Adaptation #006: Faint Light Pierces the Darkness-Dyed Sky
The faint light pushed back the darkness staining the sky. Dawn was breaking, dyeing the heavens in shades of purple. A new day was beginning.
Yi Cho-rin, who had been frowning at the sun peeking over the horizon, turned to wake Gaon and reached out her hand. But before she could touch him, he snapped his eyes open as if he'd been waiting and sat up.
The sight made her feel like she was watching a corpse rise from the dead.
"Ah...? Y-you're awake?"
"No, I just woke up now. Let's discuss today's tasks, then."
"Ah, yes...."
His words came with a direct gaze, and Yi Cho-rin hurriedly pulled her skirt over her exposed thigh, adjusting her posture. Gaon slowly opened his mouth as she leaned in attentively, her eyes sparkling with focus.
"First and foremost, food is critical—especially drinking water. The goblins must drink too, so there should be a source somewhere. It'll be dangerous, of course."
"...I'm ready!"
Her spirited resolve was admirable, but Yi Cho-rin's current state was far from ideal for navigating the forest. Her skirt had been torn for mobility, but her basic stamina was low, and worst of all, she was barefoot. She'd kicked off her shoes where she'd slain the goblin, leaving her feet clad only in thin, tattered stockings.
Yesterday, they'd stuck to relatively safe paths, so she'd been fine, but going barefoot from here on could lead to serious injuries. When Gaon's gaze drifted to her feet, Yi Cho-rin flinched and curled her toes. She knew she was nothing but baggage right now.
Just as she opened her mouth to prove her usefulness, Gaon stood abruptly. Was he about to abandon her as useless? As she scrambled to her feet in worry, he pointed to the shoes and continued.
"We need to make some temporary footwear, at least."
"...Footwear?"
"Yes. We can weave tough grass into something serviceable."
With that, as if the conversation was over, he climbed out of the tree hollow. Yi Cho-rin scrambled after him, baffled by his sudden movement without explanation. Shoes? From grass? How could a 21-year-old guy pull that off?
Her head buzzing with curiosity and doubt, she finally blurted out a question.
"Were you a shoe designer or something?"
"Would a shoe designer know how to do this?"
She had nothing to say to that. She wasn't sure if survival classes even taught weaving grass shoes. His reaction suggested he wasn't a designer, at least.
"Th-then, a survivalist?"
"......"
He didn't even answer the follow-up. As if it wasn't worth responding to, Gaon quickened his pace and pulled ahead. Yi Cho-rin clamped her mouth shut, realizing even to herself how foolish her questions sounded, and hurried after him.
Gaon spotted a suitable spot ahead and headed there.
This'll do.
A short distance from the tree hollow, grass grew waist-high. It was thin but tough to the touch—perfect for twisting into footwear if braided right. The roots were deeply anchored, so he had to slice them with his spear.
Gathering the stalks, he returned to the hollow and got to work. Yi Cho-rin sat beside him, watching the process, then glanced slyly and ventured,
"Mr. Hyeo Ga-on. Is there anything I can help with?"
There was nothing for her to do, of course. But he couldn't say that outright. To keep her spirits up, Gaon deflected politely.
"Keep watch, then. Monsters might come. ...And feel free to drop the formalities."
He even tossed in permission to use casual speech. He didn't hate his full name, Hyeo Ga-on, but it'd drawn teasing both before and after arriving in the Union, so he preferred not being called by it.
Yi Cho-rin beamed at his fidgety glance.
"Got it! Gaon. Call me when it's done!"
She took position at the entrance and scanned the surroundings, eyes wide as if to prove her worth. Gaon watched her briefly before turning back to his hands.
It's been a while.
In his first timeline, he'd often made shoes like this. Mercenary work wore out clothes and footwear fast. Gaon hadn't wanted to be a merc, but without ID or credentials, it was his only option.
With talent, he might've been scouted by a mage tower, temple, or guild. But he was utterly ordinary, so he'd wandered alone, scraping by on pennies.
Before awakening to mana—his ki—and adapting to mercenary life, he'd lived worse than a dog. Countless nights huddled in stables or alleys without even inn money.
Recalling it made him feel pathetic. It had been 24 years since last time, but his body remembered; his hands moved on autopilot before his mind could command them. Or with his changed body now, maybe his soul remembered?
With idle thoughts, the shoes came together quickly. They'd find abandoned footwear wandering this forest soon enough—no need for more effort. They'd last about a week anyway; plenty of time to replace them.
"Yi Cho-rin. Done. Try them on."
"Ah, yes! Thanks, Gaon."
She turned at his call, bowed her head in gratitude at the shoes in his hand, and slipped them on. By eye alone, but his Union-honed instincts were uncanny—they fit perfectly.
"Wow! Perfect fit. You're amazing!"
"It's nothing. Next topic, then. Yi Cho-rin, you still don't know how to use your Unique Ability?"
"No... I have no clue. Absorb life force? Grant it? No idea what that even means...."
The world's fundamental essence was mana, which could take any form: demonic energy for demons, dragon mana for dragons. Life force was just another variant.
So if she could handle mana, she could use her ability... but she couldn't even sense it yet. A serious roadblock.
Gaon pondered, recalling a rumor from his past life, and acted on it.
"Ack! G-Gaon!? What are you—?!"
"Can you absorb this? It's the only thing that comes to mind for life force."
Gaon extended his finger to her. A bead of red liquid welled from a cut on the spear tip.
Yi Cho-rin recoiled violently at the blood. Games depicted life bars as blood, a concept widespread on Earth and not so different in the Union. Nothing embodied human life force more viscerally than blood.
The rumor had been just that: healing cults sacrificing slaves to extend nobles' lives. Yi Cho-rin's power wasn't free—it demanded equivalent exchange. The cults had forced her to absorb human blood, and when her kind nature resisted, they'd brainwashed her.
Even now, she couldn't bring herself to touch his blood.
"Gaon...."
"Come on. Don't waste it."
"...Okay."
Half-threatened, she finally reached out and took his blood onto her finger. She murmured "absorb... absorb..." but nothing happened.
Failure.
"Sorry...."
After many tries with no change, she slumped, her crestfallen face screaming self-disappointment. Gaon stroked his chin at the mismatch with the rumor and suggested,
"What if you drink it?"
"...Huh?"
"Drink the blood. Isn't that a form of absorption?"
"B-but...."
He urged again, but she clearly balked. Who wouldn't, aside from vampires?
As she stared at the blood on his finger, Gaon said,
"It's fine. Not dirty or anything."
"It's not that!"
"Then what?"
"Ugh, ughhh...."
She hesitated, watching his casual demeanor.
It feels... lewd....
Imagining sucking his blood felt oddly erotic. Not that it applied to her, but she'd recalled European vampire lore where bloodsucking equated to sex. Gaon wouldn't think that way, and she knew she shouldn't care, but it nagged her.
Under his persistent gaze, though, she had no choice but to bring the blood to her lips.
*Slurp!*
As his finger entered her mouth and the metallic tang hit her tongue, Yi Cho-rin felt something alien.
What... is this?
Like a chick hatching, a new world opened to her. Something she'd never sensed before permeated everything. Dazed in the euphoria, she felt the blood droplet transmute into unfamiliar energy coiling in her chest.
"Ah...!"
This is life force!
Enlightenment dawned, and she instinctively grasped how to use her Unique Ability.
I can help Gaon now!
The knot in her heart since yesterday unraveled; her face lit up. Gaon, recognizing his gamble paid off from her reaction, prompted her.
"Yi Cho-rin. How is it?"
"Ah... I got it. I know how to use the ability now!"
"Good. Well done."
"Yes! Thanks to you, Gaon! Thank you!"
He got her joy, but they had far to go. With a packed agenda, Gaon just nodded curtly.
"No problem. What does it do, exactly?"
"Sure. Give me your hand?"
Gaon offered his hand; she gently cupped it between hers. Closing her eyes in focus, she murmured softly,
"Grant."
With the word, a faint emerald glow flickered from her hands. The soothing green light seeped into his finger, mending the cut completely.
It wasn't holy power or healing magic—uniquely hers.
"...The wound's fully healed."
"Ahaha! Pretty great, right?"
"Yes. Impressive."
Her first praise from him elated her. Ears perked at his voice as she buzzed with thoughts of being useful.
"Now that we've sorted the basics, let's move. The sun's already up."
Looking skyward with him, she saw the sun fully risen. It had just been peeking when they started; time had flown.
Knowing they needed water today or risk disaster, she tamped down her joy and replied briskly.
"Ah, yes! Let's go!"
All preparations complete. Time to properly explore the forest.