Chapter 69
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: True Ancestor Ameris
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The sensation of cold metal digging into my side.
A knife plunging in with unmistakable murderous intent. This was definitely meant to kill.
Just that the intended target wasn't me.
"Damn it! What the hell are you doing, jumping in like that!"
The degenerate yelling at me because things hadn't gone as planned.
"Kyaaak!"
Screams erupted from the surrounding students, a beat late.
"D-Damn, why won't it come out!"
"Of course. He's wearing stab-proof gear."
I'd known a degenerate would show up at the airport. This was the opening to the [Ghoul Field] episode, after all.
'Cost me a pretty penny to get this stuff, though.'
Stab-proof clothing existed in this world too.
Even ability users could get run through by a blade, it seemed.
The degenerate was flailing in panic because his knife wouldn't budge.
The fibers had caught on it, and I was clamping down on the blade with my side. No wonder.
Still holding the knife pinned against my side, I grinned and said,
"You think I'd let you go that easily? An adult trying to kill a student? Unacceptable."
"D-Damn it, let go!!"
Then, with the intention of having her grab this degenerate, I said to Yoo Nara, who was standing in front of me,
"Hurry and grab this guy..."
-Kwang!
"Guhk!"
...
?
What just happened?
The degenerate had been behind me, straining to yank out his knife.
And in the split second I'd looked away, his head was smashed into the marble floor.
"W-What?!"
A few quick-acting students who'd been rushing over with skills halted, staring at me in shock amid the loud thud.
No, I didn't do it.
Looking up in confusion, there was Senior Yoo Nara... no, Senior Yoo Nara's massive hand hovering at head height where she'd been standing.
She lowered her hand and looked at me worriedly.
"Si-woo, junior, you okay?!"
"Haha. F-Fine."
I'm okay.
But does this even make sense?
She just smacked his head with her hand—bam!—and embedded it in the floor?
"What... what just happened?"
"He looks fine."
"Still, grab that guy first!"
A few burly seniors rushed over, surrounding and subduing the unconscious degenerate.
"This guy's out cold."
One of them lifted his face.
He had a hood on. Peering through was the face of a man in his mid-twenties.
'Purity Faction lackey, huh.'
"A-Are you okay, Si-woo?!"
"Kim Si-woo, you alright?!"
I waved off Erina and Baek A-rin as they approached.
"I'm perfectly fine, so don't worry."
Erina raised an eyebrow and grabbed my collar, shaking me.
"What the hell are you doing again, you idiot! ME said not to butt in! You okay? Your gut didn't get pierced, did it?!"
"I told you I'm fine. Haha!"
"Why are you laughing it off like some tough guy! YOU are weak—if a knife stabs you, you're done for!"
"Hahaha!!"
As I laughed heartily in front of the worried Erina, Baek A-rin approached, looking like she wanted to chime in.
I could see her expression shift from shock to anger to resignation to worry.
Hmm, since it ended on worry, I probably won't get chewed out.
"Kim Si-woo, you okay?"
"As you can see, perfectly fine."
She glanced at my side and let out a relieved breath.
Then, incredulous, she pointed at the stab-proof vest visible through the hole in my shirt.
"What did you know this time to be wearing that?"
"Know? What do you mean? Just my usual caution..."
"Kyak!"
As I smoothly deflected, she lightly smacked my side.
Ouch.
It hurts, teach.
I'd said I was fine, and I hadn't actually bled, but a throbbing pain radiated from my waist.
Even with the stab-proof gear, the impact didn't vanish. Plus, the degenerate who'd attacked me probably had a skill that accelerated his blade.
My guess: something like Poor Strike.
"If you die, I'm done for too—I'm all in on you. You know your body's not just yours anymore, right?"
"Yes."
"Hoo, good."
Her scary expression made honorifics slip out unbidden.
Baek A-rin said that, then tapped my waist again.
"Kuhk!"
It really hurts, teach.
Senior Yoo Nara, who'd been listening to our exchange, fidgeted awkwardly despite her size.
"Uh, you guys are clubmates with Si-woo junior?"
At her words, Baek A-rin replied, slightly surprised.
"Yes. You're Senior Yoo Nara, right?"
"Uh, yeah. You know me?"
"Of course. You're the vice president of the Hayeon Club. I've wanted to meet you."
Baek A-rin spoke fluidly with a smile.
It was her business smile, reserved for people worth networking with.
Sometimes, seeing that side of her made her feel like she was from another world.
"Sorry if Si-woo caused you any trouble."
At Baek A-rin's words, Senior Yoo Nara waved her hands frantically.
"No, if anything, he tried to help me and got hurt instead... I'm sorry."
"Kim Si-woo did?"
Baek A-rin stared at me in surprise.
What? Why?
I did help.
To the astonished Baek A-rin, Senior Yoo Nara pointed at the degenerate.
"That guy was definitely targeting me at first, not Si-woo. He stepped in instead."
"Kim Si-woo blocked something Senior Yoo Nara missed?"
Baek A-rin sounded shocked.
Well, yeah—this was Hayeon's Yoo Nara.
Pure physical prowess alone put her among the top in year three. That included not just strength but reaction speed and dynamic vision.
Senior Yoo Nara pointed at the degenerate, his head still embedded in the floor.
"He couldn't even dodge my hand, so he's no elite assassin."
Pardon?
I doubted my ears at her words.
Dodging her hand would be the weird part.
Thinking back to her earlier move made my knees weak.
Senior Yoo Nara turned to me, looking surprised herself.
"Come to think of it, how did you react, Si-woo junior? It was too precise for coincidence. Like you'd predicted it."
"Haha, was it?"
I flinched involuntarily.
Predicted it? Spot on—I knew it was coming.
Truth be told, even without me, Senior Yoo Nara would've been fine.
The author inserted this assault into the [Ghoul Field] episode for two reasons.
Content-wise in [Awakening to SSS Hunter Academy], it hinted at Purity Faction terrorism spreading.
And this attack was likely testing their new weapon.
Probably a crudely modified relic stolen during the last academy raid.
That let him sneak up without Senior Yoo Nara noticing.
Targeting her specifically? She had the sharpest eyes here. If it worked on her, it proved it functioned.
I glanced at the fallen degenerate.
'He was just following orders to target Yoo Nara.'
No relic fools ultra-close range forever.
Purity Faction was made of skill supremacist haters.
Mostly powerless folks short on skillbook pages, hence stealing artifacts.
Such a group wouldn't waste the strong.
While everyone relaxed at the airport, I'd stayed hyper-vigilant around Yoo Nara.
I caught the attack the moment it happened and blocked.
Though I mistimed and took it to the side.
Second reason: Introduce Yoo Nara by showing her strength in her debut scene.
Yoo Nara appears in [Ghoul Field] as a villain hindering Lee Seong-hyeon.
Not sure "villain" fits blocking that trash Lee Seong-hyeon, but plot-wise, yes.
She tanks a stab with absurd muscle power.
Reading it felt ridiculous, but seeing her in person made it believable.
So why did I butt in?
Obvious—she's the villain opposing that Lee Seong-hyeon.
Especially in [Ghoul Field] without Kang Hwa-yeon, I needed to build debt with Senior Yoo Nara.
With that in mind, I replied to her.
"I just happened to be looking that way, so I reacted."
"From behind?"
Yoo Nara frowned skeptically at my answer. Baek A-rin, who'd been hovering, lit up like it was her chance and smiled.
"That's Si-woo for you. Even Snow Mountain Clan's Baek A-rin acknowledges him."
...Since when is it "our Si-woo"?
Now that I'd officially become hers, she was introducing me to Hayeon's vice president.
"Our Si-woo? You two have that kind of relationship?"
Baek A-rin straightened up at Yoo Nara's words.
"Haha, absolutely not. Strictly business. I'm his guardian."
"Why deny it so hard?"
Baek A-rin smirked, grabbed my collar, and whispered,
"Tch, as master says."
"Wanna sink the boat we came on?!"
As we bantered, Senior Yoo Nara chuckled and said to me,
"Anyway, I owe you one, Si-woo junior. Thanks."
"Haha, owe? Just helping a fellow student."
Baek A-rin stared at me like she couldn't believe it.
What does she think I am?
As I glared back at Baek A-rin, Senior Yoo Nara smiled and said,
"I was curious about the freshman who snagged club president. Guess the rumors aren't exaggerated."
"Rumors?"
Rumors about me? Nothing good, probably.
"You didn't know, Si-woo junior? You're pretty famous among our club presidents."