I Became the Terminally Ill Character in My Friend’s Academy Novel – Chapter 47

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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“Ugh. I must be crazy!”

Kim Ga-eul arrived at the dormitory and, seeing her roommate’s absence as an opportunity, began kicking her blanket.

“What do you mean, ‘the person I liked might have been different!’ You crazy woman! That was practically a confession!”

After rolling around and making a fuss for a while, she sat up and started shifting the blame.

“No, why am I the crazy one? Honestly, it’s that loser’s fault. Who comforts a crying girl when they don’t even like her?”

He bought her tteokbokki, fried food, and sundae.

…Huh? Come to think of it, buying someone street food wasn’t that big of a deal, right?

“No, anyway, it’s his fault for wagging his tail at me when I was vulnerable. I didn’t think the loser was like that. He’s quite the fox.”

-Is it delicious?

“Ugh, crazy! Stop thinking about it! But, what was that eye smile!? Was he trying to seduce me!?”

However, there was a somewhat unavoidable reason for Kim Ga-eul’s current state.

“Why did he do the same thing as Yoo-hak did back then?”

At a party her parents were invited to during her childhood, Cheon Yoo-hak’s actions when he approached her while she was lost and crying were incredibly similar to Kang So-hyun’s, and her heart wavered because of it.

-Are you hurt? Why are you crying? Do you want to eat this?

-No, go away.

-Hey, I don’t know what’s going on, but you usually feel better when you eat something delicious. After you eat this, you’ll want to tell me why you’re crying, right?

The atmosphere was somewhat different compared to now, but his smile beyond his dazzling blond hair was still vivid in her memory.

“…Still, I like Yoo-hak.”

Indeed, she wondered what she was doing, dwelling on someone who didn’t even like her.

-Hey, should I get revenge for you?

Suddenly, she remembered what Kang So-hyun had said to her yesterday at the end.

-No, if anyone’s doing it, it’ll be me.

-Really? You’re thinking about revenge, so it seems like you’ve fully recovered. Let’s go. We’ll be late for class.

Though she had refused out of pride, she was grateful.

Friend.

Considering their first encounter, it was a somewhat awkward word, but perhaps their current relationship was just that, friends?

“…Next time, I should make him something really delicious. What would a loser like?”

She deliberately ignored the fact that she had called him So-hyun in a moment of emotional turmoil and began to ponder.

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Back at the dorm, Kang Ha-ni reacted strongly when I recounted what had happened during lunch.

“Wow, those girls are real bitches, aren’t they? They didn’t dare touch her when I was around. So-hyun, should we take care of them for her?”

“No, she said she wants to do it herself, so let’s leave it alone for now. Besides, if we get involved in a girls’ issue, it’ll just make things worse for her.”

“Ah, that’s true. I’m worried about Ga-eul.”

“…Weren’t you the one who didn’t like Kim Ga-eul until recently?”

“Hey, that was before we became friends! And you forgave her, so what am I supposed to do?”

“Is that so?”

Ha-ni, looking a little embarrassed, scratched the back of her head and continued.

“…Well, honestly, I still don’t really like her that much, but she apologized, and she’s trying really hard to make it up to you. That’s enough, isn’t it? It’s too much for them to sneakily steal her lunchbox and stuff after she already apologized.”

“The teabagging after saying it tasted bad was a bit too much.”

“Oh, right. That was way over the line. Are you really not going to get revenge for her? I don’t like this.”

“It feels wrong to take it away from her when she wants to do it herself. I won’t directly mess with them for now.”

To be honest, I had too much to do already.

I needed to awaken the sealed Yeoui, and I also had to prepare for my older sister’s visit to the academy.

And if possible, I wanted to deal with the remaining traitor at the academy within this week, so I already had too much on my plate. If I had to take care of Kim Ga-eul’s revenge too, my schedule would be way too packed.

“Huh.”

Kang Ha-ni, who had been listening to me, smirked.

“…Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You said you won’t directly mess with them, which makes it sound like you’ve got something else planned.”

Oh, that was an unnecessarily sharp observation.

“Right. I can’t just let it go.”

“That’s what I like to hear. Anything I can help with?”

“No.”

Kim Ga-eul said she would take care of it herself, but a little bit of embarrassment wouldn’t hurt.

I opened my smartphone and accessed a website, referencing the knowledge within the settings book.

“One text message is all it takes.”

Nothing would happen immediately, but those girls would soon face a major ordeal.

It felt like I was summoning a disaster a bit too big for their crime, but wouldn’t this be the kind of satisfying revenge that would make me feel better?

“By the way, So-hyun.”

“Yeah?”

“Are you going out today? Why are you changing into your workout clothes?”

That’s right. Strike while the iron is hot. I planned to awaken the sealed Yeoui today.

“Yeah, I won’t be long. I’m just going somewhere for a bit.”

“You’re not going to take care of those girls by yourself, are you?”

“Do you think I’m you or Lilac? I don’t have the ability to beat them.”

“Okay, just checking. Anyway, it’s dangerous when it’s dark out, so don’t stay out too late and come back quickly.”

“Are you my mom?”

…Huh? I didn’t get a response to that joke.

Usually, this would be the time for Ha-ni to retort with something like, ‘Who’s your mom, you punk!’ and laugh.

“Just come back quickly. Don’t do anything dangerous.”

“Should I buy you a Melona again today?”

“Yeah, buy one for yourself too. I’ll give you the money.”

“Oh, thanks.”

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Ruyi Jingu Bang. Its official name is the Compliant Golden-Hooped Rod. Its original purpose was to measure the depth of the sea, but as was commonly known, it later became the weapon wielded by the mischievous Sun Wukong in Journey to the West.

Now, even though it’s a replica, why did I get this from the Man-Faced Tree Dungeon, when Man-Faced Trees and Sun Wukong seemingly have nothing to do with each other? Well, it was because my friend mistook the Man-Faced Tree fruits for the Peaches of Immortality.

That was right.

Among the reckless acts of the bare-assed Sun Wukong in Journey to the West, there was a scene where he devoured all the Peaches of Immortality, a rare treasure that bloomed only once every few years, and attained immortality.

The problem was that my friend mistook the Peaches of Immortality in that scene for the fruits borne by the Man-Faced Trees and wrote it into the setting.

-Ah, if I had known that wasn’t the case, I would have just made it a simple Flower-Fruit Mountain Monkey dungeon…!

By the time I pointed it out, he had already published his novel, so he downgraded the Ruyi to a Ruyi Replica and insisted that it was fine since they were both related to trees.

At the time, I wondered what the heck my friend was doing, but since a Man-Faced Tree was much weaker than a Stone Monkey, I was grateful for his mistake now.

Anyway, there were many ways to awaken this sealed Ruyi, but most of them were nearly impossible for others.

First, to awaken the Ruyi by passing the test the orthodox way, one of the following conditions must be met:

Prove that you could lift the Ruyi’s original weight of 13,500 geun, which is 8100 kg, or enter the Ruyi’s inner world and defeat Sun Wukong’s consciousness in battle.

Or, if you didn’t like that, you could prove that you could fulfill the Ruyi’s original role by measuring the breadth of the sea, or even get permission from the Dragon King of the East Sea.

Of course, these were all impossible for me.

If I could do any of that, I would have beaten the academy’s mastermind to death without needing this weapon.

I had no intention of awakening it the orthodox way anyway.

What kind of transmigrator would be foolish enough to do something like that? As always, a transmigrator has a transmigrator’s methods.

For reference, in the original story, the villain Cha Ho-young couldn’t break the seal, so he resorted to black magic and sacrificed offerings to forcibly break the seal, but of course, I had no intention of doing such a thing.

So what was I going to do?

I was going to cheat, as usual.

My friend’s settings book contained a relatively easy way to break the Ruyi’s seal. A method that no one would normally be able to use.

Well, even with the cheat, it was still difficult to pull off, but I had a secret strategy to turn the cheat into an outright exploit.

A cheat on top of a cheat.

As I injected magic power into the metal ball without hesitation, a voice echoed from the ball.

-Will you take the trial?

“Yes, I will.”

-Choose the ordeal you will challenge. First…

“A duel. Directly with you.”

-You intend to take the most difficult path.

The consciousness of Sun Wukong resided within the Ruyi Jingu Bang. Although it wasn’t as powerful as the real one, it was still a very formidable opponent, capable of wielding numerous magical arts and the Ruyi Jingu Bang.

Not only me, but even Lilac or Cheon Yoo-hak at their current level wouldn’t stand a chance against him in a head-on fight.

“I believe the most difficult path is inherently the most meaningful.”

Although my inner thoughts were completely different, I spoke with conviction, and the Ruyi reacted.

-Hardship does not always hold meaning, but your intention is admirable. I respect your choice.

When I came to my senses, a monkey with golden fur stood before me.

“It has been a long time since someone challenged me. I am the master of the Ruyi Jingu Bang…”

“मन्त्र (Mantra).”

“…Aaargh!?”

You know, when you think of Journey to the West and Sun Wukong, besides the Somersault Cloud, Ruyi Jingu Bang, and the gourd, there’s one more famous thing, right?

That was right.

The means by which the human Tang Sanzang controlled the overpowered and reckless Sun Wukong.

The Golden Headband, Sun Wukong’s weakness, and his smallest prison.

The consciousness guarding the Ruyi was like Sun Wukong’s lingering attachment, and was still bound by the Golden Headband, and in this novel, the incantation to tighten it was ‘Mantra.’

“Y…You…! How do you know that incantation…!?”

Well, it was a bit cowardly, but I was friends with the creator.

Of course, as in the original story, Sun Wukong wouldn’t die just because the Golden Headband was tightened, but I wasn’t relying solely on the Mantra for this.

I drew out the innate energy within my body and shaped it with my talent.

That was right.

My talent, Reinforcement, didn’t discriminate.

It could reinforce people and tools alike.

“Th…That power…!?”

Oh, as expected of Sun Wukong, even if it was just a consciousness, he seemed to have figured out what my talent was.

“You made quite the entrance, but I sincerely apologize for making you leave without much fanfare.”

“W…Wait…!”

“But apologizing is one thing, and doing it is another.”

Yeah, who had time for a fair fight in a real battle?

The moment the light of Reinforcement enveloped the Golden Headband, I smiled brightly, politely clasped my hands together, and chanted the incantation once more.

“मन्त्र (Mantra)!”

“Aaaaaargh!?”

Crack.

A cracking sound echoed as the Sun Wukong before me began to disintegrate into particles of light.

It was a rather anticlimactic exit for the consciousness of one of the strongest beings.

“…I thought it would be gross if he shattered, but I’m glad that it wasn’t the case.”

I blinked, and I was back where I had been, and before me lay the Ruyi, no longer in the form of a metal ball, but in the shape of a staff.

“…Did I win too easily?”

I felt a little sorry for Sun Wukong, who exited without much of a fight, but if I hadn’t finished it quickly, it would have been my head that was split apart, not his.

Sun Wukong, you were strong.

But I was just stronger.

Now, the first command I would give to the Ruyi was already decided.

“Become lighter, Ruyi.”

Honestly, how could I possibly lift this thing?

After grabbing the Ruyi and giving the command, its weight shifted naturally, as if it knew the most suitable weight for me.

30 kg

The same weight as my recently defeated nemesis, the dumbbell.

The familiar weight made me feel good.

“You’re smart. And change your form, Ruyi.”

Although I call it Ruyi Jingu Bang for convenience, this metal rod wasn’t originally in the form of a staff, and in the original work, it could transform into numerous shapes.

Carrying it as a staff was fine, but since my specialty was swordsmanship, shouldn’t it be in the form of a blade to match me?

Reading the information in my mind, the Ruyi transformed into the shape I desired.

A short, black knife. Seeing that it had further reduced its weight for easier handling, I felt a sense of pride in its ability to anticipate my needs.

The thought that this would be my bread and butter for a while made it seem even more beautiful.

“I look forward to working with you, Ruyi.”

-Indeed, I look forward to it as well.

…Huh?

“Am I feeling dizzy…? I think I heard something strange.”

-My, what a predicament. Would you like to eat something good for restoring your energy? Perhaps seeking out a Roc’s nest would be beneficial.

“No, um…”

-I am concerned that someone who has just overcome the trial is so frail. However, it is true that you have passed the trial, so it cannot be helped. I look forward to working with you.

No, wait a minute. Why are you talking? In the original work, you were just a weapon!

A weapon that I unsealed was talking back to me. Honestly, it was an unexpected situation.

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T/N – Honestly, I am so hyped for Sun Wukong. I hope the author can present his personality well because I actually quite like Sun Wukong as a character. Also, the MC specializing in swordsmanship is news to me. The only weapons I’ve read the MC uses are a knife, his fists, and bug sprays. I’m a bit disappointed about the MC transforming Ruyi into a knife. Too few MCs use staffs as a weapon and I can’t imagine not wanting to use a staff when you have THE staff.

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