Chapter 18: I Just Tried To Be Kind (1)
Knowing could be the most dangerous thing in the world.
Just as someone once said that a person who had read only one book was more dangerous and ignorant than someone who hadn’t read any books, casual knowledge could lead to immense danger.
This was the case with knowledge about mana and superpowers.
I knew more about mana than anyone in this world, and I knew well how to increase mana and enhance superpowers.
Wanted to increase mana?
Then, make a being from myth or folklore your own.
Want to enhance your superpower?
Then, copy the way to use superpowers from an already created piece of work.
It was just like saying that if you wanted to beatbox, all you needed to know was to beat and box. If you wanted to become a powerful superpower user, you only needed to know these two things.
But nobody else knew.
Even now, when the one-year-olds who first awakened their superpowers had grown up and were 25 years old, people didn’t know anything about how superpowers manifest, how to awaken mana, and how to become stronger.
This was what I felt while staying in this world for half a year, and at the same time, it was the conclusion I reached while working as a librarian on Sejong Island for a week.
‘Everyone is so lacking in imagination.’
Today was Sunday.
For a stroll around the academy, I walked around the academy with a cup of iced Americano, observing people.
“Fireball!”
“Fire lance!”
Normally, people would gather at the soccer or tennis courts for exercise on weekends. Still, it was common and natural to train superpowers rather than exercise here.
‘Everyone is so diligent, even on weekends.’
Just as soccer fans gathered on the soccer field, and tennis fans gathered on the tennis court, superpower users gathered with those with similar abilities to exchange superpowers.
“Senior. I’ve pioneered a new realm in fire magic!”
“Oh? What is it?”
“Look! Fire Punch! I’ll become a new hero, Fire Punch!”
“But there are already over 10 people registered as heroes with a fire fist?”
“Then… Magma Punch!”
This place was a training ground where acquaintances, juniors, and seniors exchanged knowledge and information about superpowers to build a foundation for becoming stronger.
And…
‘It’s stifling.’
It was not stifling because of the heat of the flames, but watching them train their superpowers was so frustrating that it was almost maddening.
‘Spending time like this in a place like this is a waste.’
In this world, power grew with imagination.
Continually using power in reality like that would only make you feel your own limits and despair.
For example, if there was someone who was proud to say, ‘I can control 100 liters of water!’ through training, they might be able to increase it by one or two liters, but making a revolutionary development like ‘I can control the sea!’ was impossible.
That’s because they set their own limits.
Superpower users created their own glass ceiling, so training wasn’t necessarily good.
‘In the original work, to highlight the protagonist, they made everyone else seem foolish.’
While upholding the saying ‘A healthy mind in a healthy body’, the protagonist spent all his time working out.
Even though his body improved, his superpowers seemed to not progress when viewed from the outside, so no one paid attention to him. But as a protagonist, he had a superior imagination than anyone else.
And if there was a secret to blowing up this imagination, it was undoubtedly cultural content.
So while others were training, he seemed to be just having fun, watching movies, and reading comics and books. Still, the protagonist was getting stronger faster than anyone else in this world.
It was to the extent that he could summon the demons of another world and drop a meteorite on Earth to destroy the world.
‘He’s a dangerous one.’
He was so dangerous that he could destroy the world.
So, he must be found and killed.
As part of my plan to immediately kill him by transforming into the Goblin, I was looking for a place to hide my ‘emergency bags’ since I would need to quietly revert to my normal form away from any eyes, dress back up, and nonchalantly join back with the citizens.
With that in mind, I was searching for a place to hide the clothes I would be wearing in a place that wasn’t too crowded. After removing the transformation near where the emergency bag was located and quickly changing my clothes, I would be able to perfectly deceive people’s eyes.
‘I need to become stronger, too.’
While thinking about what I would do after killing him is important, it was equally crucial to become strong enough to kill him.
‘Once I confirm the location to place the bags, I should go back and raise my magic power.’
Since I was here in Sejong Island for a long time, if I strived to increase my magic power…
“Huh?”
Off in the distance.
Among the superpower users training together, I saw a hooded student sitting alone on a bench.
I didn’t know whether it was a boy or a girl, but they seemed to be in a state of unease as if they might ‘explode’ at any moment.
What kind of explosion, you ask?
‘Middle School 2nd Year Syndrome (Chunibyo).’
A period where puberty was running wildly and surpassing it. There was a phase of losing control with superpowers.
-I am different from others!
When this development of self coincided with the awakening of magic power, one could be reborn as a villain who greatly disrupted the world.
It was the same in the academy, where many superpower users gathered.
That student surely had some dissatisfaction.
What that was…
Suddenly!
The hooded student abruptly stood up from their seat.
Then they began to hobble away somewhere.
“Hmm…”
I gulped down the rest of my coffee, picked up the empty cup, and started following the student.
I didn’t want to draw people’s attention, but seeing them run out like that gave me a strong hunch.
This was my guess, but usually, those kinds of kids had the potential to develop into ‘Devil’s Kin’ that would later engulf the entire academy-
“Excuse me.”
Someone called me from behind.
“Over there.”
Awkward Korean.
A foreigner.
Short hair down to the shoulders framed with golden locks.
A beautiful woman.
“Where do I need to go to reach the dormitory?”
“…Are you a new student at the academy by any chance?”
“Yes. Freshman. I just joined the academy.”
The woman pointed to the Taeguk Watch wrapped around her wrist.
On the screen of the Taeguk Watch, a national flag was twinkling instead of the Taeguk symbol, indicating her nationality.
“Canada?”
“Yes. I am ‘Yumir’ from Canada.”
I thought she came from far away, but regretfully she was not a character I knew from the original work.
Or was she?
Did I just forget an extra character?
‘If she’s a freshman, there’s a high possibility she’ll cross paths with the protagonist.’
First of all, they were in the same grade, and since they would train together under the name of ‘class unity’, there was a high chance they’d meet at least once.
‘It wouldn’t hurt to show some kindness.’
The hooded student who disappeared somewhere moments ago was concerning, but answering this freshman’s question is my priority for now.
“That’s fortunate. I’m sort of a faculty member. I will guide you to the dormitory.”
“Sort of…?”
“Yes, I’m a librarian.”
“A librarian…!”
Yumir’s eyes lit up.
“Like a combat librarian who emits magic from books?!”
“…I am powerless.”
“Oh.”
Yumir opened her mouth wide in surprise.
“I, I’m sorry. I assumed you were a superpower user.”
“Naturally?”
“Yes. Since everyone on this Academy Island is a superpower user… I thought you were just proficiently hiding your magic power. I’m sorry.”
“There’s no need to apologize.”
I pointed ahead, motioning Yumir to follow.
“Follow me this way. I’ll guide you there shortly.”
I had no ulterior motive.
I was certainly not showing her kindness simply because she was a beauty.
Ah.
Speaking of which.
‘The protagonist in the original work was also a Canadian in the setting.’
Or was he?
Anyway.
“Huff, huff…!”
The girl leaned against the wall, breathing heavily.
“Damn it, damn it…!”
Thud.
She hit the wall hard with her fist, but unlike others who could break walls, her fist merely reddened.
“I also want to be like the others…!”
The girl clenched her fist.
Just like how others released mana from their bodies, she too expelled mana, but the amount was very meager.
E-rank.
Better than F-rank, but upon graduating from the high school section of the academy, becoming a superpower police officer pursuing general crimes in rural areas was considered her ‘best’ path.
“I want to become stronger…!”
Tears streamed down the girl’s face.
Despite being a second-year high school student, her magic power showed no signs of improvement. If it continued like this, she was likely to graduate as an E-rank.
Born with the fortune to awaken as a superpower user, but regrettably, there were too many individuals born with this fortune in South Korea.
It was like being a celebrity.
Top-level, S-rank celebrities spoken about in public were a tiny minority.
She was no different from one of the many girl group idols who briefly appeared on music shows, then disappeared or didn’t even make it onto TV and disbanded.
“I also want to become stronger…!”
“There, there. Why are you crying like that?”
From afar.
Someone wearing a mask approached the girl.
The girl jumped back in surprise, but upon seeing the existence of the mask, she tightly clenched her fists.
“Who are you…?!”
“Do you know me?”
The masked man turned his head to the side and grinned.
“I’ll give you power.”
“…The condition?”
“Condition? Nothing like that. All I want is just ‘chaos’.”
The masked man pointed at his mask.
“How about making a contract with me, [Duoexini]?”
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