Dang So-hye

I saw the enemy and endured as long as I could.

But even with the Death Penalty, this opponent was not easy to beat.

The massive interior of the structure.

Giant pillars supporting the ceiling.

It was a majestic place, like a temple for giants.

Although the Mountain King Ogre would have looked like a child in such a vast space, it was dominated by spiders, with cobwebs everywhere.

By the time I noticed, my whole body was wrapped in spiderwebs so thin they were almost invisible.

The moment I met the boss monster, it was as good as losing.

I guess my climb is being stalled again.

I sighed.

Then chuckled.

“Interesting.”

Yeah, it’s more fun when it’s hard to beat.

Americano stroked the vital spot where the spider’s leg had pierced her.

She put on the gray underwear and dress provided free to the Resurrectionist at the temple, the so-called Resurrectionist Outfit, and as she left the temple,

“Huh?”

“….”

She met a familiar face.

[Tang So-hye] was floating above her head.

“Americano?”

“…Hello.”

“You died?”

“Yes.”

“What floor?”

“Not very high.”

Tang So-hye. Her tone was different from when she sent the note, like a different person.

“Yeah… right. That’s right. From now on, you’ll have to live in the game, so keep your level hidden as much as possible.”

“..?”

If she had asked one more time, I would have told her.

It wasn’t exactly a secret.

But Tang So-hye warned me not to say it.

“Levels make it easy to see how strong you are. If you live here from now on, you might be discriminated against based on your level. It’s better for your well-being to keep your mouth shut until you reach at least level 50.”

“Yes…”

“More than that, you…”

Tang So-hye scanned Americano up and down.

Then stopped at her chest.

She noticed it had shrunk.

“So this is your real appearance. Playing with an Avatar that’s exactly the same as your real self, what are you going to do if someone recognizes you in reality later?”

“….”

Americano laughed inwardly.

Her gaze turned to Tang So-hye’s surroundings.

There were quite a few people.

“Ah, we gathered because there’s something I need to find out. …Judging by your climbing speed, you’re practically a newbie.”

“..?”

“….”

Tang So-hye stared at Americano.

She asked softly with a troubled face.

“Could I ask what your Awakened Ability is?”

“…Why?”

It wasn’t exactly a secret.

It’s not like I wasn’t going to use my Awakened Ability.

“We’re looking for a Cryokinesis user. The clan leader wants me to let him know if I meet one.”

“Hmm.”

“If you tell me what your Awakened Ability is, I’ll give you something good. You can look forward to it.”

Americano raised both index fingers.

Zap.

A small electric spark popped.

“Lightning?”

“Yes.”

“Then never mind. It’s hard to give you a gift here, so let’s go somewhere together.”

“….”

“It’s not like I’m asking you to join a party. I’ve been a bit blatant so far, haven’t I?”

She seemed to be aware of it.

“I’m sorry for suddenly acting friendly when we’ve only met once. I didn’t have any bad intentions. It’s just…”

“…?”

“I want to have a beautiful woman as a friend. I’ve been surrounded by men for almost my whole life. So when I see a pretty woman, I can’t help myself.”

“Yes…”

Americano sighed in vain.

She had firmly nailed it down that I shouldn’t reveal my gender.

“So I really wanted to have a pretty female friend. If you’re okay with it, would you like to be friends with me?”

“….”

It was hard to describe how I felt.

It was hard to refuse when she looked at me with such a longing expression.

‘It’ll be okay.’

It’s not like we’re going to meet in reality.

“I’ve, already, registered as friends.”

“I mean, be real friends.”

“If we’re registered as friends, then we’re already friends.”

I answered awkwardly.

Tang So-hye smiled brightly.

She hugged me tightly.

I received a sword.

Tang So-hye also held a sword.

“The gift I’m giving you is a Sword Technique.”

“A Sword Technique?”

“Yeah. It’s not an ordinary Sword Technique, so if you learn it, it will definitely help you climb. But before you learn it…”

Americano was at the training ground.

The Native Hero was hitting a scarecrow in the drill field as he underwent his final test.

Americano, who had taken a spot in that drill field, pointed her sword at the scarecrow.

“First, knock this down.”

“Yes.”

Damage appeared above the scarecrow.

I swung my sword.

Is she looking at my habits when I use a sword?

Understanding it that way, I swung my sword as usual and knocked down the scarecrow.

Instead, I used only a normal blade without any Sword Aura or Mana Blade.

The scarecrow breaks.

“Have you ever used a sword in reality?”

“A few times when catching monsters.”

“Yeah. I can definitely feel that. It was a rough and simple sword. That’ll be enough for big monsters.”

Tang So-hye held up her sword.

“But it’s not suitable for humanoid or small monsters. Big movements will create openings, and openings will lead to fatal wounds. What you need at this time is a sword that deceives the opponent and cuts them short. I’ll show you.”

Tang So-hye swung her sword at the scarecrow.

Even though the opponent was standing still, there was no problem understanding what it meant to deceive and what it meant to cut short, and the general movements involved.

“In fact, the most necessary ability for a swordsman is agility. Strength is needed for an archer.”

If you thought about the meaning of those words, you would immediately understand.

Archers need strength to draw their bows, and the stronger the bow, the tighter the bowstring.

Swordsmen need agile movements to freely handle the strength to use a sword.

It was different from how swordsmen are often about strength and archers are about agility in games, but if you looked at it closely, Tang So-hye was right.

Just looking at the way she wielded her sword, she needed agile movements rather than strength.

“If you’re allocating stats, put them into Sense. You didn’t put them into Strength, did you?”

“A little into Stamina.”

“Stamina is something you can raise relatively easily if you train… well, you’ve already allocated it, so there’s nothing you can do. Next time, put it into Sense. You’ll feel the biggest difference before and after allocating it.”

Tang So-hye said, “Then…” and held up her sword again.

“I’ll teach you the basic movements. Follow me.”

“Yes…”

Americano was taught the movements of swordsmanship one by one by Tang So-hye.

It was enough to memorize all the movements once, but as an Outsider, she didn’t stop practicing until Tang So-hye said, “Then, a test.”

The test was to see if she had properly memorized the movements, and whether the movements came out immediately when she called out the names of the movements.

Americano performed the movements according to the names, and

Tang So-hye called out the names so that the movements came out in a series of flows.

As the movements came out as she called them, one form was smoothly completed.

Tang So-hye honestly admired it.

“Americano, you seem to have a talent for swords.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Anyone can copy the movements, but it’s different to naturally transfer them. You’re good enough to go into the advanced course as is. But…”

She looked up at the sky.

It was already evening.

“Let’s stop here for today. Today we only learned the sword movements, and next time I’ll teach you techniques that incorporate Magical Power. Ah, before that.”

Tang So-hye, who was putting her sword back into her Inventory, asked.

“Are you in a party? Are you alone?”

“…Yes.”

“I’m not recommending it. Feel free to say no at any time. I’m recommending it as a test. If you don’t want to, we’ll proceed in a different way.”

“….”You saw the note I sent you the other day, right?”

“Yes.”

There was talk of a Dungeon.

“As a test, would you like to go to the Dungeon with me?”

“Me, to the Dungeon?”

“Yeah. It’s okay. It’s a hidden Dungeon inside Yoki Village, so no one knows about it except our clan.”

“Is it okay to tell me that?”

“I got permission to do whatever I want with it because it’s not valuable to the clan.”

Still, it’s a Dungeon.

There’s no way they’d give that discretion to a low-level member.

Sacheondangga.

The song.

Tang So-hye.

“….”

“How about it, as a practical test?”

“Are you asking me to join a party?”

“Yeah.”

I have no intention of being together.

The reason is,

‘Because I might wipe out the party.’

[Berserk] would not tolerate a troll.

It would be fortunate if it only killed the troll, but I would unknowingly get excited. I had no idea what kind of embarrassing history I would create.

‘But if it’s Tang So-hye…’

She wouldn’t do anything trollish.

Still, I didn’t really want to show [Berserk].

“What’s the Dungeon level?”

“Hmm… I can go in and out without any problems, so about level 10?”

What level was the Orc Warrior?

The information window doesn’t show the level to players, NPCs, or monsters.

Still, it was in green letters, so it wouldn’t have exceeded level 25.

There are items that can only be obtained in Dungeons, so I couldn’t just refuse.

“Okay.”

Tang So-hye smiled with her eyes and mouth.

“Then when shall we meet tomorrow?”

I think I was swayed by Tang So-hye.

But it wasn’t without its gains.

[Plum Blossom Sword Technique Lv.1]

A new Skill was created.

The swordsmanship that Tang So-hye taught me was recognized as a Skill.

I had read the name in martial arts novels, so was Tang So-hye a player NPC after all? Or was it something that someone in reality developed?

There was no way to prove it right now.

I had to prove that Tang So-hye’s testimony was from a real person.

Anyway, what’s important now is that I got a Skill.

That alone was enough.

“Haa…”

I dropped my butt on the bed.

I caught the witch and went to the 26th floor.

I died twice today alone.

I was exhausted.

I was sleepy.

I thought I was going to die of sleepiness when I was learning swordsmanship from Tang So-hye.

“Haa~aam.”

I was so fascinated by the softness of the bed that I forgot to wash and fell asleep.

The next morning.

I stopped by the shopping district for a moment.

I bought a Cuirass at the armor shop.

The repair of the Mithril Cuirass takes about a month.

I bought a substitute for it.

[Gospel Steel Cuirass]

[Base Defense] [150]

Defense doesn’t matter.

The reason I wore a Cuirass in the first place was to cover my chest rather than for defense.

I put it on and tapped my chest.

Armor is originally designed to leave some space from the chest. It’s a natural structure because if it sticks, the impact will be transmitted to the body.

Thanks to this, unless it’s really big, it doesn’t change the shape of the armor, whether it’s a man or a woman.

Unless it’s really big.

Jiggle.

“….”

The Cuirass and my chest touched. It was the same with the Mithril Cuirass.

“Uncomfortable.”

However, since there was no magic called [Harness], it was cumbersome every time I moved.

Weapon shop.

“Oh, you’re here. I’ve been waiting.”

Gusta took out a sword from under the counter.

The black sword with glowing Magical Power was the first Magic Sword he had completed.