Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Awakening the Demon-Slaying Power
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The creature groaned for a moment before glaring at me and charging.
—Kaaang!
I gripped my dagger and lowered my stance.
The moment it tried to stab me with its sharp claws, I quickly ducked and thrust my dagger into its shoulder.
—Grrraaang!
The cave demon's cry of pain echoed through the cave.
Yoon Ha-young, who had been watching the fight, shouted from behind again.
"Seon-woo! You really don't need any help?"
"Yeah, just wait!"
I seized the opening while it writhed in agony and attempted another attack. It tried to dodge late, but it was already too late to evade my movements enhanced by mana.
Puk!
—Grraaaang!
The dagger pierced the cave demon, and a blue light leaked from the wound for a moment.
The demon flapped its wings. Blood dripped from the injury.
"Hoo."
At this point, the paralysis should be kicking in soon...
I stepped back a bit and observed its condition. The cave demon was screaming in torment. Then, as if it had adapted somewhat to the pain, it prepared to charge at me again.
That was when it happened.
—Krek?
It froze in place. It twisted its face as if trying to move, but its body only trembled slightly.
"...Did it work?"
I relaxed my combat stance and straightened my back.
I had little experience with close-quarters combat using weapons, so I'd been anxious, but fortunately, it seemed I'd achieved my goal.
[You have achieved the 'Status Ailment Attack Success' accomplishment.]
[You have obtained 2,000 points as a reward.]
The creature was now fully paralyzed by the effect of the paralysis dagger. It probably wouldn't be able to move for at least ten minutes.
"Whew, that was tiring."
I sheathed the dagger at my waist and slowly approached it.
As I walked toward it defenselessly, Yoon Ha-young's worried voice came from behind.
"Huh? Seon-woo?"
"It's fine. Don't worry."
I came right up to the cave demon's face. It could only let out "Kiek? Kieek!" sounds without any other reaction.
"Huh? Why is it just standing there?"
Yoon Ha-young voiced her confusion, unable to make sense of the situation.
I grabbed the demon's horn and dragged it across the floor toward Yoon Ha-young.
—Kiek? Kiek! Kiek!
With this, Yoon Ha-young's training demonkin lab rat was ready. Now I could practice the demon-slaying power to my heart's content using it.
Yoon Ha-young stared at me and the cave demon with trembling pupils.
"Alright, shall we start the training now?"
—Kiek! Kiek! Kiiieeeeek!!
—Kiek! Kiek! Kieeek!
I tied up the cave demon with the rope I'd brought along.
It had been screaming in terror nonstop since earlier.
Yoon Ha-young looked at me with horrified eyes.
"...What are you doing right now?"
"Training, obviously."
"I mean, yeah, training, but this is a bit..."
I glanced at the cave demon bound to the wall. Honestly, I felt a little sorry for it too.
Even if it was a monster, this was a pretty cruel method.
But what could I do?
Yoon Ha-young was an important figure in this world, and to see things through to the end, her true demon-slaying power was absolutely necessary.
Plus, with the butterfly effect twisting the future into chaos, even I had no idea what the demons might do.
"Ahem. Sorry, but I couldn't think of any other training method."
[Character 'Yoon Ha-young' feels a slight fear toward you.]
[You have obtained 500 points as a reward.]
—Kiek! Kieek!
The cave demon kept screeching nonstop.
Hearing that made my resolve waver a bit.
I concentrated mana into my fist and smashed the demon's head hard.
Kwaak!
"Hoo."
Finally, it quieted down.
Yoon Ha-young looked at the cave demon with pity in her eyes.
"Come on, don't go soft. Let's get to training."
"What kind of training requires going this far?"
"I'll explain now."
I looked straight into her eyes.
"First off, you have a hidden power."
"...What? Were you serious earlier when you said I have a hidden power?"
Yoon Ha-young stared at me with eyes full of doubt.
"Yeah, dead serious. You have a special power that others don't. Today, we're going to train to awaken it."
"What is it?"
"The demon-slaying power."
"...Demon-slaying power?"
Yoon Ha-young muttered to herself, not understanding.
"Remember the demon attack incident last time?
You used a special power slightly different from magic on the demons back then and inflicted damage."
"Ah..."
Yoon Ha-young's mouth fell open as something came to mind.
"Yeah, I remember now."
"That's it exactly. That's the demon-slaying power. It literally slays demons."
"What... I have a power like that?"
Yoon Ha-young muttered in disbelief.
"You don't believe me?"
She shook her head at my words.
"No, you've never been wrong, so I believe you. It's just... it feels surreal."
Her response carried such trust that I couldn't help but smile.
"But keep this in mind. The demon-slaying power is like the natural enemy of demons, but that makes you an easy target for them. If word gets out that you have this power, the demons will pull out all the stops to kill you."
Her body trembled slightly at the mention of becoming a target, but she quickly regained her determined gaze.
"So, my power is strong against demons?"
"Yeah."
"Then I'll just beat them all myself."
Yoon Ha-young smiled as she replied. I was impressed by how she showed confidence instead of shrinking back.
"Still, you have to be careful at all times. You can't tell anyone about having the demon-slaying power. Got it?"
"Got it. I won't tell anyone but you, Seon-woo. But Seon-woo, how do you know all this stuff?"
Yoon Ha-young looked at me suspiciously.
"I have my ways of knowing."
"Tch. Why do you have so many secrets? Are you really 18? You didn't lie about your age or anything, right?"
"Huh? Uh... no, I didn't."
My physical age was indeed 18, so it wasn't a lie, but my mental age was higher, so it kinda stung.
"What? Why are you stuttering? Did you really lie about your age?"
"I didn't lie or anything."
"...Suspicious. Come to think of it, you deliberately hide your skills, and you're weirdly mature for your age. Are you some special agent infiltrating the school or something?"
"Special agent? Come on."
Even as I responded in exasperation, Yoon Ha-young didn't drop her suspicious gaze.
"Hmm..."
"Anyway, let's train. Focus now."
Only then did she nod and let go of her suspicion.
"First, do you remember when you attacked the demon with the demon-slaying power back then?"
"Yeah, I remember roughly."
"Then do you remember how you used that power?"
"No, I don't remember that part."
"Think hard. Usually, when a trait awakens, your body automatically remembers how to use it."
Yoon Ha-young closed her eyes and concentrated.
"Body memory..."
Mana formed over her hand, manifesting the cold ice arrow that was her signature spell. But this wasn't the demon-slaying power.
"Hmm... I don't really get it."
How should I explain this?
I'd never handled the demon-slaying power myself, so I couldn't give hasty advice. For now, I shared everything I knew about traits.
"Or try thinking it in your head. 'I have to slay the demon. I have to slay the demonkin.' Concrete thoughts and will like that."
"Will..."
Trait powers usually let the body figure out usage instinctively, but sometimes they activated based on the user's will.
In this world, that was called 'willpower,' and Yoon Ha-young's trait might be the type that triggered via will.
Swoooong—
And sure enough, my guess hit the mark as mana with special properties began gathering on Yoon Ha-young's hand bit by bit. It gradually took shape, mimicking an ice arrow.
I could feel a tiny amount of demon-slaying power within it.
"Good. Keep going."
"Ung..."
I kept encouraging her will to use the demon-slaying power.
"Keep thinking it. 'I have to slay the demonkin and demons.' 'I have to take down the cave demon in front of me.'"
Swoooong—
The ice arrow emitted a faint, mystical glow. However, the demon-slaying power didn't grow beyond that.
Her willpower was still insufficient.
Willpower was harder to handle than the imagination needed for magic.
Anyone could imagine through training, but strong will toward an action was hard to muster without a special purpose.
"Ugh..."
I glanced at Yoon Ha-young. She was suffering from forcing the willpower. Plus, handling the demon-slaying power must be putting a considerable burden on her body.
Better to stop here.
"Now, shoot your magic at the cave demon in front."
At my words, Yoon Ha-young extended her hand toward the cave demon.
That was when it happened.
A small change occurred in the ice arrow manifested on her hand.
The ice arrow blazed with pure white light, and the demon-slaying power contained within intensified.
At the same time, the ice arrow shot toward it with a "Paang—!"
Swoooong—
Kwaaaang!
A massive explosion rang out.
"O..."
The dust rising in the dungeon cleared, revealing the cave demon with its body pierced by her magic.
Its chest bore the characteristic burning mark of the demon-slaying power. It was still immature, but more than passable.
"Good job. That's exactly it."
Yoon Ha-young stared blankly at the cave demon. Then, as if dizzy, she staggered and collapsed to the ground.
"...Seon-woo. I can't feel any strength in my body."
And so, the first training session for wielding the demon-slaying power ended.
It was short, leaving a bit of regret, but since she wasn't yet accustomed to it and all her strength was drained, we couldn't continue.
Still, I decided to be satisfied that Yoon Ha-young could now wield the demon-slaying power.
Since dungeon clearing wasn't in the plan anyway, we headed back to school and stopped there.
Time passed peacefully as usual. Monday and Tuesday went by, leading to Wednesday.
Finally, the day of the special class's first lesson arrived.
After finishing all my classes, I headed to the assembly point at the bus stop in front of the school gate.
"Sunbae!"
Choi Seo-yoon approached from afar with a bright smile. Her hair swayed as she politely bowed her head.
"Hello."
"Uh, hi."
The special class had individual and group lessons.
Today was a group lesson. If it followed the original plot, we'd be doing practical combat training in the 'Monster Field' on Ganghwado.
"What do you think today's lesson will be? It's a group one."
"Probably monster hunting."
"Monsters?"
"They said it'd focus on practical training."
"Ah, right."
Choi Seo-yoon nodded in understanding.
"As expected of someone who got a perfect score on the theory exam—your deductive skills."
Deductive skills from a perfect theory score? What?
I was speaking confidently because I knew the original story, but this was something anyone could deduce.
...Hold on.
"What? How do you know that?"
It was known that I took first in the theory exam, but not that it was a perfect score—people shouldn't know that yet.
"Know what?"
"That I got a perfect score."
"That's already the rumor around the whole school."
"Rumor?"
"Yeah. About two days ago, I think? Probably no one doesn't know now."
What? When did the rumor spread?
Come to think of it, I did get those mysterious 3,000 points two days ago...
Maybe that's why.
'Home.'
Not bad since I got points. I should've spread the rumor myself if I knew.
In the midst of the bustling atmosphere, the special class homeroom teacher, Park Jung-wan's voice rang out.
"Looks like everyone's here. Let's board the prepared bus and head out."
Time passed, and we arrived at Ganghwado, the location for the special class.
As I got off the bus, a space like a campsite came into view. All of it had been set up by wizards who made hunting in the Monster Field their main job.
"Wow, cool."
Choi Seo-yoon's eyes sparkled next to me. The other students reacted similarly.
I'd seen these wizard camps often before regression, so I wasn't particularly amazed.
What caught my attention more was Jang Ye next to Lee Seo-jun.
I worried something might happen with them. That kind of concern.
"Hmm..."
"What's wrong?"
Choi Seo-yoon asked as I made a serious face for a moment.
"Nah, it's nothing."
At my words, Choi Seo-yoon glanced toward Lee Seo-jun and gave a sly smile.
"You're that worried about her?"
"About who?"
"Park Min-ye sunbae."
She was on about that again.
"Well, I guess it makes sense. Especially since the other person is Lee Seo-jun sunbae..."