Chapter 38 : Adventure Level 25 (5)

Sunset light streamed into the shaded alley.
In that light, Cha Haneul blinked for a moment.
It seemed like she was composing herself, but her pupils trembled faintly.
It looked like anger, maybe confusion.
“…It’s not that I dislike it. How could I dislike saving people?”
Her voice sounded tired.
Beyond the alley, a distant scream was heard briefly, then cut off abruptly.
Someone hiding must have been killed by a Goblin.
“It’s just that I set principles for my life and followed them.”

Cha Haneul looked at the security guard standing at the side of the alley.
“Team Leader, when are the police coming?”
The security guard let out a low groan.
“It seems there’s been a problem along the way.”
“Surely it’s not martial law level, right?”
“It’s not that severe. Currently, critical national facilities are being protected, and there are already areas where the situation has been suppressed by police forces alone.”

Cha Haneul stared intently at the security guard without a word.
The guard bowed his head.
“I apologize. We will take corrective measures.”
Cha Haneul nodded and looked back at me.
Somehow, I felt like I knew what she was going to say.
It was obvious she’d suggest waiting for the police.
Before Cha Haneul could say anything, I stepped out of the alley.
“Where are you going?”
“Now that we know about the boss mob, we have to go capture it.”

Leaving the alley, I turned my head and saw the shimmering, haze-like Rift and the Goblins completely filling the path before it.
Killing them all to reach the Rift would be difficult, both physically and time-wise.
I charged at the nearest Goblin and cut its body.
The Goblin died and turned into experience, but this was just the beginning.
Arrows rained down as if to cover the sky.
I quickly dove toward a nearby car.
Arrows scraped against the car and clattered away.
A few seemed to have embedded themselves in the car, making gruesome sounds.
Several nearby Goblins were hit by arrows and died.
Scattered experience flew toward the Rift.

Amidst that chaos, Cha Haneul walked steadily toward me, talking with the security guard.
Some arrows flew again, aiming for Cha Haneul, but they were blocked by her mana barrier and fell.
Cha Haneul crouched down in front of me.
“What are you doing, rushing in without a plan?”
“I have a plan!”
“What kind?”
“Instead of killing the Goblins, I’ll step on their shoulders, then step, then step, and jump to the Rift.”
If there were too many Goblins blocking the Rift to kill easily, then I just wouldn’t kill them.
The goal was to clear the Rift.

Cha Haneul’s mouth opened slightly, and a very faint “wow” sound escaped.
I knew what she was thinking right now.
“I can do it!”
“What about the arrows?”
“I’ll just knock them down.”
“In mid-air?”
“It’s possible.”
“No, how is that possible?”
“Just go ‘swoosh swoosh swoosh,’ and they’ll fall ‘thud thud thud.’”

She had an incredulous expression.
She didn’t believe me even though I said I could do it.
Finally, I flapped the mage robe I was wearing.
[C-Grade / Marphinia of the Melopine Royal Workshop]
“If I can’t block them all, this will block them automatically. It blocks bullets, so why wouldn’t it block arrows?”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
Cha Haneul, who seemed convinced, suddenly stopped talking and tugged slightly at the Marphinia.
“Take it off. It’s mine.”

I didn’t understand the logic of her forcibly putting it on me only to take it back again.
I obediently pulled one arm out of the Marphinia.
Cha Haneul frowned.
“What are you doing, actually trying to give it back?”
What was I supposed to do?
The Marphinia was put back on me.
I glanced at the security guard—he was looking at me with a menacing glare.
His eyes seemed to say, Why are you wearing that?
It’s not like I wanted to wear it.

“Arrows should be fine… But the Orc is dangerous, so come out midway.”
“If it’s dangerous, of course I’ll run.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Really really?”
“Yeah.”
“Really, really, really?”
I nodded vigorously.
Though she accepted it, Cha Haneul still looked suspicious.
It seemed she wouldn’t believe anything I said.
Cha Haneul shook her head.
“Then I’m going too.”

“Miss.”
The security guard started to speak, but Cha Haneul didn’t even look his way, raising one hand to cut him off.
“I don’t like repeating myself.”
The security guard made a groaning sound and glared at me.
I hadn’t spoken directly with this guard many times, but I feared future repercussions.
Cha Haneul pulled the Marphinia’s hood over my head.
“Wear it properly.”
“I was going to use it.”
“You talk a good game.”

After Cha Haneul adjusted the Marphinia, I peered past the car I was hiding behind.
The Goblins were wary of us.
Arrows had flown earlier, but they didn’t seem inclined to charge as a group.
Maybe it was because there was a mage here.
This seemed doable.
“I’ll—”
“Alright! Let’s go!”

Emerging from behind the car and running toward the Rift, arrows flew again as expected.
I prepared my stance to knock them away, but the arrows hit the mana barrier and fell.
Glancing back, I saw Cha Haneul flying toward me with a sulky expression.
I killed the Goblins blocking my path and dodged the ones I could avoid while running.
The closer I got to the Rift, the more densely packed the Goblins became.
At some point, the arrows stopped, and when only Goblins were visible, I knocked away one Goblin’s sword, stepped on its shoulder, and jumped.
My view instantly heightened, and the Goblins’ gazes followed me.
The wind felt refreshing.
The peace was brief.

The Goblins, after watching for a moment, finally thrust their swords.
In the corner of my eye, Goblin archers nocked arrows.
I landed lightly, stepping on the shoulder of a Goblin that still seemed unaware of the situation.
I powerfully swept my sword horizontally against the incoming blades.
A heavy resistance met my blade, and swords flew into the air.
I leaped toward a Goblin that had lost its weapon.
Arrows flew from all directions.
In mid-air, I slashed, swung, and parried with my sword, and the arrows fell.
I couldn’t block all the arrows.
The ones I missed hammered against the Marphinia.
There were far too many.

Looking at the Rift, there was still some distance.
As I stepped on a Goblin, swords thrust toward me.
They were timed thrusts, seemingly aware I’d parry them all at once.
But it didn’t matter.
With a few movements of my sword, the thrusting blades lost their trajectory and collided with each other.
In that brief moment, arrows flew.
I leaped toward the next Goblin.
As if the previous arrows were bait to make me jump, even more arrows flew this time.
Blocking them all was impossible.
But, if I could parry them a little faster, more effectively…
I closed my eyes.
I felt everything around me.
I prepared to swing the first strike carefully.

Suddenly, an enveloping pressure wrapped around me, and my body soared into the sky.
Opening my eyes, Cha Haneul was floating there with her arms crossed.
Behind her, the sunset was losing its light.
“So, ‘swoosh swoosh swoosh,’ and the arrows fall ‘thud thud thud’?”
“Ah… it was just working.”
“‘Swoosh swoosh swoosh thud thud thud’?”
“It was just about to work.”
“Oh, is that so.”
Cha Haneul shook her head.
“‘Swoosh swoosh swoosh thud thud thud’ or whatever—there’s no need to do dangerous things like that.”

My body flew along with the pressure.
Toward the Rift.
Cha Haneul flew beside me.
Looking down, I saw arrows from some Goblin archers fly up, hit the mana barrier, and fall.
One Goblin hit by a falling arrow snapped angrily at the archer.
It was somewhat anticlimactic.
Finally, upon reaching the haze-like Rift, a system message appeared.
[Enter E-Grade Rift?]
Below the Rift, a Goblin looked up at us and screeched, “Kyak! Kyak!”
It swung its sword wildly, but of course, it couldn’t reach.
I didn’t know what it was saying, but I could guess its feelings.

“We go in, and if it seems dangerous, we come out. Got it?”
“Well, yeah.”
Cha Haneul’s expression hardened.
“‘Well, yeah’?”
Oops.
“Entering.”
[Entering.]

Suddenly, we were in a forest.
[Rift Quest—E-Grade]
[Complete the objective.]
It was a quest—something I hadn’t seen in a long time.
The first since the job change quest.
I wondered if there was more than just “Complete the objective,” but no other details appeared.
Typical System.

“Do Yugeon.”
Looking beside me, Cha Haneul was there.
“‘Well, yeah’?”
I was a little scared.
“It was a slip of the tongue.”
It really was.
Cha Haneul stared at me for a moment.
I felt like I was breaking out in a cold sweat.
“Don’t do it again next time.”
I nodded.

As I watched her cautiously, Cha Haneul met my gaze briefly, then turned to the quest window and muttered, “What’s the point of telling us to complete the objective without giving us the objective?”
“Typical System.”
“True, but it’s still absurd.”
“It’s obviously telling us to catch the boss mob. The Orc using magic!”
“That does sound plausible.”
“Any mobs nearby?”
Cha Haneul closed her eyes for a moment.
“A bit far off. We’ll have to walk a bit to see them.”
“Which direction?”
Cha Haneul pointed.

As I started to walk that way, Cha Haneul said she had something to do for a moment and looked behind her.
Following her gaze, I saw the Rift was still there.
Cha Haneul touched it, and a message appeared.
[Exit?]
It seemed we could leave anytime.
Cha Haneul took her hand off the Rift and muttered “Logout” and “Login.”
Logout didn’t work.
Login didn’t work either, and since no queue window appeared, it seemed login was completely impossible here.
“We have to come all the way back here to escape.”
Finishing her observation, she walked in the direction of the mobs.

“But if an Orc uses magic, is it an Orc Mage or an Orc Shaman?”
“Is that important right now?”
“It is important. If the boss mob’s name is ambiguous, I won’t feel motivated to catch it.”
“Then why don’t you just give it a name?”
“Should I?”
“No.”
“Even if not a name, we need to decide if it’s a Mage or Shaman. ‘Orc using magic’ is too long to say.”
“That’s true. Then let’s first define the criteria for shamanism and magic, compare the differences, and then think about it. What is shamanism?”
I shook my head.
“That’s too complicated.”
“Then what do you want?”
“If it looks tribal, it’s a Shaman, right?”
“Does it work like that?”
“If it looks like it belongs in a Mage Tower, it’s a Mage.”
“By that standard, the Level 10 Orc was bare-chested and bare-fisted, so the Orc we’re about to meet must look tribal.”
“Alright, then it’s an Orc Shaman.”
“Are we really deciding it like this?”

Continuing forward, we found what looked like an artificially created clearing.
We quickly hid behind a tree and observed.
An Orc Shaman stood in the middle of the clearing.
Like the Level 10 Orc, it wasn’t bare-chested, but it was still muscular.
If not for the staff in one hand, its appearance would make one question if it really used magic.
The Orc Shaman raised its staff and its other hand toward the sky, casting what seemed like magic or shamanism, and Goblins equipped with swords and bows appeared in an orderly fashion.
As soon as they appeared, the Goblins moved toward a Rift on one side of the clearing and went outside.
The Orc Shaman gasped for breath.
It seemed to be resting for a moment.

Cha Haneul nudged my side and whispered, “We’ve seen enough—how about leaving now?”
“We haven’t even seen the magic yet.”
“It’s lightning magic, so it’s dangerous.”
“Specifically, how is it dangerous?”
“It’s lightning.”
“Besides that.”
“Umm… it shoots lightning arrows, apparently.”
“Then we just need to dodge them.”
Cha Haneul blinked.
“Really?”

Normally, I would have answered “Obviously,” but I suddenly remembered failing to block the arrows and relying on the Marphinia, which made me hesitate.
What if it happens again this time?
The mage robe I was wearing felt light, but it was worth over 10 billion won.
In other words, it was more expensive than my entire family’s assets.
In that brief moment, Cha Haneul took my hand and led me away.
The clearing grew distant.
“Even if the Orc Shaman is strong, modern civilization is stronger, so the police will handle it. I heard police armament has been enhanced recently—they’ll do fine.”
That was true.
“Let’s rest a bit when we get back. There are many dangerous people and many things to do, but stop. You’re a minor. Take care of yourself first. Right now, you’re being… Besides, aren’t you tired? If you’re not tired, that itself means you need to rest.”
That was true.

Looking up, the sky was blue.
Outside, the sun was setting, but here it was morning.
Perhaps because I didn’t answer, Cha Haneul turned back to look at me.
“…Are you tired?”
“A little, maybe, but not enough to worry about.”
I had felt a bit detached from reality since seeing the first corpse earlier, but not enough to warrant concern.
“What do you mean? We should fly back. Rest for a bit.”
That was true.

Cha Haneul is a strange kid, but she’s mature in many ways.
She was even more so when we first met. Lately, she emphasizes the fact that she’s a middle schooler and lives recklessly, but she’s still mature.
Feeling mana gathering around my body, I pressed Cha Haneul’s head down with my palm.
She’s short, though.
The mana dissipated, and Cha Haneul looked at me quizzically.
“You know what. Since we’re here, I guess we should catch the boss mob after all.”
“Huh? Why?”

I turned back and headed toward the clearing.
I didn’t know why.
Since becoming a middle schooler, whether it was parents or teachers, everyone became very interested in my future.
Asking about my dream was basic—they told me to decide everything from university to major.
The fact that we even have a Free Learning Year with no exams for a year shows just how interested they are.
Actually, they became more interested in my grades than my future.
The reasoning was that whatever I wanted, getting good grades first would solve everything.
Study hard from now on, get good grades, go to a good university, get a good job, and obtain a good profession.
Dreams and the future lie there.
Whatever my dream or future plans are now, I can achieve them, so just get good grades first.
If my grades are bad, then whatever dream or future I want is impossible.
That was true.
Naturally, whether catching Goblins, Orcs, or Slimes, it was right to stop wasting time like this and study.
This was something my parents said, but it was true.

Cha Haneul kept saying something, but I replied that I still had to catch the boss mob and entered the clearing.
The Orc Shaman, who seemed to have been about to summon Goblins, looked over while holding its staff toward the sky.
Common sense and realistic advice.
It would be right to follow what I heard.
But what I wanted was neither common sense nor realistic.
Even before fantasy arrived, there was fantasy around me.
Isn’t that true? Cha Haneul herself is fantasy.
She’s beyond common sense, unpredictable, and becoming her enemy could even lead to cosmic horror.
For example, confessing.
Cha Haneul’s parents are favorable, but it’s questionable if they’ll remain so.
I encountered Cha Haneul’s grandfather with her once, but he treated me like I didn’t exist.
Regardless of how Cha Haneul accepts it, the situation could become unacceptable for me.
Whether following common sense or reality, giving up was the obvious choice.

Aiming my sword at the Orc Shaman, I took a step forward, and a spear seemingly clad in lightning flew toward me.
I ducked sideways.
The lightning that passed by roared and incinerated an entire tree.
Lightning arrow, she said? That wasn’t an arrow.
The Flame Mage guy said that since fantasy happened, there would be many new opportunities.
It was his own boast, so I couldn’t believe it all.
But still.
Can’t I try a different path for a while?
Perhaps it’s a path that connects all the way to the heavens?

Lightning flew.
I threw myself to dodge, but some stray sparks turned a section of the clearing into a sea of fire.
This was dangerous.
One life, no revives, and one mistake could mean death.
But I charged forward.
This was indeed recklessness.
It was also foolhardy.
So what?
I’m foolhardy, but I’m not unaware of it—I’m reckless, but it’s not a lighthearted decision.
What I want isn’t a sense of reality where I can’t even afford a single Marphinia.

A fireball, likely thrown by Cha Haneul, flew toward the Orc Shaman.
The lightning aimed at me intercepted the fireball.
An explosion erupted.
I used that instant to close the distance to the Shaman.
Just as I got within sword-swinging range, the Shaman, meeting my eyes, sneered.
Something was wrong.
The Shaman actually took a step closer, closing the distance from sword range to fist range.
Lightning flowed through the staff and gathered in the Shaman’s other fist.
A practiced straight punch struck my abdomen.
A roar echoed, and lightning exploded.
The air trembled from the aftershock.
But the impact was light.

I saw the Shaman look down at the Marphinia in surprise.
Using that opening, I forced myself into position and slashed at its neck.
But it was shallow.
The Shaman dodged the sword, and the distance was too close.
I quickly tried to create distance, but the Shaman grabbed my clothes in that instant.
This is…?
My vision flipped instantly, and I was slammed onto the ground.
My back collided with the earth.
Thanks to the Marphinia, the pain was minimal.
I tried to swing my sword.
But the Shaman’s knee pressed down on my arm, preventing me.

Lightning flowed into the Shaman’s fist.
Aware of the Marphinia, the Shaman swung its fist toward my face.
I couldn’t dodge this.
It happened in an instant.
Mana surged.
The Shaman quickly spread lightning to block the mana, but the overwhelming mana extinguished the lightning instead.
The mana pushed forward, shoving the Shaman away, sending it flying and tumbling.
A fireball exploded, and experience points scattered.
I saw Cha Haneul flying toward me with a worried expression.
“Are you okay?”

A bitter smile formed.
I wish she would get angry at times like this.
I closed my eyes and surrendered my body to the sense of helplessness for a moment.
Just for a moment.
Just a moment.

I felt the soft touch of the bed.
Mmm, nice.
In a mind hovering between sleep and wakefulness, dreams drifted by.
“Master, taking it out on me is useless. I tried to tell you, but you were the one who stopped me.”
“Not that. Why did you try to tell me? I told you not to. I told you not to even hint that you have something worth telling.”
“I just thought I should tell you because it’s important.”
“I asked you to keep me ignorant from the start.”
“Why?”
The dream blurred, faded, and flowed away.

Memories surfaced randomly.
In my past life, the therapist said, “Difficult emotions grow stronger the more you suppress them.”
“You say suppress, but that’s not me. I’ve always lived life without much emotion. I don’t really have emotions worth suppressing.”
“But you said you were depressed.”
“I meant that as an example. It wouldn’t be polite to come for counseling and say nothing. As I said before, the very reason I came here wasn’t my own need, but because my senior colleague kept urging me to.”

After thinking for a moment, the therapist spoke cautiously.
“This is our third session, and there are seven more left. If you keep hiding things like this, counseling becomes difficult. You need to honestly tell me what’s hard for you so I can know what points to address in counseling.”
“Nothing is particularly hard. I go to work as usual, work, go home, and rest. Just because my subordinate committed suicide doesn’t mean I need to be depressed, does it?”
“I didn’t intend to reprimand you.”
“I know that too.”

After drinking coffee, I continued.
“It was an unavoidable situation, so it’s not my responsibility.”
“But despite that, you said you were depressed.”
A feeling of displeasure arose, and the mind that was about to sleep woke up.
Ah, this… I said no, but she keeps asking.
I sat up from lying down and sat on the bed.
Sleep wouldn’t come.
Did sleep come, but I woke up?
Anyway, deep sleep is essential for stress relief.
I lay down again.

After lying down for a while, I reached a state where sleep was present, but sleep wouldn’t come.
Agonizing.
In a dazed state, I got up and left the room.
I made a cup of capsule coffee, then roughly poured in milk to complete the cappuccino.
Holding the cappuccino, I went to the large window on one side of the living room.
Across the Han River, a burning building was visible.
Fire trucks were working hard to extinguish it.
A fire must have broken out when the Rift appeared.
Looking at the sky, a few stars were visible.
I took a sip of the cappuccino.
Warm.
The warmth spreading inside seemed to wake me up more instead.