The Weight of a Cursed Talent

Aaah, it had been quite some time since the visits and comforting words from my family finally ended, leaving me to spend the nights alone. ‘I can still use my unique ability.’ To those born with an innate power, an ability was something as natural as lifting an arm or raising one’s voice. Just as adding mana could make your arm swing harder or your voice boom louder, mixing mana into an ability simply amplified its strength. In that sense, Oh Ji-o’s Descent had been lucky. What were the odds of successfully pulling a parallel-world version of yourself without any mana at all?

“Haa……”

Of course, good fortune always came with a price. ‘They said the resonance was too strong.’ The reason I had been able to anchor Oh Ji-o’s soul without issue was largely because he was my exact parallel self. That was also where the problem began. The synchronization rate was so high that I couldn’t separate him using only the power of my unique ability. Mana’s role was reinforcement and correction. If I could just add the tiniest sliver of mana to boost my ability even a little, I should have been able to peel him off. But I couldn’t use even that minuscule amount of mana.

The Descent of the Helisbort family was, by principle, meant to summon only the power needed at the exact moment it was required. As long as I couldn’t detach Oh Ji-o’s soul, even that was impossible. In other words, I had been rendered crippled not only in mana but in my unique ability as well.

“Haaaa……”

Yesterday, I had cried all day over those two facts. The human body is better designed than we think; once you cry your heart out, some of the emotion dissolves. And once the feelings ease, thoughts begin to turn.

“The academy.”

The game Academy Great War began when Helio turned fifteen and enrolled in the academy. First, I would do everything possible to cure my mana-disabled constitution before then. But even if I failed, it wouldn’t matter. Inside the academy lay a tool that could uncover anything. At the very least, I would be able to identify the root cause of my problem.

‘Maybe I should just go now.’

I knew the location. Pull the book corresponding to 304.11ㄴ from the library and recite a specific incantation. The small pebble that appears is the must-have item of every first playthrough—Stone Wiki. Its official name was the Stone That Answers. The cooldown was long, but because it gave precise answers on everything from item locations to攻略 routes for romanceable characters, it had been an enormous help to first-time players. It really was a newbie-only item that veterans stopped using once they grew familiar with the game…

‘But in this reality, there won’t be any restrictions on the questions.’

In the game you could only ask preset questions, but here I could ask about my own symptoms. My older sister was still too young to be at the academy, but my brother was different. Since I knew both the location and the method, I could ask him to bring it for me.

“………No.”

After thinking for a moment, I shook my head. Since I was a member of this family, I could explain the source of the information. Sudden knowledge gained through Descent wasn’t uncommon in our house.

‘The problem is the two of them.’

The biggest issue was that the academy was an extremely closed-off space. For once, it faithfully followed genre conventions. ‘From its founding until the Great War, the academy was practically a parade of invasions.’ Even in the game, irregular attacks occurred, some of them clear events. Shockingly, the imperial academy created by the royal family existed outside the protection of future foresight. Clearly, allowing the attacks benefited them in some way.

‘In reality, the invasion events were honeyed events that gave generous rewards no matter how you looked at them.’

It felt as if they were deliberately neglecting or even encouraging the attacks to raise overall military strength. Still, even if the academy was subject to the empire’s calculated negligence, they weren’t completely idle. They started with the easiest measure—restricting personnel. What began as simple inspections gradually tightened over time. Disguised as merchants (238 times), disguised as parents (127 times), disguised as nearby residents (88 times)… and so on. Because of incidents like these, the current academy strictly limited entry to anyone except students and faculty.

‘Honestly, I can understand why they’re so paranoid.’

Because of that, it was obvious I couldn’t borrow my parents’ influence. Asking my brother or sister for help was also problematic. Enrollment through imperial agents (1,778 times), recruitment of faculty (54 times), blackmail of students (3,243 times), recruitment of students (5,222 times), and other terrorist acts via faculty and students (248 times)… For those reasons, bringing in or taking out unauthorized magical items was heavily restricted for both students and staff. An artifact on the level of Stone Wiki would definitely get caught during inspection, and given its ability to answer anything, it wouldn’t be strange if it were confiscated.

That alone was bad enough, but the imperial family posed another problem. ‘The unique ability passed down in the imperial family is future foresight.’ Because of that, they greatly disliked any foreseers besides themselves. There was no way the imperial family would be unaware of a magical tool like Stone Wiki moving around. Even if my brother and sister somehow evaded the academy’s screening, could they really slip through the net of those prophets?

‘It would be difficult…’

Of course, just as the academy somehow managed, the imperial family would manage too. They merely disliked foresight outside their own; they hadn’t banned it. Given my situation, it would probably fall within an understandable range. However, when thinking about the Great War that would come later, lowering the imperial family’s favor was not a good move. Therefore, the best option was to enroll and use it myself.

‘Besides, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I wasn’t supposed to use mana until I turned fifteen anyway.’

I decided to look on the bright side. Hadn’t I already planned to avoid contact with mana as much as possible? It had simply gained a bit of强制 enforcement. ‘Once I learn the cause of my mana-disabled constitution through the Stone That Answers, if it’s a curse I can seek a holy relic, if it’s a disease I can ask the Saintess, and if it’s a constitution I can look for an elixir.’

In the game, Helio had no problems, but several romanceable characters did. The community contained comprehensive guides on how to cure them, and the thirty-two-year-old ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Oh Ji-o had thoroughly read those strategy posts once. If the Stone That Answers couldn’t reveal the cause of my mana-disabled constitution, or if it couldn’t provide a cure, then whether I learned it late or early wouldn’t make much difference. I didn’t know any information-type power more reliable than Stone Wiki.

So all I had to do was wait and endure.

“……Should I sleep?”

I blew out the candle and pulled the blanket over myself. I had found a method and gained hope, yet—

‘Even so. Even so.’

The heavy weight of the thick blanket felt especially suffocating tonight.

“Depression ends here!”

If I had been pure eight-year-old Helio, I would have gradually grown pessimistic about my environment. It would have been only a matter of time before I became twisted. However, the memories of the modern man Oh Ji-o (32) taught me that despair wasn’t as absolute as I thought.

Of course, because the civilization and culture were so different, it wasn’t one hundred percent correct. But it wasn’t entirely wrong either. The Helisbort family was a high-ranking noble house that ranked near the top, and my parents were not the type to frown upon their child becoming disabled. Although infrastructure was lacking, they were dozens of times richer than Oh Ji-o had been, so the result would probably be similar.

‘And unlike Oh Ji-o whose nerves were completely crushed, there’s still a chance for me to get better.’

Therefore, I selected the things I needed to be cautious about.

“First thing to watch out for is mana.”

Magic went without saying; I had to avoid contact with mana as much as possible. If even a little of my body’s mana resonated, I would die on the spot.

“Next is outside gazes… or more precisely, the people who have prejudice against the disabled baked into their bones.”

For now I was somehow protecting my mind, but I was still human. There were plenty of things that could chip away at my heart—whether it was curses or contemptuous stares. I needed to minimize contact with such people and find things that would replenish my self-esteem.

‘Tsk… This means it’ll be hard to make early contact with the romanceable characters.’

Academy Great War, being a nurturing game, was packed with romanceable characters who could become companions and friends. Since I knew everything about what they liked and the events they had experienced, getting in touch with them early to build favor was one method… but the disability risk was simply too great.

Could children who hadn’t even properly formed their own egos yet interact normally with a disabled person? Even if they themselves were kind, the rumors from those around them would be enormous.

“Yeah, let’s scrap that idea.”

I drew a line through “make early friends” on my to-do list. That left only one thing.

“I still need to do something.”

Locking myself in the house to avoid outsiders was the worst possible move. Brooding over solitude by myself would make it easy to fall into self-pity.

‘Even without this situation, I would have had to spend nearly ten years without training anyway.’

So I needed meaningful activities that didn’t involve meeting people yet would still fulfill my self-esteem. But what could I, someone who couldn’t even use mana, possibly do?

“Obviously, the modern-person genius theory!”

Earth’s culture came to mind first—above all, chicken. The combination of sizzling oil and crispy batter! And the finishing touch in one phrase! Aaaah, this is what it means to be delicious.

“You primitive bastards are all screwed!”

“Why…?”

A voice seemed to echo in my stunned ears. Aaaah, this is what magic is, you savage. An imaginary wizard laughed at me.

‘Was I… being complacent?’

But once I thought about it a little, it was obvious. This world might have a medieval aesthetic, but it wasn’t actually medieval. Cooking? They were already doing sous-vide with magic. Culture? The card games that existed as mini-games in the original were ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠incredibly popular. Inventions? Most things already existed as products powered by magic stones.

“So our son read this book too.”

What blocked me most of all was a single book.

Surprisingly, just as our world existed as a game on Earth, Earth’s stories were being written as books here. ‘To think the “Earth author” I joked about actually existed…’

Of course, it wasn’t a complete reflection of Earth. Generators had been replaced with machines that produced mana through some mysterious method, and various laws of physics had been substituted with magic. However, the principles behind the inventions matched what my limited scientific knowledge could verify, and the resulting repercussions and applications were the same as what I had seen on Earth. Most importantly, the historical flow was identical to Oh Ji-o’s memories. It was practically a guidebook that broadened the imagination of the people in this world.

For example… On Earth, strong artificial intelligence or flying cars did not exist yet. But they were being researched, and people used them as directional markers while steadily progressing step by step. Some even considered them within reach in the near future. In the same way, the people of this world already held ideas about Earth-derived goods.

‘If I had been an actual engineer capable of designing and creating products, it would be different, but I’m not.’

In other words, for someone like me whose only weapon was ideas, swaggering around saying “Aaaah, this is what ㅇㅇ is” had been impossible from the start. The Earth author had already spread everything throughout this world.

“Let’s think positively…”

There was no need to dwell on whether this world based on a game was fake, or whether Earth came first or this place came first. And seeing that each was the creation of the other, it made sense that they would know about other creations as well. After all, the one I had descended was my parallel self. Earth wasn’t some higher world above this one, so I decided to believe that each world unconsciously influenced the other.

“Then what should I do?”

I felt lost once again. ‘It’s true that I know the future, but that knowledge is limited to the academy period.’ Since the game began with enrollment at the academy, the useful information for me also started from that point. Moreover, the direction of that information was awkward to utilize. Academy Great War was a nurturing-and-battle-focused game. I knew growth builds, end-game items, and efficient leveling routes, but I had no idea which crops would have a bumper harvest this year, or what regional or trending products were popular.

‘Isn’t there some other way I can take advantage of this…’

Knowing the future—even if limited—was definitely an advantage. On top of that, I also possessed knowledge from another world. There had to be a way to use it properly. I just hadn’t thought of it yet.

“……Guess I’ll go to the bathroom.”

No matter how much you worry, feel depressed, or struggle, physiological needs always come. Humans are creatures that get hungry even when sitting still and have to expel what they eat.

Whoosh—

And inspiration always arrives from unexpected places. While absentmindedly relieving myself in the bathroom and washing my hands, something suddenly caught my eye.

“Huh?”

I had discovered a use for a completely unexpected corner of my knowledge.

“So you want to make this?”

“Yes!”

Every creation has an unavoidable blind spot. It stays faithful to its own genre. A grand epic doesn’t explain how food supplies are managed. A silly comedy skit doesn’t discuss the chromosome arrangement of organic lifeforms. And a nurturing-and-battle-focused game like Academy Great War doesn’t tell you about trending designs ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠or fabrics for that year.

Any work of fiction cuts out explanations or descriptions that don’t fit its genre. And that applied to the Earth author as well. His writing was a kind of virtual history book. Or, to put it in a familiar genre, it could be considered an alternate history novel. The core of alternate history is the flow of history, not the minute details. Even if you possess King Sejong and lead scientific advancement, you don’t get descriptions of the outhouse! And even if you do, it focuses on big inventions like bidets rather than fine details. What matters in alternate history isn’t the details of the outhouse, but the protagonist’s sense of accomplishment from the invention, its social repercussions, and the benefit to the nation!

The same was true for the Earth author. No bathroom descriptions. No bath descriptions. No kitchen descriptions. These were things everyone used every day, yet they were parts where it was difficult to show clear change. Fortunately, not everyone lacked imagination, so there were flush toilets and faucets. But there were definitely things that were missing.

That thing was…

“Toilet paper rolls!”

The shape of the flush pipe! The toilet flush lever! One-touch faucets! Things that anyone who uses them long enough would eventually think of, but which were still missing in their detailed form right now! Trivial yet convenient details that could only be known by someone who had lived on Earth!

“Hmm… Well, shall we give it a try?”

What began with my father’s lukewarm response ended in a massive hit.