Chapter 20

Episode 20. So It Was You? (1)

*Chirp, chirp, chirp!*

Early morning.

The sound of birds chirping, feasting on a luxurious banquet of bugs gathered under the streetlights, seeped through the window cracks.

The season where the morning sun shines through the clouds, and the air gradually warms, nurturing the sprouts of life.

Having woken up at dawn, I sat on my bed, gazing at the sunlight streaming through the window, lost in deep thought.

The thought was…

“How can I die quickly, efficiently, and cleanly…?”

To others, it might sound like the ramblings of a late-stage depression patient, but for me, it was a surprisingly serious concern.

‘Cutting my neck with a sword every time is inefficient.’

It was definitely an advantage that, once mastered, I could activate the “Blessing of Resurrection” without much effort.

But.

‘It’s too flashy.’

While it didn’t matter when I was in my dorm room, using the neck-cutting method to activate the Blessing of Resurrection during outdoor training, like last time, was too risky.

If someone saw my head rolling on the ground and then regenerating perfectly, what would happen?

‘Then I wouldn’t be able to hide the Blessing of Resurrection anymore.’

For me, it would mean losing a secret weapon that could be useful in battles against enemies.

‘Even if the day comes when the Blessing of Resurrection is revealed, it’s better to hide it as long as possible.’

I wanted to avoid being caught doing something stupid like practicing magic power.

“A method faster, more efficient, and cleaner than cutting my neck…”

There was one candidate that came to mind.

‘Poison.’

It was something I used frequently in my past life to quickly activate the Blessing of Resurrection in emergencies.

I used to carry poison in my mouth like a trained assassin.

‘The problem is finding a poison strong enough to kill a hero instantly.’

And I’d need to use four doses of it every day.

‘Poison is a no-go.’

I’d rather carefully cut my neck without being noticed than use poison.

“If not poison…”

As I continued to ponder, a sudden thought flashed through my mind.

‘Magic Power Orb.’

A basic spell that condenses pure magic power and shoots it out.

Even a first-year candidate in the Magic Department could use it.

‘If I can create a Magic Power Orb inside my body, I can easily activate the Blessing of Resurrection by exploding my brain or heart.’

If Senior Sophia heard this idea, she’d probably scold me for talking nonsense.

Even though the Magic Power Orb is a basic spell, creating it “outside” the body and “inside” the body are completely different.

‘Magic power inherently tends to merge with the body.’

It’s similar to how water is absorbed by paper.

The moment a Magic Power Orb is created inside the body, instead of forming a bullet, the magic power is absorbed by the body.

‘To prevent the Magic Power Orb created inside the body from being absorbed, it needs to be extremely small.’

The orb must be small enough to avoid the pathways where magic power flows through the body, called “energy channels,” to prevent the magic power from being absorbed and disappearing.

‘At the same time, it needs to have enough power to instantly explode vital organs like the heart or brain.’

This was theoretically possible but practically almost impossible.

Creating a bullet the size of a finger and one the size of a grain of rice are on completely different levels of difficulty.

And this required creating a Magic Power Orb even smaller than a grain of rice.

But.

“It seems worth a try.”

This isn’t arrogance.

Nor is it blind pride.

My ability to control magic power, especially efficiently handling small amounts, has been my unique skill since my past life.

Berald, Senior Sophia, Iris, even Yuren.

None of them could match me in this aspect.

‘Well, they didn’t need to.’

Just like someone with millions of gold coins doesn’t need to calculate how much to spend on meals to avoid starving and survive as long as possible.

They, overflowing with magic power, didn’t need to worry about efficiency and meticulous control like I did.

‘Let’s give it a try.’

Even if I fail, what’s the worst that could happen?

*Sigh*

I slowly inhaled, focusing all my mind on the Holy Mark.

I drew a tiny thread of magic power from the Holy Mark and created a Magic Power Orb in the energy channels throughout my body.

“Ugh.”

The first attempt failed.

The magic power was absorbed by my body before the orb could form, returning to the Holy Mark.

‘Make it smaller.’

I imagined a tiny dot.

So small it was invisible to the naked eye.

‘Still not enough.’

The second attempt also failed.

The orb formed but disappeared almost immediately.

‘A little more, a little more, a little more.’

Third, fourth, fifth attempt.

As the attempts increased, cold sweat dripped down my forehead.

My shirt clung uncomfortably to my skin, soaked in sweat.

“Ugh.”

Perhaps from focusing too long.

A splitting headache and nosebleeds followed.

“…Just a little more.”

Several hours passed.

‘Got it!’

Finally, I succeeded in creating and maintaining a Magic Power Orb inside the energy channels.

‘Now…’

Like aiming a gun.

I aimed at my heart and fired the orb.

“Ughhh!”

A terrible pain burned through my chest, but the “Blessing of Resurrection” hadn’t activated yet.

“…Was the power insufficient?”

I succeeded in creating the orb, but failed to generate enough power to instantly explode my heart.

‘But I saw enough potential.’

If I could perfect this method, I could activate the Blessing of Resurrection at any desired moment.

And much faster, more efficient, and cleaner than before!

‘A new suicide method using Magic Power Orbs.’

The advantage of this method wasn’t just that I could die without being noticed.

‘It could also compensate for the drawbacks of the Blessing of Resurrection.’

The Blessing of Resurrection is a power that instantly regenerates any injury from a fatal wound.

Whether my body is torn to pieces or burned to ashes.

The moment the Blessing of Resurrection activates, my body regenerates centered around the Holy Mark.

‘Conversely, if the injury isn’t fatal, the Blessing of Resurrection won’t activate.’

In simple terms.

Fatal areas like the head or heart regenerate instantly if cut off, but limbs like arms or legs don’t regenerate immediately.

‘That’s why I carried poison in my mouth in my past life.’

If my limbs were cut off and I couldn’t even bite my tongue (even though, based on experience, biting off your tongue doesn’t easily kill you), I’d lose the means to activate the Blessing of Resurrection.

‘In such a situation, if I could end my life with a Magic Power Orb…’

The Blessing of Resurrection would activate immediately, regenerating the lost limbs.

“Once I perfect this technique, I won’t need to carry poison in my mouth anymore.”

I smiled bitterly, recalling how I used to carry poison in my mouth as a last resort to activate the Blessing of Resurrection in emergencies.

“For now, let’s stop here today.”

I had already exhausted my mental energy to the point of nosebleeds and couldn’t focus anymore.

Controlling small amounts of magic power was more mentally draining than I thought.

It was like engraving words on the surface of a grain of rice.

Handling such a small amount of magic power was mentally exhausting.

“Alright, let’s do some physical training for the rest of the time.”

Having strained my mind, it was time to strain my body.

As I thought this and headed to the training ground.

*Ding*

A clear alarm sound, and a message appeared on the Hero Watch.

It was from Professor Jade.

[“I’ve completed the prototype. Come to the lab when you have time.”]

It would be foolish to ask what prototype.

[“I’ll be right there.”]

Looks like.

I’ll have to postpone straining my body for later.

* * *

“You’re here.”

“Yes, Professor.”

Professor Jade’s lab.

As usual, the room was so cluttered it was hard to tell if it was a ruin or a lab.

“This is the prototype of the Holy Mark Amplifier.”

He handed me a vial containing a blue liquid, like melted sapphire.

“Drinking this will immediately cause the Holy Mark to go berserk and generate magic power.”

“How long does it last?”

“The effect lasts about 5 minutes. After that…”

“The side effects will start.”

“Exactly.”

Professor Jade stroked his bushy beard and continued.

“After 5 minutes, the energy channels throughout your body will twist, leading to immediate death.”

“That’s fine.”

“…Are you really okay with this?”

His voice was filled with concern.

“If your Blessing of Resurrection doesn’t activate in time, you’ll…”

“Was what I showed you before not enough?”

I could show him again as many times as he wanted.

“Sigh, alright… I’ll trust you.”

Professor Jade sighed deeply and continued.

“I focused the effect solely on temporarily increasing magic power, without considering the side effects, given your Blessing of Resurrection.”

“Good.”

“However.”

However?

“This prototype won’t increase your magic power by much. If the theoretical limit of the Holy Mark Amplifier is 100, this is about 30.”

“Why is that?”

If the side effects weren’t considered and the effect was focused solely on increasing magic power, only achieving 30% of the theoretical limit suggested there was a problem.

“The core ingredient is lacking.”

“…Is it an ingredient that even 1 million gold can’t buy?”

“Ah, I misspoke. It’s not that the ingredient is lacking, but its quality is poor.”

Professor Jade took out a withered flower from a drawer.

“It’s called the Seven-Star Flower.”

“I know.”

A flower said to have received the blessings of seven gods, designated as the national flower of the Holy Kingdom.

“But the Seven-Star Flower is common, isn’t it?”

“Indeed.”

You could find it among the weeds by the roadside if you looked hard enough.

“But finding a Seven-Star Flower imbued with magic power is not easy. It’s so rare that even money can’t easily buy it.”

“Hmm…”

So, I’d have to settle for a 30% effective Holy Mark Amplifier, I thought.

“In that sense, I’d like you to find some Seven-Star Flowers imbued with magic power for me.”

Professor Jade’s unexpected proposal caught me off guard.