Chapter 1741 – 1741. Savior Of The Academy
Battles became easier after Younghari joined.
The monsters that appeared couldn’t withstand a single swing of her spear and were swept away. Compared to Younghari, the monsters were too weak.
‘This won’t do.’
It was good that Younghari had joined. My body had become unbelievably comfortable. But since she was wiping them all out by herself, I wasn’t gaining any experience.
‘There are several places here with level restrictions, like the Forest of Bewilderment.’
I needed to level up to avoid being held back at crucial moments. For that reason, I restrained Younghari, and Sunghari and I moved to hunt monsters.
There was no need to mention Sunghari. Even if her condition wasn’t as good as usual, her decades of experience hadn’t disappeared. So, Sunghari and I steadily killed monsters and accumulated experience.
“What are you doing? Can’t you catch them any faster?”
Younghari sneered.
It was a sneer directed at Sunghari, who had just finished catching a monster.
A vein popped out on Sunghari’s forehead.
“I caught them at the best speed I could? It was clean and without any unnecessary movements. If others had seen my technique, they would have been amazed. Well, what would you know, you who are just mindlessly strong?”
“I would have handled it twice as fast.”
“Being fast isn’t everything. Do you even know what technique is?”
“What you did looks like a bunch of cheap tricks. Why are you so stubborn about using a sword when you can’t even use it properly?”
The words they exchanged were harsh.
I watched quietly. I was worried that if I intervened, the fire might jump to me, but it was quite entertaining to watch.
‘Parallel world… or, I don’t know if it’s a parallel world, but fighting yourself… isn’t this like spitting on your own face?’
Frankly, Sunghari’s reaction was a bit unexpected. She had lived almost twice as long as the young Younghari. I thought she would use her experience to handle it smoothly.
But what I saw was nothing like smoothness. Maybe because she was aware of me, she didn’t use curses like “son of a bitch,” “dog bastard,” or “bird bastard,” but she kept calling her “bitch” and “that bitch.”
“Hold on a second.”
At my words, they stopped fighting and shut their mouths.
I grabbed my sword and stared straight ahead. The space next to a large tree rippled, and a translucent corpse appeared. It was a ghost.
It was the first time I had encountered this type of monster. I looked up at the sky. The day was ending.
“Oppa, should I take care of it?”
*Crackling.* Sparks flew from Younghari’s body. She could probably kill a ghost in an instant.
“No, I’ll handle it. I want to test out the new skill I got earlier.”
Even though it might not seem like it, my secondary job was a Priest.
「Holy Power
Level: 1
Consumes mana to use holy power.」
“Holy Power.”
I activated the skill. A faint golden light settled on the blade. The ghost seemed displeased with the Holy Power, frowned, and opened its mouth wide. A screeching sound that seemed to tear metal hit my eardrums.
「You have heard the ghost’s wail. Your health is continuously being consumed.」
Thunder Sky Style (雷天流) Flying Tiger (飛虎).
I leaped up as if flying and charged. The ghost reacted like a machine. As I approached, it retreated, creating distance. It was within my expectations. Without panicking, I moved my feet in mid-air. My foot kicked off the tree next to me. My direction changed, and I flew straight towards the ghost.
The tip of my sword pierced the ghost’s translucent body. The feeling was weak, but it was there. It was similar to cutting through a slightly firm jelly. I moved my sword. As I fell, I sliced through the ghost’s body. The ghost disappeared with a scream.
“Auntie, did you see that? That’s what technique is. Oppa moved his sword exquisitely in the middle and sliced the ghost.”
“I knew Yujin would do that. It’s hard to cut ghost-type monsters with a sword… but he did it. He’s my son after all.”
Their praise poured out. What I did wasn’t that great, so I felt a bit embarrassed.
*Thud.*
Something fell at my feet.
‘Is it a drop item?’
I picked up the fallen item, thinking nothing of it.
It was a cat sculpture. It was small, about the size of my palm. The sculpture was rather crude. The sculptor’s skills didn’t seem very good. There were flaws here and there. The tip of the tail was broken.
「Cat Toy
A toy that someone is desperately looking for.」
As soon as I checked the item, I remembered the quest I had received from the hunter. The keepsake of his dead child. This toy was definitely it.
‘So, you get it by catching a ghost.’
I put the toy in my inventory.
“Mom, Hari, let’s catch some more ghosts before we go back.”
It wasn’t just me who had received the quest; Sunghari was also included. She needed this toy as well.
• • •
It was 2 AM when we left the Forest of Bewilderment. We got lost in the middle, which took some time. If Younghari hadn’t been there, it would have taken even longer. As night fell, undead monsters appeared more frequently, and thanks to Younghari’s strength, we were able to deal with them easily.
We went to find the hunter first.
“Yujin, it’s 2 AM now. Let’s go when it’s daylight. It’s too much of a nuisance to go now.”
I shook my head at Sunghari’s words.
“Mom, the hunter is an NPC. He’s not a human like us. He’s a piece of data. A piece of data.”
“I know, but…”
Sunghari smiled wryly. I had repeatedly told her that NPCs weren’t human over the past few days, but Sunghari couldn’t treat NPCs carelessly.
*Knock knock knock!*
I pounded on the hunter’s door with my fist. I heard a stir inside. The hunter asked in a sleepy voice from behind the door.
“Who is it?”
“It’s me. I’ve brought the toy of your dead child.”
The door swung open. The hunter stared at the cat toy in my hand. His eyes trembled. He closed his eyes, sighed repeatedly, and then said.
“…That’s definitely his toy. Thank you.”
“Give me the reward.”
“I will. I have weapons that I use. Take one of them.”
“Give me a sword.”
「Hunter’s Sword
A sword used by the hunter.
Attack Power +30
Attack Speed +5%
Status Effect Bleeding Chance +3%」
The hunter’s sword looked ordinary on the outside. But the stats were satisfactory. It was the best item I had among the items I currently possessed.
Sunghari also handed the toy to the hunter.
“…That’s definitely his toy. Thank you.”
The hunter reacted the same way he did when he received the toy from me. It was the limitation of an NPC.
“I’ll take a spear.”
“A spear? Don’t you use a sword?”
The hunter said, looking at the sword Sunghari had on her waist. Since the weapon she used was different, he was asking to confirm.
“I’m better with a spear originally.”
Sunghari said. It sounded like she was saying it to be conscious of Younghari. Younghari, who was next to me, smirked.
“Does it change anything if you hold a spear? You can’t even throw it properly with that strength.”
It was a harsh thing to say to Sunghari, but I agreed with Younghari’s words.
Of course, I wasn’t doubting Sunghari’s spear skills. In fact, her spear skills had surpassed the level of a master.
‘But the spear skills I’ve seen from Sunghari so far…’
It was a spear technique that relied more on strength than skill. Now, for some reason, the spirit king’s curse had become stronger, and Sunghari’s strength had weakened, so I wondered if she could exert her proper strength.
‘But it’s better than using a sword.’
Anyway, it was good that our combat power had increased.
We decided to complete the other quests in the morning. The reason was that Arinna’s house was far from here.
We headed to a nearby inn. As usual, we booked one room.
“Yujin, wouldn’t it be better to book three rooms?”
Sunghari said, conscious of Younghari.
“Hmm. Should we?”
Younghari stood with her arms crossed, as if she didn’t care.
“…No. I was wrong. It’s easier to keep an eye on you if we stay in the same room.”
“Keep an eye on? Auntie, do you keep an eye on your son? That’s terrible.”
“I’m not keeping an eye on my son, but on you. Who knows what you’ll do to my son?!”
“Do you think I can’t do anything just because you’re watching me?!”
I intervened between them.
“We booked a big room, so let’s not fight.”
What I wanted was a 3P. With two Sungharis in front of me, it was a natural desire. The problem was that their relationship was no different from that of enemies.
‘If I force a 3P in this state, it will only cause resistance.’
There was a high possibility that it wouldn’t be the threesome I wanted because they would be too busy keeping each other in check. It would be like turning a stew into separate soup and rice.
‘If I try to do a 3P now, they will only feel competitive.’
Sunghari and Younghari needed to become somewhat friendly.
‘As time passes, they’ll develop some kind of affection, even if it’s just resentment.’
They were themselves, after all.
We skipped showering and prepared to sleep. Since this world was virtual reality, there was no need to shower. Even if our bodies got dirty, we didn’t need to wash; we could just shake it off and become clean.
“Wait a minute, I’ll be right back.”
Sunghari went outside. This was unusual, so I tilted my head and followed her.
Sunghari took out the hunter’s spear in front of the inn and held it in her hand. She managed her breathing and took a stance. Then, she swung the spear.
‘Ah. She’s finding her senses.’
She hadn’t held a spear for almost 50 days. She was regaining her senses by swinging the spear like this.
The spear blade cutting through the air, the fluttering hair, the vitality emanating from her firm body. Sunghari’s body was very alluring right now.
And that wasn’t all. I could see the imaginary enemy that Sunghari was facing. The imaginary enemy was herself.
‘I don’t know much about spear techniques, but I can tell it’s threatening. She’s focusing on technique, not strength. It’s Rannaru… no, Rannachal.’
Twisting, pulling, and thrusting.
The basics and everything of spear techniques.
Sunghari’s Rannachal was as natural as flowing water.
*Swish.*
Younghari approached next to me. She crossed her arms and watched Sunghari’s spear techniques. I thought she would say something, but she kept her mouth shut and just watched Sunghari’s spear.
“What do you think?”
“About what?”
“About Mom’s spear techniques.”
“…Looking at the technique itself, it’s amazing. Well, it’s natural since there are 20 years of time that I don’t know about.”
It was a plain observation. There was no mockery or sarcasm. Surprisingly, Younghari was acknowledging Sunghari’s skills.
“But I’ll still win.”
