I Became the Terminally Ill Character in My Friend’s Academy Novel – Chapter 34

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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Training my talent and trait was relatively simple.

To be precise, they had good synergy.

Using my talent, Enhancement, consumed innate Qi, and Resurrection, in turn, was trained by restoring consumed innate Qi.

I just had to enhance the Talent Enhancement Potion, drink it, and after Resurrection restored my innate Qi, enhance the Trait Enhancement Potion and drink it.

“What have you been sipping on?”

But to others, it would just look like I was carefully sipping on the two potions.

“Whatever it is, why don’t you just drink it?”

Ha-ni seemed displeased with my constant sipping.

It was sad that she didn’t understand the profound meaning of this act, but I could understand.

How could a sparrow understand the will of a phoenix?

Well, judging by our current strength, Kang Ha-ni was the phoenix, and I was a chick, but I had to answer her before she sulked.

“I bought this at the points shop. It’s a Talent Enhancement Potion.”

“Oh, I heard that it’s trash.”

Yes, it was trash. To everyone except me that is.

By the way, Kang Ha-ni also knew about the hidden items in the original story.

Her family was also quite well-off, so it wasn’t difficult for her to obtain that kind of information.

I seemed to recall her having a plan or a chart on how to use points efficiently.

“You should have just rented an artifact.”

Ha-ni looked at me with pity, but I just smiled.

There was no point in arguing when I couldn’t win.

Just wait. My beginning might be humble, but my path would be grand.

I finally finished drinking both potions.

Now, I just had to focus on not letting my innate Qi fill up completely.

“I should have gone with you. Professor Cathy should have stopped you from buying something weird like that.”

Although she was chuckling, she was being considerate, trying not to interrupt my training.

She was careful not to approach me and didn’t speak further after I closed my eyes and focused.

It must have been boring for her, but she was acting as a kind of protector, preventing anyone from disturbing me.

Actually, although she often got angry because of Lilac, she was a kind person in the original story.

To avoid wasting the potion’s effects, I used Enhancement to empty my “vessel” whenever my innate Qi refilled.

How much time had passed?

When I opened my eyes, Ha-ni, who had been watching me from nearby, smirked.

“So, did you get anything?”

“No, nothing.”

“Tsk, I thought you were doing something with your eyes closed. I knew it.”

Of course, that was a lie.

Honestly, there wasn’t much change in Enhancement, but Resurrection’s recovery speed had increased, and the “vessel” itself had become much larger.

My total amount of innate Qi was probably about three times that of an ordinary person now.

To put it simply, if I went all out with Enhancement, I could surprise even Cheon Yoo-hak in a spar.

Of course, I would still get beaten up afterward.

“Let’s go together next time when I earn some points. I’ll teach you how to choose good items.”

“Okay, thanks.”

But Ha-ni, I wasn’t going to earn any more points.

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After many eventful days, I finally entered the third week of my academy life.

I still couldn’t believe it was only the third week, but no matter how many times I checked the calendar, it was indeed the third week.

The third week held a special meaning for Reilan Academy freshmen as it was the time for club activity applications, an element almost as important as the points system.

Clubs.

Yes, clubs were an essential element in god-tier academy stories, a device that decorated a bittersweet page in the protagonists’ youth.

Of course, in the original story, The Holy Sword Hero of the Academy, the atmosphere wasn’t very bright since the academy’s reputation was already in ruins.

There were clubs for hobbies, clubs for improving abilities, and even crazy clubs that went around catching criminals.

And there was the student council with its suspiciously strong influence.

You could join multiple clubs, but realistically, considering actual participation, three was probably the maximum.

In the original story, Lilac joined the volunteer club and the travel club, and Cheon Yoo-hak created his own club.

Active participation in club activities and winning competitions directly affected your evaluation, so it was an important factor for students, but like most transmigrators, I had already decided which club to join.

Well, anyway, I could understand why the surroundings were so noisy.

“Loser, which club are you going to join? Do you want to join the cooking club with me?”

“So-hyun, do you want to join the volunteer club with me? Ah, the travel club would be good too.”

“What are you all talking about? So-hyun, let’s join the swordsmanship club. They say it’s good to choose a practical club.”

Hey guys, why are you always doing this at my desk?

And Ha-ni and Ga-eul, you weren’t even in this class. Couldn’t you wait for homeroom in your own classrooms sometimes?

“Well, I’m still thinking about it. I have to think carefully and choose.”

“Ah~ come on, let’s join the volunteer club~ Or the travel club. The seniors there are really nice~ Okay~?”

“Lilac, I’m about to lose my mind. Try acting cute in front of me one more time. I don’t know what I’ll do next time.”

“You’re so prickly.”

He seemed to think it was a joke judging by his chuckle, but I was dead serious.

How dare a guy act cute in front of me. He was asking for it.

Of course, I would be the one dying if we actually fought.

“Excuse me.”

“Cheon Yoo-hak?”

“I heard an interesting conversation, so I thought I’d join in.”

As Cheon Yoo-hak approached with a grin, Kim Ga-eul took a step back with a complicated expression.

Cheon Yoo-hak didn’t seem to care, but she was still glancing at him, so she must have really liked him.

“Unfortunately, Kang So-hyun can’t join the volunteer club.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Because the club I’m creating will focus on monster hunting, and the volunteer club activities will overlap with it.”

Lilac tilted his head at Cheon Yoo-hak’s words, then looked at me with a betrayed expression.

“You’re creating a club with Yoo-hak…!?”

I wasn’t, but why are you looking at me like that, as if you had been betrayed? It’s creepy.

Not only Lilac, but the others as well were looking at me with expressions like puppies having been betrayed by their owner.

“Yoo-hak, I understand you want to create a club, but this is the first time I’m hearing about it.”

“Because I haven’t told you about it yet.”

As I stated the truth while being burdened by their gazes, they all sighed in relief.

What? Was this the life of a popular kid? Do you guys like me that much?

“Although I haven’t told you about it yet, the only club suitable for you is our club. Setting aside volunteering, aren’t cooking, travel, and swordsmanship clubs for hobbies?”

It wasn’t me or Lilac who reacted to his words, but Kang Ha-ni.

“Hey, what are you talking about? Who are you to decide So-hyun’s club?”

She was probably annoyed by his tone, which sounded like an order, rather than his dismissal of swordsmanship.

Ha-ni, I appreciated you standing up for me, but you can’t beat Cheon Yoo-hak.

“Kang Han-hee. Hmm, I apologize if it sounded that way. I was going to suggest it, but I was a bit hasty, so my tone might have sounded a bit harsh.”

Thankfully, perhaps because Ha-ni also had good entrance exam scores, Cheon Yoo-hak softened his tone and backed down.

But the problem was that Ha-ni didn’t back down.

“Suggest? Is that how you make a suggestion? How many people can actually refuse you when you talk like that?”

“What do you mean?”

“How do you think your self-proclaimed followers would react if someone refused you? Or maybe your lackeys might do something behind your back because of it.”

Ha-ni, why are you overreacting?

Well, things had been quiet lately because I was being careful, but this was her original character.

She hated it when the strong oppressed the weak, and when those she cared for were looked down upon.

So it seemed like she thought I was being looked down on by Cheon Yoo-hak.

He was actually acting like this because he acknowledged me, but it was easy to misunderstand his tone.

On the other hand, Cheon Yoo-hak, who hated delinquents, seemed to get annoyed by the fact that she was lumping those he had acknowledged in with them.

“Insulting random trash is one thing, but I can’t tolerate you calling my companions lackeys. Apologize.”

“What if I don’t want to?”

“It won’t mean much, but I’ll have to force you.”

“Are you capable?”

“Do you want to test it?”

A tense atmosphere filled the air.

“Let’s stop, guys. It’s So-hyun’s decision. There’s no point in us arguing.”

And it was our protagonist, Lilac, who resolved the situation.

Well, in the original story, Lilac was the only one who could stop them.

“Hey, Lilac, you made the suggestion, what are you doing now?”

…Suggestion? What suggestion?

“Han-hee, we were going to keep that a secret! And you can join multiple clubs, so don’t be like that. Yoo-hak isn’t the type to force people.”

What suggestion? What secret? Why are you talking about something I didn’t know? Were you guys ostracizing me? Was this the life of an outcast…?

Ha-ni looked at Lilac suspiciously.

“He’s not the type to force people?”

“Forcing people only lowers efficiency. Do you think I would do something so foolish?”

Ha-ni glared at Cheon Yoo-hak, but he just met her gaze calmly.

“I apologize for speaking carelessly about others.”

Ah, so she did apologize.

“I’ll accept it. You probably didn’t mean to insult me.”

Should I be thankful that it didn’t escalate into a big fight?

In the original story, Ha-ni had dueled Cheon Yoo-hak in a similar situation in Lilac’s place and got beaten up, and then Lilac fought Cheon Yoo-hak, saying he went too far.

But just as I thought it was over, Cheon Yoo-hak seemed to have more to say.

“Kang Han-hee. You would have been a recruitment target if you were a bit less emotional. I’ll give you a piece of advice out of respect for your skills. You need to control your emotions. Especially against opponents stronger than you.”

“…What?”

Ah, this guy… Showing off again after acting all nice.

Ha-ni was quite confident in her swordsmanship.

Of course, she would be angry at being openly called weak by a fellow student, and not even a professor.

“You…!”

Just as Lilac was about to intervene again…

“Hello everyone.”

Professor Cathy entered, and the situation calmed down.

“Hmm? What’s going on, students? The atmosphere seems a bit tense.”

“It’s nothing, Professor. We just had a small disagreement about clubs.”

Cheon Yoo-hak casually dismissed Professor Cathy’s question and gave them a look, and Kang Ha-ni and Kim Ga-eul reluctantly left the classroom.

“Well, I understand you’re excited since club applications start today, but please don’t fight. I was actually planning to talk about this during homeroom, but everyone knows about clubs already, right?”

Thanks to Professor Cathy, the heavy atmosphere lightened considerably.

“Ah, I’m also the advisor of the health club, so if there are any students with weak constitutions, please stop by.”

…Huh? Why did it seem like she was looking at me?

Judging by her wink, she was definitely looking at me.

But Professor, I wasn’t interested. I hated red ginseng and bellflower root.

Many students might misunderstand and think it was an exercise or combat-related club, but the club she advised was the Health Tonic Lovers Club.

The foolish students deceived by her beautiful smile would probably experience a bitter youth from today onwards.

It was truly bitter.

Just as I was about to leave for my first class after homeroom, my rarely-used smartphone rang.

“Huh?”

There was a message from an unknown number, but the content was quite interesting.

[If you don’t want this picture to spread, come alone to the designated location during lunch break.]

It was a very straightforward and intriguing love letter.

I wanted to coolly ignore it and block the number, but unfortunately, I couldn’t.

The attached picture showed Professor Cathy and me entering a movie theater, arm in arm.

…Damn it, we only linked arms for like three seconds, how did they even take this picture?

I replied to the mysterious blackmailer, saying I understood.

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T/N – Ah clubs… I was in a club once, too. The going home early club. I was quite the model member…

If you find any mistakes, feel free to point them out in the comments.