Chapter 3 : Chapter 3

Chapter 3 - You Have Some Skills, Don't You? (2)

Wow……. That was insane.

The red magic power also created a red mist. A silhouette flickered within the mist.

How much time had passed, I wonder, before Chun-sik emerged from the mist.

The guy approached leisurely with his hand on his sword.

“As ordered, the 1st floor has been cleared. My lord.”

“……You have some skills, don't you?”

“If only there was more time, we could have gone to the next floor. It's a shame.”

The remaining summon time was about 20 minutes. I did not know when the time had passed like this.

Well, that aside, the time had finally come to part with him!

Was this how an office worker felt right before leaving work? Everything looked different and just peaceful.

“Thank you for keeping up with the grueling march.”

“Phew……. Hey, Chun-sik. Was walking always this hard?”

“I thought you would be able to handle it since you have awakened as a player. I guess not.”

I was still suffering the aftermath of the basic training. My arms would not go above my shoulders, and my legs were trembling uncontrollably.

I think I was hearing a ringing in my ears too. Working out was this dangerous. I would have died if I had done a little more.

“Still, don't you feel refreshed?”

“Refreshed my butt, I'm just glad I didn't throw up.”

“Hahaha! My lord, you are also outstanding in humor.”

“Aish! Be quiet.”

I turned my body. There was no need to stay here any longer. In my heart, all I wanted was to quickly dismiss the summon and go home to rest.

“The magic crystal?”

“Ah! Here it is.”

He quickly took out a small stone lump from his waist.

“Wow……. So this is a magic crystal.”

Since it came from the 1st floor, its size was only about a fist, and the amount of magic power felt from it was pitiful, but it would become money if I sold it.

“There’s not much time left, do you want to head in soon?”

“I will follow your command. My lord, I will await your next call.”

[The Red-Eyed Sword Master Park Chun-sik (1Lv) has been dismissed.]

Leaving only those words, Park Chun-sik disappeared.

Now, it was really time to leave this place.

……Because I was scared to be alone.

***

Selling magic crystals was quite simple.

The level of magic crystals that came out from each floor was fixed, and the price was also fixed.

It was even more convenient because the Player Association had set up a stall in the Avalon lobby so that players could easily sell their magic crystals. I handed over the magic crystal in the lobby and returned home.

CRACKLE.

It was not indicated in the status window, but if you had a status window, you could at least come and go to the lobby as you pleased.

Only entering a floor was limited to once a day.

When I closed my eyes for a moment and then opened them, I saw a familiar place.

After arriving, I looked around. The branch I was swinging around earlier was dropped on the ground.

Since Chun-sik told me to take good care of it, it would be best to take good care of it.

As soon as I picked up the branch, my phone rang.

DING!

There was no one to contact me, so the bank app was probably the culprit.

If so, there was only one source of incoming money. The price of the magic crystal.

As expected of impatient Koreans, the settlement speed was unbelievably fast.

I heard that in other countries, you had to wait at least a day to get your money.

I checked the deposited money and immediately returned home.

The unlit room was quiet.

The tablet stand and pen were scattered about.

I had not separated the tablet from its stand in years.

“It’s nice that I awakened, but why did you take the tablet too……”

This means I have to buy a new one.

Even though I had become a player, I had no intention of stopping drawing illustrations. In fact, I could not stop because of my skills.

“Chun-sik said that basic training would be helpful to me.”

Of course, he was not wrong. Even if you used summons, the main body itself must also be strong to be truly called strong.

But my real strength came from illustrations.

“Chun-sik was incredibly strong.”

I wondered what his real level was.

I sat down in my chair. Fortunately, there was an old computer I had used before buying the tablet.

Its performance was low, so I could not draw illustrations, but I could at least do some shopping.

“He told me to buy a sword, right?”

If I did not do as he said, I did not know what kind of nagging would come my way during the next summon. Bringing the branch was a kind of insurance.

I turned on the computer and put my hand on the mouse, but it would not move as I wanted. It was because my arm was too numb.

The cooldown for the Illustration Creation skill still had a long way to go. I did not have to worry about it for now.

“Getting close to Chun-sik will be the biggest task. ……Though it seems like we’ve already gotten close.”

The guy called me his lord and followed me well. Probably.

During the 6 hours I was with Chun-sik, apart from the workout, I did my best to sense his magic power.

The biggest difference between a player and an ordinary person. It was in the senses.

Magic power was similar to electricity.

Even an ordinary person could see the crackling effect.

But they could not grasp its power unless they touched it.

However, a player could sense the power of magic indirectly.

Earlier, Chun-sik cleared the 1st floor with just a release of magic power.

‘I think some A-Class player cleared the 1st floor that way before.’

Then Chun-sik could be seen as being at a similar level to an A-Class player.

If so, it might be possible to break through to the 10th floor right away.

After roughly gauging Chun-sik’s power in my head.

‘He's strong……. For real.’

I silently looked at the status window. Nothing much had changed even after clearing the 1st floor.

They said that raising a player’s level required quite arduous and repetitive training.

‘I wonder how strong Chun-sik will become if I raise my level.’

My heart pounded like crazy as I thought of the anticipated future.

‘An S-Class summon and the player who commands him.’

I had to get stronger. ……To be honest, I could not be sure about this.

I had to make him stronger. This, at least, felt a bit more manageable.

Not only Chun-sik, but also the new illustrations I would draw in the future.

It had to be that way. That was the only way I could reap the benefits.

Whether it was Avalon or the monsters, I was still scared of everything.

“How can an artist who only drew illustrations switch jobs to a player overnight?”

I too……. needed time. A little more of it, too.

“First, I have to buy a sword…….”

That way, I would not get scolded by that Chun-sik fellow.

It was morning.

I had definitely lost consciousness while choosing a sword in front of the computer, but it was 2 PM.

Considering that the time I returned from Avalon yesterday was around 8 PM, it meant I had slept for over 15 hours.

I let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.

“Did I really fall asleep while online shopping?”

The moment I tried to get up, I unknowingly sat back down.

From my thighs to my butt muscles, and my arms from my wrists to my shoulders, they were all numb as if someone had hit me hard.

The aftermath of the workout continued until the next day. To make matters worse, my back was also not in good condition, probably because I had slept hunched over the desk.

“Ugh…….”

I grabbed the handle next to the bed and forced myself up.

“For now……. I think it would be better to rest a bit.”

I took out a half-used pain relief patch from the medicine box. Fortunately, there were many left, so I could stick them on all the sore spots.

SHWACK!

“Ugh.”

I stuck on the last patch and looked in the mirror.

“There's a human covered in patches standing here.”

I had patches not only on my arms and legs but also on my sides and back. There was not a single place that did not ache.

Although I was a player, I was still a person, so it would probably have some effect.

‘Should I drink something like a magic potion?’

I heard that if you drank one, it would replenish your magic power and your body would recover in an instant.

As I was seriously contemplating it, the computer screen suddenly caught my eye.

“Wait a minute. The sword……. I haven't bought it yet. What on earth should I buy?”

I had to buy a sword, but I could not tell what was good just by looking at the pictures. I could not even gauge the size.

Since it was a cheap price in the first place, I could just use it a few times and throw it away if it did not fit, but it still felt like a bit of a waste.

“Should I summon him and ask?”

Right, why was I even worrying about this?

My summon was a Sword Master who was an expert with the sword! He could at least give me some advice on what to buy.

“While he's summoned, I can just naturally clear the 2nd floor of Avalon.”

A day had passed, so the entry ticket would have reset. However, the resummon cooldown was not over yet.

I waited for the remaining cooldown and then summoned the guy.

[Do you wish to summon the Red-Eyed Sword Master Park Chun-sik (1Lv)?]

“Yes.”

I answered, but unlike yesterday, various messages did not appear.

The red magic power that started in mid-air began to grow larger. It was the same as yesterday.

SHWING-!

A pure white blade revealed itself, piercing through the red mist.

“Come on out already.”

[Resummon Cooldown : 24 hours.]

[Summon Duration : 6 hours.]

After confirming the last message, Chun-sik revealed himself.

“……My lord. What on earth are you wearing all over your body?”

“It's a kind of treatment. My body feels really bad.”

“Hmm. I suppose yesterday’s training was excessive.”

“That's right. So let’s just rest for a few days……”

“I will adjust the difficulty. But have you already done your training? Seeing as you’ve summoned me.”

“……I haven't trained.”

“Hmm.”

He crossed his arms and looked me up and down.

“I had a feeling you would do that. It doesn’t matter much since I was going to adjust the difficulty anyway. But please be sure to keep your promise next time.”

“If I die before my time, it’ll be your fault.”

“I will revive you even if you die, so do not worry.”

“You crazy bastard.”

This guy seemed like he would actually do it. That was why it was scarier.

I sighed and turned my head.

“These are the swords I can buy with the money I have now, so you tell me which one would be good. You know swords better than I do, don't you?”

“Ah……! I understand.”

“What……?”

“To so gently point out my shortcomings! You are different, my lord.”

“What is this now.”

“I will train you to the extreme, even in your insight for swords. I am still far from perfect. A lord should be outstanding in both literary and martial arts, but I have been obsessed with only one.”

“Uh, okay.”

“From now on, I will serve you with all my heart.”

I had only said one thing, but he was writing an epic novel all by himself.

Seeing him pledge his loyalty once again, I guess it did not matter.

‘Anyway, from now on, I should probably revise my thoughts in my brain before speaking.’

I was starting to get more and more scared of Chun-sik.

The guy did look through the list and pick out a weapon for me to buy.

“Go with this one.”

“Alright.”

And just like that, I was dragged outside by his hand.

He said that the body aches from training must be overcome with training.

***

Player Management Association.

An employee was staring at the computer with dead eyes before suddenly falling backward.

“Gah!!”

He scratched the back of his head and got up again.

“Am I hallucinating because I stayed up all night?”

[1st Floor Clear Time : 2 seconds.]

It was a situation that happened occasionally.

When an A-Class or B-Class player entered a low-level floor and cleared it in an instant.

It was something they did when they felt it was a waste not to use their daily entry count, but did not want to take the risks that occurred on high-level floors.

This case was similar.

The problem was that the player who had done this did not belong to any rank.

Seeing that it was displayed as ‘Unknown,’ he was a guy who was not even registered with the Association.

Basically, a newly awakened player was, in terms of rank, at most D-Class and on average F-Class. I had never seen anything higher.

The 1st floor still had a certain level of difficulty for a person to clear alone, especially one who had just awakened.

No matter how easy it was known to be, Avalon was a place where a small mistake could lead to death.

“……Did this guy know he was going to awaken?”

Battles in Avalon were life-threatening.

A newly awakened player would only start climbing Avalon after going through numerous training sessions at the Association. Even with thorough management, Avalon was a place where deaths consistently occurred.

But this person was different. Putting aside the fact that he went to Avalon as soon as he awakened, he cleared the 1st floor in a mere 2 seconds.

“……What kind of guy is he?”

The man pondered for a long time while looking at the Unknown player section.

“For now……. let’s report it.”

That a rather unusual player seemed to have appeared.