Chapter 120

With the pocket money I got from Kara, I bought something delicious and met up with Eli to chat a bit.

Eli usually goes into the forest every weekend to gather herbs, but she can’t do that because it’s forbidden.

So for the time being, she can’t make any potions and just came outside out of boredom. Running into me was purely coincidental.

“Need any herbs?”

“I’m always in need of herbs. The problem is money. It’s fine to get what I can gather in the Chaos Forest, but the rest I have to buy with the herbs I sell.”

“Should I lend you some money?”

“Ah, no. It’s not that serious yet.”

When I offered her money, Eli flatly refused. It seems she feels bad about taking my money outright.

I really wanted to force it on her, but that would make her uncomfortable.

If there’s a good reason later, I’ll have to give her something. Just a small amount to start with.

‘For now, I should gather herbs in the forest.’

I plan to give all the herbs I collect to Eli. Since she can’t enter the Chaos Forest alone.

Or maybe I can take her in tomorrow when I train with Rize. I need to go into the forest to work as well.

“Thanks! I enjoyed the meal today. Next time, I’ll treat you.”

“Do you even have any money?”

“…Not really, but I can buy some candy!”

Eli is a commoner, and being in a non-combat role, she tends to be short on cash.

Luckily, she’s caught the professor’s eye, so she gets various support, but non-combat roles are money guzzlers.

The more you invest, the better the returns, but the initial costs are enormous.

Not only Eli but in order to secure the future, I also need to invest in other characters.

‘Kara could also be a good sponsor, but she’s quite stingy…’

Kara is sensitive about money, so she doesn’t usually invest unless absolutely necessary.

This is also influenced by her past encounter with a swindler, where she lost quite a bit of money.

Incidentally, that swindler is someone I can meet later. He was bold enough to swindle a princess, so he lives in a rather unique place.

“And Sivar, Kara might’ve mentioned it, but don’t just give money out because someone says they’re broke. Especially if it’s someone you don’t know, just ignore them. Got it?”

“Got it.”

“Okay, promise. Sivar is a good guy, so he’ll listen to me, right?”

Eli extended her pinky finger, demanding a promise. I looked at her pinky and then quietly walked away.

Her satisfied smile showed that she felt reassured after that promise.

But I might just break that promise soon… and really soon at that.

“Well then, I’ll be off. I’d love to stay for dinner, but I’ve got stuff to do. See you!”

“Bye!”

After parting ways with Eli, I headed straight back to the dormitory. I needed to train with Rize to sort out dinner too.

I had plenty of pocket money left from Kara, but I thought it would be wise to save it. I only bought a piece of candy on the way.

Soon, as I returned to my dorm without a thought in my mind, I stumbled upon a rather extraordinary sight.

“Okay! Let’s go again! One!”

Rize, leisurely crossing her arms like she owns the place, and.

“Gyaaaaaah!”

Luna, uniquely shouting as she’s balancing Rize on her back.

Luna was currently doing push-ups, and until now, she hadn’t put anything on her back, but today she decided to use Rize.

Proving that quite some time has passed, Luna’s hair was damp with sweat underneath her. Her beautiful blonde locks clung to her face.

“Alright. Just one last time! One.”

“Guhhh!”

Luna struggled to push herself up, her trembling arms reminding me of a newborn calf.

It must be tough watching her, so I can only imagine how it is for Luna. But she’ll get stronger soon enough, so it should be fine.

“Okay! One-minute break!”

“Ugh!”

As Luna finally managed to push herself up, Rize called for a one-minute break. At that moment, Luna collapsed onto the ground.

I cautiously approached her. It seemed training started while the auction was going on.

After checking to see if she was alive or dead, I knelt down and poked her cheek with my finger.

Poke, poke.

“… …”

No response. She looked more like a corpse.

I kept poking her cheek until Luna finally reacted.

“…Why.”

“Aren’t you dead?”

“Who’s dead?”

She had her face buried in the ground; I genuinely thought she’d died. It’s tough training even for onlookers.

Honestly worried she might start peeing cola if this kept up. Thankfully, she looked fine for now.

“Seriously… I just want to go home… Why did I even come to the Academy…?”

“… …”

Was there a nostalgia bottle in the original settings? I tilted my head at Luna’s mumbling.

In the Soul World, the protagonist would respond through choices—no mumbling like this.

Seeing this made it clear the world was indeed alive. Even after a month, the difference from the game was striking.

“Perfect timing! Brother Sivar is here too! This time, Brother, please get on Luna’s back!”

“Sure.”

“Hey, wait a minute. How much do you weigh?”

As I was about to hop onto her back, Luna panicked and asked for my weight.

I looked at Luna, and then at Rize—the strong Gwonseong filled with muscles.

I might be tall and have a decent build, but I’m not as fit as Rize. In a way, Rize was actually being considerate here.

“Up we go!”

“Guhhh…!”

As soon as I got on, Luna let out a dying sound. But this training is important for her to get stronger.

Immediately after, the training began again with Rize. But looking at Luna’s trembling arms, it seemed she wouldn’t last long.

I stayed on Luna’s small back for a while then cautiously leaned down to whisper in her ear.

“Blade Fang Sword.”

“…!!”

“If you’re lucky, maybe I’ll give you one?”

“Gyaaaaaah!”

The moment I teased her, Luna let out a unique shout and spread her arms wide. Looks like she’s got a bit of greed in her!

Oh, of course.

Thud, thud.

“Hmm? Huh? Nosebleed?”

“… …”

There are side effects from working too hard.

Just how hot was her head if she started bleeding while doing push-ups?

‘Truly a protagonist, huh?’

I had to admit, even if nothing else, her tenacity was commendable.

******

The day after Luna’s training ended. The weekend in this world spans two days, just like in Earth.

In other words, it meant I was given another day off, and I decided to use that day to get things done.

Following the request from Rod and Ratatosk, I planned to establish my territory in the Chaos Forest.

Wham!

“Ghuuu…”

An orc’s skull was neatly split open by my axe. The orc died without even having a chance to scream.

I casually retrieved Ragnarok and dusted off the blood. Given the number of orcs I had hunted, there was a substantial amount of blood.

‘Looks like the orcs had settled in this area.’

After cleaning up the blood, I looked around. Various orcs lay dead in different forms.

With one orc’s head cracked in half, while others had their limbs chopped off or intestines spilling out.

There were quite a few gruesomely dead, and of course, they were all my handiwork.

What’s noteworthy here is the orc’s skin color. Usually, orcs are typically green.

‘Red orcs made it this far? Did one of them have some influence back inside?’

The skin color of all the orcs I had taken down