Lee Sera

There was no pursuit.

Under the bluish light, heavy dust settled, and silence slowly descended upon the cavern.

"I'll heal you too, Mr. Minjun."

"Thank you."

The pure white light settled over my body, stealing away my fatigue before vanishing. I felt it every time I received it, but it really was a ridiculously overpowered ability.

<Unique Ability>

Name : Authority of Recovery

Grade : Transcendent

Description : Consumes 10% of current Mana to completely restore the target. It even restores permanently damaged areas and brings the body to its optimal condition.

It could completely restore you with just one use….

However, unlike what was stated, there were parts that it did not completely restore.

'The hunger and thirst always linger subtly.'

It clearly said that it would bring the body to its optimal condition, yet I was still hungry and thirsty.

At first, I couldn't understand this discrepancy, but now I thought I knew why.

Apparently, that subtly hungry state was actually the most optimal condition for moving the body vigorously.

'I've felt this occasionally, but sometimes the worldview we brought from Earth and this system don't match.'

The Selection Process leaned excessively toward survival and combat. That was why some people said things like this.

-The world called Elysia, to which we are trying to migrate, may be a place where fighting is taken for granted.

A trial where violence and cruelty ran rampant.

The intention behind demanding that we prove our value within it was all too obvious.

Of course, it might simply have been a hasty misunderstanding on humanity's part.

Swish.

Anyway, I was about to get a drink when a canteen suddenly appeared in front of me. I thought it was the Saintess, but it wasn't.

"…Drink."

Shin Seoyeon was holding out a canteen to me while strangely avoiding eye contact. I held up the one already in my hand.

"I have mine too."

……

Her face crumpled instantly. Shin Seoyeon narrowed her eyes and glared at me as if she wanted to kill me, then abruptly turned around and huffed back to the Saintess's side.

I tilted my head at the uncharacteristic behavior, then set down my backpack and said,

"I'll go take care of something for a moment. Neither of you move from here."

"Where are you going? Just go right here."

"Sorry, it's number two."

"Damn it, get lost. Go as far away as possible. If I smell anything, you're dead."

"Sure, sure."

I waved casually and walked away, prompting Shin Seoyeon to grumble behind me.

"Sis, does that make any sense? When I said I was going to die from exhaustion, he kept running, but now that he needs to take a shit, he says we should rest."

"H-ha, haha. Mr. Minjun must have really needed to go."

"He could just shit in his pants. What if we stop and get surrounded by skeletons?"

Hmm. She seemed to be deliberately saying it loudly so I would hear, so I gave her a word of warning.

"Seoyeon, should I stop bringing you things from now on?"

The grumbling vanished as if it had been snatched away by a ghost, only to return in a nasal voice moments later.

"Oppa! We'll sort the luggage! Take your time!"

…She's certainly consistent.

***

I retraced the path we'd run along, tossing the toilet paper I'd bought at the general store into the air and catching it.

'Should I do it around here.'

After turning a corner at a fork and finding a suitable spot, I took out the things that would be inconvenient while using the restroom… namely, my weapon and the letter envelope, and set them on the floor.

Then I pulled down my pants and squatted.

'So far, things are going smoothly.'

Actually, I had planned to undergo the first trial alone. That made the biggest obstacle standing watch while sleeping.

No matter how experienced I was from being put through the wringer in the Selection Process, I would inevitably be at my most vulnerable while asleep.

So when I gained companions, I was relieved in one respect.

To have someone I could entrust my back to in this hellish place.

'A trustworthy companion is an incredibly powerful force in and of itself.'

However, the moral values we had learned on Earth were completely useless here, and depending on the situation, they could even hold us back, which gave me cause for concern.

Companions who had just crossed over from Earth would surely suffer growing pains as they experienced terrible things, and that could interfere with my activities during the early part of the trial, when I needed to move quickly.

'However, even the Saintess, who has the weakest mental fortitude, somehow made it past the hurdle, so I can finally breathe a little easier.'

That meant all the major problems had been resolved.

'Though a few minor problems remain.'

As I sat there pretending to relieve myself, I suddenly sprang to my feet and thrust my hand into the air.

Flail, flail!

I suddenly felt violent movement within my grasp. I tightened my grip a little more and said,

"Drop your stealth. Unless you want your neck broken."

A cute girl slowly revealed herself.

Her young, beautiful face was striking enough to earn envy and affection from many people in the future.

In particular, her long black hair and straight bangs gave her both a cute and sexy charm.

'Was this hairstyle called a hime cut?'

Recalling someone telling me that in the past, I lowered my gaze slightly.

The girl whose neck I was gripping desperately reached for my wrist with both hands, trying to breathe.

"Kek. S-save me…."

Swish. I loosened my grip slightly and let her feet touch the ground. Only then did the girl gasp roughly, her face showing that she had survived, while tears trickled from her eyes.

Meanwhile, I pulled up and straightened my pants, which had been caught around my calves, then extended my free left hand and reclaimed the item she was holding.

[Summoner's Letter Envelope-Replica]

It was the item I had placed on the floor along with my weapon before using the restroom.

In fact, I had left it there deliberately. If I conspicuously left a [Transcendent Grade] item lying around, someone would approach to steal it.

'Honestly, I didn't expect her to take the bait this easily.'

Now that I had a moment to spare, I decided to begin the interrogation.

I tightened my grip again and pressured the girl.

Grab.

"Kkuek."

As her breath was cut off, the girl clamped her thighs together and looked up at me with terrified eyes.

"What are you?"

"Y-yes?"

"You'd better not try anything funny. The moment you do, I'll cut off both your legs."

The girl had been quietly reaching for the dagger hanging from her waist, but my serious warning made her lower both hands obediently.

"Name."

"I-I'm Lee Sera."

"…Lee Sera?"

I frowned without meaning to and checked her status window with the [All-Seeing Eye].

<Status Window>

Name : Oh Haeun

Level : 1

Strength : 14

Agility : 18

Vitality : 24

Intelligence : 24

Her name was clearly Oh Haeun. Yet she claimed that her name was Lee Sera.

'Hiding one's name during the Selection Process is common.'

I knew because I had used an alias myself. So that wasn't why I was frowning.

'Lee Sera.'

It was a familiar name. No wonder her [Unique Ability] and the features around her eyes had seemed so familiar.

'Lee Sera, the Grim Reaper.'

She had earned that nickname because her complete lack of presence made her resemble a grim reaper going around proclaiming death.

She was a named figure whom it was difficult to even see at the Shelter. Even when someone got lucky enough to spot her, she always covered the lower half of her face, so all anyone remembered was the shape of her eyes.

She barely spoke, was taciturn, and was flat-chested, so I naturally assumed she was a man, but….

'So she was a woman.'

No, I could have mistaken her for someone else.

However, after looking at the status window again, I shook my head.

<Unique Ability>

Name : Stealth

Grade : Mythic

Description : Conceals the user's appearance. Deceives the senses of others and perfectly disguises the user.

There were many stealth abilities, but I had only ever seen one [Unique Ability] that deceived all five senses.

Even stealth abilities of the same type usually had one weakness each. Sight, smell, hearing, and so on….

'But it doesn't have a single weakness?'

That meant the Lee Sera before me was indeed the Lee Sera I knew. I lowered my gaze.

'But this is the first I've heard of her coming from the [Lair of Evil Spirits].'

Had I remembered incorrectly? Even after thinking back over it, she had definitely not been part of the survivor group.

'…So she lied.'

Then why had she lied?

The reason soon became clear. It was explained by what she had been doing until just moments ago.

'Stealth types have a hard time growing in the early stages.'

Because stealth consumed a great deal of stamina and mana, they had to invest heavily in Vitality and Intelligence. But doing so early on left their Strength and Agility low, reducing their attack power.

'Then even if they ambush a mob from behind, they can't kill it in one hit.'

How could someone assassinate a hulking orc with the feeble arms that had only fiddled with smartphones and tapped on keyboards? In reality, a dagger couldn't even cut through its layer of muscle.

'That's why stealth types usually wander from party to party, reduced to disposable scouts, or become human hunters who kill other players.'

The problem was that if they were ever caught acting as human hunters, their lives were over.

In other words, stealth types had a hard time ever seeing the light of day.

In that regard, Lee Sera was almost the only stealth type who had succeeded without going down the wrong path. In fact, I had never seen her get human blood on her hands.

Yes, that was what I had thought, but….

'She said she grew because she was lucky. So this was her secret? What a shameless one.'

Luring mobs in the early areas, killing people, and farming their items.

It was a little funny. Why go through all that trouble?

This was an area where the survival rate was under one percent anyway. If she used her ability, no one would even know it was her. She could have used stealth, approached from behind, driven a knife into their neck, and taken everything. It would have been much easier.

If it were me, I would have done so without hesitation, but when I recalled Lee Sera's past actions, I could fully understand her.

There had once been an event that rewarded people who had never killed even a single person.

'Was it seven people in total?'

Lee Sera had been one of them.

Back then, I had assumed she must have had some sort of righteous conviction, but now I understood. She simply couldn't kill people.

'Her actions are those of a murderer, but she can't bring herself to get human blood on her hands. What an interesting personality.'

I looked down at the cute 150-centimeter-tall girl who would later be called the 'Grim Reaper.'

Tremble, tremble.

Lee Sera trembled like a young girl, showing the raw inexperience of a complete novice who had only just fallen into the Selection Process.

She was trying somehow to suppress her trembling, but a person facing death became this helplessly weak.

Above all, she was only a twenty-year-old girl.

Trickle.

In the end, perhaps her body no longer obeyed her because of fear, and yellow liquid began to stream from between her legs. Regardless, I was still gripping Lee Sera by the neck.

It was a dilemma.

'Should I kill her or not?'

If I let her go here, she would definitely grow and receive an S-tier insignia.

Yes, Lee Sera was one of the hundred heroes who represented humanity.

'Should I spare a murderer or not?'

"Sniffle. P-please spare me. I won't ever do it again. I promise."

I shook my head slowly. Lee Sera's face turned pale as she rubbed her hands together in plea.

'Murder? So what?'

Moral concepts that might have held meaning on Earth no longer mattered.

By the time the seventh trial began, it would be difficult to find anyone who had never killed.

So the question had to change.

Would this girl harm us, or would she benefit us?

"P-please."

"Hmm."

"I'll do anything you ask! I'll give you everything I have! Please, just spare my life!"

I released the future Grim Reaper's neck.

"Ah."

Lee Sera immediately collapsed into a seated position. Perhaps the tension had left her from relief, because urine flowed out in even greater quantities than before, widening the puddle on the floor.

Her pants were becoming completely soaked, but after surviving certain death, did that really matter?

"Fine. I'll let you live."

"Th-thank you! Thank you so much!"

"I'll pretend I didn't see what happened today. Ah, I'm not talking about the theft. I'm talking about you luring mobs here."

Lee Sera had been relieved that she was alive, but at that, she looked up at me in surprise and fear.

"Y-you knew…? How? I should have been invisible."

"Then how do you think I caught you?"

"……"

"I don't care what you do, but your stealth doesn't work on me, so don't hasten your own death by trying to silence me."

She should have understood if I had said this much. Honestly, the reason I was letting Lee Sera go was simple.

'In my first run, Lee Sera's ability was a tremendous help to humanity.'

When we invaded the Fire Dragon's Nest, her perfect stealth allowed us to find our way and avoid countless armies of monsters.

She also made the breakthrough trials easy to clear.

'The problem is that Lee Sera cleared them by moving alone, so I don't know how she overcame those trials.'

If I carelessly killed her here, all those future events could become tangled.

'But taking her into my party had also become difficult.'

Lee Sera was unquestionably on my list of people to recruit. Her stealth was literally perfect.

But after seeing how she had grown, I could no longer take her with me.

'Lee Sera needed to consume a great many stat fragments to grow, and this early period, when billions of people were dying, was exactly when she could sweep up stat fragments.'

Just looking at Lee Sera's current stats, she had already consumed nearly thirty stat fragments.

I had forgone that, choosing instead to build a snowball through achievements, titles, and farming so I could make a comeback later, but Lee Sera couldn't do the same.

If I held her back here, her growth would be suppressed, and then I might have to clear dangerous trials that would later be easy to overcome thanks to her, while suffering enormous losses.

Countless talents who might become S-tier, or who might not reach that level but would make valuable contributions toward killing the Destruction Dragon, could die in the process.

'That would change the future far too much. It really isn't a good idea.'

Lee Sera was necessary. She needed to grow sufficiently. And that future had to be preserved. I grabbed Lee Sera by her bangs, looked down at her, and said,

"Get stronger. If we meet again and you get taken down this pathetically and piss yourself like you did today, I'll kill you. Understand?"

Nod, nod.

"Hold out your hand."

Lee Sera held out her hand with an utterly terrified expression. I opened my inventory, took out some food I had set aside just in case, and placed it in her hand.

Then I placed the Snowfield Accessory Set on top of it.

"Uh…?"

"These items have magic resistance. If you equip all five, they also grant a set effect that raises all your stats. I have no use for them, so take them."

Then I reached out and snatched the item she had tucked into her pocket.

<Item>

Name : Vardo's Remains

Grade : Common

Description : The bone from the tip phalanx of Fallen High Priest Vardo's toe.

An item that can only be obtained in the depths. Burning it allows you to proceed to the next Shelter.

'[Stealth] even evades the senses of monsters.'

Finding Vardo's remains must have been a piece of cake for her.

"I'll take this as payment for your life."

Having finished my business, I stood up. Honestly, I would have liked to have sex with her once before sending her away, but the circumstances weren't right for that.

「There is no light… nor hope….」

"Black Dick! How far did you go to take a shit!"

Kaboom!

Our party's safety was important, but if I forced myself on her here and changed her personality, twisting the future, that would create its own headache.

"You must get stronger. I won't forgive you even for dying before you stand before me again, so survive no matter what happens."

I took three steps back. Lee Sera, who had been looking back and forth between me and the items I had given her, also hurriedly put some distance between us. She glared at me tensely, then used [Stealth] and vanished.

However, the opaque figure watching me with curious eyes was still perfectly visible to me.

'[All-Seeing Eye] really is cheating.'

Strictly speaking, I should say that resident privileges were cheating. Who could have known that Mythic-grade stealth would be so easy to see?

Peek, peek.

As I hurried toward my companions, Lee Sera followed me and circled around.

The girl I had expected to leave immediately stared at me suspiciously. She approached right beside me, stuck out her tongue, and taunted me.

Bleh!

She was probably trying to confirm whether I could really see her, but I had no idea why she insisted on courting a beating.

Couldn't she have done something else? Like giving me a lovely, pretty smile the way the Saintess did?

Whip!

I quickly reached out and caught her tongue.

!!

Lee Sera flailed with her tongue caught in my grip. Tears welled in her eyes as she begged forgiveness with both hands, as if asking me to let her off just this once.

"Want to keep acting up?"

…Shake, shake.

I released her tongue and returned to where my companions were.

But for some reason, the 150-centimeter-tall little girl began following close behind me.