Seo Jiwoo
My innards shook, as the numbness of my bones made a current like sensation to wildly run throughout my body, as Jihye wrapped her arms around me and pulled me into a tight hug.
A light groan escaped my mouth, with a weird rankness at the edge of my tongue, which tasted like wet metal, served with tar.
“Eh, I am sorry,” she pulled her arms back, took a step backward, whilst apologising with both hands extended.
The pain which I had tried to supress since waking up had finally taken effect. My entire body hurt. My eyelids still felt heavy, and the weird ringing in my ears was still there.
I guess that is to be expected after that stunt I pulled off. The worst which could have happened is that I could have died.
I better check the system for my persisting stat, if I had one it would be maxed out by now.
“How are you feeling, Jiwoo?” Jihye asked as she placed her hand over my head, and brushed her hand past my hair.
Well, to be honest, I felt pretty much like shit. Every bone in my body ached with a deep fatigue. My mana channels were the same, they felt heavier than usual. The mana inside my body felt like a weight which made me even more lethargic. And my lungs also hurt as I inhaled and exhaled.
I turned my head toward Jihye and reassured her, "I am alright, you don’t need to worry.”
But both Jihye and Jiyoung looked at me with incredulity in their eyes, as they narrowed them into slits.
“Really?” Jihye asked, as she grabbed my left arm softly, and sat down on the chair placed beside the bed.
I may have lost a lot in the past, but... I have also gained a lot since I got regressed back in time.
I got a sister who cared dearly for me, friends like Jiyoung and Jihoon and that weird system as well.
Growl~~~~!
My stomach made a loud growling noise, which left me dumbfounded. Jiyoung and Jihye both clearly heard it.
The noise was loud enough to echo inside the room.
“You must be hungry after sleeping for days,” Jihye said as she got up from her seat and walked up to the door.
“I’ll get you something to eat.”
With that she stepped outside the room, and the door closed shut.
My throat felt dryer than usual. There wasn't much saliva inside my mouth. I coughed a couple of times, as I felt a sharp pain in sternum, reaching down to my waist.
Jiyoung walked close to the bed, and grabbed the jug of water placed over the table near the bed.
She poured the water in a glass, and handed it to me.
I grabbed hold of the glass, but almost dropped it, as I saw the terrifying expression over Jiyoung's face.
Well, her face was as expressionless as always. But in her eyes, I saw a deadly eerie look. A shiver ran down my spine as I took a sip of the water.
I sighed as I looked at Jiyoung who had now sat down on the edge of the bed. Her jet black hair were tied into a ponytail, exposing her nape, with her bangs falling forward.
“Miss Jiyoung, are you perhaps mad at me?” I asked as I leaned back in the bed.
“I am not,” She quickly replied back. But her voice definitely sounded annoyed.
I felt another sigh coming but held it back and looked Jiyoung straight in her eyes.
“I knew perfectly well I could have died, but... “ I paused for a second searching for the right words. “Even if I had to make that decision again, I would do it.”
An anguished expression covered Jiyoung’s face, as her brows furrowed and she clenched her hand into a fist.
“Why...” her voice came in a whisper, but I still heard her. “Why do you not care about yourself?”
“...”
Those words really felt foreign to me. I had never cared about my know well being in front of the few I held dear. And if I had not stopped that bomb, then by now...
“I...”
“Do you even know what your condition was when you were brought to the medical facility?” Her voice came out a little rushed and louder than before.
“Your left arm’s skin and muscles were ripped open, your right lung was punctured, you were internally bleeding from several places in your body, and a concussion, ” she explained my condition, as her eyes glared into mine.
But I couldn’t say anything back.
I really fucked up big time. I guess I really was at death’s door.
“I’m sorry.” I apologised. I didn’t know what else to say.
I had promised Jiyoung previously that I would be more careful, but I went ahead and almost got myself killed.
Well she being mad at me was reasonable.
“Do you even know how worried Jihye was when she heard about your condition?” She placed her hands over her knees and gripped them tightly.
“Jiyoung, I know what I did was reckless, but...” I paused, I looked at her for a second, then continued. “If that bomb had detonated, then many people would have lost their lives.”
She grounded her teeth as she tried to rebuke my words, but she herself knew what the outcome would have been if the bombs installed around lock had detonated.
I took a deep breath, which was followed by a sharp sting in my chest, as silence descended over the room and neither of us spoke.
“Either way, how long was I out? And what happened after we... ehm escaped?” I asked breaking the silence between us. “My memory seems to be a little foggy?”
Jiyoung sighed as I deliberately changed the subject. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and tapped over the screen once.
A hologram came to life above the phone’s screen, and it displayed a news anchor speaking.
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Jiyoung raised the volume and I was able to properly hear what she was talking about.
[The incident which accord one week ago in the prestigious hunters academy; Lock]
Which was the title of the news written on the label displayed on the hologram.
[Thanks to the brave and the courageous act of the instructor of lock, Adam Griffin, many casualties were prevented.]
Adam’s picture was displayed on the right side of the hologram, as the newscaster kept reading her report.
[He stopped the detonation of a bomb, by erecting a barrier around it, saving thousands of lives, by endangering his own.]
Well, good for Adam. He will be hailed as a hero from now on. And I can be the guy who helped the hero from the shadows.
[The people involved in this act of terror were students of the same academy, found to be contracted with demons’.]
[Two of them were, Felix Blúte, ranked-39. And Stephen Mayer, ranked-47. Both the students were found dead, investigating is still ongoing.]
[Some students have been under investigation since, for being an accomplice or taking part in this act of terror.]
[Many people have pointed the question at Lock, for their security measures in the face of such threats, and their failure to take precautionary actions.]
[Alas, there has been word from the Headmaster of Lock, to arrange a conference in the upcoming days.]
[But people are concerned that the "Evil Eye" might be connected to this terror attack against the Lock.]
Jiyoung tapped over her phone again and the hologram disappeared.
“And for your latter question, Laurena Lianard was the one who saved you,” she exclaimed.
So that woman’s name was Laurena.
But how did she know we were there? I mean I teleported to a really remote place that no one would have guessed. Then how come she was there? And at the exact time me and Jiyoung had teleported?
Its just too good to be a coincidence. Her timing was just too convenient.
And if I remember correctly, someone poured a potion inside my mouth. So it has to be her. “Laurena Lianard”, she seems like someone I need to keep and eye out for.
“Either way, that’s the end of it, and everyone’s safe,” I said with a yawn, as I looked at Jiyoung, who wanted to ask me something, but held herself back.
I think I kind of knew what she wanted to ask.
“It was a skill of mine which helped us escape,” I said placidly. I knew she wanted to ask me a few things. But knowing Jiyoung, she always held herself back, to not make herself look nosy. She was respectful of other people’s privacy. But I had come to trust her as a friend, whom I could share a secret or two with.
She nodded once, not looking as surprised as I thought she would.
“You don’t seem that surprised?” I asked. Searching her expressionless face.
Jiyoung crossed her legs and leaned an inch closer whilst she replied. “After seeing you kill a demon, stop a bomb from detonating, is their more I should be surprised about?”
“I guess not.” I said as I lightly chuckled.
The door of the room opened and Jihye stepped inside, with a trolley with food placed over it.
“Alright, time to eat,” Jihye said as she brought the trolley close to the bed.
***
“Its about time I left,” Jihye said, checking the time from her phone.
She stood up from her seat and placed her hand over my head and patted it a few times.
“Already?” I lifted my head slightly and asked.
Her brows lightly rose as she opened her mouth to speak. “For your information, I have been here for the last two days. I need to get back to work. I can’t just dump all of my work on my colleagues.”
“Fair enough,” I replied, with an understanding nod.
“Let me take you to the portal house,” Jiyoung had also gotten up from her seat, and soon both of them stepped out of the room.
Silence descended over the room, as I laid in the bed. The pain and numbness in my body had resided a little. But the bigger problem I was facing was with the building process of my body.
My body was still too weak, and it was a miracle that I came out alive. Somehow.
System.
A translucent interface hovered in front of my eyes, as I soon as I called out.
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NAME: SEO JIWOO (???)
HP: 8993
LEVEL: 35
STRENGTH: 85
STAMINA: 91
AGILITY: 82
VITALITY: 84
INTELLIGENCE: 72
MP: 1340
POINTS: 154
_____________
FATIGUE: 36
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【PASSIVE SKILLS】
PERSEVERANCE LV.3
PROFESSION: Swordsmanship (Lv.1)
[Crescent Moon Style]
[Regeneration]
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【SKILLS】
[{E} Acausality] (Sealed)
This skill allows the user to tamper with the flow of time. Allowing the user to stop time for a brief moment.
Note: An equivalent amount of the host’s Mana will be drained as long as the skill is active.
Cool down: 2 weeks
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【Returnee’s Privilege】 [Time: ??? ] [Synchronisation 25%]
–MIND’S EYE (Sealed) (Unlocked: 50% )
Allowing the host to slow down the flow of time from their perspective. The host can also see the energy signature product by any living being and object... ???.
–LEAP (Sealed)
This skill allows the user to teleport to a specific location after empowering an image in their mind. The wormholes (pathways) spiralling in the atmosphere, connecting to a specified location by the pulse of mana, makes a gate like connection for the host to teleport through.
Each wormhole contains information about different location, which are connected to each other.
Cool Down: 3 hours
–????
–????
–????
______________
【????】
–????
______________
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‘Perseverance has levelled up, and...’ My eyes darted across the interface, and soon they stopped on a new skill displayed in the passive skill section.
“Regeneration?”
A new passives skill? Could it be because of the effect of that potion. My body did undergo rapid regeneration. As soon as my cells were being destroyed, they were rapidly being healed by the effect of the potion I had consumed.
That is a plausible theory.
The door of the room opened suddenly, and soon after a figure stepped inside.
“You’re all ready back, Jiyou—!” I stopped mid sentence after seeing who had entered the room.
I waved the interface away, and it disappeared from in front of me.
The door closed with a soft hum, as Adam walked up to the bed.
He took a seat and crossed his legs. His brunette hair were left loose, as I saw dark circles under his eyes. My eyes focused over his right arm which was covered in bandages.
He wore a grey t-shirt, with black jeans. His eyes locked on to me as he scanned my body.
“Instructor, how come you are here?” I asked, breaking the silence.
If Adam was here it must mean one thing.
He leaned back in the seat and stared at me for a long moment. His features were as sharp as ever.
“How are you feeling now?” Adam asked.
I straightened and looked at him. “Better than an hour ago.”
“I see.”
Then silence descended once again over the room.
“How did you do it?” He mused, as he straightened in his seat. His eyes searching me. Awaiting an answer.
Here it was, the reason why Adam was here was to confirm his suspicion about me.
“I don’t know what you are talking about, Instructor?” I feigned ignorance.
Adam looked me in the eye, as if he knew I was lying.
“I had felt two mana signature in the distance, when I was rushing in the direction of the bomb,” Adam exclaimed. He crossed his arms and continued. “But by the time I was there, the two mana signature had disappeared?”
He trailed off.
“Only you and Jiyoung were not present, when the others were rushing back to the facility?”
His questions loomed over my head, as his eyes narrowed. These barrage of questions were really ticking me off.
But Adam’s analysis was on spot.
He should just become a detective, instead of an instructor.
“But, I didn’t come here to force answers out of you,” he said. Stretching his right arm slowly, as he took a deep breath.
“So what did you come here for?” I asked as I looked Adam straight in his eyes.
“When I had reached the bomb...” Adam paused, he pursed his lips as he thought for a second. “The core inside was half empty.”
I nodded my head in understanding.
“And thanks to that I was able to stop the explosion to reach out of the barrier I had erected around the area.”
So the guy just came here to thank me. I guess I misinterpreted him.
“So how did you do it? How did you lower the discharge of mana escaping from the bomb’s core to lessen its range of resonating fluctuations?” He added, as his brows rose a fraction of an inch.
I snorted as I looked at Adam. ‘Seriously, you already have the answer yet you came here to ask me in person?’
I take back what I said. He's an ass.
“Can’t you tell just by looking at the state my body is in right now?” I scoffed, as I lifted my left arm upwards, to shove it in Adam’s direction, but stopped and pulled it back.
The pain was really bitting like a bitch.
“That was a really reckless move, but... either way, thanks to you many lives were saved,” Said Adam as he got up from his seat and walked up to the door.
“Yeah, which someone else swept all the credit for from under the table,” I said with a flashy grin.
Adam eyed me for a moment, with a smile covering his face.
“The Lock should really consider giving me an award or something?” I scoffed, as I laid in the bed and turned to look at Adam.
Adam turned his head backward and exclaimed.
“Get some rest Jiwoo.”
“Sure will!”