From the broken bracelet, the Butterfly Seedling Dust scattered down, seeping into Rachel’s magic power. Rachel did not notice this silent change as she was focused on the movement of her magic power.
“Now, with your right wrist….”
To prevent her from being suspicious, I made her circulate her magic power throughout her body. From the left wrist to the right wrist, ankles, then forehead.
Soon, Rachel was covered in sweat.
“…Haa, haa.”
“It’s hard for everyone on their first try.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at myself inwardly. I was coaching someone with a 9~9.5 potential rating.
But this training shouldn’t be completely meaningless. After all, it was the breathing exercise Kim Suho did every morning.
“Alright, next….”
In any case, the Butterfly Seedling Dust successfully seeped into Rachel’s body. But to make the dust settle in and show its effect, Rachel needed to exercise her magic power.
“Try standing up.”
Rachel stood up enthusiastically, thinking that it was time for the real thing.
“We’ll set Barrier aside for now.”
However, she lost her enthusiasm at my next words and tilted her head.
“Rachel-ssi, we’ve known each other for about 8 months now. And for a semester, we were pretty close together because of team challenges.”
“Yes? Ah, yes, you’re right.”
“Take it with a grain of salt, but I’ve been watching you in battle and thinking…. Have you taken an elemental affinity test?”
“Elemental affinity?”
“Yes, I’m good at discerning talent. I guess you could say I have sharp senses. You know that I helped Chae Nayun too, right?”
Chae Nayun was a hot topic in Cube's community and several guilds.
Not only did she change from a bow to a sword, she was showing immediate results.
“Yes, I took one when I was young and the results came out positive. But how did you….”
She was looking at me, wondering how I knew.
“There’s something different about your magic power. The property of your magic power changes slightly depending on the environment you’re in.”
This was Rachel’s trait that I created.
Rachel seemed to know what I was talking about as her eyes widened.
“Ah, you’re right! I’ve been feeling it too. As for my elemental affinity, it hasn’t increased since I was 10, so I gave up on it.”
That was obvious. Research on elementals was scant, and people of this world knew little about how to cultivate one’s elemental affinity. Elementalists were uncommon even in the other world Kim Suho came from.
But it was different now.
The Butterfly Seedling Dust that seeped into Rachel’s body would work as a pathway that would connect Rachel and elementals together.
Furthermore, I already knew the efficient training method Kim Suho and Rachel took painstaking efforts to create in the original story.
“Then let’s start from the beginning. You might have used a wrong training method.”
“….”
Rachel looked at me doubtfully.
I felt like I could understand what her eyes were saying. She must be annoyed that I was going on a tangent when she came to learn Barrier.
“Your current problem isn’t Barrier. Didn’t you say that you were in a slump? You have to think about how to overcome your slump. Learning Barrier is trying to put the cart before the horse.”
“Ah, I see, you’re right.”
To my surprise, Rachel was quickly convinced.
She was unexpectedly wishy-washy.
“Try to resonate your magic power with the grass below us, like you’re about to talk… or rather, share your magic power with the grass."
“Yes, I’ll give it a try.”
The most important aspect of wielding elementals was ‘resonance with nature’.
Rachel closed her eyes and did as I said.
Just like that, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, and 10 minutes passed by…
Rachel’s body also became more and more hazy. But because no changes were happening to the grass, I was about to speak up thinking it failed. That was when a change occurred.
“Oh!”
The grass Rachel’s magic power touched emitted green shining droplets.
Although the light was faint and the droplets were few, it undoubtedly confirmed Rachel’s ability.
Power to wield elementals. This tricky ability not only required one’s Gift to align with it, but also a certain disposition.
“Rachel-ssi. Rachel-ssi? Try opening your eyes.”
Hearing my voice, Rachel slowly opened her eyes.
“…Un?”
Her voice was full of uncertainty.
But that changed when her eyes fell on the green droplets floating in front of her.
Seeing her dazed face, I smiled and muttered.
“Well, well, it looks like I’ll have to accept quite a hefty lesson fee.”
Rachel then turned and fixed her shocked gaze on me.
**
After meeting Jin Sahyuk in Busan, nothing eventful happened in Cube. In a novel, this period would have certainly been a time skip.
During this time, I did what I had to do.
First, I completed two more missions as Jeronimo’s mercenary. One was assassinating a Djinn, and the other was escorting cargo.
Boss seemed to have liked how I handled things as she made another offer.
This time, it was an official contract.
As Cube’s cadet, I trained with Rachel every night for one hour. This was a beneficial time for both of us.
Ever since the day I awakened her talent in elementals, she thought of my words as the words of God and trained her elemental affinity accordingly. As for me, I trained myself to react more sharply and efficiently in Bullet Time, with the help of Rachel’s rapier attacks.
[Sparring with a strong opponent increases your speed by 0.05 points!]
[Sparring with a strong opponent increases your vitality by 0.05 points!]
[Sparring with a strong opponent increases your stamina by 0.05 points!]
As a result, I saw a natural stat increase for the first time in a while.
Time flew by and November 22nd came around.
A year had already passed since I was thrown into this world.
In two weeks, a new year would begin.
“This will be covered on the exam so make sure you know it.”
Currently, I was in the middle of Phenomenon Realm Analysis II. Even though it was only two in the afternoon, the sky outside the window was dark because of abnormal climate. It was especially chilly as well.
However, cadets were no different than usual.
They shortened their sleep to study for the upcoming exams and train their bodies. As soon as class ended, half would go to the library, while the other half would go to the Fitness Center.
As for me, I was completely ignoring the content of the class and staring at my laptop screen.
[24 hours passed since medicine consumption. All stats increase by 0.005 points.]
[You memorized painkiller’s medicinal effect.]
[Completely Memorized Medicinal Effects]
1. Painkiller
▷Increased pain resistance for 30 minutes
▷Reproduction cooldown time: 6 hours
2. Detox
▷Cures toxin below intermediate rank
▷Reproduction cooldown time: 6 hours
3. Instant Amplification
▷Increases your strength, stamina, speed, perception, and vitality by 2 points for 10 minutes
▷Reproduction cooldown time: 12 hours
===
[Strength 3.405 (+ 1.070)]
[Stamina 3.435 (+ 1.980)]
[Speed 5.140 (+ 2.685)]
[Perception 5.655 (+ 2.620)]
[Vitality 3.405 (+ 1.070)]
===
My body memorized several medicinal properties and effects.
The above three were 100% memorized, allowing me to reap their medicinal effects whenever I want without any side effects.
“This is as far as we’ll go in this class. Starting from next week, you’ll have free study periods. Since you don’t need to prepare for class, focus on reviewing everything we’ve learned this semester.”
Then suddenly, the professor’s closing statement rang out.
I packed my stuff up and got up to leave. Today, I had to leave Cube for an appointment.
“Hey, Kim Hajing.”
When I turned around, I heard an unknown nasally sound.
When I furrowed my brows and turned around, I could see Chae Nayun standing in front of me with her nose red.
“…Why is your nose red?”
“I caught a cold.”
Her nasally voice reminded me of a TV program I watched. In it, a child asked a Hero whether Heroes could catch colds.
The answer was yes.
Though it would only last a day at most, Heroes could still catch a cold. It was proof that they trained hard. When magic power instantly left one’s body, a huge change would occur in one’s internal temperature, leaving them vulnerable to light sickness like the common cold.
“Aren’t you working too hard lately? You’ve been training at the Fitness Center until 3. You’re only going to hurt your body if you overwork yourself.”
“…What, are you worrying about me?”
Chae Nayun’s brows danced up and down.
I shook my head.
“Nevermind. So, what do you need today?”
“Ah, teach me this.”
Chae Nayun handed me the homework the Phenomenon Realm Analysis professor just gave out.
Since she was clearly asking me to do it for her, I just solved the whole thing.
“Yay~ thank you.”
Seeing the solutions I wrote on her notebook, Chae Nayun smiled brightly and put her notebook away.
“Oh right, Kim Hajing, I’m going to be in Master’s camp for winter break.”
“Master?”
“Yeah, Yoo Sihyuk.”
“Ah….”
Yoo Sihyuk’s hell training.
Only Kim Suho was supposed to go this year, but it seemed Chae Nayun was also going because she switched to a sword.
It was a good thing.
“That’s great.”
I said with a smile.
Yoo Sihyuk’s camp lasted from December to early February.
In other words, Chae Nayun would be away from Seoul for 3 months.
I couldn’t be more glad.
“Good luck and try your best.”
I stopped here and tried to walk past Chae Nayun.
“Hey, hey, by the way…”
But Chae Nayun grabbed onto my sleeve.
Pulling on it here and there, she continued.
“Let’s go on a trip with the other guys before that. Once I go to the camp, I won’t be having much fun for the rest of my winter break.”
“I… don’t think I’ll have time.”
“Come on~ let’s go. I’ll pay for everything.”
She kept pulling on my sleeve, smiling happily.
However, I refused her resolutely.
“I can’t go.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah, I don’t have time.”
Hearing the same reply I gave before, Chae Nayun let go of my sleeve and pouted.
“Fine, you don’t have to if you don’t want to.”
She muttered with a disappointed face, then left the classroom before me.
Feeling the gazes I was receiving, I looked around.
Kim Suho, Yi Yeonghan, and Yoo Yeonha were giving me strange looks.
—Hey, Yi Yeonghan, he’s playing hard to get, right?
—No doubt about it.
I could hear Kim Suho and Yi Yeonghan whispering to themselves.
**
3 hours later.
Gangwondo Field.
“…Bite!”
I sounded like an owner training his dog, but the outcome of the single word I uttered was massive.
A giant wolf shot out of my chest, raced forward and bit down on a troll.
—Kieeeeek!
The troll struggled to pull the wolf off, but Evandel’s Servant was several tens of times stronger than a low-intermediate rank troll.
Not long afterwards, the troll collapsed on the ground.
—Auuuu~
After taking care of the troll, the wolf howled loudly, expressing his joy.
I checked my smartwatch.
[Ghost Wolf absorbs troll’s blood, acquiring lowest-rank regenerative power.]
By killing a troll, he acquired its regenerative ability.
Five days ago, he acquired an ability called skin hardening by killing an orc. The Ghost Wolf’s Absorption ability was showing great results.
Recently, I’ve been focusing on raising the Ghost Wolf. As Evandel’s first Servant, he was worth every second I spent on making him stronger.
To be completely honest, he was much stronger than me even now.
If anybody asked who Fenrir was, I might have to say that it was him.
—Hek, hek, hek.
The Ghost Wolf came back to me panting. I couldn’t call him cute with his teeth covered in blood and flesh, but I happily stroked his back.
“Well done, well done.”
—Grrr.
The wolf closed his eyes and expressed his satisfaction.
Next, I contacted SH Agency and let them know where I was. In about five minutes, one of their employees should come and retrieve the troll’s corpse.
While I waited, I sat down on the wolf’s back and looked around SH Agency’s homepage.
“…Wow, looks like it’ll go public soon.”
The homepage looked much better than before.
Not only were there 23 contracted hunters, there was even a contracted Hero named Jin Jangho.
Park Soohyuk’s business was expanding quicker than I thought.
Thinking about how close I was to its owner and how I owned 4% of this future giant’s stock, I couldn’t help but smile.
While I was being satisfied with myself, I received a message.
[Where are you?]
The sender was Yoo Yeonha.
[I’ll go to you. Where are you?]
[No, I’ll go.]
[I’m in Gangwondo Field.]
[Then wait just 30 minutes.]
“Hm.”
Today, Yoo Yeonha asked that we meet.
She most likely succeeded in refining Misteltein's Leaf and was going to bring me the bullets.
After letting the wolf hunt for the next 30 minutes, I went out to the Field’s entrance when Yoo Yeonha messaged me that she arrived.
At the Field’s entrance, I saw Yoo Yeonha waiting for me. When she saw me, she waved her hand.
I approached her and asked.
“Is it about the leaf?”
“Yes, our research showed just how extraordinary it was. We could hardly believe that a single leaf had a similar amount of magic power as an artifact. Sadly, we couldn’t figure out its origin.”
“It must have been difficult to grind and refine it.”
“Taking opportunity cost into account, it should have been close to 100 million won.”
Yoo Yeonha nodded as she handed me a suitcase. I took it without restraint.
“Five bullets. We had enough left over to make three tenths of a bullet, but we used it for research like you suggested.”
“Thanks.”
Yoo Yeonha bit her lips in response to my thoughtless praise.
“…Don’t thank me.”
“Then what, you want me to sue you or something?”
“…No, I’m just sorry. Anyways, was it really okay to use such a precious leaf to make handgun bullets?”
“Yeah, I told you, these are just for looking.”
All five bullets were made for my Desert Eagle handgun. Since I could modify their size with Setting Intervention, it didn’t matter all that much.
“Please, I’m not that gullible. Those bullets even have medicinal effects in them. I can hardly believe you won’t actually use them.”
“Really? You could have give me the medicine later when things are going well….”
“It’s going well.”
Yoo Yeonha interrupted me.
“We already set up our potion brewing chain with cultivated ginseng, and although they’re only novices, we have three ginseng diggers contracted.”
Yoo Yeonha smiled as she said that. However, her smile lacked sincerity and looked more like a smile to hide sadness.
“Well, that’s good. There aren’t other problems?”
I put my hand in my pocket and grabbed an envelope.
It was a list containing the names of traitors related to ‘Yoo Yeonha Scandal’ and the misdeeds they committed. It cost me 150 SP to obtain all this through hacking.
I tried to give it to her, but Yoo Yeonha cut me off.
“No, there’s none.”
“…Eh?”
None? Did Yoo Yeonha Scandal not happen yet?
I let go of the envelope in my hand.
“I have things to do, so I’ll be leaving now. If you need anything else, feel free to ask me whenever. I’ll do my best to meet your need.”
She couldn’t be more reliable.
It was convenient to have the future queen of Seoul as my ally.
“Oh, I’m about to head out too. Do you want to grab lunch together?”
“No, like I said, I have things to do.”
Seeing Yoo Yeonha turning around coldly, I said just three words.
“Sundaeguk or hamburger.”
“….”
Yoo Yeonha flinched momentarily, then leered at me strangely.
“I keep telling you, I don’t like those things.”
Grumbling, she quickly disappeared into a limousine, which drove off immediately.
I didn’t doubt that its destination was McDonald's or a sundaeguk restaurant.
After watching her leave, I opened the suitcase.
Click—
Five bullets were lined up on luxurious velvet.
I could see my reflection on the bullets’ sleek surface.
I was expressionless.
===
[Refined Misteltein Bullet] [Partial Divine-grade] [Null attribute]
.44 Macon platinum bullet with highly pure magic power and compressed Misteltein.
It seems to contain a portion of god-slaying powers.
「Attack Power – 9/10」
===
Attack power of 9.
This was undoubtedly enough.
I closed the suitcase. Its black surface was incapable of reflecting light, and I couldn’t tell what kind of a face I was making.
But the important thing was that the preparation was finished.
Now…
It was time to make the request.
