Chapter 756: Blink Hedgehog (3)

As if proving that she had gotten the feel for it, Song Cheonhye began building proficiency at a rapid pace.

RUMBLE, KRA-KOOM!

Every time a [Lightning Rod] turned red, she immediately cast [Thunder Jump], appearing here, appearing there.

As I watched, I thought,

The mobility problem is solved now.

[Thunder Jump] was good enough that it did not fall short compared to ★Blink★.

They simply had different strengths and weaknesses.

★Blink★ is obviously better in versatility.

It was hardly restricted by space, and its range was far longer.

On the other hand, [Thunder Jump] could only be cast to places where a [Lightning Rod] had been set up, or where “a significant amount of electric current” had gathered.

There were multiple ways to increase its freedom, but it was still less flexible than ★Blink★.

Of course, since the weakness stood out so much, the strength was enormous too.

The cooldown is short.

★Blink★’s basic cooldown was 40 seconds at A-rank, and 20 seconds if raised to S.

By contrast, [Thunder Jump] started at 20 seconds from F-rank, and as the rank went up, it fell to single digits.

And if it was linked with a “special skill,” that cooldown could even be made zero.

The point when she could learn that was still fairly far off, but—

Even just [Thunder Jump] will stay useful for a long time.

As I was thinking that, Song Cheonhye flashed into view again and stepped right down on the red [Lightning Rod].

KRA-KOOOM!

Then instead of casting the skill again, she walked toward me with a bright face.

“I’m done.”

Sub Quest: Stage 2 Austerity

▷Objective: Achieve proficiency (100/100%)

▷Reward: [Thunder Jump(F→C)]

She had already filled the proficiency all ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ the way to 100%.

As expected of a Challenge Austerity, the reward was a whole three rank-ups.

With her face still flushed, Song Cheonhye continued.

“I didn’t think I’d finish in one day. Stage 1 took over a week.”

“You were already prepared.”

She could freely handle as many as seven [Lightning Rods], and even with ★Blink★, the only thing lacking had been control. In every other respect, it had been perfect.

So the moment she had a trigger, it bloomed.

Soon, Song Cheonhye asked carefully,

“The next stage right away... is impossible, isn’t it?”

“Not right now.”

Thanks to [Swift Second Hand], the cooldown had been greatly reduced, but it was not lenient enough to use repeatedly on the same person.

Go Hyeonwoo stood at the highest priority, and Seo, Dang, Hong, and now even Han Somi had been added to the waiting list.

I added one more thing.

“And for now, I think it’ll be better to build up your fundamentals.”

“That does sound right. How should I do that?”

“First, let’s spar once.”

Having her experience it directly would be much more effective than explaining it in words.

Soon, we stood facing each other in the center of the training room.

As Song Cheonhye fixed her gloves, she asked,

“We’re doing it the same as usual, right?”

“That’s right. Tag.”

“Is there nothing if I catch you?”

“What do you want?”

At that question, Song Cheonhye gave a low, awkward cough.

“...You know, something like a mini wish coupon.”

“Your head is just completely full of pecks, isn’t it?”

“Why are you assuming it’s a peck? It could be something else.”

“Really? For example?”

I asked back as if I were genuinely curious.

Song Cheonhye fidgeted and looked at the wall of the training room.

“There are lots of other things, aren’t there? For example...”

“...”

“...”

“You can’t give me an example?”

“...No, but I’m allowed to think about it, aren’t I?”

Looks like she had decided to simply be shameless now.

I lightly jerked my chin.

“You are. It works as motivation in its own way.”

“That’s what I was going to say.”

“But are you confident?”

“Not exactly confident... but you never know.”

Even though she said that, she seemed to be seeing some possibility.

She had learned a powerful movement skill for once, and she was using it well enough to clear the quest in one go.

This is about the time to inject some humility.

So I let the [Crow Tree] hang down and stared at her across from me.

Then, when I jerked my chin to tell her to come in—

CRACKLE.

Song Cheonhye began pouring streams of electric current from her entire body.

She summoned [Lightning Rods] one by one and placed them throughout the training room, then abruptly hurled a lightning bolt at me.

KRA-KOOOM!

The moment I stepped with [Featherstep] and dodged, Song Cheonhye also kicked off the ground and charged in.

She gathered electric current in both hands and swung it as it was.

BZZZZT!

Next, four thunderbolt hummingbirds flew from Song Cheonhye’s hands.

[Hummingbird] x4

They spread wide and flew in with different speeds and trajectories.

Seeing that, I grinned.

“You’ve improved a lot.”

“Thanks to you.”

When we met on the train, she had not been able to handle even one properly. Now, four were nothing to her.

And she was even paying attention to the [Lightning Rods] at the same time.

“Still, it’s a little lacking.”

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

The hummingbirds collided with sylphids and were shot down one by one after getting hit by [Wind Force].

But Song Cheonhye’s face still did not show the slightest wavering.

That means she has another aim.

As I guessed, the sound of sparks rang out from behind me.

CRACKLE—

The lightning bolt she had thrown first had transformed into a [Lightning Rod].

The other skills had been for drawing my attention.

The next moment, Song Cheonhye vanished from in front of me.

KRA-KOOOM!

She struck down behind me, taking my back.

The design itself is decent.

The problem was that everything else was still lacking.

Obviously, I had expected this from the moment the first lightning bolt came flying.

My hand was already drawing a large circle.

[Bubble Bubble]

POP.

The moment Song Cheonhye landed with [Thunder Jump], she was trapped inside a large water bubble.

She flailed, opening and closing her mouth.

“...! ...!”

Not that anything could be heard except bubbling.

Soon, the water bubble burst on its own, and Song Cheonhye emerged looking like a drenched hedgehog.

I asked her,

“Honestly, that was too obvious, right?”

“...It was.”

In reality, there had only been one thing that could be used as a [Lightning Rod], so anyone could predict she would fly there.

That made it just as easy to dodge, and it made setting a trap in reverse just as easy.

I said casually,

“As long as you learned one thing, that’s enough. Let’s keep going.”

“Yes.”

Song Cheonhye moved a little more carefully.

She seemed to be creeping closer little by little while manipulating the [Lightning Rods], then sent all seven flying.

KRA-KOOOOM!

I stepped with [Featherstep] through the rain of electric pillars.

“Sending several at once was good.”

The more [Lightning Rods] there were, the harder it naturally became for the opponent to predict.

When there was only one, she would fly there 100%.

But if there were two or three, it became 50% or 33%.

Guessing correctly by picking one became pointless.

“But that’s only half right.”

KRA-KOOOM!

Immediately afterward, Song Cheonhye cast [Thunder Jump] and struck down.

But I had already moved to the opposite side of the training room.

When she saw that, her light-brown eyes widened as if she had realized something.

“...Ah!”

“I have ★Blink★ too.”

If there were too many [Lightning Rods] and prediction became impossible?

Then I could simply leave the area altogether.

Soon, Song Cheonhye seemed to think for a moment about what to do, then an exclamation mark practically appeared above her head.

And she manipulated the [Lightning Rods] again.

CRACKLE.

This time, she sent only three toward me and placed the rest around the area.

At that, I nodded in satisfaction.

“That’s it.”

KRA-KOOM!

The next moment, Song Cheonhye rode [Thunder Jump] in and swung lightning at me.

“Even with only three or four, guessing correctly becomes hard.”

“Right. That gives you even less reason to go all-in.”

KRA-KOOOM! KRA-KOOM!

For a while, attacks and defenses went back and forth without rest.

Song Cheonhye occupied all sides around me with [Lightning Rods], then appeared from behind or from the side at intervals, trying to stab into openings.

If I fled far away with ★Blink★, she immediately chased.

As that continued, she seemed to naturally realize one more thing.

“...The cooldown really is fast.”

The frequency with which Song Cheonhye used [Thunder Jump] was noticeably higher than the frequency with which I used ★Blink★.

Since it had risen to C-rank, it should have fallen to around the ten-second range.

By contrast, my ★Blink★ was A-rank, with a cooldown of 40 seconds.

On top of that, [Golden Pocket Watch(S)]’s option, [Swift Second Hand], applied and reduced it by 2 seconds at 20% per second, and 3 seconds at 10% per second.

Even so, it did not reach the ten-second range.

And that’s just for me. Most people don’t have a pocket watch.

I jerked my chin and answered,

“That’s useful to keep in mind when facing mages.”

Frequently using a movement skill meant she could take the advantage in mobility.

At this point, I decided to review what I had taught her through the spar.

“You understand that management and mind games are important, right?”

If there were too few [Lightning Rods], it was easy to predict.

If there were too many, the waste was huge when the opponent simply avoided the area.

She had to find a proper balance between the two.

Song Cheonhye seemed to have realized that too.

“Yes. I think I was taking it too lightly.”

She had thought of it as a simple movement skill and brought up a mini wish coupon.

Since she seemed sufficiently humbled, I did not tease her further and decided to point out her future direction.

“Build practical experience by fighting Discipline Committee members. Then your management and mind games will improve on their own.”

“Understood.”

“And obviously, try raising the rank too.”

If she raised it to A-rank to match [Core], the cooldown would fall below 10 seconds.

I continued giving advice.

“Keep training [Lightning Rod] too.”

“You mean I should try increasing the number, right?”

“That’s right.”

She could control a wider area with ten than with seven, and she would be able to send more at her opponent too.

Soon, I looked Song Cheonhye straight in the eye and said,

“Lastly, don’t abandon ★Blink★ either. Practice it whenever you have time.”

“...!”

Whenever she used it, she got bounced off somewhere strange. Now that she had a much more comfortable and reliable skill, she probably did not feel the need.

“The more cards you can play, the better.”

“...Yes. I’ll try.”

Song Cheonhye’s eyes shone with determination.

*****

After practically living in the training center, the weekend passed in a flash.

Raid week began.

Seo Cheongyong explained the rules during class, and we chose one of the designated D-rank dungeons and began clearing it.

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!

Fireballs fell ceaselessly from the sky.

Everywhere was turning into something beyond a sea of fire, into ash.

The boss monster was included in that.

Hong Yeonhwa looked around at the scenery she had created with arrogant eyes.

“...”

She was not saying anything, but I felt like I could hear her humming proudly.

Then, when she looked at me, she sent me a gaze that meant, I did well, right? Praise me!

So I smiled and said,

“You worked hard. As reliable as ever.”

“Mm...!”

RUMBLE...

Soon, the clear was complete and the exit opened. We exchanged conversation as we walked out of the dungeon.

“We’ve collected quite a few raid points, haven’t we?”

“Mm-hm. Next week... I think I’ll take the promotion exam. C-rank.”

“Same for me. Want to do it together?”

“I’d... like that...!”

Hong Yeonhwa answered with a delighted expression.

Meanwhile, a notification message appeared at the edge of my vision.

Sub Quest: Week 11 Raid

▷Reward: [Blank Trait Scroll]

As always, since I had added a challenge, the reward was fairly nice.

I felt very pleased, while also falling into thought over where to use this rare blank item.

As I looked at Hong Yeonhwa—

Should I invest in her this time?

“...?”

Interpreting my gaze in some way, Hong Yeonhwa’s eyes rolled around.