50. Ranfang (3)
50. Ranfang (3)
"Nnnh......."
Morning came, as it always did, without fail.
That fact was not particularly welcome to Lanfang.
'Ugh, I woke up again today.......'
The moment she realized her eyes were open and she was awake, a tear leaked out.
Whenever she slept, she always wished she wouldn't have to wake up.
It was because, having gotten up, breathed, and lived, there was nothing remotely enjoyable.
Lanfang was born into a tribe that was especially powerless and poor among the tens of thousands of minority tribes in China.
She had always been envious when she heard stories of Awakened who gained wealth and honor and lived luxurious lives.
That was why, when she first became an Awakened, she had jumped for joy.
Because an opportunity had come for her too.
But that was short-lived.
She was a minor, and she found out that in order to act as an Awakened immediately, entering an academy certified by a global institution was absolutely essential.
And that, unless one had exceptional abilities, entering an academy required quite a lot of money.
But in her family, no—even if you searched her entire Lee Yo tribe, there was no one who possessed that kind of large sum.
Even if she waited until she became an adult, the likelihood of succeeding as an Awakened without proper education was low.
Just when she was blocked by the wall of reality like that, the tribal chief told her about a country called Korea.
He said there was an academy that provided tuition exemption and room and board, in exchange for undergoing an unknown procedure that would cost seven years of her life.
And that upon graduating, she could immigrate her family to that wealthy, safe country called Korea and live together.
Seven years.
Enough time for a boy to become a youth and the head of a family, for a girl to become a mature woman and the mother of a child.
It was by no means a short span of time.
Nor did she know what that procedure was like.
It might have been a painful and agonizing type.
From what she heard, there could be side effects as well.
But even with her anxieties, Lanfang ultimately chose to go to Korea.
Because it was essentially the only opportunity for her, born into a tribe that was especially weak and poor even among minority tribes, to immigrate to a wealthy and safe country.
On top of that, upon graduation, she could bring her family over and live as an Awakened without being envious of others—nothing could be better than this.
Besides, didn't well-off people, like the children of Korean conglomerate heads or politicians, also require this procedure in order to properly act as Awakened?
Though she lacked ability, she resolved to do well and enrolled in this facility.
......And this was the result.
Abandoned by friends from the same country, though of different tribes, and reduced to a state where she had to do whatever a mean, despicable man told her to because he held her weakness.
Miserable.
It felt like she had no one on her side in the world.
She knew it was her own doing.
She should not have done such a thing even if it meant being abandoned.
Her desire not to be abandoned by her compatriots had been so intense she couldn't consider anything else.
'It's hard. It's painful. I want to go back.......'
Lanfang had been acutely feeling lately that happiness was relative.
Her life in Korea was definitely of much higher quality than life in her home country.
A decent room, hot water gushing out freely, warm and delicious meals she could choose at will, clothes that were pretty, sturdy, and clean.
A life that had become so luxurious it almost seemed like a dream.
The thought that after graduation she could live with her family in much greater affluence than this used to make her smile involuntarily.
But now, even while enjoying all those things, she felt so hard-pressed and distressed.
A feeling that everyone was moving ahead while she alone had come to a standstill.
Falling behind in a closed society inflicted quite a heavy sense of loss.
Back in her homeland where everyone was poor, she had never once thought she was incompetent.
But being treated as a useless existence and then abandoned by people she had thought were close—the path ahead felt so bleak, so terribly bleak.
More than anything, the fact that she couldn't give up tormented her further.
The years already thrown away.
The family waiting for her with anticipation.
The thought that expulsion was the one thing she couldn't allow bound her like a shackle, even though she had no idea how to manage on her own from now on.
'He'll call me again today...... That man.'
Would he tell her to buy him a meal again today?
'And I barely have any points left.'
Or maybe today he'd do something a little worse.
'No. I'm scared.......'
But she couldn't defy him.
She didn't want her misdeeds to become known to Seo Ha-yoon, that girl.
She was also afraid of the words that she could be ostracized by the Koreans—by almost all of the cadets—if things went wrong.
"Haah."
Lanfang let out a deep sigh and tried to get up from the bed.
"Hk!?"
But something was strange.
A strange sensation, as if every corner of her body had been touched by someone else, lingered, and she realized her underwear was very damp.
Checking it from where she sat, she flinched in surprise.
'Ueh...... What is this. Did I wet myself at this age......?'
But it didn't seem to be urine.
Something transparent and sticky felt unpleasant.
'Strange. They said after the procedure, for at least three years—until growth completely stops—I wouldn't have a period.'
......Something must have happened.
Right now, what was important to Lanfang wasn't this kind of minor physical change.
For her, the biggest worry was how to get through today.
[ Choi Hye-yong : My room by 12:00. Got it? ]
[ Lanfang : Yeeesss....... ]
True to being Chinese, Lanfang's default messenger name looked like Chinese written in English romanization.
As they said the language barrier disappeared, he could read it, but it felt unpleasant, so he simply assigned a nickname and changed it to Lanfang.
'Ah, shit. What variation do I use to torment her today?'
That was quite a dilemma in itself.
Since he had no particular memory of tormenting anyone in his life, no methods came to mind.
He couldn't bring himself, as a human being, to beat her randomly or spew verbal abuse, and it might backfire.
'Is there a way to quickly build up hatred without doing anything too awful?'
Just seeing her face every day and being unpleasant seemed like it would result in a somewhat lukewarm relationship.
But the ways to be hated were limited.
Should he ask Mina?
[ Choi Hye-yong : Hey. ]
[ Mina : Yes? ]
[ Choi Hye-yong : That girl who had the Seed of Negativity planted—treating her well still isn't enough, right? I need to make her hate me more, don't I? ]
[ Mina : Wait a moment. Let me check. ]
[ Mina : Hmm...... The severity isn't that great. If you resolve the negativity in this state, she'd likely return to a normal state rather than dependence or love-hate, you know? ]
Ah, as expected.
[ Choi Hye-yong : Is there an easy, fast way to build up hatred? ]
[ Mina : Hmm...... Methods for a human male to be hated by a human female. ]
[ Mina : Wouldn't things like rape, assault, extorting money or goods, or personal attacks through verbal abuse work? ]
[ Mina : Doing all four at once would probably be even better! ]
'I was wrong to ask, you bitch.'
He had violated her while she was asleep, but he had no intention of doing something like rape while he was in his right mind.
No matter how much he thought about it, molestation while she was conscious seemed appropriate after all.
It was the same kind of bad deed, but at least it was a direction that weighed less on his conscience.
June 11th, 12:00 PM
Choi Hye-yong's room
"Uh, um...... What."
The moment she opened the door, he yanked her in and brought her into the room, and Lanfang bowed her head with that characteristic servile expression and looked up at him.
[ Intimidating Atmosphere ]
Intimidating Atmosphere Level 5
Castable only on himself
He cast the buff he had prepared and cornered her against the wall.
"Stay still."
Hye-yong said that, then placed his hand on her chest.
"!?"
Though it was over her uniform, Lanfang, blatantly touched on the chest, was startled and stiffened with a shudder.
'Act shameless. Be shameless. So I can be hated as much as possible.'
Hye-yong repeated this to himself internally and tightened his grip.
Lanfang trembled and began to sob, then grabbed Hye-yong's wrist.
But she applied no strength at all, so she couldn't stop him from touching her.
"Euk, hic, please...... Stop."
"I don't want to?"
"Doing this kind of thing by force...... It's a crime, you know......."
"Ah, so you're going to report me. Are you threatening me? You've got some nerve, huh?"
"Th-that's not what I meant."
"It's fine. Report it if you're going to report it. But when the instructors hear that you tried to steal our party's capsules, whose side do you think they'll take? What if I say I let it slide, but then you got anxious and falsely accused me to get me expelled? You're a foreigner, but I'm Korean. I have a party to vouch for me, but you don't."
Hearing that, Lanfang made a small "Hk!" sound, choked back a breath, and abruptly let go of Hye-yong's wrist.
Then, as if giving up on everything, she went limp and muttered.
"Eut, someone like me...... Even if you touch me...... It's not enjoyable, you know......."
"I'll be the judge of whether it's enjoyable or not."
"Uuhic, uuhht......!"
Lanfang began to shed tears, drop by drop.
Ah...... Was that too harsh? Should I have been a bit more moderate with my words?
Such feelings began to creep up from inside.
Right. Let's just confirm what needs confirming and end it.
Thinking that, Hye-yong unbuttoned the coat of Lanfang's uniform.
The clothes inside the coat were not stiff but a soft material, so they clung relatively close to the skin.
Over that, he lightly pinched her nipple.
"Heeyat!?"
Lanfang let out a cute sound, recoiled in fright, then squeezed her eyes shut and turned her head away.
He had tried to check whether yesterday's events had made her nipples feel sensitive, but it was ambiguous in many ways.
Whether they had become sensitive, or whether she was just surprised at being pinched.
'Did tormenting her in the inner world have no effect? No, looking at Na Hee-yeon's case, that's not it.......'
Hye-yong had clearly seen Na Hee-yeon get hurt and bleed, even though it was definitely reality.
There's no way it had no effect.
Definitely.
"......That's enough. Like you said, it's not very fun."
"Hhugk......."
When he let go, Lanfang shed tears and kept her gaze downcast, but hastily buttoned up her uniform again.
"Let's go eat lunch. On you, naturally."
June 11th, 12:28 PM
Cafeteria next to the dormitory
As always, he made Lanfang pay for the meal, but this time, with a shred of guilt remaining, he ordered a modest 8-point meal.
Today, he decided to ask Lanfang various things.
"What's your rank?"
"D-rank......."
"What did your friends do that led them to abandon you?"
"They're all C-rank...... I was the only one falling behind."
It seemed the average first-year was at least around C-rank by now.
"What's your trait?"
She made a face that asked why he kept asking those things, but she answered diligently.
"Assassin...... Class."
As soon as Hye-yong heard that, he couldn't keep his body from shuddering.
'Fuck? Assassin?'
What if he pushed her too far and she broke in during the night to murder him?
Considering Lanfang's personality, the likelihood of that happening was low, but he felt a chill hearing the word assassin.
Still, he kept his composure and continued speaking.
"If you're assassin class, isn't it hard to run raids?"
"Yes...... Against heterogeneous species, it can't be helped that my destructive power is low. Instead, like a harasser, or aggro-drawer I guess...... I fight by repeatedly striking and retreating, focused on agility to inflict continuous wounds. My trait-related skills include types that increase bleeding amount, you see."
So, in other words, the destructive power of each individual strike was weak, but she kept attacking to increase bleeding and deal damage over time in a DoT format.
Then, if he strengthened Lanfang in a way that enhanced her skills with buffs, would she be useful?
Since he was deliberately tormenting her, he felt sorry as well.
So, after he had piled up what he deemed sufficient hatred, he fully intended to help her just as thoroughly.
"Then what about when you face bloodless heterogeneous species?"
"I become a little more useless......."
"What's your agility stat?"
"Level 8."
"Is that high?"
"It's not high. If I had to say, it's on the low side...... Especially for an assassin class......."
Hye-yong's agility stat was level 3.
'How low is mine then.'
He could cover it with self-buffs, but it was definitely quite low.
"Don't you train or anything normally?"
"I do, but...... Lately I've been so distressed, I hardly......."
"Meaning, because of me, right?"
"Ah, no. I didn't say that......!"
Anyone could see she was currently distressed because of Hye-yong.
'I could humiliate her more if I wanted to...... But let's stop here.'
Even without doing more, she probably hated Hye-yong enough by now.
After finishing the meal, Hye-yong immediately let Lanfang go.
Since he planned to visit her again at night anyway.
"Go now."
"Yesss......."
Lanfang, barely freed, turned away and let out a big sigh.
"Haah."
In that sigh, there was some lamentation over her situation, but the relief that she was finally released accounted for the greatest part.
As she walked, the things he had done to her today resurfaced in her mind.
'Creepy...... It felt awful.......'
She already disliked it, but today it felt a bit more horrible.
A sensation as if bugs were crawling on her.
On top of that, when he pinched her nipple, she felt so strange she involuntarily let out a scream.
'It tingled weirdly...... That's a sensation I've never felt before in my life.'
Choi Hye-yong.
He was truly, in many ways, someone she thought she hated.