Chapter 28
Chapter 28
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Trauma Test (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The entrance exam, taken right after enrolling in the Academy.
It’s basically a time to get to know the abilities of your classmates.
A time when the pecking order is roughly established.
A time Han Si-hoo would be dominating.
"You can't just attack anyone like last time."
"Yes."
There's no one here but Lee Yoo-ram and me.
The training ground is spacious but enclosed.
Beyond the glass window is an observation deck.
Normally, the other kids in the class would be gathered there, watching.
But as for classmates, there's no one but me.
I thought they'd put at least one or two more in the Special Class.
I didn't expect it to be empty.
"You understand, right?"
"Yes."
I'm holding back on the whole persona thing here.
I've taken off the eyepatch, and I'm speaking normally.
Doing all that was surprisingly exhausting.
Still, it was useful for keeping people away.
"Here."
-Plunge.
[13 hours 25 minutes]
The drug's effects began to take hold.
A sense of pleasure flowed through my nervous system.
I faltered for a moment from the pleasure, but soon, my perception of my surroundings sharpened.
What am I supposed to attack?
"You need to distinguish who the enemy is. If you attack an ally like last time, it'll be a real problem."
-Crackle.
Lee Yoo-ram brought out an old mp3 player.
I have no idea what it has to do with the drug.
"It's a bit of an old thing, but it should be fine."
She pressed a button with a click.
A voice emerged along with a crackling static.
-Listen after administration.
-Repetitive listening is effective.
-The subject does not require psychological stability.
-It is only maintained while the drug's effects last.
Strange words flowed out.
What on earth is this voice for?
-[You cannot attack a target not designated by your superior.]
Lee Yoo-ram watched me with a strange expression.
As if she wasn't sure if it would work.
-[You must attack the target designated by your superior.]
"Hmm?"
I think I've heard this somewhere before.
A distinct, familiar voice.
How many voices could Yoo Seo-ah possibly be familiar with?
The doctor?
My memory is hazy, but wasn't there a similar situation?
What did he say after giving me the drug?
Something about having to tell only the truth?
It must have been right after I came back from seeing Han Si-hoo.
-[You must... your superior's...]
*Click.*
"That's enough."
Lee Yoo-ram turned off the sound.
I was curious about the rest. What a shame.
"This much should be sufficient."
An old mp3 player.
I don't know whose voice was recorded, but it clearly has some kind of effect.
"Now, try making a dagger. That's your ability, right?"
"Yes."
*Pop.*
A black dagger formed in my hand.
This time, no particular killing intent surged within me.
"See that scarecrow over there?"
"Yes."
A scarecrow appeared about ten paces away.
Did it rise from the ground?
This training ground really has all sorts of features.
"Attack."
Attack.
*Crack.*
The black dagger swelled as if it were exploding.
It branched out, stretching toward the scarecrow.
It looked less like a sword and more like a giant tree root.
It was more violent than the time I attacked by extending the blades.
[11 hours 20 minutes]
I could see the black roots impaled in the scarecrow.
[10 hours 51 minutes]
"Disappear."
Startled by my time melting away, I made the weapon vanish.
It shattered like glass, the fragments dissolving into the air.
I guess it's because I don't hate the scarecrow.
Last time, I was flustered because the weapon wouldn't disappear.
"Did you do that intentionally?"
"The attack just went off on its own."
"I see. Good job."
Lee Yoo-ram jotted something down on the paper she brought.
She said it was a skill test.
I don't know if I'll get a good score.
The other Academy students are probably taking their tests in other training grounds.
I'd like to watch, too.
"Can you do ranged attacks?"
"Ranged...?"
I hadn't thought about that.
I should at least try.
I have no feel for it, though.
Should I try making a bow and shooting it?
It doesn't seem like it would work.
"How about you try a ranged attack this time? It might work."
Lee Yoo-ram snapped her fingers, and a new scarecrow appeared.
This one appeared much farther away.
A distance that's definitely out of reach for a melee attack.
Still, Han Si-hoo could probably hit it with a swing of his sword.
Anyway, once you reach a certain level, the distinction between close-range and long-range loses its meaning.
"Ranged attack."
Oh, great drug, give me a gun.
And then a pistol appeared.
It was crude, with no fine details.
Shaped as if carved from wood.
"Bang."
I pulled the trigger, but nothing happened.
It had no barrel and no bullets.
It would be more surprising if an attack actually came out of this.
"There are Awakeners who use guns, but... it seems you can't."
"I guess not."
"Then I'll have to register you as a melee attacker. One who doesn't use weapons."
Lee Yoo-ram had requested a ranged attack.
I have a duty to meet that expectation.
If I throw the gun, does that count as a ranged attack?
Isn't there something cooler?
Like an attack I saw in an anime.
Swing a magic wand and a flashing laser shoots out.
A magic wand is a bit much, though.
But shooting a laser sounds interesting.
"Bang."
This time, too, nothing much happened.
I felt like it might work.
"Actually, it's normal that it doesn't work. This drug doesn't enable ranged attacks."
"Ah."
So if I change the drug, I can do ranged attacks?
Just how versatile is this stuff?
I don't understand why people don't use it.
I'd like to see someone else use it at least once.
"You don't see things like levels or skill names in front of you? Some people call it a Status Window."
*Glance.*
[10 hours 48 minutes]
Is this a Status Window, too?
I've been making good use of it, though.
"I don't see anything."
"I see. That's tricky."
"Are there other Awakeners like me who can't see them?"
"Yes. If their awakening rate is low."
I remember mine being very low.
"Yours was forcibly raised with a drug... so it's not surprising if it appears deformed."
"Deformed..."
What does that mean?
Is she saying I'm deformed?
Or that this thing I see, the [10 hours 47 minutes], is what's deformed?
I don't know.
"Do you have any other abilities?"
Other abilities.
I think there was something.
*Pop.*
I create a dagger.
This is an ability I've had since I started taking the special drug.
But I definitely had some kind of ability before that.
My ability isn't limited to just making black blades.
Right?
[10 hours 39 minutes]
"You can do anything you want."
Anything?
I open my left palm and look at it.
It's wrapped in a bandage.
"You're testing your own limits."
I roughly know my limits.
As long as the time doesn't hit [0], I'm fine.
That's my limit.
*Stab.*
"The test site is large, so... huh?"
I stabbed my own hand.
I plunged the dagger into my outstretched left hand.
Piercing it wasn't hard.
Blood seeps out.
[10 hours 11 minutes]
"Like this."
A broken arm doesn't hurt, and getting stabbed by a knife doesn't hurt either.
I'm only scared of the drug's effects wearing off.
But right now, it's fine.
It's not a fatal wound, Lee Yoo-ram is a healer, and I have more than enough of the drug—a perfect environment.
"It doesn't hurt. This is the ability I originally had."
I say as I pull out the blade.
The withdrawn blade shatters and vanishes into the air.
The bandage is turning red.
[9 hours 56 minutes]
Pain?
On the contrary, there's a strange sense of pleasure.
It's not for nothing that I used to cut my arm for fun when I was bored.
With Han Si-hoo gone, I was lonely by myself.
"...Don't do that."
"Yes."
I only did it because she told me to test the limits of my ability.
Lee Yoo-ram takes my bleeding hand.
[9 hours 44 minutes]
"[Lesser Heal]."
The wound healed in an instant.
"Whoa."
[9 hours 43 minutes]
The rapid drain on my time also stopped.
So this is why people keep a healer around.
A valuable asset.
"You don't have any other abilities, right? Use your words, your words, don't self-harm."
"I don't think so."
"Alright."
Lee Yoo-ram records something else on her papers.
Muttering about how she's too scared to ask me to do anything.
Her hand seems to be trembling a little, too.
"...The trauma test is left. We skipped it during the last test."
I've heard of this test.
It's the test I couldn't do because Han Si-hoo told me not to.
The name sounds dangerous.
"Let's do it. You have to do it once. It's to check your resistance to mental attacks."
If all the other students are doing it...
There's no reason not to.
"I'll do it."
"Okay. Switching to the trauma test. I'll stop it immediately if you seem to be struggling. It will also stop if you say 'stop' yourself."
"Okay."
Was it something that brings up bad memories?
Or shows you hallucinations?
I remember it being something along those lines.
"It's about mental confusion or hallucinations, that sort of thing... For some kids, it doesn't work at all. That's an immediate pass. It means they won't break under most mental attacks."
"Is that so."
"Are you ready? It's better to start and finish quickly. Hesitating can be poison."
Lee Yoo-ram takes a step back.
She clicks the ballpoint pen in her hand.
"It's starting."
*BOOM.*
With a deafening roar, my surroundings blew away.
For a hallucination, it feels incredibly real.
A black space unfolds.
It's silent.
"...So this is a mental attack."
With darkness all around, it feels a little scary.
I can't hear anything.
Not even my own heartbeat.
It's too quiet.
I won't break from this level of fear.
This is nothing.
"That's."
There's something there.
Someone is there.
"...It's Han Si-hoo."
The scenery changes abruptly.
A gloomy sky appears, looking like it's about to rain.
A house that looks like it could collapse.
The middle of a slum.
An old memory replays.