Chapter 732: Week 9–10 Midterms (11)

Late at night.

Hong Yeonhwa could not fall asleep.

Her body was clearly complaining of exhaustion, yet her mind was sharper than ever.

The main cause was the conversation the party had shared before bed.

More precisely, it was the one casual remark Seo Ye-in had thrown out.

Kissing......!

The act one did after going several steps beyond a peck.

That act, which Hong Yeonhwa could not even imagine yet, Seo Ye-in had boldly done already.

It seemed she was not the only one shocked.

Han Somi had gone completely blank, and even Go Hyeonwoo, who had never shown much interest in romance, let out a low exclamation.

“Huh. To think Lady Seo would be the first to cross the line.”

And everyone’s surprise naturally transformed into curiosity.

Han Somi started shooting laser beams from her eyes.

“Kissing? On the lips! How was it? Tell us in detail!!”

At that, Seo Ye-in reenacted what had happened that night.

While everyone’s attention focused on her, she pointed at the empty space right beside her.

“Air Kim Ho.”

“Uh-huh! And then?”

“Like this.”

When Seo Ye-in leaned toward “Air Kim Ho,” the laser beams from Han Somi’s eyes doubled in intensity.

“Ooh? Closer? And then, and then?”

“Closer......”

“......And then?”

“......Kiss.”

“Ooooh!”

Han Somi clapped both hands over her mouth.

In that state, as if spreading the wings of imagination, she gasped.

Hong Yeonhwa also imagined “Air Kim Ho” and “Air Hong Yeonhwa” in empty space and ran a simulation.

Go closer......! And kiss......!

Lips and lips......!

The more she imagined it, the hotter her face became, until it felt like it might burst.

When such intense reactions came back, a proud look appeared on Seo Ye-in’s expressionless face.

At the same time, perhaps because she was getting into it, she continued the reenactment.

By sticking “that” out between her lips.

“Tongue.”

“......Huh?”

“Huh.”

“???”

The scene was plunged into shock once again.

Hong Yeonhwa felt her eyes spin as she thought,

Why tongue all of a sudden......?

What did that have to do with kissing?

But the moment Seo Ye-in was about to do something terrible to “Air Kim Ho,” Kim Ho reached out and pinched her nose.

“Do not spread incorrect knowledge.”

“Node bindging, no......”

“And you didn’t use your tongue either.”

Watching Kim Ho scold her, Hong Yeonhwa let out a sigh of relief inside.

So they didn’t use tongues.......

It seemed Seo Ye-in had not gone somewhere far beyond reach after all.

But the question still remained unresolved.

That was the biggest reason she still could not sleep.

......What are you supposed to do with your tongue?

During a kiss, at that?

With her common sense, she could not find an answer at all.

Do you just, like...... lick?

Soon, Kim Ho appeared in Hong Yeonhwa’s mind.

Just like Seo Ye-in had shown, with his tongue poking out between his lips.

Then, just as he seemed to get closer and closer to her—

LICK, LICK.

He licked various places on her face.

Hong Yeonhwa’s expression turned strange.

......I don’t think that’s it.

It felt too odd to be the next step after kissing.

So she erased licking Kim Ho from her mind and continued to ponder and ponder again.

Then, in the middle of it, a thought flashed through her mind like lightning.

......Kissing is done by two people, right?

Then should both people use their tongues too?

Tongue-poking Kim Ho appeared in Hong Yeonhwa’s mind again.

Only this time, she also had her tongue poking out.

Soon, the distance between the two of them grew closer and closer...... and the tips of their tongues touched.

......I don’t think that’s it either.

She might as well just kiss instead. What was anyone trying to accomplish by touching tongues together?

When she could not endure the frustration and tossed around, Kim Ho glanced her way and asked,

“Can’t sleep?”

“Huh? No! I mean, I woke up for a second! I’m going right back! To sleep.”

Hong Yeonhwa fluttered her hands as she answered, then curled up to try her hardest to pretend she was asleep.

But the same question kept circling inside her head.

What are you supposed to do with your tongue!

*****

The next morning.

I quietly looked over Hong Yeonhwa’s face.

“You okay? You look tired.”

“I-I’m fine......”

Despite what she said, dark circles had settled heavily beneath Hong Yeonhwa’s eyes.

She had tossed and turned all night, so it seemed she had not slept properly.

The reason was obviously—

Either kissing or tongues.

Her eyes had gone wide like a startled rabbit from the moment Seo Ye-in brought it up.

If she wanted, we could have Kim Ho’s health-and-physical-education class, but for now, it seemed better to give her time to process the shock.

So I decided to pretend I knew nothing and let it pass.

“If you’re too tired, we can manage your condition a bit before leaving. It’s not that urgent.”

“No, I think I’ll be okay. Moving around for one day......”

Hong Yeonhwa waved her hands as she answered.

At that, I nodded and looked over the party members.

“Let’s decide our direction here before we move.”

“We will not lose our way if our purpose is clear. Did you receive a quest again this time?”

“I did.”

I had been about to share it anyway.

[Sub Quest: Week 9–10 Midterms](In progress....)

▷Condition: Failure upon retiring

▷Objective 1: Party members reach A-rank (-/2)

▷Objective 2: Defeat competitors (19/20)

▷Objective 3: Seize competitors’ items (22/10)

▷Objective 4: Defeat field bosses (1/2)

▷Note: If completion rate falls below the standard, rewards will be reduced.

▷Reward: Differentially issued according to completion rate

At that, Go Hyeonwoo’s eyes shone as he said,

“It seems the second and third objectives were largely achieved last night.”

“Thanks to Hyeonju.”

“It is regrettable that we are short by one person...... Will we also go looking for Brother Sagong?”

“Not right now. It’s too inefficient.”

Unlike Kang Huichan, I had not attached [Tracking] to him, so there was no way to know where he was or what he was doing.

Nor could we roam the Great Forest endlessly searching for him.

So the conclusion I reached was—

“If the opportunity comes up, we’ll go after him. Otherwise, we’ll counter him when he comes to us. Same for Cha Hyeonju’s group.”

“Indeed, at present, there is little for us to fear.”

When there were only Go, Han, and Hong, they had been inferior in numbers, their party composition had been unstable, and they lacked item cards too.

On the other hand, we were five now, Seo Ye-in and I had been added, and we had a generous stockpile of various cards.

Even if we fought Sagong Uk’s gang head-on, it was worth trying.

And the defeat objective could also be completed against parties we encountered while coming and going.

So its importance was the lowest.

“The most important thing right now is field bosses.”

At that, Han Somi floated a question mark over her head.

“Isn’t there only one left for that too?”

“Basically, yes, but I’m aiming for excess completion.”

The quest reward would be strengthened the more we did.

I added an explanation to that.

“And bosses drop lots of good things.”

“Rare item cards!”

“Right. The sooner we secure them, the more we benefit.”

There was a chance more things like [Payback] or [Boost] would drop too.

Hong Yeonhwa supported my words.

“Their numbers are...... limited too.”

“That’s also right.”

I unfolded the map.

Before we joined up with the party members, there had been a crown in a D-rank zone, but now it was gone.

That meant someone had already killed it.

“If we don’t move quickly, nothing will be left.”

“Indeed, I understand.”

Go Hyeonwoo nodded.

Soon, I explained the plan in more concrete terms.

I pointed out the nearby D and C zones on the map.

“We rotate quickly and sweep up only field bosses.”

“What is the plan after that?”

“Right now, we have two B-ranks and three C-ranks. As we move, one or two more people will probably reach B.”

“Indeed. There will not be only bosses along the route.”

We could grab hidden pieces along the way, kill monsters we encountered, and possibly clash with other participants too.

Once we offered the crystals we obtained that way, our ranks would naturally rise.

“Then we immediately move into a B zone. At this pace, we’ll probably be the first.”

“Then we can take quite a large profit.”

“There’s no competition, but the drop item level is high.”

“That is a reasonable statement.”

“Anyone have questions?”

I paused briefly and looked around at the party members, but no one stepped forward.

It meant they had understood the plan well enough.

So we began examining the map again.

The closest crown was, unexpectedly, in the C zone where we were.

It seemed Cha Hyeonju’s gang had left it for today.

Though now they were in no position to kill it.

Hyeonju, I’ll put it to good use.

Since I did not know where she was, I roughly sent my thanks somewhere beyond the sky.

Then I began moving toward the crown with the party.

Go Hyeonwoo and Han Somi took the lead with movement arts.

When monsters appeared along the way, they mercilessly swung their swords.

SLASH, SLASH!

Under the clean swordwork, the monsters often failed to resist and turned into crystals and cards.

As for charging, we decided to do it if there was a sanctuary or altar along the route.

As we continued advancing while checking the map, the five red dots representing us gradually approached the crown.

If we went just a little farther, the field boss would enter our sight.

But then, a roar rang out from ahead.

BOOM, BOOM! BOOOM!

I exchanged glances with Seo Ye-in.

“Looks like someone is trying to kill it first.”

“......Total wipeout?”

“How is total wipeout the first word that comes to mind?”

“Three birds with one stone.”

“Kill the boss, kill the other kids, and take their items too?”

“Excellent choice.”

I agreed with that point a hundred percent, but indiscriminately attacking everyone was not a good choice.

Among field bosses, there were also some that required cooperation.

“Let’s see who it is first before deciding.”

Whether we would look far ahead and spare them, or make them prey for the sub quest.

As we continued moving forward like that, another BOOM echoed from ahead.

A powerful roar and a sharp cry followed too.

ROOOOAR—!

SCREEEEEE—!

At that, Seo Ye-in and I exchanged glances again.

“......Doesn’t that sound familiar?”

“......Beomi. Chaemi.”

And that prediction turned out to be exactly correct.

Far in the distance, a familiar eagle was flying high in the sky.

It made one wide circle in midair, then suddenly descended and disappeared from view.

SCREEEEEE—!

At that, we hurried our steps even more and finally arrived at the location of the crown.

The first thing we saw was a giant gorilla.

It was jumping in every direction and pounding the ground with its fists.

“Woo, wooo!”

BOOM! BOOM, BOOM!

With every shockwave, thick °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° dust rose, and trees collapsed one after another.

Beomi dodged it all with agile movements.

Running in a zigzag pattern, Beomi approached the gorilla and thrust out a front paw.

“ROOOOAR—!”

And a little distance away, Park Nari’s party had formed a formation.

She turned her head this way, and the moment she spotted me, her face brightened.

“Ah, hello......!”

“Hello.”

I waved back warmly, yet felt a faint trace of disappointment.

I guess total wipeout is off the table.