Chapter 73

〈 Chapter 72 〉 3. Transformation is not just for Riders! (8)

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At the moment when students were bustling about, searching for treasures in various places, the situation room for the 2022 March outdoor training 'Treasure Hunt' at the Ability Academy.

­"An injury has been reported in Busan Sector 1."

­"In Busan Sector 1, the first treasure has arrived at the target location."

"Yay!!!"

The professors in suits burst into cheers in the situation room.

They were ecstatic as they watched a girl with pigtails sitting atop a treasure box, which had been carried to the destination, on the large screen.

"Hehehe! As expected, 'Young-ae' is first again this year! Hahaha!"

"That's right. It's really fortunate. Oh, there was almost a riot at 'Dongbaek Island,' you know. Hehe."

The professors were checking the real-time updates of the treasure hunt results on their Taeguk Watches, while Baek Seul-hee, who was with them, looked at a chart with a heavy expression.

Injured: 43.

Emergency personnel required: 7.

More than expected.

In the military, if an accident occurs during training and someone gets injured, the training is usually suspended. However, despite the fact that as many as 7 people were seriously injured and needed to be taken to the emergency room, the outdoor training continued without stopping.

"Oh, Professor Baek. What are you looking at?"

"...The injury reports of the students. Professor Jeon."

"Hehehe, you don't need to worry about that. After all, kids grow up getting hurt, and it's the same for ability users. Ah, Professor Baek might not know, but the ability users here have been waiting for the treasure hunt since the beginning of the year. Hehe."

The professors laughed without any tension.

"Are you saying it's normal for this many injuries to occur?"

"Of course. Naturally. They're competing against each other, so injuries can happen. Fortunately, as long as it's not something like being cut in half or having their necks severed, a little scratch can heal in a day thanks to their abilities."

"Are you talking about healing ability users?"

"Yes. Oops. Professor Baek might not know since you've never been injured."

"...I have been injured a few times."

There were times when she was scratched, but it wasn't serious enough to require a hospital visit or the help of a healer.

"But even so, is it really acceptable for this many injuries to occur...?"

"Oh, Professor Baek. Everyone says that at first. But this is what the ability user students wanted. We're just providing the environment they desire. Later, they all fight each other enthusiastically, 'legally.'"

"......So, you're saying you'll turn a blind eye to their fighting? As long as it's not fatal?"

"Pretty much. Of course, we prevent A or B class ability users from fighting to the point of death through their Taeguk Watches, but...."

The professors looked at each other and laughed softly.

It was as if everyone except Baek Seul-hee had tacitly agreed to something.

"Anyway, Professor Baek, let's eat. Don't look so serious. The food just arrived."

"Yes, Professor Jeon."

The door to the situation room opened, and steaming hot soup rice bowls were delivered to each seat.

The food was delivered as if they were in a real restaurant, not in plastic packaging.

Baek Seul-hee looked at the neatly arranged food on her individual table and let out a hollow laugh, but soon felt her whole body twist as a hand reached out from beside her.

"Of course, the kimchi broth is best when it's poured. Professor Baek, you were going to pour it anyway, right? Huh?"

"Wow, as expected, Professor Jeon! Even in front of an S-class hero, your drive is really impressive!"

"What? Haha, of course!"

"......."

Baek Seul-hee clenched her fists under the table as she watched the white soup rice turn red.

"...Let's eat, Professor."

"Y-Yes. Hehe. People, people. When I offered my kindness.... Ugh."

"......."

Baek Seul-hee closed her eyes quietly.

But.

The red broth in front of her and the increasing number of injured on the screen made it impossible for her to completely close her eyes.

* * *

Gradually, the students' lunchtime approached.

This lunchtime is a bit amusing because eating lunch is up to the students.

Teams confident in the treasure hunt can go to any restaurant to eat, while desperate students can spend all their time searching for treasures, just refilling their water bottles.

­Back in my day, I filled my water bottle with water from the capital, put a cream bun in my pocket, and went home to give it to the kids!

It's a real old story, but the people from those days are now in important positions at the Academy.

As a result, students today, based on the data sent to their Taeguk Watches, solve light missions in each sector and then use the clues to search for treasures.

Without even a moment to eat.

­"A treasure has been found in Sejong Sector 2."

­"A treasure has been found in Busan Sector 5."

­"A treasure has been found in Seoul Sector 9. The third treasure has arrived at the target location."

News of treasure discoveries echoed through the Taeguk Watches of many people.

Fortunately, the current sector where Yumir and Ermina are, 'Gangwon Sector 10,' has not found any treasure.

How do I know?

Because I found the treasure.

'This is just like the original.'

I am currently near the rocky shore of the Gangwon sector in Sejong Island, the site of the treasure hunt.

This place is quite deserted, and if I were to compare it to a real location, it would be like the front sea of Sokcho.

'The box the staff left is still here.'

Although it's not that large, a treasure box that looks like it could come straight out of a fantasy game is placed inside a cliff.

I didn't touch the treasure directly.

Because to open the treasure, it needs to be synchronized with a Taeguk Watch, and I don't have one.

Even if I did, I wouldn't open it.

Because what's inside isn't really a treasure.

A little away from where the treasure is hidden, there's a dark hole that isn't easily visible from the outside.

'That's it.'

Bending my head, I entered the hole and found a cave I could barely crawl into on the right.

[Found it.]

I released my incorporeal form and, in my goblin form, cautiously approached the inside of the sea cave.

And I found it.

[Is this the aftermath of 'culling'?]

A place where no waves come in, and no one would notice unless they came close and examined it carefully.

Here lies a skeleton.

Lying against the wall, as if it were a decoration, the skeleton is indeed that of a real person.

Why beat around the bush?

This is the skeleton of an ability user who was 'murdered' here.

Moreover, some of the bones are missing, leaving only the torso, which gives an idea of the person's build.

An adult male?

No.

It's the build of a high school boy.

I'm not a psychometrist, so I can't grasp the specific events that occurred here, but just by looking at the state of the bones, I can immediately guess what happened.

'He was killed in an ambush by another ability user.'

There are no signs of a fight.

That means he was either killed one-sidedly or died instantly, and someone waited until the bones were weathered to a skeleton and then collected them.

'Probably an E-class ability user who went missing during last year's or the year before's treasure hunt.'

There are people on Sejong Island who can walk around without batting an eye after killing someone.

They may talk about being 'hero aspirants' or 'heroes,' but in reality, they are people who kill and pretend nothing happened.

[If I find the one who killed you, I will definitely kill them with my bat.]

The moment I reached out to the skeleton, it turned to powder as if it had heard my words.

The skeleton crumbled into white powder, maintaining the position it had been in.

It probably maintained its form because the lingering thoughts after death were still there, or because it hoped someone would acknowledge its death.

[This world is truly a hell.]

There are likely many more 'ability users' who died unjustly and were quietly declared missing on Sejong Island.

This is only possible because the high-ranking officials at the Academy have tacitly agreed to it.

And the reasons for their deaths, based on my speculation, are two-fold.

One is to secure the mana powder that comes out after they die.

And the other is....

"Found it!"

A voice came from outside.

It's Ermina's voice.

"Phew, really. Trying to bring along a useless burden... Huh?"

Ermina sniffed the air.

"Could it be...."

I immediately hid my body in a secluded spot.

With the intention of blending into the darkness, I hid in the crevices of the cave rocks and held my breath.

"There's a smell, a smell...."

Ermina finally entered the cave, shining the flashlight from her Taeguk Watch inside, and discovered the scattered mana powder on the ground.

"Ugh, ugh, ugh...!!"

She stomped her feet and acted wildly on the spot.

I thought about filming this scene as a video to tease her later, but Ermina soon did something even worse.

"Phew. Mana powder in its natural state.... It hasn't rotted, has it? Hehe. Ah, no.... Just a little...?"

Forgetting about the treasure, she buried her head in the mana powder and crouched down like a dog.

"Phew."

Just before she was about to do something terrible, Ermina—

"What are you doing in there?"

"......Huh?"

"......What are you doing in there?"

Her eyes met Yumir, who had just followed her.

"What is that white powder...?"

Hehe.

"Did you see it?"

Ah.

Could it be that things got a bit twisted because of me...?

Come to think of it.

Around this time, the protagonist usually notices Ermina's mana powder, right?

And if he tries to hide it, Ermina ends up hitting him and almost becomes a mana powder user?

No, wait.

A question popped into my head.

Q. Choose the reason that best explains why the original plot has been twisted. (3 points)

1. The goblin turned the skeleton into mana powder.

2. Yumir is a woman, not a man.

3. Ermina's teammate is a woman, not a man.

4. Ermina is not the heroine of the goblin.

5. The original author didn't properly resolve the plot points and rushed the story.

Conclusion.

If I think about why the original plot has been twisted and various other factors.

Is she just a tragic extra who paired up with Ermina because the protagonist is absent?

Or is she the 'protagonist' whose one element has changed, but the story is still progressing as in the original?

­Hmph! Do you think I'm being nice to you, E-class? Your face is S-class, so consider it an honor to be with me. Got it?

­Sure, sure. I'll serve you wherever you go.

­Hmph!

Could the reason this scene, which should have been played out, disappeared be because of Yumir's gender?

Is it because Yumir, the protagonist, is a 'woman' that things have twisted like this?

Is it because Yumir, who had that incredible mana as Solar Platinum, was actually the protagonist?

'No way.'

It can't be the protagonist.

'What if the protagonist is a woman?'

Because....

'Isn't this too convenient for me?'

If she's a woman.

'Isn't this perfect?'

It would be too easy.

'Can't I just seduce her and keep her from going berserk?'

If I can persuade Yumir with pure love, I can prevent the meteor extinction.

In other words.

If I approach Yumir with pure love instead of killing her.

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