Chapter 1145 – 1145. Savior Of The Academy
I sensed someone approaching.
I raised my head and looked towards the source of the presence. Under the streetlights, a woman was walking towards me. She wore a black school uniform different from the Academy’s, and her black bobbed hair barely reached her shoulders. A long object, over 2 meters in length, was slung diagonally across her back.
“Wow. There are a lot of kids gathered here. Are you a spiritist too, mister?”
She was short. Her chest was modestly developed. Her face still had some baby fat.
The moment I saw her, I knew.
She was Sung Hari from her middle school days.
『Name: Sung Hari
Strength: B- Stamina: B Agility: A Durability: C Mana: C+
Trait: Spirit Devourer (S)
Skills: Combat Sense (A), Purification (E), Barrier (D)
Affection: 15』
I unconsciously checked Sung Hari’s status window.
I almost let out a hollow laugh. Her stats were incredibly powerful for a middle schooler. Of course, they were pathetic compared to the Sung Hari outside.
‘If I fought the current Sung Hari, could I win?’
The opponent was Sung Hari. The stats I could see weren’t everything.
‘…I think I could win if I used all my abilities.’
Lost in thought, I sighed. What was I doing, fighting a middle schooler?
“Mister. Are you mute?”
Sung Hari approached briskly. It was a bit harsh to say, but compared to her pretty face, she seemed to have a terrible attitude.
“…What do you want?”
“You can talk. I thought you were mute since you’ve been staring at me with your mouth shut.”
“I asked what you want. Are you perhaps smitten with me?”
“Are you crazy?”
Sung Hari said with a serious face. I felt like my heart was wounded by her reaction. The Sung Hari outside was crazy about me.
She stopped at a certain point. She was keeping a distance of about 10 meters.
‘Is she wary of me? But she’s keeping too much distance for that?’
I realized the reason belatedly. There were low-level spirits gathered around me. The spirits were watching Sung Hari cautiously. They looked ready to run away at the slightest approach.
“I’m just curious. A spiritist I haven’t seen before appeared near my house. If you were a normal spiritist, I wouldn’t be like this… but it’s the first time I’ve seen spirits follow someone so well. What’s your name? My name is Sung Hari.”
I hesitated for a moment.
Should I tell her my name?
After all, this was a world inside a dungeon based on a parallel world. Whatever I did here wouldn’t affect the outside.
“Sung Yoojin.”
“…Your surname is Sung? Are you perhaps from our family?”
“No. It’s just a coincidence that we have the same surname.”
“Ah. Well, that could happen. But you’re not surprised even after hearing that I’m from the Jinryung family?”
“Since the Jinryung family’s main house is nearby, it’s not surprising that you’re from the Jinryung family. You want to see the spirits, right? You can come closer.”
“I do, but… the spirits don’t like me.”
“Then do this.”
I reached out and grabbed the spirits nearby. It was easy. Perhaps because my spirit affinity was high, they didn’t run away. Usually, you can’t grab spirits in their spirit form, but I had the Spirit Eye.
“Th-they’ll get angry if you treat them like that.”
“What can they do if they get angry? Here, come closer and look.”
“……”
The spirits were afraid of and disliked Sung Hari, but I already knew that Sung Hari liked the spirits.
Sung Hari hesitated for a moment before coming closer. She sat next to me and stared intently at the captured spirits.
“…It’s pitiful yet cute how desperately they’re trying to escape.”
“Why are you looking so amazed? If you’re a member of the Jinryung family, you see spirits every day, don’t you?”
“I’m a bit special. The spirits run away whenever they see me. When I go home, the spirits hide from me. Even though I know it can’t be helped… it feels a bit sad, like I’m being ostracized.”
“……”
“I envy you. The spirits approach you so freely. Usually, spirits would use their power to escape… but they’re not using their power because you’re here. Is it related to your eyes?”
I nodded.
“This is the Spirit Eye.”
“Spirit Eye! I’ve heard of it. They say it’s one of the best abilities for a spiritist…. It’s the first time I’ve seen it in person. …Are you really not from our family?”
“If I were from the Jinryung family, you would already know me.”
“I guess so. Mister, would you like to come to my house?”
“…Are you really smitten with me?”
“That’s not it!”
Sung Hari punched my shoulder with her fist. It seemed like she hit me playfully because of my absurd words, but my shoulder hurt.
“If you’re near my house, doesn’t that mean you have business with my house? I’ll guide you. My dad and grandpa would be happy to see you too.”
“…No. I don’t have business with the Jinryung family.”
“Then why are you here?”
“Just because?”
“…You’re suddenly very suspicious.”
Sung Hari narrowed her eyes and looked at me. I released the low-level spirits I was holding. The low-level spirits didn’t miss the chance and ran far away. Sung Hari watched the escaping low-level spirits with a lingering gaze.
“As a senior in life, let me give you some advice. Don’t be too friendly with strangers.”
“I’m not a child. And I’m not the type to be friendly with strangers.”
Sung Hari’s face flushed as she looked at me, as if I was being ridiculous.
“It’s just that… you don’t feel like a stranger. How should I say it… it’s hard to explain….”
“Like family?”
“No, no. You’re not family. …Um. You’re not family, but you feel like family…?”
“You’re smitten with me.”
“I’m not!”
『Sung Hari’s Affection: 27』
Her affection increased just from a short conversation.
‘Still, there’s not enough time to capture Sung Hari…. Should I just overwhelm her?’
The important thing was whether I could completely subdue Sung Hari or not. I wasn’t confident that I could completely subdue her as a middle schooler.
I sighed and stood up.
“…Are you leaving?”
“Yeah. It was fun talking to you.”
“Are you really not going to my house?”
“I’m not interested in the Jinryung family.”
“…Goodbye. Can we meet again later?”
“If we’re lucky, we’ll meet again.”
“What do you mean, ‘if we’re lucky’?”
I turned my back on the dissatisfied Sung Hari and started walking. I was planning to find Ryu Hana. I had a hunch where she was. If it was like the original story, she would be looking for her parents in their younger days.
Thump.
The ground shook.
I stopped and turned around. I made eye contact with Sung Hari, who was standing in front of the bench. She also looked surprised.
‘If it’s not Sung Hari, then the cause is somewhere else.’
Thump, crack, thump.
Trees broke and the ground shook.
Sung Hari and I simultaneously turned our heads towards the source of the commotion. A mud golem was rising from the area behind the bench, where the trees were gathered.
At the appearance of the monster, Sung Hari quickly distanced herself. She took out the spear that was slung diagonally across her back.
“…A middle schooler with a spear.”
“I got permission from the Hero Association.”
Considering the current era, it wasn’t that strange. In the future, they would call this time a period of upheaval or chaos.
‘It’s annoying, should I just run? The Jinryung family is nearby.’
This world was fake. Even if someone died here, it wouldn’t affect the outside.
But I couldn’t take my eyes off Sung Hari. Imagining the young, almost childlike Sung Hari dying made me feel terrible. I decided to get rid of that mud golem.
But someone moved before me. It was Sung Hari. She created a barrier in the air and stepped on it, charging towards the mud golem that hadn’t fully risen yet.
Kwaaaang!
An explosion was heard. It was the sound from the spear Sung Hari swung. The mud golem’s right arm flew off. The mud golem swung its left arm at Sung Hari.
Sung Hari tried to twist her body in mid-air to avoid the mud golem’s attack, but she was a bit clumsy. Part of the fist hit her body. Sung Hari flew away.
‘A split second.’
I ran behind the flying Sung Hari and caught her body. I acted as a cushion myself.
“Ugh…. Mister…?”
“You were too reckless. Why did you charge like that?”
“Well… I’ve fought mud golems a few times before. If you hit them hard before they fully rise, they get knocked down right away… but this mud golem is a bit strange.”
“Is that so…?”
“But aren’t you going to move your hand? Do you like touching someone else’s chest?”
“It just happened by accident.”
Without realizing it, I squeezed Sung Hari’s chest tightly. Unlike the Sung Hari of the future, the current Sung Hari’s chest was smaller than my hand, so the feeling was different.
Sung Hari raised her right arm and struck my abdomen with her elbow.
“……!”
I let out a silent scream and fell away from Sung Hari. I almost threw up. Sung Hari glared at me with a bright red face.
“You pervert. I didn’t think you were like that….”
“It was an accident, an accident. You’ve already forgotten that I helped you….”
I stopped talking and turned my head sharply.
『The Demon Hunter (S) has detected the presence of a demon.』
『All stats are temporarily increased.』
『Attack power against demons is temporarily increased.』
The mud golem’s massive body turned red, and complex black patterns appeared on it.
『The Demon Hunter (S) cannot identify the demon’s identity.』
『Information is insufficient.』
The mud golem wasn’t a demon. It was just a monster that had been corrupted by the power of a demon. The real demon was probably hiding somewhere, watching this situation.
‘A demon suddenly appeared… is it a coincidence?’
A demon appeared near where I happened to be. But the demon didn’t reveal itself and attacked me using a monster. It was hard to think of it as a coincidence. My mind became complicated.
The mud golem opened its mouth wide towards us. Dozens of stake-shaped rocks fell. Sung Hari and I moved using footwork to distance ourselves from the mud golem.
Crack.
A bolt of lightning flashed from my hand and disappeared. The mana that escaped from my body caused a reaction in the sky.
Kwarururung!
A streak of blue lightning struck the top of the mud golem’s head. The golem’s head was slightly crushed and then returned to its original shape.
‘Of all things, it’s made of mud, so lightning doesn’t work well.’
I clicked my tongue and looked for another way.
“Mister! Spirits! Use spirit magic!”
“I can’t use spirit magic.”
“Huh?! Then, summon spirits to fight!”
“I can’t summon spirits right now.”
“……”
Sung Hari looked at me with suspicious eyes.
I summoned the Hwaryeon Flying Daggers.
If lightning didn’t work, I could just go and slice it to death. Fortunately, I could clearly see where the mud golem’s heart was.
‘Acceleration.’
[Acceleration is activated. Duration: 10 minutes. Remaining stacks: 5]
