Spoils of War
"Ugh, I'm gonna die."
After wiping away the cum I'd shot everywhere last night and tossing the stained blanket aside—meaning I'd slept without one—I dragged my sluggish body out of bed. My muscles ached from exhaustion, but thanks to my daily morning sword training routine, my eyes snapped open right on schedule.
She told me to take it easy today. So instead of heading to Karen's, maybe I should meet up with Kir and Rikar...
Thinking I might as well grab some breakfast since I was up early, I mulled over my plans for the day as I opened the door—and that's when I bumped into someone stepping out from the room next door.
"Kir?"
"...Yaaawn... Oh, uh... Yuseong. Morning?"
It was Kir, the same one I'd run into at the inn yesterday. I'd never crossed paths with her at this hour before, but here she was today. Did she not sleep well?
She'd seemed full of energy yesterday despite everything, but now she looked totally out of it. Constant yawning, frizzy hair—like she should be sent back to bed instead of heading out.
"You okay? You look wiped."
"Y-yeah..."
"...?"
Yesterday she'd been all friendly and warm toward me, but now she was acting awkward, eyes darting around. Then...
She glanced slyly at my door, peeking as if expecting someone else to pop out from inside.
"Kir?"
"Ah, yeah! After what happened yesterday, I couldn't sleep much! What about you, Yuseong?"
"Same here, sorta."
Not because of yesterday's incident, but because I'd been replicating and indulging—and even chatting with Laila—keeping me up all night. But why did she keep sneaking looks at my door?
"If you're not going back to sleep... wanna grab breakfast? My treat."
"...Huh? Oh, sure!"
I stretched and suggested we eat together since we'd run into each other, and she nodded a beat late. As we headed downstairs to the first floor, she kept glancing back at my door.
"How's the hand?"
"It's fine for now."
That evening, after meeting with my party members and wrapping up our talk, I visited Karen's place to express my thanks.
"Good. Even if it looks fine, be careful for a while."
Karen eyed me with a hint of worry, but when I wiggled my regenerated fingers to show they were good as new, she let out a relieved sigh. She even praised me, looking proud.
"Still... you did well. Fighting an ogre with your party—even a dungeon-born variant."
"How did you take it down solo, Master...?"
"My situation was different from yours. I wasn't fighting in a closed space like a dungeon, so I could run and fight on my terms. And mine wasn't a variant. Plus..."
She paused there, then got to the point.
"I'd awakened my mana by then."
"...Mana, right."
"Yeah. Mana."
Karen stared right through me, like she already knew everything.
"You've awakened yours too, haven't you?"
"...How'd you know?"
"I saw that corpse with you guys. That single strike through its eye—you threw your sword to make it. But with your strength alone, it couldn't have had that power..."
Impressed by her chilling insight, I nodded. It still felt surreal, but yeah—I'd successfully awakened mana in that moment staring death in the face.
"Give me your hand."
Hearing my answer, Karen snatched my hand. By now, this level of contact felt normal. Without hesitation, she pushed mana into my body.
And in that instant—
I flinched hard!!
Feeling her mana surge in more aggressively than before, I instinctively rebelled, unconsciously channeling my own mana to push hers back out.
"Definite. But..."
She nodded, confirming I'd moved mana successfully, but her expression turned puzzled.
"...Your circuits are way too sturdy. This isn't what a newbie who just started handling mana should have."
"Circuits?"
"Yeah. The pathways mana flows through—they get tougher and can handle more volume the more you use them. But yours..."
Suspecting something, she infused mana again to assess me.
"It's like a veteran who's been using mana for years. The amount you have is small, sure, but..."
"Is that good?"
"Very. Even with tons of mana in your body, if the circuits aren't trained, you're limited in how much you can wield. But you..."
She gave me a look like I was some freak. Of course, I knew why.
Gula.
The black holy relic with the authority of gluttony. I'd replicated and used it once more fighting the Twin Head Ogre, losing a finger in the process—but the backlash nutrients evolved me again. Unlike before, when it enhanced my body and senses, this time it strengthened my circuits.
I figured Karen would notice.
"What is it? Last time I checked, they were totally average..."
Naturally, having probed my circuits before, she found it suspicious. Don't worry—I'd anticipated she'd spot the change and prepared an excuse.
"I took an elixir."
"An elixir?!"
The elixir excuse. I'd asked Karen about them before out of curiosity and looked some up—there were ones that reinforced mana circuits.
"No way, elixirs aren't that easy to find..."
"I've got another one."
"What? You can't be... For real!?"
Of course, claiming I'd found and eaten one would be hard to believe... but pulling out another right in front of her? That added credibility. And luckily, I had one from the dungeon.
"I thought we couldn't win, so I went all-in, ate the elixir I found in the dungeon, and felt this weird sensation—then the mana awakened..."
With one bottle left, my story was that there'd been others, I ate one, and awakened mana. Mana users have sharp eyes, or so Rikar warned...
It was a hasty lie, but thanks to practicing it after hearing about mana users' insight from Rikar, Karen—who'd seen the real elixir—didn't spot the flaws.
Good thing I brought it.
Watching her inspect the elixir, I recalled running into my party members before coming here.
"We can keep the loot from the dungeon, right?"
"That's right. Guild-published dungeons have already been prelim-scouted; they've skimmed the best stuff, so the rest goes to adventurers."
After breakfast with Kir, on our way to meet Rikar, we'd talked it over—including handling the loot we'd found.
"Sure, that's the rule, but if adventurers actually find treasure, every scavenger in town swarms it..."
"Ours isn't public knowledge, though?"
"True. Your master nearly demolished the Red Hawk Clan."
Only Karen knew we'd found the hidden chamber and taken its contents—besides our party. If Red Hawk went back and found the broken door, they might suspect something... but since Karen smashed it, they'd probably think she took the treasures they wanted.
Most items shattered fighting the Twin Head Ogre anyway, and the dungeon-secret room fusion wrecked the rest. What we grabbed was just what we'd snagged before the ogre appeared.
No complaints, though. Because among them...
"Heh. An elixir, huh."
...was something you couldn't buy even with money.
I could've gulped it down myself, but I didn't want to lie to my comrades who'd survived with me. So I admitted I'd found it. Result?
"You keep it."
"...Huh? Rikar, you know what an elixir is, right? Selling it'd net thousands of gold easy."
"I do. But don't I owe you? Consider this repayment."
It was party loot, so we should've split it—but Rikar yielded the elixir to me. Kir...
"I want this! Gimme this one!"
There was an ornate dagger among the finds, and she preferred it over the elixir, claiming it outright.
"Kir, this is an elixir..."
"No trades!!"
"........."
Anyway, I traded the dagger and some gems for her acknowledgment of my ownership. Rikar took all the books instead—and seemed happier about that.
"You like books?"
"Ahem. Truth is, one reason I fled the Beastman Union for Terra Kingdom was to read. Beastman lands don't value brains much..."
I'd wondered why Rikar knew so much; turns out the wolf beastman was a bookworm. His hobbies didn't fly back home, so young Rikar ran away to Terra.
"Sure, I make a living with this sturdy body as an adventurer... but my dream was to be a scholar."
"That's unexpected."
"You've gotten awfully frank lately."
Maybe from surviving mortal peril twice together—I recalled bantering lightly with a grinning Rikar.
Anyway, the dungeon elixir was mine. Plus, Rikar said he'd sell the magic stones and miscellany through contacts and split the gold fairly.
"An elixir... incredible luck. Normally, you don't just pop them willy-nilly."
My desperate lie worked; Karen didn't question my circuit change and instead scolded me for recklessly consuming it. She bought my story that it was the only way.
So...
"Finding one is impressive... but keep this safe. No selling."
She handed back the elixir, insisting I treasure it—real ones aren't buyable with money.
"Should I take it then?"
"Best option... but not now. You've already had one, right? After changes settle, wait before another."
I wasn't desperate for cash, so keeping or consuming it appealed—but Karen warned against eating it immediately. Body and circuits needed adaptation time.
I didn't take an elixir... but the circuit change is real.
I heeded her advice. Even without it, I had plans and wasn't rushing anyway.
"Anyway, elixir or not, sword training's on hold longer. Perfect timing, actually."
"Timing?"
"Yeah. I go all-in when I commit. Time to teach those Red Hawk fools a lesson."
"........."
She spoke casually of one woman disciplining a major clan, showing no fear—rather...
"Thought retirement meant peace, but these pests pop up. Been too long since I cracked some knuckles..."
Was it true she'd once hobby-smashed a clan like that? She seemed to relish this.
Her scale's on another level.
Unlike me, scrambling to avoid Red Hawk in the dungeon, here was Karen vowing to handle them solo. Utterly confident, breathtakingly beautiful.
...If I were as strong as her.
Gazing at her stirred unfamiliar feelings. Dissatisfaction with my steady-but-slow progress through events... ambition to reach higher.
Maybe not bad luck or carelessness—maybe just my weakness put my life at risk.
"...Yuseong?"
"...Yes, Master."
Her voice snapped me from reverie.
"You listening?"
"Sorry, got lost in thought..."
"Sigh. I'll repeat. Like I said, I'm handling those guys soon. And since you've awakened mana..."
She explained my improved skills and her upcoming absence...
"So, how about taking the C-rank adventurer promotion exam?"
"...Pardon?"
Karen told me to become C-rank.
"Is that possible? My record's thin—I've barely been D-rank two months."
Fine, she said it casually like grocery shopping. But promotions need exams, which require sufficient achievements. My Palos quests notwithstanding, two months as D wasn't enough.
Telling her that got:
"Officially, yeah. But you took down that necromancer, right? They didn't publicize it to avoid city panic, but the guild knows your feat."
True. Necromancer during my D-rank exam—guild tracked it. I even met the vice branch chief.
"They already recognize your contributions, so promotion's no issue. Evil cult quests count extra, and you gave them breathing room."
"I see."
"Plus, you handle mana now. Keeping high-potential mana users at D hurts the guild."
"...Fair."
C-rank... D was the ceiling for untalented adventurers; from C, you were a real pro anywhere. Her words that I could reach it...
"So. What do you say?"
"Hell yeah, let's do it."
I had only one answer.