276 – Nymphs, Master and Student #2
My ultimate finishing move, “Haildo-man of Justice,” was literally a finishing move.
If I succeeded in transforming, all my skills would temporarily evolve one level, unleashing firepower comparable to or sometimes exceeding that of S Rankers.
You could say it was a state of rampage.
Thanks to the light of evolution, the instructor, who had bounced back and fallen from me, was now up on his feet, his uncovered eye glimmering with interest.
“Oh, is that the transformation you showed on the broadcast? By accepting external magical power, your physical body is temporarily strengthened, raising all abilities by a tier?”
It seemed the instructor was able to figure out the true nature of my finishing move with just one eye.
“But like most enhancement-type abilities, the duration will be limited, and in your case, the maintenance time will be even shorter. It’s literally a hidden trump card.”
“That’s right.”
Pop-!
I released my transformation.
Even though it was only for about five seconds, the mana consumption was dizzying.
Transforming into Haildo-man was like burning my body and magic as fuel in burst mode.
“That’s an amazing technique. But Haildo, there’s no shame in using such a powerful technique on someone like me. Using strength where it’s not needed is a misuse and waste.”
Well.
I knew this would happen.
The instructor never missed an opportunity to lecture.
But to be honest, I did feel a bit guilty.
“Aren’t you a normal person? That power just now clearly surpassed what an ordinary person could do.”
My physical strength as Haildo wasn’t particularly strong for an Awakened.
I would definitely be outmatched by friends with superior physical abilities like Yu Ara or Lee Jin-A, and I was about on par with the mana-based Seo Ye-rim.
That meant my strength was comparable to that of a wizard.
Of course, Seo Ye-rim was relatively strong for a mana-based individual.
She was somewhat of a power magician.
Anyway.
What I wanted to say was, although my strength was weak for an Awakened, I could still say it was several times stronger than that of ordinary people.
Given my current condition, I could lift weights over four digits in the three major lifts.
Yet I couldn’t break the instructor’s hold.
This was obviously strange.
The instructor spoke.
“The ‘Superhuman Soldier Project’ was not only an experiment to enhance existing Awakened, but simultaneously an experiment to turn ordinary people into Awakened. To conclude, it was successful.”
You mean they succeeded in turning ordinary people into Awakened?
That was surprising.
This was the first I was hearing of it!
“If that succeeded, why has it not been publicized until now? Isn’t that a huge deal?”
“The side effects were too severe. It was from that time that we accurately understood that mana affects people’s brain stems. Most artificially created Awakened were destructive and could not control their impulses.”
“Ah….”
“But Haildo, the Awakened created through your bl**d are quite well-controlled. That’s the true nature of the ‘Second Impact.’ By the way, my body also has serum created through your bl**d flowing in it.”
What…!?
That was something I had no idea about.
They made serums from my bl**d to strengthen people!
“Your expression shows you had no idea. Haildo, you’ve always been emotional, which makes your expressions easy to read; it’s a weakness. It’s only natural you didn’t know this. It was a secret.”
As he said this, the instructor’s gaze fell upon a newspaper written in a foreign language.
It was a newspaper with the faces of Koreans on it.
Though it was an unfamiliar language, I could vaguely understand that it contained ‘missing articles.’
“Right now, there are very few people who know about this fact, including me. It was a highly secretive project. Due to various circumstances, it was ultimately abandoned.”
I started to feel somewhat uneasy.
Just imagining that people were injecting my bl**d into their arms with syringes in places I didn’t know was enough to make anyone feel strange.
“To enhance power through bl**d…! It reminds me of Nymph magic…! Among our Nymphs, there is magic that strengthens power through the bl**d of heroes…!”
Inoi raised its hand as if it had heard a familiar story.
Then the instructor skillfully began to pat the Nymph Inoi’s head and said, “Yes, you’re right. Nymph magic was used. Among us who gathered at that time, there was indeed a Nymph. A Nymph with honey-colored hair. My master who took me in during the Korean War, and a parent figure. We were all part of the ‘Patriots.'”
There was so much information that it was hard to follow.
More importantly, had the instructor been alive since the Korean War?
“Instructor, if you don’t mind me asking, how old are you…?”
“Age isn’t that important for an honorary Nymph.”
# # #
Clatter-.
While exploring the old, collapsed basement, Seo Ye-rim stepped on broken glass on the floor.
Looking down, she saw a single photo hung in a frame.
Sliding-.
Seo Ye-rim lifted the frame.
Inside was an elf with long, pointed ears, dwarves found along the Middle Eastern coast, and a woman with a face familiar to Seo Ye-rim.
“Isn’t that the 1st generation instructor?”
In the photo was a woman wearing an eye patch.
She looked incredibly young, but it was undoubtedly the face of the instructor who taught the first generation.
What in the world were the instructor and the elves and dwarves doing in a picture together?
The numbers “1995” written in the lower left corner were particularly puzzling.
“Weren’t elves only allowed into Korea after the fifth industry?”
As Seo Ye-rim pondered, Yu Ara, holding a flashlight, appeared in the distance.
Yu Ara narrowed her eyes and said, “It’s well known that elves and dwarves have existed in this world since ancient times, right? Just look at Illinois; they’ve been around since America gained independence from England.”
Sliding-.
Yu Ara showed Seo Ye-rim the photos saved on her phone.
It was a portrait with Washington, often called the father of the nation, and several founding fathers of democracy, with the small Nymph Illinois sitting among them.
Then there were also photos of Illinois selling candy during Lincoln’s Gettysburg address and her backside in the car during President Kennedy’s assassination.
These were paintings classified as highly secret even in America and had never been revealed to the public until now.
“The ‘Patriots’ of America deliberately concealed and controlled the existence of beings from other realms. The same goes for every country in the world. Even the predecessor of the Korean ‘Patriots’ Team followed this.”
In Korea, there was also a group consisting of beings from other realms and Koreans.
They had been operating in the shadows for most of the history from the Korean War and economic development onward, without ever revealing themselves.
“Perhaps all worlds ultimately wanted to conceal the fact that they are destined for ‘destruction.’ After all, all beings from other realms were refugees wandering because their homelands were destroyed.”
“Yu Ara, stop rambling and help me find a book. I’m sure somewhere here is ‘The Book of Solomon.’ It has to be here somewhere.”
Yu Ara and Seo Ye-rim executed a joint operation for the first time in a while.
This was Seo Ye-rim’s request.
They rummaged through the secret underground bunker that once served as the base for the ‘Patriots’ Team, the predecessor of the ‘Patriots.’
This basement was closed after a certain incident and was a place where many important documents remained, so they found plenty of strange items.
Among them were a chair with blades and a bl**d-stained taser.
Rumble-.
Then, Seo Ye-rim heard a sound nearby.
Turning her head and shining her flashlight, she saw a figure in a white gown drooling at the mouth, its red eyes gleaming.
“A demon? No, it doesn’t seem like a demon. It looks like a human. But a form that seems to be on the verge of being a demon…. A monstrosity…?”
Seo Ye-rim recalled the rumors of the villain organization “Psycho Shockers” that operated in Japan. They said some of them were strange beings combining humans and demons.
That looked just like that.
“Serum─. Hand over the serum─. The stronger power─! Give me the serum that’s inside you─!”
Pop-!
The creature in the white gown lunged at Seo Ye-rim.
Seo Ye-rim extended her palm towards the creature.
“Shockwave!”
Bang-!
The wave of magical energy burst from Seo Ye-rim’s hand, striking the creature.
The ‘Shockwave’ was a type of attack magic Seo Ye-rim had developed herself, and it was the most powerful technique she could currently use, having lost her flames.
However, it had no lethal capabilities, simply causing the target to lose consciousness and fall.
“What is this?”
Seo Ye-rim frowned at the fallen creature.
Soon, Yu Ara approached and said,
“The name written on the gown… Kim Gu-won…. This person was a researcher from the previous government. It seems he injected the enhancement serum into himself and got addicted to it. The symptoms are identical.”
“Enhancement serum?”
“It exists in our bodies as well. Most S Rankers have it injected. We were both given enhancement procedures when we reached B Rank. At that time, it was injected into our bodies.”
This was something Seo Ye-rim had never heard before.
To think a serum that could turn a person into a monster had been injected into her.
“Are you saying I could become such a monstrosity?”
“No. Not necessarily. The serum injected into us is a bit more special. It’s the serum made from Haildo-senpai’s bl**d. It has fewer side effects and remarkable effects.”
Yu Ara rummaged through drawers filled with piles of documents.
She was trying to find out about Gumihee.
Experiments regarding Gumihee were likely conducted here.
Surely there would be unarchived experimental information somewhere on the premises.
“The fact that serum made from Haildo’s bl**d has flowed through my body…. I had no idea. What are the side effects?”
“Seo Ye-rim, you like Haildo-senpai, don’t you?”
“What are you talking about? I don’t! Why would I like him? Rather, he likes me.”
Hmph-.
When Seo Ye-rim scoffed, Yu Ara’s expression grew even colder.
“Have you ever thought about where your feelings come from? Do you realize your feelings are provoked by the serum residing within you? It’s due to the addiction effect.”
“Are you saying the serum injected into me made me like Haildo?”
Seo Ye-rim quietly questioned her inner self.
Soon, the answer was delivered.
“You’re lying.”
“That’s right. It’s a lie. The serum injected into us is refined, so it doesn’t have such a strong addictive effect. But the serum injected into this Kim Gu-won or Gumihee is different. It has a strong addictive property.”
Seo Ye-rim firmly believed Yu Ara’s words were an obvious lie.
Yu Ara had always been good at lying, and Seo Ye-rim had started to care about Haildo long before she became a B Rank and received the serum injection.
However, among Yu Ara’s statements, there was something concerning.
“Does Gumihee also have serum made from Haildo’s bl**d inside her?”
“That’s likely. It seems she managed to endure the symptoms of addiction until now, but I suspect the reason she attacked the researchers who fled abroad was partly for revenge and partly because of the serum.”
Of course, Seo Ye-rim found it difficult to understand this situation as a whole.
“What exactly is Haildo doing?”
At Seo Ye-rim’s question, Yu Ara fell silent.
This was because Yu Ara had unlocked the lock of a safe that was tightly shut with her extrasensory perception.
Inside was a file that appeared to have not been touched for a long time.
The title of the document, scrawled by someone, read:
“Top Secret – Report on Future Disposition of R-Rank Awakened Haildo.”
