Chapter 23
Part 3. Bari-degi’s Domain (6)
There was no sensation of being held, but the inside of my hand tingled lightly.
It felt as if a thin membrane had been placed over it.
Bari-degi’s figure looked at me one last time.
“Because it is meant for the dead, if you use it for too long, it will slowly eat away at you.”
I nodded.
“I know.”
But I have one extra life bar, courtesy of my past life!
There was nothing to be afraid of.
With those words, the figure said nothing more.
When I opened my eyes, I was standing once again in the night air.
Three gold coins were clenched in my hand.
And over them, a very clear sensation rested.
A transparent, lightweight layer.
It felt like a garment of wings.
When I moved my hand, the air split thinly.
And when I fully opened my eyes, I was standing in front of everyone.
Everyone, including Yoo Hanseong, was staring at me in awe.
Gong Seoyoon whistled and shouted,
“You really cleared it? Even for a mental-type dungeon, that’s a first! That’s incredible, Jin Hari.”
“Ahaha. I just got lucky.”
After answering like that, I clenched and unclenched my hand, testing the feeling of the skill.
Bari-degi’s Domain.
A treasure that allows me to grow and obtain everything needed for special potion crafting with my own hands!
I finally got it.
Instinctively, I swept my hand.
At that moment, a square-shaped area spread across the ground.
It was just wide enough for one person to sit.
White, glowing ground.
So small—and because of that, it looked even more precious.
At the same time, a notification appeared in everyone’s vision.
[You have entered Bari-degi’s Domain!]
[Cleanse yourselves and prepare to depart for the Underworld!]
[Until departure, all attacks within this area are nullified for 1 minute!]
Everyone stared down at the white square.
At the narrow, fragile-looking space.
After a moment of silence—
Hyun Iseo awkwardly pushed his glasses up with a finger and said,
“If an apocalypse breaks out and we save a baby, we’ll leave it with you.”
He paused, then added,
“…For one minute.”
Someone bit their lip, holding back laughter.
A tiny sound came from the tree above.
“Khp.”
Yoo Hui, even you?
I lifted my head to look at Yoo Hui, then shot Hyun Iseo a playful glare.
And said,
“I’m satisfied.”
“With that?”
“The effect isn’t just that.”
Everyone’s gaze returned to the notification.
Additional text appeared.
[While the domain is open, plants grown within the area will become spiritual herbs,
and animals raised within it will become spiritual beasts.]
A brief silence followed.
It was a ridiculous description.
But soon, practical calculations would have followed.
The fact that maintaining the domain continuously consumes mana.
And the fact that I’m F-rank.
‘F-rank means low mana.’
It would be reasonable to conclude that it was all show with little substance.
I smiled under their strange looks.
While quietly feeling the stable, subtle presence coming from my earring.
“I’ll work hard growing spiritual herbs with this and make lots of good potions!”
Silence lingered for a moment.
Then a few people sighed.
Some looked at me as if I were strange.
Lee Haesol nodded and said,
“Hari, you can do it.”
Yoo Hanseong said nothing.
He stayed silent to the end.
Even until we reached the dormitories.
Only when we were about to part ways did he speak quietly.
“Don’t push yourself too hard.”
People like that die too fast.
I didn’t hear the rest clearly.
[That’s not a curse! What is that even supposed to mean?!]
Judging by Erich’s reaction, it might have been the protagonist looking down on, or pitying, an F-rank’s effort.
Either way, it didn’t matter.
Now I could make special potions—and even higher-grade ones.
‘It’s a bit of cheating, though.’
The key was maintaining the domain with Erich’s mana.
In other words, mana from another world.
Until I adapted, my condition might worsen a bit, but it wouldn’t cause real problems.
So it was fine.
Fast growth was important.
I now had an infinite supply of high-quality materials that increased crafting success rates.
I couldn’t stop the corners of my lips from lifting.
***
And a few days later.
Sunlight filtered halfway into the quiet hallway, stretching Yoo Hui’s shadow long across the floor.
The tip of her shadow touched the toe of my shoe.
“Today… people.”
She spoke in a small voice.
“They look happy every time they see you, Hari. Shamelessly so.”
As if she didn’t know—or didn’t care—that those gazes were actually directed at angelic Yoo Hui, not me.
Hui took another step closer.
“Hari, do you maybe… treat other people the same way too…?”
“Hm?”
I was expecting what would come next—
But at that moment, elegant footsteps echoed rhythmically down the hallway.
Someone was approaching.
Reluctantly, Hui stopped speaking and turned around.
The person who stopped in front of us was Yoo Hanseong.
His silver eyes slowly scanned the two of us.
Then he paused when he noticed Hui holding my wrist.
Yeah. That was a bit unusual.
Usually people hold hands, not wrists.
But I knew this was one of Yoo Hui’s habits.
‘Checking for a pulse.’
I’d heard that she also avoided handshakes because she could poison people through contact.
Even holding hands between friends fell into that category.
So she either didn’t touch at all, or touched only enough to confirm whether someone was alive.
Of course, it was different with Yoo Hanseong’s team in the original story.
She had no reservations with them.
Right. Even now, days later, our appropriate sense of distance remained intact!
‘Yoo Hui, I like you so much…’
[…You like her, huh.]
Erich, who had been boasting proudly like he’d received praise himself when half the class started asking for two potions at once, fell silent.
He said nothing, but his displeasure was unmistakable.
“Hanseong?”
Anyway, I was satisfied with my relationship with Yoo Hui, but I was aware of how it might look to a third party to see friends standing there with wrist-gripping poses.
Hui seemed aware too, hesitating over whether to let go.
Before that hesitation could last any longer, I spoke first.
“Hui, wait a moment. I prepared a potion for Hanseong, so I’ll grab it.”
“Huh? O-okay.”
Hui naturally released my wrist.
Yoo Hanseong stepped closer, his expression unreadable.
When I looked at him calmly, he glanced at both me and Hui once, then moved on without commenting on the wrist.
“…So starting tomorrow, you’ll be officially selling them?”
“The potions? Yeah. I even got permission to put up a notice on the campus board.”
One of the teachers in charge of second- and third-years—someone whose classes I’d never taken—had approved it.
He was someone I’d often run into while visiting the faculty office to see my homeroom teacher.
He even offered a corner space and asked if I wanted investment for material costs.
Of course, I refused, saying an F-rank had no business accepting something like that.
[…Hey. Do you remember what happened right after that guy showed up?]
Erich, who usually only caught fragments of my thoughts unless spoken to, suddenly cut in.
What was with him today?
‘Yeah, I remember. Why?’
[…Never mind, you idiot.]
When I made a slightly sulky face, Yoo Hanseong spoke.
“He said I could do it online too, but… that felt a bit embarrassing.”
“You did well.”
Yoo Hanseong slowly stepped closer.
As I shifted nearer to him, Hui naturally loosened her posture and stepped back to keep a reasonable distance.
Her smiling face was half-hidden in the window’s shadow.
After giving her a smiling glance, I spoke to Hanseong.
“I hope I get regular customers. The people in our class said they’d support me, but…”
“I’ll be one too.”
“Thanks, even if it’s just words. I won’t make them expensive, so please use them a lot, dear customers!”
When I said it to both Yoo Hui and Yoo Hanseong, they only smiled silently.
They looked a little annoyed, and even exchanged glances.
Yoo Hanseong let out a quiet sigh and said,
“By the way, what were you two doing here? Shouldn’t you be in your workshop at this hour, Hari?”
“Hari looked tired.”
“…Did she?”
Yoo Hanseong’s gaze shifted to me.
It wavered for a brief moment.
I smiled softly.
“No. I’m fine.”
Hui said,
“She says she is. Hard to believe, though.”
…What?
“But Hanseong, why do you look so upset? Did you think I was trying to make some illegal contract with Hari or something…?”
That was unusually blunt for Hui.
Yet she was still smiling brightly, her voice ringing like a bell, which made it confusing.
“Ask Jin Hari.”
“…Ask Hari?”
With a strangely triumphant look, he spoke to me.
“You remember what I said yesterday, right?”
“Yesterday…?”
Yesterday, Yoo Hanseong had come into my workshop and said—
That once I started charging money, there might be friction at the beginning.
That troublesome situations could arise.
So he’d help me for a month.
‘I accepted on the condition that I’d give him potions for free during that time.’
Honestly, it was a proposal I welcomed.
