Chapter 335
Chapter 335
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 336
Chapter Title: The Forbidden Revelation
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Swooooosh—
A chilling aura emanating from the soul continued to brush against my body.
Lee Seo-jun, Yoo Ah-ra, and Choi Il-hyeon were all staring at me with shocked eyes.
I met their gazes while hiding my complicated feelings deep in my chest.
In fact, I had already considered the possibility that a situation like this might arise.
If my guess was right, Jin Cheon-woo was the one who had pulled me into this world.
But his reaction was far, far more intense than I had imagined.
It was so overwhelming that even I was flustered and didn’t know what to do.
“…Kim Seon-woo, why is Jin Cheon-woo reacting like this?”
Choi Il-hyeon asked me.
His voice carried not just curiosity, but also a hint of wariness.
I met Choi Il-hyeon’s gaze before turning my eyes back to Jin Cheon-woo.
The soul of Jin Cheon-woo, which had been dyed red, was returning to its gray hue.
I gazed at him with a heavy heart, lost in thought.
How should I answer this?
How could I respond to avoid this situation?
I don’t know?
No one would believe that. They’d just see it as a lie to dodge the issue.
In the end, it would shatter the trust I’d painstakingly built and only heighten their suspicions.
Or claim I was one of Jin Cheon-woo’s victims now? Some other wizard hiding their identity?
That wouldn’t hold up either.
They’d undoubtedly start probing with questions to verify the truth.
And if that happened, for sure…
My lies would be exposed.
“…Kim Seon-woo.”
I heard a voice calling me again.
This time, it was Yoo Ah-ra’s.
Her voice held countless questions, along with anxiety and worry.
As I looked at her, a sudden thought crossed my mind.
…Maybe it’s okay to just be honest and tell them everything now?
The trust I’d built with them so far.
And the special emotions Jin Cheon-woo had shown toward me.
All of that would serve as strong proof for my seemingly absurd words.
After mulling it over alone dozens of times, I steeled my resolve.
Yeah, let’s tell them.
I was reaching my limit with all the hiding anyway.
Might as well use this chance to come clean about everything.
They’d believe me.
“Hoo…”
I took a deep breath to steady myself. Then, slowly, I opened my heavy mouth.
“The truth is—”
It was then.
Thump!
My heart lurched. Cold sweat poured down, my throat tightened, and I couldn’t breathe.
“…Kim Seon-woo?”
Lee Seo-jun called out at my sudden reaction.
But I had no time to care as my legs gave out, and I collapsed to the floor.
“Urk…”
The mana inside my body squeezed my heart as if it belonged to someone else.
An excruciating pain I’d never felt before.
Even my [Pain Resistance] trait couldn’t handle it—it was agony like my brain was melting.
And then, something burst from deep in my chest.
“Cough!”
A red puddle formed on the floor. Blood I had vomited up.
My heart sank.
…Am I dying?
Right at that moment.
A message appeared before my eyes.
[Utterance blocked due to insufficient karma.]
[You do not qualify for the Authority, ‘Deus Ex Machina.’]
[A major change in the future has been detected.]
[Karmic rate increases by 2.0.]
…What does this mean?
I don’t qualify?
“Kim Seon-woo!”
Then Yoo Ah-ra rushed over and grabbed my shoulders.
She lifted my face with both hands, scanning my complexion with a worried look.
I stared at her face, now close, through hazy vision.
“Are you okay?!”
She checked my condition with her own mana. I felt Yoo Ah-ra’s warm mana flowing through my body.
“…Mana backlash?”
Her faint voice echoed in my ears.
…That was it.
My vision gradually blurred, and I lost consciousness.
“…”
“Gasp!”
I gasped for air as I opened my eyes.
An unfamiliar ceiling came into view, and I felt the softness of a plush bed.
I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead and sat up.
At the same time, a slight pain flared in my chest.
“Ugh…”
“Kim Seon-woo. You okay?”
A urgent voice reached me.
I turned my head to see Yoo Ah-ra looking at me with eyes full of concern.
She usually showed little emotion, so her current expression felt unfamiliar.
I slowly took deep breaths, untangling the knotted mana in my body.
The pain quickly subsided.
“…Yeah, I’m fine. Where is this?”
“…The dorms. Aporia’s.”
“Dorms…”
Only then did the memories before passing out return.
Jin Cheon-woo’s soul showing intense emotions toward me. And the pain and mysterious message that struck as I tried to reveal my secret…
“Kim Seon-woo.”
Yoo Ah-ra’s call snapped me out of my reverie.
“What was that earlier?”
“What?”
“The mana backlash. It looked like some kind of restriction.”
Restriction?
From the message I’d seen, it was indeed a kind of restriction.
But I couldn’t simply agree with her.
I was scared the same thing might happen again.
“…Haa.”
Seeing I had no answer, Yoo Ah-ra let out a pained sigh.
She quietly met my eyes.
Her gaze held confusion, regret… a mix of complicated emotions.
“What on earth happened?”
“…”
I blinked blankly, staring at her face.
Yoo Ah-ra, who had been looking at me, sighed deeply once more.
“Restrictions like that don’t just appear out of nowhere. What happened to put one on you?”
Tell me about it. I wish I knew.
As I kept my mouth shut, Yoo Ah-ra spoke.
“…You don’t want to talk, huh. Fine.
I don’t know what circumstances you have, but I won’t ask right now.”
Yoo Ah-ra gave a bitter smile and stood from her seat.
“Still, glad your condition seems okay. I’ll head out then. Rest up.”
With that, she left the room.
I stared blankly at the door she exited through.
“What the…?”
I’d expected her to grill me relentlessly about my connection to Jin Cheon-woo.
This reaction was the opposite of what I thought.
If anything, I felt awkward now.
“…Oh, right. What time is it?”
My original plan was to visit Jin Cheon-woo’s soul before Ja-un attacked, use spirit summoning to ask around.
If I’d slept longer than expected, things could get dicey.
Ja-un’s attack might be right around the corner.
I hurriedly opened my smart student handbook.
[7:26 PM]
“Phew.”
Fortunately, there was still time.
I sighed in relief and leaned back against the headboard.
My mind was a mess.
Utterance block. Qualification for Deus Ex Machina…
What did they mean?
…Does it mean I need to accumulate 100 karmic rate to talk about coming from another world?
“No, seriously, what the hell…”
They won’t even let me speak freely.
More than that, how am I supposed to explain the emotional shift Jin Cheon-woo showed?
“This is maddening.”
My head throbbed.
Then, something I’d momentarily forgotten flashed in my mind.
“…Right. I got a new Authority.”
As Jin Cheon-woo expressed those intense emotions toward me(?), my karmic rate hit 30. And I acquired a new Authority.
I hadn’t checked it yet amid the chaos.
Wonder what ability it is.
Let’s take a look.
I immediately activated [Authorities].
At the same time.
As the sun set and darkness fell over Aporia’s walls, Kim Deok-hyeon, Choi Il-hyeon, and Lee Seo-jun were having a serious conversation.
“Hard to believe. To think something like that happened there…”
“My head hurts too. I never dreamed there was some secret between Jin Cheon-woo and that kid I didn’t know about. And then…”
Choi Il-hyeon recalled Kim Seon-woo writhing in pain from mana backlash just as he was about to say something.
Fortunately, they’d given emergency treatment, but it could have been fatal.
“Something’s definitely restricting Kim Seon-woo. Mana backlash without warning isn’t possible. Especially not for a wizard of Kim Seon-woo’s talent.”
Lee Seo-jun and Kim Deok-hyeon nodded in agreement with Choi Il-hyeon.
“…What kind of restriction, though? No signs of anything special on his body.”
“Blood oath, maybe? Looked like traces of one when I checked earlier.”
Choi Il-hyeon shook his head.
“No. That was just residue—gone now, no effect.”
“Hmm. What could it be? First Kim Chang-hyeon, now Kim Seon-woo…”
Just then, footsteps approached from afar.
It was Yoo Ah-ra, who had stayed at the dorms nursing Kim Seon-woo.
As she neared, Lee Seo-jun asked.
“How’s Kim Seon-woo?”
“He woke up. Condition seems fine, luckily.”
Choi Il-hyeon looked surprised at her words.
“Already awake? Impressive—I thought he’d sleep at least a day.”
Mana backlash isn’t something you recover from easily.
Normally, you’d be in a coma for a day or two.
Waking in under five hours proved Kim Seon-woo had superhuman vitality.
“So, any conclusions on Kim Seon-woo?”
At Yoo Ah-ra’s question, Choi Il-hyeon shook his head.
“Just speculation. But one thing’s clear: Kim Seon-woo and Jin Cheon-woo don’t have a positive relationship. His reaction was too intense. And if he was Jin Cheon-woo’s subordinate, he wouldn’t show it so obviously in front of us.”
Everyone agreed.
Kim Seon-woo was connected to Jin Cheon-woo, but unlikely as his subordinate.
“That’s the problem.”
Choi Il-hyeon recalled Jin Cheon-woo’s soul briefly turning red.
“The true nature of that emotion he showed.”
“Confusion.”
Lee Seo-jun stated with conviction.
“Confusion?”
“Yes. Definitely.”
Thanks to his [Emotion Detection], Lee Seo-jun could pinpoint Jin Cheon-woo’s feelings accurately.
Of course, he didn’t know why Jin Cheon-woo felt confusion toward Kim Seon-woo.
“Confusion… Following Kim Chang-hyeon, now Kim Seon-woo… Maybe some connection between those two as well.”
They remembered how Kim Seon-woo had been pursuing Kim Chang-hyeon.
As expected, there was a hidden reason behind it.
“Maybe he was experimented on by Jin Cheon-woo or something?”
At Yoo Ah-ra’s question, Choi Il-hyeon replied.
“Not impossible.”
He muttered, then continued.
“…Anyway, no point yakking here all night. I’ve got work to do.”
With that, Choi Il-hyeon vanished somewhere.
Kim Deok-hyeon followed soon after.
Lee Seo-jun and Yoo Ah-ra silently faced each other.
“What do you think?”
At Yoo Ah-ra’s question, Lee Seo-jun glanced toward the dorm where Kim Seon-woo was.
Memories of time spent with Kim Seon-woo surfaced one by one.
“I’ll trust him.”
Aporia dorms.
Sitting on the bed, I was baffled checking my new Authority.
“…What is this?”
[Authorities]
Dimensional Travel [Karmic Rate 30]
—Access the world’s archive to observe, once, any timeline from dimensions you haven’t experienced.
An ability I hadn’t expected appeared.
Dimensional Travel.
Similar to the karmic rate 10 Authority [Dimensional Observation].
But with a key difference.
[Dimensional Observation] let me observe timelines from dimensions I’d experienced, while Dimensional Travel allowed timelines from dimensions I hadn’t.
In other words, I could see the future after Lee Seo-jun’s death, or the time before I fell into this world.