Go Hyeon-woo slowly nodded.
“That’s a difficult decision. If you don’t mind, may I ask why?”
“…You asked me once, right? What I’d do if I became the Tower Master.”
“I do recall asking that.”
“I tried really hard to come up with an answer.”
It wasn’t just Go Hyeon-woo. She’d been pondering this ever since Kim Ho asked her during summer break.
With so much time passed, it would’ve been normal to have come up with something by now, and yet—
“I realized… there’s really nothing that comes to mind. And that in itself became the answer.”
Hong Yeon-hwa stared off into the distance for a few seconds before continuing.
“…I never actually wanted anything. Becoming the Tower Master was the end goal itself.”
“There’s always a chance a new reason might come along someday, no?”
“Maybe. But I’m not sure that would really matter.”
If it were truly important, wouldn’t it have come to her already?
Any reason she tacked on later would most likely just be for show.
“And once I realized that… it all just started to feel kind of pointless.”
To first-year Hong Yeon-hwa, the title of Ruby Tower Master was still a distant dream.
But the moment she began thinking of it as her final destination, it didn’t seem all that grand anymore.
Go Hyeon-woo kept nodding.
“That’s perfectly understandable. So now the other side of the scale carries more weight?”
“Mhmm.”
As the weight of “becoming the Ruby Tower Master” diminished in her heart, the importance of what sat on the other side of the scale had grown heavier.
That was “bringing world peace together with Kim Ho”.
And once that was done, the plan was to “wander around and enjoy life with Kim Ho”.
“Then let me ask you, Miss Hong. Just how much do you trust Kim-hyung? World peace isn’t exactly a modest goal. Do you truly believe it can be achieved?”
What if she placed her faith in Kim Ho and it ended in failure?
She might come to regret not choosing the safer path of becoming the Ruby Tower Master.
In response, Hong Yeon-hwa threw the question back.
“Do you remember our midterm? The last part?”
“Of course I do.”
That memory was still vivid even now.
Surrounded on all sides by draconic soldiers and orcs.
Even the Craftsman Dragon had made a personal appearance at the scene.
But in that moment, what Hong Yeon-hwa had been watching wasn’t the draconic soldiers or the dragon….it was Kim Ho’s back.
“It was a losing battle, but I didn’t feel like we were going to lose. I was convinced we’d win next time for sure.”
“You weren’t the only one who felt that way.”
“Mhmm. That’s why I made my choice.”
To entrust her future to him and follow where he leads.
Then, Hong Yeon-hwa glanced sideways toward the pond.
“And… if we’re going to do it anyway… better to do it sooner, right?”
“That’s a fair point as well.”
Go Hyeon-woo also stole a glance at Dang Gyu-young and Seo Ye-in, a hint of envy in his expression.
They had already offered their trust to Kim Ho and formed a Bond and were reaping the rewards.
They now shared the ridiculously powerful trait [Poison Immunity].
With it, they’d never have to fear poisons again. In fact, they could even use poison to enhance their growth.
And [Poison Immunity] was only the beginning.
As more Bond slots opened up, so too would the number of shared traits.
“Kim-hyung always gives back more than the trust we place in him. You’ve made a wise decision.”
“Thanks. For helping me.”
“You should take care of your clan matters too… I worry this might end up being your last chance.”
Though… it probably won’t be.
A few potential Bond candidates briefly flickered through Hong Yeon-hwa’s mind.
But nothing was certain yet, so she kept the thought to herself.
“……”
“……”
The conversation paused, and a quiet stillness settled over them.
Just as Go Hyeon-woo opened his mouth to speak again—
Kiiiiing—
The alarm spell had detected something.
The two of them immediately began heading in that direction—
Booooom—!
But in the next moment, an explosion erupted, and a pillar of light shot into the sky.
Realizing what had happened, Go Hyeon-woo spoke.
“Looks like that was Miss Seo’s trap.”
“They actually stepped on it.”
Something approaching had triggered Seo Ye-in’s [Fickle Trap].
It must have been taken out in one blow, as silence returned to the rainforest, and Go Hyeon-woo and Hong Yeon-hwa were spared the trouble of intervening.
However, it wasn’t long before the alarm spell went off again.
Kiiiiiing—
This time, from a different direction.
Hong Yeon-hwa took the lead as they moved.
“They’re getting more frequent.”
“Indeed they are.”
Just as Kim Ho had mentioned, more and more monsters were beginning to loiter near the pond.
It was a clear sign that the difficulty level was ramping up.
Soon, the two caught sight of a giant centipede.
Its thick torso was disturbing enough, but seeing its hundreds of legs wriggling in unison made for a truly disgusting sight.
It would’ve been normal to recoil in disgust, but Hong Yeon-hwa merely began chanting her spell with a calm, indifferent expression.
Whoooosh!
Flames engulfed the giant centipede as it sprayed venom in all directions.
To avoid even a single drop landing on him, Go Hyeon-woo carefully advanced using precise footwork.
The longer this drags on, the worse it gets.
If the area became overrun with poison, there would soon be no safe footing left.
Ending it quickly was the best course of action.
Fwwiiing—
Wind coiled tightly around Go Hyeon-woo’s blade, compressing into a razor-sharp edge.
With that, he closed the distance, waiting for an opening….then struck like lightning.
Slash—!
The giant centipede’s body was split cleanly down the middle.
Even in that state, the creature kept twitching its legs, only going limp long after.
As Go Hyeon-woo retrieved his sword and glanced over his shoulder, he saw that Hong Yeon-hwa still wore the same unaffected expression.
Miss Hong’s composure really is something else.
Come to think of it, he couldn’t recall ever seeing her frightened or flustered.
A thought crossed Go Hyeon-woo’s mind.
Maybe the only person Hong Yeon-hwa was ever afraid of… was Kim Ho.
***
Another six hours passed.
When we opened our eyes, the poisonous energy around the pond was beginning to dissipate.
We were about to switch shifts when Hong Yeon-hwa hesitantly approached and finally spoke up.
“Um… hey…”
“You got something to say?”
“Mhmm…”
“Wanna go somewhere and talk?”
“No, it’s fine. We can talk here…”
Somewhat surprised, we turned our attention to what Hong Yeon-hwa had to say.
Then I asked,
“Bond?”
“Mhmm… if a slot opens up…?”
She said it was a decision she came to after much thought.
And the reason she gave made enough sense.
So I nodded.
“Alright. I’ll let you know if a slot becomes available. If you still feel the same way then, we’ll move forward.”
“Okay, got it.”
A slight excitement showed on Hong Yeon-hwa’s face.
Go Hyeon-woo gave a satisfied smile, and Dang Gyu-young also looked like she had no objections.
Only one person hadn’t heard the conversation.
All eyes turned to the human sloth.
“Sleeping like a baby, huh?”
“Remarkable that someone can sleep for over half a day.”
“Half a day? That’s nothing.”
If no one wakes her, she’d probably sleep for three straight days.
Honestly, she probably intends to.
Watching the human sloth sleep like that… for some reason, I felt the urge to mess with her.
So I grabbed the portable mattress and slowly started pushing it toward the pond.
Dang Gyu-young widened her eyes and tried to stop me.
“Hey, hey, what are you doing?”
“Aren’t you curious?”
“Curious about what?”
“Whether a portable mattress floats.”
“…Honestly, I kind of am.”
Dang Gyu-young quietly stepped back.
When I looked at Go Hyeon-woo and Hong Yeon-hwa, they’d also switched to spectator mode.
I resumed the experiment, and as I continued pushing the mattress toward the pond, it gently floated up onto the surface of the water.
“It actually floats.”
“…Pfft.”
That’s when Hong Yeon-hwa’s face began to twitch little by little.
She clenched her teeth, desperately trying to hold back her laughter.
Meanwhile, Seo Ye-in was still fast asleep.
Thinking, “You’re still not waking up?”, I cast Wind Force.
Whoosh —
The mattress drifted farther and farther from the shore until it finally reached the center of the pond.
Only then did Seo Ye-in groggily sit up.
With sleepy eyes, she looked around, only to see water in every direction.
“…?”
“…Khaha!”
Hong Yeon-hwa finally lost the battle to hold in her laughter.
She turned the other way, shoulders shaking.
Go Hyeon-woo and Dang Gyu-young were also trying to stifle their grins.
Looking back and forth between us, Seo Ye-in asked me,
“It was you, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah, it was me.”
“Back to shore.”
“What if I don’t want to?”
“Back to shore.”
“Do it yourself.”
In response, Seo Ye-in pulled out the Immortal Pot and started rowing with it like an oar.
The mattress raft slowly spun around and gradually made its way back toward us.
But of course, I wasn’t about to just stand by and watch.
Right as Seo Ye-in was about to reach the shore, I cast Wind Force again.
Whoooosh—
The portable mattress drifted back to the center of the pond.
“I’ve returned you to your original position~”
“You’re seriously the worst.”
Dang Gyu-young slapped my arm a few times.
Seo Ye-in stared at me in silence for a while.
Then, quietly lifting her pot, she spoke.
“…Last chance.”
“What kind of chance?”
“I’ll spare you.”
Honestly, I felt like dunking her right then and there.
But not bringing that thing along probably hadn’t been the smartest move.
Besides, push a prank too far and it stops being funny.
Deciding to stop here, I pulled the mattress back to shore.
Whether she meant her words or not, Seo Ye-in only lightly tapped the pot against my head.
Clang—
“No more jokes.”
“Well, that’s what you get for crashing and sleeping alone. We had an important conversation, you know.”
“What conversation?”
I pointed at Hong Yeon-hwa and answered.
“She wants to form a bond too.”
“…Number 3?”
“Probably.”
At that, Dang Gyu-young gave Seo Ye-in a playful smile and tossed her a short comment.
“How are you doing, Number 2?”
“..…!”
Her gray eyes widened just a bit.
Soon, Seo Ye-in started tugging on my sleeve, pleading.
“Change it.”
“I can’t change that either, you know.”
“I’ll be Number 1.”
“Just go practice your mana cultivation.”
***
As usual, we took turns every six hours, rotating between keeping watch and mana cultivation.
By the time we entered our third day in the dungeon—
Flaaaasssh—
A halo of light began to gather around Seo Ye-in’s sleeping body.
The more it gathered, the more intense the glow became, until it reached a point where the brilliance was so blinding that we couldn’t see anything at all.
Then, just when it seemed like one final flash would erupt—
Fwooosh—!
The area instantly returned to normal, as if nothing had happened.
Soon after, Seo Ye-in slowly opened her eyes and sat up groggily.
I asked, just to confirm,
“Did it go up?”
“…A-Rank.”
Seo Ye-in slowly raised her hand and flashed a V sign.
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