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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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[You have consumed ‘Truth-Telling Alcohol’.]
[You cannot tell a lie for the next five minutes.]
Oh, shit.
Before I could process the situation, Han Yuri smirked.
“I thought it would be good to talk about things we usually keep bottled up, so I prepared this.”
“You didn’t have to go this far… this bottle costs a fortune.”
“Our leader doesn’t open up easily, so I splurged. Let’s have a heart-to-heart and clear the air. What? You don’t want to?”
“I… don’t.”
Damn it! My mouth moved on its own, betraying my true intentions.
“Why not? Do you not like drinking with me?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm…”
Han Yuri’s expression turned icy. For the second time since regressing, a cold sweat ran down my back.
Relax. Stay calm. I had to stay calm.
I desperately racked my brain.
“You know I don’t like alcohol that much.”
“That’s true.”
Han Yuri shrugged and took another sip.
‘Phew.’
I’d managed to dodge that one. My heart was pounding. But Han Yuri’s attack was just beginning.
“Are you hiding something from me?”
“…”
Yes or no.
A sharp double-edged sword aimed straight at my heart.
“No answer? Are you hiding something from me?”
“Yes.”
“What is it?”
“Lots of things. No one has zero secrets.”
A deflection.
A signal to stop pushing. But Han Yuri simply smirked.
“You’re slippery like an eel.”
“…”
“Exploiting the loopholes in artifacts like a ghost. Our leader must have dealt with this kind of thing before, hasn’t he?”
“Of course.”
I’d dealt with it plenty of times in the previous timeline, thanks to the three Witches. I knew how to handle this.
I just had to avoid telling outright lies. Or keep my mouth shut. But that would just make things worse.
“This is boring.”
“Didn’t you learn not to use this kind of thing carelessly? You could ruin your relationships.”
“Who are you calling an idiot? I did this because our relationship isn’t exactly normal. I wouldn’t do this to Ah-hyun.”
Han Yuri chuckled bitterly and hesitated, as if debating whether to speak.
I had a bad feeling and tried to preempt her, but…
“What do you think of me?”
“What?”
“What do you think of me?”
“…”
My mind went blank. My mouth wanted to move, compelled by the alcohol, and Han Yuri…
“Aren’t you going to answer?”
…pressed for an answer.
Her eyes bore into me like a snake eyeing its prey. I wracked my brain and forced my mouth to move.
“A genius.”
“…”
“A broad perspective on the battlefield. Insight that sees several steps ahead. Intuition to overcome crises. An overwhelmingly talented person.”
I wasn’t lying. Despite my dislike for her, I acknowledged her talent.
Han Yuri simply fiddled with her glass, lost in thought. Then she spoke, her voice trembling,
“Do you think… I can reach the top?”
Limits.
Han Yuri hadn’t been able to rank up from D-rank during her first year. No matter how hard she tried, how much she trained, she was stuck.
Although her talent kept her within the top 5 students, doubts about her potential were growing.
[Her father’s death.]
Her father’s death had been the trigger for her awakening.
After that, she’d quickly risen through the ranks, chasing after Lee Seol, proving her potential.
And that’s when I realized…
‘It’s a slump.’
Han Yuri had been skipping theory classes, focusing solely on practical training.
The rank wall that she’d easily broken through before was now holding firm. She’d tried everything to overcome it.
And now she was doubting herself. Her limits. Her talent.
She was asking me for…
‘Reassurance.’
I hesitated.
I couldn’t tell her that she’d be stuck for a year, only breaking through after her father’s death.
“If I had to choose between possible and impossible… it’s possible.”
She flinched.
“I… I see.”
She gave a weak smile and checked her watch. Only 30 seconds left.
“Then I’ll ask you one last question.”
I gulped. The atmosphere had shifted.
This wasn’t the Han Yuri from moments ago. This was something else.
“What did you see when you used the Wishing Stone?”
“See…? What do you mean?”
“That’s the second time you’ve directed killing intent at me. It was even stronger than the first time. What did you see that made you do that?”
I couldn’t answer that. I’d rather tear out my tongue than tell her. Han Yuri seemed to sense my resistance.
“Aren’t you going to answer?”
“No. It’s too embarrassing.”
“I don’t mind.”
“I do. I’d be cringing for the rest of my life.”
“Really…?”
Contrary to my expectations, Han Yuri gave a bitter smile and backed down. She slowly stood up.
“This is the first time I’ve been hated for doing absolutely nothing… It’s unsettling. I’m going to my room. Clean up after yourself.”
As she walked away, her face was clouded with a strange bitterness.
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The clash between the top-tier and second-tier students.
It looked like a simple conflict, but it was actually orchestrated by mental manipulation.
By whom?
‘The Demonic Cult.’
The Demonic Cult was a group obsessed with resurrecting the Witches. They infiltrated society, hiding in plain sight and sowed chaos.
Most people dismissed the Cult and the Witches as urban legends, but the truth would be revealed during this conflict.
‘They gather energy to resurrect the Witches, right?’
The Academy’s principal was the Cult’s leader, so the entire school was practically their playground.
The funny thing was, the Cult didn’t even know where the Witches were. They were just blindly gathering energy.
So what could I gain by intervening?
‘Cleaning up the trash and obtaining the Ring of Origin.’
She would be arriving in a few months. It wouldn’t do for the Academy to be in such a mess. It was like preparing for an inspection by a high-ranking officer.
And the Ring of Origin. That was the most important thing.
I had regressed. I knew her, but she didn’t know me. I would give her the ring, containing my memories of the previous timeline.
That should lessen her suspicion of me.
The groundwork for this grand plan was already in motion.
“Yuri! Three over there!”
“Got it.”
Three meteors, each the size of a bus, crashed down on three Iron Worms.
-Boom! Boom! Boom!
Any other monster would have been instantly killed, but the D-rank, earth-attribute Iron Worms were tough.
Choi Ah-hyun and I rushed towards the three near-dead worms.
‘Lightning God.’
I extended my hand and fired a bolt of lightning. I’d been practicing ranged attacks, but it dissipated into sparks midway.
‘Tsk, still not strong enough.’
I channeled the lightning into my sword instead. It was a significant improvement from the days when it only produced sparks. But…
‘Why isn’t the message appearing?’
I pushed aside my disappointment and stabbed the worm.
“Kyaaa!”
Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside.
Crushed by the meteors, the worm was helpless against my electrified sword. After confirming its demise, I turned to Choi Ah-hyun.
“Hiya! Take that!”
She shouted strange battle cries as she stabbed the remaining two worms. But her attacks weren’t strong enough to kill them.
“Why are they so tough?!”
“I’ll help.”
I swung my lightning-charged sword, finishing them off. Choi Ah-hyun looked apologetic.
“Sorry, Seong-hyun. My sword isn’t sharp enough…”
“It’s okay. They’re D-rank. Don’t worry about it.”
“Okay…”
But the shadow on her face didn’t disappear. I looked at the worms.
‘Hunting is definitely easier.’
This was an outside dungeon.
The D-rank Iron Worm’s nest.
Normally, it would be inaccessible to first-year students, but Han Yuri’s overwhelming damage output had made it possible.
Han Yuri was looking at me with a faint smile. When our eyes met, her expression returned to its usual coldness.
“What are you looking at?”
“Nothing.”
“Stop staring. It’s disgusting.”
Our relationship hadn’t changed since the night we drank together. Just a healthy dose of animosity.
Exactly the distance I wanted.
“Professor, I think we can handle this on our own now.”
Professor Irena was watching us from a distance. She’d insisted on coming after I submitted the application to enter the outside dungeon.
“I wonder if you’d say the same without Han Yuri.”
“Hey, it’s about using your resources effectively.”
“Still, I’m curious why you chose this dungeon, with its unfavorable elemental match-up, when there are other good options.”
The earth-attribute Iron Worms were somewhat resistant to Han Yuri’s attacks. That’s why she couldn’t kill them in one hit.
But I knew about the hidden treasure in this dungeon.
‘Super Recovery.’
A ridiculously overpowered skill that would maximize the efficiency of Equivalent Exchange and Lightning God.
These kinds of treasures were overflowing in outside dungeons. That’s why I’d fought so hard for the top student benefits.
“Anyway, we’ve confirmed that we can hunt here, so let’s head inside.”
“Alright.”
Han Yuri bombarded the worms with meteors, and we finished them off. After six hours of this, we reached…
…a river of worms.
“Eww! What is that?!”
“That’s disgusting…”
A cliff.
Below it, countless worm larvae wriggled and squirmed.
Hundreds of thousands of worms floating in the river. It was the epitome of disgust.
But this was my goal.
“Professor, let’s stop here for today and continue tomorrow.”
“You’re the leader. Do as you wish.”
Bingo.
We set up camp about 1km from the worm river and crawled into our sleeping bags.
Choi Ah-hyun and Han Yuri passed out instantly, and Irena’s steady breathing indicated she was asleep as well.
I stealthily slipped out of the tent and headed towards the worm river.
“What a beautiful view!”
Worm shit and other filth. Newly hatched larvae wriggled in the muck. I threw myself into this dystopian paradise.
-Splash!
The worms latched onto my skin, gnawing at my flesh like they’d found a new food source.
They burrowed deeper, past the surface of my skin, into my nerves, reaching my blood vessels.
A wave of nausea washed over me.
[Pain Point +1]
I endured the pain and continued deeper into the river. At the very bottom, a white glowing stone awaited me.
‘A Skill Stone.’
I grabbed it and crushed it in my hand. A white light enveloped me.
[You have acquired ‘Super Recovery’!]
[‘Self-Recovery’ has been absorbed by ‘Super Recovery’!]
[Super Recovery S / E]
– Rapidly recovers the body.
Yes!
The proficiency from Self-Recovery had combined with the new skill, instantly boosting it to E-rank. Thanks to that…
…my ravaged body began to heal rapidly. Like switching from 2G to 5G!
A smile spread across my face. As I reveled in my success…
-Rumble!
‘What the hell?!’
The river churned. Waves crashed against me, as if a massive impact had shaken the ground.
Then, the worm river split in two. A bizarre sight, like the parting of the Red Sea. I was momentarily mesmerized, then…
“P-Professor?”
“…”
Standing between the parted waters with her face more menacing than ever…
…was Irena.
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