Chapter 13
Translator: uly
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Erhil
-Fascinating.
The spirit of the Black Heaven Demon Sword clicked her tongue mockingly, watching my intense struggle with a look of obvious, sadistic delight.
She had changed her outfit again. Today, she wore an elegant off-shoulder blouse paired with a sharp black skirt and matching black stockings. She looked more like a modern socialite than an ancient weapon.
“You suddenly decided to change your clothes?”
-Think of it as a mood refresh, Master. This world has so many garments that satisfy this physical form's aesthetic cravings. It would be a waste not to indulge.
The sword spirit sprawled out on my bed, the corners of her mouth curling into a playful smirk.
“So, what exactly is so 'fascinating' to you?”
-The fact that even my supposedly 'perfect' master can't master everything at once. That is what's fascinating to me.
“I told you already, I’m not a genius. You were the one who said my raw talents were average at best.”
-Master, word of advice: men who dwell on the past and nitpick old conversations aren't very popular with the ladies.
I stared at her, genuinely unable to believe the sass coming from a legendary artifact.
-Besides, it's not that you lack talent. It's just that your growth is too bizarre from my perspective to evaluate using common logic.
“Bizarre, huh?”
-How should I put it? The way you 'conquer'—the way you dissect your opponents' patterns and adapt your fighting style in real-time? I don't know about anything else, but you seem unnervingly specialized in that specific area. It's bizarrely efficient.
In other words, she was essentially saying I was very good at "gaming" the system. Feeling a bit better about my progress, I stopped glaring at her and frowned as I looked down at my own arm.
My right fingers had turned a dull, pitch-black color.
This was the Black Scale—Black Lin. It served as the primary protective aura for the Black God Martial Art.
-It envelops your flesh in pure Reverse Heaven energy, effectively blocking all supernatural abilities and raw physical forces from the material world. Simply put, the moment you defend with the Black Scale, you are practically invincible. It is the ultimate defensive ability, quite literally.
But the technique wasn't without its significant flaws.
The range of the Black Scale was incredibly narrow.
Right now, it only covered my hand, and even at the peak of mastery, it would only extend far enough to wrap around both of my arms.
-If you're wondering why it's so limited, remember: Reverse Heaven energy ignores and nullifies all supernatural powers. Conversely, it cannot influence or manipulate purely physical forces at a distance.
The Black Heaven Demon Sword spirit explained with a hint of regret in her voice.
-That's exactly why the previous master devised the Black Scale. By concentrating the energy into a solid 'plating' on the skin, she bridged the gap. But even for her, the range was limited to the limbs. You could try to spread it thinner to cover your whole body... but that would destabilize the structure, making it brittle and pointless to use in a real fight.
That was fine with me. I knew that if I managed to acquire 'that' specific item later in the story, I could maximize the Black Scale's effect regardless of its range.
-Learning defense first isn't a bad choice for your current build, Master. You can take your time learning Black Wing and Black Vigor later. Black Scale is primarily a defensive technique, but if you use it offensively to punch through a mage's barrier, it makes you invincible there too. The only problem is...
The sword spirit let out a long, dramatic sigh.
-The problem is that your Reverse Heaven Body was acquired postnatally. With your current talent for adaptation, you could've already learned up to the Black Wing level without issue if you had been born with this constitution.
“No, this is actually better for the long run.”
If I'd had the Reverse Heaven Body innately, I could've wielded energy fitting this body's age. But that wouldn't be ideal for my specific endgame strategy.
‘This leaves more room for other 'powers' to enter my vessel.’
I wasn't talking about supernatural abilities like spirit powers. I was aiming for something more like Kim Ara's strength—pure, unadulterated physical might that didn't rely on any energy at all.
-Then let's move on. Tell me, Master: what do you think is more important than raw swordsmanship for your survival?
“Footwork,” I answered without a second of hesitation.
In the game, mastering movement techniques was absolutely crucial for high-level play. It allowed you to dodge most AoE attacks, slip into an enemy's blind spot instantly, and strike vitals to shred their HP. And most importantly, top-tier footwork massively boosted your movement range the moment you learned it.
‘I can't afford to pass that up.’
-Normally, mastering the Black Wing would make traditional footwork less vital, as proper Black God Martial Art mastery lets you force aerial combat on your foes. But since your Reverse Heaven energy pool is still lacking, you need solid footwork to bridge the distance now.
“I see.”
-Don't worry, Master. The previous master anticipated this need and created a specialized footwork technique. It's not designed for long-distance jumping, but it is incredibly effective for close-range evasion.
That entire day, I trained my footwork under her strict supervision until I literally collapsed from physical exhaustion.
I let out a weary sigh as I headed toward the Occult Research Club building. Erhil Merhen was walking beside me.
The club headquarters was located on the far edge of the campus. I had run into Erhil purely by chance on the way there.
“They're really diving deep into occult research here, aren't they? Even from outside the building, the air is thick with the scent of yin mana.”
Erhil's golden eyes sparkled with delight. Because of her unique star-shaped pupils, her excitement seemed to shine even brighter than usual.
“How does it feel to you, Seo-ha? Isn't it thrilling? This eerie, heavy vibe where a ghost might pop out at any second... gasp! Are you secretly scared of ghosts or something?”
“......No, I am not.”
I felt like blood was about to drip from my ears. Erhil was grinning from ear to ear, chattering nonstop about every little thing that amused her.
“You know what I heard? Instructor Seo Woo-ju has a massive crush on Professor Song Ra-hee. But rumor has it she turned him down flat because she only likes younger guys... Oh? Isn't that Hong Yu-hwa over there?”
“Hong Yu-hwa?”
Glancing where Erhil was pointing, I saw her—it was definitely Hong Yu-hwa. She was wearing a pristine white blouse tucked neatly into a skirt, with her signature crimson hair glowing in the afternoon sun.
Good. It had been incredibly awkward walking with Erhil, who was still essentially a total stranger, but running into someone familiar like Yu-hwa eased the tension a bit.
“Hey. Long time no see. Are you joining the Occult Club too?”
“I was simply curious about the theoretical link between yin energy and elemental magic. But... why are you guys here? I didn't know you had an interest in the occult,” Hong Yu-hwa said, her tone as haughty as ever.
I knew she was lying. Hong Yu-hwa had sky-high self-esteem, and in the original story, she would automatically join whatever club Kim Seo-hyun picked. I had fully expected her to go for the Mint Chocolate Debate Club.
‘Is she more aware of me now than she is of Kim Seo-hyun?’
“We're all headed the same way anyway. Do you want to walk together?”
“Sure. I suppose it wouldn't hurt,” Yu-hwa replied aloofly and began walking alongside us.
“Ooh, what's this~? Does the fierce Hong Yu-hwa have a secret thing for our top student, Lee Seo-ha? I absolutely looove this kind of drama~.”
“No, she does not.”
Erhil snickered at my quick denial. Hong Yu-hwa almost bristled in anger but forced herself to let out a deep sigh instead, realizing that reacting would only egg Erhil on further.
“Oh, come on! It totally seems like it from over here~. Whatever, we're all young and full of springtime vibes, right? No one judges love at our age, so why not just confess to me? I promise it'll be our little secret.”
Erhil said this with a sly, cat-like grin.
“She doesn't like me!” I practically shouted.
Hong Yu-hwa glared daggers at Erhil, then quickened her pace to walk several meters ahead of us in silence. It was impressive; Erhil was the only person I’d seen who could tease the Crimson Lotus Usurper like that and get away with it.
“See? See? I told you she's into you. Look how red her ears are!” Erhil giggled beside me.
The interior of the Occult Research Club was, quite literally, creepy.
“H-Hello there.”
The club president was a shady-looking guy with long bangs that partially covered his eyes, somewhat similar to Kim Ara's style. But despite his unkempt appearance, I knew he was a world-class expert in the theory of curses. He was someone definitely worth getting friendly with.
“That guy knows his hexes and curses inside out. He’s a good person to have on your side,” Hong Yu-hwa whispered to me from behind.
“But why is your anti-magic field so thick today, Seo-ha? I can't even send a simple message spell through the air near you.”
“It's just part of my constitution.”
“......Don't tell me that blocking Professor Song Ra-hee's magic in class was just your 'constitution' too?”
“No, that was a concentrated burst of my power.”
Technically, it was my constitution, but there was no need to spell out the mechanics of the Reverse Heaven Body for her yet.
“And I don't really need any hexes or protections, so you go ahead and bond with the president.”
“You're so confident. Or do you truly think a mere student like me isn't capable of breaking any curses aimed at you?” Hong Yu-hwa asked incredulously.
She wasn't wrong, of course. No curse in the world could pierce the Reverse Heaven Body. Most magic simply couldn't touch me—curses, buffs, or debuffs would all just get devoured by my internal energy.
I took a moment to look around the room. True to the club's name, the shelves were brimming with dark, curse-ridden items from across the globe.
“This is pretty nice. Even the average freshmen at the academy would lose sleep for a week if they touched the wrong thing here—though these are all fairly weak curses by our standards,” Erhil said admiringly.
Wait, she thinks these are weak...?
“Ah, please... don't touch that one. The professors use it quite often...” the president stammered.
“The professors use a cursed item?”
“Yeah. They say that grad students who lack talent or effort need to be 'forced' to stay awake and work on their thesis... it keeps them from sleeping for days.”
“......Grad students are people too, you know.”
“Wait, were grad students ever considered people?” Erhil asked with a bright, innocent laugh.
I muttered a gloomy response under my breath. “Mind if I browse the collection for a bit?”
“Y-Yes, go ahead. But please be careful—there are lots of dangerously cursed items here. Some can even turn you into a permanent grad student.”
That was a truly terrifying curse.
I began to appraise the various items using my system skill. Plenty of them looked like they would be fun to experiment with.
One item had a curse that temporarily turned men into attractive women. Another was a bracelet that massively boosted fire affinity but drained all of the wearer's physical energy in return.
Cursed items were always like that—mechanically powerful, but functionally unusable for most people due to the side effects. But I was the exception.
I reached out and picked up the fire-affinity bracelet.
“Gasp! No! If you misuse that, you won't be able to move for the rest of the day! Put it down!” the president cried out.
“It's fine. Curses don't really stick to me.”
I slipped it onto my wrist. Instantly, a cold black energy began to creep up my arm, attempting to invade my body. My Reverse Heaven energy responded by devouring the intrusion in a heartbeat.
Snap.
I flicked my fingers. A small, brilliant flame sparked into existence in midair.
“Not bad at all.”
“Do you have any more items like this one?” I asked the stunned president.
“Y-You're... you're actually okay?”
“Yeah. Like I said, curses don't affect me. Give me the ones that are too dangerous or hard to dispose of—I'll handle them for the club.”
“Th-There's actually a constitution like that? Uh... well, would you like to take a few more then?”
By the time we left, I had snagged about five powerful cursed items for free.
-Not a bad haul at all, Master.
“Yeah, I agree,” I whispered back to the Black Heaven Demon Sword.