Chapter 19

Even if you die during the login situation, the system will resurrect you, but regardless, the pain experienced during the battle process is not a pleasant one. Though I haven’t personally experienced it since I’ve always managed to kill the enemy before they get close, it’s only logical to assume this is true.

After searching the internet, it’s surprising how many explorers don’t suffer from PTSD, perhaps making the whole situation feel unexpectedly normal. Still, many in the mental health field have expressed concern about this scenario. I, for one, have no desire to experience it directly out of fear. After all, we don’t know how much interference the system might have on one’s mind.

Now that I think about it, the system, with its supernatural ability to interfere with the mind, requires skills to be activated verbally. Isn’t that a bit excessive? It would be better if they cared more about the mental health of the user.

Anyway, my battles so far have involved killing the enemy before they approached, resulting in hunts without a single injury. But this time, encountering rock-throwing orcs has rendered my usual hunting method ineffective.

To be honest, avoiding or shooting down the rocks isn’t life-threatening enough to justify calling it a limitation, but the main issue is that mindless hunting needs to be replaced with something more mindful, which means improving the old method. Ideally, this can be achieved through a broad defensive magic.

The simplest solution would obviously be to copy a defensive skill from a class-based system. But this approach was blocked before I could even try it out. Apparently, a suitable defensive magic skill wasn’t available for copying, according to information gathered online.

The system allows for a party system with parties consisting up to 10 members, but there is no proper defensive magic offered. It’s possible that the lack of active skill slots at the first-level job change is responsible, but isn’t it problematic that stable party hunting is impossible?

I wonder how other explorers manage to hunt under these circumstances. Actually, aren’t these people who manage to level up well despite such situations more impressive than someone like me who may have talent?

Since copying job skills for defense wasn’t an option, I decided after much thought to try creating a magic power barrier as a substitute for defensive magic. Initially, I wanted to create a spherical shield because it’s practical and common in games, but compressing magic power into a spherical form proved too difficult, so I abandoned the idea.

But when I actually constructed the magic power barrier, I encountered a troubling dilemma. Since magic power in its natural state lacks physical force, it must be sufficiently compressed to function as a barrier. Compression, compression—it’s an issue because when I experimented with slimes, I found out that overly compressed magic power tends to explode. This means the magic power barrier could potentially explode.

Naturally, I should only compress it to the point where I can control it, but that’s no simple task. Since the barrier is meant to collide with projectiles, factoring in the difficulty of controlling it during the collision means less compression is necessary. But with less compression, the barrier won’t adequately block incoming projectiles.

To avoid dying from explosions, I need to reduce compression, and to avoid dying from projectiles, I need to increase compression. What am I supposed to do?

“Isn’t increasing proficiency the answer?”

Yumina asked.

“It’s not that simple. Using a magic power barrier to block attacks means my proficiency with magic power must outweigh the chaos caused by the collision. The chaos increases with the strength of the opponent, so if they are stronger than me, the barrier will explode.”

Yumina blanked out for a moment.

“That’s obvious, isn’t it?”

“It is, but if the magic power barrier explodes during combat, it’s no longer obvious. If your opponent is already strong, and the barrier explodes, the situation will become dire.”

“So what are we doing today? Practicing defensive magic?”

“The prior discussions were about trial and error, and what we’re doing now is practicing defensive magic.”

Is there a type of defensive magic that’s safe even in cases of failure? After much thought, an alternative presented itself.

It’s called freezing magic. If compressing magic power is dangerous, then I shouldn’t compress it. Unfortunately, there’s no skill that allows me to erect a wall of ice with my mind alone, so instead, I’ll utilize the magic I have and apply it without compression—borrowed from the freeze enchantment skill.

I rummaged through the storage room and found a baseball. Even though no one in the household plays baseball, there it was, and I handed it to Yumina.

“Why is this here?”

“Since you’re just going to watch anyway, help me practice.”

“I’ve never thrown a baseball.”

“There’s nothing to hit, just throw it; you’ll be fine.”

We moved to an empty spot near the apartment complex and stood with our backs to the fence.

I first cast a thin barrier of magic power, then applied the freeze enchantment to it. The freeze enchantment, which I’ve practiced whenever I had free time, was quite easy to execute.

According to experiments conducted by the Exploration Guild, the concept of freeze enchantment entails both freezing objects and reducing their thermal and kinetic energy, even though it sounds odd, their results confirmed this.

If the experimental results are correct, the mere application of the freeze enchantment on the thin magic barrier should reduce the power of any projectile that collides with the barrier.

“Alright. Now throw it.”

“This way?”

Since Yumina couldn’t see the magic power, she indicated the direction to confirm. The barrier shimmered with frost in the air, but she seemed unsure.

“Yep.”

When Yumina threw the ball, it broke through the magic power barrier and hit the fence. I had no high expectations for this.

While Yumina retrieved the ball that had bounced away, I recreated the thin magic barrier and reapplied the freeze enchantment. Then, I repeated the process, creating a second layer this time.

“Throw it again.”

Once again, the ball easily shattered the magic barrier and hit the fence. Sure enough, that was expected.

I made the barrier a third layer thick.

“Throw it.”

“Wait a second. You’re not planning to keep doing this, right?”

“Yep.”

Yumina gave me a puzzled look and hesitated before throwing the ball. Of course, the barrier broke, and the ball bounced off the fence as before. With three layers, this outcome was entirely expected.

As I prepared the fourth layer, Yumina approached me and glared into my face.

“How much longer do you plan to keep doing this?”

“Hmm…until I get tired enough to want to stop?”

The purpose is to practice my proficiency with the magic power barrier, so it will keep repeating. If I must determine a stopping point, it would be when I can construct the barrier while half asleep? That’s probably when we can stop.

“I’m tired.”

“Not me, me.”

Yumina grabbed my shoulder and shook me vigorously.

“Hey! Take care of your friend! Your friend!”

“It’s not even tiring; you’re just making excuses.”

“Friends feel tired when they’re tired!”

“Alright, alright. Let go.”

She let go of my shoulder, and I completed the fourth layer of the magic barrier.

“Throw.”

Yumina blinked.

“Out of idle curiosity, has anything changed from last time?”

“Try throwing it first.”

The ball flew and destroyed the magic barrier. The magic power scattered, and the ball bounced off the fence. I caught it with magic and handed it back to Yumina.

“Why didn’t you give it back earlier?”

“I forgot.”

She looked at me skeptically, so I continued.

“I’m not accustomed to magic.”

Her skepticism persisted, so I shrugged and added,

“It’s true, I swear.”

It’s genuinely true. Believe it or not—it’s up to you.

I created the fifth layer of the magic barrier. Now it takes a bit longer to form.

“Throw.”

“Is something so slow even practical in real combat?”

“Maybe proficiency will make it work eventually?”

“The barrier’s not strong anyway. I can’t even see it; the ball just passed through what looks like smoke.”

“With five layers, the effect should start to become noticeable.”

The ball broke through the barrier and hit the fence. I caught it with magic and handed it back as I began adding layers.

“This time, it seems the ball slowed down. Still, it’s not practical for real combat.”

“With dozens of layers, it will be usable even in real battles.”

It’s like a sheet of paper. While one sheet is easy to pierce, dozens aren’t. And with the supernatural freeze enchantment added, it will only be more effective.

“Will the opponent wait while I build dozens of layers?”

“There could be delays, but in such cases, Doyugeon can buy me time.”

“Hmm… Doyugeon, huh. Speaking of which, how’s our dear young lady’s love life going?”

“I don’t know how many times I’ve said this now, but we’re not like that. Why do you keep asking?”

Yumina chuckled.

“Well, it’s amusing. Both of you believe nothing will happen between you.”

“To me, it’s funny that you think there’s any romantic feeling. Oh, you said ‘both,’ right? You didn’t ask him, did you?”

“Of course I did! Would I not?”

Oh, good grief. She really asked him!

“So what did he say?”

“He said we’re not like that.”

Of course, he would. Relieved, I completed the sixth layer.

“Throw.”

Yumina threw the ball. The magic barrier shattered but displayed a noticeable effect. Still, it takes too long to prepare, so is there a better way?

Upon completing the eighth layer and destroying it, a sudden idea struck me. What if I folded it like paper? Folding a sheet of paper doubles its thickness, so folding the magic barrier should double its layers each time.

Obviously, magic barriers and paper differ. If one side of a folded magic barrier is broken, the other side might be too, but won’t controlling it become possible with more practice? We’re in a fantasy world; shouldn’t anything be possible?

I folded the magic barrier at the fifth layer, completed, nearly losing control before successfully stabilizing it. It worked this time, but to fold more layers, more practice is required.

“Throw.”

“Already?”

“This time, it’s constructed in a new way. It should have the effect of ten layers.”

“Hmm…”

The magic barrier shattered, only providing the effect of five layers upon impact, but I failed to maintain control despite trying to prevent its dispersion. First attempts typically end this way. Still, confirming that magic control is possible counts as a small success.

“Chahaenyul listen.”

“To what?”

“I just had an incredible realization.”

“I just verified something important too.”

“More important than magic?”

“Isn’t love more important than magic?”

“Are there not many people who don’t date?”

“Those very individuals exemplify the societal and cultural essence concentrated in romance. A world with many singles—how wrong it is!”

Yumina threw up both arms in lamentation. So, you think about such things. Are you in your teenage years? Oh, right, you’re in middle school.

“So what incredible thing did you realize?”

“That I misjudged the relationship between you and Doyugeon.”

Is that your big realization? Incredible.

Yumina continued,

“Because childhood friends pass through a gateway before dating.”

“What kind?”

“The realization of them as the opposite gender. It’s natural to feel that way before starting a relationship. But since I kept talking about dating, you didn’t react! Do you sense Doyugeon as the opposite sex?”

“No.”

“Think and respond! Think.”

“You did keep mentioning dating, but haven’t we discussed before whether we perceive each other as the opposite sex?”

“It’s entirely different. Listen carefully. What I’m asking is whether your heart races when you’re around him.”

“His heart, not mine?”

“Yes.”

Since you’re asking so seriously, I seriously reflected. Actually, this question doesn’t require much thought.

“It probably does.”

Yumina froze. Not the answer she was hoping for, right?

“No, why?”

“That’s because I’m a beauty.”

He’s in his teens.

“Why?”

“You’re clearly perplexed. What do I say?”

“What I mean is, isn’t your response strange in that context?”

“Not really. You just said love and heart-racing are different, and heart-racing and liking someone are different too.”

Upon hearing my reply, Yumina fell silent before uttering just one word.

“Cruel.”

What does that even mean?

“Throw.”

The ball flew and shattered the barrier. Again, it only had the effect of five layers. Well, practice will fix it.

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