Whoa, Look at That Mana Pool (2)

My vision turned bright red.

It felt as though the capillaries in my eyes had burst.

At the same time, something fishy surged up from inside me, and I couldn't hold it back—I broke into a cough.

I came to only after Dohwa barked.

-Ding.

[The summoned beast 'Dohwa'….]

"Kyaa!!!"

Tick.

The ticking of a clock brushed past my ears.

At the same time, the pain melted away like snow.

When I came to my senses and looked around…

I was just about to use a trait on Serin.

Looks like Dohwa used Regression for three seconds.

'Stop for now!!'

"Hup!!"

I immediately withdrew the mana from my hand.

I clamped my mouth shut, stopping myself from shouting 'Usurpation.'

Ding—!

The notification appeared belatedly.

[The trait 'Guardian Dragon's Blessing' activates!]

Fatal injury nullified…

"Kyaa!!! Kyaeng, kyaeung!!!"

"Dohwa? What's wrong all of a sudden… Oppa?"

Dohwa came running to me, whining as if asking whether I was okay.

And my younger sister stared intently at my face.

I looked back and forth between the two, then forced the corners of my mouth upward.

"Dohwa must be really hungry. The poor thing's pestering me for food."

"Jeez, I thought it was something else… You can't bark in a hospital, Dohwa~."

"…Kyaeung?"

"Sorry, sorry. I'll go scold Dohwa."

Snatch.

I picked Dohwa up from the floor.

Then I headed for the corner of the hospital room.

With my back to the bed so Serin couldn't see…

-Pat-pat-pat-pat.

'Nice one, Dohwa!!!'

I vigorously petted Dohwa.

Contrary to what I'd told my sister, I had no intention of scolding it.

I was incredibly grateful.

"Kyaeung…?"

Dohwa, however, still seemed worried about me,

-Whisper.

"I'm okay."

'I've got a trait that prevents fatal injuries.'

My Mythic-grade trait, 'Guardian Dragon's Blessing.'

It nullifies fatal injuries and completely heals the wound, you see.

And if I combine it with Dohwa's three-second Regression?

I can pull off a 'Nothing happened…!!' like that green-haired prosecutor.

Thanks to that, my sister didn't notice what had just happened.

Only Dohwa and I knew about it.

Squeeze—

I hugged Dohwa and muttered softly.

-Mutter.

"Self-inflicted damage really is scary."

A critical hit had suddenly gone off.

Judging by the circumstances, it must have been the Stigma's self-inflicted damage.

So that's how painful it was.

Now I understood why other Awakeners didn't impose restrictions like this.

'I thought I'd be fine….'

Of course, I hadn't imposed such a dangerous restriction because I was crazy.

I had a trait that reduced damage by 80 percent.

On top of that, the Scenario First-Clear and EX+ Achievement rewards had increased its power eightfold relative to the restriction, hadn't they?

That meant the damage I actually took was about 2.5 percent.

That's why I thought I'd be safe.

But then, why had this happened?

'There's too much mana.'

I felt it when I absorbed it earlier, but my sister's body was packed with mana.

About a thousand times as much as mine.

But trying to absorb it all in one go?

Remotely, from almost three meters away, no less?

To put it another way, it was like blowing up a dam to fill a cup with water.

There was no way to avoid instant-kill-level damage.

And the way to solve this problem was…

'I can control the amount absorbed, so I just need to absorb it little by little over a long period.'

You won't get an upset stomach if you drink water slowly, either.

I could just stay pressed against her and absorb it leisurely.

Luckily, Serin hadn't even reached puberty yet, so there shouldn't be an immediate problem.

'But why does she have so much mana? If it's a thousand times mine, that's practically an infinite-mana cheat code.'

That thought suddenly made me curious.

Holding Dohwa, I slowly turned around.

Then I looked my sister up and down.

"Hmm? Oppa, whyyy…?"

"I was just thinking you've grown up really well, Serin."

She had been a child before she fell ill, but her body had grown explosively over the past few years.

Even the doctors had panicked, wondering what kind of symptom this was…

'So that was a mana reservoir.'

Mana a thousand times greater than mine.

She'd grown to contain it.

I guess that's what happens when you have Mana Overdisease.

"What kind of illness is this… Serin? Does your body feel uncomfortable at all?"

"Hmm? Other than being sleepy, not really~?"

"You don't ever wish your chest would go flat again like it used to?"

"I actually like it! It makes me look grown-up!"

"Then that's a relief."

Fortunately, she seemed quite pleased with the side effect of Mana Overdisease.

I decided to count it as a good thing, too.

It was much nicer to look at than being so thin her ribs showed.

"Then, Serin, can I give you a hug for a moment?"

"If it's you, Oppa, sure~."

"Thanks. Then excuse me for a moment."

After setting Dohwa down.

I brushed the fur off my clothes and approached.

-Squeeze—

I hugged Serin carefully and muttered softly.

"Usurpation."

"Kyaeuuung…."

Dohwa, who had continued watching me anxiously, also got ready just in case…

'This time, I'm really okay.'

As if I'd make the same mistake twice.

I started with the tiniest amount and was gradually increasing the amount of mana I absorbed.

I kept going until I could endure it without showing any sign of pain.

I didn't trigger another fatal injury.

-Ding.

[Time remaining until Mana Overdisease is fully activated: 4 months, 13 days]

"Oppa, my body feels incredibly light. I'm not sleepy anymore, either."

"Good. That's great."

Until just an hour ago, there had been 4 months and 8 days left until the relapse.

In exactly one hour, I'd bought five days' worth of time.

At this rate, she'd be discharged soon, too.

That hope poked its head out.

'…Though a full recovery will take quite a while.'

Of course, this was only talk of being discharged.

I had no idea when my sister would be safe from Mana Overdisease.

No, perhaps that day would never come.

I even found myself thinking that.

Even after I'd spent an hour consuming it in her place, there was still a great deal of mana left.

'For now, I'll keep hanging on like this, then go to Floor Five and make a new Stigma. One that uses a truly enormous amount of mana.'

Squeeze—

I pulled my sister a little closer.

"Serin, let's hold each other like this for an hour every day from now on."

"Hmm? I like that~."

"You're not going to ask why?"

"It doesn't matter if there's no reason~. You're my Oppa."

"Yeah, thanks."

We weren't related by blood, but my younger sister, Ryu Serin, was still more precious to me than anything.

I'd do anything for this child.

I renewed my resolve once again.

-Throb.

"……."

'But what's up with the ring?'

Oddly enough, it was my artifact, the 'Dragon Ring.'

It had felt strangely uncomfortable ever since the 'Guardian Dragon's Blessing' trait activated, but…

'Is it something like a cooldown notification?'

So the ring has all sorts of functions, huh.

I shrugged it off.

Since it felt normal again after a day, it really did seem to be telling me about the cooldown.

* * *

Serin's discharge was scheduled for three weeks later.

I decided to stay with her during that time.

She was probably still confused, so it would be best for her to have a guardian with her.

That was what the doctor had said.

"Serin. Do you remember the promise I made to our parents?"

"…Yeah. That when Mom and Dad weren't around, Oppa would take care of me for them."

"I can't replace them, but you know, Oppa is an Awakener now. I'll make sure you don't have any trouble getting by."

I hugged her often and reassured her.

"Just tell me if there's anything you want."

"I only need you, Oppa."

"I'll be by your side for the rest of my life, so don't worry about that."

"…Heehee."

Maybe thanks to that, my sister never became depressed.

Whenever I came, the corners of her mouth curled into a broad smile.

Whenever I summoned Dohwa, she smiled twice as broadly.

Seeing her smile whenever I visited made me happy, too.

Thanks to that, the first week passed in a flash,

[Breaking news. Cheonghwa Group has announced the first Korean to clear Floor Four of the Pilgrim's Tower….]

One week after I cleared Floor Four.

The Cheonghwa Guild had broken some good news.

It was the news that Hyunseo, the third-generation chaebol heir who had bought Baekrihyang's soul from me, had escaped.

'That guy hasn't revealed his identity either. Is it because of the military?'

Though neither his photo nor his name was mentioned…

Well, he'd reveal it himself eventually.

Should I at least congratulate him?

[Awakener Minor Gallery]

Author: Iron Gangmin's Awakener Analysis 2

Title: Cheonghwa, You've Definitely Gotten Stronger

(Photo from a Japanese ninja manga)

He's my equal or better

Congrats congrats congrats

ㄴ Huh, what? He's the real deal

ㄴㄴ Eㅋㅋㅋqualㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

ㄴㄴ That hardcore glazer is Ironpyeong lol

ㄴ Iron-ham supposedly spoon-fed him the Floor Four strategy…

"…Hm."

'I sincerely meant to congratulate him, so why is everyone acting like this.'

The public's actual reaction was, 'Anyone below Iron Gangmin is trash,'

"If you and that guy fought, who would win, Oppa~?"

"I'd win. He probably couldn't even beat Dohwa."

"Come on~ You're joking~."

"……."

'I'm serious.'

In reality, compared to me, Hyunseo was merely an ordinary mortal, but anyway.

Thanks to that, I enjoyed the second week.

Since Serin liked Awakeners, we never ran out of things to talk about.

"Serin, is there anything else you want as a discharge present? Like a designer handbag."

"Teenieping cards!!"

"Those are discontinued… No, I'll get you every type."

And then came the long-awaited third week.

Since her discharge was soon, I set out to acquire the 'gift list' we'd accumulated.

Of course, I didn't go around doing the legwork myself.

"Lady Baekrihyang, did you manage to get everything I mentioned?"

[Indeed.]

Contacting Baekrihyang—'click.'

Then a conglomerate that dominated Korea did the legwork and tracked them down for me,

"What about a Gate?"

[There is one belonging to a man named Hwang Hee-chan. It should be sufficient for the divine one to amuse himself.]

The Gate I'd asked them to procure happened to be ready as well, along with the gifts.

All I had to do was go pick them up.

"Serin, I'm going out for a little walk."

I rose easily.

I donned my equipment without a hitch.

Seeing me fully geared up for the first time in three weeks, my sister clapped like a seal.

-Clap clap clap.

"Oppa, you look awesome! You totally look like an Awakener!"

"Whiiine…."

Dohwa also swished its tail.

Although Dohwa had gotten stronger, it had spent all three weeks using only the Aegyo trait nonstop.

It seemed to want to go out and try using its strength for once.

Well, I might as well take it out for a walk while I was at it.

We should go together.

"Dohwa, let's go for a walk~."

"Kyaeung~."

I picked Dohwa up in my arms.

Then I pulled the hat down over my head.

It was the dragon-slayer's Legendary-grade hat, Tarnkappe.

I still really didn't like the item,

"Have a safe trip… Huh?"

"What do you think? You can't see Dohwa either?"

"Y-yeah…!! That's so cool!!"

Its invisibility applies to anything directly touched by mana, you see.

Not only the Moonlight Sword—I could even make Dohwa invisible.

The effect was so good that I had no choice but to use it.

"If anyone asks where Oppa went, tell them I went to the bathroom for a moment."

"Got it~."

"Good. Then I'll be right back."

I left the hospital room while invisible.

I also pumped plenty of mana into the presence-reducing artifact, the 'Necklace of Seclusion.'

After I put in the excess mana I'd absorbed from Serin, it worked much better than usual.

-Tap tap.

'…Now she can't even tell when I touch her.'

I tried touching the back of a working nurse's hand, but she didn't react at all.

There was no chance Cheonghwa would discover my identity.

Relieved, I headed to the meeting place.

'It should be around here… Huh?'

And then I…

Got hit by another critical.

Not physically—mentally.

"……."

'The Floor Four nightmare!!!'

Please don't let me show up with a hairstyle resembling Geombak's.