Daily Outing Log
The blade exploded. Again.
"Why the hell does this keep blowing up?"
"The mana is repelling against the other material, causing an explosion."
"Then is something like aura completely impossible?"
"Plenty of people have already been carted off after trying that exact bullshit."
My aura... my dream.... I loved you, even if it was only for a moment, you son of a bitch.
Professor Marina left me there with blood dripping from my eyes and headed off to submit an incident report, shoulders slumped. She kept muttering "My pension..." with completely dead eyes.
[She's a civil servant, so she's probably sensitive about her pension.]
"No, isn't the fact that my eyeball is fucked up way more important?"
[At this point, one bad eye won't even be noticeable on a complete idiot like you.]
"....Yeah, when you put it like that, it kinda makes sense."
At some point I had started accepting the fact that I was a complete idiot as completely natural.
Which brought us to right now.
"Hold still. I'll be done in a second."
"...I'm holding perfectly still, but your hand is vibrating like a fucking vibrator."
"H-here I go! Hiyah!"
"Ack!!! Don't shake it while you're pulling it out!!!"
I was currently in the infirmary getting a blade pulled out of my eye. Thanks to my adamantium skull, the rest of my head had only suffered scratches, but my eye was a lost cause.
"There, I finally got it all out! I told you not to move."
"I wasn't moving, you damn bitch."
The woman in front of me was someone I'd never seen before. She looked young, wearing a white coat and pushing up her glasses while proudly admiring her medical handiwork.
"This is my first time actually doing it in person, so I'm really glad it worked."
"....In person?"
"Yes! I got assigned here right after graduating!"
I'd heard that Ye-lim had finally gotten pregnant and was currently on paid leave. The new person assigned to fill that vacancy was the woman standing in front of me.
"I'm late on introductions. My name is Yoo Hana!"
"Nice to meet you. I'm Kim Shinu."
"How did your eye end up in this state?"
"...I paid the price for an unattainable dream."
Yoo Hana asked while pouring a red liquid into my eye socket. Then she accidentally dropped the glass bottle she was holding, and my pupil made intimate contact with it. It hurt like absolute hell, obviously.
"Fuck, just kill me already!!!"
"It's fine. I already poured the potion on it, so it'll heal gradually."
"Stop with the multi-position bullshit and just pick one—heal or damage."
Still, the potion's effect was undeniable. A burning sensation spread through the inside of my eye as my lost vision slowly started to return.
Once my sight had mostly recovered, Yoo Hana examined my eye closely.
"Doesn't look like there's any major abnormality."
"Since you already used the potion, can you also get rid of the scar on my eye?"
"For some reason, potions can't remove scars on their own."
[Does that even make sense?]
"It's happened more than once or twice by now, so let's just chalk it up to novel logic and move on."
While staring at my eye, Yoo Hana suddenly spoke with a fascinated tone.
"Still, this is my first time seeing a real odd eye!"
".......Huh?? Odd eye? Me?"
"Wait, wasn't your original eye color red? I don't think there's any discoloration side effect from the potion."
I quickly moved in front of a mirror and started examining my left eye. There was a long scar running from top to bottom. And in the middle of it, my left eye. The pupil inside wasn't the usual black.
It was a vivid, brilliant red.
I left the infirmary and returned to the dormitory. I still couldn't believe what had happened, so I checked in the mirror again, but my left eye really was red.
[My dear, you've truly become a true vampire now.]
"Fuck... this has to be a dream..."
A dream of a vampire. Was I dreaming of being a vampire, or was the vampire dreaming of me? Either way, one thing was certain—someone's eye was red.
[Will you learn the Director's Fist Technique or the Director's Sword Technique now?]
"That belongs to Mr. Kim Catt, so no copyright infringement, thanks."
At that moment, something occurred to me.
A scar running down the left side. A red pupil.
Oh shit.
"I'm so fucked. Am I gonna get reported for copying Kakashi the Copy Ninja's design?"
[It's fine. If it comes to that, we'll just gouge the eye out.]
"Give me back my eye, you bastard."
Right then, my phone started vibrating. The sender was the lizard beastman.
That ended our conversation.
As I lay in bed reviewing the Cheonma Repulsor I'd learned today, Piece spoke up.
[How exactly do you plan to wreck the Academy?]
"Not right away. And you can't destroy something with just one video unless you're a monster like Park."
[I see. You have a plan after all.]
".....When you say it like that, it makes me really anxious, so please stop."
Orochimaru-nim, please watch over me. The destruction of the Leaf Village that you could not achieve. I will accomplish it.
During the weekdays, I practiced the Cheonma Repulsor every practical training session. Naturally, the first few times I used it on a monster, my arm kept exploding in the beginning. But like the old saying about a dog at a temple learning to recite scriptures after three years, the frequency of my arm exploding gradually decreased.
By Friday, I was able to use it without any injuries at all.
The only problem was—
[It eats up an insane amount of mana.]
[Even loan sharks wouldn't take this much.]
After using the Cheonma Repulsor repeatedly, I figured out its limit. Five times maximum. Even after using all of them, I could still move my body, but after that I couldn't do anything—no body reinforcement, nothing.
[Premature ejaculation.]
"You fucking bitch."
The weekdays were just a cycle of classes and cafeteria work. And finally, the weekend arrived. I'd been waiting for this day alone.
Starting from the second semester, first-years were also allowed to go out on weekends. Naturally, the Academy didn't interfere with anything you did during your time out. Who you met, where you went—it was all up to you.
At the same time, you could also raise your rank. All you had to do was go outside during this period and complete requests from guilds affiliated with the Academy.
[Still, being able to go out is a good thing, isn't it?]
"Fuck, what am I supposed to do if I go out on the weekend? I need to go out on weekdays."
Separately from that, my bank account was frozen. Because the bank only operated on weekdays.
The Academy only allowed the use of fixed gates when performing guild requests. Each gate was connected to the inside of a guild, which greatly shortened travel time.
And right now.
I, Hye-ji, and Jung Ayeon were waiting for the gate to open.
"Hye-ji. What about Elsia?"
"She went dark after saying she was doing coins last time. No contact since."
"She probably killed herself."
"My lord, it has opened."
The moment the gate opened, we stepped through. The place we were heading to was a guild that Jung Ayeon had recommended.
The moment we stepped out of the gate, what greeted us was a space that looked exactly like a training ground from a martial arts novel. Everyone walking around inside was wearing traditional training uniforms.
The only thing that felt out of place was the receptionist sitting in the middle of the building and the single computer there.
"Hey, Jung Ayeon."
"......What is it, my lord?"
"You brought us to a place absolutely dripping with personal bias."
"......Be quiet."
Jung Ayeon subtly started avoiding my gaze. Meanwhile, Hye-ji looked extremely displeased.
"Shinu, these bastards' eyes look like shit. Should I just start shooting?"
"Don't say you're gonna shoot people the second we arrive."
It was true that in this martial arts concept guild, the only people not wearing training uniforms were me and Hye-ji. Naturally, all eyes focused on us.
Just as I was starting to feel the weight of all those stares—
In the distance, I saw the martial artist group I'd completely wrecked back at the Academy. At the center of the group was Maegal, pointing fingers everywhere.
Then some of them suddenly pointed at us. Naturally, irritation surged through me.
"But these guys are literally 'no people' (無人), so it's fine to wreck them."
"Wakatta."
"My lord! You used the wrong character! It's 'martial person' (武人)!"
"No, it's 'no people' (無人). There isn't a single human being among them."
"Stop it!! This is a place this lady wants to join later!!"
Jung Ayeon spoke as if half-pleading. In that case, I had to respond to her earnestness.
"Hye-ji, since Ayeon wants to join, give the interior a nice remodeling too."
"Roger that."
"Stop right there!!!"
The moment Hye-ji instantly started charging up, the group of martial artists that had been pointing at us scattered in every direction. Like cockroaches that had been spotted suddenly vanishing all at once.
Jung Ayeon desperately tried to stop Hye-ji, who was about to remodel the place with guns and gunpowder, and dragged us over to the receptionist.
"Welcome. You're from the Academy, right?"
"Yes, we came to try doing a request."
"Please hand over your student IDs here and choose one of these."
The receptionist took our student IDs and handed us a tablet instead. The screen displayed various requests. From simple errands like delivering items or finding people to dangerous monster subjugations. The variety was wide, and so were the contents.
The request list was updating and disappearing in real time.
"Could you filter it to only subjugation requests?"
"Is this your first request? Are you sure you'll be okay?"
"Yes, we have asymmetric weapons on our side."
"...I see. Understood."
The receptionist handed the tablet back with a slightly awkward expression. The moment I received it and was about to check the requests—
A heavy thudding sound suddenly started echoing.
"What is that? What is this sound?"
"Ah, it's nothing."
The receptionist spoke as if it were no big deal, but the sound was gradually getting louder. Then—
The wall right next to the guild entrance shattered with a tremendous roar.
[Just in case, get ready.]
"Roar. Cheonma Repulsor."
Through the raining debris, a massive silhouette appeared hazily. The moment I tensed my entire body, ready to fight at any second, the blurry figure started becoming clear.
The being that appeared with such a flashy entrance was—
"Hm? Why are you here?"
None other than Cheonma himself.