"Urgh." Nayun doubled over, looking queasy. "...That was terrible."
Lee let out an awkward smile and rubbed the back of his neck. "At least we're alive?"
Rachel massaged her stomach, looking a bit queasy too. "I... I have learned that I have a fear of heights today..."
Nayun chuckled and let out a wry smile. "I think anyone would get a fear of heights after almost falling ten separate times..."
Lee shrugged and said, "Hey, I got the kinks out, right?"
It had been touch and go for a bit since <Lightning Rush> activated a little differently from <Lighting Thrust>. Mostly because thrusting wasn't enough... and even if it was, he didn't have anything to 'thrust' with while holding Rachel and Nayun.
It was a bit weird. Kind of like... kicking off the air?
Of course, he had to do it while also siphoning mana out from the ginseng, wrapping it around himself, then blasting himself up and over through the air...
Okay, maybe he understood why they were like that.
Nayun finally recovered and said, "We could have just climbed down. That would have been WAY safer..."
Rachel quickly nodded. "Yes. And we are absolutely climbing down after we leave from here."
Lee looked amused and said, "No more Lee Express?"
"NO." Nayun crossed her arms in an 'X.'
"Absolutely not." Rachel shook her head.
Lee chuckled and said, "Alright, alright. Then... Let's focus." He pulled out the remaining bone picks he made from the boar's ribs. Four of them. Then he said, "Stay sharp. This place feels kinda like the undead I was fighting at the Field, so be on guard."
"Ugh." Nayun pulled out her bow and said, "I hate undead... they're hard to kill with arrows."
Lee teased and said, "Maybe you just need light arrows? We do have a princess here to bless them for you."
Nayun snorted. "Was that a Zelda reference? God you're a geek- Wait." Nayun blinked and looked at Rachel. "...Can you bless my arrows? You know, since you can use elemental magic or whatever?"
Rachel tilted her head. "...I can try?" She held her hand out over Nayun's arrows and concentrated. Then, slowly, like cotton candy being spun from sugar floss, golden light wrapped around Nayun's arrows like a haze.
Lee blinked. "...What?"
Rachel's blue eyes widened. Then she let out a smug smile and said, "I'm a genius."
Nayun laughed. "Okay, I'll give you that one."
The sound of clattering bones echoed. Animated skeletons.
Nayun grinned and said, "Time for target practice~" Emerald light began weaving into the golden light around Nayun's arrows, gathering into a swirling vortex.
Lee immediately chimed in and said, "PLEASE avoid blowing up the cave."
Nayun's ears turned red and she said, "I-I wasn't going to do anything like that!" But she immediately pulled her mana back, leaving just the golden haze from Rachel's magic power.
Rachel giggled and drew her rapier, concentrating. Her golden mana wreathed her rapier before turning colorless and then flickering into a cold blue.
Lee's eyes widened, then narrowed in concentration. "...Huh. That's interesting..."
So the way elemental magic worked seemed to be deliberately purging mana affinity and allowing the properties of the ambient environment to soak into the mana. And if there were spirits nearby, that was probably how a means of communication was formed.
Since Lee's mana was inherently colorless too, he could probably do it... but since <Mana Manipulation> made him automatically assimilate properties and traits... No, since his <Disruptive Mana Physique> denied him from using magic, maybe it wouldn't work. But it was something worth testing-
"Look sharp, Lee!" Nayun let loose a volley of arrows, turning a dozen skeletons into ash when the golden light struck them. "There's a lot coming!"
Rachel moved forward, swinging her rapier and letting the cold blue light lash out like a whip. Where it connected with the skeletons, the ominous fire flickering in their eye sockets vanished, snuffed out in an instant. "It works!"
Lee cracked his neck and said, "I guess it's an experimenting kind of day, huh? Who's the reckless one now?"
Nayun ran forward, firing a half dozen arrows like a revolver at the skeletons while retrieving the arrows she fired earlier. "Less criticizing, more undead smashing, Lee!"
Lee laughed. "Fine, fine. Then... Let's do this."
Fortunately, there was a lot of ambient mana in the area since it seemed to be a Dungeon.
...Which meant made Lee realize again that Lee Shin, the original owner of this body, definitely knew what he was doing.
Although he might not have been able to do much at Cube, in the real world, his lack of magic power didn't really mean anything, did it?
Granted, Lee Shin probably didn't have the same thing that Lee had right now with <Mana Manipulation>, but he probably could have done something similar since he figured out <Lightning Thrust>...
Either way.
> Mana Manipulation activates!
> You have dominated a portion of the ambient mana!
> Lightning Rush activates!
> No Second Strike (Rederived) activates!
> Your targets are wreathed in magic power!
> The stun effect from No Second Strike (Rederived) become Magic Power Backlash!
A familiar flurry of messages in his field of view.
A familiar effect where the world seemed to slow down to a snail's crawl.
...And a familiar strain on his body.
Lee could intuitively tell that it wasn't enough. Maybe if he managed to bring up his magic power stat to line up with his physical stats he could stay in Lightning Rush the entire time.
But as it was, he could only use it for a single linear movement at a time.
Still...
'That's plenty for me.'
...It was a perfect match for the martial arts that Lee Shin had studied.
Lee might not be Lee Shin. He might also not be Li Shuwen.
But damned if he wasn't going to try with everything he had.
===
Nayun wiped the sweat off her brow as she retrieved her arrows from the dissolving banshees she had shot down. "Are we almost there, Rachel?"
Rachel tilted her head, concentrating. "...I hear the girl's voice nearby. But..." She looked around the area, confused. "...I don't know where she could be."
Lee shook his limbs, wiping sweat off his body. "It's probably a hidden stage, right? We're in a Dungeon for sure. But walking around like this looking for that is a bit dangerous..."
Nayun let out a dry laugh. "Tell me about it..."
At the start, there had just been low grade monsters. Skeletons and zombies. But as they moved deeper, the monsters had been getting stronger.
So far, it was fine. But at this rate...
Nayun looked at Lee and said, "Should we turn back?"
Lee frowned. "...Let me think a bit."
Nayun pursed her lips but nodded. "Alright... Rachel. Got anymore of those ginseng?"
Rachel nodded and pulled one out, handing it over. "...It feels like a waste considering how expensive these are... but I guess it's better to recover and get stronger, right?"
Nayun took a bite from the ginseng like an apple, feeling her fatigue instantly fade and her magic power replenish. "Yeah. And considering that guy over there can apparently find them whenever he wants, it's fine."
Since Lee looked like he would take some time, and since it was safe, Nayun decided to check on her status.
===
[Status Screen]
Name: Chae Nayun
Age: 17
[Variable Stats]
Strength: 5.5 => 6.0
Stamina: 6.5 => 7.0
Speed: 6.0 => 6.5
Perception: 5.5 => 6.0
Vitality: 5.5 => 6.0
Magic power: 7.0 => 8.0
[Invariable Stats]
Intelligence - 7/10
Perseverance - 8/10
Luck - 7/10
Charm - 7/10
[Gift]
Mana Amplification <Evolving Gift> - As long as you possess a conduit for your magic power, you can amplify the effect of magical attacks.
[Arts]
Mana Radar (Proficiency 10% | Lowest rank) - An ability to detect the surroundings by spreading your magic power and seeing what resists it. At the highest proficiency, you will obtain a sense for mana itself.
Different Belief Archery (Proficiency 50% | Low rank) - A method of archery imparted to you by one who sees the world differently. A composite archery style that discards the notion archers must remain stationary. To you, looking is synonymous with drawing and firing an arrow from a bow.
- The step of aiming is removed.
- The style of holding the bow and arrow becomes irrelevant.
- The body intuitively adjusts to the optimal firing position to align with the shot.
===
'...It's still ridiculous to look at.'
How many times did Nayun wonder if she was improving? How many times did she wonder what her Gift was and how long it would be until she could grow stronger?
After that day Lee showed her that archery (which was STILL bullshit in her eyes), she had managed to become enlightened and obtained the status window.
And because of that, she could track and reflect on her abilities.
As to those abilities...
'...I am strong.'
Nayun had always thought she was. After all, how could she NOT be strong after working herself to the bone every day in training?
But now that she saw it like this, she knew it for a fact.
She wasn't the smartest, prettiest, or luckiest, but her perseverance paid off.
The average Cube Cadet only had a 5.0 in their stats. And here she was with 6.0 as her floor.
'...Though, most of this is from today...'
Munching on those ginseng and fighting through the harrowing Dungeon filled with undead was definitely making her improve in leaps and bounds.
Nayun glanced over at Lee, who was muttering under his breath and examining the surroundings still. As she did, she couldn't help but be curious.
'Just who IS this guy, really?'
They were friends, Nayun knew that. And Lee was American... a fact he made ABUNDANTLY clear every chance he could get.
But other than that... and the fact that he was VERY into Rachel, although he was being polite about it...
Nayun didn't know anything about him beyond basic information.
Lee definitely was at the Agent Military Academy. He was also ridiculously smart. He had to be since he got into Cube while failing everything magic related.
He was also diligent and must have trained a ridiculous amount considering he tanked a bullet with his bare skin and no magic power reinforcement.
He had also said he was orphaned from a djinn attack while he was on a vacation with his parents in Korea...
'Wait.'
Was that it?
Was Lee training for a similar reason as her?
He had said djinn's killed his parents, so it was similar to Nayun...
But...
'No. It's not like that.'
Nayun trained hard because she never wanted to be that weak again.
But Lee trained because he wanted to be strong.
...At least, that was the sense Nayun had from him after spending so much time with him.
It wasn't that he was training to make up for what he lacked. Instead, it was like he wanted to see how far he could go.
'...I think I get why Rachel likes him.'
It was inspiring.
And also different from Nayun's way of life.
Nayun trained because she believed everything could be overcome with hard-work and effort.
But Lee... he also overcame things with hard-work and effort. But differently.
Where Nayun ran into a wall, she kept stubbornly trying to break through it.
But when Lee ran into a wall, he immediately readjusted to gain ground from a different angle. Like how he had clearly evolved his Gift somehow since training with them. And also made up for his lack of magic power by manipulating the raw mana in the air... somehow.
'Oppa would like him.'
Nayun was sure of it. If her older brother Jinyoon met Lee, they would have been great friends. No, not just friends.
'Knowing Oppa, he wouldn't have stopped unless Lee became his blood brother or something...'
For just a moment, Nayun stopped to imagine it.
A world where her Oppa was never put into a coma. One where he randomly popped into Cube to check on her, teasing her and making fun of her friends.
Jinyoon would probably get along with Kim Suho, the two of them bonding over swordsmanship. He'd definitely hate Jonghak, thinking that guy was too arrogant. He'd definitely tease Yeonha and be overly polite to Rachel. And Lee... definitely would have tried to recruit him into the Guild that Jinyoon would have undoubtedly formed...
But that was just a what-if.
Reality wasn't that kind.
So...
"I found it!" Lee called out, pointing to a passage that suddenly appeared in the wall.
...Nayun let out a slow breath and focused.
'Even if Lee can't figure out a way to save Jinyoon...'
Nayun would do it herself.
Wasn't it simple?
Lee had showed her the path.
Nothing was impossible. If you hit a wall, that just meant you needed a new approach.
And with how off-the-wall Lee was... It was only a matter of time.
Besides...
Rachel looked over at Nayun and smiled. "Lost in thought?"
Nayun smiled back. "Just doing some thinking. Come on. Can't let our pal do something stupid, right?"
Rachel laughed. "Yes. He has a habit of overextending himself..."
"Hey!" Lee called out from the passageway. "Not true. All risks are perfectly calculated. I'm just bad at math."
Nayun snorted and walked beside Rachel. "Yeah, yeah. Keep making excuses, Mister."
...Nayun wasn't alone anymore. Even if she fell, there were people who would catch her now. So...
"Let's go clear this hidden stage or whatever and get out of here. I'm starving."
...Nayun laughed and moved with her friends.
===
A training ground back at Cube.
Hajin reflexively swung the pistol in his right hand to deflect Suho's sword and then leapt backwards to clear the distance, firing a few rounds at him with the pistol in his left hand.
Suho casually batted the bullets aside, moving the moment Hajin pulled the trigger. "No matter how fast a bullet is, if I'm faster than you pulling the trigger, it's pointless, Hajin."
Hajin wiped the sweat off his brow and laughed. "Yeah, well. Not everyone's as ridiculously overpowered as you, Kim Suho..."
As soon as he said that, a message popped up in front of Hajin's eyes.
> Modified setting: Through her new bonds, Chae Nayun has overcome her trauma of battle!
> Modified setting: Due to being inspired by a certain someone, Chae Nayun's concentration intensifies during battle, delaying doubt until the battle's conclusion!
'...Yep. Something bad is DEFINITELY going to go down.'
Hajin wasn't sure what the hell the co-author was thinking... No, it probably wasn't the co-author at this point.
This had become a real world.
The co-author was just politely informing Hajin of the changes so he wouldn't be caught off-guard and could adapt accordingly.
'How much else is changing behind the scenes?'
So far, Hajin had gotten messages about the main characters. But that was probably because they were important to the story and any changes there completely diverged things.
...But that made him think.
If the main characters had changed, how many other minor things had changed?
The co-author had been kind enough to keep him updated on the main character modifications, but that first message had definitely said most changes wouldn't be noted unless Hajin came across them.
Which meant...
Hajin let out a long breath and wiped the remaining sweat off his brow. After that he settled into a low stance, staring at the details of his latest Art.
===
Gun-Fu (Proficiency 25% | Low) - An ability inspired by a certain Baba Yaga. It defies the notion that gunmen are fated to fight at range. An all-inclusive close-combat style that controls range to leverage a gun's lethality as a finishing blow.
===
After reading that, Hajin tightened his grip around his pistols.
'If Nayun can overcome her fear and trauma, then I definitely can too.'
It was terrifying. Facing blades head on along with other monsters...
The thought of it terrified Hajin since he had just been an ordinary person. A washed out author who thrown everything into NovelFires in the hopes of making it big.
But...
'This is my life now. And this is MY world.'
...He wrote this world. He made the settings. Although things were changing, he was the author.
If he died even after all of that...
Suho raised his sword and said, "You ready?"
"Yeah. I think I'm ready." After saying that, Hajin rushed forward again.
He would fail.
He would be hurt.
But goddamn it, he was NOT going to die as an extra.
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