Yeon-hee’s gaze nervously focused on the coffee cup on the table, the sound of it tapping lightly against the surface echoed like a whisper in the space.
In our country, she’s one of the top-tier powerhouses. Including the first awakening individuals, she’d be rated in the top 50.
It’s hard to grasp just how impressive that really is.
Just her temporarily exerting magic left her feeling exhausted, as if she’d just come out of a boss battle.
Even though Yeon-hee was sinking because of me, Kang Yeon-su couldn’t take her eyes off me. I mean, you wouldn’t stare like that at an alien, would you?
‘What are you so deep in thought about?’
Kbang—!!
I couldn’t bear to see Yeon-hee in pain anymore and slammed my fist down onto the table.
At the sound, Yeon-su snapped back to attention, and Yeon-hee gave a startled jump, her head bobbing up and down for a moment.
“The Skeleton you…”
‘Get a grip…’
Though Kang Yeon-su hadn’t intended to intimidate, it felt equally stressful whether it was intentional or not.
‘Yeon-su tends to lose focus on her surroundings when she fixates on something…’
I felt little impact, but Yeon-hee was struggling to stifle her nausea, pressing her fist against her mouth, desperately trying to hold back the rising bile.
“…You certainly have some guts… Slamming the table in front of me. Even that ‘Witch’ wouldn’t dare do something like that… Well, I like it.”
As she spoke, she gradually returned to her cheerful self, playfully patting my shoulder and bursting into laughter.
Then, she finally noticed Yeon-hee struggling and looked apologetic.
I guess “give and take” really applies here, huh?
‘Seriously, her magic is so irritating…’
I muttered to myself as I glanced at Yeon-su, but being with her somehow made me feel warm and fuzzy inside.
“Time’s getting late, so I’ll drop you off.”
“Uh… I can just take a taxi…”
“You won’t say that after you ride in my car.”
A stream of magic escaped her fingertips like smoke, likely calling a personal driver to bring the car around.
After summoning it, she placed her hand on the smooth part of my head and said, “Hey, make sure you take good care of Yeon-hee. Work hard or I’ll break your bones. Wait, that won’t work for you since you already have just bones. You’ll look like you’re working hard even if you get a little hurt? Break those bones… Hahaha— this is just too funny.”
‘What’s she even going on about? What’s so funny?’
Even while listening to her nonsensical joke, my gaze kept getting drawn back to Kang Yeon-su behind her sunglasses.
In a lifetime, how many people do you actually get to talk to for more than an hour?
I bet it’s not as many as you’d think.
In that sense, Kang Yeon-su was quite a significant figure in my life.
Even though she had fought alongside me only once against enemies, she was someone I could call a companion… how embarrassing.
As my position as a Guide in the guild became more established, I found myself talking with her a lot, and due to her oddly blunt personality, we became quite close in a short time.
We got acquainted through work talk, but as time passed, the weight of our everyday conversations increased.
Though she was a few years older than me, we talked casually and sometimes went out for drinks after work.
So, seeing her again after dying a miserable death certainly shook my heart.
No matter how long I was trapped in the Dark Space.
“Why do you always get beaten up somewhere? So pathetic indeed. Just do your guiding and don’t annoy people by getting involved.”
“Hey! We have to grab a couple of drinks after we finish! Don’t even think about saying no! I’m taking you whether you like it or not!”
“Who the hell did you get beat up by!! Just say it already! I’m seriously going crazy here!!”
“No, it’s just that Yeon-hee is more fragile and kind than she looks. Just stick around her a bit when I’m not around.”
Her earnest gaze and lively voice pulled memories of Kang Yeon-su that I couldn’t access with my will from the shelves of my mind.
‘……’
A faint feeling I had not experienced when we first met began to seep into my heart.
A subtle blend of longing and melancholy showered down like gentle rain over my soul, which had cracked dry.
I felt something from another dimension, not expressed in a status window, clumsily patching together shattered glass fragments.
I was filled with emotions of pity, sadness, anger, and nostalgia toward myself.
But.
‘Hah—’
Along with a soundless sigh,
[Trait: Calm]
[Trait: Calm]
[Trait: Calm]
.
.
.
As the constant triggering message of the trait faded away, those emotions scattered somewhere into the void and my gaze shifted away from Kang Yeon-su.
– The level of Trait [Calm] has increased!
– The level of Trait [Calm] has increased!
=====
Calm
– Never loses composure in any situation.
– Mental status anomaly resistance +52%
=====
‘……’
Thanks to the trait working overtime to prevent me from falling into emotional turmoil, my level, which had barely risen until now, surged by 2.
Definitely… It’s a feeling I hadn’t sensed in this life.
But even the joy of that was seemingly denied, as my heart felt heavy and sunken.
It was as if all these events were warning me to stay away from human emotions.
Who said they wanted to be a human? Ridiculous.
In the end, Kang Yeon-su dropped us off right at our doorstep.
True to her word, the inside of the car felt quaint and luxurious like stepping into a five-star hotel.
Thanks to that, we made it home in an excruciatingly uncomfortable state, worried that our dirty clothes might get something on the seats.
And whether she was really that eager to see Yeon-hee or not, she couldn’t manage to take a step away, repeatedly turning back and waving goodbye.
After parting ways with Yeon-su and returning home, while Yeon-hee showered and ate, I busied myself without a word with the Skeleton Bomb Manufacture.
‘Hmm…’
After my summoned creatures scoured the leftover bodies that people missed in the wolf den, I secured enough materials to make hundreds of bombs.
Feeling rather gloomy, I decided to set up camp right on the floor.
Bang-Break—
The Skeleton Bomb had reached the level of self-sufficiency in manufacturing in my hands.
The production time hadn’t quickened beyond a certain point, but as my proficiency increased, I became able to work on other tasks while manufacturing.
“Urgh—”
Once Yeon-hee was done tidying up, she once again approached me, leaning on my shoulder, her head slowly sliding down.
She quietly watched me make bombs while starting to chatter about Arin and Eun-young, who had just joined us.
“Something about Arin keeps drawing my eyes to her ears. They say beastmen aren’t supposed to touch their ears; I’m really curious to try. They must be super soft, don’t you think?”
“Eun-young seems to focus on our conversation even while looking in the mirror. You could see her paying attention and being careful during battles too.”
Fortunately, it appeared Yeon-hee was quite fond of both of them. There didn’t seem to be anything awkward about the conversation.
She wrapped up her chatter fairly quickly, much shorter than usual, and soon took my remaining hand and placed it above her head.
Squeezz- Squish- Squish-
“Ugh… Ow ow…”
Usually, after eating and showering, at 9 o’clock, I always gave Yeon-hee a massage.
This was the first time I was doing it past midnight, and it felt like her voice rang even clearer as the night deepened.
“Ugh—! Huhhh…”
Tonight, Yeon-hee’s reaction to the massage was especially intense. I thought it wouldn’t be an issue since a lot of summoned creatures hadn’t died, but I guess I misjudged that.
Or maybe it was the stress from Kang Yeon-su?
“Th-That spot… Il-wol, a little harder… Ugh…”
At first, even a gentle tapping made her curl her toes and squirm, but now it seemed her sensitivity had increased quite a bit, and she kept asking for it to be stronger.
If I went full force right away, it would be too much for her later, so I gradually intensified the pressure.
“Haah… This feels amazing… I feel all the fatigue melt away… Thanks again, Il-wol—”
“Clap, clap, clap.”
“Hmm… Great Sword, do you think I can place the order tomorrow? I’m thinking of taking it to the workshop where I left the Big Boar leather. They say you have to visit in person to place an order. Seriously, what era are we in?”
“Clap, clap, clap!!”
‘Nothing to be done.’
“What can I say? Because they’re well-established blacksmiths.”
I hadn’t seen Yeon-hee making fun of anyone, but it seemed like the blacksmiths had some snobby attitudes.
There are classes referred to as nobles.
Unlike regular hunters who start with just one active skill, some begin with unique traits or skills already in place, or have a visible path laid out for them.
That includes Barrier Mages, Alchemists, Blacksmiths, Clerics, Druids, and Bards.
Among them, people with the [Blacksmith] trait receive exceptionally favorable treatment. Not only is the number of awakenings low, but there’s also no such thing as a ‘failure.’
It is said that if they follow a designated tech tree and work hard, they will naturally advance to at least a certain level.
Of course, income varies wildly based on that effort, and for those in the upper 1%, talent plays a significant role, but it is nothing compared to other classes battling monsters and testing their luck and skill at the cost of their lives.
Some even undergo a second awakening and gain abilities that drastically increase their stats when wearing the equipment they crafted.
The guild formed by those people is the Dwarf Guild, a collective of monsters that amassed tremendous wealth from blacksmithing and earned the title of one of the top three guilds in Korea in less than a decade.
‘So, they’re all puffed up with pride…’
Not that there’s any way the blacksmith who only deals with Big Boar leather could be that confident, but it’s annoying how they all seem to band together, and one wrong move could make it tough to work as a hunter.
‘If I had strength like Jo Gi-man, I would’ve set those blacksmiths straight. They’re way too obvious in their unity.’
“Umm— Il-wol, what are you thinking?”
“Clap, clap.”
“Guess you’re not thinking at all, huh? Did you feel the power from Yeon-su earlier?”
I nodded—
“It was unreal… I don’t think I’ll reach that level no matter how hard I try.”
“Thwack—”
‘The comparisons are a bit unfair… Our fighting styles are completely different, and it’s not easy to compare directly.’
“I know. I’m a summoner, after all. I won’t be fighting one-on-one like Yeon-su. But… I’ve thought about whether I can make you guys stronger.”
‘…What’s she planning…?’
She had rested her head against my thigh.
Looking up at me with sparkling eyes, she flashed a mysterious smile and placed her hand along my extended leg while murmuring something.
‘Hmm?!’
While casting an incantation she probably couldn’t even understand, beads of purple light started to emerge from her palm, shaping something semi-transparent between my knee and thigh.
When she finally stopped casting the spell, I was shocked to the core.
‘…Could it be?!’
Some gel-like, glass-like substance layered over the leather covering my bones.
“Heheh! Surprised, right? You’re surprised!! It’s still incomplete, but I just couldn’t hold back. I’m just showing this to you, Il-wol.”
Nodding rapidly—
I emphatically nodded at her, and then I reached down to touch that substance clinging tightly to my body.
Mystical Mucus (Summoner Exclusive)
– A new material directly created by Summoner Lee Yeon-hee. It possesses properties similar to a slime in a defensive state and remains inoperative because it’s still incomplete.
‘······’
While feeling a sense of awe at Yeon-hee creating a brand-new material from scratch, her phone vibrated.
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