Chapter 9

009 – Ugly Guys Enjoy Each Other’s Company Just by Looking at Each Other’s Faces #3

“I am ‘Artist’ Choi Chang-sik. I possess an ordinary Grade 1 concept. Let me clarify upfront, it’s best not to count on my help in practical situations.”

Swish.

The male student Choi Chang-sik, who introduced himself as the Artist, picked up a pebble nearby, placed it on his palm, and blew on it with a whoosh.

What’s about to happen?

As I looked on in mild anticipation, the pebble transformed into a round candy!

“My ability is ‘Transformation.’ By transformation, I mean changing pebbles into candies or turning trash into something slightly more useful. Moreover, the backlash of this ability forces me to speak in this strange tone. If I don’t, I get a headache all day.”

While he brushed it off as no big deal and scratched the back of his head, I was truly amazed.

An ability to turn pebbles into candy?

Hell yeah!

“Hey, you’re really amazing! Can you change the taste as well?”

“Amazing? That’s the first time I’ve heard that. Taste-wise, it’s limited to what I remember. But, it doesn’t necessarily have to be candy. As long as it’s a food item I’ve tasted and it’s about the same size, I can modify it somewhat.”

Are you serious?

If I had this ability, in this world destined to end in a year, I could’ve happily lived every day eating candy!

I definitely need to befriend this guy.

“I am Oh Deok-hi. Callsign is ‘Silence.’ My concept is ‘Stillness.’ I can create silence around me. The backlash is… I have to dance…”

The girl Oh Deok-hi, with her long-fringed bangs, introduced herself and explained her ability briefly. Despite her concise explanation, she seemed a bit embarrassed afterward and fidgeted nervously.

Now it was Geum Tae-sung’s turn.

“I am ‘Reversal.’ My ability is simply to heal wounds. You could say the backlash itself is the ability; it’s a risky concept, so I don’t use it often.”

Upon closer listening, the ‘backlash’ seemed to refer to the counter-reaction that occurred when using the concept’s ability.

This could mean a change in tone, sudden compulsive behavior like dancing, or even stranger quirks.

It’s unfamiliar to me, as my broken leg ended my Awakened life right from the start.

I also harbor the ability ‘Leap,’ but I wonder, would I experience any such backlash if I used my concept’s ability?

Meanwhile, everyone’s attention turned to Baek Yeo-ul.

Baek Yeo-ul hesitated for a while before tightly gripping the hem of her school uniform and quietly introduced herself in almost a tearful voice.

“I… I am Baek Yeo-ul, and my concept is Grade 1 ‘Bad Luck.’ I don’t know about the backlash. I haven’t yet gained control over this concept…”

Sighs echoed all around.

Bad luck.

Everyone knew exactly what that implied.

“Maybe our falling off the starting point into this cliff was because of me…”

So, that’s why.

Being around Baek Yeo-ul meant losing good fortune!

That’s why no one wanted her on their team and no one sat next to her!

Could that truck accident where I got my leg crushed have been because of Baek Yeo-ul’s bad luck?

The global warming?

The extinction of dinosaurs?!

The thought was indeed terrifying.

Though it was frightening, there was something unsettling about it.

Are we really that unlucky?

No.

I didn’t think so.

“From what I’ve experienced, the most dangerous moments often bring the most opportunities. There’s probably no one around this training ground better than us. That means we’re well-positioned to observe our surroundings.”

I glanced around at the forest, and my scavenger instincts kicked in. Useful items could be found anywhere.

“For reference, I have the concepts of ‘Leap’ and ‘Perception.’”

“What? Are you, Namjin, a double-concept carrier!?”

“Who would’ve thought the pervert had so much going on!”

Hope and anticipation began to show on everyone’s faces.

Speaking of which, I hadn’t explained myself to everyone yet, had I?

I prefer to show rather than explain things verbally.

“Hey, follow me! We need to earn points!”

…

…

…

“This cliff is insanely tough!”

Trying to descend a steep cliff roughly thirty meters high with our bare hands was pure agony. If we weren’t Awakeneds with enhanced physical strength, we would have certainly crumbled.

“Made it to the bottom! It didn’t take more than thirty minutes.”

The feeling of stepping on lush weeds was incredibly satisfying.

The forest smelled fresh everywhere, and the breeze against the sweat on my body felt great.

I wonder if Seugal is feeling this same breeze right now?

Though I wanted to find her immediately, without knowing her exact location, it wasn’t wise to wander aimlessly.

Thus, focusing on obtaining store points and securing a spot in a special lecture seemed like a smarter choice.

Of course, I am intelligent!

“So, what’s the plan?”

Baek Yeo-ul timidly peered toward me.

Could she be uneasy with me, the new transfer student, suddenly becoming the team leader? They say blessings come to those who believe.

“I have a plan, trust me.”

Swish swish swish.

Taking a clod of dirt in my hand and putting it in my mouth, I swirled it around.

Baek Yeo-ul and Geum Tae-sung looked flustered and wrinkled their brows at my action.

“Hey! Why are you eating dirt?”

“What are you doing?”

“There’s moisture in this dirt. There are also quite a few shaded spots around here. There must be water nearby.”

It was a new place without a map, but I roughly had a sense of direction. Plus, I had noticed something relevant while still on the cliff.

“Let’s go!”

“Hey! Wait for us!”

Papapabat!

As I ran, my team followed from behind.

We arrived at the stream.

Trickle trickle trickle.

The flowing water looked refreshingly cool.

Suddenly, Artist Choi Chang-sik screamed—”Ah! This is poop! Aaagh! Smell! How could I have such bad luck!”

Poop?

The smell was overpowering.

Definitely not from a normal animal.

“Seems like it’s because of me…”

I immediately thought.

Baek Yeo-ul bore the concept of bad luck, meaning that being near her naturally brought misfortune to those around her.

I grew curious. Why did Baek Yeo-ul awaken with such a concept? Awakening occurs from a deep desire, doesn’t it?

The thought that Baek Yeo-ul had somehow wished intensely for herself or someone else to have bad luck made her character seem deeply flawed.

Yet!

“Luck is like a seesaw. When one side goes up, the other side descends. Just as one person laughing means someone else crying, one person’s loss can often mean another’s gain.”

To Chang-sik, stepping in poop was a disaster, but for us all, it was actually a stroke of good fortune.

“Chang-sik, can you make some candy?”

“Candy? What are you planning?”

“Just do it quickly!”

“I see. Gather some pebbles then. Meanwhile, I need to clean my shoes in this stream.”

I eagerly collected pebbles. Oh yeah!

Gold-sun, Baek Yeo-ul, and the quiet female student also picked up pebbles after exchanging subtle expressions, surely thinking, “What do we have to lose?”

They’ll be amazed by my grand plan.

“Alright, let’s transform these into purple grape-flavored candy! Whoosh!”

Choi Chang-sik’s breath transformed the pebbles into candies of similar size. Again, I felt incredibly envious. Such an ability made me want to cry.

Imagine eating an infinite supply of candy!

“What are you planning to do with these?”

As we gazed at the heap of candy, Gold-sung, seemingly intrigued, asked as I gave a simple response.

“Do you have a lighter?”

Gold-sung used to be a hoodlum,

And even though he doesn’t smoke now, I figured he must carry a lighter. And indeed, he pulled out a lighter from his pocket.

“I do.”

I quickly gathered stones and twigs to create a makeshift furnace. Having lived at the dump, starting a fire was no challenge for me.

Whoosh!

Over the crackling fire, I placed one of the practice apparatuses, a small pan, and added water and candy, drawing increasingly intrigued expressions from the kids.

“Alright, let’s toss in the pudding I picked up earlier.”

Boil boil boil!

The pudding and candy bubbling over the fire could already be smelled by everyone.

The sweet aroma spreading softly!

“It needs more boiling. Let’s wait a little longer.”

As I boiled the pudding candy mix for about a minute,

Rustle.

Something burst through the nearby bushes near us.

—Grrraaaooow!

It was a dog, with black fur.

It was so large it resembled a wolf, but what was particularly striking was its abnormally oversized nose.

Its ears and eyes appeared as though they had degenerated, looking flat.

Clearly, it wasn’t a normal creature.

Choi Chang-sik clenched his teeth.

“Gyieeeeeek! A demon beast! We’ve encountered a demon beast in this vast forest! My luck is awful! Being in Yeo-ul’s group always leads to situations like this! Yeo-ul! How are you going to compensate for this!”

“I… I don’t know! Everyone should run!”

—Grrrrr—

A large-nosed dog, drooling saliva.

As everyone tensed and fidgeted, I felt a chill run down my spine.

I didn’t expect things to work out this smoothly.

“Even in this vast forest, I thought it was likely there’d be a demon beast somewhere near water.”

In the collapsed world, every day was about survival without entering ‘safe zones.’ Watching out for bandits and demon beasts while drinking contaminated stream water has proven useful now.

“From the warm sensation of the poop Chang-sik stepped in, I guessed the perpetrator wasn’t far. But lacking precise location details, I decided to boil pudding and candy!”

Demon beasts are attracted to sweet smells like bees to flowers. Even Yining, whom I tamed once, went berserk for sugary water.

Man, suddenly misses Yining.

Anyway!

“Demon beasts are generally cautious and don’t easily fall for lures. In that respect, Bbangdaengi’s ability really paid off. Things are going too smoothly to be true!”

Encountering a demon beast in these woods is quite an unlucky situation.

In fact, everyone stood frozen in fear like mice before a snake.

However, one person’s bad luck is another’s good fortune.

“The captain’s ‘crazy pens’ aside, honestly, it was hard to find. From the start, my target was the demon beast! Hey, Tae-sung, how many store points do we get for taking down one demon beast?”

“What do you mean ‘taking down’?”

Seemingly startled by my words, Geum Tae-sung flinched and answered cautiously while keeping distance from the demon beast.

“Namjin, we don’t possess concepts suited for combat. Are you sure it’s safe? I don’t think many students beyond the captain in Class F can defeat a demon beast in combat!”

Indeed, he was questioning our capability to handle a demon beast.

I was puzzled.

Why do you think we can’t handle it?

With our abilities, it should be sufficient, right?

“So, listen up now. The most crucial character in our demon beast hunt is… you, Oh Deok-sun!”

“…!”

At my designation, the quiet female student trembled violently.

She seemed struck by sudden lightning, flinching repeatedly, which was quite amusing.

“My, my name is not Oh Deok-sun but Oh Deok-hee… And you think I am the key person…? That’s absurd. I am clumsy and always got kicked out from group assignments…”

…

---