Seo Ji-an’s skills were, quite frankly, shocking.
Under the blessing of the Sword Star, all of Kang Ayul’s sword strikes, each imbued with blessings, were evaded by a hair’s breadth, and by landing a blow to Kang Ayul’s abdomen, the battle degenerated into a mudfight.
While Kang Ayul attempted to restrain Seo Ji-an by sending magical swords flying, Seo Ji-an managed to successfully evade all the magical swords with bizarre movements, ultimately achieving victory by destroying Kang Ayul’s sword.
“Seriously, it’s an absurd level of strength.”
Truly, the existence of that UR-tier skill, ‘Path to Victory,’ was unreal.
An ability that can materialize something if there’s even a 0.00000000001% chance. Blocking an unavoidable attack by exploiting the slightest disruption in the opponent’s magical control, or even intentionally tripping over a rock or slipping to allow the attack—these were reality-altering levels of skill.
Even with Kang Ayul’s enhancements, it seemed impossible to defeat that game-breaking skill.
The victorious Seo Ji-an celebrated his win by waving at his classmates who had been defeated, sharing his joy. Kang Ayul, on the other hand, was either still in shock or simply too embarrassed to have lost to a first-year, as she lay face down, seemingly conscious but unmoving.
-Creak
Kang Ayul, as if having regained her composure, brushed off the dust from her clothes and stood up.
“Will that scene happen?”
After defeating Kang Ayul, when Seo Ji-an approached to shake hands, he tripped over a stone due to his usual clumsiness and fell atop the protagonist, creating a service scene where he collapsed on top of her…
-Smack!
“?!’
Indeed, his foot caught on a stone.
Just as Seo Ji-an’s body was about to fall on top of Kang Ayul, creating a scene where she collapsed onto him…
“I almost fell.”
It didn’t happen.
Somehow, Kang Ayul managed to barely maintain her balance at the last moment, preventing herself from falling on top of Seo Ji-an.
“What is this? Wasn’t this supposed to be a national rule… that scene.”
That scene, which was supposed to transform Kang Ayul’s image from a ruthless second-year senior into a clumsy but lovable one, felt somewhat strange because it didn’t come to pass.
Anyway, since Kang Ayul lost, I would have to fetch her.
I slowly ascended using telekinesis and swiftly moved towards the waiting room for the athletes. As Seo Ji-an didn’t know Kang Ayul’s dormitory details or such specifics, it was up to me.
-Creak
“Miss Ayul, are you here?”
“Ahh, President. You came.”
Upon entering the waiting room, Kang Ayul was indeed lying on the sofa as expected, and Seo Ji-an was gently wiping her sweat.
“Urgh…”
Seo Ji-an used telekinesis to lift Kang Ayul, lightly bowed his head, and expressed his gratitude.
“Thank you for bringing Miss Ayul to the waiting room.”
“Ah, it’s nothing. If anything, I should be the one thanking you.”
“…?”
Just as I was about to carry Kang Ayul on my back and leave, Seo Ji-an’s words sparked my curiosity.
“I don’t think I’ve done much to help Miss Ji-an.”
“You helped Amlin become stronger, didn’t you? I could clearly see how incredibly kind you are despite your cold words.”
‘…You’re awfully perceptive.’
Really, could I, not even the original protagonist Yoon Se-ah, defeat this monster?
‘I’m going insane…’
Could I win by flying through the void? No, void magic control is quite difficult. The ‘Path to Victory’ ability must somehow be interfering with my magic control…
“I’m not sure.”
“What aren’t you sure about?”
“Wake up?”
First, let’s have a brief conversation with Kang Ayul.
“By the way, since you can walk on your own…can you let me put you down?”
“Ah, Miss Ayul is a patient. Absolute rest required.”
“……”
“By the way, was that rumored top first-year student really strong?”
Apparently realizing it was impossible to counter my telekinesis no matter how much she struggled, Kang Ayul calmed down and asked Seo Ji-an just how strong he was.
“Really strong, about as strong as you.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, the fact that you and my grandfather, and Lee Seo-yoon managed to break through my sword and reach me—makes you the fourth.”
Upon hearing Kang Ayul’s detailed impression, it was clear she felt as if she were facing an irregular monster.
“Certainly, while I had the upper hand in the early stages… by the middle, it was as if the person changed entirely; the effectiveness of the techniques was drastically different.”
‘Ah, ‘Path to Victory’.’
While both of them displayed similar abilities during the initial phase of calculating the probabilities, after the calculations were done and the ‘Path to Victory’ activated, it became clear that Seo Ji-an’s attacks were impossible for Kang Ayul to stop.
“Well, even so, you can beat him.”
“You’re overestimating me.”
“What can you do? Among the strongest students I’ve seen inside the academy, you’re the strongest.”
With that, Kang Ayul drifted off to sleep as if all her energy had been drained.
The jasmine fragrance emanating from her body was quite pleasant, but sniffing too deeply could risk being labeled a pervert, so I better control myself.
“Still, that scent from her earlier seems familiar.”
I had tried to ignore it before, but… maybe the reason my body smelled like that was because Kang Ayul carried me, cleaned me up, while I was unconscious and drenched in cold sweat.
‘…Regrettably, I couldn’t do that for her.’
I wasn’t yet comfortable seeing the body of another woman. My own body still feels strange sometimes; how can I get used to someone else’s?
“Sleep well, Miss Ayul.”
With that, I tossed Kang Ayul onto her dormitory bed, looked forward to tomorrow’s final match, and lied down.
“…Like a student on the verge of a final exam, what am I doing?”
Though I tried to sleep, sleep wouldn’t come, and I ended up staying up all night.
I couldn’t lose to Seo Ji-an due to sleep deprivation, so I looked for a sleeping pill among the medicines I’d gathered from the pharmacy in the past.
“…Just two.”
…
…
…
-Whoosh!
It was a horrifying sensation.
The feeling of a blade piercing through flesh, before I could fully feel the pain, the person who had stabbed the blade into my chest promptly rotated the blade 90 degrees, tearing my body in two.
After a brief blackout, my vision returned to Yun Se-ah’s perspective as she walked around the academy… only.
Before I could do anything, I was engulfed by darkness again, and when I regained consciousness, the scene had changed to an already chaotic academy filled with characters like Kang Ayul and Lee Seo-yoon, bleeding and falling.
“…What is this…”
-Whisk!
As my vision spun, I briefly caught sight of Seo Ji-an’s form.
Before I could feel the pain of my throat being slit, my vision returned to just before I was cut, and in front of me stood…
“President, why have you changed so much…!”
It was the sight of Seo Ji-an charging at me, sword in hand, tears of blood streaming down her face.
“Ugh… Kruh…”
-CRASH!
“Huff, huff…”
After falling out of bed, the first thing I did was to grab my neck with both hands, checking to make sure my head was still attached.
“…It was just a dream.”
It was a terrifying dream.
Memories of the numerous deaths Yun Se-ah experienced in the story, and the nightmare where the person responsible for her death was not me, the player, but Seo Ji-an.
From getting stabbed in the heart, to being crushed under burning rubble and suffocating, to repeatedly killing each other until the final moment when I died defending Seo Ji-an against Mephisto’s attack.
Although I had witnessed Yun Se-ah’s death in the original work several times, after the first one, it didn’t cause much mental stress; nonetheless, the worry persisted.
I feel anxious. What if I lose to Seo Ji-an?
If Seo Ji-an becomes the Student Council President, the natural flow of activities outside the Student Council would be disrupted, preventing me from acquiring any meaningful opportunities for growth.
If these minor factors accumulate… Eventually, we won’t be able to defeat Mephisto, leading to complete annihilation and my death without being able to return home.
-Snap!
I slapped my cheeks hard to snap out of it, but… there was no sensation. It must be due to the numbness.
Then, how can I inflict pain on this body?
Hitting my head against the wall alleviated only a slight thirst, with no actual feelings.
Cutting my wrist with a knife produced only a mild stinging sensation but nothing more.
Attempting to calm my nerves by gem-cutting produced no gem shards; trying to relieve stress by beating up Azathoth failed as he wouldn’t even appear.
‘How can I…’
At that moment, my arm caught my attention.
Thin and fragile, it seemed as if it would break with just a little force.
The pain from the last time Sheena shredded my body was still vivid.
With a click, I unscrewed and removed the bracelet.
“…”
Even though my mind screamed that this was insane and shouldn’t be done, I was afraid.
If I lose to Seo Ji-an, the force that controls the original narrative will disappear.
So, I have to chase away this fear with pain.
I want to go home. I absolutely cannot lose to Seo Ji-an.
I definitely cannot afford to lose. I must win, regardless.
But I’m afraid. If I lose, how will the protagonist manipulate the story? Should I beg to join the Student Council and somehow gaslight Seo Ji-an to follow the original plot?
But would Seo Ji-an fall for my hypnotism? If it fails, I would immediately become an outcast of the academy and branded as a traitor.
Ah…just…
I’m so frustrated.
To the point of madness.
-Whoosh!
-CRACK! Smash! Snap! Crunch! Snap!
How much time has passed? My mind feels hazy.
With a dizzy and blurred vision, it’s hard to discern anything clearly.
After regaining focus momentarily, what caught my eye was…
“…Ah.”
The room was glistening with sunlight.
And through that sunlight, I could see…
The walls and floor, drenched in blood.
