I Became an Illegal Cheat User

51 – Asuka (2)

Just like in the morning, Lee Seoyeon appeared without a sound.

Because of her, Asuka and I couldn’t help but be startled once again.

“……!”

This time, perhaps due to the shock, no sound escaped my lips—not even a scream.

They say that when a person is too surprised, their voice fails them.

And that was exactly the state Asuka and I were in.

Lee Seoyeon looked back and forth at us with an expressionless face.

Then, in a low voice, she asked,

“What were you two doing?”

She inquired about what we were up to.

“Hyik!”

At that, Asuka began to hiccup.

“Ah, sigh.”

I let out a deep sigh and looked at Lee Seoyeon.

‘I thought this might happen, so I whispered.’

She must have overheard and come looking for us.

Otherwise, there would be no reason for her to arrive at the training ground precisely at this time.

“Asuka, drink some water, water.”

“Th-thank you, hyik! I will….”

As soon as I handed her the water, Asuka turned away and started gulping it down.

While she was doing that, I approached Lee Seoyeon and asked in a quiet voice,

“You heard everything this morning, didn’t you?”

“…No?”

[Lee Seoyeon’s talent, “Master of Sword and Gun (S+),” says otherwise.]

Hmm…, your talent says so, huh?

I smirked at the message about her talent that appeared through the system.

“Since you heard everything, don’t lie.”

“…….”

Realizing that her lie had been exposed, Lee Seoyeon stared at me with an expressionless face.

But I could tell from her expression that she was displeased.

How did I know that?

[Lee Seoyeon’s talent, “Master of the Sword and Gun (S+),” says it doesn’t like it.]

Her talent was revealing what emotions it was experiencing through the system.

[Lee Seoyeon’s talent, “Master of the Sword and Gun (S+),” says it wants to be petted too.]

And it was also indicating its current state.

‘…We?’

Was what was just written in the message real?

I was so surprised that I forgot Lee Seoyeon was right in front of me and openly checked the system message.

Still, I could confirm through the message that it was true.

Lee Seoyeon’s talent really did say “we.”

‘Huh….’

I stared at Lee Seoyeon in disbelief.

“……”

Then she blushed shyly, turning her gaze away.

Regardless, I was simply astounded by the half-symbiotic state I was in with her talent.

‘Did I not just tell it the name of the talent, and now it’s evolving?’

Had it already reached a half-symbiotic state just from consuming the Spirit Energy?

At this rate, I felt like I could surpass Arthur and take on a leading role.

But that thought was fleeting.

I felt something was off.

‘…What is this?’

Why did the energy I sensed from Lee Seoyeon still feel mid-high tier?

It was definitely a half-symbiotic state, wasn’t it?

I felt puzzled as I tried to sense her energy again.

But still, the energy emanating from her was merely mid-high tier.

‘Is she hiding her energy?’

But the energy leaking out was too consistent for that.

‘Ah, I’m so curious….’

Is what I know about the half-symbiotic state really accurate?

Or perhaps, she’s simply hiding her energy.

I want to confirm it for sure.

But for that, physical contact is necessary.

For example… something like her heart or face.

[Lee Seoyeon’s talent, “The Genius of the Sword,” asks us to stroke her cheek.]

But coincidentally, her talent was craving physical contact.

So, without hesitation, I reached out my hand.

“……!”

I cupped her cheek in my palm.

At that moment, Lee Seoyeon, who had been avoiding my gaze, looked at me in surprise, her body flinching slightly.

Lee Seoyeon met my eyes with trembling ones.

Then she began to gently close her eyes.

At the same time, I couldn’t help but smile wryly at her slowly leaning in.

Since it was a training ground with no one but Asuka around, I could give her what she wanted.

But the moment I actually did that, it would turn into a bad ending.

Not by the sword’s will, but by Lee Seoyeon’s hands.

As you can see, from the moment Lee Seoyeon reaches a certain level of affection, she begins to obsess like this.

And that obsession deepens the more her affection increases.

Still, she maintains a certain boundary, even while being obsessed.

However, while physical contact is acceptable, the moment we kiss, that boundary disappears entirely.

It becomes a full-blown obsession, a so-called yandere, regardless of affection.

‘As long as I only focus on Lee Seoyeon’s affection, it wouldn’t matter…’

Right now, I’m managing everyone’s affection for the ending quest.

That’s how I can lower the corruption rate of the main characters.

But because of that, I still can’t accept Lee Seoyeon’s physical contact.

At this moment, I can’t handle her obsession and jealousy.

So, regrettably, I’ll have to wait for physical contact until I become stronger.

‘Let’s make it real when I can handle you and the sword, Lee Seoyeon.’

Thinking that, I removed my hand from her cheek.

Having confirmed that she was in a semi-fairy tale state and at a mid-high level, there was no longer any need to hold her cheeks.

However, Lee Seo-yeon and her talent seemed to find it somewhat regrettable.

“…….”

Lee Seo-yeon looked at me with a pouty face, not an expressionless one.

Her talent, which was almost like her innermost thoughts, said:

[Lee Seo-yeon’s talent, “Genius of the Sword and Gun (S+),” is sulking.]

It cutely informed me that they were disappointed.

In response, I awkwardly smiled and took out a potion from my inventory, placing it in her hand.

“…What’s this?”

Returning from her pouty expression to a neutral one, Lee Seo-yeon tilted her head at the potion she was holding.

“It’s a potion called Cheongyeongdan; they say it’s good for your body.”

I had originally planned to give it to her this morning, but I had forgotten due to the sparring caused by her obsession.

So I intended to give it to her tomorrow, but since she was here, I decided to give it to her now.

“I know that…, but is it really okay to give me a potion like this?”

“It’s fine. As you saw yesterday, I have a ton of potions. So don’t worry and just take it.”

To be precise, it was close to infinite.

Anyway, recalling what happened yesterday, Lee Seo-yeon silently alternated her gaze between the potion and me.

Then she nodded and put the potion into her mouth.

“Haah….”

Feeling her stamina increase from the potion’s effect, Lee Seo-yeon let out a long, heated breath.

“…Thank you.”

Lee Seo-yeon looked at me with moist eyes.

And just as she was about to hug me.

“Seong-suk! I stopped hiccuping!”

Asuka tugged at my body.

It was truly perfect timing.

I let out a small sigh of relief and gently patted Asuka’s head.

“Hehe.”

Asuka, seemingly delighted, smiled cutely and enjoyed my touch.

While doing so, I slightly turned my gaze toward Lee Seo-yeon.

And I could see it.

“…….”

Lee Seoyeon was staring blankly at Asuka with eyes that seemed to have lost their light and an expressionless face.

Still, since the trigger hadn’t been pulled, Lee Seoyeon merely looked at Asuka, not acting on the various thoughts swirling in her mind.

‘But doesn’t Asuka feel Lee Seoyeon’s gaze?’

I looked at Asuka with a puzzled expression.

“Hehe…, I like it…….”

Now Asuka had completely closed her eyes, enjoying my gentle strokes.

If I paused for even a moment, she would take my hand with her petite one and pet herself.

As if she were completely unaware of Lee Seoyeon’s gaze.

Seeing Asuka behave this way, it seemed that Lee Seoyeon had finally decided to take a step back.

“…Lee Yujin, I think I’ll go to sleep now.”

She said she was going to sleep and got up from her seat.

I waved goodbye to her, wishing her a good night.

Then, the sound of the training room door opening echoed.

Only after Lee Seoyeon’s figure had disappeared did Asuka’s closed eyes flutter open.

“…Did she go?”

“Yeah, she’s gone.”

“…Hiyuuu.”

As I confirmed that she had left, Asuka let out a deep sigh of relief.

In that moment, I realized that Asuka hadn’t been unaware of Lee Seoyeon’s gaze; she had been deliberately ignoring it.

“Hiiing, it was scary….”

Asuka pouted, talking about the pressure Lee Seoyeon had directed at her.

…But I hadn’t felt it at all?

That meant she had only aimed her intensity at Asuka.

‘…Is this what they call a catfight?’

No, that’s not it.

Rather than a catfight, it was more like the predator, Lee Seoyeon, unilaterally devouring the prey, Asuka.

It’s just that the trigger hasn’t been pulled, so I’m keeping my distance.

“…Yeah, you’ve worked hard.”

“Ugh.”

After patting Asuka’s head as a sign of her hard work, I took out the elixirs from my inventory: the Spirit Elixir and the Physical Elixir.

“Here, take this.”

“…These are the elixirs you gave to Lee Seoyeon?”

“Uh, they’re called the Spirit Elixir and the Physical Elixir…”

“Wow! These are the Spirit Elixir and the Physical Elixir?”

Asuka looked at the two elixirs in her hands with sparkling eyes.

“I’ve only heard about them; this is my first time seeing them!”

“This one is A-grade, so you should be able to get it from your family, right?”

Now that I think about it, can’t Lee Seoyeon easily obtain elixirs too?

If I remember correctly, the Mirinae Guild run by the Sword Master is a major guild in Korea, right?

Just as I was pondering this for a moment.

“Huh? A-grade elixirs? Senior, you’re joking, right? It’s hard enough to get B-grade elixirs, how could we possibly get this?”

Asuka revealed a shocking fact.

“…What do you mean? It’s hard to get?”

“Uh… didn’t you know? A-grade elixirs are extremely rare, so not only my family but even Lee Seoyeon’s guild can’t easily obtain them.”

“……”

This doesn’t make sense.

Unless it’s A+ grade or higher, A-grade elixirs should be easy to make as long as you have the materials and the recipe…

How can such elixirs be hard to come by?

‘What does that even mean…’

I felt a wave of confusion.

Is it because this isn’t a game, but reality?

No, even so, the alchemists and recipes that exist in this world shouldn’t be any different, right?

‘…I have a reason to visit the alchemy workshop now.’

I was planning to go to the alchemy workshop anyway, even if it was just for the money, so this works out.

This weekend, I’ll stop by the alchemy workshop to find out what has changed and why elixirs have become so hard to obtain.

Anyway, with my plans set for the weekend, I nodded at Asuka, who was asking if it was really okay to eat, and encouraged her to go ahead.

Then Asuka hugged me tightly, as if she were very happy.

“Thank you so much, Su-seok!”

She then released the hug and popped two elixirs into her mouth.

Immediately, her cheeks puffed out like a squirrel.

I wanted to squeeze Asuka’s cheeks, but unfortunately, as the elixirs melted away, her once-puffed cheeks returned to their original state.

Whoosh!

Once again, like Lee Seo-yeon from yesterday, a storm of magical power erupted from Asuka’s body.

But this time, unlike the gentle embrace of Lee Seo-yeon’s magical storm, Asuka’s magical storm repelled me.

I understood the reason right away.

Boom!

The blue magical energy bursting from Asuka’s body turned red.

At the same time, the magic coalesced into a certain shape.

[Asuka’s talent, “Light Dragon Blood (S),” asks who you think you are to interfere with her.]

It was none other than the head of a gigantic dragon.

And at the same time, it was the source of Asuka’s cursed talent, ‘Light Dragon Blood.’

The dragon’s head glared at me with murderous intent.

[Asuka’s talent, “Light Dragon Blood (S),” says it won’t let go of its vessel just because you say so.]

[Asuka’s talent, “Light Dragon Blood (S),” declares that it will definitely gain strength through this vessel.]

[Asuka’s talent, “Light Dragon Blood (S),” threatens that if you continue to interfere, it will kill you along with Shuhei.]

The dragon’s head flew toward me as it spoke.

Then it growled, exuding a fierce aura.

I scoffed at the dragon’s head and said, “A soon-to-be-nothing making such a big noise.”

[Asuka’s talent, “Light Dragon Blood (S),” asks what that means.]

“Oh, you don’t know?”

[Asuka’s talent, “Light Dragon Blood (S),” demands that I speak quickly!]

“That is…”

I trailed off, glancing at the dragon’s head.

Gradually, its color was changing to blue and becoming hazy, as if the effect of the elixir was wearing off.

[Asuka’s talent, “Light Dragon Blood (S),” insists that I speak before it disappears.]

At that urging, I smiled slyly and said.

“You don’t need to know.”

At that moment, the dragon’s head seemed to want to say something, but all the magical power was drawn into Asuka’s body.

The effect of the elixir had worn off.

“Wow, I feel so much lighter!”

As if she couldn’t remember anything from just a moment ago, Asuka bounced around, showcasing her agility.

“How about it? Do you think you can control your talent a bit?”

“Just a second!”

Asuka fiddled with her necklace.

Then, the space around the necklace shimmered, and a black hilt appeared.

“Whooo….”

Asuka took a deep breath and grasped the hilt.

At the same time.

Sssssssssst!

A sharp aura began to emanate from Asuka’s body.

Her talent, the Blood of the Radiant Dragon, had activated.

But unlike when she sparred with Lee Seoyeon, this time, she was only releasing an aura; there was no sign of hostility or intent to kill directed at me.

“…Are you in control?”

“…….”

Asuka stared at me blankly.

Her eyes, which had shifted from pink to crimson, locked onto mine.

But that lasted only a moment.

“Huuaaa!”

Asuka released her grip on the hilt and let out a long breath.

It seemed she had been holding her breath until now.

“Chief!”

Asuka looked up at me with teary eyes.

Then she threw her arms around me and said,

“I managed to control it a little! I didn’t lose my reason at all!”

“Oh!”

Isn’t that really good news?

I genuinely praised her progress.

“Then pet my head!”

“Okay, okay.”

I smiled and patted Asuka’s head.

“Touch my cheeks too!”

“Ah, that’s a bit much.”

“Ah, why not! Touch them!”

“No way, that would be a big deal.”

If I touch that soft thing, I’d want to pull it.

“Hmph!”

Asuka buried her face in my chest with a pout.

Then she mumbled.

“…Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

I smiled and gently stroked Asuka’s head.

Ah, even petting her head is addictive.

If I pull her cheeks, won’t I be unable to stop?

I thought that and chuckled softly.