The Jewel and the Hidden Past
I already had my answer prepared in case Siwoo asked about the true nature of the jewel, so I replied as if it were no big deal.
“It’s basically like an elixir.”
“...? If it’s an elixir, then it’s an elixir. What do you mean ‘like’ one?”
It didn’t grant any dramatic effects in a single moment like a true elixir would, but because it steadily strengthened the user over time, it was something that could be called an elixir yet wasn’t quite one. Truthfully, even I didn’t know exactly what the jewel was.
In the setting of Cyber Psycho, the previous academy headmaster was such a weirdo that he’d hidden several of his precious treasures in bizarre places—like the wooden puppet from earlier or the secret room inside the academy. Because of that, players could never learn the detailed information about those items. All we could know was a vague description of their abilities.
The same went for the jewel that dropped after destroying the wooden puppet. The only text attached to it was: “When consumed, greatly awakens latent potential.” No matter how you looked at it, the thing was clearly a jewel, but because of the “when consumed” part, I’d classified it as some kind of elixir. After all, Siwoo had eaten it without any side effects.
“It’s good for the body, so it’s basically an elixir. Anyway, there are no side effects or anything.”
“Hmm… But if it’s such a great elixir, why didn’t you eat it yourself and gave it to me instead?”
This guy sure is suspicious… I let out a sigh while looking into Siwoo’s curious eyes and spat out the excuse I’d prepared in advance.
“Even if I ate it, it probably wouldn’t make much difference. I got it by chance, but I figured it wouldn’t have much effect on me, so I gave it to you. Besides… the midterms are coming up soon, right? I just wanted my friend to get better grades on them.”
It hadn’t even been that long since we enrolled, yet they were already holding midterms… One might think that, but this damn academy gave midterms one month after classes started, group projects after two months, and finals after three. Important tests every single month! In a way, it was fair to say we were in exam season every day.
“Now that you mention it, the midterms are in three weeks… Good thing I ate that elixir you gave me. Thanks.”
“It’s nothing.”
“Nothing? Come on… My ability is what it is, so I loaded up on combat classes and my mana pool is tiny. If I can raise it even a little, I’d be grateful…”
Well, that made sense. Siwoo’s ability was the type that forced him to focus on magic and martial techniques in battle.
“Your ability was… Disruption, right?”
“You knew? Yeah… It’s been such a pain in the ass…”
Siwoo’s ability, Disruption, was the kind that lowered the opponent’s control over their mana, thereby weakening their powers. At first glance, one might think, ‘Wait, isn’t that just a debuff? Seems weak…’ but of course it wasn’t.
Siwoo was still the protagonist of the game, after all. His ability was ridiculously overpowered, even if it looked uncool as hell. ‘Thinking back to the aptitude evaluation, there’s no way that ability isn’t annoying.’
Siwoo’s Disruption was treated as a form of crowd control. Once activated, it made it completely impossible to use abilities or magic for several seconds. During the aptitude evaluation, students who specialized in magic or abilities would struggle helplessly in front of him and often get eliminated.
‘If he hadn’t run into that martial arts specialist in the semifinals, Siwoo might have been the one facing Camilla in the finals…’
Well, even if he used Disruption, Camilla’s magic bullets were absurdly strong. Even if he sealed her ability, it was unclear whether he could actually beat her…
Anyway, Disruption was already that broken in the early game. And its true power shone even brighter in the late game… It essentially became a passive crowd control skill.
Of course, against late-game enemies with absurdly high control and mana reserves, the effect was limited to a simple weakening for game balance. But early-game boss-level threats that became mid-game trash mobs couldn’t use any of their abilities or magic just by being near Siwoo.
‘And without that ability, it’s impossible to fight the final boss…’
That was one of the main reasons I was raising Siwoo. The final boss.
Objectively speaking, my total mana and firepower surpassed the final boss. But that didn’t mean I could win. If that were the case, I would’ve burned down the lab and everything else the moment I awakened my ability and taken out the final boss first.
Only Siwoo could face that monster.
“So study hard!”
“I’m already studying hard…?”
“Then study even harder. Anyway, I’ll head out. Unlike you, most of my classes are liberal arts, so I have to hole up in my room…”
“Hang in there…”
With those words, I parted ways with Siwoo and headed to our respective classrooms.
The following liberal arts class was incredibly boring… Incredibly so.
*
“Ugh… Is this right, Aria?”
“You’re doing well! Let’s keep going like this!”
In a private room at the girls’ dormitory, I was solving today’s liberal arts assignment with Aria’s help.
“Ah, this part is wrong. Here, you need to substitute x with 3…”
According to the in-game information, Aria’s academic ability was exceptionally high, so I didn’t hesitate to knock on her door and ask for help.
“Ah, I get it now.”
And that help was incredibly useful. My head wasn’t exactly bad, but there was no way I’d remember liberal arts material I learned twenty years ago.
Aria possessed such brilliant knowledge that her title as this year’s top scorer on the college entrance exam didn’t feel the least bit exaggerated. Most problems were solved instantly the moment I called upon Ariamong.
The only problem was…
“Alright, for this part, Miss Plea should try solving it yourself. If you apply the concept I just explained, you should be able to solve it.”
“C-can’t you just tell me the answer?”
“No can do. That won’t help your skills improve, will it?”
It seemed Aria’s goal wasn’t simply to help me with my homework, but to raise the level of my knowledge itself.
If I said I didn’t know a concept, she would kindly explain it and even show the solution. But the moment an applied problem appeared, she would switch attitudes and tell me to solve it myself. If I got it wrong, she’d make me review it carefully from the beginning…
“You really are like a teacher…”
“A teacher, huh…”
Oops. I’d only meant to think it, but it slipped out of my mouth by mistake. The moment I clapped a hand over my mouth, Aria let out a soft “Pffft” laugh as if she didn’t mind at all. Then, gazing at the ceiling as if reminiscing about the past, she said,
“Miss Plea, did you know?”
“Know what…?”
“A long time ago, I wanted to become a teacher. When I was really little… back when I was in elementary school, our teacher looked so impressive to me. I thought, ‘When I grow up, I want to be a teacher just like that!’”
“Huh… Really?”
This was the first I’d heard of it. In Cyber Psycho, Aria was a heroine, but she was ultimately a supporting character. There were over ten other heroines besides her, and since the game’s genre was superpowered fantasy rather than a dating sim, there were no stories about her past aside from the growth narrative of overcoming trauma.
That’s why I listened attentively to this first-ever tale of her past.
“Yes. When I told my teacher I wanted to become one, they asked why I wanted to be a teacher. I answered, ‘I want to become a wonderful teacher like you and teach my friends!’”
“And then?”
“I got praised. The teacher seemed really happy with my answer. They laughed and even ended the last period ten minutes early.”
“That must’ve been nice.”
“Well, in the end I changed my career path and became a hero instead.”
Aria laughed awkwardly with a “Hehe,” but if you looked closely at her bright smile, you could see the slight stiffness at the corners of her mouth and the faint droop in her eyes. Something quite unpleasant must have happened after that. In a world where demons roamed freely, the death of someone precious was something you saw all too often.
“Do you regret it?”
When I gently brought it up, Aria seemed to read my intentions. She slipped her fingers between mine and said,
“Not at all! Protecting children as a hero is just as wonderful a job as being a teacher. And… I’m still doing a bit of teaching right now, aren’t I?”
Aria smiled brightly and lightly tapped my homework. Realizing what she was getting at, I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
“Haha! Okay, okay. I won’t slack off. I’ll work hard.”
“Hehe. As expected, Miss Plea is quick on the uptake, huh?”
At first it had been a genuine slip of the tongue, but after that I’d deliberately kept the conversation going with the intention of taking a break. It looked like I’d been completely caught.
I picked up my pen again and went back to solving the problems. No matter how many times I looked at them, they were brutally difficult. But since I’d made a promise, I kept my word to Plea and maintained my concentration for about two hours, continuing with the assignment. It was only around ten o’clock that I was finally able to close my books.
“Haa… It’s done.”
“Good work, Miss Plea.”
“You worked harder. Thanks so much for carving out time from your busy schedule to help me!”
“Hehe, it was nothing. Actually… In return, could you help me with the midterms for Basic Combat Studies?”
Midterms? Had the topic for the midterms already been announced? No way… The topics for midterms were usually revealed on the day of the test. How did Aria know about it?
“Um… You look like you have a lot of questions. I was talking with Professor Dana the other day and she casually let it slip.”
“Ah, I see. I was wondering… Alright, I’ll help!”
When I readily agreed, Aria hugged me tightly, looking genuinely grateful. Well, the midterms were going to be completely ruined anyway once the demons invaded, so it didn’t really matter to me one way or the other.