Ch.121What I Want to Protect (2)

As I continued pulling the trigger, the orange-haired person asked me with a concerned tone.

“Aren’t you pushing yourself too hard? At least eat something.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t have time for that right now.”

I need to manifest my first ability as quickly as possible. The longer it takes, the fewer futures Rebecca will be able to see.

The bullets are becoming more powerful and precise, but there’s still no sign of my first ability emerging.

What if I can’t awaken my ability at this rate? Even if I do awaken it, what if it doesn’t help? Would I just be wasting time?

No, I need to focus again. I don’t have time to be distracted by such thoughts.

So I continued pulling the trigger, ignoring the pain in my fingers.

As I kept shooting, I felt like I was getting closer to my first Supernatural Power. I’m not entirely sure, but I think I’ll be able to manifest it soon.

Just a little more, just a tiny bit more, and I really think I’ll manifest my first Supernatural Power.

After pulling the trigger a few more times, I finally manifested my first Supernatural Power, and my legs gave out.

Fortunately, I manifested my first ability more easily than expected. Or maybe it took longer because I sacrificed that much of my lifespan?

“Hey? Are you okay?”

The orange-haired person approached me with obvious concern. I burst into laughter and said:

“I… I finally manifested my first Supernatural Power…”

“So that’s what you’ve been trying to do all this time. What kind of ability did you get?”

“It lets me transfer something of mine directly to someone else.”

It’s the exact opposite of my original Supernatural Power. For example, if I shoot with mana infused, the target recovers that much mana.

Some might not think this is an impressive ability. But if used well, it could be incredibly powerful.

For instance, if I were cursed to die in 10 seconds, I could transfer that curse directly to my opponent.

I once heard from Parthia that such curses usually require significant cost and time to cast.

But this would allow me to transfer a curse directly to an opponent. Though it would require preparation beforehand.

Of course, this is just a theory. External elements like curses might not be transferable.

Still, being able to transfer something of mine is useful from a supportive perspective.

At the very least, since my mana is far superior to an ordinary person’s, I could essentially function as a walking mana potion.

Besides that, I could transfer small amounts of divine power or forcibly inject blood into an enemy.

I’ve heard that blood transfusions between different blood types can be fatal. What would happen if such blood were forced throughout someone’s body?

Could blood vessels even withstand much more blood than the body is meant to contain?

Even with my limited intelligence, I can think of these applications. If used properly, this ability could be far more useful.

If I can subdue Leo with this ability, we won’t need to worry unnecessarily. We just need him to stay alive.

But thinking about it, Leo doesn’t have much lifespan left anyway. Is there really a need to subdue him?

However, due to our past connection, we probably couldn’t bring ourselves to defeat Leo directly. So it might be better for our peace of mind to at least subdue him.

Anyway, this is just one possibility. This ability might not be helpful at all.

I’ll know once Rebecca uses her ability to see the future. With that thought, I tried to go to where Rebecca was, but my body wouldn’t cooperate.

I checked and my period has ended, so I think I’m just exhausted from pushing myself too hard. Even if I used minimal amounts, I’ve been converting my stamina into bullets continuously, so it’s only natural.

Alright, I should ask Nam Ju-an to take me there. While I was thinking this, the orange-haired person spoke:

“Can you move? If not, I can help support you.”

Nam Ju-an is probably planning our strategy right now. It would be better to accept this person’s help.

But something feels strange. Until recently, we were at each other’s throats, so why the sudden kindness?

“Why are you helping me?”

“Why shouldn’t I help you?”

“But until recently, we weren’t exactly on good terms.”

“I’m annoyed that I missed my chance without even trying, but I don’t have any reason to be hostile now.”

The orange-haired person had an expression that seemed both relieved and dejected. They probably didn’t have much lingering attachment to Nam Ju-an.

If I were in the opposite position, I would have been desperate to kill this orange-haired person. No, I might have actually tried to kill them.

“You seem to let go of attachments quite easily.”

“Holding onto attachments is much more painful.”

This time, their voice sounded somewhat pained. So they still have some lingering feelings after all.

But that’s how the world works. No one can succeed at everything in life.

Though I might only think this way because I’m on the winning side. If the situation were reversed, I probably wouldn’t have such thoughts.

Feeling somewhat guilty as they supported me, they spoke again.

“By the way, like you said yesterday, I felt better after getting some rest. And I think I know what I want to do next.”

“Congratulations. Can you tell me what you plan to do?”

“From now on, I’m going to rest as much as possible and live more leisurely. I’ll rest properly when I need to, and work hard as usual when I need to.”

“…Isn’t that a bit underwhelming?”

They spoke as if they’d discovered something profound, but in the end, they’re just going to live the same life as before.

“Until now, I’ve been constantly watching myself because of others’ expectations, never having a moment to rest.”

They continued with a somewhat indignant expression.

“I worked really hard because of others’ expectations and got this far, but beyond this point, there’s a wall that can’t be overcome with effort alone.”

“But couldn’t you go further if you keep trying?”

“Skills can be improved with effort. But the absence of Supernatural Power or divine power—there’s nothing I can do about that. And people who have those things are working just as hard as I am. So what am I supposed to do?”

Skills can be matched with enough effort. But creating something from nothing is impossible.

I feel like I’ve touched a sore spot. This is why I should be more careful with my words.

As I remained silent, they wore a bitter expression.

“But I guess I can’t just make such resolutions and rest. If I stop here, I’ll fall behind others.”

Then they let out a dry laugh and looked into the air as they spoke.

“Maybe I fell in love because I wanted someone to lean on.”

The person I thought was just a rival had much deeper troubles. This is why I hate black and white thinking.

Honestly, this person and I have nothing to do with each other anymore. But my unnecessary altruism makes me care.

“Do you really have a reason to stay here?”

“Do I have any other options? Without this, there’s nothing left in my life.”

“But that’s too miserable…”

“You know it too. People like us have predetermined limits.”

I want to deny those words, but honestly, it’s hard to. It’s obvious I’d lose in a one-on-one fight against someone like Leo.

Of course, with time, I might be able to use this Supernatural Power to somehow fight back. But could this person, who seems to lack any Supernatural Power, win?

So offering empty encouragement here would only backfire. After all, unlike them, I have a Supernatural Power. So I decided to try a different approach.

“What did you dream of as a child?”

“I don’t remember.”

“What was your dream?”

“I don’t want to dream of something I can never reach.”

“But there’s still a possibility you could achieve your dream.”

“Rather than chasing ideals, I’d rather compromise with reality.”

This person has already surrendered to reality. Of course, everyone lives like that to some extent. We all make compromises with reality.

But if left like this, they’ll rot from the inside out. After some time, they’ll definitely collapse mentally.

“What would it take for you to dream again?”

“Well, maybe if you make a significant contribution to defeating the Demon King?”

That’s absolutely impossible. Could I even reach the Demon King with this weak body?

“Alright, I’ll definitely defeat him and come back, so don’t say otherwise.”

But life works in mysterious ways. I once said I’d never fall in love, but as time passed, I ended up loving someone.

Besides, if I don’t do something, I’ll die anyway. So for my own survival, I must make a significant contribution.

Of course, things might resolve smoothly without me. But if that were the case, the Goddess wouldn’t have given me divine power.

So now I have one more reason to defeat the Demon King. At least my resolve is strengthened.

As they continued to support me, we finally reached the place where the strategy was being planned.

“Thank you for your help. Please wait until I defeat the Demon King.”

If I fail, I die. So I must succeed no matter what. With that thought, I entered the room.