Chapter 4
Terminally Ill, but It's Okay — Episode 4
Another trait born from Park Ha-yul's sensitive temperament, Heightened Senses, worked like a telescope.
[Using trait, Heightened Senses.]
As I expanded my sight and hearing with a small amount of mana, the physical distance between the students and me shrank in an instant.
Conversation poured in as if my blocked ears had suddenly opened all at once, hammering against my eardrums.
"Hahaha! Bulking is love. No matter how much I do it, I never get sick of it."
The owner of the loudest voice among them was, without a doubt, Lee Dae-ho.
An impressive major supporting character, with an overwhelming build over two meters tall and a face that looked suitably mature for it.
True to the rumor that half his brain was muscle, he was a straightforward but simple and dull character.
"You should do everything in moderation. Agility is just as important as strength, you know?"
And that male student talking with Lee Dae-ho.
All I could see was the dark back of his head, but I already knew him, so there was no way I wouldn't recognize him.
"That's you, the all-rounder Baek Sa-young. Not me. I'm just going to specialize in one thing."
It was him.
Baek Sa-young.
The true protagonist of [Epic of Salvation], who had suddenly appeared and mistaken me for a member of the Special Mission Taskforce.
A handsome guy with a bright, charming smile, and the very embodiment of Yoo So-young's favoritism, crushing Taehak's high-flying prodigies despite having no prestigious background.
I had treated him like a dimwit for my own reasons, but reality was nothing like that.
His second-year combined rank was a whopping 1st place.
He was the rising star at the very top of Taehak's pyramid, a genius among geniuses.
Later, a twist would reveal a secret about his birth, but he had an excellent character and good social skills, so everyone liked him.
"Then......."
If Baek Sa-young was mentioned, there was a name that was sure to follow. I naturally looked for his rival and scanned the opposite side.
"Did you hear your older cousin got picked as a Yosal Corps vice-commander this time?"
"Prestigious families really are different. Youngest ever, right?"
Then, at the center of a somewhat delinquent-looking group, I found a handsome man with strong features.
"Stop making a fuss. It's a record I'm going to break anyway."
That arrogant remark, which happened to reach my ears, revealed his personality without any filter.
He was that self-absorbed, with an ingrained sense of aristocratic superiority.
True to someone so full of himself, his family was the Shinpung Seol Family, one of the ten great families. He ranked 2nd overall, neck and neck with 1st.
"Is he the only one left?"
Excluding Joo A-rin, whom I had already met, there was now only one main-cast-level character remaining in Class A.
But I wouldn't see them today. They would be somewhere else right now instead of Taehak.
It was a little disappointing.
If things went as drawn, they would have resembled Yoo So-young a great deal.......
Anyway, while I was observing the major characters, the time announced in the notice, 9 o'clock, was approaching before I knew it.
The moment the clock struck the hour, the front door opened.
Slide—
"Everyone take your seats!"
A low, heavy voice wrapped around the lecture hall.
Come to think of it, there was one more major character I had forgotten.
Because they weren't a student, but a professor.
"There won't be any lunatics late from the first day, will there?"
A cynical voice that perfectly matched his personality scraped at my ears from the start.
That man, with his striking, perfectly slicked-back hair and short beard, was a remarkable figure anyone at Taehak would know.
"Nice to meet you. I am Professor Lee Taek-jin, who will be in charge of Class A for the next year. My rank is Tier 4, Magic Track."
Lee Taek-jin.
His skill was top-tier even among Taehak's high-flying professors, but he was a grade-obsessed meritocrat famous for being a psycho.
"Damn it, they said it was Class B!"
As a bolt from the blue struck, the despairing students let out silent screams.
One of them got so worked up that he crossed a line that should not be crossed.
"Just shut up for now. If he catches you chatting, you're dead. You know his mad-dog personality, right?"
Mad dog.
To say the nickname Lee Taek-jin despised more than anything right in front of his face.
He probably meant to whisper, but it was a meaningless act.
"You there, third row, center. What's your name?"
The gates of hell opened on the first day of the new term.
"I-It's Lee Eun-seong."
"Lee Eun-seong......."
A low voice—and all the colder for it—held the entire lecture hall in a vise.
Lee Taek-jin opened his faculty notebook, which was practically his symbol.
It looked like an ordinary notebook, but it was actually a fairly high-grade Armament.
Not only high-level magic formulas, but students' personal information, all sorts of rumors floating around Taehak, all stored within.......
But among students, it was simply called the Death Note.
Because whenever it opened, bloodshed was sure to follow—just like now.
"A worthless one, I see. Your rank is...... 589th. Correct?"
"......Yes."
"With only that level of skill, you presume to judge your assigned professor?"
"I-I'm sorry."
"You have nothing to apologize to me for. You should apologize to your parents instead. They worked hard to bring you into the world, and you grew up into a pig with neither manners nor skill."
Having found an opening, Lee Taek-jin laid bare his vicious side.
The verbal abuse continued for over ten minutes, and the poor extra Lee Eun-seong completely lost his wits.
The rest were the same.
Everyone sat rigidly upright, thoroughly intimidated.
"It's going the same way."
I, on the other hand, was indifferent. It matched the original plot.
The first scene of Episode 1, which began with the assigned professor's harsh lesson.
"At this part, draw Lee Taek-jin as sharp as possible. When he's pressuring him to apologize to his parents."
"Like this?"
"No, more! More!"
"......Like this?"
"Nooo, add some hatching or something, like, like......"
"Damn it, I'm done. Draw it yourself."
It was a panel Yoo So-young and I had put a lot of effort into, going through five or six revisions.
If I'd known it would come to this, I would have just drawn it however she wanted.
I was of the opinion that regret could go to hell, but sitting alone and watching the novel play out in real life still left a bitter taste in my mouth.
"Everyone listen carefully. Class A's point of comparison is not the other fourteen classes. The greatest in Taehak's history......."
Apart from the bitterness, the orientation proceeded without incident.
It was clichéd and boring content, so I didn't concentrate.
"Lastly, the department office is recruiting a special scholarship student to assist me. Those interested, stand from your seats."
Still, I was glad the end was finally in sight.
Since it was the last item, I hoped it would be glossed over quickly, but quite a lot of students, including Baek Sa-young and Lee Dae-ho, expressed their intent to apply.
"Quite a few students who understand honor, I see."
Lee Taek-jin wrote down the applicants' names, casting especially noticeable glances at Baek Sa-young and Lee Dae-ho.
I just let out a quiet laugh.
On paper, it was pitched as a chance for top students to build an early connection with the professor, but in practice it just made you the professor's personal errand boy.
There were a few related episodes, but it wasn't part of the main story, so I figured I could safely skip it.
[Main Quest #1]
[Objective: Pass the special scholarship student selection]
[Reward: +7 days to Remaining Time, Time Shop activation, 10 SP provided]
That is, until the new quest appeared.
S-Seven days?
I was flustered, but my judgment was faster than light.
So what if it's being a psycho's errand boy.
"Any more? If not, then—"
"Wait a moment. Professor. I would like to apply as well."
I shot to my feet and shouted.
* * *
Maybe because it was a main quest, the reward was substantial.
Even excluding the unknown Time Shop activation and SP, no one with Limited Lifespan would refuse a whole seven days.
"Your name?"
"Park Ha-yul."
Lee Taek-jin opened the Death Note with a somewhat displeased expression.
"Grades: 700th out of 750, near the bottom....... Family: a sorcerer lineage?"
Then he slightly raised his head and stared straight at me.
Damn.......
All I did was apply. But his glare was fierce enough to devour me.
Well, it wasn't something I couldn't understand.
Grades near the very bottom, and a sorcerer lineage—the polar opposite of Magic.
Park Ha-yul was a guy equipped with everything Lee Taek-jin despised.
Lee Taek-jin sneered and spoke to me.
"Are you serious?"
"Pardon?"
"I'm asking whether you need to step forward when you'll fail anyway. Student Park Ha-yul, ranked 700th."
What, you bastard?
I wanted to shout, What kind of bullshit was that? But I looked at my remaining time and swallowed it down.
"Well. I'll prove it with my skills, so I don't think you need to worry......."
"Is that so? Then how about proving it right now?"
I had a bad feeling about this.......
The situation flowed in a completely unexpected direction.
"Consider it the first test. Ah, I'll include not just you but also the two applicants ranked 500th or lower, so I hope you won't doubt the fairness."
"What do you mean......."
"P-Professor. This is unfair treatment."
It seemed I wasn't the only one who felt wronged, as some male student shouted boldly.
"Unfair? The application requirements include this clause: basic proficiency in the subject taught by the assigned professor. If I set the cutoff at rank 500, I'd say I'm being generous. Isn't that right?"
"......."
Lee Taek-jin continued calmly, and the male student hung his head low without any retort.
He had dressed it up logically, but he couldn't hide his blatant true intentions.
Either way, wasn't he just saying he'd use the test as an excuse to fail us?
True to his grade-obsessed meritocrat nature, he considered it an insult for riffraff to swarm in.
"Monster Studies would be good for a simple evaluation. I'll ask questions, and you answer. Then you pass."
Lee Taek-jin proposed it as if doing us a favor. I, on the other hand, was considerably flustered.
No matter how much of a webtoon artist I was, there was no way I'd know detailed and unpleasant settings like Monster Studies.
But perhaps taking my silence for courageous affirmation, Lee Taek-jin began his questions.
"A month ago, an experiment conducted by chance became a major topic. The results of transplanting a Majeong Crystal extracted from a Grade 5 Monster into a person were quite positive."
I could say with certainty this was minor knowledge impossible to know unless you majored in this field.
In other words, he had rambled on with useless bullshit before presenting the actual point.
"—So, I'm curious about your views. How did the transplant recipients accept the Majeong Crystal's turbid Demonic Energy?"
Lee Taek-jin approached each applicant one by one, as if applying silent pressure.
"A unique blood capable of purification?"
An unassuming female student shook her head and gave up early.
"Or a specially evolved heart?"
The male student who had stood up so confidently could only bite his lip, unable to answer.
The more that happened, the higher the corners of Lee Taek-jin's mouth rose.
"Lastly, student Park Ha-yul, it's your turn. Speak."
When he stood in front of me, his expression was certain of the outcome.
Since it was a question designed to fail us, it had to be.......
"If you don't know, just sit down. Don't waste precious time."
"......."
But even if I didn't know the answer, I agreed that time was precious.
Heh—
So I laughed along with him.
"You're laughing?"
Then should I cry? If I grab your pant leg and blubber, will you let me off?
Not that you would.
Since he'd picked a fight first, I couldn't treat him with basic decency either.
"Professor. Excuse me."
I didn't decline Lee Taek-jin's hand, which jutted out in front of me, and grabbed it.
Snatch.
[Using trait 'Appraisal'.]
[You can search and acquire information from the medium.]
Appraisal was a trait that activated upon contact with a medium.
[If the medium is a living creature, the trait's effectiveness decreases.]
[The medium far surpasses your level.]
[Automatic Appraisal has been canceled.]
[Please state a specific keyword.]
It was my first time using it on a person, but fortunately it activated.
Before Lee Taek-jin could shake off my hand, I hurriedly continued.
"The reason the Majeong Crystal transplant could succeed is......."