Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Signs of Total Ruin
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“What? Us?”
“Who else would it be? At this early hour?”
Raphael's innocent question made the thugs burst into laughter as one spoke up. Even in an elite school that trained heroes, it was still a place where people lived. With thousands of students, it was inevitable that a few delinquents would slip in among them.
Not that I'm defending my novel or anything. That's just how the world works.
Their name tags were red. Unlike our black ones, that meant they were second-years.
I approached them meekly. Raphael tilted her head and followed along.
“Oh? Up close, this girl's a real looker.”
“What? There's a babe like this at our school?”
“I told you to stake out early in the morning. Good call, right?”
As they started chatting among themselves, Raphael next to me perked up like she was thinking, Oh my, what flattery.
This wasn't a situation to be happy about, but her sense of awareness was utter trash.
“Ahem. Anyway, that's how it is, little miss. Wanna hang with us? First day of class, so skipping won't matter. Your senior guarantees it.”
“Really? Is that true?”
Raphael looked at me. She must've thought this meant she could skip the annoying commute. I didn't answer. I just stood there quietly.
“We'll even buy you something tasty~ We've got plenty of cash.”
“Yeah! Just follow us!!”
“De... delicious food...”
Drool was dripping down her chin. Had she been possessed by the ghost of someone who starved to death? She glanced at me again, but I was a statue. You think I'd budge?
“Yeah, we'll buy you tons of good stuff. Leave the hot spots to us. Trust only us! Escorting is a man's job.”
“Delicious food?! Hot spots?!”
No, what was with this gentlemanly thug? He was exuding so much charm it made me doubt if he was really one of them.
This was that sweet─
“Your boyfriend over there can head out now.”
“Oh, really?”
She knew not to let my line come next, so she bowed gratefully to the thug who cut me off. Good thing I'd stayed quiet—I didn't want to fight. Thankfully.
I couldn't even handle Raphael alone. How was I supposed to take on three Justitia second-years? Sometimes, you just let 'em go.
My 25-year Korean intuition was screaming at me. Go.
Skulking around the gate this early meant they were confident in their skills.
Even if I called a truck, I couldn't beat one of them. No—even ramming a truck into a thug wouldn't do it.
So, good luck, Raphael! I had to bail before I changed my mind.
“Seong-hoon? Where are you going? They said they'd buy food... Seong-hoon? Hey?”
As I started to slip away, Raphael sensed something off and tried to follow like a stray dog—but she got caught.
“Where you going? Come eat with us.”
“Huh? No, I─”
The thugs surrounded Raphael. She flailed, shooting me desperate pleas for help with her eyes, reaching out pitifully. But there was nothing I could do.
Force majeure. That's life against the forces of nature. To me, thugs were like natural disasters.
Yeah. That's it.
Go enjoy some good food. Have fun. I don't know anything. Not my business. Have a great time!
“Hey! Hey! Stop right there!! You're really just leaving? Really? You trash─!!”
Her resistance grew fiercer, so I quickened my pace. Yeah, I'm trash. Don't call me.
She still hadn't realized I wouldn't turn back no matter what.
By the time Raphael's voice (shriek) faded into the distance, I turned while running and bumped into something. No—bounced off it. A fragrant scent hit my nose instantly.
Following the smell led to a black-haired woman. Black hair, black eyes—a rare combo in this world.
I knew her well. Her appearance matched the description perfectly; there was no forgetting. She was glaring at me, arms crossed.
“Trash. Human scum.”
“Huh?”
My flustered question got a single reply.
“Words that describe you.”
As usual, my novel had heroines. Not just one—too many to count with my fingers. Among them were the main ones, and I'd included four.
Four was my line in the sand. More than that got messy. Sub-heroines multiplying was inevitable. The more arcs, the more they piled up—like gaining weight with age. Unavoidable.
What I'm saying is, the woman in front of me was one of the main heroines.
“Isn't that girl with you?”
She pointed accusingly. Her pale hand led to Raphael yelling something at me. Her wide eyes were kinda scary.
A perfectly reasonable question. Why aren't you saving your companion?
“Nope.”
But I answered immediately.
“Huh?”
Companions imply mutual consent to travel together, right? She was forcing herself on me, so we weren't companions.
Right?
“Huh? Huh? For real?”
I nodded lightly and headed toward the classroom.
“S-s-sorry. I thought she was with you─ Huh? What's that?”
The black-haired girl started to apologize, then jumped in surprise, glancing between me and Raphael before rushing toward her—Raphael seemed more urgent.
I confirmed she was gone and let out a sigh of relief.
“Slipped away naturally.”
Good.
Her name was Isia. One of the main heroines in Academy's Ice Knight, a dark magic prodigy who later became a grand archmage.
She ranked number one on my "people I absolutely don't want to get involved with" list.
Why? Simple. I was weak. Pathetically so. Even Justitia acknowledged me as the weakest.
To someone like me, Isia was a walking death flag. Getting tangled with her meant death.
She was the heir to Korea's Magic Association—the chairman's daughter. Associating with her meant getting dragged into every scheme surrounding the association.
The Magic Association was a hotbed of plots: kidnappings and assassinations targeting the chairman's daughter were rampant.
A student like me couldn't handle thugs, let alone the slaughterfest among mages. I'd last a second before turning into ground meat.
My goal was stealing Kim Tae-hyun's opportunities, twisting events to hinder his growth. Not wrecking human relationships.
And obviously, I didn't want to die.
Please, just ignore me and blush around Kim Tae-hyun instead.
Lost in those thoughts, I arrived at my class before I knew it. The classroom door labeled 1-5—the one I'd be in from now on—slid open with a rattle. Inside was a classroom.
Exactly like the typical image: a dead ringer for one.
Even at this early hour, a few people were there. Quite a few were mains from the story; I glanced to check their status.
My class was the protagonist's class. Fittingly, it was packed with key players. Even accounting for no-shows, there were plenty. Kim Tae-hyun was already there, claiming the backmost seat.
The guy sat quietly, setting the mood. He really was...
“Not a fan.”
I furrowed my brow. My chronic handsome hatred. Even though I created him, I couldn't help it. Crafting a perfect human who shouldn't exist made my guts twist just looking at him. Die, pretty boy. Die, elite.
Muttering prayers like keep him mid, I plopped into a middle seat. I'd checked the mains' faces and sat down, so nothing left to do.
So, inevitably, I opened the [Menu].
I opened [Inventory], and the interface appeared.
I pulled out the God's Note. Without reaching in, it dropped from midair like magic, and I caught it.
I hadn't finished reading it yesterday because of the fight with Raphael, so I still hadn't checked the [Skills] section properly.
God had given two gifts: one seemed to be [Inventory], so the other was likely in [Skills].
That's how I'd set it. Learning methods: innate, training, crisis.
You're the one making me beef with him since you like him. I nearly crumpled the paper thinking of God's face, but stopped when I remembered the blonde I'd ditched.
“Whatever.”
Now I knew how [Skills] worked, so I'd hold off. Cutting to the chase, I stowed the note in [Inventory] and opened [Skills].
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“Huh?”
I scrolled down, baffled by the insane prices, then doubted my eyes. Above S-rank, the top-grade skill for just 500P? I rubbed them. Was I seeing wrong? B-rank was the best initial buy, but EX for 500?
“Pass on this and you're a black rubber cow.”
I immediately tapped 「Heaven's Blessing (EX)」.
No need to think. I mashed YES. A new skill registered in the window instantly.
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“Whoa.”
Buying the skill felt incredibly reassuring. God, who seemed like an enemy yesterday, now looked benevolent. Was this it?
Like seeing a thug put an umbrella on a cat in the rain? After all the hate, one nice act melts your heart.
I grinned goofily, mood lifted.
BAM─!!
A loud bang—the front door flew open. Who before class? Two women entered my view as if answering.
Blonde and black-haired. The blonde glared murderously; the black-haired looked down like I was trash. Cold sweat poured.
For some reason, it felt like everything had gone to hell.