Chapter 240
Chapter 240
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 240
Chapter Title: The Path Forward [Mana Awakening in Progress]
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***
A day passed, and Sunday dawned.
As sunlight filled his dorm room, Cheon-seong stared blankly, feeling utterly exhausted.
“...”
He had stayed up all night from Friday into Saturday, and though he had managed to get some sleep yesterday, it hadn't been a deep slumber.
As he stretched his stiff body and sat up, he felt as if his very bones were decaying.
“So this is why they say you need peace of mind.”
A faint sigh escaped him as he spoke like an old man. He checked the time; it was already nine in the morning.
“About five hours... of sleep, I guess.”
He'd been tormented by his thoughts until four in the morning, so five hours was barely anything. And despite his exhaustion, he had no desire to sleep any longer.
He blankly touched his face and shook his head.
“...I've already made my decision.”
More than anything, the fact that he had an answer was what mattered.
I know about Kalli's affection for me now.
And Glacia's attitude, which suggested she also held affection for me, along with the faint inkling of Adelia's feelings—they all tormented me.
...Being loved by someone was supposed to be a good thing.
But when it came at the wrong time, it felt like too much to bear, and the thoughts wrapped around me suffocatingly.
It was a situation steeped in contradiction.
What stance could I possibly take? I tried to think simply, but reality wouldn't allow it.
“...”
As he thought this, a hollow laugh naturally formed on his lips.
Swish!
He ran a hand through his messy hair, and in a way, it all felt so surreal.
And now, even those thoughts were starting to fade.
I had found the answer in a completely unexpected place. All the agonizing and torment now seemed almost laughable.
“How futile.”
...As I muttered the self-deprecating monologue, a ‘keyword’ came to mind.
It was a core keyword for this world.
And it was something definite, given only to me.
The fact that I'd only checked the status window now felt so incredibly hollow.
Because the status window had given me a clear answer.
How I was supposed to live in this world.
The status window. In other words, this ‘world’ itself had given me the answer.
“...Status Window.”
As he calmly spoke the words, a familiar hologram filled his vision.
*
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Name: Han Cheon-seong
Gender: Male (20)
Title: The One Who Moves Forward.
Height · Weight: 179cm 70kg
Current Continental Influence: 2719
*[The status window will now display additional information!]
*The Path Forward [Mana Awakening in Progress]
-Expand Detailed Conditions.
*Stats.
[Strength 30]
[Agility 43]
[Stamina 40]
[Mana 26]
[Luck 5]
*Traits [1]
[Spearmanship Lv.5 Growth Rate - 9%]
(Keyword to reach Trait Lv. 6: Indomitable Fighting Spirit is 36% fulfilled.)
*Skills [1]
[Seven Forms of the Asura Spiral lv.1 Growth Rate - 5%]
-First Form. Asura Spiral Spear Proficiency - 7%.
…
…
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*
The status window, which I hadn't checked in a while, had changed more than I expected.
There were minor changes, like my height and weight, and beyond that, my Continental Influence had risen significantly. My stats had increased across the board, and the growth of my traits and skills was also noticeable, likely due to the major crisis I faced yesterday.
However, among all the changed numbers, what caught my eye the most wasn't any of that, but ‘The Path Forward’.
The most special thing, something that had only appeared in my status window.
And its objective was no longer ‘First Apostle Execution,’ but a new goal: ‘Mana Awakening’.
“Mana Awakening...”
I had checked it dozens, even hundreds of times throughout the night, and looking at it again now, my heart stirred in a strange way.
The detailed conditions specified more clearly what actions I needed to take.
*
====
*[Mana Awakening]
You have successfully been acknowledged for your worth by Ariya Schpelt, the Master of the Empire's Central Magic Tower.
-As a result, the path to 【Mana Awakening】 has been revealed.
Unlocked Information 1: You can change your constitution through Mana Awakening to overcome your physical incompatibility with mana.
-Special information has been unlocked!
[By gaining the affection of Ariya Schpelt, you can resolve her 'fundamental distrust' of humans.]
Locked Information 2: Will be unlocked upon completing Unlocked Information 1!
====
*
The status window I had checked so late.
The Path Forward was now teaching me the way forward, showing me what I had to do in greater detail than ever before.
“To earn Ariya's affection...”
Saying it out loud, I, who had been so tormented yesterday over Glacia and Kalli, now felt an overwhelming sense of futility.
And that feeling of emptiness was truly... indescribable.
It felt as if a problem I'd considered a massive burden, with a weight of 100, was suddenly replaced by an absurdly difficult challenge with a weight of 1000.
That's why my previous worries felt so futile.
I unconsciously furrowed my brow, my heart heavy with complex emotions.
“It's not like they're toying with my heart... Fucking hell...”
As I cursed, I hated myself for trying to understand the meaning of the words written in the status window.
The line about earning Ariya's affection.
If I tried to think positively, to think wholesomely, I could have interpreted it as the supplementary explanation written after it.
-Resolve Ariya's distrust of humans.
If that were the case, then perhaps ‘Ariya's affection’ could be taken to mean something else.
But I knew that was just denial.
That it didn't mean that at all...
“......”
Letting out a shallow breath, I looked again at the words hanging in the air.
[...you can resolve her 'fundamental distrust' of humans.]
The explanation that I needed to earn Ariya's affection to resolve her fundamental distrust felt truly cruel.
“What would happen if I don't go through with this?”
As I muttered blankly, it felt like I was facing a chronic, incurable disease.
Compared to the people of this world, I clearly have a major disadvantage when it comes to mana. As Ariya told me herself before, the truth was that my body had absolutely no talent for mana.
No, beyond talent, you could say I was ‘lacking’ compared to others.
'Of course. I'm not originally from this world.'
From the very beginning, I could never be the same as the ordinary people born in this world with a natural affinity for mana.
Mana was the one stat that was impossible to raise through any means other than evolving a trait. Innate talent. If you were to express that as a stat, mana would be the most blatant representation of it.
“......”
So, with just a little thought, I knew.
The 'answer' for me was already set.
The path of my growth, the direction I was supposed to aim for, as presented by The Path Forward, was laid out clearly.
And I knew it was like being shown a shortcut. A path that some might never realize in their entire lives, a path I had never considered either.
The status window was showing it only to ‘me’.
That this was the path to my greatest growth right now—that by changing my constitution through Mana Awakening, I would gain a significant advantage in my development.
“...”
And yet. I didn't like it one bit.
The Path Forward quests I'd been given until now.
Looking at the status window that foretold my death or told me what I had to do, I had carried out its instructions without any hesitation or doubt.
No, in fact, I had tried to carry them out with all my might, as if they were things I was naturally supposed to do.
But this time, this particular Path Forward seemed to be pushing me, cornering me, more cruelly than ever before.
“...As if my mind wasn't already a mess thinking about Kalli and Glacia.”
And now, the status window was telling me the answer was to win another woman's heart...
How on earth was I supposed to take that?
I let out a sigh deep enough to make the ground collapse, my spirit sinking.
I knew the answer, but I had no way of dealing with this feeling of desperately not wanting to choose it.
I clutched my head, a throbbing headache setting in, and my heart suddenly felt hollow.
A hollow laugh escaped me... I wanted to ignore the answer.
“...”
But even that wasn't simple.
If I were to ignore this answer, it wouldn't just mean giving up on the Mana Awakening I could obtain.
I thought my chronic problem with mana wasn't entirely insurmountable, that I could potentially overcome it by mastering the concept of 'circulation,' one of the concepts of the spiral.
‘The problem is, The Path Forward would get stuck, and it wouldn't present the next path.’
That was the problem.
The crises I had overcome so far.
The arrival of the Nine Apostles' specter at the academy was tantamount to a death sentence for me.
The name of The Path Forward was even ‘Escape from Death’.
If I hadn't asked Anastasia for help back then, I would have been killed by the apostle without ever knowing why.
And the next Path Forward, ‘First Apostle Execution,’ confirmed that I had to face the apostle in Leonhardt's place.
It wasn't an uncertain future; it was like being given a definite goal, telling me I had to be the one to do it.
Though the two paths were different, both provided information I desperately needed.
They literally showed me the path forward, the path to survival.
“I have no choice... but to do it.”
It's not about ignoring it and getting nothing; to live, to exist in this world, I have to do it.
Therefore, the answer was already set.
When I thought about why The Path Forward was given only to me, the answer was simple.
Without it, I couldn't even resist the fate that awaits me.
And now that I've decided to do it...
I had to completely change my mindset.
“...”
I could no longer hold only Kalli in my heart, and my decision to reveal the truth to Glacia out of some strange feeling had all come to nothing.
‘If The Path Forward continues to show me these kinds of unavoidable paths in the future...’
I blankly covered my face,
and it felt as if my emotions were dying.