I Became a Genius Swordsman in the Pretty Girl Game

The reason for doing personal storylines in the later stages is simple.

The quality of the rewards differs between the early and late stages.

Of course, favorability plays a huge role, which gives the later stages an advantage.
But honestly, that only applies to small-spending users like me or non-spending users.

If you become the ultimate wallet warrior, spending real money and spinning the gacha endlessly, you can shower her with gifts so extravagant that maxing out her favorability early on is entirely possible.

However, even those vanguards of ruthless capitalism frequently say, “The personal storyline is best tackled in the later stages.”

“When you get to the late stages, you can skip the early storyline.”

Every newbie player starting their first run who raises Yoo-ri inevitably follows the sluggish early storyline, all the while chanting,
“My tear button, Yoo-ri! Wahhh!”

For example,
Yoo-ri, who just enrolled in the academy, juggles numerous part-time jobs to pay off her debts and tuition.

In one event, you can comfort Yoo-ri when she’s worn out from a rude customer’s harsh words as she leans against a lamppost.
Or, you can go the extra mile and investigate that rude customer’s details to serve them a lesson in justice.

Another time, you might subtly tip her off about a lucrative dungeon.

When Yoo-ri, who uses every minute of her day, accidentally falls asleep from exhaustion, you can even send another student to cover her part-time job.

You also help her deal with debt collectors when they storm her house, handling things legally.

As her supporter, you act like Yoo-ri’s personal “tall uncle” figure.

Yes, Yoo-ri’s storyline is good.

But once you’ve gone through it all and start your second run, it’s a different story.
Repeat that sluggish early storyline?

Running the game like that wouldn’t work for second runs.
Especially when Yoo-ri isn’t the only character you need to care for.

That’s why players replaying the game who don’t want to rewatch the same storyline just focus on building favorability and level her up to unlock her personal storyline in the later stages.

That way, you can immediately trigger the awakening events.

“Anyway, by the later stages, you’re guaranteed to pay off all her family’s debt.”

Just look at Yoo-ri now.
Who would think of her as the eldest daughter struggling with family debt?

Yoo-ri’s family?
They’re living worry-free on one floor of a luxurious mansion.
Even her younger sister, Yuna, is now getting private lessons to follow Yoo-ri into the academy.
What else is there to say?

Anyway.

If you unlock personal storylines in the later stages, you can skip all the early events and enjoy only the awakening events.

And at the same time…

“Unlocking personal storylines in the later stages mixes the essence of demon gates.”

That’s right.

From then on, even normal gates start producing monsters tainted by demonic energy.

In mobile games, isn’t it common to reuse the same monster models, only to make them darker in color and call them “tainted by demonic energy”?

Sure, the monster looks the same as before, but the difficulty is much higher—
a longstanding dark tradition in the gaming industry.

If you’re upset, go ahead and send a protest truck to Velvet Studio.

Anyway, what does it mean when monsters tainted by demonic energy appear in gates designed for Yoo-ri’s growth?
Simple: it’s tougher, but the rewards are far better.

With that in mind, I watched from the sidelines, arms crossed, as Yoo-ri fought hard.

Thunk!

“Soup, focus! You’re supposed to block that side!”

Of course, backseat coaching is free, so Soup should understand this much, right?

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.

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“You said camping! You said camping!!”

Boom! Crunch!

“Ack!”

Yoo-ri bit her lip as she blocked a heavy attack with her shield.

How is this camping, exactly?
“Military training camp” would be a more accurate term.

Of course, knowing Jin Yuha’s personality, I wasn’t expecting a sudden romantic vibe.

But honestly…
We’ve already confirmed each other’s feelings.

And maybe, just maybe? Just a teeny tiny bit? Since we’re not high schoolers anymore?
I did have some expectations for an event like that.

I even packed some strawberry-flavored candy, shaped like Vitamin C tablets, bulging in one pocket.

But where did Jin Yuha take me when he suggested camping?

Not a well-decorated campsite, not a peaceful forest where we could be alone.

“Wait, there was a gate like this only 10 minutes from the academy…?”

The monsters emerging from the gate were goblins, orcs, gnolls, and werewolves.

Their appearances were only slightly darker than before, but their difficulty was on a whole other level.

And on top of that, he expected her to fight alone, without any damage dealers.

“I even did my makeup for once and wore a dress I’ve hardly ever worn because I was afraid of stains!”

“Yoo-ri! Up front!”

Clang!

“Ugh─!”

Boom!

Yoo-ri shoved her shield forward with all her strength, sending a goblin flying like a cannonball into a rock, where it splattered into a mess.

Panting heavily, she glared at Jin Yuha with eyes full of betrayal.

“How is this a date? Where’s the romance in this?”

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A spectacle of monsters pouring out so overwhelmingly it could be called a “wave.”

Since Yoo-ri held only a shield without any other main weapon,
she had no choice but to fight in an inefficient manner—pushing, crushing, and slamming monsters with her shield.

Though she had undergone extreme training that no ordinary human could withstand,
fighting for over six hours against a flood of strong enemies with just a shield was bound to tire her out.

At first, she felt a wave of resentment, thinking Jin Yuha was doing this to mess with her.

But ultimately, this was a battlefield.
There were monsters in front of her and someone behind her that she had to protect at all costs.
That alone was reason enough to raise her shield.

How many monsters had she defeated like that?

Before she knew it, night had fallen.
Her mouth was dry, her body drenched in sweat, and she was too exhausted to speak.

In the forest, now shrouded in darkness, the monsters stopped coming.

But Yoo-ri, still on edge, kept scanning her surroundings with sharp vigilance, ready for another attack.

That was when Jin Yuha, who had been silently watching her the whole time, finally stepped forward.

“Are you tired?”
“…Huff… Is that… huff… even a question?”
“You worked hard.”

Swoosh, swoosh—

Jin Yuha, wearing a playful smile, reached out to gently pat her head.
Annoyed, she tried to shake his hand off, but Jin Yuha spoke before she could.

“You’ve used up all your strength, haven’t you? So much that you can’t even lift a finger now?”
“…Yeah.”
“Feeling like you just want to collapse and rest all day without doing anything?”
“Exactly!”
“Great. Now you’re just where I need you to be.”
“What do you mean, where you need me to be!?”
“Well, now you’re in a position where you can’t do anything but rely entirely on me.”
“What?”

With a smirk, Jin Yuha suddenly strode over and scooped her up in his arms.

“!?”

A bridal carry…!?

Yoo-ri looked up at Jin Yuha with a face that had turned bright red.

Startled by his bold move, she tried to squirm out of his grasp, but to her surprise, her body had absolutely no strength left.

“Jin Yuha! P-put me down!”
“Nope.”
“Let go!”
“Why would I? Now that I can do whatever I want with you, there’s no reason to.”

Looking down at Yoo-ri in his arms, Jin Yuha spoke in a teasing tone.

Gulp—

“D-do whatever he wants with me?”

She had heard before about people who enjoyed taking the upper hand in such situations.
Could this be that kind of preference?

“…Should I… just go along with it?”

As if reading her mind, Jin Yuha spoke again.

“Today, you can leave everything to me.”
“…Everything?”
“Yeah.”

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.

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After walking a bit further, a perfectly suited clearing for resting appeared, as if it had been prepared in advance.

Jin Yuha drew his sword and began chopping down nearby trees, quickly setting up a campsite.

In no time, he had fashioned a chair for Yoo-ri to sit on, and in front of her, a bright red campfire crackled to life.

When Yoo-ri suggested using the camping gear from his dimensional tattoo, Jin Yuha dismissed the idea, saying it lacked “romance.”

With just a light slash of his sword, trees fell with a loud crash,
and his swift movements transformed the area into a proper campsite in no time.

Even so, it felt wrong to just sit there and watch, so Yoo-ri tried to get up and help several times.
But each time, Jin Yuha would somehow notice and press his finger against her forehead, forcing her back into her seat.

“Please stay still, Miss Yoo-ri.”
“No, let me help—mmph!”
“You must’ve used a lot of energy. Here, chew on this for now. I’ll take care of everything today.”

Chew, chew—

Yoo-ri found herself biting into a sticky rice taffy, which Jin Yuha must have roasted over the fire at some point.
She stared at him quietly as he worked.

The campsite, picture-perfect, was soon complete.

Suddenly, Jin Yuha approached, crouched down in front of her, and gently held her cheeks with both hands.
Smiling warmly, he asked,

“Soup, you were really annoyed today, weren’t you? Thanks for going along with my nonsense.”