episode_0034

I feel a certain gaze.

Naturally, I also turn my gaze towards that place.

Someone who looks human.

It seems like he’s saying something with his mouth-like hole open.

I wanted to know what it meant.

The moment I focused on it for a moment, I started hearing things I shouldn’t have heard.

“Sorry about the weekend. We messed up the system and it went down. When will you be back?”

I suddenly feel angry.

You’re telling me what you need to tell the writer.

At that moment, my mouth opens without me knowing and words spill out that I had never thought of.

” ◦ ◦ A/s to tell me why, why do you tell me?

As soon as those words were spoken, the surrounding scenery began to collapse.

Accordingly, consciousness also gradually becomes blurred.

It starts to hurt soon.

***

◦ ◦ Call Christmas and don’t call it on the weekend!

It’s a familiar ceiling.

This time it’s real.

It’s a ceiling I’ve seen before.

“You just woke up?”

[Are you awake?]

I opened my eyes to two voices.

The first thing I checked was my left shoulder.

“…What the fuck.”

On Shanks’ left shoulder, where he had been hit, there was something that had not originally existed.

A blue, viscous, squishy substance.

I unconsciously reach out to a foreign substance out of nowhere.

“I don’t like tentacles or slime, what is it?”

“Hey, don’t rip that off!”

An urgent voice interrupts my actions.

Slowly move your gaze towards it.

There, there is Yerim, the older sister I meet as usual.

“My shoulder isn’t fully healed yet. Wait.”

“…Who are you?”

But there was a stranger.

A strange woman wearing white.

“This is teacher Yun Hwa-ran.”

“How long have I been here?”

“About 30 minutes.”

Introducing herself as Teacher Yun Hwa-ran.

This person is probably the one who treated me.

“What is this?”

“That’s like using magic like a student to restore the damaged part.”

“The medical office is more professional than I thought?”

“…What did you think of the infirmary?”

Even though it’s called an infirmary, there’s only one thing that leaves an impression on me.

“Where to prepare chrysanthemums?”

“Ah! Are you student Byeongsinwoo? Nice to meet you.”

Then, Teacher Yun Hwa-ran immediately extends her hand to me.

I shook his hand, slightly dumbfounded.

“The name is a bit strange, isn’t it?”

“I heard it’s okay to just call it like that?”

“……”

I was a little annoyed, but I held it in because there was no ill intent.

Then a question arose.

“Am I already famous here?”

“He was expected to die within the shortest period of admission.”

“Fuck.”

[You’ve set one of the few records in your life.]

‘This sucks.’

Anyway, at the end, I clearly lost my mind.

The place where he collapsed was the training ground.

I remember up to there.

However, I don’t know how I got here.

“How did I get here?”

“A short, red-twin-tailed schoolgirl delivered the student to the infirmary.”

“I see. I guess I should say thank you.”

It looks like Hyeji brought me here.

I thought about thanking you for delivering it.

“……Just a minute. Delivery?”

I find myself questioning the strange word again.

Then, Teacher Yun Hwa-ran raised her finger and pointed at the window.

There.

“Do you see that window over there?”

Two panes of glass were equally shattered.

The moment I was wondering what on earth this had to do with me, Professor Yoon Hwa-ran continued to explain.

“They threw Shinwoo over there?”

“…Did the other one throw his arm?”

“That’s right. So Shinwoo’s arm is a rag now.”

“Fuck, at least pack it in small packages.”

“So it came faster than I brought it.”

Short thoughts.

Is it really right to express gratitude to Hyeji?

Or would it be right to complain?

[It was definitely fast. If it was on the highway, it would have been speeding.]

‘Damn, I didn’t even expect rocket delivery.’

But I thought it was right to express my gratitude since they sent it quickly anyway.

At that moment, this time, teacher Yun Hwa-ran asks me a question.

“But student Shinwoo broke his head through the glass window, so why isn’t he hurt?”

“……Well.”

Anyway, my left arm must have flown away too, so I look around.

A little further away.

There was my left arm.

Immersed in a barrel filled with the same astrological substance that was attached to my shoulder.

The condition of the arm was more serious than expected.

More than the exploded section, the broken glass and the scars here and there were worse.

[But isn’t it better than not being able to use it at all?]

‘Arms…are you here?’

At that moment, a thought flashed through my mind.

Prosthetic hand.

That too, the left arm.

The epitome of the classic protagonist.

[This body is attracted to automail.]

‘I lost all my prosthetic limbs.’

“Can you put on something like a prosthetic arm?”

“Just put your arm up. It looks like you can strengthen your body too, so what’s the point? ”

From what I’m saying, it seems like it would be difficult to strengthen the body with prosthetic limbs.

The prosthesis was neatly given up.

Instead, this time he asks about the whereabouts of his invisible older sister, Ye-rim.

“Okay. But isn’t Yerim noona here?”

“Oh, does junior Yerim know? Junior Yerim went on vacation.”

I heard Teacher Yun Hwa-ran grumbling, “Why are you taking such a long vacation?”

It seems like you don’t know the exact details.

“Of course I know. I introduced him to a guy. We’re probably going to get married soon.”

“……What?”

“Didn’t you know? Yerim noona has a boyfriend?”

Teacher Yun Hwa-ran’s eyes died in an instant.

She looks like a slightly broken doll, mumbling, “I said I’m single…”

The problem is.

“It’s fortunate that Yerim got married before she turned 30, even though it was late.”

“Ahaha.”

The thing is, I didn’t notice it and kept opening my mouth.

“You must be over 30. You must have been bullied for sure.”

“Student Shinwoo? Should we start putting arms around each other now?”

Teacher Yun Hwa-ran attempts material drift.

I guess you must have felt burdened by this conversation.

“What is marriage? It was a difficult time to get married. Thinking about that, I’m so glad.”

“…Can you stop talking?”

Before I knew it, Teacher Yun Hwa-ran’s words had settled in.

But I can’t stop my mouth and I keep talking.

“I don’t think the wedding will happen soon. Of course, the baby will probably come first.”

“……”

“So I thought of a baby name and wanted to recommend one.”

At that moment, the number above Teacher Yun Hwa-ran’s head went up by one.

A single mirror fragment was created at the same time.

As I focused on the mirror shard, light began to spread out as before.

***

A voice is heard through the recovering vision.

[Now that I see it, I understand how your powers work.]

‘What is it?’

The voice in my head continues speaking quickly while my vision has not yet recovered.

In a voice that sounded somewhat excited.

[Do you remember the mirror fragments that appeared earlier?]

‘Yes, it happened because the numbers above my head suddenly went up.’

[If you wish to read it, it is said that your consciousness reads the future before the return of others.]

Ultimately, it means that the activation of the ability is determined by my will.

It was fortunate that it wasn’t an unconditional activation of the ability.

‘If you think about it, it’s an ability, so isn’t it just eating up magic power?’

[It is said that only a certain amount of magic power will be consumed. Anything beyond that will be paid for with stamina, as I felt last time.]

‘Ugh, I have to hurry up and watch it. Hurry up and fast forward. Hurry up and fast forward. Hurry up and fast forward.’

Whether it was because I responded with the intention of getting over it quickly, the things that were in front of my eyes suddenly disappeared.

What appears instead is a scene from a specific point in time.

That was the image of Ms. Yun Hwa-ran drinking alone at home.

Outwardly, there is no difference from now.

However, the date displayed on the cell phone next to it is December 24th, three years later.

The moment I started to wonder what had happened that day, the scene slowly began to move.

“Fuck! You all said you were single but you’re all married!!!! You traitorous bastards!!!!!!!!”

Perhaps in the future before regression, Ms. Yun Hwa-ran is the only one who cannot get married and drinks alone.

Then I remembered that when I was joking around a little while ago, Teacher Yun Hwa-ran had a really bad expression on her face.

[You seem to be in a hurry.]

‘Seriously, this is fucked up.’

At that moment, the surroundings began to flash red light.

[It’s time to go.]

‘Fuck, even previewing music is going to be longer than this.’

***

As I thought about returning, I came back to the present.

The first thing that catches my eye is Teacher Yun Hwa-ran, who is staring at me with death-like eyes.

I feel a little tired because I’ve been here for a while.

At that moment, a chill ran down my spine.

“…Teacher?”

“Student Shinwoo.”

I unconsciously felt a chill run down my spine at Teacher Yun Hwa-ran’s words and did not respond.

Regardless, Teacher Yun Hwa-ran continued to open her mouth.

As if my answer didn’t matter.

“Prosthetic hand. You said you wanted to try it, right?”

“No, I’ll just put my arm on. My arm is the best.”

Teacher Yun Hwa-ran made the suggestion to me with a smile on her face.

At first glance, you might think that I’m being too friendly.

“No, I have to try it once. This is also an opportunity.”

“No. I’ll sell it as it was originally sold, like the teacher said.”

I was so anxious.

A sudden use of polite language.

Above all, the eyes looking at me weren’t smiling at all.

“I guess it’s because I’m an old maid, but I can’t hear well.”

“Teacher? But I still have to say what I have to say.”

“Tell me.”

Teacher Yun Hwa-ran said she was an old maid.

But that’s wrong.

“Teacher is not a spinster.”

“Really? Actually, I was also hunted a while ago.”

Teacher Yun Hwa-ran’s face relaxed.

She seemed quite pleased to hear that she was no longer a spinster.

Of course, as I said, Ms. Yun Hwa-ran is not some kind of spinster.

“You should call her Gold Miss.”

“Start with automail.”

[It’s going to hurt.]

Because she’s a gold miss.

It was two hours later that I left the infirmary.

***

Professor Phil Yong looks at me with a questioning look.

“Why is your left arm like that? Who did it to you?”

“Me.”

“……”

“……”

A sudden silence.

Professor Pil-Yong speaks again, perhaps because the silence is awkward.

“But why is your face so pale?”

“……I came after taking pictures of the run-down genre.”

“Ha…sit down first.”

I was in the infirmary just a little while ago.

Two hours.

The time I spent in the infirmary.

During that time, I tried all sorts of prosthetic limbs.

Some people said that the prosthetic arm was possessed by a demon, but it didn’t seem to be very effective, perhaps because the demon was more normal than me.

However, the most dangerous one was the silver arm with a red star drawn on its shoulder.

[I almost became the Winter Soldier.]

‘Damn, I didn’t know you’d tell me the brainwashing code as soon as you got it.’

Currently, I am in Professor Pil-Yong’s research building.

I stopped by as I said this morning before the faculty meeting started.

Professor Pil-Yong sighed and grabbed his head after hearing my explanation.

When I see that, my mouth opens without me knowing.

“Don’t grab me, I don’t even have a head. I won’t fly.”

“You want me to control your right arm too?”

“I’m sorry. It’s the fault of the person who had expectations in the wasteland.”

[They say there is an oasis in the desert, but that one is hopeless.]

‘It would be more likely to be reborn.’

A vein appears on Professor Pil-Yong’s forehead as he grinds his teeth.

Still, he held back his anger and explained why he called me.

“Before the faculty meeting, I would like to re-measure all the readers in our research building.”

“How many?”

“About 50.”

“Fuck, you wouldn’t even edit your doctoral thesis like that.”

As soon as I said the word thesis, Professor Pil-Yong suddenly smiled brightly.

“Thanks to you, I was able to write a huge thesis.”

“But you still gave the students a break, right?”

“…….”

A moment of uncomfortable silence.

“Professor?”

“Shut up.”

Of course, I don’t know how many people shed blood, sweat and tears for that happy face.

At that moment, a noise of people rushing into the research building.

They were research students.

The researchers were fumbling around bringing in boxes containing readers.

Research students with faces as pale as mine.

Looking at that sight, it felt as if a piece of humanity that remained within me was stirring without me knowing it.

“But do I really have to do all of this?”

“There are also old recordings, so you have to record them one by one while comparing them.”

“I feel like I’m shooting an AV. This is really fucked up.”

“When you say that, I feel even stranger.”

[You? Shouldn’t we start with the interview first?]

‘Please shut up. Where did you learn that?’

Two hours before the faculty meeting starts.

The number of readers I have tested so far is exactly 60.

Originally there were 53, but during the reading process, researchers created seven additional readers in real time.

Of course, the results are not always commensurate with the effort.

All the results came down to the same thing: ‘the ability is unknown.’

As the final reader’s inspection was completed, the students began to stagger back to the lab.

The situation hasn’t improved much.

Professor Phil Yong started to hastily save all the videos onto a USB.

After confirming that all the videos were copied, Professor Phil Yong and I headed to the faculty meeting.

***

A large table.

And there are countless professors surrounding him.

When I saw that sight, it really felt like this was the place where the professors were having a meeting.

“Today’s faculty meeting has additional agenda items as previously announced this morning.”

The noisy surroundings gradually calm down as the older female professor sitting at the head of the class speaks.

During that time, I looked around.

It looks like there are quite a lot of professors.

Some people couldn’t even sit down and had to stand.

[Are they really all professors?]

‘There are so many?’

“Professor, are there this many professors at the academy?”

“No, almost all the faculty members came today and said that.”

“If I come today, will you give me a snack? What kind of snack will you give me?”

“It’s because of you. You!”

At that moment, the mouth of the older female professor who had initially spoken opens.

“Today’s additional agenda is a discussion on the disposition of Kim Shin-woo, a first-year iron grade student.”

“Death penalty!! Death penalty!! Death penalty!!”

The sound of execution came out of nowhere.

I checked the source of the sound.

There was Teacher Yun Hwa-ran, with bloodshot eyes, spitting out saliva and screaming loudly.

If anyone had seen it, they would have thought they had met their parents’ enemy.

[……How pathetic.]

‘That fucking idiot is a total idiot.’