Karen's Name and the Sealed Instincts
The girl stared at me, her face flushed red as she coughed incessantly. A heavy wave of guilt washed over me at the sight. What do I do? After hesitating, I gently patted her back, hoping to help even a little.
"...Hah."
After another ten seconds or so of coughing, Karen finally calmed down and took slow, deep breaths. As I kept patting her, she glanced at my hand, then suddenly flinched and swatted it away.
"Don't touch me without permission. No third warning."
"Sorry. You looked like you were struggling."
"Ever think about who's to blame for that?"
Her tone toward me was as sharp as ever—no, sharper than before. I'd deliberately headed to this quiet corner by the water cooler alone, but that weirdo from yesterday had snuck up on me without a sound. In a way, it was only natural.
"...Yeah, me."
"Good to see you're not shameless about it. So, what do you want this time? You didn't follow me all the way to this out-of-the-way spot just to claim it was a coincidence, right?"
She wiped her tears with her sleeve and asked curtly.
"Of course not. I saw you and followed. Anyway, how'd you find this place? It's nice and quiet."
"Don't change the subject. Answer my question."
I'd tried to soften the mood a bit, but Karen drew a hard line and got straight to the point.
"I just saw you heading this way and followed. Friends are curious about what their buddies are up to, right?"
"I don't remember making any friends. You sure you didn't mix me up with someone else?"
"Come on, we introduced ourselves—that's basically friends.... Oh, wait, we haven't yet, have we? I'm Park Jeonghyeon. You?"
I naturally asked for her name.
"No reason to tell you. Don't wanna."
"Aw, don't be so cold. You eat already?"
"None of your business—"
Grrrowl...
Just then, a faint stomach rumble echoed from somewhere. It wasn't mine, so who else's could it be? No need to spell it out.
"...Time to eat."
Karen looked down, mumbling in a voice as tiny as an ant crawling. She was so damn cute I couldn't help but chuckle as I handed her a pizza bun and a milk carton.
"Eat it now or save it for a snack—up to you."
"Shove your pity somewhere else."
"Yeah? Want me to really take it back?"
"..."
I shrugged and stepped back. Karen flinched for a second, then reached for the pizza bun. But her hand froze midway. Pride versus hunger—an epic internal battle raging in her head, impossible to call a winner.
So I just placed the bun and milk right in her hand.
"It's not pity. I don't even know your name or your situation—wouldn't it be weirder to feel sorry for you?"
"....."
Karen bowed her head for a moment, staring at the food in her hands. Then she let out a small sigh, looked up into my eyes, and said,
"Karen."
"Huh?"
"Karen. That's my name."
She'd finally told me herself. I felt a little touched.
"Got it, locked in. Karen, so we're friends now, right?"
"No idea why you're so obsessed with being friends, but no. Acquaintances at best. That's it."
"Then why tell me your name if you hate it?"
"I hate owing people. If I take something, I gotta give back eventually."
She was still grumbling, her heart's door not fully open yet. But it felt just a tad softer.
Nice. Good enough for today. Mission accomplished—fed Karen and all.
"Cool mindset. Ah, gotta head out now."
"Perfect timing. I was just about to enjoy some alone time. You read the room, huh?"
"Anyone living as a human picks that up eventually. Have a good one—see you later."
"Don't say 'see you later' like we've got plans."
"Ice queen."
I waved and turned the corner toward the stairs up. That's when I heard it.
...Heh, looks tasty.
Her mumble carried over, probably because we were indoors. I nearly burst out laughing but clenched my teeth to hold it in—didn't want her hearing.
"...Gotta get back to the kids."
I barely stifled the laugh and hurried to the classroom.
Crunch!
I jammed the carving knife into the erosion entity's body and carved it up like a sculpture. It bared its ferocious maw to swallow my head whole, but—
Stab!
My bloodied scissors pierced its throat. It twitched for a moment before going still.
8th Grade Beast-Type Erosion Entity subjugation complete. Elapsed time: 2 minutes 35 seconds.
"......"
A mechanical voice rang out, and the erosion entity that had charged me so fiercely vanished without a trace moments ago.
That's right—I was jacked into virtual reality via the capsule. Right after class ended, I'd headed straight to the training grounds to gauge how strong I was now. Maybe because it was the first real day of school, there weren't many users.
Why doesn't everyone use this awesome thing?
"With 2-star consciousness, 7th Grade's probably the limit anyway."
I muttered as I picked up the scattered carving knife and hammer, stowing them in my tool belt.
The fight had made it clear: sculptor consciousness had solid combat power compared to others, but it wasn't flawless. It shone in PvP, but against erosion entities or monsters? Not so much. The weapons' inherent limits, plus the experience built into sculptor consciousness being tailored for people, not beasts.
I wasn't planning to stick with sculptor consciousness forever, but right now, it was my only battle-ready option. Headache-inducing.
"...Ah."
Then a brilliant idea hit me. Simple, really—why hadn't I thought of it sooner?
Consciousness Synchronization changes my body and mana to match the synced one. So why not sync a stronger consciousness than my original body and fight using my previous life's experience?
I'd clawed my way to A-rank hunter through effort alone. My combat sense had to outstrip sculptor consciousness or whatever—no brainer.
"Let's see."
I manipulated the VR panel to summon a decent one-handed sword. It materialized in midair before flopping limply to the ground. Come to think of it, it'd been two weeks since I held a proper sword. Time flies since possession.
I bent down and gripped it.
"...?"
My head tilted instinctively. This sword—I'd swung it hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of times in my past life. Yet it felt awkward, like a kid learning chopsticks for the first time.
"......"
No, just my imagination.
I shook my head, steadied my breathing, and refocused my scattered mind. I summoned another beast-type erosion entity on the panel.
Roar!!!
It charged with a roar. In these cases, don't rush—use the sword to disrupt its center...
Stab!
".....!"
Its sharp claw pierced my forearm. VR dulled the pain, but the mental shock hit hard. I'd planned every move in my head, but my body wouldn't obey.
Like I could read sheet music but had never touched a piano. What the hell?
Was it the synchronization? It borrows others' lives and experiences onto my body. So maybe I can't use my real skills while synced...
"...Hup!"
I kicked its face to create distance and canceled the synchronization. My clothes, body, and mana reverted to normal.
"Whew..."
I caught my breath and attacked it this time—purely my own power, no sync.
The sword's trajectory to its vitals formed in my mind. But my body moved inefficiently, like a total noob.
My face soured. Even unsynced, this? Something was seriously wrong. I ended the training in a panic. The entity dissolved.
"What's going on?"
I swung the sword in empty air repeatedly, but my true skill wouldn't come. Like something restrained me. This indescribable, filthy sensation.
I'd fought fine against that demon king. If only I could vent to someone...
Frustrating enough to go mad. If I were weaker mentally, I'd be sobbing on the floor. All my life's honed skills—gone overnight.
Breath catching, mood in the gutter. Why had my body—no, my combat sense—gone haywire?
I pondered, recalling the awkward sword grip. No answers.
Possession side effect? This world restricting me? Wild guesses.
"As if... Bullshit."
Logically, zero chance. Though obsessing over odds post-possession was funny anyway.
Haa... Gonna lose it.
Satisfying the hidden condition unlocks the Main Quest and Consciousness Restoration Quest.
"...Huh?"
Messages I'd never expected appeared before my eyes.