Future (1)
"Hyaaah!"
With a vigorous battle cry, the massive blade slammed down, slicing the black steel armor cleanly in two. The corridor of the ostentatiously ornate palace—something straight out of a game—was littered with the scattered remains of the castle's knight guards. Yet there wasn't a single drop of blood or a dying scream to be heard. Not because of their loyalty, but because the armor was empty inside.
The black-haired young man, wearing a school uniform layered with armor plating, quickly retrieved his sword and cut down the next enemy.
"Si-woo, the ceiling!"
"Got it!"
While the fight raged in the corridor, leather-armored creatures crept along the ceiling. Weaving between the densely packed chandelier chains, their movements looked like something ripped from a horror film.
The protagonist focused his mana, and the chandeliers suddenly plummeted, impaling the creatures on glass and metal shards. The monsters that had lined up for a sneak attack became the victims instead, raining down onto the floor. Their leather armor had poor durability; the fallen ones could barely regain their balance before incoming arrows finished them off.
"That ring artifact has some seriously impressive performance."
"No kidding. Who would've thought an artifact with such broken abilities even existed?"
It was the one they'd obtained while clearing the gate beneath the construction site. The appraisal had taken far longer than usual because it was a completely new type. After multiple tests, the results were peculiar: 'No stat increases whatsoever,' 'No side effects whatsoever,' and 'Special effects apply only to certain ability users.'
Even so, for those specific users the effect was downright overpowered. The artifact's power was none other than the inversion of one's supernatural ability. The only issue was how vague the range of that effect could be. Most testers had seen no change at all, and even those who did experienced something as ambiguous as turning 'the ability to shoot fire from one's fingers' into 'the ability to absorb fire with one's fingers.' It had taken them a while to even realize what had happened.
Yet while the effect was nonexistent or negligible for most, when the protagonist used his ability on himself he stuck both feet to the ceiling and sliced apart the remaining leather-armored creatures that hadn't fallen yet.
He hasn't even awakened, but he's already using his ability so well… Must be the item helping him.
It was tempting, sure. But it had no effect on my own ability or Peony's, and the protagonist had obtained it first. Dirty luck or not, once an owner was decided it was only right to respect that. I wasn't some filthy thief like the academy's director of academic affairs.
"Hup!"
For the finale he dropped from the ceiling once more, bisecting the caped armor below as he landed.
"Whew…"
"Good work."
"Ah. Thanks, Haneul."
After hunting without rest for nearly thirty minutes, he seemed exhausted. I pulled a blue tumbler from my backpack and handed it over. He drank from it naturally.
I carefully recorded every change in the protagonist's stats in a notebook I'd prepared. For some reason, though, the pink-haired elf in leather armor was staring intently at us.
Was Peony thirsty too?
"Here's some water, Peony!"
Anticipating exactly this, I'd filled the pink tumbler with regular drinking water. I'd adjusted it to a lukewarm temperature—slightly warm, just the way she liked—and stored it in a tumbler engraved with a stasis spell. This had to be worth some points.
"Huh…? No! I'm not thirsty…"
"Understood. Just tell me if you get thirsty later."
Of course, that would only count after she actually drank it. What a shame I couldn't score any points.
"By the way, Haneul. Haven't you forgotten something?"
"Forgotten something?"
The protagonist suddenly asked while pulling out his phone. Forgotten what? There were no magic stones or drop items in this gate, so it couldn't be related to that. I rewound through my memories of him—gate hunting, gate clearing, academy lectures, carpooling… his house? When my thoughts reached that point, the colossal event from a week ago surfaced and I stopped searching.
"Ahem… I have no idea what you mean?"
"Really?"
"Yes. And if I don't remember it, it probably wasn't important anyway."
"If you say so, then that's that."
With that, the protagonist put his phone away. He looked oddly pleased about it, which irritated me a little, but I decided to let it slide.
Not long after, the three of us reached the boss room. Normally this would be the part where we shouted Let's clear it and destroy the gate! but there was something we had to do first.
"Okay, taking the picture now. Cheese!"
"Kimchi!"
"Cheese!"
—Click
Without needing anyone else to take it or a selfie stick, I simply used telekinesis to snap a group photo with the phone. It showed two women—one with dark brown hair, the other with pink—flanking a young man, with a golden-armored figure seated on a massive throne behind them. The thing was adorned head to toe in resplendent metal that crudely mimicked human facial features, giving it an oddly skin-crawling appearance.
"This should be more than enough proof of club activity participation."
"Wouldn't a body cam be better?"
"Come on, no need to leak information for free. Besides, we're closing this gate immediately. Leaving video behind would only get us more complaints."
After the photo, we prepared for battle without delay.
"Like I said, I'll only step in if you two are in danger. That doesn't mean you should let your guard down, though."
"Got it."
"Understood!"
Unlike before, the protagonist charged after receiving Peony's buff.
—Thud!
He took a running start from an absurd distance and flew forward at high speed, defying gravity. The boss finally noticed the assault and tried to rise from its throne, but the protagonist had already reached the top of its head and drove his sword downward.
—Boom!
A huge crack spiderwebbed across the helmet. The colossal figure staggered, dropping to one knee before it could fully stand.
"It's deal time! Attack now!"
"Got it, Lee Haneul!"
The protagonist kept hammering down from above while Peony poured colorful arrows into every joint of the boss's limbs so she wouldn't interfere. The boss was literally being assaulted across its entire body. Still, none of the follow-up attacks matched the effectiveness of that first strike.
—Rumble…
Its groggy state must have worn off. The boss slowly rose again. What had looked house-sized while seated now seemed closer to an apartment building once it stood at full height.
"Si-woo, dodge!"
"I know!"
The sluggishness it had shown while getting up vanished. Its movements accelerated. From the monster's overall scale the speed didn't look especially fast, but the sheer size meant the area that needed to be avoided was overwhelmingly large. The protagonist abandoned his attack and retreated. As he fell, a massive arm swept toward his trajectory.
Should I intervene? The thought crossed my mind, but he used his ability to drop downward rapidly and evaded.
"This thing is way faster than I expected!"
"That's what happens when it's so huge! From its perspective, just swinging an arm is like a freight train coming at us!"
Giant size brought disadvantages, but the advantages it gained were equally significant. One of them was the tremendous force generated by even the simplest movements.
The golden giant lifted its heavy foot and began gathering mana. Peony reacted instantly, laying arrows in advance along its path.
—Boom!
The boss didn't wait. It filled the boss room with lethal stone shrapnel.
The protagonist, who had just landed, looked momentarily troubled before breaking into a smile. He exhaled, then spread his mana forward. With an inhale, the mana formed a directional wall.
—Crash!
Where the stone tornado had swept through, only three spots remained intact amid the devastation. I had blocked every fragment and stacked them into a stone tower. Peony had triggered her pre-placed arrows in sequence to blast the debris away. And the protagonist had created a barrier with his ability, successfully controlling and bouncing the fragments upward and downward.
"Don't casually copy other people's techniques!"
"Then register a copyright or something!"
Projectiles without mana could be easily blocked with the right ability. It wasn't as refined as what I'd used at the entrance ceremony, but despite its roughness it worked—the protagonist was completely unharmed.
The boss seemed to have lost some of its brilliant golden luster as the price for that powerful attack. It had noticeably slowed down. Since both sides had shown their cards, it was time for a more earnest exchange of blows.
The protagonist knew it too. He rested his sword on his shoulder and loosened his muscles. Seeing that, Peony rested her bow on her own shoulder and awkwardly copied him.
About ten minutes after the battle began, the war of attrition had two clear results: the boss monster's body was accumulating more and more cracks, and our side's stamina consumption was far heavier than expected. They'd consistently dodged its attacks, but every time the giant rampaged the terrain twisted, making it difficult to even walk. The chaos was enough to exhaust even an elf.
The protagonist panted, frowning as if he realized this couldn't continue. Then, as if a good idea had struck him, he shouted to Peony.
"Peony! I'll create an opening, so prepare your strongest shot!"
"Yes!"
The protagonist dashed forward, maintaining distance while repeatedly striking the giant's boots and shins. At first the boss tried to stomp with its arm, but when he dodged skillfully it grew furious and lifted its foot again.
"Get ready!"
As if he'd been waiting for exactly that, he quickly retreated while pouring out mana. The energy gathered beneath the boss's foot caused the stone blocks on the floor to shoot toward the ceiling. The giant, balanced on one leg, couldn't maintain its stance and began toppling forward.
At the same time, the large crack from the earlier surprise attack was exposed on its helmet. Peony nocked an absurdly large magic arrow onto her compound bow.
"Take this!"
—Boom!
The projectile—closer to a ballista bolt than an arrow—tore through the air toward the exposed weakness. Its terrifying feature was the mana emission from the rear, which boosted speed while keeping the trajectory perfectly straight. Whether she'd learned it or realized it on her own, the pink-haired elf had essentially created a basic rocket.
Even with its face planted on the floor, the boss somehow saw the attack and tried to raise an arm to defend. The shot shattered the arm and pierced straight through the gap in the helmet. Upon penetration, the last faint traces of golden afterglow vanished. The once-magnificent giant turned a dull leaden color.
The boss held its shattered arm up for a moment before finally collapsing under its own weight and breaking apart.
"It's cleared…!"
Honestly, I'd expected to have to step in at least once. But both of them had grown this much. The pang in my chest… Could this be maternal instinct? No—paternal instinct?
"Wow! We won! Kim Si-woo!"
With that, Peony ran to the protagonist and threw herself into his arms in a tight hug.
"Uh…?"