<973 – Experience Points Doubled (10)>
Irene and Jiang found a teleportation circle in the darkened hallway.
And they contemplated whether to inform their friends.
“What do you think? Titosso?”
“It’s not like it’ll kill you. Thanks to the Giant Blood Serum, I’m ridiculously tough.”
“Well, that settles it.”
With even the weakest surviving, it seems unlikely the others would perish.
Even though they didn’t want to go, the restless spirits were pushing them down the hallway with force.
Like a viral marketer trying to etch my name in the referral signature section, the spirits were dissing and shouting at each other in an endless competition, but eventually, a winner would emerge.
Since their goal appeared to be throwing people into the teleportation circle, the two felt at ease and began their exploration beyond it.
Of course, they weren’t foolish enough to jab a finger or poke their heads in.
If the spatial connection and teleportation were unstable, there was a risk of fingers or heads getting sniped clean off.
Thus, they sent a “Ki Wave” infused with energy to the other side and injected a concealment spell to allow it to return after a set time.
Jiang’s shadow and Irene’s ice doll returned unscathed.
Moreover, there was a drawing saying “Hurry up!” on the shadow, and a flower on the ice doll’s head.
From the perspective of the two, unaware of the situation on the other side, it appeared someone with unknown intelligence was urgently prompting them, which was a bit frightening.
“Let’s just grit our teeth and go. I’m confident in my ability to hide anywhere, and I confirmed I can return through the teleportation circle.”
And so, Jiang made it there first!
He arrived at the director’s legacy, the Oknodie’s main house.
Boom!
A party firework the size of a finger exploded.
An excited Oknodie in a conical hat shouted.
“Welcome! I’m so glad to have you at my home!”
How bored must this lively kid have been all alone until now?
Feeling a moment of sympathy, Jiang’s mouth popped open like a fish.
“Whoa, what’s with that?”
“It’s too much. The way here is too rough.”
“Jiang sensei lived on a cliff too. Masters usually dwell in harsh places!”
“…Is that so?”
“That’s true. There are plenty of masters living in the harsh northern region.”
Irene, who entered a bit later, also agreed with Oknodie.
“Really? Is that the case?” Jiang thought, convinced.
But that’s that, and this is this.
As Oknodie ran towards him, arms wide open, excited to embrace him with a huge “Yay!”, Jiang blocked Oknodie’s forehead with one hand.
Oknodie’s face squished as his cheeks were pressed.
“Why again?!”
“It’s about keeping social distance!”
“You’ve struggled before too!”
“Did you forget? I came with Oknodie, and you didn’t even come to greet me!”
“No! I sent the restless spirits as guides to warmly welcome you!”
Upon hearing Oknodie’s caring gesture, Jiang was dumbfounded.
“You didn’t want to send them to welcome?!”
Even though he thought that was hardly a welcome, it might be the case from Oknodie’s perspective.
If diving off a cliff were training, then that’s acceptable.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
In Oknodie House, they had to respect the traditions of the Oknodie family.
With Jiang’s sulking gone, his mouth returned to its place.
“What about the other friends?”
“Who knows. They’re probably rolling around in agony.”
“Did you bring Tito too?”
“I did.”
“Then Tito is having a good time!”
“…In that hellish place?”
Jiang and Irene were dumbfounded, aware of the power of the restless spirits.
Yet Titosso was powered up.
To the extent of mastering a way to use mana that bypassed the Giant Blood Serum!
“Did Tito’s fist shine more brightly?”
“It wasn’t the fist, but the light stand was shining again.”
“He overcame the Giant Blood Serum!”
Jiang was astonished to hear Oknodie’s explanation.
The Giant Blood Serum increases strength in proportion to the mana infused.
Even though Titosso became a physical monster by having all the mana consumed, the fact that it was beginning to shine again meant what?
It meant that Titosso had learned the skill to emit light by pumping an enormous amount of mana into a single conduit that the Giant Blood Serum couldn’t absorb completely.
And the world called this technique the Mana Control Art.
“If Titosso’s habitual light show out of boredom finally succeeded, it means his level of Mana Control has risen. Considering he struggled with uncontrollable mana, it’s fortunate he’s improved his control!”
There’s also a distinct difference from his former state of aimlessly glowing.
When mana is concentrated in one area that’s not fully absorbed by the Giant Blood Serum, it produces a Light Punch, a minor luminescent output.
Conversely, if the mana is spread across different areas, the glow disappears, and physical strength increases.
Enhancement of specific body parts.
This enables differentiation in overall body augmentation.
Currently, Titosso was diligently getting stronger without anyone noticing!
“If Titosso ends up stronger than me, it’ll be quite shocking.”
“Then since we’ve come to visit, let’s train hard! Papa has set up a training ground.”
As Jiang recognized the need to train while viewing exhibitions or artworks of the Soul Collection, he realized he had to step into the realm of the restless spirit he had narrowly avoided.
“All of a sudden, my stomach hurts. I want to go home.”
“There’s a restroom!”
“I think I left the window open at home.”
“Don’t you live on a cliff, blocking cave gaps with rocks?”
“What if a flying monster comes along and pushes the rocks away?”
“I’ll send a paper aircraft carrier to patrol!”
As his excuses ran dry, Jiang’s fish-like mouth was about to spring off again when Oknodie executed a “stomp.”
“Jiang. Don’t you want to have fun at our house?”
“It’s not that I don’t want to… sigh. Fine, let’s train. I guess I won’t have time to play anyway.”
Jiang accepted the fateful notion of special training he couldn’t dodge.
Jiang’s sacrifice wouldn’t be in vain.
His friends weren’t holed up in the Jigoku Pirate Ship, either, but were doing their best to come.
They were merely struggling on the way, getting whacked by the Mansion Mimic beyond Oknodie’s wild imagination…
The restless spirits they sent to welcome were battling each other, doing everything they could to get through and make others submit, so there was no way they wouldn’t feel a sense of shame.
That’s right.
A realization of shame.
To make a veteran player feel shame, Jiang’s achievement was remarkably astounding.
“I didn’t consider the new players enough!”
The overly enthusiastic mother thought training time should be doubled and training intensity heightened, as if growth efficiency would soar four or eight times.
However, in games, high-efficiency resource-gathering quests came with prerequisites such as ‘minimum level’ or ‘stamina.’
If too weak, training efficiency would drop before the heightened difficulty, and they would return battered, unable to gain experience points.
Once stamina was fully depleted, they’d just be a limp waste of time with no results.
The whip and the carrot.
Today, Oknodie was a Whip Oknodie who knew nothing but to wield a whip.
“I’ve reflected greatly on having pushed new ones too hard due to my eager heart!”
“Do I really need to reflect?”
“Huh? What do you mean by that, Irene?”
In the world, there are always contrasting beings.
Angels and demons.
Buddha and Mara.
Jjajangmyeon and Jjamppong.
Those whose balance is called the golden balance, or “Hwangbel,” not knowing which side would win.
Today, the one claiming to be the protector of balance was Irene.
“By pushing hard, Jiang and I were able to grow. If we get stronger, we can contribute greatly to the Northern Expedition. It’s foolish to dismiss difficult trials and adversity as something one cannot overcome; that stifles the will of hopeful dreamers wishing to join the Northern Expedition!”
“A bonfire of the weak men?!”
“The true strong men of the north will take on the harsh blizzards outside without a fire, lighting their way through trials and adversity!”
“The torches of strong men!!”
“Trust me. People grow stronger when they walk holding the torches of brave men rather than lingering by the fires of weak men.”
“But Irene and Jiang aren’t even men! Don’t they have no use for the guys?”
Irene frowned.
With the perfect opportunity to draw nearer to the ambition of the Northern Expedition just a day ahead, Oknodie had become too soft.
This was all because Jiang, consumed by being a best friend, wouldn’t hold back on flattery and manipulation.
“The gender of a person isn’t defined by born sex. Only actions prove it. Jiang and I have overcome trials in a guy-like manner. Therefore, we have the right to hold the torches of strong men regardless of gender.”
“True!”
“Just like Sing discarded the male gender and became a woman, gender isn’t a limitation!”
“Very true! The torch of strong men. Strength defined by actions. You must have at least that much strength to enter my mansion!”
With Irene announcing her supportive stance without complaining about the grueling training of veteran players, Oknodie gained great strength and confidence.
Of course, Sing, unexpectedly exposed, clad in a side-slit Chinese dress, stood right next to Oknodie with a face of someone whose world had just crumbled.
