episode_0034

The condition of Rager’s arm was more serious than expected.

He managed to avoid it being severed on the spot, but his elbow bone was shattered and nerves were twisted, making it practically equivalent to an amputation.

“It will take over a month for this to recover.”

The doctor, who was making his rounds, clicked his tongue as he watched Rager recovering his arm through the recovery machine while lying in bed.

“With such a severe injury like this, you must have been in unbearable pain. How did you endure it?”

“With the mindset of dedicating myself to the new world, I endured it with sheer willpower.”

What a crazy bastard.

Since there were many adventurers who got injured frequently, doctors didn’t bother making their rounds for minor injuries. They would only treat injuries like losing a finger or two with machines, and meeting a doctor was only possible if you were close to death, like Dakota whose internal organs were completely destroyed, or Rager, who had to dip his foot slightly into the Jordan Express.

“Of course, it goes without saying, but give up on the tier measurement for this quarter. While tiers are important, it’s not like you’ll die if they’re low.”

“…Yes.”

Even Rager, who maintained a crazy positive attitude, became gloomy at this point. He knew he was training, but he seemed to have prepared quite sincerely.

After the doctor left, I tried to lighten the mood with a joke.

“Kid, why are you so greedy for tiers? Hurry up and escape the dormitory, buy an apartment or something. What’s the point of being a writer if you’re greedy for money? You should be humble, you brat.”

I thought I would receive a barrage of curses starting with “What do you know,” or at least a retort like “No way!” But Rager didn’t say a word.

He just shrugged his shoulders and hung his head in silence.

Seeing Rager breathe heavily one after another, it seemed like he wasn’t just aiming for tiers for the sake of success.

“Why are you like this, damn it. Say something.”

Rager clenched his fist tightly with the hand he could still move, and his fist trembled.

“A month is too long.”

Rager’s voice was filled with deep resignation.

“So many things can happen in a month. The gap will widen so much that I won’t be able to catch up.”

“Are you talking about the mission you showed me back then?”

At that, Rager lifted his head to look at me for a moment, but then a heavy sigh escaped him as he averted his gaze.

“The difficulty will only increase. Much stronger opponents will appear more frequently than today.”

“Are you strong enough to take them all down? That’s not it. How many people in this academy are much stronger than us? Let’s leave it to them.”

“It’s not about who’s stronger or weaker. I have to act.”

“Because of that score?”

Rager slowly nodded his head.

Needless to say, Rager was far weaker compared to the many instructors and higher-tier students in the academy. Just today, he almost lost his arm, and if even stronger enemies were to come, it would be better to quietly take a bus and give up on life.

But first, he had to get up to catch the bus.

Being in a helpless state in the hospital, he wouldn’t be able to earn a single point in a month.

No matter how much comforting words were said, Rager was in a state of temporary closure for a month. That was already confirmed.

Even during his break, the deadline for the condition of ‘?? will not be granted’ would approach. Not knowing what it meant, he had to earn as many points as possible.

“Well, there’s nothing we can do about it.”

Mumbling dejectedly, he suddenly shot me a glare. Avoiding his gaze, I took out a cigarette, then hesitated and put it back in, realizing, “Oh, this is a hospital room.”

“It’s not like there’s a sharp edge to it. Just give up and rest deeply.”

“Because of who now…?”

“I know, it’s because of me.”

Interrupting Lager’s attempt to raise his voice, I quickly spoke again.

“So until you recover, I’ll become strong enough.”

It’s true that it was all because of me. Lager must have been constrained in battles, no matter how big or small, under the guise of protecting me.

But there was no need for Lager to hold me back.

If I could handle everything on my own, Lager wouldn’t have to strain his arm holding onto this guy.

So, this was a promise to myself.

“We promised. That I’ll become the ‘fighting heroine’ for you.”

“You…”

“So that you won’t need protection, I’ll catch up enough in a month.”

“…Yujin.”

“So after you’re better, don’t get hurt because of me. Next time, I’ll protect you.”

Lager stared at me with a bewildered look for a moment. Various complex thoughts flickered in his eyes.

“You…”

Almost laughing at this absurd pledge.

Almost sighing at the thought of how futile it would be.

Feeling sorry for why I said such things.

And then, regretting why I said such things.

“…I’m sorry.”

Lager gritted his teeth and shrugged his shoulders.

It felt awkward to earnestly plead, so I decided to just go along with it.

All the empty promises are meaningless.

Everything will be resolved once I become stronger.

I clasped my hand over Lager’s hand as if making a vow.

“I’ll become a heroine who doesn’t need protection. So for a month, just sit back and relax.”

Maybe it’s a good idea to prevent falling into a rut.

*

From the next day onwards, I finished my work and immediately locked myself in the training ground.

On the first day, Lena was happy to have a friend to go to the training ground with.

On the second day, she subtly asked me not to stay too long like yesterday.

From the third day onwards, she outright told me to stop coming.

“Aeil, why are you going this far? You’ll die like this!”

“I won’t die. Don’t worry.”

“Who said that?!”

To Lena, who was on the verge of tears, I waved my hand and, once again, assumed the plank position, closing my eyes tightly.

I learned for the first time that if you deplete mana for too long, you’ll get a nosebleed. However, this was different from sleep time, so there were no penalties like less recovery from fatigue the next day.

If anything, if you compare it, it was similar to a smartphone battery that gradually increases its total capacity.

─Even if it discharges from long use, if you sleep for a certain amount of time and wake up, it quickly recovers, right?

─Even if you don’t sleep, as long as you don’t use mana in daily life, the mana level automatically fills up. It’s like how a muscle tear heals gradually after a day or two.

─But unlike a battery, the more you use it, the more capacity it increases.

─That’s similar to muscles.

Listening to Lager’s kind explanation, my worries disappeared even more. Knowing that I won’t die even if I push myself to the limit, I could push myself even harder.

“Hoo!”

The more difficult the position to meditate in, the harder it is to maintain concentration, and the faster the mastery of mana increases. The grand seal position was physically impossible, so the most difficult and efficient position I could attempt was the plank.

At first, my waist was shaky, making it difficult to meditate, but as my smooth stomach became defined with 11 abs, my meditation time increased significantly.

“Hoo.”

Sweat gathered on my lips and chin as I exhaled deeply.

Let’s become as strong as possible in a short amount of time.

There’s no time to rest, no time to struggle.

To prepare for a month later, we must first successfully complete this tier assessment.

That’s right.

The day of reckoning has come.

The tier assessment proceeds sequentially, starting with the lower-tiered players. As a yellow rookie, my turn came without even having time for lunch.

“Is a tablet enough for the tools?”

“Yes.”

I absentmindedly nodded my head, but suddenly a thought came to mind, so I asked for confirmation.

“Can I smoke while taking the test?”

“It’s possible.”

“Thank you.”

Surprisingly, it’s not too strict in this regard. As long as it doesn’t affect combat power, anything is allowed.

The instructor opened the portal to the exam room, and as I stepped in, I took out a cigarette from my pocket and lit it.

The place I entered, filled with thick cigarette smoke, was a thicket.

“Growl….”

With ominous growls, monsters emerged from the bushes.

Blue skin and a giant physique twice my size. With grotesque clubs in their hands and massive arm muscles, my frail body looked as fragile as a corn stalk that could snap with a single touch.

“Roar!!”

The giants charged towards me. I flicked my cigarette and pulled out a pistol from the tablet.

It takes too long to strengthen physical endurance. With a short deadline, I had to choose which side of mana to focus on developing.

I placed the remaining half of the cigarette on a tree branch on the ground and raised the pistol.

“I’ll finish this before the cigarette burns out.”

Then I aimed for the ankles of the charging creatures.

Bang. Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

“Grooaaargh!!”

With a loud noise, the creatures fell.

Although they were just hit by the pistol, the ankles of the sturdy creatures were torn and mangled as if stepping on a mine.

Before I could admire the weakened giants, I shot each of them in the head. Since they had two heads, I shot two bullets per creature.

The best defense is offense.

The most effective way to defend against their attacks is to strike before they lay a hand on me.

Pressing the deal.

“The cigarette is still warm.”

After defeating the four giants, as I reached for the cigarette, a red giant appeared out of nowhere and closed the distance in an instant.

Although he was much taller than the previous giants, his movements were much faster. He exuded a boss-like aura that was unmistakable.

That’s right.

Quickly, I supported the pistol with both hands and aimed a shot at the hand swinging the club towards me.

With a popping sound, the hand holding the club exploded.

Then.

Torso, chest, head.

Bang bang bang, three consecutive shots drowned out the giant’s screams.

By planting two shots in the torso to stop its movement and immediately shooting the remaining shot in the head to neutralize the monster, it was the pistol marksmanship technique known as the Mozambique Mana Drill.

I finally picked up the cigarette that hadn’t reached the filter yet from the ground, took a leisurely puff, and stamped it out.

[Tier Yellow Level Cleared. Moving on to the next tier.]

Listening to the notification, I walked towards the portal that lay ahead, with the heavy scent of gunpowder and blood mixing with the lingering smoke of the cigarette.