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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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“P-Professor?”
“…”
Irena looked down at me, her eyes like frosted glass. As I opened my mouth to speak…
“Ugh!”
A mana hand grabbed me by the collar and slammed me to the ground. I managed to break my fall with a roll and looked up just as…
“Oof!”
…Irena shoved a potion bottle into my mouth. Then after pulling out several more, she began pouring them over my body.
I spat out the potion and quickly called out to her.
“W-wait a minute! Professor, what are you—Ugh!”
“…”
She shoved the bottle back in my mouth, determined not to let me spit out a single drop. Her eyes, sharp and cold, held me captive.
I gave up resisting. I had a feeling things would get worse if I continued to defy her.
Irena began pulling the worms off my body.
Despite the repulsive sight, her expression remained impassive. Her only focus was removing the worms.
After about five minutes, my body was relatively clean, and Irena’s eyes regained their focus.
The pressure on my chest eased, and the air around me felt lighter. I forced a smile and spoke.
“Um… how did you…? I thought you were asleep.”
“I came out to check on you when you didn’t return after three minutes. And then you suddenly dove in.”
Damn it. She’d been pretending to sleep?
And timing me? Seriously?
Seeing my stunned expression, Irena quickly added,
“As your supervising professor, your safety is my top priority. I would have done the same for any other student.”
Her words sounded like an excuse. As I frowned, she changed the subject.
“Don’t you have anything to say for yourself?”
“I was trying to improve my Self-Recovery skill proficiency…”
“Don’t you have an excuse?”
“N-no…”
“An excuse.”
“…”
Her usual expressionless face. But I could sense a hint of anger beneath the surface.
“Haa…”
Irena sighed deeply and rubbed her temples.
“There’s a limit to recklessness. You’ll die if you keep this up.”
“I know. But… to get stronger, I have to take risks…”
“…”
Her silence was chilling.
I’d never seen Irena this cold, even in the previous timeline. But I couldn’t back down now.
‘Now that I have Super Recovery, I have to use this infinite power.’
Equivalent Exchange required mental and physical pain to activate. Until now, my recovery rate had been too slow to accumulate pain points effectively.
Even with potions, there was a limit. That’s where Super Recovery came in.
I could now accumulate pain points without worrying about damaging my body. And right in front of me was the worm river.
I didn’t even need to intentionally hurt myself; the pain points would accumulate naturally!
It was a… well, not exactly a utopia, but close enough!
This was easy mode. I bowed my head to Irena, adopting a martyr-like expression.
“I’m determined to raise my Self-Recovery level here.”
“But if something happens to you…”
“That’s why I need your help, Professor. I know it’s a shameless request, but… please.”
I poured all my acting skills into my plea. It seemed to work. Irena’s eyes wavered, and she reluctantly nodded.
“Haa… I suppose I have no choice. I’ll intervene if anything goes wrong.”
“Yes! Thank you!”
With Irena’s permission secured, I was about to jump back in…
“Wait a moment.”
Irena pulled a specially treated rope from her subspace pocket and began tying it around my body.
“Professor…?”
“You know bungee jumping, right? I’ll pull you up if it gets dangerous, so stay put.”
From my neck to my legs…
She tied the rope in multiple places, as if one wasn’t enough to reassure her.
‘Other people are reckless, but this woman…’
She was overly cautious. Finally, the preparations were complete.
“Alright, I’m going in.”
I gave a quick bow and jumped into the river.
-Splash!
The worms latched onto me, and my pain points increased with every bite.
The tingling sensation and the feeling of something burrowing into my flesh were unpleasant, but… not entirely unfamiliar.
[Pain Point +1]
A gold mine.
This place was a gold mine.
Time passed.
I surfaced occasionally to breathe, and my pain points steadily accumulated.
[Pain Points: 37]
‘It’s getting slower.’
The higher my pain points, the slower the accumulation rate. Was there a threshold for pain, just like there was for pleasure? Or…
‘Do I need to be attacked by higher-ranked monsters?’
It seemed the low-ranked worms weren’t enough anymore.
[Pain Points: 40]
That was the limit. Even after another hour, it wouldn’t go any higher.
“Phew!”
As I surfaced, Irena pulled me out of the river.
I landed on solid ground, and she immediately doused me with potions, dislodging most of the worms.
Despite the disgusting sight, she continued to remove the remaining worms from my body.
“Are you satisfied now?”
“I think I can do a little more.”
I planned to milk this place for all it was worth for the next few days.
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Three days.
It had been three days since we arrived at the worm nest.
My status window had undergone a dramatic transformation.
<Unique Skills>
[Equivalent Exchange] -40%
[Forward S]
[Lightning God S]
– Allows the user to control lightning.
<Skills>
[Somewhat Clumsy Curse Removal A / F]
[Aggro B / E]
[Well Done! F]
[Somewhat Strange Phantom’s Sense of Smell C / F]
[Super Recovery S / E]
[Mana Control A / F]
– Increases mana control.
– Reduces mana consumption when activating skills.
[Metamorphosis A / F]
– Slowly strengthens the body.
[Clown’s Mask A / F]
– Allows the user to hide skills.
– Currently hidden skills: 1
[Somewhat Clumsy Incubus’ Pheromones B / E]
Investing a large amount of pain points had removed the negative prefixes from my skills. I’d acquired the three skills I wanted most, so I’d achieved my main goal.
We emerged from the dungeon and breathed in the fresh air.
“Ahhh! Finally done! Let’s go drinking! Drinks!”
“I’ll pass. I have to review the theory lessons.”
“Aww, Yuri, just once.”
“No.”
“Hmph.”
Choi Ah-hyun pouted at Han Yuri’s firm refusal. I left them and approached Irena.
“Professor, thank you for the past three days. Thanks to you, I got what I wanted.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Call me again if you need this kind of help. I’ll make time for you.”
“Haha… sure.”
Yeah, right. Next time, I’m going alone.
The team dispersed. Choi Ah-hyun went drinking with her friends, Han Yuri to the library, and I…
…was on the school rooftop, having received a message from Yeon Hyo-joo.
“Ha… Ha… Seong-hyun… please… please…”
‘She’s completely gone.’
Drooling and offering her ass like a dog in heat, this wasn’t the Yeon Hyo-joo I knew. Shin Su-yeon’s arousal was nothing compared to this.
‘It’s only been three days, and she’s like this…’
The pheromone skill was stronger than I thought.
“Fuck me, Seong-hyun… in my ass… hard…”
The queen who’d tried to dominate me was gone, replaced by a depraved slave. I approached her and rubbed her pussy.
“Not here? I want to eat you here.”
“Th-there…”
Yeon Hyo-joo shyly lowered her head.
“I… I want to save that for my husband…”
“Seriously?”
I was speechless.
“You’re fine with whoring out your mouth and ass, but you’re saving your pussy? What kind of logic is that?”
“…The more virginal I am, the higher my value in the marriage market. I want to save it until then.”
This woman was unbelievable. I shook my head and started to unzip my pants, when…
-Ding.
A message arrived. A school-wide announcement.
[To address the widespread discrimination between Rank 1 and Rank 2 , we are distributing ‘Palantir’s Rings’ to all incoming students. These rings were previously given to graduating students. Wearing the ring is mandatory for all students. Please receive your ring from your assigned professor…]
It was starting. Our dear principal had finally lit the fuse.
The next day…
The school atmosphere was in freefall. The Rank 2 students happily accepted the rings, while the Rank 1 protested angrily.
A week later…
“Why are they giving the graduation rings to freshmen?! This is outrageous!”
“The ones being discriminated against are the Rank 1 students!”
“Abolish the freshman system! Abolish it!”
A protest erupted in front of the faculty building.
Nearly half of the Rank 1, from all three years, were participating. And facing them…
“Punish the Rank 1 students who have been silently discriminating against us! Punish them!”
“Distinguish between Rank 1 and Rank 2! Distinguish!”
…were the second-year students, protesting in response. This was, of course, my doing.
‘Good, good! Just as planned!’
Yeon Hyo-joo and Kim Ji-hoon were leading the second-year students, shouting slogans.
The remaining students watched nervously, unsure of what to do. Almost the entire student body was gathered here.
I wanted this to escalate quickly.
In the previous timeline, this conflict had dragged on for two or three months. This time, I would use Yeon Hyo-joo to accelerate the process.
The professors emerged, trying to calm the students down. But it was no use.
The shouting only intensified.
“Fuck! Come out! I’m going to kill all those bastards!”
“Kill?! That’s why you’re called Rank 2 mongrels You uncivilized savages!”
The protests devolved into a shouting match, insults flying back and forth. Then…
-Boom!
A fireball from the second-year students landed among the Rank 1 students. My signal.
“You want a fight?! Fine! Let’s go!”
“Charge!”
The two groups clashed. Just as they were about to engage in a full-blown brawl…
-BEEEEEP!
A high-pitched ringing pierced the air, shaking my eardrums and rattling my brain.
“Kyaaa! What is that?!”
“W-what’s happening…!”
“Ugh!”
The white rings began to emit a black light.
A mental attack. The lower-ranked students started collapsing first.
“This is crazy…! What’s going on?! The rings! Take off the rings!”
“Fuck! They won’t come off! Ugh!”
Some students clutched their heads, others frantically rubbed their eyes. But in the end, everyone collapsed unconscious.
I hadn’t worn a ring, so I was unaffected.
But I couldn’t just stand there looking normal. I discreetly joined the fallen students. As most of the students lay unconscious…
-Woooosh!
“Professor Yoon! Look up there!”
“This is a disaster…!”
A black dome enveloped the Academy. The blue sky vanished, replaced by a dark shroud.
The same scenario as the previous timeline. Seeing everything unfold according to plan brought a smile to my face.
‘Now the Cult members will emerge from the dome… What?’
Figures in black robes poured out of the dome. But at the same time…
-Crackle!
“Gah!”
“Get out of the way! Ugh!”
Dozens of ice spikes erupted from the ground, impaling the Cult members.
‘What’s going on?!’
Before I could process the unexpected turn of events, someone scooped me up and started running.
I opened my eyes slightly and looked up.
‘Lee Seol?’
Lee Seol was carrying me, her lips pressed tightly together.
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[T/N: They are talking about the hunter prep graduates conflict with the new student who got admitted through entrance exam or the ‘Mongrels’]
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