Chapter 103
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 103
Chapter Title: Moon Shadow's Awakening
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ZZZing—
The Gourmet's Fork in my hand vibrated faintly. I opened my eyes cautiously, just like waking up to an alarm. Kids in school uniforms were strolling down a familiar hallway.
High school days.
It must have been break time, as the children were chattering noisily in little groups.
"Whoa. Hey, no way."
The noisy hallway fell briefly silent as every kid's gaze turned in unison toward one spot.
"That's the girl from Class 3."
"Isn't she supposed to be a celebrity or something?"
Not wanting to get caught staring so openly, the kids soon grew rowdy again. The center of attention didn't even need a glance to identify.
It was Kang Se-bin, the girl from Class 3, her curly brown hair neatly tied back in a half-ponytail, her uniform necktie perfectly in place. Se-bin-i walked down the hall with her classmates, smiling brightly. A far cry from the cold girl who'd once snapped, "That's not even funny."
KIIIing—
The Gourmet's Fork floated up lightly before shooting straight toward where Se-bin-i was headed. I followed it, staring piercingly at the back of Se-bin-i's head, which was just a bit higher than mine. Since the kids weren't mentioning her S-rank status, she must not have awakened yet.
Could I witness Se-bin-i's awakening too?
Se-bin-i had awakened so abruptly. Even when I'd asked how it happened, her only reply was a curt "Just did."
I tilted my head up slightly, lips pressed tight, and caught her profile. She glanced sideways at me with a subtle smile.
"Thanks to you, Ji-ui, school life wasn't tough. I even learned how to deal with people."
Se-bin-i was openly talking to me now. As the fork flew toward the end of the hall, the brilliant blue sky visible through the windows turned the deep hue of the ocean depths.
Moths fluttered around the sparse streetlamps on the sports field. Night had fallen in an instant.
"My aunt said it. That I'm lucky to have met you, Ji-ui."
Se-bin-i stopped mid-stride and leaned against the wall. Backlit by the moonlight outside, shadows played across her face.
"I agree. Without you, I'd have grown up gloomy and antisocial."
"…Se-bin-i."
"But sometimes, I think…"
Se-bin-i pointed toward a classroom with her finger.
1—5
My class. Looking up at her, I saw her face staring into the room with lightless eyes.
"Even if it wasn't me getting bullied back then, but someone else, you'd have saved them anyway, right, Ji-ui?"
"Huh?"
"…That's what I mean."
I had no reply for that. There were two reasons I couldn't speak. First, I'd never even considered it. And second…
I'd have saved them regardless of who it was.
Se-bin-i glanced at me and gave a wry smile. Her gaze shifted back to our classroom. Following it, I saw two shadows inside.
"Waaah… Thank you, Ji-ui…"
"Aw, it was nothing. If that jerk bothers you again, just tell me."
"Sniff, no, it's… You're too kind. Thank you so much."
In the classroom, first-year high school Shin Ji-ui sat face-to-face with a boy whose face I couldn't even recall, talking.
What the hell is this situation?
Helping or saving people happened so often I couldn't remember them all. This scene was probably one of them. The me in the classroom patted the boy's back repeatedly and wiped his tear-streaked face with tissue.
Looking at Se-bin-i, she watched the scene as if it were familiar. Our shadows stretching toward the classroom began to flicker unsteadily.
"I got to live peacefully because you came to save me, not anyone else."
"……."
"But you? Did you feel the same?"
Se-bin-i covered one eye with her hand. But through the gaps in her fingers, she kept watching me and the boy.
Beeeeep.
A piercing ring tore through my head, and the world bleached white. Clutching my head against the sudden pain, I squeezed my eyes shut. An suffocating silence filled the hallway.
When the ringing faded enough, I cautiously opened my eyes. Floating behind Se-bin-i were glowing blue letters.
[Awakener: Kang Se-bin]
[Darkness Attribute Unlocked]
[Unique Skill 'Moon Shadow' Unlocked]
[Unique Skill 'Fear' Unlocked]
[Unique Skill 'Selflessness (無我)' Unlocked]
[S-Rank Attack Skill 'Moon Shadow']
'Moon Shadow': Freely manipulate shadows and darkness.
[S-Rank Mental Skill 'Fear']
'Fear': Instill overwhelming terror in living beings. Grants immunity to all fear effects.
[S-Rank Stealth Skill 'Selflessness (無我)']
'Selflessness (無我)': Erase your existence from the world. Prolonged use results in complete oblivion by the world.
[Linked Passive Skill 'Shadow Absorption (吸暗)' Unlocked]
'Shadow Absorption (吸暗)': Maintain complete immunity to pitch-black darkness.
[Linked Passive Skill 'Unconsciousness' Unlocked]
'Unconsciousness': Strong immunity to all mental skills.
[Linked Passive Skill 'Rat That Hears Night Whispers' Unlocked]
'Rat That Hears Night Whispers': Enables flight while maintaining 'Selflessness (無我)'.
Why can I see this?
I hadn't seen Han Jin-woo Hunter or Cha Do-yun Hunter's awakening windows during theirs. But Se-bin-i's nightmare was different. As if sharing her eyes, I could see her entire awakening window.
Se-bin-i stared at me intently, her status window at her back.
"Then it hit me."
"Se-bin-i, mmph…!"
"That it didn't have to be me. You would've been fine with anyone."
The shadow clamped over my mouth and dragged me down. The hallway floor crumbled, and my body plummeted helplessly.
Plip.
A cold droplet hit my cheek. I knew instantly it was Se-bin-i's tear.
She was scared of being alone again.
Now I finally understood a little why Se-bin-i clung to me—and why she reacted so sensitively whenever I got close to others.
As I fell endlessly into the darkness, scenes flashed past me.
"Three S-rank unique skills? Haha, impressive."
"Hunter Kang Se-bin! Tell us your aspirations!"
Kim Kang-hee patted Se-bin-i's back with a twitching smirk. Then came Se-bin-i's calm face before the reporters.
"Give this… to Ji-ui?"
My name echoed from one of the rushing images. Turning toward it, I saw Se-bin-i chatting with a classmate in the classroom.
"I was too busy back then to say thanks…"
"…Ah, I see."
A skinny boy sat across from Se-bin-i. His face rang a bell; craning my neck, I recalled him sprawled in the gym storage room.
Oh, the kid who got beat up by that D-rank thug.
Right after enrollment, I'd found someone getting pummeled by an upperclassman D-rank awakener and stepped in. Turns out it was this boy—and he was in Se-bin-i's class, news to me today.
Se-bin-i gazed at him quietly before smiling softly.
"A gift might feel off. Ji-ui doesn't like that stuff."
"Oh, really? Then just pass this card along."
The boy cleared his throat awkwardly and handed something to Se-bin-i. A palm-sized card. Her eyebrows twitched at the sight.
"A letter?"
"Yeah. Not much in it, but better than nothing."
"Got it. I'll give it to her."
"What?"
I never got a letter like that?
Se-bin-i just stared down at it with a faint smile.
"Oh, and this is a bribe! From the school store."
The image faded as the boy placed butter cookies from the vending area on Se-bin-i's desk.
Thud.
My feet finally hit solid ground after a long fall. Steadying myself, I looked around to see the flower bed by the school back gate.
"Haa…"
Amid the voices of students heading home, Se-bin-i's long sigh stood out. She leaned against the school wall, gazing at the letter.
"There's something I never told you."
"…Yeah."
"Before elementary school, I had a puppy."
Se-bin-i rolled her eyes toward me. Her pitch-black pupils seemed bottomlessly deep today.
"It was sickly from the start and didn't make it past two, crossing the rainbow bridge."
What is she getting at?
Se-bin-i clutched the letter tight and continued.
"Then my parents passed away."
"……."
"On the way to my aunt's after the funeral, it hit me."
Se-bin-i let go. The letter fluttered weakly onto her shadow.
Crunch.
Her shadow crumpled it. Unsatisfied, at least ten black hands emerged, shredding it to pieces.
"Everything precious to me ends up leaving."
Thump.
Se-bin-i smiled faintly, as if resigned, and my heart sank.
Maybe that's why she struggled to get close to people. If you assume they'll leave anyway, it's hard to care.
"So I thought you'd drift away from me in a few years too."
"…Kang Se-bin."
"But you kept staying by my side…"
Se-bin-i clutched her curly brown hair with both hands, messing it into a tangle.
"And now I keep imagining you in my future…"
Her words trailed off as she collapsed to the ground, as if about to be sucked into the shadows.
Se-bin-i's heart was far more shattered than I'd realized. The atrocities of the 98th Se-bin-i had nothing to do with her nature.
It was just a tragedy born from years of layered trauma strangling her.
Wuuung—
Then the Gourmet's Fork vibrated, flying toward the back gate. I tore my feet from the spot and chased after it.
A sticky gaze bored into the back of my head.