episode_0013

The conversation was at its peak, and after a delicious meal, I thought it might be time to part ways.

“Mr. Jihwan.”

Baek Seol-hee started calling me by my name.

“If Ji-hwan awakens as an ice person, how will he use this ability?”

“Are you asking me for advice as an ice barrier expert?”

“Yes. Just a question. It would be nice if it helps me.”

“What should I say to someone who is a specialist in the ice barrier?”

“They say it’s better if you can even fight against each other. yes? If Ji-hwan were to be said to be someone with the ability to awaken ice magic, or someone with the ability to create ice at will, how would he fight?”

“Um….”

Are you asking the enemy for advice?

Well, I guess we can talk like this comfortably because we don’t even know that we’re enemies yet.

“Well, I only know how Seolhee fights from what I’ve seen in videos. Use the ice whip, create a wall of ice, spread the wings of ice…?”

“That’s right. If I were to give you a little more variation here, what do you think would be better?”

“Um….”

Should I help?

When it comes to freezing-related abilities, I definitely know more than Baek Seol-hee.

The ability to freeze is an ability that cannot be left out in subculture.

“First of all… how about an ice pick?”

“Ice pick?”

“Yes. It’s literally an awl, but it’s almost the size of a stalactite. You stab it at the enemy and subdue it. If it’s pierced through the shoulder and pinned to the wall, the enemy won’t be able to escape unless they break the ice, right?”

“I see.”

The reaction is sour.

There is no significant difference from the existing method of expressing this ability that she uses – ‘skill’, shortened to two letters, and the ice spear.

‘How do I do it?’

Will you tell us about the ice magic she awakened in the original work?

Or should I tell you about ice magic that I know about but doesn’t exist in this world?

‘Chief. The commander-in-chief told us to do our best to persuade him to our side, so don’t say anything later.’

If anyone later tells me that I strengthened Baek Seol-hee and Snow White, I can just say that I was faithful to my mission.

“It looks like you already know about ice picks.”

“Well…for now.”

“Then how about this? It’s like throwing ice crystals into the air. It’s like compressed dry ice that instantly freezes enemies it touches.”

“…Um.”

This time, I am troubled in a different way.

“Is that…possible?”

“Isn’t it up to Seolhee whether it’s possible or not? Isn’t it true that a person’s natural ability develops further based on imagination?”

“You know quite well. About the abilities of this talented person.”

“For people living in this world, knowledge of these abilities is the same as knowledge of using computers and smartphones.”

After dismissing Baek Seol-hee’s suspicions, I pointed to the ice cream that was served for dessert.

“Ice pieces of this size should spread out in all directions, and the number should reach hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands. If you touch a piece of ice, the compressed piece of ice spreads and a chill covers the opponent.”

“Um….”

“Couldn’t the name of the technology be roughly called ‘Bingnyeong Sangyeong’?”

“Technology name? It’s specific.”

“When you were young, didn’t you all try to create your own hero?”

So to speak, making a character.

“It’s just one of those manifestations of imagination.”

“No. I think it will be of great help. I can’t feel it yet, but I’m sure if I come up with some ideas with this, it will become a great skill in the future.”

of course.

Because that’s your ultimate in the original novel.

I barely managed to shove the words that were up to my chin into the ice cream.

“Then, if Jihwan is a person with special abilities, what kind of ability do you want him to become?”

“Am I a talented person?”

“Yes. Talented person. Any ability is fine. Any grade is fine. Do you have this ability you would like to have?”

“Keu….”

If it were me before I became a goblin, I probably would have wished for that kind of ability.

No, I’m still hoping.

“Ability to enter a book?”

“Yes?”

“The ability to directly experience various worlds of stories. You can go into many worlds that you have only seen in print and see, hear, and feel the main characters in action, and feel the world vividly.”

“Jihwan…you really like stories.”

“Yes. I really like it.”

So I liked it so much, and after reading this and that, and reading an excessive amount of Gukbong light novels, I ended up in this world.

“Ji-hwan… seems to genuinely enjoy the story. Other people watch the story and analyze how they can make it their own.”

“Yes?”

“That’s right. It’s a world where other people’s imagination develops into one’s own abilities. The reality of this era is that if you express your abilities exactly as they appear in comics or novels, you will gain popularity not as plagiarism but as ‘homage’.”

“…….”

“Mr. Jihwan. Do you know what sword is most often used by people who have awakened this ability?”

“It’s a lightsaber, right?”

Orange.

A sword sticking out while doing so.

A sword made based on the power of Force.

“That’s right. That’s how everyone learned it. After we awakened our supernatural powers… that’s what we’ve seen since we were young.”

The reason why it is so popular is because the ‘superpowers’ that adults could show to children who had awakened their abilities were the content of that era.

“Have you often watched children’s TV channels? That’s mostly what came out of there. Contents that teach students not to use their abilities carelessly. Finally, when the children reached an age where they could control themselves, they began to enjoy stories.”

Of course, as children grew older and grew up, they gradually began to create their own special abilities, and adults created and showed the world created by their own imagination through media to help children improve their special abilities.

“For me, this is a world where I feel like the world expressed through imagination is harsh. A world where people can’t enjoy things to enjoy, and only look at things to improve their abilities.”

so.

“Do you know what I thought when I saw that movie earlier? If you make a dinosaur like that out of ice and fight it, it will fight just like that. If you make wings out of ice and fly into outer space, how would you fly? What should we do to stop meteorites falling from space using freezing magic?”

The reality of this era is that people with special abilities have no choice but to watch the movies we watch, analyzing them with things like ‘How can I break through the atmosphere?’ or ‘How can I fight if I transform into a dinosaur?’

“In that sense, I envy Ji-hwan who purely enjoyed the movie. Because you are enjoying the content purely as content.”

Baek Seol-hee smiled brightly and offered me tea.

“Even if I go to Sejong Academy, can I ask you to talk like this sometimes in the future?”

* * *

dinner.

Leaving behind her meeting with Do Ji-hwan, an unidentified man, Baek Seol-hee returned home and threw herself into bed.

Beep beep beep beep!!

As soon as I switched from personal privacy mode, where I couldn’t be contacted except for emergency calls, to daily mode, all kinds of calls started coming.

Something like a proposal to appear in a hero public service advertisement.

Asking them to appear at official government events.

Ask them to come to a gathering of heroes from Busan.

They were all public and stories about having to be a ‘hero’ in front of others.

The individual, human ‘Baek Seol-hee’ did not exist there.

All that exists is an S-class talented person and the pride of Korea.

“Ha.”

Baek Seol-hee covered her face with her hands.

“Do I have to live like this for the rest of my life…”

Probably until I die.

The government will also pay attention to marriage.

If you fall in love with a foreigner and decide to marry him, everyone in the country will immediately come out and argue about your marriage.

The freedom of being a hero has already disappeared.

From the moment she started walking the path of light.

Heroes with overwhelming power move around like emperors overseas, but in Korea, it was really difficult.

“I….”

The moment Baek Seol-hee stretched out her hand into the air.

“……!!”

The ice crystals that had been created in the air without one’s knowledge began to disperse in an instant.

The small ice cubes doubled in size from one to two, from two to four, from four to eight.

Let’s pick up a piece of ice spread out like a grid, as if making a cube, and throw it gently toward the balcony glass.

Damn.

The veranda window began to freeze as if frost had settled on it.

Although it was only the size of the palm of one’s hand, the small piece of ice exploded with ‘chill’ like a bomb.

“Wow….”

What happened?

Could it be that the conversation with that man helped me develop new skills?

Just because of what that man said?

“…It doesn’t make sense.”

I had never thought of this skill myself.

But just as if she already knew it, she learned a new skill.

Thanks to Do Ji-hwan’s imagination.

“……Hehe.”

Baek Seol-hee grabbed her smartphone.

And I looked at the profile picture of a man named Do Ji-hwan.

“…What is it?”

The profile clearly shows his face.

“Is it a selfie? Phew.”

It was a selfie taken with an awkward face.

“……Hmm.”

click.

With the capture sound, Baek Seol-hee began looking through the profile photos.

click.

Click, click.

click.