A Tearful Reunion (2)

The last group member.
Even Moon Bora joined, crying “Hungeung-eung!” as she sat down.
Including me, all four of us snuggled under one blanket.

Ah, of course, our tearful Bora.
She made meaningless tearful protests until the very end.

“Hoo, hungeung! I didn’t say we’d sleep together!”
“Yong-ah… Bora, don’t move, just stay still. It’s already cramped with your big chest and hips…”
“A-a surprise sexual harassment! Besides, Ju Na-young’s curves aren’t small either!”
“Mua~ Everyone’s so soft and warm~”

Bickering.
A tearful, emotional time.

Moon Bora also nodded off, probably tired from rushing up.
I gently stroked her hair.

“Hungeung…”
“Let’s get some sleep and talk later.”

About five hours after we all slept together as one on the bed.
We regained consciousness in the afternoon,
washed up, changed into comfortable clothes, and naturally gathered in the living room.

The conversation about what we did during vacation started along with dinner.

The first to draw attention was me.
Moon Bora and Ju Na-young clung closely to my sides, looking worried.

“Yu Seha!”
“Seha!”
“Uh, yes?”
“What happened with the Qilin hunt?”
“…You’re not hurt anywhere, right? Right?”
“Of course not.”

I petted Meowi’s head as she sat on my lap baking bread,
and told them what had happened.

After about two hours of explaining while stroking Meowi’s head who kept making “Mua~” sounds.

They looked at me with shocked faces.

“…In the world, a traitor in the <Order>…”
“W-wait… then if this had failed…”
“The Order would have fallen, the holy maiden dragged away as a sacrifice. In the worst case, a Demon King might have descended.”
“Wait a minute. Demon King!? Demon King!?”
“…M-meow?!”

Even Meowi, who was purring, widened her eyes at the last explanation.

She couldn’t hide her surprise at the disaster that almost happened beyond imagination.

I touched Meowi’s chin and continued.

Various aftermaths.
Including that Shibasaki Ryuko’s life was ended.

“…Phew, it’s a huge relief that she’s dead.”
“Right, if she had survived… just thinking about it is terrifying.”

Next, the story of meeting the Plum Blossom Sword Empress with Peng Jin-ah and heading to <Eastern Heaven Sword Manor>.

“Yong-ah!? The Plum Blossom Sword Empress, you mean that S-rank hunter?”
“It was Lady Wei Ga-ryeong, right? How many things have you gone through in such a short time?”

Additionally, the fact that Peng Jin-ah and the Plum Blossom Sword Empress have a master-disciple relationship.
Of course, I didn’t talk about the story related to the Sword Ghost.
No matter how close they are, one cannot casually reveal the master’s important matters.

‘…Just as I silently wait even knowing Moon Bora’s past.’

This was a matter for Peng Jin-ah and the Plum Blossom Sword Empress to resolve.

Anyway, a question at this point.

“Ju Na-young.”
“Yong-ah?”
“I actually have something to ask.”
“Yong-ah?”

A question about the robed woman who helped during the Qilin hunt.

Ju Na-young’s eyes twitched slightly.

“Ro-robe?”
“Yes, it was red with the Dragon Sword Mir emblem blazing.”
“…”
“Ah, and she even used the ultimate skill ‘Annihilation Sword’. She must be a top-class fire mage.”
“…”
“Probably one of the very few in Dragon Sword Mir… do you know who she is?”
“…”

Ju Na-young sweated nervously and glanced sideways.

“I-I don’t know~? But don’t worry. I’ll find her and definitely thank her.”
“Ah, thank you.”

After finishing the explanation, we headed underground.
Upon arrival, we saw a training ground equipped with sturdy automatic repair facilities.

It was a place Su Ok-bin proudly showed us.

‘She said it’s not as good as the academy but almost as excellent.’

According to the explanation, it just lacks the <Virtual Training> system.
The rest is the same as the academy.

That was natural.

Because <Virtual Training> was possible only due to the unique ability of the <Magic Array> called [Phantasma].

This was more than enough to show each person’s achievements.

“Meowi!”

The first demonstration was by our angelic meow.
She raised her shield, and blue magic sparkled.
Soon, the image of a roaring blue wolf was engraved.

But that was not the end.
A black wolf armor, like what northern warriors might wear, covered her entire body.

These were the first and fifth forms of <Kallas Shield Technique>: [Twilight Wolf].
And the fifth form [Devotion of the Wolf Spirit King].

Both were Hero-grade skills.

They enhanced the caster’s overall stats and unlocked special exclusive skills.

“M-mua… I have more, but for now, just this much, hehe.”
“Meowi!”

I ran toward Meowi, who smiled shyly.
Well done.
So well done!

I grabbed Peng Jin-ah, lifted her up high, and repeatedly lowered her down.

Then I wildly petted her head and pulled her cheeks!

“M-eow! H-huji-meow… M-meowww!”
“Our meowi is a genius. A genius!”

Next was Ju Na-young’s turn.
Ju Na-young giggled and took a deep breath, gathering strength.

Red scales covered her entire body as she activated <Dragon Flame>.

It was definitely the manifestation of her unique ability [Child of the Dragon].

But there was something different from before.

“Oh? Ju Na-young, your scales seem thicker? And you have horns now!?”
“Yong hehe… yes!”

Thanks to raising her skill levels a lot,
she could now exert stronger power.

Additionally, there was an ability usable only in this state.

Flare-up!

“…!”

I was greatly surprised to see flames wrapping around Ju Na-young’s arms.
Though flames, they were definitely blue flames.

“Ju Na-young, you?”
“Hehe, my [Burning Flame Demon] reached level 15.”

She said it was a derived skill learned thanks to that.
Its grade was an Epic.

This meant Ju Na-young was on the verge of her final growth.

I happily petted Ju Na-young’s head.
Ju Na-young was delighted, not knowing what to do.

The last turn was our tearful Bora.

Actually, I had seen Moon Bora last week, so I roughly knew how much she had grown.

So what I focused on was safety.

Moon Bora knew this well and used the skill [Ice Moon Divine Technique].
She focused on healing internal injuries with [Burning Flame Demon] intermittently.

However, she showed one unexpected skill.

Flare-up!

“…!”

Intense heat blossomed around Moon Bora’s body.
A ring of flames wrapped around her body like a fairy’s winged robe.

At the same time, a ring of cold mixed with it, turning purple.

Cold and heat.

Two opposing forces clashed and circulated.

This created a completely different third power, visible as this phenomenon.

“M-Moon Bora… you!”
“…Phew.”

Moon Bora sustained it for about 10 seconds.
Soon she made a pained expression and stopped using it.

“S-sorry. It’s still incomplete… I’m ashamed.”
“No, it’s really excellent!”

For me, I had only said it might be theoretically possible.

But Moon Bora didn’t ignore it and steadily tried until she succeeded in mastering it somewhat.

I instinctively felt it.

‘If she succeeds in truly making that her own…’

Surely, Moon Bora will be able to exert power beyond her limits.

“Well done! As expected of Moon Bora! I’ll pull your cheeks as a reward!”
“…Y-yes? Why is the conclusion like that… Wait! Hoo, hungeung!”

As I pulled Moon Bora’s cheeks repeatedly.

Ju Na-young, who had been watching until the demonstration ended.
Slowly approached Moon Bora and gently asked.

“Hey, hey Moon Bora.”
“Hungeung. What?”
“How on earth did you acquire such powerful fire skills?”
“…”

Moon Bora kept silent.
Ju Na-young kept asking her.

“You said before you had no talent for fire attributes. What you just used is at least Hero grade. Did you get some lucky chance? Even so… logically you shouldn’t be able to learn it…?”
“W-well… um.”

Ju Na-young’s doubts were valid.
This world follows the laws of ‘GAL’ exactly.

Considering the centuries-long history of hunters, Moon Bora was a kind of cheat character.

‘What makes that possible is…’

Exactly the [Eyes of Reverse Heaven] that I possess.

A glance.

Moon Bora looked at me.
Peng Jin-ah, who was clinging to my side baking bread, also looked at me.

They already knew each other well.
That this was possible because I helped.
Their eyes told the story.

-I’ll leave it to Seha’s judgment.

I scratched my cheek for a moment.
I thought it was actually good.

I was planning to tell Ju Na-young about it this time anyway.

‘She too…’

She was someone as trustworthy as the two of them,
A comrade and precious person I wanted to walk with until the end.

Since it came to this, I decided to settle the <Repayment> as well.

I cleared my throat and spoke.

“Um, Meowi and tearful Bora, could you step outside for a moment?”

After asking their understanding.
Yu Seha explained the [Eyes of Reverse Heaven] to Ju Na-young.
He carefully explained each function.

After hearing the story, Ju Na-young looked at me with surprised eyes.
Bright, sparkling eyes.
She soon stood up and started jumping excitedly.
Like an excited child.

“Yong-woo!”

“J-Ju Na-young?”

“To think you have such a unique ability! Yu Seha, you’re way more amazing than I thought! Just as I expected from the man I acknowledge! That’s how it should be!”

Yu Seha looked at Ju Na-young for a moment.
Then he chuckled.

He had a feeling this would happen…
Still, he gently asked once.

“…Aren’t you angry?”
“Yong?”
“I originally stole and learned Burning Flame Demon and Charge from you. And though unintentionally, you found out at last.”

Ju Na-young tilted her head as if it was no problem.

“Why be angry? I heard that the Eyes of Reverse Heaven don’t just mindlessly copy when you activate them, but you have to understand and internalize. It’s a very difficult condition. It’s all your skill in the end, so what’s the problem?”

“…It’s not Eyes of the Dragon but Eyes of Reverse Heaven. Well, yeah, but I thought you might despise me…”

At those words, Ju Na-young’s eyes widened.
Soon she smiled gently and straightened her shoulders.
She muttered, “Indeed, indeed~ you had such worries?”

Finally, she came closer and patted my back.

“What~ you cared about all that?”
“Hey, hey. Ju Na-young, that hurts…”
“Yong hehe. I guarantee even without that eye candy, you would have learned it well.”

Because he’s our amazing leader, after all?

“And it’s just the order. Ma Hana knew first, and Moon Bora got it because of internal injury issues, right?”

That’s right.
Yu Seha told them Ma Hana and Moon Bora already knew.
He also explained how they found out.

Oh, additionally…
Of course, ahem.

He didn’t mention the unnecessary detail that they slept hugging almost naked.

‘…If that got out…’

He couldn’t even imagine the bloodshed that would follow.

Ju Na-young fiddled with her fingers.
She smiled shyly, blushing a little.

“Oh, rather… thank you for trusting me and telling me.”

Yu Seha was silent for a moment.
Looking at the red-haired girl before him, he silently gave thanks for this bond.

“…I’m the one who should thank you for saying that.”

A little later.
Yu Seha and Ju Na-young sat facing each other.

What they were about to do was <Repayment>.
They judged the time had come.
They intended to transfer abilities.

[The path of ‘Repayment’ is activated.]
[‘Repayment’ is a bond power based on a relationship established with a specific person.]
[Currently usable on Ju Na-young. You can randomly copy and transfer 2 skills from her.]

At first, I thought to transfer [Burning Flame Demon] like with Moon Bora, but I decided against it because of the blue flames shown earlier.
Ju Na-young agreed.

“If you have two such powerful fire skills… it might be a bit much, right?”
“Yong. Yes, more is better but it depends on the case and timing… For me, it’s hard to fully control this power. Adding a Unique grade skill here might make it harder.”

As always,
Having many powerful skills isn’t always good.
The vessel isn’t complete yet, so too much is too much.

So I chose random transfer.
Because random transfer doesn’t take unreasonable abilities.

Even if the ability is useless, just owning it raises stats, so it would help.

Ju Na-young was the first to receive abilities.
She pressed the mutual consent button that appeared before her.

Soon, new power seeped in.

[Copying ‘Charge Crush’ and ‘Swift Step’ from Yu Seha.]
[Both are level 6 Hero-grade abilities.]
[Acquired without level reduction.]
[Total acquisition rewards: Strength +5, Speed +4, Endurance +3.]

Two decent winning skills.
They perfectly matched Ju Na-young’s lacking burst damage and movement speed.

Ju Na-young couldn’t hide her surprise seeing two Hero-grade skills suddenly appear.

Apparently, knowing something mentally and experiencing it are different feelings.

“Do you like them?”
“Yong? Uh, yes! I’m so surprised… it would take years to learn both. The Eyes of Reverse Heaven really are overpowered.”
“…It’s Eyes of Reverse Heaven.”

Ju Na-young scratched her head.
Yu Seha petted Ju Na-young’s head as if she was cute.

Ju Na-young said “Yo, Yong-ah…”
A dragon tail popped out from her hips.
It buzzed as she gave a playful “Hehe…” smile.

Now it was Yu Seha’s turn to receive.

Then a thought crossed Ju Na-young’s mind.

Huh?

‘Wait a minute?’

What if Yu Seha copies [Child of the Dragon] and can activate <Dragon Flame>?

Being able to use Dragon Flame means dragon blood flows in the body.

At the same time, it’s the most balanced and effective physical ability boost, so it would definitely help.

‘…Yong-ah?’

It naturally came to Ju Na-young’s mind.
Two people, a man and woman in dragon form.
Close together, using their tails to form a heart shape, enjoying a cozy date.

Pshshsh!

As she thought that far, white steam rose from Ju Na-young’s head.

“Yo-Yong hehe…”
“Ju Na-young? Are you okay?”
“I-it’s your turn now, Se-ha, right? Take my skills! Take Dragon Flame! Just take them!”

Yu Seha made a troubled face at Ju Na-young’s enthusiastic words.

“…No, this isn’t something I can choose and take as I want—”

Ding-!

[The power of ‘Tyrant’ intervenes in ‘Repayment’.]
[Proposing a temporary addition.]
[Instead of 2 random copies, they want to specify and take one skill.]
[If accepted, you can copy the Unique grade skill ‘Blood of the Transcendent’ from Ju Na-young.]

“…Huh?”

Yu Seha stared blankly.

He couldn’t hide his embarrassment at the unexpected <Info Window>.

“…What is this…”

What the heck?