One-Person Succession
After sacrificing Kim Seokcheol, Lee Seokhyun headed toward the training hall and thought, Was I being too arrogant? His plan had been to steer everything down controllable routes and secure a stable true ending. It had sounded reasonable enough on paper, but when he reexamined it, the feasibility was absurd. The one silver lining was that Kim Seokcheol and Gi Juseon made an excellent pair. Gi Juseon was searching for the perfect intersection between mana-circuit equipment and magic, and Kim Seokcheol showed tremendous potential in the equipment side of things. Since Kim Seokcheol already dreamed of becoming a noble through blacksmithing, entering the research track early would clearly benefit him.
The problem was that none of this had been intentional. If I couldn't even control a situation like that, how was I supposed to block variables? He hadn't even managed to shake off the research students yet, and now Meiri was glued to his side after he'd used his trump card. The moment he made up his mind, failure after failure had piled up, proving just how unrealistic the plan had been. Right now things had worked out, so he could let it slide, but there was no guarantee the same luck would hold.
Maybe I should just do what I can and cut my losses. The biggest difference between playing the game on a monitor and actually living inside it was that he could no longer view everything objectively. On screen, even when he empathized with a character, it never went too deep; he could treat them as fully independent beings. Now that he was inside, he couldn't help seeing himself as Lee Seokhyun, and everything felt like his own problem. After all, if he died here, he would really die. That reality naturally pushed him toward selfish thinking—he found himself prioritizing what benefited him over what was objectively best. Controlling variables in this state? Even a passing dog would laugh.
Then… the most urgent issue right now is money. He'd poured every last coin from his previous earnings into buying mana stones, leaving him completely broke. Mirinae Academy provided a scholarship, but it was laughably insufficient for what he planned to do next. If he failed to clear the upcoming midterms and finals, even that scholarship wasn't guaranteed. He could handle the money problem by finding ways to earn on weekends, so he set it aside for now.
First, he arrived at the training hall and began loosening up. "Oh, you're early. Seokhyun, want to do another bare-handed spar like last time?"
"Woo Dohyun, already trying to set the order in your favor?"
While he was stretching in the middle of the training ground, Woo Dohyun and Mi Juran appeared. Since both had registered for nothing but martial arts courses, it was only natural they would be here.
"Meiri, hello too."
"Oh, Meiri's here as well. Hi!"
"Yeah, hi."
Meiri poked her head out from behind Lee Seokhyun's back and waved at their greetings. Treating a person like a stealth log was one thing, but somehow only Meiri could get away with it.
"Why'd you get here so early? Did you skip breakfast?"
"Ah."
At Mi Juran's question, he realized he had come straight to the training hall without stopping at the cafeteria. That explained why someone who wasn't even taking the martial arts class had been the first to arrive.
In the game, meal times were just a skip button away. Now he had to handle every little detail himself. Come to think of it, he could barely remember eating a proper meal since entering this world. At the inn, the landlady had at least fed him, but even then it had been more automatic than intentional.
Every single detail really does fall on me.
Meiri had followed him without a second thought, so she looked equally oblivious to meals. Given that she hadn't done anything strenuous all day, he even wondered if she was actually hungry.
"I'm not hungry."
"Oh, okay."
Her expression gave everything away; she answered before he even finished asking.
"By the way, why are you here?"
Woo Dohyun suddenly spoke up with a puzzled look, as if he'd only just remembered something odd.
"What do you mean?"
"I was so glad to see you that I forgot—Professor Gainard said you wouldn't be able to take the martial arts class, right?"
"Ah, that's right. I heard that too. I remember him sounding really disappointed when he said it."
"Me? Why?"
He was glad he'd already decided to stop trying to control every variable. Things related to him were happening without his knowledge, so control was pointless anyway. Still, he had one guess and wasn't too surprised. There was only one reason Gainard would be disappointed and say Lee Seokhyun couldn't attend the martial arts class.
"Because you obviously have to take my class."
Right on cue, Akasa's voice rang out. She appeared in front of them in casual clothes and continued calmly.
"There was a lot of paperwork to process, so I was late letting you know. I went to the cafeteria looking for you, but you weren't there."
Yet here he was, already warming up. The moment she saw him, Akasa showered him with praise and walked over.
Wow, this is actually kind of intense.
From their very first meeting, Akasa had felt like a living weapon. Even her simple footsteps seemed capable of tearing someone apart at any moment, and her eyes were nothing like an ordinary person's. If Lee Seokhyun had gained a beast's aura by consuming the Ungbak's inner core, Akasa had been born a beast from the start.
"Skipping meals is a good choice. If it comes down to it, vomiting on an empty stomach is far better than throwing up during class."
With a bright smile, she delivered the chilling line, then grabbed the back of his neck like she was picking up a puppy.
"Sorry, but I've had my eye on you since yesterday. You don't mind if I take him first, do you?"
"I do mind."
"A disciple is supposed to follow their master's words without question. I don't accept objections."
"..."
With Akasa speaking like that, who else could possibly talk back? Even Meiri just blinked blankly, unable to say a word. Woo Dohyun and Mi Juran had been tense from the start; they stood stiffly and only nodded.
Once Akasa confirmed no further complaints were coming, she bent her knees and launched herself into the air.
"Let's go, disciple."
Caught in her grip, he couldn't resist as they soared into the sky. To think he'd be kidnapped like this.
I dodged the research students only to get abducted by Akasa…
It was the classic case of escaping the wolf only to meet the tiger.
++++++++
Akasa's one-person succession. The name sounded impressive, but the truth was that the conditions were so extreme that only one person in a generation could possibly meet them. If the requirements had been more reasonable, the technique would probably have spread far and wide like any other martial art.
The conditions are just insane.
Everyone was born with mana and used it to train their bodies. Akasa's one-person succession, however, demanded that someone who couldn't use mana achieve physical stats comparable to those who could. In other words, it was asking a paper airplane to perform like a real jet—an absurd demand.
And I'm the one who pulled it off.
Akasa kept leaping through the air until she finally set him down in a secluded area and handed him training clothes. Looking around, he saw a single house and a training ground in front of it—clearly her residence.
"Hmm… where should I even begin? Maybe I should start with names. I'm Akasa Ardel."
"Lee Seokhyun."
The moment he changed clothes, Akasa, unwilling to waste time, launched straight into the lesson. She asked a few questions to assess his condition.
"From what I've seen, you have a body that can't use mana. Correct?"
"Yes."
"The mana I sense must be natural mana, then?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Excellent."
Akasa spoke with genuine sincerity and patted his shoulder a couple of times. She clearly wanted to express pride, but her awkwardness in human relationships was obvious.
It's not that I can't use it—it's that I don't have any at all.
There was a huge difference between having mana yet being unable to use it and simply not having any. Of course, Akasa had no way of knowing that and continued.
"Before we begin proper training, it's time to tell you the name of my one-person succession."
She wore an expression that said he should prepare to be amazed, building tension.
I already know this, so I have to react even better.
Since he already knew the information, he braced himself to meet her expectations as best he could.
"This one-person succession has been passed down through the generations. You will become my successor and inherit Infinite Orbit."
After delivering the overly flowery line, Akasa looked triumphant. Lee Seokhyun immediately clapped like a seal, doing his best to show social grace.
"Wow, Infinite Orbit! I'm really looking forward to it."
"...You're trying way too hard."
"..."
He had failed.