I Became the Terminally Ill Character in My Friend’s Academy Novel – Chapter 26

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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Buildings at midnight naturally exuded an eerie atmosphere.

“Actually, I wanted to teach the students here something other than Monster Studies. Monster Studies is important, but I’d rather you young students learn about normalcy before fighting.”

And that eeriness was amplified a hundredfold when you were trapped in a near-dark classroom, and was forced to listen to a madman’s lecture.

The monsters crawling on the walls were the icing on the cake.

“Young cadets, no, students your age should be learning about making friends and other important things rather than fighting. It’s called youth. Yes, that’s my favorite word.”

Contrary to the horrifying situation, his words were surprisingly normal, but that only made the classroom atmosphere even more bizarre.

“Now, let me ask you a question. What do you think youth is?”

He asked with his usual smile, but no one answered like they would in a normal class.

“Hmm, you don’t like the topic of youth? It’s not going as well as the Monster Studies class. I’m a bit disappointed, since this is the class I really wanted to teach.”

He snapped his fingers, and the centipedes on the walls raised their heads again.

The students flinched and raised their hands.

“Ah, I must have been mistaken. You’re all so enthusiastic and well-behaved. Then, shall we have Ga-eul’s answer?”

Kim Ga-eul wanted to cry and ask why it had to be her, but she desperately racked her brain for an answer instead, unsure of what would happen to her if she didn’t give him one.

But of course, was there even a perfect definition of youth? Anyone could tell that he wasn’t looking for a textbook answer.

“Is it… making a lot of friends?”

In the end, that was the clumsy answer that came out of her mouth.

“Yes, that’s a good answer.”

But contrary to her expectations, he readily accepted it as a good answer.

“Now, then, shall we have Min-hyuk’s answer?”

The muscular male student tied to a chair sweated profusely and spoke with difficulty.

“Isn’t it about focusing on sports and hobbies?”

“Hmm, that’s a good answer too. You all seem to understand youth well.”

He continued to ask a few more students, nodding in agreement with all their answers.

Even when the last remaining female student shook her head, saying she didn’t know, he was still smiling.

“Haha, I’m sorry. Actually, there’s no right answer to this question. Everyone experiences youth differently. Some might have something to focus on, and some might not have found it yet.”

Jin Kyung-tae started writing something on the blackboard with a benevolent expression.

“But if someone asked me the same question, I would answer this way. Youth is about failures, overcoming them, and honesty.”

‘Even failures are beautiful.’

That was the phrase he wrote on the blackboard.

“Failing, reflecting, and moving forward. That’s the privilege of youth. It’s also a right you deserve. Adults aren’t like that. I don’t know if it’s the dirty side of society that makes them that way, or if the human species becomes more despicable with age.”

He tapped the blackboard irritably.

‘Despicable.’

“Adults don’t reflect. They try to cover up their failures, smooth things over with lies, shift responsibility, and act as if sincere apologies are wrong or shameful.”

Of course, not all adults were like that, just as not all children were honest.

But at least in this madman’s mind, that statement was a fact.

“Ah, I digressed a bit there. Let’s stop talking about despicable adults who betray others. We were talking about your youth.”

He corrected his expression and continued.

“Yes, anyway, besides failures and overcoming them, there’s also consideration and respect. I think those are the symbols of youth. But you’re currently in a situation that’s far removed from those words, aren’t you?”

Kim Ga-eul felt a pang of guilt at his words.

She had been a bully until recently, and she had also been the target of bullying up until now.

Looking around, most of the others, like her, didn’t look very well.

“Ah, don’t worry. I think that’s also part of failure, and you can overcome it. Yes, through today’s class, you’re going to part ways with your past selves and be reborn as new people.”

He let out a cheerful laugh.

“Yes, you’ll learn about self-sacrifice, friendship, and respect. You’ll sincerely apologize to them, and then forgive yourselves. You’ll like it.”

It was clearly a genuine smile, but there was nothing but madness in his eyes.

Having revealed all the desires he had hidden deep within his heart, he could no longer control himself.

“Shall we start with learning about self-sacrifice?”

At his gesture, a centipede-like monster fell from the ceiling.

“If no one volunteers to become this creature’s meal in the next ten minutes, I’ll kill you all. Ah, ah, ah, no coercion please. I really hate that kind of thing.”

No one immediately understood what he meant.

They understood the meaning of his words, but accepting it as reality was a different matter. No one truly understood until someone asked, “Huh?” in a dumbfounded voice.

“Don’t be ridiculous…!”

A large student shouted, but Jin Kyung-tae just smiled.

“Yes, I expected that reaction. But I wasn’t asking you to laugh. Do I look like I’m joking?”

The giant centipede wriggled its legs and approached him.

“Shall I show you that I’m not joking?”

“I’ll…!”

“Hmm?”

“I’ll sacrifice myself.”

“Oh, this is… A rather unexpected student volunteered. Are you sure, Ga-eul?”

“Yes, Professor.”

It was Kim Ga-eul who volunteered.

It went without saying, but she, no, no one here was the type to sacrifice themselves for others.

Of course, she wasn’t driven mad by the situation either.

She offered herself up based on her own calculations. She was basically taking a gamble.

If he truly admired youth and liked students, wouldn’t something fortunate happen to the first volunteer, like in the old stories and fairy tales?

She made what she considered a reasonable assumption and tried to hide her act by taking advantage of the urgent situation.

“I’m touched, Ga-eul.”

And surprisingly, her reasoning was somewhat close to the truth.

“As expected, students, unlike adults, learn quickly and can acknowledge their mistakes. Ga-eul, who bullied her friend and was ostracized because of it, has learned about self-sacrifice so quickly.”

There was no major flaw in her reasoning.

“But I’m a bit curious if you’re really sincere.”

The problem was…

…that the chip she had gambled with was her life, and her opponent was a villain who didn’t adhere to common sense.

“I would be very disappointed if you were just saying that because of some petty calculation, so can I test your sincerity?”

“What…?”

The giant centipede moved swiftly.

“Ga-eul, congratulations on not becoming an adult.”

The moment she understood the meaning of his words, she realized.

This wasn’t a class or a test, but a real situation, and what she had done was simply throw her life away.

She closed her eyes in fear.

Closing your eyes when a villain was in front of you was the worst thing you can do.

The moment you succumbed to fear and closed your eyes, you’ve already forfeited your life.

Unless you intended to give up your life, it was better to do something, anything, else rather than close your eyes due to fear.

But she was still a student, not a hero, and overcoming fear wasn’t easy.

She knew.

That closing her eyes wouldn’t make the source of her fear disappear.

She closed her eyes because she couldn’t bear to face it head-on.

The impending pain and the screams of the other students already echoed in her mind.

But no matter how long she waited, the pain didn’t come.

Unless the crazy psychopath had stopped the monster from killing her, something else must have happened.

“…We have an uninvited guest.”

“Shit. I almost missed it. Everything else changed, but this part stayed the same. Seriously.”

A familiar voice echoed.

As she opened her eyes and wondered if she was hallucinating, she saw his back.

It was slender, and it didn’t look very reliable, but she felt like crying when she saw that back.

“Loser…!”

Ah, she accidentally called him “loser” out of habit.

Kang So-hyun turned around, looking truly dumbfounded.

“You really… damn it. We’ll talk later.”

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I was screwed.

Royally screwed.

Running through the academy building in the middle of the night, that was the only thought in my head.

-“Huh? Me? I’m out buying party supplies for tomorrow.”

I wanted to go with Lilac, but thanks to him going out, I almost lost my mind. Thankfully, my efforts of running with Enhancement seemed to have paid off as no one was hurt yet.

If I had been even five seconds late, Kim Ga-eul’s head would’ve been gone already, but since I got here on time, I’ll consider it a win.

“Cadet Kang So-hyun.”

“What? You bastard.”

“You were usually such a polite student, is this your true self? No, I suppose the situation is a bit… unusual.”

He just chuckled at my natural outburst of profanity.

“I have so many questions. First, how did you know about this secret compartment, unknown even to the Chairman? And how did you know this incident would happen today? But what I’m most curious about right now is this. What are you using to repel the monsters I summoned?”

“You don’t know this?”

What I was holding was a “Pest Repellent” powered by a low-grade green magic stone.

“Of course I know what that is. But I’m asking how you’re repelling monsters with something that’s supposed to repel mosquitoes. It doesn’t make sense.”

He was laughing as if amused.

“I guess the monsters you summoned are as weak as mosquitoes, seeing as they’re scared of a bug repellent like this.”

Of course, they weren’t.

Jin Kyung-tae.

His talent was C-rank Low-Level Monster Taming. He specialized in taming small monsters like insects and crustaceans.

The monsters he could tame weren’t that impressive, but the problem was that he had the Educator trait since he was also a professor.

The Educator trait wasn’t very effective on humans, but it was incredibly effective on insect-type monsters since they could be trained from their larval stage.

The insect monsters he raised boasted the maximum potential of lower-class monsters.

It wasn’t a joke considering the classroom was filled with mid-level lower-class monsters.

But they were still lower-class monsters.

The shimmering green magic stone emitted a powerful energy, repelling the monsters.

“Does that tool normally have that kind of output?”

Of course not.

It was sold for 5,000 won at the supermarket.

“Really? It’s pretty effective, right? Be careful next time. Ah, I doubt there will be a next time, you villain.”

Enhancement.

My talent was an all-purpose power that could enhance anything, whether it was a person or a tool.

The light of Enhancement, unleashed at the cost of my innate Qi, transformed a readily available everyday item into a powerful shield against monsters.

It felt a bit… strange to use a pest repellent as a weapon in my first real battle, but I had nothing better against this bastard.

He was still smiling.

“Cadet Kang So-hyun, did you know? You never seemed like a student to me.”

“What?”

“Your always calculating and cold eyes, and the way you were always wary and suspicious of me, even though I never showed anything suspicious. You seemed like an adult, the kind I hate.”

Well, it wasn’t entirely wrong considering my inner self, but what was he trying to say?

“But I was wrong. You were a student after all. I was a bit surprised since I’m usually good at judging people.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Are you scared of me?”

“…What?”

“Do you know that your voice is trembling slightly? And the corners of your mouth are twitching even though you’re pretending to be confident and smiling?”

…Damn it.

I tried not to show it, but it seemed like I failed.

It would be strange not to be scared.

Even on a safe amusement park ride, you’d still feel a slight sense of fear the moment it started.

Honestly, I was scared. I was bluffing my way through with just a pest repellent in front of these monsters.

It would have been less scary if Lilac was here, but that useless bastard was out buying party supplies.

“Interesting. A child pretending to be an adult. I’m starting to get interested. We were just learning about youth and sacrifice. Would you like to take Ga-eul’s place, Cadet So-hyun?”

“Sacrifice?”

“Yes, sacrifice.”

“I don’t want to.”

-The Saint’s Will is moved by your good deed. Willpower enhancement effect applied.

Thanks to the sudden buff, my mind cleared a bit.

It meant I was so nervous that the Saint’s Will, which usually focused on recovery, prioritized willpower at this moment, but it was enough for now.

“Pretending to be calm in an instant, how cute.”

“You’re really annoying.”

Thanks to the willpower enhancement, my mind was now clear.

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T/N – And there we go! The hero arrives just in time to save the damsel in distress. I still don’t like butt girl though. Also, I was right with this professor, he really was a pedo.

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