Punching Through Illusions
…Ugh… Somehow this feels oddly satisfying.
After Ja-an got that mysterious text and slipped out of the academy, Han Ye-seo and I were eyeing each other warily.
There was one reason for it.
At the edge of the academy's barrier, right by the main gate.
There was a massive crowd. Reporters.
So this is the branching point, huh.
Go out today? Or not?
I set a checkpoint.
Irene Rock placed her hands on our shoulders from behind.
"I told you so."
"…Just for killing a few monsters, it's this big a deal?"
"An A-class student from the academy saved civilians from monsters. How great a story do you think that'll make? It's a peaceful era these days."
It was paradoxical.
In peaceful times, reporters ran out of things to cover.
Spreading good news barely got any views.
Humans loved watching others fall—or die. They indulged in it but never admitted it outright.
A perverse taste.
Not everyone, of course, but there were plenty like that.
To boost their views, reporters needed hope or despair. One or the other.
Ah, but hope was trickier. It had to bloom from despair.
People ate that up.
That bastard Ja-an… how'd he sneak out without anyone noticing?
I knew he was good at masking his presence, but avoiding that many eyes?
Wait, maybe he didn't go through the main gate?
I glanced at Han Ye-seo.
"Not going?"
"You?"
"I can just head back to the dorm. It's inside the barrier—no worries about getting photographed."
The academy's barrier had been made by some ability user.
No ordinary person could get in or out.
Unless they had teleportation or barrier-bypassing powers, even other ability users couldn't breach it.
I had no real need to go out.
And Irene Rock didn't seem keen on shoving us out there either…
Well, I can't avoid it forever. I'll get photographed eventually.
But not today.
Did I look like the type to let my face get plastered everywhere?
Gazes mixed with envy or admiration? Fun, in a way. But lust? No thanks.
Maybe it was immodest to say it myself, but I was pretty.
A sub-heroine's looks put me in the upper caste even at Heart Soul Academy, full of hotties.
If my photo hit the news, I could already feel my face twisting at the fallout.
Han Ye-seo was probably hesitating for the same reason.
Hold on.
Han Ye-seo was an ability user.
Cave Allegory. Turning into black ink and moving as a liquid.
If she didn't want to be photographed, she could avoid it easily.
So why wasn't she heading out?
…What Gun-seok mentioned.
That teacher had said Han Ye-seo lied too.
Curiosity piqued.
I tossed her a probing question.
I didn't expect her to bite right away, but honestly, I was curious.
"Just use your ability."
"Hmm…"
"Can't you?"
Han Ye-seo pondered for a moment, then spoke up.
"Fine! Looks like I'm busted anyway—might as well spill!"
"Huh?"
"You and Ja-an seem cool!"
Irene Rock glanced between us. "…Should I step out?"
"Yes!"
"No hesitation at all."
"Teachers are kinda… you know!"
"Kinda…?"
"You talk too much! And your personality's all prickly!"
Irene Rock drooped her head and vanished in an instant.
I pointed in the direction she'd disappeared. "Wasn't that a bit harsh? She might be hurt."
"Her?"
"…Yeah, probably acting."
Made sense! Han Ye-seo continued.
"Anyway, my ability, Cave Allegory…"
"Plato's allegory from ancient Greece, right?"
"Yeah! I named it back in middle school!"
Imagine people living in an underground cave.
A narrow passage stretches from the cave toward the light at the entrance.
These people have been chained since childhood—hands, feet, necks bound so they can't move or turn around. They can only stare straight ahead into the cave.
High up near the entrance, a fire burns, casting light from behind them.
Between the fire and the prisoners is a raised path with a low wall along it.
The chained cave-dwellers see only shadows of real things—but they believe those shadows are reality.
…Wait a sec.
"So your shadow's fake?"
"Think so?"
"It seemed to exert physical force on reality, and when you used your power, your body melted away."
Han Ye-seo grinned.
"That's just how it looks."
"Huh?"
"My ability makes it look that way, but it's not real."
"…An illusion?"
"Bingo. When I activate it, my real body can't move. The shadow does the moving."
But…
"Your real body vanished! That's what I thought."
"Yeah."
"It only looks like it vanishes. My power hits everyone who can observe me with a wide-area hallucination."
That's cheating. Still, was this any good against monsters?
Hold on—why bother with the hassle of black ink illusions? Some other condition?
Han Ye-seo read my expression and answered.
Looked like she'd caught my thoughts.
"It fools all five senses too."
"…Cheating."
"What's yours?"
"Huh?"
"I spilled the full truth about mine. Your turn."
Regression… Couldn't tell her straight.
What could I say to satisfy her?
And you haven't spilled everything either, have you?
After a moment's thought, I schooled my face and lied.
"Precognition."
"…Precog?"
"Can't control it. Just fleeting glimpses."
"Oh? Can you change the future?"
"Nope."
She thought for a bit, then asked, "What if you saw humanity going extinct one day?"
"I'd try to stop it."
"But you couldn't?"
"Probably not."
It was a solid lie, even by my standards.
Explained why I was in A-class despite my crap stamina and strength too.
"Did you see part of today's sparring in advance?"
"Yeah."
"…Whoa, that's wild!"
"Yeah?"
"You know the future ahead of time! What's that feel like?"
What did it feel like?
"……."
"Ah, sorry… Shouldn't have asked."
"Nah, it's fine."
The feeling? Shit.
Watching my deaths, others' deaths, reliving them, trying to prevent them—but some you just can't. Weighing lives, saving who you can, abandoning the rest.
Chipped away, over and over.
But I still existed as me.
Yeah. That's enough.
To save people, you have to chip away at yourself. Protect others by eroding your own edges—that's what makes a hero.
You wanted to be one, right?
Stand by the protagonist. Become like him. Like them.
If you've resolved to do it, see it through to the end.
You're not weak. You aren't.
Hoo. I took a deep breath.
Han Ye-seo watched me with worried eyes.
I set another checkpoint.
Felt a little better.
"I'm really okay."
"For real?"
"Yeah."
"Anyway, how do I get home?"
"Crash at my place."
"Seriously?"
"Cleaned it today."
Han Ye-seo snickered.
Lie, actually. Hadn't cleaned.
.
.
.
Han Ye-seo gaped in horror.
"You didn't clean at all—!"
"Yeah."
"Liar!"
"This is cleaned, for me."
"You're insane?!"
She gaped again.
No, it wasn't that bad. Was she exaggerating?
This was average for someone living alone—guy or girl.
You're the one with narrow thinking, Ye-seo.
People are diverse.
"Some people don't clean. Others clean hard but it doesn't show."
"You're nuts."
"You see the world too black-and-white. I'm not dirty."
"Should've known from the eggplant salad!"
"…What?"
Han Ye-seo puffed out her cheeks like a chipmunk.
Cute, but not enough to cool my irritation. Fist before palm.
No, calm down.
I'm civilized.
There are weirdos out there who hate eggplant salad.
I won't discriminate against minorities—be they ethnic, sexual, or eggplant-haters.
Yeah! Talk it out!
"No wonder your chest is flat from being so picky. Short too."
"…What?"
"If you'd eaten properly like me, you wouldn't have stopped growing there."
"You crazy bitch! You're flat and short too! Not even 160!"
"You're under 140."
"141!"
"139."
Trying to lie about height against someone who knew the official stats? Crazy.
Though, considering she hid her ability, maybe official stats aren't 100% reliable.
But height, weight, bust size? In a dating sim, those had to be accurate. Everything else could be wrong, but not those.
Han Ye-seo activated her ability.
"…Wait!"
"One hit today!"
"No, it's just boobs!"
"Just boobs? Wanna die?!"
Was this worth flipping out over?
Hold on.
If her power created illusions and fooled all senses…
Here?
I swung a fist at where she'd been standing moments ago.
Thwack. Han Ye-seo clutched her head, curling up on the floor.
"Ugh…"
…Somehow this feels oddly satisfying.