Became a Swordsman Genius in a Pretty Girl Game

334. Each Story (1)

“Jin Yu-ha! I just got a strange skill······. It’s called the Shield of Belief······.”

“What!? Shield of Belief!?”

I was taken aback and opened my mouth at Lee Yu-ri’s words.

Of course, since she had cleared her personal story dungeon, I expected that new traits or skills would be unlocked.

But.

I never imagined that such an overpowered skill would appear.

The Shield of Belief is a skill that blocks even lethal attacks that could lead to instant death once a month, without any conditions.

It doesn’t matter how far the protected target is or if the attack is unnoticed.

It’s an absurd ability that makes the opponent’s attack ‘completely nonexistent’ just before the protected target retires.

‘There were hardly any players with this skill, even in the game······.’

As far as I remember, at most three?

And they were all grandmaster-ranked players who had spent hundreds of millions to roll for the skill gacha.

From the beginning, Lee Yu-ri was a diligent and hardworking character, a hexagonal tank with a high baseline that didn’t have any specific matchups, truly a ‘gukbap’ character.

Does the Shield of Belief get added to that?

This could be seen as the low peak, which is pointed out as a flaw of Lee Yu-ri, breaking through the ceiling.

Of course, the cooldown of this skill.

While the period of once a month might seem too long at first glance.

In most games, new bosses appear on a monthly basis. Rather, its efficiency could be said to be insane.

How could it be that even the Velvet community members, who usually don’t criticize Lee Yu-ri, looked at the Shield of Belief and called it a ridiculously overpowered character, even going so far as to petition for the skill’s removal?

‘What the hell…?’

Not long ago, Kang Do-hee surprised me by learning the Divine Manifestation on her own, and now it’s the Shield of Belief.

‘Is it really possible for skills like this to just roll in without even spinning a gacha?’

I stared blankly at Lee Yu-ri.

“What, what is it? Jin Yu-ha. What’s wrong? This, the Shield of Belief is good, right!? Or is it not that great?”

As I remained silent, Lee Yu-ri blurted out with a flustered expression.

‘If I record this scene and post it in the community, it would really turn everything upside down.’

Hearing the declaration of a bit of a scam directly from Lee Yu-ri’s mouth. How precious.

[ ??? : I got the Shield of Belief as a personal story reward, is this good? ]

If I titled it like this and made a meme out of it, the personal fan club that had been heavily supporting Lee Yu-ri, the ‘Solid Rice Soup Squad,’ would probably shout, ‘N-no way… this isn’t our rice soup!!’ in denial of reality.

“No, it’s so good. That’s why I momentarily lost my words.”

* * *

The day after camping with Lee Yu-ri.

I visited her mentor with Kang Do-hee.

The guild, Parandis, that Kang Do-hee was part of before entering the academy.

The S-rank hunter Choi Hye-seo, who was the guild leader there.

After risking her life to save a man who had been dragged away by a monster,

that man falsely accused her of s*xual assault within the dungeon, aiming for Choi Hye-seo’s money.

Of course, she was found not guilty, but it took more than a year for the trial results to come out,

and in the meantime, everything she held was ruined, ultimately forcing her to retire in disgrace.

Originally, Kang Do-hee’s personal story was just to support her while she gradually built her reputation through hunter activities.

Choi Hye-seo doesn’t appear as a central figure in that way.

She only appeared as a trigger for me to feel fondness when reflecting on the past guild leader.

However, I felt that unraveling this knot was the right direction to take.

“And in the case of Kang Do-hee, she had already built an incredible reputation.”

When we visited Choi Hye-seo, she was surprised by our unexpected visit but welcomed us warmly.

And she congratulated us with genuine joy at the thought of me meeting Kang Do-hee.

Choi Hye-seo took my hands in hers and spoke softly.

“Our Do-hee… She may seem blunt on the outside, but she has a gentle heart and is a good child. I’ve always kept up with her news, so please take good care of her.”

“Yes, I know. That’s why I fell for her.”

“Oh my…”

Kang Do-hee, unfamiliar with such situations, could only cough awkwardly with a flushed face beside me.

Hmm.

‘Is it right to say this here?’

“Um, if I may… I know this might be an uncomfortable topic, but can I ask just one thing?”

“Yes? What are you referring to…?”

“I heard that when you retired, you were acquitted, but it wasn’t well known among people.”

“…… Yes, that’s right.”

Despair, which she had hidden, began to creep into her eyes as she nodded.

“If you could wash away that disgrace even now, what would you do?”

“What? W-wash away the disgrace? Is that… possible? It’s been so long, and it’s an event forgotten by most people… Most of them probably don’t even remember my name…”

“Don’t worry about that. We will definitely restore Hunter Choi Hye-seo’s honor.”

As soon as she gave her consent, I immediately contacted Shin Se-hee and asked her to firmly engrave the truth about the ‘past S-rank hunter, Choi Hye-seo’s s*xual assault case’ in people’s minds.

And not long after.

Articles about Choi Hye-seo’s acquittal in the s*xual assault case began to pop up like mushrooms after rain.

News came that a documentary would be produced on the theme of “the unjust case of a woman who was once the greatest hero.”

Choi Hye-seo shed tears of gratitude in response.

As we left that meeting and headed back to the academy.

“…… Nureongi.”

Kang Do-hee called me from behind in a heavy voice.

“Yes.”

“Maybe, I… I think I could have done it all along, but I was forcing myself to look away… If I had thought a little more… If I had only… beforehand—”

“Shh!”

I brought my finger to Kang Do-hee’s lips and smiled.

“You don’t have to feel guilty. You’ve been running without a moment’s distraction, haven’t you?”

“······.”

“Thanks to your dedication to training and the solid support you’ve given, our party has become this strong and gained this much influence. Honestly, if I had said something like this before, would it have garnered this much attention?”

“Ha, but······!”

“So, I hope you can think of it as a good thing that we’re doing it now.”

The atmosphere still felt like it wasn’t fully accepting my words.

Hmm, this stiff atmosphere really doesn’t suit us.

“And I can score big points with your mother. Isn’t that a good thing?”

“W-what do you mean by mother! The guild leader and I are not like that─”

“She’s like a mother figure, isn’t she? Right?”

At that, Kang Do-hee nodded with a bright red face.

“D-doggy······. No, Ji, Jin Yoo-ha!!!”

Kang Do-hee looked straight into my eyes and raised her finger at me.

“I will never, absolutely never forget this debt!”

“Pfft! That sounded like something a third-rate villain would say.”

“W-what do you mean third-rate villain!”

“And don’t think of it as a debt. Are we strangers? We’ve confirmed our feelings for each other and are meeting with good intentions now, right?”

“Th-that─! Ah, anyway!! I’ll fight alongside you wherever you go, so be prepared!!!”

I burst out laughing, holding my stomach at her truly Kang Do-hee-like declaration.

“Ah, who uses ‘be prepared’ in a situation like this? You fool.”

And, in Kang Do-hee’s body, which was still flushed red, a light began to shine.

Her awakening was a trait.

Indomitable (不屈).

It’s a trait that allows one to fight in the same condition as at the start, no matter how much damage they take during battle, until their health is completely depleted.

She already has the avatar descent too.

I didn’t expect it to be this fitting.

How did such a perfect trait attach itself to Kang Do-hee?

‘Hmm. If that’s the case, I’m looking forward to the others too······?’

* * *

Next is Shin Se-hee.

In fact, Shin Se-hee’s personal story has already come to an end.

She has taken her revenge on the Shin family.

She has already secured all members of the Shin family’s elite guard.

‘Originally, Shin Se-hee’s personal story was about running through a dedicated dungeon to definitively secure a few members of the Shin family’s elite guard. The higher the affinity, the more members of the Shin family’s elite guard could be secured.’

Therefore, instead of following a predetermined personal story with Shin Se-hee, we went on a date that asked her what she wanted to do and followed along.

Shopping together, dining, getting couple massages, and sipping wine—a somewhat ordinary date.

Of course, it was a bit uncomfortable having people’s gazes follow us wherever we went…

“Are you really okay with this?”

I asked Shin Se-hee as I tilted my wine glass while sitting at the bar.

“Yes, this is what I’ve always wanted to do.”

“Hmm…”

As I made a troubled expression, Shin Se-hee rested her chin on her slightly flushed face, the result of the alcohol.

We had barely been seated for a minute.

“Jin Yu-ha, you know, I actually have a very strong possessiveness and a very strong desire to show off. And with that comes a lot of jealousy. So, feeling the happiness of declaring in front of others that this man is mine, feeling that sense of superiority, is unparalleled for me.”

“Really? Then I’m glad… But I’m a bit curious, can I ask something? If it’s uncomfortable, you don’t have to answer.”

“Yes, ask me anything.”

“Why did you agree to be a shared partner?”

Honestly, it was unexpected.

I prided myself on knowing her personality better than anyone else in this Velvet Era world.

So, I never dreamed that Shin Se-hee, of all people, would agree to being a shared partner.

“Hehe, do you know? Jin Yu-ha, I was actually the one who suggested it first.”

“What…? Really?”

“Yes. Hmm, today is a day for me… And since you’ve already met two others before me, should I tease you a little?”

Sip.

Shin Se-hee raised her glass in front of her and moistened her lips.

What she revealed in her tipsy state was this:

The conclusion she reached about sharing Jin Yu-ha, armed with possessiveness and jealousy.

It was said that it required a level of anguish and contemplation that made the term eternity seem insufficient.

In fact, I had considered betting on the possibility of being chosen myself, but I quickly dismissed the thought.

“Why, if it’s you, Shin Se-hee─”

“Well, unlike the other party members, I wasn’t chosen by Jin Yu-ha, right? The others had Jin Yu-ha reach out to them first. I was the one who clung on.”

“Th-that’s…”

Even if I had ten mouths, I wouldn’t have had anything to say.

Honestly, it was true that I had pondered whether to include Shin Se-hee in the party at first.

Now, I couldn’t even imagine a utopia without her.

“Pfft! I’m sorry. I said something mischievous. I know. It’s different now than it was back then. But, it’s just… I’m a bit of a bothersome woman.”

Shin Se-hee let out a deep sigh and shrugged her shoulders.

“Actually, you know. If I had wanted to scheme or create a rift among the party members to monopolize Jin Yu-ha… it wouldn’t have been that difficult. That’s because all our party members are honest and straightforward, right?”

To put it negatively, it meant they were simple.

I couldn’t deny Shin Se-hee’s words and nodded my head.

“But, even so… Jin Yu-ha’s promise when she accepted me into the party came to mind.”

“…Promise?”

“Yes. Don’t you remember what Jin Yu-ha said when she accepted me into the party?”

Ah.

I remember.

“Be honest in front of me. If you ever try to deceive me even once, it will be the end for you that day. I said it so coldly…”

“Yes. And you included the party members in that too. Not to indulge in bad tastes.”

“Ah…”

“Well, that promise has become my leash.”

“Huh? Wait a minute. But you deceived me this time. Pretending to be affected by your love’s demon…”

“Hehe, but I just didn’t speak the truth. I didn’t exactly ‘lie,’ you know? It wasn’t bad taste either. We all fell for Jin Yu-ha, right?”

As she said this, Shin Se-hee playfully winked one eye.

I let out a hollow laugh at her brazen response.

‘Well, at this point, I can’t just throw away how much she’s deceived me.’

Everything she said and did would be for my sake.

Now, enough trust had been built.

So, all I could do was continue to reassure her, ensuring she wouldn’t feel anxious any further.

I understand how much of a concession she must have made, given her personality.

“Thank you. Shin Se-hee. You said you lack confidence, but… hmm, if there had to be a situation where I had to choose one person, I wouldn’t have pushed you aside. I would have really thought seriously about it. Now, I can’t even imagine being without you.”

At that, Shin Se-hee flinched, her eyebrows trembling.

“······Ah. So that’s how it was?”

“What do you mean?”

“After meeting with Lee Yu-ri and Kang Do-hee, you seemed a bit dazed······. Indeed, this is quite destructive······.”

Hmm—

“Wait? This is······. Suddenly, a trait, a trait has appeared······?”

“What?”

“Psychic vision······. They say it enhances insight?”

At her words, I could only scratch my head.

“Seriously, what is this?”

Now I can’t even go anywhere, scared to the point of not being able to move.

If I did, I’d seriously get stoned to death.