#068
“It’s… strange to hear you say that.”
I muttered with mixed feelings. His way of speaking was like something out of a romance movie, and I couldn’t tell if he was being sincere. Though it did seem like Hyun Dowoon’s usual manner of speaking.
“You’re free to think what you will. Having lost one opportunity, I can only prove myself through actions now.”
Hyun Dowoon replied in a gentle voice. I felt a ticklish sensation and clenched my fist before relaxing it as I spoke.
“Still, please listen to my explanation. It’s really important.”
“Please speak freely.”
“Well… I have another ability.”
“You mean an additional ability besides Guiding and creating items?”
“Yes.”
Hyun Dowoon looked surprised. I rubbed the back of my neck and calmly said,
“Um… you might have felt it before, but I can enhance others’ skills.”
“Ah. I remained quiet because you didn’t explain, but that’s the ability you’re referring to.”
Previously, I had greatly enhanced Hyun Dowoon’s skills in the dungeon. That’s probably why he could recall it immediately.
“But there’s a significant side effect when I do that. The person ends up liking me tremendously.”
“I see…”
“I thought it wouldn’t matter since we were a pair anyway. But now that we’ve ended the pair… I feel like I should be honest about this part. It was a side effect I didn’t know about either, but my constellation informed me. I found out late and didn’t know how to explain it…”
“So it’s a kind of charm ability?”
“Well, you could explain it that way. I’m really sorry that you seem to be swayed because of me. The feelings you have for me right now are probably just a side effect.”
I spoke as honestly as I could without revealing the system. Hyun Dowoon then lowered his gaze, rubbing his chin as if in thought.
How would he react? Should I let him hit me if he wants to? After all, Hyun Dowoon was just a victim who got swept up in this. It seemed too much to just brush it off by saying I didn’t know, given the significant side effects he experienced.
“…Can you use that ability on multiple people?”
“Oh, no. It only works on two people at a time.”
After I answered honestly again, Hyun Dowoon blinked slowly.
“Are you using the ability right now? I mean, on someone other than me?”
“Um… yes.”
“Probably on Shin Haejun the Esper, right?”
I should probably explain to Shin Haejun after I leave too… I just hope Hyun Dowoon doesn’t blurt it out to Shin Haejun first.
I nodded in response to his question.
“So you’re telling me because the other spot is open, right?”
“That’s right… Actually, I was thinking if I enhanced skills like… summoning skills or teleportation, we might find a way to get out.”
“I see.”
Hyun Dowoon nodded with a cloudy look in his eyes, as if thinking about something.
“Look, don’t worry too much. Once I raise the skill level, I’ll quickly remove the ability.”
I spoke earnestly, trying to convince Hyun Dowoon. Of course, even as I’m making this request, I’m not sure if it’s the right thing to do… but we need to get out.
I could only hope that the affection that builds up during the enhancement wouldn’t drive Hyun Dowoon even crazier.
“Hmm. No.”
“What?”
“I’d prefer if you didn’t remove it.”
Hyun Dowoon spoke to me with a stern face. I tilted my head, doubting if I had heard correctly.
“I know what you’re thinking. You think that what I feel as love is just a fabricated emotion, right?”
“That’s correct.”
“Even if that’s the case, what changes?”
“…Pardon?”
“The feelings that have already developed won’t disappear, so is there any need to worry about it?”
Contrary to my expectations, he was smiling with a very light expression. There wasn’t a trace of discomfort on his face. If it were me, I would have been scared, suspecting these emotions were artificially created…
“Anyway, liking someone usually starts from something very small. Because their face is pretty, because their heart is warm, because their voice is nice, because they share the same hobby, because you like how they care for the weak… there could be various reasons. Don’t feel guilty, just think of it as a starting point.”
“How… can you think like that? Aren’t you scared to think that your emotions were artificially created?”
“Honestly, my feelings have already deepened too much, so I just think there’s nothing I can do about it now.”
I opened my eyes wide. Isn’t that too positive?
‘Or am I the one with too many negative thoughts…?’
My thoughts were all over the place, and I didn’t know how to respond. I furrowed my brow as I tried to choose my words.
“If it weren’t for Jaeha, I probably wouldn’t have been able to learn about love. I’m extremely grateful for that.”
“Why? You could have met someone even better.”
I immediately refuted. If I hadn’t intervened, Hyun Dowoon would have naturally come to like Kim Sehyun. So I couldn’t understand why he was saying it had to be me. Of course, he doesn’t know this is a novel, so that’s probably why he’s saying this.
“Well, I’m certain that wouldn’t be the case.”
“…You’re strange.”
Seeing Hyun Dowoon, who had always been so rational, speaking emotionally, I was at a loss for words. Why are you so calm when you’re experiencing emotional abnormalities because of me? In the end, I could only say that it was strange.
“…So you’re saying you’ll use your ability?”
“It’s not okay to use it on anyone else but me. While Jaeha is someone anyone would like, I don’t want to increase the number of competitors.”
Noticing that I had tensed up, Hyun Dowoon said jokingly with a grin. I really don’t know if this is the right decision… but without any better options, there was no choice.
I extended my hand to Hyun Dowoon.
*View Mercenary Status*
*Enhance Mercenary* – Consumes Gold/Love Coins.
*Mercenary Rest* – Currently partially sealed (15% efficiency)
*Hire Mercenary* – (1/2)
*Dismiss Mercenary*
The familiar mercenary status window popped up in front of my eyes. I blinked to select the Hire Mercenary tab. The one empty slot was instantly filled.
“Hmm…”
Hyun Dowoon let out a long groan. I cautiously looked up at him.
“What’s wrong? Do you feel any change?”
“It feels like I’ve regained something I had lost.”
He muttered, touching his chest. Then he said he felt fulfilled.
“Um… we need to keep holding hands.”
I said, extending my hand. Hyun Dowoon then firmly wrapped my hand with his.
First, I need to check the skill levels. I pressed to check the mercenary status, and the status window appeared.
*View Mercenary Status*
[Name] Hyun Dowoon
[Job] Esper
[Constellation] Absolute of Life (L), Wind Spirit King (S)
[Awakening] S
[Pair] –
[Equipped Items]
Weapon: Auspicious Five-Colored Cloud Pearl (Doubles attack and healing)
Defense: Hell’s Armor that Pierces All Things (2.5x defense, 5% chance to reflect enemy attacks)
[Status] Chronic Rampage, World’s Resonance
[Passive Skill] Life Drain | Drains life for 1 minute from the moment of first attack (1% per second)
[Active Skills]
– Psychic Summoning | Can summon alien enemies killed at least once. Maximum summons: 5
– Teleportation | Can teleport within a 10km radius
– Wound Healing | Heals wounds of targets within a 100m radius
– Healing Barrier | Creates a barrier that heals all living beings within a 50m radius
As I quickly scanned just to check the skill levels, I noticed a strange status called ‘World’s Resonance’.
‘What’s that?’
It was a status that gave off a weird vibe from its name alone, but there was no additional explanation. It was very suspicious, but I decided to check the skill levels first and looked at the Active Skills section.
‘Psychic Summoning Level 19, Teleportation Level 16…’
Hmm. All skill levels were below 20. Among them, the summoning skill that needed to be raised now required 11 more levels to achieve our goal.
‘Right now, the Love Coins…’
Having recently enhanced Shin Haejun significantly, my Love Coins were quite depleted. I had been doing some touches with Shin Haejun in between, but due to fear, we hadn’t engaged in deep skinship yet, so the supply rate was far from enough.
Moreover, I couldn’t enhance only specific skills, and there was also a failure probability, so it was far from enough.
‘I can’t exchange all the Gold for this.’
Since enhancement also required Gold, I had to decide carefully. Besides, game-like, the number of coins needed increased as the skill level went up.
It was a fucked-up situation in many ways.
‘Should I explain this too?’
What should I do about this? Actually, this was one of the reasons why I had ended the mercenary contract… It doesn’t make sense to engage in skinship while having a separate lover.
‘It would take at least a few months to gather enough just by holding hands to get out…’
Holding hands for over a minute gathered about 3 or 4 coins. Should I be honest about this too and seek a solution? I don’t want to do anything I can’t be proud of in front of Shin Haejun…
I quietly sighed. Hyun Dowoon then asked what was wrong, meeting my eyes with a kind gaze.
“Um… hah…”
This is too embarrassing to explain. But I have to do it, right?
I shut my eyes tightly and moved my lips. I felt like I might die of shame right here. Explaining this will definitely make me seem… perverted!
“There’s something else I haven’t told you yet…”
I suppressed my embarrassment and searched for words to substitute for ‘coins’.
“Well… um… to enhance skills, skinship is absolutely necessary… I know how this sounds! But really… uh, you know…”
“Guiding is closely related to skinship. I understand what you mean.”
Hyun Dowoon grinned. No matter how I look at it, it doesn’t seem like he understands…
“To what extent are you willing to allow?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
