The Novel's Extra - Side Story 78 – Chae Nayun (33)

[Final Radiance]

— A temporary enlightenment will occur during critical moments and last for seventy seconds.

— This gift will be consumed the moment it is used.

Final radiance would allow me to use all of my stigma. It was a one-time-use gift that only lasted a bit over a minute. I honestly didn’t have any idea how to handle the surge of stigma that became available to me.

“Hap…!”

The mark of stigma became extremely prominent on my arm.

Stigma viciously swirled all over my body and heated it up. I could feel it enveloping my entire body, which started unleashing mana sparks.

This was a luxury I wouldn’t be able to even imagine in my wildest dreams.

The assailants unleashed their mana and shook the ground, but I immediately responded by forming an earth barrier. Then, the earth barrier immediately disappeared after it blocked the burst of mana that the assailants shot. However, my barrier wasn’t the only thing that disappeared because their mana disintegrated as well.

“…?”

They seemed flabbergasted by the unbelievable situation. Their reaction gave me confidence that this unleashed stigma of mine definitely gave me powers much stronger than theirs.

I conjured a spear in one hand and immediately sprung to action as seventy seconds would be nowhere near enough. I had to make sure not to waste even a sliver of a second.

This spear, rather, the javelin I conjured would be far more destructive than any arrow or bullet I could fire. I could still apply my [Master Sharpshooter] gift to it when throwing.

Bzzzt…! Bzzzt…!

The javelin, which was much larger than an arrow, emitted a fearsome mana. I aimed at the assailants that were still flabbergasted.

They flinched and prepared to evade, but I already captured them in my sights.

My thousand-mile eyes were now amplified by the unsealed stigma. A single look was more than enough for me to activate my gift. I was confident that I was now in a realm where I could perfectly hit my targets without fail.

In short, I was now able to hit any moving targets that I laid eyes on.

I threw my spear at my targets.

…!

The blue spear zipped through the air without a sound. It flew silently because its speed surpassed the speed of sound, and it exploded upon reaching its intended targets.

However, it didn’t damage the walls of the sewer. Stigma’s mana possessed quite the mysterious ability to damage only its intended target and nothing else.

Stigma’s ability to differentiate its target was truly amazing.

“Kuheuk…”

I ended up using thirty seconds of my time with that attack and fell to my knee gasping for air.

I could see the mana particles floating in the distance where I threw the mana javelin. The assailants hit by the mana javelin were sprawled on the ground.

They looked like a mess… just like how I was right now.

“Ah… I’m dying…” I muttered before falling on my butt.

I looked around my surroundings and saw three sets of eyes looking at me. Yoo Yeonha seemed to be the one most surprised by what just happened.

The three of them gathered around me not long afterwards.

“Wow! You’re quite the fighter, Hajin. But I guess that was a part of the test, right? They were probably trying to test our cooperation with each other or something, right? Right?” Yi Jiyoon asked and added with a grin, “We should be getting the highest mark, right? I supported you after all, right? Right?”

Did Yi Jiyoon buff me?

It was only after hearing her that I checked my body. I found a clear energy circulating in me. I guess you could expect this much from a cadet born with the innate talent to be a top-class supporter.

“Anyways…” I said before I looked at the male and female assailants.

I tried to see if there was anything on them that I could hack, but unfortunately, they weren’t wearing a smartwatch.

— Kim Hajin, Yi Jiyoon, Yoo Yeonha, and Jin Hoseung. You have passed the test. Proceed forward.

A voice suddenly spoke from somewhere in the ceiling.

I couldn’t help but scoff at those words.

Were they planning to pass it off as part of the test? That would probably be it since there was no way Cube could resist any pressure exerted by the association. Cube had already been overrun by Kim Sukho’s subordinates a long time ago.

“Are they dead?” Yoo Yeonha whispered.

I could tell that they were still breathing, but I couldn’t go and kill them since that would be a violation of the test rules and I would be framed as a murderer.

“No, but too many eyes are watching. We can’t kill them,” I shook my head and replied.

My hands were tied, but it wasn’t that I had no options. I had already prepared for such a scenario.

I approached the assailants and placed my hands on their foreheads. Then I used [Medicinal Wisdom] and hoped they wouldn’t keep chasing after me.

I used up the ten seconds I had left and successfully planted a curse in them.

“Phew…” I let out a sigh and fell to the ground.

Yoo Yeonha and Jin Hoseung quickly approached me.

“Shall we go now?” Yoo Yeonha asked.

I bitterly smiled and shook my head, “No, you go ahead.”

“Huh? Why? Let’s go together.”

“I think… I’m out.”

I couldn’t feel my body. It was a one-time-use skill, but my body still had to deal with the repercussions of using so much power.

“What do you mean you’re out…?” Yoo Yeonha said before she flung my arm around her shoulders and pulled me up.

Jin Hoseung rushed to help her while Yi Jiyoon simply smiled.

“Look at this,” she said in a tone that seemed to hint that what they were doing wasn’t necessary.

She used her gift and conjured a pair of assistive devices that latched onto my legs. The assistive devices propped me up and completely took the weight off my body.

Surprisingly, I was able to effortlessly move my legs.

“Wow… this is quite… cool,” I muttered while moving my legs.

“Right? This is a secret skill I’m trying to master. Ah, don’t tell the others about it, okay? It’s still incomplete, so I’m embarrassed to show it… Anyways, why don’t you try walking?” Yi Jiyoon replied.

Yoo Yeonha and Jin Hoseung let go of me.

I felt weird standing effortlessly on my own, but I soon got used to it and started to walk.

***

After the first midterms exam concluded…

Chae Nayun sat in the Pharmacy Club’s clubroom and looked out the window. The seriousness on her face seemed to show that she was thinking of something complicated.

She tried to act nonchalant about it, but a torrent of thoughts dizzily rushed into her head every night since she regressed.

‘Is grandfather aware of what’s going on? What about father? Or are they turning a blind eye to this?’

Chae Nayun was always proud of her family, but the head of her family, her grandfather, had one huge and important flaw. A flaw that didn’t make him feel any sadness despite what happened to his grandson.

She didn’t blame her grandfather because not being able to feel wasn’t his fault, but the price he had to pay for using his abilities. It was the price he had to pay for obtaining such power.

Creak…

The clubroom’s door suddenly opened and Kim Hajin came in.

“Ah, were you waiting for me?” he asked.

All of the complicated thoughts in Chae Nayun’s head vanished as she brightly smiled and said, “Kim Hajin!”

She stretched out her arms and walked over to him. He didn’t avoid her as she wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest while he patted her head.

It felt as if she was being reenergized by him. She rubbed her face on his chest for a good five minutes before she, unfortunately, had to sit down.

“Now take a seat,” Kim Hajin said. He looked around the numerous plants in the Pharmacy Clubroom’s greenhouse, “It’s time for us to slowly get started…”

Chae Nayun nervously gulped and asked, “By get started, you mean…?”

“To save your brother,” he confidently replied.

A sense of fullness surged from the depths of her heart after hearing his confidence. She tried to cry and hug him again, but he stopped her.

“Rather, what we’re going to do now is…” Kim Hajin said.

“Oh, right. What about the assassins? Are you alright? I heard what happened from Yeonha,” Chae Nayun suddenly interrupted and asked.

“Huh? Oh, yeah. I’m fine. I planted a curse on them, so they’ll piss themselves if they ever see me,” he nonchalantly replied.

The curse Kim Hajin planted in the assassins would trigger the moment they came in contact with him. It wasn’t a fatal curse, but it was more than enough to make them feel intense fear to the point of pissing themselves.

“Phew… That’s a relief…”

Bzzt… Clack…!

All of the lights in the clubroom were suddenly snuffed out. Even the lights outside the window went out.

Chae Nayun instantly shot up and stood in front of Kim Hajin. A single light bulb at the door dimly flickered.

“…”

Both of them were surrounded by five robed individuals, and there were no gaps in the encirclement.

It took only a second for Kim Hajin and Chae Nayun to figure out the identity of their enemies.

“Wow, there are quite a lot of good things here,” a robed woman exclaimed while looking around the greenhouse.

Kim Hajin nervously gulped. It was the Chameleon Troupe. He knew very well that they stood no chance of winning if they fought with just the two of them.

“We can take all of these, right Boss?” the woman asked.

However, Boss flat out ignored the woman’s words, who was most likely Jain. Instead, she stared at Kim Hajin and Chae Nayun.

“Give me the heart,” she said.

“…”

Kim Hajin shook his head in response.

The heart was the key to saving Chae Jinyoon.

“Are you refusing?”

He started to rack his brain as tension flared in the air. He had already used his trump card ability. No, he wouldn’t stand a chance against five of the Chameleon Troupe members even if he still had [Final Radiance].

Then did he have to give up the heart? But that meant that all hopes of saving Chae Jinyoon would disappear forever without the heart.

Kim Hajin racked his brains and even used Bullet Time to slow everything down. He used that time to go over the settings.

“Then… I’ll have no choice but to destroy your heart,” Boss said.

“Fuck off,” Chae Nayun growled with her sword in hand.

She infused mana into her sword and prepared to fight, but Kim Hajin suddenly grabbed her shoulder and gently pulled her back.

Chae Nayun was taken aback by his sudden actions.

He calmed Chae Nayun down before walking over and standing in front of the Boss.

“Yes, I stole this from you guys, so it’s only right for me to return it,” Kim Hajin said.

“Huh? Stole? When? Are you saying that you stole that from us?” Cheok Jungyeong asked with his eyes wide open in disbelief. He looked at Boss and Kim Hajin before asking, “Is he telling the truth, Boss?”

“…”

Boss didn’t respond. She didn’t even spare a glance at Cheok Jungyeong, but it seemed like her pride was hurt by what Kim Hajin said.

“But we really need this heart,” Kim Hajin said.

He already found a solution to the problem. One that would satisfy the Chameleon Troupe while making sure the heart remained in his possession.

“Instead, we’ll pay you cash,” he added.

“…”

Boss remained silent.

Kim Hajin looked at Chae Nayun and asked, “Hey, Chae Nayun. How much do you have right now?”

“… Huh? Ah,” Chae Nayun looked lost for a second, but soon nodded after realizing his plan. She replied, “Hmm… I have ten billion won in my bank account. It’ll be around fifty billion won if I sell all my stocks and stuff… Ah, there was this thing that grandfather gifted me before. It was an artifact from the Shilla period, a golden incense burner.”

Boss flinched at her words.

Fortunately, it was a positive response. The golden incense burner was definitely tempting for her. The golden incense burner from the Shilla period was an artifact that every single wealthy individual in this world desired.

“How much do you think this heart is worth?” Kim Hajin asked while pointing at his chest.

There was no need for them to fight the Chameleon Troupe if negotiation was possible. They could barter for the heart.

“I mean, you guys should be aware of it too, right? You won’t find any treasure much more valuable than the golden incense burner even if you turn the Amazon upside down. I’ll give that to you.”

“…”

Boss maintained her silence.

However, Kim Hajin already read her, “Fifty billion won on top of the golden incense burner.”

Those words were enough to resolve the conflict in her.

It was quite funny that Kim Hajin was currently negotiating with Chae Nayun’s money and possessions, but it was a cheap price to pay in exchange for their lives.

“…”

Boss looked at Jain and Cheok Jungyeong.

Jain signaled ‘OK’ with her fingers.

‘Incense burner… Incense burner… Incense burner…’

Jain’s head was already filled with the brightly glowing incense burner.

“How do we know that you’ll keep your promise?” Jain asked.

Kim Hajin nonchalantly replied, “You can just kill us if we don’t keep our promise, right?”

“… I guess you’re right,” Jain replied with a smirk. She turned to Boss and asked, “So what are you going to do, Boss?”

“… Picture. Show me a picture of the golden incense burner,” Boss said.

Kim Hajin looked at Chae Nayun. She nodded and projected an image from her smartwatch.

“You guys will recognize this when you see it. It’s an extremely valuable treasure…” she said.

Ziiing!

A hologram was projected from her smartwatch. It was an image of a golden incense burner meticulously crafted in the Shilla Dynasty by master craftsmen. This treasure boasted a status that reached the pinnacle of craftsmanship. Its radiance of grandeur could be felt from the projected hologram.

“Yeah… I know that’s precious…” Jain muttered while dazed by the hologram.

“Also,” Kim Hajin suddenly said as he stepped forward and dispersed the hologram. He continued in a deep voice, “I want to make a request.”

“… A request?” Boss pursed her lips and muttered.

“Yeah,” Kim Hajin replied.

He showed no signs of being nervous and even looked at each of the Chameleon Troupe members with confident eyes.

“I want to give you the opportunity to take everything away from Kim Sukho,” he said.

Silence ensued. Not a single sound could be heard in the clubroom and none of the Chameleon Troupe members’ expressions shifted as they stared at the boy.

Then, a burst of mad laughter broke the silence. It was Cheok Jungyeong.

“Bwahahaha! Someone like you will do what to that old fox? Bwahahaha! What an interesting boy you are!”

On the other hand, Boss maintained her silence while seemingly deep in thought and Jain rubbed her chin beside her.

In the midst of this silence with only Cheok Jungyeong’s mad laughter…

Creak…

The clubroom door opened.

“I gave it some thought and…” Yoo Yeonha said as she entered the clubroom with a stack of files in her arms.

She flinched the moment she bumped into a huge robed man. Then she blinked a few times before looking around the room.

“Hmm… I guess we can talk later,” she said after sensing the hostility and tension in the air.

She closed the door shut and ran as fast as she could.

Cheok Jungyeong opened the door three seconds later and came back with Yoo Yeonha exactly two seconds after he left.

“Let me go! Let me go! Argh! Kyaaaaah!” Yoo Yeonha screamed after she was thrown by Cheok Jungyeong.

Chae Nayun caught Yoo Yeonha.

“Calm down,” Kim Hajin said.

“W-What’s going on?!” Yoo Yeonha screamed.

He patted her on the shoulder and calmed her down, “We were in the middle of negotiation… Hey, you should join in.”

“What?” Yoo Yeonha frowned.

Kim Hajin pondered for a second and concluded that this situation must’ve been quite a surprise for her, but…

“No… Hey, Yoo Yeonha. You should lead this negotiation.”

“… What?”

“You like being in charge, right?”

Kim Hajin passed the reins to her since she was the most adept at negotiating among the three of them.

“Hey, I need to know what’s going on to negotiate… I mean, he just threw me…” she muttered.

However, her words fell on deaf ears as Kim Hajin started the negotiations with the Chameleon Troupe.