Chapter 3: Extreme Han Taewon (1)
Yoon Se-a stared intently at Han Tae-won standing before her.
Honestly. She had hoped it wasn't him.
She had been about to head back to her dormitory room, when a sudden unease had crept over her.
No—to be more precise, she hadn't been able to trust him.
Clearly...... right up until they graduated from the Academy in her past life.
He had been an ordinary person.
Ah, of course, the very fact that he had been admitted to Arion Academy was already far from ordinary, but...... a year after graduation, when he had appeared as a villain.
He had taken on twenty S-rank Superhumans alone and walked away alive.
The idea that someone could become that strong in just one year made no sense at all.
He had always hovered at the very bottom of the rankings, his presence so negligible it was hard to tell whether he was even there at all.
As the storm of emotions swirling inside her finally settled.
And her head grew cold and clear once more.
She suddenly realized one thing.
Han Tae-won is definitely hiding something from me.
The moment she reached that conclusion.
She resolved to keep watch over Han Tae-won.
She couldn't let him fall into ruin like he had in her past life.
For now.......
For now, he was still the pure, bright Han Tae-won she had known.
No matter how he had ended up changing the way he did.
Now that she had returned.
She...... had to make him a Superhuman, not a villain.
If such a powerful fighter stood on humanity's side.
She might just be able to stop the calamity.
That was why, the moment she happened to catch a glimpse of Han Tae-won slipping out of the dormitory.
She had followed after him without even realizing it herself.
And...... when she saw him desperately trying to get through the window of the Abandoned School Building, she had spoken to him before she could stop herself.
"Han Tae-won."
.
.
.
.
"......."
"......."
I—or rather, we—stared at each other without a word.
Honestly, it was really awkward.
Why on earth was she here?
How did she end up here?
When did she even arrive?
Don't tell me...... she was tailing me?
Well, thoughts like that were piling up one after another when —
"You......."
Yoon Se-a's mouth opened first.
And in less than 0.01 seconds, I had an instinctive feeling.
To be more precise, the gut instinct of a seasoned veteran fired off a sharp warning.
Whatever she was about to say next would absolutely be something I wouldn't want to answer.
Before I could think, my mouth opened on its own.
"Hey! Perfect timing. Help me get up through here."
"Uh......."
Yoon Se-a stopped mid-sentence and shot me a cold look.
Cold sweat ran down my back.
Thank goodness I had that buff.
Won't Collapse!
A Han Tae-won without that buff would have had his legs give out on the spot.
For real.
Still, right now I needed her help.
There was no way I could get through that window on my own.
There was something that had to happen tomorrow.
And there was no way I could deal with it without any abilities.
So.......
I had to be a little shameless.
"I, if you keep looking at me like that...... it's, um, a bit embarrassing, y'know."
But Yoon Se-a was still glaring at me.
"Ha....... do you not remember the promise you made to me just now?"
"......."
As if I could forget.
I remember it all too well.
When she saw that I couldn't even meet her eyes.
Another small sigh came from her.
And I could see her shaking her head slowly from side to side.
Snap!
She flicked her fingers lightly.
At once, the temperature around us dropped to a chill in an instant.
W-wait, was she going to subdue me by force and......!
There was no way to dodge this.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
But...... there was no particular sensation at all.
I peeked open one eye.
And there...... was an ice ladder.
I gave her a faint smile, dipped my head slightly in thanks.
And the moment I grabbed the first rung of the ladder—
Thud!
Yoon Se-a shoved me against the wall.
The classic wall pin.
Having Yoon Se-a's cold gaze practically within ten centimeters of my face made me hiccup uncontrollably.
"Hic!"
"This place...... how did you know to come here."
I tried to turn my head away to avoid her gaze——
"Look at me."
I was forced right back.
Ha ha.
I-it's so much pressure!
She stared at me with an expression far more piercing than before and spoke.
"How. Did you know to come here, I asked."
......I had no choice.
I might as well spill everything.
"Someone told me to come here......."
Hm? Spill everything?
You might wonder. But surprisingly, not a single word of it was a lie.
Truly, someone (?) had told me to come here, and so here I was.
Yoon Se-a frowned ever so slightly and asked.
"Who."
"I don't know either......."
She held me like that for about thirty seconds before finally letting me go.
I slipped out from the wall pin and scrambled away to put some distance between us.
Then I looked back over at her.
But her long hair fell across her face, and I couldn't quite make out her expression.
Worried she might bombard me with more questions, I quickly climbed through the window.
"Hnngh!"
After clearing the windowsill and feeling my feet land on the hallway floor.
That instant.
I realized I was in a different world.
Far too instinctively.
Every window except the one I had just come through reflected a sky that was.
Red as blood.
A chill swept across every inch of my skin in that moment.
Hah.......
Seeing it for real made it terrifyingly real.
This place, and Yoon Se-a silently following behind me.
Hoo...... calm down, calm down.
Nothing was going to happen immediately.
The Abandoned School Building itself was a gateway leading into the Other Side.
But as long as I didn't leave the Building itself.
The strange things living in the Other Side wouldn't come after me.
Of course, the mirror I now had to face was a little strange......
No, a whole lot strange was more accurate.
After walking down the hallway a short while, a central staircase came into view.
And standing in the middle of it...... a single, inexplicably large full-length mirror.
I gazed at the mirror in silence.
Yoon Se-a, who had been following behind me without a word, gently took hold of my arm.
"Is this it?"
"Hm?"
"The place that whoever-it-was called you to."
"Yeah....... it is."
We had barely been looking at the mirror for a moment when —
Dong! Dong! Dong!
From where, I couldn't tell.
A hollow, muffled bell toll rang out, as if heard from underwater.
At the same time, the reflection of me inside the mirror began waving at me.
It was terrifying.
Here I was, not moving at all, and yet the me inside the mirror was waving!
And with its mouth stretched wide into a grin at that!
Just as that thing was about to try something.
A black hand suddenly shot out and slashed through it.
That is—through the me in the mirror, not me.
The me inside the mirror, split clean in two.
"Kyaaaaaah!"
Screamed.
Yoon Se-a instinctively tried to pull me away from the mirror.
But that black hand had already burst out beyond the mirror.
"Han Tae-won!"
Yoon Se-a had drawn her sword in no time and tried to slash the black hand.
But I was already being sucked inside the mirror.
And yet.
Why was this thing going for my hair!
"Hey! My hair! My hair! My hair—"
And just like that, I was completely swallowed into the mirror.
Like an endlessly deep lake.
The feeling of sinking, sinking without end into that lake.
Until the light grew distant and everything faded to black and white.
Falling to the bottom, continuously, like that.
When I finally opened my eyes.
I was in a strange space.
I slowly looked around.
Weapons everywhere.
Daggers, swords, katanas, maces, guns, bows, and more.
But these weapons...... somehow they all looked familiar?
—Tutorial beginning.
Please select a weapon.
What is this.
I stared blankly at the window.
Select a weapon......
I turned my head and looked at the weapons scattered all around.
It seemed like those were what it was referring to.
Okay. For now. This was inside the mirror.
It wasn't normally supposed to feel like this......
The surroundings were entirely without color—nothing but black and white.
Like stepping inside an old black—and—white television set.
I took a slow look around.
A desolate wasteland...... with weapons thrust into the ground.
Counting what was in front of me, there looked to be about fifteen.
That was where the flat ground ended.
Beyond that, a rugged mountain path began.
The mountain grew taller and taller until above a certain point it was hidden entirely behind clouds.
A mountain that soared as if it would pierce through the sky itself.
Weapons of various shapes lodged into it at intervals throughout.
Every single one of those weapons felt somehow familiar.
I walked toward the closest one, a dagger.
Its blade chipped away, the wrapping on the handle peeled off and roughly re-wrapped with bandaging. A dagger in that kind of shape.
A blue window appeared before my eyes.
—Round 1 Han Tae-won's Crude Dagger
Achievement Unlocked: First Steps!
Obtainable Sub Trait: Perception (D~)
As I thought.
The weapons thrust into the ground here.
They were all weapons I had used in previous rounds.
In that case.......
What could those ones up there be.
High above, impossibly far.
The upper part of the mountain, hidden behind clouds and barely visible.
Two weapons jutting through the clouds.
An enormous sword and spear, each large enough to seem like a separate mountain.
The light radiating from the sword was so bright I couldn't look at it directly.
And the spear beside it.
A spear emanating a boundlessly dark and gloomy aura.
[Ding!]
The cheerful notification sound made me look at my Status Window again.
—You are the Extreme. The extreme as Han Tae-won. You may copy the Main Traits of Han Tae-won who has achieved achievements as Sub Traits.
"......."
Am I seeing things right?
I can copy Han Tae-won's abilities.
I can copy Han Tae-won's abilitieeees?
"Kehh~! This is it!"
Now this is a perk!
A smile came to my face on its own.
"Ehehehehehe."
I even pinched my own cheek to check if it was a dream.
Mm. It hurts.
And really badly at that!
"Ow! I should have pinched softer!"
—Pull out the weapon thrust into the ground. The conditions for copying an ability will be fulfilled.
I looked at my Status Window.
Name: Han Tae-won
Grade: ??
Main Trait (Inactive): The Extreme Han Tae-won (EX)
Sub Trait (0/1): None.
The empty slot for Sub Traits was just one right now.
I needed to fill that one wisely.
Empty slots for Sub Traits could be increased as much as I wanted, given time.
But that wasn't something I could do right now.
Until Chapter 2, Sub Trait slots couldn't be increased.
No matter how fast I moved, for at least a month, I'd have to live relying only on the one ability I chose here.
"In that case......."
I passed right by the dagger in front of me.
Junk like this was no match for...... the weapons further back.
I began leisurely walking forward while running happy calculations through my head.
Ah...... should I grab something moderate, like a B-rank?
Or should I...... go all out and try an EX-rank trait?
"Hmm hmm~. What should I pick——YAAAGH!"
Thud!
My knees were forced to buckle.
It was hard to even keep my head upright.
"......!"
I was honestly shocked.
Won't Collapse!
For the entirety of March 4th, 2036, you will not collapse.
Even with this buff, I had collapsed.
No—it was only because of this buff that I ended up merely on my knees.
That was the only way I could understand it.
My eyes could barely stay open and my mouth could hardly part.
An overwhelming pressure existed before me.
As if announcing to me that I had no right to set foot here.
If I moved even a little further forward, my body would be crushed and burst.
My instincts told me so.
"Huuuuuuu......."
I moved backward as quickly as I could.
I would have liked to be able to walk backwards.
But right now there was no way I could plant my feet on the ground in any fashion.
Crawling on my knees, practically dragging myself back, was the only way I was finally able to escape that pressure.
"Huff! Huff!"
I barely managed to stagger to my feet.
Only to crumple right back down.
"Grraaaaaah! My knees! Oh my goodness!"
The agonizing pain shooting through my knees.
Blood was flowing quite freely.
On top of that, the ground was covered in sand and tiny stones, so all manner of debris had embedded itself in there too.
"Hoo! Hoo!"
It hurt badly enough to make my eyes water.
"Ugh...... honestly."
Grimacing through the pain as I checked the wounds on my knees, I limped back to where I had started on both legs.
For now, the abilities far in the distance were out of reach.......
I needed to think.
What ability did I need the most right now?
I slowly looked over each weapon.
—Round 22 Han Tae-won's Standard-Issue Sword
Achievement Unlocked: The Swordsman's Path!
Obtainable Sub Trait: Swordsmanship (D~)
Hmm...... for now, Swordsmanship wasn't something I could use right away...... it was too oriented toward the late game.
It was an ability I could easily obtain again, so there was no real reason to pick it here.
—Round 27 Han Tae-won's Standard-Issue Sword
Achievement Unlocked: Swift Strike!
Obtainable Sub Trait: Consecutive Strike (C)
An offensive trait wasn't useful right now either.......
No matter how much I looked, the only worthwhile trait was.......
This one.
—Round 1 Han Tae-won's Crude Dagger
Obtainable Sub Trait: Perception (D~)
Perception.
Maybe just from the name alone one couldn't be sure, but.
It was a trait that enhanced all senses.
Killing intent, gazes—that kind of energy-reading. It might allow me to sense those things, plus enhance eyesight, dynamic vision, and more.
To survive, this was the best option.
On top of that, it was a growth-type trait, so if I kept developing it, I could obtain a perception practically bordering on foresight.
I slowly grabbed the dagger and pulled.
"Hnnngh!"
I-it wasn't that it couldn't be pulled out.
Just that it wouldn't come out easily.
I let go of the dagger for a moment and reset my stance.
"Grraaawwgh!"
I could feel the veins on my forehead rising.
Creeak!
Slowly, the dagger began to pull free from the ground.
I truly strained every last bit of strength I had.
And finally, barely, I pulled the dagger free.
—Ding!
—Sub Trait: Perception (D~) has been acquired.
In that instant.
It felt like my world had expanded.
From my field of vision, to sounds, smells, touch, even taste.
It wasn't that everything was dramatically...... improved.
But still...... it was no longer in the realm of what a normal human being could perceive.
"Finally......!"
I happily raised the dagger I had pulled free.
At that very moment, strange black smoke began clumping and swirling together.
—Combat against a mirror illusion is about to begin. To exit the Mirror World, you must win in combat against the illusion. Good luck.
"Ha....... of course."
Tsk, I thought things had been suspiciously battle-free.
My knees...... still hurt so much.
But...... I couldn't just stand still here.
Slowly...... I rose to my feet and took my stance.
The swirling smoke had by now clumped together into the complete shape of a person.
One that looked exactly like me.
The thing mirrored my stance exactly.
But something about it was sloppy.
Hmm.......
Right.
Come to think of it, that thing.
It was Round 1 Han Tae-won!
Then this was a piece of cake.
Round 1 Han Tae-won was practically a free win.
You might think, well aren't you also a free win? But.
Maybe it was because I had watched so many fights.
My body responded...... more willingly than expected.
As if my body itself remembered. Naturally.
As we were sizing each other up like that.
The thing suddenly charged at me.
When the distance between us and it was about ten steps away!
It suddenly executed a back roll.
Three times in a row at that.
At the same time, I couldn't help but slap my forehead.
I'm, I'm so embarrassed.......
Deeply embarrassing.
The enemy before my eyes.
Was flailing around absurdly.
Even when out of range, it would swing the dagger once or twice for no reason.
If I took one step forward it would roll backwards like mad.
When its stamina had just about run dry from all that.
I casually stepped in and landed a light hit.
At that, the thing startled and scrambled furiously backwards.
"......."
Why...... was I always the one feeling embarrassed.
That kind of one-sided exchange went on for five minutes.
The thing, being Han Tae-won after all, sharply aimed for openings and swung its dagger at me.
But if I couldn't even dodge this kind of attack, I'd have no right to call myself a seasoned veteran.
At the perfect moment, I rolled backwards to evade, then immediately countered.
The result.
My body was clean, without a single scratch.
While the thing's body was covered in wounds.
And then a brief lull set in.
A look of bewilderment spread across Round 1 Han Tae-won's face.
I could have gone in for the kill right then, but to eliminate any possible risks.
Even if it was the starting of Han Tae-won, Han Tae-won was still Han Tae-won.
No matter how much of an easy opponent they were, I wouldn't let my guard—
"Hey hey! Where are you going!"
The thing suddenly turned around and broke into a run.
I had forgotten.
Round 1 Han Tae-won.
Was a god at running away.
"Stop right there!"
Our running speed was identical so I couldn't catch up.
Well...... it had lost some blood so its speed had slowed a little.
But catching it was still a long way off.
But!
That thing couldn't get past that side over there either......!
"It went over?!"
No wait, what?!
How come it can and I can't!
Why is the standard so strict only when it comes to me!
I was furious but there wasn't really anything I could do.
I tried reaching my hand out just in case.
But my hand kept trying to stick to the floor so I gave up.
Round 1 Han Tae-won over there seemed to have noticed I couldn't get past this point.
It flashed me a grin I really didn't like.
And then it suddenly did something unexpected.
It was trying to pull out a new weapon!
It had used its head in its own way.
Knowing it couldn't win in a direct fight against me.
It seemed like it was planning to use a weapon with longer reach to beat me one-sidedly from a distance in a cowardly fashion.
"Hey hey hey! What do you think you're doing!"
It ignored me and pulled the weapon out in one motion.
When I saw the weapon that came fully free, I was left speechless.
More precisely, it was the Status Window that appeared before my eyes that left me speechless.
—Combat against a mirror illusion is about to begin. To exit the Mirror World, you must win in combat against the illusion. Good luck.
Soon another smoke began swirling together and conjured yet another version of me.
The newly created illusion stood still for a moment.
Round 1 Han Tae-won also seemed to sense something had gone wrong and looked over at it.
My own Perception had clearly picked it up too, so it must have felt it as well.
The difference in caliber.
There was no winning against that one.
Thud! Thud! Thuud!
Something had clearly happened.
Because Round 1's illusion was dissolving into smoke.
But I hadn't seen what happened.
Ding!
The mirror illusion has been defeated. Perception (D~) is permanently acquired!
This was...... good, but.
I dismissed the window that appeared before me and fixed my gaze forward.
I tried to rack my brain as hard as I could.
What round was that sword acquired in.
What kind of ability did it have.
The list of candidates was too long.
The information was far too scarce.
The thing slowly approached me.
But I didn't dare move rashly.
If I turned and ran here, I would definitely die.
I was no match for it in speed.
That Han Tae-won seemed to be at least B-rank.
For now I slowly retreated, backing away step by step.
Wait, but I had called out the illusion I'd pulled free and it had died.
Shouldn't it release me then.
What kind of terrible luck was this.
The distance between the thing and me was about thirty steps.
But in the time it took me to blink once, it was right in front of me.
My Perception told me something was rushing toward me at great speed.
"Hsssh!"
Thud! Thud!
I thought I had hurriedly leapt backwards to dodge it but.......
One each on my leg and left arm. Puncture wounds.
It hurt.
I genuinely wanted to collapse right then and there clutching my wounds.
"Huuuuuuuu."
But I gripped the dagger in my hand even tighter.
"I can't die here."
Perception might sound like a passive skill from the name alone.
Of course there was a passive stat buff for sensory enhancement.
But it was actually an active skill.
A skill that pushes one specific sense to its absolute limit.
The cooldown was still a bit long and there were side effects, so I'd been trying not to use it.
But what choice did I have.
If I wanted to live, I had to use it.
Perception (D~) has been activated.
All stats related to vision are temporarily elevated.
In that instant, the world seemed to slow down entirely.
At the same time, the thing thrust its sword at me.
And I saw the mirage-like mana shining on its sword.
Ah, could it be.
I desperately pulled my body back.
But I already knew it was too late.
That thing's blade would hit my heart dead on.
Of course.
I was twisting my body as much as I could right now.
But even so, it was clear I couldn't avoid a fatal wound.
I closed my eyes.
Was this really how it ended, so pointlessly.
Of course not.
My eyes snapped open and I tried to twist the sword aside as hard as I could.
It couldn't end here.
If I died from this, I'd have to hand back my seasoned veteran title.
As I was struggling with everything I had just to survive.
Crackkk!
Some kind of sound was heard.
And then my body tilted to one side all of a sudden?
"Wh-whoa?"
What was this, my legs were giving out......
"—or so I thought—AAAAAAAAAH!!"
With the sensation of the ground giving way beneath me, I began falling endlessly.
Crash!