Chapter 198: Butler’s Chance

Chapter 198: Butler’s Chance

I just stood there blankly and watched the Hong sisters grow distant.

Judging by the cold look Hong Ye-hwa had given her younger sister, it was clear that a full-blown sibling quarrel would break out once they returned to the club room.

“......!”

Hong Yeon-hwa kept looking over her shoulder with pitiful eyes, but I had no reason to get involved in the fight between sisters.

I didn’t even know exactly why they were arguing.

So this was something Hong Yeon-hwa had to resolve on her own.

But was it comfortable or not in the end?

I had offered up my shoulder to test the comfort of Kim Ho’s pillow, but with Hong Ye-hwa’s sudden appearance, I didn’t get to hear her review.

She did bury her head into it quite comfortably, but I would have to hear from her directly to know for sure.

For now, I decided to put that matter on hold.

I recalled the notification message I had just received.

[Side Quest: 10th Week Duel Battles] (Completed)

▷ Objective: Complete 2 duel matches (2/2)

▷ Reward: Rank Up (E)

I finished both matches in first place and thus achieved the highest completion of this side quest.

I already had a plan for how to use the E Rank Up I earned.

I’ll use it for [Enchantment].

Copy, Amplification, Monarch, Enchantment.

These were skills and traits that were very difficult to rank up since they were powerful.

In fact, the effort to obtain a Rank Up was less taxing than trying to raise the rank of these skills and traits directly.

So, using it here was the best option.

But I can’t use it yet.

The Rank Up (E) I had just received was an item that raises an “E-rank” skill to D.

In other words, I would first need to raise the current F-rank of Enchantment before I could use it.

Come to think of it, Miss Seo is in a similar situation.

Seo Ye-in also acquired [Bullet Time] in the downtown area, putting her at F-rank, and then earned an E-rank Rank Up at the game center.

Likewise, she needed to break out of F-rank before using her Rank Up.

This works out perfectly.

Since we both had similar conditions, it seemed like a good idea to train together.

We’d need a “special device” for the training, but I could go get that now.

Maybe it’s time to use the butler card again.

***

I met Seo Ye-in again after the sun had set.

She looked disheveled overall, with a stray lock of hair sticking out like an antenna.

“Did you sleep at the dorm?”

“Mhmm...”

Seo Ye-in replied with a small yawn.

I had wondered if she’d slept in the classroom all this time, but it seemed she had at least made it to the dorm.

“Have you rested enough now?”

“Not enough ...”

“Still? What percent are you at?”

“Forty...”

Even though she had been sleeping since the weekend, she still hadn’t recharged halfway.

It seemed Seo Ye-in’s sloth battery was seriously low on efficiency.

Seo Ye-in slowly tugged at my sleeve.

“Pillow...”

“You can finish sleeping later. Let’s go see the butler together.”

“Butler?”

“Yeah, for our skill training. Is that okay?”

“Mhmm.”

Seo Ye-in’s head slowly nodded up and down.

We moved to a quiet place.

As soon as we sat down side by side, Seo Ye-in quietly leaned her head on my shoulder.

I watched her eyelids gradually droop and then I spoke in a firm tone.

“You can lean on me, but if you fall asleep, you get up right away.”

“No...”

“A week should be enough.”

In about a week, reaching E-rank would be more than possible. This week, I had extra time since my duel battles had ended on the first day.

Besides, both Seo Ye-in and I weren’t exactly lacking in talent.

Ahn Jeong-mi immediately took action.

“I’ll send someone right away. Please tell me your current location.”

“Right here.”

As soon as I shared the location, Ahn Jeong-mi contacted someone without delay.

And with a soft smile on her lips, she bowed politely.

“I’ll leave the young miss in your care.”

“Of course. I’ll contact you again soon.”

Not long after the communication ended, a female student came to see us.

Judging by the tie pin, she was a third-year senior.

“Kim Ho?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

She really came right away.

I looked at the senior and was impressed by Ahn Jeong-mi’s efficiency.

Although there wasn’t a club directly associated with the Hye-seong Group at Dragon Slayer Academy, students known as “scholarship students” who received support from the Hye-seong Group, were spread across various clubs.

Even if they avoided acting against the interests of their affiliated clubs, handing over favors like this temporarily was no issue.

Any losses incurred would be fully compensated by the Hye-seong Group.

With that, the scholarship senior casually handed me the special training room pass.

“Return it by next week.”

“Yes, senior.”

I bowed my head as I accepted the card.

Once her task was complete, the senior gave us a brief glance before turning and leaving.

I showed the card to Seo Ye-in and said,

“Shall we go?”

“Special magic bullet lecture?”

“No.”

I lightly shook my head and corrected Seo Ye-in’s words.

“Kim Ho’s special Bullet Time lecture.”

***

The training center.

At first glance, the special training room didn’t seem much different from the regular one where I used to beat up wooden and iron dummies.

However, after operating the terminal, features that weren’t available in the regular training rooms appeared.

Among them, the one I was looking for was:

[Cooldown Reduction %]

It was the cooldown reduction function.

Depending on the setting, the cooldown time for the skills and traits that Seo Ye-in and I possessed would decrease.

Without hesitation, I set it to the maximum.

[Cooldown Reduction 5%]

[Cooldown Reduction 20%]

......

[Cooldown Reduction 90%]

The cooldown for an F-rank Bullet Time was five minutes.

With a 90% reduction, she could use it again every 30 seconds.

On top of that, with occasional amplification boosts, it could be reduced even further.

With this, we had all the conditions necessary for our training.

“Now, let’s begin the ‘Return’ of Kim Ho’s special Bullet Time lecture.”

Clap, clap, clap—

Seo Ye-in gave a silent round of applause with her fingers.

I took out the items I had prepared one by one.

Then I set up a small folding table in the middle of the training room and placed a pot on top of it.

Pop!

I picked up a toy hammer.

“This time, the training event will be a toy hammer game.”