The first time I discovered that Yu Danyeong possessed such an Ability—or, more precisely, the first time Yu Danyeong’s existence was truly impressed upon me—was after the fiftieth iteration.
- Are you alr-right?! Take my hand! Hurry!
- ……What is this……?
When several Mages went berserk in the streets and turned them into a sea of fire.
Yu Danyeong said that, with an all-or-nothing mindset, she had combined the ice-type Skill she had received by selling space in her Skill window with her Infusion Skill.
The result was nothing less than tremendous growth in her Ability.
A Skill window could hold only ten Skills for everyone.
However, Yu Danyeong no longer fell into the category of ‘everyone.’
An SSS-Rank Ability that allowed her to use her Skill window indefinitely by combining unwanted Skills whenever she acquired them.
Those versions of Yu Danyeong who became Skill Masters eventually escaped poverty.
Perhaps because of her disposition, she went around helping people combine their Skills even when they had not hired her. As a result, she never rose to the level of a chaebol or a great magnate.
She was, quite literally, the Hephaestus of Human Love in the world of Skills.
That was Yu Danyeong’s talent.
***
The Volcanic Golem had appeared with a thunderous boom and a roar loud enough to make one’s ears ring.
It did not take long for that enormous B-Rank boss to become a helpless lump of stone, unable to react as it was battered without mercy.
[Yu Danyeong has used the Skill 「Frostwind」(C).]
[Skill 「Mimicry」(???) has been used.]
[Mimicry: Yu Danyeong - 「Frostwind」(E)]
Yu Danyeong’s Frostwind and my Frostwind, copied after watching hers.
The two Frostwinds froze the Volcanic Golem’s joints simultaneously.
Even if two Frostwinds struck together, the target was still a mass of lava and stone.
The Golem’s lava instantly melted the ice, but that did not mean it could attack us.
[Leia has used the Skill 「Ice Bullet」(B).]
Every time the Golem tried to move an arm, Leia restrained it with 「Ice Bullet」. Whenever the frozen lava melted, Yu Danyeong used 「Frostwind」 again to freeze it.
Me?
It was enough that I had set up the board. Did I need to move every Go stone placed on top of it, too?
Besides, my 「Mimicry」 could not copy the same Skill more than once a day. Since I had already mimicked 「Frostwind」, all I could do now was resent my past self for not bringing popcorn.
‘As expected, this is the most efficient method.’
There were two conditions for 「Patchwork」 to evolve into 「Hephaestus of Human Love」.
First, the person needed to face danger related to fire.
Second, they needed to combine Skills to overcome that danger.
Those two conditions had not been difficult, but what mattered came afterward.
The rank of a Skill created through 「Hephaestus of Human Love」 depended on two factors.
The ranks of the combined Skills, and Yu Danyeong’s emotions.
The more intense Yu Danyeong’s emotions were, the better the resulting Skill’s effectiveness.
That was why, before Yu Danyeong awakened her Ability, I had consistently given her only the minimum information and pushed her as hard as possible.
Just as now, the result was always the best possible one.
【U-Uwooooh……!】
“Nice sound~”
After being frozen and thawed dozens of times in rapid succession, the Golem finally collapsed completely and began losing its form.
Once the Golem had fallen apart, it could not reassemble itself. It only groaned in agony where it lay. As the lava around its head gradually cooled, the surrounding lava hardened with it.
“All right, the Dungeon clear is over! Let us go home. I am hungry after moving around so much. Are you not?”
I cheerfully proposed this to the two of them.
Yu Danyeong was staggering from using too many Skills in such a short time, while Leia had collapsed to the ground and was crying loudly.
“Y-Yes, l-let us…… gulp go home…….”
“……Waaah……. Father……. Mother……. I have been thoroughly caught by that lunatic…….”
I really should not feed that b×stard today.
***
“Here. Take it.”
“I-Indeed, I cannot accept this……. It is practically because of you, Mr. Kang Seon, that my Ability awakened. The Coins and even the gem…… this is not right…….”
I knew she would be like this.
Yu Danyeong stubbornly refused to accept either the Coins or the gem embedded in the Golem’s head in place of an eye.
Her Mana Depletion had not even fully recovered yet. Where did that stubbornness come from? It must have been her first time properly using a Skill, so her nausea should have been even worse.
If I had not prepared in advance, this would have become more troublesome.
“So, Mr. Kang Seon. You must take either the gem or the Coins…….”
DING!
[Clause 1 of the contract takes effect.]
[Clause 4 of the contract takes effect.]
[‘Eye of Lava’ and ‘Kang Seon’s’ 100,000 Coins are awarded to ‘Yu Danyeong.’]
Yu Danyeong’s eyes widened as large as fists. I grabbed Leia by the scruff of her neck, dragged her away, and grinned.
“What can you do? The contract does not want that. Do not do anything unnecessary. You might become disabled~”
“B-But, even so…….”
“If you have a complaint, you should have read the contract properly.”
Once some distance separated us, Yu Danyeong shouted with all her strength.
“M-Mr. Kang Seon!”
“What?”
“Why are you treating me so well? W-We only just met…….”
I paused for a moment. It was true that, at this point, we had only just met.
Still, I could not say something like, ‘We met a lot in our past lives. You made a very good impression on me. Do you believe in regression?’
Nor could I honestly tell her, ‘You were the kindest person in all the lives I have experienced, so I wanted to repay you at least a little.’
Therefore, after wasting time unnecessarily, I chose a suitable excuse.
“It is because I intend to rip you off once you become rich after striking it big with your Ability. Why?”
It was a lame excuse, but perhaps it sounded more believable than kindness without a reason. Yu Danyeong nodded.
“……Yes. You must definitely rip me off. I will never forget this kindness.”
“That is too heavy.”
***
After we put plenty of distance between Yu Danyeong and us and had walked for a while, Leia spoke.
“Benefactor. There is something I would like to ask.”
“Think carefully. If it is something you can search online, search it first. If it is something you cannot find online, think three times about whether you truly need to know before you ask.”
“Why did you specifically choose a lava region as the condition to awaken Miss Danyeong’s Ability?”
This b×stard asked after one second. Should I really abandon her?
“Her Ability awakens when she faces danger caused by fire. Fire is the basic condition.”
Leia adopted a thoughtful pose and expression.
Oh. Nothing came to mind except how pretentious she looked.
“I will not ask how you know even the awakening condition for another person’s Ability. Since you know about , and even about my embarrassing past…… you must have some secret concerning knowledge.”
I was a little surprised.
Honestly, I had thought Leia was simply too stupid to sense anything strange. I had not expected her to accept it on her own and move on.
“What I am curious about is…… why did it have to be ‘fire’? Usually, would not combining Skills during a crisis be enough to meet the condition?”
“You are right. The conditions given by the System may all seem absurd, but they have meaning and reasons behind them. Naturally, there is a reason in Yu Danyeong’s case as well.”
I recalled something Yu Danyeong had told me once.
- My younger sibling……. Before falling unconscious because of the Curse of Gluttony, they first experienced Re-Awakening and Rampage. Because of that, the place where we lived became ashes, and my sibling was burned by the fire they created.
If I had possessed an Ability back then……. I could have helped them avoid suffering. I think that regret is why fire became my awakening condition.
“Well…… the reason is not mine to tell.”
Perhaps Leia understood the concept of tact after all, because she did not ask anything else.
- So, Mr. Kang Seon. If you think something might happen to you, please call me. I do not want to repeat the same mistake. I have enough power now. You know that, right?
Because I remembered words I had not wanted to remember, I did not say anything for a while either.
Not long after saying that, Yu Danyeong had stepped forward to help me and died.
***
Now that Yu Danyeong’s life had improved, it was finally time to make the death plan I had postponed and postponed.
Since it was the last time, should I close my eyes peacefully without any pain? Or should I crawl into somewhere that hurt a little for the sake of a fitting ending?
Freezing to death was excluded. I thought I would be unable to bear how unpleasant it would feel throughout the entire process.
“Come to think of it, this is strange.”
“What is it, Benefactor?”
“Why did you naturally become someone who was coming home with me?”
Only after arriving in front of my house did I think of that obvious question.
It had felt so natural that I had not even paid attention to it until now.
“Benefactor. Think carefully.”
“The fact that such an intelligent word as ‘think’ came from your mouth is astonishing.”
Leia ignored me and asked,
“Where was I originally?”
“The Gamble Center?”
“Who managed me at that time?”
“The Gamble Center.”
Leia’s expression became triumphant.
“Who brought me out?”
“Me?”
“Then who should manage me?”
“Get out immediately. I will process your return right now. Let us turn you in to the Gamble Center and find the light.”
Leia cautiously asked in response to my firm answer.
“Um……. What do you think will happen if I return to the Gamble Center?”
“Well. The happiest scenario would be dying or being trapped in the mirror again. Otherwise, you might be caught by that perverted b×stard from the underworld and turned into a toy from head to toe.”
“And you still want to send me back to the Gamble Center?! Benefactor, do not give up on being human! Please have some decency! I think there has been some misunderstanding between us, so instead of saying such ominous things, let us resolve it through conversation!”
I rarely said things like this.
But this woman was truly a malice-free f×cking b×stard.
“Hey, you…….”
“Yes, that is right. I think there has been some misunderstanding.”
A gentle voice touched my ear, and a chill ran through me as I swallowed my breath.
No, it was not only the voice that touched my neck……
“Take even one step, and it will pierce your throat.”
It was a sharply honed thread.
Leia must have realized that something was touching her throat as well, because she froze rigidly with a pale face.
“My, my. I wonder how such a misunderstanding arose. First, I do not make mere toys. I make my lovely dolls. And I do not turn just anyone into a doll. I have very particular tastes. I choose only those who interest me.”
I was f×cked.
I was truly f×cked.
I should have accounted for a variable of this level, but it had been so long since I had properly acted during an iteration that I had grown careless.
Of all people, it had to be this b×stard.
A man with short purple hair, mismatched red and black eyes, and a smirk in which nothing looked ordinary.
The number-one person to avoid for anyone involved in the underworld.
The S-Rank Hunter ranked second, known as the ‘Labyrinth Dollmaker.’
Sa Ujin.
Throughout thousands of regressions, he held first place in my personal ranking of, ‘The one person I never want to die to.’
“Incidentally, this is not a suggestion. You know that, right?”
It seemed I was truly f×cked.