Chapter 2
Terminally Ill, but It's Okay — Episode 2
Manifestation.
The process of turning imagination into reality was simple, but exacting.
Like gears meshing without a single error, it was crucial to keep the senses sharply honed.
[Activating trait, Heightened Senses.]
In that sense, another trait, Heightened Senses, was a great help.
Once the trait's power was added, I was seized by the illusion that time was flowing slowly.
As a stillness and silence settled in, enough to make me forget the enemy before my eyes for a moment, I focused.
Focused again.
Then, through Appraisal, I drew out the hyper-realistic memories etched deep in my mind—the information on the Armament I intended to visualize.
I visualized a single sword identical to the real thing, again and again.
[Beginning manifestation.]
At that, pure white motes of light scattered across my vision.
Particles of manifestation.
They were like a tool for visually depicting conceptual representations.
Squirm, squirm—
The particles responded to my will and shaped the form of a sword.
First, the seven branches extending from the blade revealed themselves, then the 34 characters on the front and the 27 characters on the back.
A total of 64 characters inlaid on both sides of the blade were engraved.
This sword can defeat all manner of enemy soldiers....... Bestowed upon the kings of the vassal states....... The Crown Prince of Baekje, Gisa Seong-eum, had it made to be passed down to later generations for the King of Wa, Ji (旨).
The sword symbolized by all these distinctive features was one and only one.
A hero-grade armament bearing the golden age of Baekje.
A national treasure of the Republic of Korea, said to cut down several supernatural creatures by its mere presence and slay hundreds of Monsters, manifested as an illusion.
"Seven-Branched Sword."
[Seven-Branched Sword (Replica)]
[Grade: Hero (Mid)]
[Secondary Effects: Strength and Agility +100%, crowd-control effect within a 10M radius]
Now all that remained was materialization.
But powerful force always came with a price.
[Mana is utterly insufficient for materialization.]
[Mana is utterly insufficient for materialization.]
.
.
For Park Ha-yul, who already had a Mana-Deficient Constitution, it was an absolute nightmare.
So instead of giving up, I proposed an alternative.
"Limit performance to 10%."
[Insufficient mana.]
"Limit usage time to 10 seconds."
[Still slightly insufficient.]
I played the most valuable card I had left.
"I offer 30 minutes of my remaining 2 hours as a sacrifice."
Time.......
「Limited Lifespan」
Description: A trait created by the effect of a time restriction. It is both a shackle constricting the bearer's life and another possibility. Time can be used like currency. (Maximum 3 days)
The sole strength of the Limited Lifespan trait.
I had used time as currency to make up for the mana I lacked.
"You can't refuse this much."
[Conditions have been met.]
[Materializing.]
[Remaining Time: 7 minutes]
Nearly all my mana drained out at once, and I felt the cold touch of metal in my outstretched hand.
[Seven-Branched Sword (Replica)]
[Performance Limit: 10%]
[Effects: Strength and Agility +10%, crowd-control effect activated within a 1M radius]
Although extreme exhaustion swept over me, my legs trembling and my vision swimming, the time granted to me was only 10 seconds.
Patter-patter.
There was no time to dawdle, so I gritted my teeth and charged at the thing.
The 10% boost to Agility and Strength lent power to my body.
SCREEEECH—
The thing, which had been drooling, also leaped in with a ferocious aura.
I had zero combat experience, and the only blade I'd ever held was a kitchen knife for cutting onions.......
Hummm.
The clash ended anticlimactically.
It was thanks to the Seven-Branched Sword's crowd-control effect activating the moment the thing entered within a 1M radius.
Krrk... krrk... krrk....
The thing rapidly slowed, then came to a complete stop.
.........................
Long, sharp claws were stopped an inch from my face.
It sent a chill down my spine, but I was better off than the thing was.
Forced into sudden restraint, the thing could only roll its bloodshot eyes around as burst capillaries stained them red.
"See, you should've picked your fights more carefully."
Monsters were a race that fed on human flesh and souls by nature, so I tossed any guilt to the dogs.
I quickly lifted the thing's hair and drove the Seven-Branched Sword into the center of the acupoint at the bulge of the occipital bone.
Shlunk—
Despite the unpleasant sound, blood didn't spray everywhere.
A hero-grade armament inherently carried the property of exorcism, so there was no need to stab deep.
Squish-crack.
A moment later, along with the sound of something being crushed, black blood trickled from the nape of its neck.
The man-eating parasite was safely eliminated.
Thanks to the Seven-Branched Sword's efficacy, the demonic energy would be purified and the wound would soon heal.
The rest was up to the woman.
If it hadn't been long since the parasite seized control of her body, she would survive; if not, she would die.
Her situation was pitiful, but aside from reporting it, there was nothing I could do for her.
Tzzzt.
As the Seven-Branched Sword, having fulfilled its role, vanished, the message I'd been waiting for soon appeared.
[You have eliminated a Grade 9 man-eating parasite.]
[Tutorial Quest completed.]
[As a quest completion reward, 5 days have been added to your Remaining Time.]
[As a Monster elimination reward, 10 hours have been added.]
[Remaining Time: 5 days 10 hours 6 minutes]
The unexpected gains were welcome, too.
To think I could acquire time just by killing Monsters.
If it were up to me, I'd have gone for a second round right away, but my condition wasn't great.
I barely managed to support my swaying body, drained of mana to its limit.
[Activating trait, Enhanced Recovery.]
[Recovery speed increases nearly twofold.]
Without even this, I would have collapsed entirely.
"10% was overkill. Should've limited it to 5%."
Looking back, I'd overdone it. Still, I learned from the mistake, so it counted as good experience.
My role ended here. If I reported it and went home, a rescue team would come and handle the rest.
"Excuse me. Just a moment."
That was the moment someone spoke to me.
A young man who had appeared out of nowhere strode toward me.
I was tired, so irritation briefly flared up.......
......That guy?
It soon crumbled like a handful of ash.
"I'm a Taehak student. Excuse me, but I'd like to ask for your cooperation."
The ID the man held out as he stopped didn't even register in my eyes.
Seeing the face illuminated by the moonlight was proof enough.
Clear skin that matched his kind nature. Straight, well-defined features befitting his upright character.
It was my first time facing him in reality, but it was a face I had drawn thousands of times, so there was no way I wouldn't recognize him.
Baek Sa-young.
A virtuous man of unwavering justice and the very embodiment of Yoo So-young's favoritism.
The true protagonist of this world, who should have caught the man-eating parasite and saved the woman in my place today.......
Since this was the prologue part of the novel, I'd planned to intervene as early as possible, quietly eliminate it, and slip away.......
Was this the price for stealing what should have been his?
I hadn't expected to see his face like this.
This wasn't the time.
I quickly pulled my hat down low and answered.
"What's the matter?"
"I sensed a flow of mana while passing by. But as you can see, the situation is a bit......."
"Situation?"
"Yes. Could you show me some identification?"
Baek Sa-young looked at me and the fallen woman with wary eyes.
A misunderstanding....... Was that it?
Well, I understood. And I had nothing to hide.
Park Ha-yul was, after all, a student of Taehak, the foremost academy in the Republic of Korea.
But I wasn't sure if revealing my identity was the right move.
So I deliberated for a moment, then reached a conclusion.
"My identity is not so trivial that I would show it to the likes of you."
For now, I'd bluff my way through it.
The time for Park Ha-yul to reveal himself was still far off, so I didn't want to stir up trouble for nothing.
That strange manner of speech came in handy at times like this.
"I'd heard Taehak has gone to the dogs lately, and it seems that was true."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Class of 882? Or 883?"
"Pardon?"
"Par-don?"
"Were you a senior, by any chance?"
"I did graduate from Taehak, but don't call me senior. I have no desire to have a clueless fool like you as a junior."
"Ah......."
With the Republic of Korea military-style dressing-down combined with the arrogance unique to a prestigious family acquired through Appraisal, Baek Sa-young seemed flustered and couldn't easily continue speaking.
No one had probably ever shown Taehak this much disrespect.
"First, I apologize. But I'll accept your reprimand after confirming your identity......."
"Emergency Situation Rule No. 1: assess the victim's safety first. Did you forget? Who's your assigned professor, to have taught you this poorly?"
"Well, that's......."
"From the looks of it, first year? Then Jin Yun-gi?"
"...Do you know the professor?"
Of course I did. I'd drawn him quite a few times.
You two are pretty close, after all.
"If that woman had been in a critical state where every second counted, she would have died today because of you."
"I-I'm sorry."
"Sorry? Just with words?"
"N-no, that's not......."
Baek Sa-young awkwardly approached the fallen woman.
After checking her condition, he soon discovered the sword wound on the back of her head and his eyes went wide.
He must have realized that the woman had been taken over by a man-eating parasite.
.......
But why is he staring so intently? All sword wounds look the same.
I was getting needlessly anxious, wondering if I'd made a mistake.
Baek Sa-young approached with a hardened face and bowed politely.
"I failed to recognize you. Please leave the cleanup to me."
His even more polite tone was awkward, but the matter seemed to have been resolved well.
As expected.
No matter how much of a protagonist he was, he was still just an inexperienced rookie.
I could go now, right?
I was reaching the limit of how long I could hide my shaking legs, so I decided to part ways here.
"Then you understand. I'll be on my way. Carry on."
"W-wait."
That was when I heard Baek Sa-young's urgent voice.
The guy scratched his head as if embarrassed, then carefully asked.
"......If I may be so bold, are you by any chance with the Yosal Corps Special Mission Taskforce?"
"What?"
Why would I be?
The situation I thought was over began to take a strange turn.
* * *
The Yosal Corps Special Mission Taskforce.
Abbreviated as the Special Mission Taskforce, it was a posting that embodied everything Taehak students dreamed of.
High-difficulty missions dealing only with upper-grade Monsters and Demonkin of white grade or higher.
The formidable skill to carry them out.
And on top of that, the covert mystique of operating individually.
It was the shape of the wolf in every man's heart, an object of admiration.
"Thanks to you, I've realized many things. My name is Baek Sa-young."
"......I see."
"I will surely repay today's debt if the opportunity arises. Please, take care."
Baek Sa-young bowed and kept his head lowered for quite a long time.
Maybe that was his way of showing respect.
As expected of the Special Mission Taskforce.
The imposing aura and restrained dignity he unconsciously exuded were truly worthy of being called exceptional.
"First report it, then we'll see."
Baek Sa-young, who had snapped his head up, made a rescue request first, then trotted over and re-examined the sword wound that had startled him moments ago.
"......It's really clean."
He'd looked at it again and again, but he couldn't believe it.
Man-eating parasites were, despite their grade, quite troublesome Monsters.
They charged in using the host's body as a weapon, so subduing them without injury wasn't easy, and the acupoint where they settled was one of the body's most dangerous vital spots—one bad thrust could kill the host before the parasite was removed.
But the condition of the woman before his eyes was far too clean.
As if she'd undergone surgery under general anesthesia, only that one point at the back of her head had been pierced, and the depth and affected area were minimal.
Moreover, there was something truly astonishing.......
The wound was healing on its own, as if self-repairing.
"Is this the Living Sword?"
They said that upon reaching the pinnacle of the sword, one could imbue it with intent and alter its nature.
"Insane......."
Only today did he realize that the professor's claim, which he'd laughed off at the time, had not been empty talk.
With this level of skill, on the Awakener scale running from Tier 10 to Tier 1, he was at least as strong as a Tier 4 Awakener.
No, maybe Tier 3?
Even most Taehak professors wouldn't reach that man's level, so that seemed reasonable.
Indeed, the world was wide and full of the strong.
"Will I ever be able to become like that?"
The afterglow of the brief but intense encounter didn't fade easily and continued to linger in Baek Sa-young's heart.