Chapter 77
I think I asked the dorm supervisor for no reason.
Ever since I heard that strange talk, I’ve been feeling uneasy.
They said it won’t break unless it’s an A-Class or higher attack…
That sounded like they were saying an A-Class or higher would come here.
There are things in our society that you just shouldn’t say.
Did we win?
If I come back alive, I’ll definitely confess.
Don’t worry, I’ll definitely come back.
I can’t die here… tomorrow’s my wedding anniversary.
I’m fine on my own. Go ahead.
Also, showing family photos or drawing your hometown is a no-go.
This is the unwritten rule of modern society.
It’s even above the constitution.
The moment I thought of the flags, my intuition rang alarm bells.
“Damn.”
“…What?”
“Ah, sorry.”
I keep cursing in front of the dorm supervisor.
But this is your fault.
It’s not my fault for cursing, it’s your fault for making me curse.
Still, I bowed and apologized.
Isn’t this a world where power is a bully?
Since I’m not strong enough to crush power yet, it’s natural to bow before it.
After that, I went straight back to Hayan.
“It’s a bit dangerous here.”
“…Didn’t they say the instructors are guarding us and the shelter is sturdy?”
“…That’s the problem.”
“Huh?”
Hayan, being young and innocent, probably doesn’t even know that flags exist in this world.
I’ll explain about flags later when we have time, maybe while watching horror movies and hero flicks.
Right now, we need to prepare for something.
If the shelter breaks, debris will fly everywhere.
I gestured to a female student nearby.
“What’s up?”
“Is there anyone among the first-year girls who can use alchemy? A barrier mage would work too.”
“No… most are in the Physical Category, and the Magic Category is all elemental mages.”
“Sigh…”
I wanted to keep the students as safe as possible, but out of all these people, there’s not a single alchemist or barrier mage?
Even if Korea is mostly Physical Category, isn’t this too much?
I’m starting to miss the Clock Tower.
There were all sorts of miscellaneous ability users there.
But complaining won’t make them appear.
If the best isn’t possible, we go for the next best.
“Hayan, can you use magic power?”
“Yeah, it’s almost fully recovered.”
Good, because it’s impossible for me alone.
“We need a Colosseum-like structure, can you make one?”
“…How do I do that?”
“Just make a call.”
“…?”
“Colo-seum.”
“…?”
“Sorry…”
“I wish you wouldn’t make such unfunny jokes.”
“…Yeah, sorry…”
They say the more urgent it is, the more you should stay calm.
Soldiers on the battlefield crack jokes to ease tension.
So I tried it too.
But all I got back was a look of disdain.
“The shelter’s going to collapse soon.”
“…Shouldn’t we tell people quickly?”
“How many would believe me? I’d be lucky if they didn’t call me crazy.”
“True, Gyeoul’s image is too bad…”
Looks like she’s also making jokes to ease tension.
…Surely she doesn’t really believe my image is that bad, right?
“Stop the nonsense and listen. When the shelter collapses, debris will fly everywhere. We need to block it as much as possible.”
“But I can’t shield everyone here.”
Even if it were possible, it’s too inefficient.
Why do you think Physical Category is called Physical Category?
Because they can take hits.
“We don’t need to block everything. Physical Category students can tank, and the instructors won’t just stand by. Just protect the Magic and Super Ability students who can’t react quickly.”
“…That’s doable. But what about you, Gyeoul?”
“I’ll attack the enemy as soon as the shelter collapses.”
No matter who the enemy is, they won’t expect someone to jump out through the broken ceiling.
My plan is to leap up and cut their throat in one move.
It’s a crude and flimsy plan, but that’s what makes it first-rate.
“Are you sure? Maybe we should leave it to the instructors…”
“I’ve been betrayed by adults too many times, so I feel safer doing it myself.”
And honestly…
I was confident.
Since reaching A-Class, all my senses are different.
Exaggerating a bit, it feels like all my abilities are a hundred times better than before.
“I’ll defend as fast as I can and come help!”
She said it with a serious face, but to me, she just looked cute.
I patted her head a few times and started stretching.
“What’s he doing now?”
“Leave him be, it’s not the first time he’s done something weird.”
…That hurts.
When have I ever done something weird enough to say it’s not the first time?
“Stop picking on Gyeoul!”
“He might be feeling stiff!”
“Yeah! A true student who stretches even in this situation!”
Damn.
I almost kneeled under the combined mental attack from the male and female students.
‘My ACL almost snapped before the shelter did.’
I pulled myself together and started stretching again.
*Crash—*
“Ahhh!”
“Isn’t that sound way too close?”
The sound was even closer than before.
It’s almost time.
I signaled Hayan and waited, staring at the ceiling, ready to jump out…
*Thud—*
“Ugh!”
Damn.
I only thought about the ceiling breaking.
I didn’t expect a spy inside.
*Whoosh—*
As soon as I felt the cold touch, I released telekinesis to the side, but it was too late.
The price of my carelessness was a deep wound in my side.
“Cough!”
“Ahhh!”
“Gyeoul!”
“What, what’s happening!”
“It’s a skeleton! Skeletons!”
“Damn! What’s going on!”
As if my stabbing was a signal.
“It’s an attack!”
“Protect the students!”
“Potions! The skeletons are after the potions!”
In an instant, a huge number of skeletons rose and threw the shelter into chaos.
Luckily, Hayan deployed the shield she was preparing, and the instructors acted quickly, so no students died.
The instructors and seniors quickly dealt with the skeletons, but…
We couldn’t even guess who summoned them.
There’s a Satan Church member hiding here.
“Gyeoul!”
“…Can you check if there are any potions left?”
“Uh, yeah!”
Hayan ran to me as soon as the situation calmed down.
She looked pretty panicked, probably because of the blade stuck in my side.
The pain in my side was so bad I wanted to sit or lie down…
But every little movement made the blade wobble, so I just stood awkwardly.
I can’t stay like this, not knowing when another attack might come.
“Ugh!”
I couldn’t pull it out by hand, so I used telekinesis to remove the blade.
The other students watching me looked pretty shocked.
“…Is that okay?”
“There are no potions left, how are you going to stop the bleeding…?”
Did you think I didn’t consider that?
I scanned the inside with magic power.
Broken blood vessels and damaged organs.
I used telekinesis to seal them all.
There’s no better first aid than this.
Meanwhile, Hayan, who couldn’t find any potions, arrived looking glum.
“Ahhh!”
“What!”
“Y-you pulled out the blade!”
“…I can’t just walk around with it stuck in me.”
It’s so uncomfortable.
If you can pull it out, just do it.
“Here! There’s a magic stone!”
Magic stone?
The magic energy crystal that occasionally drops from monsters.
I heard the energy inside is substantial.
A magic stone can be processed into any form of energy.
A tiny magic stone from a regular monster can power a family of four for a whole day.
So if there’s a magic stone here… that’s it.
“That’s it.”
“Yeah, that’s probably it.”
“What’s that?”
“Did you figure something out?”
I turned around and saw Chaesong and Chaerin had also gathered around me.
Maybe they felt bad for me getting stabbed.
Anyway, since skeletons aren’t monsters, they don’t drop magic stones.
So someone must have been carrying it.
Who would carry a suspicious magic stone in this situation?
It’s obvious.
“Instructor Kim Gang-seok! Come here, please!”
“Coming!”
Instructor Kim Gang-seok?
Who’s that?
“He’s a Super Ability Category hero, I heard he uses psychometry.”
“…Psychometry? That’s possible? That’s a real superpower!”
“You’re a superpower user too…”
Oh, right.
Telekinesis is a superpower too.
Instructor Kim Gang-seok touched the magic stone, and his expression hardened.
“…Do you see?”
“Who is it! Who did this insane thing!”
“It’s that person.”
Following Instructor Kim’s finger, we arrived at…
“M-me? No! It’s not me!”
It was our dorm supervisor.
…?
The dorm supervisor? That can’t be.
***
“Cough… Ahhh, feels so good.”
“Isn’t that enough? Why don’t you stop feeling and just confess what your goal was?”
“Usually people ask who I am first, but Bong-du, you’re a bit unique.”
In front of Kim Bong-du was a woman coughing up blood.
The same woman who was on the roof of the F Lecture Building earlier.
“You’re either an apostle or a follower of the Satan Church, so there’s no need to ask. Just tell me the purpose of the Reverse Paradox drawn there and what you were doing here.”
“…You know about apostles and the Reverse Paradox? You know a lot.”
“When you’re in this position, you learn things you don’t even want to know.”
Kim Bong-du shook his head, remembering the day he received the report that his son Kim Shin had committed sexual harassment.
“But why don’t you know that your precious students are in danger?”
“What? The students are safely in the shelter…”
“I planted a follower inside. I gave them a magic stone with a spell to summon skeletons.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“Believe it or not, it’s up to you. What will you do, Kim Bong-du?”
Kim Bong-du stood at a crossroads.
If he believes the woman and heads to the shelter, he’ll almost certainly lose her.
He can’t carry her and run.
Her strange body won’t pass out, so who knows what she’ll do if he tries to carry her.
Even if he cuts off her limbs, he can’t remove her head, so it’s dangerous.
Kim Bong-du’s dilemma was short.
“I’ll cut off her legs and head to the shelter.”
“What? Kim Bong-du… you’re more of a pervert than I thought.”
She didn’t seem bothered even when he mentioned cutting off her legs.
‘…No wonder she’d probably still run away even if I cut them off.’
Even if it’s a lie, there’s no choice.
His mind was filled with the thought of saving the students first.
Even if he loses her, he’ll have another chance to catch her later.
“Goodbye, Kim Bong-du. I’ll miss you.”
*Slice—*
Kim Bong-du, frowning, cut off the woman’s legs.
“Ahhh!”
“Crazy b*tch.”
“Can you… do a little more?”
Despite the immense pain, the woman seemed to be enjoying it.
Kim Bong-du made a disgusted face and flew towards the shelter.
