Chapter 44
Terminally Ill, but It's Okay — Episode 44
They say imitation is the mother of creation.
Humans made blades by imitating the teeth and claws of animals, and made airplanes by imitating birds in flight.
In that sense, this is not so much a reenactment from a movie as it is another act of creation.
I materialized the Chungyongwi Warrior's Dagger and linked it to the Cheonjam Thread.
To get a feel for the sensation, I repeatedly fired it in all four directions—front, back, left, right—and retrieved it.
Once the warm-up was over, I added another strand of Cheonjam Thread and wound it around my left bracelet.
In total, two strands of Cheonjam Thread were now in place, one on the right and one on the left.
To match, I added one more training dummy.
I set it up about five meters behind the first dummy.
I glared at the dummies lined up in a row like a bird of prey, then lightly extended my hand.
Swish—
The Cheonjam Thread from my left hand wrapped around the dummy and contracted. Once again, I lurched forward as it reeled me in.
"Now!"
Just before impact, I released the thread that had been coiled around it.
Fwoop—
That sent me vaulting clean over the first dummy into a somersault.
Like an assassin plunging into the heart of the enemy camp to cut down their leader, I hung in the air as if frozen—and at that moment,
I hurled the dagger at the second dummy.
Thunk—
In the instant light flashed, the dagger embedded itself. Since it moved according to my will, its accuracy was one hundred percent.
A crack spread across the forehead of the dummy where the dagger had struck dead-on, and soon it shattered with a crunch—
"Hurk!"
But before that, I was the one who crashed down first.
I flailed my arms and legs as I fell, then tumbled across the ground a few more times.
"Damn it."
I'd only just learned to walk; trying to run was probably too ambitious.
* * *
Four hours flew by.
My once-clean body reeked of sweat, and the inside of my mouth was parched dry with a sweetish tang.
This was the realm of learning through the body.
Using the body really was no easy thing. I practiced dozens of times, but progress was slow.
Nine times out of ten, I failed the landing, and even when I barely succeeded, my stamina couldn't hold up enough to carry into the next movement.
That bastard Radeon.
I'd thought he was just coasting on his trait and good luck, but being in the same position made me see him differently.
He must have worked himself to the bone to master the Cheonjam Thread that well.
"Hm."
Anyway, I'd gotten a feel for it, so I decided to call it there for the day.
I flopped down onto the ground.
I had learned plenty from the session, so I sat down to rest and think through my next steps.
First of all, since my combat style had changed, the old all-in-on-mana build was inevitably going to shift.
Having operated it directly, I could see that strength, agility, stamina, senses, and so on—
there wasn't a single one I could neglect.
"At the very least, I need to be average."
The average physical stat for a Taehak student was 6. Mine was 4.
There was a long way to go.
Mana remaining the main focus wouldn't change, but the other stats needed to keep pace.
Should I increase my physical conditioning time?
Or invest more time again?
[Remaining Time: 23 days 12 hours 45 minutes]
I stared at the remaining time, then decided to think it over a little more.
Fortunately, there was a fair amount of leeway until the next episode.
Roughly two to three weeks.
The first incident in which the Exorcism Society, nursing a grudge over the failed terrorist attack, would truly bare its claws was due to occur.
The target was Joo A-rin, who had responded to the interview, and the rescue would be handled by Cheon Seo-yoon and Baek Sa-young.
The opponent was a powerful Demonkin from the Exorcism Society, a one-man army.
However, the established sequence was that Baek Sa-young would open the path and Cheon Seo-yoon would finish it.
That was because, fitting for a growth arc for Cheon Seo-yoon that intersected with Joo A-rin's crisis, she would awaken a new trait at just the right time.
Anyway, I'd scheduled the Cheonjam Thread's first real deployment for then.
I had to become proficient somehow before that.
Eight hours of each day were already devoted to Samjaegong and basic physical conditioning, and I planned to add 2-star sorcery soon, but there was that saying: “Make daily life into training.”
If I kept it by my side at all times, I should be able to adapt quickly.
"Shall I try it now?"
They say to strike while the iron is hot, so I first summoned two training dummies.
The distance between them was about two meters.
I drew out Cheonjam Thread and set up two long horizontal lines, then densely wound vertical lines between them.
It was a kind of re-creation of a hammock.
I'd intended to combine rest and training, and once it was complete, it looked fairly plausible.
To other people's eyes, I would look like I was lying in midair, but I could see just fine.
Well, that was all that mattered.
I carefully lay my body down.
.......
"Nngh......."
But before long, cold sweat began trickling down my skin.
Maintaining the shape by continuously feeding it a tiny amount of mana was harder than it sounded.
Still, I gritted my teeth and kept at it.
[Activating trait, Heightened Senses.]
Adding the power of the trait, I focused silently like a block of wood or stone.
After thirty minutes, I finally got a feel for how much mana to feed it and at what rate.
The basics were done, at least.
So I was just about to start moving little by little when—
Bzzzz.
My phone vibrated at just that moment.
Could there be a better mission than this?
I slowly and carefully reached out my arm and took out my phone.
.......
But the message was far too serious to ignore.
[Sender: Joo A-rin]
[I'm not trying to interrogate you about what happened. But please know that Seo-yoon isn't doing well.]
"......Is she taking it that hard?"
In that instant, my thoughts wandered, and before I knew it, I'd released the Cheonjam Thread.
Immediately, I dropped with a thud, but it didn't hurt.
Because I had a bad feeling about this.
Hm.
I decided to wait until I saw her in person before judging anything further.
* * *
Monday's first class was individual sparring.
With the theory portion over and the time for full-scale practical training having arrived, the location was Outdoor Training Ground No. 5.
Originally, it was a distance that took a good thirty minutes, but that only applied when I was on foot—
Make daily life into training.
Whoosh—
Just as I'd resolved yesterday, I was flying between buildings.
I waited for a time when there were few people around, fired the Cheonjam Thread, and advanced little by little, bit by bit.
I cleared ten meters in a single bound with ease and moved quickly.
After about fifteen minutes, a broad open area came into view.
Then came the clamorous voices of students.
The commotion itself was nothing unusual, but today it was noticeably louder than usual, which caught my attention.
I looked over, wondering what was going on, and at the center of the commotion was Baek Sa-young's group.
The situation was easy enough to guess just from the conversations I could overhear.
"No, so there wasn't a single casualty?"
"Wow, the incidents and accidents just never stop."
The auction house.
Students who had seen the news first had swarmed around them.
I was also one of the auction house members, but whether because of my past conduct or because my visible contributions had been few,
no one came up to talk to me.
That was only natural, so I didn't mind.
But shouldn't Cheon Seo-yoon be different?
Unlike me, she'd played a conspicuous role. Even if she wasn't bustling around like usual, I'd expected her to at least stay with her group.
The unpleasant feeling doubled the moment I spotted her in the corner of the outdoor stands.
Cheon Seo-yoon was sitting almost lying down, just blankly staring up at the drifting clouds.
Hm.
Just as Joo A-rin's text said, it seemed like a fairly serious situation.
I moved my feet to get a little closer.
"......."
Then our eyes suddenly met.
I held my breath without realizing it.
"......."
But her gaze was dead. A stare that didn't even blink.
No emotion dwelled in those hollow eyes.
Cheon Seo-yoon soon turned her head away again as if nothing had happened.
"...What?"
Still, she should have gotten angry.
I'd guessed as much, but it was more serious than that, so I pressed my hand to my head for a moment.
Personal feelings aside, I was uneasy.
Because according to the original work, Cheon Seo-yoon should have been using the recovery of the necklace as kindling to stoke her own growth by now.
Only then could she acquire a new trait and appear as a savior in the episode that was about to unfold.
But for her to be in such a listless state—
It was only the second day, but this wasn't something I could brush off by saying she'd get better with time.
She looked as though she had fallen deep into a mire.
"Should I have been a little kinder?"
I tried out other hypotheticals, but soon shook my head.
Even thinking it over again, that had been the best option.
If I dragged out an explanation, she'd only grow suspicious of my identity, and leaving her with false hope or lingering attachment would do neither of us any good.
Inevitable.
It meant this was an unavoidable result once I'd decided to intervene in the original work.
"Everyone, gather this way."
Just as my worries were deepening, the professor in charge appeared.
Cheon Seo-yoon trudged over that way as if she'd been waiting.
She exchanged a few words with the professor, saying she wasn't feeling well, then walked back to a corner spot.
"Did something happen with Cheon Seo-yoon? Why is she like that?"
"I don't know. I tried talking to her and she just ignored me."
The students who had been watching murmured quietly, and amid that, one particularly sharp gaze fixed on me.
"......."
It was Joo A-rin.
She glared at me for a long while with eyes that mixed reproach, frustration, and curiosity.
* * *
Class began.
"For the next two weeks, we'll begin formative assessment. The goal is to improve your skills for combat against Demonkin and......."
The stern-faced professor continued, methodically laying out the key points.
But it didn't reach my ears.
"Victory will be worth three points. A draw will be worth one point......."
My mind was too busy searching for a way to resolve the situation to absorb any of it.
As quickly as possible.......
Because I had to move before Cheon Seo-yoon's condition got worse.
I could roughly guess how she felt.
It probably wasn't simply that she'd become listless because the necklace broke.
The sense of loss from the goal she'd been chasing vanishing in an instant.
And because of that, everything she had done and everything she would do going forward—
the emptiness born from all of it disappearing likely accounted for no small part.
The so-called loss of motivation.......
It was a problem that would be solved if a new motivation arose, but the problem was that the new motivation.......
"Today's sparring will be conducted by freely pairing up. A defeated student will not only fail to earn points but also......."
But sparring?
It was at that moment that a decent alternative suddenly came to mind.
Come to think of it, that motivation.......
I thought maybe I could provide it.
Because sparring sometimes became an outlet for suppressed emotions.
"Yeah."
Since I'd already taken on the villain's role.......
If I was going to play the villain, I might as well see the role through to the end. At least then I could roughly steer the derailed plot back on course.
Of course, our relationship would get even worse and she'd curse me out for it, but that was still better than doing nothing.
"Sparring begins in thirty minutes. Warm up and put on your protective gear."
I took advantage of the professor's brief absence and walked over to Cheon Seo-yoon.
The closer I got, the heavier the air became.
The awkward tension felt as though it were tugging at my ankles.
Still, I walked on in silence.
And then I faced her.
"What are you doing here?"
When I spoke flatly, Cheon Seo-yoon lifted her head and looked at me.
Relieved that her pupils flickered slightly rather than showing no reaction, I opened my mouth again.
"Is sitting around like that going to change anything?"
"......."
"I don't know what kind of story you have behind it, but in the end, it's still just an object."
With just a few words, the air around us changed.
But that still wasn't enough to get Cheon Seo-yoon fired up again.
I needed a stronger jolt, so I struck again with another verbal blade.
"Anyway, you stopped it without major damage. There wasn't a single death. So didn't you do well?"
"You right now......."
"So stop clinging to something that's already broken."
I provoked her as best I could.
The result was as expected.
"......You came all the way here just to say that?"
Cheon Seo-yoon bit down on her lip and rose from her seat.
Her hollow eyes were now filled with fury toward me, and heat radiated from her as if a dying ember had flared back to life.
For now, I'd achieved my intended purpose.
The relationship had deteriorated beyond control, but in exchange, she wouldn't be as listless as before.......
All that remained was to let that ignited heat vent out in one big burst.
I had something I was counting on, so I crooked a finger at Cheon Seo-yoon and said,
"Pissed off? Then let's go one round."
"What kind of bullshit have you been spouting since earlier......."
"Stop moping and just fight me. I'm the one who broke that necklace, after all. You resent me for it too, don't you?"
"......."
"Why, scared? Afraid you'll lose to the guy ranked 700th?"
I smirked and said something Cheon Seo-yoon could never endure.
"Don't tell me you chickened out?"
Originally, I should have made it even more obnoxious with a simple, “Scared?”
But I couldn't bring myself to say it.
Anyway, whatever else, she wouldn't let this one slide.
Sure enough, the reaction was immediate.
"Ha. X—."
Cheon Seo-yoon clenched her fist until her knuckles cracked, then spat out each word as if grinding it between her teeth.
"...Can you take responsibility for those words?"
Her low but strong voice was cold, like a blade pressed against the throat.
Whoa.......
I flinched, but pretended not to and played it off.
"With the state you're in now, it'd be weirder if you lost, wouldn't it?"
"......Don't regret this."
With that, Cheon Seo-yoon strode away with firm steps.
An ominous heat wave swirled through the previously quiet training ground.