Became a Traitor in an Academy

Ability Exploration

I had asked to meet her separately, partly to test whether I was someone who could even give her an artifact.

But the answer came from an entirely unexpected place.

His name was… Seo Jin-hyeon. Like her, he was a student who didn’t exist in the original work.

He was far too powerful to be dismissed as just an extra student, frequently associating with Blanca, and closely observing her even during the villain’s attack.

And now, he seemed to have developed a sense of camaraderie with Blanca.

They were together during the attack and had cleared the dungeon together, so it was understandable.

Not only was I flustered, but Blanca also seemed confused, looking at Jin-hyeon as if to ask why he was answering.

“N-no, Jin-hyeon. He’s just asking to look. He’s not asking to take it, and the artifact is an interesting item, so he just wants to see…!”

Blanca crumpled her expression at Jin-hyeon’s sudden intrusion but tried to smooth things over.

She knew well that he wasn’t just going to look.

Yet, seeing her speak to Jin-hyeon like this, I was certain she would accommodate almost anything I asked.

…If I pushed it a bit, she might even let me visit her house.

In any case, one thing was now clear, which was good.

The only disappointment was that I couldn’t secure the artifact.

If I strongly insisted on taking it, I could probably get one—but well.

I wondered if it was really worth it.

I didn’t know the exact dungeon or difficulty level, but if it was a dungeon where students could collectively take down a boss, the grade probably wasn’t that high.

Moreover, whining about wanting to take it as an outsider would look quite unseemly.

I wasn’t like them, but I was also dreaming of becoming a hero.

I would be ashamed to act that way.

Just let it go. It’s not like there are no artifacts at all.

Before entering the academy, I had secured a few from dungeons that only I knew about.

I raised both hands in a surrendering pose and responded to Jin-hyeon.

“Of course, I’m just trying to look. Even if professional hunters might not care, it’s an artifact from a dungeon cleared by hero course students, right? I’m just curious.”

“That’s right. Looking won’t wear it out, right? I wanted to show it too…”

Jin-hyeon continued to look at me with a distrustful gaze, but after hearing Blanca’s words, he seemed to lose interest, saying it was fine if that was the case.

“Blanca. Let us know when the appraisal is complete.”

“Of course. Don’t worry.”

Since things had become awkward, I left after saying her unharmed appearance looked good.

To be honest, I was quite surprised. This was someone who usually didn’t step forward and stayed quiet, suddenly interjecting.

Based on what he’d shown so far, I would have expected him to do nothing.

…There must have been something inside the dungeon. I’ll ask Blanca about it later.

Thursday, after classes.

We entered a small building near the research building with our senior.

“This used to be the equipment room! It really feels like a long time… I used to come often when there were more people…”

Meirin looked like she was reminiscing while gazing at the dusty interior.

“Did something happen?”

In the midst of this, Jin-hyeon, that clueless guy, interjected and asked.

“…It’s not such a grand story. The members all ran away, saying to stop treating them like experimental subjects. Hee! If I’d really treated them like experimental subjects, I would’ve started with injections.”

“I understand why they ran… Haah. Senior, you lack consideration.”

Lucia yawned while hitting the nail on the head.

“That’s too much! I was being considerate!”

…I really should have killed Jin-hyeon back then.

That clueless guy almost made me miss the chance to give the artifact to the protagonist.

Whether interrupting others or not, everything I liked about him was gradually disappearing.

Soon it would be outdated that he was easy to manipulate, and he’d keep getting stronger and thinking for himself.

Just thinking about it made me feel distant.

I need to stop his growth. But how? Should I make him drink water with drugs and put him to sleep for a few months?

“So, what are we supposed to do in this building? Should we hit the test dummies over there?”

Min-ho interjected to restore the atmosphere and asked Meirin.

“Exactly right. Hit the dummies and demonstrate your abilities.”

It was originally built as a shelter, so it’s fine to be a bit rough!

Meirin said this and took out a tablet to prepare for recording.

“Is it okay to use a shelter as an equipment room?”

“It’s f-fine. It’s an old-fashioned shelter. Originally it should be demolished, but I converted it into an equipment room at a cheap price.”

Jin-hyeon, still acting without a clue, said he’d go first and entered the chamber to demonstrate his abilities.

Ice, electricity, wind.

Jin-hyeon was displaying an unbelievably diverse range of abilities for just one person, as if it were nothing.

Meirin, who had been busily writing behind the reinforced glass wall, said that was enough, called Jin-hyeon out, and asked.

“Your manifestation is mainly elemental! But can’t you use fire?”

Jin-hyeon hesitated for a moment before hardening his expression and answering.

“I can use it. It’s just… still too scary to use. I don’t have confidence in handling it properly yet…”

Because there was an incident.

When Jin-hyeon said this, Meirin awkwardly smiled and said that couldn’t be helped.

“Anyway… Based on the analysis. The intensity and power are excellent, but… there’s a lack of delicacy. It’s like a newly blooming child wielding their ability.”

“That’s because I haven’t used my ability for a while due to the incident.”

“I… I see. Hmm… Are you okay now?”

“No. But I want to confront it.”

“…Ahaha, alright. I’ll cheer you on. Next, Blanca!”

Disliking Jin-hyeon’s attempts to encourage her, she entered the test chamber.

Entering brought back memories from the research institute, and her mood drastically worsened.

“Ready…”

This was definitely better than that hell. But grinding her teeth was unavoidable.

“Start!”

Carrying that resentment, she applied various drugs to her body and kicked the dummy’s head with all her might.

She sprayed a thick smoke screen to block vision and repeatedly struck and retreated while hiding in the fog.

She didn’t forget to apply poison that would take effect upon touching fists or nails.

While striking, she asked the senior one thing.

“…Enough. Stop! I think I’ve collected sufficient data!”

At the senior’s voice through the speaker, she stopped attacking the dummy and exited the test chamber.

“You can handle close combat splendidly! Moreover, the ability to synthesize various toxic substances is quite threatening. You can also emit toxic gas?”

“Yes. But I don’t use it because cleaning would be a hassle.”

“Good, good. I might need to learn that consideration. So… I’ll ask a few things. Do you have any long-range attack methods?”

“I can spray gas to cover a wide area indiscriminately, but I can’t target a specific individual or direction.”

The senior nodded while busily inputting into the tablet.

“Limited long-range response… Next, the substances you used on the dummy seemed uniform. Is there some penalty that you can only use one type of substance?”

“To some extent… Yes. I can’t synthesize multiple substances simultaneously. When synthesizing, I can only create one substance. Though the synthesis speed is fast, so it’s not really a penalty.”

And since one type of poison is usually enough to take someone down, I don’t see a need to use multiple.

The senior nodded, saying that made sense.

“Multiple synthesis… Currently impossible. Lastly, what happens if you inhale the toxic gas you emit?”

“I break it down into harmless substances. I can decompose anything that enters my body. What I break down is mostly stored as fat.”

“Fat…? No, more importantly, anything?”

“Yes. Though it shouldn’t happen, I could probably somehow process even eating a tree.”

Never tried it.

When she said this, Meirin thanked her, saying she could now determine future improvement directions.

“Indeed, is this because of a body that converts anything into fat…”

Meirin looked at my body with a slightly creepy gaze, waited a moment, and went upstairs.

“Does this mean she doesn’t even need to look at me…?”

“Didn’t the senior already analyze it last time? So she’s probably not re-confirming, right, Lucia?”

“…Maybe.”

Min-ho was naturally building rapport with Lucia.

Watching this warmly, he suddenly approached me and asked if that meant I could drink coffee that time.

“Uh, what?”

“You said you could decompose anything. So wasn’t that why you said it was okay to drink coffee?”

He’d heard that just because you’re a cat AI doesn’t mean you’re completely fine.

Min-ho looked at me with interest as he said this.

“…That’s not why. I almost stayed up all night that day too.”

I barely suppressed my surge of emotions and answered Min-ho earnestly.

“Oh…? You know that, but still did it? Wouldn’t decomposing be better?”

“Of course decomposing is better. But… if I do that, I lose the feeling of truly living.”

She could even control the chemical reactions in her body.

But she generally avoided doing so.

Because if she did, she would realize that humans are nothing more than biological machines moving through chemical reactions and electrical signals.

So she doesn’t decompose that far.

…She didn’t say this out loud.