Chapter 1.4
Sure, I’d been annoyed at the Affection View and Affection Measurement skills, but I hadn’t asked for a name this straightforward.
Because what if someone asked, “What skills do you have?” Would I seriously have to answer, “Ah, the Touch‑and‑Die skill”?
Then they’d obviously ask again, and I’d have to repeat, “Touch‑and‑Die skill.”
I muttered that they could have at least dressed it up a little.
Ding!
The name of Touch‑and‑Die Skill (S) has been changed.
[ Touch‑and‑Die Skill (S) >>> Silent Touch (S) ]
Would you like to run the tutorial?
[ Yes / No ]
So now it changes the name and even offers a tutorial.
…Could this be the taste of being overpowered?
It was nice, sure, but they wouldn’t run the tutorial on the high schooler, right?
Just in case, I scooted away from her, crawling awkwardly on my crouched legs.
[ Yes / No ]
The system window, diligently following me, was waiting for my response. I tapped ‘Yes’.
Beginning tutorial.
Capture the detected lifeform.
[ Detected Lifeform: Tunnel Whale (C) ]
Tunnel Whale (C) is approaching the Awakened.
100m
.
.
.
50m
Boom! Thud!!
“Huh?! What’s that?! Unnie! Unnie?!”
“Just wait a second…”
I took a steadying breath, waiting for the right moment to strike as the Tunnel Whale drew near.
10m
It showed its face at a point where the tunnel sharply veered.
Bwoooo—
With a short, deep cry, the whale opened its jaws wide, and I ran straight into its mouth.
“Unnie!!”
I heard the high schooler’s scream behind me, but I pushed down the fear and grabbed both sides of the whale’s mouth.
Beeeeee—
A blaring noise so loud it made me wince. I quickly covered my ears with both hands.
I had to grasp what was happening, but I couldn’t open my eyes, and the ringing wouldn’t stop.
Get a grip… You have to get a grip…!!
Clenching my teeth, I balled up my fist and slammed it into my thigh.
A jolt of pain shot through me, and my eyes snapped open.
At the same time, the whale twisted its head and lost balance.
I had no time to brace myself and was thrown to the ground.
“Ugh…”
My face scraped against the rough ground, stinging.
It hurt more than my bruised knuckles, and tears welled up in my eyes. But I wasn’t the kind of person to cry just because I’d fallen.
I rolled over quickly and checked if the whale was still there.
“Whoa…”
The high schooler let out a breath of awe behind me, and I found myself gaping too.
The whale had vanished without a trace.
In its place were glowing blue orbs, like fireflies, filling the empty space.
It looked so much like a sea of light, I momentarily forgot where we were.
Tutorial complete.
Is this really my skill?
That massive whale disappeared without a trace, because of me…?
Still dazed, I hovered around the place the whale had been.
A skill that can kill with just a touch. Isn’t that kind of… insane?
Are there no conditions?
To check the skill description, I called out to the system.
“…System.”
Saying the word out loud made me feel embarrassed, but it was bearable.
[ Awakened: Baek Youngha
Rank: S
Trait: Affection View (S)
Title: Unyielding Spirit (S)
Skill: Affection Measurement (S), Lifeform Detection (A), Silent Touch (S) ]
Do I just spam‑click the skill name?
Click, click, click.
After tapping Silent Touch more than five times, a new system window popped up.
[ Silent Touch (S)
: A skill that can kill a lifeform upon contact
However, you must maintain contact for more than 10 seconds. If activation conditions are not met, the skill cannot be used. ]
……
Of course, nothing’s ever that easy.
Maintaining contact for over 10 seconds, that part’s fine. If someone else holds the target, I can stay in contact for 10 seconds.
But what are the activation conditions?
I clicked around the system window and even turned away from it, looking for some hidden clue, but found nothing.
The frustration only lasted a moment.
“Unnie! There’s something here!”
“It could be a monster. Stay behind me.”
“No, not that… it looks like some kind of exit?”
I closed the system window and looked toward where the high schooler had stuck her head out, in the direction the Tunnel Whale had come from. Just like she said, something black and oval‑shaped was floating in midair like a hole in space.
It clearly looked like an exit at first glance, but do exits normally just appear out of nowhere like this?
From what I remember of that attention‑seeking streamer… no, the streamer who streamed this tunnel, in their broadcast, the exit appeared at a fixed location.
Which means, what we found here probably isn’t the real exit.
Dungeons are such mysterious spaces, after all. Unexpected things happen all the time.
Just in case, we shouldn’t go in there…
“W‑wait!!”
The high schooler stretched out her leg and let herself fall into the black oval space.
Before I could stop her, she was sucked in, and when I reached out to grab her, I got pulled in too.
You have cleared Tunnel (C).
Rewards will be distributed based on contribution.
Calculating contribution…
[ Top Contributor: Baek Youngha (S) ]
Rewards will be distributed based on contribution.
1,000G has been awarded.
***
Planet S‑3 ‘Earth’ ranking is updating.
Zone 410 ‘Republic of Korea’ ranking is updating.
[ Planet S‑3 ‘Earth’ Ranking
1st – Moon Jiwoo
2nd – Thebe
3rd – Kaldene Reda
4th – Seo Rana
.
.
50th – Baek Youngha (NEW!) ]
[ Sector 410 ‘Republic of Korea’ Rankings
1st – Moon Woo
2nd – Seo Rana
.
.
.
10th – Baek Youngha (NEW!) ]
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