There was still one more thing left to test.
I pointed my staff toward one corner of the training grounds, and a thick wall of ice burst upward.
Crack-crack-crack—!
Then I looked back and forth between Dang Gyu-young and Jegal So-so.
“Try breaking it.”
“What did you do?”
“Nothing yet.”
What I’d just used was only for comparison.
The two of them must have realized the same thing, because they casually walked over and stopped in front of the Ice Wall.
Then, at the same time, sword and club swung down.
Swish—
Crack!
The thick ice sliced apart like tofu, shattered, and collapsed in chunks.
Well, expecting a mere B-rank Ice Wall to withstand graduate-level attacks was unrealistic to begin with.
But what if I add the buff?
[Activated ‘Diamond Freeze.’]
Booooom—!
Another wall of ice rose from the exact same spot.
I gave Dang Gyu-young and Jegal So-so the same instruction again.
“Break it.”
“Okay.”
Once more, sword and club came crashing down—
Crack-crack-crack—
Booooooom!
—but unlike before, the ice wall remained perfectly intact.
The two exchanged glances before attacking again.
Crack-crack-crack! Crack!
Thud! Thud!
Yet the sword only scraped across the surface over and over, while even after being hammered repeatedly, not a single crack appeared.
Only after the 10-second duration ended did the wall finally split apart and collapse.
[Diamond Freeze (F)]
▷ The next freezing effect you apply becomes ‘irremovable’ for 10 seconds.
▷ Cooldown: 10 minutes
Constructing structures still technically counts as a “freezing effect.”
By chaining it with [Diamond Freeze], the structure became effectively indestructible for the duration.
Surprisingly versatile, really.
Not that it’s without weaknesses.
Since it only makes an “applied” freezing effect irremovable, if the effect itself fails to apply in the first place, then all you get is the cooldown ticking away.
For example, if the opponent was protected by a debuff-resistance skill, then trying to apply something like [Mutual Destruction Eyes] or [Frozen Spirit Shot] would simply result in the effect being repelled.
Likewise, if my freezing magic were interrupted midway through casting or if I canceled it myself, the only thing left would be the cooldown ticking away.
Though honestly, I seriously doubted I’d ever allow an opening like that.
As for the final external drawback,
Ranking it up is a nightmare.
As expected of a unique skill, the growth difficulty was absurdly high.
Training alone was practically hopeless, so most people would probably have to rely on [Rank Up].
‘Of course, the power more than makes up for it.’
At F-rank, it currently lasted 10 seconds with a cooldown of 10 minutes.
As the rank increased, the duration would grow longer while the cooldown shrank.
So after adding “obtain Rank Up” to my list of goals, I was busy turning over various thoughts in my head when—
Boing-boing-boing! Boing! Boing!
The squeaking sound of toy hammers pulled my attention away.
There, unsurprisingly, were Ahn Jeong-mi, Seo Ye-in, and the mirror version.
Just like when the spar had first begun, they were still wobbling around half-heartedly.
“So tired…….”
“Young miss, did you not promise to always give your best in everything?”
“But the Blood Cult’s gone now…….”
At the beginning of winter break, the threat of the Blood Cult had been everywhere, and since Seo Ye-in had insisted on staying at the Dang Clan despite that, conditions had been attached.
Wear the Heavenly Dragon’s bracelet at all times, bring guards whenever going out, and train diligently without fail.
But did those conditions still need to be upheld now?
At the very least, it was safe to say the Blood Cult had been completely wiped out in Sichuan.
Ahn Jeong-mi nodded and answered.
“Then we shall postpone the sparring until later.”
“That’s unexpected……?”
“Ever since you arrived at Hye-seong, after all.”
In other words, if she wasn’t going to train, she could just go home.
Seo Ye-in’s face immediately filled with dissatisfaction.
“That’s unfair…….”
“These are conditions you already agreed to. You cannot simply change them at your convenience because the Blood Cult has disappeared.”
Ahn Jeong-mi added firmly,
“And postponing it will not solve anything. If you wish to clear the quest, you must defeat me first.”
“……True.”
“You must settle it before the semester begins at the latest.”
After all, it wasn’t as though she could follow us all the way to Dungeon Island just because of a single quest.
And if things were interrupted there, the next time we would probably meet would be after visiting the new city of Hye-seong.
No one could say how many opportunities for growth she might lose in the meantime.
For Seo Ye-in, there was really no choice.
She exchanged glances with Chattering Sloth before each of them grabbed a pot in hand.
“I’ll try harder…….”
– Let’s take down the butler.
But despite those determined words, the two sloths continued flailing around weakly all the same.
Meanwhile, tucked away in one corner of the training grounds, Dang Eun-bi had appeared at some point without anyone noticing.
She was secretly hiding, with only the top of her head peeking out.
There was no real need for her to hide like that, but seeing her do it anyway made it seem more like a habit by now.
“…….”
Watching Seo Ye-in struggle, Dang Eun-bi’s face also filled with deep worry and concern.
***
Bubble-bubble-bubble…….
As the contents of the cauldron began to boil, Dang Eun-bi dipped in a ladle and slowly stirred.
At the same time, memories of what had happened that night drifted back into her mind.
Every detail remained vividly engraved in her memory.
The screams and shouts echoing from all directions, flashing sword lights cutting through the darkness, blood spraying through the air, the Blood Cult fiends and jiangshi rushing toward her with murder in their eyes…….
Dang Eun-bi unconsciously flinched.
Of course, not all of the memories were bad.
She called it her ultimate move…….
Seo Ye-in, wrapped in brilliant radiance.
Clusters of starlight poured endlessly from the barrel of her gun, while the jiangshi that had seemed overwhelmingly powerful collapsed one after another like scarecrows.
Thanks to her reducing their numbers like that, the martial artists of the clan had been able to seize victory with ease afterward.
Dang Eun-bi had admired her even before then, but after witnessing that scene, those feelings had only grown stronger.
Maybe that was why.
Watching Seo Ye-in suffer from the backlash of her ultimate move made Dang Eun-bi feel as though she herself were suffering too.
I have to help her.
Fortunately, if she made good use of her area of expertise, there seemed to be a way.
As someone skilled in mixing and handling all sorts of poisons, she was naturally knowledgeable about medicines as well.
The liquid simmering inside the cauldron was the result of putting those talents to full use.
Bubble-bubble-bubble…….
Back then, her goal had been poisoning Kim Ho.
Now, her goal was restoring Seo Ye-in’s energy.
As such, she had poured considerable care into the process and selected only the rarest ingredients.
She had even added a few precious spiritual medicines she had been saving.
Perhaps because of that, the contents of the cauldron looked incredibly nourishing, while a rich fragrance steadily wafted upward.
Had the head of the Medical Hall seen it, he would have showered her with praise.
Yet Dang Eun-bi’s face remained slightly troubled.
This still doesn’t feel like enough.
Seo Ye-in would probably recover some energy after drinking it, but it also felt like she would quickly end up exhausted again soon afterward.
The medicinal effects needed to be strengthened even further.
……Should I add more herbs? Or another spiritual medicine?
Dang Eun-bi sank deeper and deeper into thought.
Then suddenly, her expression brightened.
……Right, that!
She rummaged through her inventory and pulled out an old worn pouch.
Inside were tiny pellets glowing with a faint reddish color.
She had obtained them years ago from a traveling merchant wandering near the Dang Clan estate.
For reference, this was a different man from the one who had sold her the “randomly changing medicine”.
Unlike a typical peddler, he had been blunt and taciturn, but his voice had carried absolute confidence.
– Add this whenever you make a potion. No matter what it is, the effectiveness will increase dramatically.
– How dramatically are we talking?
– Dramatically means dramatically. Two times, three times, perhaps even more.
– That sounds kind of hard to believe…….
Even doubling the effect would already be absurd, but getting even more than that just by adding it in?
When Dang Eun-bi shot him a suspicious look, the peddler apparently decided he needed to sound more convincing and added,
– Of course, there is a minor side effect.
– Knew it. What is it?
– Part of the drinker’s emotions will also be greatly amplified.
– So they could suddenly get really angry, then.
The peddler brushed it off as though it were nothing serious.
– Who says it has to be anger? Besides, it’s only temporary. If you can amplify a potion’s effectiveness that much, it’s still a bargain.
– Hmm…….
– Forget it if you don’t want it. I’ll just sell it to the next customer—
– Who said I wouldn’t buy it? I’m taking it.
……Looking back on it now, she really had been surprisingly gullible and weak to impulse purchases.
Of course, that was in the past.
Right now, she had something else to think about.
Amplifying part of someone’s emotions…….
Wouldn’t that actually be fine?
If an ordinary person displayed emotions at a level of 10, then Seo Ye-in only ever showed about a 2 or 3 at most.
No matter which emotion got amplified, it would probably only rise to normal-person levels.
Meanwhile, the potion’s effects would increase severalfold and restore her energy in no time.
At last, Dang Eun-bi came to a decision.
Alright, let’s use it.
Of course, unlike before, she did not recklessly dump it in right away.
Wanting to verify whether the peddler’s claims were true, she first carried out a small experiment.
After mixing the red pellets into a separate medicine,
……It really does work.
So the man had possessed at least a shred of honesty after all.
Only then did Dang Eun-bi pour the remaining pellets into the “special energy-restoring medicine”.
Shuuuuuuuaaaaah—!
Crimson smoke burst upward violently.
At the same time, the liquid inside the cauldron rapidly began to change.
What had originally been a dark brown color gradually turned transparent with a soft pink tint.
It even somehow smelled faintly like strawberries.
Just by adding a single ingredient, the herbal concoction had transformed into something closer to a potion.
The effect shouldn’t have weakened.
If her guess was correct, the effects had instead been amplified several times over.
The quickest way to know for sure is to drink it.
The long-awaited self-experiment.
Dang Eun-bi scooped up a spoonful of the pink potion and brought it to her lips.
A moment later, her eyes widened.
“……Wow.”
***
Dang Eun-bi carried over a bottle filled with reddish liquid tinged faintly pink.
Its name was “Dang Eun-bi’s Special Energy Potion”.
Sensing the suspicion in our eyes, Dang Eun-bi hurried to explain.
“You can drink it. I tested it first, and I even tried it myself.”
“How was it?”
“It felt kind of like really strong coffee.”
“Really? No side effects or anything?”
At that, Dang Eun-bi flinched and looked away.
“There is… a tiny side effect.”
“And what would that be?”
“I heard it slightly? Maybe just a little? amplifies emotions.”
In response, Jegal So-so and Dang Gyu-young each threw in a comment while looking at Seo Ye-in.
“Then I think it should be fine? She’s usually pretty quiet.”
“That’s only because she doesn’t show it normally. She’s scary when she gets angry.”
“If that side gets amplified, honestly, I think there’s a pretty good chance this’ll work out fine.”
“Though her luck’s been kind of terrible lately.”
Because of the ultimate move penalty, she had been attracting every kind of misfortune imaginable.
Since the topic had come up, I pointed at the potion and asked Seo Ye-in,
“What do you think about this?”
“……?”
“Don’t you get any kind of feeling from it?”
“……No.”
Seo Ye-in tilted her head as she answered.
In this case, that was probably the best possible sign.
When the lucky-charm radar reacted, it usually meant something good would happen.
When the reverse lucky-charm radar reacted, it usually meant something bad was coming instead.
So if the reverse radar showed no reaction, the conclusion was that at the very least, we could avoid the worst outcome.
Dang Eun-bi added while looking at me,
“You know this already, right? Even if I dislike you, I still like Senior Seo Ye-in. I genuinely made this because I wanted to help her.”
“That does make sense. But did you really have to hurt my feelings in the process?”
“If I dislike someone, I dislike them. Besides, you don’t look hurt at all.”
“That is also a fair point.”
In any case, I decided to leave the final decision to Seo Ye-in.
Holding out “Dang Eun-bi’s Special Energy Potion”, I asked,
“So, what’ll it be?”
“I’ll try drinking it.”
After answering, Seo Ye-in tilted the bottle and slowly drank the liquid inside.
Not long afterward, the effects appeared.
Her slumped posture straightened, and her half-lidded eyes opened fully.
Seo Ye-in clenched her fist.
“Infinite power……!”
“That good, huh?”
She nodded in response to my question, then turned to Ahn Jeong-mi.
“Resume sparring……!”
“Young miss……!”
To see her acting this enthusiastically of all things!
Ahn Jeong-mi’s face filled with emotion.
The two of them immediately resumed sparring, swinging frying pans and squeaky hammers at each other once more.
Boing! Boing-Boing!
Watching from the side, Dang Gyu-young furrowed her brows.
“What happened to the side effects? You were saying something about emotions getting amplified.”
“Nothing seems strange right now. Or maybe her motivation got amplified instead.”
“Isn’t that way too optimistic?”
“Who knows? Let’s keep watching.”
Meanwhile, we continued preparing for our own sparring session.
Then Seo Ye-in suddenly stopped her match with Ahn Jeong-mi and walked over toward me.
Slowly, she reached out and cupped my face with her hand before turning it toward her.
“You’re not allowed to look elsewhere.”
“It’s not exactly looking elsewhere when I also have things to do.”
But Seo Ye-in slowly shook her head.
“Look at me only.”
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