Fated to Die in an Academy Novel – Chapter 148

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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Dawn had come and the sun was beginning to rise. A girl, who looked like she hadn’t slept a wink, was groaning in front of her PC. Having finally finished her work, she stretched and stood up.

“Ugh…! It’s done!”

The girl was Kim Ga-eul.

Not only had she spent all of Sunday in front of her PC, but she finally achieved her goal as the Monday morning sun began to rise.

That was right.

She had invited the cafe staff and members to an online meeting, and after a long period of coordination, she was able to revamp the rules of the cafe she had created.

As the founder, she had the authority to shut down the cafe, but it was obvious that another one would just pop up, so she decided it was better to hold the reins herself, even if it was a bit difficult.

Now that she had blocked the unauthorized sharing of photos and personal information, So-hyun probably wouldn’t scold her anymore.

“Ah, but seriously, he’s so quick-witted. How did he even know that I made it?”

Of course, she had tipped him off a bit because she felt guilty, but none of the others had noticed. How did he pinpoint that it was her like that?

His clearly annoyed gaze was undoubtedly telling her ‘Watch yourself.’

How could she have ever thought of calling someone like that a loser? Was she crazy?

A chill ran down her spine as she blankly recalled his eyes.

“Ah, not again…”

Of course, she liked his smiling and frowning faces, but what she was really into right now was his indifferent expression when he looked at someone.

His unique, slightly sharp gaze and red eyes combined to create a mesmerizing effect when he scanned a crowd with an blank expression.

Ah, this wasn’t good…

She opened one of the photo files she had secretly saved before deleting them.

It was a photo of him with a chillingly expressionless face, taken by one of the members.

Her body trembled strangely as she felt as if the eyes in the photo were directed at her.

This wasn’t good. She hadn’t slept at all, and if she started her Monday morning like this, her condition would be ruined.

Even so, her hand honestly moved to satisfy her desire.

Ding~

If it weren’t for the notification that a new post was uploaded to the cafe, she might have been late today.

“Phew, that was close.”

The new post was a rumor in the gossip category.

“…What’s this? Your talent gets stronger just by taking a pill? Who would struggle if something like this existed?”

She dismissed it as a ridiculous rumor, but the sentence “Consultation is free” strangely captivated her.

Because her combat ability was weak.

So, her subtle inferiority complex of not being able to stay by his side for long made it impossible for her to ignore the post.

If she could really get stronger just by taking a pill, if she could also fight proudly by his side…

…wouldn’t he praise her a little?

Driven by that desire, she ended up writing down the link from the post.

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“So, what do you think?”

I was genuinely surprised by what Ga-eul said this morning.

She had gathered information from a link, found out how they exchanged the drugs and where their meeting spots were, and was now showing it to us.

She was probably interested and wanted to go, but was scared of going alone, so she came to me for advice.

“…A drug that makes you stronger just by taking it? Oh, so it’s a drug that completely throws my talent into the gutter?”

“Huh!? No! It probably isn’t as good as your talent, So-hyun!”

I threw out a joke to calm my startled heart, but Ga-eul reacted strongly to that.

Well, yeah. Come to think of it, it would be something that Ga-eul would be interested in.

She was strangely self-conscious about being weak.

Was it a relief that she came to me for advice before trying to get the drug on her own or getting caught up in the incident?

That was really dangerous.

If we hadn’t resolved our issues at the ball, I might have seen a “Ga-eul drug addiction ending” and entered a tragedy.

“Hey, don’t be interested in this. It’s obviously a scam. It looks dangerous too.”

“Heehee, you think so too? I was just thinking that if I got stronger, I could fight on the front lines with you and the others.”

Her bright smile honestly hurt me a little.

Even if I wanted to give her an opportunity, her basic combat potential was too low, so there was almost no chance for her to shine in battle.

“Hey, do you have to fight on the front lines to be a hero? Ga-eul, don’t worry about this kind of rumor~”

Ha-ni comforted Ga-eul and smiled.

“It’s a shame, but I guess I should give up since So-hyun doesn’t like it~”

“Good thinking, Ga-eul.”

Lilac, who had been listening quietly, also seemed to dislike the existence of the drug.

Huh, but come to think of it, thanks to Ga-eul, the others naturally learned about the drug.

Before this, I was a bit cautious about how to bring this up.

And Ha-ni and the professor even witnessed a suspected drug user yesterday.

Since I was one of their targets, I just had to be careful not to let the others get hurt in the ranking competition.

If I showed them the dangers of the drug by fighting a rampaging drug user, they would move to suppress the drug, even if I told them not to.

As I was thinking that while staring blankly ahead, Ga-eul blushed slightly.

“Okay, I won’t do anything dangerous like this, so don’t worry.”

Why did our Ga-eul look so pretty today?

Thanks to Ga-eul, it seemed like things would proceed smoothly.

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“Hey, shouldn’t we back out now?”

“Ah, you idiot. This won’t show up on a drug test. What are they going to do without evidence? Are you scared just because one rookie caused us some trouble?”

“Who’s scared? I was just saying we should be careful.”

Honestly, not wanting to poke the hornet’s nest could be seen as being scared, but due to his childish bravado and the atmosphere of the delinquent circle, which acted like they were going to do something big, he couldn’t back out and just nodded.

“Geez, you bastard. That’s why your talent is so pathetic. You’ve never been unfairly targeted like me. This is an opportunity. I asked the higher-ups who provided the drug, and they were pleased.”

His smugness, as if he were the most competent among the failures, wasn’t a good look, but no one said anything.

He was the only one who could get the drugs, and he was the only one willing to be the president of the delinquent circle, a position everyone else avoided because it meant taking responsibility if something went wrong.

“They said that they’d give us this much just for naturally distributing the drug within the academy. Who knows? Maybe they’ll even scout us.”

Not everyone there was serious about being a delinquent, but that was how delinquent circles were.

The strange thrill of doing something forbidden, combined with the sense of belonging to a group, created the delusion that they were something special.

And if they could get their hands on an amount of money that they couldn’t earn with just their allowance, rational judgment became irrelevant.

The boys, who were still young enough to turn back, were already intoxicated by the delusion that their lives were ruined and were heading down the wrong path.

And their trampled potential became the demon’s sustenance, and the demon grew stronger because of them.

For the day when his master would descend upon the world.

Collecting a price far greater than what such a drug could offer: the potential wasted by the slothful in their idleness.

The demon’s plan was proceeding smoothly.

It would have continued to proceed smoothly.

But there was something the demon didn’t notice.

Even before the world was twisted by the miracle of regression, the demon’s plan had been thwarted before by a single boy.

By the hands of the black-haired devil who made the dying demon scream “You’re more of a demon than I am.”

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“Everyone, tomorrow is finally the end-of-semester ranking competition. I’ve explained it before, but I’ll explain it again just in case.”

The professor at the podium briefly explained the difference between the previous ranking competition and this one.

Well, there wasn’t much of a difference.

Unlike before, where matches were determined by grades, each cadet now had challenge rights and could decide who to fight.

You get more points for defeating a higher-ranking cadet while at a disadvantage, and conversely, your points would decrease if you only fought weaker opponents.

There were a total of three challenge rights, and each cadet had to fight at least five times by accepting challenges from others.

And if there weren’t enough matches, the professors would intervene like before.

It was a ridiculously complicated system.

My current ranking was 227th among the first-years, which was quite high, but since I was in the middle ranks, I normally wouldn’t have been targeted that much.

But tomorrow, I’ll probably receive many… challenges.

The atmosphere was strangely excited.

Especially Ha-ni, who was fired up while saying that she would defeat Lilac and Cheon Yoo-hak this time, and the other two, who were also filled with a competitive spirit and provoked her by saying “Bring it on.” It felt very youthful.

So…

…I had to take care of those drug addicts as quickly as possible, right?

The professor, after finishing her explanation, looked at me with sparkling eyes.

“If you’re still worried about sparring with other cadets, even if it means giving up some points, feel free to request a spar with the faculty!”

No, Professor, please don’t appeal to me like that in front of everyone.

Actually, rumors had already spread throughout the school after I accepted her partner request, but it was still a bit much.

…I hope no crazy bastard, blinded by jealousy, would challenge me to a ranking match. That would be a problem.

Anyway, I thought today’s assembly was over.

When suddenly—

“Mr. Lilac! If I win in this ranking competition, will you go out with me!?”

…a new character appeared at the most unexpected timing and made Yoo-na’s blood boil.

Huh? That’s strange. I was just thinking seriously about taking down the drug addicts.

Why was the academy story suddenly drifting like this?

With platinum blonde hair, sparkling eyes like in a manga, and a miraculous hairstyle called “drill hair,” she approached Lilac with the click-clack of her heels.

This incident wasn’t in the original story or even before I regressed, but unfortunately, I knew who she was.

She was one of the people I didn’t want to meet, but she had a connection with me back before I regressed.

“Uh, sorry, have we met before?”

No, Lilac. She only looks at three things in a man.

Face, ability, and height.

“No, we haven’t. But is that important? The important thing is that you’re a suitable person for me, and I find you quite to my liking. What more is needed!?”

…Love isn’t a one-way street, you idiot. How could she not have changed even after I regressed?

Even Cheon Yoo-hak recognized her and subtly looked away, pretending not to know her.

One of the top five corporations in Korea.

The granddaughter of the chairman of the AG Group, which boasted the third position after the Cheon-hwa Group and the Yoo-sung Group, and a woman who was something of a subordinate of mine and caused me considerable frustration before I regressed.

It was Aisha Libias.

…Incidentally, she was also a huge flirt.

No, but damn it, why did you suddenly appear?

“Hey, who are you?”

The pink chihuahua, who got blindsided, stood up and blocked her way, but Aisha didn’t even glance at her.

“Of course, I understand that my proposal may seem sudden! That’s why I chose the method of sparring to show you what kind of person I am, and I waited for the ranking competition because I needed a justification! Oh! Ho! Ho! Ho!”

…Damn it, I was hearing that laugh again.

“I asked who you are. Why are you hitting on Lilac?”

“…Hitting on him? What are you talking about? How uncultured. I’m not hitting on him. The one who will be fawning is not me, but Mr. Lilac, who will fall for me.”

“…What?”

I could see it. The thread of Yoo-na’s patience snapping. I could even hear it.

Yoo-na lifted her leg.

She was probably planning to stomp on her foot, but Aisha just smiled and didn’t even flinch.

There was no need to dodge.

“Oh my, did you just step on me? It’s okay. It didn’t hurt at all, so I’ll forgive you. But I wonder if someone as uncultured as you is a suitable match for such a gentleman.”

“…You.”

Magic Armor.

A C-rank talent that wasn’t that highly ranked, but thanks to her family’s support, she had consumed elixirs and potions since she was young, so her defense was quite decent.

Most of them, except for Lilac and Yoo-na, were watching the sudden morning drama with sparkling eyes, but I couldn’t.

Because when she blocked Yoo-na’s attack just now…

…the magic armor she wore over her shoes was glowing ‘purple.’

…Why was this idiot suddenly getting involved in something like that?

It was a rather precarious situation for me to just sit back and watch the appearance of a late sub-heroine.

…Yeah, the direction of this academy story suddenly got annoying.

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T/N – Hmm, I wonder what did Aisha do for the MC to react like that to her? And judging from the MC’s emphasis on the ‘purple’ glow, she probably is taking the drug too.

Also, good thing Ga-eul was smart enough to ask first before jumping in. I wouldn’t want her to get dragged into this drug incident as one of the drug takers. Though yeah, she really needs either character development or a power up, or at this rate, she’ll become irrelevant at some point.

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