The Aftermath of the Duel
Han Seong-il had beaten Go Yeong-tae so mercilessly during their spar that he genuinely worried he might get hauled away on assault charges. As if reading his concern, the health center staff member gave a bitter smile and answered.
"In any case, it was an accident that occurred during a duel. Since the state forcibly requires students to take this class, the government bears some responsibility as well. And most decisively..."
"...Decisively?"
"You're a non-combatant, Seong-il. When a non-combatant subdues a combatant, about two-thirds of the time they receive leniency..."
"...And the remaining one-third?"
"That's on the professor. For failing to control the situation."
"Ah... So I'm not at fault?"
At Seong-il's words, the health center staff member smiled brightly and replied, "Generally speaking? Well... that's how it's been so far. You'll probably be fine. We see similar incidents all the time in this line of work."
"Ah... Thank you..."
"Would you like to stay here for now? I need to let Professor Jo Woo-young know that you've gotten up..."
"Ah! Yes, of course!!"
Once the health center staff member left to contact Professor Jo Woo-young, Seong-il began reflecting on the scorching energy he had felt while unconscious.
What was that energy I felt when I passed out? It rampaged through my body like it was out of control before sinking into my dantian.
"Wait a second!!"
Something suddenly occurred to him. Seong-il quickly pulled out his smartphone and activated his Game Master ability to open his status window.
2) Can check quests from game characters. (Toggle ON/OFF by clicking)
That fucking overall evaluation, seriously...
The moment he opened the Game Master window, the evaluation's mix of encouragement and mockery caught his eye. Seong-il's mood soured instantly because of it, but he soon calmed down and began examining the status window carefully.
Huh...? My stats have shot up massively. Especially my magic power—why did it grow so much...?
Seong-il felt a surge of joy at the sudden stat increase. As he looked over the window once more...
Whoa...!! The Heaven and Earth Yin-Yang Intercourse Divine Art is at 4 Stars!?
"Jackpot!! Jackpot!!"
Seong-il confirmed that the Saekgong he had longed for had finally reached 4 Stars. Overcome with joy, he jumped up from his seat and roared before thinking,
That energy that rampaged through my body when I passed out—was that my own internal energy? Did it go out of control because my cultivation advanced from 3 Stars to 4 Stars?
But as he pondered it more deeply, Seong-il shook his head and reconsidered.
No. It doesn't make sense that advancing to 4 Stars would cause pain. Saekma never mentioned any side effects like that. Then what the hell was that pain?
Recalling the time that had passed while he agonized over it, one thought suddenly sprang to mind.
It was because of the O-yok Chil-jeong training method!! While getting revenge on Go Yeong-tae earlier, I lost control of my reason and my emotions—anger, hatred, and the like—went berserk. That was the side effect!!
Normally, I should have fallen into qi deviation and become a cripple... but luckily, because I succeeded in defeating my long-time enemy Go Yeong-tae, it worked in a positive direction and raised my Saekgong rank!!
Seong-il had pieced together the connection between the excruciating pain and warm energy he felt while unconscious and the rise in his Saekgong rank. Grateful for his good fortune, he thought,
I got lucky. If I had failed and still couldn't control my emotions... just thinking about it is horrifying.
The mere thought of that hypothetical sent a chill of terror through him. Seong-il sat at the edge of the bed, drenched in cold sweat, staring blankly into space.
"Hmm? Seong-il, you're already awake?"
Professor Jo Woo-young appeared before him. The moment he showed up, Seong-il stood and bowed politely.
"You've arrived, Professor."
"Ah... yes. How's your body?"
"Yes. Thanks to you."
There was a thorn hidden in Seong-il's words when he said "thanks to you." Noticing his tone, Professor Jo Woo-young gave a sardonic smile and began to speak.
"Ho... It seems you're quite displeased that I stopped you, Seong-il."
"Not at all~ It's just that when I was the one getting beaten before, you simply watched quietly, but the moment I gained the upper hand, you immediately suppressed me. It just felt so fair, that's all."
At Seong-il's sarcasm, Professor Jo Woo-young's smile grew even wider. He continued,
"That's because if I hadn't stopped you back then, you or the other student would have been seriously injured—or even killed."
"...?"
When Seong-il looked at him with a puzzled expression, Professor Jo Woo-young frowned slightly and went on.
"It's exactly as I said. If I hadn't stopped you this time, Go Yeong-tae would have been beaten to death by you."
"...!!"
"You lost your reason and went berserk, so you couldn't see the facts objectively. From your attitude, it seems you think you only gave Yeong-tae a few moderate hits... but from a third-party perspective, the power behind the fists you used to pummel him at the time was close to that of a 2nd-grade physical reinforcement esper at maximum output."
"...It couldn't have been that bad, right?"
"No. It was. Because you broke through Go Yeong-tae's maximum-output physical reinforcement defense and turned his face into mush with a single punch."
"That was just because he let his guard down..."
"Don't spout nonsense."
"..."
Professor Jo Woo-young's expression showed clear irritation at Seong-il's excuse. He continued,
"Do I look like a fool to you? I am a professor and a 1st-grade hunter. One of fewer than a hundred in all of South Korea!! Do you really think I wouldn't have seen through your ability?"
"Ah... I-I'm sorry."
Seong-il had lost his cool due to his ill feelings toward Professor Jo Woo-young and forgotten about the man's true nature. He thought to himself,
I forgot what a demonic bastard he is. I should just keep my mouth shut and say 'yes.'
"Enough. I didn't come here to reprimand you. I'll ask you honestly. When did you awaken?"
At those words, Seong-il began to think carefully.
What should I say? I absolutely have to hide anything about Game Master. If an extremely rare world-based ability like Game Master becomes public knowledge, I'll lose 100% of my freedom and end up as a half-slave. So Game Master must never be exposed to the outside.
Then what would be a good excuse to feed this demonic bastard and get past this situation...?
After pondering for a long time, Seong-il crafted a lie based on the day and circumstances of his original Game Master awakening and began to answer.
"It was... probably last Friday...? After class, when I got home and was just sitting there."
"...What was the situation?"
"Well... nothing special. I was thinking, 'How nice it would be if I awakened as a combatant instead of a non-combatant,' when suddenly the world turned blue and an incredible pain surged through my body."
"Hmm... The precursor to awakening."
Seong-il nodded at Professor Jo Woo-young's words and continued.
"Yes. I thought so too. Anyway, after that tremendous pain, I lost consciousness for a moment."
"...Is that all?"
"Of course not. I didn't think what happened to me was normal either, so I carefully examined the changes in my body. I realized my physical strength had become much stronger than before."
"Hmm... I see. Then why didn't you report it to the school or a government office immediately?"
"...It was the weekend, so the situation felt a bit ambiguous for reporting. And before reporting, if this power was real, I wanted to legally challenge Go Yeong-tae to a duel and test it out."
"Hmm..."
Professor Jo Woo-young stared at Seong-il with a suspicious look. Seong-il frowned back at him and answered heatedly.
"Can I be blunt?"
"...?"
"That bastard used duels as an excuse to torment me relentlessly, so I wanted to make him eat shit too. To do that, I obviously had to hide my second awakening from everyone around me. If he had known I'd awakened a physical ability, he wouldn't have let his guard down like that."
"Hmm... So the point was that you wanted revenge on him?"
"Yes."
"I see."
"...?"
Professor Jo Woo-young casually wrapped up the situation. Feeling dumbfounded by his attitude, Seong-il asked,
"Um..."
"...?"
"In a situation like this, shouldn't you be scolding me...?"
"Why?"
"...Because I deceived you and beat up a classmate, so obviously..."
"Enough. I will be the one to judge such matters. It's not something for you to worry about."
This son of a bitch...
Seong-il seethed inwardly at the man's cruel and irresponsible attitude, which showed zero trace of an educator's demeanor. He desperately held back his anger, swallowed his curses, and kept his mouth shut.
Anyway, the other party is a freshman advisor and one of South Korea's top-ranked hunters. Picking a fight with him would only hurt me... so I'll endure it for now. And I'll remember this for later.
While Seong-il was grinding his teeth internally, Professor Jo Woo-young stood up and said,
"Alright... I've roughly grasped the situation. So you've now acquired a physical reinforcement-type superpower, correct?"
"Yes? Y-yes..."
"Hmm... Then you'll soon be taking dungeon exploration classes. Keep that in mind."
"...Dungeon exploration classes?"
"Yes. Combat-type ability users have an obligation to periodically enter dungeons and clear them out. You'll be assigned to those operations as well. Of course, as a student, you'll be deployed to the lowest rank—around 9th-grade—and you'll form a party with experienced 3rd- and 4th-year students to gain experience while carrying out the subjugation as part of your studies."
Fuck, now that you mention it...
The structures created by aliens, commonly called 'dungeons,' were dangerous facilities divided into ten grades. From the lowest 9th-grade to the highest 0-grade, they consisted of ten tiers in total. When an alien civilization's Core was installed in a specific area, it distorted the surrounding space and transformed it into a hazardous zone. It could twist physical laws or create factories that produced biological weapons and project them outward...
That was why the government desperately tried to eliminate every dungeon they found. Since these incorporeal transcendent structures and their Cores could only be damaged by psychics, whenever a dungeon appeared, the government would summon hunters or commission the Hunter Association to clear them as quickly as possible.
The problem was that Cores were appearing at an increasingly rapid rate, so the government implemented a risk grading system. They even mobilized students to destroy the weaker Cores that didn't require experienced hunters. Dangerous-grade dungeons, on the other hand, were left to hunters with matching abilities.
Well... a 9th-grade is basically like hunting goblins in a game, from what I've heard...
Still, throwing me straight into it the moment my awakening is discovered? Isn't this a bit much?
While Seong-il was inwardly cursing the government, the health center staff member from earlier approached and asked him,
"Seong-il, you don't have any other painful areas, do you?"
"No. I feel mostly fine."
"Then you may go home right away."
"Ah... Yes! Thank you!"
"Take care! You've worked hard~"
After thanking her for seeing him off, Seong-il returned home.
A dungeon, huh... I've just reached 4 Stars in the Heaven and Earth Yin-Yang Intercourse Divine Art, so I won't have any major problems even if I don't mix bodies with another woman for more than ten days. I guess it's doable. Not sure if I should call this good luck or bad...
Still, I succeeded in getting my long-overdue revenge and raised my Saekgong to 4 Stars, so I should be happy about that.
Having thought that, Seong-il lay down on his bed once he got home and pondered.
What should I do...? I've gotten my revenge. Should I go back into a game world? Or should I try entering a dungeon for the experience...? Neither option seems particularly bad... Hmm...