The Trial (2)
The morning sun had risen, and the warm light streaming through the window filled the room with a cozy feeling. I stirred from sleep, my body still heavy and tired, but my mind clear and refreshed.
“Where’d she go?”
The Yu Dahui who should have been lying beside me was already up and gone from the room. It would have been nice if we’d woken together. The intense night we’d just had still lingered, leaving me with a touch of loneliness.
I rolled out of bed, washed up quickly, and headed down to the first floor of the inn. Only the innkeeper sat slumped at the counter, the tables all empty.
“What the…?”
It was too quiet. Even if I discounted Yu Dahui, where was Kang Hana? Had she not woken up yet? We’d planned to eat breakfast together, but neither had shown up. At this point I figured they’d already left or were still asleep in their rooms.
I went back upstairs, just in case.
I knocked lightly on Yu Dahui’s door.
Tock, tock, tock—
Almost immediately a response came. I don’t know why, but it sounded like she was inside.
“Who is it?”
“It’s me.”
The reply vanished. Soon came the sound of frantic movement—things being shifted around.
I could just use my inventory and clear it in seconds. But Yu Dahui was still a beginner player back then.
“Just a second.”
“……”
I swallowed hard. It felt like she was trying to hide something, like a kid caught red-handed.
Standing right outside her door, I started wondering what was inside. I’d never actually set foot in her room before. It was a forbidden space, I guess. We hadn’t even been together for an hour yet. Ironically, I’d been in my own room plenty of times, but never hers. My hands trembled with anticipation.
The door creaked open and Yu Dahui gave an awkward smile.
The room itself wasn’t anything special. Just messy. The heat from all the frantic motion earlier still hung in the air. The entire space smelled like Yu Dahui.
Like Pavlov’s dog, my dick started leaking at the scent. Ah, swallow. Good, it’s standing at attention.
I was starting to lose my mind over her, too. Maybe I should get my mind adjusted with a mask or something.
“Why’d you come up?”
“Just… no one in the lobby, so I went to check.”
“Oh. I was going to clean up and head down, but I woke up earlier than I thought. I figured I’d sleep longer.”
“Haha…”
Yu Dahui ran her tongue across her lips, like she was savoring the taste. The tone in her voice was pure filth.
“So I worked you over hard last night, and you’re already up? Don’t you get tired?”
“……Go downstairs first.”
“Sure. I’ll tell Onee-san about it before I go. We’re going to take down the field boss today, so bring anything useful. Well, that Onee-san doesn’t believe in regression, so she’ll probably think it’s just… you know what I mean?”
“Today?”
“Yeah. I’ve done everything I needed to do on the first floor.”
I nodded instead of saying anything. There were plenty of things to do on the first floor. The hidden pieces the author had planted for Yu Dahui were the perfect example—stat bonuses, awakenings, all sorts of effects. The hidden pieces the author had rigged for human-only use, like the one that required your stats to be below level 3. Anyone who got one was supposed to have it. I hadn’t had time to check their locations with my eyes while she took them. Guess I’ll have to give it up.
Time to go convince Yu Dahui to eat hidden pieces. With so many, how much longer would we be stuck on the first floor? Yu Dahui seemed a little bitter about it too. We’d just get the ones we needed from the upper floors instead. Early-game hidden pieces, after all. If I suffered a little…
“Kim Jinwoo…? Did you sleep well…?”
When I came down alone, Kang Hana was already there. She greeted me with more awkwardness than on our first meeting.
Hmph!
She sat across from me, looked away, and coughed awkwardly.
Why was she acting like this? Young kids with high blood are supposed to be energetic, but you should keep it down a bit.
……
The innkeeper brought over a single serving of bread and soup without being asked, delivering the scolding he’d been holding back. Ah, so that’s why Kang Hana was acting weird. She’d heard the whole thing.
“A-Ajummi! If you say it that directly…”
“Ajummi? How many years younger are you than me?!”
“S-Sister…”
“Yeah, I’m your sister.”
Unlike the flustered Kang Hana, the innkeeper went for the full effect. What is sex? It’s not a bad thing. I used to eat a lot of men back in my day. But I kept up appearances with my neighbors. You kids are too loud at night. The sound of Yu Dahui moaning is echoing through the entire inn…
“S-Stop! Sister!”
“What do you mean stop? You need to hear how to have better sex from now on. Jinwoo, our inn doesn’t have good soundproofing. So from now on, keep it quiet. If it feels too good, cover your mouth and hold it in?”
Should I pass on the innkeeper’s warning to Yu Dahui? I seriously considered it. Since we were going up to the first floor today, maybe I didn’t need to say anything. I could just keep it to myself. But Yu Dahui was coming down right now, while the innkeeper was still talking.
Or, there’s another way—let me show you how good it is once.
“Sister, don’t you dare try to do it with Jinwoo.”
While the innkeeper was trying to slip in one last comment, Yu Dahui stood behind him and delivered a perfect strike to the counter. She’d built the wall I needed instead.
“It’s over quickly, huh?”
“You weren’t even that full when you came up.”
It had cleaned up faster than I expected. Of course—stuffing everything into my inventory ended it instantly. No need to drag it out.
“Wow, Dahui’s here. I heard how you were working Yu Dahui over last night. She must have been moaning so much that I finally got to have some myself.”
“Good for you. From now on I’ll be quieter, I promise.”
“Got it. Since I heard everything, no need to say more.”
The innkeeper grinned and went back to the counter. On the table sat a single serving of bread and soup from the innkeeper, still steaming.
“You told Onee-san? You didn’t?”
“Because of the innkeeper.”
“Yeah, that tracks.”
Yu Dahui shot the innkeeper a glare and turned to Kang Hana. Sister, we’re going to take down the field boss today. Are you coming with us?
“Field boss?”
“Yes. We’re going to take down the field boss and head up to the first floor.”
Yu Dahui had planned to do exactly what she needed on the first floor—the hidden piece that would prove the “Kim Jinwoo = Masked Man” theory beyond a shadow of a doubt. But since that 99.9% certain suspect, Kim Jinwoo, was now ruled out, there was no reason to stay on the first floor any longer. I wasn’t sure he’d been truly removed, but Yu Dahui wasn’t showing any hostility right now. If she suspected something, I’d deal with it later. Right now I just wanted to enjoy the ambiguity.
Kang Hana thought for a moment, then nodded. Well, if we have to go anyway…
“Let’s all go together, Sister.”
“Hmph. Fine, let’s go.”
Her cheerful reply, but I could tell she had something else to say.
“But you know, Dahui.”
“Yes, Sister.”
“You two… you’re dating, right…?”
“The two of us?”
Kang Hana looked between me and Yu Dahui, then struggled to speak. Y-Yeah… last night…
“Ah.”
Yu Dahui stared straight at me. She looked like she was trying to figure out what to say. Are we dating? It doesn’t feel like it.
Yu Dahui smiled playfully and defined our relationship. Jinwoo?
“Yeah. What are we, exactly?”
“We’re not dating yet, but I like you more right now.”
Everyone around us froze. Kang Hana stared at us, completely confused.
“Even though we’re not dating, last night…”
In the novel, Yu Dahui was conservative about sex. One-night stands? Not a chance. But she was a woman who still had pride when it came to it.
“Hah, what? Two people who like each other can just stay under the same blanket on the bed, right?”
That’s right, right? You like me too, don’t you?
The words I heard and the way I felt were completely different. Compared to the proud way she said it, her meaning felt ridiculously weak.
I swallowed my laughter. When I didn’t react, Yu Dahui’s face flushed bright red. She quickly changed the subject.
“For now, Sister, we’re going to take down the field boss today. With your skill, you can take it down easily, but then we won’t get any reward.”
“We’re not dating… but… we’re going to have sex…? I don’t get it…”
“Onee-san?”
“W-What?”
“Well, I was thinking this time we’re only going to take down the field boss together, the two of us.”
Correct judgment. I had no idea how much suffering she’d gone through in the seventh cycle, but Yu Dahui had nailed the key point. When Baek Seon-woo took it down alone, we only got ten coins. He contributed nothing. But when we took it together, things changed. We’d earn a huge reward, of course. You two…? I don’t mind…
Snagging proper contribution when taking down a field boss would raise one star. Even a tutorial clear reward was fine. The one advantage of having a higher star was that the Attack Immunity granted to boss monsters also granted Evasion. It meant the System’s correction evasion could be bypassed. Even a monster that was insanely strong couldn’t be taken down on a lower star floor. Of course you couldn’t go up to the next floor. Those overpowered monsters were also the ones that rose stars the fastest, but still pointless. This was just another setting to separate normal mid-to-low rank players from the regressor Yu Dahui.
“Kim Jinwoo. You’re not scared now, are you?”
“Me?”
“Looks good on you.”
We finished preparing and stepped out of the inn. Heading up to the first floor meant we’d say goodbye to this place forever. No regret. The dorm on the first floor was already far more comfortable.
The path to the field boss wasn’t far. Yu Dahui had already scouted the target—something other than the Dark Knight Baek Seon-woo had taken down. In the seventh cycle she’d prepared for this one.
────
“CHALLENGER…?”
────
A Dark Knight roared, sending a wave of pressure toward us. The black armor he wore looked like it could withstand anything.
“We can take it. No need to worry.”
Did he think I was scared? Yu Dahui smiled calmly, gripping her sword and shield. A pure white light poured from her and wrapped around my shield.
[Enhanced durability]
My shield felt a little sturdier. Damn, that’s strong. This is the regressor bus, all right.
────
[Enhanced durability]
“This is…”
“You’re the one who’s dangerous, not me.”
It was rock-solid. Yeah, this is the regressor way.
────
“You can’t even scratch my armor with that sword… what?!”
────
Not from mana. It wasn’t a mana-induced scratch—
────
A fatal strike had pierced the Dark Knight’s armor.
“You bitch… how did a 2-star manage that…?!”
It was a Critical Hit granted by the System’s correction. Yu Dahui’s sword had sliced straight through the Dark Knight’s armor.