Chapter 22

< Chapter 22 Acceleration (2) >

The horned boar hunting was very smooth.

It was a C-rank monster, but it didn’t move in groups, so there was no danger.

The annual death rate in this Gangwon-do field is less than 0.1%.

The instructors let us experience it freely without any supervision, for this reason.

“It’s so easy.”

“How many did we catch now?”

“This makes 17.”

“We won’t fail at least.”

The members who were somewhat nervous at first were now completely relaxed, even yawning.

“Seo-yul. You’re really good at shooting a bow.”

Ha Si-yeon walked beside me and threw a topic.

“It’s my only strength.”

“Hey. Your dagger skills and movements are not ordinary either. Are you being humble?”

Hmm. She seems to overestimate me a bit.

“But Seo-yul, what’s your goal?”

“…Huh?”

Ha Si-yeon brought up a random topic.

“Honestly, it’s not easy to hope for a superhuman at the age of 20 with an F-rank score.”

She suddenly widened her eyes and waved her hand.

“Oh. Don’t misunderstand. I’m not mocking you, I’m rather admiring you. Well…”

She seemed to think she made a mistake. I chuckled and answered.

“You must have a different purpose for entering the Superhuman Academy, right? Becoming a superhuman is the goal.”

My goal is to become a superhuman.

And to survive in this world.

“…That’s amazing.”

“What is?”

“No. I just thought if I could be so confident in your situation. But I just think it’s amazing.”

Ha Si-yeon looked up at the sky with a strange expression.

“I’ve seen you training lately. You’re so passionate that I’m speechless.”

“…It’s still F-rank, what’s the point.”

“That’s why it’s more amazing.”

Ha Si-yeon looked at me with serious eyes.

“I know how it feels to work hard and not get rewarded. I’m also going through that a little bit.”

Ha Si-yeon is a promising candidate who ranks fourth in her first year.

But she can’t use magic. She only uses her body to reach the position of a promising candidate.

“I’m rooting for you. I hope you become a superhuman.”

Ha Si-yeon smiled sweetly and said that. I felt awkward by her sincere cheer.

Ha Si-yeon.

She joins the protagonist’s party in the middle of the novel.

She becomes more prominent as she learns how to use magic as the protagonist’s aide.

The scene where she sweeps away thousands of monsters with one strike after awakening her magic was impressive.

“By the way, Seo-yul, you don’t use magic either?”

“I don’t have any magic.”

“Oh… Sorry.”

I suddenly had this thought.

What if Ha Si-yeon awakens her magic earlier?

She is a good person from the bone.

If I make her grow faster, she will surely be a great help.

I weighed the benefits and risks of giving her my future knowledge.

“You have some magic, right?”

“Huh? Yeah, I do have some….”

My hesitation was momentary.

I thought it would be better to tell Ha Si-yeon how to use magic now, considering various aspects.

“First of all, you can’t move your magic from your heart to your blood vessels like other people do with that special magic.”

“Then how?”

“Well, first start from your spine…”

I tried to recall the passages from the novel as closely as possible and spit them out verbally.

“Finally, instead of your heart, move your magic from your brain to your skin all over your body.”

“…From your brain to your skin?”

I don’t even know what I’m talking about.

But it was written like that in the novel. Well, it must be right.

“Hmm. I’ll try it.”

Ha Si-yeon closed her eyes with a serious expression and started to concentrate with deep breaths.

“Hmph. There’s no way an F-ranker can solve Si-yeon’s problem.”

Choi Ji-hoon, who had been quietly watching the conversation from behind, sneered at me.

“Be quiet. Si-yeon is concentrating.”

Kim Chul-jin scolded him.

“Tsk. False hopes only lead to disappointment.”

“Will you just shut up?”

He’s really a professional bully. That’s why I like Kim Chul-jin.

That’s when it happened.

Sssss…

Suddenly, I felt goosebumps all over my body.

“Brrr. It’s cold.”

“What’s going on?”

It wasn’t just me, but everyone else too.

“…Frost?”

Kim Chul-jin muttered.

“Look over there.”

I pointed at Ha Si-yeon and said.

“…Ice?”

“Yeah. She did it.”

There was a cold air swirling around Ha Si-yeon.

“Crazy. It’s a freezing attribute!”

“Oh my god!”

Everyone exclaimed in astonishment.

Among them, only I had a smile on my face.

* * *

The field training continued.

“Seo-yul, aren’t you thirsty? Do you want some water?”

“…No. I drank some five minutes ago, I’m fine.”

“What about tiredness or something?”

“I’m fine with that too.”

“Oh! Then can I carry your equipment for you?”

“That’s a bit too much.”

I was being bothered by Ha Si-yeon.

She realized how to use her magic, and even found out that she had ‘freezing magic’, and she stuck to me like glue.

“No, are you hungry? It’s been a while since we had lunch, so you must be hungry….”

“I’m not hungry.”

She asked me if I wanted to drink water or take a break every five minutes.

Her care was overflowing.

Her care was so excessive that I didn’t know if she was a friend or a mother.

“Si-yeon, here’s some water.”

Just then, Choi Ji-hoon, who had finished his water, came up to Ha Si-yeon.

“No, drink Chul-jin’s. I have to save some water for Seo-yul.”

“….”

At that, lasers shot out of Choi Ji-hoon’s eyes.

Of course, the target was me.

“Hey! Why are you making Seo-yul feel bad!”

Ugh.

Please stop it.

It’s like pouring oil on a burning house!

Splash, splash.

I heard the sound of teeth grinding in Choi Ji-hoon’s mouth.

He’s really scary.

Not Choi Ji-hoon, but the Suseong Group behind him!

“We have an hour left. Shall we just rest for the rest of the time?”

Kim Chul-jin checked the time and got up from his seat.

It seemed like it was time to go back.

“Okay~ Then let’s take a break.”

Kim Chul-jin said that and flopped down on the ground.

I also ignored Choi Ji-hoon’s fierce gaze and sat down on the ground.

Actually, I said I was fine, but I reached my limit physically a long time ago.

This party. They all have high specs, so it was hard to keep up with them.

“Seo-yul, Seo-yul. I still have some awkward parts in using magic. Can I ask you if you know anything about it?”

Ha Si-yeon sat next to me and asked me.

She doesn’t have any special feelings for me or anything like that.

It’s just that her character is like that. She becomes completely open to anyone she trusts.

“What is it?”

“Well. I’ve got a rough idea of how to radiate magic, but…”

“Oh. That’s…”

Ha Si-yeon’s question was fortunately about things I knew.

“Tsk. I’ll just go over there and swing my sword around.”

Choi Ji-hoon spat out his tongue and moved away from us.

I wonder what’s in there, he dragged a huge carrier away.

“Ooh~ Don’t go too far. It could be dangerous~”

Kim Chul-jin casually waved his hand.

Well, Choi Ji-hoon can handle a horned boar by himself, so there’s nothing to worry about.

“Why do you stop talking?”

“Oh, sorry. So freezing magic is…”

“Mhm.”

For about 30 minutes.

I was held by Ha Si-yeon and had to explain the magic theory in my head.

“Wow. That could happen too.”

“…You’re really good at understanding.”

She understands things I don’t understand by translating them in her brain.

Her comprehension is like a sponge.

“Slightly gather and move out of the field. I’ll call Ji-hoon.”

Kim Chul-jin checked the time and got up from his seat.

It seemed like it was time to go back.

That’s when it happened.

Kugugugugu-!

“Ugh! What’s going on!”

Suddenly, the ground shook.

“All alert!”

Kim Chul-jin calmly shouted and everyone grabbed their weapons quickly.

I also grabbed my bow and took a position in the back.

What the hell is going on?

“Let’s join Ji-hoon first. Something doesn’t seem right.”

Everyone nodded their heads with stiff faces. We were about to move slowly in the direction where Choi Ji-hoon had moved when it happened.

Paaaaat-!

A huge pillar of darkness erupted from the direction where Choi Ji-hoon had gone.

“What, what is that!”

“Uh, darkness?”

Everyone was confused by the sight.

So was I.

“…This can’t be.”

I know what that phenomenon is.

This place and that effect.

It’s the seal of the demon that is sealed in this field.

How come…

It’s supposed to show up in the middle of the story!

How can it be now?

I bit my lip and ran towards the direction where the darkness burst out.

I had to check what was going on.

“Seo-yul!”

“Hey! Oh, shit. Let’s go! We can’t leave Ji-hoon behind!”

The other members followed me.

A moment later.

We could see the ground spewing out the darkness in front of us.

“What, what is this. What the hell…”

There was Choi Ji-hoon, who was flustered. And a ‘black iron greatsword’ that was somehow deeply embedded in the ground.

The darkness was pouring out fiercely around the black iron greatsword.

What did he put in that huge carrier? It was a black iron greatsword?

“…That idiot!”

The nature of black iron is the complete cut-off of magic.

That means, just sticking a sword into a sensitive mechanism like a seal, causes problems with the seal.

I quickly ran and grabbed the black iron greatsword. It wasn’t too late.

If I pull this out right now, the seal might not break!

“Huuuuh!”

I pulled the black iron greatsword, which only had the handle left, as hard as I could.

Swooook-! Ting!

Fortunately, the black iron greatsword came out right away.

Swoooosh-!

“…Shit.”

But the darkness didn’t stop.

It was too late.

Now, the appearance of the black demon cannot be stopped.

-Krrr, krrrrrr!

At that moment, a creepy voice echoed eerily.

-I’m free! I’m free! Euhaha!

“What, what is that! What’s that sound!”

It was the sound of the black demon, who was sealed in this land 10,000 years ago, laughing madly.

I bit my lip with a serious expression.

This demon is from the middle part. That is, it’s the one that appears when the protagonist of the original story grows enough to compete with S-rank superhumans.

We need at least 10 S-rank superhumans to beat this guy.

We can’t win with just us.

Kugugugu-!

With a fierce vibration.

The sky cracked open.

And a huge demon appeared from between them.

The white chains that bound him were losing their light little by little.

…Wait a minute. White chains?

-Damn you angels! For ten thousand years! For a whopping ten thousand years! You!

As he roared, the chains began to loosen.

-But now there are no more angels to seal me again! Euhaha!

He soon regained his freedom in both hands and threw off the chain on his left leg.

The only remaining seal was on his right leg.

-This chain is also useless now. There is no one in this world who can stop me! Kahaha!

His laughter shook the earth.

Looking around, everyone had faces of despair.

“Ah, a demon.”

“It’s a legendary being… How can we…”

I kept staring at one place between them.

The white chain he threw away.

It hadn’t completely lost its light yet.

If I remember correctly, that’s definitely…

A glint flashed in my eyes.

“Everyone run. I’ll buy some time here.”

“What? Seo-yul, you…”

“Hurry! We can’t all die! Go!”

I thought of a way.

But it’s not something I can do in front of everyone.

“But…”

“I have a trump card! If you run first, I can run away soon too! Come on! If you’re late, we’ll all die! Hurry up if you care about me!”

“Okay!”

Then they started to run away.

Ha Si-yeon hesitated until the last moment, but she moved her feet desperately at my last words.

“Luckily they’re gone.”

I listened to their fading footsteps and moved forward one step at a time.

-Are you abandoned? Poor thing.

He said that.

This chain is useless now.

Why is that?

The answer is that there are no more ‘angelic’ beings who can use this chain.

That’s why he said this chain is useless now.

“Don’t you know? The bonus stage is always more delicious when you eat it alone.”

But he doesn’t know.

There is a being who can use that chain right in front of him.

-What are you talking about?

“What am I talking about? This is what I’m talking about!”

I ran quickly and grabbed the white chain lying in front of me.

An ancient relic, ‘The Restraint of Chronos’.

-You, you! How can you!

Paaaaat-!

The [Restraint of Chronos], which was losing its light, regained its bright light again.

“You had a hard time looking at the world for a minute. See you later!”

Please buy me one cup worth $1