I Became the Traitor in an Academy Story

Chapter 72




“Just turn around and walk outside the arena.”

“Aahh! It’s happening again, not a word out of place!!! Katyann’s performance is just ridiculously one-note!!! But, it’s working like a charm! Im Changwon has started walking without any resistance!!!”

No matter how much I covered my ears, burst my eardrums, or screamed at the top of my lungs, it didn’t matter.

It’s not like there was a brilliant plan that could counteract the simple fact that I had ‘spoken within the range’ and activated the command.

My body began moving uncontrollably, faster than the current of telekinesis, literally at the speed of sound, thanks to Katyann’s command.

I had come up with a strategy by observing her closely. Looks like that was a failed attempt.

A girl who could manipulate someone like a puppet with just a word. She really is like a witch or a puppeteer.

Just as I was lost in that ridiculous thought, I strained myself to squeeze out what little concentration I had left and pushed back against the heavy pressure on my body.

It didn’t mean much. It was just a childish struggle against wanting to lose late if at all.

Yeah. It felt like a rebellious act against my father. Just a meaningless bratty struggle.

It all started with simple rebellion. I disliked my father, and my young heart, shaken by that, saw my uncle and thought he looked so cool that I wanted to be a hero.

There wasn’t any grand intention behind it, just simple aspiration and rebellion.

When I said I would join Heros Academy, the look on my father’s face was so satisfying. But, that was the only moment of joy.

The question of whether this was right haunted me endlessly. It wasn’t a question my father had planted in my mind, nor was it something everyone around me kept saying.

The question was one I kept throwing at myself. Sure, I might feel comfortable and good for now. But then?

What do I plan to do next? I couldn’t give a satisfying answer to that question.

I could have just rebelled and landed a blow. I could have amused myself by seeing my father’s expression get all twisted. So what?

What do I plan to do after that?

It wasn’t a simple matter of just living on— I wasn’t trying to talk about the struggle to eat and survive. How exactly, what will I do, what will I achieve?

I couldn’t dare to answer that question.

Because up until now, I had never once envisioned my future with my own mind. Not for a single moment.

I just lived as given, walked the path others laid out, and lived by only saying words someone else had written for me; I was just that kind of person.

I had lived like a puppet, unaware of the strings attached to my own limbs until someone pointed it out.

However, it was only after meeting Blanca that I could finally look at the strings hanging from my body.

The strings that people had haphazardly tied to me since birth, burrowing into my flesh so deeply they could touch my bones.

From now on, I want to try and cut all those strings off.

It’s going to be hard. It’s going to hurt. I will stumble many times, and my legs, newly moving, will feel unfamiliar and awkward.

But still, I wanted to walk a path of my choosing, not dictated by others’ wills but by my own legs.

Only then will I be able to live like a real human being, not like Pinocchio whose movements are controlled by the puppeteer.

The path I want to walk is the path of a hero. Like my uncle, like Geizer, like Invictus. I wanted to walk a path unwavering, believing in what I chose to follow.

If I want to walk such a path, I guess I need to first stabilize my wavering heart.

I closed my eyes. And I sank deeply within myself. Apparently, people also call that “mental imagery.”

Awakened ones might all go through rough patches once, but…

Each of them would have traveled a different path.

And none of them would have experienced the same scenery as I did.

In my mental image, I had no figure.

It was literally a world of darkness. But it wasn’t entirely empty. There was ‘something’ there.

It wobbled around, moving chaotically according to my movements.

As I reached out to grasp that something, it finally took shape and revealed itself. It was a weight hanging by a string.

I pulled the weight hard and cut the string it was hanging by— I had no idea where it was leading— and set it down on the ground.

The severed string shot out into the air at a terrifying speed, eventually forming some shape.

It was a coordinate system.

And the place where I stood was the origin.

Is this awakening too? Who knows. I can’t tell. But I felt like I had gained an unshakable point of reference, even if I wavered further.

A red dot was growing increasingly distant from me in the distance.

I grabbed that red dot and pulled it closer to just in front of me.

“…Eek?!”

“What… what just happened? Im Changwon has used telekinesis while moving?!! Katyann Aluther is out of bounds! The winner is Im Changwon!!!”

As I opened my eyes, I saw Katyann looking bewildered, as if she couldn’t comprehend what had just happened, and the boundary line right in front of my big toe.

I would have been in big trouble if I had been just a moment late.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I was able to take a step forward.”

Leaving behind a bewildered Katyann, who had no idea why I was thanking her, I exited back to where I had come from.



…That was a penalty that is usually only overcome in the second half. How did I conquer that already? How? Why?

The sight of Changwon moving and using his abilities still lingered as a shock.

The round of sixteen had ended. Minho, Ageha, Changwon, me, Emilia. One from Class B. And two from the Hunters and Class A.

This was the lineup for the quarterfinals.

And my opponent was from Class B.

“Get ready… Begin!!!”

I was still dazed, but I finally snapped back to reality when the Class B guy called out to me.

“I told you to look forward to it, Blanca. Do you remember my face?”

The Class B guy? I couldn’t even fathom how he made it this far. He definitely looked like a current student of Heros Academy, but what was going on?

He kept appearing hazy. Was that an optical illusion or a mirage?

“…Who are you?”

“Of course, you wouldn’t remember me, right? I mean, it’s only natural. Actually, it would be bad if you did. But here I come. Let’s end this quickly.”

Have I met someone like him before?…

He might’ve been someone I forgot due to a lack of notable traits. But still, I felt a haze rising from my body?

…Wait a minute. Didn’t someone just leave from over there?

Who am I supposed to fight since no one’s here? Just then, I felt a heavy blow to my solar plexus.

“What… cough, gasp, ha…”

What the hell was that? Who hit me? There was no one around!

“I said I would make a name for myself, but with abilities like these, will anyone recognize my face even if they know my name? Hahaha.”

I threw a bomb towards the direction of the sound, but there was no one there anymore. It was just me alone in the arena.

Who did I get hit by? My solar plexus hurts, but I can’t tell who landed the hit.

More importantly, why is the match not ending when I’m all alone here?

With no clue as to what was happening, I hunched down, and something kicked me in my butt.

What the hell just hit me? A person? Did that thing hit my solar plexus too? No way, did someone really attack me?

Did I trip while coming here?

As I kept accumulating inexplicable pains in my body, I began to wonder what I had been doing all this while without going to the infirmary, when at long last, I remembered one thing.

There was an abilities user in Class B who could interfere with perception.

Am I currently fighting that person? The match had begun. And my name was already up on the scoreboard.

But looking at that name didn’t trigger any memories. The only thing I could recall was that there was indeed an abilities user who could interfere with perception in Class B.

I was sure I thought of… fighting just now. I hid my form behind the dense fog and calmly began to remember.

What had the quarterfinals lineup become? Me, Emilia, Ageha, Minho, Im Changwon, and two from Class A…

One person was missing. Who was it?

“Class B’s full-on assault has made Class A disappear from sight!!!”

Right. Class B. Thanks for that, announcer. It was someone from Class B.

Yet, aside from one, none of the ones in Class B had the ability to make it to the quarterfinals.

An abilities user who interferes with perception. No matter how powerful their abilities are, how would you catch someone you can’t see, hear, or even smell, let alone forget that you were hit for a few seconds?

But just because I couldn’t perceive that person didn’t mean they didn’t actually exist. They were undeniably there.

It was just that I had forgotten.

So, if I unleashed poisonous gas here, it would be the end. After all, his abilities just mean it’s undetectable to others.

Just release the gas, and that’s it.

But then, I would win! Right? Wouldn’t that be it?

Just a moment ago, I was pondering how I could lose well.

While I was still deliberating, an attack came flying in.

I’ve had enough of this.

Whether I win or lose, I don’t care. If there’s someone I don’t like, I had to smash their face in.

Once I settled my mind, it didn’t take long for me to act.

I synthesized a massive amount of ammonia in my body and released it straight outside.

Before long, I could finally see the face of the person I was fighting.

I had to admit I was pleased to see blood gushing from every hole in his face, but I was only happy for that fleeting moment.

Because now I was in the semifinals, something I hadn’t planned.

…I really needed to tone it down a notch. Nothing seems to work out.

 

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