Chapter 24: Vanquisher (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 24: Vanquisher (2)
Park Gwang-cheol answered the question with a short, firm reply.
"You have to be strong."
His gaze naturally shifted toward me.
"You must be strong."
His words were simple, but the weight they carried was anything but light.
The female student who had asked the question seemed to accept his answer, nodding quietly.
And so, the short ten-minute break ended, and the class resumed.
"Ugh… this theory is so difficult…"
When I came to my senses, I found Cheon Yeo-wool had used the break to move to the seat next to mine.
She was grumbling, her head stretched out over the desk.
I may have designed her, but…
Her figure was truly unreal.
The way her posture subtly emphasized the curves of her body was strangely distracting, making it hard to tell if it was intentional or not.
"Should we just ditch…"
Before she could finish her joke—
Thwack!
"Ngh!"
Annoyed by her brazen attitude, I didn't hesitate to flick her on the forehead.
Cheon Yeo-wool flinched and let out a small moan.
Her face instantly flushed red, a wave of heat washing over it, and her shallow breaths came out in ragged gasps.
“Hahh…”
A strange glint appeared in her eyes.
Did that hurt a little...?
I felt a pang of guilt and looked at her, but I steeled myself and chided her.
"What were you thinking?"
Thanks to her, my chronic problem with low sustain had vanished.
But she couldn't have been aiming for that… so of course, I didn't understand.
What could have possibly possessed her to give me such a precious elixir?
At my words, Cheon Yeo-wool's lips curved into a slight smile. She pointed to the sky and replied playfully, "That's what I was told to do."
She closed her eyes, clasped her hands together, and muttered as if in prayer, "Oh… merciful Goddess, please watch over us…"
“…”
Blaming the goddess she serves. The perfect all-purpose excuse.
I sighed and looked at her.
Cheon Yeo-wool wasn't the type of person you could control anyway, so I figured it was best to just write it off as an accident born from a momentary whim.
Besides, the end result was that my condition had improved beyond measure, so it felt awkward to complain too much.
"…Still, it must have taken a lot of effort to tune it. Thanks for that."
At my words of thanks, her eyes widened, and then she suddenly broke into a bashful smile.
So she can make a face like that.
It was a pure-looking smile, a little different from her usual self.
"Then can I ask you for a favor?"
"What is it?"
She hesitated, then said in a shy voice, "That flick just now… one more time…"
Before she could finish,
"You two, over there, talking?"
A heavy voice from the front of the lecture hall was directed at us.
When I turned my head, Park Gwang-cheol was on the platform, staring right at us.
"Not the Saintess. The handsome young man. Come on up."
Park Gwang-cheol pointed at me, unable to hide the smile on his face.
The eyes of the entire class focused on me at once.
It seemed we'd been a bit too loud, lost in our conversation.
Cheon Yeo-wool made way for me to pass, pretending she had nothing to do with it.
I shot her a look of disbelief.
In the end, I reluctantly made my way to the front of the platform.
"Alright, what's our young man's name?"
"Jung Hae-in."
"Jung Hae-in… Today, the professor has delegated all authority to me, so I'm giving you an F."
Is this guy crazy?
"Excuse me?"
"However, if you can solve this problem, I'll consider you to have understood the entire lecture and let it slide."
He then gestured to the problem written on the blackboard.
"Solve it."
I could hear faint laughter from the students behind me. Snickers.
They all thought I wouldn't be able to solve it.
I swallowed a sigh and examined the problem.
-Mathematically define the critical conversion rate in the process of converting the vast energy held within the Fragment of Harmony into real space, and present its limiting conditions.
Ah, fuck.
They were right.
It's a crucial part of the lore, so I know about it, but not enough to define it mathematically.
The Fragment of Harmony is a type of Authority left behind by the System—a legacy.
Simply put, it's a higher-dimensional power that transcends the concepts of this world.
To date, a total of two Fragments have been discovered worldwide. One in the USA, and one in China.
In reality, four exist in total, and they were destined for the protagonist and the three heroines.
Acquiring one doesn't make you instantly and overwhelmingly powerful; it simply adds a higher-dimensional attribute to your mana and attacks.
This attribute is fundamentally specialized for combat against Demons.
High-tier beings like Demons or Mines can only be effectively countered with this power.
There are almost no other methods.
If there were, it would be something inefficient, like pouring an unimaginable amount of divine power or mana into an attack.
But someone who would use such a method…
There was probably no one like that.
Until now, there have been countless attempts to extract the energy from the Fragments. But all of them have failed.
The reason is clear. Only those chosen by the System can draw out the power of a Fragment.
The reason Seong Si-woo is the protagonist is that he is one of those chosen by the System.
Looks like they've made some progress on this, though.
I looked at the problem again.
Since I couldn't solve it with equations, I started to derive an answer in a different way.
If we define the process of converting it into real space as 'extraction,' and assume the limiting condition is the 'System's Choice'...
I slowly began to write a few key points on the blackboard.
"The Fragment of Harmony inherently contains higher-dimensional energy."
My voice filled the lecture hall.
I continued my explanation, pointing to the descriptions and diagrams I'd written.
The sound of chalk scraped across the board.
Then, I brought it to a suitable conclusion and put down the chalk.
"...Therefore, the conclusion that extraction is impossible without a suitable vessel acts as the limiting condition..."
Finishing my sentence, I turned around.
Why is the atmosphere like this?
The lecture hall was silent.
The students who had been snickering at me were all silent.
Some of them were even taking notes on what I'd written on the board.
I turned my head to look at Park Gwang-cheol.
He was covering his mouth with his hand, but I could clearly hear him stifling his laughter.
The laughter he'd been holding back burst out.
"Pfft… Yes… I suppose you've barely avoided an F. Right, Professor...?"
I turned my head to look at the professor.
The professor had pushed up his glasses and was staring intently at the blackboard where I had laid out my theory.
A long silence followed. Then, he finally spoke.
"Student Jung Hae-in."
His voice was low and calm, but it held a strange fervor.
"Come see me in my research lab after class."
With those words, the professor left the lecture hall.
"Ahahahaha!!"
And Park Gwang-cheol finally lost it, bursting into laughter.
*
Six hours.
For six long hours.
I had to explain to the professor how I solved a yet-unproven theory and the deductive process behind it.
Park Gwang-cheol, that crazy…
I had naturally assumed it was a problem that had already been partially solved.
After all, the topic had been discussed frequently within Vanquisher lately, almost on a daily basis.
But I had no idea that none of it had been proven yet.
‘While further review is needed to determine if Student Jung Hae-in's deductive process is valid…’
The professor had paused for a moment, looking over the materials.
‘What's interesting is that it shows a framework similar to the early stages of research currently being conducted in the US.’
The professor couldn't hide his excitement as he explained various things.
But in the end, his conclusion was simple.
‘Have you ever considered going to graduate school?’
I turned him down flat and left.
I never expected to see such a dejected look on the face of a professor nearly sixty years old.
When I got outside, the sun was already setting.
My Friday…
My plan for today had been simple: attend class and then sign up for a club.
It was completely ruined.
I dragged my heavy feet back to the dormitory.
After finishing my shower and hastily drying off, I sat at my desk and opened my notebook.
I turned on the TV for some background noise.
I started to think about the opportunities I could seize this weekend.
First, I'll receive the Dongbaek Sword tomorrow morning…
What would be the best thing to go after?
As I flipped through my notes, searching for ideas, a tense voice from the TV made me stop.
-This is a breaking news report.
I turned my head to look at the TV.
[Simultaneous Mine attacks have occurred in Shanghai and Eastern Africa.]
[Hundreds of casualties reported, including A-Class Hero Ling Chao.]
The screen showed scenes of a ruined city with dark red smoke billowing into the air.
People wailing at the scene, streets in chaos, and the silhouette of a Mine standing at the center of it all.
It was a familiar picture to me.
I exhaled slowly, watching the screen.
It's begun.
Until now, the Mines had been active, but they had never launched such a full-scale assault.
Simultaneous attacks by the Mines.
This wasn't a simple incident; it was a signal that they were beginning to make their move in earnest.
And that signal also meant that I needed to start hurrying.
I picked up the notebook on the table.
With a pen, I started rewriting my weekend plans from scratch.
Acquire the Dongbaek Sword.
That's the first thing I have to do.
Once I have the sword, the next step is…
I paused my pen and thought for a moment.
A Fragment.
So far, two Fragments have been discovered. One in the US, the other in China.
And one of the remaining two is in South Korea.
"Baekdusan, Cheonji."
I sighed and clutched my head.
They call it Cheonji, but it's South Korea's most formidable and treacherous hazardous area.
Even for me, who knows its location and how to acquire it, going there right now is…
My gaze returned to the TV screen. The sky over Shanghai was filled with black clouds.
A city engulfed in flames. And people paralyzed by terror.
The scene was seared into my mind.
I picked up my pen and wrote a single phrase in my notebook.
Acquire Fragment.
I underlined it, pressing down hard.
It's something I have to do eventually.
I stood up from my seat and looked out the window.
It was time to move.