How did Han Yeo-reum die during that time?
I replayed the footage and confirmed it properly.
5th round death.
During the round, he entered the boss battle for the first time, and time stopped due to the paralysis wave, leading to his death in that state. (I didn't see it directly.)
4th round death.
While leisurely hunting and resting in the safe zone, he secretly took another woman out and suddenly regressed. (Presumably died while having sex.)
3rd round death.
After getting injured while fighting a monster, he screamed and ran away in a panic, and at some point, he regressed. (Presumably died after being overwhelmed by other mobs.)
2nd round death.
Same as the 3rd round.
1st round death.
…He was hit by the slime's whip jelly, complained of pain, fell, and his head hit a rock on the ground, leading to his death.
Out of Han Yeo-reum's deaths above, how many did I witness with my own eyes?
Only the 1st round.
And I didn't even pay much attention to it.
At first, I was shocked by the concept of regression, and the 1st round happened less than 10 minutes after leaving the village.
But then, a situation arose where I could witness Han Yeo-reum's death once more.
6th round death.
Clearly, a Shock Bee's stinger was lodged in his head.
Yes.
I vividly remember the scene of Han Yeo-reum's death in my eyes.
As I walked to the inn, I communicated.
'I should've paid more attention to the 1st round…'
[It's largely my fault. I didn't review it because it was too short.]
'What are you talking about... If we're pointing fingers, the real problem is that I couldn't figure it out properly in the 2nd round…'
Both Armonia and I had mostly skipped over the 1st round.
Because even after experiencing it, I couldn't grasp what was happening.
The final hint about Han Yeo-reum's regression was…
'You said the time was the same as the 1st round, right?'
[Yes, that's correct. 7.35 seconds, down to the decimal point.]
'Wow… I thought regression happened immediately upon death, but I didn't know there was a grace period.'
His death and regression didn't happen simultaneously.
Han Yeo-reum's blessing (regression) activated 7.35 seconds after his death.
It was just bad luck that, except for the 1st round, I never got to witness his death directly.
And the fact that I could use warp to overcome the situation was something I realized in the 6th round…
The way to overcome this damn regression was simple.
When Han Yeo-reum died, I just needed to write a blessing that would notify me of her death.
But spending 100,000 points on a one-time blessing that merely informs me of his death would be hard to understand.
I spent the day replaying the footage and pondering, and I added more details to the blessing.
I lay down on the bed and looked at my status window displayed as a hologram.
==========
[Name: Seong Suho]
Job: Senior Alchemist
Skills: [Alchemy Lv.48], [Alchemy Encyclopedia], [Material Conversion Lv.1]
Blessing: When the target (Han Yeo-reum) dies, I am immediately notified of the death, and time stops for 10 seconds for all entities within a 50-meter radius around me, excluding myself.
==========
At first, I tried to create the blessing using only the first sentence.
By the way, the blessing that notifies me of death costs only 2,000 points.
But the reason the required points jumped to 100,000 was because of the additional content.
'Even though it's only 50 meters, it costs a fortune.'
[Even though it's a one-time use, the fact that it costs that much means time stop isn't easy to achieve.]
'But I have Enels. Hehehe…'
I had enough Enels, and with warp, it was the perfect blessing to completely break the regression.
By the way, the reason I added time stop was because of Min Ha-yeon.
'I just couldn't bear the thought of Ha-yeon losing her memories over and over.'
From now on, it was obvious that Min Ha-yeon would mostly stick by my side.
How could I be so sure?
With the existence of the yin gate, she wouldn't even think of wanting to leave me.
That means, whether Han Yeo-reum lives or dies, unless there's a special reason, Min Ha-yeon will stay by my side.
The key is to warp with Min Ha-yeon, whose time is stopped, when Han Yeo-reum dies.
My plan is to free her from the influence of regression and allow her memories to continue.
[Still, please be careful. If Min Ha-yeon's memories remain intact and too many variables arise, our identities might be exposed.]
'Yeah, I'll be careful.'
I started to feel excited at the thought of meeting Min Ha-yeon early tomorrow.
'I'm looking forward to seeing how Min Ha-yeon will turn out!! Hehehe…'
[….]
Just as I was about to fall asleep, a chat message came up.
└Guardian of the Gay Dick: Finally, it's time for some daughter action.
"That damn daughter action…"
I had forgotten about that guy…
I made a proposal to the perverted bastard suffering from voyeurism syndrome.
"Want to make a bet with me?"
***
"Wow, so you're from Korea like me?"
"Yes, if it's the Min Ha-yeon I know, I think we're from the same place."
"Hehe…"
Min Ha-yeon leisurely chatted with me while hunting, firing arrows.
The arrows she casually nocked and shot hit the monsters' weak points with perfect accuracy.
'Wow… the tension is completely gone.'
[The crisis during the boss battle seems to have greatly matured her.]
There wasn't much difference in Min Ha-yeon's archery skill level before and now.
But just the change in her mental state had significantly boosted her efficiency.
She shot arrows without hesitation and calmly dealt with swarms of monsters.
"It's amazing, especially since you're a former archery athlete."
"Huh… it did help. But after a few days, I realized it didn't mean much."
"…? It's only been 2 days, hasn't it?"
"…."
Min Ha-yeon looked at me with droopy eyes, smiled bitterly, and said.
"There's something like that."
"…."
Looking at her, I thought.
'Well, I'd feel depressed too if I were the only one who remembered.'
[Do you plan to keep hiding it?]
'…Yeah. If I tell her that I also regress, things might get more complicated.'
My selfish desire.
Only bringing Min Ha-yeon's memories.
If we go beyond that and keep sharing information, our position could become difficult.
I felt sorry for Min Ha-yeon, but I decided to hide that fact to keep her by my side.
"It's a safe zone. Let's rest for a bit."
The two of us took a break in the safe zone.
I entered the safe zone and looked at the alchemy list, planning to make an Artemis potion.
At that moment…
Whoosh!
"Huh!?"
"Can you show me how you do alchemy?"
Min Ha-yeon hugged me from behind with a playful expression.
Startled by the sudden action, I couldn't hide my confusion and stumbled over my words.
"Haha… well… it's nothing special. Just touch the hologram… and activate it, that's it."
"Hmm…."
Min Ha-yeon went beyond hugging and started rubbing her chest against me.
'Kyaaa!!! So good!!!'
[….]
I couldn't tell if it was intentional or subconscious, but I had a hunch.
———
[Min Ha-yeon (Subjugation Level 1)]
Level 1 Subjugation: Basic physical contact is freely allowed. Requests that don't harm survival or reputation are readily accepted.
Sexual Taboo: (ㅡ)
You can write one sexual taboo. -Sentence format is also possible-
———
'Does that "allowing physical contact" mean the aversion itself disappears?'
[It's likely a combination of pheromones and subjugation.]
Min Ha-yeon had been freely engaging in physical contact with me from the start.
Thinking back to how she treated me as just another party member in the previous round, it felt like a world of difference.
Plus, the sense of conquest that surged every time I looked at her…
It wasn't visible to others, but I could see it clearly.
Her glowing pink yin gate peeking out from her blouse…
'Subjugation… It's the real deal…'
Armonia questioned me as I thought this.
[Wouldn't it be good to write the sexual taboo soon?]
'No, I'll think carefully about the sexual taboo and write it later.'
Sexual taboo.
An identity that can't be left out of adult games.
I personally consider this aspect very important.
No matter how much you love someone, there are sexual preferences that you just can't get past.
Min Ha-yeon must have them too, and writing the sexual taboo would play a crucial role in overcoming those boundaries.
In other words, it's a hidden card.
'You can't just recklessly play the Joker. Hehehe…'
[….]
I carefully pushed her away and said.
"Well… it's done. You said you're partying with your friend for lunch, right? Let's hurry."
"Hmm…"
Min Ha-yeon looked at me with a mischievous smile and resumed hunting.
***
Min Ha-yeon and Seong Suho finished hunting and returned to the village to settle their earnings.
"Wow… 140,000!"
"70,000 per person… that's amazing."
Min Ha-yeon and Seong Suho pretended not to know each other and acted surprised.
Min Ha-yeon felt a pang of regret as she distributed the earnings.
'…What should I do? Should I ask to meet for dinner later? Asking to eat together wouldn't be weird, right?'
At first, it was just selfishness that made her want to get closer, so it was easier to say.
But now that she genuinely wanted to, she started to worry.
'…He wouldn't reject me, right? Sigh… it would be easier to say if we spent time together until dinner.'
She wanted to abandon Han Yeo-reum right now and spend more time with Seong Suho.
But without knowing the reason for returning to the past, she was hesitant to show any sudden changes in behaviour.
Before parting ways with Seong Suho, she made a proposal.
"Tonight… do you want to have dinner together?"
"Ah… I'd love to."
"Ahem…. Then I'll come to the inn tonight. See you later!"
Min Ha-yeon smiled brightly and bid farewell to Seong Suho.
After hurriedly parting ways, Min Ha-yeon thought as she headed east through the village.
'There's still some time left… I should stop by the store and see if there's anything to eat.'
It was lunchtime, and Min Ha-yeon was starting to get hungry.
'There's not much time left… Let's eat something simple.'
She thought it wouldn't be good for her to fight on an empty stomach.
Min Ha-yeon stopped by the store and started browsing for food.
"It's crowded…"
Everyone was stocking up on simple groceries for the afternoon hunt.
Min Ha-yeon ignored their attention and looked around.
"What should I eat… Let's eat something light now and fill up at dinner."
Min Ha-yeon decided to buy some jerky and an energy drink.
As she was about to leave the store, something unusual caught her eye.
While other counters were bustling with people, this one was quiet.
Min Ha-yeon could tell why with just a glance.
"This is interesting. They sell things like this here…"
The unpopular counter was filled with adult products.
Min Ha-yeon looked at the tools she had never been interested in before with curiosity.
Things that would normally make her frown now piqued her interest.
And then, Min Ha-yeon suddenly remembered something.
The sudden excitement that led to intercourse.
And something she hadn't thought about at the time, with her life on the line, came to mind.
'…Wait! I did it with Suho! Contraception!'
In reality, the chance of her getting pregnant was zero.
Armonia had made it so that women who had relations with Seong Suho couldn't get pregnant.
But Min Ha-yeon, unaware of this, started to worry.
'First, contraception!'
Min Ha-yeon spotted contraception pills among the products and quickly bought them.
The description was very simple.
[Contraception Pill -100 Points]
[When taken, prevents pregnancy for the duration. (Lasts 10 days)]
It was very cheap and effective.
'If it says "duration," does that mean it works even after the fact?'
Min Ha-yeon started to feel anxious.
She trusted Seong Suho.
She firmly believed that if she got pregnant, Seong Suho would take responsibility.
But now, the situation was different.
Because the Seong Suho she had been with was from the past, not the present.
'Damn it… it'll be fine… it'll be fine…'
Min Ha-yeon opened the contraception pill, which contained one pill, and put it in her mouth.
And at that moment.
"Hey…"
"…?"
Min Ha-yeon, with the pill in her mouth, couldn't respond and only slightly turned her head at the sound of someone calling her.
Gulp…
As the pill went down her throat, a woman came into Min Ha-yeon's view.
"Ha-yeon… that's… a contraception pill… right?"
The woman was…
"Uh…."
Han Yeo-reum's first enjoyer, Park Sun-hee.
***
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