

"Oh, I'm fine. Choco too."

Yeon said this while piggybacking a groaning, mana-depleted Choco. It was a little strange that she didn't elaborate, but Ho-jin decided not to press and turned to Pretty Cute instead.

"What about you, Cute? Planning to keep going?"

"Yes. And I have something I need to talk to Yeon about. Right?"

"Huh? Talk about what?"

Yeon's eyes went wide at Pretty Cute's words.

Well, those three did seem to know each other even before we formed the party.

"Alright then — whoever needs to repair their gear, go do that. Whoever needs rest, rest up. We'll meet back at the gates."

"Alright. Yeon? Shall we?"

"Ah — y-yes..."

Watching the three of them disappear in the same direction, Ho-jin felt a vague, inexplicable sense of being left out.

"This really feels like I'm getting iced out..."

If Blue Sky had still been around, they could've at least stuck together as the guys. But with him logged out, Ho-jin was the lone man left standing. He smacked his lips in resignation and headed for the equipment shop.

Back at the soldiers' barracks, Yeon laid the groaning Choco down on the bed. Her color looked a lot better than it had when she'd first collapsed from mana depletion, at least.

God, that really scared me...

One second she'd been saying she still had plenty left in the tank, and the next she'd just crumpled. Yeon's heart had nearly stopped. She stroked Choco's hair as the fox girl let out a slow, shallow breath.

"Still hurting?"

"A little. Still, this one has recovered considerably..."

Choco mumbled in a feeble voice.

Mana depletion. Or perhaps, at this point, it was more accurate to call it spirit power depletion.

As far as she knew, hitting mana depletion normally came with a brief spell of light dizziness and a penalty that slowed mana recovery. The dizziness faded quickly, but the recovery penalty stuck around until your mana was completely refilled. What Choco was going through now was similar — and yet completely different.

Regular mana depletion never ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠left you this limp. At worst, you got a little dizzy for a second and that was it. This was dizziness plus a body that had absolutely no strength left in it, like she'd scraped every last drop of vitality she used to move and burned it all. Her situation was different from everyone else's, so maybe that explained it. But Choco didn't think that was the whole story. There had to be something she didn't know about yet.

Still, I should take it easier next time.

She'd never planned to hunt hard enough to drain her spirit power this completely. She'd told Yeon she could go five more rounds, but the truth was she'd left enough in reserve for two more on top of that. As she'd already noted, hitting mana depletion slowed your recovery rate, so of course she'd held some back. Unless you were planning to log out the second the hunt ended, you always left a buffer and paced your skills if you wanted to hunt efficiently.

The only reason she'd hit spirit power depletion anyway was pure meddling.

When that arrow had come flying at Blue Sky — that clueless kid — Choco had spotted it a fraction of a second before everyone else. Not enough time to shout a warning and get him out of the way, though. Blocking it had been the only option. Of course, if she hadn't saved him, it wouldn't have cost her a thing. He was the one who'd butted into a party that would've been just fine with only her and Yeon. Thanks to that, the experience that should've been split two ways was being carved into fifths, and her growth had slowed accordingly. On top of that, Choco had been doing all the actual hunting while the other three just tagged along. From her perspective, they were basically parasites. Losing even one of them would've been a welcome development.

And yet Choco had pulled up her spirit power and thrown a barrier over Blue Sky's face.

Of course, her lack of proficiency meant it hadn't fully blocked the hit — just enough to keep him from dying — and the reckless expenditure had completely wiped out what spirit power she'd had left.

Next time I stick my nose where it doesn't belong, I'll remember this.

"You sit here too, Se-jin unnie."

At Yeon's words, Choco opened her eyes and looked at Se-jin, who had taken a seat at the bedside. Right. That one was here too.

"So this is a place you can just walk into."

"Weird, right? We didn't know at first either."

"Yeah. It is strange."

Yeon giggled, and Se-jin smiled faintly in return. They looked for all the world like a pair of close sisters. But the moment passed, and Se-jin wiped the smile from her face as she turned to Choco.

"So. Are you going to tell me now?"

"Come to think of it, you said you had something to talk about. What did you mean?"

"Choco knows exactly what I mean."

"Thou wouldst not even grant this one a moment's rest."

Yeon tilted her head, clearly lost, but Choco just waved a dismissive hand. Then she dropped her transformation, letting her hidden ears and tails spring free, and let out a long sigh.

"Hahh. This one can finally breathe."

"Ch-Choco? Are you sure that's okay?"

"That woman already knows, does she not? Is that not so?"

"I had a pretty good idea, but..."

Se-jin stared at Choco with wide, startled eyes. Just as Choco had figured, Se-jin had picked up on it from their very first meeting. By the time Choco had spoken to her telepathically, she'd been almost certain. But seeing it with her own two eyes was another matter entirely.

A person. With fox ears and tails.

So cute...

She'd always liked foxes, so she'd been fond of Choco even in her fox form — but this was something else. A girl who looked like she was about to start middle school, with those things attached... Se-jin had the distinct, alarming feeling that she was about to awaken to a very dangerous preference.

Whether or not Choco could tell what Se-jin was thinking behind that blank expression, Yeon hurriedly whispered into Choco's ear.

"Is it okay to reveal this? Don't tell me you're going to tell her you're a player too..."

"This one has no intention of revealing that she is a player to anyone save thee. Be at ease."

"Ah — um, so what are you going to do now?"

The perfectly ordinary statement — that she wouldn't tell anyone but Yeon — sent a little flutter through Yeon's chest. She quickly composed herself and asked.

"What else? We push the same 'concept' as last time."

"Concept?"

Choco grinned and pushed herself up. The aftereffects of spirit power depletion still had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her swaying, but she wasn't about to fall over.

"Se-jin, was it? As thou art already aware, this one is no ordinary human. Nor is this one an ordinary fox."

She held her two tails ramrod-straight and declared,

"The Gumiho's... successor?"

"Indeed!"

Choco declared this with complete confidence and pressed on.

"Dost thou see these tails? An ordinary fox is doomed to live as a mere beast for all its days. But those chosen as successors by the Gumiho, as this one has been, may ascend to the same divine station as she!"

"Divine station... you mean you can become a god?"

"Precisely so! It means this one is a fox destined to become a god!"

Of course, she had no idea if that was actually true. Everything coming out of Choco's mouth was just her doing her best to act, piecing together things Tara had told her — that arrogant, utterly self-assured demeanor. Though at the moment, Tara was holed up inside the Fox Bead like someone who'd just gotten dumped.

"Then why is someone that important traveling with Yeon?"

"Because Yeon saved this one's life. She is this one's benefactor."

"A benefactor... so that's an option..."

"In any case — does that satisfy thy curiosity?"

Choco puffed out her chest, completely missing Se-jin's muttered remark. She'd say that counted as a pretty solid performance.

Looking at Choco's smug expression, Se-jin asked,

"There's one last thing I'd like to ask."

"Ask whatever thou wilt."

"Would it be alright if I pet you? Just once?"

"But of course! ...Huh?"

Choco tilted her head, sensing something off — but Se-jin's hand was already stroking the top of her head.

So cute...

"W-what is the meaning of this?! Remove thy hand at once!"

Choco squawked and struggled, but the spirit power depletion penalty left her completely helpless. In the end, it was a long, long while before she finally escaped Se-jin's petting.