These Lunatics are Obsessed With Me

A green poison breath spewed from Yong-sik’s mouth, landing precisely on Evan’s mask.

"Kuaghh!"

Along with Evan’s scream, there was a sizzling sound. The smell of burning flesh was acrid. If the Breath had been fired from a distance, it would have been blocked by his passive skill. However, it seemed to have hit him properly because it was shot at contact range.

"Yong-sik, that's enough! Come back!"

As a result, Yong-sik’s body was also taking damage from Evan’s passive skills. Hearing my call, Yong-sik quickly flew back up and wrapped his wings around my shoulders as if to shield me.

I had unintentionally been separated from Yong-sik a few times, but it seemed that as a summoned creature, he could vaguely sense my location, much like an animal’s homing instinct.

I could also sense Yong-sik’s presence when he was close enough. That’s why I kept Evan’s attention on me until Yong-sik arrived, and that plan worked flawlessly.

"Keuk, fuck!"

"That crazy…!"

Evan swore and discarded the mask that had melted from the Breath. It seemed that the mask was no ordinary item either. His face that had been hit by the Breath looked pretty fine.

“I’ll kill that damn dragon, cut off your limbs, and drag you away.”

"Ugh…!"

My whole body stiffened when our eyes met. I widened my eyes in surprise at the sudden turn of events. It felt as if someone was trying to control my mind. Evan’s smiling face grew increasingly blurry.

【Get out of that barrier.】

“Ugh…”

【Come out quickly, Han Yi-jin.】

As soon as he called my name, my body moved on its own. I couldn’t resist the command. I could hear a high-pitched ‘kyaaak’ from a distance. I took a step forward, and my other foot naturally followed. I walked forward as if in a trance.

"Uh…?”

But why am I walking like this? Feeling puzzled, I stood still and tilted my head. My mind began to clear up gradually.

【I told you to come out quickly!】

“…!”

A voice that sounded like a furious shout took over my mind. I couldn’t refuse those words; they were irresistible.

"This…”

“…?”

For some reason, I felt irritated. I frowned and pressed my throbbing head with my hand before glaring at the guy who was speaking so arrogantly and snarling at him.

“Who the fuck do you think you are to order me around?"

"…!"

At that moment, a clear ‘ding-dong!’ sounded in my head, followed by a strangely familiar blunt voice.

[You have overcome an S-grade skill with your high mental strength!]

[You have been awarded the title of ‘Master of Mental Strength (S)’ who is the embodiment of perseverance and mental strength.]

[The title’s additional effects are always activated.]

“…What?”

Only then did my foggy mind clear up suddenly. I recoiled in surprise as I came close to the barrier. What was I trying to do just now?

“How did you manage to give a suggestion…?”

“Suggestion?”

I realised when I heard Evan muttering. That guy had cast a mental skill on me. As an all-rounder, Evan had one offensive skill and one defensive skill. Since he didn’t have a detection skill, the remaining one would be either a mental or auxiliary skill.

If it were an auxiliary skill, Seo Ha-joon wouldn’t be in such a broken state. It seems Evan used the same mental skill on me that he used on Seo Ha-joon. Could ‘Suggestion’ be a mental skill similar to hypnosis?

I hesitated and stepped back further. If I wasn’t careful, I might accidentally step out of the barrier and end up helplessly bound by Evan’s chains again. And as that bastard said, I’d be dismembered, and Yong-sik would…

I shook my head at the thought. It was fortunate that Han Yi Jin had a high mental strength stat. Since I had levelled up significantly while clearing dungeons, it seemed to have further boosted my stats. It was surprising that I managed to withstand his S-grade skill, even with the enhancement from my auxiliary skill…

“What exactly are you?”

“None of your business.”

Evan’s face contorted at my blunt response. Instead of answering, I raised my gun and fired at him. His expression grew even more twisted as he dodged the incoming bullets.

But simply keeping him at bay wasn’t enough. I didn’t have the power to finish him off. Yong-sik was attacking fiercely, but he was not a big threat compared to when he was in his adult form. I wondered if there were special conditions for his transformation in the Sæ dungeon.

“Yong-sik-a, come here!”

“Kkyau!”

And now, there was only a little time left for the auxiliary skill’s duration. Kang Yoo-hyun was experiencing severe side effects from my auxiliary skill. If the duration ended and he collapsed due to these side effects, there would be nothing I could do.

Baek Si-hoo and Evan might also suffer side effects, but the auxiliary skill I applied to seven people had caused side effects only in Kang Yoo-hyun. Even though three of the seven were S-rank, they didn’t experience any side effects.

Since Baek Si-hoo and Evan are also S-rank, the likelihood of them suffering side effects is low.

I initially thought Kang Yoo-hyun was experiencing side effects because he was an SS-class.

It made sense that only someone with such overwhelming strength would be affected by the auxiliary skill’s side effects. I needed to take action before the duration ended.

However, Baek Si-hoo’s duration was likely to end first. I turned my head and recalled the order in which I had cast the auxiliary skill.

“…!”

A huge darkness was engulfing Kang Yoo-hyun, yet he remained motionless. His condition looked unusual. Could it be that the duration had already ended? I turned my head as I saw Kang Yoo-hyun staggering.

"Yong-sik-a!"

"Kkya!"

Yong-sik, having unleashed a barrage of venomous spikes at Evan, flapped his wings and flew toward me. He grabbed my shoulder with his front paw and took off. Even without a word from me, Yong-sik headed straight for where I wanted to go—toward Kang Yoo-hyun.

"Kang Yoo-hyun!"

"Ugh…”

Kang Yoo-hyun shook his head as if he were dizzy. I gripped his shoulders tightly to prevent him from collapsing. Meanwhile, Yong-sik kept Baek Si-hoo in check and released his Breath attack fiercely.

“Kang Yoo-hyun, get a grip!”

“Han… Yi-jin.”

I bit my lip at his small voice that sounded like a whisper. Kang Yoo-hyun had just defeated an SS-rank boss monster with the aid of my auxiliary skill. Back then, Sung Yoo-bin and Yong-sun had fought alongside him. But now, I felt more like a hindrance than a help.

‘※There may be side effects.’

Suddenly, I recalled the warning from the skill window about possible side effects. With the skill’s duration ended and side effects starting, there was little I could do. But I couldn’t let it end like this.

I placed my hand on Kang Yoo-hyun’s cheek and felt its warmth.

My heart raced, either from what I was about to do or from my instinct to survive. Having made up my mind in that brief moment, I lowered my head without hesitation.

"Han Yi-jin… What are…?"

"Be quiet."

Kang Yoo-hyun’s black eyes quivered. The blue light had faded from his eyes, probably because he wasn’t using his skill at the moment. But his eyes might shine blue again soon.

‘※Special conditions are required for higher ranks.’

This strange auxiliary skill always compelled me to do something unpleasant. I clung to the hope that luck might be on my side this time. Shaking off the distracting thoughts, I closed my eyes and kissed Kang Yoo-hyun.

“…!”

Since my eyes were closed, I couldn’t see Kang Yoo-hyun’s expression, but he was probably very flustered. I recalled the time I kissed Kang Yoo-hyun to defeat the Draugr King, though this kiss was even more intense than that one.

“Haa…”

“…”

Did it work? I pulled back and looked at Kang Yoo-hyun's eyes with suspicion. There was a spark of excitement in his eyes that I had never seen before.

"You…"

"How is it? Is the skill…?"

I was about to ask him if the skill had activated, but a blue system notification window popped up in front of me with a ‘ding' sound.

「Some of the skill descriptions for ‘Shake the Catnip (S)’ will be updated.」

「※The duration of the skill will be extended if special conditions are met.」

「※The duration of the skill extension due to special conditions will be set randomly.」

“What is this…?”

There was so much text that I couldn’t read it easily. However, I understood that the ‘special conditions’ mentioned in the notification window refer to skinship, which is a requirement for the Catnip skill. So, from what I gather, Kang Yoo-hyun’s skill duration has been extended at random?

“Kyaaa!”

“…Yong-sik-a!”

Yong-sik fell to the ground with a piercing cry. Baek Si-hoo glared at Kang Yoo-hyun and me with a menacing look, while Evan stood beside him. As I watched with tension, someone suddenly blocked my path. I stared at his back in surprise.

“Kang Yoo-hyun, you…”

“I’m fine.”

Kang Yoo-hyun, who spoke calmly, added:

“I’m okay, so just wait here.”

“…”

At that moment, a tremendous surge of energy erupted from Kang Yoo-hyun. It was a raw and powerful force unlike anything I had ever seen before. I simply stared blankly at the high-purity black and blue flames.

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