Chapter 5
Pop-!
I returned to my little room.
I hadn't gotten hurt, and I'd even taken first place in the Floor 2 global rankings.
I even got an SSS rank and a bonus Piece of Growth…!
Today's climb was a success!
‘Mmm, I'm very satisfied.’
Before throwing myself onto the bed,
I took the pouch of magic stones off my waist.
Was there a little more than yesterday?
I couldn't really tell the difference.
The Hunter Gallery probably has the amount of magic stones per floor listed somewhere, but I can't check, which is a little frustrating.
Well, even if it increased, it was probably just a tiny bit.
Let's not worry about it.
“Heave-ho.”
I rummaged around the corner of my studio apartment and pulled out a folding storage box.
I dumped in all the magic stones I'd gotten, including yesterday's.
Clunk-clunk-clunk-clunk—
The magic stones clattered down with a dull sound.
There still weren't enough to cover even the bottom.
Maybe someday I'll have enough to fill the whole box.
‘The problem will be exchanging them for cash….’
I'll think about that later.
It's not like I'm out of money right now.
“Well then, shall I pop into the Archmage Gallery? Dum-dum-dum-dum-”
I was humming as I fiddled with my status window.
Grrrrr─
My stomach growled.
“Ah, I'm hungry….”
That was a lot of work. Let's eat first.
I dragged my desk chair over to the kitchen.
“Heave-ho-”
I climbed onto the chair and steadied myself so I wouldn't fall!
“Bring me carbs and protein! It's time for heroes!”
I opened the cupboard.
“Huh?”
There was nothing?
The cupboard was completely empty.
My bank account wasn't the only thing running on empty?!
The fridge was the same.
Good heavens, had I eaten every last bit of my food stash over ten days?
How was that possible?
It was hard to believe, but there was no changing it.
The trash can was full of ramen, pasta, and frozen-food wrappers.
“This is bad.”
Did that mean I had to order delivery…?
I wanted to avoid ordering in as much as possible.
I was afraid the delivery app would make me nauseous, like when I looked at the Human-Mage Gallery.
‘But I don't have much choice….’
It was still better than eating alone at a restaurant or going to the convenience store.
“Heeey… My life….”
I trudged back to the bed.
With trembling fingers, I turned on the delivery app.
“Hmm….”
Just as I'd worried, I didn't feel a wave of discomfort rising up.
My heart was just beating a little fast.
‘I can handle this much, can't I?’
That didn't mean I could stare at it for long, though.
I should order quickly and close it.
I picked one of the restaurants in my favorites.
I'd ordered from there often, even before I Awakened.
The food was consistently good, so it was a safe choice when I didn't want to think too hard.
“Oh, they have a new menu item?”
Pork jowl rice bowl, huh….
That sounds way too good.
The familiar taste was terrifying.
I could already imagine the rich, savory flavor.
“I wonder if the reviews are good.”
If it looked decent, I could order right away.
The moment I tapped the reviews tab,
“Ugh.”
My appetite vanished.
It wasn't the reviews' fault.
There hadn't been any gross photos posted as picture reviews, either.
It was probably a rejection response caused by my Awakening.
It was that same uneasy feeling I'd had before.
“What's the difference?”
I was fine until I had to choose a menu item.
I went back to the order screen.
“This is fine. I can handle it.”
Back to the reviews tab.
“Urgh.”
Back to the order screen.
“Phew….”
The reviews.
“Ugh!”
Oh, come on!
This is annoying.
One thing was certain: every time I looked at the reviews, my stomach churned.
At least I could still place an order, I guess.
Ding-
I ordered two rice bowls to meet the minimum order amount.
In the meantime, I should think this over.
Things I'd had a rejection response to so far.
A gallery frequented by humans, delivery-app reviews, my landlady. And even the thought of coming face-to-face with people.
Things that had felt fine or even pleasant.
The delivery app's order screen, the Archmage Gallery.
“Hmm.”
I understood that I felt friendly toward non-humans and uncomfortable around humans.
It was written right there in my status window, after all.
But what on earth was the difference between the delivery app's order screen and the reviews?!
“What could it be….”
I had no idea.
Had becoming a little girl turned my powers of deduction into toddler-speak, too?
My head was already starting to feel warm.
Flop-
I sprawled out on the bed.
I let out a little water by channeling mana.
The blob of water floated gently in the air.
It looked kind of soft and squishy. Cute, too.
I played around, poking it now and then, then set it on my forehead.
Ssssssizzle-!
The sound of a red-hot iron cooling down….
Didn't actually happen.
I'd just imagined the sound in my head.
I played around, imagining things, until the delivery arrived.
I'd liked doing this ever since I was little.
Maybe I'd always been a promising hikikomori?
Knock knock knock-!
“Eek…!”
“Delivery.”
“Hngh….”
The delivery person's voice broke my reverie.
Even after the motorcycle engine faded, five minutes passed.
Only after a long while did I get out of bed.
I needed to prepare myself mentally.
I pressed my ear to the front door, just in case a resident was walking through the hallway.
The hallway was quiet.
“Now?”
Ding-dong-
Creeeak-
Whoosh!
Creeeak-
Thump!
Ding-dong-
For someone with only 4 Agility, my reflexes were unbelievable!
With crisp, disciplined movements, I retrieved the bag.
“Hehehe, wasn't I amazing?”
I brought one rice bowl with me and sat down in front of the computer.
It wasn't because I was going to use the computer.
I just felt more comfortable sitting here while I ate.
“Nom.”
It's good.
Instead of the computer, I opened my status window.
Now that I'd filled my stomach, I should check in first.
[Today was really tough….]
[Author: Hikki]
I actually ordered ‘a meal’← this bastard from a restaurant.
I managed it after an immense amount of inner conflict, anguish, and contemplation.
I expect applause.
└NoWorldTreeNoParty: Is this idiot for real?
└└SuitonSuiton: I kind of get it today.
Ah, you don't understand.
I won't explain.
└Hikki: There's a reason lol
You have to hide your weaknesses.
That was one of the safety rules I'd carved into myself through painful experience.
'They say sharing pain cuts it in half? Not at all. That's not how it works.'
Anyway, let's put that topic to rest here.
Let's brag about what I did today instead.
[Praise my rapid-fire Ice Shots.]
[Author: Hikki]
I split the mana for one Ice Ball into three portions and cooled each one separately,
fired two in rapid succession, then saved the last one to land the finishing blow.
I can fire three in a row now, but I might be able to shoot even more if I practice lol
I expect applause.
└Nyeomnyong: It seems your teachers haven't taught you this yet.
└Nyeomnyong: Did you figure it out on your own?
└Hikki: Oh, yes. I thought of it and pulled it off on the fly in the heat of battle.
└Nyeomnyong: Hehe. Well done. It's nice to see how quickly you're growing.
Graaah─
Praise from the head mod always feels so good.
Riding that momentum, I posted one more thing.
[Oh, also, while I was fighting, I had a thought]
[Author: Hikki]
Whenever my body temperature dropped from ice magic, I warmed myself up with fire magic, right?
In theory, doesn't that mean I can keep casting with an infinite energy loop?
Seems amazing.
I expect applause.
└ElectricityIsn'tFireMagic: Good grief, newbie~~~ You're still a total beginner
└ElectricityIsn'tFireMagic: Didn't those water mages teach you properly?
└Hikki: Why? Am I wrong?
Was that not how it worked?
The one who answered my question was the fire mage.
└FireMage: The fact that your body temperature rises and falls because of magic already marks you as a beginner.
└FireMage: Mages who reach a certain level are free of those drawbacks.
└FireMage: Because they effectively synchronize with the element.
└FireMage: High-tier mages can even use large-scale spells like Meteor. If they couldn't control their body temperature, they'd cook themselves to death, wouldn't they?
└BearDoorBearDoorBear: That's what you get for taking lessons from a fire mage lol
Oh, I see….
What I thought was some amazing insight had actually just exposed me as a rookie.
How embarrassing.
Should I delete the post and run?
└Iron Beard: Hahaha! It's only natural to think that way at first!
└Iron Beard: Since the newbie can use multiple elements, fighting that way isn't a bad idea!
└Iron Beard: There are no right answers on the path of magic! Finding your own way can be one approach!
Thanks to Uncle Iron Beard, my flushed face cooled down a little.
He was an uncle, right?
Come to think of it, my teachers hadn't commented yet.
Especially Ice Bat.
Since it was my first fight after taking lessons from them, I thought they'd show up right away.
But contrary to my expectations,
it was quite a while before my frost-mage teacher finally posted.
[Yeah, good job.]
[Author: Ice Bat]
Enjoy yourself just for today, then come to class tomorrow.
└WordsAreJustWords: That's way too cold.
└IsThatForReal: Just… -cold-
└Ice Bat: You guys know this is when it's most dangerous, right?
└Ice Bat: They get overconfident and charge in, barely assess the enemy's strength, start fooling around because they're at ease. It's exactly when accidents happen.
└Ice Bat: They're way too excited right now.
Huh?
└GoodAtHousework: Mmm…! I don't know about fighting, but it's the same with housework. I've broken plenty of dishes after getting used to it and losing focus….
└BabyPiggy: That's true, I guess.
└AngryArtist: Newbie, if you get it, put your head down first.
└Ice Bat: You don't have to go that far. Just take it to heart. Don't be upset.
└Ice Bat: I just don't want my student to get hurt.
I wasn't really upset….
I understood what they were getting at.
The most dangerous time was when your tension eased and your confidence started to rise.
‘I almost died on Floor 1 after getting carried away by the gallery members' praise.’
I had a bad habit of bouncing with excitement over even the smallest compliment.
Well, still.
‘Was it because my teacher set me straight?’
The next day.
I cleared Floor 3 very safely.
[You have reached No. 1 in the Global Hunter Rankings.]
[1st]
[Hikki]
[4592 points]
[2nd]
[ABC]
[2139 points]
I'd opened up a twofold lead over the previous top-ranked Hunter.
‘The score gap wasn't that big on Floors 1 and 2.’
I guess it was because I fought more calmly and decisively.
And the day after that, too.
[Floor 4 Cleared.]
[You have reached No. 1 in the Korean Hunter Rankings.]
[You have reached No. 1 in the Global Hunter Rankings.]
A tricky stage with five goblin grunts and three archers.
[1st]
[Hikki]
[5987 points]
[2nd]
[ABC]
[2939 points]
I wrapped things up cleanly again.
On top of opening up a twofold lead, I also raised my total score even higher.
I think it was because I'd finished the fight with a single Fireball.
‘I took advantage of the eight goblins being bunched up.’
It had been a pretty cool moment.
I almost wished I'd recorded it with my status window.
‘Tomorrow's the final tutorial floor.’
So far, things had gone well.
I'd cleared four floors without ever losing first place globally.
My stats had gone up a lot, too.
“Status Window!”
Flash-
[Strength: 5]
[Agility: 4]
[Magic Power: 17]
My Magic Power had nearly doubled from its starting value of 9.
[Pieces of Growth: 0]
[Skills: -]
I hadn't invested anything in skills because I'd spent it all on stats, but.
'It doesn't matter.'
I had skills I'd learned from the Great Wizards.
A Fireball, perfect for area attacks.
An Ice Ball, ideal for sniping a single target.
They might be the most basic spells in the gallery members' eyes,
but I couldn't ask for anything better.
I could probably clear Floor 5, the final tutorial floor, with just these two.
└Ice Bat: The tutorial ends tomorrow?
└Hikki: Yep.
└AngryArtist: If you do well in the tutorial, don't they give you a higher difficulty?
└Hikki: Yep, yep.
└AngryArtist: Why go for a higher difficulty on purpose?
└Hikki: The harder it is, the better the rewards, apparently.
└AngryArtist: Is that so? Is there something like Hellfire difficulty?
└Hikki: As if there is.
└AngryArtist: What's a Great Wizard doing being embarrassed by Hard? Don't come back until you've beaten Hellfire difficulty.
What did they mean, Hellfire difficulty?
I scoffed at the idea. I mean, how could I clear a difficulty that doesn't exist?