Chapter 51
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: The Truth (2)
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Last night at 10 PM, the world was stunned by the appearance of a super-massive crack in the skies above Seoul.
Friday morning, in the classroom.
The voice of a news anchor rang out loudly from someone's smartphone.
Experts say the incident could have obliterated the Republic of Korea itself. Fortunately, however, the crack vanished before it could even fully open.
...Heh.
As I half-listened to the news, I desperately avoided Ha Siyeon's gaze.
Her stare was just too intense.
Who could have possibly made this crack disappear? We at KBC Broadcasting have found a definitive answer to that question. First, let's take a look at this footage.
I couldn't see the screen, but I didn't need to.
I knew it was playing high-definition footage shot by a drone.
Footage of me, in my peculiar outfit and theatrical mask.
Beautiful white wings. The ability to manipulate light. Experts have suggested this could be a member of the 'Celestial Tribe,' a race thought to exist only in legend.
Honestly, I was in such a state that I didn't even realize I was being filmed by a drone. Looking back now with a clear head, it was incredibly reckless.
Still, it seemed my identity hadn't been exposed, which was a huge relief.
Is it a real angel?
Of course it's real, you idiot. Didn't you hear from the upperclassmen? The crack's mana density was over a million.
...A million?
Yeah, you dolt! Who else but a legendary being like an angel could close something like that before it even opened?
The air was buzzing with talk about yesterday's great crack.
Man, whatever the case, long live the angel. My brother works in the situation room, and he said it was absolute chaos yesterday. Said he was prepared to die.
This is all thanks to my constant prayers.
Bullshit.
Most of it was praise for the angel.
As the person in question, it was incredibly embarrassing. After all, while I was the one who closed the crack, I was also the one who opened it. All I did was clean up my own mess. It was nothing to be thanked for.
Anyway, how long was Ha Siyeon planning to keep staring like that?
...Ah. What is it?
There's only so long you can avoid a gaze. I finally met Ha Siyeon's intense stare and asked.
Oh, it's nothing. Just that, whoever that angel is, they seem so amazing!
Ah, is that so?
Ha Siyeon seemed absolutely certain that I was the one who handled things yesterday.
Then again, if I were in her shoes, I'd think the same thing.
...You get me?
My eyes conveyed a silent demand: keep this a secret.
Huh? Oh. Of course! Definitely!
Then could you maybe stop staring so intensely before the others get suspicious?
Ah. Right. Sorry. Hehe.
Ha Siyeon stuck her tongue out slightly and giggled.
Well then, Seoyul. I'll go back to my seat. See you later.
Yeah.
Go on, get out of here.
I need some time to think alone.
I waved her away.
As Ha Siyeon returned to her seat, I tuned out the voices of my classmates, letting them become white noise as I sank into thought.
Yesterday was really...
I thought I was going to die...
Strictly speaking, my ability isn't an ability at all, but a bug stemming from a system error.
It's only natural for the system to detect a bug if it keeps getting compounded.
I had overlooked that simple fact.
The tattoo itself was a warning sign.
Green meant it was still safe.
Red meant I should start being cautious.
Black meant I had to stop.
If I had ignored that warning and acquired the trait, the vaccine program would have activated, just like yesterday.
Come to think of it, this is so unfair.
I mean, it told me to be careful with black, and I was!
But it never said anything about being careful with items that had trait restrictions.
How was I supposed to know you couldn't equip multiple items with trait restrictions?
Ah, I want to punch Kim Shin Hyeong so damn hard in the solar plexus.
Of course, he did prepare a solution, so I managed to resolve it somehow.
But when you think about it, that makes it even worse. It's like he gave me the disease and the cure at the same time.
Anyway, when I see that Hyeong, I'm going to punch him in the solar plexus with everything I've got.
Sigh.
Still, I learned a lot from this incident.
Now that I know what to watch out for, I won't make the same mistake again.
It was also a reminder that my ability is a type of bug.
But I still have no idea what that Hyeong is trying to do.
Kim Shin Hyeong is definitely the one who sent me into this novel's world.
But I just can't figure out his intentions.
He just threw me into this world for no reason.
Then there was no news from him at all.
Suddenly, he sends a strange code as a warning.
And in the end, he even gives me an anti-vaccine to deal with the vaccine program.
It feels like the details don't add up.
If he put me here to torment me, he wouldn't have helped like this.
If he put me here because he wanted something from me, he would have helped me properly from the start.
Why is it a mix of both?
...I really don't get it.
In any case, my situation hasn't changed much.
Everything is still up in the air, and there's no clear solution.
Whether I get it or not, I have no choice but to shut up and get stronger.
If I don't want to die, I have to get stronger. What else can I do?
Once I'm strong enough to see this world's ending, something will probably come of it.
...And the stronger I get, the harder I can punch him in the solar plexus later.
I'm seriously going to punch a hole through his chest.
Just you wait.
*Grit.*
I steeled my resolve once more.
Hi, Jia.
Yeah. Good morning.
It was then that Jia entered the classroom.
She exchanged greetings with a few friends, then trudged over to me.
Hi, Seoyul.
Jia greeted me with a very bright smile.
Hey.
I greeted her back, my mind drifting to what had happened with her last night.
When Jia saw me unfurl my Celestial Wings (), she had shouted that I was a half-elf.
She said she'd had a hunch after seeing the translucent flames I used.
I was momentarily stunned, wondering what kind of nonsense she was spouting.
But I quickly decided to play along with the misunderstanding.
I didn't know the details, but it seemed a thousand times better than revealing that I didn't have a System (Status Window).
I'd told her we'd talk about the details tomorrow, so I needed to do some research on half-elves before then.
I wonder if the grand library on campus has any information.
***
That night.
I was on the phone with Yuhwa. A video call, no less.
Here, is this good?
The camera was pointed at my left hand, at the ring Yuhwa had given me, the one with the [Mana Sensitivity Trait Holder Restriction].
At my hand, wearing the [Mana's Grace].
Yuhwa had demanded to know why I'd lied about having [Mana Sensitivity], so I was in the process of defending myself.
...It's real. Then why did it have a rejection reaction back then?
I have no idea.
That's strange. Could it be that the aftershocks from the great crack's mana caused some kind of strange resonance phenomenon?
That could be it.
The rejection reaction from [Mana's Grace] that day was simply because it conflicted with [Mastery of Arms].
If I took off [Mastery of Arms] before putting on [Mana's Grace], there was no problem.
In any case, it seems you weren't lying.
Of course not. Why would I lie about having a trait I don't possess?
I moved the camera back to my face.
That's true. It's not like you were going to resell it.
I could see Yuhwa on the other side of the screen.
She was wearing rather cute pajamas.
She held her phone with one hand and was playing with Geumho with the other.
Anyway, thank you. I'll make good use of it.
Don't mention it.
[Mastery of Arms] is so overpowered that I probably won't have many opportunities to use [Mana's Grace].
But the more the merrier.
Ah, by the way, I'm just asking this on the off chance.
Yuhwa's gaze narrowed.
She had a suspicious look on her face.
That angel. It wasn't you, was it?
It was a question I had expected.
It wasn't.
Really?
Really.
Hmm. Then I suppose it's just a coincidence that the angel's mana manifested near the dorms?
What a remarkable coincidence.
I stonewalled her.
I knew this question was coming, so I had prepared for it.
My facial expression was perfect!
I suppose so. It doesn't make sense for you to be an angel. And considering your expression yesterday, it's convincing enough.
What about my expression?
You're asking because you don't know? Yesterday, you had 'I'm having a mental breakdown!' written all over your face. If you were the angel who closed the crack, you wouldn't have been so flustered, would you?
Ahem.
It was an extremely rational deduction.
I was pretty panicked yesterday.
But things really have been taking a strange turn lately.
How so?
Yuhwa said casually, stroking Geumho's head.
There's been a continuous string of unexplainable events, right? The Demon's Advent incident. The Full Bloom Phenomenon. The appearance of this unprecedented great crack. And now, the celestial being scandal.
...
Except for the Demon's Advent, I was the cause of all of them.
I'm worried something truly terrible is going to happen at this rate.
She has good instincts.
There really is an earth-shattering event waiting to happen.
Two of them, in fact.
Come on. Could anything be bigger than the appearance of this great crack?
Though right now, I can't tell anyone.
I suppose you're right.
Yuhwa laughed sheepishly.
You should get some sleep before it gets too late. You must be tired, not having slept a wink since dawn yesterday.
The fatigue was plain on Yuhwa's face through the screen.
Yeah. It's getting hard to stay awake.
Yuhwa let out a small yawn.
Well then, sleep well. Geumho. You say good night, too.
Nyaa.
Geumho bowed his head toward the camera.
Yeah. You sleep tight, Geumho. You too, Yuhwa.
Okay.
With that, the call ended.
Ugh~
I tossed my phone to the corner of the bed and flopped down.
Lying there, I recalled Yuhwa's words.
The Demon's Advent, the Full Bloom Phenomenon, the appearance of the great crack, the celestial being scandal.
All four of these things never happened in the original story.
They were irregular events that occurred because of an anomaly like me.
I wondered if these four events would cause some sort of backlash.
Mulling over such things, I drifted off to sleep.
***
Saturday afternoon.
I had called Jia to my room to talk.
*Fwoosh*
Whoa.
An exclamation of awe escaped Jia's lips the moment I spread my wings.
Jia, just as you said, I'm a half-breed of a celestial and an elf.
The lies were rolling off my tongue now.
I didn't even feel guilty anymore.
Sorry for hiding it. Are you disappointed?
This morning, I had snuck over to the library to look up records on half-elves.
I couldn't find any records about celestial-elf half-breeds,
but there were quite a few about human-elf half-breeds.
It was just like the clich in fantasy novels.
There were numerous records stating that half-breeds were heretical beings, ostracized by both humans and elves.
Jia must be secretly disappointed that I wasn't a pure-blooded elf.
No, no! Disappointed? How could you say such a thing!
...Huh?
But there wasn't a trace of disappointment on Jia's face.
If anything, she seemed even more excited than usual.
Of course, it's true that half-elves are ostracized, but our family is also directly descended from half-elves. Why would I be disappointed?
Ah.
Jia's tone was somehow more respectful than usual.
Besides, you're not just any ordinary half-elf, but a miraculous being born from a celestial and an elf...
Her eyes were practically shooting stars.
This was the most intense stare I had ever received.
Wait, more importantly, a miraculous being?
To be disappointed in the presence of a descendant of the first great hero, Reine Linefield-nim! It's unthinkable!
The first great hero, Rei... what?
Allow me to greet you again properly. Seonjonim. No.
Jia knelt gracefully and bowed to me.
Progenitor.
?
Somehow, the title got an upgrade.