The sky was clear, and the sunlight warm.
When the wind blew, the verdure growing across the fields swayed with a great rustling sound.
We opened our eyes beneath the shade of a tree and felt as though our chests had been opened wide.
“What a beautiful view. I didn’t know there were gates like this.”
“To think that a world like this could transform into a gate and threaten our world…. It’s hardly something I can believe.”
Lisa and Bak Sagun exchanged their impressions, admiring the scenery.
Agreeing with them, I quietly looked around the sunny world.
Slimes inhabited the world where the ground and sky met at the horizon.
Rose Photon Slimes and Golden Photon Slimes, their semitransparent bodies shaped like droplets.
Within the differently colored creatures, particles that glittered with light floated in common.
Their features impossible to make out, they almost seemed to be sunbathing.
‘Maybe I should have brought Haneul along….’
Regret came too late.
I had never imagined that a backdrop that had left me unimpressed in the game could be this beautiful.
It was simply a shame that I couldn’t show it to Yeon Haneul.
At the very least, I should take some pictures.
That was when a message appeared in my field of vision.
[The conquest conditions are as follows.]
[Subjugate the Photon Slime possessing the Gate Key.]
It was a conquest condition that would naturally be fulfilled while carrying out So Hyeyul’s quest.
I dismissed the message with my hand and spoke to my friends.
“From what we heard beforehand, it doesn’t seem like there are any monsters here besides Photon Slimes, so how about we each fight on our own? This is an open field with hardly any terrain or structures around, so even if we spread out, it’ll be easy to keep track of one another.”
Photon Slimes were relatively docile monsters that preferred the mana dissolved in the atmosphere over the mana within humans.
They also lacked any proper offensive skills, so they posed no threat to us.
That was why I had suggested using them in place of individual training.
My friends did not strongly object.
“Then how about we establish some rules in case anything unexpected happens?”
“I agree. We are still a party, after all. I don’t think it’s good for us to focus too much on acting individually.”
“It’s not as though I haven’t thought about it. So how about this? We’ll operate within one another’s line of sight, and if we have to go far away, we’ll tell whoever is nearby. Since communicating with hand signals would be difficult, we can exchange signals with flares….”
“Gyeonu, let’s also gather at set intervals to exchange information. That way, we can check on one another’s condition too, right?”
“Do Gyeonu! The three of us are one!”
“Three-headed hound! Cerberus!”
“Therefore, the three of us will act together! If you object, you’re right!”
We decided to use the tree beneath which we stood as our meeting point.
It was the perfect location, easily visible from anywhere.
Even if Yong Haerang was terribly directionless, surely he wouldn’t get lost.
Probably….
It should be fine, right?
‘I’ll keep him with me for now, so I’ll worry about that later.’
It seemed we had settled on all the rules that needed to be agreed upon.
Gang Hanbyeol had certainly been the one to gather the party, but somehow I had become its leader. I clapped my hands.
“Then use a flare whenever anything happens. If you’re injured, don’t try to endure it until you reach your limit. Go to Lisa and get treated. Lisa, you know you can’t go far from this tree, right?”
“Yes, I understand. If any of you get hurt, don’t hesitate to come to me, even if it’s only a small wound. Small wounds are easier to treat than large ones, and they put less strain on me. You can also come to receive buffs.”
“You all heard her, right? Don’t break the rules. All right, dismissed. Ah, Yuri, don’t do anything needlessly dangerous.”
“Gyeonu-gyeonu! You really don’t trust me, do you? That hurts, you know!? I’ll go play safely! Well, it looks like the meeting is over, so I’ll be off!”
Nam Yuri was the first to leave.
Her white dress fluttering, she advanced across the field as though dancing, scythe in hand, apparently in high spirits.
The slimes within the range of her attacks were scattered to pieces or dropped magic stones.
Meanwhile, following her lead, Gang Hanbyeol, Bak Sagun, Yong Haerang, and the triplets also began looking for their own places.
I called out to Yong Haerang among them.
“Haerang, stay behind for a moment.”
“Do you have something to say to me?”
“I’m not from a martial arts school, but may I give you a piece of advice?”
“Advice?”
Yong Haerang asked back, furrowing one eyebrow.
Then he gave a light nod, as if telling me to go ahead.
I recalled his temperament and thought of a way to persuade him before opening my mouth.
“Haerang, do you really think slimes that move slowly and have nonthreatening attacks will make suitable training partners? I don’t think they’ll be much help.”
“Hmm…. It’s not as though I haven’t thought about that. At best, it’ll feel like fighting a somewhat sturdier water balloon. Do you happen to have a better idea?”
“I do. Add a handicap.”
“A handicap?”
“Yeah. Don’t manifest the mana inside your body. Fight using only your physical strength.”
“…”
I punched a Rose Photon Slime that had approached my feet.
The slime, crushed into the shape of my fist, rippled its semitransparent body.
Before long, it returned to its original form as though nothing had happened.
There was no sign of any damage from the blow.
“As you just saw, Photon Slimes can absorb impact and halve the damage from attacks. Physical attacks without mana infused into them hardly work at all.”
“You’re telling me to fight those things barehanded?”
“But it’s not as though they have no effect whatsoever, right?”
“…”
“If you train with that in mind, don’t you think you might realize something? A method, technique, or principle for effectively dealing with monsters of this type.”
The game had a skill called Penetrating Force.
It could only be learned by martial-arts-type characters. It was useful because it increased the critical-hit chance of attacks subject to contact judgment and could, upon dealing damage with such an attack, inflict additional damage with a certain probability.
I intended to have Yong Haerang learn that skill.
‘It would be great if he learned it while we were at it.’
The condition for acquiring the skill was to kill a monster resistant to physical attacks using a martial-arts-type character’s basic attack.
And the monsters needed for that were scattered all around us.
Not wanting to miss this opportunity, I waited for Yong Haerang’s answer.
At last, after pondering, he clasped his hands in a martial salute.
“Thank you, Do Gyeonu! You’re right—this should make excellent training! I’m suddenly getting fired up!?”
“I’m glad you’re interested.”
Yong Haerang liked my proposal.
He immediately declared that he was going to train and ran across the field, laughing loudly.
I felt relieved as I watched him shout his battle cry and punch the slimes.
‘It would be great if he could obtain Penetrating Force here….’
Unfortunately, acquiring the skill was entirely up to Yong Haerang.
Hoping that he would achieve something, I decided to hunt the slimes.
[You have encountered a monster.]
[Golden Photon Slime (Rank 02) x 1]
Photon Slimes were Rank 2 to 3.
With high defense and low attack, they were nothing more than experience points to me.
I searched through the bushes for them and subjugated them without much difficulty.
In between, I summoned Wall Lightning and absorbed the remnants.
It was during that process that a skill stone appeared.
‘Finally.’
I checked the skill stone’s information.
[Golden Photon Slime Skill Stone]
◆ Consumable Category
―Skill Stone
◆ Detailed Description
―A skill stone originating from a Golden Photon Slime.
◆ Detailed Effect
―Upon absorption, 2% of the Toxic Decomposition skill can be learned.
Toxic Decomposition was a skill that reduced the duration of poison and, in some cases, could even detoxify it.
Distinct from Toxic Resistance, which reduced damage caused by poison, it was precisely what I had wanted.
‘If I have both Toxic Resistance and Toxic Decomposition, I’ll be able to deal with most ordinary poisons from now on.’
I had realized something while watching Yeon Haneul hover between life and death after being poisoned by a Darknight Wasp.
I needed to be thoroughly prepared against poison.
This was a world where more types of poison existed than in the game—including poisons I knew nothing about.
To survive in such a world, Toxic Resistance alone was insufficient.
Having nearly lost her once, I couldn’t be satisfied with my current state.
That was why I had entered the gate.
To obtain the skill stones containing Toxic Decomposition from Golden Photon Slimes.
‘After Haneul and I learn it, I’ll collect some for the others too.’
I infused the skill stone with mana to check its compatibility.
Since it was not a skill that discriminated much between people, the skill stone glimmered yellow.
It would probably react to Yeon Haneul as well.
At the same time, I could already see the arduous road ahead.
‘Two percent….’
To acquire the skill, I would have to collect fifty skill stones like this.
Considering the share for my other friends, the number we needed would multiply several times over.
Furthermore, unlike magic stones, which were guaranteed to appear when a monster was killed, skill stones were based on independent probability.
They were bound to become a considerable burden.
Realistically, even if we stayed up all night, reaching our target would be difficult, and with bad luck, we might not even obtain enough for one person.
‘I want everyone to learn Toxic Decomposition, but… I shouldn’t be too greedy. Let’s collect as many as we can.’
That was why I had not brought Yeon Haneul.
There was no telling when this would end, and she would grow tired from the repetitive hunting without feeling any sense of accomplishment.
I didn’t want to put her through unnecessary hardship.
As for the others—apart from Gang Hanbyeol, who had business at the gate from the beginning….
‘Sorry, but let’s suffer through this together.’
Looking at it positively, it wasn’t an entirely bad thing.
My friends would gain experience fighting Photon Slimes, build up their stamina, and grow stronger.
I had also brought tents and late-night snacks so I could feed them and put them up for the night.
In other words, free room and board.
‘All you have to do is work your bodies. How comfortable and convenient is that? Even in my previous life, I had to pay out of pocket to live….’
In truth, if time were not an issue, this was probably a comfortable environment for training.
I hoped they would mine as many skill stones as possible.
‘This should be enough for now.’
Meanwhile, I also intended to make full use of this environment.
I absorbed the remnants of Wall Lightning and opened the information window for the Deep Azure Sword, which was intermittently emitting sparks.
[Deep Azure Sword]
◆ Equipment Category
―One-Handed Sword
◆ Detailed Description
―One of the swords favored by Do Mingeon, the second head of the Divine Sword Do Family.
―A one-of-a-kind sword forged from the horn of a Thunderclaw Beast after being tempered for one hundred days.
―Tests its wielder.
◆ Detailed Effects
―Vitality +3, Agility +3
―When equipped, it can be converted into a reverse-bladed sword by consuming mana within the body.
―When equipped, increases the level of all skills bearing the name “Beast King Style” by 1.
―Skill: “Electricity Affinity”
―Skill: “Electricity Condensation”
―Skill: “Electricity Discharge”
―Skill: “Electricity Control” (New!)
Not long ago, when my Agility rose to 70, a new skill embedded in the Deep Azure Sword had been unlocked.
In the game, Electricity Control was a skill that involved spreading the remnants of Wall Lightning absorbed through Electricity Condensation throughout the body, thereby increasing HP and MP recovery speed, physical and magical attack power, physical and magical defense, attack speed, movement speed, evasion rate, and more.
‘It was Do Gyeonu’s exclusive buff skill in the game. The effect of activating it and wrapping Wall Lightning around his body looked so cool….’
The fifth skill of the Deep Azure Sword, along with Electricity Control, would make me stronger than I was now.
The problem was that controlling the skill was extremely difficult.
My body repeatedly failed to move as I intended, putting me in danger time and again.
At my current level, it was nowhere near ready for actual combat.
So I decided to use this opportunity to practice the skill and somehow grasp the knack for it.
‘This is the perfect environment for practicing the skill. The area is wide open, and there are no dangerous monsters.’
After steadying my breathing, I focused my consciousness through the Deep Azure Sword.
I unraveled the condensed Wall Lightning.
Blue electricity surged up fiercely and coiled around my body.
The sensation of Wall Lightning sweeping across my entire body made every hair on me stand on end.
Before long, the Wall Lightning flowing into my body stimulated my heart, blood vessels, and mana circuits.
My eyes flashed open at the prickling sensation of electricity running through me.
Crack!
I immediately stepped forward.
My field of vision was pushed backward before I even realized it.
The mind could not keep up with its speed, and the command signals from the brain fell into dissonance with the body.
As my body threatened to topple over, I somehow gritted my teeth and tried to regain my balance.
‘I’ll control it today, no matter what.’
And so, I struggled in the field.
* * *
‘When is he coming…?’
Do Gyeon-u had told her to go to sleep first, but there was no way she could sleep peacefully.
The person who made her anxious whenever he was out of sight, and who made her feel at ease only when he was by her side, was her childhood friend.
‘I miss Gyeon-u….’
Yeon Haneul felt endlessly depressed, as though the world had stopped whenever Do Gyeon-u was not around.
Lacking the motivation to do anything, she lay on her bed, blankly staring at pictures of him.
That was when the doorbell rang.
“Hm?”
The rabbit ears that caught the sound perked up.
Yeon Haneul sat up in bed and turned her gaze toward the entrance.
“Who could it be….”
Someone seemed to have come to visit.
A late-night visitor was bound to put her on guard.
Yeon Haneul swung her legs out of bed, threw on something light, and picked up the device she had left on her desk.
Planning to bring down her iron hammer if necessary, she opened the door.
“Hi, Haneul! Surprised? I figured you’d still be awake, so I came to hang out. What were you doing?”
“…Eun-bi? Eun-sol and A-rin too….”
“Yep. Good evening. We brought food.”
“Hello. You should be grateful that I came to visit.”
Standing outside the door were Go Eun-bi, Cha Eun-sol, and Min A-rin, each carrying a black plastic bag.
Yeon Haneul blinked at their unexpected visit.
Go Eun-bi then lifted her bag and waved it in front of Haneul’s eyes.
“We thought we’d have some drinks while waiting for Gyeon-u and the others to come back. It’d be rude for us to enjoy ourselves without you. Haneul, you’re drinking, right?”
“Huh?”
“Great, she said she’ll drink! Not that she had the right to refuse in the first place. Then shall we have a drinking party in Haneul’s room!?”
“What? In my room? All of a sudden?”
“We don’t have time to stand around. Come on, everyone, let’s get inside before the dorm supervisor catches us!”
Whether Yeon Haneul was flustered or not,
Go Eun-bi stepped through the entrance without a care, took off her shoes, and entered the room.
Cha Eun-sol and Min A-rin followed after her in turn.
“What is going on….”
After closing the door, Yeon Haneul stood there blankly and looked around her room.
The room that had felt spacious only moments ago was suddenly bustling.
Go Eun-bi headed familiarly into the kitchen and brought out various dishes and drinking glasses.
Cha Eun-sol set out the drinks and snacks while chewing on a chicken skewer.
Min A-rin narrowed her eyes as though snooping around and surveyed the room.
“…”
The warmth of human presence began to fill the room.
Only belatedly grasping the situation, Yeon Haneul felt grateful for her friends’ consideration.
She released the hand gripping the device in her pocket and walked over to them.
“Since we’re drinking in my room, you all know there’s an entrance drink, right? Everyone except me has to drink one glass.”
“Waaah… Look how evil Haneul is. She’s exactly like Gyeon-u at times like this…. And you don’t know the love of your classmates!? Class! Mate! Love! Country! Love!”
“Then A-rin can drink Eun-bi’s share for her. She can be our black knight.”
“Huh? Hey, Yeon Haneul! Why are you suddenly picking on me when I was just sitting here? The entrance drink is ridiculous enough, but what? You want me to be a black knight….”
“Nom nom. Be my black knight too. Thank you.”
“No, listen to me…. Why do I have to drink for her!?”
“Sniff…. A-rin, do you really want to know? Can you handle the truth? Because you’re… No, I can’t say it.”
“Yep…. Because you’re the weakest?”
“Ah! Eun-sol said it out loud…. This isn’t my fault.”
“I’m… the weakest? Me? Meee? I’m Min A-rin!?”
“A-rin, could you lower your voice? What are you going to do if the dorm supervisor hears you?”
“I can’t let this go. Correct yourself before I take it as an insult. If you don’t correct yourself….”
“I have an iron hammer in my pocket right now.”
“…I’ll be quiet, okay? I’ll be quiet. You’re seriously so barbaric….”
“Yep, I’m the academy’s top student. How are your grades?”
“Fuuu—.”
“Bread? Nom…. Sounds delicious.”
“So, don’t you want to know what’s on Haneul’s computer? Haneul! Tell me the password!”
“Eun-bi, don’t touch my computer. Come here and drink with us.”
“The password is… Huh? It worked?”
“Huh?”
“Gyeon-u’s birthday was the password. Now, shall we search and see what’s in here? Let’s start with AVI files….”
“No, don’t. Eun-bi, don’t. Be a good girl, okay? Come here.”
“Hmph, judging by her reaction, I bet she’s hiding some embarrassing videos from other people.”
“Yep…. AVI means videos? I didn’t know that. You knew, though.”
“Ah… I-I mean, of course a modern person should know that! It’s basic common knowledge! Same with hidden files!”
“Your reaction is a little suspicious. I’ll have to dig through A-rin’s computer later too. Anyway, Haneul’s computer is mostly filled with videos of Gyeon-u…. She really is the genuine article.”
“Ugh…. Stop looking already….”
“Ahem! Hey, can I get that video too….”
“A-rin, what did you say? It’s not like the alcohol has messed with your head, is it?”
“…”
“Tell me if there’s something wrong with your head. I’ll fix it for you. Anytime.”
“…My head is perfectly fine, so could you please take your hand off my device?”
“All right! Everyone, cheers!”
“Cheers. Nom nom…. We’re short on snacks. Should I go buy some more?”
And so,
Yeon Haneul shook off her depressed feelings and held a drinking party with the three of them.
Became the Mid-Boss’s Childhood Friend