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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: Unexpected Boon
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"Alright!"
In the forest in front of the house, I dragged a camping chair and sat down, watching the kids train. Electra was shooting electricity in all directions, and Eunwol was blocking it all with magic.
After a few exchanges,
"Huff... huff... I give up!"
With that, Electra—Choi Se-hee—declared her surrender, and the spar came to an end.
"Okay. That's enough for today. You both did well."
"Sis, come here. I'll heal you."
"Yeah. Thanks as always, Ha-yul."
"No, it's nothing. I'm just sorry this is all I can do to help."
I watched Ha-yul step forward as she said that.
With her long brown hair flowing down, she placed her hand on Choi Se-hee's back and began healing her. Soon, Choi Se-hee let out a sigh of relief, murmuring, "Ah, I'm alive again," with a satisfied expression.
Lee Ha-yul. In the original story, she was known as the 'Evil Saintess.' Her primary ability was healing. According to the original, she would have fallen and awakened as a villain after losing her younger brother to thugs. But I saved her and her brother, bringing her into Ego Stream. As a result, unlike in the original, her personality had become much gentler. Currently, she attends university and serves as Ego Stream's resident healer for our members.
"Whoa, I'm totally fine again. Thanks."
"You're welcome."
Ha-yul smiled sweetly in response to Choi Se-hee's boisterous thanks. Come to think of it, Lee Ha-yul was very close with Electra in the original. Whenever Ha-yul appeared, Electra was always right by her side.
And now, the two of them were chatting amicably in front of me. Indeed, even now, Ha-yul's closest friend is Choi Se-hee. It seems that even if the story's progression differs from the original, some things just don't change.
I chuckled at the thought, then my expression hardened again.
...Right. This isn't the problem right now. The real problem is something else.
Lee Ha-yul left to check on Eunwol, leaving Choi Se-hee sitting alone on a rock. I watched her stretch, a complicated expression on my face.
...Actually, there's a bit of a problem. It's about Choi Se-hee. About Electra.
Choi Se-hee's problem isn't anything else... it's simply that she's weaker than in the original. That's the issue.
'...It's strange.'
Of course, there are many who are weaker than Electra. Even Seo Eun, no matter how many suits she creates, is weaker than Se-hee. Death Knight, too, could actually be said to be weaker. However, for them, hacking and resurrection are their main points, so it's not particularly highlighted.
But Electra only has her electricity ability, so her slightly weaker firepower is more noticeable.
That's not to say she's weak at all right now. She's far stronger than even me, to begin with. It's just that she's weaker than expected. Just look at Icicle, who also has a single elemental ability; with just her freezing power, she stands alongside Stardust and Shadow Walker as an A-class hero. That's how good single-element abilities are.
And especially in the original, she was definitely stronger than now. She'd unleash a barrage of lightning from the sky, it was insane.
...So I thought she'd improve with training, and I've been diligently training her until now, but...
Only her combat sense has improved; the fundamental problem with her firepower remains unresolved. Because of this, I've actually been quite worried lately.
Ah, this shouldn't be. I must be missing something. What is it? Is it just a matter of time? Or is it because Choi Se-hee didn't go to prison as she did in the original? What's the difference between now and the original?
Just as I was clutching my head, deep in thought,
"Dain Oppa. Are you okay?"
At the voice directed at me from above, I naturally raised my head. Ha-yul had somehow approached me and was looking at me with worried eyes.
"Ah, it's nothing. Just thinking for a bit."
I waved my hand, telling her not to worry. But Ha-yul, who still looked worried, naturally stood behind me and placed her hand on my back.
"Oppa, you seem tired lately. Let me relieve some of your fatigue."
And before I could even reply, she immediately poured power into me.
Soon, I felt the fatigue that had unknowingly accumulated in me gradually dissipate.
"Feel good?"
"Uh... yeah, it does..."
I replied, my voice involuntarily drawing out. It certainly felt good. It was like ten IV drips concentrated and flowing through my veins all at once. The warm sensation spreading from my back throughout my body felt like I'd just taken some traditional herbal medicine.
As expected, there was a reason I recruited Ha-yul right after Seo Eun. Not only does her basic healing ability greatly increase Ego Stream's safety, but she can also do minor things like fatigue recovery. Plus, she could play a new role once we take down the Moonlight Cult... And she can also remove debuffs, just like she lifted Eunwol's curse.
As I sat languidly on the rock, receiving Ha-yul's full-body healing treatment, something suddenly occurred to me. Healing, fatigue recovery, debuff removal, etc. There's nothing Ha-yul can't do in these areas. I didn't know she could do fatigue recovery, but debuff removal was shown when she lifted a curse that another villain had inflicted on Choi Se-hee.
But then again. Healing, when you think about it... isn't it a kind of buff?
The thought flashed through my mind, and I immediately stood up.
"Gah!"
"Ha-yul. Hold on, come here for a second."
"Huh? Oh... okay!"
I pulled the bewildered Ha-yul over to Choi Se-hee.
"Huh? What is it? What's wrong?"
Choi Se-hee, also bewildered. With her in front of me, I explained to Ha-yul.
"Ha-yul. Healing, when you get right down to it, strengthens physical vitality, right?"
"Huh? Uh... I guess?"
"Then, similar to that. Try to think of it as strengthening an ability instead of physical vitality. Don't you think it might be possible?"
"Uh... I don't know?"
"Just try it. You can do it!"
"...Okay. I'll try!"
Nodding resolutely at my request, Ha-yul placed her hand on Choi Se-hee's back.
Ha-yul began to sweat profusely, and how much time passed?
CRACKLE—
A blue bolt of lightning, falling from the sky, struck directly into a spot in the forest. With an incredible roar,
KABOOM!
In the middle of the forest, a massive crater had formed, as if struck by a meteor.
"....Uh..."
Choi Se-hee stared, her mouth agape, at the devastation she herself had wrought. Watching her, looking momentarily dazed after witnessing the historic sight of electricity conquering the earth, and Lee Ha-yul, who was panting beside her from the exertion.
I, too, stood there with my mouth open.
"...."
No, honestly, I just took a shot in the dark. ...Why did it actually work?
That day, Lee Ha-yul evolved from a simple healer into an all-rounder who could even grant buffs.
***
"Hmph. It doesn't work on me."
"Whoa... this is amazing, seriously..."
That night, after conducting various experiments with Lee Ha-yul, I learned many things.
First, buffs enhance the performance of an ability user's unique power. Ha-yul can roughly determine the buff's strength and duration. Of course, buffing too much puts a strain on Ha-yul's body. At most, it lasts a few hours. Even then, if she strengthens it by more than double, it's only about an hour?
Second, buffs don't work on me or Eunwol.
"...."
Well, this was somewhat expected. From the start, Eunwol and I have different sources for our abilities than others. Perhaps these buffs enhance 'superpowers,' but not magic. Ah, that's not to say Eunwol and I have the same source. As evidenced by my inability to use magic, that's obvious.
'...If it doesn't work on me, then it definitely won't work on Stardust either.'
It could be useful in difficult situations, which is a shame.
Anyway. Although there were a few limitations, it was definitely a good thing. If I hadn't thought of it, I wouldn't have known Ha-yul had this buffing ability, would I? It's chilling to think about.
...Of course, in the original, it seemed like she buffed Choi Se-hee with this ability, so she might have figured it out on her own eventually anyway.
Regardless, it was a pleasure to see Choi Se-hee's abilities strengthened by more than double compared to before. Yes, this is it. This is the Electra I saw in the original. Choi Se-hee, firing lightning that tears through the night sky like that.
Oh, and if there's another beneficiary of this ability...
"Woah... look at this..."
It was Seo Ja-young. She'd already been spewing house-sized flames from her fingertips for ages.
Seo Ja-young, eyes wide in disbelief at what she'd created, and Choi Se-hee, excited to be rapid-firing electricity. And even Seo Eun, whining about why robots couldn't be buffed.
It's chaos, absolute chaos.
"Dain Oppa... I'm gonna dieee..."
"Alright, alright. Let's head inside and rest now. You worked hard, didn't you?"
"Yes. But... it makes me happy to think that I'm useful."
Even though she was on the verge of collapsing from overusing her new ability while testing it, Ha-yul wore a smile on her face, proud of her power.
I helped her to the sofa and let her rest.
...It's all good, but now that I think about it, if Ha-yul gets exhausted from using her abilities too much, there's no one to heal her in return. Since her exhaustion is from ability overuse, self-healing wouldn't even help.
Ha-yul closed her eyes and snored softly the moment she lay on the sofa, utterly exhausted. I covered her with a blanket and then went back outside.
The night sky, framed by the moonlight, was a chaotic mess of yellows and purples. Watching the two of them, who seemed overjoyed with their suddenly doubled power, I found myself smiling.
...It was truly an unexpected boon. Of course, it wouldn't last long, and since Ha-yul gets exhausted quickly, she couldn't be called an all-rounder in that sense. Still, the fact that our overall power had significantly increased was undeniable.
It felt like winning the lottery overnight. Moreover, almost all future ability users joining us would be able to receive buffs, so it was a good thing in the long run too.
'...Right. My worries have been resolved too.'
Maybe I should just train Ha-yul and then rest? It wouldn't be bad for all of us to go out and have some fun. Yeah, maybe I'll book tickets for an amusement park, like I said last time. We'll get some good rest, and then I'll start a broadcast and cause some terror. That should be perfect.
And so, I was dreaming a happy dream.
[Dain, Dain!]
"What's wrong?"
[I just heard this, but the American Association has dispatched S-class, *S-class* heroes to capture you!]
"....What?"
...Until I received Lee Seol-ah's call.
"Ah... right."
So, not even A-class, but S-class heroes are coming directly to Korea? And from America, no less?
...We're screwed.
I muttered briefly.
Seriously. Why can't I just be happy?