[The Whispering Wind (1)]

A chilly wind blew in from somewhere, rustling the branches and sending a frantic chorus of leaves slapping against each other. The sound made the already eerie atmosphere even more unsettling.

On a path like this, weapons were unnecessary. They only got in the way and made things uncomfortable. Besides, monsters didn’t appear here. Everyone was still tense, though, and nobody wanted to put their weapons away.

They were acting like they were actually serious about an adventure. Elena was in the back, but why the hell was she doing that?

“Concentrate. Kim Jinwu.”

“What?”

Elena poked my back. Even with Elysha and Yoo Dahui right there, she just blurted it out. I hadn’t said a word about her cheeky attitude from earlier. ‘What concentration?’

The moment Elysha is in danger, Elena jumps in. What does that mean? If she’s protecting Elysha, she’s plenty safe behind her. So I just walked behind Elysha.

Of course I had to stay alert, but I didn’t need to be that serious. Some chit-chat, a little excitement—hell, that’d be nice.

‘But…’

Thinking about it, I actually felt a little pissed off. Elena hitting my back? Even if it was gentle, barely a tap, I couldn’t stand it.

“Ugh… Was that the ‘command’? Can you… turn it off right now?”

The moment I mentally issued it, Elena reacted on her own. She looked startled, hand already lowering. No more commands to turn it off. I silently glanced back. Since she was in the rear, I could smirk all I wanted without anyone noticing.

The sound vanished without a trace a moment later. Elena had used mana to erase it. As she couldn’t hear my private banter with Elysha, I could no longer hear her own muffled cries echoing from behind.

One of the random skills I pick up as a player. I have to learn it myself. I figured Elena would pass it on naturally.

Elena, fidgeting behind me as she watched our backs. Still walking right behind Elysha. My strength and agility had grown a lot—maybe that, or just the fact I wasn’t talking—so my pace felt completely different from the 1st floor.

We moved through a narrow path without spotting a single monster. On the 1st floor, the monsters that appear are mostly goblins. Those two-legged goblins from the Academy taste test can’t climb steep mountains. Even if they’re strong, the ones near the Academy are impossible. Random goblins form packs to attack players. Some carry sickles and hoes, others ride on mud-made horses. If you’re not a ridiculously strong player, parties are mandatory. These aren’t the Academy’s weak goblins at all. The Academy’s are set to average party strength, while the ones outside have fixed stats. Outside the Academy, goblin power averages far above humans. Even Yoo Dahui, a regresor, has died dozens of times just trying to clear the 1st floor before reaching the 5th floor’s starting point.

It felt ridiculously far. We kept walking. The dark forest slowly began to emit light. Distant lights appeared. Beyond them, something could be seen.

“Look, something’s visible over there.”

Following Elysha’s finger, the rundown ‘First City’ finally came into view. The first ‘safe zone’ on the 1st floor. Named ‘First City,’ it’s really just a backwater village. A city? Come on. Thinking about the novel, ‘First City’ isn’t a real city. It’s even more rundown than a countryside town. The worst-case scenario would be something even worse welcoming us. That’s why it’s so hard to survive on the 1st floor—living in a monster slum worse than a village. I wanted to run straight to the 2nd floor already. All the greenskins, beastmen, and other races that live in nature. After tasting the tutorial and Academy, humans who can’t survive in the real world suddenly become impossible to live with. What about humans? ‘The 2nd floor isn’t different.’

But Yoo Dahui in the novel had said it was fun once you adapted. Just like how delaying army training makes you a fool, getting hit sooner is better. After tasting the 1st floor’s spice, you’ll be raring to go.

“Oof…”

Looking at the miserable ‘safe zone’ crushed my chest. Yoo Dahui was already sighing. The only one who stayed calm was Elena. She’d already lived through it and knew how it was, plus she could teleport up to the upper floors anytime.

Slurp—!

The moment the ground erupted, it formed a shape. A goblin slightly larger than an adult male.

“Five…!”

Elena wasn’t joining the fight. She was going to mercilessly grind Elysha’s growth. So the five of us had to crush those four. I stepped forward and got into position. Our party’s vanguard was Yoo Dahui, me, and Eloin. Of those, Eloin was currently the strongest.

“Princess Elysha, stay behind me.”

“Ah.”

Even with Elena around, Eloin still protected Elysha. But Elysha didn’t want overprotection.

“Eloin, I’m pretty strong too. All my lost power has recovered, so I’m not that weak.”

Water elementals began gathering around Elysha—three of them, newborn-sized, much larger than the ones I’d seen on the 1st floor. Mid-tier water elementals, just below the middle of the seven stages. ‘Solid.’ Water elementals are one of the best counters against goblins. Weak goblins lose their form when wet. Weaponless goblins can’t even fight back. The goblins charged at us. Their movements were fast enough that I couldn’t relax.

“Here they ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠come!”

Bang—!

Yoo Dahui shoved the goblin with her shield. The impact felt heavy. I didn’t just stand there either. I had to taste it for growth. One goblin leaped at me. I raised my shield and blocked.

Bang—!

The full-power goblin’s charge was something a mere human like me couldn’t block. I had to absorb the impact. I rolled with the goblin on the ground.

“Pfft!”

The others were busy dealing with the goblins in front of them. The only one who could laugh at my pathetic state was Elena. Her mockery was too embarrassing.

“Ah, ahh! I won’t laugh! I swear I won’t! Please watch me!”

Elena begged while pulling the switch fixed in her black tights. Before it could return to maximum vibration, I canceled the command.

“From now on, thank you.”

“T-thank you…”

“Master?”

Elena muttered while glancing at the group fighting in front. “Thank you. Master…”

“Hah.”

I stood up. My pride had recovered, so I stopped holding back. The goblin looked at me like I was a rival and waited. It felt like another world existed between us.

“Hraaah!”

I stomped my foot at the goblin. This time it went into a defensive stance. Its counter was on another level compared to the deadmen or ghouls—pure offense with no defense. I hit it with ‘Black Magic.’

Life force dropped close to zero. But I felt overflowing strength. I swung my sword at the goblin. A reckless attack.

“If you’re going to swing a sword like that, why not use a club?”

I ignored Elena’s jab and poured strength into my grip. I filled it with the momentum to crush the goblin.

Crack—!

The goblin’s left arm shattered on my sword. Still, it swung its remaining arm at me without a care. Only monsters that can’t feel pain would do that. I raised my shield.

“Kup…”

Blocking didn’t change anything. The pain transmitted past the shield vibrated inside my arm. Blocking like this must hurt like hell. ‘Should I start dodging instead of blocking? I don’t like pain.’

Thinking that, I kept exchanging blows with the goblin. “Dodging? Yeah, when hit on the left arm, it’s like getting fucked.”

The goblin mostly dodged my attacks. Once it started dodging, my strikes only cut air. Its speed was insane. “Huff… huff… I’m really tired…”

“Want me to help?”

Elysha’s blunt tone. It was obvious she didn’t want to help. “Wow… I’m the only one like this.”

“Want help?”

Yoo Dahui asked teasingly. Compared to Elysha, she clearly wanted to help. The others who had already cleared the goblins were watching me. I was the weakest, but my hands were shaking. “No thanks. I need to grind alone to level faster.”

I refused the help. After all, the finish would be a regress, so I had to roll as much as possible before that.

“Shadow, wake up.”

I could show this much, right? Yoo Dahui had given ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me the Ancient Spirit Trace herself. But I warned her once. ‘Don’t speak.’ If she was discovered talking, the way I used her would become useless.

“Oh, what’s that?”

“Shadow spirit.”

“A shadow spirit? How did you…”

My shadow twisted and rose. Elysha scanned it with disbelief. My body shape was identical, so I felt a little embarrassed. No dick, so I used that as comfort. I got into position. Dropping sword and shield, I raised my guard.

“This is Korean traditional martial arts.”

“Traditional martial arts…?”

“Yeah, traditional martial arts. Dagu-ri.”

“…Looks like you’re still full of energy? Why ask?”

Yoo Dahui let out a light laugh. Elysha muttered looking at her. “Dahui’s laughing so I keep going.”

“Really?”

What’s so fun? The two of them were chatting and laughing together. Elena had slipped over to their side too. Only Eloin and Elbaren, who weren’t part of the women’s group, were watching the fierce battle beside me.

I gave the shadow spirit an order. “Fuck! Cover!”

The goblin seemed to be complaining at me, but whatever. Winning was what mattered.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Th-ring—!

Today I sent another goblin into the dirt.

— Combat settlement in progress… —

— 1,000 coins acquired! —

— Hardened Skin Lv.4 ▶ Hardened Skin Lv.5 —

— Shield Lv.3 ▶ Shield Lv.4 —

There was a sense of achievement from the hard work. Seeing the numbers rise made me feel proud.

“You worked hard.”

“Thank you.”

Elysha patted my shoulder. “Elysha, what are you doing?”

“Washing my hands. Dahui, do you want to wash too?”

The water elemental dripped water while Elysha rubbed her hands underneath. It felt like she was rubbing where I touched—adorable. At least this showed we were close. I didn’t mind the feeling at all.

“Let’s move again.”

We stepped into the wide-open First City.