Your Commander-in-Chief – Chapter 200

Sohee arrived at her destination and led me to a room with the test machine.

It smelled like paper everywhere, as if that place usually stored records.

“What… what is all this…?”

I stared blankly at the numerous piles of documents in front of me, my mouth agape.

I expected just a few bundles of paper when she said she would show me the data.

But the amount of documents Sohee brought was endless.

“That’s Hayun’s record, and the one next to it is Ellie’s.”

Looking where Sohee pointed, I found a small envelope packed tight with papers.

I started to unfold it and looked inside.

“Um…”

I had somewhat expected it, but it was indeed true.

The writing inside was a jumbled array of words I couldn’t understand.

“This is Harang’s.”

Thud—

Sohee dragged a large box over on a cart and set it on the table.

I was left in a state of confusion by the sight.

“Harang? Why does he have it…?”

Sohee tilted her head at my question, as if to say she couldn’t believe I didn’t know.

“Did your brother not tell you?”

What could he possibly have told me? We rarely exchanged words outside of meal times.

Sohee blinked at my reaction and spoke.

“Can I see that for a moment?”

“Uh. Yeah.”

I handed over the bundle of documents I had been holding, and Sohee pulled out a fluttering sheet from within.

It had some indecipherable graph on it, which Sohee placed on the table for me to see as she began rummaging through another stack of papers.

“This is Hayun’s, this is Ellie’s… and this one is Harang’s.”

Three sheets of documents were lined up in that order.

Each document showed a mysterious graph.

My own record had a consistently steady figure, while Ellie’s graph spiked high and then dropped low repeatedly.

Harang’s resembled mine overall, with one difference: it showed sudden spikes to very high levels.

“My graph is steady, Ellie’s is pretty unstable, and Harang’s spikes suddenly.”

“Exactly! Those are the brainwave graphs recorded while testing the reaction speeds of the three of you. To be more precise, it’s the response when all three experience something called white pain.”

I nodded vigorously at Sohee’s words, sensing an important conversation ahead and reluctant to interrupt her.

“Do you want to compare this with that one?”

Sohee presented another document with a different graph.

I began comparing the two sheets she gave me.

The first document was Ellie’s.

Looking at the graph that bounced up and down erratically made me feel dizzy.

The second document was also Ellie’s.

However, this one displayed a considerably more stable graph.

It showed slight fluctuations but extended steadily in the middle.

“Both are Ellie’s?”

“Yep. The second one is the most recent record.”

“Hmm…”

“The difference between the two. Got it?”

“The brainwave figures are changing stably? Is this related to me?”

Sohee nodded and began speaking.

“You probably already know, but that white pain isn’t something ordinary people can feel.”

I calmly nodded.

Then, her explanation continued.

“It’s a sensation that only a very few can experience worldwide. A blessing that allows them to use more time. Of course, for Ellie, it must have felt more like an illness or a curse.”

As she said this, Sohee pushed the stack of documents toward me.

All those papers contained suspicious graphs.

They were all records of other people’s brainwaves.

“What is this…?”

“Records of people experiencing similar phenomena.”

I nodded at Sohee’s words and started flipping through the documents.

The figures varied, yet they shared a commonality.

At the initial start point, all recorded low figures but suddenly spiked high for a very short moment.

And that was it; the graphs then flattened out without any further fluctuation.

“Quite different from you, huh? That’s why so many people pass by without ever realizing their own talent. They simply don’t feel anything normal.”

“This… How long can these people maintain it?”

“On average, around 3-4 seconds? The longest is about 10 seconds max. There might be some who can hold it longer, but that’s what I found in the data I could obtain.”

Sohee stood up and started turning on the test machine.

The familiar buzzing noise of the machine echoed around.

“On the other hand, Hayun is remarkably stable. She can enter that state for a long time and whenever she wants. Right?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“So, we needed Hayun’s records. To help Ellie with her symptoms, we needed a very stable guide.”

“G-guide…?”

“It would be easier to talk inside. Can you go in now?”

“Uh. Yeah…”

I got up and headed toward the large capsule at Sohee’s request, not forgetting to take off my coat and set it aside.

As I entered the capsule and connected to the test game, I found myself in a completely white space.

*

Sohee stared blankly at the small girl behind the large monitor.

Her most precious friend, Hayun.

Her talent could be described as overwhelmingly superior.

So, how could she be outperformed in talent by little Ellie?

That was unimaginable.

Sohee gently adjusted her friend’s coat, which she held tightly in her arms.

The faint scent wafting from it was pleasant.

“Okay, I’ll start the test now?”

[Yes!]

Hearing Hayun’s answer, Sohee began the test.

It was the same type of test as usual.

Sohee nodded while watching the graphs displayed beside her.

As targets flew toward Hayun with consistent speed, her brainwaves rapidly surged.

They flowed very steadily without any tremors.

The test soon reached its final stage.

Once again, showing exceptionally stable figures like usual.

[Is it done? Should we head outside now?]

Sohee didn’t respond to her friend’s question.

Her gaze lingered on the stable figures of Hayun’s brainwaves.

They showed no issues. Very stable.

Sohee thought that Hayun’s reaction speed could be even faster.

[Sohee?]

“Ah, sorry. Can we do one more time?”

[Um, it’s okay, but… ]

“Then let’s start.”

As the test restarted, Sohee retrieved Ellie’s previous records and began comparing them to Hayun’s.

Ellie’s unstable, fluctuating brainwaves gradually began to resemble Hayun’s as time passed.

But still, it wasn’t consistent. Over time, Ellie’s brainwaves spiked sharply, rising into higher ranges.

Watching this unfold, Sohee suddenly spoke toward her friend undergoing the test.

“Hayun, can you speed up a bit more?”

[What…? You want to speed up from here?]

The answer didn’t matter. Sohee set the progression speed of the test to 10% faster than before.

At that moment, Hayun’s brainwave graph spiked briefly before plummeting back down.

[Hyaaa!]

As Sohee heard Hayun’s adorable battle cry from the screen, she thought to herself.

The brain is a fascinating thing. If you think you can’t do something, even if you actually can, you set a limit for yourself.

As if saying that was the edge of your capabilities.

It wasn’t much different from experiments on fleas contained in boxes.

Sohee finally realized why Hayun had been so badly pressured.

Hayun and Ellie were fundamentally different. Unlike Ellie, whose outputs were erratic and inconsistent, Hayun consistently recorded stable figures.

A flat, constant measure—a very stable figure—was unilaterally defined by Hayun without stress on her brain.

In contrast, Ellie had no such thing. Her constantly spinning brain had no safety mechanisms in place.

Every day it would spike rapidly to the limit before crashing hard again.

That’s why she knew what her maximum output might be.

There was a clear difference between those who had pushed their limits and those who hadn’t.

Sohee bit her lip and began to accelerate the speed further.

*

The test never seemed to end.

If it were normal, Sohee would have called me out by now.

I would have stepped out, wiping the sweat off my face with a towel.

But instead, Sohee demanded more tests from me.

I thought it was fine. A couple more light games would be easy, or so I thought.

“Hyaah!”

A target zipped past swiftly, just barely nicked by the tip of my sword.

It was surely the same grade of test as before.

Yet, something felt off as my attacks started to veer off oddly.

“Sohee!”

[Yes.]

“Did you raise the speed?”

[I raised it a little. How’s it feel?]

“I’m, I’m struggling!”

I looked up to the sky with a pout.

I didn’t know where Sohee was watching me from, but I directing my gaze toward the hunching feeling I sensed.

My head was throbbing. I wanted to stop now.

[I think you look fine?]

“What do you mean fine?!”

I waved my sword with a desperate expression.

White pain clouded my mind, accelerating the confusion while the surrounding targets began to move slower.

But unlike usual, my attacks were off mark.

The targets were moving faster than I had anticipated.

I would surely come out soaked in sweat if I stepped outside.

I would probably collapse on the ground, steaming like Ellie after finishing a test.

[Are you really not able to do it? Is it really too much for you?]

As I listened to Sohee’s words, I recalled my past physical education teacher.

Back when I was still Harang, during my previous life, I was part of the athletics club.

Whenever I would start running on the playground, the gym teacher would stick right next to me, running alongside.

And then, with an irritable tone, he would pressure me.

‘Is that your limit? Can’t run any faster? You can do more!’

“Ugh!”

Not a pleasant memory at all. Just thinking of that sweat-soaked past made my stomach turn.

[Is this really the limit? Should we end it?]

Sohee’s words drifted hazily.

I shook my head and extended my sword.

I felt like I was going to puke.

“Urrgh…”