After roughly clearing the forest, I stared at the mountain.

  "Are we going there too?"

  "We should."

  It had been twenty-four hours since we entered the Gate. Were those two damn stamina monsters not tired at all?

  The forced march with almost no rest had already worn me out.

  And this was them matching my pace, how fast could they have finished if I hadn't come along?

  If not for the fatigue recovery effect of the earring artifact, I would have collapsed and fallen asleep long ago.

  "Before we head up the mountain, there's something you should know."

  "What?"

  Right now, I just wanted to finish the mission quickly and go back to sleep.

  "Among the orcs that appear in the mountains, there's a large gray-skinned type?"

  Gray? A monster I learned about during training. A higher species known as the Gray-skinned Orc. Probably C-Class.

  "Gray-skinned Orc?"

  "Oh? You know about them? Anyway, they appear as group leaders, so be careful."

  Si-hyun didn't know, but I had to be cautious.

  "Understood."

  As we climbed the mountain, we encountered a group of orcs. Among them was one with a larger build and slightly unique equipment, different from the primitively armed orcs.

  "That's the Gray-skinned Orc."

  Its face, with huge protruding tusks, reminded me of a wild boar.

  "Leave that one. Take out the rest."

  After Oppa spoke, Si-hyun nodded, and the slaughter began.

  Watching over forty orcs get eliminated in three minutes scared me.

  The lone Gray-skinned Orc left behind was furious, roaring wildly.

  "Si-yeon, try fighting it one-on-one."

  "Okay."

  I stepped forward from where I had been waiting in the back.

  The Gray-skinned Orc, suppressed by Oppa's presence, charged at me like a madman the moment I approached.

  Its movement was straightforward, but fast.

  Without Mana, I might have been overwhelmed by its speed.

  I dodged the charge with a Mana-infused backstep, then thrust my spear.

  But the orc parried my spear.

  "Ugh."

  It was stronger than me. With Mana, it might be different, but maintaining enhancement made it hard to handle.

  Several attacks were blocked. After a few exchanges, I realized: this orc was stronger than me, but I was slightly faster. That's why our offense and defense were at a stalemate.

  While searching for an opening in the ongoing fight, I suddenly remembered the existence of the bonded spear.

  The spear's presence was always inside me. Even now, holding it, I could feel it within. So, if I channeled Mana into my body, wouldn't that be the same as infusing the spear with Mana?

  I parried an attack, created some distance, focused my mind, and directed Mana toward the spear.

  Then something strange happened: the spear began greedily sucking up my Mana.

  "Hmm..."

  The rapid loss of Mana made me nauseous.

  When the spear stopped absorbing, its shaft was glowing with a crystalline light.

  I didn't know the principle behind it, but my intuition told me I could win now.

  I charged straight at the orc and thrust the spear.

  The orc tried to parry it like before, but this time the spear easily sliced through its weapon. Surprised, I continued the thrust, and the spear pierced through the orc.

  I barely felt the sensation of piercing flesh, it was as easy as cutting tofu.

  When I swung the spear sideways, the orc was cleanly severed, making me wonder if I was holding a sword, not a spear.

  "Wh-what is this?"

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  Even I was shocked. It seemed to be a hidden effect of the spear. Since it was my first time, I panicked.

  The spear was still glowing.

  -,

  "What is that?"

  It was Oppa.

  "I don't know either. When I channeled Mana into the spear, it became like this."

  "Is it an Artifact effect?."

  Even Si-hyun, who was skilled with Mana, found it remarkable.

  Though the spear was still glowing, we started collecting the Magic Stones first.

  The spear easily cut through the Orc flesh, making it simple to find the Magic Stones.

  When we finished gathering the stones and continued up the mountain, the spear's glow faded.

  "Oh? It disappeared."

  Si-hyun took out his phone to check.

  "It lasts about thirty minutes."

  "Hey, use it again."

  Again? I followed Oppa's words and channeled Mana once more.

  The spear greedily absorbed the Mana. After taking about 20% of my total, it stopped and the spear glowed again.

  "Wow~ Looks like there's no cooldown." Si-hyun said.

  "Cooldown?"

  "Yeah, some trigger-type Artifacts need time to recharge after one use."

  Aha, so that's why you wanted me to try again.

  I swung the spear a few more times.

  "Si-yeon, attack me."

  Hit Oppa? Perfect chance to punch you!

  I swung the spear with all my strength, but Oppa blocked it with his arm.

  The spear that had easily sliced through Orcs had no effect on Oppa.

  Looking closely, a red energy flow blocked where the spear met his arm, with crackling electric sparks flying.

  "Stronger than expected?"

  He tapped my spear with the arm he'd used to block.

  With sharp pain, the spear flew far away.

  The pain in my hand made me want to cry. Why were my tear ducts so weak lately.

  "That hurts!"

  "Sorry."

  His apology didn't sound sorry at all.

  I tried to recall the spear that had flown away, but it didn't return.

  "Huh?"

  "What's wrong?"

  "Nothing, the spear won't come back."

  "Hmm? Seems you can't recall it while it's glowing."

  Damn, learned something new again.

  I walked over to find the spear that had left me. The runaway spear was still glowing.

  Whatever Oppa had done, I'd definitely learned a lot.

  The Orc extermination on the mountain ended quickly. Though many Orcs had gathered, their total numbers were low, so we mostly cleared them out after a few fights. The collected Magic Stones filled three bags, probably over three kilograms.

  The journey back was hard with sleepiness weighing on me. Over thirty hours without sleep while hunting Monsters. But if we moved at my pace, the descent would take more than three hours.

  Finally, when I started dozing off, Oppa carried me on his back.

  Freed from my burden, Oppa and Si-hyun moved faster. Oppa was so quick that Si-hyun almost couldn't keep up.

  We reached the Gate in just twenty minutes, with Si-hyun breathing heavily.

  Stepping out of the Gate, I rubbed my sleepy eyes, changed clothes, and fell asleep in the car immediately.

  -

  Waking from sleep and rubbing my eyes, I found myself already home.

  I didn't know how long I'd slept, but my body felt heavy and sluggish. My phone was on the bedside table. Checking the date, I saw three days had passed since entering the Gate. I must have slept at least twenty hours.

  The house was empty. I ate something to fill my stomach.

  Checking messages on my phone, I found one from Si-hyun. He asked if I got home safely and if I was sleeping.

  =Just woke up, eating now

  I sent the message first, but got no reply.

  My body felt heavy from too much sleep, so I decided to go to the training ground to move around a bit. Then my phone vibrated.

  -I just woke up too

  =So what's up?

  -Got the tickets

  Tickets? Movie tickets?

  =What tickets?

  -Swimming pool

  It's peak summer vacation season, and the beaches are bustling with crowds everywhere.

  =Looks like it'll be packed

  -VIP exclusive area

  Oh? That might be nice...

  But VIP exclusive? How do we get in?

  =When?

  -Two weeks from now

  Still some time left. The weather should be even hotter by then, perfect?

  =Yeah, let's go

  -Yeah

  =What about the Expedition?

  -We made good money this time, let's take a few days off

  Thanks to Oppa giving up all the Magic Stones, our earnings were decent this round.

  =Yeah

  -I'll contact you in three days

  =Okay but I need to buy a swimsuit. Can you come with me?

  Right, I don't own a swimsuit. I'll have to get one.

  Going alone feels awkward. I've always shopped for clothes and underwear with Mom until now.

  But buying a swimsuit with Mom? That seems...

  Si-hyun took a while to respond.

  -Sorry.. No.

  Rejected, as expected.

  Going with Mom would be strange too. Going with Dad or Oppa would be even more awkward.

  I'll have to go alone. I have plenty of time, so I decided to go today after finishing up. I needed to get the Spear appraised anyway, so I got ready and headed out after a quick shower.

  First stop was the Artifact appraisal shop.

  The shop is run by someone with the awakened ability for appraisal. To learn an Artifact's effects and performance, you either conduct various experiments or come here for appraisal.

  When the appraiser saw the World Tree Spear, he quoted a fee of 400,000 won.

  I questioned why it was so expensive, but that's just the market rate.

  Skeptical, I checked online and confirmed this was indeed the standard price.

  The baseline is 200,000 for gloves and boots as auxiliary gear, 300,000 for accessories, and 400,000 and up for Weapons and Armor.

  I paid with the card Dad secretly gave me. Sorry Dad, but the appraisal fee was just too steep.

  The appraiser carefully noted down his findings:

  <1. Consumes stamina to enhance healing ability>

  <2. Consumes Mana to manifest light blade>

  <3. Holder can store the Spear>

  <4. Holder's Mana and stamina recovery speed increased>

  I already knew most of these effects. The fourth one was new, and I nodded in understanding. So that's why my stamina held up better than expected during the Expedition - it was the Spear's effect.

  After the appraisal, I headed to my real destination for the day: the department store to buy a swimsuit.

  I hesitated as I approached the women's section. Because it's summer clothing? There were many lightweight fabrics and lots of girls around, making me nervous. I ignored the other clothes and went straight to the swimwear section, where summer swimsuits were displayed in full force - quite a spectacle.

  I started browsing slowly. Goodness... what are these swimsuits with even less fabric than underwear?

  Aren't they embarrassed?

  I examined a one-piece that looked somewhat decent.

  "How about this one, miss?"

  While I was looking, a store clerk approached.

  "With your figure, this style would suit you better."

  The clerk was recommending a bikini.

  "That's too much for me."

  "Really? Then how about this one?"

  This time it was a one-piece, but with the entire back cut out. Still better than a bikini though? I excused myself to look at other styles.

  Honestly, I didn't know what kind of swimsuit to buy. Anything too revealing or with too little fabric would make me shy, but wearing a one-piece felt like a waste.

  Maybe I should go with that approach? Choosing a swimsuit I would have liked back when I was male. A swimsuit selected through male preferences - Si-hyun would probably like it too?

  That's when a particular swimsuit caught my eye.

  A two-color halter neck bikini in black and white.

  Though the top seemed a bit revealing, the bottom was decent enough. I pictured myself wearing it, it would look good on me.

  Real men have guts! Wait, should I say real women have guts now?

  I decided to buy the swimsuit I liked. Since I still lacked some courage, I also picked up a semi-transparent sarong. Paid with my own card.

  No way was I using Dad's supplementary card or the family shared account. If anyone found out I bought a swimsuit, I'd be in trouble.

  -

  @support me on Patreon for early chapter ???