Chapter 9
Chapter 9
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Eye of the Prodigy (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
There wasn't any warning that it'd hurt this fucking much, you bastards.
Sa-yoon bit down hard on his red lips and brought his trembling hand up to his eyes. The pain was so bad he couldn't even speak. The muscles inside his throat had contracted so tightly it felt like his airway and esophagus were completely blocked.
The blood pouring out looked serious enough to need staunching, so he pressed his bloodshot eyes with his hand. Vivid, thick liquid trickled down his wrist.
Plop.
A red streak drawn across his pale skin fell to the floor. At the same time, a burning pain assaulted his mucous membranes, as if they were scorching away.
It felt like someone was jabbing a red-hot iron into the depths of his pupils, and that wasn't enough—they were scraping away at the lining too. It was that hot and agonizing. Even when he'd endured a month of torture without food or sleep on an order that said something like True Evil of Humanity shrugs off mere torture, it hadn't been this horrific.
His toes trembled and vibrated. The pain that soaked through his entire body surpassed every agony he'd ever felt.
"Gasp!"
Sa-yoon exhaled sharply and clawed at his eyes. He wanted to carve out the hurting parts if he could—it was that unbearable. He collapsed onto the bed, madly scraping at the innocent sheets with his toes.
Profanities welled up to the tip of his tongue, but the pain suppressed them. All that escaped were groans as he clenched his lips shut. Swallowing back even the moans trying to force their way out, his red lips finally burst open with a pop.
He'd thought splitting his lip would distribute the pain a bit, but the eye pain was so overwhelming he couldn't even feel it.
With his remaining hand, he crumpled the white sheets haphazardly and kicked his foot out hard once. Even though lashing out wouldn't make the pain vanish, Sa-yoon expressed his agony through actions instead of screams.
Finally, choking coughs and groans burst out, filling the room. The black snakes that had been resting in the room slithered out and climbed onto the bed. On any other day, he would've stroked the ones climbing up in worry for him, but he had no spare energy now.
Hiss! Hiss!
"Hngh!"
Tears welled up from the excruciating pain. Even though it was just a physiological reaction, the snakes panicked at the moisture in Sa-yoon's eyes, twisting their bodies this way and that while hissing. Feeling them cover him with their bodies, Sa-yoon gritted his teeth.
The vicious, hellish pain only subsided after a long while.
"Ha...".
A weary breath escaped his parched mouth.
He'd thought he was going to turn into an idiot.
No exaggeration—really.
The pain had reached his brain, leaving him unable to think straight. It wouldn't have been surprising if he'd ended up with brain damage.
Drained of all energy, he sprawled across the bed like a puddle. The snakes approached, nudging their heads against him, begging to be petted. Too weak to even do that, Sa-yoon just stared before turning his head. The bed sheets were red. His right eye was soaked in bloody tears, making it hard to even open.
Common sense said a person shouldn't survive losing this much blood.
And it wasn't even from some other part—it was from his eye, enough to stain the sheets. It made no sense. Since it meant his body had been toyed with by the system's whims again, Sa-yoon gazed at the ceiling with limp exhaustion and raised his pathetically trembling hand.
He brushed back his sweat-soaked hair and closed his weary eyes. Listening only to the snakes' playful hisses, a familiar ding rang in his ears.
Right—he had to check the results.
No matter how much it hurt, gaining the power to resist the system—a system he could never escape otherwise—was a bargain. To confirm the skill acquisition, Sa-yoon lifted his heavy eyelids and stared straight ahead.
The blue window held content he didn't really want to believe.
"......".
Too drained to even speak. As if the system window had stolen his voice, Sa-yoon couldn't make a sound and brought his still-trembling right hand in front of his face.
The blood-smeared hand looked grotesque. Briefly taking in his relatively clean left hand, Sa-yoon lay on the bed staring at the empty ceiling.
"Ha. Haha. Hahaha...."
A hollow laugh escaped him.
"Right, you're not the type to hand over karma just because I gathered it."
It's not like he'd been screwed by the system just once or twice.
Just you wait till I get Eye of the Prodigy—he'd find someone who met The Resistor's activation conditions and break free from the system for good.
"You bastards."
Muttering bitterly, he selected to proceed with synchronization. One more time left meant half was already done. Quitting after enduring that pain would make him the crazy one.
That annoying emoticon, as always.
18, 17, 16.... Counting down with the decreasing time, Sa-yoon sat up when 10 seconds remained. As the final 10 seconds ended, intense pain struck like lightning.
It wasn't the kind of pain you could adapt to just because you'd experienced it before. Sa-yoon writhed on the bed just like last time.
The snakes, thinking it was over and relaxing, panicked again with a clatter, and groans leaked continuously from Sa-yoon's mouth. If Jong-sik had been outside the door, he would've freaked out in worry.
One snake that had been wagging its tail helplessly unable to do anything slithered out of Sa-yoon's bedroom. Of course, Sa-yoon had no spare attention for it.
His body jerked from the onslaught of pain. Having never hurt this badly in his life, violent impulses surged. An innocent snake approached too closely and got smacked in the face by his flailing arm. Even so, it wagged its tail happily, making Sa-yoon scowl as he clasped his hands behind his back to endure the pain.
"Ngh...!"
Suppressed groans burst out several times. The pain stabbing his eyes and battering his mind only slyly retreated when Sa-yoon was on the verge of passing out.
Sa-yoon clung to his fading consciousness with sheer willpower.
Forcing his unwilling body up, he headed to the bathroom. His reflection in the mirror looked no different from a horror movie protagonist.
His face was deathly pale, cold sweat streaming down to soak his body, and the white gown was stained red in places like clothes from a murder scene. It had been a while since he'd been in such a wretched state. Exhaling, Sa-yoon turned on the water.
He washed his hands and face repeatedly in the running water. After quite some time, when he'd finally scrubbed off the stubborn blood, he looked up to see the damn blue system window he'd endured all that pain for.
Not the most pleasing description, but confirming Eye of the Prodigy in his skill list put him in a great mood. He could even forget the suffering from the pain.
And why not? A path had finally opened.
Breaker of the Flow.
And.
Supreme Under Heaven.
He just needed to find one of those two. Then he could say goodbye to the goddamn system and live freely.
The thought alone had him humming, a deep smile spreading across Sa-yoon's face as he draped the towel over his neck and left the bathroom.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
No sooner had he stepped out than a loud noise erupted. Someone was pounding on the door to his quarters like they were trying to break it down. Curious, Sa-yoon walked over and opened it.
"Hyungnim!"
With a click, the door flew open, and a hulking man burst into the room. Scowling at the guy charging in without a thought for his size, Sa-yoon shoved Jong-sik's face away.
"What the hell? How'd you get here?"
"Hyungnim! Are you okay? Your clothes... Gasp! Why's the room like that? No, why are the sheets...!"
Jong-sik, who had seemed worried at first about the blood-soaked gown, freaked out even more upon seeing the expensive artisanal items shattered and the sheets turned red with blood. Sa-yoon let out a dry laugh at the attitude that left it unclear if he was worried about Sa-yoon or the room, then flicked Jong-sik's forehead.
With a smack, wide eyes stared back at him.
"How'd you get here, I said."
"Ah, this little guy..."
Hiss! Hiss!
Looking down, the bead snake was wagging its tail while gazing at Sa-yoon. It must have commendably gone to fetch Jong-sik while he was suffering.
Patting and praising the hardworking snake, a small complaint slipped from Jong-sik's mouth.
"I rushed here from the gate too..."
"This guy went all the way to the gate?"
"No, a crow brought the message. Seems like this one asked the crow."
That made it even more impressive. Amazed at when it had gotten so smart, Sa-yoon watched the snake hiss happily. He rewarded it with permission to enter the snack storage.
"Hyungnim, what about me..."
"Yeah, yeah. Since you're here, change the sheets."
"......"
"Don't wanna?"
"...Who said that? No, so what happened to your clothes? Were you attacked?"
Quick to ask. Sa-yoon clicked his tongue, retorting that he should've asked that before fussing over the sheets and decorations. Jong-sik scratched his neck sheepishly. Sa-yoon took off the bloodied gown and handed it to him. Even though he was just in underwear underneath, Jong-sik screamed and covered his eyes.
"Don't just strip like that! I told you!"
"What's the big deal? It's not like I'm fully naked, and we're both guys. Anyway, Jong-sik. I need to find someone."
"Someone?"
"More precisely, one of two people."
"Pardon?"
Not grasping the vague explanation, Jong-sik blinked while clutching the gown. Ignoring him, Sa-yoon walked to the wardrobe, pulled out a shirt, slipped it on, and smirked.
"I wonder where our cuties are."
He'd never even seen their faces, but the trait holders' nickname had settled on "cuties." Once he met them, he'd treat them with utmost sincerity, so a pet name in advance was fine.
Just let one of those two show up.
He knew nothing—not their names, ages, or faces—but he was already excited as if he'd met them. The pain washed away like it was never there; humming an old trendy tune, Sa-yoon passed the puzzled Jong-sik and headed to the window.
It might be like finding a needle in a sand dune, but somehow, he felt he could pull it off.
He'd realize how absurd that thought was three months later.