#90: Sticky Sewer (4) — Starborn Cheat Character

“B-Bora… hey…”

I looked at Ma Hana (the slime) approaching with a stuttering speech.

The creature, waddling towards me, paused momentarily.

It gazed at my face intently, then smiled even brighter.

The slightly visible fangs formed a cute and lovely smile.

It opened its arms as if it truly knew me.

“M-me… meo… w… w… S-Seha…”
“……”

The main stage of the <Dormitory Terror> incident.
The <Sticky Sewer> dungeon.

Once, there was a poll conducted among the supervisors in the ‘GAL’ community.

Which dungeon is the most damnable?

Various candidates emerged, and the competition was fierce, so no definitive answer was reached.

However, everyone unanimously ranked this <Sticky Sewer> within the top five.

This was quite unexpected.
“The Sticky Sewer” was not particularly difficult in terms of difficulty.
There were no proper traps, and the monsters that appeared could be easily defeated if you knew the strategy.
However, everyone considered this place number one just because it was ‘freaking annoying.’

The reason was right in front of me.

“Me-Meo… Ah… Se… Ha…”
“…Damn.”

The reason I knew about this hidden piece but didn’t do it when I had the chance.
The reason I said, ‘I can’t do this.’ and gave up on the broadcast.
The reason the viewers also let it slide, saying, ‘This is a bit…’

It was because of the approaching “Camouflage Slime.”

This creature mimicked the appearance of the character the supervisor had been with the longest.

And it didn’t just mimic.

‘Memory.’

It reads the memories of the entered subject and almost perfectly replicates those memories and emotions.

Of course, reading memories wasn’t its inherent ability.

Anyway, what’s in front of me right now was an entity that almost copied the memories I felt for Ma Hana.

‘Is that a relief?’

I’ve heard that if there were multiple characters with over 500 hours of playtime, they would all get combined.

At that point, it feels like a chimera with multiple heads, and posting a screenshot in the community would get you instantly banned.

Yeah, I knew.
It was still clumsy at best.

The resemblance was only from the waist up.

The lower body wobbled with the slime’s unique liquefied form.

I heard that higher-level <Camouflage Slimes> could not only mimic the lower body but also converse fluently like normal people, making them indistinguishable from [Doppelgangers].

It was certain that the thing in front of me was not Meowi.

I knew that.

I knew it well.

“S-Seha… please… stroke… me.”

My grip tightened involuntarily.

This, this damned…!
Ah, I can’t bring myself to curse while looking at Meowi’s face.
Anyway, it’s truly malicious.

‘How dare it taint the memories of my favorite character…?!’

“Seha, it’s obvious, but that’s a fake, right?”
“Yeah, it’s a [Camouflage Slime] that mimics appearances.”
“…Does it have mental abilities? How does it know Hana’s appearance…?”
“That part is a gimmick of the dungeon.”
“…A gimmick?”

[Gimmick].
A term symbolizing a kind of device or trick.

In ‘GAL’, it generally referred to special rules possessed by ‘dungeons’ or ‘monsters’.

This was an ability unrelated to skills.

Literally, it was a power obtained due to spatial influences such as region or environment.

The [Sticky Sewer] had a gimmick that enhanced the abilities of the monsters inhabiting it.

“I see. That’s why there were no traps in the dungeon.”
“……”
“Anyway, Seha. They’ll be right in front of us soon. Let’s deal with them quickly.”
“……”
“…? Seha?”
“I-I can’t…”
“…What?”

Moon Bora looked curiously at Yu Seha, who was trembling all over.

Turning her gaze, she saw that he had his eyes tightly shut, looking like he was about to cry.

Seeing this rare display of weakness, Moon Bora couldn’t hide her surprise.

“…Sorry, Moon Bora. Can you get rid of that thing for me?”
“What?”
“No matter how fake it is… you want me to hit Ma Hana’s face?”

I can’t. I can’t do it.
I’d rather die than do it.
I absolutely can’t do it.

“…Are there any precautions?”
“Other than its transformation ability… it’s no different from a <Blue Slime>. No, it’s even weaker. So just cast a spell.”
“…Understood.”

Moon Bora stepped forward in place of Yu Seha.

She spread her arms and aimed at the slime, which seemed to be saying ‘Hug me~’.

“Bo… Bora… I-I’ll try… my best…”

Grit.

Moon Bora unconsciously gritted her teeth at the last words.

An emotion she didn’t think much of rippled like a stone thrown into water.

“It may be meaningless, but I have something to say.”

Ma Hana.
Our precious tank.

“…Is much cuter and more lovable than a pretentious fake like you.”

[Icicle] shattered the creature’s body into pieces.

Beeep!
Beep!
Beeeeep!

A horde of slimes continued to approach.

The two people, who had become proficient while matching each other’s pace, swiftly defeated the enemies without any particular crisis.

“Next to you, Moon Bora!”
“[Icicle]!”

With Moon Bora’s ice attack as the final blow, the <Beast Slime> horde disappeared.

Yu Seha wiped away the flowing sweat and moved forward.
Suddenly, he froze like a stone.

“…Seha?”

Moon Bora, puzzled, frowned at the sound of footsteps echoing again.

“M-Meow…”

<Camouflage Slime>.
The one that hadn’t been seen for about thirty minutes revealed itself.
Once again, in the half-melted form of Ma Hana.

“…Ugh, damn it.”
“Seha, stay here. I’ll handle it.”
“…Sorry.”

Yu Seha lowered his head as if he felt pathetic about himself.
A look of helplessness was plastered on his face.
Moon Bora felt that, even upon seeing it again, it was different.

“…No. Please turn around for a moment. Even if it’s fake, you don’t want to see it break, right?”
“…Yes.”

The one who always teases and jokes around, obediently followed her words.

Moon Bora found this strangely satisfying.
It felt good, yet pitiful.

‘…Seha, who is always so confident, seems so deflated.’

Just a little…
Hmm, yes, just a little.
Don’t misunderstand.

‘He seems to be cute.’

Moon Bora cleared her throat.

She walked slowly and cast [Icicle] without hesitation.

The <Camouflage Slime>, poorly imitating Ma Hana, shattered and disappeared.

Just as she was about to call Yu Seha…

Step.

‘…Oh no.’

Moon Bora clicked her tongue at the additional footsteps she heard.

This time, it seemed there were two instead of one.

To handle them in one go, she gathered mana in her hands and looked ahead.

And in that very posture…

“……”

She froze like ice.

She made eye contact with the being in front of her.
Her breathing gradually grew labored…

Cold sweat trickled down her forehead.

A slime approached with a squelching sound.

It was definitely a <Camouflage Slime>, but it didn’t look like ‘Ma Hana’.

A woman with very dark purple bobbed hair.
A beauty with strikingly sharp eyes.
At the same time, she bore an uncanny resemblance to Moon Bora.

It was undoubtedly a being she remembered.

“…It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

Unnie?

“…[Icicle].”

Bang!!!
Unlike before, the full-force [Icicle] exploded on the slime.

Startled by the noise, Yu Seha ran towards Moon Bora.

“What is it?! Was there another enemy?”
“…No. There was just… one more. I just took care of it as well.”
“Ah, I see… huh? Wait a moment.”

Nodding, Yu Seha belatedly noticed that Moon Bora’s condition was unusual.

Sweat was pouring down like rain, and her complexion was pale.
It was undoubtedly the face of someone who was shocked.

“…Yah, are you okay?”
“…I’m fine. I just saw something a bit unlucky.”
“Ah, even if it’s fake… just seeing our Meowi is healing…”
“…That’s not what I’m talking about.”

Sighing, Moon Bora advanced as if urging him to hurry.

Yu Seha grabbed her wrist and forcibly sat her down on the ground.

“…Seha?”
“Stay still.”

Then, with an elegant handkerchief from who knows where, he wiped her forehead.

“…Wh-What?!”
“Hey, don’t move. Anyway, let’s rest a bit before we go. The [Boss Room] is next anyway.”
“……”

Normally, she would have refused.
It can’t be helped, it’s the way it is.

But maybe the shock was too great.
Moon Bora felt that she needed his help right now.

Swipe, swipe.

His hands meticulously wiped her forehead, the bridge of her nose, then her cheeks.

Moon Bora looked at Yu Seha, who was gazing at her with concern, without saying a word.

‘…Grandfather.’

The only person in the family who saw her and her sister as his children.

She felt his gaze.

She slowly raised her hand.
She held Yu Seha’s hands and placed them on her forehead.

“…Moon Bora?”
“Seha.”

Can we stay like this for a moment?

“Huh? Oh, um…”
“…Thank you.”

About one minute.
A short time.

Thanks to him, Moon Bora found a little comfort.

A moment later.
The two walked towards the last remaining [Boss Room].

Moon Bora tightly shut her eyes as she watched Yu Seha walk ahead.

‘…You’re crazy.’

Crazy, crazy, Moon Bora!

‘Ah, no matter how much I think about it…’

She must have been bewitched by something.
Otherwise, such an embarrassing act…
Acting like a spoiled child.
There was no way she would do that in front of him.

Moon Bora, with her neck flushed red, barely restrained herself from dousing her body with ice.

‘…Still.’

His touch…
His gaze…
Was truly warm to her.

Just a little, but enough to shake off the memories of her sister.

‘…’

Moon Bora felt a peculiar sense of gratitude.
Soon, she noticed the item in her hand.

‘…Ah.’

The handkerchief that had wiped her forehead.
It seemed she had forgotten to return it and had put it in her pocket.

‘…Ju Na-young said… she gave it to him, right?’

She asked out of curiosity.
No matter how she thought about it, he didn’t seem like the kind of meticulous guy who would carry something like this around.

She heard that Ju Na-young, who was horrified at the sight of him wiping blood with his clothes, came and handed it to him.

‘Now I can return it.’

Moon Bora reached out towards Yu Seha, who was walking ahead.

Then she stopped.

For some reason…
She didn’t know why, but…

Even though she knew it was Ju Na-young’s item, Moon Bora didn’t want to return it.

‘…Seha gave it to me…’

The first thing he had ever handed to her.

That one fact gave meaning to the insignificant handkerchief.

‘…later I will…’

I’ll wash it and return it later.

Thinking that, she stuffed the handkerchief deep into her pocket.