episode_0026

Every human being has his or her own persona.

Society is too harsh for us to show our true selves to society, so we all have to package our personalities to some extent.

That’s why we hide our selfishness, our melancholy, and our dark selves behind an active mask.

The persona created in this way enabled a certain level of communication, even if the relationship was uncomfortable.

Just like right now.

“There are monsters in front.”

“I’ll put up a dark curtain around the area, so everyone attack at once.”

A week has passed since I learned black magic and fought with party members.

In the meantime, we were getting along better than we thought.

What should I say···.

Should we say that we maintain a business partnership relationship?

Although we don’t share personal feelings with each other, it feels like we work together.

Put aside any uncomfortable feelings for a moment and run towards your goal first.

Unexpectedly, unconditional criticism has decreased recently.

Maybe it was because I got angry once. They seemed a little cautious after realizing that I had thorns in my side.

Of course, I don’t know what will happen after some time has passed since I left Chunghoeseong…

Anyway, that’s how it is now.

An atmosphere where people are uncomfortable with each other, but don’t necessarily express it out loud.

‘ha.’

And anyone who has ever lived in a group knows that this kind of atmosphere is the most uncomfortable.

‘It’s so frustrating…’

It might be better to just blow it up once.

It’s even more uncomfortable because I don’t know what he’s thinking inside. When I was being bullied, at least I could clearly express my feelings, but now I can’t even do that.

I briefly thought about those things, but then decided to put them to the side of my mind.

Oh, that’s enough.

What’s the point of thinking like this? It’s better to think more constructively at a time like this.

Despite the fact that my relationship with my teammates had become more distant, my growth itself was going quite well.

Recently, one more level was added···.

This is because black magic itself is slowly turning into skill work.

“Warrior, ahead!”

“Yes.”

Camilla shouted, and as she looked up, she saw a monster running towards her. A scorpion-shaped monster twice as large as my body.

It was a difficult opponent to deal with, as it had a paralyzing venom, a shell that was harder than most plate armor, and a speed that was faster than expected.

As soon as I found the guy, I turned on one of his skills.

[Cast Blood Flow Acceleration!]

[Temporarily increases strength, speed, and magic casting speed!]

The name is Gear Second.

A skill that temporarily maximizes physical abilities by pumping blood flow in the body. Unfortunately, the body did not turn red or emit smoke.

However, it is still a bit stressful on the body after using it.

Well, ‘Replay’ will take care of that.

Boom boom!

As I turned on the skill, my heart started beating faster. My throbbing heart pumped blood like crazy, circulating it throughout my body.

A feeling of elation and excitement enveloped my body, as if I could do anything.

I added ‘Mana Blade’ to the sword and struck it down.

Crunch!

A cold sound echoed as one of the scorpion’s pincers was cut off. It was too big to cut the body in half.

Shhh!

As if the pain was rushing in after losing one of his arms, I saw a guy running wild. As that huge body ran wild in the narrow hallway, the whole place reverberated loudly.

“Gyah! Bugs are falling from the ceiling!”

“Clean up quickly! Ugh! They’re coming when they hear the commotion!”

Lily waved her hand over my head, brushing away bugs.

Camilla, who was defeating monsters one by one in the hallway, shouts urgently.

I nodded briefly and placed my hand on the guy’s body. Then I activated the skill.

[Cast Blood Absorption!]

All living things that move have blood in their bodies. Even insects and bugs are no exception.

Even if our blood colors are different, it will be somewhere inside our bodies.

If there is blood, I can absorb it now.

Shh …

As I cast my skill, I see the guy gradually becoming more docile.

I could feel the bastard’s blood gradually evaporating beyond my palm.

Of all the skills in Blood Magic, this was the most useful one.

When I thought the guy had become somewhat more docile, I put my sword down again.

Crunch!

At the same time, the guy’s neck falls off.

Since then, I have been slaughtering monsters everywhere using ‘Blood Flow Acceleration’.

Fortunately, the monsters that attacked this time were easily dealt with.

It was originally a battle that would take about 30 minutes, but it definitely feels faster after learning the skills. This is why you need to choose a job for your character. It makes the battle easier.

Of course, there were some regrettable points. This is not the advantage of the self-harming warlock.

You have to get hurt a little to show your true worth…

‘There has to be something that can hurt.’

The job I chose was a Berserker-type character who gets stronger the more he gets hurt. But lately, I haven’t gotten hurt that much.

It was because of the characteristic of loyalty.

The monsters rushing in in droves were certainly a challenge, but they weren’t dangerous.

The skill gap isn’t as good as expected.

Thanks to this, my poor ‘Multicasting’ and ‘Fireball’ proficiency is only increasing.

“Hoo···.”

“······.”

Anyway, as I was wiping away the sweat while thinking about that, I felt strange gazes from somewhere.

When I turn my head, I see them looking at me with an unpleasant look. It’s as if they’ve seen something unpleasant.

···That was their reaction every time I used black magic.

Although I didn’t say anything, it seemed like such unconscious reactions were inevitable.

“Whew··· It seems like you worked pretty hard today···. How about taking a break now?”

The good news is that not all changes have been bad.

“···No. Let’s go a little further.”

As I wiped the sweat pouring down my body, Camilla calmed her breathing and said.

After more than 8 hours of fighting and exploring.

Usually, by this time everyone would have figured it out and spread it out.

Eight hours of continuous combat is tough work, and in such harsh conditions, rest is of the utmost importance.

“···Okay, good.”

But these days, the period of exploration has been increasing significantly.

Even though they didn’t like what I said, they must have felt something. They realized that they shouldn’t stay like this.

Maybe, I’ve just shattered the illusion in my head that I can win in any way.

Anyway, it was good news for me.

My body is a bit tired, but my growth has definitely accelerated.

I did have some free time, but I could just sleep it off.

So we hunted for several more hours after that.

*

“It’s work. Please.”

Boom!

After work for the day, Camilla threw something at me.

That was the corpse of the monster I had slaughtered just a moment ago.

After finally finishing the battle, the dismantling work returned after a long time.

Yeah, I haven’t been doing much dismantling work lately…

If you just add up the discarded monster corpses, you could easily buy a mansion.

In particular, the monster we caught this time would obviously be worth a lot of money, so we may have dismantled it.

But still, I couldn’t help but curse inwardly.

‘Fuck.’

Because in the end, it’s all up to me to dismantle this.

I never thought I’d be in trouble like this.

Since they can’t say anything in front of you, they make you do annoying things like this.

“I wanted to rest···.”

Complaints came out of my mouth, but I had no choice but to grab the dagger. After all, if I refused, it would only make me look like a narrow-minded person.

Not having your own side means you’re going to have this happen often.

So, when you all enter a company, let’s all try to do a good job of internal politics.

‘This time it’s a crustacean monster.’

As I was examining the dagger and the angle of the handle, I noticed something bothersome. I saw some guys covered in a lot of chitinous shells.

This meant that it would soon be incredibly difficult to maintain.

The blade doesn’t go in very well. The joints are hard to find.

Even those that have just died are so fresh that their flesh is not separated.

They are fucking assholes in many ways.

Just like my party members.

But what can I do? I have to do it…

So I started dismantling it. The quantity was just right, so I thought I could finish it before I went to bed.

As I was thinking that, someone came next to me.

“I’ll help you.”

It was a saint.

She, wearing a nun’s habit covered in dust, plops down next to me and strokes her dagger.

“Let’s see··· This is my first time dismantling, how do I fix it?”

“······.”

I couldn’t help but be embarrassed.

I’ve been repeating the phrase “Why is he like this these days…” so many times that it’s become tiresome.

If I had to pick the person in the party whose psychology I find the most difficult to understand, I would definitely pick him.

Even if I received a favor, I still felt uncomfortable because I didn’t know the underlying intention.

For once, I decided to refuse.

Not only was it too much of a hassle to tell someone, but it was better to do it alone rather than in an uncomfortable atmosphere.

He speaks to her, wearing the smiling mask he usually wears.

“It’s okay. What if you hurt your hand by doing it wrong? And since this is easier for an expert to do, you can just go in and rest.”

“Since she’s a saint, if she gets hurt she can heal, so what does it matter? And to me, it looks like I need some help from a beginner? When are you going to finish this much?”

Of course, it was rejected cleanly.

She said that and watched me carefully as I groomed myself. Then, she started grooming herself without me even telling her.

“Aha, I see. It’s like putting a knife in a joint and slowly turning it to pull it out···.”

“······.”

She must have been quite dexterous. She quickly dug up a corpse.

Of course, it can’t be helped that he’s a little clumsy because he lacks strength and technique… But he still looks like he can do it for one person.

ha.

I let out a small sigh. It looked like he wouldn’t go even if I told him to. I had no choice but to just leave him alone.

Even though they said they came to help, they stubbornly refused.

“······.”

“······.”

Silence fell for a moment.

In the dimly lit hallway, only the sounds of insects moving and things disintegrating echo.

The saintess looked back and forth between me and the corpses for a long time, as if she was thinking about something while working.

What on earth are you doing···.

I was concerned, but decided to just ignore it. Ignoring is usually the answer in these cases.

“···That.”

Then, at one moment,

Suddenly the saintess opened her mouth and looked at me.

“Please don’t hate the kids too much.”

I was so surprised that I couldn’t help but ask.

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“You fought with the kids a few days ago, right? Because of something related to black magic···. I know you’re both hurt because of that. I just want you to not hate each other too much. They all have their own values···.”

I couldn’t help but be dumbfounded for a moment.

I wondered why you came all of a sudden, and it turned out you came to say this.

“Well, that’s okay. I’ve made mistakes too… It’s natural to react like that since I learned black magic.”

I don’t hate you. Maybe.

I honestly get angry a lot when I get teased every time… but that’s ultimately the result of my curse.

There is ample reason to take this into consideration.

Rather, it was she who was peculiar.

I decided to take this opportunity to ask a question I was curious about.

“Are you okay, Madam?”

“What do you mean?”

“Black magic, that is. It’s definitely not the right path···.”

In the game, she especially hated black magic. But why did her attitude change so suddenly this time… I still couldn’t understand it.

And that’s not all.

There are countless curses attached to my body. Curses that bring fear, disgust, annoyance, and distrust just by looking at them.

But is she okay?

Does God’s blessing make her immune to such things? Or is it simply her nature?

Or is it because there is some hidden intention inside?

I’m still curious. I hope this will help to answer some of that question.

After waiting for a while, what she said to me was:

“I told you it was a necessary choice.”

“······.”

I almost cried for a moment.

“I trust you, warrior. Even if that doesn’t make sense to me. There must be a reason why you chose to do it. Isn’t that right?”

She speaks kindly with a kind smile.

The two eyes that resembled sapphires shone so warmly that I felt momentarily healed.

“······.”

I was hoping for this kind of empathy.

I don’t need the envy of everyone, a major that will be remembered in history, or the recognition of those in authority.

I was just hoping to hear something small like this.

At least, I have faith that there is at least one person who supports the path I am walking.

I guess I was hoping for something like that without even realizing it.

“Oh, I see···.”

After answering vaguely, I turned my head away again.

It was hard to watch because I felt like tears would flow if I watched any longer.

······ I still don’t know if those words are true or not.

Anyone can give superficial comfort, and facial expressions are surprisingly easy to change. It’s possible that you’re thinking something else inside.

But what does that matter?

At least I was moved by that one word.

I felt like a corner of my heart was being healed, even if just a little.

Moreover, she even confronted the party members to defend me.

I wasn’t stupid enough not to realize that you had been taking care of me all this time.

So, isn’t it okay to trust her just a little bit… just a little bit? Isn’t it okay to be optimistic that there’s at least one person who supports me?

“······.”

So we started to focus on dismantling it again.

A heavy silence enveloped the surroundings just like before, but it wasn’t as uncomfortable as before.

Rather, I even felt at ease.

After working like that for a while, I glanced at her.

‘ah.’

A small insect can be seen attached to the back of her soft neck. This was a common occurrence in Chunghoe Castle, a paradise for insects.

Usually, you notice it as soon as it gets on your body.

‘Are you not aware because you’re concentrating?’

Well then, I guess I’ll have to take it off.

I don’t know if it’s poisonous or not, but it’s not a pleasant feeling to have a bug stuck to your body.

So I started to carefully put my hand behind her neck, really without thinking…

and···.

─Tak!!

Got rejected.

In my clear vision, I see her hand violently pushing my hand away.

Her startled eyes were filled with an unconcealed discomfort.

The smile that had been filled with compassion disappeared into a frown, and for a moment, heavy breathing flowed down her neck.

I couldn’t help but be surprised by the harsh rejection.

After a moment of silence like that.

Her eyes and mine meet.

“···Ah.”

“······Huh?”

Her eyes, having grasped the situation, began to shake without mercy.