Chapter 9. Survival (4)

To conclude, Baek Seo-yun was not eliminated from the test.

[Skill, 'Arena of Duel' is deactivated.]

[The winner is 'Kang Shin-woo'.]

However, I was the victor of this fight.

The conditions for deactivating [Arena of Duel] were either one person being in a near-death state or declaring defeat.

Among these, the reason I won was the latter.

"I lost."

After the Arena of Duel was deactivated and we returned to reality,

She raised both hands and declared her defeat.

It was a perfect declaration of defeat, putting her swords back in their sheaths and removing the goblin mask from her face.

"You're stronger than I thought. Are all shamans like this?"

"Well, I've never met any other shamans besides myself."

I also shrugged, put my sword back in its sheath, and dismissed Hwa-ryeon's summoning.

Baek Seo-yun loved duels and wanted to keep fighting.

But because of that, she cleanly acknowledged defeat when she lost.

She probably won't challenge me to a fight again.

'More than that, the gains are quite good.'

And apart from Baek Seo-yun's retreat, there were more gains for me.

[Skill, 'Familiar Spirit Lv.2' has leveled up.

[Skill, 'Shamanism Lv.2' has leveled up.]

[Derived skill 'Subjugation Lv.1' has been created for skill 'Familiar Spirit Lv.2'.]

It was a skill level up.

Skill levels are important.

Depending on the level, the power output of the same skill can vary greatly.

It was still at a low level, so it leveled up quite easily.

But the fact that it leveled up was quite significant.

"By the way, do you have an outer garment? It's a bit cold out here."

As I was feeling pleased about this, Baek Seo-yun, who was in front of me, asked.

If I had an outer garment.

Thinking 'Suddenly?', I looked at her and could understand.

The clothes around her shoulders and waist had disappeared as if burned away.

Her body itself seemed to be protected by the barrier.

But it seemed the clothes couldn't be protected.

As I was about to move to give her my outer garment,

"Wear this."

Karen came out from the stronghold and threw a blanket to Baek Seo-yun.

Of course, she didn't throw it directly, but with magic.

"Oh, thanks."

She caught it and immediately wrapped the blanket around her upper body.

Right after that, the rest of the group, Rin and Yoon Kang-woo, came out from the stronghold.

They seemed to be wary of Baek Seo-yun but quickly approached me.

"Shin-woo! Are you hurt anywhere?"

Rin said this while clinging to my body, checking if I was injured anywhere.

"I'm not hurt, though I almost was. Were you worried?"

"A little...? Because the opponent was the Sword Demon."

Perhaps confirming that I wasn't injured,

After a while, she detached herself from my body.

Right after that, what flew towards me was none other than a PET bottle containing an ion drink.

"Need something to drink?"

"Oh, that's thoughtful."

Yoon Kang-woo, who threw me the PET bottle without saying anything else, immediately turned his gaze towards Baek Seo-yun and remained cautious of her.

It was the same for the other party members.

Karen, Rin, and Yoon Kang-woo were all on guard as if they might fight Baek Seo-yun at any moment.

"Hehe, my lord. How was my performance this time?"

Except for Hwa-ryeon.

-It was good. I probably couldn't have won without you.

"Thank you for saying so. By the way, you've learned telepathy?"

-Roughly, with this level up. Though I can't do it for long yet.

If I had to pick the best thing about leveling up 'Familiar Spirit' this time, it would be telepathy.

Although the time was short and it could only be used in conversations with the familiar spirit,

Until now, I had to appear as if I was talking to myself to speak with Hwa-ryeon.

So this was quite a good thing.

To someone who didn't know I was a shaman, I'd just look like a mental patient otherwise.

"Shin-woo. What are you going to do?"

At that moment, Karen asked me while crossing her arms.

There was no object in her words, but I could understand what she was referring to.

She was probably referring to Baek Seo-yun, who was still looking at us with interest from over there.

I had already decided how to deal with her.

"Leave her be. She won't attack again anyway."

Without Baek Seo-yun's trump card, the Arena of Duel, she had no chance of winning.

She probably knew that too, so she wouldn't challenge us to a fight again.

And although we were in conflict now, she was still a major character in the original work.

With her skills and the performance she showed up until now, she would probably be admitted even if she failed here.

If by any chance she couldn't be admitted, it would be a terrible disaster.

Thinking this, I informed Karen, and Baek Seo-yun looked at me with an interested expression.

"Were you and Karen acquainted before?"

"No. I just met her for the first time in this entrance exam."

"Hmm... So you're someone Karen is interested in."

Saying this, Baek Seo-yun looked back and forth between me and Karen.

Despite her gaze, Karen just stared at her expressionlessly, seemingly unbothered.

After a while, Baek Seo-yun shook her head as if giving up and turned her body.

"You're letting me go, right?"

"As long as you don't attack again."

"Alright, then I'll be going. Fighting a shaman was fun. Let's have lots of sparring matches when we get into the academy."

With those words as her last, she left towards another stronghold.

She would probably look for other team members and try to capture a stronghold.

As long as her other team members weren't unimaginably useless, she would likely secure a stronghold soon.

"By the way, you guys secured the stronghold quickly while I was gone?"

"It's more accurate to say one person did it rather than us."

"One person?"

The person Yoon Kang-woo pointed to while shrugging his shoulders was none other than Karen.

"Karen swept through everything at once. All I did was block a few who tried to break through."

"Oh..."

It was certainly a result befitting her magic, which was specialized for multiple opponents rather than single combat.

As I was admiring this,

Karen, who had been looking at me for a moment, approached me without a word and opened her mouth.

"Shin-woo. Give me a reward."

"...A reward?"

"Yes, compensation."

Was she asking for a reward because she had taken care of everything?

I was a bit taken aback, but her demand was too confident to refuse.

I wondered why she was asking me for a reward.

And I was curious if she was originally the type to ask for such rewards.

But I decided to go along with it.

After all, it was true that she had done a great job.

But what should I give her?

Given Karen's personality, she probably wouldn't want a material reward...

I wasn't sure.

"Is there anything you want?"

Originally, if you want to know what someone wants, the correct answer is to ask them directly.

Since I didn't know what she wanted, I asked her that.

After thinking for a moment, Karen pointed to her head and said,

"Pat my head."

"...Your head?"

"Yes."

Pat her head.

It was a response I really couldn't have imagined, but there was nothing I couldn't do.

Well, I used to do it a lot for my younger sister who was more than 10 years younger than me before the possession.

Although the age difference is quite big here.

Rustle rustle-

I reached out my hand and patted her head.

Gently, so as not to damage her hair.

"Hmm..."

A soft sensation was transmitted through my hand.

Her hair was incredibly soft, making me wonder how much she took care of it.

And at my touch, Karen closed her eyes and showed a very small smile as if she liked it.

...Does she like this kind of thing?

'She's like a cat.'

The fact that she doesn't talk much, and that her face looks like a cat to begin with.

Or the way she makes an expression as if she feels good when being patted like this.

I felt that her characteristics were very cat-like.

"Hey, if you're going to do that, why don't you go inside the stronghold? Don't do this outside."

Rin said this with an expression that seemed slightly displeased at our behavior.

At her words, we went inside the stronghold we had already occupied and registered on the flag.

A day later.

Until the end of the test, no one attacked our stronghold.

***

The entrance exam was over.

But I didn't particularly feel it that much.

'Maybe because we rested too comfortably.'

The stronghold was no different from a house.

There were two rooms, a boiler, a bathroom, and food and water.

It was a place optimized for resting.

After we occupied the stronghold,

Perhaps rumors spread around, because after that, no one attacked our stronghold.

Because of that, we were able to rest well and comfortably finish the entrance exam.

After the test ended, the applicants went straight home.

The test results will be announced tomorrow anyway.

Since admission was 4 days later, there was nothing to do right now.

So on the day the test ended,

I decided to head home.

"I'm really looking forward to Shin-woo's house, really!"

Along with Rin, whose presence I couldn't understand.

She walked beside me with bouncing steps, as if excited, heading towards my house together.

'How did it come to this?'

Why was Rin following me, or rather, coming to my house?

It was because of Rin, who called out to me just as I was about to head straight home after the test ended.

-Shin-woo, can you let me stay over for just one night?

Just one night's stay.

The reason for her request was this:

-There's... a bit of an issue at home.

But I knew the reason why she didn't want to go home.

'It must be because of the hundred demons.'

Her family, the Abe family, was clearly Rin's enemy.

They were the ones who stubbornly attached numerous evil spirits to Rin, cursed her, and later planned to use her as a sacrificial lamb.

They couldn't be anything but enemies.

Although she herself didn't know this fact.

That's why when she was heading to her branch family house near the academy,

Her whole body would probably feel heavy.

'Anyway, Rin is also a psychic.'

A psychic who possesses Shamanic Power even without Spirit Eyes.

So she instinctively sensed something wrong with her family and wanted to get out.

'This is why I can't refuse.'

For any ordinary reason, I would have refused.

But knowing this reason, I just couldn't refuse.

Anyway, that's why we ended up going together.

"How bold of you, my lord! Already bringing a young lady to your home!"

-It's not like that, you know why I'm bringing her along too, right?

"The cause isn't important. What's important is that a man and woman are under the same roof. Usually, when people live together, feelings that weren't there before can develop. Of course, this concubine too!"

Saying this, Hwa-ryeon clung tightly to my back.

I could clearly feel a strange sensation on my back, but I couldn't shake her off because Rin was right next to me.

"Oh... Is this Shin-woo's house?"

"It's completely in the middle of the mountains, is that okay?"

"I like it even more!"

Honestly, I wasn't used to this house yet either.

But the interior was luxurious, so it wasn't uncomfortable.

'I should change clothes and rest quickly.'

Thinking this to myself, I pushed open the main gate and went inside.

And I could see.

Creak-

-Kying!?

A dog enjoying a sunbath comfortably in the front yard.

No, a huge black wolf nearly the size of a tiger.