Chapter 113. Survival Exam (6)
The cure for congenital mana impairment.
Of course, I know it.
Medes, a key executive of the Demon Cult Pandemic.
A unique being among demons whose heart has transformed into a mana stone.
You need Medes's heart, which grows stronger by absorbing mana over decades.
With that, you can cure mana impairment.
And Medes only appears in the latter part of the original story.
Which means—it's impossible to cure Elise right now.
So why bluff? Because Elise doesn't know anything.
Congenital mana impairment is a disease even the mega-guild Iris failed to cure despite pouring all their resources into it.
As long as Elise believes that 'Lee Hoyeon has a cure for mana impairment,' I can say whatever the hell I want.
No one else has discovered a cure anyway.
"P-Please tell me the cure. I'm begging you."
"I'll tell you."
"R-Really?"
Her face lit up.
But I can't just let this slide like a pushover.
Now that my relationships with other women are exposed, the original route for Elise is practically impossible.
Other girls have already claimed me, so unlike in the original, Elise won't be showing the same tolerance as the official partner.
I need to establish dominance instead.
Step one is overcoming mana impairment.
'Judging by her reaction, I can't raise her affection quickly.'
No girl would want to fall for a guy sleeping around.
My goal is to maintain the upper hand until Medes appears and the conflict with Elise's sister Irene begins.
If I can keep the upper hand naturally until her route begins, maybe it'll work out.
But to start the route with that many flags already raised, her affection has to be higher than in the original.
So I need to keep dominance and raise her affection.
'Tough challenge.'
I looked at Elise, who was gazing at me with bright eyes, and said,
"Elise, but there's something we need to take care of first."
"...?"
"Don't tell me you don't know?"
She tilted her head—then, seeing my expression, bowed her head.
"Ah... I'm really sorry for digging into your past and trying to blackmail you."
"It's fine. I was just venting."
Honestly, I don't need an apology for background checks. It pisses me off, but it's standard practice in the Hunter world.
Even Moon Surin looked into my background.
Still, a formal apology is part of building dominance.
Even small things like this matter in establishing hierarchy.
"Anyway, about the cure—it'll take at least a year. That okay with you?"
"Yeah. As long as it can be cured... I don't care."
Medes won't appear for another year, so I need to buy time.
I need something that has some effect and raises affection...
One idea flashed through my mind.
Helping Lumi train taught me how to control the mana in others' bodies.
So, what if I directly injected mana into someone?
That should be enough to buy time.
And to raise affection too—I just have to inject mana in a certain way.
"Ever heard of mana massage?"
"What?"
Elise looked puzzled.
Naturally. I just made it up.
"It's something I developed with a few people I know... You need someone with high mana control. Come here a second."
I placed my hand on Elise's shoulder and began injecting mana.
I let it naturally flow into her mana circuits.
"Ah? What is this..."
"Feel that? Your mana increased a little."
"How is that even possible?"
"Through sheer effort. I went through hell to cure my own mana impairment."
Total lie.
It's thanks to the [Mana Sensitivity] perk.
Controlling mana is my specialty. Probably impossible for anyone else.
Infusing mana into someone to support their absorption is one thing—but converting my mana into theirs is a whole different game.
"To do it properly, you'd need a top-grade mana stone... but I'll do a simplified version."
I placed my hand on Elise's back and infused mana.
It wasn't much, but enough to keep her going for a few hours.
"If you get this massage regularly, you'll start noticing changes."
"Thanks. Just help me a bit during the survival exam. I'll do the rest on my own outside."
"Sure. For now, I'm the only one who can do it. The person who used to help me is retired. If needed, I'll help again."
"Yeah. Thanks. I'll definitely repay you when we're out."
"Don't worry about it. We're friends."
Either way, Elise will come back to me after the survival exam.
No one else can perform such precise mana manipulation without [Mana Sensitivity].
Once she's had a taste, she'll only want more.
Refueling mana with stones is inefficient and wasteful—but I inject it directly into the circuits.
Since I'm forcefully pushing my mana in, her circuits expand too.
Of course, just expanding her circuits temporarily isn't enough to cure her.
But with how narrow Elise's mana circuits are, even that process will feel like part of the cure.
"For now... Let's stick together during the survival exam."
"Okay. Got it."
*
"All I want is one thing. Let's not bother each other. I trust you—or rather, I trust Elise's pride. You're not the type to accept charity without giving something in return."
"Yeah. Good thinking. I'm someone who keeps her pride."
We were chatting while walking.
"Everyone does background checks, honestly. It's fine. I'm in a position to request access from your guildmaster anyway."
"Ah, right. The authorization token. I got it from my father. I'll give it to you after the survival ends."
"Really? Thanks."
I'll use that token for Nam Daeun.
Gotta use it to pressure the Baeyer Guild later.
If I don't want to rely on the other heroines, I need to build real power.
"Lee Hoyeon. I... I still feel weak."
"Come here."
Every few hours, I rest my hand on Elise's shoulder and inject her with mana.
Just a little at a time.
I could fully charge her with mana all at once if I wanted to, but then she wouldn't feel like she's gradually improving—so I deliberately go slow.
"Thanks."
Elise thanked me after receiving mana.
She says she'll only rely on me during the survival test, but she'll definitely come to me for massages even afterward.
In the end, her repeatedly receiving mana massages during the survival is already building a dynamic where I hold the upper hand.
"By the way, you and Lumi... did you split up?"
"...How do you know I met Lumi?"
That's suspicious.
Lumi came after Elise left—and Elise returned after Lumi left.
There's no way Elise could've seen us together.
"A-Ah... I saw her on the way here. She was coming from your direction. And since she had food with her, I figured she met up with you."
"Ahh... Got it."
I pretended to accept the explanation and opened her status window.
★ Heroine Status Window
[Elise]
- [Affection: 33]
- [Lust: 57]
- [Appetite: 40]
- [Fatigue: 79]
Current Status: I almost got caught... Gotta be careful not to slip up.
'...Suspicious.'
What did she almost get caught doing?
She already admitted to knowing about me and Lumi, so what else is she hiding?
Either way, I need to make one thing clear.
"Don't concern yourself with my relationships. We need to respect each other's boundaries."
"Yeah, sorry. I didn't mean it like that. ...So where are we headed now?"
"Let's look for treasures or supply crates. Or a boss monster. Those should offer good rewards."
Elise quickly changed the subject to cover up her slip-up.
'I'll let it slide for now.'
If it's something serious, she won't make another mistake right away.
I'll just keep watching until I get a clearer sense.
We were climbing a mountain.
The survival test existed in the original, too.
And I remember the locations of some treasures and boss monsters.
So we headed to one of the spots I remembered.
In the game, treasure locations were fixed, but the content varied by run—so I didn't know what we'd find. Still, anything is a gain.
Rustle—
Elise was cutting through trees ahead with a sword.
Guess getting the mana massage motivated her to take the lead. At least she has a conscience.
I brought the sword just in case.
"Let's check over there. I feel like something's there."
"...Are you sure?"
"We don't know anything anyway. Just trust me."
"Alright."
Elise kept slashing trees, and I followed behind.
"Whoa. That actually looks suspicious..."
Elise made a dumbfounded face.
'Knew it. This is the spot.'
We found an obviously suspicious huge boulder.
"Too solid for me to break."
Thud thud.
Yeah, it looked tough even at a glance.
"I'll break it. Step aside."
I concentrated mana into a spiral and activated 'Spiral.'
KABOOM—!
The boulder shattered with a loud boom, revealing the entrance to a cave.
"Let's go in."
"Yeah."
Whirrrrr—
The drone that had been following us since morning also entered the cave.
Ever since Elise and I started moving together, it's been tailing us.
Probably monitoring the alliance between two top talents.
Elise moved ahead cautiously, scanning our surroundings.
'There aren't any monsters here.'
This big rock cave only requires breaking the boulder.
No traps. No monsters.
Of course, Elise didn't know that, so I quietly followed.
I summoned fire orbs from time to time to light the way.
Whenever Elise glanced back, I put on a serious face and acted the part.
About ten minutes in, we found an obvious treasure chest.
"Let's open it."
"Wait. It might be a mimic. Don't let your guard down."
"O-Okay."
Yeah, mimics exist here too.
I summoned fire magic and scorched the chest.
I knew it wasn't a mimic but played along and attacked the chest seriously.
"Looks safe. I'll open it."
"Still, be careful."
"Got it."
I opened the treasure chest.
Inside was a single piece of paper.
'What is this?'
[Treasure No. 19. 100% Full Recovery Ticket]
"Recovery ticket?"
I examined the paper curiously—and then my smartwatch began flashing.
I checked the survival exam app on the watch.
- You have discovered [Treasure No. 19. 100% Full Recovery Ticket]!
- Tap the recovery button on your smartwatch and the Saint herself will appear to restore your health to 100%.
- One-time use only.
"..."
Baek A-Young, you again?