NOVEL WEB Chapter 90
“I actually had a basic idea of what finals were.”
But looking at how things have gone so far, it’s clear there’s no guarantee that the finals will follow the original story as I imagined.
There are incidents that didn’t happen in the original plot and characters that never existed before, plus if you look at the skill level of the kids during the Sports Festival, it’s skyrocketed compared to the original.
Perhaps Heros Academy might change the content of the finals.
Especially considering how Blanca performed at the field trip and how Im Changwon showcased an exceptional level of skill during the Sports Festival, the Academy might have raised the bar even higher.
No matter how high they set it, I was confident I could pass; the heroines aren’t bad enough to fail, so I could relax a bit.
But I’m a little anxious about just how many people might get cut due to those raised hurdles.
Even if not everyone goes down the wrong path, if just one more person does, it could lead to more members joining the Evil Society.
Beyond that calculated reasoning, I’d feel bad for those I’ve gotten familiar with over the past couple of months if they fell short and I couldn’t see them anymore.
I might not have spoken to some until we graduate, but not seeing the faces of people I knew wouldn’t sit well with me.
All I could do was practice hard on my own and hope to inspire others to step up.
“Lapiz, let’s try again. This time, please use the hardest thing you can.”
“Heh, heh… Huh, huh… This is tough, it’s so hot… This, this is really, really the last time… I’m only doing this and then resting, so no more talking…!”
Lapiz, suffering under the mid-June sun, dragged out a rock that was so thick and hard-looking it was obvious to anyone standing on the Stadium floor.
Then, she rushed over to Seolhwa, flustered, begging her to stuff some ice into her armor.
Honestly, that doesn’t sound like a great idea, Lapiz.
Seolhwa, while asking if she was really okay, respected her by showering her with ice from the back of her armor.
Of course, Lapiz felt cool for about a second before she started a ruckus claiming it was cold.
If I bought her a fan or a portable air conditioner, would it boost my popularity? Maybe that wouldn’t be a bad idea.
But that comes later. Right now, I had other things to do. I tuned out from Lapiz and climbed onto the massive boulder she had pulled out.
Standing still, I began to accelerate downward while infusing magic into my ice-pick Artifact, creating vibrations powerful enough to crush concrete.
If it caused that much vibration while attached to my foot, it would’ve been normal for my shoe to wear out instantly.
But this wasn’t just any shoe, so instead, it absorbed the heat and vibrations transferred through the contact surface, glowing intensely.
On top of that, I applied artificially simulated gravity to exert extra pressure on the shoe while fully transmitting the vibrations beneath me.
If there had been no vibrations, no matter how much I pressed down, the rock wouldn’t have even gotten scratched. But with vibrations, it was as if my leg was drilling into it.
And finally, when I released the accumulated energy—
BOOM!
With a noise so loud it could be mistaken for a bomb blast, the rock shattered into pieces.
Even though the Artifact had barely been used for a few days, the more I used it, the more I marveled at its power.
With this, I felt I could crush any villain or obstacle without a second thought.
If it’s an overkill situation, I just don’t use the Artifact—so honestly, it’s hard to complain. Except for one tiny issue.
“Yo, my friend. Is that a new finishing move? Looks cool.”
“Blanca, did you get inspired by another weird video again?”
“…Why, can’t I use English?”
“It’s not that you can’t… it just feels awkward. Kind of strange. It’d be better not to do it.”
I accepted Blanca’s greeting as she appeared while puffing something transparent and kicking up dust.
“And it’s not a finishing move. There’s still a lot to refine. I just wanted to see how far I could push it.”
“Got it… I’m envious. Some of us are stuck thinking about how to fight in this so-called help-less gear.”
Blanca pinched at her black coat, clearly expressing her annoyance.
“Well, that aside. Do you like the Artifact?”
“At least… I have the powers. Why are you suddenly bringing up the Artifact?”
Not sure where she was heading with that, I prompted her to keep talking, knowing it wouldn’t hurt to react.
“Just had a thought. It’s kind of awkward to discuss here, wanna head to the basketball court?”
This didn’t sound like an ordinary discussion. Whenever she called me aside, it was always to talk about something she couldn’t in front of others.
Was this one of those times? I followed her to the basketball court, feeling a strange mix of anticipation and fear of what bombshell she might drop this time.
“Did you call Seolhwa as well?”
“Of course. Seolhwa got an Artifact too. Now that everyone’s here, I’ll ask. You all. Doesn’t the ability of the Artifact seem familiar?”
In response to Blanca’s question, Seolhwa said it did seem so.
“During the field trip, it was similar to the abilities of the two captured guys. But isn’t that something that could happen?”
“Yup, just like Seolhwa said, it’s not uncommon for an Artifact’s abilities to resemble those of other abilities users.”
Citing Yeonhwa as an example, I wondered if that was possible, and she agreed that it could be.
“But it’s never been this identical. And have you all heard any news about the captured ‘Executors’?”
“…No.”
As soon as Blanca heard my response, she continued as if waiting for it.
“I did some digging personally to see what happened to them. At one point, the news just completely vanished. No reports of them going to prison or anything. They just seemed to evaporate.”
“That’s odd. So, what are you trying to say?”
Seolhwa acknowledged it was strange, but pressed to get clarity on what she was trying to say.
“You know the guy you fought when you went to get the Artifact? He was a researcher who studied extracting abilities from artifacts and transferring them to other objects.”
I asked him something.
Blanca said that while lowering her voice a bit.
“If you can extract abilities from artifacts, does that mean it’s impossible to extract them from humans?”
He didn’t flat out say no.
It seemed there was something mocking in Blanca’s tone. By now, it looked like Seolhwa was starting to figure out what she was getting at.
“You don’t mean that old guy extracted abilities from the Executors to make this Artifact?”
“That’s what I think. I can’t know for sure, but maybe Heros Company extracts abilities from humans to create other artifacts… or maybe even implant them into humans?”
“If that’s true… that’s pretty creepy.”
Even Seolhwa, who’s usually tough-minded, looked a bit unsettled and trembled lightly as she stared at her.
“So… does that mean we shouldn’t use the Artifacts? Or is it…”
I understood what she was trying to say, but had no clue what she really meant and asked her to clarify.
“It’s not that. I don’t care what could happen to them if abilities were extracted, and I’m not saying you shouldn’t use what you have in hand.”
She replied sharply as she firmly denied everything.
“Just… keep it in mind. Heros Company isn’t just a beautiful and bright place like you think.”
Her expression carried a hint of contempt and sincerity.
“Don’t trust that they’ll take care of everything for you. You never know when they might decide to swallow you up.”
Seolhwa seemed a bit confused, but having caught a glimpse of Blanca’s past, I completely understood why she was saying that.
“…That’s all I had to say. Use the Artifact well, and if it really bothers you, sell it for cash. Sorry for bringing up weird stuff before finals.”
Blanca awkwardly smiled, wrapping things up clumsily. As she walked away, she looked like she didn’t even know why she was saying all this.
—
There was no need to say it out loud. It’d be just extra words. But I wanted to say it.
But saying it won’t change anything, I’m sure. Even a protagonist has things they can and can’t do.
But why on earth did I take the risk to say it? Was it like I said, because we’re friends?
As I looked down at my body, it felt strangely foreign. It was my body, yet it didn’t feel like mine.
Despite the confusion, a piece of information kept circling in the back of my mind that we planned to study together at Ageha’s house after the Academy.
“Friends…”
It wasn’t out of friendship that I said all that…
No.
That’s not it.
Yeah, right. No. But just in case, I planted some doubts in Minho about Heros Company.
Yeah, I clearly intended to say it that way. Am I losing my mind already?
“That can’t be right…”
“What do you mean that can’t be right, Blanca?”
I jumped as Yeonhwa poked me in the side and asked if I was listening.
“No?”
“Oh, I see. It’s nothing! Really. Anyway, how’s Ageha’s place?”
I disguised my inner confusion, putting on a mask that was half stuck to my face, and spoke cheerfully to Yeonhwa.
At least it wasn’t something to worry about right now. Let’s put it off for a bit.