Chapter 32 : Adventure Level 20 (4)

I parted ways with Yu Mina and returned home.
Entering the doorway, my mind felt at ease.
Nice.
It wasn’t just the warmth, but more of a mental coziness.
It wasn’t a particularly stressful outing, but just walking around outside is tiring.
Actually, even just sitting indoors somewhere other than home is tiring.
I don’t know why, but perfect rest is impossible outside the house.
It’s just tiring.
Types like Mom or Yu Mina seem to enjoy going out, but I prefer being home.
I don’t understand why anyone would leave this comfortable place to go outside.
Once school starts, I’ll have to go almost every day, so can’t I just stay home during vacation?
Ah, hmm, though I guess I can’t stay perfectly home since I’m busy leveling up.

I changed into lighter clothes.
I wanted to lie down on the sofa or bed and laze around for a bit, but I still had things to do.
I went down to the apartment below mine.
A few bookshelves lined the walls, and on one side, unopened delivery boxes were stacked.
All books.
I’ve been using this place freely since we bought it.
In my past life, the inherited house was small, and I went through so much trouble trying to expand the library space.
Like throwing away books I’d bought, and so on. Ugh.
But this life is different.
If space is lacking, just buy more space.
Simple and nice.

Looking down at the floor, there was a robot vacuum cleaner.
Today’s task was that.
Mom had said this morning, “From now on, the downstairs place is yours, daughter, so you clean it. You can do it, right?”
“No.”
I refused brazenly, but my refusal was rejected.
I considered hiring someone to clean, but the thought of someone else rummaging through my bookshelves felt uncomfortable, so I gave up on that idea.

I activated one of the two robot vacuums.
With an operating sound, the robot vacuum began cleaning.
I swiped a finger across the spot it just passed over—not a speck of dust remained.
You guys are competent.
At this rate, it might be fine to just leave the floor cleaning to them.
But why were there two?
Curious, I examined them and found one had a wet mop function, and the other didn’t.
They were separate.
Why weren’t all the functions in one? What era is this?
Shouldn’t technological challenges be solvable with magic?
Though the commercialization of magic hasn’t even reached the starting line.

I stood up from my crouched position and stretched.
Kkeueu.
I was worried I’d have to sweep and mop this entire large space, but now I could relax a bit.
Well, if it really came down to it, I would have hired someone.
It might be impossible to entrust the entire floor to the robot vacuums, but let’s leave that to the future Cha Haneul.

More importantly, I need to figure out how to clean the bookshelves.
Thanks to the air purifier, less fine dust accumulates, but they’ll still need dusting occasionally.
Still, they probably aren’t dirty enough to need it today.
I approached a bookshelf and ran my finger across the top edge of the spines.
Dust came off.
What the. Why is this happening?
Could it be Mom deliberately left it like this, planning to dump the task on me?
Probably not, but I want to believe it didn’t get this dusty just from skipping cleaning for a short while.
In this life, I’ve only cleaned my own room for a long time, so I can’t gauge it well.
Do I really have to wipe the bookshelves every time?
It’s incredibly cumbersome.

Just in case, I grabbed the competent robot vacuum and checked its functions.
Unsurprisingly, cleaning bookshelves seemed impossible.
In a world brimming with fantasy, lacking even this function makes life less exciting.
But wait, if I’m cleaning, shouldn’t I also clean the kitchen and bathrooms?
Seems like the bookshelves aren’t the main problem here.
Unfortunately, there are three bathrooms here.
I only really use the living room, kitchen, and one bathroom, so it’s a huge waste of space.
The consequently increased cleaning area is seriously troublesome.
Who bought this place without thinking?
So thoughtless.

I swiped the bookshelf with my finger again.
Naturally, dust came off.
Come to think of it, maybe I don’t need to clean it?
This level is pretty clean.
Yes, that’s right. It’s clean.
Actually, bookshelves can have a bit of dust.
Used bookstores smell dusty and all that, but the owners run them just fine.
Used books themselves smell dusty.
But that doesn’t diminish the value of used books, nor does it stop people from reading them.
Isn’t dust a companion to old books and the romance of old bookstores?
Right, right. Dust is supposed to be there.
So, the bookshelves are cleaned, the kitchen can be done whenever it gets dirty, and the bathrooms are, um… Hmm… Ah, right.
Bathrooms are bathrooms, so let’s do them next time, not now.
Good, solved.
Are there any other places to clean? Nope? Nope.
It seems a bit strange, but anyway, there’s nothing left.
Today’s cleaning is finished.

After finishing the “cleaning,” I looked around the living room.
What now?
Naturally, the next step should be going back home, but if I go back already, Mom will give me that subtle look.
Should I read a book?
As I stood there blankly, the robot vacuum made a noise at my feet and moved in another direction.
Oops.
I moved to a corner to stay out of its way.
I definitely finished cleaning, but I don’t feel satisfied.
Maybe cleaning just doesn’t suit my aptitude.
Should I just hire someone?

The robot vacuum moved around diligently.
I couldn’t see any dust, but it must be making things cleaner as it moved.
Watching it feels a bit weird.
My body is comfortable, but my mind is uneasy.
Still, not wanting to actually clean, I went toward the stack of delivery boxes piled in the corner of the living room.
The boxes were all full of books.
Are there dozens of volumes? Surely not a hundred?
Ever since buying this house and turning it into a library, my hesitation in purchasing books has significantly decreased.
After all, the biggest barrier to reading is real estate.
With the limit released, I ended up buying anything that caught my fancy.

At first, whenever books arrived, I would unpack them, organize them on the shelves, and so on.
Then it became a bit cumbersome, so I decided to do it all later, but as they piled up, organizing them became truly too bothersome, so they remained neglected.
And now they’ve piled up this much.
Thinking about it feels pathetic, but it’s unavoidable.
Basically, books are inherently limited editions.
You can’t always order and read them from bookstores or online—once they’re sold out, you can’t buy them, and sometimes they aren’t even available in used bookstores.
Actually, I don’t like reading books others have read anyway.

Nowadays, maybe because printing costs have decreased, small print runs are common, often starting with 500 or 1,000 copies for the first edition.
I don’t know for sure, but there might even be runs of 200.
So, books that are popular but niche, academic, or specialized, and thus don’t sell well, go out of stock quickly.
It would be nice if they reprinted them since they sold out, but if the demand is too ambiguous for a reprint, they just go completely out of print right there.
It’s even worse if it’s a translated publication.
Ordering a book, only to find the order canceled later with the reason “sold out,” feels really, really bad.
If it was a book bought out of mere curiosity, it’s just disappointing, but if it was a book I was strongly drawn to, decided I had to read immediately, and ordered for same-day delivery, it’s truly, truly, truly awful.
I have money—why can’t I read it? Why can’t I even buy it?
Ugh, just imagining it gives me chills.

I don’t even want to imagine searching every online and small bookstore only to find it unavailable.
It happened once, and I hated it so much.
Once you experience something like that, you don’t want to experience it again, so if you have the means, you end up ordering books right away.
Even if the books you’ve set aside to read “immediately” number in the dozens and don’t even fit on the shelves.
So, even if the books pile up to the point where the delivery packaging isn’t even opened, it’s not my problem.
It’s because the publishing speed exceeds the reading speed in the first place.
This is a time-honored problem that emerged long ago when books started being mass-printed.
Yes, that’s right. It can’t be helped.

Still, leaving them in delivery boxes looks bad, so it’s time to put them on the shelves.
Since I have nothing else to do, now is probably a good time.
I got a box cutter, opened the boxes, took out the books, and stacked them by subject.
It’s not the Dewey Decimal System, but since I organize my shelves based on personal criteria, this is more convenient.
There are many, but with magic, moving them won’t be hard.
Thank goodness.

As I was taking out the books, I heard the front door open.
Is it Mom? I didn’t clean.
“You weren’t even looking at KakaoTalk?”
It was Do Yugeon.

Wondering what he meant, I checked KakaoTalk and saw it was on silent.
I must have muted it while I was with Yu Mina and forgot.
“I forgot to unmute it. But isn’t it your cram school time right now?”

He didn’t answer, instead looking at the stacks of books.
Skipping class, huh.
“What’s this one about?”

I looked at the book he indicated.
[Life, City, Enterprise: The Eternal Golden Knot and the Magic of Complex Systems]
Right, what is it about?
“I haven’t read it yet.”

Well, I just unpacked it.
Still, I think I bought it as a business management book.
Or maybe I just bought it because the title was weird?
Yeah, I think I just bought it.
The order total was a bit awkward at the time, so I added it to round it up.

“This one?”
As expected, another unread book.
“Haven’t read that one either.”
“All of these?”
“Yeah. There are still boxes over there too.”
“I see that, but there weren’t this many last time I was here.”
“It’s vacation, so I did some shopping. More importantly, why are you here? We didn’t have plans.”
“I came because PVP was updated in the System.”
“It’s Dueling, not PVP.”
“Same difference. Looks like you’re not very interested though.”
“Yeah. That’s right.”

Previously, when updates came out, I used to diligently browse the internet, check the update details myself, and so on, but this time, I didn’t bother.
The reason I did that before was due to my own confusion and anxiety, but as time passed, I realized that whatever strange update occurs, it’s not a huge problem for me.
It didn’t seem like some sudden cosmic horror situation would arise either.

“You sent a message like this and now you’re just brushing it off as uninterested?”
He scrolled through his smartphone and showed me the KakaoTalk conversation.
It was from when Do Yugeon challenged me to a duel, claiming he would obviously win.
[– You?]
Hmm. I sent it hastily because I was cold—I guess it does sound a bit provocative.

“It’s just like the message says. I’ll win anyway, right? Is there really a need to compete?”
“Haha, we haven’t even fought before—how would you know?”
“Basically, I shoot magic from afar, you groan ‘ugh ugh’ while getting hit, and then you die.”
“I can just block magic with my sword, you know.”
“Can you do that?”
“I haven’t tried, but shouldn’t it be possible?”
Why are you asking me?
“If you can, you won’t just die getting hit, but I still don’t want to do it. With a sword, it’s almost impossible not to get hurt.”
“You really didn’t check the update, huh. This update added a non-lethal option too.”
What’s that? How is that possible?

I naturally assumed it would be a kill-and-resurrect system, but non-lethal?
Of course, the non-lethal option is more common sense, but is that possible?
No, what am I saying? Neither is common sense.
My sense of common sense feels broken.

“So, wanna give it a try?”
“Alright! That’s the spirit. We have to fight at least once. Isn’t that the charm of games? I’ll tell you the option settings.”
“Let’s check one thing first.”
“What?”

Until now, the opponents I used attack magic against were mobs.
I’ve never meticulously controlled my power against a person.
Moreover, I’ve never used attack magic against Do Yugeon, so I have no gauge.
A failure in power control must absolutely not happen.
“I’m stronger, so there’s no point in dueling, right? So, I need to check if you’re a worthy opponent.”
“That sounds really self-absorbed right now.”

I shrugged.
“Let’s log in.”

Logged in.
It’s been a while since I came here barefoot.
“What are you trying to check?”
“It’s simple. I’ll press down on you from above with mana—you just stand and endure it.”
“Sounds simple enough.”

Do Yugeon stretched and stood in place.
“Alright. Go ahead.”
“Tell me if it hurts.”
“It heals anyway.”
Is it the same thing?

I used mana to press down on him slightly.
“How is it?”
“There’s pressure. But it’s bearable.”
Looks like he can handle it. Stronger than I thought. The level-up effect must be significant.
Shall I press a little harder then?

I pressed a bit harder.
This level of power would make a split Fire Slime struggle under the pressure.
His posture faltered, and he put his hands on his knees.
“Oh. Heavy.”
“Can you handle it?”
“Yeah. But is this the end?”

He says he can handle it, but his expression suggests otherwise, making it hard to gauge.
Should I apply a bit more force?
I pressed down harder.
This amount would kill a split Fire Slime.
It’s a favored power level because it’s not enough to make them explode.

“Ugh.”
Do Yugeon fell to his knees and collapsed forward.
Oops.
I released the magic and approached him.
“Are you okay?”
“Fine, fine. More importantly, do that again.”
“Again? Really? Doesn’t it hurt?”
“Doesn’t hurt.”

I was skeptical but pressed down on him with magic again.
He lay face down, trying to push himself up using his hands on the ground.
Seeing him do something pointless like that, it seems he really isn’t hurt.
“Feels like I could endure it if I get the hang of it.”
Enduring it in that position doesn’t count as enduring.

Still, it seems like it’s a strength he could potentially endure if he really had the knack for it.
As he slightly adjusted his hand position and strained until his face turned red, the mana pressure yielded just a tiny bit.
“It works!”
His expression was joyful.
Actually, since he was face down, I couldn’t see his expression.

I slyly placed my foot on his back and pressed down firmly.
“Ugh!”
“Guess not.”
“Wait! You’re pressing with your foot now.”
“Me? No. Maybe you’re mistaken because you’re straining.”
“I can see you lifting your foot right beside me.”
His field of vision is wide.
“That doesn’t matter. The point is, you couldn’t endure it.”
“How does it not matter? You’re pressing with your foot.”
Why quibble over trivial things? I pressed down firmly with my foot a few times.

“Mr. Do Yugeon, you’re too weak. The difference in level is too great.”
“This is cheating.”
We didn’t even set rules—what cheating?
“Besides, where’s the sense in telling a swordsman to endure without a sword?”
Like I care.
Anyway, I’m stronger.
Do we really need to fight to know that?
Non-lethal option or whatever.