No Way!!!!!
The precision examination room deep inside the medical wing was far larger than the makeshift measurement room from before. One wall was entirely covered in monitors, and in the center stood a round chair that could recline halfway into an exam bed. Thin beams of light like scanners hung down from the ceiling in multiple strands, and faint patterns resembling complex magic circles were etched into the floor.
The staff member fiddled with something, operating various controls, and the exam bed and chair vanished somewhere, replaced by a round capsule-like chamber in the center. This must be the exam bed, huh?
"Whoa..." I couldn't help letting out a small gasp of admiration. It was scary, sure, but it looked kinda cool. Straight out of a sci-fi movie, right?
But that awe didn't last. The capsule right in front of me hissed open, exuding an atmosphere that screamed "Get in me!" to anyone who saw it.
"Since this is a precision measurement, it'll be much more accurate this time," said the female staffer who seemed to be in charge of the exam, tapping away at her tablet. My face fell again the instant she said it.
'Accurate.' That word felt way too ominous.
Right then, I faintly sensed the mana flowing through my body. It felt like it was protesting, Why'd you twist us up and block our path earlier?
Come to think of it, I hadn't twisted my mana circuits like before this time. No grand reason or anything... I'd just been too distracted getting dragged all the way to the medical wing to even check inside myself. The circuits that got tangled after the first test had untangled on their own, and it felt so good that I'd just gone with the flow until we arrived.
'...Huh?'
Wait. So this time, it'll measure me exactly as I am?
My eyes shook a little. Last time, I'd deliberately twisted things to get around 66,000. But now, with no tricks... that means it'll capture my raw, unfiltered mana straight up.
'Isn't this an even bigger disaster...?'
Getting labeled a [Dangerous Patient] last time was unfair enough, but now the machine might actually explode. No, it feels like it'll blow. This is 100% gonna blow, right??
"Lea."
Kim Suhyun's gentle voice calling my name sounded chilling, like the grim reaper's whisper.
"Let's get in here."
"...Can't I skip it?"
"No."
"This is really the last time, right?"
"...Let's just try it for now."
"Let's just try it" doesn't inspire any trust. None at all. How many times is this now?
I dragged my feet into the capsule. This time, I didn't even feel like hiding anything. Or more precisely, I was just tired. Tired of being dragged around, tired of explaining, tired of insisting I'm fine, tired of no one believing me. The repetition was starting to piss me off.
Screw it. Let it blow if it blows. Not my fault.
By then, I was feeling bold. Yeah. If it explodes, it explodes. My bad? Hell no.
Screw it all!!
In a fit of reckless abandon, I stepped into the precision scanner and glared at the staffer.
"...?"
She probably didn't deserve it, but I resented her anyway.
"Please place your hand here and relax your body."
"...Sure."
A soulless reply. Outside the capsule, Suhyun fidgeted with her fingertips, unable to even cross her arms. The university president stood pretending to be unfazed, but his eyes darted between my hand and the device.
I glanced around roughly and thunk—slapped my hand down on the measurement pad.
Whiiiir— A low mechanical hum echoed.
The wall monitors outside the capsule lit up all at once. Suhyun, the president, the staffer—their gazes snapped to the screens.
A few seconds later, the numbers began to climb.
"Huh?" The staffer furrowed her brows. Way faster than before. The numbers were climbing visibly to the naked eye.
Might as well see just how strong I really am while we're at it.
The world No. 1, Pro...me...the... what was it? Prometheus? Whatever, how much was he again... around 80,000? So I should hit at least 200,000, easy.
"Wait, hold on a second."
"What the hell is this reading...?"
The staffer's voice started trembling. Suhyun's face hardened. My face hardened too.
Isn't this climbing way higher than I thought?
The ascent was like some tycoon game on steroids—steep as hell. Forget 200,000; it was barreling toward 2 million??
The president had stepped forward at some point. I was staring at the screen when I flicked my eyes over.
'Uh oh.'
My brain started freezing up. For now, anyway. Because it still didn't feel real.
But the next instant—
Beeeeep—!!
The entire monitor flashed red.
"Huh?"
I muttered softly. A burning smell wafted up from the bottom of the machine.
Crackle—Psssh—!
White smoke started leaking from the device's seams.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Silence. A silence all too familiar.
And then—
Wham! Bang!
"Eek!"
A panel on one side of the device popped off, sparks flying. I was so stunned, staring blankly at the capsule's screen, that I nearly got caught in it. Of course, something like this wouldn't even scratch me...
"Shut it down! Shut it down now!"
"It's already crashed!"
"Raise the barrier, barrier up!"
The medical staff outside the exam room rushed into action. The wall monitors spewed numbers like mad before the text itself glitched out.
Crackle— Boom—!
This time, the whole machine let out a final wheeze of smoke, followed by a small explosion that made it jolt. It was like that cartoon chase scene with the cat and mouse.
Moments later, all that remained from the busted machine spewing black smoke was a acrid stench filling the room.
The exam room plunged into stunned white silence. No one could open their mouth easily.
I slowly looked down at my hand. It was fine. Not hot, not hurting, not burned. I'd just... placed it there.
'...Oh.'
Only then did it hit me. For real. Truly. My hunch had been spot on. That ominous feeling from before was dead right.
I'm screwed.
Weirdly, the curse didn't get censored this time. Maybe because it was just a thought. Good to know—I can swear in my head all I want.
Suhyun slowly turned to look at me. The president did too, and so did the medical staff. Their gazes mixed panic, shock, wariness, confusion, and an indescribable fear.
And in that moment, something inside me snapped.
Hold it in, hold it in, hold it in, hold it some more... but now I was done. Unfair, annoying, frustrating, wanna go home, just everything sucked.
"..."
I yanked my hand away like shaking off filth and stepped out of the capsule. Suhyun reached out reflexively.
"Lea, wait—"
"...No."
Her hand froze mid-air at my icy tone. I lifted my head with a frosty glare, rubbing my palm on my clothes for no reason. The feel of the machine pissed me off.
"I'm not doing it."
"..."
"I'm going home."
It wasn't the defeated tone from moments ago. Small and firm, yet somehow the air in the room grew heavy.
Suhyun opened her mouth. "Lea, that's—"
"I said I'm fine."
My voice sharpened. "I said it before, and I'm fine now too. Why keep shoving weird machines at me? Why keep trying to send me to the hospital? Why won't you believe me???"
No one could respond. Probably because the girl's vibe had completely changed from before.
Screw you all!!!! You should've just let me go home!!!!!
"..."
"I really hate this now."
Suhyun stared at Lea in bewilderment. This wasn't her usual grumbling. She looked genuinely pissed.
The president said lowly, "Professor Kim, just a moment—"
But before he could finish—
Shiiiine—
The air around Lea shimmered faintly. That familiar golden light. Suhyun's eyes widened in shock.
"Wait, Lea!"
"No. I'm leaving."
"Hold on, in your current state, we can't just let you go alone..."
"That's why I said I'm FINE!!!!"
Lea's voice echoed through the exam room. It was emotional, nothing like before—not during udon, not when they first found her at school, not even in the car to the Management Bureau.
'Did we hit a nerve?!'
That thought flashed, and the golden light exploded outward.
Shiiiine—
Dazzling brilliance. It was over in an instant. Suhyun reached out, the president stepped forward, the staff recoiled reflexively—but too late.
When the light faded from that spot...
No one was there.
"..."
"...She vanished..."
"...Teleportation."
The medical staff muttered blankly. Suhyun and the president had heard she could teleport long ago, but the recent chaos had made them forget.
"..."
All that lingered in the exam room was faint smoke rising from the broken device.
Suhyun stared at the empty spot for a long while before slowly covering her face with both hands.
"...We're screwed."
No one knew who she was talking to.
The president sighed down at the wrecked machine.
"Haa."
A short, low sigh. Suhyun swept a hand over her face and muttered.
"My god..."
Meanwhile, at that moment.
Back home, Lea flopped face-first onto the bed without even showering.
"...So annoying."
She meant it. Dragged around all damn day. Couldn't even enjoy her udon properly, got stuck at student affairs, dragged to the Management Bureau, weird machine treats her like a patient on its own, then straight-up breaks. She hated everything.
"Guess I'll never order delivery outside again..."
Grumbling through gritted teeth, Lea hugged her pillow and rolled around. After a while of that, she suddenly looked up at the ceiling.
"...But."
Thinking about it.
The initial 66,000 was me forcing it down. But this time, no tricks, and the machine still couldn't handle it.
Meaning...
"I'm way stronger than I thought...?"
She pondered a bit. Then...
"...Whoa, that was close."
Lea broke into a genuine cold sweat. If the machine's limit wasn't that high, the medical wing—and everything—might've been caught in a massive explosion by now?
Realizing that, half her frustration melted into weird relief.
Anyway. Today's takeaway was clear.
"Gotta hole up at home for a while..."
But what was really messing with Lea's head—even more than the Management Bureau—was the delivery issue going forward.
