I Became a Childhood Friend of the Middle Boss

Chapter 2

The opening ceremony had ended.

With my bag in hand, I rose from my seat and looked for Yeonha.

She was organizing her locker.

With her small, round tail sticking out, she leaned into her locker, quite impressively.

“Should I wait until she finishes organizing and ask her to go home together?”

Staring intently at her rabbit tail, I pondered for a moment before deciding.

“No. Let’s get closer first before going home together.”

Haste makes waste.

I might just burden Yeonha unnecessarily and make her treat me with difficulty.

I was content with being Yeonha’s partner for today.

Still, I should at least say goodbye.

“I’ll head off. See you tomorrow.”

“…”

Passing by Yeonha, I said.

At that, she flinched.

She pulled her head out of the locker and turned to look at me.

In her red eyes gazing at me, there seemed to be a sense of wariness.

“Why…”

Was there something she wanted to say?

Yeonha bit her lip repeatedly.

Then, as if hesitating, she asked.

“Why did you sit next to me?”

“….”

Was that what you wanted to ask?

I felt there was no need to hesitate.

Almost involuntarily, I let out a chuckle and decided to answer Yeonhae’s question.

There was no reason not to answer.

“I want to get closer to you.”

“….What?”

That’s the only way to recruit her.

Concealing the underlying intention, I replied.

Yeonhae seemed surprised by my words, standing there with her mouth slightly agape.

“What does that mean…”

“Just as I said.”

“….”

“I sat down because I wanted to get closer to you. Why, is that a problem?”

“No, it’s not that… Why would you want to get closer to me? Not that it would happen, but… Do you by any chance…”

Yeonhae couldn’t finish her sentence.

She stuttered and hesitated.

“I… well…”

“Just wanted to get closer, what’s the reason if you ask… well, if I had to specify, maybe because you remind me of Mongshili?”

“Huh? Mongshili?”

“Yeah, I have a rabbit at home. His name is Mongshili, he’s a male.”

“….”

“So, I like rabbits.”

“So, the reason you want to get closer to me now is because of…?”

“Yeah, you’re like Mongshili.”

“Male, you say. Am I a male?”

“But rabbits have ears, you know.”

“I’m not a rabbit!?”

“I know that! When did I ever say you were a rabbit?”

“Okay, but… really…”

From being startled, to puzzled, to bewildered, to flabbergasted…

Her expression changed rapidly.

Her reactions were quite amusing.

As I casually said what came to mind to conceal my true feelings, I chuckled lightly.

“Anyway, I’ll go. See you tomorrow.”

“….Goodbye, see you tomorrow.”

She bid farewell properly this time, despite looking perplexed.

I waved to her and finally left the classroom.

“Hmm….”

I decided to calmly organize the memories of my past life.

I was so disoriented that there had been no opportunity for me to think about it until now.

“Even so, it’s hard to believe. That I have been reincarnated, and the world I’ve been reborn into happens to be a world inside a game…”

Nevertheless, I had to accept it.

Putting that aside.

“Is it impossible to check my status?”

My thoughts drifted elsewhere.

In the game, players could check their character’s information through the status window.

However, in this world, there was no such thing as a status window.

Therefore, it was difficult to objectively assess one’s status and even harder to confirm one’s gifts.

“…”

Still, you never know.

Quietly, I muttered to myself about the status window, making sure no one else could hear.

[Personal Information]

Name: Do Gyunwoo (Male, 12 years old)

Alias: Rabbit

Affiliation: Laon Elementary School

[Possessed Gifts]

Instinctual Evasion

[Physical Abilities]

Stamina: 37

Strength: 34

Endurance: 32

Agility: 43

Magic Power: 30

Luck: 25

Remaining Points: 0

It was a message I’d only seen in games.

I couldn’t look away from the floating status window.

Swiftly, I scanned the contents.

“Not bad, quite decent.”

People of the Divine Sword lineage start learning swordsmanship once they take their first steps.

As a member of the family, I did the same.

Since I can remember, from a very young age, I held a sword and learned how to wield it.

Perhaps due to that influence.

The status window reflecting my current state showed quite impressive figures.

The numbers were unbelievably high for a fifth-grader.

Thir-ty, se-ven-ty, fi-ve, huh….

“Have I been living with these stats all this time?”

In front of family members, feeling intimidated for no reason, getting bullied like a fool.

The more I think about it, the angrier I get.

“Why did I live like that?”

Seriously, really, truly….

I can’t live like that anymore.

—

In my past life, my family environment was harsh.

The woman who gave birth to me in a drunken mistake would often lament her life in alcohol, and my father was frequently absent.

Eventually, divorce was inevitable.

I ended up in my mother’s care.

“If I make a lot of money later, I’ll come back for you. Can you wait quietly here until then?”

….

On a day when the snow fell heavily.

I was abandoned.

I became an orphan.

“If this was going to happen, why did you even give birth to me? Liar….”

In my past life, parents were not just objects of resentment for me.

But it was different for me in this reincarnation.

“I’m back from school!”

“Did you come back, Geonwoo? You’re back early.”

“Today was the opening ceremony at school.”

“How was your homeroom teacher? What do your classmates seem like?”

My mother welcomed me warmly as I returned from school.

Her kind smile warmed my heart.

My mother in my past life didn’t smile at me like that.

“She didn’t even try to look at my face if she thought it was unpleasant.”

Recalling my past life isn’t a pleasant experience.

Only memories related to the game come to mind, along with unwanted memories I want to forget.

So, I might have been sentimental without realizing.

“Why the long face? What’s wrong?”

“…Nothing. I’m just grateful.”

I hugged my mother tightly.

She seemed momentarily surprised but then comforted me.

“Did you miss Mom that much?”

“I just felt like seeing you today.”

“Nothing happened?”

“Nothing at all.”

“You should tell me if something’s wrong.”

“Yes, I will.”

“I haven’t had lunch, so I’m hungry. I’ll prepare something quickly. Just wait a bit.”

“I’ll go play with Mongshil then.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

I felt a bit embarrassed and awkward.

Yet, feeling my mother’s warmth, I felt a sense of calmness washing over me.

The chaotic memories quieted down.

“I am not the me from my past life.”

And I am not the Geonwoo from the game either.

I am just Geonwoo.

I must not get lost in memories of my past life.

After letting go of my mother from the embrace, I resolved to keep my heart steady.

Then, I went to see Mongshil.

“Mongshil, Hyung’s here.”

Squeak!

My pet, the white rabbit Mongshil.

I handed some hay to Mongshil, who we brought out from our midst.

Crunch, crunch.

Mongsil quietly enjoyed my touch and ate the hay I offered.

“It wasn’t easy getting close to you.”

Huh?

Rabbits are sensitive creatures.

It takes a long time to get close to them.

Especially with Mongsil, it was even more difficult.

Having been a rabbit prepared for hunting in the Shingeom Dogga, it was inevitable for her to have a high guard against people.

Back then, feeling sorry for Mongsil, I couldn’t bring myself to kill her, so I decided to raise her, leading to where we are now.

“And that incident led to our family members mocking me as ‘Rabbit.'”

A coward who couldn’t even hunt a single rabbit, unable to become a lion.

The nickname “Rabbit” carried that meaning.

I let out a bitter smile.

Anyway.

“It must be difficult to get close to her, right?”

Yeonhaneul is like a rabbit-like person.

She must have similar traits to a rabbit.

…Perhaps that’s not the case?

It seemed so earlier.

Thinking like that, it seems I need to pay attention to getting close to her.

“Since there’s nothing to do at school anyway, might as well invest some time, right?”

Delicately, like taming a rabbit.

With that mindset, I decided to approach her.

And thus, hunt the rabbit.

No, recruit her.

◈

In the Shingeom Dogga leading to the Swordsmanship Clan, there exists a swordsmanship symbolizing the clan.

Beast King Style (獸王流).

Named after the lion that reigns above all beasts, this swordsmanship, based on the concept of joy (快), combines various qualities such as change (變), strength (强), sharpness (尖), supremacy (覇), in pursuit of the ultimate swordsmanship.

It was also a swordsmanship that transformed the late-blooming Dogyeonwoo into a top swordsman.

Knowing that…

“Mom! I’m going to the swordsmanship hall!”

“Already? Isn’t it too early?”

“I want to go and practice first.”

I couldn’t afford to be lazy in training.

After lunch, I headed straight to the swordsmanship hall.

In regions with a large population, the Shingeom Dogga operated swordsmanship halls everywhere.

Those who wanted to learn swordsmanship, or become hunters, could pay tuition fees at the swordsmanship hall and receive education.

“Of course, unless one is a disciple of the Divine Sword Sect, they cannot learn the complete Suwang Style.”

At the Swordsmanship Hall, they taught the universal form.

But even with just that, it was so popular that it attracted attention wherever it went.

“It’s not very crowded since we’re here early.”

On days when I was to learn the complete form, I would have individual lessons with the assigned instructor, and on other days, I would attend classes with others.

Today belonged to the latter.

As a result, there were already a few people in the training hall when I arrived.

“….”

They nodded respectfully and exchanged eye greetings upon seeing me.

Returning their greetings, I unpacked my gear and lifted my wooden sword.

“Hoo….”

After taking a deep breath, I swiftly moved, lowering my sword.

Then, returning to my original posture, I waited for the right moment once more.

＜Suwang Style Basic Form 1＞

The Hunter’s Stance

Let’s assume there’s prey in front of you.

The lion patiently waits for the moment when the prey lets its guard down to hunt.

After holding their breath and waiting calmly, finally, the moment the prey relaxes.

At that instant, they strike swiftly.

I quickly extended my front paw and swung the sword with force.

Once I grasped the desired sensation to some extent, I reduced the time between movements.

Again and again, three times….

Swish!

The sound of the wooden sword cutting through the air echoed.

Focusing on that sound, I repeatedly struck with the sword in my hand.

Striking down, striking down, continuing to strike down while trying to memorize the muscle movements.

“Nice.”

Was striking down always this enjoyable?

Was sweating like this always so satisfying?

An indescribable sense of fulfillment washed over me.

Today, my concentration was exceptionally sharp.

So, as I continued to wield─.

“What’s up? Why are you here so early?”

“Yeah, what’s with the scaredy-cat?”

“They say he came early to practice?”

“….”

Three identical faces.

Their words shattered my focus.

I stopped swinging the wooden sword and calmly stared at the approaching guys.

“I’m getting angry.”

I was finally concentrating well.

I was immersed in the world inside my head.

But now, I was disturbed and felt irritated.

No, it wasn’t just because of that reason.

There was a more fundamental reason.

“Have I been whining to these guys all this time?”

The triplets in front of me were the main culprits who had been bothering me all along.

Guys who received my cousin’s fortune telling.

Thinking about it made me more annoyed.

“What good does practicing alone do?”

“Shall we be your sparring partners?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Shall we help?”

The triplets were provoking me.

I had only one response.

“Shall we go easy then? Like it’s a real fight.”