The Boundary of Dreams (4)
"…If we substitute that proof, we can see that even an F1 born between P with zero particle sensitivity can still awaken as a mage. Now, everyone, open to page 412 and review the summary of the Ferman formula at the top. According to this formula, the combined Rubin value of the parental entities represents 55 to 87 percent of the upper limit of the descendant's maximum internalized particle capacity. However, the higher the combined Rubin value of the P pair, the slower the descendant's improvement becomes, often showing little to no increase, with this upper limit estimated to be around 7000R…"
The afternoon lecture hall felt drowsy. The elderly professor's calm voice had turned into a lullaby, drifting through the room. Amid the students struggling to stay awake while cramming knowledge into their heads, only one female student maintained an unusually lively and upright posture. Noticing her odd demeanor, the girl seated beside her spoke up with a sycophantic smile.
"Minha. You know your face has been really bright lately? Did something good happen…?"
"…Huh?"
At the oily voice that shattered her concentration, Yeon Minha frowned deeply and shot a sideways glance. Only then did she realize the corners of her mouth had been slightly upturned. In an instant, she reverted to her usual cold, expressionless face.
"Hehe. Ah, it's nothing…"
"Tsk…"
At the flustered look on the girl's face, Yeon Minha clicked her tongue lightly and turned her gaze away again. Yet the corners of her mouth threatened to rise once more, and she had to exert considerable effort to suppress them.
In truth, the girl's flattery hadn't been entirely wrong.
***
On the first day, she had thought it was merely a coincidence. Or perhaps some scheme meant to drag her deeper into nightmares, and she had tried to steady her mind. That was how impossible the event had seemed to her.
But this was already the third day. The whispers of shadows and the hallucinations from the outer universe that had made sleep impossible had not returned. Today, too, she had enjoyed a deep, comfortable sleep so pleasant it felt almost wasteful to open her eyes. The headaches that had always tormented her were nowhere to be found. Her body felt light as a feather, as though she might float into the sky at any moment.
During the day, shadows and illusions still flickered in the distance. Yet they no longer approached closely enough to interfere with her daily life as they once had. The malicious laughter and visions no longer reached her ears. Perhaps because her mental strength had recovered through rest, they no longer felt as terrifying as before. Moreover, both their forms and their sounds grew fainter with each passing day.
On her way back to the dormitory after finishing her daily schedule, Yeon Minha suddenly lifted her head to look at the sky.
"Ah…"
All that filled her eyes was the beautiful sight of the early evening moon and stars twinkling across the heavens. A small exclamation escaped her lips. She could no longer hold back the upward curve of her mouth.
At this point, she had no choice but to believe it. She had finally succeeded in overcoming the mental pollution that had been the Yeon family's long-standing wish. Of course, it was rather disappointing that she could not understand the reason at all. It was also somewhat puzzling that the symptoms of mental pollution remained during the day, when her sensitivity should have been heightened, while they quieted at night. Still, none of that mattered much in the present situation. She could always return to her family later and study it thoroughly.
Naturally, Yeon Minha thought of her parents. Once they learned of this achievement, they would have no choice but to acknowledge her.
—Fwoosh…
When she clenched and opened her hand, several sparkling flames appeared and disappeared in succession. Her recovered mind had directly translated into an improvement in her magical abilities. Over the past few days, she had even discovered and contracted with two additional spirit species.
All the way back to the dormitory, Yeon Minha was immersed in deep happiness. The past few days had been so difficult she had wanted to die, but now, looking back, it seemed like nothing more than the final trial before her complete recovery.
—Meow…
"…Oh my."
At the dormitory entrance, having returned with light, floating steps, Yeon Minha let out a small exclamation upon seeing something fluffy. The same cute, aloof cat was sitting in front of the entrance again today. However, its drooping eyebrows and moist eyes gave it an oddly sorrowful impression.
She had always preferred animals over people. Those inscrutable, pitch-black beings could not even be compared to honest creatures that followed their instincts.
—Hiss…!
She approached as if entranced and tried to pet it, but at the wary hiss, she had no choice but to step back. She still regretted missing the previous opportunity. She had wanted to gently scratch that belly as it lay there so comfortably, as if it were its own home, but that man had spoken and woken the cat…
"…Hiss."
At the sudden chill that came over her, Yeon Minha unconsciously wrapped her arms around herself and let out a small groan. It was miserable that merely thinking of that man reduced her to this state. She slightly avoided the cat, opened the entrance door, and stepped into the dormitory.
There was no sign of anyone inside. Today was apparently the start of the first-years' external request week. She had even seen that man leaving in the morning with a mountain of luggage. The thought that he would not show his face for at least two or three days brought an involuntary sigh of relief.
"…"
Before she knew it, nearly a week had passed since that madman had taken over the dormitory. They had been truly humiliating and shameful days. She wanted to hang herself. She had shown him every kind of disgrace that should never be revealed to an outsider man. Even as she ground her teeth, wishing to tear him apart and kill him, she trembled at the chilling fear of death that prickled in her lower abdomen.
Just this morning had been the same. She had mustered the courage to block his path, only for a single small gesture from him to turn her mind blank, leaving her unable to do anything. By the time she came to her senses, he had long since left the dormitory and disappeared.
What was even more frustrating was that she still could not guess his purpose at all. Rumors said he was a pervert who enjoyed training others, so she had even prepared to bite her tongue if he laid a hand on her. Yet he had not only refrained from touching her—he had shown not even the slightest interest. Like a sticky slug, he had merely clung silently to her dormitory.
"…"
Her gaze drifted toward the room that had once been hers. He was a man with a pitch-black heart. Behind that mask, there must be a horribly distorted, ugly, perverted face. It made no sense, logically or otherwise, that such a man would humiliate her like this and then do nothing at all. Perhaps he had drilled a hole in the wall to secretly spy on her bedroom…
"…Hic."
Just imagining it sent shivers of horror down her spine. Having made up her mind, Yeon Minha placed her trembling hand on the doorknob. She took a deep breath to calm herself and reassured her own heart. If not now, when he was absent, when would she ever check?
With courage, she finally turned the doorknob.
"…Huh?"
The moment she had intended to thoroughly investigate every wrongdoing he had committed, a foolish sound escaped her lips. What greeted her was nothing but a surprisingly empty void. The room remained exactly as she had left it, so barren it was impossible to believe anyone lived there. There were no peepholes, no suspicious recording devices—nothing suspicious at all.
"…"
Her head tilted involuntarily. She even wondered if a ghost had been living in this room.
—Thud!
"Hic… Heuk…"
While she stood there dazed, a sudden sound of something falling outside the window made her tremble and sink to the floor. Her heart lurched, thinking he might have returned, but it was only the sound of fruit falling as a bird perched on a garden tree took flight.
"…Hiss."
No matter what that man's purpose was, she could not go on living like this. It was absurd to have finally overcome mental pollution only to end up in this state. Yet no matter how much she thought about it, no clear solution came to mind. Setting aside his perverted and ruthless nature, his skill was genuine. Subduing him in a direct confrontation was already impossible. He had even threatened to expose all the shameful things she had shown him if she displeased him.
She could not ask her family for help either. At a time when the aftermath of the Teradite mine terrorism incident had not yet been resolved, she could not burden them further. Moreover, the matter was extremely humiliating and shameful.
For a moment, she felt dejected by the hopelessness of it all, but Yeon Minha shook her head and pushed the sorrow away.
"Ah, I hope it takes as long as possible…"
She muttered unconsciously, reflexively wishing for Yu Jin-hyeon's late return.
Though it was still early evening, Yeon Minha left the room and headed for her own bedroom. Already looking forward to another night of happy, deep sleep, her heart swelled with anticipation.
***
"Good heavens, you caught all of them in a single day, you say?"
"Hehe, it just turned out that way…"
At a remote National Security Agency branch in the capital. A female student with bleached hair handed the request form to the agency staff member with a bright smile. The staff member, having received the documents, pushed up his glasses and widened his eyes.
"I'm on my way back after handing them all over. You can contact them right away to confirm."
"No, no. There's no way a student from the Cradle would lie about something like this. Besides, it's something that will be proven later anyway."
The agency staff member shook his head. He stamped the received request form once more before returning it to the girl. Her beaming smile deepened even further.
Sera had come to the National Security Agency branch on behalf of the group members who had participated in this request. No matter how she thought about it, it seemed Yu Jin-hyeon should have been the group leader, but due to his refusal, she had ended up taking his place. In truth, nine-tenths of this request's rapid success was thanks to him as well. There had been no need to set traps or lure them out. They had not even had the chance to move. The moment night fell, he had boldly entered the dark slums alone, subdued the mutants, and dragged them out.
"This time, it seems the people who came are quite skilled. Honestly, I thought it would take three days. The students who came last year were completely useless…"
"Hehe, actually, there's one friend in our group who's really skilled. But what do you mean by mutants? As far as I know, there haven't been any sighting reports in this district before…"
"We've been wondering about that too and were about to start an investigation. If you're curious later, you can ask the Cradle's academic affairs office…"
—Ding~
Just as she was about to chat with the staff member after receiving the request form, Sera turned at the sound of the door opening and saw a man walking into the security agency branch. He had a gaunt face behind glasses and wore a white lab coat with traces of some dark red liquid dried on it.
"Haha, it's been a while."
"Oh, if it isn't the director. What brings you here?"
At the staff member's question, the man with glasses showed a momentarily troubled expression.
"I came after hearing that the mutants that appeared this time had been captured. I thought they might be the same ones that infiltrated our research institute's grounds last time. It seems we'll need to investigate before disposing of them, so I came to ask for your cooperation."
"Ah, if that's the case…"
While they exchanged greetings with apparent pleasure, Sera wore a puzzled expression. Noticing this, the agency staff member turned and introduced the man.
"Ah, this gentleman is the director of the research institute under Hogyeong Industries. You know, right? The one belonging to the Red Fire Yeon family…"
"…Ah."
Of course she knew. He was the mentor of her group member Yu Jin-hyeon, the terrifying senior of the Cradle, and a member of Yeon Minha's family. And the company they owned was a stellarite mining enterprise.
The man in the lab coat approached Sera and offered his thanks.
"Thanks to you, we've avoided a great deal of trouble. For a young lady—no, a female student—to accomplish such a feat. Your spirit is truly remarkable. I should prepare a separate reward…"
"Ah, yes…"
While responding politely to the man's gratitude, Sera thought to herself that his manner of speaking was quite peculiar.
***
Late at night on the second day since leaving the Cradle. I was finally able to set foot on the dormitory grounds again. The request had ended sooner than expected, and Sera, as the group leader, had taken care of the troublesome matters. We had captured all the mutants listed on the request form. The work had been swift, and no additional casualties had occurred. The surprised looks on the security agency staff members' faces when we handed them over one after another had been quite satisfying.
If we successfully completed the B-rank request that would follow in a few days, it would lay a solid foundation for achieving a high ranking. Moreover, moving around while carrying out requests had somewhat diluted the gloomy thoughts that had surfaced whenever I stayed holed up in one place.
The Cradle was not a particularly pleasant place for me. Once I obtained the qualification for independent requests, it seemed better to accumulate points through requests rather than classes.
With that thought in mind, I stepped into the now-familiar dormitory entrance. From the outside, the lights were already off, making it completely dark. I wondered if Yeon Minha had already gone to sleep.
"…?"
But the moment I stepped inside, I sensed something strange. A peculiar chill wrapped around my entire body. The dark, long corridor was even more cluttered with objects than when I had left. There were things scattered everywhere.
—Hic… Sob… I hate this…
Before long, a small sobbing sound reached my ears from somewhere. It was a strangely familiar crying voice. Soon, I saw someone curled up like a caterpillar in the corner of the living room.
"Hic… Go away… Please…"