Eugene (Complete)

Eugene's diary.

The information worth pulling from it boiled down to a brief sketch of his life, and the anxiety that had eaten him alive.

First — Eugene's life.

That he had come from some tribe. That he had hated the cultists who wiped that tribe off the map.

That alone was huge.

It told me who Eugene had been as the 2nd Apostle, and what had driven every move he made.

But that other thing...

The woman mentioned in the diary. That Woman.

She had come to him through Mokhyang, and she had known the future. That Woman had shown Eugene what was coming, and in that future, the world ended.

The way to stop that ending:

Make Rania Vulcanus a hero.

From then on, Eugene had kept glimpsing the future and the apocalypse through That Woman — and it had swallowed him in a dread so thick he could barely breathe. Other records made it clear he had spent the rest of his days helping her.

Now the picture was coming together.

This was why the original Eugene had been split in two: Hype Man Eugene on one side, Named Boss 2nd Apostle on the other.

He had clearly taken on both parts at That Woman's request.

Especially Hype Man Eugene.

2nd Apostle Eugene had existed from the start. Hype Man Eugene had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠not.

That was probably the role she'd been talking about. The odds were high that the vacant part had been Hype Man Eugene all along.

Then why?

Why had a character like the Hype Man been necessary in the first place, and why had Eugene been the one made to play him?

I turned the room inside out. I found nothing that answered that question. There was only one way to get an answer.

I have to meet That Woman.

Going back over Eugene's diary and the papers stuck to the walls, I felt a thick, crawling wrongness about this character called That Woman. Of course I did. Just a handful of the keywords she had fed him were enough:

The original novel was sitting right there in black and white.

Don't tell me she's another transmigrator?

I turned the idea over for a moment. It didn't hold. If she were, things wouldn't still be running according to the original. Anyone who had possessed a body with the same goal as mine would never want the story to play out the way it was written.

A happy ending.

Right now, that was the only thing that could save this world. Which meant the line from the diary disqualified her on the spot.

Already out.

In other words, That Woman is a character from the story. And not just any character — one trying to drag the world down the exact rails of the original Protect the Academy!.

The cultists trying to end the world were a problem. This woman was not meaningfully different.

"Haa..."

I let out a long breath and dropped onto the bed. I had thought it would be over once I stopped the cult and pulled the other characters out of their graves. An enemy I had never even considered had just walked onto the stage.

The one mercy was that I had a rough idea of who That Woman actually was.

So for now... Eugene.

A man who had lived a life packed with nothing but misfortune. A man who had chosen death today. A man who, realizing that even the last stop on that life was the end of the world, had handed his body over to That Woman.

I decided that first, I would offer a short prayer for this pitiful bastard.

"Eugene. I don't know why I ended up in your body. But if you hoped someone would save this hopeless world in your place..."

I'll do it for you.

So.

As if someone had heard that murmur.

From somewhere deep ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in my mind, a sorrowful word of thanks seemed to rise and fade.

After that brief prayer.

"...I've got a pretty good picture now."

The rest of Eugene's records and the secret letter filled in more of the gaps. Most of it was personal history — pages and pages of ordinary days.

"Thanks to that, I don't have to worry about Yeonhwa or Mokhyang anymore. This should be the last of it."

I broke the seal on the secret letter Mokhyang had hinted at — the one "that person" had told him to deliver. From the long-winded threat packed onto the page, I picked out a few keywords.

So That ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Woman — the one who had stolen Eugene's body — had figured out I existed.

Good. That actually works in my favor.

Whatever their reasons, they were idiots trying to walk the original tragedy beat for beat. Better to meet them as soon as possible and settle this.

The problem is...

I was not overwhelmingly strong yet.

The original Protect the Academy! spans one year. All kinds of episodes pour out across that year — but the current has already shifted. Villainess Yuria, which was supposed to drag through the entire first semester. The Fall of Vulcanus, which was supposed to come after. Both already finished before I had even enrolled.

Which made everything more dangerous.

Cult-related incidents would be pulled forward. Events that had never existed in the original — the Rank Assessment Exam, anything involving That Woman — would start appearing out of nowhere.

To be ready for all of it:

I have to get stronger.

Stronger by a margin that made my current self look like a joke. Strong enough that even Vivian would feel small.

Reaching Vivian's level in a handful of days. To anyone else it would sound impossible. Luckily for me, I had the tools to make it happen.

"Borrowed Skill List."

The borrowed skills, first. Even with just these, I could get through the rank exam itself without much trouble.

But I have to conserve them. And I have to squeeze out more. This was an ability nobody else in the world possessed. In a truly hopeless situation, it would be the variable that flipped the board.

Next.

"Owned Skill List."

I needed to grow the skills that were fully mine — not the ones on loan through Admiration.

Admiration was always running, so that was fine. Villain and the thoroughly useless Black Mist were both passives. It made anyone wary of me see a villain standing in front of them, but it granted absolute resistance to evil. That one had already hit its ceiling, and it ran on its own around the clock. Nothing to manage there.

So what I actually needed to worry about was...

Martial God's Physique. And Ancient Aura Heart.

"Martial God's Physique first."

No matter how I turned it over, I had no idea what "fully read ■■'s ■■" was supposed to mean. I'd gotten my hopes up thinking it might be Eugene's diary. Of course this goddamn tragedy novel wasn't going to hand me anything that easily.

Anyway. Putting this on hold.

I could use Ancient Aura for now, so the restriction didn't matter much. After the Rank Assessment Exam, if I get the chance, I'll ask Nahan or Mokhyang for advice.

With Martial God's Physique set aside, I turned to Ancient Aura Heart. Only then did I actually sit down. Recalling what I had learned from Cheolsu, I folded into a lotus position and turned my attention inward.

Woom...

I could feel the aura rooted deep in my heart, shimmering the way heat haze shimmers around the sun.

As I'd said before, the Ancient Aura I had was C-rank — but it hit like A-rank ordinary aura. So even if I only grew Ancient Aura Heart as far as B-rank, it would be the same as walking around the present age with S-rank aura.

Of course, that alone wouldn't be enough.

Pumping up the total volume of aura did not make you exponentially stronger. I needed training. Skills to actually handle Ancient Aura. The physical experience to survive using it. I was painfully short on both.

I could imitate the skills I'd borrowed, sure. That was only possible because the Eugene I had possessed had an absurdly deep understanding of how skills worked. But imitation was all it would ever be. Even if Ancient Aura outclassed the modern kind in raw quality, the actual output dropped by several full stages.

In the end, there was only one answer.

When I had the chance, use Admiration to stockpile more borrow tickets. When I didn't...

"Guess I'll just have to grind it out myself."

Experience. Only the things you lived through and earned ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with your own hands ever became truly yours.

I stood up.

Four days until the Rank Assessment Exam. In that window, I would raise Ancient Aura Heart by at least one rank — to C or higher.

The moment I locked that in, I set the rest of the board.

First, the Rank Assessment Exam. Get through it in one piece. Meet That Woman when she comes looking for me, and put her down. Talk her around somehow, then prepare for the coming assault of the Six Apostles...

Then I would have a little room to breathe.

"Alright. Time to move."

I left Eugene's room at once and climbed back to the upper floors of Star Inn. The first person to greet me was Mokhyang. He was plating the food he had been preparing, a faint smile on his face.

"You look unburdened, my lord."

"I recalibrated my goals."

"Then let us celebrate my lord's newly set goals with a late meal."

"Sure, why not?"

We filled our stomachs without ceremony.

"Heading out, my lord?"

"Going to train."

"Excellent. Might this old man be of some assistance with tomorrow's training?"

"Anytime."

It was a quiet meal with almost no conversation, but I felt more at ease than I had expected.

"You go to bed first."

"Yes, my lord."

After parting from Mokhyang, I headed out to the training grounds beyond Star Inn.

"Alright. Let's do this."

I steadied myself and drew my sword.

And then.

"Ah."

I remembered I was an outsider here.

Simply put:

"What am I supposed to start with...?"

I had no idea what kind of training to actually do.

"Uh. Just swing it around first...? Spam skills?"

I was standing there, completely blank, when someone spoke.

"Came out at just the right time."

"So. You were planning to train."

"Who are you?"

"You'll find that out in due time. For now..."

The next instant, a giant of an old warrior added, smiling,

You said swords, you bastard—!