Chapter 80

Jun-sang considered Heness’s abilities: Negotiation and Connections, combined with her innate affinity. In a way, these were all things Jun-sang had intentionally ignored throughout his life. Moreover, unlike the squirrel, she possessed five card slots, which was a significant feature. With the squirrel, which only had two slots, he hadn’t even dared to attempt combos. But with five slots, it would be worth a try. Since returning was difficult for now, it was better to have a means to protect himself in case of an emergency.

Jun-sang walked silently alongside Heness, checking the cards he wasn’t currently using. If he included the Bite and Frenzy cards currently equipped by the squirrel, he could form combos like Mad Dog and Berserker just from his unused cards. If he included combos he had never even tried before, then Scolding Grandma and Courier were also possibilities.

Scolding Grandma was more suited for rear support rather than direct combat, and Courier was indeed specialized for the specific purpose of sprinting rather than fighting. In fact, for combat purposes, there was no combo better than Mad Dog and Berserker. Jun-sang himself had acquired his current abilities based on those two combo cards. Of course, it felt somewhat unsuitable for Heness, a sheltered young lady who had probably never even slapped someone’s cheek, let alone fought. But then again, Jun-sang himself had been far from such bloody scenes of slaughter until he entered that damned tutorial.

Furthermore, equipping these two combos to Heness absolutely required the Bite and Frenzy cards that were equipped to the squirrel. The problem was that if he did that, the squirrel’s weak attack power would make it impossible to crush skulls and acquire the Seeds within them. If only he had one more Frenzy card, there wouldn’t be a problem…

“This is troublesome…” Jun-sang suddenly muttered, smacking his lips. Heness, walking beside him, tilted her head and asked, “What is it? What’s troublesome?”

“Well…”

“Tell me. Maybe I can help.”

“…” Jun-sang couldn’t help but chuckle at Heness, who was acting like a child begging for candy. When Jun-sang smiled faintly at her, Heness pouted with a sulky expression.

“Hmph… Always alone…”

Always thinking and deciding things by himself… Heness felt upset, as if he always treated her like a child. Jun-sang saw her sulky expression and sighed wryly again before saying, “Actually… I was thinking you might need power to protect yourself, and I was wondering how to go about it.”

“…” Heness’s eyes widened at Jun-sang’s calm words. “Power?”

“Yes.”

“Is it possible to share something like that?”

Jun-sang nodded. “Of course, you’ll have to put in the effort, but setting the foundation isn’t difficult.”

“Wow!”

“However, it’s not possible for just anyone… It’s only possible for the person wearing that necklace.”

“…” Heness nodded, as if understanding. “It means it’s possible because I’m… bound to you, Jun-sang.”

“That’s right.” Jun-sang showed a slightly bitter expression, recalling the nuance of the word “pet,” but Heness asked back without much concern.

“What kinds are there?”

“Hmm… well…” Jun-sang slowly listed the names of the combo cards he could give to Heness: Mad Dog, Berserker, Scolding Grandma, Courier…

Heness’s face instantly contorted. “Why are all the names like this?”

“Well, it just turned out that way.” In truth, Jun-sang himself wished he could ask someone, if anyone was watching, why only these kinds of combo cards appeared for him.

Heness seemed to realize that Jun-sang wasn’t teasing her from his expression, so she finally let out a deep sigh and asked, “Then tell me what kind each one is.”

“Hmm… First, Harias’s Mad Dog is…” Jun-sang slowly walked along, explaining the four combos. It was a rather serious and kind explanation, but the more Heness listened, the more her face fell.

“It wasn’t just the names… that were strange.”

“I agree.”

“Phew…” If she had to pick the most normal one, it would probably be Courier, but while simply running away might be useful, it wouldn’t be of much help to Jun-sang. If she had to pick something suitable for combat, it would be Mad Dog and Berserker, but… she didn’t have the foundation to properly utilize such abilities as she was now, let alone after separate training. In the end, if she had to choose something that would immediately help both Jun-sang and herself in the current situation, there was only one.

“I’ll go with Scolding Grandma for now.”

“If you don’t like it, you don’t have to.” Heness shook her head at Jun-sang’s words.

“No, it’s fine. I was just thinking it would be good to have such power anyway, so don’t worry about it.”

“…” Jun-sang could only offer a wry smile and nod at Heness’s resolute tone. To be perfectly honest, she didn’t like the names like Mad Dog or Scolding Grandma, but if she didn’t possess at least minimal abilities, she would forever have to watch Jun-sang go off to fight alone. Considering that, such bizarre names were rather bearable. After all, no one else besides Jun-sang could see them, so it mattered even less. At least at this moment, Heness was steeling her resolve.

“Then, just a moment.”

“Yes.” Jun-sang slowly opened her card slots and then equipped the cards corresponding to the Scolding Grandma combo one by one: Provocation, Vilification, Double Strike, Iron Face. As these four cards were equipped, the combo card ‘Scolding Grandma of the Goblin Market’ was activated for Heness.

Jun-sang looked at the remaining cards and then equipped the Blood-Soaked Rare Card, which he had one left of after obtaining the Hero-grade card this time, into the remaining slot. The Blood-Soaked Rare had a Regeneration Rate increase option. Although it was only 10 percent, considering that Jun-sang had once saved his life thanks to that 10 percent, this was by no means a negligible figure. Moreover, it had a Fear chance on hit, and an Attack Power increase option (albeit only 5 percent), along with ample Seed slots, making it much more efficient than equipping some other random card.

Once the card equipping was complete, Jun-sang asked Heness, “Well, how is it?”

“Huh? Oh…” Heness tilted her head, then intently stared at the air, her face scrunching up. Jun-sang thought she was probably checking the contents of the cards currently equipped to her. After staring at the air for a moment, Heness frowned and said, “Somehow… the names are a bit…”

“Haha…” Scolding Grandma was already awkward enough, but then there were card names like Iron Face and Blood-Soaked. Heness shook her head and said again, “But… how do I use Provocation or Vilification?”

“Well…” Jun-sang had never used them either, so he had no idea. “Hmm… try swearing once.”

“Swearing?”

“Yes.”

“…” Heness frowned again, then hesitated and said, “Um… I’m sorry.”

“Hm?”

“Actually… I haven’t really sworn much…”

Jun-sang chuckled and replied, “You said ‘not much,’ so that means you have sworn before, right?”

“Th-that’s…”

“It’s okay. People might swear once or twice in their lives.”

“…”

“It’s good that we need to test the effects anyway. Try it on me.”

“On you, Jun-sang?”

“Yes. Come on, go ahead.” Jun-sang held out his hand and took a stance, but Heness hesitated, unable to open her mouth.

“Come on?”

“But…”

“It’s okay, I said. Just do it.”

“…” As Jun-sang urged her, Heness seemed to decide she had no choice and hesitantly opened her mouth.

“You-you idiot.”

“…”

For a moment, Jun-sang felt as if his chest sank with a thud for some reason. Of course, it was only for an instant, and the refreshing energy emanating from the necklace and ring quickly steadied his shaken heart. It wasn’t a grand feeling, but the mere fact that a simple word could shake Jun-sang’s heart, which was plastered with items, cards, and Seeds, might itself be an incredible thing. Jun-sang felt the need to confirm it once more.

“Hmm? I can’t quite hear you?”

“…”

“Speak louder. How will I hear you otherwise?”

“But…”

“Tighten your stomach. Then yell with all your might.” At Jun-sang’s words, Heness nodded, clenched her fists, and then, gripping both hands tightly, let out a piercing scream.

“Idiot! Stupid! Blockhead! And, you poopy bug!”

“…”

Well, what to say? By the standards of a rough modern person, it felt like her insults were about 2 percent lacking, yet each word that burst from her mouth made his chest thump. But the feeling Jun-sang experienced was nothing compared to what happened next.

People who had been nervously peering down the street, disturbed by the sound of gunshots and cannon fire from beyond the city wall, suddenly clutched their chests as soon as they heard the girl’s clear voice. Their faces turned pale, and they began to collapse one by one onto the ground.

“Ugh… M-my chest…”

“Cough…”

Jun-sang looked around and realized that only he and Heness were still standing properly on the wide boulevard. How should he describe this? All he could think was, ‘It’s incredibly powerful, for no apparent reason.’

“Ahem… Well done.”

“S-sorry. To say such harsh words so carelessly…”

“…” Jun-sang chuckled at Heness’s apologetic expression.

“Let’s go. There’s much to do.”

“Yes.” Jun-sang thought of the weapons stored in his inventory as they walked.

“Hmm…”

“Why?”

“I was wondering if there’s a weapon you could use.”

“…”

“Have you ever learned how to handle a weapon separately?”

“No.” Heness thought, If only I had known, I would have taken sword lessons from my brother. Jun-sang saw Heness shaking her head and pulled out a small dagger, handing it to her.

“What’s this?”

“A throwing dagger. It has the ability to return to you after you throw it.”

“Really?”

“It might be a bit difficult to use right away, but practice whenever you can. Or just use it for self-defense.” Heness blushed slightly and expressed her gratitude to Jun-sang.

“Thank you. It must be very precious.”

“…” Jun-sang silently stroked her head once and then continued walking.