episode_0026

From morning, there were many tough things, but today, my company life started safely.

A short break in the middle of a hard class.

I used this time to meet with barrier specialist, Yuyeonhwa.

“Oh my, what is this? After acting all high and mighty, have you finally decided to become friends with me?”

“There’s no need to live as enemies.”

The start wasn’t great (I hit her and made her cry).

Yuyeonhwa, a second-generation chaebol and a talented barrier specialist, is a good connection.

Since we have a connection anyway, there’s no harm in continuing it.

Besides, today I want to use Yuyeonhwa to try something out.

“Make me a barrier.”

“Why, why? What are you planning to do?”

I wonder if being hit by me that time traumatized her.

Yuyeonhwa flinched like a scared fox.

“Don’t freak out, it’s nothing dangerous.”

“Is that something a person who punched a woman in the face should say?”

“It’s all healed now, so it’s okay.”

“Wow, your character.”

I shrugged lightly.

There were unavoidable circumstances for me back then.

“I want to try an experiment. Who else would I ask for such a thing if not you?”

“Hehe~ Have you come to realize a little bit of my greatness?”

Yuyeonhwa’s nose went up a bit.

“You’re the only barrier specialist I know.”

“…You didn’t have to add that last part.”

“Apart from that, I know you’re a great barrier specialist.”

“Can you stop giving me a disease and then trying to cure it?”

There isn’t a better barrier specialist than Yuyeonhwa among the classmates.

No, even among the current barrier specialists, Yuyeonhwa’s level is rare.

“Haa, I thought you called me to such a secluded place because you were finally going to tell me a secret or something.”

Yuyeonhwa sighed lightly and nodded.

“Okay. It’s not a difficult task. Should I cast the barrier like before?”

“No, this time I’m asking for several barriers.”

“Multiple barriers at once? Hmm, that’s a bit difficult even for me.”

“Do it in a way that connects the barriers.”

“If it’s that, then sure. Alright, I understand.”

Yuyeonhwa concentrated for a moment and activated the barrier.

Soon, I could also see the golden barrier.

“I did it. What do I do now?”

“Just stay still.”

I quietly watched Yuyeonhwa’s barrier.

The reason I asked for this is to test my ‘Instant Death’.

To be exact, to see how far it would work.

‘Die.’

I activated Instant Death directly towards the barrier.

-Crash!

The barrier in front of Yuyeonhwa shattered.

Not just one, but all the barriers she had cast.

“Eh, eh? What is this…?”

Looking at the surprised Yuyeonhwa, it seems that the barrier was indeed destroyed.

‘So, if they’re connected, it’s possible to ‘Instant Death’ them all at once.’

I realized something while only instantly killing the curses from the tunnel in the last curse class.

That it’s possible to set the range of ‘Instant Death’ to some extent.

‘It’s not like killing always means killing everything. The range varies depending on the entity.’

This barrier was the opposite of the curse tunnel.

There were several barriers, but they were ‘connected’.

As a result, they were recognized as a single entity and it was possible to ‘kill’ them all.

‘The ability of Instant Death is more flexible than I thought. At least, it doesn’t have to perfectly fit into rigid rules.’

It can kill living things or urban legends.

Even if the entities are connected and judged as ‘one’, it can kill them all.

Depending on the situation, it was a truly tremendous ability.

Usually, urban legends or curses tend to interact with each other a lot.

For example, there are many urban legends or yokai that form colonies in the world.

Even if I only ‘Instant Death’ one of them, it might be possible to kill the entire thing.

‘If I use this well….’

“W-what exactly did you do just now!”

My thoughts stopped as Yuyeonhwa ran up to me and shouted.

“Why are you acting so surprised? I’ve broken your barrier before.”

“This is different from then! Do you know what it means to break multiple barriers at once?”

Yuyeonhwa clutched her hair with an expression as if she had encountered a monster that should not exist in the world.

“If multiple barriers are connected, it should normally take that much longer to analyze. But you did it all at once? Don’t tell me you broke it with overwhelming force? No, but I didn’t feel that much spiritual power….”

Her tearful face looks just like a college student facing an exam.

Such a reaction is quite refreshing since Yuyeonhwa always had a relaxed attitude in the game.

“Anyway, thanks. Thanks to you, it was a good experiment.”

“Experiment?! Are you saying you used the barriers our company is so proud of for an experiment?”

“Sorry if it hurt your pride.”

“…That apology hurts my pride even more.”

Yuyeonhwa looked at me with a choked-up face.

“What exactly did you do? It’s absolutely impossible with the knowledge I have.”

“Like I said before, I’ll die if I tell you.”

“Ah, yeah~ I’m sure.”

She doesn’t seem to believe me even though I told her honestly.

But information about Instant Death is really a secret, you know?

If I told them, all the sorcerers in the world would try to kill me.

“Well, fine. I’m trying to become friends with you to find that out anyway. I’m even more motivated to get closer to you.”

“Doesn’t it bother you to make friends like that?”

“It’s a pretty important thing for me.”

Well, if the pillars of her family are on the line, she can’t just let it go.

Being the daughter of a large corporation must be secretly difficult.

“In that sense, shall we become even closer in the future? You can ask me for these kinds of favors as much as you want.”

“Oh, really?”

“The more favors I do for you, the more debt I can put on you, and the more clues I can get.”

The amazing thing about Yuyeonhwa is that she says this so shamelessly in front of the person involved.

“Then lend me some money.”

“…….”

Of course, I’m not one to be outdone when it comes to shamelessness.

Yuyeonhwa looked at me with an expression that said she wanted to hit me.

“Haa… Why suddenly money?”

“I have a use for it. If possible, interest-free with 36-month installments.”

“That’s the same as saying you won’t pay it back!”

What’s the point of having a rich classmate?

It’s to use them when you need quick cash like this.

“……So, how much do you need?”

Even if she says that, Yuyeonhwa can’t refuse in the end.

Hmm, it seems like I’ve met a pretty useful chaebol pushover?

****

I safely borrowed money from Yuyeonhwa.

But I had a conscience, so I didn’t borrow too much.

‘If there’s too much debt, she might demand something else using that as an excuse.’

She might be a pushover in front of me, but Yuyeonhwa is a pretty skilled calculator.

It’s better not to give her any unnecessary weaknesses to exploit.

‘It can’t be helped since I don’t have anywhere else to borrow money right now.’

The reason why I specifically borrowed money from Yuyeonhwa.

That’s to get equipment exclusively for exorcists.

As time goes by, the story is also progressing.

Soon, Instant Death alone will become dangerous.

‘It’s peaceful right now because the protagonist is still in the growing stage. Soon, several dangerous things will happen.’

Didn’t a strange urban legend appear in the lecture room last time?

It’s not like only safe events will always happen.

It’s slowly getting to the point where I can barely protect my own body with the once-a-day Instant Death.

Thinking about the urban legends and sorcerers I’ll encounter in the future… I still need defensive measures to protect my body.

“Thanks to Yuyeonhwa, I have some spare funds. I should use this to get some armor.”

Fortunately, there’s a way to get cost-effective equipment at this point in time.

Exorcism equipment is basically expensive, so it’s hard to buy at my current level.

So, the place I headed to was a building in Cheonjihae.

A place where various urban legend information collected by Cheonjihae is stored.

It was called an archive, but its scale was comparable to an ordinary city library.

The appearance and functions were also similar to a library.

Anyone who is a Cheonjihae employee can come and freely view and borrow materials.

‘It’s been a while since I smelled books.’

So, I found a corner of the library.

A woman was buried in books, diligently reading.

That person is the one I was looking for.

She is a named character and a classmate, Mi Yeeeun.

“…….”

She was intently reading a book.

That unique atmosphere made it hard to talk to her, as if it might be a disturbance.

“Excuse me, is this a good time?”

Of course, I didn’t care and talked to her.

Originally, there’s nothing in front of life.

“……?”

Mi Yeeeun raised her head and looked at me.

Her eyes asked what was going on.

“You’re Mi Yeeeun, right?”

“You’re the top student. But how do you know me?”

“I’m looking for someone who makes urban legend items.”

Mi Yeeeun’s specialty is making urban legend items.

She’s a pretty important character who even provides the protagonist with weapons to use.

In the game, she gave the protagonist quests and made several items as a reward.

‘That’s quite a bit later, though.’

Her skills are always real.

She’s also the most affordable talent I can hire at this point.

“How did you know I specialize in urban legend items?”

“You’re always reading books in the library.”

The books Mi Yeeeun is reading are all related to urban legend items.

The reason she came to Cheonjihae was to improve her skills in making urban legend items.

In fact, whether she was recognized for her abilities, she persevered and survived in Cheonjihae until the end and went to the production team.

“It seems like you have quite a bit of ability. Can you make something for me?”

“Hmm.”

Mi Yeeeun let out a faint sigh.

“What do you want? If it’s something like a light charm, I can make it for you as much as you want.”

“No. Not something like a charm.”

If it was something like that, I wouldn’t have bothered coming all the way here to ask.

“You know bulletproof vests, right? I want a product with spiritual abilities contained in it.”

Mi Yeeeun’s expression changed subtly at my words.

“A bulletproof vest? Are you serious?”

“Yes. Rather than ordinary charms, it’s more effective to protect with physical strength.”

“…You know quite a bit. I never thought I would receive this kind of request in Cheonjihae.”

Mi Yeeeun put down the book as if she liked my words.

“As you said, if it’s a bulletproof vest, there’s no problem wearing it inside your clothes normally.”

“It can also block flying debris or threats.”

“That’s right. Exorcists tend to focus only on spiritual abilities, but they also need to consider fundamental safety.”

The connection between ordinary objects and urban legends.

That’s exactly the equipment philosophy that Mi Yeeeun thinks of.

‘I only know the effects because I saw it in the game, though.’

I was convinced that Mi Yeeeun could make the equipment I wanted.

A future genius urban legend item maker.

I’m trying to buy it at a low price.

“…But it seems difficult to accept a request yet.”

“Why?”

“As you can see, I’m still studying.”

Mi Yeeeun tapped the book next to her.

“In the first place, I don’t have enough resources or funds to make equipment. I’m already busy with studying, so I don’t want to take on a job.”

“For reference, I’m thinking of this much for the cost.”

“But there’s no better study than practice. I’ll make you the best product.”

After all, money is the best in the world.

If not, think about whether you don’t have enough money.