6
#6 - Somehow, We Ended Up Eating Together
There were about thirty minutes remaining.
It wasn't enough time to head to a hunting ground and properly grind, so instead of hunting together, I decided to help Celial in a different way.
"Magic Swordsmen generally aren't suited for party play. They're somewhat flawed as both damage dealers and tanks."
"Uh...? Then does that mean I can't party with you, Taeyang?"
"No, it's not impossible at all. You can just party with me."
"With you...? But you said party play would be difficult. Wouldn't I just be causing trouble for you...?"
"Come on, it's fine. It's not like we can't make it work."
And honestly, we really could.
The bosses that actively rejected Magic Swordsmen were mostly top-tier bosses.
For raid bosses below level 200, bringing a Magic Swordsman wasn't a huge problem.
More importantly, she could just raid with me.
Fortunately, Dual Swordsmen and Magic Swordsmen had decent theoretical synergy.
Dual Swordsmen were extremely lone-wolf classes, much like Magic Swordsmen.
The difference was that Dual Swordsmen had significantly better sustained damage output.
Someone once tested equally geared Dual Swordsmen and Magic Swordsmen under free-damage conditions.
Whether the Magic Swordsman focused on swordsmanship or magic, they still lost in damage output.
And if you buffed the Dual Swordsman?
They became an outstanding damage dealer.
So why were Dual Swordsmen and Magic Swordsmen theoretically compatible?
Because most Magic Swordsman buffs could only target themselves and one teammate.
And if that teammate happened to be a Dual Swordsman who didn't need much help surviving and already dealt excellent damage?
You theoretically got one of the strongest sustained-DPS combinations possible.
...Well, actually, the strongest sustained-DPS combination was probably Priest plus Archer.
Specifically a Sniper Archer using a Greatbow.
Seriously, who thought it was okay for Greatbows to rapid-fire during free-damage phases?
Most damage dealers couldn't even compete.
The fact that our party didn't have a Greatbow Archer was a genuine tragedy.
Anyway, I spent a while explaining that we were both essentially lone-wolf classes, which ironically made our combination work well.
Our adorable and incredibly charming newbie, Celial, listened attentively to every word.
She even asked questions along the way.
An excellent newbie mindset.
"Then should I focus on magic or focus on my sword?"
"That's completely up to you. If you want to use more magic, use magic. If you'd rather use your sword, use your sword."
"Hmm... Then I'll go with magic."
"Magic? Any particular reason?"
"Yes! If I increase magic, my healing and buffs will become stronger too, right? It feels like it'd be better for handling different situations!"
She even expressed her own opinions.
A truly excellent newbie.
"That's true. Then would you like me to recommend a skill build for a magic-focused Magic Swordsman?"
"Hmm... I want to try figuring it out myself. You've already helped me so much. I want to at least do this part on my own."
She was independent, too.
Not just an S-rank personality.
An S-rank heart as well.
Honestly, I'd already known that when she'd sent me a friend request just to apologize.
After talking for a while longer, I checked the time.
12:20 PM.
My class started at 1:30.
It was time to leave.
"Ah, I should get going now. I don't have much time left."
"Ah! I need to go too!"
"Haha, is that so? Then I'll see you again later."
At that moment, Celial stopped me.
"Um..."
"Yes?"
"Would you join an open CocoaTalk chat room if I made one...? So I can contact you whenever I have questions or when we're playing..."
Her hesitant manner was surprisingly cute.
I'd originally planned to use the in-game messenger.
But honestly, CocoaTalk would be much more convenient.
"Sure. Should I make it?"
"No! I'll make it...! I was the one who asked...."
That was perfectly fine with me.
When I nodded, Celial smiled brightly.
"Then I'll name the room after my nickname! The password will be 4321!"
"Celial1234, password 4321. Got it."
"Then I'll log out now and make it right away!"
"Yep! Thanks for today!"
"Yes! See you next time!"
After giving me a cheerful smile, Celial logged out first.
I logged out shortly afterward and ended my capsule room session.
[Ending capsule usage for Yeon Taeyang.]
-Ziiiiiiing...
Along with the logout message, my consciousness returned to reality.
Stretching my stiff body after lying down for so long, I stepped out of the capsule.
Perfect timing.
Kim Seunghyeok had just logged out too.
"Ah... fuck this stupid game."
Accompanied by a refreshing stream of profanity.
"What? Lost your ranked match?"
"Yeah. Got absolutely destroyed by team diff."
"Told you to just play Snowstorm Abyss."
"Damn it... I really should've..."
Kim Seunghyeok had already lost all the rating points I'd helped him earn.
As he continued cursing, I decided to change the mood.
"Hey, should we just eat something in the capsule room? Or go to Daddy Touch downstairs?"
"...Daddy Touch. Capsule room food's too expensive."
"Agreed."
The capsule room served practically every kind of food imaginable these days.
That didn't mean it was affordable.
If anything, food was probably one of their biggest revenue sources.
For ordinary college students like us, eating elsewhere was much smarter.
"So what're you getting? Thigh Burger?"
"Of course. You? Fillet?"
"Yep."
"For fuck's sake, you gym rat. Why eat Fillet when Thigh is only a hundred won more expensive?"
"Look at that beautiful balance of protein and nutrition. The real question is why you'd eat Thigh. For a hundred won extra, you get a healthier Fillet Burger that tastes almost the same."
"Yeah, but Thigh tastes amazing."
Ah, Kim Seunghyeok.
I truly pitied your inability to appreciate the greatness of Fillet Burgers.
While discussing menu choices, we waited for the elevator.
Then suddenly—
-Thud!
Someone bumped into my back headfirst.
"Ah..."
It wasn't particularly hard, but it startled me enough that I turned around with slight irritation.
"Hey, what was that?"
A woman stood there with wide rabbit-like eyes, bowing repeatedly.
"I-I'm sorry...! I was looking at my phone while walking and accidentally..."
And that woman happened to be someone I knew.
Well.
Someone I sort of knew.
"Wow... holy shit, it's Ha Yeonjae."
"Yeonjae-nim...?"
"Taeyang-nim...?"
The person I'd met earlier that day.
My elective-class partner.
The goddess of our department.
Senior Ha Yeonjae.
But Seunghyeok.
Why the hell are you swearing?
How exactly did things end up like this?
"Yeonjae-nim, what are you ordering?"
"I'll have the White Garlic..."
"You're getting chicken breast too? Why does everyone avoid thigh meat?"
"Ahaha..."
The moment Kim Seunghyeok recognized Ha Yeonjae, he invited her to sit with us.
Since she had already been planning to eat at Daddy Touch anyway, she hesitated before accepting.
And that was how the three of us ended up sharing an awkward lunch.
...More specifically, only Kim Seunghyeok was having fun.
Why did he like women this much?
He already had a girlfriend.
I'm definitely telling Hanna about this later.
"Hey, your boyfriend was grinning at another woman."
After ordering through the kiosk, we sat down and continued chatting.
Naturally, the conversation revolved around university life.
"Yeonjae-nim, you'll attend the festival this year, right?"
"No... I probably won't..."
"Ah... I see..."
"Haha... Sorry..."
"Oh right. This guy next to me. His name's Yeon Taeyang. Same department as you. One year below you."
"Ah... So you're my junior..."
"Y-Yes... I'm in Media Communications too, sunbae..."
"Yeonjae-nim, isn't he handsome?"
"Haa... Kim Seunghyeok..."
"What? It's true."
Ha Yeonjae lowered her head and didn't answer.
This was awkward.
Painfully awkward.
Kim Seunghyeok's determination to keep the conversation alive was admirable.
But some things simply couldn't be done.
Especially after that last question.
It had somehow made things even worse.
From the looks of it, Senior Ha Yeonjae was an introvert.
A serious introvert.
An incarnation of Introversion itself.
Even Kim Seunghyeok's overwhelming extrovert energy couldn't overcome it.
Around the time the conversation started sputtering out, Ha Yeonjae picked up her phone.
"I have something to take care of for a moment..."
Come to think of it, Celial said she'd make the open chat room.
It should be ready by now.
"Ah, me too."
"Huh? Ah... okay..."
The extrovert trapped between two introverts finally admitted defeat and picked up his own phone.
Should've given up earlier, buddy.
Anyway, I opened CocoaTalk and searched for "Celial."
Immediately, I found an open chat room called [Celial1234].
It had been created about ten minutes ago.
Sorry for being late...
After entering the password 4321 and setting my open profile name to Long Live Taeyang, I entered the room and greeted her enthusiastically.
[Ms. Celial! It's Long Live Taeyang! Sorry for joining late]
A reply arrived in less than three seconds.
[Celial: It's okay. People can be late!]
[Celial: Please take care of me from now on!]
[I'll be in your care too!]
[Celial: (Cat emoji bowing politely)]
[(Dog emoji giving a thumbs-up)]
After finishing the greeting, I put my phone down and looked up.
Senior Ha Yeonjae was smiling softly while using her phone.
...Seriously, she really was beautiful.
The nickname "Goddess" wasn't an exaggeration.
She must have a boyfriend, right?
If someone that beautiful didn't have one, then something was fundamentally wrong with the world.
Lucky guy.
Imagine having someone like that as your girlfriend.
While I was silently envying some unknown man, my phone vibrated.
[Celial: (Cat emoji bowing and saying "Thank you")]
Yeah.
What exactly am I jealous of?
I've got the polite, kind, and incredibly adorable king-tier newbie Celial-chan.
...Actually, is it really "chan"?
Maybe it's "kun"?
At that moment, CocoaTalk vibrated again.
Once again, the sender was Celial.
[Celial: By the way, what should I call you from now on? Taeyang? Master? Hyung?]
Hmm.
Guess it's "kun."
Anyway, I sent my reply.
[You can keep calling me Taeyang just like before.]
[Celial: Ah... Yes! Taeyang! Please take care of me from now on!]
Ah.
Seriously.
So unbelievably cute.
To think I'd gone beyond simply rescuing a newbie and ended up properly raising one.
I must have been a hero who saved a nation in my previous life.
There's no other explanation for happiness like this.