The Academy's Deceased Ate It All

We decided to wait for the seal to be broken and reorganize ourselves.

Not only was there nothing we could do from our current position, but we also needed to strengthen our individual power.

Ye-Seul and I were dueling in a vacant lot some distance from the facility.

However, this was much different from our usual duel, as we were not using blades or other techniques but only the Shadow of Henir.

It has many abilities, but there are four main ways to utilize it.

First, wrap it around myself or my weapons.

Second, to create a shadow swamp that binds or immobilizes my opponent’s feet.

Third, to create a portal and move through the shadows to get behind an opponent and stab them in the back. It can also be used as an escape method.

Fourth, to create a shadowy alter ego.

Only a few days after acquiring Henir’s Shadow, Ye-Seul realized the potential of the third ability.

She had a lot of talent, but I also had a lot to do with how quickly she learned it.

It was thanks to something I hadn’t anticipated: the nature of Henir’s Shadow.

– You can travel from shadow to shadow using Henir’s shadow as a medium. The greater the distance, the greater the amount of mana consumed. Only those who possess Henir’s Shadow can travel through it. The shadow must be of sufficient size to travel.

Only those who possess the Shadow of Henir’s can travel through it.

This meant that Ye-Seul could use the portal I had created.

As a result, she quickly learned the tricks and sensations of using Henir’s shadow herself and reached the point where she could create a portal without difficulty.

[I feel it every time I see her, but the amount of latent mana she has is impressive. She doesn’t even have the proper talent or body to use it all…]

Svengali muttered that as if it was a pity.

If someone had the talent of Soo-Young, the mana of Ye-Seul, and the control of Yu-Na, they would’ve been an unbeatable force.

‘If we put it that way, the combined strength of the six of us would be no match for even the Seven Evils….’

I snorted.

“Did you just laugh in front of me…?”

I heard a muffled voice, and Ye-Seul’shands immediately grabbed my body.

I could have tried to escape, but I had promised to use only shadows for now.

The next moment, I was thrown into the air and immediately slammed to the ground.

“Ouch!”

I could sense that Ye-Seul had pulled back just in time to avoid too much pain.

As if that wasn’t enough, her palm protected the back of my head.

I raised my arms in defeat and tried to get up.

“No.”

She pushed me down and began to pinch my body.

“…Ye-Seul?”

I tried to struggle, but there was no way I could overpower her in the first place.

I was completely subdued, and I thought of using the branch of the World Tree to escape.

“The battle isn’t over until you say surrender.”

“Surr–!”

She covered the corner of my mouth with her palm before I could finish.

She was applying moderate pressure elsewhere, but the hand covering my mouth was enough to make me unable to resist.

“Unbelievable, Ji-Hyuk. Even in this situation, you don’t want to surrender….”

She muttered in admiration.

I heard Svengali click his tongue.

[I knew she would do this someday.]

“Mmm, Ji-hyuk. You’re stronger than I thought.”

I tried to move, but it was no use.

She was pressing down on my body with such exquisite precision that I couldn’t move without hurting myself.

“So, Ji-hyuk, you’re pretty good at martial arts but don’t know about this technique, do you? If you don’t know the technical stuff like this, you’ll just have to take it because you could break through it with strength. But it seems you aren’t strong enough.”

“Mmmph! Hey, Ye-Seul, you…!”

I somehow managed to shake off her palm, only to be immediately trapped again.

“Shhh, shhh… quiet. It’s okay. I’ll teach you the trick.”

While whispering so close to my ear that I could feel her breath, something hit the back of Ye-Seul’s head.

An acorn rolled beside my head.

“If you can’t get out alone, maybe you can get your friends to help you.”

Hyun-Woo appeared, tapping his shoulder with a crudely made wooden sword, and looked at Ye-Seul with a slight frown.

“Yu-Na is looking for you.”

“…Tsk.”

Ye-Seul clicked her tongue, not hiding her displeasure.

She released me slowly and then swept past Hyun-Woo menacingly.

He let out a small sigh and tossed the other wooden sword he held toward me.

“Aren’t you being too nice? It’ll cause you problems later.”

“…You’re right.”

What happened just now left me speechless, no matter how much I was beaten.

I had noticed that Ye-Seul’s demeanor had become a little… no, a lot more aggressive lately.

As I stood up, using the wooden sword as support, Svengali quietly muttered to himself.

[I think it’s a resonance.]

“Resonance?”

[I noticed it when I skimmed through your memories earlier, but… aren’t the roots of your shadows the same after all. That’s why I could see your shadow and her shadow resonating and growing in power. Perhaps they were growing emotional as well.]

Stunned, I let the words slip out of my mouth.

“Why didn’t you tell me something so important before?”

“What?”

“Oh, no. I was just talking to myself.”

I threw my hands up in the air, straightened my posture, and Svengali replied in a voice that questioned why I asked an obvious question.

[You didn’t ask; if you had, I would have told you a long time ago.]

“…….”

I grit my teeth in frustration.

As expected, talking to this guy only increased my anger and stress.

If I had known this would happen, I would have sold him to Ariman for compensation.

[That’s not fair. Aren’t we already comrades in arms? You’re making me feel bad.]

“Shut up, please.”

I focused my attention on Hyun-Woo, who was warming up.

While I sparred with Ye-Seul to train her to use Henir’s Shadow, I dueled with Hyun-Woo to help him find the answers he sought.

For Ivan and Yuna, we mostly talked about coordination. Along the way, I actively advised them, such as informing them about the unusual nature of the World Tree’s power and its abilities.

…Honestly, I thought I’d be wrinkling my nose trying to help them, but it seemed to be of great help.

“We’ve got eyes on us.”

Hyun-Woo said as he slashed his wooden sword with all his might.

I replied with a quick nod.

“There’s no hostility, so it’s probably someone from the World Tree. It could also be from Evangeline or Myung-Joon. Maybe someone from the Paladin.”

“Maybe we should subdue them.”

“Let’s just leave them alone.”

We exchanged a few words, then lunged at each other.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to put them on alert or bother them; they’re not doing anything anyways….”

“If you say so…

We shifted restlessly as we talked in peace.

“But how are we supposed to know when the seals are broken and move? Everything around you is cordoned off.”

“I’ve planted seeds on the Five Streets to warn me.”

Unlike the seeds planted in Minerva’s body, they were so tenuous that only I could sense their energy.

They couldn’t take root or absorb mana.

However, they were less likely to be detected and could be maintained for long periods without strain.

In the first place, the mana of the World Tree itself was no different from the aura of nature itself, so the only person who could detect it was Ye-Eun.

“Then how do we get there? It’s not far from here to there, but it’s not short either.”

“We can use Ivan’s spirit power to move. Once we’ve closed the distance, you can use Ye-Seul or my shadow.”

“Shadows… can we use them?”

“Normally, no.”

But there was a bug.

…The being beyond the gaming console that taunted us a few days ago.

They hadn’t been kidding when they said they’d reward me with the ‘most useful thing to me right now.’

“I’ve even checked with Ivan, just in case…Of course, it’ll take a lot of mana. Ye-Seul and I will take turns. I’ve prepared potions to restore my mana as well.”

“…I see.”

Hyun-Woo nodded in understanding.

He sheathed his wooden sword and muttered to himself.

“Then I should try harder not to be a burden.”

“You’re already trying hard.”

At that, Hyun-Woo smiled softly.

It was a self-mocking smile I’d never seen on him before.

“It’s getting late. I must have held on to you too long.”

With that, Hyun-Woo turned away.

What he had just said was not something I could ignore.

“You and Soo-Young are supposed to go grocery shopping today. She’s been waiting for you since yesterday, so don’t keep my brother waiting for nothing.”

“Hey, who’s your brother? I’m your sister!”

Soo-Young’s voice rang out from the empty lot.

“S-since when were you here?”

Hyun-Woo looked terrified and pulled me in front of him like a shield against her.

“I’ll go first. Soo-Young, make sure no one touches Ji-hyuk.”

“Hey, hey, Hyun-Woo!”

He was already running off into the distance.

As I stared at his back, puzzled, I realized that Soo-Young was staring at me.

It might be better to leave this matter to Soo-Young.

With that thought in mind, I slowly put the wooden sword on the ground.

Then I looked at her expectantly and asked.

“Soo-Young, is there anything you want to eat?”

“Huh?”

“I know I look like this, but I can cook. I’ll make you whatever you want to eat today.”

“…….”

Soo-Young looked to be thinking deeply about what to say.

After a moment, she gave me a small nod and said.

“Spicy fish stew.”

“Huh?”

“I want to eat the spicy soup you made for me.”

I couldn’t help but nod my head.

* * *

“…Really, Hyun-Woo actually said that?”

We shared a shopping cart and talked.

Soo-Young gave me a serious look at my words, then nodded slightly.

“Okay. I’ll talk to him.”

“Thank you. That’s a relief.”

“No… I should be the one to thank you.”

She muttered, blushing slightly in embarrassment.

“I should have been the one to notice since you and Hyun-Woo are like family….”

“We’ve all been busy for a while. It can’t be helped.”

Soo-Young pouted her lips.

“I guess everyone was busy except me.”

“What?”

“You know, practicing techniques with Ye-Seul, swordsmanship with Hyun-Woo, and theory with Ivan and Yu-Na….”

She snorted and looked away.

“I’ve been left to read my books and care for the fish….”

“I thought I took care of all the feeding it.”

“I took care of it twice!”

She glared at me, narrowing her eyes.

“And that’s not the point right now! Is finding the one responsible for feeding the fish more important than realizing that you’ve neglected me for the past few days.”

“Of course you’re more important.”

I replied.

She looked surprised that I’d finally said something correct.

“Ye-Seul is having a hard time learning her new abilities, and Hyun-Woo has a mental breakdown that everyone can see. Ivan and Yu-Na are learning as much as they can. But you’re good on your own, and I don’t have to worry about you.

“What does that have…!”

“That’s why I rely on you so much.”

For a moment, she stared at me with her mouth still open.

Her gaze urged me to continue, and I had nothing to hide.

“I swear, there’s no one I rely on more than you.”

“…Hmm, who would fall for that.”

[She’s awful at hiding her emotions, too. I don’t know if she’s just honest or immature… Look at the way the corners of her mouth twitch.]

Svengali muttered, and then Soo-Young began to look at me apologetically.

[A child with a delicate face, a fine heart… and a bright future. What kind of sin did she commit in her previous life to get stuck with this bastard!!!]

After listening to Svengali’s screams, which I had become numb to, Soo-Young cleared her throat and said to me.

“Um, come to think of it, I did find out something in the meantime.”

“Yeah.”

“Ji-Hyuk said that one of the powers you gained from killing one of the Seven Evils was to borrow powers from another world, right?”

“Yes.”

Soo-Young knew a bit about the power I’d gained from killing Margo.

“I’ve been working on a few theories, and in the case of your powers, I think it’s possible that….”

With that, she began elaborating on a theory I wouldn’t understand in this lifetime.

She was kind enough to explain the jargon and axioms, but my brain is not as gifted as I thought.

“…I’m really sorry, but can you explain it to me again?”

I listened for a while, but I still didn’t get it.

Eventually, I gave up, but she did not look bothered or annoyed at all.

“So, basically, it’s this.”

She gestured with her hands as if she was wearing glasses.

“It’s like you’re wearing glasses, and your otherworldly abilities are like different colored lenses, and you change them to suit your intentions.”

“Yeah.”

“You don’t have to wear just one. You can switch between colors on the right and left or layer different colors on top of each other. It’s all about thinking outside the box because it isn’t something you can define as easily as a block of wood.”

She had a point.

But there was something she didn’t understand: the existence of systems.

I couldn’t even begin to explain that.

Before I replied, I heard Svengali mutter.

[After listening to an expert’s very in-depth and detailed explanation about your abilities.]

[I had an inevitable realization!]

[There is a penalty because the enlightenment was caused by someone else, but…]

Suddenly, a notification popped up in front of my eyes.

[The ability “Behind the Scenes” has been strengthened.]