Chapter 51 : Adventure Level 35 (6)

“Magic is refreshing and good after all.”

I kicked a Skeleton that had been sent flying by the magic explosion, finishing it off.
It’s so much easier using magic, why did he run away?

“Shouldn’t they do a balance patch? How come there’s no prey advantageous for a swordsman?”

Do Yugeon grumbled, looking dejected.

“Right, the balance is terrible— no, that’s not it. This isn’t a game, you know. Realistically speaking, swords are just ceremonial, aren’t they?”
“Ha, you really have no romance.”
“Using magic is the romantic thing.”

I moved my mana and used space-time magic.
The grimoire resting on my room’s bookshelf was summoned.

“Like this. Hoho.”

I sent the grimoire back.
The romance of fantasy is definitely magic.
Magic, that brilliant and mysterious power.
Actually, since modern magic is science, scientists might have more romance, but that path awaits the reality called talent, sigh.

“I can’t use it.”
“How unfortunate. I can use it for you if you want. How about a drink?”
“No thanks.”
“No thanks? Really no thanks?”

I summoned a bottle of cider from the home refrigerator.

“Really, no thanks.”

He must be thirsty from hunting, but he really won’t drink it?

“Are you sulking because I teased you?”
“I’m feeling the wall of reality.”
“That’s unexpectedly dramatic. Here, drink.”

I handed him the cider.
He hesitated, but when I pried his fingers open one by one and pressed it into his hand, he took it.
He takes it when offered.
Playing hard to get.

He downed the cider in one go.
Just watching him makes me feel the pain of the carbonation.

“Doesn’t your throat hurt drinking it like that?”
“It does.”
“Then why drink it like that? I don’t get it.”
“It’s more refreshing this way.”
“Hmm, I don’t get it.”
“You just have no intention of understanding, right?”
“You got it exactly right.”

Do Yugeon sighed.
Somehow, his reaction isn’t good.

“I’m kidding.”
“Right. I think I’ve caught my breath enough, let’s hunt more.”
“We’ve leveled up a lot, is there a need to rush hunting?”
“Level 35 isn’t high. There are plenty of others over level 50.”
“Those people are full-timers. We leveled up a lot this month. We need to take it slow.”
“I’m not satisfied at all.”
“Even if you hunt hard, Skeletons give little experience, so you’ll always be unsatisfied. How about lowering your standards?”

Skeletons, unlike the mobs so far, are relatively easy to hunt.
Their regenerating bones are annoying, but they die if their heads are crushed, so it’s not like there’s no solution.
Plus, they don’t have weapons, so as long as you watch out for bites, they aren’t threatening.

The low hunting difficulty allows for fast hunting, but perhaps because of that, they give little experience, slowing down the actual leveling speed.
They do swarm in large numbers, but fighting a truly massive swarm is dangerous, making running away the standard hunting method.
I can wipe them out with magic, as I just did, but what Do Yugeon wants probably isn’t for me to kill everything alone.

Other parties take risks and attempt Rift clears to compensate for the slow leveling speed, but since we aren’t doing that, we’re falling behind in many ways.

Do Yugeon glanced around cautiously, then tentatively suggested.

“Maybe we should try clearing a Rift after all?”
“Do we really need to risk dying?”

When Do Yugeon attempted Rift clears a few times with the Flame Mage’s group, I secretly followed and assessed the situation. My conclusion was that I could easily clear it alone, but I couldn’t just say that and take this guy into a dangerous place.

He sighed.
Somehow, I feel unnecessarily sorry.
It feels like I’m blocking his path.
Though, in reality, it’s closer to telling him to stop his dangerous games.

“Cheer up. When we first hunted Slimes, we started with a sense of adventure rather than focusing on levels. With leisure and a broad mind.”

“Not that I’m one to talk, but thrillingly.”

There are no lights, but I can sense the entire maze structure with mana, so it’s pointless.

Do Yugeon picked up a pebble.
Thanks to his skill, he can sense presence within a narrow range, so he probably doesn’t find it inconvenient.
The pebble was thrown beyond the maze path.

“Thrills are nice, but since others have leveled up quickly, there’s less unknown now. Even if you suspect a monster might come out of the darkness, now we can be sure there isn’t one.”

I don’t particularly agree, but it’s true.
There’s no cosmic horror yet.

“Then how about I play the role of the monster in the dark, and you run away?”
“I respectfully decline.”
“Spoilsport.”

I’m confident I could do it well, what a shame.
I slightly modified the Fireball spell to create a small flame.
I can’t completely transform and apply it yet, but this much is now possible.
I brought over a wall-mounted torch and touched the flame to it; it lit up.

“Wow, it’s sparkling.”
“Huh? What is? Aha, me? That’s true.”

Saying that so openly without embarrassment, his flattery skills have improved.

Do Yugeon stared for a moment, then shook his head and pointed at the torch.
As if reacting to the new flame, the metal frame sparkled briefly before losing its luster.

This……?

Hmm, hmm.

“Right, it did sparkle. How strange. But now, only I sparkle, right?”

As I brazenly brushed it off, Do Yugeon’s face turned red.
Looks like it was a direct hit to the heart.

Or maybe not……? Maybe he’s just embarrassed watching me?

As if heralding the era of platforms, a platform boom occurred in book publishing as well.
One online bookstore offered a monthly subscription allowing you to read several books cheaply, while another offered a plan with completely unlimited reading.

This change was somewhat interesting, but personally, reading on mobile or an e-reader felt like it resulted in lower comprehension and satisfaction compared to reading a physical book, so I bought and read most books in physical form.
According to academic research, this decline in reading comprehension wasn’t just a feeling but an objective fact.

In my past life, I was self-made except for the house I received when I became independent, so my meager wallet couldn’t solve the real estate pressure caused by book purchases, but that wasn’t the case in this life, leading me to read physical copies more often.

Still, I didn’t exclusively read physical books. Occasionally, while book shopping, if I found a book I really liked, the impulse to read it immediately would lead me to buy the ebook.
Thanks to that, several books periodically ended up being purchased as ebooks. At the time of purchase, it felt unavoidable, but after buying them, a sense of discomfort remained.

Should I call it the discomfort of ‘All the other books are in the library, why are you guys inside a device?’
Or maybe the discomfort of seeing a lone book in the living room for interior design purposes?
Inconsistent categorization creates a kind of resistance.
Which, in turn, made me even more reluctant to use ebooks.

However, considering the advantages of monthly subscription services, it seems necessary to adopt a more forward-thinking attitude in the future.
The most inconvenient part of buying books is not knowing the specific content before purchasing.

Preview services exist, but they only show a little content, and going to a bookstore to physically examine a book is extremely cumbersome.
So, one examines the table of contents, author’s history, publisher, etc., but uncertainties still abound.
Buying a book with anticipation only for it to occupy library space is painful.

But with an unlimited monthly subscription service, this issue is resolved.
Because if you start reading and don’t like it, you can just read something else.
There’s no need to spend time carefully choosing books, nor feel the frustration of falling for a flashy book description.

Of course, I have no intention of using it right now.
Changes in the times are interesting, but books should still be held and read physically.
The appropriate weight, the smooth texture, the faint scent of ink.
That’s what reading is about.

Though the aching neck and wrists aren’t great.

While lazily wiping the top of the living room cabinet, my mother’s glare made me grip the cleaning cloth with both hands and scrub vigorously.
I rubbed from one end to the other and then stood up.
Done for now.

“You need to wipe the drawer gaps too.”

Mom instructed from her lounging position on the sofa.
Drawers?
Looking at the cabinet, there were, naturally, many drawers that opened.
She meant I had to open and wipe each one.
This is unbearable.

“Mom, we have a housekeeper anyway, do I really have to do this?”
“Well, who told you to drink alcohol?”

Ugh.
That was ages ago, why is she still bringing it up?

“I didn’t intend to drink it, Yu Mina forced me.”

Yu Mina only encouraged me, but that’s not the important fact.

“But Mom didn’t raise her daughter that way. In times like that, you should grab them by the collar and refuse.”
“No, that’s a bit…….”
“Then finish your cleaning.”

I glared briefly at Mom, who shifted into a comfortable position with her book, then used magic to open a drawer.

“Don’t use magic. What if you can’t control your strength again?”

Augh, really.
I sat down again and wiped the crevices I hadn’t been able to reach.
My unused arm muscles protested, so I secretly used magic intermittently while wiping, somehow managing to finish.

“All done.”
“Very good. Now, can you get me a cup of coffee?”
“Ugh, no way.”

I flopped down onto the living room floor.

“I have the right to laze around.”
“Who on earth gave birth to such a daughter?”

Mom put a hand to her cheek and muttered loud enough for me to hear.

“You did, Mom.”
“Ahem. Our daughter was picked up from under a bridge? Surprising, isn’t it?”
“I know that too.”

If you give birth, it’s obviously from under the ‘bridge’ (pelvis). TL Note: Play on words in Korean. “Dari” means bridge and leg. “Dari mit” (under the bridge) is a common euphemism for where babies come from, but Haneul interprets it anatomically.

“Ugh, such a boring reaction.”

Mom got up from the sofa and went to the kitchen.
The sound of the coffee machine operating could be heard.

A cool sensation rose from the floor.
Lying down feels good.
It would be nice to live lazing around forever.
It feels like I haven’t lazed around much since reincarnating, but I’m already a middle schooler; it feels like I’m losing out on life.
How can I stop aging?

Mom came back holding two mugs and handed one to me.

“Here, this is for my daughter.”
“Wow, thank you. Mom’s the best.”
“Of course, of course.”

I sat up and took the mug.
The aroma of coffee wafted up.
There’s no milk foam, so it’s not a cappuccino.
Still, coffee made by someone else is always good.
This is the taste of life.
The fantastic pleasure of having coffee served even when doing nothing.

As I blew on the coffee to cool it, I somehow felt Mom’s gaze.
Puzzled, I looked back at her, but Mom just smiled sweetly.
Hmm? What is it?
Surely she won’t make me do something else after I drink this.
If she asks me to clean the bathroom, I really have to refuse vehemently.

I took a sip of the coffee.
An overwhelming saltiness that masked the coffee flavor assaulted my taste buds.
It tasted like coffee mixed with saltwater.
What is this.
It was such an unimaginable taste that I sputtered, dribbling the coffee I held in my mouth, completely bewildered. Mom clutched the sofa, laughing.
Ugh, Mom, you’re really, really, really mean.