155

Lim Ga-eul—!!!!!!

Suddenly, a voice called out from behind.

'…?'

At first, Lim Ga-eul didn't think the voice was calling out to her. After all, there was the master who had taught Jin Yuha how to wield a sword. And there was also the new junior, who had just joined but possessed undeniable skill and courage that commanded respect.

'But why would he call for Lim Ga-eul?'

Me?

It seemed like the first time Yuha had called out her name so urgently. Usually, there was a hint of exasperation, nonchalance, or teasing in the way Yuha addressed him.

Although a year younger, Yuha was always dependable, looking after the entire party.

Why was Yuha calling out to him so desperately?

"Hold the magic stone!!!!!"

'Hold the magic stone? What magic stone?'

Lim Ga-eul glanced at the magic stone in his hand. It couldn't be the top-grade magic stone she had been clutching tightly since before entering this place.

Perhaps the magic stone Yuha was referring to was…

Lim Ga-eul slowly turned his head.

Floating in mid-air was a large, black magic stone.

She still couldn't quite grasp the situation, but from their earlier conversation, she could surmise that this magic stone was something dangerous and formidable.

Thump—

Thump—

The black magic stone pulsed like a beating heart.

'Hold this?'

It looked ominous.

Both her instincts and rationality screamed at her to stay away from it, not even to go near it.

'Am I going to die…?'

As she stared at the sinister-looking magic stone, time seemed to slow down.

In the past, she wouldn't have moved a muscle in this situation.

Even during the practical Gate training when she, Yuha, and Yoo-ri had been ambushed by an ogre, she had hidden behind Yoo-ri and only used skills.

'Come to think of it, Yuha told me to hold a magic stone back then, too.'

The junior had suddenly handed her a top-grade magic stone, and her life had dramatically changed from that moment on.

She had been the worst supporter in his grade, labeled as trash, a retard, junk, waste, and a moron.

Those derogatory names had become more familiar to her than her own name, Lim Ga-eul, during her time at the Academy.

But everything changed when she accepted the magic stone from Jin Yuha.

She transformed into an exceptional supporter, a powerful magician.

She had slain her friend who had turned into a Demon in the blink of an eye, and she found herself tied to the Utopia Party, a group of individuals she would never have dared to speak with.

They were all kind, strong, and amazing juniors. Too good for her.

Sometimes she wondered if she was living in a dream that was too good to be true.

'Hmm— so that's why?'

Before coming here, she had seen comments on YouTube.

Comments about her lack of presence, made by people who didn't even remember her name. She had bristled at their jokes, perhaps because she knew it was true.

She was the weakest link in Utopia, the one who didn't belong.

What could she do? She was born with a small-town mentality.

She didn't dream of becoming the greatest supporter, making a fortune, or achieving something that would make everyone look up to her.

She just wanted to be an ordinary hunter who helped people, someone who was appreciated and thanked for her contributions. That was enough for her.

But…

When that amazing and talented junior, Yuha, looked at her with desperate eyes and shouted that only she could do it…

'I want to live up to your expectations.'

Lim Ga-eul clutched the top-grade magic stone that Yuha had given her and channeled her mana.

"Acceleration."

With accelerated speed, she lunged towards the pulsating black magic stone.

.

.

.

"What are you doing?! If you touch that stone, all of South Korea will become uninhabitable! That's not my objective!" Yeon Woo-jin shouted in alarm as she saw Lim Ga-eul rushing towards the magic stone.

"Slaughter Maniac! Stop her! We can't just let her─?"

Slash—

Baek Seol-hee slashed again, severing his head.

"You speak as if I were your friend."

In that moment, Lim Ga-eul managed to place her hand on the magic stone.

Only then could I breathe a sigh of relief.

'Damn, that was a close one…'

While we were dealing with the magical creatures above, one of them shouted.

—Where the hell is Yeon Woo-jin?! He gathered us here, and now we're all gonna die!!!

Rushing here as soon as I heard that cry turned out to be the right decision.

'Can't believe Yeon Woo-jin showed up here. The butterfly effect is too much.'

I looked at the guy yelling at the instructor.

Yeon Woo-jin.

In the original story, he appears in the middle, about a year from now.

To be honest, he's not that big of a deal.

He has a well-designed model, a crazy way of speaking, and an impressive entrance. Anyone can tell he's going to be a villain who does something drastic.

But despite his impressive introduction, he's just an extra antagonist who gets taken out quickly.

However, Yeon Woo-jin does have a role to play in Velvets.

It's the branching point.

By the middle of the second year, the characters the players raise become quite strong.

They become so strong that most Demons are no match for them. Even now, I can take on nearly a hundred Demons on my own, let alone the cannon fodder. And when it comes to characters decked out in various resources, well, it's a given.

In other words, the power balance has shifted significantly, and enemies have become underwhelming.

That's when Yeon Woo-jin shows up and announces the arrival of a new type of enemy, the 'Devils'.

Devils are far stronger and more dangerous than Demons, serving as a wake-up call to players who have become complacent.

However, you can't just ramp up the difficulty with the introduction of devils. It needs to be balanced so that players can still have fun!

So, Yeon Woo-jin and the devils he summons are designed to be easily defeated.

'But the problem is that we're not in the middle of the game; we're just past the early stages.'

We're not ready to face a new species like devils yet. Our strength, stats, and equipment are all lacking.

If devils appeared now, when we're still struggling with some of the Demons, what would happen?

'It would be a massacre.'

Later on, we'll be able to defeat them on auto-pilot, but not now.

Of course, with Instructor Baek Seol-hee here, we might not be completely overwhelmed…

But it's too risky to gamble on that right now.

'Lim Ga-eul saved us… for real.'

I looked at Lim Ga-eul's back as she placed her hand on the magic stone.

She uses skills fueled by magic stones.

Normally, magic stones need to undergo a purification process before they can be used, and even then, it's challenging for humans to utilize them directly. The best we can do is extract their energy or use them in artifacts and magical tools.

But Lim Ga-eul can directly harness the mana from magic stones thanks to her trait, 'Tolerance'.

Tolerance is a trait that allows her to absorb the mana from magic stones and transform it into her own mana.

And this includes the dark energy emanating from the black magic stone.

'Hmm, but… I'm not sure if it's a good idea to give her a black magic stone at this early stage…'

Lim Ga-eul doesn't start handling black magic stones until about a year from now, when the devils appear. This is the first time I've given her one so early. But I have no choice but to trust her. If it's not Lim Ga-eul, there's no one else who can stop the descent.

Thump—

Thump—

Thump—

The pulsing grew faster. The magic stone's magic power surged and released even denser magic energy.

"Ahhh— They're finally descending! The demons are finally getting off their lazy asses!"

Yeon Woo-jin, with his head chopped off, looked up at the magic stone with eager eyes. Baek Seol-hee also waited, assuming that Jin Yuha had a plan, but it seemed like it was too late. She bit her lip and gripped the hilt of her sword.

Kwajijijijik—

The entire electric field shook as if an earthquake had struck. Then, a pitch-black gap appeared above the magic stone, as if the air had been torn open. It was a sign that the descent was about to begin.

Even then, Lim Ga-eul remained motionless, her hand on the black magic stone.

But suddenly—

She stood upright.

The vibrations from the magic stone abruptly stopped.

"What, what…? Why, why is the descent…?!" Yeon Woo-jin was taken aback, his eyes wide.

"Huh, heh heh?"

Lim Ga-eul's lips slowly curled up, and she let out a laugh.

"Senior?"

Haaaaaaah—

She tilted her head back and exhaled a lazy sigh.

"I'm overflowing with power…"

I asked, worried that something might be wrong.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Of course, I'm fine. How could I not be?

Her voice, usually so fierce, had transformed into a decadent mix of air and sound.

"My mood…

Lim Ga-eul opened her eyes and covered the left side of her face with one hand.

"…is the best."

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