Ch.75Hero’s Trial (6)

I received top marks in the shuttle run, just like I always do. As always.

But I keep feeling a strange sense of discomfort. This is clearly the expected result, so why does something feel off?

“You’re amazing as usual.”

Ju-an spoke to me in a tired voice. Come to think of it, he really has no stamina. Getting this exhausted after running just 40 laps.

Originally, he was much stronger than me… No, that’s not right. He was always weaker than me. That’s definitely how it was.

But I keep feeling like I’m forgetting something. Yet I can’t for the life of me remember what it is.

“Nice tits bouncing around.”

Young-min came over spouting his usual nonsense. In response, I kicked him in the stomach.

Young-min collapsed to the floor and groaned painfully as he struggled to speak.

“Why… the inner pants…?”

“What else would I wear…?”

Suddenly, I felt a sense of déjà vu. I feel like I’ve had this conversation before…

It’s not like this is the first time he’s done this; he does it every day, so I might have said something similar before. I’m probably just being oversensitive.

Anyway, lunchtime is approaching. I should hurry and get something to eat.

***

As always, I ate much more than others typically do. In contrast, Ju-an ate a bit less than most people.

But I still feel that strange sense of discomfort. This is clearly normal, but somehow the entire world feels strange.

While I was sitting there, continuing to feel this odd atmosphere, Cheol-su handed me his phone and said:

“Try this out.”

“What is it now, you nerd?”

“It’s a site that finds your parallel world self.”

“I don’t believe in pseudoscience.”

“You’ve got nothing better to do anyway, so why are you being difficult?”

Honestly, these things are useless. Parallel worlds don’t even really exist, so what’s the point? But regardless, it could be fun to joke about.

If I get a bad result, I can make fun of it, and if I get a good one, I can brag about it.

Besides, I don’t have anything else to do, so let’s just try it for fun.

[What are you in a fantasy world?]

It says below that you’ll get results if you enter your name and date of birth. I hope this isn’t some kind of personal information theft.

But what could anyone do with just a name and birthday? Let’s just do it and see the results.

After entering the information and pressing start, the result popped up.

“So what did you get?”

“Blood Mage.”

“Boring.”

“What did you get then?”

“Orange-haired Thief.”

“Boring.”

Both results are incredibly dull. A mage and a thief? Those are such common, generic roles you can find anywhere.

I wonder what the others got? I’m suddenly curious. Let me go ask Young-min.

“Did you try this too?”

“Pink-haired Holy Knight.”

“Why are all these results so boring? Isn’t there anyone who got something like Hero, Saint, or Demon King?”

“There is one person who got Saint.”

“Who?”

“The school nurse.”

She definitely suits the role of a Saint. Even though she has some eccentric qualities, she’s fundamentally a kind person. But she has one major flaw.

“Isn’t the nurse an atheist?”

“In my opinion, she’s more of a God-hater.”

“But how can someone like that get Saint as a result?”

“If a blockhead like you can get Mage, why couldn’t she be a Saint?”

I tried to argue but ended up getting burned instead. But is intelligence really important for magic? I thought you just needed mana.

Still, being a mage would be pretty cool, honestly. Just imagining flying through the sky and dropping meteors makes my heart race.

“Did Ju-an try this too?”

“Yeah. But why are you always looking for him?”

“He’s just my best friend, that’s why. Are you jealous?”

“I’m extremely jealous.”

“Are you gay or something?”

“Honestly, if I were born a woman, I’d consider dating him.”

I looked at Cheol-su with as much disgust as I could muster and forced myself to speak.

“You’re into that kind of stuff?”

“Honestly, this world is so unfair. No matter what, if you’re a pretty girl, you’re forgiven for anything. Take yourself as an example. If you were a man, you definitely wouldn’t have received even one confession in your life.”

“But wouldn’t someone like me get at least one confession even as a guy?”

“Would you want to date a muscle-brained idiot who only exercises all day?”

Honestly, I probably wouldn’t. My personality isn’t that great either, and above all, with Ju-an around, I’d obviously look like a downgrade no matter what.

“So are you really gay?”

“It’s just a joke, you crazy girl.”

“Then why are you thinking about stuff like that?”

“Have you ever felt your heart race when looking at his face?”

“…No.”

“See? If even a muscle-brained pseudo-girl like Lite can feel her heart race, most girls would fall for him. So what do you think would happen if I were born a woman?”

I want to say it’s a lie, but it’s scary because it’s probably true. If he had been born a woman from the start, he really would be like that.

It might sound like a lie, but most of the girls in this school probably have feelings for Ju-an.

That’s because girls keep coming to me and asking tons of questions about him.

“So are you really gay?”

“Honestly, I’ve masturbated thinking about you.”

“You bastard!”

I punched Cheol-su directly in the face as hard as I could. He collapsed to the floor, groaning in pain.

Did I hit him too hard? Anyway, after about five minutes of that, Cheol-su finally got up and said:

“See? I’m not gay.”

“You know I could report this as sexual harassment, right?”

“Then how is Young-min still alive?”

“But why the hell are you saying this stuff to my face? Aren’t you embarrassed at all?”

“I guarantee there’s not a single guy in our class who hasn’t masturbated thinking about you.”

I punched Cheol-su directly in the face again. I hope he’s seriously injured.

And suddenly Young-min stood up from his seat, preparing to run away as he opened his mouth.

“Honestly, I masturbated thinking about you yesterday too.”

“…”

“And I plan to do it again today.”

Young-min said what he wanted to say and quickly fled out of the classroom. I chased after him, ready to kill him.

Alright, let’s kill him.

***

I returned after kicking Young-min in the genitals as hard as I could. That should quiet things down for a while.

Anyway, when I got back to the classroom, no one was there. Oh right, today was club time.

So I left the classroom again and headed to the club room.

“You’re here?”

“You’re here, senior.”

Everyone except me was already in the club room. Though there are only two others anyway.

“So, is there anything to do today?”

“Not really.”

“Then today… Oh right, have you guys tried that thing?”

“What thing?”

“The one that finds your parallel world self.”

I thought it was just another weird thing Cheol-su found, but it turns out it’s suddenly becoming popular throughout the school.

“I tried it. What did you get, senior?”

“Blood Mage.”

“That doesn’t suit you at all.”

“What did you get?”

“Dragon Mage.”

“That suits you.”

A mage definitely seems to suit Ha-eun, who’s always studying. So this thing can give non-human races too.

I wonder if there are people at school who got results like Goddess?

“Ju-an, what did you get?”

“Black-haired Guild Leader of a Large Guild.”

“That suits you too.”

Ju-an, like Ha-eun, prefers using his brain while sitting down, so that kind of job suits him.

Come to think of it, his situation is similar both here and there. Here he plans to run a fairly large hospital, and there he runs a large organization.

But why did I get Mage? No matter how I look at it, using my body would be much more suitable than using my head…

***

After chatting about various things, school finally ended. Now I’ll go home, rest well, and tomorrow will be another ordinary day just like today.

A boring and tedious but reassuring and peaceful everyday life, just like always.

“Take care and see you tomorrow~”

“You get some rest too~”

After briefly saying goodbye to Ju-an, I headed home. When I arrived, I heard a truly dear and missed voice coming from the kitchen.

“Sweetie~ Are you home?”

I immediately ran to the kitchen and tightly hugged the owner of that voice, my mother, and said:

“I’m home… *sob*… I’m home…”

“Sweetie? Why are you crying?”

“I don’t know… *sniff*… I just… I just missed you so much…”

“It’s okay, Mom’s not going anywhere.”

“Really… we really won’t be separated again, right?”

“We’ll never be separated, so stop crying now.”

Mother patted my back with her warm hands, comforting me. Mother’s embrace was truly warm.

And the strange sense of discomfort that had been filling my mind completely disappeared. Yes, it was strange that I felt any discomfort in the first place.

I’ve been living in this world from the beginning. And I’ll continue to live in this world from now on.

Forever, until I die.

And so I surrendered myself to the truly warm embrace of my family.

***

When Lite entered that place, she was enveloped in light and trapped in what looked like a crystal. After about 10 minutes had passed, there was still no progress.

As we continued to waste time meaninglessly, suddenly Tae-yang spoke with a frightened voice.

“Senior Ju-an. Could you please look at this?”

“What? Did something happen to Lite…?”

Until just a moment ago, Lite’s face inside the crystal looked somewhat displeased. But now she looked truly peaceful, no—truly happy.

And from somewhere, someone’s voice was heard.

“In one hour, this girl will die. In exchange, you will pass the trial.”

I immediately raised my sword to strike the crystal where Lite was trapped, but once again, the mysterious voice spoke.

“If that crystal is destroyed arbitrarily, the girl will die immediately.”

I threw my sword far away and shouted.

“Get Lite out of there right now! I don’t care if I can’t become a Hero!”

“Don’t you understand why this is called the trial of the mind?”

The mysterious voice continued, as if mocking us.

“The subjects of this trial are not this girl, but all of you.”

“What do you mean…?”

“The helplessness of only being able to watch as a comrade dies before your eyes, and the sorrow of losing a comrade. Overcoming all of that is the content of this trial.”

I collapsed to the floor in despair. If I had known this would happen, I should have gone in from the beginning…

While I was in a daze, suddenly a voice that seemed to comfort me was heard.

“If that girl abandons all attachments to the world, this crystal will naturally disappear.”

If Lite passes the trial herself, she can survive. Thinking about that, I gradually felt energy returning to my body.

However, the mysterious voice crushed my hope once again.

“But look at that girl’s face. Doesn’t she look truly happy?”

I looked at Lite’s face again. Her truly peaceful and happy face.

And once again, from somewhere, a voice that seemed to mock us was heard.

“The trial will now begin.”