I Became the Terminally Ill Character in My Friend’s Academy Novel – Chapter 81

—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
—————————————————————–

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

-One Coin?

Seriously, how do you make a contract with a relic, and the first thing it says is “One Coin…?”

The Lucky Double Coin.

The reason I still hadn’t made a contract with this relic, which I took from the golden goblin at the academy, was simple.

The condition for making a contract with this relic was to exert all of one’s strength, fail, and die.

No, seriously.

The condition itself was vague and ambiguous.

Exert all of one’s strength? I didn’t know how much was considered “all.”

If I thought I did my best, but it said “In my opinion, you weren’t actually using all of your strength!” and I died, it wouldn’t be a laughing matter, and there were hardly any situations where I, with the knowledge of the original story, would be in danger of dying.

Well, anyway, thanks to what just happened to me…

It sounded strange to say it like that, but anyway, I had made the contract with the coin relic.

Since it was my first contract with it, I couldn’t be revived immediately, and it would take some time to recover, but since it was a relic that healed all wounds, I could wait.

By the way, now that I had died once and calmed down a bit, I realized something.

Wasn’t this a bit strange?

Was this something to be this angry about?

Well, it was normal to be angry unless you were a psychopath, but it was a bit hard to say whether this was something to lose one’s reason over.

Couldn’t I have handled it more calmly?

And even the way I fought, it was so good that it was hard to believe I did it myself in that enraged state.

It felt a bit strange to simply attribute it to being close to Professor Cathy and being enraged.

Yes, now that I had calmed down, I realized that what made me furious wasn’t the fact that the professor was brainwashed, but the sight of that black thing swallowing her.

Ah, right.

Surprisingly, as I recalled that black thing again, a strange rage flared in my chest.

What should I call this?

Something felt like it was about to surface from within me, yet it didn’t.

Beyond the strange sense of déjà vu, there was only an unpleasant feeling and an inexplicable rage.

But that unpleasant feeling wasn’t unnatural at all.

Would a person with trauma react this way if they unintentionally saw the source of their trauma again?

It felt like I had suffered greatly because of that thing.

It was a strange feeling of knowing what kind of thing it was, even though I didn’t know what it was.

One thing was certain though. That black thing was definitely not something pleasant to me.

“Are you alright?”

Hmm?

As I was checking my condition, a voice suddenly called out to me.

This place wasn’t exactly the afterlife, but it was similar to my mental world, so relics with self-awareness that had a contract with me could speak to me here, but none of the relics I had contracted with had a voice like this.

I turned my head to see who it was, and as expected, it was a woman I had never seen before.

“You fool. You wouldn’t listen when I told you to stop, and now you can finally hear me?”

Was it okay to ask “Excuse me, but who are you?” when the other person was clearly worried about me?

Her golden twintails, slightly sharp eyes, and blazing golden pupils were quite attractive, but for some reason, I didn’t feel anything even after I looked at her.

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

Her tail formed a question mark, as if puzzled.

Huh…?

A tail?

A golden ring on her head and a tail with golden decorations.

A certain monkey came to mind, but I quickly dismissed it.

No? It couldn’t be, right? That was too far-fetched since it didn’t appear in the original story. And I had already seen her true form during the trial. It couldn’t be, right?

“Ah, how do you like this appearance? According to the knowledge I gained when I fused with you last time, this kind of appearance is popular in stories these days.”

It couldn’t be, right?

“This isn’t the first time I’ve taken a female form, but this hairstyle is new. Bajie would like it.”

Damn it. It was her.

I knew that some of her techniques and principles had flowed into me when I was connected to Sun Wukong, but I didn’t know she could also see into my mind back then.

And why did you see that kind of knowledge, of all things?

“Um, excuse me, but are you Sun Wukong? The Handsome Monkey King or the Great Sage, Heaven’s Equal?”

“Hmm? You can tell just by looking, can’t you?”

She swayed her tail as if asking why I would ask such an obvious question, which was quite alluring, but where did that come from?

I wouldn’t have guessed it if it weren’t for the golden circlet and the tail.

“You should look at the essence, and not just the appearance.”

Ah, come to think of it, Sun Wukong from Journey to the West had eyes called “fiery eyes and golden pupils,” which were said to allow him to see through the essence of all things.

This was a headache.

“Hmm, judging by your reaction, you don’t seem to like this form. I quite like it, though.”

“Don’t you feel embarrassed about crossdressing?”

“Most spirits born from stars don’t have a fixed gender. They just choose the one they want.”

So there was such a setting.

I didn’t really want to know.

“Well, I haven’t really tried this kind of appearance before, but it’s quite fun.”

It was cute how she was swaying while playing with her twintails, seemingly liking them, but it felt a bit strange since it was Sun Wukong inside.

“Anyway, I know you’re not dead, but how long will it take to revive you?”

“It won’t be long. Five minutes at most.”

“Hmm, that’s good, at least we can talk. Why did you get so agitated just now?”

“I don’t know myself.”

“Hmm? Ah, I see. Is that so?”

Hmm? I just said I didn’t know. Why did she seem to have figured something out?

“Listen carefully to what I’m about to say.”

“Yes?”

“Have you ever heard of the word ㅁㅁㅁㅁ?”

“What? I can’t hear you at all, it’s muffled.”

“Hmm, I see. There are occasionally children like you.”

“Don’t just figure it out yourself, can’t you tell me too?”

“Well, it’s not something I can tell you. There’s no way for me to do that right now.”

Unfortunately, it seemed like there were some restrictions on this kind of information.

Like those things in novels where you couldn’t hear something if you weren’t qualified or were lacking.

“You’re quick to understand.”

“I’ve read a lot of novels.”

“Novels? The stories in your head? They were quite interesting.”

…Huh? How much did she read? This was suddenly embarrassing.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t read anything too embarrassing.”

Ah, that’s a relief.

“But the comments you sometimes made, like ‘so-and-so’s waist bent like a bow,’ or ‘baby milk dispenser,’ seemed a bit vulgar, so it’s better not to write those.”

Ah, shit. You said you didn’t read them…!

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

The bleeding stopped.

But Cathy knew that it wasn’t a good sign.

Dilated pupils and a cooling body.

His muscles, still soft when she carefully touched them, were gradually hardening. All signs pointed to the fact that he was dead.

This couldn’t be, this couldn’t be happening.

“So-hyun, you’re joking, right? You’ll wake up, right?”

She knew. That it wasn’t a joke.

She was the one who did this.

She had broken the person she wanted to protect with her own hands, and personally torn apart the dream she wanted to support.

Nausea welled up inside her, and tears flowed from her eyes, but she didn’t have the right or the time to cry.

If she let her guard down even for a moment, her mind would go blank again, and she would give up thinking.

If she was controlled again, she would repeat this mistake.

This was a chance So-hyun gave her by sacrificing his life, a chance to regain her senses.

What she had lost was too great, and she had things to do, so she couldn’t simply cry and walk into the darkness like a tragic protagonist.

She turned her head.

The culprit.

There had to be a culprit who made her like this, who made her harm So-hyun.

Atonement was something she would think about after taking revenge.

She wanted to cry.

She wanted to do nothing else but hold him close and keep crying.

But she couldn’t.

He was a precious student.

A child she wanted to support, a child who resembled her brother.

But perhaps it wasn’t just that.

Was it after she saw him overcoming his fear and always stepping forward to protect others?

That she started harboring these feelings?

No.

It was long before she had to deal with Jin Kyung-tae or the other villains. Yes, perhaps she already had these feelings on the day she first met him.

That day…

In that cold and dark cave, when being violated and killed by downgraded monsters felt chillingly real.

When she couldn’t even cry as she pretended to be calm, driven by the image of the person she admired and the responsibility of being a hero.

The moment he casually returned, smiled, and extended his hand to her.

His smile was already etched deep within her heart.

-It’s okay now.

Perhaps these feelings had already taken root in her heart on the day he burned his life force to save her.

She just hadn’t realized it because she had never experienced it before.

She finally realized, too slowly and in the worst possible way, what this growing emotion was.

It wasn’t just goodwill or affection.

It was an emotion too heavy and passionate to be called that.

She got up, her body creaking.

Her body ached from using power beyond her limits, and her head felt like it would split open from forcibly resisting the relic.

Even so, she gritted her teeth and endured.

She forcibly suppressed the black thing that was about to overflow.

So-hyun must have been in more pain.

She didn’t have the right to whine about this.

Lilac and Yoo-hak were charging at their respective opponents while screaming.

The relic trying to control her seemed to be coming from the villain confronting Lilac.

So-hyun, wait a little longer.

I’ll be back after dealing with this villain.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

“Ah, it seems like time’s up.”

“So you’re really not going to use Fusion?”

“I can’t move for a while if I use that. I won’t use it unless it’s an emergency.”

“It would be better than getting agitated and fighting to the death again.”

Actually, I was a bit worried about that part, but for some reason, I didn’t think it would happen like before.

-One Coin?

As the preparations were complete, the coin seemed to be urging me to fulfill the contract.

“This damn One Coin.”

As I concentrated, a small coin appeared on my hand.

“It’s a shame, I could have trained you here if we had more time. Training in the mental world is quite special.”

Aha, it was that thing manga protagonists often did. It was a bit tempting.

Actually, even if it wasn’t tempting, considering what was to come, I would probably need it.

“I’ll ask you next time after we resolve this incident.”

“Okay.”

Leaving Sun Wukong, who smiled gently, behind, I flicked the coin and was forcibly ejected from the mental world.

Defying death was quite a strange sensation.

It was like the opposite of the unpleasant feeling I felt when I lost all of my innate qi.

The connection between my body and soul, which had been severed, was restored, defying fate.

Life returned to my stiff muscles, and the lost blood rapidly regenerated.

This was all according to plan.

-You have overcome death through a special method.-

Huh?

-You have begun to vaguely understand the concept of death through repeated experiences.-

-The destroyed blood vessels have rapidly recovered and been strengthened. A bonus will be applied to all actions using mana.-

I didn’t know about this.

-The trait Resurrection has evolved. Existing effects have been strengthened.-

My body, unintentionally, began to float and emit light.

I didn’t know what it was, but…

-A new effect has been added due to the trait’s evolution.-

-However, since you haven’t fully grasped death yet, you cannot confirm the new effect.-

They didn’t seem like bad things.

Leaving the numerous notifications behind, I opened my eyes.

Their gazes were focused on me as if the audience below the stage was looking at the actor.

They seemed surprised as if they had witnessed something impossible, and at the same time, they expressed relief and astonishment.

“What, is this the first time you’ve seen someone come back to life?”

It was a joke I made to lighten the mood, but there was no response.

Were they that surprised?

Well, I guess it would be surprising if it was your first time seeing something like this.

My levitating body slowly descended to the floor.

Compared to before I died, first of all, my total amount of innate qi had increased tremendously.

Judging by the amount alone, it felt like I was filled with enough energy to not be ashamed even when it was compared to long-lived species.

And I didn’t know exactly what it meant to “understand death,” but thanks to that, I had gained a lot.

It wasn’t intentional, but it was a good thing.

I looked around, and everyone was still staring at me blankly.

Then Professor Cathy, who seemed to have regained her senses, caught my eye.

Actually, I had considered the possibility that she might regain her senses after seeing me being messed up by that black thing.

I didn’t have any basis for it.

And it wasn’t like I just tried it out while thinking that was how things usually went in novels.

It was just that if that black thing, not just the relic, had some kind of effect, I naturally knew that this was the way to do it.

Well, anyway, it wasn’t bad since it meant one less thing to do.

The moment I was about to provoke the villains…

“Sob.”

Tears burst from Professor Cathy’s eyes.

…Was she more surprised than I thought?

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

T/N – The MC really needs more awareness. You died in front of them and Cathy was the one who did it. Then you suddenly get resurrected. Obviously, they will react like this, especially Cathy.

Also, oh boy. Professor Cathy seems to be developing something more than sibling love with the MC. I would pray that I’m wrong, but I’m an atheist and this is a harem novel, so it’s probably inevitable.

Also, lol at Sun Wukong trying out a female form. Is it considered gay or furry to have the hots for a female transformed Sun Wukong?

Lastly, the MC having deja vu with the black thing controlling Professor Cathy and flying into a rage after seeing it despite not knowing why leads me to believe that it might be something connected to the original So-hyun’s trauma. I’m even more curious now.

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