After we got through a number of deeper conversations, including family matters.
The three of us all went to the arcade together and had a great time.
The prize we got this week was,
[Skill Tuning Scroll]
An item that adjusts detailed values.
Because every skill had a certain kind of fixed “total amount” to it, it was impossible to turn a reasonable effect into something blatantly broken.
Even so, its utility was high because it let you tailor things more to the user’s taste.
I used it on [Amplification] before.
I doubled the duration, but in exchange, the cooldown more than doubled too.
Of course, I had been getting plenty of mileage out of that tuning.
I intended to do something similar this time too.
[You have used the ‘Skill Tuning Scroll’.]
[Tuning [Concussion Mark(B)].]
[Concussion Mark(B)]
▷Engraves a mark on the target that lasts for 10 seconds.
▷Cooldown: 15 minutes
▷[Concussion Mark] cannot be resisted or dispelled.
▷While the mark lasts, the following effects are applied in proportion to the target’s movement distance.
(1) X% chance to cancel a currently active skill/trait.
(2) X% chance for the next skill/trait cast to fail.
(3) Cooldown of the skill/trait affected by (1) or (2) multiplied by X times.
The best thing to increase is the duration.
That meant more chances to shove, and more time and distance in which to shove.
It also meant I could restrict the other side’s actions for longer.
Even in this week’s PvP, the moment the mark landed, everybody had fought like hell to stay rooted in place, hadn’t they?
Which was why the best answer was to increase the duration as much as I safely could.
That doesn’t mean I can push it to infinity, though.
There was a risk of unintentionally touching the other options.
If “cannot be resisted or dispelled” got deleted in particular, that would hurt badly.
So I tried a number of different things and found the proper line.
▷Mark duration: 10 seconds → 12 seconds
▷Cooldown: 15 minutes → 30 minutes
The price for increasing the duration by 20% was doubling the cooldown, but it was a choice I had zero regrets about.
Whether it’s 15 minutes or 30 minutes, it’s long either way.
It still meant I could only use it once per fight.
Even more so if I chained it with [Octopus Arms].
In that case, my logic was simple: if I was going to use it, I might as well go all in when I did.
And in the long run, I’ve got the pocket watch too.
Part of the reason I invested more into duration was because I was thinking ahead to when managing cooldowns would become easier later.
Meanwhile, the others each picked out the prize they wanted too.
Song Cheonhye, Seo Ye-in, and even Fast-Luckless.
Doesn’t that mean Seo Ye-in got two prizes by herself?
That question crossed my mind for a moment, but since it worked out in our favor, I did not bother raising the issue.
To begin with, we had spent points for two people’s worth anyway.
*****
After that, we kept wandering around the entertainment district, and only boarded the shuttle bus after finishing dinner too.
Not long after, we got off on the academic grounds.
Song Cheonhye smiled, looking a little reluctant for the day to end.
“I really had fun today.”
“We had a good time too.”
“The two of you—no, the three of you—made it so much fun I completely lost track of time.”
Then Song Cheonhye turned her head and faced Seo Ye-in.
“Thank you for understanding. It must have been burdensome when I suddenly asked to come along.”
“...It was fun.”
“That’s a relief. If the chance comes up, I’d like us to go out together again sometime.”
“...So would I.”
Seo Ye-in still looked a little awkward, but maybe because she had read the good intention behind it, she nodded readily enough.
Soon, Song Cheonhye gave her final goodbye and turned away.
“Then I’ll see you next time.”
“Go get some rest. And message me.”
“Yes, I’ll send one!”
Then, glancing back every now and then, she headed off toward the dorms.
Watching her go, I traded looks with Seo Ye-in.
“You really do live long enough to see everything, huh?”
“A surprising change.”
“That’s what I’m saying. Though if we’re talking surprising changes, you’re no joke either. You got turned upside down over winter break.”
“Would you like me to change?”
Seo Ye-in asked that while staring straight up at me.
It seemed like a quietly serious question, so I gave her a serious answer in return.
“I like you fine as you are. If you got more diligent, that’d be nice too, but I don’t think you need to force yourself.”
“...A perfect-score answer.”
“Looks like you approve. Anyway, should we head in too?”
“Special cultivation room.”
But after taking just a few steps, Seo Ye-in slowed down again and suddenly looked exhausted all over.
She slumped so heavily she looked like she might collapse at any second, and I could more or less guess what had happened.
“Is it over? The side effect.”
“—50%...”
“So it’s the side effect of the side effect.”
At last, the effect of [T.E.B - 001] had fully run out, and the 50% Fast-Luckless mode had been turned off.
Just because she had become more energetic did not mean she had gained energy she never had in the first place, so once it wore off, she had become twice as tired.
Seo Ye-in stretched both arms toward me like a zombie.
“Carry me...”
“I just got done saying I like you as you are, and this is how fast you revert? I’m a little offended.”
“Carry me...”
“Just sleep on the side of the road.”
“Do not abandon me...”
Of course, even if I said that, I could not actually leave her there.
So I hoisted Seo Ye-in onto my back and started walking toward the training center.
Then I suddenly looked in the direction Song Cheonhye had left and thought,
Her side effect should wear off soon too.
*****
Back in the dorm, Song Cheonhye kept humming to herself.
“♬♪♩~”
Because the fun from today still lingered.
In a thoroughly good mood, she finished getting ready for bed and lay down.
Then, staring up at the ceiling, she thought,
That potion was more than worth the price.
Not only had it ranked something up, it had also let her make memories this good.
The more she thought about it, the more she felt that staying in the entertainment district after drinking the potion had been an excellent choice.
If she had gone straight back to the dorm, she never would have run into Kim Ho and the others.
Song Cheonhye replayed the time she had spent with them.
Everything kept going well.
Every now and then, doubts like Is it really okay for me to do this? had tried to trip her up.
But each time, an optimistic mindset of It’s fine, keep going! had kicked in, and she had wound up half throwing herself into things on impulse.
And they were all so kind to me.
Kim Ho was normally busy teasing her every chance he got, but today, for some reason, he had responded gently to everything she said.
Enough that she almost suspected he had taken [T.E.B - 001] too.
Even Seo Ye-in seemed to be giving in a lot.
Judging by the way she never got irritated even once.
One way or another, Song Cheonhye felt deeply grateful toward both of them.
I should buy them coffee tomorrow or something.
That seemed like the right way to express it, even a little.
Feeling like she really should sleep now, Song Cheonhye slowly closed her eyes.
But.
“...!?”
Not long after, she snapped them wide open again.
The smile she had been wearing until a moment ago was gone as though washed away.
In its place were shock and horror.
What in the world... did I do...?
Everything that had happened today swept past Song Cheonhye’s eyes in a panoramic rush.
The way she had been dragging herself around the entertainment district, spotted Kim Ho, and waved brightly at him.
“Hellooo!”
Ughhh...
And the way she had shamelessly asked to join the two of them when they had practically been out on a date.
She had even asked again after Seo Ye-in turned her down.
“I think I’d be way too bored by myself... Would it be okay if you let me tag along?”
Aaaghhh...!
Song Cheonhye clutched her burning face and writhed wildly.
The blanket flew clean off the bed because of it, but that was not the important part right now.
I have to erase it, erase the memories!
I have to make it all as though it never happened!
She tried focusing hard and forcing herself to think of something else, but there was no way something she had just spent so much time vividly replaying would vanish that easily.
“The memories of the entertainment district” kept replaying in her head.
While Seo Ye-in and Kim Ho had suspiciously been feeding something into the box robot by themselves, she had bought an armful of sweet buns and gone back to them.
“This place is a little different. Try one.”
“My brother used to bring them sometimes.”
“I’ve always been grateful.”
Aaaaaaahhh!!
Why of all things had she said that in front of Kim Ho?
The conversation after that had only been worse.
“So the one-on-one tutoring really was something you were asked to do?”
“From now on, I’m going to work even harder.”
“I want to show my father, my brother, and everyone at the Mage Tower a side of me they can be proud of.”
“......!!”
Song Cheonhye was so mortified she could not even scream inside her own head anymore.
She writhed around so hard she started flopping on the bed like a live fish.
And even after that, she had kept saying things she absolutely should not have said, before ending it all with a farewell overflowing with gratitude.
There was not a single line in that whole feast of black-mark memories worth cutting.
Soon Song Cheonhye’s body went limp across the bed.
Then, with eyes full of sadness, despair, and resignation, she stared up at the ceiling.
I should just... sleep.
Maybe when she woke up, she would feel at least a little better.
Then she could go on with the new day as if nothing had happened.
She dragged the blanket back up from the floor, pulled it over herself, and closed her eyes.
And not long after, she snapped them open again.
“...Ah, my items.”
The [Knot of Stealth] and the [Watcher’s Patch]!
Do you have any idea how much trouble I went through to get those?!
That night, Song Cheonhye stayed awake until morning.
*****
Unfortunately, the next day, and the day after that, the memories of the entertainment district remained vivid as ever.
Song Cheonhye felt like running away to somewhere outside Dungeon Island, but—
Today’s the tutoring session...
No matter how much she had done under the influence of [T.E.B - 001], a promise was still a promise, and promises were meant to be kept.
Even if the words had come out in an intensely embarrassing form, they had still been sincere in their own way.
And if she missed Kim Ho’s tutoring, the one who ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) would regret it was herself.
So Song Cheonhye dragged her heavy feet toward the training center, the place they had agreed to meet.
Then she spotted Kim Ho in the distance.
Since he practically lived in the special cultivation room, it looked like he had come out right on time.
“...!”
Song Cheonhye’s heart instantly began pounding as if she were having a panic attack.
Her face, too, burned like it might explode at any moment.
Would she really be able to look him in the eye?
She wanted to turn around and flee right then and there, but soon steadied herself.
...I have to face it eventually.
Like they said, it was better to get the beating over with early. If anything, charging straight through it now seemed like the better choice.
It might not be that big a deal after all.
From her perspective, it was a full festival of black-mark memories, but from Kim Ho’s perspective, maybe they had just hung out and gone home.
If she did not make it obvious, there was a good chance he would just let it pass like it was nothing.
So Song Cheonhye took a deep breath and calmed herself down even more.
Then she started walking again, after having slowed down for a moment.
Soon Kim Ho seemed to sense her presence and turned this way.
Then, with a bright smile, he waved exaggeratedly.
Exactly the way she had in the entertainment district.
“Hellooo!”
“Kyaaaahhh!!”
Song Cheonhye spun around on the spot and immediately started running away on pure instinct.
Kim Ho stuck close behind her, chasing after her while shouting,
“Cheonhye, where are you going! You came here for tutoring!”
“Just leave me alone!”
“Have you already forgotten! The promise we made over sweet buns!”
“Shut up!!”
“You said you had to show your brother! Your father! And everyone at the Topaz Mage Tower! A side of you they could be proud of!”
“Aaaahhh! Stoooop!!”
The game of tag between the two of them went on for quite a while.
