Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Paralysis Resistance
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“What are you thinking about?”
“Nothing.”
The man nodded at her response. Then he scanned the faces of the people around Lee Seo-jun one by one and spoke.
“But do you really think those guys came all the way here?”
“They probably did. What kind of existence is Lee Seo-jun to them? When they heard he’d fallen into the hidden stage, I bet they were more shocked than Chairman Kim Jin-cheol.”
“Kukuku. Yeah, probably.”
What they were looking for was Jaun, the infamous terrorist group that had vanished without a trace 13 years ago.
It was a secret not yet known to the world, but Lee Seo-jun was a special existence to Jaun. And those who knew that were firmly convinced that Jaun’s members would come here.
But had they hidden themselves perfectly? The Jaun members they were searching for never showed themselves, not even up to the moment Lee Seo-jun returned to the dormitory.
“……Let’s head back.”
“It’s kind of disappointing.”
“No choice. And this was more or less the expected outcome.”
The man nodded at Yoo Ah-yeon’s words.
“Oh, right. Since we’re here, why not visit your little sister?”
“Nah. Ah-ra’s super busy.”
“Liar. You’re just scared of getting nagged by her.”
The man spoke in a teasing tone. Yoo Ah-yeon shut her mouth, hit right on the mark. But to avoid showing it, she forced a smile.
“Nagged? What nagging?”
“Sis, you haven’t started that habit again lately, have you?”
“I quit. It’s been four years.”
Yoo Ah-yeon gripped the knife scar on her left wrist with her hand.
The knife scar on her wrist was a wound she’d inflicted on herself during times of trauma-induced depression and stress.
Of course, the trauma from the past still lingered, but she no longer harmed herself like before.
She didn’t want to worry her only remaining family, Yoo Ah-ra.
Instead, a fierce resentment burned in her heart.
That was when they were finishing up at the Wizard Academy and heading back to headquarters.
“Ugh!”
Yoo Ah-yeon clutched her head, feeling a mild headache. The man beside her asked in surprise.
“Sis! You okay?”
—Ah-yeon! Run away with Ah-ra!
A hallucination rang out. It was a hallucination she heard every day, but she could never get used to it. The nightmare from 13 years ago resurfaced.
“Sis!”
“……I’m fine.”
The hallucination didn’t fade. In the past, self-harm would make it go away, but she didn’t do that anymore.
She raised her head as if nothing was wrong and walked forward again.
—Run! Run away!
She gritted her teeth and ignored it.
“Aigoo.”
The moment I returned to the dormitory, I washed off my dirty body and sat on the sofa. When I turned on the TV, breaking news popped up immediately.
It was about Lee Seo-jun. Of course, there was some mention of me too.
「Lee Seo-jun and one other student who fell into the hidden stage in the Wizard Academy’s rear mountain dungeon have successfully cleared the dungeon safely.」
Right there: ‘Lee Seo-jun and one other.’ That’s me.
“Ahem.”
As expected of Lee Seo-jun’s star power.
It was total chaos. One channel was even advertising a special documentary on Lee Seo-jun.
“But ‘one other’ is a bit much.”
They could’ve at least mentioned my name. Fame points aside, isn’t it standard to list both if there’s just one other?
[124 wizards are interested in you.]
[You acquire 3,000 points as a reward.]
Still, seeing messages like this pop up meant my story wasn’t completely ignored.
Flipping through news channels, Lee Seo-jun was talking about my contributions.
It felt like he was saying, ‘Hey, acknowledge Kim Sun-woo too,’ but the reporters didn’t seem all that interested.
They probably thought he was just being humble.
I gave a wry smile and gripped my smart student handbook.
Ding! Ding!
“……It won’t stop ringing.”
Messages had been pouring in nonstop since earlier.
I checked the contents.
The senders varied.
There were messages from kids I didn’t even know, and from people I had some acquaintance with.
Shin Young-jun, Yoon Ha-young, Choi Seo-yoon… and so on.
[You escaped the dungeon with Lee Seo-jun? Hehe hehe hehe]
[Sun-woo, you okay?]
[Sunbae! You cleared the hidden stage with Seo-jun sunbae, right?]
I skimmed through and didn’t reply individually.
If I responded to each one, I’d never finish.
“Time to check the reward items.”
I pulled the hidden stage clear rewards from my sub-space and set them on the table.
Two items in total.
In the original story, these would’ve gone to some random extras no one cared about.
But since I became the clearer, they were all mine.
I picked up the magic imprint scroll first.
[Magic Imprint Scroll: Air Walk (B)]
Classification: Magic Imprint
Description: Imprint magic onto a designated tool.
[Usage Effect]
►Air Walk
Allows walking in the air for 5 seconds.
*Cooldown: 2 minutes
*Can only be imprinted on shoes.
Air Walk. Just as the name suggests, an item for walking in the air.
Of course, it’s only 5 seconds in the air. But with a short cooldown, it’s plenty usable.
“Guess I need to get some shoes.”
Imprinting on my cheap current pair would be a waste.
I stored the magic imprint scroll back in my sub-space.
“Next…”
[Paralysis Dagger (B)]
Classification: Dagger
Description: A dagger coated in paralysis poison. Stabbing an opponent paralyzes them.
[Continuous Effect]
►Paralysis Poison
On a strong hit, there’s a chance the opponent will be paralyzed. (Poison Grade: B)
(Effect varies based on opponent’s poison resistance.)
Strength, stamina, and agility decrease by 10.
Durability: B
Attack Power: C
Paralysis Dagger.
Exactly as it sounds—a dagger imbued with paralyzing power.
I’d been needing a secondary weapon for close combat, so this was perfect. But before that, I planned to use this item for another purpose first.
There was a way to make use of its poison.
“Whew.”
I took a deep breath and drew the dagger from its sheath. The pristine blade gleamed brightly.
I was going to stab my own wrist with this dagger.
Just one goal.
To acquire a paralysis-related adaptation trait.
With its B-grade poison, stabbing myself with this would give a higher chance of gaining a trait than drinking regular paralysis poison.
Was this crazy? A bit worrying, but if there was a shot at an adaptation trait, I had to risk this level of madness.
Stab!
“……Ugh!”
The dagger pierced my wrist, and bright red blood welled up. I gritted my teeth against the pain. But contrary to expectations, no paralysis effect came.
“……What?”
On a strong hit, chance-based.
Did the chance just fail?
“Damn…”
My luck sucks.
I took a deep breath and stabbed my wrist again with the dagger.
“Grrgh!”
……Did it work? Sensation in my arm started fading bit by bit.
After about 30 seconds, it felt like one arm had vanished.
I gritted my teeth and inflicted more wounds on other body parts. Thigh, upper arm, etc.
In case the trait acquisition failed, this was to make sure.
The paralysis poison spread rapidly through my body. At some point, my senses dulled, and after about 5 minutes, my whole body stiffened completely.
No matter how hard I tried, my body wouldn’t move.
‘But… I think I stabbed too much…’
My consciousness blurred. Like I was poisoned…
My eyes closed. ……I’m screwed. Stabbed too hard.
……And I lost consciousness.
On the rooftop of a small building about 1km from the Wizard Academy.
In that empty, quiet spot, a man was on the phone.
—Jin. How’s Lee Seo-jun?
“He’s fine. Totally unharmed.”
As always, they were discussing Lee Seo-jun. Is he okay? Not hurt? No other threats? That sort of thing.
—Good thing. Keep watching him closely. Why’d he suddenly drop into the hidden stage? Really freaked me out.
“But he cleared it successfully. He’s amazing. How does a kid his age clear a hidden stage in just one day? I thought it’d take me at least two or three.”
The man muttered to himself, still amazed even thinking back.
—That’s how great Lee Seo-jun is. Maybe it’s only natural. Makes me even more confident in him. Oh, right. That guy who cleared the dungeon with Lee Seo-jun. Know anything about him?
“Oh, Kim Shin-woo or Kim Sun-woo or whatever?”
—Yeah.
The man shook his head.
“Don’t know much. From what I heard, he’s at the bottom of the school rankings. Though with midterms out, who knows now.”
—They seem to run into each other a lot.
“Feels that way, but probably coincidence. How’s it over there?”
—We just arrived in Rome. Prep’s almost done. Operation goes as planned at 3 PM.
The man glanced at his watch.
Current time: 12 PM Korea time.
3 PM Rome time was about 10 PM Korea time.
“Heh heh. Wish I could join. Too bad.”
—Hang in there a bit longer. I’ll buy you a meal soon.
“Got it. Don’t get hurt. Be careful.”
—Yeah.
Click. He hung up.
The man stared blankly at the Wizard Academy.
“Ugh…”
When I came to, a sharp headache hit me. Intense pain throbbed from the stab wounds. As I opened my eyes, a message appeared before me.
[Your body fully adapts to paralysis poison!]
[Adaptation trait, ‘Paralysis Poison Resistance (D)’, has been added.]
[Paralysis Poison Resistance (D)
Classification: Trait
Description: Your body gains strong resistance to paralysis poison.
[Continuous Effect]
►Paralysis Poison Antibody
Mana +1.
Paralysis poison resistance +50%.
Paralysis poison recovery speed +70%.]
“……Got it.”
Another new trait acquired.
Mana +1 and 50% paralysis resistance. The effects weren’t overwhelmingly strong, but free is free—I was satisfied. Plus, that +1 mana would take days of dedicated mana training.
“Ugh, hurts like hell.”
I wiped the crusted blood from my skin. Thanks to stamina recovery effects, the wounds had healed somewhat. Not enough to hinder movement much.
“How long was I out?”
Checking the time, it was nearly 10 PM. Probably fatigue from the dungeon clear. I’d slept almost 7 hours in paralysis.
What to do with the remaining time? 10 PM was awkward. I’d slept plenty, so no point trying again.
“Training it is.”
Yeah, that works. Nothing beats it when there’s nothing else. And I still hadn’t gotten mana-related adaptation traits.
“Oh, right.”
I took out my smartphone from the sub-space. Typed a message and sent it to Han Se-yeon.
[Han Se-yeon, there’s an item I’d like you to procure for me.]
Sending a message this late at 10 PM—might be a bother, but tomorrow’s a holiday, so it should be fine.
And as usual, a reply came in under 10 seconds.
[What is it?]
[The mana elixir you made last time, and some sturdy combat boots. Of course, I’ll pay the cost.]
Was I asking too much lately? But from her perspective, it’s probably nothing. Easy work for her.
[Got it. For the mana elixir, same as last time?]
[Yes, please. Same one.]
After finishing with Han Se-yeon, I stood up immediately.
Personal errands done—time for the magic training ground.
♦ ♦ ♦
[The door opens.]
Boom!
Arriving at the magic training ground, a massive boom echoed as if waiting for me.
No surprise—the source was Yoo Ah-ra.
Holiday tomorrow, maybe? Even nearing 11 PM, she showed no sign of stopping training.
Rumor had it she barely left the training ground these days.
I ignored her and was about to enter my personal training room.
When the door to the adjacent room opened, and Yoo Ah-ra stepped out.
Our eyes met at the same time.
“……Hi.”
“Uh, hi.”
Yoo Ah-ra wiped the sweat from her forehead with a towel.
Then she scanned me up and down.
“You look fine. Even for you, I figured you’d pick up at least a scratch or two in the hidden stage.”
Yoo Ah-ra muttered that while looking at me.
I didn’t quite get what “even for you” meant, but I nodded anyway.
That’s when her gaze, which had been scanning me, fixed on my upper arm.
“……No, you are hurt. Wound on your arm.”