I can feel someone’s gaze.
Naturally, I turn my eyes toward that direction too.
It looks like someone who resembles a human.
It seems like they’re trying to say something with their mouth wide open.
I wanted to know what they were saying.
In that moment, as I focused a little, I started to hear things I shouldn’t be hearing.
“I’m sorry for the weekend. We accidentally messed with the system and it crashed. When are you coming?”
Rage instantly boils up inside me.
They’re talking to me about something they should tell the writer.
In that moment, my mouth opens before I even realize it, and out comes something I hadn’t even thought of.
“Why the fck are you telling me you fckers that the A/S period has ended?!!!”
As soon as I finish that line, the surroundings begin to crumble.
My consciousness also gradually fades away, and then…
*
“Don’t call me again on the weekend after inviting me on Christmas! You have no conscience, you dogs!”
It’s an all-too-familiar ceiling.
This time, it’s real.
I’ve seen this ceiling before.
“You’re up quickly, huh?”
[Have you awakened, my dear?]
I open my eyes to two voices.
The first thing I check is my left shoulder.
“…What the f*ck.”
On my left shoulder, which shouldn’t have anything there, is something that shouldn’t be.
A squirming, blue, gooey thing.
I reach out to the unexpected foreign object without thinking.
“I’m not into tentacles and slimes. What is this?”
“No, don’t rip it off!”
An urgent voice blocks my action.
I slowly shift my gaze to where it’s coming from.
It’s Yerim, the usual face I see.
“Your shoulder isn’t fully healed yet. Be patient.”
“…Who are you?”
But there was a strange woman in white.
“This is Yoon Hwaran, the teacher.”
“How long have I been here?”
“About 30 minutes.”
She introduces herself as Yoon Hwaran.
She’s probably the one who treated me.
“What is this?”
“That’s to help recover the part that got wrecked from using magical power like a student.”
“The infirmary is more professional than I thought?”
“…What did you think the infirmary was?”
When I think of the infirmary, only one thing comes to mind.
“A place to prepare chrysanthemum flowers?”
“Oh! Are you the idiot Shinwoo student? Nice to meet you.”
Yoon Hwaran suddenly reaches out her hand to me.
In a slightly dazed state, I shake her hand.
“Your name is a bit weird, you know?”
“I heard it was okay to call me that.”
“……”
I’m slightly annoyed but hold it in, as there’s no malice.
Then, I have one question.
“Am I already famous here?”
“You were the predicted shortest time to death among the freshmen.”
“F*ck.”
[You’ve set one of the few records in life.]
‘That sucks.’
Anyway, I definitely lost consciousness at the end.
I remember collapsing at the sparring ground.
But I don’t know how I got here.
“How did I get here?”
“A small-statured girl with red twin tails delivered you to the infirmary.”
“Is that so? I should thank her.”
It turns out Hyeji brought me here.
I wanted to express my gratitude for the delivery, but…
“……Wait a minute. Delivery?”
I unknowingly express my confusion at the strange word again.
Then Yoon Hwaran points to the window with her finger.
There, the window…
“Do you see that window?”
The two panes of glass were delightfully shattered.
As I ponder what relation this has to me, Yoon Hwaran continues her explanation.
“They were throwing Shinwoo out of there.”
“…Did they throw an arm out the other side?”
“Right. So Shinwoo’s arm is basically a rag now.”
“F*ck, at least wrap it up or something.”
“This was quicker than carrying it.”
A short contemplation.
Should I be thankful to Hyeji or should I be sarcastic?
[Indeed, it was fast. It would have been speeding if it were on the highway.]
‘F*ck, I wasn’t expecting rocket delivery.’
But since she did deliver me quickly, I thought expressing thanks would be right.
At that moment, Yoon Hwaran raises a question for me.
“But why does Shinwoo have no injuries after crashing through the window?”
“……I don’t know.”
Anyway, since my left arm also flew away, I look around.
A little distance away,
There’s my left arm.
Trapped in a container full of that same gooey substance.
The condition of my arm was more severe than I thought.
The shattered glass had cut it in several places worse than the explosive surface.
[Isn’t it better than it being completely useless?]
‘Did my arm… come?’
At that moment, a thought flashes through my mind.
A prosthetic limb.
Specifically, the left arm.
The fundamental archetype of the protagonist.
[This body is drawn to automail.]
‘The prosthetic arm is all messed up.’
“Can I get something like a prosthetic arm?”
“Just attach your own arm. I can see you can enhance your physique, so what’s the problem?”
From what she’s saying, it looks like a prosthetic isn’t feasible for enhancing the body.
I cleanly give up on the prosthetic arm.
Instead, I ask about the whereabouts of the unseen Yerim.
“Okay, but where’s Yerim?”
“Oh, you know Yerim? She went on a vacation.”
I can hear Yoon Hwaran muttering, “What kind of vacation lasts that long?”
It seems she doesn’t know the full details.
“Of course I know. I introduced her to a guy. They’re probably going to get married soon.”
“……What?”
“You didn’t know? Yerim has a boyfriend now?”
Yoon Hwaran’s eyes instantly dimmed.
Muttering ‘But she said she was not getting married…’ she looks a bit like a malfunctioning doll.
The problem is…
“Thank goodness Yerim is getting married before she turns 30, though she’s a bit late.”
“Ahaha.”
I was so oblivious, I kept blabbering on.
“If she had gone over 30, she would have definitely been scorned.”
“Shinwoo student? Shall we attach your arm now?”
Yoon Hwaran seems to be trying to change the topic.
It looks like she found the previous conversation burdensome.
“What’s marriage? It was supposed to be difficult to lead. Just thinking about it is a great relief.”
“…Could you not say any more?”
Before I knew it, Yoon Hwaran’s demeanor had sunk.
But my mouth couldn’t stop, I kept jabbering.
“The wedding ceremony might be soon. But I think a baby will come first.”
“……”
“So, I’m planning to think of a baby name and recommend it.”
At that moment, a number rose above Yoon Hwaran’s head.
Simultaneously, a mirror fragment appeared.
As I focused on that mirror fragment, light began to spread from it as before.
*
Voices echo through my recovering vision.
[I now see the principle activating your ability.]
‘What is it?’
Even though my vision isn’t fully restored, the voice in my head continues swiftly.
It sounds oddly excited.
[Do you remember the mirror fragment that appeared earlier?]
‘Yeah, it suddenly appeared when the number above my head went up.’
[If you wish to read it, your consciousness will read another’s future before regression.]
In other words, it means the activation of the ability is determined by my will.
It’s a relief that it’s not an unconditional ability activation.
‘I’ll think about it, but it’s an ability so doesn’t it consume a lot of magical power?’
[It will probably consume a fixed amount of magical power. More than that, as you felt last time, it will have to be paid with physical strength.]
‘Ugh, I need to see it soon. Gimme the quick view, the quick view, the quick view.’
Hastily wanting to rush through it, the things in front of me suddenly disappear.
In their place, a specific moment unfolds.
It’s the sight of Yoon Hwaran drinking alone at home.
There’s no visible difference from now.
However, the date on the phone beside her shows December 24th, three years into the future.
The moment I wonder what happened that day, the image starts to move slowly.
“F*ck! You all said you’d remain unmarried and now you’re all getting married!!!! You traitorous bastards!!!!!!!!”
It seems to be Yoon Hwaran before regression, who couldn’t get married and was drinking alone.
Then I recall how her expression was incredibly displeased when I was just chatting a little while ago.
[It seems you are quite in a pickle.]
‘Seriously, I’m so f*cked.’
At that moment, the surroundings began to flicker in red light.
[It’s time to go.]
‘F*ck, this is longer than a preview of the music.’
*
As I focus on going back, I return to the present.
The first thing that catches my eye is Yoon Hwaran staring at me with dead eyes.
I feel slightly drained, as if I’ve been here for a while.
At that moment, a chilling sensation flows down my spine.
“…Teacher?”
“Shinwoo student.”
Upon hearing Yoon Hwaran’s words, I unknowingly shudder and remain silent.
Whether I answer or not, Yoon Hwaran keeps talking.
As if my response doesn’t matter.
“You said you wanted a prosthetic arm, right?”
“No, I just want my arm back. My arm is the best.”
Yoon Hwaran, with a full smile on her face, proposes to me.
At a glance, anyone would think she’s being friendly.
But…
“No, I have to try this. This is an opportunity.”
“No, I’ll just have my original arm as you said.”
I was too nervous.
Her sudden use of honorifics.
More than anything, the gaze she’s directing at me has no hint of a smile.
“Maybe I’m not married, but my ears aren’t deaf.”
“Teacher? There are things I have to say.”
“Go ahead.”
Yoon Hwaran called herself unmarried.
But that’s incorrect.
“You’re not unmarried, Teacher.”
“Really? Actually, I was just hit on not too long ago.”
Yoon Hwaran’s expression softens.
She looks quite pleased at the comment that she isn’t unmarried.
Of course, Yoon Hwaran is definitely not an unmarried woman.
“They should call you a gold miss.”
“Let’s start with automail.”
[It’s going to hurt.]
Because she’s a gold miss.
I don’t leave the infirmary until two hours later.
*
Professor Pilyong looks at me, puzzled.
“Why’s your left arm like that? Did someone do this to you?”
“Yep.”
“……”
“……”
A sudden silence.
The awkwardness makes Professor Pilyong speak up again.
“But why does your face look so pale?”
“……I just came back from a despair genre.”
“Ha… Just sit down.”
Just a moment ago, I was in the infirmary.
Two hours.
That’s how long I stayed there.
In those two hours, I tested out various prosthetics.
Some prosthetics were called demon-possessed arms, but they were less effective than the demons themselves.
However, the most dangerous was the silver arm with a red star drawn on the shoulder.
[I could’ve become the Winter Soldier.]
‘F*ck, I didn’t expect the brainwashing code to be activated the moment I attached it.’
Currently, I was in Professor Pilyong’s Research Building.
I had come here as I mentioned before the faculty meeting started.
Hearing my explanation makes Professor Pilyong sigh and grab his head.
Seeing that makes my mouth open without me realizing it.
“Don’t hold your head when there’s none left. It won’t help.”
“Do you want me to ruin your right arm too?”
“I’m sorry, it’s the fault of someone hoping for a wasteland.”
[They say there’s an oasis in the desert, but that’s hopeless.]
‘Honestly, being reborn might have a better chance.’
Veins rise on Professor Pilyong’s forehead as he grits his teeth.
But he manages to explain why he called me.
“I want to remeasure all the devices in our research building a bit before the faculty meetings.”
“How many?”
“About 50.”
“F*ck, I wouldn’t even rewrite my dissertation like that.”
As soon as I mention the word dissertation, Professor Pilyong suddenly flashes a grin.
“Thanks to you, I wrote a lot of papers.”
“But you do take care to allow the research students some rest, right?”
“…….”
A brief awkward silence.
“Professor?”
“Shut it.”
Of course, I don’t know how many people sweated for that happy face, but…
At that moment, I hear the hustle and bustle of someone entering the research building.
It was the research students.
The research students were struggling to bring in boxes containing the readers.
They look just as pale as I do.
Seeing that, I can’t help but feel a slight stirring of humanity left inside me.
“But do we really have to do all this?”
“We have old recordings, so we need to compare them one by one.”
“It feels like filming AV. This seriously sucks.”
“Now, because you said that I feel weirder.”
[Wouldn’t it be time to start the interview now?]
‘Please shut up. Where the hell did you learn that from?’
Two hours before the faculty meeting starts.
In that time, I tested precisely 60 machines.
Originally, there were 53, but during the testing, the research students created 7 additional machines in real-time.
Of course, results never pay off for the effort put in.
All the results concluded with “Ability cannot be determined.”
After I finished inspecting the last device, the research students staggered back into the lab.
The situation hadn’t improved at all.
Professor Pilyong hurriedly began copying everything to a USB.
After confirming everything was copied, Professor Pilyong and I headed to the faculty meeting.
*
A large table.
And surrounded by countless professors.
Seeing that scene really makes it feel like we’re having a faculty meeting here.
“Today’s faculty meeting has additional agenda items as previously announced this morning.”
As the elderly female professor in the seat of honor speaks up, the surrounding chatter gradually settles.
In the meantime, I glance around.
There seemed to be quite a few professors.
Some even had to stand because they had no seats.
[Are they all really professors?]
‘It’s a hell of a lot of them, right?’
“Professor, are there this many professors at the academy?”
“No, almost all the staff came today.”
“Do we get snacks if we come today? What snacks do we get?”
“It’s all because of you. You!”
At that moment, the elderly female professor who was the first to speak opens her mouth.
“The additional agenda for today is to discuss the punishment for freshman iron rank Kim Shinwoo.”
“Death penalty!! Death penalty!! Death penalty!!”
Sudden shouts for the death penalty.
I check where they’re coming from.
There was Yoon Hwaran, yelling with bloodshot eyes and spitting as she screamed.
Anyone who saw would probably think she had encountered her parents’ enemy.
[……You’re pathetic.]
‘That f*cking gold miss.’
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