“Lumina.”
“…”
Standing beside the corpse of the Shellfire Tortoise, Lumina didn’t respond.
She simply stared blankly at her hand, still holding her weapon, her face caught in a mixture of disbelief.
“Lumina.”
I raised my voice slightly and called her name again.
“Huh!”
At that, Lumina snapped her eyes and mouth wide open, like a child startled awake from a dream.
“Y-Yein! I-I just… I…!”
I smiled and nodded.
“That’s right. You defeated the Shellfire Tortoise.”
“Really? I really did that??”
“Yeah.”
“…”
“Lumina?”
“Waaaaah!!”
Suddenly, Lumina jumped in place and let out a joyful scream, her face lit up with pure happiness.
So Lumina could smile like that too.
She looked so thrilled it was almost surprising.
As I approached, Lumina stopped bouncing and grabbed my hand tightly.
“Thank you, Yein! It was all thanks to your strategy!”
I let out a wry smile.
It hadn’t even been a real strategy—just a simple plan.
Draw all of the Shellfire Tortoise’s attention to me and expose its vulnerable neck. In that moment, Lumina would strike the killing blow.
It had worked only because of Lumina’s one-of-a-kind ability.
I shook my head slightly and said,
“We could only beat the Shellfire Tortoise because of your power.”
Lumina’s ability—Stealth.
It consumed a set amount of MP to conceal both her presence and her appearance.
Even though she’d likely been right beside me the entire time, the monster hadn’t noticed her at all.
Even I, fully aware she was using Stealth, couldn’t see her. Honestly, it felt more like invisibility than stealth.
She didn’t leave footprints. No sound, no trace. It was absurdly convenient.
Of course, the ability had its weaknesses.
If she initiated an attack, the stealth effect would immediately end, and it would take some time before she could activate it again.
On top of that, Lumina’s character had very low HP, so once her stealth ended, she became extremely vulnerable.
Even so, among all the abilities our teammates had, Lumina’s was easily one of the most broken.
Once activated, Stealth wouldn’t end unless she either attacked or got hit.
And if she attacked while stealthed, it would always land a critical hit—with no buffs or enhancements, the multiplier was a ridiculous 666%.
Because of that, Lumina could be an early-game trump card. Just give her the right weapon, and she could turn the tide of a battle.
“Without your power, this plan never would’ve worked.”
“My… power…”
Lumina let go of my hand and looked down. Lying at her feet was a dagger with a red blade.
[Red-Iron Dagger]
<Level 7>
A dagger forged from Flame Stones and Magic Iron. The red blade looks like it could breathe fire, but it doesn’t actually emit any heat.
Attack: +20~38
Defense: +8
Crit Chance: +5%
Crit Damage Boost: +4%
It was the dagger I had crafted for her before we fought the Shellfire Tortoise.
While creating the Flame Orb earlier, my Craftsman skill had leveled up to 2, which meant I could now craft gear up to level 10.
Originally, Lumina had only a Magic Iron Dagger—+2 attack, Level 1.
So with this new dagger, her minimum damage output jumped tenfold.
Looking at Lumina gazing at the dagger, I said, “That’s your power.”
“!”
Lumina looked at me in surprise.
“Even if I had that dagger, I wouldn’t have been able to beat the Shellfire Tortoise.”
“Ah…”
As she stood there with her mouth slightly open, I chuckled.
“If I were alone, I probably wouldn’t have even gotten close to the thing. I’d have burned to death before landing a hit. Lumina, have some faith in yourself.”
I placed my hand gently on her shoulder.
“You’re the one who used Stealth and sliced through the Shellfire Tortoise’s neck. You’ve got a power strong enough to defeat monsters I can’t even handle. It’s not just me—no one else in class could’ve done that. I told you, didn’t I? You have strength.”
After a brief silence—
“…Okay.”
I saw the smile slowly return to Lumina’s face as she nodded.
“But still, I’m the one who gave you the opportunity and means to attack the Shellfire Tortoise.”
“Huh??”
Her eyes widened again.
“We both have power to fight monsters, but there are things we can’t do alone. Together, though, we cover each other’s weaknesses. So…”
I held out my hand.
“Join my squad, Lumina. You bring your ability. I’ll bring better equipment. We support each other.”
Lumina stared at my outstretched hand.
I, Yein Nam, was supposed to be a side character, someone who should’ve died early on.
Could someone like me really have a main character’s future companion at my side?
This was a proposal—and a test that could determine my future.
Seconds passed in nervous anticipation.
“…Okay.”
Lumina reached out and took my hand.
“I still have a lot to learn, but I’ll do my best. Let’s do this together, Yein.”
Seeing the first ally smile at me like that, I smiled too.
The conclusion of the test: It’s possible.
“Well then, shall we head out?”
I checked the clock. We’d been in the dungeon for about eighteen minutes.
“Yein, wait a sec.”
Lumina called out, pointing to the ground—where the Shellfire Tortoise’s body had been moments ago.
“Ah.”
I almost missed it. I quickly stepped over and picked up the item.
[Fragment of a Shellfire Tortoise’s Carapace]
<Level 8>
A broken shard from the Shellfire Tortoise’s back shell. Incredibly tough, built to protect its otherwise fragile body.
“Lumina, mind if I hold onto this for now? There’s something I want to make with it. I’ll give you half the value later.”
“Sure, go ahead.”
Lumina agreed without hesitation.
As we exited through the return portal, nearly twenty students came into view.
What the heck?
I was confused.
The Path of Crimson Flame isn’t a hard dungeon, but I didn’t expect this many people to finish it already.
Almost everyone’s here?
And if they were waiting, that meant they’d finished before us.
But I quickly realized I’d misunderstood something.
“If you two also gave up, head over there and wait.”
Jeong Jooil glanced briefly at Lumina and me before speaking, then tapped his tablet with a pen.
“Ah, um…”
Lumina looked flustered.
“We defeated the Shellfire Tortoise,” I said.
Jeong Jooil froze for a moment.
The nearby students all turned toward us in surprise.
“Proof?”
I operated the smartwatch on my wrist and pulled up a recently taken photo. A hologram popped into the air, and Jeong Jooil’s eyes widened slightly.
On the screen was an awkwardly smiling Lumina, standing between the Return Portal and the Mental Realm Portal.
“…Hmm.”
Jeong Jooil checked his own watch, then spoke.
“Clear time: 20 minutes. Both of you pass.”
Lumina and I looked at each other and smiled.
“No way. You really cleared the dungeon with Lumina?”
“How the hell did you take down that armored beast and reach the final section? None of our attacks worked!”
“If I’d known, I would’ve tried talking to Lumina too…”
Their murmurs buzzed in my ears.
“And since Nam Yein and Lumina Cueva cleared it within 25 minutes, they’ll receive the standard reward of 30 points,” Jeong Jooil added while typing something into his tablet.
“Wow… thirty points…”
“So jealous…”
When I turned to Lumina, she was smiling, unable to hide her joy.
In the game, performing well in training or tests would grant you 'Points.'
Points could be exchanged for gear vouchers, access to the battle simulator, weekday passes, store goods—basically, they served as in-school currency.
“But I still don’t get it,” Jeong Jooil said as he lowered his tablet and walked toward us, “You two scored at the very bottom in last week’s mock battle.”
The surrounding students went silent.
“Explain exactly how you defeated the Shellfire Tortoise.”
Suspicion was evident in Jeong Jooil’s eyes.
“Uh, um, well…” Lumina stammered, frozen on the spot.
“We targeted its weak point,” I said calmly.
Jeong Jooil turned to me.
“The Shellfire Tortoise breathes fire at mid-range and hides itself when attacked from long or close range. So I acted as bait to draw its attention and expose its neck, allowing Lumina to strike. We repeated this process.”
The school already had a rough idea of the students’ aptitudes and abilities.
Lying about one’s ability was meaningless.
So I added a detail about repeatedly drawing aggro.
Jeong Jooil severely underestimated our capabilities. If I said we took it down in one hit, he’d definitely be suspicious.
The problem was—I had no idea what ability the original Nam Yein had reported to the school.
But if all I did was act as a distraction, then it was something that could be done without any special power. He wouldn’t press too hard.
“Hmph. So that’s what happened,” Jeong Jooil muttered, lips curled, “With only two people, relying on such a fragile strategy is reckless. A single mistake and it all falls apart. You didn’t beat the Shellfire Tortoise because your plan was sound or because you’re strong. It was pure luck. If you keep fighting like that, you’ll die.”
“But—”
“Yes, sir. We’ll keep that in mind.”
I bowed slightly to stop Lumina from speaking.
“Hmph.”
Satisfied with the obedient answer, Jeong Jooil turned and walked away without another word.
“He’s the one who told us to pair off in twos…” Lumina mumbled.
“It’s fine, Lumina.”
I whispered to her.
“People like that—we’ll shut them up with results.”
Of course, in Jeong Jooil’s case, he’d end up silent because he dies before we get the chance.
“…Yeah. You’re right, Yein,” Lumina said with a bitter smile.
Eventually, the three teams that failed to defeat the Shellfire Tortoise regrouped with us, and we all boarded the bus back to school.
“Everyone in Class B has failed, except Nam Yein and Lumina Kreba,” Jeong Jooil declared after we got off the bus.
“Even your homeroom teacher couldn’t help you. He’s been saddled with hopeless cases.”
As he walked off toward the main building, everyone except Lumina and me sent him a heartfelt middle finger.
“Ah, Lumina.”
Before heading to the dorms, I called out to her.
“What is it, Yein?”
“Don’t sell the stuff we got from the dungeon to the school store.”
“Huh? Why not?”
“Come with me to the Hunter Market tomorrow.”
Lumina’s eyes widened.
“T-Tomorrow? The Hunter Market!?”
“Yeah. You must be tired from today’s training, so tomorrow’s better. That okay with you?”
“Y-Yeah! Totally fine!”
She sounded strangely fired up.
“Then let’s meet here at ten tomorrow.”
“Okay! See you tomorrow!”
Lumina waved and headed toward the girls’ dormitory, her footsteps light.
The next day.
I arrived at the school gate about five minutes early—and spotted Lumina already there.
She wore a skirt that reached just below her knees and a soft pink cardigan.
“You’re early. Been waiting long?”
“Huh? N-No, not at all! I-I just got here!”
She flailed her hands nervously. For some reason, she looked incredibly tense.
“Shall we go?”
“Y-Yeah!”
Clenching her fists in determination, Lumina walked ahead with a resolved expression.
Does she… like the Hunter Market or something? No, wait. In the game, she acted totally normal there.
Perplexed, I followed her.
We took the bus to Itaewon, where the Hunter Market was located.
“Wow…”
As soon as we got off, Lumina let out a gasp.
The entire street was lined with shops and street vendors, all selling hunter-related goods.
Everyone walking around was wearing weapons, armor, or other hunter gear.
So this is what the real Hunter Market feels like.
In the game, you could only visit a few shops and key buildings—you couldn’t roam the full area.
“Y-Yein. Look over there.”
Lumina tugged on my sleeve and pointed cautiously.
There was a group of hunters, fully geared as if heading into a dungeon.
They all wore capes with the same emblem.
“That’s the Wind of Freedom Guild! They came in second at last year’s Guild Wars…!”
Her face was glowing with excitement.
Right, that was part of the setting.
Since the game protagonist was a hunter trainee, adult hunter guilds didn’t come up much—only a few ever appeared in the story.
So I didn’t really know much about them.
“Lumina, there’s a store I want to check out first. Is that okay?”
“Ah, o-okay.”
My lack of interest in the hunters seemed to cool her excitement a bit.
But this was important to me—so I couldn’t help it.
I led Lumina through the crowd, relying on my memories from the game.
Soon, we arrived at a five-story building.
Unlike the other shops, this one felt more like a department store.
“Crystal Hunter Mall…”
Lumina’s eyes grew wide.
“I-It’s my first time seeing it in real life…”
“Let’s go in.”
I headed toward the revolving door with Lumina at my side.
(End of Chapter)