Memories of the Fallen Teachers
[ 13 / 400 ]
You remembered the death of ‘Ritta’!
You remembered the death of ‘Gun-seok’!
You remembered the death of ‘Irene Rock’!
Right after regressing, I received a message from the status window.
I shifted my gaze to the corner of my vision.
Straight ahead, Han Ye-seo was looking at me with a face full of worry, but right now, that wasn't the urgent matter.
You remembered the death of an Academy teacher!
[ 13 / 400 ]
…What the.
The next reward will be granted at ‘20 / 400’!
Reward Choice x 1
There was only one thing I could guess.
Due to the euthanasia potion that knocked me out, my body had witnessed someone else's death for some reason.
Even deaths witnessed by my body instead of me count… that's a pretty lenient ability condition.
More than that, was it even possible for my body to kill three Academy teachers?
Impossible.
So, some incident must have broken out at the Academy after I lost consciousness, and my dying body saw it?
Or maybe someone controlled my body.
There were too many possibilities, too many scenarios.
My head felt like it was going to explode.
All information on Ivy Lane x 1
Syringe strong enough to cause loss of consciousness x 1
Authority increase regarding me x 1
Clue to the next stage of this ability x 1
One stat rank increase x 1
…Another tough choice.
I already had one syringe strong enough to cause loss of consciousness in my dorm room.
The potential for sexual pleasure and addiction was an issue, but it wasn't urgent right now.
I'd already figured out that all information on Ivy Lane was a trap.
Two options eliminated in an instant.
Now left with… an authority increase regarding me? What the hell was that?
A one-stat-rank increase wasn't urgent either. If it was really bad, I could just hunt monsters and build up mana.
I needed to pick something I couldn't obtain right now.
The wording is too vague.
A clue to the next stage of this ability.
For me right now—who only knew Chapter 1 of the game story and nothing about what plots or settings came after—it was a necessary clue.
This ability having stages, and a next stage existing, was a setting that never appeared in the game.
It was probably something added later.
In that case, Chapter 2 probably had a lot of battles, power inflation, and the protagonist's awakening… something like that, I guessed.
But that one bugs me too much.
Authority increase regarding me. What did me mean?
Ivy Lane? Me, using Ivy Lane's body? The me I met in my dream?
Or the status window referring to itself in first person…
Too many possibilities.
I hated anything vague or ambiguous.
“Ivy!”
“Yeah?”
Han Ye-seo yelled right next to me.
“I asked if you're okay!”
“…I'm fine.”
Was it that point?
The point where reporters were swarming in front of the Academy. Han Ye-seo had confessed her ability lie to me, and I'd lied that mine was future sight.
Hoo. I took a deep breath.
“That doesn't look fine at all?”
“I said I'm fine.” I faked a natural smile.
Han Ye-seo puffed out her cheeks like a chipmunk.
“That's not a natural smile!”
“Ugh…”
“What's bothering you?”
“No, I just hate getting famous or treated like a hero.”
“Knew it? I thought you kinda liked the attention.”
…Ah, right.
It was a conversation we'd had.
“See what those reporters write in their articles, and what kind of attention comes our way. That's what matters.”
“What kind of attention?”
“Attention comes in types, you know. Admiration or envy, or jealousy and spite.”
“So?”
“…Look at us.”
Han Ye-seo stared at me like she didn't get it.
Does she not know how she looks?
Becoming famous comes with risks.
People hype up celebrities endlessly just to tear them down someday.
I wasn't the self-destructive type who wanted to fly high knowing I'd crash eventually.
And becoming an object for others' sexual gratification disgusted me.
“What do you mean?”
“You're pretty.”
“You're more princess-like than I thought.”
“Not princess-like… objectively.”
Han Ye-seo paused in thought.
“Yeah, even compared to other Academy students, we're top-tier in looks!”
“Right. So what happens if we end up in the articles looking like this.”
“Ah.”
Her face flushed red in an instant.
She finally got it. What I meant.
Han Ye-seo opened her mouth again.
“You're more of a perv than I thought!”
“…?”
“Normal people don't think that far when their face hits the papers!”
“I'm sensitive like that.”
“No harm comes from how others see you. Have some confidence!”
Even if she told me to have confidence, mine and my self-esteem came from others.
To confirm my existence, I always needed others' gazes.
That's how I'd spent my childhood.
No matter how hard I tried to fix it, it wouldn't budge. It was innate, forged that way.
Acting as Ivy Lane inside Ivy Lane's body left almost no way to confirm I was me.
Staring at my wrist still brought the urge to slice it open lengthwise and peek inside.
I covered it with my other hand.
I could feel the pulsing vein beneath the thin, pale skin.
Han Ye-seo looked at me and started the conversation again.
“So, what do we do?”
“Huh?”
“How do I get home?”
If I invited Han Ye-seo to my dorm, she'd use her ability to scan the surroundings.
In this situation, sending her outside was the right move.
I shouldn't invite her to my room.
I couldn't let her use her ability in my room.
Last time it went unnoticed probably because she didn't use her ability…
Why were there two boxes from the Principal? A little thinking would make it suspicious.
Even without the syringe in the drawer, there were too many loose ends. Too many things that could cause problems.
I needed to clean my dorm room perfectly.
Remove anything that could raise suspicion.
Han Ye-seo was still staring at me with sparkling eyes.
They looked oddly fierce.
“You should go home.”
“I told you I can't with my ability!”
“My dorm room is super messy?”
“…Ugh!”
Han Ye-seo frowned slightly.
“That reaction means it's that bad?”
“A girl shouldn't keep her room like that!”
“All girls living alone do it like that.”
“How would you know how other girls living alone…?”
“I have friends.”
She flinched. The air around us grew cold.
Clear killing intent, or a threat.
My senses rang alarm bells. Danger.
Han Ye-seo slowly approached me.
She muttered.
“Besides us… you have other friends?”
“Yeah.”
“Really? Who?”
I kept my mouth shut for a long time.
I didn't have anyone I could really call a friend.
The friends I'd made at the Academy were just Han Ye-seo and Ja-an. Yeah. Pathetic number.
Someone I could barely call a friend.
There was exactly one.
We were closer to just acquaintances, but anyway, one person.
I carefully brought up her name.
“Dana.”
“…Ha?”
Han Ye-seo scowled.
I knew they weren't on good terms. Dana had even slit Han Ye-seo's throat in the first place…
Hm.
Looks like I'd messed up.
Was I gonna die right here?
No, what ridiculous thought.
Lately, my impulses were increasing. Something was gnawing at me bit by bit.
Last time with the Mask and the black syringe, nothing happened.
But now, after using the syringe in the dorm when Han Ye-seo found out my secret… three teachers' deaths were remembered.
Ritta, Irene Rock, Gun-seok.
None of them were easy to take down.
I theorized that using the black syringe triggered something in my body.
When I used the black syringe around Academy people, whatever woke up in my body killed them.
That was my interpretation for now.
Using the black syringe probably counts as losing consciousness, and another me wakes up.
A potion so strong it knocks me out instantly—how the hell…
No, that wasn't important right now.
From now on, I had to be careful when using syringes.
I didn't know what effects it would have.
If I was going to die, make it certain. To the point where the corpse couldn't move…
Hah.
Tough condition.
Han Ye-seo poked my side.
“…Why.”
“You don't even flinch anymore.”
“Got used to it?”
“I don't think I've poked you that many times.”
If I explained my senses were dulled from drugs, what would Han Ye-seo do?
I could roughly guess.
I glanced at the corner of my vision.
All information on Ivy Lane x 1
Syringe strong enough to cause loss of consciousness x 1
Authority increase regarding me x 1
Clue to the next stage of this ability x 1
One stat rank increase x 1
What to choose.
Han Ye-seo noticed my attention was elsewhere and puffed her cheeks again.
…She's sulking.
Han Ye-seo said.
“Fine, I'll go home alone! Getting my picture taken a few times is no big deal!”
“Sorry.”
“Hmph! Hate showing me your dorm that much? You showed Ja-an just fine… Aha, is that it?”
“No.”
“Yeah, I was clueless! Clean it up next time!”
My head throbbed.
The status window was heartlessly showing me the choice without a care.