The Protagonist and the Supporting Protagonist - 3
"Cough! Cough! Ghk—!"
"Huh…?"
I'd deliberately held back. Softened the blow as much as I could.
And yet Kang Junhyuk was still hacking and wheezing, unable to draw a proper breath.
He'd wasted away, sure — but he shouldn't have been this fragile.
Measured against the original novel, we were sitting somewhere in the midsection of Arc Three: the exact stretch where Kang Junhyuk's latent potential was supposed to detonate. By now his dantian ought to have been rock-solid at all times. Once you hit Rank 5, muscle mass can drop and the dantian still holds. In the original timeline, Kang Junhyuk had already broken through to Rank 5 by the end of Arc Two.
The Kang Junhyuk in front of me, though, radiated nothing. Not a scrap of power. A body purpose-built for growth, reduced to nothing more than a pretty empty shell.
"Don't tell me you still haven't reached Rank 5."
"Hah…! Hah…! What of it!"
"You've got to be kidding me. What the hell have you been doing at the Academy this whole time? Do you have any idea what stage of the story we're in, and you still haven't hit Rank 5? In Kang Junhyuk's body?"
"Ha! Fine, you're amazing. Must feel great, possessing Bern's body — already Rank 5 or higher from the novel's opening chapter. Huh?"
I was so floored I couldn't even form a proper reply.
This was the same guy who'd been tearing into Bern's potential just moments ago — the same guy who'd possessed a body overflowing with talent that Bern never had — and he had accomplished absolutely nothing.
Even setting aside the opportunity he'd handed over to Hades, Kang Junhyuk was guaranteed to reach Rank 5. How do you fail to clear a hurdle that low?
"I've got a lot I want to say, but I'll leave you with just this: even if I'd stayed at the Academy, you never would have become Kang Junhyuk."
"Bullshit! Who the hell are you to make a baseless guess like that—!"
"Shut your mouth. Your position right now versus mine — that's all the proof my statement needs."
Kang Junhyuk sprawled on the floor, palms flat against the boards; me, looking down on him with cold eyes. No matter how hard he struggled, it was a gap he could never close. To drive the point home, I drew power up from my dantian and fixed him with a stare.
"Hh—?!"
A crushing aura slammed down on him. The pressure was more than a clear mind could endure; his body began to shake like a leaf in a gale. I wasn't even choking him, and still his breathing stopped. Cold sweat beaded across his forehead. His eyes flushed blood-red, the color drained from his skin in real time, and the frantic hammer of his pulse carried all the way to my ears.
I'd done nothing but look at him — and Kang Junhyuk was completely overwhelmed.
"…Pathetic."
Snap—!
I flicked my fingers. A magic circle bloomed beneath Kang Junhyuk, and his body floated gently into the air. Standing face-to-face with someone who couldn't even get a single word out was only going to sour my mood further.
I hurled him through the corridor window.
Crash—!
Glass exploded outward as Kang Junhyuk dwindled into the distance. I sincerely hoped our eyes would never meet again.
"Hwek! Th-that thing you just threw outside — that was a person, right?"
"…No. It was trash."
Beronica had chosen the worst possible moment to return to her lab. I reined in every scrap of power and offered her a perfectly casual smile. She blinked several times, then gave a small nod.
"Ah — so my room was dirty and you cleaned it for me! How terribly embarrassing."
"It's fine. Believe it or not, I actually enjoy taking out the trash."
Beronica almost certainly knew I'd just thrown a human being out a window. Even so, she was sharp enough to play dumb. An excellent choice. Nothing is dumber than sticking your nose into someone else's business and getting blood on your hands for the trouble.
"I've taken up quite a bit of your time. I'll be dropping by your lab often from now on, Professor — so I wish you the best of luck with your research."
"Huh? I bought the finest black tea, and you're leaving already?"
"I'll save that pleasure for next time."
I gave a light wave of my arm and left Beronica's laboratory. The completely unexpected run-in with Kang Junhyuk had cost me more time than I'd planned. There were still plenty of things I needed to grab and get out with before the Academy's evening security tightened up.
"To think Kang Junhyuk was a transmigrator the same as thee."
I know. I didn't show it, but I was pretty surprised myself.
"Having met another transmigrator before thine eyes — dost thou believe more exist?"
Hard to say. My gut tells me it's just me and Kang Junhyuk, though.
"And the reason?"
Because the guy inside Kang Junhyuk's body is the exact opposite of me in every way. Stick two people of completely opposite natures into the protagonist and the supporting protagonist, then sit back and watch. Could be some god's idea of entertainment.
"What a foul-tempered god that would be."
It's only a theory for now. Don't take it too seriously.
I said that — and still found myself agreeing with Frach wholeheartedly. If there was a being who'd drop souls into both Kang Junhyuk and Bern, the first name that sprang to mind was the author of Adokchoe. The cause of the transmigration was probably that furious complaint post I'd written and uploaded right before falling asleep. It was a setup common enough in web novels that I'd privately decided the culprit had to be the author.
"By the by — where dost thou intend to go this time?"
Hmm. The unexplored dungeon's too late for today, so I'll push that to tomorrow. Just one simple errand, then I'm heading back.
"Not bad. And what is this 'simple errand'?"
Robbing the Academy's underground vault.
I pulled a prepared mask from my pocket — a cloth with holes cut for the eyes and mouth — and tugged it over my head. With that, my identity was known to no one.
"D-Don't tell me thou meanest to commit terrorism on the very first day?"
Come on! Sure, I could force the underground vault open with raw power, but that's just barbaric. So I'm going to politely threaten the guy who has the key and do this the peaceful way!
"…This body had momentarily forgotten that her Contractor was a mad bastard."
"I never wanted to come back…"
The Headmaster of Felix Academy, returned to his post after a period of self-imposed penance, brushed a speck of dust from a displayed trophy and let out a long, heavy sigh.
Felix Academy had been founded in the royal capital by decree of the previous King Holden, raised for the grand purpose of forging heroes. For nearly three hundred years it had blazed with glory, pouring talent into the kingdom — but that brilliance belonged to a distant past.
The attempted rape of an Academy student.
One enrolled student had gotten Hades — a superstar known throughout the kingdom — drunk and dragged her to a hotel. Fortunately, Hades had come to her senses before the crime could be completed, so it remained an attempt. An attempt, however, was still a crime. The incident had exploded into public view through Hades's rest-announcement broadcast, and Felix Academy's prestige had crashed straight into the dirt.
A world-class institution for training heroes, rebranded overnight as a factory for criminals. Protests poured in. Withdrawal notices arrived in a relentless stream.
When I heard them say they couldn't entrust their sons and daughters to a place like this, I thought I would die.
The Headmaster had carried forward the will of the previous generation, sparing no effort in the cultivation of his students. He had guided them toward the paths they desired, tempered their strength so they could survive a brutal world, and taught them the wisdom to handle crises with clear heads.
And then a single jagged stone had shattered both his pride as an educator and the Academy's standing.
Where did it all go wrong…?
The Headmaster set down the trophy — gleaming on the outside, hollow within — and sank heavily into his chair. Even the Academy grounds, which had once shone so beautifully every day, looked drab and lifeless through his eyes.
Perhaps the first button was already fastened wrong.
Months had passed since the new term began. Countless things had happened in that time, but the memory that clung to the Headmaster's mind was not the attempted rape. It was a student who had appeared three days after the entrance ceremony.
A young man who had shown up out of nowhere — no incident, no scandal — and simply handed over a withdrawal form. He had thrown away the honor of admission to Felix Academy with his own two hands. And then, after unloading a string of obscenities, he had walked out looking thoroughly refreshed.
I should have grabbed him then and pestered him with questions…
But the Headmaster, stunned by the torrent of curses, had first gone blank — and then gotten angry. We don't need the likes of you either, he'd muttered to himself dozens of times. He hadn't liked the way the boy tore down the Academy he held so dear.
Now that things had come to this, though, his thoughts had changed. Perhaps he should have calmly listened to whatever complaints the boy had, then worked out remedies for the Academy's shortcomings. If he had, maybe the present disaster never would have happened.
The Headmaster thought as much, and lifted his gaze to the ceiling.
If I could meet that student again…
Creeeak—!
The door opened without a knock. The Headmaster turned toward the sound of the hinges.
And there he was — the very student from his recollection — stepping into the room. A mask covered his head, but the Headmaster recognized the frame and the posture at a glance. Years of carefully observing his students had honed an insight he trusted completely.
"Hello! Sorry to drop in unannounced, but would you mind handing over the key to the underground vault?"
The masked student stated his demand, drew his sword without the slightest preamble, and held out an open hand.
The Headmaster's brain simply stopped.
Where, exactly, had everything gone wrong?
Today, more than any other day, the Headmaster desperately wanted to retire.