Episode 285: Asceticism
Dang Gyu-yeong’s expression became increasingly serious, as if he was about to talk about something heavy.
But he continued to hesitate, as if it was difficult to bring up the subject.
‘It’s not something that can be done by rushing.’
So I decided to wait until I was mentally prepared enough.
“… … .”
“… … .”
As I continued walking in silence, the boys’ dormitory soon appeared in front of me.
I was about to say goodbye, thinking, “I guess we won’t be doing this today,” when Dang Gyu-yeong slowed down and looked at me.
“Kim Hoya.”
“Yes, sister.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Anything.”
I nodded coolly, but Dang Gyu-yeong hesitated for a while again.
Then, with great difficulty, I asked a question.
“From the perspective of a senior who has graduated over 200 times… … . What do you think my skills are?”
“Before I answer, I’d like to hear why you asked that question.”
Dang Gyu-yeong let out a deep sigh.
“… … It’s just, things have been complicated lately. My skills aren’t improving at all, but strong opponents keep appearing. You’re getting stronger at an unbelievable rate. This time, you did more.”
“In simple terms, are you saying you’re worried about falling behind?”
“… … Honestly, yes.”
In reality, Dang Gyu-yeong has excellent utility in terms of stealth and teleportation, but he has not been used much in battle.
If it were a head-on fight, he would lose not only to the leader of the leadership team, Oh Se-hoon, but also to any of the other third-year leadership team members.
The reason I was able to defeat Bisansangma in the gathering of villains was largely because I gave him poison resistance and used Hyun-eum-ok-ma-ji and Ghostly Mu-yeong.
As these things happened, Dang Gyu-yeong’s anxiety must have grown bigger and bigger.
‘Won’t Kim Ho-han catch up and overtake him someday?’
‘Will you still need me then?’
‘Won’t someone take my place?’
And this expedition would have been decisive.
I barely exchanged two spells with the Witch of Corruption and took a unilateral advantage.
As Dang Gyu-yeong did without hesitation what he could not even dream of, in some ways he was already surpassed.
Because of that, my confidence in myself has been shaken even more, and at this point, I would like to hear your opinion.
‘It’s come.’
It was a story that had to be told at some point.
So I also looked at Dang Gyu-yeong seriously and opened my mouth.
“I will tell you my honest thoughts without holding back.”
“……huh.”
“If you train hard even after graduation, you will be able to get an A rank.”
“A-Rank… … and above?”
“That’s the upper limit.”
A shadow fell over Dang Gyu-yeong’s face.
And then he asked again carefully.
“And what if I fight with the Witch of Corruption?”
“If we fight one-on-one, I will definitely lose.”
“… … .”
Dang Gyu-yeong’s complexion darkened further.
From now until graduation, you have to train like crazy to get an A rank.
Even if you can’t defeat the Witch of Corruption, you’re not good enough to be with me.
Although the vague anxiety had become a reality, Dang Gyu-yeong tried to pretend like nothing happened and raised the corners of his mouth.
But the smile looked very sad, as if it wasn’t working as intended.
“I still have to work hard, if I want to get an A rank. Thank you. I’ll go.”
“It’s not over yet.”
At my words, Dang Gyu-yeong turned away, but then stopped and asked in a tired tone.
“… … What, why.”
“I didn’t say there was absolutely no way to get over it.”
“… … !”
Dang Gyu-young’s eyes widened slightly.
Since ancient times, it has been said that you must listen to what people say until the end.
Even if you can’t get over the limit with effort alone, you can get over it with other methods.
As I told the Witch of Corruption, you just have to fill in what’s missing.
“And I have a way. I just got it this time, to be exact.”
“… … What is that?”
“Before that, let me check one last time.”
I looked straight into Dang Gyu-yeong’s eyes.
And he asked in a serious tone.
“It won’t be an easy road. Are you sure you won’t give up?”
Dang Gyu-yeong’s worries did not last long.
She also looked straight at me and answered with determined eyes.
“I’ll do it, anything. Without giving up.”
“great.”
I activated my skill towards Dang Gyu-yeong.
[Use ‘Asceticism’.]
[Reuse Wait Time 6 days 23:59:58]
[The target is granted ‘Stage 1 Asceticism’.]
Asceticism is a quest skill.
Gives the target the most suitable customized quest.
A quest suited to the inspector, a quest suited to the inspector, a quest suited to the wizard.
The types vary greatly, from repeated training to collecting materials to defeating specific monsters.
The important thing is the difficulty.
As the word ‘asceticism’ suggests, it is only possible to clear it by putting in bone-crushing effort and pushing yourself to your limits.
‘There are even more steps.’
When Dang Gyu-yeong clears the first stage of the quest, I use the suffering to grant the second stage, and the stages go up endlessly.
Accordingly, the difficulty level will increase exponentially.
So, that’s the last thing I checked before using the skill.
Are you confident that you won’t give up?
‘Of course the compensation is also certain.’
The rank of a skill/trait that was stagnant may jump, or you may acquire a powerful new one.
As long as you overcome adversity and clear quests, your growth is guaranteed.
It won’t grow gradually in a gradual way, but will become noticeably stronger.
This skill had a lot to do with me hearing the term ‘S-class production factory’.
A hero who lacks talent can increase his growth level through hardships.
Even those with outstanding talent can greatly shorten their growth period.
I’ve also raised several heroes with talents on the level of Shin Byeong-cheol to S-rank.
I predict that it would be quite possible to make Dang Gyu-yeong, who is an A-class player, into an EX-class player.
Of course, whether you succeed or not depends on you.
“You have all kinds of scam skills… … .”
Dang Gyu-yeong was talking to himself, not to himself, but with his eyes fixed on the air.
Probably checking the quest details.
Then he looks at me and says:
“The quest isn’t really easy. But I’ll try.”
“I’m sure you can do it.”
We looked at each other and smiled.
Then, as if a thought crossed his mind, Dang Gyu-yeong suddenly narrowed his eyes.
“… … Wait a minute, you weren’t saying this on purpose, were you?”
“That’s not true. There is an order to words.”
“No, you paused in the middle.”
“That way, the impact will be greater.”
“That’s what I was aiming for! I’m pissed.”
Dang Gyu-yeong turned his head away with his arms crossed.
Anyone who looked at it could clearly see that he was acting crooked.
‘Is there really a need to let it go?’
So I pretended not to see him and looked into the distance, and a silent war of nerves ensued for a while.
“… … .”
Then, Dang Gyu-yeong glanced this way, and when I looked back, he quickly turned his head away again.
Instead, a shadow rose from beneath my feet and gently tapped me.
And he scribbled a few letters in the air.
[Beep]
[Need to be released]
[hurry]
Wouldn’t this be like bowing down and receiving a bow?
While thinking that, I approached Dang Gyu-yeong.
And then he said something softly.
“Q.”
“… … Phew.”
Dang Gyu-yeong’s shoulders trembled slightly as if he was holding back laughter.
But the head is still turned in the opposite direction.
I thought it meant to tell me to keep going, so I said one more thing as I wanted.
“Kyu, calm down.”
“Pfftttttttttt!!”
Dang Gyu-yeong tapped my shoulder.
* * *
Dang Gyu-yeong will be busy with difficult quests for the time being.
I also had quite a few things to take care of.
The most important of these is the aftermath of this expedition.
So the next day, as soon as I received the message from the academic department, I headed to the principal’s office.
I was just about to raise my hand to knock, when the principal’s office door opened by itself as if it were an automatic door.
And beyond that, I saw the principal waving his hand.
“Come in.”
He was sitting in his seat, dressed in the same shabby clothes as before.
If I had to point out a difference, it would be that I put both legs on the desk.
The homeroom teacher was looking at the sight with a very displeased look, but the principal himself spoke calmly as if he didn’t care.
“I heard from Teacher Lee and Teacher Seo. They said that you missed a witch once during the battle. How did you manage to counter it?”
“Yes, I was prepared because I thought they might come after me at some point.”
“Well done. But what you missed was what you missed.”
Lee Soo-dok and Seo Cheong-yong also admitted their mistakes, and the principal apologized on their behalf.
‘Actually, it’s not those gentlemen’s fault.’
If you think about it, it came in using Blink, so it’s questionable whether it could have been stopped even if it had been predicted.
I even intentionally left a gap open for them to come in.
Of course, there was no reason to bring that up and lower the price, so I decided to follow the old adage.
They say that if you stay still, the middle will pass.
Then the principal continued speaking.
“Then, as promised, shall I ask you what your ‘small request’ is? I’ll take into account the teachers’ mistakes and grant you even slightly unreasonable requests. Tell me.”
Since he had said this, he would almost certainly grant my request.
If you ask for new equipment, skills, or traits, I think you’ll be given something up to Grade A.
If you want, you can also enter the forbidden item storage.
Of course, there will be various restrictions on the items you can bring out from there.
The first two were also quite appealing, but I had already decided on something.
So I raised my fist at the principal.
“This is what I want.”
“Dalian? How belligerent.”
“Huh,” said the principal, smiling and getting up.
But I shook my head.
“It’s not a duel.”
“……then?”
I gave him an innocent smile as he looked bewildered.
“Please let me hit you.”
“How many?”
“Only ten.”
The principal’s face changed into a strange one.
“I thought it would be a duel.”
“Then I lose.”
Requesting a duel against a former warrior?
It’s like giving a blank check and saying you’ll get hit.
I don’t fight unless it’s a fight I can 100% win, a fight I can benefit from.
At that moment, the vice principal, who had been silently watching from the side, joined the conversation.
“That sounds like a great idea. Let’s go ahead.”
2.5 Song Cheon-hye is a very strict person, but this time, she seems very pleased with my proposal.
I wonder if he secretly wanted to hit me.
The principal looked at the vice principal with eyes filled with betrayal, then turned his head toward me and made a counteroffer.
“I feel bad for saying I’ll do anything you ask me, but I can’t just accept it. Let’s ask each person one question. Answer honestly without lying.”
I had a feeling it would turn out like that.
You seem to be very curious about me, so even if I had asked you for something else, you would have come up with some kind of excuse.
I nodded and made another counteroffer.
“Then I would like to add one more condition. You must not use items or skills.”
“… … You want to hit me like this? Did I do something wrong?”
“No, I have no personal feelings.”
I just want to hit him.
The principal’s face became more bizarre.
And he stared intently at me as if trying to guess my thoughts, but there was no result.
Eventually he gave up and checked the conditions one last time.
“What should I do? Without item skills, I’ll just survive against 10 people with just traits. But ask one question per person honestly. Okay?”
“great.”
I followed the principal and vice principal to their seats.
The supporters ate it all
