Chapter 30

Of course, in the original novel Kwon Taehan could see the status window whether inside or outside a dungeon, but clearly he and I had different conditions. And until now, whenever Joo Seowon or Im Haekyung had used their skills outside a dungeon, the status window never appeared.

'So what the hell is going on?'

Meanwhile, my stomach had taken such a hard hit that the pain spread up into my chest, triggering a fit of coughing. As I doubled over, Baldy grabbed me by the collar with a nasty grin and yanked me upright.

'Yeah, no way he was going to stop at just one punch.'

Sure enough, he slammed his fist into my stomach again.

'Fuck, this bastard... hurts like hell.'

It had been a long time since pain made my eyes water, and it felt almost foreign. But this time I let him land the hit on purpose.

I clamped onto his wrist so he couldn’t pull his hand back.

“...What the fuck? This kid’s strong.”

The pain made it hard to take deep breaths, so I drew shallow ones while focusing on the flow of mana beneath his skin.

Body Reinforcement, huh? As the name implied, it hardened the body. Which meant a punch from someone using it wasn’t just a punch—it was more like getting slammed with a baseball bat. Of course, the power varied by rank...

'Focus.'

That formless current crawling under his skin. Mana that flowed through the body, spreading out or concentrating in one place. Having done this once before, it was easy to feel the stream the moment I made contact.

'Got it.'

Right before the skill activated, a strange certainty and impulse surged up, numbing my thoughts. Ah... never expected to get practical training this soon.

“Hey, hey.”

“......”

“Hey! Let go! Jitae, get this bastard off me!”

Even the searing pain in my gut and his disgusting voice faded into the background.

As Lackey #1 pulled on me from behind, I clenched my fist tight.

'Now.'

The status window flashed before my eyes.

Mimic (S) activated.

Body Reinforcement (D) activated.

What happens when a reinforced fist smashes into a reinforced body? Would it cancel out, or still hurt like hell? If my natural strength was just a bit above average, maybe it would work in my favor.

I grinned, looked straight at Baldy—and then suddenly twisted, swinging a fist into Lackey #1’s jaw.

Crack!

A clean collision of bone on bone. Lackey #1 collapsed to the floor, rolling.

The status window flashed again. I didn’t even need to look.

'Penalty.'

Mimic (S) activated.

Penalty incurred due to rank difference between you and the target.

Mimic (S) duration: 1,000 seconds.

I figured there’d be a penalty. Didn’t matter. I didn’t need a thousand seconds to beat someone bloody.

'Would you like to raise Body Reinforcement (D)’s skill rank using Mimic (S)?'

Raise it?

'No.'

Not necessary.

One devastating hit wasn’t the point. The real thrill was pounding someone over and over.

I mounted the writhing Lackey #1 and drove my fist into the same spot again.

Thud!

'That’s a nice sound.'

I rained punches on him, stomach still aching, thinking—

'Good thing this counts as self-defense!'

“Guhh—! Ugh, why, why just me—”

'When there are a lot of assholes, you always beat down one first.'

“F-fuck! What the hell is this guy?”

“Get him off! He’s fucking insane!”

Lackey #2 and Baldy tried to pry me off, but with Body Reinforcement active, moving me was impossible.

“Ugh—agh—s-stop—”

Smack, crack, thud, thump!

Didn’t even hit that hard, and soon enough Lackey #1 was out cold.

I checked to make sure he was really unconscious, then slowly lifted my gaze to Baldy—the one who had gut-punched me.

“Y-you bastard!”

Yeah. You’re next.

I smiled sweetly at the quick-witted bald thug.

***

After a little “skinship,” both Baldy and Lackey #1 were napping on the floor.

That left Lackey #2, who hadn’t laid a hand on me and thus didn’t qualify for my definition of self-defense. I just stared at him silently. He scrambled back, tripped over himself, and curled up on the ground, kicking wildly.

“P-please, spare me!”

'Did I say I was killing anyone?'

Pathetic.

I caught my breath, remembered why I’d even come here in the first place, and muttered,

“Ten billion.”

“Hiiik—”

“Want it wired or in cash?”

“A-anything—no, cash, please!”

'These fuckers just don’t want records, huh.'

I brushed back my hair and pulled out my wallet.

“You take checks?”

“C-cash only!”

I counted what I had—about three hundred million in cash. Better to put that down as a deposit. I shoved it into his hands and told him to bring the paperwork for Do Yehyun’s debt.

After reading it thoroughly, I sweet-talked him into finalizing the rest tomorrow when I’d bring the balance.

“Tomorrow I’ll send the rest. Good?”

“Y-yes, anything you want...”

“Great. Don’t lose the money.”

And so, after a peaceful “negotiation” with the only one still awake, I walked out with the debt documents.

Even outside, Do Yehyun’s face was still ghost-white as he looked at me and stammered,

“Are... are you okay?”

Okay? I stared at him, incredulous.

“Of course not. It hurts.”

“....”

“So you’d better hurry up and learn your healing skill, yeah?”

Seeing him nod earnestly reassured me about the future.

Stretching my sore neck from the beatdown I’d handed out, I pushed open the door to the stairwell—then suddenly stopped.

“Oh, right.”

“...What?”

In the chaos of leaving, I’d forgotten one thing. I hurried back into the office and asked the still-trembling Lackey #2,

“Hey. Do you validate parking?”

Because, of course, this shithole building charged three thousand won every thirty minutes.

***

After paying for parking, instead of going straight home I stopped by a 24-hour fast-food chain. It was just past 11 p.m.

“Let’s eat.”

“Okay.”

I let Yehyun order what he wanted and we sat in a corner booth. The nearly empty restaurant was quiet. Normally, the debt wouldn’t really be “done” until everything was paid, but Lackey #2 had been so spineless that he’d handed the paperwork over easily.

'Bet his guildmaster’s going to beat the crap out of him later.'

Not my problem, though. Yehyun returned quickly with food and sat across from me.

“I just got the basic # Nоvеlight # set.”

“Good choice.”

I praised him and bit into my burger. Not bad. Yehyun, though, barely picked at his food, unlike usual.

“Don’t like burgers?”

Weird. Kids usually loved them. Maybe that was just my prejudice. Yehyun shook his head, popped a fry into his mouth, and chewed quietly.

“If you like sides more, we can get extra. Want cheese sticks?”

“I’m fine.”

Whatever. If he didn’t eat, that was his loss. I stared out the window, chewing mechanically, while Yehyun focused on his fries. Then, out of nowhere, he spoke.

“Hyungnim.”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

“Sure.”

Knew he’d say that. Gratitude didn’t come easy to him—probably the weight of his debt. I crushed my empty burger wrapper and set it down, then studied him. He met my gaze directly.

“...I really want to be of use to you.”

“You said you’re training hard.”

“I haven’t gotten any results yet. Honestly, I wanted to apologize, but I thought you wouldn’t like that...”

“Don’t worry, Yehyun.”

He went quiet again, lost in thought. His habit of undervaluing himself wasn’t necessarily bad—it meant less chance of him growing arrogant and running off when another guild offered him a deal. But if that low self-esteem interfered with skill activation, then it became a problem.

I took a sip of cola, smiling.

“I’m a long-term investor.”

Because this healer was worth more than ten billion right now.

Yehyun looked down, then up again.

“Hyungnim, why... do you talk like that?”

“Like what?”

“You keep saying weird things.”

He bit his lip, ears turning red, looking uncomfortable. Probably something still unresolved. I didn’t press.

I’d thought about digging into his personal baggage, family history and all, but never did. Not just because Seowon was busy.

I wasn’t the type to drag out someone’s past if they didn’t want to talk. And honestly, I didn’t care. Whatever his past was, all that mattered was how he acted from now on.

I didn’t mean he had to be a better person. Just that he had to be good to me.