There had been no mistake in unleashing Lion Nova.
After swinging my sword exactly as intended, I looked around the area.
There were no monsters to be seen.
They must have all been annihilated.
‘There’s no way they could have survived taking a direct hit from that close.’
The sea merely churned with rough waves, as if the aftereffects of the explosion that had swept through it had yet to fade.
I spread out my detection net to confirm there were no hidden presences, and after making sure it was safe, I sheathed the Ultramarine Sword.
That was when the message appeared.
[You have achieved a feat that will be deeply engraved in the minds of the people of the Divine Sword Do Family.]
[….]
A notification that I had gained a new epithet.
I opened the additional messages to check the detailed information.
‘Thunder as in thunder, hare as in rabbit, so Thunder Hare… Not bad. No, it’s good.’
A newly created epithet formed by combining the epithets I had obtained so far: Thunder Hare.
Perhaps because of that, Thunder Hare encompassed the effects of the epithets that had served as its material.
Furthermore, its effects had either been strengthened compared to before, or its versatility had increased.
For example, the effect of Blue Cub, which had raised all my physical stats when fighting within Geumgang Academy, had changed to an always-active effect.
‘It was annoying to switch epithets every time depending on the situation, so this worked out. With everything consolidated into one, it’ll save me the trouble.’
I was satisfied.
More than anything…
‘I’ve finally obtained an epithet I won’t be embarrassed to be called by….’
I couldn’t help but be moved by the fact that it wasn’t some bizarre epithet.
If I had been more sentimental, I might have shed tears.
That was how proud I felt.
‘As a member of the Divine Sword Do Family, it’s not like I didn’t want an epithet related to lions… but an epithet related to rabbits isn’t bad either. It can be mentioned side by side with Haneul’s epithet.’
Yeon Haneul would undoubtedly like it too.
That alone was enough to satisfy me, so I swiped the message away with my hand.
Then I headed toward my family, my grandfather, and the clan members who would be waiting on the sandy beach.
They greeted me warmly.
“The glory of the Divine Sword Do Family approaches! Well done! Gyeonu, you are the pride of the family!”
“Haha… Thank you.”
A smile never left Grandfather’s face.
Judging by his reaction, I could guess the results of the special form examination.
Sure enough, Grandfather said,
“Congratulations, truly. From now on, Lion Nova will be passed down through the clan library as Special Form No. 84. You’ve broken the second family head’s record yet again. I’m proud of you.”
“Really? That’s a relief. Thank you.”
“It is not you who should be grateful, but the clan.”
By receiving more than a majority of the votes from the examiners, including Grandfather,
Lion Nova was approved as a special form.
I couldn’t help but feel elated.
I couldn’t hide the corners of my mouth from rising.
“Then, since the special form examination seems to be over, let us leave the Gate. After that, the evaluation session…”
“Ah, Family Head. May I continue the examination?”
“What? Continue the examination? What do you mean by…”
But it was still too early to rejoice.
Because…
“There are two more sword techniques I’d like to have examined as special forms.”
“…”
I answered confidently.
At that, Grandfather and the others blinked blankly.
Their faces looked as if they had misheard me.
“What did you… just say?”
“…”
Grandfather asked in a doubtful tone, as if representing everyone else.
I answered again.
“I said there are more sword techniques I want recognized as special forms.”
* * *
Not long ago, the two sword techniques I had displayed on the ancestral mountain of the Sunhwan Cha Family.
Unique Form (self-proclaimed) No. 2, Lion Flash Path, which fired azure lightning along the path of water.
Unique Form (self-proclaimed) No. 3, Lion Iron Sword, which brought down a sword made of iron sand.
Riding the momentum, I applied for the special form examination with those as well.
The results turned out exactly as I hoped.
—Not just one, but three of them…
—….
That day, I accomplished the feat of registering Special Forms No. 84, 85, and 86 in the clan library.
At the same time, I set a record as the first person in the clan’s history to create three special forms in a single day.
The clan members were so astonished that they clicked their tongues in disbelief.
‘It sounds like I’m full of myself, but I really am amazing. Haneul should have seen this….’
I felt proud of myself too.
Meanwhile, I decided to keep calling the sword techniques that had been approved as special forms by the existing method: unique forms.
The reason was nothing special.
Unique form had already stuck in my mouth, and more than anything, it had style.
‘What kind of names are Special Forms No. 84, 85, and 86? They’re sword techniques I made myself, so shouldn’t they be treated specially? In that sense, Unique Forms No. 1, 2, and 3 are much better.’
Among those who had created special forms, it wasn’t uncommon for them to prefer “unique form” as I did.
So I decided not to worry about it.
In any case.
“We’ll get going now, Noona.”
“Okay. We’re planning to leave a little later too. You worked hard yesterday and today.”
Now that the evaluation session was over as well,
Our family, after spending a night at the main house of the Divine Sword Do Family and eating breakfast, decided to return home.
I exchanged farewells with Do Sieun, who had come out to see us off.
“Enjoy the rest of your vacation. We’ll get going.”
“Yeah, take care too. See you at the Academy.”
I was about to get into Father’s car.
That was when Do Sieun called out.
“Hey, Gyeonu.”
“Yeah. What is it?”
What could it be?
I stopped the hand that had been reaching for the door handle and turned around.
Do Sieun, whose blue eyes were striking, was staring at me.
Soon, she spoke.
“My graduation ceremony is coming up soon.”
“…Of course I know. Congratulations in advance on graduating at the top of your class.”
“Yeah, thanks. So… if you’re okay with it, I’d like you to be my opponent in the graduation spar.”
“…”
…Did I hear that wrong?
I couldn’t help but doubt my ears.
Because according to the game’s development, Do Sieun’s opponent in the graduation spar was Gang Hanbyeol.
‘What happened…?’
In the game, the graduation spar episode became the trigger for Tacheon to take an interest in Gang Hanbyeol.
It began when Tacheon secretly visited Geumgang Academy and watched the spar between Do Sieun and Gang Hanbyeol.
But it seemed the development had gone off track somewhere without me knowing.
I could only feel flustered.
I had no choice but to ask.
“Why me? Even if it isn’t me, there should be plenty of second-years who want to cross swords with you… like Senior Suhyeok or Senior Dasom… And among the first-years, there’s Hanbyeol besides me.”
“That’s true. But there’s no one who stirs up my competitive spirit as much as you do.”
Do Sieun calmly acknowledged it.
She continued.
“Once I graduate from the Academy, there probably won’t be many chances for us to compete like before. Even if there are, we’ll mostly be competing through achievements. Not by crossing swords. Once a member of the Divine Sword Do Family becomes a Hunter, they no longer participate in evaluation sessions. In that sense, this might be our last chance to purely swing swords against each other. So I’m asking you.”
“…”
“As one swordsman.”
“…”
“As a member of the Divine Sword Do Family.”
I want to cross swords with you.
Do Sieun made the request seriously.
At this point, I couldn’t refuse by making excuses.
After thinking it over, I decided to accept.
‘I wanted to fight this noona properly too… so I guess it can’t be helped.’
In any case, the graduation spar episode didn’t affect the game’s ending.
It would merely draw Tacheon’s attention…
And honestly, as the story progressed, not only Gang Hanbyeol but all my friends were bound to become entangled with Tacheon.
So it probably wouldn’t become a major problem.
I opened my mouth.
“All right. I’ll be your opponent. I was already wondering what to give you as a graduation present, so I can just settle it with the spar.”
“…Yeah, thank you. I’d be more than satisfied with even that.”
“Don’t actually believe that. It was a lie. I’ll prepare a separate graduation present too.”
“Will you? Then… I’ll look forward to it.”
Do Sieun smiled faintly.
After exchanging farewells, we parted ways.
* * *
Because I had been holding the evaluation session inside the Gate, I hadn’t been able to meet Yeon Haneul for a while.
A whole two days.
For me, I couldn’t help but miss her so much it drove me restless.
Contacting her through messages or phone calls wasn’t nearly enough to satisfy me.
And so…
“Did you miss me that much? Asking to meet at this hour.”
“Didn’t you miss me?”
“Oh my, look at you. Answering a question with a question?”
“Shouldn’t the person who asked first answer first in cases like this?”
That night, after returning from the main house,
I made time, even if only briefly, to go meet Yeon Haneul.
At a convenience store located near the orphanage.
She had been waiting inside, and as soon as she spotted me, she hurried out.
After warmly greeting each other, we began walking aimlessly.
“Hmph. Fine, I’ll be generous. I missed you. A lot… Now it’s your turn. What about you?”
“I probably missed you even more than you think. Do you even have to ask?”
“Well… I don’t think that’s true…”
“It is.”
With the year changing, winter was arriving in earnest.
The wind blew cold enough to cut into the skin.
We pressed close together, if only to keep out the cold.
Then, pretending it was natural, I stealthily slipped my hand into Yeon Haneul’s pocket.
“…”
I clasped her hand.
In that instant, she perked up her rabbit ears and smiled softly.
I pulled out our interlaced hands and slipped them into my own pocket.
“It’s nice and warm like this.”
“Yeah… It’s nice.”
Inside my other pocket was the hand warmer she had given me just moments ago.
Thanks to that, I enjoyed the warmth of the hand warmer with my other hand.
At the same time, we shared what had been going on with each other lately.
“I really didn’t think Sieun Noona would ask me to be her graduation sparring opponent.”
“Right… They say graduation sparring opponents are usually chosen from the second-years. But the fact that she asked you anyway means Sister Sieun recognizes you as a rival, doesn’t it?”
“I suppose that’s how I should see it.”
“How do you feel?”
“Mm… It feels a bit unreal, but I’m looking forward to it. I wanted to fight that noona properly too.”
“Then you’ll have to train hard, won’t you? Do your best. I’ll be cheering for you.”
Yeon Haneul sincerely wished me luck.
She smiled.
When our eyes met, I couldn’t help but stop walking.
“…”
Maybe it was just my imagination.
But her red eyes seemed to be wanting me.
Following my instinct, I carefully placed a hand on her face.
She didn’t reject my touch and merely looked up at me.
I stole her lips.
“Mmph…”
Ever since we first kissed, we had occasionally kissed whenever the mood carried us.
As proof of that, Yeon Haneul, clutching my chest, welcomed my lips.
She let out a small breath.
Unlike before, there was no need to stop midway because she didn’t know how to breathe.
We pressed our lips together for a long time, tangling tongue with tongue.
“Mmh…”
Before I knew it, Yeon Haneul had risen onto her tiptoes and was actively seeking out my tongue.
At this point, I could no longer say for certain who had initiated it.
After some time passed, we released the hands that had been holding each other.
Careful not to let any saliva run down, Yeon Haneul wiped her lips with her tongue and fingers, then smiled bashfully.
“I’m glad I didn’t put on lipstick before coming out.”
“Yeah?”
“Ah…”
Yeon Haneul giggled mischievously, as if she had succeeded in committing the perfect crime that no one would ever discover.
Unable to endure the sight, I abruptly grabbed her shoulders and pressed my lips to hers again.
She didn’t reject me this time either.
Once again, our saliva stretched like a thread before dropping down.
“…”
We paid it no mind and were absorbed in gazing at each other.
For some reason, Yeon Haneul’s red eyes seemed a little dazed.
My own eyes were probably the same.
That was when she spoke.
“We’re not even dating… but it feels strange, doing this all the time… Right?”
“…”
Yeon Haneul, seeming embarrassed, averted her gaze and ran her hands over my chest.
I could guess what she was thinking, as if she were waiting for my answer.
In other words…
‘She’s asking us to clearly define what our relationship is right now….’
It was a question I had been agonizing over too.
But, although I felt sorry to Yeon Haneul, I had no choice but to dodge the issue.
“If we’re childhood friends like us… wouldn’t this much be okay?”
“…”
Because I knew it was bullshit, I couldn’t bring myself to look at Yeon Haneul.
I quietly averted my eyes.
Then she suddenly pressed me.
“You’re not saying that because you’re thinking of…”
“…Thinking of what?”
“Cheating on me or something, are you?”
“What? No, Haneul. Trust me. It’s not like that. Like I said last time…”
It was understandable for Yeon Haneul to misunderstand.
Startled, I desperately tried to persuade and soothe her.
Even so, the gaze she sent me remained piercing.
“At this rate, you’ll suggest we do everything except actually date.”
“…I swear I won’t let that happen.”
“I’ll be watching. If you ever leave me hanging…”
Yeon Haneul pinched my skin.
It didn’t actually hurt, but I had to act as if it did.
I deliberately made a fuss while subtly pulling her into my arms.
I lightly kissed her.
Even as she glared at me with force in her eyes, she didn’t reject me this time either.
Thank goodness.
I Became the Childhood Friend of the Mid-Boss