Repayment

Rumble!

The entrance of the [Trial] was vigorously emitting magic, forming its distinctive vortex pattern.

Meowi and Choi Mari stared blankly at the [Trial].

With their mouths open, they resonated, ‘Meeeooow,’ ‘Meeeeep.’

‘…Well, it’s a natural reaction.’

There was no need to explain further how incredible and valuable a [Trial] was. It was obvious.

Normally, I, too, should have been shocked, but since I already knew about it, I wasn’t surprised.

I simply nodded, confirming my suspicions.

‘Yeah.’

Nothing else would make sense.

From the middle of the dungeon, I had already found it strange.

Starting with the [Sticky Sewer], then the [Underground Waterway] dungeon, and even the horde of [Frogmen] that emerged instead of a proper ‘boss.’

It didn’t make sense that the source of a dungeon with such a huge impact could be something so minor.

But a [Trial] changed everything.

I instinctively understood.
At the same time, I was certain.

The rift in front of me was indeed the root cause of all these events.

As I narrowed the distance, the <System> automatically updated.

‘…<Sea Dragon Temple>…’

I had never heard of it in ‘GAL.’
Curious, I took another step forward.

Then, I felt the crisis naturally.

“…!”
“Meow, Seha!”

Meowi, who rushed over, grabbed my waist and pulled me back roughly.

There was no need to ask what she was doing.

*Kwakakakak! *
*Rumble! *
Boom!!!

A massive water stream.

A stream of water gushing out with the force of a dragon rising from the ground revealed its fierce momentum.

The shapes of dozens of water streams rippled.

A vortex’s spectacle that seemed like it could grind you down with just a touch.

They stood side by side, forming a barrier that one couldn’t enter.

Damn.
I almost got shredded.

“Meowi, thank you.”
“Meow… you’re welcome.”

I stood up and observed the swirling vortex here and there.

It was a typical trap designed to repel intruders.

“…Hmm.”

Just in case, I drew the [Saint’s Sword] and held it tightly.

The blade emitted a white glow, drawing a crescent-shaped sword aura.

It was the manifestation of the [Holy Slash] that I had saved to use on the [Boss], but eventually missed the timing.

“Heup!”

With the momentum to cut down in one go, I struck the sword down.

The result was a failure.

Pakang!

The shattered [Holy Slash] scattered in all directions.

“…Tsk.”

Besides that, I tried various attacks with the help of Meowi and Choi Mari.

In the end, it was a meaningless effort.

As if it was receiving absolute protection from the [System], it didn’t even make a scratch.

Choi Mari, who was watching, asked with a worried face.

“Meep… What should we do? No matter how I look at it, we need to do something about that [Trial]…”

Choi Mari’s opinion was valid.

The [Closure] artifact could only be activated when the source of magic disappeared.

This meant that unless we conquered the [Sea Dragon Temple], it was impossible to get rid of it.

I folded my arms and pondered for a moment.

“For now, let’s head back.”
“Meep. Is that okay?”
“We don’t have any other means right now. Let’s be satisfied with breaking the [Underground Waterway]. I will report to the Chairman and Professor Peng Jin-ah.”

I extended my hand to Choi Mari with a gentle smile.

“Senior Mari, thank you so much for today. Let’s meet again in a few days.”
“Yes, thank you for letting me smell the top of your head, Junior Ma Hana… Oh, wait a minute. Again?”

Choi Mari looked at me, saying, “Eeeeh?”

Alright, again.

We would need her help to return to the <Sea Dragon Temple>.

Moreover, this was a <Trial>.
It was a cluster of fortuitous encounters unlike any ordinary <Dungeon>.

‘…Leaving it alone without reaping any rewards from it?’

No way. That’s impossible.

I smiled brightly and spoke.

“You’ll help me, right?”

“…Meep.”

“Whew…”

After finishing the <Underground Waterway> dungeon, the sun was already setting.

Right after parting ways, I headed straight to the <Dormitory>.
After washing up and eating something, it was already late at night.

First, I gave a brief report to Yu Neung-hae and Peng Jin-ah.

I also mentioned that I’d explain the details in person tomorrow.

A place as significant as a <Trial> couldn’t be casually handled.

‘Good.’

So, from now on…
Let’s begin today’s settlement.

‘The biggest news is, of course, the recruitment of Senior Choi Mari.’

Well, she seems unaware of the recruitment…
But I had already received permission from Divine Light Garam, so all I had to do was send the official party member contract.

With that, I would have a solid <Healer> and <Joker> in the party.

Me, Meowi, Moon Bora, Ju Na-young, and Choi Mari.

Essentially, the party I had envisioned from the start was now complete.

Next up was Meowi’s growth.

―Mmmmph… Meoow!
―Hehe.

On the way back, I checked by touching Meowi’s angelic cheeks.

The elixirs and training received from the <Academy>.
Meowi’s current stats, achieved through the potential awakening of the [Lucky Machine], averaged 23-25.

Of course, [Divinity] wasn’t included in that count.

‘This should allow her to continue growing steadily even without additional help for a while.’

That summed up the progress of the party members.

Now it was time to review my own growth.

‘The levels of [Dash], [Powerful Agility], and [Unwavering Insight] have each increased by 1.’

Thanks to this, the stats that hadn’t been improving much lately have grown.
Specifically, Speed increased by 2, and Spirit by 1.

‘Additionally, the level of [Pain Resistance] also increased.’

It precisely reached level 5.
As if waiting for this, [Evolution] was activated.

Among these, I chose [Enduring Pain Resistance].

[Indomitable Pain Resistance] had an effect that boosted mental strength.

But I already had the sufficiently good <Mental Support> ability of [Unwavering Insight].

Maybe later.

There was no need to get two right now.

‘If that’s the case, it would be better to increase the pain relief effect with [Enduring Pain Resistance].’

‘Good, good…’

Next is the skill obtained through copying.
In the <Underground Waterway> dungeon, I diligently beat up <Frogmen> and <Lizardmen> to obtain it.

[Deep Underwater Breathing] was great, of course.

But what really caught my attention were [Strange Monsterous Strength] and [High Bone Density].

These two abilities had particularly good synergy with each other.

‘To exhibit super strength, the endurance to withstand the force must be high.’

And that wasn’t all.

From the final battle with the 45 <Frogmen> in the <Boss Room>, I had gained additional rewards.

[Spear] was exactly what it sounded like—a skill that enhanced spear combat techniques, so I could ignore that for now.

[Underwater Dash], on the other hand, was incredible. It was a mobility-focused ability that allowed me to move at high speed underwater.

Moreover, it even enables running ‘on water’.

By default, it had the [Underwater Walking] effect embedded within it.

As someone who possessed [Underwater Breathing], I could essentially move freely underwater like a <Frogman>.

Nodding in satisfaction, I checked my stats for the first time in a while.

Wow.

I had really grown a lot.

To think that this much had changed since I enrolled at the Academy, and it hadn’t even been half a semester yet.

At this rate, C-grade was a given.
And considering all the utility skills I had, I could probably handle B-grade opponents as well.

‘If you add the [Song of the Sword] that responds to <Killing Intent> and other things…’

I could probably even deal with A-grade threats.

Yes.

Even the <Twin Head Troll>, which had once presented a seemingly insurmountable challenge, would now fall to my enhanced attack power.

It was only my attack power, but still, that was something.

Just as I was basking in satisfaction—

‘…Huh?’

Fwoosh!

I was startled by the bright light that suddenly burst out before my eyes.

Startled, I noticed the golden <Information Window> glowing before me.

Could it be?

I blinked in confusion.

‘What in the world?’

I hadn’t done anything…

And then the word ‘someone’ caught my eye, and I thought, ‘Could it be…?’

‘Did Meowi do something?’

For now, I calmed down.
[Benevolence]…
Had [Rank 1] ever mentioned something like this?

‘…At least not according to the information I’ve heard.’

In the stages he informed me, there was no such thing as [Benevolence].

I hurriedly checked the information window.

‘……’

I was speechless for a moment, utterly dumbfounded.
Then, a past memory came to mind.
I rechecked the information of [Eyes of Reversed Heaven].

‘As expected…’

That’s right.
There was doubt about it.

As expected, [Nekomata’s Luck] was one of the skills that unlocked the potential of [Eyes of Reversed Heaven].

‘…It must have been lying dormant all this time because the level wasn’t high enough to fully unlock it.’

I guessed that Meowi, who had unlocked her potential thanks to Choi Mari, had inadvertently triggered this ability, affecting me as well.

‘…Hmm.’

Well, whatever.
[Awakening] was good for me.
However, this ability was quite tricky.

No, to be blunt, it was a cheat.
Well, it had been a cheat from the beginning, so it wasn’t surprising…

‘…Copying the abilities of the character?’

And three of them?

I wasn’t sure what the exact measure of ‘favorability’ was, but it seemed absurdly revolutionary.

‘…But.’

I hesitated.

It was inevitable.

Isn’t this essentially telling me to steal something from our angelic Meowi?

‘Hey, that’s a bit…’

Ahem.

Of course…

It wasn’t like I hadn’t taken things from monsters before.
Or even three from Ju Na-young.

‘But this feels unfair.’

This time is different.

It’s not something I initiated myself.

Isn’t this a scenario where I actually have a choice?

Naturally, I hesitated.

For about 30 minutes.
What should I do…?
Should I just pretend I didn’t see it?

Knock, knock.

The familiar sound of knocking came.

―Se-Seha?

Surprised by the voice of Meowi, I opened the door.

“Meowi?”
“Ah, hello…”

Meowi, in pajamas, was holding a pillow and glancing up at me.

With a sleep headband on her cat ears as a bonus.

Ugh!

So cute!

“…Meow?”
“Ah, no, come inside for now.”

Though my skills were clumsy, I served the herbal tea quite decently.

It wasn’t like I had any particular interest in tea ceremonies…

Moon Bora had given it to me, saying, “Have a cup if you can’t sleep at night,” but I didn’t expect it to come in handy like this.

“Slurp…”

Even the way she drank was cute.

“Meow…”
“Oh, be careful.”
“Okay.”

She stuck out her tongue, finding it hot, and smiled bashfully.

I bent over, my heart aching for the first time in a while.

If there were a screenshot function, I’d take a photo and keep it right away.

Anyway, I decided to stop being silly and start asking.

“So, Meowi, what’s the matter?”
“……”

Meowi, who was slightly checking my reaction, fidgeted with her fingers.

She subtly handed over an information window.

I looked at it curiously and began to read carefully…

“…?!”

I stared back with a surprised expression.

Huh…?

“Meowi.”

Could it be you, too?
Hey, me, too!