Jealousy and Obsession

The morning after I had coffee with Anastasia at the café dawned bright and clear.

The night before, I had become a perfect lost child in the middle of the massive academy city. After wandering the streets for ages, I finally managed to drag myself back to the dorms.

If I hadn't dug through the "Student Info" section of the academy app on my phone, I really might have ended up pitching a tent on the sidewalk.

After a whole day of getting tossed around and having my mental state thoroughly shredded, I skipped dinner entirely, collapsed onto my bed, and passed out cold like I'd been knocked unconscious.

And so arrived this morning.

The mandatory common class for all first-years wrapped up rather blandly.

Under the pretext of an "orientation," the professor just rattled off some introductions and a rough outline of how classes would run, then dismissed us early.

Thanks to that free time, I chatted with Anastasia, treated her to lunch as promised yesterday, and safely made it through the morning schedule.

And right now.

I was standing alone in a corner of a massive indoor training hall that looked like some kind of gymnasium.

This was the afternoon "Department Introduction Class" exclusive to unaffiliated students.

The very first session of this course—which skimmed the surface-level basics of every department like licking the outside of a watermelon—was "Close-Quarters Combat."

Except…

"Alright~ You all grabbed a wooden sword each? Pair up and train on your own. Don't wake me."

The professor in charge laid out a mattress in the corner, flopped down, slapped a book over his face, and immediately entered sleep mode.

If you were gonna do this, you should've just done an orientation like the morning class and ended early… What the hell is this nonsense?

Even free-range classes weren't this free-range.

Whether the unaffiliated students had lost all motivation because of the professor's attitude, or whether this was just how they always were, they completely ignored the order to train. Most of them just gossiped among themselves or scrolled on their phones.

A few were off to one side, sweating bullets as they earnestly swung their wooden swords, sure.

Should I… try joining them and training together…?

But I didn't have the courage to approach a group of strangers and say, "Um, could I join in a little…?"

In the end, I just squatted in the corner, blankly gripping my wooden sword while watching everyone else mess around.

Then someone approached me.

One of the girls from a nearby cluster had been whispering with her friends while glancing my way, and now she peeled off from the group.

She was a short-haired girl who looked East Asian.

She stopped in front of me, smiling brightly as she spoke.

"Hi? You're alone too, huh? Same as me."

I quietly called bullshit in my head.

…Alone? Then what about all those classmates you were just chatting with over there? Ghosts?

Oblivious to my inner monologue, the girl continued with a friendly attitude.

"What's your name? I'm East Asian too, so I wanted to get closer. Our cultures are pretty similar, so I feel like we'd get along great."

She pulled out her smartphone from her pocket and waved it as she asked.

"Wanna exchange contacts?"

"Uh…?"

My eyes lit up.

A girl approaching me first and asking for my number.

Wasn't this the perfect chance to make a new friend in this other world?

Finally! Someone normal is going into my contacts besides that albino polar bear!

My chest swelled with excitement as I hurriedly reached into my pocket for my phone.

That was the exact moment.

"Hey. Who the hell are you? Get lost."

An all-too-familiar, murderous voice suddenly cut in.

I didn't even need to look. It was that albino polar bear—no… Anastasia.

She stood with the cocky, slanted posture unique to the neighborhood bullies who used to shake people down in alleyways before my possession, her eyes flashing with a vicious light as she glared at the short-haired girl.

"Eek…!"

Faced with a presence that felt like it could tear a person clean in half, the girl's face went deathly pale. She fled back to her group without even glancing behind her, practically tripping over herself.

"N-no…! My precious new contact…!"

I wailed internally as I watched her retreating back.

Then, as I glared resentfully at Anastasia for chasing off my potential new friend, a sudden realization hit me.

Wait. This is…! This is exactly the kind of bullying those girl delinquents used to do before my possession—the one where they stop you from making friends!

Intimidating or even harassing any classmates who try to talk to their target, completely cutting off any potential relationships so the victim becomes an automatic loner. An especially vicious form of torment.

Damn it! And here I was thinking she was different from those girl delinquents, but she pulls this exact nightmare move! No more. I can't let this happen again. I have to stand up and tell her to stop…!

I clenched my fists tight and squeezed out every scrap of courage I had.

I couldn't spend my second school life as a loner all over again.

"N-noona! What are you even—!"

Just as I bravely opened my mouth.

"What, you interested in that bitch or something?"

I shook my head so hard it nearly flew off.

"No?! Absolutely not?!"

"Then shut up and stay still. Some random skank with a sketchy background comes wagging her tail at you, and you just grin like an idiot and pull out your phone? How long has it been since I told you? Is your head just full of flowers or what?"

"…Yes, that's right. My head is full of flowers…."

I tucked my tail between my legs in record time, tears welling up.

…How am I supposed to talk back when she comes at me that scary?

In the end, I quietly clamped my mouth shut and crouched back down in the corner of the training hall.

Ah, so my academy campus life was once again being forced down the path ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of the lonely outcast.

My second school life was collapsing all over again.

As I sat there filled with resentment, idly drawing circles on the floor with my finger, a sudden curiosity made me sneak a glance up at Anastasia and ask,

"Come to think of it… Noona, what about your afternoon class? Did you… skip?"

Anastasia's brow furrowed like she couldn't believe what she'd just heard.

"What? Why the hell would I skip class. I've got a free period, so I came to see what kind of stupid shit you were getting into this time."

"Ah… I see."

So she hadn't skipped.

Looking at her, you'd think she was the type of delinquent who would smash windows with nunchucks while yelling "Babel Academy can go fuck itself!" on her way out, but she never missed her own classes. Surprisingly diligent honor student, huh.

Anyway, a free period… I was jealous.

Unaffiliated students like me had no such thing as free periods—we were stuck in full-time mandatory classes.

As I was bitterly smacking my lips over that, Anastasia casually tossed out,

"…Want me to help you out a bit?"

"Huh? With what?"

She jerked her chin toward the wooden sword in my hand.

"Practice, dumbass. You just gonna give up and mess around like those other trash over there?"

The second I heard that, a lightbulb went off in my head.

Right! This noona is from the close-quarters combat department—the one that swings around giant greatswords like an idiot!

I remembered the overwhelming power she'd shown yesterday during the welcome match, clashing blades so viciously with Chloe.

With the professor in charge of this class openly passed out, there was no reason to let this excellent top-tier instructor standing right in front of me go to waste.

"P-please help me! Help me!"

When I sparkled my eyes at her and wagged my tail, Anastasia snorted a laugh and walked over.

"Then I'll start by teaching you the stance. Hold up the wooden sword."

"Yessir!"

I jumped to my feet full of motivation and clumsily gripped the wooden sword, striking a pose.

But the moment Anastasia saw my pathetic form, her expression rotted away on the spot.

"No, fuck, who holds a sword like that?! You trying to break your wrist after one swing?! Do it properly again!"

And so, until the class period ended, I was subjected to bone-and-flesh-searing personalized one-on-one instruction from my vicious polar bear top instructor, starting all the way from how to grip a sword.

Time flew by in a blur like that… until Friday morning, with the weekend right around the corner.

I was sitting in a massive lecture hall with tiered seating, listening to class.

Each long desk had a monitor installed, so the professor's explanations and materials from the podium were broadcast in real time.

Naturally, Anastasia was sitting in the seat right next to me.

Ding-dong-ding-dong—

When the bell finally rang to signal the end of class, the professor holding the mic smiled kindly and said,

"Alright, that's it for today's class. Everyone enjoy your lunch and see you next week!"

"Thank you for the hard work~"

As the students began gathering their things, I urgently poked the person beside me.

"Noona, noona. I was zoning out earlier and missed this part of the notes… Can you show me yours?"

Anastasia's brow furrowed hard at my request.

"Ugh, what were you even doing if you weren't paying attention?"

She grumbled with her mouth, but still quietly slid her notebook over toward me.

Completely at odds with her rough personality, the pages were packed with neat, pretty handwriting that pulled out only the key points, color-coded with various pens.

As expected… This noona really is a secret hardcore honor student. Never skips class, and takes notes this well too.

I marveled as I carefully copied the content into my own notebook.

Learning the common sense and settings of this unfamiliar other world one by one was actually pretty fun in its own way.

Once I'd finished transferring everything, I carefully reviewed the notes I'd just written while rolling my pen around.

The core content recorded in my notebook today was about "Ability Awakening."

First, every Awakened person basically obtains only a single supernatural ability. That is the 1st Awakening.

But as they live their lives, an extremely small number of people experience a "2nd Awakening," where they acquire a new ability later on.

Of course, it was an opportunity granted only to the chosen few—those with absurdly good luck or those who walked the razor's edge between life and death.

What was interesting was that the ability gained through a 2nd Awakening usually tended to emerge in a way that synergized with their existing 1st ability or the urgent situation they were in at the time.

For example, someone with an agility ability who undergoes a 2nd Awakening might gain something that boosts their stamina so they tire less, or even a higher-tier agility ability. Or if they were in a life-or-death crisis, a defensive ability might dramatically manifest.

Though there were exceptions, of course, so not every case followed this formula without fail.

And the most important part.

The very last line of my notes said this:

The highest number of awakenings recorded throughout all of human history was a mere "3rd Awakening."

Even that had only been achieved by a handful of people you could count on one hand across history.

As I was checking my notes, my gaze froze right there.

Wait. The record for most awakenings is only three? But I…

The list of my goddamn abilities flashed through my mind.

…That's a full four of them. So that means I started out already fully job-changed to 4th Awakening?

Of course, it was the result of stuffing myself full of cheats, but a 4th Awakened who far surpassed the historically rare 3rd Awakened…

I felt my shoulders rise a little inside, like I'd become some kind of ridiculously amazing person.

But then, what the hell are the "Traits" I have?

Separate from my abilities, the "Traits" I possessed.

There hadn't been a single line about Traits in the materials or the professor's explanation.

I tilted my head for a moment, then quickly dismissed it as no big deal.

Well, it's probably just something special only given to a player like me, or maybe just individual physical characteristics that differ from person to person.

Finished with my thoughts, I closed my notebook and finished packing up.

"Thank you! I'm done."

"Hurry up and pack your stuff. Let's go eat."

Just as I was about to grab my bag and stand up, someone brushed past me along the aisle of the tiered lecture hall.

That distinctive red twin-tails—Chloe.

Behind her, the massive Johnson was walking along silently as well.

Watching her back as she simply walked past me and grew farther away, a thought suddenly struck me.

Come to think of it…

Lately I hadn't exchanged a single word with those American kids.

No—thinking back… we hadn't spoken a single word to each other since the first day.

If our eyes happened to meet while passing by, she would smile brightly and wave, but that was it.

There had been zero proper conversation.

I mustered up the courage and called out toward Chloe, who was walking ahead.

"Ch-Chloe!"

At my call, Chloe stopped and turned her head to look at me.

"U-um… If you have time today… would you like to have lunch together?"

At my sudden meal invitation, Chloe blinked a few times, then waved both hands with a troubled, apologetic expression.

"Ah, oh no, what should I do? I've got something urgent I need to take care of right now. I'm so sorry! Can we eat together next time?"

"Ah… Yes…."

"Then byebye~!"

Chloe cheerfully waved and slipped out of the lecture hall with Johnson.

As I stood there blankly, tasting the bitterness of rejection, a vicious killing intent erupted from beside me.

"Hey."

Anastasia was glaring at me with fire in her eyes, looking thoroughly displeased.

"Why the hell are you asking that bitch out to lunch? You wanna die for real?"

"Huh…? N-no… It's just… We haven't talked at all lately, and it kind of felt like she was avoiding me…."

"If she's avoiding you, that's a good thing, so why the fuck would you go out of your way to call her over and ask to eat together?! Do you still not get that I hate that bitch?"

"I-I know that, but…."

When I answered in a shrinking voice, Anastasia snorted and rose from her seat.

"If you know, then please just stop paying attention to that bitch and live your life."

She snapped at me curtly and strode toward the lecture hall door.

I was left alone, blankly staring at her back.

Then Anastasia, who had almost reached the door, whipped her head around and barked,

"…What are you doing? Aren't you coming?"

"Ah, I-I'm coming right now!"

I hurriedly adjusted my bag strap.

After glancing for a moment at the empty space where Chloe and Johnson had completely vanished beyond the door, I quickly moved my feet to follow Anastasia, who was stomping ahead in a huff.

"…U-um, Noona! Today's lunch, I-I'll buy you something delicious!"

At my desperate flattery, Anastasia scoffed and tossed out bluntly,

"Shut up. I'm buying today."

"Huh… Really?"

"No."

"…."

The two of them walked side by side down the hallway after leaving the lecture hall.

Johnson, who had been walking in silence, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠suddenly opened his heavy mouth.

"…I thought you were interested in Chopstick Boy."

"Hm? You mean Siyul?"

"Yes. It seemed like you were avoiding him lately."

Chloe lightly burst out laughing at Johnson's question.

"Avoiding him? It's not that serious. I'm just… not going out of my way to approach him proactively like I did when we first met."

"Is that so? Hmm, I thought it was romantic interest between a man and a woman."

"Haa~? No way, Johnson. Me?"

Chloe made an exaggerated gesture of disbelief, then scratched her cheek with a finger as she added,

"Well, his face is pretty, really… no, quite a bit cuter. And the type I like is exactly that kind of pure and harmless side… Anyway, it's not that kind of romantic interest!"

At her unnecessarily long and rambling excuses, Johnson eyed Chloe suspiciously from the side and asked,

"…Then what kind of interest is it?"

"Oh my, you don't know? Johnson."

The playful look that had been on Chloe's lips quietly faded.

"Even if you were in a pure physical state without using your ability back then, getting retired in one hit… If you hadn't had that artifact that blocks fatal wounds, what do you think would have happened? Doesn't just imagining it make your blood run cold?"

"…True. Still, if we fought again, I'm confident I could win this time."

"How?"

"I just won't get hit where it hurts."

At Johnson's excessively simple-minded answer, Chloe nearly snorted in disbelief.

"Well, that might work for you, Johnson. But it would be a headache if other people snatch him up. What if it's Russia or China? If they set their minds to using him for something bad, like assassination? At the very least, we need to keep him in our allied nation of Korea, or bring him over to our side."

"…Assassination. It was that serious?"

"It is that serious, Johnson. Do you know how terrifying curse-type sorcery can be? And if it was enough to make him collapse from severe mana depletion…."

"No, I'm asking if it was serious enough to use a person for assassination."

At Johnson's serious correction, Chloe shrugged.

"Well, why wouldn't they? It's a method that's actually used a lot. Sending assassins to eliminate promising talent Awakened in advance… That kind of thing."

"…Is that so. After coming to America, I thought I'd seen a fair bit of the dark side of the underworld."

"The more you dig into the underworld, the more stuff comes out."

Chloe quietly muttered as she stared into empty space.

"…I hope he doesn't fall into that kind of path, Siyul."

"…Are you really sure you're not interested?"

Chloe, who had been setting a strangely serious atmosphere, whipped around indignantly.

"That again? Johnson! I told you it's not that kind of interest."

"Why? Getting married is good, Chloe. Really."

"What?"

"I've never once regretted marrying my wife. Even though it was a political marriage between tribes. If you married that Chopstick Boy…."

Johnson suddenly started rattling off reasons why one absolutely had to get married, as if he were some employee of a marriage promotion agency.

Faced with the passionate marriage advocacy of a giant muscular mountain of a man, Chloe seriously wondered where exactly she should start poking holes.

"Ahaha… Well, even if you date someone, not everyone ends up getting married. Still, your wife is lucky, Johnson~ Having someone who loves her."

Chloe awkwardly laughed and changed the subject.

"I think I would have really hated it if I got sold off in a political marriage. I actually had a huge fight with Dad over that kind of thing before."

Just as she was bitterly revealing a bit of her family history,

Vrrr—

A short vibration buzzed from the phone in her pocket.

After checking the screen, Chloe's eyes calmly settled.

She immediately lifted her head, looked at Johnson, and put on her usual bright smile.

"Ah, Johnson. I need to leave you here."

"Is that so. Then let's part ways here. I'll just go eat with my friends like usual…."

Johnson stopped talking and stroked his chin as he muttered.

"Hmm. Maybe I should have lunch with Chopstick Boy for the first time in a while."

"Huh? Sure, do whatever you want. Then byebye~"

Chloe watched the back of the massive Johnson as he turned and walked away.

And once he had completely disappeared from sight, Chloe moved to a quiet corner of the hallway with no one around and dialed the number that had just vibrated.

Click.

The call connected before the ringtone even ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠finished twice.

Chloe completely wiped away her usual smiling face and opened her mouth in a dry, emotionless voice.

"…How did it go?"

Chloe's brow furrowed.

"…What? What do you mean. Tell me some basic information at least, not just the origin of his ability or what it can do. Birth records, what schools he attended in the past, who his parents are, that kind of thing."

"Does that make any sense? Haa…."

Chloe ran a hand through her hair a bit irritably.

"That means the Korean government side must have locked it down properly on purpose. Did you try poking around that line?"

Hearing that report, Chloe's voice rose sharply.

"No, what are ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you even saying. A person who never existed to begin with? Then who exactly is that Han Siyul who's perfectly attending Babel Academy right now. How did a kid with no identity verification even get admitted to the academy in the first place…!"

Chloe, mid-sentence, shouted as if she couldn't take it anymore.

"What, are you just whining that you can't do it? Do you know how much money goes into you people every month? Digging up the identity of one Awakened from an allied nation is that hard?!"

"If you already dug through every accessible information network, then just dig a new one! Why don't you ever think for yourselves! Why is your work always this half-assed!"

Chloe's presence as she snapped rapidly and irritably was the perfect picture of "boss abusing power" mode.

As an elite who had been moving within national-level interests since childhood, she simply could not tolerate the incompetence of her subordinates.

"This is exactly why this country can't function properly without someone like me! Forget it! Immediately start new lobbying or dig new lines, I don't care—just look into it again!"

Click.

Chloe hung up before even fully hearing the man's reply, then let out a deep sigh and pressed hard on her throbbing temples.

"Haa… Having to do this kind of work even after coming all the way to the academy. Seriously… I didn't want to be doing this either."

She couldn't just sit still forever waiting for information from incompetent subordinates.

…Should I just look into it myself? Maybe meet him and try talking a little.

They were in the same academy anyway.

That strange boy who had taken out Johnson in one hit with some incomprehensible ability.

Chloe recalled Siyul's pure, innocent face from earlier when he had awkwardly approached her first and asked to have lunch, and she lightly clicked her tongue.

"…I should've just gone with him when he asked me to lunch."