The day after we returned home to Seoul.
Yeon Haneul came to our house to pay her respects to my parents.
“Hello, Mother. I missed you. Have you been well?”
“Come in, Haneul. You’ve gotten even prettier since I last saw you. Gyeonu must be happy.”
“You’re here? Come on in.”
It wasn’t as if she had any special plans, but Yeon Haneul seemed to have put quite a bit of care into her outfit.
It was no wonder Mother made such a fuss over her and showered her with compliments.
‘She’s pretty….’
Even I found it hard to take my eyes off Yeon Haneul as she smiled and chatted with Mother.
Was it because of the bright, vivid colors of her clothes?
It was almost as if light were shining around her.
Then she drew our attention.
“Ah. And here you go. They’re supplements and cosmetics you can only get in Academy City. I really wanted to give them to you and Father. There’s some for Yeeun inside too.”
“Oh my… You didn’t have to do this… But I can’t refuse, so I’ll gratefully accept them. Thank you, Haneul. I’ll use them well. You didn’t skip buying something you needed because you bought ours, did you?”
“No, nothing like that. I prepared them within a range that wasn’t burdensome for me, so please don’t worry.”
“All right, then. Thank you. You’ll stay for dinner later, won’t you? Is there anything you want to eat? If there is, just tell me.”
“I’m fine with anything. I’ll eat whatever Gyeonu and Yeeun want.”
Yeon Haneul handed over the paper bag she had been holding.
Mother accepted it readily, while outwardly acting reluctant.
Then she turned to me and said,
“Gyeonu, take Haneul to your room. I’ll bring some snacks up soon.”
“Yes, I will. Let’s go, Haneul.”
“Okay!”
Yeon Haneul answered with a bright smile.
Then, undoing the straps of her sandals, she stepped barefoot into the hallway.
Only then did I notice it.
‘She painted her toenails.’
Yeon Haneul’s toenails shone softly, like pearls.
As far as I remembered, they hadn’t been like that yesterday, so she must have done a pedicure sometime in the past day.
It suited her very well.
I said what came to mind.
“Did you get a pedi?”
“Ah, you noticed? Yeah. I did it yesterday with the kids at the orphanage. How is it? Pretty, right?”
“It’s pretty. Same with the clothes you’re wearing today. I don’t think there’s anything that doesn’t suit you.”
“…Mm. Thanks for saying that.”
Yeon Haneul smiled bashfully.
Just looking at her made my expression soften, and I led her to my room.
Then we sat on the floor and chatted quietly until Mother came in with snacks.
“Kids, I’ll put the snacks here. If you want more or need anything, just tell me anytime.”
“Thank you, Mother. I’ll enjoy them.”
“Yes, if we need anything, we’ll come down. Thanks for the snacks.”
“All right. Then I’ll lock the door on my way out, so have fun, you two. I won’t come up unless it’s something important.”
…Mother, why are you locking the door instead of leaving it open?
I couldn’t help feeling dumbfounded as I stared at the door Mother had locked behind her.
“…”
At the same time, things somehow became awkward for no reason.
With the snack table between us, Yeon Haneul and I cautiously watched each other’s reactions.
To dispel the mood…
“I’m curious about what’s come out lately. Want to watch a movie?”
“Y-Yeah…”
“Is there anything you want to watch?”
“Then, um… I want to watch this.”
“Do we… have to watch this one?”
“Why? You don’t want to?”
“…No, let’s watch it. If you want to watch it, we should.”
“Mm. Let’s turn off the lights too.”
“Sure, sure…”
We decided to watch a horror movie.
A short while later, sitting close enough that our shoulders touched, we gradually immersed ourselves in the film.
Then, naturally leaning our shoulders against each other, we held hands to feel that the other was beside us.
‘What the hell. This isn’t scary at all.’
At some point, my arm was around Yeon Haneul’s shoulders.
By then, I had lost interest in the movie.
I was only paying attention to feeling her body heat, hearing her breathing, smelling her scent, and enjoying the sensation of touch.
It felt strange.
I wondered if she felt the same way as she quietly kneaded at my body.
“Haneul, you…”
“Mm.”
“Why are you so soft? It makes me keep wanting to touch you.”
“…I don’t know. What about you? Why are you so firm? You’re driving me crazy…”
“…I don’t know either.”
Like that.
We spent a summer vacation where our reason might have flown out the window at any moment.
We never crossed the line.
Perhaps because our Luck stat was low…
“Haneul unni! You’re sleeping over today, right!? It’s been so long, so come take a bath with me!”
“…!”
Just like when Yeeun suddenly barged in.
Whenever we were about to be swept up in a flow that might have been instinct or might have been the atmosphere, something would happen to ruin the mood.
‘Should I raise Luck more than Magic Power?’
After going through similar incidents several times, I even found myself thinking that.
Of course, it was a joke.
* * *
Just because it was vacation didn’t mean we could laze around endlessly.
If your mind loosened even a little, it led to carelessness, and then you lost your edge.
After idling comfortably at home for a few days, I started training again.
And on this day, as part of that training, I visited the Regulus Clan’s Songpa-gu branch.
“So this is Father’s clan. I’ve caught glimpses of it while passing by, but this is my first time coming here like this.”
“Strictly speaking, it’s the clan owned by our family, and the branch head here isn’t Dad anymore but one of his subordinates. Still, it’s practically Dad’s property. So you’re not wrong.”
“Come on… Gyeonu, don’t say it like that. You’re making me embarrassed for no reason.”
Yeon Haneul and the triplets looked up at the building with the emblem of the Divine Sword Do Family engraved large upon it.
Father scratched his cheek awkwardly as he watched them marvel.
Then he led the way into the building.
“It’s hot out, so let’s not stand around here. Let’s go inside.”
“Yes, let’s. Come on, Haneul.”
“Okay!”
Whether it was me, Yeon Haneul, or the triplets, there were all sorts of limits to training in everyday life.
So I had separately asked Father to arrange for us to use an artificial Gate.
Thanks to that, we were able to smoothly enter the Regulus Clan under Father’s authority, receive a Gate Key, and activate an artificial Gate.
[You have entered the Gate.]
[Yellow: Great Jungle of the Water Spirit III]
The Gate we entered was the Great Jungle of the Water Spirit, which I had experienced once during the family evaluation.
But it wasn’t completely identical.
‘Even if they contain the same world, if the number attached to the Gate’s name is different, the range of the world manifested is different too.’
If the Gate I entered during the family evaluation encompassed the world from the cliff to the Water Spirit’s Lake, then the Gate we entered this time only covered the area around the Water Spirit’s Lake.
Because of that, after walking only a short distance from where we were summoned, the lake soon came into view.
[The clear condition is as follows.]
[Subjugate the Water Spirit.]
In the lake beyond the jungle, subordinate monsters roamed around, led by the Water Spirit.
Hidden in the underbrush, we counted their numbers while keeping watch on our surroundings.
At that moment, Father asked me,
“Gyeonu, are you really going to fight alone? Even if you’ve gotten stronger than before, handling those things alone will be rough…”
“I can handle them by myself, so don’t worry too much. If things go wrong, I can receive help. Dad, please take care of the monsters that come up from under the water together with Haneul and the others.”
Unlike when I had fought it during the family evaluation, the Water Spirit standing at the center of the lake was in excellent condition.
There were no wounds to be found on its body, and none of its arms had been severed.
Surrounded by its subordinate monsters, it truly exuded the dignity befitting a Rank 3 boss monster.
It was only natural that Father would express concern over my intention to face it alone.
Even so, I paid it no mind and walked out of the underbrush.
[Would you like to change your epithet from “Rabbit” to “Boss Baby”?]
[Yes (Selected) / No]
I switched to an epithet that raised my physical abilities by 10% when fighting a boss monster.
At the same time, I advanced toward the lake.
Kiiik?
“Hi. Long time no see. Though even if I say that, you wouldn’t know.”
The Water Spirit and its subordinate monsters noticed me and revealed their hostility.
They wrapped the water that formed their bodies around themselves, or shaped it into weapons and aimed them at me.
That was precisely why I had decided to train here.
Because materials for practicing current control existed all around me like this.
Crackle!
Even as I was threatened by them, I calmly stepped onto the surface of the water.
With every step I took, ripples spread from the point of contact with the surface.
Meanwhile, the Azure Lightning I had gathered in advance within the Ultramarine Sword was sparking as if eager to be released at any moment.
Kiiik!
By then, the monsters surrounding me finally sprang into action.
Without showing any particular reaction to the enemies charging at me from all directions, I activated the magic I had prepared.
A third-tier light-element spell that spread light with the caster at its center and pushed away any substance it touched.
None of them managed to reach me, and they were all shoved back by the light spreading in a sphere.
‘It was worth pouring mana into it. It should be convenient as defensive magic when I’m exposed to attacks from multiple enemies.’
At some point, the light stopped spreading and maintained a fixed state.
Inside it, after confirming the spell’s performance, I gained a certain conviction.
‘Should I try it? I feel like I can do it… In the end, whether this works or not fundamentally depends on my mindset.’
To prove that conviction.
While maintaining the sphere of light, I released the Azure Lightning dwelling within the Ultramarine Sword.
Using the Azure Lightning, I decomposed the water everywhere into hydrogen and oxygen atoms.
Then I applied a stimulus and caused an explosion.
────!!
Everywhere in the world where hydrogen atoms drifted was engulfed in explosions accompanied by a thunderous roar.
As someone standing on the water’s surface, I normally wouldn’t have been able to come out unscathed either.
But because I had deployed Repulsive Luminous and pushed away the hydrogen atoms, which were no different from detonators—
Crackle!
The explosion could not affect me.
However, following what my evasive instincts screamed at me, I desperately braced myself and maintained an immovable stance so that my body would not lose its balance and collapse.
At the same time, I devoted all my attention to controlling the magic.
‘I can’t let it waver even for a moment. I have to keep my head on straight.’
The fact that pushing away atoms on the particle level actually consumed less mana than pushing away objects was at least a consolation.
The problem was the mana operation ability required to clearly perceive those atoms and delicately control them.
If I made even the slightest mistake, I could be caught in the explosion then and there.
Having fully realized that danger, I focused with everything I had.
And so.
“…It worked.”
Although it still seemed like I had a long way to go.
Even after causing explosions throughout the area, I was able to stand there perfectly fine without a single injury.
Instead, the mana inside my body had hit rock bottom, and the place where I stood had sunk lower.
That was how much mana I had consumed, and the lake had disappeared due to the explosion.
‘I… did this?’
Because of the chain explosion of hydrogen, the water had evaporated or been blown away, turning the lake into a gigantic pit.
Standing on the wet, muddy ground where moisture had seeped in, I couldn’t help admiring the sight inwardly as I looked around.
Even though I was the one who had done it, I couldn’t believe it and had to doubt my own eyes.
‘But what happened to the Water Spirit and the other monsters? Did they all die after getting caught in the explosion? Or were they blown somewhere…?’
Common sense said they probably couldn’t have survived after taking a direct hit from the explosion.
In fact, I could see several mana stones containing blue light around me.
Was the Water Spirit’s mana stone among them?
It was just as I thought that.
[You have cleared the Gate.]
Along with the message that appeared before my eyes, a yellow Gate Key materialized in midair.
I quickly stretched my hand forward and caught the falling Gate Key.
It seemed the Water Spirit had died after all.
‘If the environmental conditions are sufficient and I raise the output to the maximum, it’s at a level where I can take down a Rank 3 boss without much trouble.’
I had obtained meaningful results.
It seemed suitable for use when facing many enemies alone, or in the worst case, when I was prepared for mutual destruction.
Of course, there would be no reason for me to take damage.
‘I’ve basically prepared a foundation to use a self-destruct technique safely.’
For a moment, I wondered whether “self-destruct technique” and “safely” could coexist, but I couldn’t think of a more fitting expression.
It didn’t matter either way.
Waking from my useless thoughts, I decided to head up to the lakeside to report to the others.
I planned to ask Yeon Haneul to retrieve the mana stones that had fallen to the lakebed with magic.
And so, after passing through the muddy area where my feet sank deep with each step, I climbed up onto the grass.
‘Why are they all like that?’
“…”
Father, Yeon Haneul, and the triplets were staring at me with somewhat dazed expressions.
Meanwhile, judging by the fact that the ground was subtly damp and the triplets were drenched, it seemed likely that the aftermath of the explosion had sent a torrent of water raining down on them.
Even so, the reason Father and Yeon Haneul showed no signs of being wet was probably because she had cast magic right before it hit and defended them.
In any case.
“Is something wrong?”
Unable to understand the five of them’s reaction, I tilted my head.
Then Father asked in a reluctant tone,
“Gyeonu, you… what in the world did you make?”
“Uh… um… A safe self-destruct technique?”
“No, just what are they teaching you at the Academy that you ended up making something like that of all things…”
“…Aside from this, there’s also a technique I use together with Haneul. Should I show you that too? That one’s even safer…”
“I’m sorry for all of this, Father…”
“Aren’t you far too fearless… Don’t tell me you’re planning to show that at the evaluation too, are you? Don’t. The family head is already saying he’ll conduct a personality test, so unless you want to be treated like a madman for no reason, don’t do it.”
Father warned me as if pleading.
Seeing him sigh, I had no choice but to smile bitterly.
No, but…
‘Is this really something I’d be treated like a madman for?’
It really was safe.
It could catch an opponent off guard too, so it was innovative and ingenious.
I seriously pondered it.
I Became the Childhood Friend of the Mid-Boss