Chapter 8
Terminally Ill, but It's Okay — Episode 8
Not right next to me, but in the seat across the aisle sat someone I'd never seen before.
When the hell did she get here?
She was a small-framed woman with striking straight-cut bangs.
Scratch, scratch—
She pushed up her large horn-rimmed glasses and was writing something down.
Just a minor supporting character?
"Ah, s-sorry. I was looking for a quiet place......."
Noticing my suspicious look, the girl with the blunt bangs hurriedly introduced herself.
"I'm Min Young-ji. I'm writing an article about the diagnostic evaluation......."
I hadn't even asked, but she readily explained what she was doing.
Whatever.
"I don't mind. Keep doing what you were doing. It's quieter here than over there."
"R-really?"
"Why? Is there a problem?"
"No......."
She seemed like a shy person, judging by how she kept stammering.
-Support Track student Lee Eun-seong. Evaluation begins.
It wasn't that I felt entirely at ease, but I turned my gaze toward the next examinee.
I was observing; so was she.
We had the same purpose, so what more needed to be said?
We could each just do our own thing.
* * *
The evaluation continued.
Supporting-cast-level figure Lee Dae-ho stood out, and Joo A-rin also left a strong impression.
"Whoa! That's insane. How does she do that?"
"Isn't every day record-breaking?"
There was no need to ask what was so amazing.
The fact that most of the people cheering were men.
"......Ah. It's beyond description."
Judging by Min Young-ji clutching her head and repeatedly erasing and rewriting something, there was no room for doubt that it was about her appearance.
But did that mean her skills were lacking?
That wasn't the case either.
Her overall rank was 10th, and befitting an elite from a prestigious family, she handled a water-attribute Divine Beast brilliantly.
Aside from these two, there was no one particularly noteworthy.
Most of the lower-ranked students were in the 4-5 minute range. The mid-ranked ones recorded around the 3-minute mark.
"Let's speed things up."
Watching the same scene over and over was starting to make me anxious.
[Remaining Time: 15 hours 4 minutes 32 seconds]
I was confident the quest would succeed, but watching my remaining lifespan tick down in real time inevitably made me nervous.
Should I go to the bathroom or something?
I was just about to stand up to relax a little when—
—Superhuman Track student Baek Sa-young. Evaluation begins.
The moment I'd been waiting for arrived with uncanny timing.
2nd-year overall rank: 1st.
The name of this world's true protagonist had been called.
What timing.......
"Up we go."
Baek Sa-young stood up calmly, as if going for a stroll, and I awkwardly sat back down.
"Hey, are you gonna hit the 1-minute range this time?"
"What......."
"Look at you being all modest. You're gonna take first place anyway."
"Well, that's true. Thanks for the support."
Look at that composure, deflecting Lee Dae-ho's half-joking remark.
Even when he claimed first place before even starting, it didn't feel like arrogance or bluffing.
Actually, since I'd ended up in someone else's body anyway, I'd once wondered what it would've been like if it had been his.
"Will Baek Sa-young's evaluation video get uploaded separately again this time?"
"If he's overall rank 1, probably?"
"So jealous. The view count's gonna be insane again."
But I quickly dropped the thought.
Because it didn't seem like it would be all good.
A position where everyone's attention is focused. And on top of that, having to live as an upright paragon of virtue?
Ugh.
Just imagining it made my chest feel tight—it would be nothing but suffocating, annoying work.
Anyway, once Baek Sa-young entered the field, I set aside my idle thoughts.
Because it was about to begin.
"......."
As everyone's attention focused on one person, the atmosphere grew solemn.
Whether it was the protagonist buff or not, even the blowing wind fell still, and just as that sudden silence began to feel faintly heavy—
Beep!
The signal sounded.
Baek Sa-young charged forward at a tremendous speed, leaving afterimages behind.
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM.
From the very start, thunderous booms rang out one after another.
The obstructive scarecrows blocking Baek Sa-young's path burst apart like balloons pierced by needles.
It happened so fast that I couldn't grasp the details.
All I could tell was that he held a moderately long heavy sword, and the moment the color of its blade flickered, everything around him exploded.
Probably Attribute Conversion.
The ultimate trait that would allow him to freely wield various attributes, backed by monstrous physical ability.
I could only register that those innate talents were manifesting.
"Whoa, he finished in the one-minute range."
"He beat Cheon Seo-yoon's split time, right?"
After defeating all the scarecrows, Baek Sa-young reached the wall faster than anyone.
Without even a moment's pause, he extended his sword.
SHNK.
The wall of Section 2 was pierced far too easily.
It felt like chopsticks sinking into freshly made tofu, if I had to describe it.
Baek Sa-young twisted his hips and slashed the piercing sword downward diagonally.
SHHK—
He quickly slipped through the gap he'd cut open.
[Lap time: 1: 48: 23]
The moment he arrived, the final record appeared.
"......."
The surroundings suddenly fell silent.
"As expected of Baek Sa-young. He's on another level."
Min Young-ji's assessment, scribbled down as she shook her head in amazement, was apt.
"If it's like this, the next person's screwed."
"I hope it's not me. The pressure's so bad I don't think I'll even show half my usual skill."
I found myself agreeing with the murmuring students.
But there was no need to be scared. Because it wasn't us, after all.
According to the original story, next up was overall rank 2, Seol Yoon-gi.
What an incredible matchup.
The class system had been abolished, but gossips always compared them like this:
The hope of ordinary people, Baek Sa-young, versus the rising star of a prestigious family, Seol Yoon-gi.
A clash between the transforming sword and the blade that cuts through anything.
I was looking forward to that thrilling matchup.......
—Special scholarship applicant, Sorcery Track student Park Ha-yul. Evaluation begins.
Oh, come on. Don't mess with me.
—Student Park Ha-yul?
Seriously?
* * *
"Wasn't he in the Superhuman Track? What's this Sorcery Track business?"
"Still, he's from a sorcerer family. Guess he changed tracks. But he's screwed, going right after Baek Sa-young."
"He said he'd prove himself with skill, and now look. The stage is set."
The mockery and the sense of relief—as long as it wasn't them—came through the monitor.
Watching Park Ha-yul's distorted face, Lee Taek-jin's lips twisted in satisfaction.
"Professor. Wasn't it originally Seol Yoon-gi's turn?"
"Does the order matter?"
"Well, no, but......."
The assistant's question was easy enough to ignore.
The evaluation proceedings were entirely the professor's prerogative, and this was fitting punishment for someone who didn't know his place and coveted a scholarship.......
"Begin."
"Long-range configuration complete. I'll begin."
When Kim Mi-young, her hand on the switch, requested approval, Lee Taek-jin nodded.
Beep—
As the signal sounded, the eyes of the waiting obstructive scarecrows flashed.
They located the examinee's position and swarmed in an instant.
Whoosh. Whoosh.
Taking the track's special characteristics into account, the total number was 12. More than the close-range type, but slower.
"With the abilities of a declining family, what could he possibly......."
But even this would be too much for him—that was Lee Taek-jin's assessment.
To him, the representative professor of the Magic Track, sorcery was nothing more than an obsolete Eastern relic.
It was a cold assessment, but that was the current reality of sorcery.
A track that ran counter to the current trend emphasizing speed.
Unlike magic, which was based on incantation, sorcery was activated through symbols, so its drawbacks stood out in terms of manifestation speed and complexity.
Even if its power was formidable, what use was that?
Battles between masters were decided in a literal instant, in that momentary window.
Just look at Taehak.
Sorcery Track students made up barely 3% of the total.
It was so neglected that no one could complain if it were abolished on the spot.
Squeak—
Lee Taek-jin clicked his tongue lightly and leaned back in his chair.
It was to enjoy the ugly truth of sorcery that would soon be revealed.
That should have been the case.......
"He's smiling?"
Park Ha-yul, who had been engraving a sorcery formula, suddenly flashed a grin—just like when he'd held out his filthy hand.
Why?
The moment Lee Taek-jin narrowed his eyes, the unease soon became reality.
Flash—
When the sorcery activated, Lee Taek-jin straightened his back as if spring-loaded.
"......!"
"Wh-why are the scarecrows suddenly—"
Even the ever-composed Kim Mi-young stammered as she pointed at a spot on the monitor.
"Why aren't they attacking?" "......."
Just as she said, the scarecrows' condition was strange.
The interceptors that should have rushed in like moths to a flame were milling about in confusion, circling the area as if malfunctioning.
"S-sorry. I'll check the settings again."
Clack-clack-clack.
Kim Mi-young, thinking it might be a system problem, frantically worked the controls.
"What the hell? What's that?"
"Shouldn't they stop the evaluation?"
The atmosphere in the waiting room wasn't much different from the control room.
Students who had jumped to their feet buzzed at the unexpected situation.
Hff, hff—
But the person at the center of the controversy was more composed than ever.
Hoo, hoo—
Park Ha-yul began to run lightly, as if jogging along the Han River.
* * *
This diagnostic evaluation's scarecrows have no senses, but instead react only to the examinee's mana. They're a further upgrade. Hahaha—
The memory cut straight through his confusion.
Lee Taek-jin recalled the explanation from that idiot evaluation designer and then shouted irritably.
"Stop. It's not a system problem."
"What?"
"1-star Wind-Style Sorcery, Concealment."
"......?"
"The bastard used Concealment. He erased his mana traces with sorcery, so of course they'd turn into those dumbasses."
Lee Taek-jin clenched his fist with a grinding sound and glared at Park Ha-yul.
How dare he use a trick.......
He didn't know how the bastard had figured it out, but he had cunningly exploited the scarecrows' operating mechanism and the fact that there was no separate takedown score.
"How long until the scarecrows reach the examinee?"
"The long-range configuration value is 9 seconds."
"So it took roughly 8 seconds to engrave a 1-star sorcery......."
The engraving speed wasn't bad either—slightly above average.
......What kind of guy is he?
Tap-tap-tap.
Meanwhile, Park Ha-yul was sprinting alone toward Section 2.
He simply ran while looking straight ahead, but to Kim Mi-young's eyes, it looked different.
"But why isn't he using a speed-enhancement sorcery? That seems like a point where he could shorten his record."
Lee Taek-jin had the same thought.
A stretch with no obstacles.
In racing terms, it was the point where you'd shift to top gear and max out your speed. If he used a speed-enhancement sorcery like Bull Gale, for example, he could charge ahead more than twice as fast.
But the person in question remained consistent.
Hff, hff, hoo, hoo—
Only a rhythmic four-beat breathing came through the monitor. It wasn't as if he was mocking anyone.......
"......Mocking?"
As his thoughts reached that point, suspicion suddenly arose.
Could that reckless brat be deliberately putting on a show because of yesterday's test?
If not, it wasn't as if he lacked mana, so why would he act like that in a task where time was life itself?
It was just as a deep furrow formed between Lee Taek-jin's brows.
RUMBLE.
An iron wall surged up, blocking Park Ha-yul's path.
He had arrived at Section 2 of the evaluation.
Park Ha-yul stopped and began moving his hands to engrave.
The wall was roughly 50 cm thick.
On top of that, its surface was wrapped in a 2nd-circle magic Shield.
To break through in one go, he'd need at least a 2-star sorcery.
And among those, he'd have to choose one with high destructive power that was difficult to engrave.
Tzzzt.
Park Ha-yul's choice was unexpected.
"Flame Bullet?"
A mere 1-star Fire-Style Sorcery.
Wasn't that the most basic of basics, taught to beginners?
Only then did Lee Taek-jin smirk in satisfaction and let out a relieved breath.
He knew well the destructive power of sorcery—this was impossible.
Maybe if it were a highly polished Flame Bullet from a Taehak student nearing graduation.
But a Flame Bullet manifested by a mere 2nd-year couldn't possibly pierce a barrier wrapped in a 2nd-circle Shield.
"It's his mistake. He'll waste time here."
Right. If he wanted to save time, he should have done it on the way into Section 2.
Some inexplicable arrogance had tripped him up.
Lee Taek-jin pushed up the corners of his mouth, predicting Park Ha-yul's failure.
Whether it was a lack of understanding, or whether he simply hadn't learned any 2-star sorcery.
Whatever the reason, if the accuracy of his sorcery formula was decent, he'd need two attempts.
If it was sloppy, he'd need to deploy it up to three times to break through.
Tzzzt, tzt.
But Park Ha-yul completed the formula with a more serious expression than ever.
As the blazing 32-stroke sorcery formula engraved itself in the air.
Whoosh.
The fireball left his hand, spinning fiercely as it flew toward the wall.
At that very moment!
"P-Professor!"
"......!"
Lee Taek-jin and Kim Mi-young flinched once more.
The size of the Flame Bullet.
The speed of its rotation.
It was so perfect that it was hard to believe a 2nd-year had manifested it.