Chapter 391: Fortune-teller Part 1

Seo Ye-in darted through the training room at a brisk pace.

The wind coiled tightly around her body.

Not just the chaotic currents of her feather steps, but also wind magic I had cast—like Wind Barrier, Wind Armor, Twister—were all swirling around her.

Whoooosh—

When Ye-in gathered and compressed the winds even further, they became nearly tangible. They were still transparent, but yet seemingly solid.

Soon, the iron puppets readied the bows in their hands, aimed straight at her, and released in unison.

Whip-whip-whip-whip!

Arrows rained down from all directions.

But as they hit the wall of compressed wind, most of them either veered off or bounced away.

At that moment, Seo Ye-in who had only been weaving through the room until then raised her assault rifle and took aim forward.

A gust of wind swept out, and the muzzle burst into blue flame.

Tatatatatata!

The sturdy iron puppets were swiftly riddled with holes.

Thanks to the added effect of Destructive Gale: Projectile Enhancement.

A second gust followed, ripping apart everything in its path without mercy.

Clang-clang-clang-clang!

Most of the iron puppets were reduced to scrap metal and needed to be replaced.

While I reached to adjust the terminal, Seo Ye-in stared at me.

Her eyelids were about 60% closed.

“……”

“Wanna take a break?”

“A long one.”

“Not too long.”

While Seo Ye-in rested, I took some time to check over things myself.

It’s already Friday.

We’d been focused solely on Destructive Gale training all week, and I had even activated the Hardship.

[Hardship]

▷Seo Ye-in: Stage 5 (In Progress…)

Even the quest content involved Destructive Gale training.

That’s how central this skill was for her.

Naturally, the training difficulty which was already tough ramped up even further, but the advantage was the skill rank rising rapidly.

As a result:

▷Copy – Skills [3/3]

1. Thief’s Step (B)

2. Destructive Gale (D+)

3. Ice Wall (B)

It had only been a few days since she learned it, and it was already at D-rank.

It was far trickier than most skills, yet was progressing at a frightening pace.

At this rate, it’ll hit C in no time.

And it’ll definitely be useful for the upcoming practical test.

While thinking that, I glanced over at Seo Ye-in who had, in the blink of an eye, sprawled out on the floor of the training room.

I walked over and looked down at the human sloth.

“Excuse me. What exactly are you doing here?”

“……”

“You can’t just lie down wherever you feel like it.”

“……”

“Get up. Now.”

“……”

Then Seo Ye-in stared at me for a moment before slowly reaching out with both arms.

As soon as I took her hands, she pulled me toward her.

She wasn’t asking me to help her up—

“You want me to lie down next to you?”

– Nod.

“Haaah… fine, let’s do that.”

Shaking my head, I lay down beside her. Seo Ye-in immediately rolled over and clung to me like a magnet.

If someone saw us, they’d think we had magnets in our bodies or something.

I just accepted it and asked a question.

“What’s your battery level right now?”

“There’s no… such thing…”

“You’re totally out of it again.”

Seo Ye-in grabbed my arm and tugged.

“Recharge time.”

“But we’re going out tomorrow. Can’t you train just a little more?”

“Nope.”

“What if I make you?”

“Strike.”

She actually said “strike”.

Honestly, even I had to admit she’d been pushing herself a bit too hard the past few days.

Training a new skill and enduring Hardship on top of that—

It was like running a marathon with sandbags strapped on.

So I didn’t press her any further and nodded.

“Alright, let’s call it early today and get some rest.”

“……”

No reply from Seo Ye-in.

She had already dozed off.

***

The next day.

Seo Ye-in showed up at the meeting spot with her sloth battery fully recharged.

She’d gotten plenty of rest the day before, and this was a long-postponed outing she’d been looking forward to.

We took a shuttle bus to the downtown area, and just as expected, it was packed with people.

There were probably more students just out to hang around than those actually there for the auction or sightseeing.

Add to that the student clubs trying to earn points and promote themselves, and the place had turned into a chaotic mess.

Alchemy club members were shouting at the top of their lungs, trying to attract attention.

– Hair-growing potion! It’s free! Just try it before you go!

– How long does it last?

– A whole day!

– Wow, that’s pretty long. Any side effects?

– It shrinks back just as much as it grew!

Over at the booth for the Mother Nature Club, a few druids were performing tricks with their animal companions.

Among them was Park Na-ri, with the mini tiger named Bum at her feet and a mini eagle, no bigger than a sparrow, perched on her shoulder.

Bum was relentlessly throwing out kitty punches, while the sparrow-sized eagle pecked at Park Na-ri’s head like a woodpecker.

“Agh, no—stop—just—hold on a minute!”

That girl’s always getting hit.

Sure, having two animal companions probably meant her fighting power had doubled, but it also seemed like the number of hits she took had doubled too.

Meanwhile, a little farther away, Go Hyeon-woo and Han So-mi were making their way through the crowd.

It looked like she managed to coax him out just like I advised.

Even a living training dummy was still a martial artist at heart. He couldn’t resist the lure of elixirs, fateful encounters, and legendary weapons.

Noticing my gaze, Han So-mi gave a secretive giggle and waved in my direction.

We exchanged a subtle greeting with just a glance.

– Thanks!

– Don’t mention it.

Just then, as Go Hyeon-woo started to turn his head toward me, Han So-mi quickly pointed in the opposite direction.

“Oh wow! What’s that?!” she seemed to say.

If he spotted me, there was a good chance his “Kim-hyung radar” trait would kick in, and the four of us might end up sticking together.

It was better to make sure they passed by without seeing me.

I had no reason to get in their way anyway, so I slowed my pace, and soon, Go Hyeon-woo and Han So-mi disappeared into the crowd.

Meanwhile, Seo Ye-in was browsing the area with her gaze locked intensely on something.

Curious, I followed her line of sight.

They’re still here, huh?

There stood a gentleman in a suit wearing a mask, and beside him, a clown dressed in flashy clothes.

Both of them were event bosses.

The last time I saw them was before the final exams of the first semester, so I figured they’d be gone from Dungeon Island by now. But apparently, they decided to stick around.

Then, as if on cue, the two of them simultaneously whipped their heads around to look at Seo Ye-in.

Then they approached her with exaggerated enthusiasm and joy.

I watched them and said,

“Why do they like you so much?”

“……?”

Seo Ye-in tilted her head as if she didn’t understand what was going on either.

In the meantime, the event bosses had walked right up to us.

Since they previously challenged us to minigames competitively, I thought they’d do the same this time. But surprisingly, they began motioning for us to follow them somewhere.

Seo Ye-in gave me a look, asking, “Do we follow them?” and I gave a slight nod in response.

“No reason not to.”

Event bosses were generally friendly toward players.

As long as you don’t strike first, there’s no real danger.

What they were doing was different from what I remembered, but if anything seemed off, we could just back out then.

Eventually, the masked gentleman and the clown stopped in front of a shabby little tent.

It was just big enough to fit two or three people, and on the front, a crookedly written sign read: [Fortune Teller].

Of course, I knew exactly what this was.

This one’s an event boss, too.

The Fortune Teller.

If you offer a fee, they’ll read your fortune and they were surprisingly accurate.

Sometimes, they even give out items.

“……”

As Seo Ye-in stared blankly, the two event bosses kept gesturing eagerly toward the tent.

As if urging us to go in already.

So, we lifted the curtain and stepped inside.

Sure enough, sitting inside was a fortune teller wearing a mysterious star-shaped mask.

In the center of a small table was a neat stack of cards.

And off to one side stood something like a menu board.

[Love]

[Studies]

[Wealth]

Not really curious about any of that.

I figured I’d just pass and let her give it a try.

Just then, the fortune teller suddenly looked up and stared straight at me.

Then began shuffling the cards with intent.

Chwarararak—

“Offering?”

“……”

The fortune teller slowly shook his head.

I took it to mean none was needed.

Then, he spread the cards out like a fan on the table.

He motioned for me to pick one.

I pointed to a card as instructed, and the fortune teller carefully wrapped it up and placed it in a small envelope.

Then he pointed outside.

“Telling me to leave?”

– Nod.

I turned to Seo Ye-in and said,

“Get your reading. I’ll wait outside.”

“Mhmm.”

When I stepped outside, the masked gentleman and the clown were nowhere to be seen.

I thought they’d pop up again with another mini-game or something, but maybe their only job really was to guide us here.

Life throws some strange things your way sometimes.

While I waited, I decided to check the fortune.

When I opened the envelope, the card I had just chosen revealed itself.

A man with an incredibly sleazy look was grinning an incredibly sleazy grin while surrounded by a crowd of women.

[Playboy]

And tucked in who knows when it got in there was a small note.

[Moderation in greed]

I glanced back toward the tent.

“……That fortune teller’s pretty legit.”

***

Even after Kim Ho stepped out, Seo Ye-in kept her eyes on the door for a moment.

Then she slowly turned her head back to face the fortune teller.

“……”

“……”

The fortune teller silently began shuffling the cards.

Then, without a word, he picked two cards himself and turned them over for her to see.

One showed a shower of falling stars.

The other, a monk bathed in light.

[Meteor]

[Blessing]

“……”

Seo Ye-in quietly looked down at the cards, glanced once at the fortune teller, then gave a slight nod.

The fortune teller nodded back, then placed the cards back into the deck.

And then, far more quickly and skillfully than before, he began to shuffle.

Chwarararak!

Soon, just like with Kim Ho, the fortune teller spread the cards wide across the table.

Then he motioned for her to pick, but this time his demeanor was noticeably more excited.

As if he too was eager to see what would come out.

“……”

Seo Ye-in, on the other hand, wore her usual indifferent expression.

Still, with the fortune teller urging her on again and again as if to say “Try, try!” she finally lifted her hand and casually tapped one of the cards.

Flaaash…

Immediately, the card turned golden and started glowing brighter and brighter.

A beam of light shot out from the tent.

FLASH—!