Entering the Academy (1)
"So the day has finally arrived."
Today was the academy entrance ceremony.
Ah, the academy. The shackle that binds me.
If it weren't for our Gabyul, I'd drop out of a place like this right away and live a free and easy life.
Why did our Kim Gabyul have to enroll in the academy of all places?
...There's no point fretting over it, though.
"Miho, let's go."
"Kyeng."
In the original novel The Reincarnator Wants to Live, incidents and accidents never stop coming.
How frequently do they erupt? Accidents break out even on the way to the academy for the entrance ceremony.
In truth, Korea's public safety isn't that poor. Accidents simply happen with particular frequency around the protagonist.
And the reason I'm bringing this up is that, of all people, the protagonist Seong Hyeon and his childhood friend Lee Jiwoo are standing right in front of me.
Just how close did they live to me?
I boarded the subway without much thought, only to find Lee Jiwoo and Seong Hyeon standing ahead of me.
...Isn't this actually an opportunity?
Whether I liked it or not, I would have to get closer to the protagonist's group in order to deal with future incidents. Introducing myself now might prove advantageous.
Besides, look. Seong Hyeon and Lee Jiwoo seemed aware of me as well; they kept glancing my way. Seong Hyeon's lips never stopped moving—he appeared to be sending a telepathic message to Lee Jiwoo. Even if he tried to hide it behind his phone, everything was visible.
I had no idea what Seong Hyeon was saying, but the more his lips moved, the more peculiar Lee Jiwoo's expression grew as she looked at me. If things continued like this, the flow did not seem likely to turn in my favor.
I hadn't done a single thing to them yet, but judging by the way they were looking at me, I could roughly guess what they were thinking.
"Hello. Judging by your uniforms, you appear to be new students at Warna Academy."
"Eek...!"
"Ah, yes. That's right. Are you perhaps...?"
"Indeed. I'm a new student enrolling this year. I'd be grateful if you simply called me Baek Sejin."
"Ah, I'm Lee Jiwoo, and this person next to me is Seong Hyeon. Seong is the family name, Hyeon is the given name."
So I simply spoke to Lee Jiwoo to keep the conversation from progressing any further in that direction. The moment I addressed them, Lee Jiwoo jumped in fright and Seong Hyeon's body stiffened. Thinking they might feel awkward talking to a stranger, I gently offered a smile.
"By the way... might you be the ones who dealt with that thug in Yongsan a few days ago?"
"Ah... aah, yes, that's right! Did you see us?"
"Haha, of course I did. You were truly impressive."
"Wow! Thank you! Hyeon, did you hear that? He says we're amazing!"
This was why I had struck up a conversation with Lee Jiwoo. In the original, Lee Jiwoo's unique innocence served to soften the atmosphere.
"Haha, seeing you so happy makes me feel good as well."
"Heh, is that so?"
As I was chatting amicably with Lee Jiwoo, Seong Hyeon posed a question to me.
"Excuse me, but... would it be possible to know where you saw us at the time?"
It was a very minor question. Recalling how Seong Hyeon had been watching me even while dealing with the thug, I opened my mouth.
"Ah, I saw you from the fountain area. Your skills were truly remarkable. And please, feel free to speak casually."
"...Got it. Why don't you drop the formalities too?"
"I appreciate the offer, but I find I can't quite manage it. It seems to have become a habit."
Just as the atmosphere was at its most amicable, a man rose from his seat with a swaying, unsteady motion.
Black mana can be sensed.
"Grrraaaagh..."
The man who had stood began to pour black liquid from every orifice on his face—from both nostrils, both eyes, both ears, and his mouth. Was this what they called the seven orifices spurting blood? Especially from his mouth, not only black liquid but black smoke was emerging as well.
"Wh-what is that?"
At the sudden turn of events, Seong Hyeon and Lee Jiwoo's faces hardened. Mine did as well, though for a slightly different reason.
So there was foreshadowing from the very beginning.
Chae Seong-ah. A demon contractor who was also a black mage, and an alchemist who manufactured drugs—Chae Seong-ah was a villain who opposed Seong Hyeon in the mid-section of the original. In the original, one of the heroines' family members became addicted to the drug this villain produced during a vacation period. The protagonist and the heroine then set out to find the culprit's hideout and eliminate him entirely. Of course, since the setting was modern, they also reported it to the police.
And in that episode, Kim Gabyul played a major role. The drug, which used black mana as its raw material, had its location revealed through magic, and at that location Kim Gabyul's black mana detector—Archangel Gabriel—led them to the villain's hideout. Then, with Holy Power that stood in absolute opposition to black mana, the protagonist's group was able to defeat the villain with remarkable ease.
In the process, one fact was mentioned: originally this drug had been intended to turn those who ingested it into living bombs for use in terrorism. When the power proved unsatisfactory during production, they simply repurposed it as a narcotic. They reduced the side effects and made it produce a pleasant high like ordinary drugs, while still allowing other effects—temporarily enhancing physical abilities dramatically, or completely eliminating bodily fatigue for a short time, for example.
The phrase "living bomb" had lodged so deeply in my mind that I still remembered the information about this drug. In any case, when someone absorbed the drug-slash-physical-enhancer manufactured by this villain, their physical abilities rose, but black smoke emerging from the mouth was a side effect.
I examined the man carefully. His blood vessels were visibly stained black. The black liquid already pooling on the floor as it streamed out looked ominous. At that level, black mana was probably already circulating through every vessel in his body and seizing control of him. This no longer seemed like the drug version. This was the living-bomb version from before the formula had been diverted into narcotics.
What happened in the original...?
I couldn't quite remember. In that case, it was better to assume the worst. I would treat this man as having already become a human bomb.
At that level, it seems the flesh has been completely invaded by black mana.
Marbas's single remark only strengthened my conviction.
"Young man, are you all right?"
At that moment, an elderly man sitting in front of the human living bomb, apparently worried, tried to approach him.
Is he insane?
Anyone could see the man was in terrible condition; approaching him carelessly was a bad idea.
If this goes wrong, he might detonate right now.
I had to stop this. Seong Hyeon and Lee Jiwoo seemed to share the same thought, for they hurriedly rose from their seats.
"Please stop."
I restrained the elderly man and flicked my fingers. At the same time, a translucent black cube enclosed the living human bomb.
"Wh-what? What's going on?!"
The elderly man who had been about to approach was thrown into great confusion when the man was suddenly surrounded by a black cube.
"Lord Marbas, is there a possibility this will explode?"
Mana is formless, and it is also mutable.
In other words, even he did not know.
Not much help at a critical moment.
The elderly man, still frozen in the posture of approaching the human bomb, spoke to me as I drew near.
"Young man, was this your doing?"
"If you mean the cube, then yes, I am responsible."
I answered affirmatively to the elderly man who pointed at the black cube and the living bomb as he spoke.
"Hmm, hmm..."
The elderly man looked at me, who had affirmed his question, then at the cube, and finally at the living bomb still spurting black liquid from all seven orifices.
"Hmm... I see. Understood."
With that, the elderly man simply moved to another seat.
"What on earth is going on?"
Lee Jiwoo, who had been examining the man, asked me. Seong Hyeon stood slightly in front of her, as if shielding her.
"Would the two of you report this to the police for now?"
"Got it!"
Lee Jiwoo quickly called the police. People had probably already reported it, but it was better to make the call just in case.
"Police, right? There's a strange person here spewing black water—or blood?—from every hole in his face. Our location is... Ah, you've already confirmed it?"
"Could you explain what's going on right now?"
While Lee Jiwoo was reporting to the police, Seong Hyeon carefully asked me.
"I don't really know either. I simply thought contact should be avoided, so I isolated him."
I deflected by saying I didn't know either. Outwardly, I had to appear ignorant of what had happened to this man. If I showed even the slightest sign of knowledge, suspicion would fall on me immediately.
Does this bastard have some connection to the villain?
Questions like that, or even more absurd suspicions like Is this bastard the villain himself? might arise. As a righteous citizen, I could not allow myself to be suspected of such things.
"Looking at his condition, it seems like he should be taken to a hospital rather than the police."
"I thought it best to report it to the proper police, since ability users might be involved."
"...That's true."
"I reported it!"
Just then Lee Jiwoo finished her call to the police. Finally, I left a message on the cube containing the bomb so that the police could understand the situation the moment they arrived.
"Very well. Then let us be on our way."
The subway had already arrived at the academy.