Chapter 12
Translator: uly
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Kim Ara (3)
-Of course.
The spirit of the Black Heaven Demon Sword responded lazily to the recent display of power.
The Reverse Heaven Body.
It is a physical constitution that fundamentally defies the heavens, instinctively rejecting any and all abilities related to mana.
-It's not entirely good news, Master. Blocking an opponent's magic is a fantastic trait in itself, and against curses, your resistance is even more pronounced. However, there is a dark side. Because you reject mana, you are incapable of receiving buffs from allies or even basic healing magic.
‘...I expected as much.’
In this world, most auxiliary roles fall into one of three categories: cooking, alchemy, or blacksmithing. I had specifically chosen alchemy first for a very calculated reason.
Knowing that the Reverse Heaven Body recovers naturally at a snail's pace and is barred from healing spells, I needed a way to manufacture my own recovery methods.
“Wh-what? The curse... it just vanished?”
“What kind of insane magic resistance is that guy hiding? Is he secretly a giant-kin half-blood or something?”
The surrounding students buzzed with a mixture of shock and excitement.
“H-huh, hahaha. A-as expected of this generation's top student. He's... truly incredible.”
Professor Song Ra-hee staggered back slightly as she looked at me, her eyes gleaming with a manic, scholarly intensity.
“The next spell won't be so easy to brush off. It's my original creation, a magic specifically specialized in shattering magic resistance!”
She began to chant, her mana swirling into a dense, volatile vortex.
-Master, that one is dangerous. Without using the Black Scale from the Black God Martial Art, even a top-tier protective aura would shatter against that spell. She possesses a talent heavily focused on anti-magic. It's quite unique for this era.
“Of course, this is my unilateral decision to push you, so you have every right to refuse, Lee Seo-ha. But... if this spell can't breach your barrier either, I’ll grant you enough academic points that you won't have to worry about your scores for a very long time.”
“I'll do it,” I replied instantly.
I looked at Song Ra-hee with renewed focus.
In a single moment, she had transformed from a prickly professor who might eventually join the demons into a glorious vending machine for easy points.
Song Ra-hee hurled the concentrated orb of magic at me. And, exactly as I anticipated...
Fsssh...
The spell simply dissolved into nothingness the moment it grazed my skin.
“Wha-what? Th-this can't be happening... It shouldn't... My magic just...”
Song Ra-hee stared at her empty hands with a dazed, broken expression.
No, don't look so sad. Your points are mine now.
The subsequent physical training and theory exams flew by in a hectic blur. Before I could catch my breath, the first weekend was already around the corner.
Surprisingly, the Korea Hero Academy requires a level of dedication that extends into the weekend.
And that requirement is...
“I understand that everyone wants to rest on their days off. However, a healthy body and personal hobbies are essential traits of a true hero.”
Under those hollow words from the principal, we were all forced into joining campus clubs.
...I didn't mind the social aspect, but why did it have to be on a weekend?
“Let's join the travel club. At least it feels like a legitimate getaway compared to the other options.”
“How about the gaming club? I heard they have the latest simulators.”
“What about the club that follows the Lotte Giants, the most prestigious baseball team in history?”
“Lotte? A prestigious team? Since when?”
There were dozens of clubs to choose from. Every student was mandated to join at least one, and you could technically join two if you were willing to sacrifice your Sunday as well.
My choice was simple.
The Occult Research Club.
I knew Erhil Merhen would join this one, using it as a front to bring in all sorts of dangerous, cursed artifacts under the guise of "research."
‘Should I try to drag Seo Ga-yeon in too?’
I considered it briefly but decided it was better to focus on establishing a solid connection with Erhil first.
I wrote 'Occult Research Club' on my form and submitted it to Instructor Seo Woo-ju.
“Hm? This club... It currently has no members, no supervising instructor, and is on the verge of being disbanded. Are you absolutely sure about this, Seo-ha?”
“Yes, Instructor.”
Finding a supervising professor would be a cakewalk. As the #1 ranked student, there were plenty of faculty members eager to butter me up for future favors.
“Well, you can probably manage it. If you run into trouble, just come ask me.”
Seo Woo-ju stamped the form with a loud thud. I took the paper and returned to my seat.
“Oh? Do you have an interest in the Occult Research Club?”
“Occult Research? Seo-ha, are you actually into that kind of stuff?”
Erhil spoke up from behind, and Kim Seo-hyun asked in surprise from the seat next to her.
“Hm, I was thinking of joining the Mint Choco Debate Club, but maybe I should check out Occult Research instead?” Erhil mused.
“Oh? So you truly know your own tastes.”
A British genius and a Korean genius debating the merits of mint chocolate.
How truly horrifying.
I let out a sigh and shook my head.
“But do you really feel the need to follow me into every club, Seo-hyun?”
“That's what best friends do, right?”
“There's no need. You'll just want to play on Sundays anyway. Better to pursue your own hobbies on Saturday.”
“True enough. I guess I'll stick with the Mint Choco Debate Club then.”
Kim Seo-hyun hummed happily as he scribbled down his choice on the paper.
“You're here already?”
“...Yeah.”
Kim Ara nodded faintly as I approached.
“But is it really okay for us to be in such a remote spot?”
“Yeah, no problem at all.”
I had secured permission in advance. When Instructor Seo Woo-ju heard that I needed an expansive, isolated space for private training, he had recommended this specific sector readily.
“Are we really training all the way out here?”
“Yep. The method I'm going to teach you is fundamentally different from anything you've ever done before.”
I chatted with Kim Ara as we walked slowly through the outskirts of the campus.
The Overlord had trained Kim Ara since she was a child. However, he had never properly taught her the intricate combat techniques needed to control her gifts.
“Didn't you ever notice something was off when the Overlord taught you the way of the sword?”
“...Yeah. What my father described and the results I achieved never quite matched up.”
The reason was simple enough.
Kim Ara had inherited the very thing the Overlord could not.
“He told me my power was simply stronger than what his scrolls described.”
I stopped and looked at Kim Ara.
She had a slender build that belied her strength, and her long, flowing purple hair caught the light. Her bangs still covered half her eyes, but they couldn't hide her striking beauty.
I slipped my hands into my pockets and spoke with deliberate slowness.
“I told you before. Your power isn't just a talent; it is tied directly to your bloodline.”
“My bloodline...?”
“Yeah. Your lineage.”
The Overlord and Kim Ara carried the blood of a legendary being that had been extinct for millennia.
The Giant Clan.
Beings that even the ancient dragons shunned, serving as the ultimate symbols of raw 'might.' That blood had thinned over countless generations, nearly dying out with the Overlord, but it flowed thick and pure in Kim Ara.
With a little more growth, even her father wouldn't be able to handle the magnitude of her power.
“Have you ever actually swung at something with your full power? Have you ever poured every single ounce of your being into one strike until your strength was completely drained?”
“No. My father strictly told me never to hit anything with my full force.”
“It felt weird, didn't it?”
“......”
Kim Ara stopped walking and looked me in the eyes.
“Didn't something feel... missing? Like you could push much harder. Like your body was built for more than this. Not just a feeling, but a deep, biological revelation.”
“...I did feel that.”
The Overlord had only inherited half of the Giant Clan's legacy: their raw, brute strength. But Kim Ara was different. She had inherited the Giants' biological essence—their primal vitality.
“Then this time, I want you to squeeze out every single bit of power you have and strike that boulder over there.”
In the original timeline, this was how Kim Ara truly awakened. Fighting demons who coveted her blood, she finally realized the truth of her existence.
“We're here.”
Arriving at the training grounds, I tapped the reinforced concrete floor with my foot.
“You can do it, right?”
“Yeah.”
Kim Ara nodded, her expression set. She reached into her subspace and pulled out the Giant's Sword. No matter how many times I saw it, the size was staggering. It was a blade designed for a titan, yet Kim Ara held it as lightly as if it were a pair of wooden chopsticks.
Woooong!
The sword began to hum with a low frequency. Violent purple mana began to surge in waves around her.
I leaned comfortably against a nearby tree and watched the show.
Kiiik.
The very air seemed to scream under the pressure of her mana. But Kim Ara gripped the hilt with calm, focused eyes, raising the massive blade high over her head.
-Wait a second...
The Black Heaven Demon Sword spirit’s tone shifted instantly. Her casual curiosity had been replaced by genuine shock.
Kim Ara swung the sword.
A simple, vertical strike from above to below. There was no technical finesse involved whatsoever. They say softness overcomes hardness, but overwhelming hardness simply crushes everything in its path.
Craaaaaack────!!!
The space around the sword seemed to scream as it descended. Everything in its trajectory was pulverized by sheer, unadulterated 'force,' reduced to nothing but fine dust.
The impact site looked as if it had been struck by a high-yield bomb, with a deep, jagged crater formed in the reinforced floor.
And in the center of the destruction, Kim Ara was smiling.
Dark blood began to flow from her arms. Veins had burst under the pressure, spraying from multiple spots. But the Giant's primal vitality kicked in instantly. The bleeding stopped in heartbeats, her flesh regenerating and knitting back together as if time itself were rewinding.
It was a small change, but her physical vessel had grown even more 'robust' from the exertion.
-...Master, this is insane. That girl is a monster.
I smiled at Kim Ara as she caught her breath.
“How does it feel?”
“...You already knew about this, didn't you?”
“Roughly. Let's just say I've got very good eyes for these things.”
I pointed to my eyes and grinned. Kim Ara offered me a faint, almost eerie smile in return.
“Does that Seo Ga-yeon you mentioned earlier really measure up to this?”
“Ga-yeon? I'm not joking when I say her potential is just as terrifying. So, tell me, how do you feel now?”
“It's weird. It's the first time in years I've felt like this.”
Kim Ara muttered the last part casually, and I almost missed it.
“It's the first time I've ever been this genuinely interested in someone.”
The Alchemy Guild.
It was a fancy title for a loose, decentralized gathering of alchemists who mostly preferred to operate in isolation.
Most alchemists skip any form of socializing to dive deeper into their research. Lately, however, the guild's private channels were in a state of absolute uproar.
The cause of the chaos? A single, revolutionary recipe shared by a recent joiner.
“To think a golden ratio like this actually existed... It's unbelievable...”
“It's complete reverse thinking. The line between poison and medicine has always been thin, but making high-tier recovery potions purely from lethal poisons? It's genius.”
“The efficiency is staggering. The ingredients aren't even rare, but the potency... it's unmatched.”
“That's a foolish question! Valuing this potion based on 'money' is an insult to the sheer elegance of the recipe!”
The 'Master' who had built the AI and vanished for a decade to avoid human contact; 'Al Magus,' the man chasing the Philosopher's Stone; and 'Zermeng,' the potion maker who controlled 35% of the global market.
Figures who could each flip the entire industry upside down were currently gathered in a digital room, debating fiercely.
“It's absurd. Master, surely you know who this user is, right?”
“...I don't.”
“What?! You built the AI and you're claiming ignorance?!”
“I really don't! My disciples were annoying me, so I commissioned the 'Electronic Witch' to build the AI. It's almost impossible for me to meddle with its internal encryption.”
“That crazy old man...”
The Electronic Witch. She was a legendary hacker and mage who lived entirely in the digital realm, having abandoned her physical flesh decades ago. Commissioning her for any task was notoriously difficult and expensive.
“...Then we have no choice but to wait for him to resurface on the boards.”
“No choice my ass! By the time he comes back, these rumors will have spread to every guild in the world. The Demons might even put a hit on this alchemist just for leaking this kind of progress!”
It was a worst-case scenario they had seen play out before. Demons and villains despise anything that makes heroes stronger.
“By the way, does that alchemist have a name?”
“You don't even know that?”
“Veritas.”
“......”
The questioner fell into a stunned silence. Only then did they realize they had never actually spoken the alchemist's name aloud.
Veritas. Truth.
The ultimate aspiration of every true alchemist.