Chapter 93
Terminally Ill, but It's Okay — Episode 93
It had been a while since I'd come to the general training hall.
After practicing Samjaegong for five straight hours, I brought up my status window.
▷ Strength: 5.2
▷ Stamina: 5
▷ Agility: 4.8
▷ Senses: 5.1
▷ Intelligence: 5.1
▷ Mana: 5.425 (10%)
▷ Luck: 3
Still short of Taehak's average, but the numbers were climbing as smoothly as a ship under full sail.
At this rate, it wouldn't be long before I surpassed the average.
For someone only six months into being possessed, the growth rate was practically a miracle.......
But now, the time I'd accumulated—nearly a hundred days—was starting to bother me.
[Remaining Time: 91 days 20 hours 54 minutes]
I hadn't been able to spend it recklessly, so I'd just been stockpiling it, but it felt like a loss.
A savings account at least earns interest, but time doesn't work that way.
It only looked good without any real benefit, and the compulsion to do something about it kept pricking at my heart.
If I had none, or if I had plenty, maybe it wouldn't matter.
But isn't it always harder and more irritating when things are in that awkward middle ground?
So I made up my mind.
I'd leave myself a generous fifty days or so and use the rest for growth.......
[The Time Shop (Lv1) is now open.]
[The Time Shop is a special benefit granted only to those with the Limited Lifespan trait.]
[You can use time as currency to purchase various Armaments and stats.]
After opening the shop, I deliberated over what to buy.
I skimmed through the Armaments section, but nothing caught my eye, so I passed and went into the stats category.
Raising my lacking stats first seemed like the best value, so I considered picking two from Strength, Stamina, and Agility and raising each by 1, but I soon gave up on that.
Honestly, I just stood in place and launched my sword, relying on the Cheonjam Thread's function.
Even if they were basic stats, I didn't want to invest time into them.
Then I considered raising Senses, but I didn't feel the need to touch that either.
My recent combat training had already been pushing those numbers up sharply.
And it wasn't like I was going to charge around racking up flawless victories like Cheon Seo-yoon or Baek Sa-young every time.
Most of my fights were one-on-one, and my pattern was to finish things with a single all-out strike, so those stats weren't worth spending time on.
"Then should I raise Luck?"
It was already my lowest stat.
Betting on a jackpot enhancement wasn't a bad choice.
But by the time a person reaches about twenty-eight, they tend to get wiser.
I couldn't raise a stat unrelated to combat just because of some childish impulse.
"In the end, that only leaves Mana......."
My Achilles' heel, the noose that had been choking my growth.
But also the flaw that was steadily improving thanks to Samjaegong.
The mana capacity that had once struggled to handle even three 1-star sorcery spells had now nearly doubled.
In terms of Armaments, I could now materialize the Seven-Branched Sword up to 40 percent, when even 10 percent had once been a struggle.
That was probably around the level where the efficiency of pure mana could be properly gauged.
But what would happen if I raised the stat by 1 more here?
Since I'd already purchased 10 points before, the price had gone up compared to other stats, and I'd have to pay 35 days.......
As expected.
Mana was the only one with a guaranteed result.
"Anyway, a one-trick pony is still a one-trick pony."
The moment I made up my mind, I went for it without hesitation.
[Purchasing 10 Mana stat points.]
[Deducting 35 days from Remaining Time.]
I had personally put into practice the ancient sages' saying: if you hoard it, it turns to shit.
[Your stats are increasing.]
In an instant, a tingling current wrapped around my whole body as if I'd been shocked.
[Remaining Time: 56 days 20 hours 40 minutes]
▷ Mana: 6.425 (9%)
Time that had been approaching a hundred days had been carved away in a chunk, but the fullness I felt somewhere inside me was deeply satisfying.
For no particular reason, I summoned First Sword and swept it left—whoosh—and right—whoosh—
I was putting on a little ceremony that had nothing to do with mana when a promise suddenly came to mind, and I checked my phone.
"Why isn't she here?"
We'd agreed to meet at 8 p.m., and it was now exactly three minutes past.
She probably hadn't forgotten, but since the person in question was Cheon Seo-yoon, I couldn't help feeling uneasy.
So, just as I was about to send a text—
Ding-dong—
The bell rang.
She was never going to become a proper lady.
I trudged over and opened the training room door.
There stood Cheon Seo-yoon, beads of sweat dotting her forehead, grinning as she lifted the dozen or so plastic bags in both hands.
"Sorry, I'm a little late. You haven't eaten dinner yet, right?"
"Ugh."
The smells of all kinds of food hit my nose at once, and I couldn't help asking.
"What is all this?"
"What do you mean? Our daily bread."
"All of it?"
"Huh? ......Yeah. Doesn't everyone normally eat about this much? Move, let me in."
Cheon Seo-yoon squeezed through the narrow entrance, flailing a little as she came in.
My gaze naturally followed the plastic bags she was carrying.
Jajangmyeon, fried chicken, pig's trotters, pizza, porridge, grilled intestines, yukhoe, sliced raw fish, and so on.......
The menu was so varied it looked like she'd made a full circuit of every restaurant inside Taehak.
"What the hell."
That made it even more puzzling.
Cheon Seo-yoon did eat well, but she was still human—she couldn't possibly eat all of this.
On top of that, Cheon Seo-yoon was someone who'd left her family home early, so frugality was ingrained in her to the bone.
And she'd brought this mountain of food she couldn't even finish?
I must have been staring without realizing it because I was curious about the reason.
"......Don't get the wrong idea. It's not like I bought all of this because I didn't know what you'd like."
Cheon Seo-yoon set the plastic bags down, averted her gaze slightly, and mumbled more quietly than usual.
"Aha."
If she hadn't said that, I wouldn't have known, but hearing it made it clear.
The Wolhwa Corps longsword, the midterms, and today's promised lesson in the downgraded version of Samjaegong.
She'd overdone it because of all the help she'd received so far and the help she'd be getting today.
If I replayed Cheon Seo-yoon's words normally, in the end.......
It meant: I didn't know what you'd like, so I prepared everything.
"Who said anything? This is great. I was just getting hungry."
I found that thoughtfulness rather endearing, so I let out a small laugh and said something I didn't mean at all.
"Really?"
"Yeah. Let's eat first."
I rubbed my stomach for no reason and walked over.
The training hall was soon so covered in food that there was nowhere to step.
Once everything was spread out, my appetite came back for the first time in a while, and I couldn't decide what to eat first.
They were all foods I'd ordered constantly from the other side of the world, so they stirred up a strange nostalgia too.
Anyway, after much deliberation, my chopsticks went for the spaghetti.
"What the hell."
She must have been paying quiet attention, because the moment I picked up the noodles, Cheon Seo-yoon narrowed her eyes as if surprised.
"Why?"
"No, I figured your taste would be either this or that."
Cheon Seo-yoon pointed her chopsticks toward the raw fish and yukhoe.
Maybe because I'd been living the Taehak life day in and day out. Both of those were raw.
Was she messing with me right now?
"Those are expensive. Expensive."
Fortunately, that wasn't it.
"I ate it a lot when I was little, so it's familiar. Like a taste of memories."
I went on as if making an excuse. But it was actually true.
It really had been what I ate instead of rice every weekend at the orphanage.
Feeding us ramyeon every time felt a little off, but they couldn't serve rice and side dishes for every meal either.
So they'd boil a whole pot full, pour in a bulk-sized sauce, and mix it all together for us.
But the kids actually liked that even more.
I remember Yoo So-young especially would always eat three bowls of it.
"That's funny. I like it too. Not this kind, but the kind made with store-bought sauce."
"Oh yeah?"
As expected of the person she was modeled after—even her taste was identical....
While we were on the subject, I recommended the recipe Yoo So-young used to enjoy, the one Cheon Seo-yoon would probably like.
"Try adding a ramyeon seasoning packet to the store-bought sauce. It's better."
"A ramyeon seasoning packet?"
"Yeah. It weirdly gives it a fancy flavor. Try it sometime."
"Ugh, I can't really picture it....... Is this another taste of memories? Something like that? Something your mother used to make......?"
Cheon Seo-yoon asked carefully, as if gauging my reaction.
Mother?
It was a word with no connection to me at all, so a small laugh slipped out.
I'd been an orphan, and as far as I knew, Park Ha-yul's mother had gone missing when he was young.
But well.......
When I thought about it, she wasn't any different from a mother.
It was an undeniable fact that Yoo So-young had filled that empty place for me.
"Something like that. Including the part where she suddenly disappeared and now I can't see her again."
"Ah......."
Was that too serious?
As an awkward silence settled in, I lifted the noodles and stuffed a big bite into my mouth.
Slurp.
[Cheon Seo-yoon's affection has increased.]
[You have acquired 1 SP.]
* * *
Moonlight lit the streets, and the light leaking from a phone screen lit So Yi-hyeon's face that night.
So Yi-hyeon, dispatched to Taehak for six months as its security director, was patrolling the campus streets with her eyes fixed on her phone.
"Vice-Commander. You're still on patrol. If people see you......."
"Am I playing around? I'm working. Work. If you don't like looking at it, do it yourself."
"No, ma'am. At least sit down while you do it. I'll patrol this area alone."
Her adjutant chuckled and pointed to a bench near the general training hall, and So Yi-hyeon sat down without hesitation.
"Hm."
She turned her eyes back to the phone screen, where a half-finished report was open.
The report file was titled [Second-Year Class A Recruitment List.]
1. Baek Sa-young
Grade: A+
Description: Top-priority recruitment target. Appears to have recently acquired a decent Armament as well. The finest talent with both skill and character, though his soft personality is a bit regrettable.......
.
.
2. Seol Yoon-gi
Grade: A+
Description: Second recruitment target. Quiet, but secretly an attention-seeker. Enjoys situations that revolve around himself. High probability of joining the Seol Family's direct combat unit, but.......
.
.
Beyond those, there were Cheon Seo-yoon, Joo A-rin, Lee Dae-ho, Kang Cheol-min. And Reina, who had recently joined.
"Why would Taehak need security? Look how many professors they have. Just half-ass it, and focus on picking out the useful ones and working them over. Got it?"
So Yi-hyeon recalled the 8th Unit Commander's bulging eyes and arms that looked ready to burst, and she shuddered—unlike herself—before turning back to the report.
She had to produce results somehow.
Otherwise, there was no telling what kind of shit that lunatic would pull next.
He was a commander in name only, but in reality he was a freak practically equivalent to a Monster beyond measurable Grade classification; one mistake and she'd be thrown straight into special training.
She'd have to spend a week in one-on-one sparring.
Then she'd be bedridden for a month.
"No, I'd die."
So Yi-hyeon shivered once more, then checked the very end of the report.
She confirmed the candidate whose grade and description were mostly left incomplete.
8. Park Ha-yul
Grade: ??
Description: From a sorcerer family. Until his first year, his grades were at the very bottom. The source of all kinds of nasty rumors. But after becoming a second-year, he has shown a changed side. Excelling in theory and sorcery. His ranking has recently risen sharply.
......Nothing else was known about him, so the report had been left unfinished.
She'd expected him to stand out during midterms, but aside from predicting the assignment with a clever head and living it up in luxury, nothing had caught her eye.
In the end.
Judging only by the information available, the 8th Unit's black robe seemed too good for him.
But how should she put it.
Her instincts as a mage and her eye as a scouting expert?
To So Yi-hyeon, he looked different.
"Definitely......."
There was something about this student.
Behind that distinctive composure and indifference, he was clearly hiding something.
"I don't know exactly what that talent is......."
So Yi-hyeon rubbed her pointed chin and suddenly thought of the auction house terror incident.
She remembered the mixed traces of mana and Demonic Energy discovered during the investigation into the bomber's cause of death.
After that, she'd spread the word far and wide and swept through all the related CCTV footage, but no additional traces of an intruding Demonkin had been found.
In other words, the person who had been closest to the scene was Park Ha-yul.
It wasn't impossible that he had faced the bomber.......
When her thoughts reached that point, So Yi-hyeon quickly shook her head.
The CCTV alone wasn't enough evidence, and wielding mana and Demonic Energy at the same time was theoretically impossible.
"Anyway."
Now that she was at Taehak, she intended to observe him more closely.
Maybe he was an unscratched lottery ticket.
When no one was paying attention, he'd been like a hidden card all on his own.
"But what's with this kid, is he an outsider or something."
The problem was that even with the title of Vice-Commander, it wasn't easy to approach him.
She got the feeling he was deliberately avoiding her, so she had to watch her step.
So in the end, there was only one way.
"Seo-yoon......."
Approaching through her was the best option.
They were in the same department and seemed to have a fair amount of rapport.
Resolving to investigate further, So Yi-hyeon drew a line under Park Ha-yul's name with a sharp scratch—then rose from her seat.
She was about to go find her adjutant, who had gone on ahead.
Chatter-chatter—
Just then, a man and a woman stepping out of the training hall caught her eye.
"Must be nice."
So Yi-hyeon gazed at them wistfully, half envy and half longing.
Huh?
But when she got the feeling their faces were familiar, she focused her eyes.
"Hey, the effect is no joke. My whole body feels refreshed."
"Then something's wrong. You should be tired."
"Oh, is that so? Then why does my body feel lighter?"
Sure enough, it was Cheon Seo-yoon and Park Ha-yul.
They seemed to have trained together, and both had their hands full of plastic bags.
So Yi-hyeon considered pretending to know them, then decided against it.
The basics of scouting were the scout's dignity and poise.
She didn't want to burn through her image over a chance encounter on the street.
So Yi-hyeon sat back down on the bench and waited for them to leave.
......But then.
"And what's with that one."
Not long after the two left, a female student crept out after them, and her face was especially familiar.
Not because they were close, but because it was a face she'd seen a lot on TV.......
"Is she a goddess?"
But she really was pretty.
Her silver hair, reflecting the moonlight, was as lovely as clustered starlight, and her skin was just as fair.
She looked like someone had painted eyes, a nose, and a mouth onto porcelain.
So Yi-hyeon stared blankly for a moment, then hurriedly pulled out her phone.
She hastily added a sentence to the fifth candidate's entry.
5. Reina.
+Looks better in person than on screen. Insanely pretty.