LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 20
As I headed to school, I recalled what the doctor had said.
The test results showed that my ability was still stuck at the developmental level of an infant, and misusing it could lead to serious injuries and hinder its growth.
“But in a way, that’s a relief. I used my powers to the point of magic exhaustion and didn’t have any real issues, right?”
Yeonhwa and her friend Maria were expressing their relief.
“Yes, I think so too. It’s rare to be unharmed after experiencing magic exhaustion. Plus, if my ability is at an infant level, it means there’s room for growth, doesn’t it?”
It was indeed a relief.
A lifelong bookworm suddenly sprinting a kilometer was a bit much.
Just the fact that I wasn’t in trouble felt like a win.
And Maria was right. Abilities do grow. Even if I was late to the party, with effort, I could improve beyond where I was now.
But I didn’t want to think so lightly about it.
While others were busy sharpening their skills, I had just been sitting around with my hands in my pockets.
If I had faced my fears earlier, Yeonhwa wouldn’t have been shocked, and we wouldn’t have been dragged into the dungeon.
My laziness and cowardice had caused those close to me to suffer.
I didn’t want to let that happen anymore. That wasn’t justice.
“Right. Thanks for putting it nicely.”
If I wanted to catch up to others, to become a hero who could protect them… the road ahead seemed incredibly far.
While everyone else was already running, I was just now stepping onto the starting line.
So, I had to start putting in pain-staking effort from this moment on.
Yeonhwa squinted at something and then dashed off, saying it was a good morning.
It was Blanca.
If it hadn’t been for her, I wouldn’t have been able to face myself properly even now.
So, I was thankful.
This didn’t mean that I wasn’t grateful for Yeonhwa or her family.
I felt like I had received way more than I deserved from them.
But she taught me that people can’t improve just by being watched over.
With that gratitude in mind, I smiled at her and greeted her with a good morning.
Her expression was— like she was looking at something quite uncomfortable.
– – – –
No matter how much I scoured the news, there wasn’t a single article about the grotesque sulfuric acid murder case yet.
There probably wouldn’t be one going up anytime soon.
I hadn’t left any trace at the scene…
And the Evil Society wouldn’t want their deeds to be known.
Still, it felt a bit disappointing.
I thought a whole bucket of concentrated sulfuric acid would easily erase two-thirds of the evidence, but the pool was larger than expected, and I only managed to eliminate half.
Of course, that alone was enough to throw the villains into chaos.
They might even be interrogating every inch of their territory right now to root out any internal traitors.
In other words, last night’s escapade could be deemed a grand success.
However, I still felt utterly uneasy.
The reason, of course, was Jinhyeon.
It was troubling enough to have to go to Lapiz’s house, and then he had to pull that stunt.
Just seeing him smile made my stomach turn; good morning?
It felt like looking at an old man propping a rotten fish head up and calling it food.
And to top it off, I was already on the edge from him splitting something that shouldn’t have been split.
So, at lunch, I felt indifferent to food, not knowing if I was even eating.
It wasn’t that the food was bad.
Korea had devoured the Eurasian continent whole, resulting in an incredibly developed culinary culture.
But although it was Korea, in reality, it was Heros Company that had consumed Eurasia.
However, since Heros Company set the new global standard to Korea instead of the USA, it was all the same.
Hence, even with all sorts of nationalities flooding into the Academy, it felt only natural for everyone to speak Korean.
The food culture blended Korean cuisine with various global styles to create fusion dishes.
Overall, it was delicious.
But today, my appetite was just ruined because of Jinhyeon.
“You don’t seem to have much of an appetite. Are you okay?”
That clueless face of his really agitated me, completely unaware of why I was slow on the uptake.
“…It’s just today. It’s only today. I just don’t feel like eating much.”
“I, I think it’s delicious…”
Lapiz, being herself, said it was tasty without realizing it was a mistake and immediately shrank back apologetically.
“Sometimes, there are days like that. Cheer up, Blanca! And if you’re okay with it… I’d like to hear a bit of your story, if that’s alright?”
Yeonhwa skillfully lightened the mood and subtly started asking for my story.
“My story? Uh… Ah. The one from the dungeon? It probably won’t be very interesting.”
At that moment, I remembered something I had said back then. Right, I had mentioned something about having lived on the outskirts.
I honestly had no actual story to tell.
I lived on the outskirts, killed lots of monsters, then got spotted by a hero who was patrolling the area and was brought into the city. That’s it.
With her looking so eager to hear something, I couldn’t just tell her something that uninteresting.
Especially since having a story might help me get closer to Yeonhwa or Jinhyeon.
“…It’s a bit awkward here. I’ll share it when we go to Lapiz’s place this Saturday.”
I had to think of something to say by then.
Seeing that, Yeonhwa dropped any pressure and thanked me for agreeing, even though it might be a painful memory.
As I fiddled my spoon without really eating, my phone buzzed, as if someone had sent me a message.
And Jinhyeon’s phone buzzed too.
“…Talaria? Is there going to be a message for me… Ah. It’s from the club.”
Talaria was the chat app created by Heros Company. It was basically just a basic messaging program.
It was so pushy.
“A message at this hour?”
Yeonhwa, surprised that Jinhyeon’s club senior sent a message out of the blue, glanced at his phone.
“Yeah. The club president, the only senior, is a bit of an oddball.”
So I explained it for him.
Then Yeonhwa agreed, saying that the person who created such a club might not be bound by common sense.
Checking the content, it seemed like the interpretations among members were done, so once class was over, they were to gather in the clubroom.
It was Tuesday.
Well, the original story had someone summoning the club whenever they felt like it, so it wasn’t all that surprising.
“Sorry. You’ll have to head home alone today, Yeonhwa.”
“No, it’s fine. I can wait that long. You… said you’ll be in the research building, right? The library is nearby, so I’ll just read a book!”
Maybe she was a bit scared to go home alone?
After all that mess, she might have some trauma left.
I could only hope she’d overcome it well.
That aside… club activities, huh.
Since the original didn’t describe them in much detail, I was a bit excited about how things would roll out. It was the protagonist’s club, after all.
It was hard not to expect something.
It would definitely be fun.
…And that expectation shattered the moment I stepped into the clubroom.
I finally understood why the original barely featured club activities.
This felt like something only a true fan of the original would struggle to cover up.
Because it was practically a conference on abilities.
“…That’s my opinion. I’m not sure if you misunderstood or if you’re intentionally suppressing it, but I think your true ability is light and darkness. Oh, was that too sensitive a subject?”
“…Yes.”
“Uh, um. I’m sorry about that…”
Of course, that topic wasn’t entirely useless.
Meilin’s abilities were real.
Indeed, Lucia had dealt with light as well.
Lucia was set up with a backstory of sealing away her light due to bad memories from her childhood.
Seeing that they were just figuring these things out with a questionnaire and simple tests, it showed that Meilin’s analytical skills surpassed even the Academy’s level.
In other words, this was at the level of an actual academic conference or thesis, and it provided no possibility for fun whatsoever.
I felt bored.
If I had a ball of yarn, at least I could play with that, but I had nothing, so it was dull.
“Next, we’ll move on to the special roles! You guys… hee hee hee. To be honest, I have no idea since there’s no benchmark at all! I’ll probably need to conduct a field test to gather more information!”
One lucky aspect was, despite how unimaginable what might come out was, we moved on quickly.
Due to the lack of information.
Minho also deemed the questionnaire insufficient to judge, so we decided to gather information through field tests on Thursday just like us.
“So… is this all?”
“Yeah. Since the analysis is done, I thought I might as well inform you in advance! Most importantly, it takes too long to discuss it during club time.”
With some well wishes to prepare for the upcoming rescue training, Meilin said she could leave now.
Feeling nothing particularly bad about it due to the lack of anything to do, I could only think that things were going to get tiring moving forward.
Ah, speaking of which, the rescue training is coming up. I wonder how the teams will be set up.
“You really look fine, Blanca, even after coming back from the dungeon.”
During that thoughtless moment, Minho called out to me.
“Huh? Oh, yeah! Of course!”
Feeling a bit flustered but glad someone was showing interest, I flexed my arms like I was lifting weights, and he threw a more unexpected question my way.
“So, you must have gotten an artifact then?”
“Uh, yeah?”
I had a feeling I knew where this was going, but I couldn’t find it in my heart to refuse.
Because I felt guilty towards him.
He had a chance to grow that I crushed myself.
…Hmm.
So, giving him at least an artifact should slightly balance out… or maybe not?
“Would it be okay if I take a look?”
“Well, I’m still having it appraised. Once that’s done—”
I was about to say I’d show it after, but suddenly Jinhyeon cut in.
“That’s an artifact we acquired together through our efforts. Please don’t think of taking it away.”