Chapter 108
Terminally Ill, but It's Okay — Episode 108
[Main Quest #8: Participated in the sparring match as Taehak's representative and achieved victory]
[As a reward, 15 days have been added to your Remaining Time.]
[As a reward, 30 SP has been provided.]
[Remaining Time: 64 days 10 hours 34 minutes]
[Remaining SP: 241]
The sparring match proceeded without incident.
The remaining matches also ended in victory for Taehak.
Cheon Seo-yoon, though faintly, succeeded in infusing her wooden sword with Lightning Power and cleanly snapped her opponent's wooden sword in two.
Lee Dae-ho seized victory after a thrilling slugfest.
The match between Axel and Baek Sa-young was quite worth watching, so I recorded it on video.
Even to me, ignorant of swordsmanship as I am, it was a fairly entertaining duel.
Perhaps because both were balanced-type swordsmen, they showed few openings, yet the way offense and defense flipped in an instant was impressive.
"I'll watch it later if I get bored."
Who knows.
I might end up swinging a sword myself someday.
Anyway, once the sparring ended, the mood in the stands, where people had been sitting sullenly, changed as well.
Applause and cheers erupted from all around, and some people chanted Taehak's name.
"Today I understood why everyone chants 'Taehak, Taehak.'"
Axel extended his hand to Baek Sa-young, saying they should cross swords once more if he ever visited Seoul.
Cheon Seo-yoon and Lee Dae-ho likewise clasped hands with their respective opponents and continued chatting in low voices.
I was the only one alone.
Maximus had been carried off to the emergency room because the burns covering his entire body were quite severe...
"Come to think of it, isn't Maximus the most pitiful one here?"
"What do you mean?"
"Didn't he collapse without even getting to swing his sword once?"
"It's not a sword, it's an axe."
"Same difference. I don't think I'll ever fight someone from the Sorcery Track again."
At some point, Lee Dae-ho started sneaking glances at me.
Then, apparently unable to contain his curiosity, he latched onto me and fired off a barrage of questions.
Why don't you raise your ranking with skills like that? Are you considered strong within the Sorcery Track?
Maybe because the Sorcery Track was such a minor discipline, he talked until my ears were ringing.
"Hey, let's stop by that place on our way back."
Fortunately, Cheon Seo-yoon cut in just then.
Cheon Seo-yoon pointed at the souvenir shop and bounced on her feet.
"Souvenirs? We already bought..."
"Then just look around. I didn't get to buy a single thing."
Cheon Seo-yoon grabbed Baek Sa-young's arm and yanked hard.
"Park Ha-yul. You're not buying anything, right? Let's just talk while we wait..."
"I am buying something."
"Huh?"
"I said I'm buying a souvenir."
I shook off Lee Dae-ho and followed after them.
Of course, I had no intention of buying anything.
There was no one to give it to, and I'd learned that memories get forgotten.
Growing up in an orphanage, I heard that every single day, so it was ingrained in me.
By now, I'd become someone who found it easier to focus on the present rather than remember things.
"Whoa, I have to buy this."
But Cheon Seo-yoon was the exact opposite.
Maybe because of her father's death, she had a great fear of being forgotten.
"Getting this too!"
She was the type who couldn't throw away old things even when they broke, and whenever she wanted to remember something, she always bought an object related to it.
"Ma'am, is this a flat price?"
...Or maybe not?
"Whoa, this is crazy expensive in Korea."
Looking again, she just seemed addicted to shopping.
"Why are you just staring? Aren't you buying anything?"
Then our eyes met.
When I nodded, Cheon Seo-yoon came trotting over and held out a glass bottle.
"Buy this. It's a local specialty here."
It was a diffuser. Like an air freshener you put in your room.
But why would I?
When I asked with my eyes, Cheon Seo-yoon continued.
"I mean, you ate spaghetti, right? It'd be nice to buy it as a thank-you."
"Spaghetti?"
"Yeah, I went grocery shopping with Arin to make it. Though the menu changed, so I couldn't take a picture."
"Ah..."
For a moment, my mind flashed.
So the forgetting was a lie, and she'd even prepared for it.
"Anyway, I helped."
Cheon Seo-yoon grinned with a proud face, then busily moved her hands again.
She found an identical glass bottle and put it in her basket.
* * *
Back in Korea, back at Taehak.
I was holed up in my dorm room, staring with a serious expression at a laptop listing on my laptop screen.
But I only know how to draw.
RAM, CPU, graphics card.
I knew absolutely nothing about performance-related components, so I just paid for the best one.
Since I was giving a gift anyway, getting the best one seemed good for both me and Cheol-soo.
It was a model advertised by a famous celebrity, and the pitch was pretty decent.
Another world in my hands, the laptop revolution SR-9900.
Nearly ten million won drained out of my account, but when I thought about all the things Cheol-soo had helped me resolve so far, it didn't feel like a waste at all.
"I'm going to keep relying on him, after all."
As soon as the purchase was complete, I connected to Green Window.
The search term was Joo Yeo-hoon.
Click. When I pressed Enter, a huge photo like some celebrity's appeared, with all sorts of titles listed beneath it.
Third child among four sons and two daughters of the Guardian Joo Family
Currently enrolled in Taehak, 3rd year, Class C
Representative of the direct team "Blood Wolves" (Guild Rank B)
Representative of the direct team "Dark Clouds" (Guild Rank C)
CEO of Y.H Corporation
President of the Korea Social Contribution Youth Association.
Senior Advisor of the International Youth Environment Association.
.
.
He's 22, only one year older than Park Ha-yul, but his resume looks like a politician's.
He runs two direct teams and has one investment company.
As for those pointless associations, there are so many of them—president here, president there.
Judging solely by what was visible, anyone could see he was a direct descendant of a prestigious family.
He was clearly a young man with a bright future ahead.
"But he's rotten inside."
That's why he resorted to a Booster—no, even a fragment.......
The guy had neither ability nor character worth a damn, only ambition that looked ever upward.
Envy and jealousy toward the eldest and second sons, and the baseness to tear them down by any means.
The only thing he had was a twisted greed to become the head of the Joo Family no matter what it took...
['Greed' asks if you called for it.]
No, not you.
Anyway, to sum him up in a word, he's a worm.
A parasite living in luxury thanks to his maternal family, the Dark Mist Choi Family.
In the original work, because of this setup, he frequently appeared as a villain within Taehak.
From Joo A-rin's perspective, he was probably someone she'd gladly chew up and spit out.
He interfered with everything she did at every turn and treated Joo Seol-hwa like dead weight.
And the wolf from last time was planted by Joo Yeo-hoon, so that says it all.
.......
So, the enemy of my enemy is my friend—allying with Joo A-rin to deal with him was the optimal approach.
I opened the message window and typed "what are you doing," then deleted it.
Thinking about it, it seemed better to meet and talk in person, since I also had the diffuser to give her.
Instead, I sent a text to Cheol-soo.
[Cheol-soo, the next target has been decided.]
[Oh, who is it]
[Joo Yeo-hoon.]
[Joo Yeo-hoon? Same name as a senior at our school.]
[It is that Joo Yeo-hoon?]
[Oh, that Joo Yeo... What? No, Ha-yul. J-just a moment.]
Cheol-soo was so flustered he even called me.
When I pressed the call button, an excited voice poured out.
-Ha-yul. Can't you reconsider? I don't know why, but if you mess with that senior Joo Yeo-hoon...
"I get it, so look at the photo I'm sending right now first."
-A photo?
I cut Cheol-soo off and sent a single photo.
.......
Then, after a brief silence, a rather solemn voice leaked out.
-What should we do first, Ha-yul? With that guy on our side, even the line of death seems manageable.
The identity of the photo was the SR-9900 payment receipt with the recipient listed as Kim Cheol-soo.
* * *
Monday, personal training time.
For the first time in a while, I returned to Achasan, behind the dormitory.
"Today's practical topic is barrier dispelling. A total of about 100 small barriers have been installed in Zones 1 and 2 of Achasan. Your mission today is to find and dispel them."
I was listening to the professor's explanation while standing at ease.
"The difficulty levels are high, medium, and low. Successfully dispelling them earns 5 points, 3 points, and 1 point respectively. The maximum score you can earn is 10 points. These points will be applied as bonus points when calculating your final exam scores..."
The explanation was quite long today. To summarize, we had to find and dispel barriers somewhere in this forest.
"The time limit is 3 hours from now. Note that if you score 0 points, you will be subject to afternoon supplementary lessons. If everyone understands, move out immediately."
The female professor clapped her hands with a sharp sound as the starting signal.
At that, about fifty students dashed out, racing ahead.
"A 5-pointer is huge."
"The max is 10 points anyway, so anyone want to team up?"
Some students moved alone, while others formed teams of two or three.
Everyone seemed brimming with motivation at the words "bonus points," and teams formed and split with remarkable speed.
Before long, the only person left in the wide clearing was me...
Including the professor in charge, only two of us remained.
The professor's gaze naturally turned toward me.
"Aren't you going to run?"
"I should."
"When?"
When?
I hadn't set a specific time, and being fast wasn't necessarily the best approach, but somehow the atmosphere made it feel like I had to go.
"Now. Well then, if you'll excuse me..."
I bowed my head in greeting and ran off, pretending to be busy.
No, I fled.
"Ah, I read your video analysis report thoroughly. I can see why Professor Cha Myeong-hwan praised it. I'm looking forward to this assignment as well."
The professor's belated praise jabbed me in the back, but I only bowed my head once more without replying.
Because Professor Cha Myeong-hwan alone already gave me more than enough attention and care.
I jogged lightly until I found the tallest tree nearby, then climbed to the top.
The goal was to find any barrier and dispel it quickly.
First, avoid supplementary lessons, then have a brief conversation with Joo A-rin.
Therefore, there was no need to exert myself.
So I was casually looking down from above, searching for distorted mana flows, when...
Suddenly, an unpleasant scuffle came into view.
"Hey, why don't you just go while we're asking nicely?"
"No, I found it first..."
"Oh, right, that's why I said thanks. So now just leave. Leave the dispelling to us."
The sneering, threatening voices belonged to Lee Dong-wook and the blond guy, and the cowering voice belonged to Min Young-ji.
I figured out the situation immediately.
Clearly, those two were trying to steal the barrier Min Young-ji had discovered.
"That bastard still hasn't come to his senses."
In my anger, I considered picking up a rock and throwing it...
...Wait.
Suddenly, I discovered a new possibility.
Birds of a feather flock together—that bastard Lee Dong-wook...
He was one of those guys who went around calling Joo Yeo-hoon "Mr. President, Mr. President."
The Korea Social Contribution Youth Association, was it?
He was probably a member there.
It was a place that was social contribution in name only, really nothing more than a social club for thugs from fancy families.
"Hm."
I calmed my boiling temper.
Then I calmly considered what benefits I could extract from the card called Lee Dong-wook.
Then, another route to approach Joo Yeo-hoon.
Once I decided he was a reasonably useful card, I jumped without hesitation.
I approached the scene of school violence without a second thought.
On the way, I picked up a suitable rock and wound it tightly with Cheonjam Thread.
And as soon as I entered range, I wound up.
"Ah, this is X—ing frustrating. Just get lost......."
At the moment Lee Dong-wook was spitting and running his mouth, I hurled it with all my strength at his thick skull.
WHACK—
And before long, the sound of a strike echoed out.
"Aaaaagh. X—, who the hell was that? Who the hell throws a rock, you piece of shit."
He responded violently and looked for me, so I made my entrance.
"Me. You piece of shit."
Lee Dong-wook let out a sudden gasp, then hastily clutched the back of his right hand.
He apparently still remembered the trick I'd pulled on him during midterms.