24 Hearts

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The twenty-fourth Fragment, Carpe Diem

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*Progress

[You defeated five leaders leading the black wolves. Stamina has increased by 2.]

[Shadow swordsmanship/justice techniques have been honed and can be used more efficiently. Magic has increased by 2.]

[You were surrounded by many wolves, but did not give up and fought with your companions to achieve a new record. Strength and Agility rose by 1 each.]

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*Style

[You got -Black Wolf Slayer-.]

-Black Wolf Slayer-

It is a title given to those who have hunted hundreds of black wolves.

-When hitting a black wolf, additional damage is reduced by 3%, the wolf’s howling effect and duration are reduced by 20%.

-When hunting all kinds of wolves, you will emit an aura of intimidation. However, leaders and bosses are not affected.

└Passive: Movement speed and attack speed decreased by 5%.

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「Status Window」

[Name: Judah Arche]

[Title: Black Wolf Slayer (1)]

[Level: 19]

[Job: Black Claw _ Shadow Magic Swordsman (Hidden_A)]

[Number of resurrections: 1]

[Strength: 41(C) / Potential A]

[Health: 40(C) / Potential S]

[Agility: 42(C) / Potential SS]

[Magic: 43(C) / Potential B]

[Magic Resistence: 52(C) / Potential S]

[Knowledge: 17(F) / Potential B] ◀ Special

[Good Luck: 84(A) / Potential S] ◀ Special

[Remaining points: 4]

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Despite hunting wolves for over a year and eight months, Judah found his results unsatisfactory. Although his level and stats have risen, its increase was less than expected. Yes, he received a title, but joining Jeanne hunting the wolves proved to him how it had grown easily to do. At that point, his slow progress was natural. He wished to milk the opportunity as much as he could, but there was nothing left to squeeze.

‘Woo. Is it time to go?’

Judah thought to himself, believing it so. When he watched Jeanne, his temporary companion, end their quest for noble reasons, he felt even more certain that the time had come. When he thought about it, he was almost 15 years old. March was here, all with its fresh spring breeze blowing in the wind. And after three more months, his birthday would come.

This birthday had a special meaning. Celebrating his birth and eating delicious food was always a part of birthdays, but on the fifteenth year, a coming-of-age ceremony was held unlike any other.

On that special day, he would be the very time he could open the pouch bestowed to him by the first monarch Xian. That would be his real start. If he acquired a fragment, his save would proceed automatically. So from that point on, it was just a matter of following the story as intended in the original game. After getting the fragments, the first thing he thought to do was to search the western forest for the Blue Spear Knight Jeanne. And after recruiting her as an official partner, he was set to leave Serenia Castle in search of the next Fragment…

Leaving Tia behind.

The choice to leave her was painful, but there was nothing to be done. Ignoring their bond of many years was nothing easy to do, and Judah wished he could take her. However, the most rational decision was to move forward without her.

Even if her potential grew higher, Tia would disregard the implications ahead. Taking her as she was now was not only dangerous, but also unwise.

Her current level was quite high so that the story progression could go smoothly in its early stages, but its limits will come soon. Even if she could fight for a fragment, she may die in the process. Gathering the fragments were harsh, the next even harder than the previous.

‘It doesn’t matter if I die.’

Judah could already hear her saying, but he wished not to see her die.

‘If I die by mistake… ‘

Such an idea brought Judah tremendous grief. He may not react so strongly due to the nature of -player-, but the shock could cause him to lose motivation in everything. Its possibility made his heartache. There was nothing Judah wouldn’t do to bring her back, even if it meant killing himself to go back in time.

His eyebrows furrowed, thinking of any event that might lead to such a thing happening. It wasn’t just about Tia. How many suicides can he stomach to revive his companions every time they died?

What would he do if he had grown used to the death of his companion at some point?

If he had grown tired and numb to the death of a friend, it would be painful as it is. The only thing he could wish was that Tia was not the one he would mourn.

While he mused, the bathroom door opened. Tia stepped out, glanced at Judah on her way to her room, then came out wearing casual clothing. Judas dropped his thoughts, conjuring a smile for her.

“You better buy me something delicious when you return.”

“Okay~ I’ll buy, so don’t fall asleep and wait for me!”

Tia went over to Judah, brushed her hair aside, then leaned in to kiss him on the forehead. The scent of soap from her freshly washed body whipped in the air. Judah was distracted by it, but as he glanced at her face, he saw the pause in her expression.

“Are you going yet?”

“Wait a minute. Not yet. That wasn’t enough.”

This time, she cupped his face and kissed him lightly on the lips. The idle look on her face grew into a smile. The Suin stepped back, waved him goodbye, then throttled happily out of the door. Judah was left on his seat, caressing his lips where Tia’s used to be. The feeling of her lips lingered on his. Just then, he remembered just a moment ago how he had planned to leave her. A pang of guilt hit him as he grew even more distressed.

With a sigh, he checked her status window. The favorability, which was now over 90, stood out among the rest. He still felt a little sheepish being in the lover stage with her, and even before they could reach the spouse stage, she had already shown him skinship and affection.

Judah was very much tempted to give in to her a few times, but he always found himself hesitating at the last minute, and they never had a proper relationship.

Thanks to this, Judah felt on edge every day, and the only thing that put him to sleep was reciting the national anthem in his head. Because of Tia, he could remember the national anthem without forgetting it, years after coming here. Judas watched as the door slammed, his body burying deeper into the sofa as he sighed.

‘If this were a game, I wouldn’t have had to worry about this.’

In his game, he could bring up to five companions with him. He could take Tia at the start and then leave her in the inn when his teammates were full. And when the game progressed smoothly to some extent, you could always go back to your companions and grew yours with affection for them.

The problem was that this world was not a game with such a system.

It might be a game, but to everybody, this was all real. All NPCs lived, breathed, thought, and act in their own free will. There was no such function in the inn where you could change your companions as you wish.

Judah shook his head, trying to shake away the migraine creeping within his brain. He had made a decision.

He wouldn’t be taking her.

He figured he could leave this house to Tia, as he said in the past. He wanted her to wait for him here. If she were to fall in love with another man, it would be painful, but he was willing to bless her. It seemed too selfish to tell her to keep waiting without knowing when he would come back. But in truth, he wanted to be selfish. Judah hoped Tia could wait for him.

‘…No. Stop it. Think about something else for once.’

He feels a weight on his shoulder at the thought of leaving her. Judah shoved away from his thoughts and focused on his plans for the future instead. While checking his status window, skills, and items, Judah remembered the quest he had received from Lord Peerchen.

「Lord’s Request」

[The lord is very annoyed by the black wolves expanding into the eastern woods, hoping you will reduce the number of these wolves.]

[It’s not worth risking alone, but this is an opportunity. Should you hunt the wolves and defeat their bosses, you will be celebrated by the inhabitants of the castle as well as the lord.]

[This quest depends on the number of wolves you hunted, and it ends when you go to the lord and ask for a reward.]

He had almost forgotten the quest given to him two years ago during their dinner. Judah hadn’t paid attention to it, as it needed time before obtaining the reward. Scrolling further down the list, he found the kill count he had for the quest.

[The number of black wolves currently hunted]

[Normal Wolf: 698]

[Leader Wolf: 5]

“I caught a lot…”

He may have defeated enough, but there were still many black wolves alive. The eastern forest had been cleared of the beasts, but in the southern forest, the black wolves continued to roam.

He hunted so many wolves, but Requiem, the alpha of the black wolves, has not emerged since Judah’s duel with Korkan. Even if they met, he didn’t have the confidence to face the alpha on a one on one duel.

Looking smart at the request again and its ambiguous reward, he had already expected what it might be. Good armor, good weapons. Most of all, it was even better if money was among it.

After -The 24th Fragment, Carpe Diem- that he obtained from Serenia Castle, the next Fragment obtained was -The 10th Fragment, Altemia-. And this Fragment was said to be easy to obtain.

All he needed was money. With money, he could buy it from the owner of the Fragment… But no one in this world knew that. In real life, rich coders would try to hack the game to get the fragments, but they all failed in their schemes.

‘What will the lord offer me as a reward…?’

Perhaps he should get everything over with already and then visit Yeongju.

Judah stifled a laugh.

He stretched with a yawn, mind wandering off about Tia again. How long was he going to wait for her? Should he stay awake or take a nap for the moment?

He sighed again, body sliding down into slumber. Be it an hour or so before Tia could return, he decided to rest while he had nothing to do.

+ + +

Bang bang!

“Hey! Open up! Helloooo?”

Judah, asleep on the sofa, jerked awake to the banging on the door. The voice was undoubtedly Tia’s, and she sounded very much drunk. He stood up, sighing at the constant banging strong enough it felt like the house could crumble at its force. The time read 22:47:32 when Judah checked it.

‘She came earlier than I thought.’

He reached for the doorknob, surprised that it wasn’t locked when he turned it. Tia must have forgotten to lock it on her way out. He shrugged it off, letting the door loose because tending to it wasn’t something he enjoyed.

…?

Then why hadn’t she stepped in?

He opened the door and found Tia collapsed on the wall. She reeked of too much alcohol, and all she could do was turn her head at him and smile.

“Judah! Master, look what I brought!”

Giggling uncontrollably, she raised her hand, holding a well-wrapped paper box. The name of the shop they used to dine in was engraved on the box. Pretending not to know, Judah asked what it was.

“Is that chicken?”

“Jungdaap!”

Tia jumped, pouncing on Judah with a hug. Surprisingly, he managed to carry her weight. She straightened back up, protecting the chicken box within her grasp.

“Is this good? Isn’t this sweet? Are you happy? I had a good feeling I should get chicken!”

She pounced on him again, her hands caressing every nook of his, touching his lips to his cheeks. Judah blushed and told her she was tickling him; all she responded with was a giggle. She was drunk in all shape and form, looking so defenseless before Judah, who was very much happy to assist her in her sweet and drunken staggering. ‘Over there, over there!’ Tia pointed at the sofa as she purred. Getting closer to it, she flung herself to its soft bedding while the box of chicken found itself discarded on the table.

“I wanted you to eat something delicious!”

With such a proud face, Tia opened her arms in the air. She was calling for a hug, but Judah was hungry and eating while cuddling was impossible. Judah sat beside her, picking up the take out to check on it. Inside, there was a fried chicken that remained warm and steaming. His first bite was delectable, and soon he found the order was boneless, and maybe Tia was right. She’s good for getting this chicken.

“This is great!”

Tia watched him as he munched away like she was hungry too. Judah was too distracted to see, but the lady beside her didn’t tear away from her longing gaze. It was the gaze of a woman looking at a man she loves.

“Is it delicious?”

“Yes! Would you like some, Tia?”

“Will you feed me?”

Tia opened her mouth like a baby bird, looking at Judas with her tempting, steamy eyes.