Chapter 23: Formation of Young-won's Pirate Crew (2)

『13 steps northeast.』

『5 steps east.』

『1 step east.』

.

.

.

"This is fascinating."

I approached our house's front door, located to the northeast.

When I opened the door, there was a capsule about the size of an ostrich egg outside.

Rattle.

It wasn't too heavy, about 2kg.

"Wow, it really is a capsule. I was dying of curiosity about this. Really. I was so curious about what this could be that I held onto my sanity even when meeting ghosts morning and night. Seriously. I'm so curious."

The capsule had a crack in the middle, designed to be twisted open.

Creak-

As I twisted the capsule, I saw something like a square glass bottle inside. Looking at the rough finish, it reminded me of a cheap prize from a claw machine.

"What is this?"

"Perfume? This looks like perfume."

Juhee pretended to know. Maybe because she often wears makeup, she seemed knowledgeable about perfumes and cosmetics.

Now that she mentioned it, it did look like perfume.

As I was looking at the perfume bottle, text appeared.

『Subtle Perfume: A perfume said to be made from water fairies splashed in. Greatly reduces the chance of being discovered by ghosts and observers. Lasts for 100 hours when used. 2/2 uses.』

It reduces the chance of being discovered by ghosts and observers? It clearly meant the chance of encountering ghosts would decrease!

I've been tormented by ghosts morning and night, but if I use this, my daily life could return to some degree of peace!

"Yes, this is it! This! It says this reduces the chance of meeting ghosts!"

After a long time of humiliation and oppression, I was sick of it. Now it's time to return to being an ordinary high school student, Ha Young-won!

Spritz spritz-

I pressed the round switch and sprayed the perfume on myself.

True to its name "Subtle Perfume," a subtle floral scent wafted around. But I wasn't sure if it was just my imagination, this scent seemed somehow familiar.

"Haven't you all smelled this before?"

Thinking it might be my mistake, I asked Juhee and Jung-seok.

Jung-seok shook his head, and Juhee buried her nose in my shoulder, sniffed, and then shrugged.

"I don't know."

"Strange. It feels like I've smelled this somewhere before."

"Young-won, where would a loner like you have smelled perfume? Did your ex-girlfriend wear perfume or something? You mean Yoo Dahee?"

Juhee brought up Yoo Dahee again.

Jung-seok also showed interest, seeming to know the literature girl Yoo Dahee's name well.

"Yoo Dahee from Class A? Young-won and Yoo Dahee dated? Really? This is the first I'm hearing of it."

Jung-seok didn't seem to believe that I had dated Yoo Dahee. Of course it's the first he's heard of it. It was natural because no such thing had happened.

It seemed best to clarify before the misunderstanding deepened.

"My ex-girlfriend isn't Yoo Dahee. I've barely even talked to her. Today might have been the first time we've had a conversation? But we would have been in trouble without her."

The "Feng Shui" book recommended by Yoo Dahee played a crucial role in driving away the "Feng Shui Ghost." If we didn't have that book, Jung-seok and I would have had a harder time.

Swish-

I took out the book with the "Yoo Dahee" post-it from my bag.

Sniff sniff-

Just in case, I smelled it, but it had a slightly different scent from the "Subtle Perfume."

"...I don't like that Yoo Dahee."

Juhee muttered quietly. Then she stuffed the remaining chicken pieces into her mouth and quickly went into my mom's room.

"I'm going to sleep!"

Click-

I heard the sound of the door locking. When Juhee disappeared, the living room atmosphere suddenly became awkward.

Jung-seok asked,

"Did something happen between Juhee and Yoo Dahee?"

"I don't know either."

***

The newly opened "Training Ground" could train up to 3 people simultaneously. This was information I discovered through direct experimentation.

『Jung-seok - Training List!』

『Read books 0/1000』

『Write book reports 0/100』

『Reward: 《Fast Reading》』

『《Fast Reading》: Allows you to read text 1.5 times faster.』

"If I can read 1.5 times faster, I can use my study time more efficiently. If this is real, it's exactly the talent I needed."

Jung-seok seemed very pleased that he could acquire 《Fast Reading》 as a training reward. He said he wanted to be a prosecutor, right?

To become a prosecutor, you'd need to study a lot and read a ton of books, so the 《Fast Reading》 trait would indeed be useful.

"It seems the trait training in the Training Ground has different categories and results for each person. Young-won, how about in your case? Can you train in the Training Ground too?"

"Well, yes, but..."

『Ha Young-won - Training List!』

『Reach Level 3 2/3 Lv』

『Achieve 5 Players of Lvl. 5 0/5』

『Reward: 《???》』

『《???》: ???』

"In my case, it's like this."

"This is getting more and more bizarre. Young-won, you said you don't know why you got these abilities, right?"

"That's right."

Jung-seok stared at the status window note I had written for a while.

Then, as if he had reached a conclusion, he said,

"You. You called our group a pirate crew, right? In a way, that might not be wrong. You could be like the mafia in a mafia game or an impostor."

"What do you mean?"

"You said the shop had this written, right? 'We sell various items that will help in battles against heroes.' Aren't heroes usually the good guys in games and comics?"

Now that he mentioned it...

I hadn't paid attention because of everything that had happened, but Jung-seok, from a third-party perspective, sharply pointed out things I had overlooked.

"In other words, you might have to fight against these so-called heroes someday. And you said this message appeared when your level increased."

『The probability of ghosts and observers tracking your existence increases.』

"That's right. The 'Subtle Perfume' we just acquired also said it reduces the chance of being discovered by ghosts and observers."

"Honestly, it bothered me. Even if we assume 'ghosts' are the ones we experienced together, what about these 'observers'? I think there might be more to worry about than just ghosts..."

More to worry about than just ghosts? What could this mean?

As I frowned, Jung-seok kindly added an explanation.

"I think these 'observers' might be human. There's no guarantee that you're the only one with these strange abilities, Young-won. This 'observer' might refer to heroes or their allies. Of course, this is just my speculation."

Jung-seok left room for retreat by calling it his speculation, but his deduction seemed very excellent and accurate.

Even I, the person involved, hadn't made such a sharp guess.

"So, according to you, Jung-seok, I should be careful of people as well?"

"Yes. I was too excited to say this earlier, but for example, if Juhee, who had no interest in athletics, acquired 《Fast Legs》 and broke Olympic records overnight, what would happen?"

"...I guess she'd get a lot of attention."

"Exactly. It would make it easier for those observers or heroes to approach. So what I want to say is... we shouldn't stand out too much. Do you understand so far?"

Jung-seok's explanation contained a lot of information, so I felt the need to organize it.

Still, I could understand what he was trying to say. It meant that ghosts weren't the only thing I needed to be careful of.

"So... in conclusion, what do you think I should do?"

"For now, let's think of you as the mafia in a mafia game. I, who've joined your crew, would be like an assassin or spy ally of the mafia with special abilities to help you."

I thought my choice to recruit Vice Class President Jung-seok as an ally was very right.

Honestly, I had felt that the points spent to put him in the training ground were a bit wasteful, but now it seemed like a perfectly reasonable investment!

"Seok, but what do you mean by mafia allies like assassins or spies? Are there other roles in mafia games besides mafia and citizens?"

"Haven't you played mafia games or Among Us? Spies or assassins are mafia allies who can help the mafia with their unique abilities or skills. They also perform special missions."

There really is a bit of everything. It seems Jung-seok doesn't just study, but also plays a lot of games.

"Hey Seok. Do you play League of Legends too?"

"I do."

"Oh. What's your tier and position?"

"Platinum. Jungle."

"Oh, shit. For real? I'm Platinum top. Our meeting must have been fate. Want to duo queue later?"

The time was 11 PM. I turned on the computer and started the game.

"My Nasus stacks are over 600, right? At this point, every Q will smash the enemy's monitor too, right?"

"Hey! Don't chase kills, hit the Nexus first! Hit the Nexus!"

Playing late into the night with a friend-

It was really fun. It really felt like I had returned to being an ordinary high school student.

Ghosts and unknown observers and heroes felt like a dream from one night.

Maybe it was all a lie-

As I was thinking that, it became midnight.

Tick-

I heard a sound like clock hands moving in my head. It meant that 1 point had come in due to the 《Broken Clock》 trait as midnight struck.

Now my points are at "362P".

Swish-

I turned off the computer and prepared for bed. We had to go to school tomorrow since it was a weekday.

"There's something I couldn't talk about because we didn't have time today. There's something called the 'Nightmare Corridor'. I'll tell you all about it when Juhee is here too. In a way, this is also crucial."

"You still have more to say? You've been through a lot."

My room was small, so I had to sleep under the same blanket as Jung-seok.

Honestly, it was a bit uncomfortable. As I was tossing and turning, trying to find the right position:

"Hey. What are you going to do about guys like Kim Geonho and Park In-bae? They're the ones who bullied you, right? Honestly, it seems like it would be nothing for you to take them down now. If it were me, I'd get revenge first."

"Kim Geonho? For now, I think it's best to leave them alone. You said it yourself, right? It might be dangerous to stand out unnecessarily. So at school, we should live as inconspicuously as possible. Like a behind-the-scenes power."

"Behind-the-scenes power... There should be a better term for that."

That was the end of Jung-seok and my conversation. The atmosphere quieted down.

It was about time to fall asleep.

"Hey. I'm sorry. For pretending not to see even when I saw."

"It's okay. I didn't ask for help in the first place. But from now on, when I ask for help, you have to help me no matter what. Got it?"

After that, I don't remember anything.

Swoosh-

When I came to my senses at the sound of water in the morning, Juhee was washing up in the bathroom. Maybe because her hair is long, washing it seems to be quite a task.

"What are you looking at?"

"Looking at Juhee."

"Okay. Now close the door."

So yesterday wasn't a dream. I really have comrades now!

With a joyful heart, I finished washing up and preparing for school, then stepped out of the front door together.

"Everyone get in. I've held the elevator."

Jung-seok, who had gone out to the hallway first, was waiting for us, having pressed the "Down" button on the elevator.

Ah, this is the true taste of comradeship.

This is party play!

As I was admiring this, Juhee frowned.

"Hey, Young-won. By the way, did your villa always have an elevator? Why didn't I know? Wasn't there no elevator? I remember it being really tough having to climb stairs to the 4th floor."

"......"