The One Loved by the Witch (1)

"Professor?"

Irena stared down at me with eyes glazed in frost. The moment I opened my mouth to speak—

"Ugh!"

A hand formed of pure mana seized my collar and hurled me to the ground. I barely managed to roll with the impact. The instant I lifted my head—

"Oof!"

Irena forced a potion bottle between my lips. She pulled out several more and began pouring them over my body without mercy.

I spat the bottle out and called to her urgently.

"W-wait! Professor, what are you—urgh!"

"......"

She shoved the same bottle right back into my mouth. Her glare made it perfectly clear she would not tolerate a single wasted drop. Those chilling eyes pinned me in place. I abandoned any thought of resistance. Pushing her further felt like it would only end in disaster.

Irena began plucking the bugs off my body one by one. The sight was revolting, yet her expression showed not a flicker of disgust—only cold purpose. Her sole objective was to remove every last insect as quickly as possible.

Roughly five minutes passed. Once my body was relatively clean, focus slowly returned to Irena’s eyes. The crushing pressure on my chest lifted. The air around us grew lighter. I forced a smile and spoke.

"So… how did you… weren’t you supposed to be sleeping?"

"Three minutes passed without you returning, so I stepped outside. That’s when I witnessed you diving straight into the pit."

Insane. I’d thought she was asleep, but it had all been an act? And she’d even been timing me…

When my face twisted in disbelief, Irena quickly added, "As the supervising professor, student safety is my highest priority. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Had it been any other student instead of Lee Seonghyun, my actions would have been identical."

Was it just my imagination, or did that sound like an excuse? Noticing my expression, she changed the subject.

"Have you nothing to say for yourself?"

"I was raising my self-recovery skill proficiency, so—"

"Have you nothing to say for yourself?"

"Ah, no…"

"Excuses."

"......"

The same blank face as always. Yet beneath that mask, I could sense the faint spark of genuine anger.

"Haah…" Irena let out a long, heavy sigh and pressed hard against her temples. "There is such a thing as being too fearless. Continue like this and you’ll die before long."

"I know that. But… to become stronger, this level of risk is—"

"......"

The silence was glacial. Across all my previous regressions, I had never seen Irena’s expression freeze this solid. Still, I could not back down.

Now that I’ve obtained Super Recovery, I have to make full use of this infinite engine.

Equivalent Exchange only activated through mental or physical pain. Until now, both my mind and body recovered too slowly to accumulate meaningful pain stacks. Potions had clear limits, which was why Super Recovery changed everything. I could now rack up pain without fearing permanent damage to my body.

And right before me lay the Bug Pit. I didn’t even need to mutilate myself—the pain would accumulate on its own! This was no mere utopia. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠This was fucking paradise. If this wasn’t easy-mode life, what the hell was?

With the resolve of a suicide squad member, I bowed deeply to Irena.

"I must raise my self-recovery level here before I leave."

"If anything happens to you in the process…"

"That’s why I’m asking for your help, Professor. I know how shameless this request is… but please."

I poured every ounce of sincerity and desperation into my voice. Perhaps that full-powered performance worked, because Irena’s eyes wavered. She eventually nodded with a helpless expression.

"Haah… it seems I have no choice. The moment I detect any danger, I will intervene immediately."

"Yes! Thank you!"

With permission granted, I prepared to dive back in.

"One moment."

Irena pulled a specially treated rope from her subspace pouch and began securing it around my body.

"Professor…?"

"You know what bungee jumping is, correct? If it becomes dangerous, I will pull you out. Stay still."

She wrapped the rope from my neck to my legs. Apparently one anchor point wasn’t enough security for her; she tied it across multiple spots.

Most people have zero sense of danger, but this woman…

She was an extreme safety absolutist.

Finally, preparations were complete.

"Then I’ll be back."

I gave her a quick nod and leaped.

Splash!

The bugs swarmed over me instantly. Each time they gnawed into my flesh, the pain count rose by one. The tingling across my nerves and the revolting sensation of things burrowing inside me were unpleasant, but not entirely unfamiliar anymore.

This place was a gold mine. I kept cycling between the surface to breathe and the depths to farm pain. Before long, the numbers had stacked up nicely.

It was definitely getting harder to raise. The higher the pain level climbed, the slower it accumulated. Maybe pain had a threshold just like pleasure. Or perhaps—

I need to get hit by higher-ranked monsters.

It seemed low-rank creatures simply couldn’t generate enough pain anymore.

That was the ceiling. No matter how much longer I stayed in, it refused to rise. I surfaced with a gasp.

"Huuah!"

The moment my face broke the surface, Irena yanked the rope. She hauled me onto solid ground in one smooth motion and immediately began pouring potions over me. Most of the clinging bugs fell away. Even though the sight was enough to make anyone grimace, she meticulously removed every last worm still attached to my body.

"Are you satisfied now?"

"Just a little more and I should be done."

I planned to milk this place for a few more days.

***

Three days. It had been three days since we arrived at the Worm’s Nest. In that time, my status window had made leaps and bounds.

Investing heavily in pain had removed the awkward prefixes from most of my skills. I had acquired the three skills I wanted most. My goal was essentially complete.

After clearing the dungeon, we stepped outside and breathed in the crisp fresh air.

"Uwaah! It’s finally over! Let’s go drink! Suuul!"

"I’ll pass. I need to review theory class."

"Aww, Yuri, just once!"

"No."

"Hiiing."

Choi Ahyeon’s face crumpled at Han Yuri’s firm refusal. Leaving the two of them behind, I approached Irena.

"Professor, thank you for the past three days. Thanks to you, I obtained exactly what I wanted."

"I’m glad to hear it. Call me again next time. I’ll make time to accompany you."

"Haha… yes."

Yeah. Next time I’ll sneak away without telling you.

With that, the team disbanded. Choi Ahyeon headed off to drink with her friends, Han Yuri went to the library, and I received a message from Yeon Hyoju and made my way to the school rooftop.

"Haah… haah… Se-Seonghyun… p-please…"

She’s completely lost it.

Yeon Hyoju drooled shamelessly while presenting her rear like a bitch in heat. The lust I’d seen from Shin Suyeon was nothing compared to this.

It’s only been three days and she’s already this far gone…

My pheromone skill was far stronger than I’d anticipated.

"Fuck me, Seonghyun… ram my ass… pound me hard…"

The proud queen who once tried to rule over me was gone. Only a broken, fallen slave remained. I approached and rubbed her mound.

"Not here? I want this one."

"Th-that place…"

Yeon Hyoju lowered her head in embarrassment.

"I… I want to save it for the man I’ll marry…"

"Ha. Unbelievable."

I was genuinely stunned.

"You treat your mouth and ass like public toilets but you’re saving your pussy? What ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠kind of twisted logic is that?"

"……The purer a virgin is, the higher her market value in the marriage market. I want to keep it until then."

What an incredible woman. I clicked my tongue and reached for my belt when—

Ding.

It had begun. Our dear cult-leader senior had finally lit the fuse.

The next day, the academy’s atmosphere was plummeting straight into hell.

The 2nd-group students happily accepted the rings while the 1st-group students erupted in furious protest. A week later, the situation finally exploded.

"Giving the symbol of graduation to incoming students? What nonsense is this?!"

"The ones who have suffered discrimination are the graduates!"

"Abolish the incoming student system! Abolish it!"

Protests erupted in front of the faculty building. Nearly half of the 1st-group students from all three years had joined. In response, the 2nd-group students launched a counter-protest.

"Punish the graduates who ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠discriminated against us in secret! Punish them!"

"Distinguish between graduates and incoming students! Distinguish them!"

Of course, this was all according to my instructions.

That’s it. Keep it up!

At the very front of the 2nd-group line, Yeon Hyoju, Kim Jihun, and their followers were shouting at the top of their lungs. The remaining students who hadn’t joined either side watched anxiously. It was no exaggeration to say nearly the entire student body had gathered.

What I wanted was a swift resolution. In the previous round, this conflict had dragged on for two or three months. This time, I would use Yeon Hyoju to accelerate the entire process.

Eventually the professors rushed out to suppress the protests, urging everyone to calm down. Their efforts were in vain. The shouting from both sides only grew louder.

"Fuck this! Come out! I’m going to kill every last one of those bastards today!"

"Kill them? No wonder you’re called 2nd-group trash, you primitive fuck!"

The protests had devolved into pure verbal abuse. In the midst of the chaos—

BOOM!

A fireball from the 2nd-group side crashed into the 1st-group ranks. My order, of course.

"You want a fight? Fine! We’re coming too!"

"Charge!"

The two groups collided head-on. Just before they clashed—

Screeeeeech!

A sound like nails on a chalkboard pierced everyone’s ears, vibrating straight into the brain.

"Aaaargh! What the hell?!"

"Wh-what is this…?!"

"Kuaaagh!"

The once-white rings emitted a pitch-black light. Mental derangement. Students with lower ranks began collapsing one after another.

"This is insane…! Why is this happening?! The ring! Take off the ring!"

"Fuck! It won’t come off! Grrk!"

Some clutched their ears, others frantically rubbed their eyes. In the end, every single one of them lost consciousness and crumpled to the ground.

I, who hadn’t worn the ring, remained unaffected by the mental attack. But pretending to be fine here would be suspicious, so I mixed in with the crowd and collapsed as well.

Once most of the students had fallen—

Vrrrrrr!

The same route as last time. Everything was unfolding perfectly. The corner of my mouth curled upward.

Now the Demon Sect believers will pour out from the curtain… huh?

Figures in black robes descended from the dome. But at the exact same moment—

CRACK!

"Glurk!"

"Run! Ack!"

Dozens of ice spikes erupted from the ground, impaling the cultists’ bodies.

What the—?!

While I was still trying to process the situation, someone scooped me up and began running. I cracked my eyes open slightly and looked up.

Lee Seol?

There she was—lips bitten bloody—carrying me as she ran.