Sothing New
"…Unlike you, I don't just blurt out my feelings. I wait for the perfect mont, the most romantic one, to say those words… I'm the type who values the weight of words, so I didn't say it. But if the situation was right, I would have—"
"Oh, shut up. I get it. Just back off a bit."
After the examination, Minsoo and I were walking down the hallway together.
Despite being convinced Ryu Hyemi had vacated the premises, he couldn't muster the courage to confess his feelings . And now he's in full-blown justification mode, clearly bothered by his own indecision.
You picked the wrong person to make excuses to.
Minsoo's endless excuses were exhausting. Instead of blabbering excuses to , he should've been running to Ryu Hyemi with a confession. Watching him try to rationalize his behavior with those pathetic excuses is simply aggravating.
"…Do you even know what true love is? True love isn't sothing you just blabber about to anyone… And confessing your feelings to a rival instead of the girl you like is a classic setup for a losing heroine in romantic codies… Usually, it's the one who says, ‘Oh? What are you talking about?' that ends up being the main love interest… So, I was actually waiting for the right mont, which is the correct approach—"
"Hey, just stop or else…"
"Guh, I, I was going to say this much and then go train. Well, see you!"
At my final, barely restrained word, Minsoo imdiately tucked his tail and quickly left, afraid I might chase after him.
Lately, he hasn't done anything remotely protagonist-worthy. His biggest ‘achievent' was simply not siding with Noble, which is about as basic as it gets. anwhile, I've not only clinched the Gladire tournant but also won Ryu Hyemi's heart
While we've had the sa amount of ti, the difference in our achievents is staggering. It's almost comical how despite winning the Gladire tournant and Ryu Hyemi's affection, my protagonist status remains stuck at a asly 20.1%.
Is the only way for my protagonist status to rise if I snatch away a girl? It seems Baek Taeyang can only shine as the protagonist in his own peculiar manner. In any other story, my accomplishnts alone would guarantee the lead role.
Brrr— Brrr—
As I walked down the hallway, lost in these thoughts, my phone rang.
Instructor Jang Duchul? Couldn't this have waited until I arrived, or is it so urgent we must discuss it now?
Beep—
"Hello?"
[Do you rember the place where I gave you the ability limiter bracelet?]
"Yes, I do."
I tried my best to banish thoughts of the condom-like bracelet clasped around my arm, but its ntion compelled to glance down. The unpleasant feeling of the tight rubber strap and the small round gear for adjusting power levels did nothing to improve my already sour mood.
[Co there. I have sothing to give you.]
"Understood."
Is he going to hand yet another condom-like bracelet? The resemblance, down to the ‘replace it after use' routine, is uncanny… Why do they have to be so similar in all the wrong ways?
When I arrived at the place where I first received the ability limiter bracelet, there was soone else besides Jang Duchul.
It's Victory Academy's chairman, Chun Haeil.
There are many ways to refer to him, but over ti, everyone just calls him a superhuman.
Superhuman.
To transcend humanity ans more than re strength. With awakening, surpassing the ordinary becos effortless. However, no matter how strong one becos, they remain within the limits of being human. While everyone eventually faces monts of limitation, Chun Haeil outright rejects such common sense.
Chun Haeil defies expectations, wielding power that extends beyond human capacity. Though outwardly a neat elderly figure in traditional Korean dress, within him resides profound, concealed power
He's seriously tough.
When I confronted Yoo Minhyuk's fury head-on and gauged his full strength, I thought, ‘It'll be a challenge, but I can handle it.' That was before I acquired the Demonization skill and the Corrupt Official trait, which boosted my confidence to ‘I've got this.' But with Chun Haeil, that reassurance never even crossed my mind from the start.
"This is our first ti eting like this, right? I'm Chun Haeil. Pleasure to et you."
As soon as he finished speaking and extended his hand… Rumble— The surroundings began to shake.
"How about a handshake?" Chun Haeil instantly exuded an aura, completely dominating the surrounding space. The pressure was too overwhelming to be a simple test of a student's strength.
It's similar to my Coercion skill.
I haven't mastered Coercion yet, so it's safe to say he's above . I'm surprised by the sudden display of power.
Seems like it's adhering to a cliché. The chairman and the promising talent, testing each other's abilities—a typical scenario when eting soone of authority, like a principal or chairman. I would've been surprised if they skipped this part.
[Single Point Focus Activated! Strong power envelops your entire body!]
No matter how intense the pressure, as long as I stay resolute, I can handle it. The pressure is rely a test of my abilities; Chun Haeil isn't using his full strength. I just need to exert enough force to make him wonder, ‘This student can withstand this much?'
"Oh?"
As I walked step by step towards him, I could see his face filled with interest.
"Duchul, are you seeing this? He's underestimating ."
"Haha… indeed. He's controlling his strength."
"It seems the future of our Victory Academy is very bright."
"I agree."
The flow of their conversation was odd. There was a foreboding feeling wrapped around my neck
This isn't looking good… It feels like there's more to co. Why does Chun Haeil's expression remind of a cat that just found a new toy?
"In Gladire, he pressured Max Beramic without even using his main skill… Steel skill also didn't work on him… And in the S-rank gate, he never displayed his full power…"
Creak, Creak, Creak—
All the objects around Chun Haeil scread and were crushed. The sheer force of his aura, without using any skills, was this powerful. I could see why he was called a superhuman.
"That's quite dangerous. Not using full power ans you don't know your limits… What if you encounter a life-threatening situation and take off the bracelet? If you unleash power you didn't even know you had?"
"Everyone but you could die. Of course, it would be fine if only enemies are around… but the world doesn't work that conveniently." Chun Haeil continued to speak as he increased the intensity of his power.
His action seed to provoke , as if asking if this was the best I could do, and challenging to show more strength.
[Coercion activated! Targeting living beings. Targets: Chun Haeil, Jang Duchul!]
I hadn't planned on including Jang Duchul in the Coercion. However, seeing him idly stand by as his student struggled was too annoying.
Even if he can't help it… It's astonishing to see him act this way.
Creak, Crack—
Cracks appeared under the feet of Jang Duchul and Chun Haeil. They were the result of them standing their ground under the pressure of my Coercion.
"What's the current output?"
"1%."
"Hmm… As expected, the bracelet is not functioning properly."
Listening to the conversation, it could seem like the chairman was giving advice on abilities to a student.
Just three more steps.
In reality, it was the struggle of a student enduring crushing pressure while trying to walk over for a handshake.
One step, two steps, three steps.
When I finally reached Chun Haeil and took his hand, all the pressure disappeared as if it had been a lie.
"Do you have any idea why I suddenly called you and did this?"
"Is it because of the bracelet you ntioned earlier?"
"Correct. Do you really think you were only using 1% of your output just now?"
What else could I think, of course I did.
When I looked at him with an incredulous expression, Chun Haeil smiled warmly and continued, "Recently, we started wondering if this thing, which looks like a condom, can perfectly control the output of passive main skills."
I had so doubts about that too. Wait, did he just say condom? It seems everyone thinks the sa as .
"Passive main skills vary, and I thought it was too dangerous to have just one bracelet for them. It's fine for kids who can't fully use their abilities yet, but for students like you and Kim Minsoo, who handle your main skill well… When you go into a gate or dungeon with this bracelet on, can it really control your main skill properly? I thought not."
"So this ti, we've prepared sothing that can control it more perfectly, and we've even changed the design." Saying this, Chun Haeil turned and pushed a box towards .
"This was made specifically for you. I'm sure you'll like it." When he opened the box at the end of those words….
What is this?
A gold bracelet shone, revealing its presence.
Reviews
All reviews (0)