My Childhood Friend’s Stock Will Never Fail Chapter 18

“Be honest.”

 

“How did you seduce Hyunho?”

 

Besides Choi Aram herself, the other two girls were part of Seo Hyunho’s devoted follower clique.

 

In the original story, they were the ones who constantly gave Gayoung a hard time.

 

This is exactly why I never wanted to get involved with the protagonists.

 

They’re way too popular.

 

“During combat training, you ran off with him, so Aram never even got to give him her candy!”

 

The orange-haired girl, Jo Sooyoung, grew even more heated.

 

Come to think of it…

 

Today was White Day.

 

Only now did Yoohee remember the convenience store filled with neatly wrapped candy and chocolate displays.

 

“Do you think what your senior says doesn’t matter? Aren’t you going to answer?”

 

Sooyoung raised her voice.

 

Though she seemed to have forgotten one important detail.

 

They were in a library.

 

Glancing toward the circulation desk where the librarian usually sat, Yoohee found it empty.

 

There wasn’t even anyone else around.

 

Seriously… my luck couldn’t get any worse today.

 

Just then…

 

The lights overhead began to flicker.

 

“W-What is that?”

 

As the three girls looked around in alarm, a familiar status window appeared before Yoohee.

 

[Hello, Twenty-Ninth Transmigrator! Are you enjoying White Day?]

 

Does it look like I am?

 

I’m literally about to get jumped.

 

What a wonderful holiday.

 

[Oh dear, oh dear. You still haven’t given candy to one of your male lead candidates? Or perhaps you did, but didn’t get much of a reaction?]

 

Are you mocking me?

 

[That’s why we’ve prepared a fun little event! Presenting our special White Day event—”Picking Candy from the Sky with Both Hands”!]

 

What kind of ridiculous event name is that…?

 

[The area you’re currently in will temporarily transform into an environment similar to a Small Gate! Don’t worry—it won’t contain real Creatures. Instead, specially manufactured Creatures capable of physical attacks will appear.]

 

…Huh?

 

Yoohee doubted her own eyes.

 

Creatures? Here?

 

[Defeat the Creatures within the event time limit, and they’ll spit out candy! These candies are packed with the power of love! Candies that make affection bloom where none existed before! Tempting, aren’t they?]

 

“Wait a second—”

 

She had never asked for candy.

 

She couldn’t even increase Joohoon’s Affection right now.

 

And even if these were only artificial creatures…

 

There was no way she could casually kill monsters just to get candy—

 

[You have a chance too, Twenty-Ninth Transmigrator! Hunt as much candy as you can inside the Event Dungeon within the 20-minute time limit!]

 

RUMBLE—CRASH!

 

The moment the final message disappeared, the shutters slammed down over the library archives.

 

Screeeech—

 

Old metal groaned as it moved into place.

 

The lights dimmed.

 

Within seconds, the library had transformed into a gloomy place that looked as though monsters could leap out at any moment.

 

“W-What is this?! What’s happening?!”

 

The three followers, now trapped alongside Yoohee, sprinted toward the lowered shutter at the entrance.

 

“Hello?! Someone’s in here!”

 

No matter how loudly they shouted or how hard they pounded on the metal…

 

The shutter didn’t budge.

 

“Hey! Call someone! Tell them we’re trapped in the library!”

 

“M-My phone won’t turn on!”

 

The phones that had worked perfectly only moments ago had become completely dead.

 

Of course they had.

 

This was a world where the status window could rewrite reality however it pleased.

 

Grrrr…

 

At the same time…

 

Creatures slowly began crawling out from between the bookshelves.

 

…You’re kidding me.

 

“Kyaaaaaah!”

 

The instant Choi Aram spotted them, she shrieked and began hammering frantically on the shutter again.

 

“Help me! Somebody help!”

 

Unfortunately…

 

All she accomplished was provoking the Creatures even further.

 

Grrrr…!

 

The ash-gray fox-shaped Creatures lowered themselves into hunting stances as they prowled toward Aram.

 

“Get away from there!”

 

Yoohee shouted urgently.

 

But Aram apparently still believed the shutter would somehow open.

 

She refused to leave the spot.

 

Meanwhile…

 

Her two loyal followers had already abandoned her without a second thought and scrambled onto nearby tables.

 

Seriously…? You two don’t have a shred of loyalty?!

 

At this rate, Choi Aram was going to become creature food.

 

She wasn’t someone Yoohee cared about…

 

But she had no desire to stand there and watch someone be torn apart in front of her.

 

Biting her lip anxiously, Yoohee suddenly remembered the Gargoyle Fang Shield she’d received from the sponsorship earlier that day.

 

Right.

 

This is exactly what it’s for…!

 

“Inventory.”

 

The moment she spoke, a translucent storage window unfolded before her.

 

Ignoring the empty slots, she reached for the space labeled Gargoyle Fang Shield (Durability Rank D) and pulled the real item into her hands.

 

Ugh… it’s heavy.

 

The large round shield weighed far more than she’d expected.

 

With her Strength stat sitting at a pathetic 1, it felt even heavier than it should have.

 

Even so, Yoohee ran toward Choi Aram as fast as she possibly could.

 

Fortunately, the creatures weren’t nearly as fast as real ones.

 

Yelp! 

 

Yoohee’s shield intercepted the Creature’s charge at the very last second.

 

Several Creatures that slammed into the sturdy Gargoyle Fang Shield let out pained cries before stumbling backward.

 

[Item Notice: Gargoyle Fang Shield (Durability: 4/5)]

 

Its D-rank durability apparently meant it could only withstand five uses in total.

 

Only four uses remained.

 

But there were far more than four Creatures left.

 

“…You… saved me?”

 

Turning around, Yoohee saw Choi Aram staring at her with a bewildered expression.

 

She finally seemed to understand what was happening.

 

Lowering the shield for a moment to rest her already trembling arm, Yoohee shouted to all three girls.

 

“Listen carefully! These creatures can be hurt by physical attacks! For the next twenty minutes, attack them or block them—just survive however you can!”

 

There was no way Yoohee could protect all three of them.

 

The shield wouldn’t last much longer anyway.

 

“Physical attacks work? H-How do you know that?!”

 

Kim Nayoon, Aram’s red-haired right-hand girl, yelled down from atop a desk.

 

Seriously?

 

This is what you’re questioning right now?

 

“Instead of worrying about that, watch what’s in front of you!”

 

No sooner had Yoohee spoken than three or four creatures lowered themselves and crept toward the desk where Kim Nayoon and Jo Sooyoung were standing.

 

“N-No… damn it! W-Why are they coming over here?!”

 

Kim Nayoon frantically kicked at the air, trying to scare the creatures away.

 

The Creatures weren’t frightened in the slightest.

 

Instead…

 

They licked their lips.

 

“H-Hey… p-please… help us somehow…!”

 

Kim Nayoon’s face had gone deathly pale, tears welling in her eyes.

 

Jo Sooyoung looked just as white.

 

Neither of them had any weapons.

 

Nor anything they could use to defend themselves.

 

That’s why you should’ve paid attention to your surroundings from the start.

 

Perhaps because they’d already experienced what the Gargoyle Fang Shield could do, the Creatures surrounding Yoohee merely hesitated, watching her warily instead of attacking outright.

 

Left with no choice, Yoohee started toward the desk where the two girls were trapped.

 

Then someone suddenly grabbed the hem of her clothes.

 

“Where are you going?”

 

The one clinging to Yoohee like a drowning person grasping their last hope…

…was none other than Choi Aram.

 

Do none of you people know what friendship is?

 

Faced with danger, all they could think about was saving themselves.

 

“Let go.”

 

“This way those two are really going to die.”

 

Even as Yoohee turned toward Aram, the Creatures surrounding the desk crouched lower, growling as though ready to pounce at any second.

 

But Aram refused to release her grip.

 

“…”

 

“You’re seriously saying it’s fine to just leave them?”

 

Yoohee asked in disbelief.

 

Just then, Jo Sooyoung cried out desperately.

 

“Choi Aram! W-What are you doing?! Let go of her!”

 

Aram immediately snapped back, her face flushed with emotion.

 

“Shut up! You two abandoned me and ran away!”

 

“T-That’s…!”

 

Jo Sooyoung faltered, unable to answer.

 

At this rate… we’re all going to die.

 

“Let go first.”

 

“Stay right behind me.”

 

Yoohee tried to pull herself free.

 

But Aram’s grip was unbelievably strong.

 

She couldn’t budge.

 

“Don’t you want to save your friends?”

 

“I don’t have anything either! If those things attack me, I’m dead too!”

 

Aram glanced nervously at the Creatures circling nearby.

 

After briefly retreating in fear of the Gargoyle Fang Shield, the pack had regained its confidence.

 

Their fierce eyes were once again fixed on the two girls.

 

What do I do…?

 

Looking around, Yoohee pointed toward the shelves lined with thick hardcover books.

 

“See those books?”

 

“Grab one for now.”

 

In a situation like this…

 

Anything was better than having no weapon at all.