Chapter 5
Chapter 5
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Library Ban
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A silence that even the warmth of spring couldn't melt chilled the auditorium.
Students, faculty staff, and even the retired exorcists from the previous generation who had half-stepped away from the industry.
All of them were just staring at him in silence.
No matter who stood in this position, they would feel it.
Ah, this is truly fucked. Should I recreate the character?—something like that.
But Bihyeong felt a certain satisfaction as he saw and heard the silence.
This is it.
The hidden piece the developers had tucked away, a derived story that activated only once, and only if you claimed the top spot at enrollment.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Your mindset as Chief Student resonates through the auditorium! Derived Story, 'Path to the Apex' has been unlocked! The smartphone tucked in his inner pocket vibrated.
Unable to check it with his eyes, it whispered the contents directly into his ear.
This is it!
Bihyeong couldn't hide his joy at the message ringing in his ear.
Derived Story: Path to the Apex.
This unlocked after achieving Chief Student status, then provoking everyone during the speech.
Provoke all the freshmen, and as long as you hold onto the Chief Student spot just once,
you gain the game's most powerful effect—permanently.
Just once is enough.
Fortunately, he remembered the content of the midterm exams.
Even if the main story changed, the academy's curriculum didn't.
As long as I remember that, holding Chief Student for the first semester won't be hard.
Bihyeong leaned in, as if urging it to tell him more.
📜 STORY UNLOCKED 📜 Path to the Apex Classification: Derived You've demonstrated your attitude at the apex and earned the duty to defend it. Stay ahead of everyone and hold onto the Chief Student position. The number of times you claim 'Chief Student' increases your techniques' 'potential'. This is straight-up broken.
He'd felt it when he first saw the developers' post,
but no other derived story had effects as overpowered as Path to the Apex.
It raises potential. That's basically the same as removing rank limits.
In Solo Biography, potential meant 'limits'.
The game's power inflation ranged from 1st Hierarchy Rank to 9th, applying to all skills.
The lowest-grade techniques were 1st Hierarchy Rank.
Conversely, superior ones approached 9th.
Normally, you can't surpass their innate limits.
A technique born at 1st Hierarchy Rank could only grow that far.
You could research it post-acquisition, blend in other techniques to push to higher ranks,
but no one bothered.
If you're investing that effort, better to just snag a higher-rank skill—faster and easier.
But Path to the Apex defied that core mechanic.
I've claimed Chief Student once, so even innate 1st Hierarchy Rank skills now have potential up to 2nd.
In theory, dominating midterms and finals every year could push base skills beyond 9th Hierarchy Rank.
Impossible, though.
How do you hold Chief Student for four straight years?
Even surviving midterms, let alone the year-end exam as a first-year, was iffy.
Bihyeong snapped out of his sweet daydream and faced the cold reality before him.
The auditorium still hung in silence.
Unlocking this hidden piece is insane.
Even thinking it over again, it was ridiculous.
Solo Biography was fundamentally a solo game.
That didn't mean you couldn't form parties in-game.
NPCs.
From promising freshmen to retired exorcists and active faculty.
You could raise affinity with various folks and recruit them to your party.
Later stages had stories you couldn't clear without a party.
So if you didn't want a trash build, early affinity grinding was essential—not optional.
And yet, the developers snuck in this element anyway.
You could feel their deviousness.
Are the devs crazy, or am I for actually pulling this off?
Maybe both.
Ugh, look at this atmosphere.
Everyone in the auditorium staring him down.
Gave him the chills.
As Bihyeong felt the lingering chill of silence and moved to end his speech and step back,
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Woooaaah!!"
"In...sane! He's actually insane!"
Thunderous cheers erupted, followed by applause even more thunderous than Mina's speech.
Eh?
What the hell?
Did they all drop acid or something?
The situation was so baffling that as Bihyeong stood there dumbfounded, the freshmen were sparkling-eyed, mulling over his words.
"Chief Student? He's earned that right!"
"Heard he took down a Subway Monster too?"
"Overheard the professors—said he turned it to mush."
"I heard he ripped its limbs off!"
He'd just flatly refused boarding, but somehow he'd become the guy who tore the monster's limbs apart.
...What the hell is this vibe?
Half bewildered, half flustered, his heart churned.
As he eyed the freshmen and faculty with that gaze, those who met his eyes went even wilder.
"That thing nearly gave me PTSD!"
"I got off at the wrong stop, and the passenger next to me sliced my arm off! Thinking about that bastard's face just... ugh!"
"I know, I know. I get it's an illusion, but that's trauma-level shit."
The freshmen who'd suffered from the Subway Monster all looked up to Bihyeong.
"Hah. With that kind of power, no wonder he has such ambitions."
"At that skill level, that arrogance almost comes off as humble."
The professors smacked their lips as they watched him.
Wait, why are you smacking your lips? You're scaring me.
Still... not a bad vibe. Thank goodness.
He scanned the freshmen.
They too had enrolled at Ridge Crossing Academy to become exorcists.
A classmate who'd exorcised a yokai was an adult a step ahead—and a rival they yearned to surpass.
Some didn't seem to buy it, but overall, the mood was decent.
Feeling the ongoing cheers, Bihyeong cracked a slight smile.
At that moment,
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ You've earned the admiration of many classmates. Leader qualities confirmed. The classmates' cheers soon turned into a single message alert,
and Bihyeong's eyes widened at the whisper in his ear.
📜 UNIQUE STORY PROGRESS 📜 Race: Half-Demon Minimum qualifications confirmed. First condition for unlocking 'Unique Story' achieved. Unique Story unlocks upon meeting specific conditions. Leader? Who, me?
Unique Story?
Why was that popping up already?
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The entrance ceremony ended.
The crowd that had filled the auditorium ebbed away like the tide, and Bihyeong let himself flow with it into the academy interior.
Excitement. Anticipation. Tension and hope for the future.
The freshmen brimmed with emotions they couldn't hide,
but Bihyeong kept his mouth shut, lost in thought.
Unique Story. Why is this triggering already?
Stories were akin to quests in other games.
Main Story: the overarching framework to clear the work.
Derived Stories were quests within that framework,
and Sudden or Hidden ones differed slightly, but they were still quests to complete.
Sudden and Hidden can trigger for NPCs too.
Though he didn't know the details, NPCs could acquire and resolve stories to grow stronger.
Rewards included.
Mina's 'Learning' speech at the ceremony was a prime example.
Unique Story.
But that one was different.
The character's unique story.
A user-exclusive story NPCs couldn't access.
Players called them 'assignments'.
Not mandatory to clear, but worth doing.
Skipping your Unique Story didn't affect the Main Story.
But when you 'cleared' the game, how many you'd resolved factored into settlement.
Exceed a threshold, and you get perks.
Minor ones: more Karma for reincarnation.
Major ones: leave your 'legacy' in the game world.
Unique Story. Wonder what clearing it gives here.
This world was no longer a game.
It was reality.
No need for reincarnation currency, or etching your mark on the world.
So Unique Story rewards would differ too.
I'll clear it first. See what changes in this real-world version.
And gauge how beneficial those changes are.
Then decide whether to ignore or pursue.
That said, now that he'd enrolled, when would the next story trigger?
Chief Student enrollment—an near-impossible feat. Clear rank judgment should be generous.
Clearing stories graded your feats from F to max SSS.
Bihyeong himself had only seen SSS three times in his playthroughs.
And the rewards were insane.
His SSS came from late-game stories, so incomparable to early ones,
but that reward had been a '9th Hierarchy Rank Skill Selection'—excitement inevitable.
Won't be 9th right out the gate. But anything early-game is broken.
Depending on the reward, he might revise his plan from midterms to year-end Chief Student.
Come on already.
Heart pounding as he awaited the alert window,
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Main Story, 【First Steps】 clear confirmed. Settlement in progress. At the familiar chime, Bihyeong eagerly checked the contents.
But what it said was,
Achieved the impossible in the test. Enrollment grade outstanding to near-impossible levels. Derived Story unlock observed. Signs of Unique Story germination observed. ...... [Confirmed.] [Settlement will take time.] What.
...A bug?
Staring at his phone, Bihyeong felt a vein throb at the back of his neck.
Whatever! Just give me something usable now!
Fury boiled, but he swallowed it down.
What could he do?
It was happening because he'd excelled.
Calm down. Not a bad situation.
Even SSS grades never delayed settlement.
So this alert meant one thing.
Something beyond that?
Potential territory.
But wasn't Bihyeong living proof of that potential?
Goblin. Rank EX.
Recalling it sent a thrilling current through his heart.
If there's a rank like that... what could I get?
Not even rewarded yet, but dopamine already zinged down his spine.
Yeah. Settlement might take a bit.
Mind lighter, he headed for the library.
If rewards are pending, focus on immediate issues.
Bihyeong's biggest protruding pebble was his yokai nature.
Perfect Neutrality's holding for now, but not for long.
Eleven days left.
From the end of orientation to the ceremony: just three days.
Short for others,
but an eternity for him.
They call it Perfect Neutrality fading, but it's basically a death sentence timer.
Bihyeong hated his situation.
Death sentence?
They dragged him here arbitrarily—why slap on this debuff?
I'll escape it somehow.
And smash the skull of whoever gifted him this fate.
Mess with a vet? Fine. Bring it.
Bihyeong calmly outlined his next steps.
Acquire the library's hidden piece cultivation method. That'll suppress yokai nature or yokai traits alike.
One way exorcists grew stronger against yokai: cultivation methods.
Especially those classified as hidden pieces.
With that, he could walk proudly as a 'human'.
But.
"Oh dear. How ever shall I apologize? The library's unavailable right now."
His grand plan cracked from the start.
"We're inspecting the yokai inside the library. Plus, the Library Chairman's out on academy business, so it'll take a while."
"Can't I just pop in for a quick look? There's a book I really want to read..."
"Your enthusiasm's admirable, but your name tag says you're a new enrollee. Too dangerous—can't allow it."
With words urging him to value his life, he was banned from entry.