The Story is Told to the Protagonist.

The form was so sloppy it even bewildered our own team. Nevertheless, the mana sphere fell between the enemy lines and exploded threateningly.

Boom!

The whole tree shakes.
A savage power reminiscent of a grenade from a training camp.

‘Oh, shit…’

Silence fell. And the expressions of both teams crossed.

Our team has enough firepower to bring the battlefield to a standstill in an instant.

“Hahaha! As expected, mana users are different!”

“Good job, Jilduk! Keep it up!”

Meanwhile, the team leader, having received healing, advances threateningly.

Jilduk also creates another mana sphere.

His expression was trembling severely, but it was rather reassuring. He must be concentrating really hard.

He brought his finger to flick the mana sphere again.

‘But does he really have to do it like that?’

Usually, people throw it like a ball, or just shoot it.

Thwack-

Boom!

“Good! Keep shooting!”

Taking advantage of the swordsman flinching from the explosion, the team leader wildly swings his sword.

A moment later, the next mana sphere was fired.

Boom!

“That was close! Keep shooting! If we hit just one, we’ll handle the rest!”

“Jilduk! You can shoot more, right?”

“Uh, yeah…”

Bang! Boom!

Two more mana spheres missed. By this point, the enemies no longer flinched.

“…Jilduk! Target the enemy rear first!”

“It’s too far!”

“How is that too far…?”

“A-anyway, I can’t do it!”

A sense of déjà vu started to creep over the battlefield. Both we and they felt something was off.

Boom! Bang!

“…Hey, Jilduk.”

He flinched at my call. Then, as if he had lost his composure, the mana sphere disappeared with a pop, even without him flicking his finger.

Really, it disappeared with a pathetically weak pop. Even I, ignorant of mana, could see how weak its cohesion was.

“You…”

“…”

“You bastard-”

“You fucking Jilduk!! Hit something for once!!”

The team leader shouted, almost screaming.
He starts getting pushed back again.

It was an unexpected betrayal of the card we trusted. Everyone bit their lips.

It seems he has the mana quantity, but his control ability is severely lacking.

‘Why didn’t the team leader and Ein know about this?’

Given that their relationship seems more awkward than expected, were they not long-time acquaintances?

Just then, the team leader’s shield swung angrily and pushed back the swordsman.

“Damn!”

Thud.

Oh, has that guy’s stamina finally dropped?

“Yeah! If it turns into a war of attrition, we’ll win!”

However, as if mocking us, the swordsman who retreated swung his sword powerfully.

“Hah!”

Clang!

At his strike, the team leader’s arm, blocked by the sword, bent strangely.

“Huh?”

Far from losing strength, he started to display skills he had been hiding. The team leader was no longer a match for the swordsman.

In a rare occasion, Ein shouted.

“It’s apprentice knight-level swordsmanship! We can’t win normally! We need to neutralize the rear first!”

“Do it!”

It was an irresponsible answer from the team leader, but he was currently the most in danger. He was really on the verge of having his neck cut.

However, the enemy rear was tightly hidden behind the wooden wall, making sniping impossible.

The opposite premonition from earlier crossed my mind.

‘Are we losing?’

No. Is there no way?

What I can do. What I have. [Grasp], [Keen Eyes], [Tears of Gems]…

‘Ah…!’

I took out the gem I had forgotten about.
It’s the item I had argued with Jilduk over.

[Amethyst Imbued with Life Force]
An amethyst used as the driving force of a living being. When using the ‘Tears of Gems’ skill, it increases the strength stat of a designated target for a certain period of time.

[Skill ‘Tears of Gems’ is being cast.]

Ching!

With a clear sound, purple powder flew and seeped into the team leader.

“…!”

The swords of the team leader, who opened his eyes wide, and the swordsman collided.
Unlike before, the swordsman’s sword was deflected.

“What-”

Bang-! The team leader’s shield hit the guy’s face. He wasn’t even given time to be surprised.

“Hahaha! What’s this suddenly! I’m overflowing with strength! Uahhh-!”

Tree roots shot up from under his feet, but they could no longer hold the team leader even for a moment.

“Hahaha! Apprentice knight sir, die!”

Just by strengthening the tank, the tide of battle that was pushing against us regained its stability.

This, too, was the power of an F-rank skill.

“…Noah? Was that you?”

I nodded to Ein, who was looking at me with surprised eyes while gripping another gem.
This time, it was the relic of the harpoon man.

[Ruby of Wedding Anniversary]
A ruby used to bless the eternal love of two lovers. When using the ‘Tears of Gems’ skill, it grants the effect of ‘All Stat Increase’ for a certain period to the target within range that the caster feels the highest bond with.

Ching!

Red light seeped into her.

“How? You’re a healer…”

Ein stopped talking and widened her eyes at the message window.

She looked at me with a surprised face, but only momentarily, immediately focusing on the battle.

“Bond… Thanks.”

Huh, what? That explanation pops up too?

She took a deep breath and aimed her crossbow steadily, as if gently resting it in the air.

“Phew…”

Unlike before, she aims for a long time.
But it’s okay. The team leader will hold steady.

‘Even with a crossbow, the stat increase will help.’

Agility affects reflexes, and stamina affects maintaining concentration.

This isn’t an Olympic archery field, but a battlefield.

The shaking from explosions.

Boom!

The successive metallic sounds.

Clang- Ching!

The screams of comrades and the fear of death.

“Argh! He-heal!”

In such an environment, small differences create big results.

Even if each stat increased by just one, she is no longer a level 2 Climber.

Ein’s arrow, which she had been concentrating on for a while, was fired.

Twang-!

In the direction the arrow flew, an enemy archer had just slightly poked their head out from behind the wooden wall.

The archer’s one visible eye widened in surprise at the last moment.

As if proving our expectations, the arrow hit the archer’s left eye.

Thunk-

Without even a scream, the body just collapsed in the direction the head tilted. It was an instant death.

“Kyaaaa!! B-boss! Kenna is…!”

The other archer moves between the wooden walls to check on their teammate.

Click.

In that brief moment, Ein reloaded her crossbow and fired at an unbelievably fast speed.

Twang-

It pierced the neck. Again, there was no scream.

In an instant, the enemy’s ranged line was completely annihilated.
Finally, a change in power occurred on the battlefield that had been in a deadlock.

Like the tree person did, this was a change created by just one of my skills.

Ein glanced at me while reloading, then briefly side-eyed Jilduk. Then she muttered quietly, just enough for me to hear.

“…You’re the best teammate, Noah.”

At those words, my body stopped on its own.
It was an unexpected, cringeworthy, yet meaningful line.

‘…Is this her reply to the message she saw earlier? Or because I made a big contribution?’

I’m not sure. But it was a cute moment that Ein, a character I had only seen in novels, had only shown to the protagonist Seol Ga-ram.

It was a seemingly trivial line, but one that held great meaning for me.
Because I couldn’t express this emotion in words, I didn’t respond.

The swordsman looked back with a sense of déjà vu and furrowed his brow. Having grasped the situation, his eyes immediately fixed back on the team leader.

Ein commanded the rear.

“Sierra. From now on, snipe the swordsman. Be as careful as possible of friendly fire.”

“Y-yes.”

The timid girl’s voice trembled with fear, but courage could be felt.

The fight was over. Probably everyone was thinking the same thing.

But just as we were about to feel relieved, the enemy swordsman made a quick decision.

“Teacher! We’re going with Plan 4!”

“Something’s coming! Don’t let your guard down!”

The leaders of each team shouted.

We don’t know what Plan 4 is, but the noticeable change was the swordsman’s offensive. He recklessly pushes the team leader, disregarding even his own injuries.

“This, this guy is going for mutual destruction! Uahhh-! Noah!!”

It’s not likely to be mutual destruction, but wounds are rapidly piling up on the team leader’s body. It seems he’s prepared to sacrifice an arm and leg to kill the team leader.

While constantly providing healing, I shouted.

“Hold on! Just hold on!”

As long as there’s a healer, time is on our side.

But our expectations were off.
Tree roots shot up from under Ein and the team leader.

“Ugh!?”

Unlike when they only grabbed ankles, the roots that shot up completely bound their lower bodies.

‘They were hiding a move.’

It was the same crimson root that blocked the entrance. It would take a long time to undo.

“Oh no.”

Ein is fine. The enemy ranged line has been annihilated. But not the team leader.

Holding the emerald, I shouted while watching him.

“Be careful…”

However, the tree person who had been hiding, leaped over the team leader towards us…

“Noah!!”

No, he’s jumping towards me.

“Uh…!”

The guy’s wooden hand transformed sharply and stabbed towards my head.
But it’s not so fast that I can’t dodge.

‘Dodge, and then with the dagger…’

The moment I tried to step to dodge, my ankle was bound.

“…!”

As I sensed death looking at the approaching wooden hand, Sierra intervened between the guy and me.

Her dagger deflected the wooden hand.
Fortunately, the enemy’s surprise attack was blocked.

But that’s all. She’s someone who probably doesn’t even have experience in fistfights. The tree person transformed his other hand too and horribly scratched her neck.

Blood spurts like a fountain from Sierra’s neck.

Meanwhile, I was able to free my ankle.

Jilduk screamed from the side.

“No!!”

There’s no time to check on Sierra.
To not let her efforts go to waste, I widened my eyes. I watch the tree person’s movements.

While scratching Sierra, he swung his hand wide, spraying blood at me.

As hot blood splashed on my face, I momentarily choked on the iron smell.

“Ugh…!”

My eyes closed as blood got in them. It’s dangerous.

“Noah! Focus on your senses!”

It’s Ein’s voice, always emphasizing senses.
My body instinctively followed the advice, listening intently.

Swish-! The sound of wooden hands rushing in grows louder, just like before. My senses, on edge to the limit, drew a trajectory of the attack in my mind that might hit or miss. But.

‘I can’t dodge.’

I’m not superhuman, and the turn had ended while I was concentrating.

In that split second, another sound is heard.

“Gold medal… Mom… Grandma…. I’ll, make you proud…”

“…!”

I healed Sierra with the emerald in my hand.

[Skill ‘Tears of Gems’ is being cast.]

Just as I thought my head was about to be smashed.

I heard a sound like the tree person falling.

“You annoying girl!”

Sierra must have grabbed his leg.

It was a fatal wound with her neck cut. It’s not an injury that could be completely healed with one heal, so she couldn’t have regained consciousness so quickly.

It wasn’t thanks to the heal; she grabbed onto him in her dying moment.

She created a turn for me. I wiped the blood from my face and forcibly opened my eyes.

The first thing I see is an approaching knee.

Whack-

My head jerked back as I was hit by the hard knee.

‘Shit….’

But I absolutely didn’t close my eyes again. Gritting my teeth, I quickly regained balance and swung my dagger.

The tree guy stepped back in surprise.

“…You must have some endurance stat despite being human.”

“Yeah. I rolled around a bit on the first level.”

Both eyes are open now, a complete standoff situation. I was finally on the same beat as him.

‘Dagger technique.’

I took the dagger stance I learned from Ein on the second level.

‘Modify content.’

[Content will be modified.]
[ is modified to .]

And I changed the one skill I had to at least combat mode.