Chapter 74
Chapter 74
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Random Draw (2)
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⚙ TRAINER MENU ⚙
[☆Arena Academy☆] [v 1.1 plus 8 Trainer] - [○] Invincibility - [○] Infinite Stamina - [○] Infinite Vitality - [○] Infinite Mana - [●] Infinite Items [ON / OFF] - [●] Speed Limit Release [ON / OFF] - [●] Super Accuracy [ON / OFF] - [○] Enemy Slow Motion Choice Cheat Usage Rights: 3 Random Cheat Usage Rights: 4 [Cheat Usage Rights Next Usage Notice] ※Press [Here] to check.
"......"
The 'Speed Limit Release' was activated.
Just moments ago, I'd been cursing the developers, the system, and everything under the sun.
But now, I just stared blankly at the cheat tool.
After a bit of time passed and I came back to my senses, I let out a deep sigh to shake off my emotions.
"It's still a cheat, after all."
I was disappointed as hell that it wasn't Infinite Vitality, which I needed most right now.
But Speed Limit Release was a legit cheat, so it had to have some insane effects.
I stroked my chin, pondering its effects and limitations.
"No... wait, never mind."
Did I even need to think about it?
I could just test it myself.
I immediately switched Speed Limit Release from 'OFF' to 'ON'.
And since this was a hospital room, I decided to experiment with telekinesis instead of a gun.
Float.
The water bottle on the table rose into the air.
No cheat effect yet.
I moved the bottle up and down.
"Not this either? Why hasn't the effect—"
The moment I said that, the water bottle I was controlling with telekinesis vanished.
At the same time, all strength drained from my body, and in the blink of an eye, I was lying on the concrete floor instead of the bed.
No, not lying—slammed into it.
"Wh-what... is this?"
Before I could finish speaking...
...KABOOOOOM──!!
A massive explosion rocked the hospital room like it had been hit by an airstrike.
...The phenomenon happened first, then the sound?
This is straight-up... sonic boom...
Thud.
&
"...So you were testing a newly acquired skill, and that's how the mess happened?"
"Yes..."
"......"
Instructor Kang Cheol-su fell silent.
An awkward silence filled the hospital room (I'd been moved to a new one).
I broke out in a sweat, avoiding his gaze.
Then, with a tired look on his face, he sighed deeply and spoke.
"So, are you okay?"
"Yes... I'm fine."
"Good. As long as you're not hurt."
He patted my shoulder and stood from the chair.
"I'll head out then. No more incidents until tomorrow—just stay put and get discharged properly. Got it?"
"Yes... Understood."
"Good. I trust you."
Creak, click.
I'd figured I'd get an earful for blowing up a hospital room.
But instead of scolding me, he just checked on my condition and left.
Touched by his boundless magnanimity—like the Pacific Ocean itself—I let out a sigh of relief and stood from the chair.
I climbed onto the bed, leaned against the headboard, and looked at the Aegis on my right index finger.
The Aegis was grayed out, like faded paint.
It had been dark red when I first put it on, but the shockwave from earlier had changed its color.
I checked the item's info via the system.
【Imperfect Aegis (S-)】[Fatal Damage Absorbed][Destroyed]
...The item was destroyed.
By absorbing fatal damage, no less.
"So that shockwave from earlier was instant-death level..."
...I'd have died without the Aegis?
I let out a hollow laugh and slipped the Aegis off my finger.
It immediately crumbled into dust and vanished, as if it had been waiting for that.
A chill ran through me at the sight. I hurriedly pulled a new Aegis from my inventory and slipped it onto my right index finger.
I'd switched it to OFF, but I double-checked the Speed Limit Release toggle.
[Speed Limit Release [ON / OFF]]
"Haa..."
A sigh of relief escaped my lips.
With the anxiety gone...
Grrrowl.
My stomach growled in hunger.
I got off the bed, cautiously opened the door, and checked the hallway.
"...Okay, no one's around."
I closed the door again.
Opened the window, then lifted the bed table.
I pulled steaming donburi bowls from my inventory and set them on the table.
The spicy-sweet, mouthwatering aroma began filling the room.
I grabbed a spoon from my inventory, stabbed it into a donburi, and thought.
Honestly, even if I get caught, it's no big deal.
The one getting scolded would be post-meal me, not current me.
Grinning at the thought, I shoved a heaping spoonful of rice into my mouth.
&
The next day.
I was discharged from the hospital.
The doctor suggested staying one more day just in case, but I—and everyone in Class 1-A—declined.
No abnormalities showed up in physical exams or mana scans, so there was no need to rot in the boring, bad-food hospital.
"Freedom!"
"Dude, we were only hospitalized for a day?"
"That's how suffocating it was."
I agreed with that.
Well, I wasn't bored, at least.
Planning how to prepare for and resolve upcoming events kept me plenty occupied.
The problem was... the food.
In the end, they found out about the donburi...
I'd gone beyond opening the window—I'd even set out air freshener (Yeongneungdan).
But the nurses—and even the doctors—must have had noses like bloodhounds. They sniffed out that I'd eaten donburi right away.
Then came the lecture: Patients need healthy food, no outside eats in the hospital, etc.
For a good while.
Hey, just make the food taste good, then.
We weren't normals—we were superhumans.
Why force-feed us healthy slop?
I sighed and shook my head.
That's when Asuka and Lee Seo-yeon approached.
"Top ranker! Top ranker! You okay? Yesterday there was this huge boom, so I came out and your room was all collapsed..."
Asuka gestured wildly to reenact yesterday while checking me over.
"Yoo-jin, you good?"
Lee Seo-yeon caressed my hand with a worried look.
And the moment she slyly tried to interlock fingers...
"Everyone discharged?"
Instructor Kang Cheol-su's voice rang out.
Lee Seo-yeon let out a disappointed "Ah..." and slowly released my hand.
Then she stuck right to my side—like, arm-touching distance—with a slap.
Asuka glanced at her, then did the same on my other side, staring at Kang Cheol-su.
I instinctively checked the others' reactions.
But they all looked unfazed, focused only on him.
A few glanced our way and shook their heads before turning back to him.
Like, there they go again.
Feeling awkward from the reactions, I scratched my head and looked at Kang Cheol-su.
"...So no classes for a while."
I hadn't caught the start, but the end told me why.
Instructors died in droves.
Key practicals were handled by specific instructors, but theory and outdoor classes were covered by the deceased ones.
Midterms were over, no major practicals until summer break—so mostly theory and outdoors.
But with instructors wiped out, most classes were up in the air...
"So what do we do?"
Kang Cheol-su scratched his forehead scar at the question.
"Yeah, what to do."
He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked at me.
With a tired grin, he continued.
"Villain response training?"
All eyes turned to me.
""......""
Silence fell.
I grinned and said,
"I'm good anytime."
Five months of playing villain and Fallen countless times had made me numb to the embarrassment—beyond used to it.
"That so? Villain response training booked, then?"
He pulled his hand from his pocket.
As he reached for his smartwatch...
"No! We'll train on our own!"
"Right! What we need now isn't villain response—it's physical conditioning!"
"Villain training builds vigilance, urban combat, scouting, trap response! But like my classmate said, we need conditioning now!"
They were freaking out hard.
I chuckled at their desperate cries.
Kang Cheol-su smirked and shook his head too.
"Got it, got it—pipe down."
He fiddled with his smartwatch.
A message hit everyone's—including mine.
I checked it.
"Leave permit?"
"Instructor, why the sudden leave permit..."
He loosened his tie at their questions.
"If there were classes, fine—but no classes till summer break. No point cooped up in the academy. Go get some air."
The students gazed at him gratefully.
"Ah, don't go too wild. Other instructors might complain. Keep it moderate—you know what I mean?"
""Yes!""
"Good."
He scanned every face intently.
Then, in a serious tone:
"Thanks for coming back alive, everyone. You all did great."
He sincerely welcomed our survival and thanked us.
Students teared up looking at him.
I spoke for them.
"You too, Instructor. Thank you for surviving—and great job."
He grinned and nodded.
&
&
&
"...Time to test Speed Limit Release properly."
Following his dismissal, I was alone in the 1-A training arena's sparring room.
The dorm had a personal room, but I was too nervous—came here instead.
"Grand Magus's special barrier should be fine."
Still, better add safeties.
I pulled a bunch of ring-form Aegises from inventory.
Using telekinesis, I placed them at intervals around the sparring room, then shifted to shield form.
This should contain any damage outside.
The Aegises would absorb it.
"Safeties set...
Now, the sacrifice for cheat testing: a mannequin.
I placed it 50m away.
Fixed a shield-form Aegis to its torso.
Then drew a training pistol and rubber bullet mag.
Wanted live rounds or Thunderbolt first, but start minimal to gauge effects.
Click.
Chambered a round.
Switched Super Accuracy to 'OFF'.
Speed Limit Release to 'ON'.
Deep breath to steady my pounding heart.
Bang!
Fired.
The instant the bullet launched...
Crunch.
The gun vanished.
No—disassembled.
But the bullet fired true.
I saw it clearly heading for the mannequin.
Then, after 0.5 seconds, the bullet vanished.
"...Hngh."
The same draining weakness from the hospital hit.
A massive shockwave burst from the mannequin's Aegis.
Followed by...
...CRRRRACK──!!
The roar filled the sparring room like an aftershock.
Thud.
I dropped to one knee.
Zero strength left.
Not passed out like yesterday, though.
But dizzy enough to flop flat.
Trembling like a leaf, I opened inventory and grabbed a Cheongnendan.
Shoved it in my mouth.
Gulp.
Its unique aroma and energy flooded me.
True to its stamina-boosting name, my near-empty vitality began recovering.
Once somewhat restored, I sighed and stood.
Approached the mannequin and checked the Aegis.
【Imperfect Aegis (S-)】[100,244/500,000]
"...Rubber bullet did 100k damage."
Live rounds plus Thunderbolt (A)? At least 400k, or shatter the Aegis?
But would the gun hold? It disassembled like the training one.
And vitality/stamina issues too.
"...Just one trigger pull."
Vitality nearly depleted, trigger finger bruised black.
No pain thanks to Aegis absorption, but the bruise meant it pierced through momentarily to hit me.
"Haa... this cheat's a total double-edged sword."
Damage is beyond imagination.
No—overwhelming.
But it hits me proportionally hard.
"Without Infinite Vitality and Infinite Stamina, can't use it properly."
Good news: cheat doesn't trigger on basic body movements.
"Got the activation condition."
Speed Limit Release triggers on anything beyond basic movement.
Like telekinesis yesterday, or firing now.
"Running, then..."
I crouched into a sprint stance.
The instant I tried to move...
Chill!
"...!"
Goosebumps everywhere.
Like the Grim Reaper's scythe on my neck.
I dropped the stance immediately.
The chill faded.
"...Did I almost die just now?"
With Aegis on?
Makes sense—firing alone disassembles guns and causes sonic booms.
Apply to my body?
One step and I'd be in the afterlife.
"Fast way to go, huh..."
I wiped cold sweat from my forehead with my hand and tested the range next.
Closed my eyes, focused on mana.
Recovery speed... normal.
No need to check stamina.
Trigger finger bruise healing slowly—my natural regen, not cheat-enhanced.
My conclusion on the cheat:
"...Pure attack all-in cheat."
Attack-focused.
"Wait... what if Live Focus activates?"
World slows, so do I.
Add Speed Limit Release?
"Ssp... sandstorm bu○let?"
Test it later.
"...But first, fix the vitality issue."
Sighed and opened the cheat tool.
[Choice Cheat Usage Rights: 3]
"Gotta use it..."
Could save two for Infinite Stamina.
But Infinite Vitality more urgent.
Damage absorbable with Aegis or stamina pots.
No pots for vitality.
Eating mid-fight? Insane.
Cheongnendan too slow.
Infinite Vitality it is.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[Activate Infinite Vitality? YES / NO]
Last time I fat-fingered Infinite Items.
This time, deliberate activation.
Strange sense of nostalgia, I hit YES.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[3 Choice Cheat Usage Rights consumed.] ['Infinite Vitality' activated.]
The message flashed, and I immediately toggled Infinite Vitality to 'ON'.
My slowly recovering vitality surged—instantly? No, like it was full from the start. Power flooded my body.
I switched Super Accuracy to 'ON', transferred Thunderbolt to my left hand.
Loaded live rounds, aimed at the mannequin.
"Oh, before that."
Swap to a fresh Aegis.
....
......
Aegis swapped.
Deep breath, tension easing.
When calm enough, pulled the trigger.
Rumble-boom!
Thunderbolt's signature thunderclap echoed.
Crunch.
The training pistol disassembled and vanished again.
But the bullet launched perfectly.
This time...
Flash!
The entire sparring room lit blue.
─────────────!!!
All the safety Aegises exploded simultaneously.
Followed by...
......ZZZZZZAP──!!
Massive electrical surge roared.
A giant, gaping hole punched through the sparring room.
Molten red metal dripped through.
And...
"...Huh?"
"...Ah."
Through the hole, my eyes met a staff member's.
Flutter.
Papers dropped from their hands.
At the same moment...
WEE-OOO-OOO-OOO──!!
The academy siren blared.