My mental state is in shambles.
Honestly, I thought I would win.
But the result before my eyes is that I was utterly humiliated by two dogs.
It was fcking terrible.
At least the silver lining is that this is an academy.
Unlike those crazy bastards who think, ‘If you don’t know, you should just get beaten up more.’
“So… Shinwoo student, what do you want to request from me?”
“Can you teach me how to deal with those dogs?”
The professor I’m talking to right now is Marina, a female professor.
Short blonde hair that reaches her shoulders. An exotic appearance. Casual office attire. A black whip hanging from her waist.
At first glance, it seems pretty great, but her dazed expression makes all those elements lose their charm.
“That’s formally known as a wolf. Not a dog.”
“As long as the meaning gets across, who cares? Why are you so picky?”
“……Anyway, what problems do you think you have, Shinwoo student?”
“Why does the question I asked turn into a question for me?”
“Hah…”
Marina sighs as if the ground is about to swallow her.
Her lament is as fluent in Korean as her language skills are.
“To be honest, I never thought you’d lose to such trash mobs. Especially you, Shinwoo student.”
“How is that trash? That’s a boss monster!”
[That’s because you can’t catch it.]
‘Don’t tease me when I’m already pissed off. Those dogs are enough to make me angry.’
Grabbing my head, Marina shifts her gaze back to me.
“If it’s you, just a bit of physical enhancement should be enough to deal with it.”
“How do I do that?”
“…How on earth did you get admitted here?”
Marina’s face begins to contort.
She is mixing doubts about whether the person before her is an actual student with the sigh of misfortune for getting a moron.
“This is something anyone who has awakened their powers would know. Basic education material.”
“I’m considered powerless according to the scanner.”
“How did a powerless person come here?”
“That’s discriminatory. Should I report you?”
“Fck…… Fine, focus.”
Marina begins to fix her gaze on me.
Though her eyes were dazed, they were fixed squarely on me.
Since it came to this, it seems like she is going to explain properly now.
“You understand that magical power forms in the body when a person awakens their abilities, right?”
“Yes, I learned that once I got here.”
“…Anyway, let’s assume Shinwoo student is an ability user.”
Marina mutters, “I’m not surprised anymore, fck*.”
It was good to see her adapting already.
“Generally, you can sense the magical power in your body from the moment you awaken your abilities.”
“Everyone?”
“Of course, not everyone. But there is a point at which you can sense it.”
Suddenly, the professor swings her whip down toward the ground.
On the ground, a crude face was drawn, seemingly angry.
“You can usually sense the magical power when you’re wrapped up in intense emotions like anger.”
“I think this might be hard for me, so please give me a five-minute crash course.”
“When you sense your magical power, everyone feels something similar. A foreign substance in your heart.”
Marina places her hand on her own solar plexus.
Then she moves her hand down to her legs and arms while continuing to explain.
“The direction in which this foreign substance flows and circulating it is the basics of physical enhancement.”
“Can you put that more simply?”
“How can I make it simpler! If you want to enhance your arm, use your arm! If you want to enhance your legs, use your legs! The whole body means the whole body!”
Finally, Marina starts speaking informally, surpassing her patience.
Mentally, she’s still struggling.
[You really don’t know even that? You’re not that dull, are you?]
‘Let’s not expect much from a guy who can’t even write clearly.’
“Seems simple enough. I’m worried this will just bring everything to a higher standard.”
“If it were that easy, everyone would just go around enhancing their bodies.”
Marina’s continued explanation reveals that enhancing the body isn’t as easy as it appears.
If you can’t control the amount of magical power accurately, it’s worse than not trying at all in a person-to-person fight.
“Isn’t it just good if I can enhance? Plus one is better than no enhancement, right?”
“Do you remember how many students have gotten beaten up by you?”
“I can’t even remember how many pieces of bread I’ve eaten up until now, how can I keep track of that?”
“That’s exactly why it’s something you can’t recklessly do against people! Please think about it, fck!!!”
Indeed, when Marina said that, I started to remember.
Students who fell out of balance while recklessly trying to enhance their bodies and ended up getting counter-attacked.
Clearly, that was due to proper physical enhancement not happening.
“So, if you’re not confident in physical enhancement, then it’s better to rely on your unique abilities. Use the method that’s better.”
“Without abilities, is there really no other option but physical enhancement?”
“I didn’t think you’d have absolutely no abilities, but since your ability is superior in person-to-person combat, physical enhancement will give you a lot of advantages.”
“But you just said that an intermediate enhancement is poison. Why the contradiction?”
“That’s limited to person-to-person combat. The story changes when it’s against monsters.”
That was a bit hard to process.
Was Marina worried about my mental state? She continued with additional explanations.
“How did you feel fighting that monster earlier, Shinwoo student?”
“Well, the blade didn’t really dig in. My attacks didn’t seem to hit properly.”
“Shinwoo student, your style is very tailored for person-to-person combat. It’s good for surprise attacks, but without proper weapons, it lacks power against monsters.”
“Dmn, it was damage insufficiency.”
Anyway, I got a rough understanding of it.
That against a monster with a bit tougher exterior, my style of attack wouldn’t be that effective.
In the end, it points out the need for a way to enhance that strength.
Well, with Marina here, it seems likely we can find a solution.
“Let’s start by assuming Shinwoo student is an ability user, and begin from sensing the magical power.”
“You said I need to feel intense emotions, right?”
“Yes, would you like to give it a try?”
“Even if you tell me to do it right away, how am I supposed to do that?”
“Um… then I’ll help you out a bit.”
Marina starts to clear her throat for a moment.
Then, a piercing voice escapes from Marina’s mouth.
“You idiot! Is your head just for decoration?!”
“That was a bit sudden, but since I hear it all the time, it didn’t affect me.”
“…..Let me change the direction.”
Marina begins to think quite hard.
In that instant, a voice inserts itself.
[I will help you too. Is this your first love? I’m not really into inexperienced people.]
‘Hey, wait a minute…’
That’s pretty deep.
[Why do you play so immaturely? Get a proper hobby.]
[On Christmas, I’ll be hanging out with some friends. Don’t keep contacting me.]
[I’m only hanging out with you because it’s me. Be grateful.]
[You want to stop? Is this a time to stop?]
[Don’t lecture me about going for coffee with other guys, it’s disgusting.]
[Why so harsh? Is someone feeling sweet?]
[Ah, I went to a nightclub once. Why? What?]
I felt a considerable amount of pain.
It hurt, really hurt.
Then, refusing to yield, another sharp jab comes from Marina.
“Since it’s Friday today, have it for me by Monday morning.”
“This needs to be submitted today. It’s urgent.”
“It’s doable, why are you whining? Just do it like this sooner.”
“Is it really that hard? If a guy can’t manage that, how can he do anything?”
“What’s causing all this fuss? Five minutes should be enough, right? Stop whining endlessly.”
“This is something I’m guiding you with, so if it’s this much, I deserve to put my name on it.”
“I’m leaving first, so make sure to place it on my desk by the end of the day. I’ll check it tomorrow morning.”
This feels dangerous.
My heart was already wavering.
“No, fck*, wait a second! This area of attack is too overwhelming!”
But my words fell on deaf ears as the voices continued.
Once again, they began to tear through my heart.
[Why are you driving a compact car? They really don’t go anywhere. I could buy something else with that money.]
“Are you just asking without knowing? Could you at least think to look it up?”
“Wait, be quiet. I’m too into it right now.”
I spoke to both the voices and Marina at the same time.
Of course.
[Is this all my fault? Good, so I might as well leave.]
“Stop blindly doing it. If you don’t know something, think about asking!”
“Shut up, please.”
Not a shred of my words reached them.
Rather, the sharpness of the verbal blades intensified.
[If I buy a house, you’re definitely putting it in my name?]
“I’ll give you money later, just pay for it for me. I’ll say I’ll pay for it later.”
“Shut up!”
My heart starts to race wildly.
It felt like something was about to burst from my chest.
Ready for that final step.
As I was just a step away, both the voices and Marina started shooting sharply at me once again.
[What did I add to this? What’s wrong with you taking that tone?]
“Why are you so petty? No wonder you have no popularity with girls.”
“I told you to shut the fck* up!!!!!!!”
In that moment, something surged from my heart, feeling like a fully formed lump.
It felt familiar yet not at all familiar, a slight discomfort.
It seemed to have a sticky, viscous quality to it.
This must be magical power.
I thought it was blood, sweat, and tears, but I hastily denied it.
If it’s not true magical power, I’d have to endure even more pain than before.
[Congratulations, dear one. Your efforts have paid off.]
‘Fck*, that was pretty intense.’
At that moment, Marina looks at my face and carefully asks.
“Shinwoo student, do you feel anything?”
“Yeah… fck*. I feel it way too well.”
Marina claps as if relieved.
Her expression seemed to glow with relief, as if her earlier statement had a lot of personal attachment.
“Then, Shinwoo student, shall we try for physical enhancement?”
“But how do I move this?”
“Think of pushing a viscous substance slowly from your heart towards the limbs you want to enhance.”
I tried to push the foreign substance I felt from my heart.
However.
“This isn’t moving at all? Does this also get influenced by emotion?”
Not a bit moved.
It felt like a highly viscous object, but once I tried to move it, it was like stone, not budging at all.
It was trickier than I thought.
“Of course. At this point, it’s better to be calm rather than overly intense emotions.”
“….That’s quite a cruel comment for someone who was just torn apart emotionally.”
“I can’t help it. Isn’t it regretful to give up after just suffering like that?”
“Fck*.”
Regardless, I calmed the myriad of emotions swirling inside me.
Soon, tranquility arrived.
In that calm, I concentrated on the foreign substance in my chest.
The direction this energy would move is my left arm.
Then, like a lie, I could slowly feel a massive viscous substance starting to move.
“Oh! This is moving.”
I couldn’t help but express my admiration.
But.
[Dear one? Wait a moment! You shouldn’t move so much magical power at once before the sparring ground system is on!]
The voice in my head and Marina looks a bit different.
They seem quite urgent, and so I wondered if there was a problem.
At that moment, a sense of pressure felt from my left shoulder.
It felt like I was cramming something forcefully into a small hole.
It was as if the clumps that couldn’t get through the tiny hole were continuously getting compressed.
But that pressure came with a feeling of liberation after a brief pause.
– Bang!!!!
“……What?”
The liberation originating from the explosion of my shoulder.
My left arm, which lost direction, flies freely through the air, like a bird soaring.
Of course, it fell to the ground due to gravity.
– Thud.
Ultimately, it fell to the ground, and only silence passed between Marina and me.
“….”
“….”
I opened my mouth again to grasp the situation.
“What the hell is this?”
“If you move too much magical power at once, explosions can occur at the joints.”
“……Why not mention the safety rules earlier?”
“I didn’t know you would recklessly move like that all of a sudden.”
No sooner had she finished speaking than blood gushed from my shoulder.
At least the luck here is that I can’t feel the pain.
I think the shock of the situation made the pain feel somewhat dull.
In that moment, I saw Hyeji rushing toward me, followed closely by Jeong Ahyeon.
“Shinwoo! What’s happening!!”
“Hyeji, for the record, this isn’t my fault.”
Marina tries to quickly distance herself, claiming it’s not her fault.
That’s definitely a professor’s move.
Hyeji looked worried about me, but I definitely saw her expression when she rushed over.
“When you were coming here, your expression was like ‘What a lucky bstard to set off a bomb!’ wasn’t it?”
“……Anyway, why did Kim Shinwoo become Kim Shin/Woo!!”
Hyeji couldn’t bring herself to deny my words.
She had a slightly pricked expression, but I was grateful she was concerned, so I quickly explained the situation.
“I failed at physical enhancement and ended up like Shanks, fck*.”
Looking at my left shoulder, which was now missing, the amount of blood flowing had significantly decreased.
When I turned my gaze down, I was suspicious the blood puddle was approaching a lethal amount.
At that moment, a voice spoke in my head.
[Are you heading towards the great seas, my dear?]
‘No, is that an antiquated person? How do they know about One Piece?’
[It’s famous enough. By the way, I’m beginning to remember the ending parts.]
‘I got off at the Odeng fish cake soup; if you spoil it for me more, I’m truly going to die.’
Spoilers should never be forgiven.
Thinking back, I should’ve dealt with the kid who spoiled Endgame with his League ID but sadly couldn’t catch him.
Now Jeong Ahyeon raises her voice dramatically.
“Master!! Where on earth did your left arm go!!”
Hearing her words, suddenly my lips began to tremble, and my head started to spin.
My vision blurred, and my legs went weak.
It was probably the fact that I had lost too much blood.
Unable to hold out any longer, I collapsed while muttering softly.
“I’ll come back with a new era.”
– Thud.
My body collapses onto the blood puddle.
As I began to smell the coppery scent of blood, my consciousness started to fade.
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