Chapter 6 – Adaptation
#006.
A faint light pushes the sky stained with darkness.
Dawn dawned, dyeing the sky purple.
A new day is beginning.
Chorin, who had been frowning at the sun pushing her pouting face across the horizon, turned her head and reached out her hand to awaken her warmth.
And,
“It is morning.”
Before she could reach her hand, Gaon opened her eyes and raised her body as if he had waited.
The sight made Chorin feel as if she were seeing a dead corpse raise her body.
“Ah… ? Awake, are you awake?”
“No. It just happened. Then let’s talk about what we’re going to do today.”
“Ah yes…”
As she approached her directly and met her gaze, Chorin adjusted her posture, covering her exposed thighs with her skirt. Gaon slowly opened her mouth as she listened to her with her eyes twinkling as if she was going to concentrate.
“Right now, the most important thing is food. In particular, drinking water must be obtained. Goblins will drink water too, so there must be a supply somewhere. Of course it would be dangerous.”
“… I’m ready!”
It’s nice to see that she’s strong, but Chorin’s current condition isn’t very good for activities in the forest.
It is said that she has secured her mobility by ripping the skirt, but her basic physical strength is also low and, above all, she is barefoot.
Her shoes had just been thrown off where she had slain the goblin, so her chorin’s feet were only leaning on a thin, tattered stocking.
She was only yesterday. She deliberately walked only on the least rough road, so she was safe, but she could be seriously injured if she went barefoot in the future.
As Gaon’s gaze turned to her own feet, Chorin twitched her toes. For she thought that even to herself, she would be nothing but a burden.
Just as she was about to open her mouth to appeal to her helpful side, Gaon stood up.
Could she possibly be trying to throw her away as useless?
As she raised her body according to such concerns, Gaon pointed to her shoes and continued her words.
“I will make her shoes even as a temporary lora.”
“… Shoes?”
“Yes. I think we can make it by weaving moderately tough grass.”
As if the conversation was over, she left the hollow of her tree. Seeing her move without a proper explanation, Chorin gasped for her.
Do you make shoes? With full? How could a 21-year-old guy do that?
Chorin, whose head was filled with her curiosity and questions, finally got impatient and she asked the question.
“Have you ever been a shoe designer?”
“If you are a shoe designer, can you make one?”
I have nothing to say.
I don’t know if nature actually teaches you how to weave shoes with glue.
Looking at the reaction, I am not a designer.
“So, are you a natural person?”
“…”
She doesn’t even answer the question asked again.
As if it wasn’t even worth it, Gaon sped up her pace and rushed in front of her.
Chorin kept her mouth shut, thinking that it was a stupid question even she thought she was, and she followed behind her.
Gaon, who was walking in front of her, found a place and headed there.
‘That’ll do.’
After moving a little from the tree pit, I saw grass reaching up to my waist. When I touched it, it seemed that it could be made into shoes if it was thin but strong enough to be twisted and used.
The roots were also deeply embedded in the ground, so they were not easily pulled out, so they even cut them down with a spear.
I packed them up and returned to the wood pit to start making shoes.
Chorin, who was sitting next to her and watching the production process, glanced at her and quietly threw her words.
“Mr. On vacation. Is there anything I can do to help?”
Of course there is nothing to help.
But you can’t say that outright.
Gaon refused to help by turning properly so as not to lose his spirit.
“Then keep an eye on me for a while. You never know if the monsters will come. … And you can just call me comfortably.”
As a bonus, it makes me put my words down.
The name Hyugaon.
I don’t hate it, but I was reluctant to be called by my full name because I was teased before and after coming to Union.
Seeing Gaon’s restlessness, Chorin smiled broadly.
“Yes! Gaon Mr. Call me when you’re done!”
Chorin took a seat near her entrance and began to look around her. As if trying to appeal her usefulness, Gaon stared at her for a while as she opened her eyes and looked around, then moved her gaze to her hand.
‘Long time no see.’
In the first playthrough, she often made shoes in this way and wore them. Because she worked as a mercenary, her clothes and shoes quickly wore out.
Gaon didn’t want to be a mercenary, but that was the only thing Gaon could do as he didn’t have an ID.
If you have talent, it’s a mage tower or a temple. Or, he would scout in the guild, but since Gaon was mediocre, he had no choice but to wander around here and there alone and make a small amount of money.
Energy. In other words, he lived a subhuman life until he awakened mana and adjusted to the mercenary work to some extent.
He didn’t even have the money to rent an inn, so he often slept in a stable or back alley. When I think back to that time, I feel like I’m at a loss for nothing.
It’s been a whopping 24 years, but it moved automatically before his head even gave the command as if his body had remembered it. No, since the body has changed now, should I say that the soul remembers it?
The shoes were quickly made as we weaved grass together with idle thoughts. If you wander around this forest anyway, you will find shoes without owners. At that time, it will no longer be useful, so there is no need to spend so much effort.
It will be broken in about a week, but you need to get the shoes before that.
“Lee Cho-rin. That’s it. Try it on.”
“Ah, four! Thank you. Gaon.”
When her name was called, Chorin, who was watching, turned her head away.
Seeing the shoes in Gaon’s hand, she bowed her head, thanked her, and put them on.
Although it is an eyeball, the sharp eye that was polished while rolling at Union was truly amazing.
The shoes fit Chorin’s feet perfectly.
“And! It fits perfectly. Great!”
“No big deal. So let’s move on to the next topic. Chorin Lee. You don’t know how to use your unique ability yet?”
“Yes… I really don’t know. Absorb life force? Grant? What do you mean by saying…”
The most fundamental substance that makes up the world is mana.
And that mana can change into any form, and if demons use it, magic becomes dragon magic if dragons use it.
In other words, life force can also be seen as a type of mana.
So, if you can handle mana, you can use your unique ability… The problem is that Chorin can’t even feel mana, let alone handle it yet. This is a pretty serious stumbling block.
After pondering for a while, Gaon recalled the rumors that had circulated in his previous life and took action.
“Oh! Go, Mr. Gaon!? What are you doing now… !”
“Would you like to absorb this? When you think of life force, this is the only thing that comes to mind.”
Gaon held out a finger to Chorin.
Red liquid pooled on her fingers.
Chorin was strongly shaken by the blood that leaked from the gaps in the wounds cut by the spear blade and pooled.
In games, something like a life bar is often expressed as blood. Such awareness spread all over the world, and it was not much different from Union.
It is blood that embodies human life force more strongly than anything else.
It was the same with the rumors that circulated in the previous life.
Rumor has it that the Healing Church sacrificed slaves to prolong the lifespan of those in power.
Chorin’s ability is not something that can be used without any cost. Of course, something comparable to that was needed, and the powerful people of the church committed something that made Chorin absorb human blood and use it.
Perhaps because of Chorin’s personality, he couldn’t have accepted that, and that’s why he was brainwashed.
Even now, as if to prove him, he couldn’t easily get his hands on Gaon’s blood.
“Miss Gaon…”
“Come on. Do not waste my blood.”
“… Yes.”
At the half-threatening words, Chorin eventually reached out and stole Gaon’s blood.
Red liquid moved from his fingers to his fingers.
In that state, Chorin is absorbed… Absorption… I muttered, but I didn’t think the blood would disappear.
It was a failure.
“Sorry…”
Chorin tried for a long time, but when there was no change at the end, he became limp. His sullen expression showed how disappointed he was in himself.
Gaon also opened his mouth while stroking his chin and thinking about the result different from the rumors of his previous life.
“How about trying something?”
“… Yes?”
“I was told to eat blood. Couldn’t that also be called a kind of absorption?”
“That, but…”
Gaon again suggested it, but Chorin is clearly reluctant. Hagiya, if he were to ask to eat the blood of others, he would have no likes except for vampires.
Gaon said to Chorin, who stared down at the blood on his finger.
“It’s okay. It’s not particularly dirty.”
“It’s not like that!”
“Then what is the problem?”
“Ugh, ugh…”
Watching Gaon speak indifferently, Chorin was troubled.
‘Something’s wrong…’
When he thought that he was sucking Gaon’s blood, he felt strange indeed.
Although it is not applicable to Chorin, it is because of the idea that vampirism has the same meaning as sexual intercourse for vampires widely known in Europe.
Even though he knew that Gaon had no reason to think that way and that he didn’t need to be conscious, he couldn’t help but be concerned.
Still, Gaon’s persistent gaze forced Chorin to direct the blood into his mouth.
“Peck!”
The moment her finger went into her mouth and the fishy blood touched her tongue, Chorin felt a strange sensation.
‘This… What?’
Like a bird hatching from an egg, Chorin came into contact with a new world. There was something in this world that she had never known until just now. Chorin, who was dazed by the joy of the sensation, felt the drops of blood in her mouth turn into an unknown energy and coil around her chest.
“Ah… !”
This is life force!
Along with her unexplained realization, Chorin was able to naturally learn how to use her unique ability.
If this is the case, it can help Mr. Gaon!
Chorin’s expression brightened at the feeling that the core that had been bothering him since yesterday was being released.
Gaon, who noticed that the gamble had succeeded in such a reaction, woke Chorin.
“Lee Cho-rin. How is it?”
“Ah… That’s Okay. I think I know how to use her powers!”
“Is that so? That’s great.”
“Yes! It’s thanks to Gaon! Thank you.”
I know you’re happy, but there’s a long way to go.
There were so many things to do today, so Gaon silently nodded without any reaction.
“It’s okay. So, can you tell me what ability it is?”
“Yes. Could you give me your hand?”
When Gaon handed over, Chorin carefully placed both hands on top of each other. Then, as if concentrating on her mind, she gently closed her eyes and murmured softly.
“Grant.”
As soon as those words were spoken, a small green light flashed from Chorin’s hand.
The soft green color, which naturally felt warm, permeated Gaon’s fingers and repaired the wound at the end.
The power that works in a form different from divine power and healing magic definitely had its own uniqueness.
“… Your wound is completely healed.”
“Ahaha! Isn’t that great?”
“Yes. Great.”
Chorin was thrilled at the compliment he heard for the first time after meeting him.
Gaon’s voice rings in Chorin’s ears, excited by the idea that he can be of help now.
“Then, now that the general affairs have been settled, let’s go. The sun has already risen.”
I followed Gaon and looked up at the sky, and the sun had risen completely before I knew it. When I first woke up, I was about to show my face, but quite a bit of time had already passed.
Chorin also knows that she is in danger if she doesn’t find drinking water by the end of the day, so she suppresses her joy and she responds quickly.
“Ah, yes! Song!”
All preparations have been completed.
Now it was time to explore the forest in earnest.
