I attempted to stretch my arms.
They moved better than before.
It felt as though I had oiled the machinery.
‘It’s definitely true that a body filled with life energy moves more freely. After all, since I’m alive, I should have life energy to keep my body energized.’
One of the reasons why the physical abilities of Taesan's manifestors are so strange is because their bodies are overflowing with life energy, making it impossible for their bodies to remain inactive.
So, manifestors who reach a certain level of Taesan ability are extremely hard to kill.
If someone like Lee Jiyeon, at her level, had her neck dangling, as long as it was reattached, it would heal naturally. If she focused on healing, the process would speed up exponentially.
‘Hmm...’
I touched my shoulder with a strange look.
Every time I think about life energy, I’m filled with a question.
Even now, as I’ve come to understand life energy, Lee Jiyeon is still infusing me with more life energy. The strange thing is that even though my body is already filled with life energy, more is still being pumped into me.
Where is all that energy going? Even after observing carefully, it seems to be swallowed into a dark space, leaving no trace behind.
Foll𝑜w current novℯls on ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm.
It’s an inexplicable phenomenon.
“Umm... Junior, may I have a moment?”
It was then.
Lee Jiyeon suddenly reached out and grabbed my right wrist.
“Does it hurt... at all?”
She gently stroked my wrist with a worried expression. I realized it was the wrist she had gripped tightly earlier, and it seemed she was concerned I might have hurt myself.
[No.]
[It didn’t hurt.]
I shook my head, reassuring her not to worry.
My physical abilities are also abnormal.
There was no way I would bruise from something like that.
“I’m glad. I got a little emotional earlier and acted too aggressively. I’m really sorry.”
Upon hearing this, Lee Jiyeon smiled softly, relieved.
I hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
‘...Has something changed?’
She seemed different from the shy Lee Jiyeon I had seen earlier.
It felt more like the reliable version of Lee Jiyeon I’d encountered in the original work.
‘The original Lee Jiyeon... she did have some shy moments, but she was always someone you could rely on.’
She used Taesan to support the party from the front, taking care of everyone’s psychological well-being as the leader.
Although she didn’t have the extraordinary output like Hong Yeonhwa, Baek Arin, or her mother, her leadership, honed through experience, was what stood out.
Even in the first playthrough, simply having Lee Jiyeon in the party significantly eased the psychological burden on the player.
She was the character who could firmly support the party like a mountain.
[Hmm...]
[Shall we go inside now?]
“Ah, yes.”
After a while, Lee Jiyeon, who had been gently stroking my wrist, turned around to leave.
[?]
She still held my wrist firmly.
It felt like she was preventing me from straying off, much like you would with a young child. My steps stopped unconsciously.
“Hmm? What’s wrong?”
Lee Jiyeon stopped and looked back at me, tilting her head as if unsure of what was happening.
[Oh... no, it’s nothing.]
I shook my head, feeling somewhat bewildered, but I didn’t argue.
Lee Jiyeon blinked, then resumed walking.
Indeed, the way people around me have been treating me lately has been very consistent.
It felt like I was being treated like a little child by the riverbank. It made my feelings quite complicated.
‘Of course, it’s true that my mental state is like a child’s, and I don’t necessarily hate being treated like this... but...’
It feels like a bit of my pride is crumbling, and it’s making me feel conflicted.
Anyway, still with Lee Jiyeon holding my wrist, we continued toward the mansion.
[Hah]
[Hah...]
[Hah...]
Just before opening the door, my body stiffened at the sound coming from inside.
Baek Arin... somehow, she had given permission.
She had been drunk, and while talking about Hayeol, she casually accepted without thinking.
The teacher... had that happened? I tried to recall.
It came back to me.
It was a memory from a while ago.
When I said I’d eventually wander away from her, she smiled and said that I could stay with her.
Professor Liana... when did I say that?
I didn’t want to recall the memory, but it came back.
Professor Liana told me not to do this, that I had to leave soon, and I acted spoiled, burying my face in her arms and begging her not to go...
"Junior?"
Lee Jiyeon tilted her head as she turned to face me.
With a tug on my wrist, I resisted, shaking my head.
I shouldn’t go in right now.
Of course, I desperately wanted to go in, see Yeonhwa, and act spoiled, but right now, I felt it wasn’t the right time.
[Hah...]
The voice from inside sent a shiver down my spine.
It seemed the life energy, which had been so stealthy, had suddenly surged. I hadn’t even tried to hide it, so it was impossible to ignore.
My face turned pale.
[Se, senior...]
"Eh? What?" I asked, turning with trembling hands and pulling on Lee Jiyeon’s arm.
She seemed to have heard the sounds from inside, and with a somewhat hesitant look, she stared at me.
[Help...]
The necklace I wore clicked.
A quiet but sincere voice resonated.
If it had been any other Lee Jiyeon, I would have had no doubt, but the Lee Jiyeon of just now—assertive, dependable—made me feel confident that she would help.
She called me a benefactor, right?
And though I hadn’t said anything explicitly, I knew she had also helped that child!
I didn’t know it at first, but Maxwell had subtly tipped me off. He said she was just as precious as Lee Jiyeon back at the family home, and that she was important...
"I, I..."
With her face flushed, Lee Jiyeon answered my plea as if responding to my desperation.
She quietly turned her head.
This betraying little one.
She suddenly burst through the door, and her hand grabbed my wrist, pulling me inside.
[Player Correction System: Affection Level]
Hayeol → Lee Jiyeon
●●●●●●○○○○(60/100)
"Successor of Taesan" "Good person" "Boldness" "Coercion"
▽Change▽
Hayeol → Lee Jiyeon
●●●●●●○○○○(60▷70/100)
"Successor of Taesan" "Good person" "Discomfort"
"Is this it?"
The ruins were tangled with debris from buildings and the corpses of various monsters.
A man frowned and began rummaging through the rubble. He kicked debris aside with his feet, and after a bit of searching, he found an object. He grabbed it and pulled it out forcefully.
"It looks like just a straw doll at first glance... But, oh, it definitely looks like a high-grade artifact when you check its magical energy."
"...Ah, yeah. That’s it. Finally found it."
"Shit, how long did it take? It feels like it’s been two or three months since it got buried here."
The red-haired man standing next to him replied. The other man let out a deep sigh and tilted his head back.
The sky was a gloomy gray. There were no clouds floating in the sky. The gray color of the sky wasn’t due to storm clouds, but just the natural color of the sky itself.
The strange thing about the sky wasn’t just that. There were no rays of sunlight that should’ve been shining down on the land, nor the moonlight that should have illuminated the ground during the night. Even the wind, which should have been a constant, was almost nonexistent, and the little wind that did blow was eerily desolate.
It was a world where the laws that should naturally apply had disappeared. It was a separate, isolated space that didn’t follow the laws of the original world.
"Of all places, it’s stuck here. We can’t bring the others here... Damn it."
The man clicked his tongue and stared at the artifact he was holding, which was firmly grasped in his hand.
It was an old straw doll, looking like a broken piece of junk with clear signs of damage. The thread that held the straw together was frayed in many places, making it look as if it would unravel and fall apart at any moment.
"So, what kind of artifact is this that a god would be looking for? Just because it’s high-grade doesn’t mean it’s any good; the performance might be off and it’s a waste."
"I don’t know, they called it ‘Gangshinche’ (降神體)."
"‘Gangshin’? Is the god supposed to descend with this?"
"Idiot, it’s me."
"Then what is it? Is it some sort of early summoning for a general or something?"
"Well... I didn’t get the full explanation, but they said it would summon something else... What was it..."
The red-haired man closed his eyes as he tried to recall the memory. He spoke the faint thought that came back to him.
"‘Pacheon Sinjang Geumgang Yeoksa’
"Pacheon... what?"
"I only overheard it, so I’m not sure. Stop asking me about it.