Chapter 88

There are four main methods to level up.

One is going to the hunting grounds guaranteed by the system. You can access these hunting grounds anytime and anywhere by shouting “log in,” and they even support resurrection, making them quite safe.

The second method is tackling rifts, which usually appear in populated areas. These rifts are managed by magical girls, who act as the system’s outsourced workforce; thus, theoretically, you need to go through them. However, this is not always necessary due to certain related companies.

These organizations often deal with magical girls, many of whom are runaway teenagers, and sometimes after counseling and education, they are sent back home. On the other hand, some private companies find these families, negotiate with the parents, and often secure magical girls who manage rifts on their behalf. Through these legitimate companies, you can tackle rifts without involving the illegal group of magical girls.

Despite these advantages, rifts have many disadvantages compared to the hunting grounds. For one, there is no resurrection available, and the monsters are intelligent and actively try to kill the explorers. After completing a rift challenge, one might even get caught in a tug-of-war for human resources between companies and magical girl organizations.

Despite these numerous disadvantages, people still prefer leveling up through rifts rather than the hunting grounds. When you level up through the hunting grounds, the monsters that appear can often be simply taken out with guns. However, the system restricts gun use in the hunting grounds due to potential illicit arms trade within the system, whereas rifts are exempt from such restrictions.

The remaining two methods are either paying companies for level-up services or hunting goblins that survived the Goblin invasion and now reside in remote places.

The best way to level up is obviously the system’s online hunting grounds. Thanks to the resurrection option, they’re the safest and most accessible.

But Doyugeon insisted we tackle the rift. He argued that monsters in the hunting grounds follow fixed patterns, making it necessary to challenge oneself when trying to improve skills. He emphasized the importance of solidifying one’s foundation instead of just focusing on raising levels.

Why not just level up enough to satisfy oneself and then focus on passing university entrance exams? I’m already worried about future job prospects, and he’s just thinking of escape routes. He’s actually getting decent grades, but his current decisions are risky.

High school students are prone to wandering paths, but it’s still unsettling to watch.

The same applies right now.

When the werewolf howled, the shockwave shattered and scattered nearby tree branches. A blizzard erupted.

“Come on!”

Doyugeon provoked the werewolf, causing it to charge. Each step it took as it ran shattered the ground beneath it. Doyugeon leaned his body to avoid the attack, and the missed strike slammed into the earth.

The ground fractured as Doyugeon’s stance wavered slightly, but he still delivered a slashing blow with his sword. A flash of sword energy aimed for the neck, but it ended up severing the arm instead.

Undisturbed by losing its arm, the werewolf aimed for Doyugeon’s flank with sharp fangs. As if having anticipated it, Doyugein twisted his unbalanced stance into a spinning kick that launched the werewolf into a row of trees with an explosive sound, shattering them. Snow flew, obscuring our view.

Doyugeon’s fighting techniques are commendable and he has healing magic, but watching him fight makes me uneasy. If he makes a mistake and gets bitten, it’ll be the end.

From beyond the snow-covered vision, a howl sounded. Doyugeon tightened his grip on his sword and prepared for an ambush. Piercing through the snowstorm, the werewolf appeared but not at Doyugeon—it was heading toward me.

Huh?

Doyugeon leapt into the path, his blade swinging. The werewolf twisted mid-air, sacrificing its remaining arm to leap toward me.

Then it collided with an unexpected magical barrier and slid down.

Wow, surprising, isn’t it?

The werewolf looked perplexed by the unexpected situation, a dumbfounded expression on its face. Did it think I was so easy to beat because of my small stature? Indeed, someone who likes to stay in the corner with books may look slow to react and thus appear an easy target.

I summoned a magic book that had been sitting on my bookshelf. After channeling my magic through a spatial magic array, the book materialized in my hands. The werewolf, judging that I was casting a spell, began to gnaw on the magical barrier, seemingly trying to break through my defenses before I could execute a complex spell.

I struck the werewolf trying to devour the book with a surge of magic. The magic exploded, spraying golden powder, avoiding blood splatter, which was a nice touch. The werewolf, its upper body destroyed, fell, turning into experience points.

Alright. Wizards really should use magic books. I sent the magic book back to its place on the bookshelf.

“Capturing them is good, but they keep targeting me too often.”

“That’s understandable since they target the wizard first when there’s one in the team, but…”

He paused mid-sentence, racking his brain for a way to prevent mobs from coming toward him. Well, his position at the front line must be pretty frustrating when it gets bypassed repeatedly.

Doyugeon was trying to devise a strategy, but it didn’t seem to be going well. Offensive and cooperative skills aren’t the same thing, and the monsters were finding ways to exploit his lack of experience.

Actually, the real cause lies with me. As an observer, it’s clear the problem stems from my inactivity. Watching Doyugeon fight, wondering whether he’ll be hurt or not, and just sitting there passively—it’s natural for mobs to target me, but I haven’t given the impression of being tough by moving or defending myself.

Since being targeted is actually a pretty good situation. Doyugeon has stepped up to hunt them down, so preemptively killing them with magic would seem presumptuous. Although letting them charge me is inherently more dangerous than Doyugeon swinging his sword from afar, it’s certainly safer for me than getting into close combat.

It seemed Doyugeon didn’t realize that this was the real problem since he was too focused on the frontal action and unable to see the greater scheme of things.

“There’s no need to overthink this. This is just a problem caused by you being in the front line and me being in the back. You don’t have any aggro-generating skills, so it’s only natural for mobs to bypass you.”

I repeated the logical-sounding explanation I had given several times already. Well, upon reflection, it goes beyond being logically sound—it’s the truth. Those fleeting thoughts I had earlier were mistaken. The setup of a 2-person party is fundamentally flawed, so it’s only natural that the wizard ends up burdened. This isn’t my fault for idly standing by.

“Guess it’s like that, isn’t it.”

Doyugeon sounded a little disheartened. Finally, it seems he’s been persuaded—repetition truly is key.

“Right. It’s pointless to overfocus on something unavoidable. These are facts and not because of your inadequacies. If you’re so bothered, why don’t you just switch to using guns instead of swords? Using a gun would eliminate this problem.”

Due to my lack of interest in politics, I’m not sure when it started, but thanks to the recent relaxation of laws related to firearms and private military companies, obtaining guns is not particularly difficult. Using guns during rift challenges has become quite the norm. It probably coincides with the time my dad was pretending to be busy consolidating his existing rift businesses and research institutes, staying out late.

“No, using a sword is better.”

He shook his head.

“To me, it seems that a time will come when swords will be more important than guns due to magical variables rendering firearms useless.”

He isn’t buying it.

What he’s saying suggests that system hunting grounds don’t allow firearms or lack gun-related skills and professions, meaning the system’s emphasis is on cold weapons. This insinuates that a scenario necessitating cold weapons will eventually arise.

So, I guess the EMP must have gone off worldwide? Important facilities have EMP countermeasures due to nuclear bomb preparedness, and major firearms aren’t electronic devices anyway, so these are irrelevant facts.

According to Doyugeon, the theory of cold weapons supremacy is a quietly popular argument online. Well, that’s the internet for you.

While it’s a rational inference based on ascribing meaning to the system, such wild theories usually start with a rational foundation. Since we generally call such conclusions based on objective data and rational inference “conspiracy theories,” this seems to fall into that category.

The premise is flawed. Although the system exists for humanity, suggesting that promoting cold weapons implies the need for such usage is far-fetched.

Observing the state of Schrödinger, who supposedly manages the system but spends most of his time lounging around on someone else’s bed or introducing magical girls into the real world just to watch them, no such theory would arise. Moreover, how does one justify gacha items while clinging to such notions? When you’re stuck anticipating the acquisition of D-grade item pieces, such arguments become unthinkable. Plenty of smart people could easily counter this argument.

Doyugeon, who is relatively intelligent, is probably aware of all this. But he insists on using the sword, likely because he feels talent-bound to the blade—a typical outcome of confirmation bias.

From a distance, a werewolf howled again. This time, the sound seemed to carry meaning. Our leisurely hunt was over. By focusing my awareness on the magic flow, I sensed that several werewolves were converging toward the focal point of the sound. Their tracks in the snow pointed toward us.

Doyugeon realized it as well, his body turning toward the approaching threat, as he prepared to engage the newly arriving ones.

“Hey, I’m cold.”

I grabbed his cloak and stopped him.

Even though it’s summer outside, it’s winter in here within the rift. The coat Laplace thoughtfully provided helped, but it was chilly and just made me homesick. I’ve endured it this far watching Doyugeon get excited by the werewolves, but I’d like to conclude the hunt here.

“Aren’t you very cold?”

“Yeah.”

Not quite. If I were really freezing, I’d be thinking about how to improve Laplace’s oversight in only providing this coat.

“Let’s finish this quickly and go. In my opinion, we’re headed for another ‘Nothing’ anyway, so there’s no need to hold your breath.”

“Maybe it’s too early to say that…”

“It’s your wishful thinking.”

With the system having item-drawing mechanisms in place, it’s unlikely good items would show up just from hunting.

With that vague agreement, it’s time to prepare to leave. Sensing the magic again revealed that dozens of werewolves had gathered, splitting into three groups heading toward our direction at varying speeds. Judging by the angles and distances, they planned to surround and attack us simultaneously.

I don’t know how they’ve located us. Perhaps dogs rely on their sense of smell? Either they weren’t fast enough to notice each individual hunting, or it could be something else. Alternatively, the werewolf boss might possess an exceptional sense of smell, assumed the situation would be resolved easily, and only decided to step in now that things have worsened.

Focusing my magic and summoning the spell—this time, I’d be using a Lizardman’s specialty earth-magic.

I constructed the spell, interfering with the shape of the land. The expansive magic spread over a few hundred-meter radius of the ground.

Looking around, the winter forest appeared unchanged—a perfect setup since the magic requires an activation trigger after installation.

I’ll wait for them to get closer before activation.

Feeling content with my creation, Doyugeon quietly approached and enveloped me in a hug with his arms spread. I glanced up at him, but he avoided eye contact.

“…Didn’t you say you were cold?”

Yes, I did.

The momentary embrace reminded me how I complained about the cold.

As I waited, the werewolves were running across the magically-altered terrain, reaching an optimal distance. I lifted my hand, snapped my fingers—more for dramatic effect as it holds little meaning for the spell itself—and intended to activate it. All I heard was the sound of the snap.

Ahem.

I tried snapping again, but the sound of a finger brushing against another was all I heard.

This isn’t working…

Laughter came from above.

What’s so funny? I lightly tapped his head in protest before activating the magic. The expansive land transformed into a deep swamp, swallowing the winter forest. The trees that once obstructed the view sank into the earth, revealing the werewolf pack. They attempted to leap off sinking trees, their fangs bared, but inevitably got entangled in the swamp—an animal’s sorrow at not being able to fly.

One werewolf leaped using another’s head, distinct with its silver fur, larger size, and muscular physique—it must be the boss monster. The beast launched itself into the air, creating an explosion of mud with the force of its jump, obscuring the view. Flying is impossible, but that won’t save it…

I gathered the floating mud with another spell, compacting it around the werewolf. It twisted mid-air and howled, tearing apart the spell with a shock wave that scattered the collected mud.

The spell was less stable due to distance and method, but being disrupted still caught me off-guard. Nevertheless, it served its purpose.

The werewolf soared for a bit but soon lost momentum and started falling. It seemed like the end until it didn’t happen. The werewolf grabbed the air, warping the space around it.

How can it do that?

Doyugeon tried to free himself from the embrace to prepare for the attack. Where does he think he’s going? I held him tighter.

“I’m cold.”

I gathered magic in my mind, focusing it into a tiny point and using the repelling force to make it spin. Let’s call it a magic bullet.

The werewolf, charging forth, smashed the magic barrier with a thunderous sound, sending gusts of wind swirling around it.

I aimed at the stationary target and fired my finger gun. The magic bullet flew toward the werewolf, which twisted its head, biting down on the magic bullet. The sound of gnashing teeth warped space, causing the bullet to collapse, but then the compressed magic exploded, blowing off its head.

Its headless body staggered for a brief moment before gripping the magic barrier, distorting the entire barrier and my vision. Finally, it collapsed after one last grip. Golden powder scattered in the air.

Mm…

That surprised me.

Did it lose its head and not die instantly? Creating a secondary magic barrier or crafting a new one isn’t hard, but this behavior is bizarre.

My hair was casually stroked. I looked up to see worry in his eyes—he might think I froze out of fear from the sight of a headless creature still moving.

Doyugeon ignored me and instead opened the dropped treasure box with magic. The box opened smoothly, confirming it wasn’t a mimic. Shaking it upside down only tumbled out air.

“Nothing. See, I told you.”

“Yeah, it’s unfortunate.”

Is it really? Considering we need to clear heaps more rifts for the second-class quest, the prospect doesn’t ignite any motivation.

And that’s how it ended.

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