—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
They say that in novels, those who reach a certain level of skill sometimes feel a sense of emptiness and fall into loneliness.
I didn’t really understand it at that time.
If you became strong, it was a good thing. What was there to be sad about?
But after reaching that distant level myself, I understood it.
Indeed, a strange sense of powerlessness and exhaustion washed over me as I stood at this high level.
It was nostalgia for my past, pathetic self, and at the same time, a sense of futility from realizing that an even higher level awaited me after surpassing my goal.
10kg.
After defeating the 5kg dumbbells, the nemesis of my shoulders, the new enemy I challenged was too powerful. A being I couldn’t yet overcome.
A week after starting my arduous workouts.
I reached the level where I could exercise with weights ten times my original limit, but I despaired at the appearance of a new adversary.
It had taken me a week of dedicating myself entirely to training, to go from a patient needing rehabilitation to a slightly weak ordinary person.
Of course, I didn’t just lift dumbbells. I did all kinds of exercises related to basic physical strengthening, like running on the treadmill, squats, and planks.
After all that, I finally obtained a body capable of fighting a Goblin one-on-one.
It was truly insane.
Four days in, and I was already so frustrated that I had to use Enhancement on my willpower instead of my recovery rate.
Fortunately, my talent was close to omnipotent except for its severe penalty, and it could rekindle my waning willpower.
“One million and twenty-five…!”
My body was still weak, but there was plenty of time left.
If I poured all of my remaining time into working out, I could at least bring my basic physical strength up to par with the other superhumans, right?
Ah, shit.
I realized a depressing truth even as I thought about it.
A transmigrator thinking they had plenty of time was a very bad sign.
-7 days until the main quest begins.-
Unfortunately, that damn voice echoed in my head before I could take back my optimistic thoughts.
Yes, this damn novel probably wouldn’t let me just train peacefully.
The only fortunate thing was that there was still a week left until it started.
Actually, it wasn’t that fortunate, but in situations like this, it was important to stay positive.
“But there’s still a long time until the semester starts…”
Nothing that could be called a main story event happened before the protagonist entered the academy.
Of course, since they couldn’t just skip a month after the entrance ceremony, there were some minor episodes here and there, but I didn’t remember any of them being particularly important.
Perhaps the only event of some significance that was supposed to happen around this time was the one where a parent of a student who died in the terrorist attack started pressuring Reilan Academy using their family’s wealth.
“…Wait a minute?”
Wasn’t that my father?
Since I was an orphan, it was Kang So-hyun’s father, to be precise.
But that was strange.
Because I had twisted the story and hadn’t died, I thought there wouldn’t be an incident where my enraged father would attack Reilan Academy, but was I wrong?
Or did it mean a completely different event would occur?
But even with my knowledge of the original story, I couldn’t predict what event might happen.
Hmm.
“One million and twenty-siiiiix…!”
Transmigrator specialty: If worrying was pointless, ignore it and do what you gotta do.
At least I won’t suddenly die in a week.
Even if there was going to be a victim in the main story, it would only be one of the two, Lilac or Cheon Yoo-hak, right?
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
And with the main story just a day away, I had to admit it.
Yes, I admit it.
Ten years of web novel experience wasn’t enough to reach the level of mastery needed to predict this.
Damn it, as expected, a transmigrator couldn’t just gloss over things.
“Well, Cadet Kang So-hyun. Nice to meet you. It’s very commendable that you chose early admission and are training every day.”
The smiling beauty before me was the Chairman of the academy.
With near-pure silver hair and blue eyes, a gentle, friendly appearance, and a mysterious aura.
“You don’t have to be so nervous. I may be the Chairman, but I haven’t been in office for a long time. You can think of me as a newbie, just like you students.”
Ah, by the way, that was a lie.
She wasn’t human, but a long-lived species, and was clearly from another world.
She was supposed to pretend to retire after a certain amount of time and continue on as the Chairman by changing her appearance with magic under the pretense of being newly appointed.
A High Elf.
Not just an Elf, but a High Elf. A higher-dimensional being.
Long-lived species, who grew stronger just by living, were usually indifferent to worldly affairs, but the woman in front of me was an exception.
She was the “Elf who is interested in humans” that appeared in every novel.
“Now, why do you think I called you here, Cadet Kang So-hyun? Try to guess.”
Her eyes were filled with an almost burdensome amount of curiosity and interest.
“…I don’t know?”
Sorry, but I really didn’t know.
There were too many possibilities, so I couldn’t guess what it was. Damn it.
The most likely scenario was that she became interested in me because my secret friend, Professor Cathy, had hinted something to her. The second possibility was that she wanted to question me about my rude remarks to the professor at the entrance ceremony.
Just as I was narrowing down the possibilities, the Chairman smiled and said,
“Your father wants to see you.”
“…What?”
“Ah, of course, not my father, but your father wants to see you.”
The Chairman made a lame joke, probably trying to lighten up the mood.
“Hahaha.”
And I laughed mechanically, like a low-ranking employee desperately laughing at his boss’ dad joke.
More importantly, the reason she called me wasn’t either of my guesses.
“In principle, students admitted to the academy are treated as adults, and all choices are left to the students themselves under the assumption that they are responsible for their own actions. However, there are always exceptions to every rule in the world.”
I roughly understood what she meant.
“Your father said he would cut off his support to the academy, using the terrorist attack as an excuse, if I didn’t let him see you. So I have no choice but to ask you for a favor.”
By the way, if I refused this “favor,” it would probably cease to be a favor.
She was the type to play with things that caught her interest the moment an excuse presented itself.
Her actions in the original story were so extravagant that it made you wonder if she was really a long-lived species.
Ah, by the way, she died in the original story.
Why did one of the strongest characters in the world, who had never fallen out of the top 30 of the global hero rankings, die? Well, she just did.
But it was a good thing.
“Yes, I’ll meet him.”
“Hmm? I’m sorry for investigating you, but I understand that you don’t have a good relationship with your family.”
Oh, I just wanted to smooth things over for the Chairman, but why did she casually say things that could be sensitive depending on the person?
The answer was simple.
She was confident she could handle whatever I threw at her.
In the original story, his father’s rebellion didn’t have much of an effect.
The Chairman just used it as a small trial for Lilac, a student she was interested in at the time.
I thought for a moment about what to say.
I had to answer carefully.
The person in front of me might look like a beautiful woman, but she was a transcendent being who had lived for a long time, and a slaughterer who easily killed monsters and villains.
I was confident in hiding my expressions, but it wouldn’t mean much against her.
Perhaps I had just gained an opportunity to build a significant connection.
However, attracting too much attention was a problem in itself, and being completely ignored was also not ideal.
After a brief deliberation, I reached a conclusion.
I didn’t know if it was the right answer, but it was the best I could think of.
“Chairman. I know you’re interested in me.”
To not lie.
But without revealing everything.
“What are you talking about? Me being interested in a student?”
The Chairman’s poker face hadn’t crumbled yet.
I could break that expression by revealing her true name or her secrets, but that would be a bad move.
I wanted to attract a slight amount of interest, not her obsession.
“Perhaps you heard something about me from the professor regarding the incident at the entrance ceremony, or maybe it’s because of the time I accidentally entered a dungeon with Professor Cathy.”
“Hmm, Cadet Kang So-hyun, you have quite the imagination.”
Information that would attract her interest without putting me on her watch list.
“I have limited knowledge of the future.”
The Chairman.
Stopped her fake smile and looked at me with a cold expression.
“That’s quite a joke. Are you saying you have a precognitive talent, something only two people in the world have ever had, Cadet Kang So-hyun? I understand your talent is Enhancement, right?”
I smiled.
“No? I’m not a prophet, and my talent is indeed Enhancement. But someone could show me parts of the world’s future.”
She seemed to be pondering the truth of my words.
But I wasn’t nervous.
Why? Because there wasn’t a single lie in what I had just said.
My talent was Enhancement, and I knew a limited part of the future through something someone else showed me, the settings book.
What if the Chairman suddenly demanded all the information I knew and broke my neck for being so assertive?
I could guarantee that would never happen.
I was the second person who knew this world best, which meant I was also second in knowing the characters of this novel for the longest time.
Raylan Claudia.
A member of the proud High Elves, but unlike other Elves with their strong sense of isolation, she had a free-spirited personality and was softhearted.
She was merciless to those she deemed a threat, but was quite generous to those who weren’t her enemies.
“Alright.”
More importantly, I knew the question she was about to ask me.
I was a transmigrator, after all.
-So what do you intend to do with that extraordinary talent?
“You said you know the future, albeit partially? What do you intend to do with that information?”
It was a bit different, but she was always someone who sought satisfactory answers.
Lilac, who was originally asked this question a bit later, answered that he would save as many people as he could.
But I couldn’t answer like that.
Those words wouldn’t be sincere coming from me, and she would see right through my lie.
But I could guarantee that she would like my answer.
“I will save the heroes.”
“What?”
It was sincere.
I intended to save those who died absurdly in the original story, and most of them were heroes.
And I would also make sure Lilac and Cheon Yoo-hak, whose lives were ruined by my friend’s terrible taste, wouldn’t live such depressing lives.
“I will help the heroes who perish without receiving any help because they are the ones who save others.”
It was a bit cheesy, but this kind of thing worked well on characters like her.
A web novel veteran of 10 years didn’t make the same mistake twice.
“Huh…”
The Chairman tilted her head, lost in thought for a moment.
It wasn’t the reaction I expected, but she nodded.
“You don’t seem to be entirely virtuous, but there’s not a single lie in your words.”
That’s right! I was proud of my answer!
“So, ‘saving heroes.’ Does that mean you tried to stop the academy terrorist attack as part of that?”
That was true.
Because I wanted to help Lilac.
But contrary to my expectations, she stood up and approached me.
Uh, shit… Did I mess up? Was she thinking, “It’s dangerous to leave someone who knows the future alive”?
Fortunately, unlike my worries, she came up to me and gently stroked my hair.
What?
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were such a timid and easily frightened child.”
“What?”
“It was very impressive how you answered honestly while being so wary of me.”
Hmm?
This wasn’t exactly what I had hoped for…
I did want to be seen as a good person, but I didn’t expect her to see through my wariness.
“Cathy was right. You’re just a ‘good kid.’”
She said that, took something out of her pocket, and handed it to me.
What was this? A potion?
“I didn’t mean to scare you, but I unintentionally did, so this is compensation. It will greatly restore your deficiencies.”
Wow, the Chairman was a great person who knew how the world worked and understood that everything came with a price.
I didn’t realize it because her image in the original story was so tyrannical, but that was because Lilac and Cheon Yoo-hak weren’t afraid of her!
Wow! Heart-Pounding Secret Friend #2!
“Are you that happy with my small gift?”
Ah, damn it.
I was confident in my poker face, but she saw right through me.
“Then, getting back to the main topic, when are you available to talk to your father?”
“What?”
Ah, right. That was why she called me in the first place.
“I’m fine with tomorrow.”
Well, I wouldn’t be talking all day, and I could skip an hour or two of my workout.
“Yes, it’s very good that you’re willing to face unpleasant or scary things.”
…I wasn’t that kind of person.
She could see through lies, right?
I didn’t mess up, did I?
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
T/N – This MC is hilarious! I hope the author maintains this humor later on as well.
If you find any mistakes, feel free to point them out in the comments.
