Chapter 151

Chapter 151: Yeona's First Day at Daycare

The new skill was exclusive to Subspace Storage owners.

It was the Consumable Item Application skill.

[Consumable Item Application]

[You can instantly grant or use the abilities of consumable items stored inside the Subspace Storage.]

[Item effects received through Application are increased by 150% (partial option reduction applies)]

Consumable items were typically potions.

Food was included among them.

Meaning buff food could be applied without physically consuming it.

'Let me try it out.'

I applied a buff food I had made some time ago.

[You have consumed 'C-Rank Master's Darot Sandwich.']

[For 6 hours: Agility +18%, Strength +13.5%, Stamina +25%, Mana +17% increase]

The buff was applied instantly.

And the effectiveness was 1.5 times higher than the original.

'This is great......'

In sudden emergencies, consuming buff food was nearly impossible.

That was why I could count on one hand the number of times I had eaten buff food before combat.

But now I could apply buff food at any time.

I tried other buff foods as well.

[You have consumed 'C-Rank Well-Aged Master's Fruit Wine.']
[For 5 hours: All Attribute Resistance +40%, Injury Pain Reduction 70%, Exaltation Effect]

The Fruit Wine did not receive the 1.5x multiplier and had the reduction applied instead.

Even so, it was extremely useful.

I then applied Kaymak as well.

[You have consumed 'Master's Kaymak.']

[For 7 hours: All Attribute Resistance +25%, Defense +32%]

These were the effective options currently available through the Application skill.

Combat-related stats, all attribute resistance, defense, and even pain reduction were all boosted.

With all this, could I finally hold my own against Ria?

I felt like I could beat Ria without her Behemoth armor.

That evening, I challenged Ria to another sparring match.

Ria accepted, and we moved far from the Rift house to begin.

After over an hour of sparring so fierce it could have passed for real combat.

My spear was hovering just short of Ria's throat.

And from multiple Acresia portals split open in every direction, dozens of daggers made from Behemoth bone were trained on Ria.

"I lost."

Ria declared her defeat.

Even the great Ria had no way to escape that encirclement, it seemed.

"Finally, one win......!"

Granted, Ria was not wearing her Behemoth equipment and thus lacked the gear advantage.

And I was in full gear.

But unlike before, this was the first time I had beaten Ria even without her equipment advantage.

Thanks to the Fourth Awakening and effective use of the Application skill.

"I finally lost to you, Seon-u."

"That makes it roughly one win and seven hundred losses."

An internet meme about someone being terrible at something flashed through my mind, but I could never say something like that to Ria.

That was not my style anyway.

Ria continued.

"What matters is that you got that one win recently."

"I suppose so."

"Ha ha! Seon-u, you have really grown so much. It feels like just yesterday we were being chased by Harpies."

"Back then, I genuinely thought I was going to die. If you had not come to save me, I would have been Harpy food. Now I could kill one without lifting a finger."

A single Steel Ball release would one-shot it.

When using the release skill, I used Steel Balls against weaker enemies.

Against stronger enemies, I used the Behemoth bone daggers that Maxim had crafted.

"And if not for the hundred daggers Maxim made for me, I never would have gotten that one win against you."

Those dagger releases had pressured Ria.

Ria rubbed her wrist.

"The Behemoth dagger releases were so powerful that blocking or deflecting them was too risky. I had no choice but to dodge. And you were using mana almost endlessly."

As Ria said, I had used mana without pause.

I had cast absorption skills in rapid succession to restrict her movement.

And release skills to throw her off balance.

The reason I could spam skills like that was.

"I kept using Arcana Mana Herb Juice. Through the Application skill."

"Ah, so that is why your mana never seemed to decrease. That is excellent. As long as you have enough Arcana Mana Juice in stock, you can use mana infinitely during combat."

"Exactly. As long as the stock holds."

Consuming through the Application skill did not even fill the stomach.

Only the effects were applied.

As Ria said, with enough Arcana Mana Juice, I could supply mana indefinitely.

"That seems like a very powerful skill."

"Honestly, I was disappointed when I first got it, but using it in actual combat showed me how useful it really is."

We sat side by side holding hands, chatted for a while, and then stood up.

"Rin and Yeona are waiting. Let us head back for dinner."

"Let us."

***

I opened a Gate portal leading home and headed to the Rift house.

When we arrived, Yeona came running and snuggled into my arms.

At three years old, Yeona looked more like her mother than ever.

Her full silver hair had already grown to her waist.

"Daddy!"

Yeona ran over with both arms wide open and hugged me.

A picture book lay where she had been sitting.

I picked her up and said.

"Ha ha! Our little princess, were you reading a picture book?"

"Yeah, I was weading a picture book."

At three, Yeona had started speaking casually to us, her parents.

'They say being a friend-like dad keeps your daughter from growing distant as she gets older.'

Rin, on the other hand, still spoke to me with strict politeness.

That suited her gentle personality better.

Rin was composed, while Yeona had a slight mischievous streak.

"Yeona, what is the picture book about?"

"So wike, a big sister and little sister go to Square Land."

"Really? Are the sisters in the story close like you and Rin?"

"Yeah! They are weally close. Just like me and Unni!"

"Ha ha! Do you love your big sister Rin that much?"

"Yeah, she is the best in the whole world!"

"More than Daddy......?"

I said it with a slightly deflated tone, and Yeona panicked.

"Daddy and Unni are the best in the whole world!"

Then Ria, who had been watching from behind, spoke up.

"Yeona, what about Mommy......?"

Deeply flustered, Yeona opened her mouth.

"Mommy and Daddy and Unni are the best in the whole world!"

A three-year-old daughter desperately trying to soothe her pretend-sulking parents.

Whose daughter was this adorable little thing? I could die of cuteness.

Rin, who had been in the yard, came inside.

"Daddy, Mommy, welcome back."

Now eight years old, Rin had grown into a rather dignified girl.

She bowed politely at the waist.

Then she dashed over and hugged Ria and me.

I stroked Rin's hair and said.

"Rin, Yeona says she loves her big sister best in the whole world."

At that, Rin broke into a bright smile.

"I love my little sister so much too!"

Hearing that, Yeona asked me to set her down.

Once on the ground, Yeona hugged Rin tightly.

"Yeona loves Unni too!"

"Hehe! My little sister."

Watching my daughters embrace and smile at each other warmed my heart.

Ria and I also smiled at each other.

I then picked up the picture book that Yeona had been reading on the living room floor to put it away.

Before shelving it, I glanced at the contents.

'Looks like one Ria bought.'

I skimmed the story.

It was about two close sisters who were drawn into a picture book about Square Land, where their bond as sisters was tested.

A book emphasizing sisterly love and sacrifice.

The crooked-hearted citizens of Square Land, witnessing the sisters' love, had their hearts transform from square to round, turning it into Circle Land.

'It is rare for a picture book to feature the theme of sacrifice. Interesting.'

Raising two daughters had made me something of a picture book connoisseur.

Anyway, it seemed like a good book for fostering imagination, with a solid moral and impressive descriptions of emotions through shapes.

***

Yeona turned four.

She officially began attending daycare.

'I could not send Rin to daycare, but Yeona needs to go.'

Sending Rin, a Dryad, to kindergarten or daycare had been impossible.

Instead, she was educated at home by Ria, Ruina, and her master, Flora.

Yeona, by contrast, would attend daycare, even if a bit late.

'I can teach her the basics at home, but she also needs to socialize with peers.'

She would attend for two years until elementary school enrollment.

The reason for the late start was that Yeona was no ordinary child.

She was an Awakened.

"Yeona, you absolutely must not fight or hit your friends. Understood?"

Yeona nodded.

"Yeah, if Yeona hits, friends get really hurt. I must not fight."

"That is right."

Yeona had recently undergone temporary Awakened registration at the Hunter Association.

At just four years old, her stats already exceeded those of many Porter-level Hunters.

On top of that, she received a 20% stat buff from my stats through the Sovereign's Bond.

My current stats were.

[STATUS: Strength 147.8 / Agility 171 / Dexterity 225.6 / Mana 351.3 / Stamina 203]

Truly extraordinary stats.

With the Fourth Awakening, not just Mana but all other stats had risen by an average of fifteen.

Yeona, influenced by those stats.

[STATUS: Strength 23(+29.6) / Agility 25(+34.2) / Dexterity 30(+45.1) / Mana 30(+70.3) / Stamina 25(+40.6)]

Her base stats alone were E-Rank Hunter level.

Including the buff from me, she was at B-Rank Hunter level.

And she was only four years old.

Fortunately, since Yeona had been born Awakened, she naturally knew how to regulate her strength.

'She has barely broken anything so far.'

Not zero, but.

After age four, truly nothing.

'I hope nothing happens at daycare either.'

Rin also said goodbye to Yeona on her first day.

"My little sister, have a good time at daycare!"

"Yeah, Unni. When I get back, play with me."

"Ha ha! Okay, deal."

Ria and I left our home outside the Rift, took Yeona's hands, and walked to daycare together.

It was too close to drive, so we walked.

Ria asked Yeona along the way.

"Yeona, even if you miss Mommy, Daddy, and Unni, can you be brave?"

"Yeah, Yeona is a good girl. I can be bwave."

"Such a good girl, our daughter."

As we walked hand in hand, passersby stopped and stared in surprise.

They recognized our family.

We greeted them lightly and continued on.

People passed by saying Yeona was the spitting image of her mother.

We arrived at the national daycare center Yeona would attend.

The assigned teacher was waiting outside.

A teacher we had already met during the consultation.

After greeting us, she knelt down to Yeona's level.

"Oh my, you must be An Yeona. How adorable. Nice to meet you. I am Teacher Sim Eun-yeong of the Sunflower Class."

"Hello, Teacher Sim Eun-yeong."

"Ha ha! What wonderful manners."

"My big sister taught me."

"Did she? You have a great big sister."

"Yes, my Unni is the best."

Our Yeona, leading with big-sister bragging.

I then greeted Teacher Sim.

"Please take good care of our Yeona."

"Of course. I will make sure Yeona has a fun and healthy time here!"

Ria and I left Yeona and headed home.

That afternoon.

Before pickup time, we received a call from the daycare.

-Yeona healed a kitchen staff member who had cut her finger. And not only that......