NOVEL WEB Chapter 6: The Beginning of the Novel
< Chapter 6: The Beginning of the Novel (2) >
My mind was in total chaos right now.
Was it because I was thinking about the error message?
Or because I was guessing what the tattoo that looked like the World Tree meant?
Or because I was trying to figure out how to restore the World Tree’s Blessing that was overloaded by excessive use?
Or because I was combining all these things and planning my future actions?
Those were somewhat relevant, but not the fundamental reason.
The reason why I was confused was very simple.
“It’s a normal house.”
Shin Jia came to visit my house.
“Yes. It’s normal.”
Without any warning or notice, she suddenly came.
How could I not be flustered by that?
“Here. Have some green tea… Haha. There’s nothing in the house.”
“Thank you.”
Shin Jia, who was kneeling on one knee, lifted the teacup with a graceful gesture.
“Do you usually enjoy drinking this kind of thing?”
“Yes? Yes. I do.”
“…I see.”
She took a light sip.
There was no noticeable change in her expression, but I could tell. She didn’t like it.
After all, green tea made from tea bags is not for taste.
Silence descended.
The awkwardness increased every time our eyes met.
Why did Shin Jia come to see me?
It wasn’t because of the Piale Alo incident, for sure.
All the surveillance devices, including the CCTV that operated with the status window, were also paralyzed by the status window interference. There was no evidence left.
In fact, no one came to find me even after a day passed.
Except for Shin Jia!
“Can I ask why you came to see me today?”
I decided to go straight to the point.
“Before that, I should introduce myself first. I’m Shin Jia. I’m a freshman who entered the Superhuman Academy with you.”
“Yes. You probably already know, but I’m Kang Seo-yul.”
No, wait. Did you just say ‘Kang Seo-yul-nim’?
Not ‘ssi’, but ‘nim’?
“The reason why I came to see you today is because of the freshman representative speech tomorrow.”
“Ah.”
I finally relaxed.
The freshman representative speech.
The entrance ceremony of the Superhuman Academy consisted of a 20-minute short event and a 7-hour test.
The freshman representative speech meant that the top students of both literary and martial arts would give a speech as representatives.
“So you were the other top student.”
“Yes.”
Shin Jia was the top student of martial arts.
And I was the top student of literary arts.
In other words, I ranked first in theory.
We will be standing on the stage together at tomorrow’s event.
But even if you say freshman representative speech, it’s just reading half of the speech prepared by the school.
Is there anything to prepare?
I was tilting my head when it happened.
“That’s the superficial reason for my visit.”
“…Superficial?”
Shin Jia suddenly changed her posture.
She knelt on one knee and bowed her waist respectfully.
In other words, to summarize it.
“I’ll greet you first. I’m Shin Jia, a descendant of the Shin family. A branch of blood.”
She bowed to me.
My pupils trembled.
What’s going on here?
“It’s an honor to meet you, ancestor.”
“…An..cestor?”
The Shin family was an old family that inherited the blood of elves in the past.
Of course, now they were so diluted that they were no different from ordinary people, but anyway, they were definitely connected to elves in the past.
That is, ancestor means elf, and she thinks I’m an elf.
“I don’t understand what you’re talking about. Ancestor?”
I tried to deny it at first.
“That day. I saw it.”
But Shin Jia was adamant.
“You pulled out a bow from the World Tree and used it.”
“…!”
Her words were enough to make me flustered.
But I couldn’t show my panic on my face.
I desperately swallowed my panic.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about…”
There was no point in denying it anymore.
I rather glared at her.
“How did you see it? You should have passed out.”
This was important.
If she had been attacked by that unknown thing and lost consciousness, how could she have seen it?
“It has something to do with my skill, I think.”
“Ah.”
Shin Jia had a skill called ‘Mental Armor’.
A passive skill that blocks mental attacks.
Could it be that it blocked even the status window interference?
That was a blind spot.
But still, how could she mistake me for an elf?
Well, I understand that.
She saw me using an artifact that only elves could wear, so it was natural for her to mistake me for one.
“…You wouldn’t believe me if I said I’m not an elf, would you?”
“I’ll try my best to believe you!”
She had the expression of a junior who was forced to say ‘I didn’t see anything!’ by the senior’s threat in the army.
How is that a believing expression?
Ah. This is annoying.
I scratched the back of my head.
How should I deal with this situation?
“Hey.”
“You can speak comfortably!”
“No, still.”
“Feel like you’re talking to someone beneath you!”
“No, I mean…”
Shin Jia’s eyes sparkled brightly.
She looked like a puppy waiting for its owner’s command.
It’s not fair to make that face with that expression.
I sighed inwardly.
“Okay. Fine. I’ll speak comfortably.”
I was older than her anyway, so it wasn’t uncomfortable to speak casually.
“Yes!”
Shin Jia’s smile bloomed like a flower. Was she that happy?
“First of all, you’re the only one who knows what happened that day, right?”
This was crucial.
If that incident spread outside, the real ‘them’ might start to act from the beginning.
“Yes. Only I know. Oh, and please call me ‘Jia’ comfortably.”
…She’s quite demanding.
“Did you come here today under the pretext of having something to talk about as the top students?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Then there would be no one who would doubt our meeting.
“So, why did you come to see me today?”
“What do you mean by why?”
Shin Jia tilted her head cutely.
“Do you have something to ask me? Or are you planning to blackmail me with my secret?”
Shin Jia’s eyes widened.
“No, no! How dare I have such a rude thought! I just wanted to see your face and greet you as a descendant.”
She shook her hands vigorously and denied it desperately.
“…You just came to say hello?”
The Shin Jia I knew was not like that.
She had a setting that idolized elves, but her personality was very cold, rational, and logical.
There must be some other intention.
“…Well. To be honest, I do have a personal wish.”
I knew it.
“Tell me.”
Shin Jia fiddled with her fingers and said.
“Well, I don’t know what you’re thinking about entering the Superhuman Academy, where 20-year-old freshmen gather.”
“…Huh?”
Is that how you interpret it?
“But I think there must be a serious reason why you, who have hidden your appearance for thousands of years, have revealed yourself again.”
“…”
No, listen.
I don’t have any grand reason like that.
“Then, please. Please allow me to help you as a descendant of the Shin family.”
“…What?”
Shin Jia clasped her hands and pleaded with sparkling eyes.
“Please…”
* * *
The entrance ceremony of the Superhuman Academy is basically a test of physical abilities.
After the 20-minute short event, the physical ability measurement begins.
Some might wonder why they need to measure physical abilities when they have status windows.
There’s a reason for that.
It’s taboo to let others see your status window in this world.
The status window contains not only your stats, but also your personal information, skills, and weaknesses.
If these things are leaked, it would be a huge disadvantage in the fight against villains.
That’s why the governments of each country abolished the system of status window registration.
So this is the alternative: the ability measurement system.
“Next. Yoon Ji-sang. Strength C. Are you sure?”
“Yes!”
“Good. The Strength C test is conducted in section 3. Go that way. Next!”
The method is simple.
You say your stats and take the test accordingly.
This way, you can measure your exact stats without revealing everything in your status window.
“Next! Kang Seo-yul.”
“Yes.”
“Strength F. Are you sure?”
“…Yes.”
It’s too accurate to hide my pathetic stats.
“Wow. F rank.”
“How did he have the guts to become a superhuman? Haha!”
I heard whispers from around me.
“Hey. Maybe he’s a mage, right?”
Sorry, but I don’t have any magic at all.
“…Okay. We don’t measure F. Move on to the next test.”
To be honest, my strength is probably less than F.
The strength of an athlete in the original world was about F.
The agility test was the same.
“…Agility F? Is it a computer error?”
“…No. It’s correct.”
“Ah. I, I see.”
The teacher looked very embarrassed.
“Ahem. Then Kang Seo-yul, you can move on to the next test. There’s no measurement for F.”
“Yes.”
With the teacher’s confused eyes and the students’ whispers, I finished all the stat tests faster than anyone else.
Now I’m sitting in the auditorium, spacing out.
“That’s him. The all-F rank top student.”
“Wow. How did he get into the Superhuman Academy with those skills?”
I don’t know how to choose my own stats either, so how can you predict them?
I was thinking such nonsense while looking at the weapons.
“If you haven’t decided on a weapon yet, you can try various weapons within the time limit. So feel free to choose.”
Then I’ll try the weapon I used once first.
“Oh. A bow?”
“Well, that’s the weapon that’s least affected by stats.”
I stood in front of a cart full of bows and grabbed one with my hand.
“Ugh!”
At that moment, I felt a pain in my left shoulder blade.
It felt like my shoulder was burning.
I lifted my training suit slightly and checked the painful area.
“…Huh?”
The World Tree tattoo was glowing.