Chapter 12 : Adventure Level 5 (1)

I returned to my room with the needle.
The plan was to make a wound with the needle, then repeatedly log in and log out to observe the mana configuration of the healing magic.

“Login.”

I was transported to the Preparation Room.
A thought occurred to me, and I scanned the space, but Do Yugeon wasn’t there.
Well, we didn’t arrange to meet, so of course he wouldn’t be.

As planned, I held the needle in one hand, ready to prick a finger on the other.
Now, just a little poke.
I glanced at the needle.
It was sharp.
Naturally, being a needle, but it was too sharp.
Isn’t there a less pointy tool?
Specifically, one that could cause a wound without hurting.
I thought for a moment but couldn’t come up with anything else.
If there isn’t one, I guess I have no choice.

I pricked the tip of my finger with the needle.
Ouch.
A drop of blood flowed down the needle.
Maybe because I was nervous, I pricked it too deeply.
Seriously, way too deep.

“Logout.”

I was transported back to my room, and the System’s healing magic began to activate.
The mana around the injured finger started moving in a specific pattern.
This was the crucial part.
It was annoying because it hurt, but I focused and observed.

The System moved the mana to form one shape, then continuously changed it, creating dozens—maybe hundreds—of varied configurations.
I could follow the first few, but midway through, the mana started moving minutely, creating complex shapes that I couldn’t properly observe.
The fineness surpassed the current sensitivity of my senses.
Still, I continued to observe the general changes.
Even after reaching a complexity that made detailed observation impossible, the mana shape increased its two-dimensional intricacy before suddenly becoming three-dimensional.
After dozens more shape changes, it surpassed the three-dimensional form, with the shape itself rotating, creating a four-dimensional movement.
Uh……
There were many more changes after that, but I stopped observing there, overwhelmed by the complexity and absurdity.

Looking at the finger that had been wounded, only a bloodstain remained; the injury was completely healed.
Wow, amazing.
So amazing that words failed me.
Although I had pricked my finger deeper than intended, it was the kind of wound that would have healed on its own if left alone.
It might have been worth going to the hospital to avoid a small scar, though.
But wasn’t the healing magic used for such a minor wound excessively complex?
The original plan was to practice the System’s healing magic and replicate it, but this wasn’t a difficulty level that could be mastered through practice.
It was so complex I even gave up observing midway.

Various thoughts came to mind.
Maybe I should wash my hands first while I think.
I washed my hands and the needle at the sink, carefully organizing my thoughts.
It seemed I needed to revise the plan.
That was the natural course.
Original plans always encounter problems during execution.
First, it would be best to experimentally determine the relationship between mana configuration and healing magic.
The key point was to find out if even a single mana configuration could produce a healing effect.
Since imitating the System’s healing magic was impossible, I could only hope that a single mana configuration would suffice.

However, there was one thing to consider before experimenting.
Why did I even plan to copy the System’s healing magic in the first place?
Comparing it to modern medicine, which is equivalent to healing magic right now, it was a strange judgment.
Which modern person would be confident they could observe a surgeon performing an operation without any medical study and replicate it exactly?
Yet, until just moments ago, I had been thinking of copying the System’s healing magic verbatim.
It’s fantasy, so perhaps I could think and act exceptionally, but wasn’t it too complacent a judgment, especially after failing to copy the magic circles perfectly?
I should have anticipated the complexity of healing magic and planned assuming imitation was impossible. Why didn’t I?

Thinking carefully, I suspected I might have unknowingly overestimated my talent.
To put it nicely, overconfidence; objectively, it was probably closer to conceit or arrogance.
The internet was flooded with low-level magic, and the most talented mage discovered so far only had a Mana Sense skill range of 20 meters. I think I became conceited.
Do Yugeon constantly calling me a genius on the side was an added bonus.
Getting swayed by the internet.
A laugh escaped me.
Did I secretly wish I was a genius?
Being a genius is great.
But based on what could I be certain I was a genius?
Internet information is always uncertain, overflowing with useless data. Amidst that, what could I trust to confirm my talent?

It seemed the onslaught of fantasy phenomena had left me confused.
Experiencing things I never did in my past life must have made me anxious deep down.
Is that why I wanted to have talent?
Such defense mechanisms are useful for mental health, but being swayed by instinct is an unpleasant experience.
Especially in cases like now, where it clouds objective judgment.
My mind needs a prescription.
A prescription to control anxiety.
There are many methods.
For example, reading.

“That conclusion is weird, isn’t it?”
Do Yugeon spoke after throwing a rock at a slime to draw its aggro.

“Not weird at all. More importantly, should I get this one?”
“I’ll get it this time.”
He charged at the slime.
The 150cm slime shot up vertically, then spread out wide, trying to engulf him.
Do Yugeon boldly closed the gap during that opening and accurately stabbed the briefly exposed slime core with his sword.
Just before the slime could envelop him, it turned into EXP.
Every time I saw it, it was a thrilling yet clean hunt.
He was practically possessed.
Amidst the dissipating EXP, he swung his sword and sheathed it with a flourish.
He struck every pose imaginable.
I wanted to tell him that deliberately acting cool actually makes him look less cool.
I was pretending not to notice, worried he’d suffer from cringe memories later, but watching it was a bit…

“To continue the conversation, that’s why I’m going to increase my reading time.”
“I see.”
This was the main point.
“I thought about how to increase the time, and reducing adventure time seems like the best option.”
“Huh? Reduce what?”
“Adventure time.”
“……By how much?”
“We need to decide that now. How much reduction sounds good?”

I went and sat on a nearby rock.
“I decided I want to hit level 100.”
“We’re not quitting adventuring, so you can just level up steadily.”
He thought for a moment.
“I’m not sure about the exact time—let’s just aim for 2 level-ups per month.”
Two levels?
We officially started hunting on May 26th, and it’s July 11th now, and we’re level 5.
So, the average leveling speed per month is roughly 2.5.
From what I’ve experienced so far, leveling speed doesn’t seem to slow down as levels increase, so 2 level-ups a month is definitely less than before.
“Okay, sounds good.”
“So, that means up to level 6 this month?”
“That’s right.”

While reading as a hobby has many advantages, it also has drawbacks.
Namely, bookshelf space.
The costs associated with bookshelf space are substantial.
This becomes more severe the longer one’s reading history, as books only accumulate, meaning the dedicated bookshelf space inevitably reaches its limit.
To store the accumulated books, one is forced into additional costs, whether by somehow making space in the house or moving.
In our house, not only myself but also Mom and Dad enjoyed reading, so the study quickly reached its limit.
Back then, my younger self naturally believed we would clear out the storage room and create a second study, but Mom had different ideas and declared she would organize the study.
Not understanding what “organize” meant, I asked, and she handed me paper to list the books to be discarded.

From that day on, I reviewed book tables of contents, recalled their contents, and deliberated carefully, identifying books I genuinely wouldn’t reread, but there were only a few books to discard.
That was because I had already gotten rid of books that disappointed me.
“Is this really all?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s too few…… Hmm.”
Mom, pondering while touching her lips, continued.
“Our daughter has such a good memory—is there really a need to keep all the books you’ve finished reading?”
“There is.”
“Well, if you say so.”
In the end, we discarded more of Mom’s or Dad’s books than mine.
Since then, we managed by reducing book orders and slightly lowering the standards for discarding books, but recently, the study became filled with my books, reaching its limit again.
Mom clearly noticed and started subtly pressuring me to discard books.
Ugh, the agony.

Still, as they say, there’s always a way out. Just then, the apartment downstairs went up for sale.
The moment I heard about it, an idea struck me, and I bought the place immediately.
Afterward, I ordered a ton of bookshelves and turned the downstairs apartment into a personal library.
It was a good thing I saved my allowance.
However, although I created my own library, actually going downstairs was cumbersome, so I usually kept the books I was currently reading in the main study and read primarily those.
But when newly ordered books piled up like now, requiring them to be moved downstairs, I would come down to organize.
Before I could properly use magic, it was sweaty work, but now, being able to carry books with magic, I organized comfortably.
Books are great in every way, except they’re heavy.

Around the time I placed a few books on the shelf using magic, I heard the front door open.
Mom?
When I went to check, a girl my age was entering.
“Yu Mina?”
“Hi.”
“We didn’t have plans.”
“Do friends need plans?”
She offered me a piece of peach speared on a fork from the plate she was holding, so I accepted it.
Seeing the fruit, it seemed she had stopped by my house before coming down here.

Yu Mina looked around the bookshelves and commented.
“There are way more than last time. Books are piling up fast—isn’t this place going to fill up soon too?”
“If it fills up, I’ll just fill the other rooms. It doesn’t matter.”
“Hmm. Ah, have more.”
She handed me the plate of peaches.
As I ate, she asked if I was organizing them by height. When I confirmed, Yu Mina started organizing the bookshelf.
There weren’t many books left, so she finished before I could properly eat.
I was enjoying the magical library vibe and taking my time, but she finished it just like that.
Yu Mina ate a peach with a spare fork.
But why did she come here?
It feels like she has some ulterior motive.

“What brings you here?”
Yu Mina looked at me.
“You say weird things sometimes. Why would I need a reason to visit a friend’s house?”
“It’s not a weird thing to say—I’m asking because the friend who’s usually busy dating on weekends showed up without any plans.”
As I spoke, I momentarily wondered if she had been dumped by her boyfriend, but considering she casually dated and dumped people, it seemed unlikely.
“It is a weird question. But you guessed right this time. Are you free tomorrow?”
“Why tomorrow?”
“It’s the last weekend before vacation, so I thought we could watch a movie.”
Coming from anyone else, maybe, but coming from her, it sounded suspicious.

As I stared silently, Yu Mina opened her mouth.
“A guy is coming too.”
“I’m not going.”
“Ah, whyyy?”
“The movie isn’t the point. Why would I go there?”
It was obvious. Yu Mina would claim something came up midway and leave, stranding me alone with the guy.
Then, out of nowhere, the guy would confess to me.
I’d been through this several times.
Her personality is genuinely good, but she’s terrible at this sort of thing. Still, she handles the aftermath cleanly and usually wards off unnecessary confessions for me, which is convenient.

“Because the plan was made assuming I’d bring you?”
“How selfish.”
I ate a peach.
“But how could I refuse someone asking for help because they found their first love? My heart is too soft to refuse.”
“Soft? You’re just planning to comfort the guy I reject and hit on him yourself, aren’t you? What happened to the last guy you were seeing?”
“A new prospect appeared—is that important right now?”
So she dumped him.
“You’re terrible.”
“Ah, that’s unfair. At least I give them a chance. More merciful than a certain young lady who looks down on them without even considering their confession.”
“It’s not me—it’s the guys confessing who are weird. What kind of rudeness is it to suddenly confess when we’ve barely exchanged a few words? Don’t they know basic manners? What makes them so confident to confess without a plan? If they had that much confidence, they should try building a friendship first.”
“Because you don’t give them a chance to talk to you. Who was it that clearly showed displeasure whenever someone approached?”

Yu Mina twirled her fork.
“That’s because their intentions are obvious. Why should I have to deal with guys who have ulterior motives? They should take care of their own affairs. Besides, confessing without even being able to endure that much? Hah.”
“Wow, harsh.”
We ate peaches in silence for a moment. As we finished, Yu Mina spoke.
“So, does that mean if someone built a friendship first and then confessed, you’d accept?”
Confession after building friendship?
My only male friend was Do Yugeon, so it was hard to imagine… Suddenly, an image of Do Yugeon confessing to me flashed through my mind.
Ah.
Feels bad.
“No.”
“You just hate romance?”
“I prefer reading books.”
“You don’t even have anyone you like right now?”

I nodded.
“Not even someone you’re interested in?”
I nodded again.
“Hmm. Then…”
Yu Mina continued.
“I guess you wouldn’t mind if I tried to hit on Do Yugeon?”