Chapter 23: Cherry-Popping, Yes, That Kind of Cherry (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 23: Cherry-Popping, Yes, That Kind of Cherry (5)
If even one person in the party dies, the Treasure Orb loses its light and vanishes.
It’s nice that it isn't a single-use item, but it’s a bit of a shame that the orb's power disappears if even one person dies.
I head back into the dungeon, a new Treasure Orb in hand.
"... ..."
Unlike the first time, the party is quiet.
Jeong I-dam steals glances at me, quickly whipping her head away whenever our eyes meet, while Park Se-eun is making a conscious effort to avoid my gaze entirely.
Is it really that shocking that I took down those monsters?
Yoon A-young, who had been listening to my advice on how to better use her skills on the way back, is now silently staring straight ahead.
"I think everyone’s pride is a bit wounded," Park Hae-in whispers as she leans in with a smile.
Despite having the least presence in the party, she plays a sisterly role, quietly looking after the other members from the sidelines.
"They don't have any ill will toward you, Manager, so please don't take it to heart."
"I see. Thank you for telling me."
As I give a light nod, Park Hae-in begins massaging the others' shoulders to boost their morale.
The party resumes its exploration of the dungeon, just as they did before.
Sensing the approach of monsters from a distance, Yoon A-young alerts the party and draws her weapon.
"Se-eun, Hae-in, take the frontline."
"Huh? What about you?"
"There’s something I want to try. There aren't many of them, so I'm counting on you two."
With that, Yoon A-young takes a step back, surveying the entire battlefield.
As two Wood Monsters and three Insect Monsters approach, Park Se-eun and Park Hae-in charge forward with weapons drawn. Yoon A-young follows closely behind, manifesting Frost Crystals in the air.
When the two leading Wood Monsters are slowed down by the Frost Crystals she fires, Jeong I-dam quickly leaps over them to attack the insects.
Instead of jumping recklessly into the fray, Yoon A-young monitors the situation. Seeing an insect aiming its venom at Jeong I-dam, she instantly conjures an Ice Wall.
"I could have dodged that!"
Jeong I-dam shouts as she delivers a massive swing of her weapon. The Ice Wall shatters, and the shards embed themselves into the insects.
While she finishes off the agonizing bugs, Yoon A-young joins the frontline to help take down the Wood Monsters.
"Wow—we were perfect, weren't we?"
Park Se-eun beams, clearly satisfied with the recent skirmish.
Jeong I-dam and Park Hae-in seem to agree, high-fiving each other in celebration, while Yoon A-young looks over at me.
"That was excellent coordination."
Honestly, I have no choice but to praise them.
I had only given her a brief rundown on what role she should play while we were clearing out the monsters and exiting the dungeon earlier; I didn't expect her to pull it off this well.
I told her to think about why people move in parties and what she needs to do to fight as one, and she applied it to real combat immediately.
She even absorbed the fact that I had intentionally fired a Freezing Bullet when I was dealing with the Wood Monsters earlier.
She isn't called a special prospect for nothing.
But if she was capable of this, why the hell has she been fighting like such a mess until now?
If Yoon A-young focuses on supporting the party, her individual record as an attacker might drop slightly, but the overall quality of the party improves drastically.
She stares at me for a moment before huffing and turning away.
Where’s the 'thank you,' you brat?
"From now on, I’ll fight from the second line to provide support. Once we get used to this, we’ll be able to climb even higher."
"A-young, did you have an epiphany? Great, let’s keep this momentum going!"
I’m not the only one who notices the slight excitement in Yoon A-young’s voice as she speaks to her teammates; Park Hae-in gives me a knowing, satisfied smile.
The party continues forward, harvesting magic stones and materials from the fallen monsters.
Having grasped the new combat style, Yoon A-young handles the subsequent encounters without a hitch. Even when waves of monsters rush them like before, the party members—having conserved their stamina—fend them off easily.
Moving back and forth to support her teammates leaves Yoon A-young struggling with low mana, but the harder she works, the better the party fights.
Since this is a dungeon without a boss, the party roams the map, slaughtering monsters left and right, and returns with a mountain of loot.
"Whoa—we broke our record for the fastest clear today. Can't we just move on to D-7 now?"
"We've only cleared this twice; we'd better be able to beat it."
The party members exit the dungeon, chatting brightly in high spirits.
"You cut the time by an hour... That’s incredible."
The support team waiting outside is shocked when they check the time.
While Jeong I-dam brags, Yoon A-young looks at me.
"Do you have time after this?"
Suddenly?
"I have to go back to the clan, submit the report, and then head to the Center."
"You go to the Center?"
"Yeah, I have to manage my physical condition."
After a moment of thought, Yoon A-young tells me to see her for a bit after I finish the report.
"See you later, Manager!"
Since the dungeon conquest is over, the heroes—who have no reason to go back to the clan—head home, leaving only Yoon A-young to board the clan vehicle with me.
"Why are you sitting next to me?"
As I sit in the perpetually uncomfortable seat, Yoon A-young glares at me with sharp eyes.
"This is the most comfortable spot left."
Yoon A-young looks me up and down before turning her head toward the window.
I don't have much to say either, so I start organizing the report on my tablet. Before long, she begins to doze off.
It makes sense. She used a lot of mana.
Supporting others is no easy task. You have to read the battlefield quickly, which drains your concentration, and if your party members start trolling, the supporter has to clean up the mess.
There’s much more to worry about than just looking forward and killing enemies, and the mana consumption is far more intense.
Having experienced mana exhaustion several times today, her fatigue must be immense.
But I have to push her more.
Since she holds such a vital role on the battlefield, she needs to grow her mana capacity accordingly.
The easiest way to increase mana is to use it all and refill it. Only by repeatedly pushing her limits in combat will Yoon A-young’s skills truly improve.
Even though the report is basically scrap paper, I include the thoughts I just had. As I do, the nodding Yoon A-young eventually leans her head on my shoulder.
Her mysterious silver hair spills over my arm, and I can hear the steady sound of her breathing in my ear.
I try my best not to disturb her while I finish the report. Eventually, the driver informs me that we’ve arrived at the clan.
"A-young, wake up. We're here."
"Mmm... five more minutes..."
Oh boy, how cute. If only she were like this normally.
It’s all the original body owner’s fault, but since I’m the one taking the hit for his karma, it feels a bit unfair.
"I'm sorry, she seems exhausted. I'll wait five minutes before getting out. You can head up first."
"Yes, that's fine. I'll let the clan know you've arrived, so take your time."
The staff member gives me and Yoon A-young a warm smile through the rearview mirror before stepping out of the car.
It feels like a strange sort of consideration, but whatever.
As I continue working on the report, Yoon A-young opens her eyes, blinks a few times, and looks up at me.
"... ..."
Still seemingly processing the situation, she stares at me with half-closed eyes before suddenly bolting upright and turning toward the window.
"If—if we're here, you should have said something! What are you doing?!"
The back of her head was practically screaming with embarrassment.
"I tried to wake you, but you wouldn't budge. I figured you were drained from the mana exhaustion, so I let you rest."
"... ..."
Aren't you going to say thank you, kid? You rude little...
"... ... Thanks..."
Oh, she did. Well, nothing more to say then.
I stand up, rolling my stiff shoulder that she’d been leaning on.
As I get out of the car, Yoon A-young follows me like a little chick, maintaining a distance of about one meter.
I head into the office to finalize the report I’d mostly written on the tablet. I can feel Yoon A-young’s gaze as she sits quietly in the room.
"What is it?"
"Are you planning on being a hero again?"
"Yeah. I'm still preparing, so I don't plan on registering just yet."
"Is the Clan Leader forcing you?"
It seems Park Sung-jun’s notoriety isn't limited to just me.
To ask so naturally if I'm being forced... Park Sung-jun, just what kind of life have you been living?
"No. I ran away like a coward before, but I still want to be a hero."
I don't know what part of that was moving, but the fierce look in Yoon A-young’s eyes softens, and she looks at me with a shimmering gaze.
"When will your preparations be finished? You're already stronger than me."
"That’s because I used a gun. Guns are excellent weapons. The problem is they only work up to D-rank, but if you can infuse bullets with mana, they're the most efficient weapon for D-rank."
"... ... Then, are your preparations for moving up to C-rank?"
"In a sense. I'm preparing various things so I can be effective anywhere."
As I talk while typing, Yoon A-young watches me for a moment before standing up.
I look up from the monitor, and she meets my eyes with a much softer expression than before.
"I'll reach C-rank quickly too. Let's go to a dungeon together."
"We did make a promise like that once."
"We did. I'll wait for you—no, I won't make you wait. Let's definitely go together."
As a middle-aged man at heart, this conversation was a bit cringeworthy, but considering her past, it was a touching scene.
As I watch her in silence, Yoon A-young turns her head away, seemingly too embarrassed to maintain eye contact, and speaks in a trembling voice.
"S-see you later."
With her beautiful silver hair fluttering behind her, Yoon A-young slams the door and flees.
I stare at the closed door for a moment before turning back to the monitor to submit the report.
After messaging Sung Hee-na to tell her that marksmanship training would be difficult today, I head to the Center.
"You don't have to assist in the dungeon today."
"I saw the news. I heard you're doing great as a supervisor."
"What is there for a supervisor to 'do great' at? I just get cursed at to write better evaluations."
I dismiss Juna’s comment as if it’s nothing and start my workout.
The exercise equipment designed for the Awakened doubles as a safety mechanism; it only functions if you flow mana into it.
Normally, you shouldn't train like this if your mana is unstable after being affected by a dungeon, but since I’d only been going back and forth to D-1 dungeons with the apprentices, I’d just been doing it anyway.
However, since I’d actually fought monsters and used a fair amount of mana this time, I decided to stick to light exercise to avoid any negative effects.
The most important thing in consistent training is avoiding injury.
The body can be healed with magic, but if your mana is damaged, you're forced into a hiatus, so I have to be careful.
Even though I told her she didn't need to look after me, Juna keeps hovering around, moving between the private training room and the outside to help me.
She puts away the equipment when I'm done and stays near me the whole time, except for brief moments when she steps out.
Is she in charge of the private training room alone?
Aside from me, the only ones who use this place are Song Ha-el’s party members, so it’s almost always empty.
Since they are A-rank heroes, they probably spend much more time in dungeons than I do, so they must be busy.
In fact, it’s been over a week since I last saw Song Ha-el.
Since this is a world where they try to finish off monsters inside the dungeons at all costs, they must be pushing themselves hard.
In my previous world, death was the end, so if the environment favored the monster, we often fought them outside the dungeon.
With heavy weaponry standing by and no limit on the number of people who could join the fight—unlike inside a dungeon—heroes could dogpile the monsters and take them down relatively easily.
Of course, if a dungeon appeared in a critical location, we had to finish it inside no matter what.
Reminiscing about the past while exercising makes the time fly by.
After breaking a decent sweat, I head to the shower to stand under the spray.
A cold shower after a workout is always refreshing.
Ah, right. Come to think of it, a clan staff member gave me some toiletries to use when I shower.
I step out of the stall, wrap a towel around my waist, and head toward the locker room.
Sniff—
"Haa..."
"... ..."
What the hell is this?
I stare blankly at my locker, witnessing a scene I never could have imagined.
Juna was standing in front of my locker, holding my workout clothes to her nose and sniffing them.
The sight of her taking a deep, forceful breath was incredibly jarring.
"Ah..."
Belatedly noticing me, Juna’s eyes go wide as she stares back.
The workout clothes slip from her hands and fall to the floor, but Juna remains frozen, looking at me with a dazed expression.
"No... that’s... no, I-I'm sorry!"
Juna shouts an apology and tries to run away, only to smack her shin against a bench and tumble over.
Ouch... that’s gotta hurt.
I wince at the imagined pain, but Juna continues her escape, crawling away while inadvertently showing off her well-shaped rear.
She eventually limps to her feet and vanishes, leaving me to look back and forth between my workout clothes and the exit.
Yeah, there really isn't anyone normal here.
It was the moment I once again realized the true nature of this world.