My Agility stat, which had been unable to reach the threshold until now, had increased by 1.
The battle against I Gahyeon’s avatar had provided that much experience.
‘If I raise it by 10 more now, my Agility stat will hit 70, huh.’
Since the threshold between Agility 69 and 70 was different, I would have to accumulate a lot more experience, but it was still incredibly encouraging.
Meanwhile, my Magic stat had risen together with it, and the Magic stat that had remained in the 40s had finally reached 50.
Since this meant overcoming a wall, I would be able to show achievements in handling magic unlike before.
Considering the incidents I would experience at Geumgang Academy from now on, it was best to raise my Magic stat as much as possible.
That aside.
‘I need to find I Gahyeon’s soul stone.’
Defeating I Gahyeon didn’t mean this was over.
Just as magic stones came out when you killed monsters, soul stones came out when you killed Majin.
Until I confirmed that, I couldn’t recklessly guarantee whether she was alive or dead.
Sssssk….
I quietly stared at the place where I Gahyeon had been struck by the Wall Lightning.
The Wall Lightning that had lit up the world had died down, and heat and smoke that scorched the air were billowing up.
“I saw that slash you unleashed at the end. I thought that sword wasn’t ordinary, but I never imagined it held that much power. Let’s spar with that sword next time.”
“Ah, that was fun! Gyeonu, Gyeonu! You know I could’ve landed the last hit but didn’t, right? I gave it up because it’s you, Gyeonu. Didn’t I do great?”
“Everyone, is no one hurt? If you are, I’ll heal you.”
Yong Haerang, Nam Yuri, Lisa, and the others who had fought alongside us until now approached.
Yeon Haneul naturally stood by my side.
I thanked them for their help, not taking my eyes off the rising smoke.
Then, Yong Haerang asked.
“But why can’t you relax your face even though it’s all over?”
“Because I can’t say it’s over until the soul stone comes out.”
“Ah, now that you mention it, there was the soul stone. Well, I don’t sense any life signs, so there’s no way she’s alive.”
Even so, I couldn’t rest easy until I checked with my own eyes.
The others, including Yong Haerang, seemed to agree with my words.
We stopped talking and decided to wait for the smoke to clear.
In the midst of that, Min Arin flicked her fingers and stirred wind across the area.
“Hmph, you could just clear the smoke. Were you planning to just stand there and watch?”
Grumbling.
Min Arin, who had been standing apart from us, controlled the wind and quickly cleared away the smoke.
As she did so, she occasionally glanced my way as if displeased.
‘Did I do something to earn her grudge or what?’
I was quite curious about it.
I remembered that in the game, the relationship between Do Gyeonu and Min Arin hadn’t been bad.
To be exact, to Min Arin, the introverted and timid Do Gyeonu had been someone outside her interest.
Someone she didn’t ignore, but didn’t show much interest in either.
Nothing more than a classmate she had naturally gotten along with by association with Gang Hanbyeol.
That was why her gaze left me inwardly flustered.
‘It doesn’t seem like I have any grudge against her…. I should ask her about it next time.’
If there was a misunderstanding, it was best to clear it up.
There was nothing good about being at odds with someone who would get entangled in the game story from now on.
I decided to look for an opportunity soon, and shortly took in the sight of where the smoke had completely cleared.
“….”
I Gahyeon, possessing a lower body reminiscent of a spider, was slumped on the ground.
Her fur had been singed by the Wall Lightning and burnt away, and the upper body forming her human figure was charred black.
And the chest area struck by the slash was deeply gouged diagonally.
There was no blood coming from within.
Perhaps because the Wall Lightning had burned away her insides, she was completely empty, like a hollow husk.
She looked like she would crumble into ash if nudged by a hand.
I thrust my hand into her insides and scrunched up my face.
“…It’s not here.”
Generally, magic stones and soul stones that formed the core of a being were located in the heart.
But even after rummaging through I Gahyeon’s insides, there was nothing in my grasp.
I only felt the sensation of ribs protecting the heart area.
Even those crumbled into ash and fell away at my touch.
My hand that I pulled out from inside her corpse was simply coated all over with ash.
“Haneul, check the lower body for me.”
“Got it, I’ll check.”
“Looks like things have gone wrong? I’ll help too!”
Yeon Haneul and Nam Yuri held up their Devices and tore apart I Gahyeon’s lower body.
The two tried to find the soul stone amid the scattering ashes.
Lisa joined in as well.
Soon, she shook her head with a dark expression.
“I searched for a reaction of condensed mana in case it had fallen nearby, but there’s nothing being detected.”
The absence of a soul stone nearby ultimately meant that I Gahyeon had not died, and had escaped right before death.
She had slipped away without a soul knowing.
I couldn’t help but feel frustrated.
‘In the game too, she was always good at slipping away right when you thought you’d killed her, damn it….’
I couldn’t let her get away like this.
I had to capture her somehow.
Fortunately, I had an inkling of where she might have fled.
‘She’s definitely fleeing toward where the Gate is.’
I Gahyeon, who had been defeated even in a Majinized state, wouldn’t have much strength left.
It was obvious that she would try to return to her original world to preserve her soul and deliver information about us to the main body.
Fortunately, the Gate was set up near the forest where we were.
She was undoubtedly heading for the Gate.
‘I have to hurry to the Gate.’
I had to arrive before I Gahyeon.
I made a decision and spoke to the people around me.
“I’m going to chase I Gahyeon from now on. So lend me your strength.”
“What kind of friend would I be if I couldn’t lend a hand when asked! Alright, Do Gyeonu! What do you need help with!”
“What is it? What is it? What is it? I don’t normally like being asked for favors, but since it seems like you’re trying to do something fun, I’ll make an exception and help!”
Yong Haerang and Nam Yuri readily agreed.
Yeon Haneul and Lisa also showed their willingness, nodding their heads.
I gave them instructions.
“I won’t explain in detail because time is of the essence. I’m going to jump from a high place and use wind and explosive force as propulsion to fly toward where the Gate is. Nam Yuri, can you raise the ground?”
“I can do it with alchemy! I get roughly what you’re thinking, Gyeonu, Gyeonu! You need me to make the highest jumping platform possible, right? There happens to be ash scattered around, so I can make it sturdy. Leave it to me!”
Nam Yuri, stepping on the ashes, clapped her hands sharply and pressed them to the ground.
Immediately, light spread out centered on her, creating a transmutation array.
The ashes scattered on the ground reacted with the inorganic matter composing the earth, and a steeply sloped structure rose from the center of the transmutation array.
“Haneul, hand the sledgehammer over to Yong Haerang. Yong Haerang, you run up there with me and load me onto the sledgehammer to throw me toward where the Gate is. You know where the Gate is, right?”
“I don’t need to know that stuff; I’ll throw you somehow by instinct! Don’t worry!”
“…Right, you have no sense of direction. Haneul, tell him where the Gate is. And when I’m flying up, create wind that I can use as propulsion.”
“Trying to do something dangerous again…. Is creating wind enough? What about the explosion?”
“If you cast spells simultaneously, the effects will be halved, won’t they? So I’ll ask Min Arin for the explosion. Min Arin, you’ll help, right?”
“Why should I do what you say? Just because we fought together once, don’t go ordering me around. I don’t even know what I should trust about you to help you, and if it’s just a runaway Majin, I can catch it easily enough on my own.”
Then, Min Arin, the corners of her yellow eyes raised, retorted in a prickly voice.
Unlike those who had ties to me, she, whom I had met for the first time today, was not very amicable.
‘That’s just Min Arin’s personality for you….’
She was stubborn, haughty as a person from a prestigious house, highly competitive, unaccustomed to receiving help from others, and the type to try to resolve everything alone—that was Min Arin.
In the game, her character changing from that to a standoffish girl who blushed at everything was after the midterm exams of the first semester of the first year.
‘How should I persuade Min Arin…. Would it be better to touch her pride?’
That was why I, who knew the flow of the game, wasn’t very offended by Min Arin’s attitude.
Rather, I was racking my brains over how to persuade her.
But there was no need to go to such lengths.
Before I could say anything, Yeon Haneul had persuaded her.
“You’re not going to help?”
“…Urk! I’ll help, alright! I’ll help! So put that away!”
“….”
Yeon Haneul raised the sledgehammer she was about to hand to Yong Haerang above her head.
And when she turned toward Min Arin, the latter suddenly decided to cooperate.
For me, who knew her personality, it was nothing short of unexpected.
‘What? Min Arin isn’t the type to become so docile just because she was threatened, is she?’
It was strange.
Could something have happened between the two of them?
I wanted to ask Yeon Haneul, but there was no time to pursue the matter.
I decided to take it as a good thing.
“Then Min Arin, take the role of launching me together with Haneul.”
“Tch, fine. If only my body had fully recovered, I wouldn’t be going along with this….”
“Flying off is fine. But how are you going to land? Falling from that height will be hard to offset even with a breakfall.”
“I had that in mind too. Lisa, can you cast a spell that activates by my will? You have a spell that can protect the body from a fall, right?”
“Ah…. Then that’s possible. Yes, I’ll cast it for you.”
Finally, Lisa lent her strength too.
Having received the protection spell from her, I stood before the structure together with Yong Haerang, who was gripping the sledgehammer.
“Then I’m counting on you.”
“Yeah, just trust me!”
“Let’s go.”
I ran toward the structure.
Yong Haerang followed right behind me.
Soon we jumped onto the structure and ran up the path leading to the top.
Before long, we reached the top.
“Do Gyeonu!”
“Yeah.”
I placed my foot on top of the sledgehammer Yong Haerang was about to swing.
He swung the sledgehammer with all his might, launching me into the night sky.
“Fly, Do Gyeonu! Hiyah!”
Immediately, Yeon Haneul and Min Arin, who had been casting their spells below, unleashed them.
Fierce wind and explosion hit my back, pushing me far away.
Meanwhile, Lisa’s protection spell activated, preventing damage caused by the magic used as propulsion.
Crackle!
Even my Gift activated.
As my vision was instantly pushed backward, my body spun unable to find balance, and my mind felt like it would faint, I became conscious of my Evasion Instinct.
The instinct thrashed desperately, struggling by any means to avoid death.
* * *
No matter how much she claimed to be a Yukma, there was a limit to exerting strength through an avatar.
Moreover, the performance of the doll containing her soul was extremely poor.
Even if she strengthened it with her own power, there was nothing I Gahyeon could do about the doll’s inherent potential.
Even so, she had been confident that she could sufficiently deal with the examinees with just that doll, but never imagined she would not only have her identity discovered but also be driven to a corner by their combined attack.
‘If I had faced them with my main body, or at the very least with my Collection….’
I wouldn’t have had to flee like this.
But to a Hunter who could die anytime, anywhere, such assumptions were meaningless.
Meeting death due to a single mistake, or simply bad luck—that was the life of a Hunter.
A Majin who violated a Hunter’s code stood especially closer to death.
It was her own fault for not assuming a situation where she could be cornered despite being aware of this.
So this was no time to be indulging in moral victories.
Struggling desperately to survive in the meantime was far more beneficial.
Squeak squeak!
‘I look terrible….’
That was why I Gahyeon was inside the body of a monster that belonged to the weakest of Rank 1.
A Rank 1 monster called Pikateil, resembling a cross between a rabbit and a mouse.
Just before lightning fell from the night sky, she had extracted the soul stone from within her body and transferred her soul into the body of a Picatail that happened to be nearby.
For her, who held a fanatical obsession with beautiful humans, it was nothing short of humiliating and disgraceful.
Squeak, squeak!
‘I have to run before those children notice.’
An unbeautiful outward form.
And how unbeautiful was it to struggle so hard just to live inside such a form?
She was disappointed in herself.
Hideous.
If she followed her heart, she wanted to kill herself.
Even so, the reason she was running was because she was not the main body, but an avatar.
‘If my soul falls into those children’s hands, the me outside won’t be whole. I’ll become incomplete.’
What was incomplete was not beautiful.
To the avatar, the fact that her death would render the main body’s soul incomplete was even more unacceptable than the situation she was in now.
That was why she was fleeing like this.
Squeak, squeak!
‘The Gate happens to be nearby, and Picatails are fast on their feet.’
For I Gahyeon, one could say it was at least a fortunate situation.
As long as she got out of the Gate, she would be able to contact her main body through the path connected to its soul, and she would be able to summon it.
She would become whole.
At the same time, she would be able to relay to the main body everything she had experienced inside the Gate.
Squeak, squeak!
‘It’s a shame I didn’t get to see the Fighting Demon’s disciple, but it’s not as if I gained nothing. The Fighting Demon’s disciple isn’t the only one I need to watch out for.’
The other children also possessed enough potential to warrant caution.
Someday, when they grew up and became Hunters, they could become dangerous enemies.
Or they could become reliable allies.
Especially Do Gyeonu of the Divine Sword Do clan, who had driven her into this state.
Squeak, squeak!
‘Ha, that child really is….’
She could not measure his potential.
It seemed he did not have much mana inside his body, but he possessed reflexes and battle sense more than enough to make up for it.
He was fairly clever, and at times, he did not hesitate to use any means necessary to achieve what he wanted.
He was suited to being a villain.
Squeak, squeak!
‘I wonder if there’s any way I can coax that child into becoming a villain….’
And yet, that gentle-looking face of his stirred up a protective urge without her even realizing it.
It was unfair.
He very much matched her tastes.
Squeak, squeak!
‘I want to keep him as my partner and dress him up prettily. Once I get tired of him, I can just turn him into part of my collection.’
Truly, it was an unexpected gain.
I Gahyeon tried to leave this world if only to inform her main body of Do Gyeonu’s existence.
Before long, as she pushed through the forest, she was able to find the Gate.
Squeak, squeak!
‘I just have to pass through that!’
The night was brightening.
Soon, the night would pass.
The finish line was not far away.
I Gahyeon kicked powerfully off the ground with the rabbit’s legs.
Around then, a woman near the Gate came into view.
Squeak, squeak!
‘You’re in my way, so move!’
It was a woman with long hair.
Judging by her attire, she did not seem to be an examiner.
She was an examinee.
In that case, there was no need to fear her.
I Gahyeon tried to quickly slip past her and head for the Gate.
However, there were as many as five facts she had failed to take into account.
It was because, in her urgency to return to the original world, she had not properly looked around her.
…Squeak?
‘…Huh?’
First, the woman was standing brazenly alone in a forest teeming with monsters.
Second, monster corpses—or magic stones—were scattered around the woman.
Third, that meant the woman was skilled.
Fourth, the woman’s mood was extremely sour because she had been unable to sleep.
And finally, fifth.
The woman was Cha Eunsol.
Only when I Gahyeon saw the green eyes of the woman turning toward her did she realize her identity.
At the unexpected situation, her thoughts froze.
And Cha Eunsol….
“You’re the one who did it, aren’t you?”
She asked, her green eyes shining.
But she did not intend to hear an answer.
Having already grasped the full circumstances through the spirits living in the forest, it was, in truth, an unnecessary question to her.
Even so, she asked in order to foretell what was about to happen.
────!!
Cha Eunsol’s hair whipped about.
A fierce wind blew from behind her and flew toward I Gahyeon.
Squeak, squeak!
I Gahyeon could not withstand the wind.
She had only barely managed to stay alive.
After collapsing flat onto the ground, she lifted her head.
“Your squeaking is noisy.”
Cha Eunsol was slowly approaching.
Her eyes seemed to say that she would absolutely not let her live.
Squeak, squeak….
‘Is this as far as I go….’
Against a spirit master, against her, who possessed potential on par with the examinees she had fought until now, there was no way she could escape.
Not in this body.
I Gahyeon looked at the woman walking toward her to kill her and resigned herself.
It seemed this was the end.
That was when it happened.
Squeak?
‘Ah….’
She sensed a presence above her head.
A mighty aura was falling.
With Cha Eunsol before her eyes, I Gahyeon unconsciously looked up at the night sky.
The time of stars and moon was passing, and dawn was arriving in the early morning sky.
From that sky….
Lion Gorak.
Do Gyeonu of the Divine Sword Do clan.
He was falling.
The corners of his mouth moved.
It seemed as if he was saying this.
‘Found you.’
…or so.
Do Gyeonu, falling toward her, wore a refreshing smile.
To think he was making a confident expression with a face that naturally made one want to torment him—there was no greater foul play.
Instead, it made her want to be tormented.
Squeak….
‘Ah….’
A face where sadism and masochism coexisted.
He truly was her type.
If she was going to die anyway, would it not be better to die at the hands of someone who matched her tastes?
Pursuing beauty as she did, she suddenly leaped toward Do Gyeonu.
Squeezing out the strength she had left, she sent him her thoughts.
You really are my type. I want to make you part of my collection. You pass.
“…!”
Do Gyeonu’s face flinched.
His expression hardened.
But only for a moment.
As he struck, he opened his mouth.
“Yeah, you fail.”
Blue lightning surged upward.
Leaving behind only her soul stone, I Gahyeon vanished.
I Became the Childhood Friend of the Mid-Boss