#9
The path where stakes were hammered became darker as the sun set. The forest became dangerous at nightfall. Although the village was safe under the protection of the system, the situation was different near the lake, where beasts swarmed.
“So, what is this worry you mentioned?”
“…What is your position, Sehyun?”
Sehyun’s footsteps toward the lakeside came to an abrupt halt. Turning around, he saw Kwak Junghan looking down at his own hand. Kwak Junghan seemed confused. His hand, covered with blue skin, had webbing along with sharply pointed nails.
So sharp it seemed one could die if pricked. They looked even more lethal and vivid in the moonlight.
“Do I have a reason to disclose that?”
“…No, I’m sorry. I was just curious and wanted to ask.”
“Then just ask that.”
“Do all combat-types look like this?”
Kwak Junghan’s gaze lifted from his hand to Sehyun. It was a desperate look that sought an answer. Sehyun observed Kwak Junghan for a moment and then closed the distance between them.
Reaching out, he grasped Kwak Junghan’s hand with the sharply pointed nails. Kwak Junghan’s hand twitched momentarily. The skin felt cooler than expected.
As he brushed against the webbing and touched the smooth part of the sharp nail, he felt a sensation like marble.
“How did you feel, Kwak Junghan?”
“…I don’t know. It just didn’t feel like me. I… couldn’t control myself. My view was tinted red, my mind was a mess, and my heart was pounding… and when I came to, I was relentlessly attacking living creatures. I couldn’t control it. I didn’t mean to go that far…”
In other words, he was frightened by the aggressiveness he displayed while catching fish. Seeing the dejected Kwak Junghan made Sehyun feel weak, even though he knew it wasn’t right. Eventually, Sehyun sighed and said.
“I’m a support type.”
“Excuse me?”
“I’m a support type. It might not help, but I’ll tell you what I know. What’s your level and attack stats, Kwak Junghan? If you mention ‘status window,’ it should appear in front of you.”
“…Status window.”
It seemed to be Kwak Junghan’s first time checking the status window. He flinched a little at first. But soon, he started to carefully scan the air in front of him with a serious face.
“My level is 1, and my attack power is 30.”
Sehyun bit his tongue by reflex. 30? His eyes widened in surprise and then shifted to meet Kwak Junghan’s gaze.
“Is that strange?”
“…No, it’s just surprising… With those stats, you’d normally expect to achieve them around level 10. But you’ve got them at level 1, which means, Kwak Junghan, you are among the highest echelons of combat types. It might be that your race is inherently skilled in combat.”
It wasn’t just impressive. At this level, he was topping the charts for his level. Most combat types at level 1 had an attack power of 12~15, so his is almost double. Considering Sehyun’s attack is currently at 6, the difference was overwhelming, worlds apart from a support type like him.
“I see… Can you check the other stats for me?”
“Sure, I don’t mind, but you absolutely must not tell anyone else. If you do reveal them, just say the numbers are around 15.”
“Yes, you don’t need to worry about that.”
Afterward, Kwak Junghan revealed all his stats to Sehyun. As suspected after hearing the attack stat, the others were astonishingly high too. With water attributes, he had 36 for health, 30 for attack, and 32 for defense. This was practically a cheat character level. There was no way to describe it other than a very good compatibility.
“It seems your innate talent perfectly matches the race characteristics obtained through the aptitude test, resulting in this synergy. Usually, even with an aptitude test, talents and characteristics don’t 100% align. They are similar or proportional. You, Kwak Junghan, have a good compatibility… there must’ve been other matching conditions involved. Things like personality, diet, or physique.”
“Is this a good thing?”
“Yes. Say we all start at the same starting line; you’re essentially 50 meters ahead, no, almost 100 meters ahead of everyone else. The reason you couldn’t control it is because your stats were too high. But once your level goes up, you’ll naturally integrate and adapt, and everything will be fine. You’re just a bit more sensitive right now. Of course, you’ll need to continue to regulate your aggressiveness.”
“How do you know all of this, Sehyun?”
“…Who knows? Maybe I experienced it first.”
Sehyun’s smile was bitter. His words were vague—it was hard to tell if he was speaking from personal experience or from something he had seen happen. However, Kwak Junghan didn’t pry any further.
“I suppose adapting is up to me.”
“You like the water, right, Kwak Junghan?”
“…Yes.”
“For now, it might be good to practice getting used to the water. But restrain using skills as much as you can. Once you’ve become accustomed to the movements, then you can start practicing your skills.”
“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind.”
Kwak Junghan retracted his sharp nails and webbing while saying this. His hands, once like fins, returned to human ones. His skin remained slightly blue, but his features were so striking that it didn’t come across as a blemish. Instead, it gave him a mysterious look, as if he were submerged in water.
“Is my work here done? Then let’s go. It becomes dangerous the longer the night falls.”
Stretching, Sehyun walked past Kwak Junghan back the way they had come. From behind, he heard the sound of Kwak Junghan following him. Suddenly, the footsteps stopped, and Kwak Junghan’s low voice called out to Sehyun.
“Sehyun.”
“Yes?”
“Thank you. I feel sorry for only ever receiving.”
“It’s okay, just don’t come near me when you sleep, okay? I’m the most vulnerable.”
“…I’ll try.”
Kwak Junghan answered with an uncertain voice. Sehyun laughed softly and gestured with his chin for him to come along. He needed the company of someone with a big frame, as the night alone felt frightening. Quickly, Kwak Junghan caught up and took place beside Sehyun.
Seeing Kwak Junghan’s expression lighten, Sehyun felt that the time spent was not wasted. Having a strong person in the village was never a bad thing, he thought to himself.
Such were his thoughts as they walked back to the lodging, enjoying the cool night breeze. However, not everyone took well to the fact that the two of them had been out alone together.
Before Sehyun could open the door to the lodging, someone suddenly kicked the door wide open and stormed out. It looked like they had been waiting specifically for him, growling confrontationally.
“Where have you been wandering? Not sleeping?”
“It’s not bedtime yet. If you were sleepy, you should have stayed… Ah, can’t you sleep on your own? What, are you scared?”
Sehyun’s lips curled slightly. On the other hand, Baek Dohyun’s face scrunched up. Looking carefully, Sehyun noticed a sword in Baek Dohyun’s hand that he hadn’t seen before. Considering its clunky wooden scabbard, it seemed he had gotten it from our Pitekthys Kim Gapjun.
“What’s with the sword? Can you even use it?”
“I handle it better than you. Want me to show you?”
“Did you practice Kendo…? It’s cold, why don’t you come in?”
As Sehyun stroked his arm chilled by the cold night breeze, Baek Dohyun surprisingly stepped back obediently. Watching him with a look of bewilderment, Sehyun shook off the unnecessary thoughts and stepped inside the house.
However, he was forced to pause in his tracks when he heard the voice of Lee Jaeyoung from behind.
“Brother?”
Sehyun and Kwak Junghan both looked back. Lee Jaeyoung, with eyes wide, was standing a short distance away, staring at Sehyun.
“Jaeyoung, did you come out looking for me? You shouldn’t be wandering around at night on your own. Come here.”
“Uh? Ah… I went out to find you…”
“Let’s go inside.”
Lee Jaeyoung seemed uncomfortable, and kept glancing nervously at Sehyun. Sehyun pretended not to notice and led him inside the house.
Though it was still a bit early, everyone decided to turn in for the night to prepare for the next day. There wasn’t much to talk about, and more importantly, a frail body with stamina at 8 was already clamoring for sleep.
Baek Dohyun had laid out a bed of dry grass. As Sehyun lay down, Lee Jaeyoung came hesitantly and grabbed onto Sehyun’s clothes. The fire was quickly put out. The silence that descended upon the dark interior of the house deepened the sense of unease.
Something had changed. It was hard to pinpoint exactly what, but instinct told him that the boy lying next to him was different from the crying child he had first met.
He had awakened.
Given that his appearance hadn’t changed, he likely belonged to a race with a similar appearance to humans. Or perhaps, he was using a skill or ability to mask his appearance.
If that’s so, then he must be considered exceptional… Yet, regardless of how fearful he was, Lee Jaeyoung, like the night before, fell asleep clutching Sehyun’s clothes. Sehyun reached out and gently combed through Lee Jaeyoung’s hair.
Yes, fourteen is still young. He still needed care, and that hadn’t changed. Thinking of how he’d been fearful, alone, and secretly undergoing awakening, Sehyun found it pitiable yet admirable.
Now, the only people in the village who hadn’t awakened were Sehyun and Baek Dohyun.
✧˚·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥·̩̩̥͙✧·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥˚·̩̩̥͙✧ 𝑔𝓇𝒶𝓋𝒾𝓉𝓎𝓃𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁𝓈 ✧˚·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥·̩̩̥͙✧·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥˚·̩̩̥͙✧
