## Chapter 234 – 234. Tutorial Floor (6)
#234. Tutorial Floor (6)
After entering the forest with Lee Serin, I returned to the clearing in just two hours.
This was to be considerate of her, as it was her first day. Excessive forced marches would only backfire.
However, it wasn’t as if I hadn’t met my quota.
1,621 WP, the WP I had collected today excluding the constellation’s sponsorship.
As the night deepened, the monsters became more active, so I was able to gather them quickly.
Of course, it would be a bolt from the blue for other player candidates, but for me, it was good news.
I didn’t even need to use magic detection. They were popping out in clumps after crossing the bushes a few times.
“Haa, haa, haa…”
As soon as she returned to the clearing, Lee Serin collapsed on the ground, panting heavily.
I handed her water and sat next to her.
“Good job, Noona.”
“Th, thanks…”
In reality, Lee Serin did a surprisingly good job for her first hunt.
No, rather, she had talent.
Unlike a beginner, she dealt with the monsters flexibly without panicking and followed my instructions well.
Moreover, even though it was clearly her first time handling magic, her magic control was considerable.
It was on par with the first-year students of the Magic Tower.
If she grows smoothly like this, she will be more than worth several people on her own.
‘But why isn’t she here yet?’
Even as the night deepened, Lucifer was nowhere to be seen.
Of course, there was no need to worry about her, but I was strangely concerned.
Ding-
「The first night has arrived.」
「Be careful at night.」
Just in time, I had no choice but to get up from my seat when the screen appeared in front of me.
I couldn’t stay still because I was worried.
“Hyunwoo?”
I took out jewels from my inventory.
Ruby, Blue Sapphire, Opal, Sunstone.
Using each jewel as a medium, I spread a barrier in the clearing.
As I used high-purity jewels as a medium, a fairly strong protective barrier was created. With this much, unless C-grade monsters swarm in droves, there won’t be a big problem.
“I’ll go get Mia for a bit.”
“…Can’t I come with you?”
Lee Serin’s eyes were trembling slightly, as if she was anxious about being left alone.
Well, it was natural for her to be anxious. She had just seen with her own eyes how many monsters were in this forest.
She looked at me pitifully and tugged at the hem of my pants.
Perhaps because she was pretty, it was like watching the tragic heroine in a drama.
‘…Anyone would think I’m really abandoning her.’
I swallowed a hollow laugh and squatted down on the floor.
As our eye levels matched, she swallowed hard, as if she was nervous.
“I’ll be right back.”
I took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from her forehead and cheeks. Her face turned bright red in an instant.
She had been working hard in the forest, so there was quite a bit of dirt on her.
‘It reminds me of the old days.’
Suddenly, I was reminded of taking care of the younger children at the orphanage, and a smile spread across my face without me realizing it.
“Even if a monster comes while I’m gone, it won’t be a problem, so don’t worry too much.”
“…Really?”
“Don’t you trust me?”
“N, no! I trust you!”
No matter how I looked at it, it seemed like she was reluctantly saying she believed me.
I had no choice but to put the handkerchief away and point to the air with my finger.
“That’s…”
Lee Serin’s eyes glazed over as she looked at the large fireball floating in the air. As expected, she had talent.
She was instinctively trying to reverse-engineer the formula of my fireball.
If I had time later, it would be nice to teach her magic.
Anyway, to reassure her, I cast magic towards the barrier.
Bang!
The barrier, which collided with the fireball, didn’t break, and there wasn’t even a scorched mark left.
“Wow…”
“Can you believe me now?”
“…”
Suddenly embarrassed, Lee Serin lowered her head. I stroked her head for a moment and quickly left the clearing.
A golden ray of light crossed the forest where darkness had settled.
「’Dancing Destroyer’ finds your movements interesting.」
「’Dweller in the Swamp’ tells you to start the massacre.」
I used magic detection with all my might to find Lucifer’s location. However, like on the 6th floor underground, magic detection could not extend beyond a certain range and was blocked.
I heard that there are many areas with restrictions in the tower, and it seems that this forest is one of them.
‘Hoo…’
I climbed onto a tree branch and concentrated.
Although it was a temporary contract, she and I were clearly connected by a transcendent contract.
It wasn’t that difficult to grasp the general direction.
‘…Southwest.’
For some reason, it felt like Lucifer was in that direction.
I immediately jumped. The complex forest was not even an obstacle. The monsters blocking the way were cut in half.
「You have defeated a Hobgoblin.」
「+3WP」
「You have defeated a Green Orc.」
「+10WP」
「You have defeated a Green Orc.」
「+10WP」
「You have defeated a Roar Bear.」
「+20WP」
˙
˙
˙
「’Dancing Destroyer’ smiles contentedly at your swordsmanship.」
「’Dancing Destroyer’ sponsors 1,000WP.」
「’Dweller in the Swamp’ enjoys the massacre.」
「’Dweller in the Swamp’ sponsors 1,000WP.」
「’Saintess of Uruk’ smiles seductively, saying that you are the man she chose.」
「’Saintess of Uruk’ sponsors 1,000WP.」
The constellations’ indirect messages obscured my vision due to the exhilarating massacre.
3,000WP at once, it was definitely more efficient to receive sponsorship from the constellations than to catch monsters.
However, attracting the constellations’ attention every time was rather a bad move.
Anything that was fun at first would become boring over time.
The best attitude to take when dealing with constellations was to pretend not to be interested. An attitude that seemed to blatantly induce sponsorship would only arouse antipathy.
I roughly cleared the screen and ran through the forest.
And before long, I felt Lucifer’s presence. I increased my speed even more and jumped onto the tree.
‘Found her.’
Using the barrier I created in the air as a stepping stone, I kicked off. It was a technique that still needed a lot of research, but I could use it once.
I flew towards Lucifer, crossing the night sky.
As the distance gradually narrowed, a strange sight came into view.
‘…Monster?’
It was Lucifer confronting a monster that took the form of a clump of fog.
It was strange that she was just watching against a monster that wasn’t even D-grade, but soon I noticed that a strange magic was sticking to her body.
‘Is it a mental attack?’
I put aside my worries and grabbed the sword hilt.
I swung the sword at a speed that D-grade monsters couldn’t even react to.
Swish.
“Shiiit!!”
The monster, split in half, soon disappeared into smoke.
「You have defeated a Shade.」
「+20WP」
As expected, its identity was a ghost-type monster.
It was a monster that was notoriously difficult for close-range hunters to deal with because physical attacks were completely ineffective.
“What are you doing here.”
I sheathed my sword and approached Lucifer.
I grabbed her arm, which she was trying to move forcibly.
“You’ll hurt your magic circuits if you do that. Stay still, I’ll release it for you.”
“…I don’t need it.”
“Don’t be stubborn.”
I put magic power into my fingertips and slowly erased the magic power that was sticking to her body. Carefully and slowly so as not to damage the magic circuits.
Fortunately, there didn’t seem to be any injured areas.
“…Don’t laugh.”
“I didn’t laugh?”
Lucifer glared at me and frowned.
“Do you think I don’t know you’re laughing inside?”
As expected of a former constellation, she had reached a considerable level of mind-reading.
No, how could she be affected by a mental attack from a mere D-grade monster?
Knowing that she was embarrassed herself, her face was faintly red.
“Can I tell you the truth?”
“…”
Instead of answering, murderous intent swirled around.
I chuckled and took her hand. It was small, soft, and warm.
“Wh, what?!”
Lucifer’s eyes widened as if she was surprised by the sudden contact. If it were normal, she would have glared at me with a cold expression and shook me off.
I felt good for no reason, and a smile spread across my face.
“Stay still, I’m releasing the magic power.”
“Who doesn’t know that you don’t need to touch me to do that!”
“It’s because I’m not skilled enough.”
I responded with an appropriate lie and intertwined my fingers with hers.
For the record, I was filling my personal desires.
In the first place, I came all the way here in the middle of the night to save her, so shouldn’t I be able to receive this much compensation?
Perhaps because I was caressing her hand as if I was caressing her, Lucifer’s face gradually turned like a persimmon. I enjoyed her reaction and pushed the magic power a little deeper.
“…Eup.”
A faint groan leaked out from between her lips.
With this, it was revealed that even former constellations can’t move when you inject magic power into them (?).
“Q, quickly finish it!”
“It’s hard to concentrate if you rush me. And why don’t you unify your tone?”
When she’s not feeling well like before, she speaks like a constellation, and when she doesn’t have time like now, her tone becomes lighter.
If I had to ask which one was her original tone, I felt that the latter suited her personality a little more.
Lucifer lowered her head without saying a word.
Judging from the fact that even her earlobes were bright red, she seemed to be somewhat aware of it herself.
Did she want to pretend to be dignified in front of me?
I forcibly suppressed the laughter that was about to burst out and concentrated on removing the magic power.
It was the final stage now.
“…I don’t know.”
Lucifer, who was looking at the ground, muttered softly.
Her slightly different voice seemed to represent her emotions. She raised her head and stared at me with cold eyes.
“Why don’t you leave and stay by my side?”
Meaningless words flowed from her mouth.
“What?”
“You went to the brink of killing the constellation’s avatar without contracting with me, and you even successfully negotiated with the system. Even if there was no information I provided, you would have become a player who would attract the attention of many constellations someday.”
I felt uneasy for no reason at her unusual praise.
What is she trying to say?
Besides, shouldn’t you not say such things carelessly? The constellations will be listening, right?
“Don’t worry. I consumed WP to block the constellations’ ears for a moment. But even so, the limit is around 1 minute.”
Just in time, the magic power removal was over, and Lucifer moved her body normally.
Honestly, I thought she would slap my hand away right away. But she didn’t.
Rather, she grabbed my hand and stared at me.
“As you know, I plan to take revenge on the constellations. If they find out that I’m alive, they’ll try to kill me even if they have to consume a large amount of causality. A catastrophe that an ordinary human body cannot handle will occur.”
I listened to her words silently.
While wrapping her trembling hand.
“I’ll ask you one more time. Why are you still by my side?”
“Because I said I would help you.”
“…You only promised to free me from that hell. As you can see, I am now free. So you have already kept your promise.”
“I don’t remember saying such specific things-“
“It’s sophistry!”
Lucifer jumped up from her seat and glared at me as if she was going to kill me. I looked at her distorted face.
It was an expression that she didn’t know how to resolve her heightened emotions.
“You’re going to die. You’re going to die miserably. The human woman you brought will also die. Even all the relationships you build in this tower will be destroyed by the hands of the angels.”
I slowly got up and stared at her with the same expression as usual.
“But you’re not telling me to leave?”
I took a step towards Lucifer.
She stepped back as much as I did and moved her lips several times. But in the end, she lowered her gaze and silence continued.
“You’re saying things you don’t mean.”
I already knew that she was trying to use me for revenge.
Even so, the reason I’m still here is simple.
“There’s no reason. I’m just doing what I want to do.”
Was there ever a reason to help the betrayed queen and stay by the side of the Demonic Cult’s young lady?
“…You’re really crazy.”
At that moment, her lips touched mine.
How many seconds passed, 10 seconds? 30 seconds?
In reality, a moment close to a short moment passed and she hurriedly moved away from me.
I stared at Lucifer with a dazed look.
“What was that just now…?”
My head wasn’t working properly.
That Lucifer kissed me?
The warmth left on my lips felt like a dream. No, rather, the word unrealistic suited it better.
“…It’s common for goddesses to bestow grace on heroes.”
Lucifer, who was like a persimmon about to burst, muttered in a voice that sounded like ants crawling, and then tried to run away.
Thud.
But my hand, which moved one step faster, grabbed her wrist.
I cupped her flustered chin. Her purple eyes, which were experiencing an earthquake, were shining beautifully under the moonlight.
“What kind of goddess is there who ends with just a kiss, like a neighborhood kid?”
“What kind of-“
I hugged Lucifer’s waist and stole her lips once again.
Her body trembled at the sensation of my tongue digging between her lips. But whether she did or not, I inhaled her sweet scent and laid her down on the grass.
The night was just beginning.
