The Meaning of Supernova Is a Dying Star
I tapped my fingers on the ground. Crouch. Crouch.
Namjin Crouching Start
“How long are you gonna stay sprawled out like that? Hurry up and come at me.”
The Supernova waved his hand at me. It was an obvious provocation, but maybe I should just roll with it. The current number one ranked Awakened in active service. He was more than enough to test my full strength against.
I stayed flat on the ground and shifted into a quadrupedal stance. This was what I called the Namjin-style crouching start.
“Having evolved onto four legs, I am now even faster.”
BOOM!
I kicked off the ground so hard dust exploded behind me as I charged straight at Nam Wooju. The moment I activated my Grade 3 Leap, the scenery blurred so fast even I could barely keep up.
“Darwin Kick!”
CRAAAAASH!
No matter how powerful an Awakened he was, nobody could dodge my instantaneous acceleration kick. The collision was brutal. When the thick cloud of dust finally cleared, I found myself staring into the eyes of a man covering his groin with both hands.
His eyes sparkled like starlight. Just like a Main’s.
“Attacking the vitals without hesitation? Your resolve and caloric output are impressive, but it’s so straightforward it’s crude. Easy to read your trajectory.”
I immediately created distance. We were now roughly ten meters apart. Nam Wooju, the Supernova, dusted off his clothes with a few sharp slaps and stretched his wrists.
“In return, I suppose I have no choice but to show you something good.”
“Stop it! Ha-Nam-jjin! No matter how strong you are, you can’t beat Wooju oppa!”
“My friend! Honestly, I agree with her! If you apologize right now and beg for forgiveness, maybe we can pretend this never happened!”
“…Still, if it’s Namjin… he might show us something…”
Everyone’s reactions were all over the place. Nam Wooju, who had been scanning the surroundings just like me, spoke up.
“Looks like you’re receiving more expectations than I thought. My adjutant might need to keep an eye on you. But I’ve seen countless Awakened who, just like you, relied solely on their own Concept and mistakenly believed they were invincible.”
Clap!
Nam Wooju clapped his hands. Something strange began to happen between his palms.
“Do you know why they call me Supernova?”
Grrrrrrrr, krrrrrrrrng—
An overwhelmingly powerful energy gathered into a perfect sphere, visible to the naked eye. The orb was smaller than a pebble, yet it warped the space around it. It looked exactly like a black hole. Maybe it actually was something similar?
“A star is, above all else, gravity.”
This was the first time I had faced an Awakened with such overwhelming power. His raw strength alone surpassed even Yu Yeoleum. There were so many things I wanted to ask the man before me.
This was a fight I absolutely could not lose. It seemed I couldn’t afford to hold back any cards either.
“Soldier sir, even if you get hurt, don’t blame me later.”
Srrrng—
I pulled out the suppression dagger issued by Youngsa High from my bag. Deoksoon, who loved analyzing everything, looked genuinely shocked.
“…Is this the first time Namjin has ever picked up a weapon?”
“N-now that you mention it, I think you’re right!”
The atmosphere grew tense. Then Baek Yeoul, aka Ppang-daeng-i, stepped up beside me holding her frying pan, the Unlucky Club.
“…If it’s come to this, I’m fighting too! Ha-Nam-jjin! I’ll protect you from oppa!”
Who would’ve thought Ppang-daeng-i would step forward? It was like adding a single ant to the front of a charging enemy tank, but sometimes that one ant could produce astonishing results.
Time to come up with a plan, then.
That was what I was thinking when—
Clap.
Nam Wooju clapped again. The black-hole-like energy in his hands vanished, leaving behind a beautiful afterimage.
“Let’s call it off. If I actually fought you kids, I’d probably end up with at least one wound. And I’d really rather avoid getting nagged by my adjutant.”
The interview took place in the Blue House’s VIP reception room. It was a simple Q&A session.
“You know about Nam Sanho, right?”
I asked Nam Wooju about the whereabouts of his adoptive brother, Nam Sanho. He crossed his arms and pondered for a long time before giving a vague answer.
“I could say I know, or I could say I don’t. To be precise, it would be more accurate to say I cannot tell you. It would put all of you in danger.”
My Emotion Concept told me he wasn’t just dodging the question or lying. So this was an adult’s way of saying he couldn’t drag students into dangerous business. Surprisingly upright guy.
Then let’s change the question.
“Your eyes turned like a Main’s earlier.”
Thanks to our fight with Jin Eunbyeol, we all knew how terrifying Mains could be. Everyone looked at Supernova Nam Wooju with worried eyes. If the number one ranker had become a Main, it would be a catastrophe.
“Ah, that? It’s a kind of side effect that occurs when I release my Star Concept. Starting from Grade 4, you can release your Concept and use its original caloric output.”
“So oppa really is a Main…!?”
Ppang-daeng-i asked bluntly. She looked anxious at the possibility that her cousin might have become a Main.
Nam Wooju’s answer was simple.
“Similar, but different. You learn about Concept backlash in your third-year curriculum at Youngsa High, right? You all probably know why Concept holders get tangled up in that annoying thing called ‘backlash.’”
“I don’t!”
Ppang-daeng-i shook her head vigorously. Changsik was shaking his head too. Then Deoksoon, who knew a lot, timidly showed off what little she knew.
“…We were only taught that backlash is like… the price you pay for your ability…”
“To put it accurately, it’s a kind of rejection reaction because this thing called a ‘Concept’ comes from outside our world. Awakening and Concepts both originate from the Great Labyrinth, after all.”
It was like the body’s immune response when a foreign organ is transplanted. That was Concept backlash.
“The higher the grade of the Concept, the stronger the backlash becomes. If you can’t endure it, your body gets taken over by the Concept itself and you become a Main.”
On the other hand, if you could control that backlash, you could wield power on the level of a Main while keeping your sanity. Grade 4 Awakened called that stage ‘Concept Release,’ or simply ‘Release.’
“Nam Sanho is somewhere between a Release user and a Main. He’s basically a walking time bomb. If you kids—who aren’t even active duty yet—get close to someone like that, you could get seriously hurt or even die.”
He didn’t seem to be lying. This time, he turned the question back on me.
“How did you kids even know Nam Sanho was still alive? We only recently confirmed it ourselves.”
How did we know? We found out thanks to Seo Gaeul. But if I mentioned her here, the fact that I was the kidnapper might come out. I had to break through this like a real man—using wisdom.
“The guy who caused the zombie outbreak demanded that the Seo Gaeul kidnapper turn himself in, right? Seeing how obsessed he was with her, it reminded me of Nam Sanho, the one who was supposedly her fiancé.”
It was a sloppy explanation, but I decided to trust the power of Deception. Fortunately, Nam Wooju pondered for a while before nodding.
“That makes sense.”
“But are you okay?”
“With what?”
Nam Wooju shrugged with a sly grin. Was he trying to act tough?
“Your palm.”
I looked at Nam Wooju’s hand. The palm that had blocked my quadrupedal Darwin Kick was swollen bright red.
“Shouldn’t you get it checked? Thoroughly. What if it’s cracked?”
“Oh! Nam-jjin’s attack actually landed on Wooju oppa! Ha-Nam-jjin, you’re amazing! This is the first time I’ve ever seen Wooju oppa get hurt!”
Ppang-daeng-i was overjoyed. Soon Changsik and Deoksoon were exclaiming things like “So the first attack actually worked!” and “His destructive power must have gone up after reaching Grade 3…”
Nam Wooju hid his swollen hand under the desk and snorted.
“Yeoul, aren’t you a little too happy that your oppa got hurt?”
“It’s okay if oppa gets hurt a little! You’re Korea’s Supernova!”
Korea called its most talented Awakened Supernovas. The reason was the man standing before us. It was the same reason they called the heroes who burned up without fear of death in the ruined world Supernovas.
Well, I’d gotten all the information I needed. Time to get going.
“Kids, let’s head out. We need to move quickly if we want to reach City D before it gets too late. Zombies get active at night, so it’s best to get inside a building before sunset.”
“Huh? We didn’t find out where Nam Sanho is, though?”
Ppang-daeng-i tilted her head, but there was no need to pinpoint his exact location. The reason I came here was to find out whether Nam Sanho, who was suspected of being a zombie Main, had colluded with the government to cause the zombie outbreak.
Judging from Nam Wooju’s attitude, he at least didn’t seem involved in this incident. As expected, I’d probably have to clash with Nam Sanho directly to learn the details.
Finding Nam Sanho when he’s deliberately hiding might be difficult. But dragging him out into the open is actually easy. All I have to do is throw out some bait.
What was the bait? Me—the ‘Seo Gaeul kidnapper’ himself. I’d make it so he couldn’t hold back from rushing out on his own.
Having achieved everything I wanted, I was about to leave the Blue House when Nam Wooju approached me.
“Who taught you how to handle weapons? That wasn’t the stance they teach at Youngsa High. If you had fought me like that, I probably would’ve bled a little. Who was your instructor?”
“Starving Old Man.”
“Never heard that name before.”
Of course he hadn’t. He was an old man I met while scavenging through the ruins after the world ended. His mind was half-gone, but he handled kitchen knives like a master. I learned how to wield bladed weapons while doing odd jobs under him. I hadn’t needed to use weapons until now, but against Nam Wooju, it felt okay to bring one out.
At that moment, Ppang-daeng-i was waving her hands wildly from far away.
“Oppa! Take care! Mom and Dad said to call often! See you later!”
Older brother and younger sister. How enviable. I wish I had a little sister too. One who would bring me water whenever I said “Water.”
“This is exactly why I tried to stop you from meeting Ha Namjin!”
After sending away the Clean Plate Day group, Nam Wooju had to endure a scolding from his adjutant, Jang Bo-reum, in his office. All because of the crack in his hand.
“We’ve given you first aid, but you must stay quiet for the time being!”
As the cold-hearted Jang Bo-reum wrapped his hand with bandages using chilly fingers, Nam Wooju recalled the mock battle from earlier. It had left quite an impression.
“That guy was pretty skilled. He might be the one called Supernova in my place someday.”
“That will never happen. Also, this incident must be kept secret from everyone. If word gets out that the Brigadier was injured, people will worry.”
Flick.
Nam Wooju lit a cigarette with his lighter. His palm throbbed.
“I’m good at enduring pain, so don’t worry. But how did that guy notice?”
—Are you okay?
To Nam Wooju, Ha Namjin’s single question had felt sharper than the kick itself. It was as if the boy had seen straight through his condition. It didn’t seem like he was only asking about the palm.
To change the subject, Nam Wooju switched topics.
“Adjutant, how is the search for Kore progressing?”
“We made contact with an old man who talks about the Fairy Princess, but… his mind isn’t sound, so extracting information won’t be easy.”
“Oh? What kind of old man is he?”
“He’s a retired warrant officer who served as a member of the Great Labyrinth exploration team twenty years ago. He claims he met the Fairy Princess during his service, but he can barely remember his own name, so I’m not sure how reliable the information is.”
“A member of the exploration team from twenty years ago… Back then there were no Awakened, so wandering the Great Labyrinth as an ordinary person would definitely mess with your mind. What’s the old man’s name?”
“He’s called Ha Gihun, but he insists people call him Starving.”
Starving. Nam Wooju felt a strange sense of déjà vu at the name, but he dismissed it as coincidence and steered his thoughts in a more constructive direction. There was only one thing he needed to do while he still had time.
“We need to find Kore and close the gate to the Great Labyrinth before it’s too late. Before things far worse than zombies cross over into this land.”
“Will Kore cooperate? As you know from the documents, Brigadier, to close a gate that has already been opened, we will inevitably have to…”
“That’s why we have to make her cooperate. There’s no time to be picky about methods. Ah— I should’ve chosen a better nickname.”
Nam Wooju had been called Supernova since long ago. It was a title given to promising talents, but its true meaning was the death of a star.
How much time did he have left? Cigarettes and alcohol had stopped being enough to suppress his ‘backlash’ a long time ago. Nam Wooju was not okay at all.
Still, he wasn’t completely unlucky.
“Now that I think about it, the old folks have been pestering me to choose a successor for a while, haven’t they? Since things have come to this, I should pick a successor for the Star.”
A Concept on the level of a tactical nuke just by its potential alone—the World. One of them was Star. Whoever inherited it would be called the next generation’s Supernova.
And at just the right time, a suitable candidate had appeared.
“What? Brigadier, you don’t mean… to that guy!? That is absolutely not allowed! The generals would never agree to it!”
“Is that so? Honestly, just handing it over to him so easily wouldn’t be any fun. My pride won’t allow me to just take the loss either.”
After thinking for a long time, Nam Wooju came up with a good idea. Just imagining it was already enjoyable.