Chapter 4: Extreme Han Taewon (2)
Beep! Beep!
The rhythmic mechanical sound made me slowly open my eyes.
Hmm…… An unfamiliar ceiling.
Why an unfamiliar ceiling?
I slowly sat up and looked around.
IV drips and a heart rate monitor—the kind of equipment you'd only expect to see in an emergency room or hospital.
It was practically identical to the equipment at some university hospital.
On top of that, everything around me was white.
The bedsheet was white, the pillow was white, even the curtain drawn around the bed was white.
I feel like I'm going to develop a complex.
"Are you awake?"
Someone pulled back the curtain and spoke to me.
A woman with a distinctive mix of white and black hair stood beside the bed.
Embroidered on her white coat in blue thread were the words: Healing Department Professor, Bae Jang-hwa.
"Hmm…… No problems detected, and your minor cuts and knee wound have all been treated, so once the IV is done, you can head back."
"Ah, yes……."
She smiled gently and drew the curtain again.
Hmm…….
This is awkward.
Why am I suddenly here.
Even after finishing the IV, I still didn't know the reason.
.
.
.
.
I wanted to collapse onto the bed the moment I arrived at the dormitory and fall asleep.
But I dragged my heavy body over to the desk and sat down.
One thing was clear.
I needed to make a plan going forward.
Let me slowly sort through what I gained today.
I opened the window that had been blinking at me for a while.
—Name: Han Tae-won
Grade: E?
Main Trait: The Extreme Han Tae-won (EX)—Unlocked!
Sub Trait (1/1): Perception (D~)
First of all, my Main Trait, The Extreme Han Tae-won (EX), had been unlocked.
Finally!
Hmm…….
Wait, what's this.
—Hidden Trait Unlock Bonus!
Mirror Shard of the Other Side (S) acquired! Please check your inventory.
What…… the heck is this?
I hurriedly opened my inventory and checked the item.
—Mirror Shard of the Other Side
Grade: S
Trait: By infusing it with mana, you can enter the Other Side at any time.
"S, S-graaade!"
I already got an S-rank item?
Is the balance okay here?!
S-rank…….
Well, for me it's something I can always get and obtain.
But that doesn't mean it's something obtainable before even starting the tutorial.
And yet…… I already got it?
"Hehehehehe!"
This is pretty great, huh?
Of course…….
Given that it's an S-rank item obtained in the early stages.
It's not exactly overwhelming in terms of power for an S-rank, but.
Even so, there are ways to make good use of it.
This thing has no durability.
In other words. It has infinite durability.
This trash game has weapon durability, so no matter how good a piece of equipment is, once its durability runs out, it breaks.
What an absolutely ridiculous situation.
Normally armor has easy repair options and magic that enables auto-recovery, but.
Weapons don't.
But this one will never have that problem!
It's not a weapon—why are we even talking about durability!
You might say that, but.
It's a mirror shard that's at least a hand-span across.
As everyone knows, mirror shards are sharp objects that cut extremely well.
In other words, this is more than sufficient to use as a weapon.
Of course, I won't be able to use the trait attached to the weapon just yet, but.
For now, the bigger upside is that I won't need to keep trekking all the way to that distant Abandoned School Building to gain abilities.
That covers the Main Trait.
Now for the Sub Trait I gained alongside it—Perception (D~).
Everything had definitely become much more perceptible since I obtained it.
My vision seemed sharper, and my hearing had improved too.
And how should I describe this…….
Should I say I can sense the air better?
I could even feel the subtle flows of air in this room.
And on top of that…….
A sensation completely absent from my previous world.
Something denser than the air we breathe, with a cool, refreshing quality.
"So this must be mana."
I silently tried to sense the mana.
And I realized something.
"Me……. Not even a single grain of mana in my body……."
To be precise, it's not that there's none at all.
But having exactly one grain is the problem.
And here, a sudden question came to mind.
"How did I even pass the Academy entrance exam?"
Truly no idea.
Hmm…….
Every time I started the game, it always began from the Academy entrance ceremony……
Since I never actually took the entrance exam myself, I can't be sure, but.
According to the lore, Arion Academy was the top Superhuman-training academy in this world.
Everything about it was the best.
The student education facilities, the training facilities, the professors, the welfare.
Best of the best, without exaggeration……
Naturally, the cadets selected would be children boasting the greatest talent in the world……
How did someone like Han Tae-won even get in…….
I tried to puzzle it out, then gave up.
It's not that important anyway.
It's not like knowing helps with my survival going forward.
Back to Perception.
Just being able to sense mana is, for now, a pass.
Being able to sense mana naturally leads to being able to control it, after all.
Alright, setting mana aside.
Now that I know my current strength, it's time to form a plan.
What's coming tomorrow is.
The official tutorial of this game (and new-player culling machine)!
None other than the Class Placement Test.
Well, even calling it a tutorial grandly……
There wasn't that much I could actually do there.
In the midst of B~D-rank kids.
What could an E-ranker like me possibly accomplish.
I'll just…… grab one Hidden Piece and get out.
To begin with…… Yoon Se-a is also a problem.
I have to admit I'm a little worried.
It's not her I'm worried about—it's myself.
She's a Returner.
Meaning she remembers the events of a previous round, a previous life.
In that case…….
What if my actions differ even slightly from the previous round?
I have no idea what Yoon Se-a would think.
She might believe I remember something from a past life.
Or she might think something changed because of her.
But, to be honest.
Both of those are dangerous.
The former could become the decisive trigger that makes her decide she needs to kill me.
Haha.
And the latter! That's actually the bigger problem.
Do you know what my one and only advantage is?
It's information.
Knowing what will happen in the future.
That's my greatest weapon and the thing most directly tied to my survival.
At the very least…….
At the very least, that can't be twisted before I graduate from the Academy.
No.
At the absolute bare minimum, I just want it to hold until I finish my first year.
Because by then, whatever changes, I'll have grown strong enough to respond to them in the meantime.
"Hmm……."
For now, maintain the early-game play as-is.
I'll worry about what comes after when it comes.
Future matters can be handled by the future Han Tae-won.
As for right now—tomorrow.
No wait, today.
When did it pass midnight.
I turned off the lamp installed in my dormitory room.
Time to sleep.
Nothing major to do today.
Yoon Se-a probably won't find any reason to be suspicious either.
But wait, where did Yoon Se-a go?
Surely she didn't just abandon me the moment I got sucked into the mirror?
"That girl, really……."
No matter how much she hated me in a past life, that's still something.
That was too much, really too much…….
.
.
.
.
Bae Jang-hwa waved at the male student who bowed his head toward her and walked out.
"The energy of youth~."
She murmured those words softly and walked to the bed at the very back of the infirmary.
"Cadet Yoon Se-a."
There lay Yoon Se-a, dripping with cold sweat.
The child slowly opened her eyes at the sound of her name, groaning as she met her gaze.
There was dried blood around her mouth and nose, and the state of her body, when viewed with mana, was not in good condition.
"For now, I've contained the mana overflow, so rest a little longer before you go."
"Yes……."
Cadet Yoon Se-a closed her eyes again.
Bae Jang-hwa applied a few more healing spells to her and returned to her seat.
Youth.
Youth it is, since she doesn't spare her body.
She had been so startled when the girl arrived in clearly abnormal condition, carrying a boy on her back.
That boy was truly blessed.
She thought that, her smile deepening on her face.
.
.
.
.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
I opened my eyes to the alarm.
Looking out the window, bright sunlight was streaming down beautifully.
Outside, the birds could be heard singing their beautiful songs.
"Mmm! A powerful and mighty morning!"
Let's kick off today with energy too!
It had been so long since I woke up feeling this refreshed.
Yesterday's fight must have been fairly intense.
Every muscle in my body was screaming, but.
It was still a refreshing morning.
Until I looked at the clock.
8:50
"Oh no."
I washed up frantically, changed my clothes, and left the dormitory.
I ran at full speed toward the Academy's main hall.
Yesterday, I had received a text on my smartphone to gather at the main hall by 9 o'clock.
The time at which I arrived at the hall after running like my life depended on it was.
9:03.
"Huff! Huff! Hrrgh-hck! Haaaaah!"
I caught my breath and carefully opened the hall door and entered.
"Did you go look around the Academy yesterday?"
"No."
"I went down to Hakjeon City yesterday."
"Really? I heard there's a super famous dessert café there."
"Heheh! I went there……."
The hall was quite noisy.
"Phew!"
That was close.
Just then, someone at the front called out.
"Student who just walked in! Please get in line quickly."
"Ah, yes!"
I ran over immediately at the words of the person who appeared to be a supervisor.
The kids were chatting amongst themselves, but.
They were fundamentally standing in neat rows and columns.
As I was cutting through the formation to make my way to the front, I felt sharp gazes on me.
Maybe it was because I gained Perception.
I could distinctly feel how the air—no, the atmosphere—had shifted.
"Hey, that guy! He's E-rank."
"Ha! Is he actually here through connections?"
And perhaps because of Perception, I could also hear the voices of kids far away.
"Rapita, that E-rank guy is passing by."
"Ugh, how degrading."
"Tsk! If he had any self-awareness, he would've declined his admission."
The noble Family kids around Rapita said all that while watching her reaction.
She didn't say anything in particular and just stared ahead.
If you thought I'd snap and go, 'Hey you little brats! What?! Come here, you!'
Hmm!
You'd be sorely mistaken.
Me, Han Tae-won?
A man who has sunk 30,000 hours into this trash game.
I've suffered this kind of insult and personal attack more times than I can count!
Hey, you little punks, words like that won't—
"He's really ugly."
"What did you say?! Who said that?!"
"……."
Hmm…… I reacted without even thinking.
Ahem, well. These things happen.
I huffed and made my way to the front of the hall.
The gazes of the kids watching me weren't exactly welcoming, but.
What can you do?
I ignored them completely.
At the very front, the people who appeared to be supervisors were all wearing the same uniform as us.
Only their tie colors differed from ours.
Our ties were yellow, while theirs were green.
Here's a bit of trivia for the occasion.
First years are yellow, second years are green, third years are red.
That's how they're distinguished.
And so, when the time on my phone read 9:10.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
All the lights in the hall went out.
"Huh? What's happening."
"What is it? What are we doing today……."
"Probably some kind of event or something."
Everyone sounded panicked.
But I was different, having gained Perception.
It had been just for a brief moment, but the space had warped.
Hmm…… It's about to begin.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
When the lights came back on, the kids looked around.
But my gaze had been fixed from the start.
Up at the podium.
A man was standing on the podium.
A man in a black fedora, eyes concealed behind sunglasses.
A black leather coat, black top and pants to match.
The all-black-clad man was staring down at us with a stiff expression.
Though it was hard to see clearly behind the sunglasses.
His eyes were looking at us as though we were insects.
And…… beside him, there was someone collapsed, bleeding.
"W-what is that?"
As if answering their question, the man standing on the podium.
Nudged the person lying there with his foot.
In that instant, the figure cut in half—no, the appearance of a corpse—was laid bare for all to see.
"Kyaaaaaah!"
"They're actually dead!"
"What's happening?! This is inside the Academy!"
The first-year students fell into a panic.
In utter disarray, the kids began running toward the hall doors.
Of course, there were also kids who froze where they stood or were rooted to the spot, unable to do anything.
The tutorial was finally beginning…….
It was the moment the mass slaughter in the hall was set to commence.
An A-rank Villain who had invaded the first-year class placement exam.
An episode in which most of the first-years would meet death once at the hands of that Villain.
My thoughts were cut short by the man's voice from above the hall.
"Everyone, be quiet."
At those words, the movements of the kids who had been screaming or running halted.
It was because a bone-chilling bloodlust and mana had reverberated throughout the entire hall.
Everyone would have instinctively understood that moving meant death.
"Look at me."
All the children turned to look at the platform.
The second-years at least resisted, pulling weapons from their inventories.
And they began releasing their mana immediately.
"Who are you!"
The person in the black jacket standing on the platform answered instead with an icy glare.
At the same moment, the man extended his hand.
At that instant, I burst forward.
My goal for today was…….
To be the first to die.