I Became the Academy's Disabled Student

[Huabei-Dongbei Border, Necromancer Group Terror Attack Reported]

[Level 4 Emergency Evacuation Order Issued for Nearby Areas — The Gray Zone Rising as a Threat?]

[Concerns of Dungeon Chain Explosions... Association Announces ‘Swift Suppression’]

The old land of China.

It was once a nation that had vanished into history, a place with only a few Association branches scattered across its underdeveloped regions.

Yet, even in such a place, people still lived.

Although it no longer boasted the massive populations of its past, native residents who couldn't relocate for practical reasons remained.

And because of the abundance of dungeons and monsters, a handful of hunters and heroes would occasionally venture here to use it as hunting grounds.

Then came the terror.

A group of necromancers had collectively lost their minds, rising up to commit mass slaughter.

Even casual internet users were left wide-eyed at the news that had climbed to the top of the trending headlines.

The world was abuzz with this sudden and shocking news.

[Is the Nightmare of a Fallen Nation Returning? Observation Unit Reports Entity ‘Two-Headed Venom Dragon’ Resurrected as a Necromancer's Servant]

[Association Raises Evacuation Order Level — Level 4 to Level 2 in Nearby Regions, Level 3 for Other Bordering Areas]

[Swift Emergency Declaration, Association Announces ‘Quick Extermination Plan in Cooperation with Local Forces’]

Correction.

The world was flipped upside down.

Already struggling with severe incidents over the past few months, the economic indicators plummeted vertically.

Various organizations pushing redevelopment in China’s gray zones saw their economic indicators hit rock bottom.

Following the Great Cataclysm, in the period of chaos that ensued, many countries had fallen.

Many high-level monsters had contributed to toppling nations.

The Two-Headed Venom Dragon wasn’t one of the monsters that appeared in the early days of the chaos.

No, it emerged later, when chaos was finally beginning to subside with the emergence of heroes, just as the notion of peace was timidly poking its head up.

In the historically dragon-revering region of China, the sudden emergence of the Two-Headed Venom Dragon tightly shut the mouths of those prematurely proclaiming peace.

One head spewed a deadly venomous wave that killed all life, living and non-living alike.

The other head exhaled a fog of disease that spread for miles.

With its massive body, it crushed cities indiscriminately, spewing death in the form of liquids and smoke from its twin heads.

Many survivors were still haunted by trauma from that time.

Was it only China that suffered?

The disease attack devastated China beyond recovery and inflicted horrific damage on nearby regions.

Some comforted themselves with the idea that the dragon’s power was weakened by becoming an undead servant, but this couldn’t console those who still trembled from the aftereffects of the poison and disease.

This wasn’t merely a hot topic; it was an issue that would cause many people to foam at the mouth and faint from shock.

Reports continued.

[Breaking) Observation Unit Confirms Elimination of the Two-Headed Venom Dragon]

[80% of the Rampaging Undead Confirmed Destroyed, Remaining Monsters and Undead Being Hunted Down]

[Only About an Hour After the Incident Began...]

The world was shaken once again.

The undead form of the Two-Headed Venom Dragon had been defeated in roughly an hour after its appearance.

And around 70% of the massive undead hordes rampaging across China were wiped out in one blow. The reason? Still under investigation... but it wasn’t exactly despairing news.

People who had been foaming at the mouth and collapsing were now wide-eyed, glued to their screens.

[Breaking) Lee Hayul Identified as the Slayer of the ‘Two-Headed Venom Dragon’]

Upon seeing the name "Lee Hayul," people’s eyes widened even more.

Lee Hayul. A name that occasionally popped up on the news in recent times.

The buzz around him began when he entered Shiyoram Academy and became a sensation when the Sifnaja incident made headlines as buildings collapsed in his wake.

Now, this person was said to have single-handedly vanquished the resurrected Two-Headed Venom Dragon.

A hopeful piece of news to overshadow the previously shocking and fearsome reports...

[Breaking) Exceptional Admission Student Lee Hayul Missing...]

[Association Deploys the ‘Shadow Hunt’ Search Team Immediately]

The Association was in turmoil.

A high-priority VIP, one ranked even above senior officials, had fought against a high-level monster and was now missing.

[Geomhwa Family Deploys a Purification Squad to Huabei-Dongbei Border]

The Geomhwa family was equally shaken. Perhaps even more than the Association.

Lee Hayul, who had stained the ancestral Flame Blade with his prowess.

Even as they complicatedly discussed what to do about him, the Geomhwa family elders had secretly envisioned a more prosperous future with satisfied smiles.

Even Choi Jiyeon, who was managing a mountain of work, reassured by her daughter’s engagement stamp, was shaken by the news of her son-in-law’s unknown fate.

Hong Yeonhwa, who was dutifully taking on her successor’s responsibilities, fainted with her eyes rolled back.

[Changhae Family Mobilizes Troops on the Frontline, Declares ‘Heroic Rescue’]

The Changhae family was also in disarray.

Being close to the area where the Two-Headed Venom Dragon had appeared, the Changhae family was already on high alert, and now their successor joined the search for Lee Hayul.

[Taesan Family Announces Troop Deployment to Contain the “Significant Threat to Humanity’s Survival”]

The Taesan family was also in a state of emergency. Although they had no direct ties to Lee Hayul, they were in a situation where their precious successor and affiliated combat troops were involved.

With each force heading to China for their reasons, a variety of groups converged on Chinese soil due to the mischief of a wayward Yoram Academy dropout.

The methods for activating powers differ for each ability.

The power of Observation doesn’t consume much mana.

Although changing its application can lead to mana consumption, using it in its simple, typical way mostly consumes mental energy rather than mana.

The power of Space, on the other hand, consumes a lot of mana.

Opening a subspace doesn't use much energy.

However, building, tearing, and connecting spatial barriers devours a tremendous amount of mana, not to mention mental energy in large chunks.

Whatever it is, activating a power always drains mental energy.

"I can’t see..."

In other words, without enough mental energy, one cannot activate their powers.

As a result, the world around me was shrouded in darkness.

Even if I opened my eyes, a hazy fog met me, and closing them led to a bleak blackness.

There are ways to cope with situations like this.

One is a technique called "echo location," which involves sharpening one’s senses to perceive the surroundings.

It was a technique I used in the Tower of Growth, but right now, even that wasn’t working well.

It feels as if the world has become much larger... or as if I’ve become much smaller.

I wiggled my fingers absentmindedly. They felt thinner... smaller than before.

The clothes I wore had become too large. They had turned into a horrible mess soaked in poison, so I left them nearby and crawled away slowly.

The only thing covering me now was the Sky Wings.

For some reason, the wings, which were still attached to my back, wrapped around me protectively.

The wings felt enormous. They wrapped around me multiple times and still had room to spare.

"...Have I shrunk? I don’t know..."

I felt confused as to whether what I was sensing was reality.

"Ouch..."

My body hurt.

It felt like I’d been beaten up all day, and I had a stinging pain as if I’d been cut by a blade.

Other descriptions came to mind, but in the end, I was simply in pain.

It hurt in many ways.

First... my body felt hot.

It felt like I had swallowed fire and was now carrying it in my stomach.

The blood circulating through my veins felt like boiling oil, and the mana that barely circulated through my torn circuits felt like flames.

It seemed like my body might burn up and disappear at any moment.

And...

"I'm so cold..."

Oddly enough, I also felt cold.

My fingers and toes felt frozen and brittle, as if they might shatter. I curled up in response.

But as I did so, my body felt like it would melt from the heat.

When I expressed my pain, I felt as though I would turn into a solid block of ice.

Occasionally, my body would harden, and I’d feel like I was about to crumble into a pile of dirt.

At that point, I realized what these symptoms were.

"Th-the Threefold Fusion..."

The Threefold Fusion. A technique forcibly merging the powers of Flame of Terror, Ocean’s Abyss, and Taesan and releasing them all at once. This was the side effect.

"...Hic..."

Because of it, my emotions kept swinging back and forth.

Affected by the Flame of Terror, my emotions heightened.

I hated the whole world. The miserable state I was in, lying here in some unknown place, made me want to cry.

I felt lonely. The fear of possibly dying here alone, and the uncertainty of whether I would survive or drop dead at any moment, was terrifying.

Then, influenced by Ocean’s Abyss, my emotions subsided.

It’s all just other people, nothing to resent. The pain was something I could ignore as it seemed like I was about to die anyway. If I die, then these connections will vanish. Perhaps dying is easier than enduring this suffering...

My body was in shambles, and my mind was no less of a wreck, swinging between melting and freezing.

My consciousness faded in and out.

...

I didn’t know how many days had passed.

Thankfully, I hadn’t died yet.

My stomach felt empty as if it was stuck to my back, but I hadn’t starved to death.

Back in my previous world, I was used to going hungry, and as a superhuman now, I should be able to endure even longer.

For water... I licked the damp ground, hoping for a trace of moisture.

At times like this, I found slight comfort in my dulled sense of taste.

Over time, my mental energy had started to recover, and the side effects of the Threefold Fusion were gradually diminishing.

If I waited a few more days, I might be able to shake off the side effects and use my powers again.