I Became a Childhood Friend of the Middle Boss

Chapter 10

After checking the status window for the first time, a message log visible only to players appeared before my eyes.

And so….

[You have acquired a skill.]

[Instinct Control Lv 1]

I wasn’t flustered even when I received the sudden message.

I had been waiting for this moment.

“I finally got Instinct Control.”

A skill that allows you to control your instincts, as the name suggests.

The evaluation of Do Gyun-Woo in the game could be divided into before obtaining Instinct Control and after obtaining it.

If Do Gyun-Woo before acquiring the skill was like a rabbit nibbling on grass, then after obtaining the skill, he could be described as a carnivorous rabbit that had tasted blood.

…No, perhaps a lion.

Although a suitable analogy didn’t come to mind, Instinct Control was undoubtedly a skill that was indispensable when discussing Do Gyun-Woo’s abilities.

“Indeed, the hardships were worth it.”

I could directly experience that as Do Gyun-Woo.

My body felt light as a feather.

With just one step, I was moving further as if someone were pushing me from behind.

The instinct to evade, which concluded that the only way to survive was to kill those in front of me, was drawing out all the power I possessed.

It is said that when a person becomes aware of danger, they can suddenly exhibit extraordinary strength that they couldn’t unleash in ordinary times.

It was a similar principle.

Moving forward…

“I can instinctively know.”

Not only was I aware of the dangers in front of me, but I was also being informed of dangers I was unaware of.

Swish!

Even without looking back, I knew.

I immediately twisted my body and dodged the arrow that was coming at me.

And at that moment.

Keyak!

A horde of goblins attacked.

They had been waiting for the moment when I changed direction.

＜Beast King Style Attack Form 3＞

The charging enemies were four in number.

3 Goblin Swordsmen, 1 Regular Goblin.

And a Goblin Wizard casting spells from behind them.

Lastly, 2 Goblin Archers seizing the opportunity from the sides.

Having captured their formation in an instant, I held my sword horizontally.

Lion’s Iron Whip

Like wielding a whip of iron.

The mana entwined in the sword emitted a silvery light, bending like a whip.

Keyeak…!

The goblin inspector on the far right was struck and his side was slashed.

In an instant, his waist burst open, scattering armor and flesh in all directions.

Not stopping there, the silvery sword strike leaped along with him, taking down the goblins next to him.

One after another, they fell.

The ordinary goblins barely survived, thanks to the goblin inspector turning into a shield, lessening the damage.

And then…

Hwaryuk!

Fire fell from above.

Instinctively sensing danger and evading, I swiftly grabbed the throat of a fallen ordinary goblin to shield it from the flames, then discarded it without hesitation.

Keyeeeak!

The goblin screamed as it burned in the fire.

I killed the one writhing on the ground and targeted the one who started the fire.

Far away, a goblin sorcerer was chanting a spell.

“First, I need to eliminate the sorcerer.”

That guy was the most annoying.

I immediately sprinted toward him.

Keyeak! Keyeak!

But those who understood my intentions blocked the path to protect the goblin sorcerer.

Swoosh!

There were goblin archers providing cover fire.

However, as I mastered the instinct to evade, such suppression did not work on me.

I raised my sword to the side, deflecting the arrows.

Eventually, I faced off against the goblins who moved to protect the sorcerer.

Kirk, kirk.

If I keep going like this, I’ll face a counterattack.

Despite that, I did not hesitate and continued forward.

When there was little distance left between me and the one at the front…

“Hoo.”

I caught my breath and lowered my stance.

In a posture resembling drawing a sword from its sheath, I manifested mana within my body.

＜Supreme Dragon Attack Style Type 5＞

Concentrating mana at the tip of the sword.

Activating the mana circuits within the joints for propelling forward and swinging the sword.

I charged ahead.

Fierce Lion Assault

Moving forward with the momentum of the ground, utilizing that power to launch an attack technique.

The form of the attack was not predetermined and could be used as a combo move depending on the caster’s ability.

I…

“4 Combo.”

Swiftly swinging the sword, I quickly changed direction with my front foot, advanced again, repeating the attack, thus executing four strikes.

*Kiiing… Eek…?*

Crack!

Swoosh!

Thud!

As the Lion’s Roar attack continued without pause and spread through combos, the attack power increased proportionally.

Having swiftly killed four goblins, I turned towards the goblin wizard whose ear was severed by my sword.

“There’s no reason to kill the wizard first like this.”

***

What on earth had happened?

Dosangjun felt like what was unfolding before his eyes was unreal.

“What… am I witnessing right now?”

It felt like he was dreaming.

It was that sudden and unexpected.

Just a while ago, Dogyunwoo, who was fleeing from goblins in terror, was now fighting them without a hint of fear, single-handedly subduing over ten of them.

“…”

I’m not seeing things.

Right now, Dogyunwoo was disrupting the group’s coordination, using the enemies’ numerical advantage to sow confusion in their attacks.

From a distance, it seemed like Dosangjun was just toying with them.

“Did he… smile?”

It was probably not a mistake.

Dogyunwoo’s lips were slightly upturned as he dodged attacks like dancing among the goblin horde, showcasing magic and enjoying the situation.

It was a different face from what he had shown a while ago.

At that moment, Baek Hongcheol approached absentmindedly.

“Captain, what in the world is he doing?”

“Well… he’s my son.”

“I’m not asking about that right now. I mean, what kind of kid fights so well like that? Are all the people from the Myeongga family like that?”

“…That’s highly unlikely.”

He must be surprised himself.

Having seen Dogyunwoo for the first time today, Baek Hongcheol was even more astonished than Dosangjun.

Dosangjun paused for a moment in thought as he was questioned persistently, then soon turned his head sideways.

There was no need to dwell on the thought.

How could that be common?

Even among the elite of the clan, it was extremely rare to find someone with skills equal to Gyounwoo’s age.

Not to mention…

“He’s dodging all attacks. He intuitively knows where the attacks will come from.”

The tactics Gyounwoo was displaying now were extremely reckless and dangerous.

If done wrong, he could easily be surrounded by goblins and attacked from all directions.

On top of that, goblin archers capable of long-range attacks and wizards were constantly looking for openings.

However, Gyounwoo was effortlessly avoiding all those dangers.

It almost seemed like he had eyes on the back of his head.

“Even with detection spells, you can’t reflexively dodge like that. What on earth has he realized?”

Without taking his eyes off that scene,

Dosangjun tried to grasp the change happening within him.

A plausible guess came to mind.

“Is it a Gift?”

Gift, the innate characteristic of the soul.

Perhaps he had finally unlocked a Gift that he had been unaware of in a life-or-death situation.

Without that, he couldn’t explain the change he was witnessing.

“Did you push yourself this far to awaken your Gift?”

It was truly absurd.

Dosangjun wondered if his son had always been this fearless.

The more he thought about it, the more his tongue tied itself up.

On the other hand…

“So this is how much he wanted to change.”

Dosangjun could sense how serious Gyounwoo’s determination was.

And then it happened.

“Ma, Manager Ji, that…!”

“…”

Even without Baek Hongcheol pointing it out, Gyounwoo could see the phenomenon he had caused.

Dosangjun’s eyes widened.

＜Beast King Style Attack Form 5＞

Goblins advancing to protect the goblin wizard, while the goblins in the front reinforced their defense.

Gyounwoo was preparing to charge at them with an attacking posture.

Shortly after, mana flowed from his body, making a sound like friction with the air, and he discharged electricity.

Crackle!

He hadn’t seen it wrong.

Faint blue currents were sparking around Gyounwoo.

And.

Roaring Lion Strike.

When Dogyeongwoo unfolded the Water King Style, the faint current swelled explosively as if exploding, emitting light.

The light moved along with Dogyeongwoo, creating a blue flash.

“….”

Four times in a row like that.

A path of flashing blue light emerged.

Dosangjun doubted his own eyes, parted his tightly closed lips.

“Byeokrae….”

There was no mistake. It was Byeokrae.

A phenomenon where mana in the process of unfolding the Water King Style causes friction between the atmosphere and mana circuits, transforming into a blue current.

Various factors such as precise posture, speed, the amount of force applied to the sword, the degree of activation of mana circuits, etc., combined to create this phenomenon.

“Wow…. The swordsmanship of the Divine Sword Style is truly amazing. Can a kid that young really evoke Byeokrae?”

“…No.”

Dosangjun, denying Baehongcheol’s question, couldn’t maintain his composure.

As far as he knew, no one had ever evoked Byeokrae at Dogyeongwoo’s age.

Even those called geniuses couldn’t evoke Byeokrae at that age.

The youngest to evoke Byeokrae were the two generations of Gaju at the age of 14.

“He’s breaking that record by two years already?”

Dosangjun couldn’t believe it.

But even now, the blue current was still surging before his eyes.

＜Water King Style Attack Form 1＞

Lion’s Roar.

Although incomplete compared to earlier, Dogyeongwoo was wrapping himself in the blue current and wielding his sword.

In the end, Dosangjun had to admit.

“What on earth has he realized….”

In admiration of his son’s growth, Dosangjun couldn’t continue his words.

“Did we need him after all, Chief?”

“Yeah, it seems so.”

In the end, Dosangjun watched Dogyeongwoo’s battle, forgetting reality.

The goblin mage’s head flew off, and the tide completely turned in his favor.

Eventually….

All the goblins breathed their last.

[Captured the Gate.]

I wielded the sword frantically.

Blocking and dodging incoming attacks, I responded to the situation accordingly each time.

In the midst of it all, I had no time to remember how I fought.

[Conquered the gate.]

In the midst of the chaotic fight, when my senses returned, that message floated in my mind.

Even my instinct to dodge stopped working from that moment on.

“Pant, pant….”

At that moment, as if the reins were loosened, I fell to the ground unable to overcome the recoil.

My body felt weak.

I gasped for air while staring at the blue ceiling.

Then, another message appeared.

[Physical body has surpassed its limits.]

[Stamina has increased by 1.]

[Strength has increased by 1.]

[Agility has increased by 1.]

“If I were to improve, it should have been during battle, why now…?”

I sighed.

The game “Brave Hearts.”

Unlike other games where you receive points to invest in physical abilities as your level increases, in this game, there were no levels. Instead, you could enhance your physical abilities through experiences like training, battles, or academy classes.

So, improving physical abilities was not easy.

“It was part of the thrill, though.”

Meanwhile, “Brave Hearts” aimed for repeated plays, allowing you to transfer existing data to the next playthrough.

As a result, the abilities of the protagonist and companion characters increased with each playthrough.

“As a result, the strategy’s difficulty decreased significantly…”

Therefore, in this world outside the game where repeated plays were not possible, I had to focus on becoming even stronger.

I must become as strong as possible.

I dismissed the messages that came to mind.

Around that time, particles of light gathered in the air I gazed at.

Whooosh!

The gate key fell to the ground.

I checked it with my eyes before lying back down on the ground.

I didn’t want to get up.

It was then that my father approached.

“Hey, son. Are you alive?”

“I don’t feel alive. I can’t move my body well right now.”

“Well, after moving like that, it’s understandable.”

My father gave a wry smile.

I found myself smiling too.

Before I knew it, I blinked blankly at the sound my father made.

“By the way, I was really surprised when you summoned the Thunderbolt. You might be the youngest one to do it now.”

“Me? What are you talking about?”

“You summoned the Thunderbolt.”

“…Me?”

“Yeah, you. Didn’t you know? Moving around, emitting flashes of lightning.”

…”

I summoned the Thunderbolt.

I immediately recalled the battle I had just engaged in.

‘It does seem like that…’

Though it was just a brief moment, it felt like flashes of blue light were bursting around me.

I had thought it was just mana flickering around as I focused on the goblins, but I didn’t realize it was Thunderbolt.

“I’m not sure if I can do it again. My memory is fuzzy.”

“Don’t worry. Your body remembers from the experience. If you train hard, you’ll be able to do it again. Well done, really.”

My father patted my head.

Feeling dazed due to the unclear memory, I nodded gently.

‘I guess I’ll be fine if I follow Dad’s advice.’

Was it my instinct to dodge that triggered it?

I don’t know.

As I regained my strength, I decided to practice with a sword in hand.

Then suddenly, I remembered.

“But Dad, what about Mr. Hongcheol?”

“Hongcheol? He’s working over there.”

“Working?”

“He came into the artificial gate, so we need to make sure he can be taken back outside.”

“Oh.”

My father pointed with his chin.

Turning my head in that direction, I soon spotted Baehongcheol sitting crouched over, rummaging through goblin corpses, searching for something diligently.

Eventually, he pulled a blue gem from the goblin’s heart.

“Let’s rest a bit and go help him. If we leave him to work alone, he’ll get really upset.”

“Okay.”

Unlike in games, in this world, defeating monsters didn’t automatically drop mana stones or other items.

I had to collect it by hand.

So, even though we conquered the gate, it wasn’t completely over yet.

My father and I decided to take a short break and then get up from our seats.

“Can’t we take that gem?”

“If you touch it and a message appears, then you can take it outside. But the chances of a message appearing are slim, right? I’ve never heard of anyone getting that gem from this gate.”

“Then we just have to search the bodies.”

“Sometimes goblins carry pouches. Those guys are real scavengers. If you find any, let me know.”

Unfortunately, there were no goblins with pouches in sight.

As I pulled out the gem from the goblin, it turned into ashes and disappeared.

The goblin’s blood that was on my hand also turned into ashes and fell to the ground.

Because the gem was the foundation that gave goblins existence.

Meanwhile.

“Huh?”

I caught a momentary glint of light from the pile of ashes.

There was something other than the gem.

So, I rummaged through the ashes and found something in my hand.

After brushing off the ashes on the surface, a stone sparkled.

“Dad! Here’s a Lawstone!”

Unlike the blue-tinted gemstone, this one had a yellow hue, slightly smaller than the gemstone obtained earlier.

It was a Lawstone.

In the game, when you killed a monster, there was a chance for it to drop.

“In the game, you could exchange gems for money, or use them as materials to make artifacts.”

And Lawstones contained principles, which could be absorbed by a character attuned to them to convert into abilities.

Or they could be used as materials like gems.

It was the same in this world.

I held up the Lawstone in my hand to show my father and Baek Hong-cheol.

“Well found. Lawstones don’t come out as easily as gemstones.”

“What’s special about a Lawstone that comes from a goblin archer? Hmm…”

My father and Baek Hong-cheol approached me and carefully examined the Lawstone.

Then they kindly informed me about the types of Lawstones that typically came from goblin archers.

“Well, without attunement, there’s no clear way to know.”

“We’ll have to go out and check gradually.”

However, until it was attuned, the Lawstone’s true nature remained unknown.

It was mere speculation.

“In the game, players could freely check item information.”

Of course, even without attunement, I could verify the identity of the Lawstone.

When I focused my eyes on the Lawstone, a message appeared in my field of vision.

[Lawstone of Lowest Agility]

◆ Consumable Classification

― Law Stone

◆ Detailed Description

― Contains power that contributes to the agility of the target.

◆ Detailed Effects

― For individuals with agility below 60, agility increases by 1 when absorbed.

It was a law stone that enhanced physical abilities.

Although it would be fine as a skill too, this wasn’t bad either.

Lost in thought, I held the law stone in my hand.

‘How can I consume this.’

Upon reflection, it was loot I obtained by killing a goblin.

Maestones are handed over to the Regulus Clan, but I wanted the law stone for myself.

Hence, I pondered ways to persuade my father to obtain the law stone.

However, that became unnecessary.

It was when Baek Hong-cheol spoke.

“If the law stone responds, how about just giving it to Gyun-woo? After all, Gyun-woo obtained it all by himself, so he should at least keep something as a memento.”

“Hong-cheol, are you good at socializing? Thank you.”

“Does that mean you’ll promote me?”

“No, not that. I’ll treat you to meals or something later.”

“I guess I should aim for something expensive.”

The Baek Hong-cheol my father brought was a very astute person.

Thanks to him, I could obtain the law stone without needing to take action.

“Thank you!”

“Oh, you’re thanking me already? Let’s see if the law stone responds. Infuse it with mana.”

I quickly infused mana into the law stone to see if it responded to me.

In truth, I already knew the result.

‘It will respond to me, of course.’

Unlike a law stone imbued with skills, a law stone that enhances physical abilities responded to anyone.

So, even though I already knew the true nature of the law stone, I pretended not to know and quietly awaited the outcome.

And finally…

“Oh, it responded. This law stone is now Gyun-woo’s. Absorb it well.”

The law stone responded, sparkling with light.

My father patted my shoulder, and I tightly gripped the law stone.