BCGWR Chapter 30 Part 1

Sweet Dream 1

At that very moment,

———-!!!

The ice spears that had been floating motionless around him flew towards the shield with a sharp, air-splitting sound and slammed into it all at once.

Kwooooong—-!!!!

Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwa—-!!!!

The destructive power of the skill was immense; the floor vibrated, the fluorescent lights flickered briefly, and even the reinforced glass separating Han Ji-su and Jung Ha-jin trembled.

“……Oh my god……”

Inside the special glass, nothing could be seen, obscured by a cold mist that arose as the shattered ice fragments evaporated. But the cold mist quickly dissipated, and a few seconds later, Toto’s shield appeared.

“……!!”

Toto’s shield was still holding up. Of course, the dome was covered in cracks and looked as if it would crumble at a touch, but it still maintained its dome shape. Jung Ha-jin nodded as he saw the shield, which had not collapsed despite being hit with enough force to shatter all his ice spears.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen a non-human entity apply Mana like this, Toto. Excellent.”

“……!! Peep, peeep!”

Toto, who had been stuck in the least damaged corner of the shield, trotted forward, coughing.

Then, as if nothing had happened, he firmly closed his beak and puffed out his fluffy chest. Jung Ha-jin, whose gaze met the dignified Toto’s, nodded and praised him again.

“You blocked it splendidly.”

“Peeep-!”

As Toto happily flew up, the shield vanished. Han Ji-su checked Toto’s information while Jung Ha-jin suggested to Toto that next time, before cracks appeared from an attack, he should try reinforcing the shield by pre-coating it with Mana.

[Affected Monster]

Name: Toto

Rank: S

Species: A field mouse (Golden Hamster species) mainly inhabiting the southern ■■ka of ■■

Skills: Shield (S), Infinite Storage (A) ……[More]

A bluish, translucent window popped up in the air, displaying Toto’s information. Han Ji-su, accustomed to it, tapped the Shield (S) skill with his finger.

[Shield (S) Lv. 4 – Skill Cooldown: 24:10]

Shield uses (173/500)

Successfully defended against S++ or higher ranked skills (2/5)

“……Huh?”

Han Ji-su, unknowingly widening his eyes, re-checked the skill level-up conditions for Toto. Until now, no matter which dungeon they cleared, the second training condition had never increased, but now it showed 2 successes out of 5 training attempts.

‘……S++ Rank……’

Han Ji-su, instinctively tilting his head and narrowing his eyes, thought, ‘No way……’ and tapped the special glass. Jung Ha-jin and Toto, who had been discussing skills intently inside, simultaneously turned to look at Han Ji-su.

“……Jung Ha-jin Esper.”

“Yes.”

“……Hmm…… What was the exact Rank of the skill you just used?”

“As I said, it was S-rank.”

“……Did you happen to be wearing any enhancement items?”

Sensing that this was a question asked with some certainty, Jung Ha-jin maintained his poker face and nodded after a slight pause.

“Not an item, but I have a passive skill that increases ice attribute attack power by 20%.”

“……Ah……”

“Does the training condition require a higher-Rank attack?”

“Ah, no. It doesn’t need to be higher. If we train three more times with the same power as before, I think he’ll gain a lot of experience surprisingly quickly.”

“Understood. How much cooldown time is left for Toto’s skill?”

“About 24 minutes.”

“Then it would be good to rest for a bit. My body feels stiff after using a skill higher than my Rank.”

“……Yes, yes……”

He looked perfectly fine without any sign of fatigue, but since he said so, Han Ji-su couldn’t argue and could only nod, feeling grateful and apologetic. As Jung Ha-jin opened the special glass door, a small bird flew out and perched on Han Ji-su’s shoulder.

“Good job, Toto. Our Toto is so cool~”

“Peeep-!”

“Toto is the best~!”

“Peeep! Peeep!”

Toto, puffed up with pride from Han Ji-su’s praise, continuously flapped his wings, short for his body, and chirped happily.

Jung Ha-jin let Toto enjoy the moment and sat next to Han Ji-su on a chair reserved for box seat observers. He picked up the coffee he had placed on the armrest. Perhaps because the box seat was so warm, the ice in the plastic cup had already melted.

He glanced over; Han Ji-su’s coffee was no different. Seeing Han Ji-su frown as he drank the lukewarm coffee, Jung Ha-jin hesitated and parted his lips. But then, he decided not to say anything and was about to turn his head when he felt Han Ji-su’s gaze and their eyes met.

“!”

“……?”

“……”

“……”

As the two merely stared at each other in silence, Toto, perched on Han Ji-su’s shoulder, tilted his head and chirped, “Peep?”

Han Ji-su blinked, looking at Jung Ha-jin as if asking if he had something to say. As Jung Ha-jin hesitated, unable to speak immediately, Toto’s eyes narrowed.

“Pweeing? Pweeeing?”

“……”

“……Jung Ha-jin Esper? What’s wrong?”

Finally, Han Ji-su spoke first, and Jung Ha-jin pointed at Han Ji-su’s coffee with an expressionless but clearly embarrassed look.

“It’s nothing. The ice seems to have melted. If it’s alright, would you like me to make it cold again?”

“……Oh? Really? If you can, please.”

Han Ji-su tried to hand him the coffee, but there was no need. Even though Jung Ha-jin didn’t take any particular action, ice crystals began to form in the cup. Han Ji-su was genuinely impressed by his delicate skill usage, freezing just about 30% of the coffee without even a twitch of his eyebrow.

“Wow~ That’s just right. Thank you.”

“Please tell me anytime if you need it.”

“I will.”

Han Ji-su sipped his iced americano, now as cool as if freshly made, and Jung Ha-jin watched him, then, avoiding Toto’s piercing gaze, thoroughly froze about half of his own coffee.