episode_0006

“Excuse me…”

“……”

“Um, senior?”

“……”

Darn it.

I sighed inwardly.

‘It’s a mistake.’

Yes, it’s a mistake.

A huge mistake.

No matter how I spent five years with Mahana in ‘Gosla,’ that’s all just a tale.

In this world, Mahana and I have only met for about 10 minutes.

‘…But to suddenly bring up holding hands and saying it’s a waste…’

I guess that kind of reaction is inevitable.

But still, how can I not be flustered?

“That little thing has no right to hit me!”

Even if it was done by their own hand, I cannot tolerate it.

Injuries sustained during battle can be overlooked as part of a Hunter’s honor, but otherwise, I cannot accept it.

“Ugh… But it hurts my feelings when you don’t say anything.”

So, after awkwardly walking for about five minutes while being observant, the gate the employee mentioned appeared in the distance.

Simultaneously, a woman with flowing purple hair caught my eye.

She appeared to be around 160 cm tall, slightly taller than the average woman.

Lastly, a beautiful woman with a cold demeanor…?

Wait a minute. ‘…Is this her first appearance here?’

*

“Why are they taking so long to arrive?”

A total of 20 minutes.

Moon Bora. The time she silently waited for other party members in front of the gate.

She thought to herself.

Whoever it is, they sure have some nerve.

“…Making me wait for 20 minutes like this…”

Moon Bora dislikes people who lack basic manners.

Manners are something she learned at home, a fundamental way of respecting others.

Therefore, regardless of the appointment, she made it a rule to arrive at least 10 minutes early.

However, that doesn’t mean she always has an abundance of time.

She’s a busy person too. Wasting time like this is exasperating.

“…Just show up already.”

I’ll give them a piece of my mind!

At that moment, there was a commotion.

As promised, the two figures approached.

Undoubtedly, they were the companions for today’s dungeon dive.

“…Hey! Why are you so late…?”

However, Moon Bora couldn’t finish her sentence.

A man stood before her.

Despite knowing that he didn’t exhibit proper manners, she couldn’t help but keep her mouth shut in the face of his first impression.

“Uh, sorry for being late.”

“……Excuse me?”

“Yes?”

Even though she knew he lacked manners, she couldn’t help but speak those words.

“Why become a Hunter?”

“…Excuse me?”

“…Well, we could just live our lives without all this fuss. Why bother… Oops!”

Before she could continue, Moon Bora belatedly realized her rudeness and muttered, “Excuse me,” turning her head to the side.

Her blushing face was her own small gesture to calm the situation.

‘…What a rude thing to say…’

Even thinking about it, she was too impolite.

It had been a long time since her true thoughts came out so boldly without any filtering.

She even wondered if the man in front of her had used a [Mind Control] skill.

‘…Phew, let’s stay composed.’

After a brief moment of embarrassment, Moon Bora calmly assessed the two individuals.

First, the man who had momentarily flustered her.

No matter how handsome he might be, he was ultimately a male. It was easier to think of him as a target outside of strategy.

‘…Let’s assume this much.’

Then the rest must be the core of the strategy.

She observed further.

A petite and cute-looking feline race girl, just a bit shorter than her… with a shield on her back.

With black fur, she resembled a Black Cat tribe…

‘Is she an adult?’

Not entirely sure.

The Feline race is known to have additional physical growth based on their ‘mental age’ among humans… So despite appearances, she might be older than she seems.

‘…Small stature, Feline race, shield on her back… In that case…’

Rarely seen in the guild, Moon Bora was someone even she had heard of.

She speculated that he was one of the hunters known as ‘dropouts.’

Sighing inwardly, Moon Bora barely managed to swallow the rising sigh.

No matter how you look at it, both of them are incapable of doing their part, aren’t they?

“…I can’t help it.”

Whether they like it or not, the ‘mandatory punishment’ from the ‘Association’ has been handed down.

Regardless of party members or the process, achieving more than just the title of a hunter is the mission.

With a simple conclusion that she must lead, she reached out her hand.

“I apologize for my rudeness earlier. Let’s start with introductions. I’m Moon Bora. My position is special, a mage. Please take care of me today.”

*

Moon Bora, who was introducing herself, was stared at blankly.

“…This is something else.”

It was a familiar face.

Moon Bora.

A 4★ mage character by birth.

Her 《Class》 is 【Sorcerer】.

She is a mage character who focuses solely on ‘firepower,’ almost giving up on various utility skills and variable creation typically associated with mages.

“Well, firepower is vague on that topic.”

Honestly, she is not a high-performance character.

Among 4★ characters, she was more of a mid-tier character who was more useful as a supporter than a dealer.

However, apart from performance, she was highly popular among leaders.

There were several reasons, but one was that despite appearing cold and ruthless on the surface, she had a lot of hidden silliness.

She volunteered for roles where she would incur losses due to her excessive sense of justice.

Despite her calculating nature, she ultimately had a kind heart and helped others.

Even her ‘personal story’ turned out to be unexpectedly dark.

She had many different charms that stood out.

For me, who had also worked hard to raise her, it felt like seeing a long-lost friend.

“……Excuse me.”

“Yes?”

“…Is there something on my face? Why do you keep chuckling…smiling?”

Ah, it seems like she’s been seen too much again, like Mahana.

“It’s just my mood,” Moon Bora replied nonchalantly. She continued after a sigh, “So…now that I’ve introduced myself, will each of you speak?”

Is this finally starting in earnest?

“I’m Mahana. I’m a tank. Frontline.”

Mahana was the first to speak.

Naturally, the attention of the two women focused on me as well.

“I’m Yuseha. Close-range main dealer. My class is Swordmaster.”

“The composition isn’t bad. Main tank, main dealer…and Swordmaster…wait? Swordmaster, did you say? Now?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

In response to my reaction, Moon Bora, and even Mahana, looked at me as if they couldn’t believe it.

Oh, is this going to be another one of those reactions?

“…Hmm.”

Not long after, Moon Bora crossed her arms and gave a subtle skeptical look.

Without saying anything, her attitude and expression were full of disbelief, as if thinking, ‘How should I deal with this liar? The way he looked earlier…is he a suspicious person?’

“…”

And even Mahana.

She even took a step back and stood next to Moon Bora.

Oh no! I can’t afford to lose any more favorability!

“No, it’s not a lie!”

I hurriedly shouted and pulled out my ‘Hunter ID’ from my pocket.

Taking the freshly issued Hunter ID handed over, Moon Bora cautiously read through it.

“…!”

The class clearly visible in her eyes was 【Swordmaster】.

Even Mahana, who was watching from the side, couldn’t hide her surprise.

“…Really?”

“…Wow.”

Expressions of amazement mixed with astonishment passed by.

Then, with a grin, I handed back the ‘Hunter ID.’

“I’m sorry for doubting you. It’s just not easy to believe…”

“Oh, no, it’s okay.”

“For now…I understand. But Yuseha?”

“Yes?”

“Is this your first time entering a gate this time?”

As she nodded, Moon Bora touched her forehead.

“…Please don’t feel bad and listen. It’s not good to reveal your class carelessly like you just did. Mahana mentioned that you are a tanker, right?”

“…Oh?”

“There are various reasons for that… but the biggest one is that certain classes are subject to aversion. On the other hand, some classes receive favorable treatment.”

“…So, should we enter without revealing it at all?”

Logically, that wouldn’t be advisable.

Even if they are in the same position, what each class can do varies greatly.

With a nod of understanding to my question, Moonbora calmly explained, “That’s not the case. It would make it difficult to strategize properly within the dungeon. So, it’s common to make a ‘sworn pact’ and show each other. Then, reconcile any differences.”

I’ve heard of this before.

In the original work, characters make promises by staking their ‘origins’ as a kind of oath system.

If broken, there were significant penalties, making one struggle, having to consume a special potion called ‘Enemy’s Bane’ to survive.

“Yuseha, you have a typically well-treated class. However, the downsides may outweigh the benefits. Well, it’s just that the attention itself isn’t very favorable.”

“…Why is that?”

“It’s too precious. Even if the performance is good, if it’s not valuable, it doesn’t matter much. But a sword saint shines brightly like a treasure itself. It has the highest growth adjustment among all classes… practically becoming stronger is a given. It even has a deceptive skill tree called [Heavenly Path], so it will stir up quite a commotion in many ways.”

Oh, um. That ultimate skill tree.

Can’t learn it… for now.

Anyway, after hearing this much, I became curious.

“Just how rare is a sword saint?”

“As far as I know, there are only 2 individuals in Korea with the sword saint class… including Yuseha, it would be 3 now. Even considering overseas, it wouldn’t exceed 50 individuals.”

“Oh…”

“…Is that all the reaction you have?”

“…Um, rare?”

At my feeble response, Moonbora pressed her temple as if she had a headache.

“Yes, I see. Let’s stop here… no, wait a moment.”

Suddenly, as if realizing something important, Moonbora looked around at me and Mahana.

“…Then who is going to be the ‘backup’? The entry requirement for the ‘Goblin Stronghold’ is that one ‘backup’ is mandatory…?”

At her question, we looked at each other.

Mahana shrugged.

And even I was like, ‘Huh? What’s that?’

Only then did Moonbora realize that she had fallen victim to what is commonly known as being ‘left holding the bag.’

“Uh-oh! Gotcha…!”

She gritted her teeth so hard that it seemed painful even to a third party.

As she shivered in a cute way, I briefly thought how adorable she looked, then let out a sigh.

“…It can’t be helped. Since we’re short on time, I’ll take care of it hastily. Just to let you know in advance, I specialize in a specific position. Specifically, my expertise lies in [Freezing] magic. Therefore, I only have the basic skills for ‘backup.’ I’m inexperienced in many ways. Please understand this…”

Placing her hand on her own body, a complex geometric magic pattern unfolded.

And with a transparent light, what appeared was…

“Hmm… still not familiar.”

Huh? Where did she go?

“…Don’t joke around. Yuseha. She’s right in front of you.”

“Huh?”

Moonbora’s voice rang clearly in my ears. However, her figure had disappeared without a trace.

Just as I was starting to think she might be a ghost, Mahana next to me tugged at my sleeve and pointed downwards.

“Here…”

“Huh?”

As I naturally lowered my gaze, what I saw was… a miniaturized Moonbora, about 15cm in size.

But she wasn’t just Moonbora; she was a second-rate giant with an enormous head, resembling an SD character doll with a deformed appearance.

Something felt refreshing and incredibly cute at the same time.

“Wow…”

“Really. Your reaction is slow.”

It was then that I finally understood what both the employees and Moon Bora kept mentioning, ‘Backup.’

“So this is how it’s implemented!?”

The most unique and talkative system in “Gonys Archive Life.”

Commonly known as the “Backup Position” system.

It allowed characters fighting in the vanguard to transform into supporters with special effects through a position change system.

Of course, not everything worked.

One needed to have or learn related skills to make it possible, and just like some characters faced penalties when used in a certain way, it required various trial and error to utilize the system.

Moreover, it wasn’t used as often as one might think.

Most characters were stronger in their pure “Striker” state rather than the “Backup Position.”

Regardless, due to its uniqueness, it was highly praised as a distinguishing feature from other subculture games.

“I’ve seen characters suddenly shrinking in-game and riding on the shoulders of others, but…”

I never imagined it would be like this in reality.

Naturally, I thought it was just a game mechanic.

Turning to look beside me, Mahana was nodding as if it were entirely natural, without a hint of surprise.

It seemed like this was common knowledge in this world.

“Yuseha? Stop admiring and please put Mahana on your shoulder so we can proceed with the bonding process for the proper ‘backup.’”

“Oh, okay!”

I grabbed Moon Bora’s armpits and slowly placed her on Mahana’s shoulder.

She settled comfortably around Mahana’s neck.

Ah, it’s a bit regrettable.

“…I wanted to hold on a little longer.”

Even though she was a doll, she emitted a warmth akin to a living being.

It was truly mysterious.

“Thank you.”

Expressing gratitude for being lifted, Moon Bora patted the air while rubbing her finger against it.

A translucent status window appeared as Mahana looked surprised.

“…Normally, we don’t reveal our status windows.”

As Mahana said.

Revealing one’s ‘class’ was already quite revealing, but disclosing more information through the ‘status window’ was another level.

However, Moon Bora crossed her arms as if insisting it was necessary.

“Although we just met today… I am your backup with whom you share a bond. I believe you should know this. If you, as a Striker, get hurt, I will share the damage too.”

In essence, they shared their lives.

Therefore, syncing their breaths and knowing each other’s information was essential.

“Whether you want it or not, trust is essential to successfully clear dungeons together. This is my answer regarding that trust.”

“…”

Mahana, looking at Moon Bora, nodded slightly and then revealed her own status window.

I also tried to reveal mine quickly, but…

“You don’t need to, Yuseha.”

“…Huh?”

“This is a necessary step for Strikers and backups working together. There’s no need for you to provide additional information.”

Although it was a perfectly rational statement without any emotional shift, I felt a slight sense of disappointment.

*

At the same time, Moon Bora carefully examined the status window handed to her.

She pondered deeply with a cute finger resting on her chin.

“…I heard she had been a Hunter for about a year…”

Mahana.

Her class was 【Guardian】.

An excellent condition indeed.

But her stats were honestly below average.

Her speed was a bit higher, but notably lacking was the crucial [Provocation] skill for a ‘Tanker.’

Probably due to a lack of talent, she couldn’t learn it despite being a 【Guardian】.

“…In this case, managing aggro is practically the core of dungeon conquest.”

Both Yuseha and Moon Bora were typical main dealers.

Naturally, resolving the aggro that was being drawn towards her was the top priority to keep in mind as a leader.

“…There’s one more thing bothering me here.”

It was Mahana’s condition.

The dark circles under her eyes and the visibly fatigued expression on her face were clear indicators that she had been suffering to the point of sleep deprivation for the past few days.

‘A disrupted condition’ was fatal to all party members, but especially lethal to the ‘tank.’

Because with just a momentary slip-up, the entire party could collapse.

“…But it’s still okay.”

At this rate, there shouldn’t be any major issues in clearing the ‘Goblin Stronghold (D).’

Since it wasn’t an extermination but merely a subjugation, it shouldn’t be too difficult.

Even though Moon Bora, who took pride in her skills, knew how arrogant and foolish it was to think that way, she judged that it wouldn’t be a problem even if she couldn’t fully unleash her power due to the .

Clap!

“Alright.”

Moon Bora clapped her hands, drawing the attention of the two individuals.

With an unimpressive appearance as a second-rate SD, she solemnly spoke.

“Well then… Shall we set off?”