A certain restriction had been placed on Do Gyeonu, who joined the protagonist Gang Hanbyeol’s party in the game.
Because of that, unless the player was forced to include Do Gyeonu in the party formation, they generally did not put him in the party.
That was how badly that restriction ruined Do Gyeonu’s performance.
‘His Gift was both his strength and his weakness.’
Do Gyeonu’s Gift, Evasion Instinct.
Evasion Instinct made his body move instinctively when he sensed a threat to his life, allowing him to avoid danger.
For Do Gyeonu, an agility-type swordsman, it was an extremely useful Gift.
At the same time, it could also be seen as a Gift that reflected Do Gyeonu’s setting—a cowardly boy with a weak disposition—remarkably well.
That was why it became a restriction.
[Do Gyeonu refuses the command.]
[Do Gyeonu evades the attack.]
Instinct is not easy to control.
Evasion Instinct was the same.
The manifestation of his instinct to survive would sometimes defy the player’s commands and move Do Gyeonu on its own.
At the drop of a hat, it made him ignore attack commands and take evasive action instead.
From the player’s perspective, it was impossible not to blow a gasket at Do Gyeonu.
「Do Gyeonu」
—I’m sorry. I’m only causing trouble for you all because of me….
If you know that, then fix it already.
However, once Do Gyeonu went through his awakening event in the latter half of the story, his evaluation was completely overturned.
「Do Gyeonu」
—I don’t want to die like this. I don’t want to only be protected by the others anymore. I… I’m going to fight.
From that point on.
Do Gyeonu became able to control his Gift and no longer grew frightened.
The player also became able to use Do Gyeonu’s performance properly.
Do Gyeonu, after awakening like that, was…
‘They say the later a character awakens, the more absurdly overpowered they become.’
There was no other way to put it.
There were differences in Do Gyeonu’s performance depending on how much the players had raised him until then, but basically, Do Gyeonu would dodge nearly every attack and cut down enemies in spectacular fashion.
It was to the point that people even said this:
If you raised Do Gyeonu well enough, you could cruise through the latter half of the game with ease.
Even if it sounded somewhat exaggerated, it was true to a certain extent.
That was why…
‘Waiting until the latter half of the story is too late. How am I supposed to wait that long?’
I intended to bring forward the awakening that was supposed to happen only in the latter half of the story to right now.
They said it was impossible in the game, but in a world that was not a game, it should be plenty possible.
It was not as if there was some condition saying that I could only control Evasion Instinct in the latter half of the story.
The method of awakening was not difficult.
Lion Iron Whip
Pushing myself to my limit.
I swung my sword at the two goblins charging toward me.
* * *
The first thought I had when facing a goblin was, “This much is doable.”
Since the movements of the creature, which was shorter than me, were clearly visible to my eyes, I did not feel it was dangerous at all.
In truth, I was able to kill it without much difficulty.
‘Two are doable too.’
Facing two goblins was not that different from before.
I just had to watch them carefully.
My vision was split in two, but in the end, I only had to follow them with both eyes.
One goblin in each eye.
Keeping the goblins in my sight like that, I measured the distance and swung my sword.
As a result, with a single slash, I was able to separate them into upper and lower halves.
Their corpses splattered blue blood as they dropped to the ground with dull thuds.
“Phew….”
I turned my head away from the sight and spoke to my father.
“Next, please.”
“…Rest a bit before continuing.”
“This much is still fine.”
“Stubborn little… Three are coming.”
As if he had no choice, Father sighed.
Then he released three of the goblins that had been tied up.
Without showing even the slightest sympathy, he kicked the rear ends of the creatures as they staggered to their feet, forcing them to walk toward me.
Kieeek!
Perhaps because they had already witnessed two battles, the creatures quickly grasped the situation.
They exchanged glances with one another, picked up the weapons lying on the ground, and charged at me.
‘A disruption tactic, huh.’
Perhaps they were copying the two previous battles.
The creatures spread out far apart so that they would not enter my field of vision together.
Then they surrounded me.
‘I can’t see the other two.’
If I focused on the one in front of me, the ones in the other directions bothered me, making it difficult to move carelessly.
It was right then.
“…!”
For an instant, it felt as if an electric current ran through the nape of my neck.
At the same time, my body tried to move on its own, regardless of my will.
‘My Gift activated!’
Evasion Instinct had detected danger and activated immediately.
Startled by the sensation, which was hard to describe in words, I quickly entrusted my body to it.
Whoosh!
A blade flew in from behind me.
While I had been focused on the one in front, one of them had stealthily moved behind me and thrown its weapon.
As I avoided the blade, I took in the creature in the distance, wearing an expression of dismay.
‘I’ll kill you first.’
I immediately turned around.
I did not hesitate to run toward the creature, who was floundering after losing its weapon.
Kieeek!
At that moment, a sound came from behind me.
The two goblins were chasing after me, whose back was turned to them.
‘It’s fine now.’
Fool me once, but not twice.
The moment I took my next step, I spread the mana inside my body into my surroundings.
It was a detection net.
The mana spreading out in ripples detected the presence of mana within a certain radius.
I was able to pinpoint the positions of the two chasing me from behind.
They were far enough away that I did not need to worry about being caught.
Of course, it was a sufficient distance for them to throw their weapons.
Whirlik!
Even so, there was no need to worry.
Because Evasion Instinct had activated.
The electric current that began at the nape of my neck quickly ran through the nerves of my entire body.
Following the direction my instinct cried out for, I adjusted my course.
Their attacks ended in vain.
And so…
Stance of Fierce Advance
I killed the creature I had been aiming for.
I horizontally cut through the neck of the creature as it charged in, thinking it was do or die.
Immediately after, I slowed my running speed and used one foot as an axis to change direction.
Kieeek!
I ended up facing the creatures that had been chasing behind me head-on.
I pointed my sword at the creatures that belatedly tried to slow down.
──!!
Compress the mana inside my body, then rotate it.
The mana that escaped the heart was then poured into the joints necessary for swinging the sword, into the mana circuits belonging to those joints.
Furthermore, I coated the blade with mana.
Lion Rending Slash (獅子 裂斬)
A slashing strike that cut as if tearing apart.
I fired the energy gathered on my sword.
Shiiik!
The form of the slash was not smooth.
It was jagged and sharp like an awl, a technique that left uneven wounds on whatever the slash touched.
A slash that slowed recovery.
…Kiaaaak!
That slash swept over the goblins, tearing them apart as if biting into them.
“Next, I’ll go with four.”
“…All right.”
* * *
There was no particular difference just because three had become four.
As long as I fought without letting my guard down, I could handle them well enough.
‘It gets troublesome when there are more of them.’
Of course, it did take a considerable amount of mental energy.
Because while I was aiming for one of them, I had to stay alert in case the others attacked me.
In a way, it felt like my mental energy was being consumed far more than my stamina.
‘This much won’t do.’
Before I knew it, the fourth battle had ended.
Wiping the sweat from my forehead, I fell into thought.
The trigger for Do Gyeonu’s awakening in the game was him reaching the conclusion that unless he fought with his life on the line, neither he nor his companions would survive.
That meant he had been pushed to his limits, both physically and mentally.
So I needed to drive myself into a corner even more than now.
“This is the last, right? I’ll go right away.”
“There’s no need to rush so much.”
“I think I can do it.”
“That’s how you get hurt, by letting your guard down. Since it’s the last one, be even more careful.”
“Yes, I will.”
Father offered me advice.
I nodded to him and fixed my eyes on the remaining goblins.
Five.
The creatures were at least a head taller than the ones I had faced so far.
“These ones are probably a little different. They were watching you fight closely and using their heads.”
Even if Father had not said so, I could tell by instinct.
The look in their eyes was different from the start.
As soon as the ropes were undone, the creatures rose as if they had been waiting, picked up their weapons, and headed toward me.
Soon, the battle with them began, and…
Kieeeek…
Because I had to fight while keeping five of them in check, it became quite a long battle, but I calmly reduced their numbers and seized victory.
Like that, the last goblin met its death, pierced by my sword.
[You have cleared the Gate.]
At that moment.
Along with that message appearing…
Fwaaaak!
Particles of light gathered before my eyes, then transformed into the shape of a key.
It was the Gate Key that Father had inserted into the artificial Gate.
“….”
The key fell onto my hand.
The Gate had judged that I had contributed the most to the clear.
Unlike in the game, where the Gate Key was automatically bound to the protagonist, in this world, it became bound to the person who contributed greatly to the clear.
Meanwhile, the Gate Key lying on my palm was different from when Father had first taken it out; its handle was transparent.
‘…I won’t be able to use it again until its cooldown fills up.’
By activating the Gate once, the power it had contained was exhausted.
Of course, it was not a permanent depletion.
The time differed depending on the Gate Key, but if left alone, it would absorb the mana dissolved in the atmosphere and recover its power on its own.
‘What do I do….’
That was why my thoughts were not on the key whose power had been exhausted, but elsewhere.
‘This isn’t good….’
I still had not awakened.
As I was seized by that thought, I could not easily move from where I stood.
Maybe there were more goblins somewhere.
Even though I knew there was no way, I needlessly looked around.
But, as expected, of course.
There was no way something like a goblin would remain in a cleared Gate.
I had to accept reality.
“….”
I never imagined my plan would go awry.
I had intended to drive myself into a desperate situation and stage an awakening event, yet I had not expected it to end before I could even properly enter such a situation.
It was because I had been stronger than expected.
At that moment, Father approached.
“What are you spacing out for? Is it because you still can’t believe you cleared the Gate yourself?”
Father spoke in a tone that sounded proud.
“Honestly, I was very surprised.”
“….”
“I thought you’d somehow be able to handle up to four of them. But to think you’d easily handle five, not just four.”
“Haha….”
Father shook my shoulder.
I swayed here and there under his hand and could only laugh awkwardly.
Although I had successfully finished my first real combat, I could not simply be happy because I had failed to achieve the most important goal.
Before long, Father pointed behind him.
“There’s still some time left for our use of the artificial Gate, but there’s nothing more to do here, so let’s clean up and head back.”
“….”
“Give me that key.”
Because the Gate had been cleared, a dimensional door that had not been there just a moment ago had appeared in the direction Father indicated with his thumb.
Once we left through that door, we would return to the world we had originally been in.
“Dad.”
“What? What is it?”
In other words, my chance to awaken would be pushed back to the distant future.
I did not know when that would be.
It could be the near future, or it could be the latter half of the story.
I could not let that happen.
I had to do it right now, at this time when my threshold for feeling my limits was low.
That was why I hid the Gate Key and opened my mouth.
“Are there any other Gates?”
“What?”
“I feel like I’m about to realize something, so it feels like a shame to just go home like this.”
“….”
“You said there’s still time left, so could I try clearing another Gate in the meantime?”
One a little harder than this.
At my words, Father blinked.
I Became the Childhood Friend of the Mid-Boss