Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Mock Reverse World (3)
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'...Is this the butterfly effect?'
I pulled 'Super Accuracy' from the random cheat ticket.
To use the cheat effect more conveniently and reliably, I chose a gun.
And with that gun, I achieved an overwhelming victory.
That's all there was to it.
So why had Lee Seo-yeon suddenly taken an interest in guns?
Why had her talent fully awakened toward firearms?
Why had it evolved to the point of renaming itself 'Prodigy of the Sword Gun'?
'...I should have won, but not so overwhelmingly.'
No... that's not it.
It was precisely because the victory was so overwhelming that the event quest's 'additional reward' had been so sweet.
In the end, I couldn't find or make any excuses.
Lee Seo-yeon's talent had evolved enough to change its name, and it was all because of me.
'......Fine, I'll admit it.'
It was my fault.
"Lee Yoo-jin, I feel like... my talent has changed somehow."
So, I had to take responsibility.
I steadied my complicated feelings and responded to Lee Seo-yeon.
"Yeah, your talent did change. More precisely, it evolved."
"Talents can evolve too?"
Was it because her sense of self was solidifying?
A flicker of clear surprise broke through Lee Seo-yeon's usual emotionless expression.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
Lee Seo-yeon's Talent, "Prodigy of the Sword Gun (S+)", says it somehow feels like its sense of self has grown.
"......"
...Even the talent's self-expression had become more vivid.
"Yeah, talents can evolve, but... it's not something that happens easily under normal circumstances."
Talent evolution usually occurs when one's rank reaches the pinnacle.
Through the experiences of realizing one's talent, becoming a superhuman, and reaching the top tier—along with achievements and a true desire born from it all—the foundational talent of a superhuman finally stands at a crossroads.
Will it maintain its original ability and ascend to greater heights?
Or will it pioneer a new path, achieving even more diverse changes?
Once the crossroads is chosen, the talent blooms, announcing its existence to the world.
Yet Lee Seo-yeon had achieved this arduous evolution at merely a mid-to-upper rank.
'Is this even right?'
No matter that she was the world's protagonist, this was absurd.
But the absurd had already happened, and I, who had caused it, had to take responsibility.
That said... upon deeper reflection, it didn't seem so bad.
'It might even be a good thing.'
Though the 'Prodigy of the Sword' had become the 'Prodigy of the Sword Gun,' incorporating the non-mainstream weapon of firearms,
its rank had upgraded from 'S' to 'S+'.
In game terms, it was like a newbie fresh out of the starter village wielding not a wooden club, but a dragon staff crafted from dragon bone that appears in the late game.
'The problem is that this dragon staff deals more physical damage than magic damage.'
And the kid wielding it was a swordsman class, not a mage.
But the 'S+' rank talent was powerful enough to cover such flaws...
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
Lee Seo-yeon's Talent, "Prodigy of the Sword Gun (S+)", asks what its name is, for some reason.
...to the point of having its own ego.
"I see..."
Lee Seo-yeon nodded deeply.
Then she looked straight into my eyes and asked,
"So, what's the name of my evolved talent?"
Lee Seo-yeon, she's asking the exact same thing as her talent.
"...Prodigy of the Sword Gun."
"Prodigy of the Sword Gun?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
Lee Seo-yeon's Talent, "Prodigy of the Sword Gun (S+)", likes its own name.
"I like it."
"......"
A satisfied curve formed at the corner of Lee Seo-yeon's mouth, as if she approved of the new name.
"So this feeling is because my talent evolved."
As she said that, Lee Seo-yeon reached out toward the disassembled gun parts.
"I think I can disassemble and reassemble guns way faster now."
"......?"
Didn't it already seem incredibly fast earlier?
No sooner had I thought that than—
"Watch closely."
Lee Seo-yeon flicked one of the gun parts with her finger.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
Lee Seo-yeon's Talent, "Prodigy of the Sword Gun (S+)", exerts its power.
Tap.
Click.
The gun parts assembled themselves with precision, like something out of a Transformers movie.
And at an incredibly fast speed—less than a second.
"......?"
What was that, magic?
The gun was assembled in the blink of an eye.
No, even more astonishing was the near-perfect automatic assembly.
Tap.
Lee Seo-yeon flicked the now-assembled gun again.
Shrrrrk.
The parts neatly disassembled back onto the leather mat, as if rewinding to before assembly.
"Fast, right?"
"Uh......"
Could you even call this 'fast'?
'This is less a talent and more like magic.'
No matter how S+ her firearm-related talent was,
how could gun disassembly and reassembly happen automatically with just a finger flick?
'Anyone using firearms is gonna have a hard time against Lee Seo-yeon.'
As I thought that,
'Wait... people who use firearms?'
I realized that person was me.
I stared at Lee Seo-yeon, who was repeatedly disassembling and reassembling the gun, my eyes trembling.
'Lee Seo-yeon... she's my hard counter?'
How long had it been since I'd decided to accept her talent's evolution positively?
My mood grew complicated again with the emergence of my hard counter.
Lee Seo-yeon, oblivious to my feelings,
"Lee Yoo-jin, after practice ends, spar with me."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
Lee Seo-yeon's Talent, "Prodigy of the Sword Gun (S+)", says it thinks it can imitate this time.
was eager to spar with me right away.
The Prodigy of the Sword Gun—someone with a talent like hers wanted to mimic my cheats.
"You will, right?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
Lee Seo-yeon's Talent, "Prodigy of the Sword Gun (S+)", asks, 'You will, right?'
No, I don't want to spar!
...I wanted to refuse, but
"......Sure."
Since I had to take responsibility for causing this,
I couldn't bring myself to say no.
"Thanks."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
Lee Seo-yeon's Talent, "Prodigy of the Sword Gun (S+)", gives thanks.
Still, watching the smile form on Lee Seo-yeon's lips eased my complicated mood.
'Can cheats even be mimicked, though?'
The thought crossed my mind,
but a message alert from my smart watch interrupted—I'd think about it later.
"Looks like the instructor's finished assigning groups. Let's head back."
Lee Seo-yeon nodded at my words, rolled up the leather mat on the floor, and pressed it against the ring on her right middle finger.
Just like putting items into my inventory, the rolled-up leather was sucked into her ring.
Seemed like a ring with inscribed sub-space storage.
In that case...
"Lee Seo-yeon, is that a sub-space ring?"
"Yeah."
"Then take this with you."
I pulled out some firearm consumables I'd swept up from the training ground and handed them to her.
Watching her stuff them crammed into her sub-space ring, I chuckled.
Ah, can't resist stuffing a newbie's pouch.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"I've sent the group assignments, so check them and gather with your team members."
I checked my smart watch at Kang Cheol-su's words.
[Group 1]
[Lee Yoo-jin (1)]
[Park Ga-ram (6)]
[Im Da-hee (61)]
'Same team as Park Ga-ram?'
But who was Im Da-hee?
'Not in my memories means she's not even a supporting character.'
With that thought, I looked for Park Ga-ram.
And found her right away.
Amid the kids starting to cluster by groups, Park Ga-ram with her purple hair was fidgeting her fingers, glancing around.
Seeming to be searching for me, I hurried over before we missed each other.
The moment I got close, her head snapped toward me, and she approached with a creepy grin.
"Hee hee... T-T-Top rank, f-f-found you."
Now with Park Ga-ram joined, just needed to find this Im Da-hee.
I had no idea who she was.
So I asked Park Ga-ram,
"O-O-Over there, c-c-coming now."
Park Ga-ram pointed in one direction.
Turning that way, I saw a girl heading straight toward me.
And that's how I figured out who Im Da-hee was.
Im Da-hee.
She was the complainer from yesterday's training who had asked Kang Cheol-su if the bracket needed redoing.
And now she was in my group.
"...Top rank, please take care of me."
"...Yeah."
Maybe because of yesterday, she couldn't meet my eyes as she spoke.
"I-I-Idiot. C-C-Can't even m-m-match eyes p-properly."
"......"
Im Da-hee glared at Park Ga-ram's taunt, then bit her lip and bowed her head.
Seemed like an inferiority complex from yesterday.
'I didn't even care about yesterday.'
More than not caring, I'd forgotten about her until seeing her face.
'The others in my bracket probably feel the same.'
So Im Da-hee had no need for an inferiority complex.
With that in mind, I approached her, tapped her shoulder, and said,
"If it's about yesterday, it's fine. So lift your head a bit."
She murmured,
"...Really?"
"Yeah, really. So lift your head. The girl who boldly questioned the instructor yesterday—why so down now?"
Im Da-hee looked up, her eyes trembling as they met mine.
But she averted them after not even two seconds.
Seeing that, I decided to back off for now.
No point if she wasn't okay, even if I was.
So I tried a different approach.
"Im Da-hee, you handle electricity, right?"
"...Yeah."
After yesterday's matches ended, the kids in my bracket had gone back to the dorms per Kang Cheol-su's 'you can go first'.
But I'd stayed in the stands to watch the rest.
Since the game had become reality, I wanted to check if anyone outside the main cast had useful talents or skills.
But the results matched the rankings exactly.
As if the world had funneled all the good abilities to the main cast, everyone else only showed rank-appropriate power.
Among them, #61 Im Da-hee had talents and skills for 'spear arts' and 'electricity'.
From watching her match, though, she didn't know how to use them properly.
Spear arts and electricity.
Useful abilities.
No, honestly, good abilities regardless.
So, since she ended up in my group,
I'd teach Im Da-hee how to properly use her powers.
And wipe away that inferiority complex as a bonus.
"That's a good ability."
"...Huh?"
"Electricity manifestation—it's a good power."
"Th-Thank... you."
At the sudden praise, Im Da-hee blushed slightly and bowed her head.
I continued to her,
"But you weren't using it well."
"......"
Her ears turned red at the criticism following the praise.
But I wasn't done.
"So follow my instructions well today. I'll show you how to use that power properly."
Her deeply bowed head lifted.
"...If I just follow your words, can I get stronger too?"
Dejected posture, weak voice.
Eyes trembling nonstop just from meeting mine.
But in those eyes burned a small spark.
Her voice carried hope.
I grinned and replied,
"Of course. You'll have no choice but to get stronger."
"...Got it. I'll follow your lead."
"Good choice."
One day, people will call you this.
Thunder Spear Im Da-hee.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
After getting promises from Im Da-hee and Park Ga-ram beside her to follow my lead too,
About five minutes passed.
"All groups seem gathered, so we'll start the practical now!"
Kang Cheol-su approached the dome-shaped building.
Standing before the massive door, he spoke into his smart watch.
"Class 1-A, ready. Open the door."
A woman's voice came from his smart watch.
- Confirmed.
Behind the voice,
Rumble rumble rumble.
The building's massive door began opening with a deafening roar.
Moments later,
Thud.
Beyond the fully open door, a massive vortex the size of the building swirled with blue light.
It was the rift to the mock Backside World.
Kang Cheol-su, standing before it, addressed us.
"This is a Backside World rift. A mock one mimicking the real thing."
But the tension on the kids' faces didn't fade easily.
The rift's immense presence instilled fear, mock or not.
To reassure them, Kang Cheol-su thumped his chest.
"No need to be that scared. The rift you're seeing is fake, not real. And even if it were real, you've got your instructor here. If anything happens, I'll jump in and save you, so dive into the practical without worry."
The kids' taut expressions eased somewhat at his bold assurance.
"The monsters inside look the same but are fakes like this rift."
But, Kang Cheol-su added,
"They lack the demonic energy unique to monsters, but their strength and abilities are identical, so stay alert."
He glanced at me as he said it.
"Alright, time to enter. Group 1, up front."
At his order, me, Park Ga-ram, and Im Da-hee stepped before the rift.
To us, Kang Cheol-su said,
"With the top rank in your group, I'm not too worried, but if anything happens, hit the emergency rescue button on your smart watch. I'll come get you right away."
His voice carried a hint of concern despite his words.
I flashed a grin to say not to worry.
Kang Cheol-su nodded in relief and operated his smart watch.
"Group 1, sent your practical objectives to your smart watches. Check inside."
"Yes, sir."
"Enter now."
At the command, my group and I stepped into the rift.
Just before fully entering, I said to Kang Cheol-su,
"See you soon."
"Yeah."
He nodded casually, as if it were nothing.
But he didn't know.
That my words were meant for inside the rift, not out.
"...Whew."
I took a short deep breath and pushed my head fully into the rift.
Mana swirled around me like raging waves, pulling me in.
Surrendering to the mana, I blinked,
and my group and I stood not in the plain with the dome building, but in a massive cave.