Chapter 10

< Chapter 10: True Power (1) >

“Um, ancestor… I, I was very late… right?”

Shin Jia came back to the room after 30 minutes.

“I’m sorry. My father suddenly contacted me…”

Shin Jia said with a gloomy expression. She probably thought I was upset because my face was dark.

“Huh? No. Don’t worry.”

“You don’t look like it, ancestor…”

I understand.

My expression was very different from 30 minutes ago.

“Really. I’m not mad at you.”

“…Really? You’re not disappointed in me?”

“Yeah. Absolutely not.”

I repeated it several times, but I wasn’t disappointed in Shin Jia at all.

The reason why I was feeling so depressed was very simple.

My ability.

That is the truth about the ability to ignore wearing restrictions derived from the stateless state.

“Ah. Sh-”

I almost swore without realizing it.

It was too unbelievable.

A little while ago, [Tranquility of the Forest] caused a violent spark and overloaded, just like [Blessing of the World Tree].

Everything was the same as when I used [Blessing of the World Tree].

Even the error message.

This meant one thing clearly.

[Blessing of the World Tree] didn’t overload.

It just ran out of [time limit].

That’s why the error message popped up. Instead of a warning message.

I don’t know why I didn’t think of this simple thing.

Ignoring user restrictions from a stateless state is like a ‘bug’.

A fatal error (bug) that contradicts this worldview.

Naturally, an error message pops up when you use such an ability.

Rather, I should be grateful that the ability itself wasn’t sealed.

“Damn. Grateful my ass.”

I couldn’t hold it back anymore, and a curse slipped out of my mouth.

“An, ancestor?”

I heard Shin Jia’s voice trembling with confusion as I sighed.

“Sorry. I have some trouble today.”

“Ancestor…”

This wasn’t confirmed yet.

It was just a guess because the brooch that I had removed kept rejecting me,

Because I couldn’t touch it again after that.

But I was sure of it.

Ignoring user restrictions is a one-time use only.

A bug is something that gets fixed as soon as it’s discovered.

My ability is no different from a bug.

It’s only natural that it gets fixed by the system as soon as it’s detected.

“It’s okay. I’ll go first today.”

The world looked too dark to me.

With this flawed ability, or rather a bug, could I get through the scenarios that would follow?

Could I survive?

I was filled with such worries.

* * *

After Kang Seo-yul disappeared.

Shin Jia, who was left alone, was immersed in her thoughts with a serious expression.

‘…What happened to him?’

What could be so serious that the noble elf would swear without knowing it?

‘…Could it be that something happened to the other elves?’

Shin Jia’s expression became more serious.

She had never heard Kang Seo-yul talk about the other elves.

But she was sure that there were other elves.

The reason was simple.

Kang Seo-yul’s past was too transparent.

He was definitely an elf.

But his past was 100% human. There was no doubt about it.

That meant that Kang Seo-yul had an ally who helped him.

Shin Jia was convinced that the ally was another elf.

Otherwise, it would be impossible to manipulate the information so cleanly.

There must be a secret elf organization that was fighting in the depths of society.

And something went wrong with that group.

Otherwise, Kang Seo-yul wouldn’t have made such a face and cursed.

‘I can’t help him.’

Shin Jia’s bright blonde hair drooped down.

There was no way she could help him, being just a daughter of a wealthy family.

She would be lucky not to interfere by meddling.

“Sigh.”

As she sighed with disappointment, it happened.

Knock knock-

“Miss Jia. I have something to report to you.”

Along with the knock, a middle-aged man’s voice was heard.

“Come in.”

“Yes.”

The middle-aged butler who had guided Kang Seo-yul earlier. His name was Han Tae-jin.

“I have gathered all the information about the two people you asked me to investigate.”

“Already?”

The two muscle pigs who had insulted Kang Seo-yul twice in a row.

The investigation on them was faster than expected.

“Yes. Here is the report.”

Shin Jia received the document.

Her face twisted as she checked the document.

“From their relatives to their cousins, to their in-laws. There was not a single place that didn’t stink. It made the investigation easier.”

The investigation results were terrible.

Murder, blackmail, rape, tax evasion, etc.

The people around them were doing all kinds of crimes as if it were natural.

‘…I was going to just warn them lightly, but this won’t do.’

She had asked for a background check on them, but she didn’t really intend to harm them.

She just wanted to let them know that there were some beings that they shouldn’t mess with.

But if what was written in the report was true, she couldn’t just let them go.

“What should we do?”

Noblesse oblige.

Those who have high social status must bear corresponding duties.

“Sir. These people. Make them face the judgment of the law. I’ll take responsibility.”

It was what Shin Jia’s father always emphasized.

* * *

After Sunday, when I was stuck at home and sighing.

The first class on Monday morning was a practical class.

“Today we’re going to do a light sparring.”

Instructor Pi Jin-ho was wearing a combat suit.

“I’ll randomly decide the brackets. Don’t complain if you have a bad matchup. You won’t always face villains that suit you, so it’s good to experience it.”

“Yes!”

The cadets answered with enthusiasm.

They all seemed excited about the first sparring.

“…”

Of course, I wasn’t.

I was far from excited.

I only sighed.

Yesterday, I confirmed that my ability was a kind of bug

And that it was a one-time use ability with a time limit.

How did I confirm it?

Simple.

I went to the World Tree Park, which was unblocked yesterday, and experimented.

I touched the World Tree and saw if the Blessing of the World Tree appeared or not.

As expected, the Blessing of the World Tree did not appear.

Nothing happened at all.

Thanks to that, I knew for sure.

My ability was a one-time use trash.

“…”

So I’ve been suffering from lethargy since yesterday.

The future is too bleak.

I don’t have a status window.

As a result, my physical abilities are very low, and I have no growth potential.

I don’t even have mana.

I don’t have skills or traits either, so the gap is even bigger.

And the price for losing all these things is just [1-minute free use of equipment].

How can I survive in this harsh world with such an ability?

I felt like my hope was shattered. It was natural to feel powerless.

“Oh. The first bracket is interesting.”

Suddenly, I felt a strong gaze.

When I looked up, Pi Jin-ho was looking at me with an amused expression.

He must have put me in the first bracket.

“Group 1. Kang Seo-yul. Choi Ji-hoon.”

What kind of joke is this?

Out of all these people, I had to fight Choi Ji-hoon.

“Wow!”

“Pride match!”

“This is going to be fun.”

The surroundings were already excited.

The most fun thing in the world is watching a fight, so it makes sense.

Of course, I was twice as depressed.

“Then both of you, take your weapons and enter the mana field.”

“Yes.”

Choi Ji-hoon followed the instructor with a confident expression and gesture.

I took out the bow that I had hung on my back.

Zing-

Along with the familiar shoulder pain, I felt the World Tree tattoo activate.

This tattoo was also somewhat understood.

It was probably a hidden ability of the Blessing of the World Tree.

If it was a tattoo caused by my ability, there should have been another tattoo when I wore the brooch.

But there was no other tattoo when I wore the brooch.

So this tattoo was a hidden effect of the Blessing of the World Tree.

“Sigh.”

Yeah.

It’s not like I’m good at using a bow anyway.

I comforted myself like that.

“Kang Seo-yul cadet. If you’re ready, hurry up and enter.”

“Yes.”

Everyone looked at me with anticipation in their eyes.

Sorry, but there won’t be any fierce battle you imagine.

There’s no way I can beat Choi Ji-hoon with my current skills.

He may not be as good as Shin Jia, Ha Si-yeon, or Kim Cheol-jin, but Choi Ji-hoon is one of the promising ones too.

At this point, his stats are average C-.

His endurance is close to B.

With my weak strength, shooting hundreds or thousands of arrows won’t inflict fatal damage on him.

There’s such an overwhelming difference between us.

“The instructor gave me this.”

An assistant instructor handed me a dagger.

“Why this…?”

“It’s Instructor Pi’s order. The weakness of an archer is close combat. You should always have a small dagger like this in case of emergencies.”

It meant that I should prepare a last resort in case of emergencies.

Of course, it didn’t make much sense to me right now.

But I had to take it anyway.

“Okay. Thank you.”

I wore the dagger on my waist. It felt like when I first got a gun in the army.

It was heavy and annoying to move around with it.

I quickly moved to the mana field.

“Then I’ll start the sparring. The safety settings of the mana field are perfect, so you don’t have to worry about getting hurt.”

You won’t get physically hurt in this field.

Of course, that doesn’t mean it won’t hurt. The pain is real. They said you need to get used to some pain. So I’d rather avoid being cut by a sword if possible. The best thing to do is to stall as much as possible and give up.

“3, 2, 1. Start!”

Taah!

As soon as the instructor shouted, I quickly backed away.

I pulled the bowstring as I backed away.

Choi Ji-hoon would surely follow me.

I aimed for his lower body to slow him down a bit.

If I could keep him from closing the distance, I had a chance.

“Hmph.”

But the difference in stats was.

“Slow.”

Too cruel and ruthless.

“!”

Whiik-!

In the blink of an eye, Choi Ji-hoon came into my arms and swung his sword.

I couldn’t react.

I couldn’t even see his movement.

I was sure of my defeat.

Clang-!

But what Choi Ji-hoon aimed for was not me, but the bow I was holding.

“…”

“So that’s it. That reaction just now. You really were F-rank.”

He looked at the bow flying in the sky and muttered casually.

“Then I’m sorry. I did a mean thing. Asking an F-rank if he’s A-rank. That’s pretty cruel.”

Choi Ji-hoon looked down at me with a mocking smile.

“Hmm. Come to think of it, isn’t this something to be thankful for? When will you ever get treated like an A-rank again? Right?”

“…”

It was a clear mockery.

“Yeah. What are you going to do now that you’ve lost your bow? Will you surrender? Or.”

Choi Ji-hoon looked at my waist.

“Will you try to fight with that pathetic dagger?”

I clenched my teeth.

I was angry.

I would normally laugh it off as a cheap provocation, but I wasn’t in a normal state of mind today.

“Yeah. Let’s try it.”

I got carried away.

I wouldn’t die in this field anyway.

Chiing-

I pulled out the dagger from my waist.

That’s when it happened.

Whiing-!

“…”

A wind blew.

It was calm and warm.

A refreshing wind that smelled like a forest.

“What is this?”

It started to spin around me.

“Ugh!”

At the same time, the pain in my right shoulder intensified.

The tattoo was glowing.

“…Red, color?”

The tattoo that should have been green had turned red and shone brightly.

Paaang-!

At that moment, my vision changed 180 degrees.

Please, I need motivation