33. Midterm Check
33. Midterm Check
33. Midterm Check
After parting ways with Yu Ha-yeon, I returned to my dorm bed and slept for a while.
'This is happiness...'
Other people really drain me.
For the first time in a long time, I had my own living space all to myself.
That alone satisfied me.
'Maybe I'll mess around on my phone for the first time in forever.'
When I pressed the power button on my neglected phone, I found a message from Shin Si-hwa that had arrived an hour earlier.
—Student Han Si-jun is drawing far too much attention at the moment, so please take about a week off. The school will handle the rest. Understood?
A text from Shin Si-hwa telling me I didn't need to come to school.
Should I be happy about this or not?
Two conflicting thoughts clashed inside me.
'Isn't it good to be off school so I can rest?'
'Episode 2 is right around the corner, and you're just gonna coast without training?'
If I don't go to school, I can't do the training that takes place during classes.
No matter how thoroughly I know V. AGE, that's all just knowledge in my head.
With my overwhelming lack of practical experience, a week away from school felt like a real loss.
While I was feeling that regret about my lack of combat ability, a low growl echoed in my ear.
—Agreed. Human. Disgustingly weak.
"Don't talk to me, my head hurts..."
The voice belonged to the subjugated S-rank Magic Beast Fenrir.
Somehow, this useless wolf had managed to slip into the Golem Core inside my body, with his ego and a faint power intact.
'Could he have entered because the Golem lacked an ego of its own...?'
I guessed, but there was no other way to explain the situation.
The S-rank Magic Beast Fenrir, the creature that once plunged Russia into terror.
He was being absolutely useless to me.
"Whew..."
I forced down the rising irritation with a deep breath and asked Fenrir a question.
"Hey, dog. Why exactly did you come into my body?"
—Survive. Kill them. Must live. Me too. Came in. Did not want.
Fenrir spoke in staccato, syllable by syllable.
I could interpret it as: Since Black Dawn was going to kill him, he transferred his ego into my empty Golem Core.
"..."
Why, of all places, did you have to flee into my body?
I feel like smacking him on the head.
Since Fenrir currently had no physical form, I had no choice but to patiently listen to what he had to say.
—Human. Attacked first. Fight. Hate. Recover. Will leave. Core. Recover it. You. Not qualified.
"You fought because the human attacked first. Once you recover, you'll leave my body, so recover the core. And I'm too weak and not qualified?"
—Yes. Human.
"Haah..."
This guy is a total parasite.
A parasite that barges into my body, crustily announces it'll be crashing for a bit, and then yells at me to bring his core.
Still, maybe because he's an S-rank Magic Beast, his intelligence seemed high and his hostility toward humans appeared low.
'At least we can communicate, I suppose.'
A sense of relief and regret coexisted in my heart.
It would be great if Fenrir were subordinated to me and shared his power, but according to him, I wasn't qualified.
To use Fenrir's power in V. AGE, a character's Mana had to exceed 11.
That was the dominance required to control an S-rank Magic Beast.
I simply didn't possess that kind of dominance.
"How can I trust you? That you'll leave once you recover."
—Cannot lie. Swear. I. Harm. Cannot cause.
"You can't lie and you swear. You can't harm me. Then when will you recover?"
—Minimum. One year.
One year.
Right around when I'd be moving up to my second year.
As a condition for helping out of goodwill, it wasn't too bad.
'Still, he has to pay rent.'
I decided to put one condition on Fenrir.
"In exchange, help me when I'm in danger. I'm giving you a safe place to rest, so you can at least do that much, right?"
—Understood. Will help.
Fenrir readily agreed to help.
I was a little suspicious, but I decided to let it slide.
If he didn't help me, I could always just use Libra to smash him.
I'd gained one final trump card I could use to protect my life.
Weighing the outcome, it wasn't bad at all.
As long as no one discovers that an S-rank Magic Beast is inside my body, that is.
'Who could possibly figure it out? There's absolutely no way.'
Fenrir's ego and his feeble mana had entered the Golem Core.
If anyone could detect that, I'd call them a living national treasure.
Thinking that, I lay back on my bed and used Libra for an interim check.
"Libra. Show me my Status Window. I'll offer half the Golem Core's mana."
—Value is insufficient. Adjusted value. 70% of the Golem Core's mana will be taken. Do you agree?
"I agree."
The moment my mana was drained, a faint sense of powerlessness washed over me.
Because it was pulled out all at once, I felt a brief spell of dizziness, but it passed after about two minutes.
Then a small Status Window opened in my previously blurred vision.
Name: Han Si-jun
Age: 17
Gender: Male
Alignment: Good
Unique Ability: Libra
Fates: S-rank Childhood Friend's Fate, Womanizer's Fate, Villain's Fate.
Status
[Strength 3(+3)]
[Agility 3(+3)]
[Stamina 2]
[Mana 0(+3)]
[Will 9]
'Not bad.'
Because I'd been living among Black Dawn, who are classified as the worst villains, my Will had risen from 8 to 9.
Also, thanks to the nutritional supplements I'd been taking steadily, my Strength had gone from 2 to 3.
If I used the Hidden Piece, the Golem Core's Red Stone,
I'd have a total value of 6, which meant I could go toe-to-toe with ordinary academy students in terms of strength.
Over the course of about a month, I could say I'd gotten considerably stronger.
If I ignored my Stamina.
I shifted my gaze to the 'Skills' section below the stats.
Skills
[Fenrir's Core (S)]
[Magic Stone Golem's Core (A)]
[Pride (A)]
[Bluff (C)]
[Pheromones (C)]
[Shooting (E)]
Skills or Abilities
In V. AGE, these refer to a user's capabilities.
They can be created through effort, their ranks raised, and innate abilities are also included as skills.
This Skill Window contained all sorts of things.
No matter how I looked at it...
'No matter how I look at it, this isn't an academy cadet's Skill Window...?'
If you had to compare, it looked more like the Skill Window of a host working in the nightlife industry.
Out of the five, only two skills were related to combat.
'Should I just latch onto Yu Ha-yeon as a kept man?'
For a moment, my willpower faltered at the sight of the disastrous Skill Window.
But since only a player like me could clear this world, becoming a gigolo was something to think about later.
Facing reality, I immediately started doing push-ups in the room.
Episode 2 would break out not long after I returned to school.
The day countless students would die.
I had to prepare for it.
***
The Black Dawn hideout.
As usual, it was packed with dazzling, glittering objects, but the mood had turned grim.
"Mmm. The dinner tonight is delicious. Don't you think so?"
"Read the room, Vice-Leader."
That was, if you excluded Han Yu-wol, elegantly cutting her meat with a fork.
Because Ban Ha-na had shouted "I'll be back in a little bit" and taken off, Black Dawn was mired in serious concern.
Angela, on edge, was the first to speak.
"...Isn't that bitch insane? She could've been arrested at that location..."
"Hey, the youngest of Black Dawn is already caught on camera! Haha!!"
Kim Chun-sam laughed like he'd lost it.
This situation wasn't in his plan, so fury made the veins bulge on his forehead.
Hwang Pil-du, the man of massive build, opened his mouth.
"I think it's fine to let her go out at least once."
"I agree."
An Da-il responded in kind.
She too knew Ban Ha-na's level of knowledge, so she'd thought it would be good for her to see the outside world.
Angela pushed up her crooked glasses and said,
"Can't we just kill that boy? He's the root of the problem. The thief who lured our little Ha-na away."
"Right, Leader. I don't understand why you're keeping that bastard alive. He's lost his usefulness, so do we really need to spare him?"
Angela and Kim Chun-sam were nursing some dissatisfaction.
Because keeping the now-useless Han Si-jun alive had provoked Ban Ha-na, the spatial ability user, into acting out.
That was a sentiment shared by everyone except Han Yu-wol.
As those grumbling voices continued during the meal,
Shin Hae-il silenced their discontent with a single sentence.
"That's enough."
Although his voice was calm, it carried an anger he couldn't hide.
He had anticipated Ban Ha-na's escape to some extent, but he hadn't anticipated the rest.
'That bright yellow chick brat...'
For reasons he couldn't understand, the S-rank Magic Stone was empty.
It was an S-rank Magic Stone in name only; the mana remaining inside was barely more than a trace.
The trail he had seen with his Eye of Insight pointed toward Han Si-jun.
Because the entire plan to resurrect the S-rank Magic Beast Fenrir had gone up in smoke, Shin Hae-il was bound to be furious.
He spoke to the members of Black Dawn.
"Ha-na is fine. But Han Si-jun... that child is..."
Shin Hae-il trailed off.
He was troubled over Han Si-jun.
He didn't know whether the boy had intentionally interfered, but the result was that he had hindered Black Dawn.
Shouldn't he have to take responsibility?
However, Shin Hae-il couldn't make an emotional judgment.
Han Si-jun, as seen through the Eye of Insight.
If he walked the path of a hero, Black Dawn would be destroyed by his hand.
But if he killed him, someone else would destroy Black Dawn.
Persuasion wouldn't work on him.
He would never become a villain of his own volition.
What should he do about him?
Shin Hae-il already knew the answer.
"Han Si-jun. I will teach that child what responsibility means."
Ruin him.
Force him to walk the path of a villain not by his own will, but by external forces.
That was the only action Shin Hae-il could take against Han Si-jun.