Chapter 53 : Chapter 53
Chapter 53. Tactical Manual Ver.2 (1)
Jack’s blatant lie.
As his declaration popped out, silence instantly settled over the surroundings.
Should I react? Just as I was about to say something.
“Uncle?”
Do Haru broke the silence first and asked.
“Yes, can't you tell from the situation? These guys were bullying my nephew, so I beat them up.”
He pointed to the collapsed children, his lie continuing with confidence.
“But you were trying to hit Jinwoo just now!”
“It’s an expression of affection.”
Jack said shamelessly as he lit a cigarette.
His nonchalant appearance in no way suggested he was lying.
Do Haru and Seol Hayun also tilted their heads, looking back and forth between me and Jack.
“You can ask him if you want.”
Then he pointed at me with his chin.
‘Is he crazy?’
He just blurted it out and now he expects me to clean up the mess, doesn't he?
But I had no choice.
If Jack set the premise, all I could do was go along with it.
Jack currently thought I was Balzac.
Therefore, he must have judged this to be the best option from his perspective.
If I denied being his nephew here, I couldn't predict how Jack would react.
He was not someone anyone here could handle.
He was the kind of person who could instantly slaughter everyone present and disappear without a trace.
“That's right. He's my uncle. Though it’s been a very long time since I’ve seen him.”
I made up my mind. To go along with him and make up a plausible story.
I glared briefly at Jack and said.
‘Even if Jack is revealed to be a villain later, I can claim I was being threatened. For now, aligning myself completely with Jack is the right thing to do.’
I had to play two roles right now.
As Ryu Jinwoo, and simultaneously as Balzac.
I had to find and choose moves that satisfied both.
‘Suddenly, I'm getting a headache.’
What a mess, all because of a lunatic who unexpectedly burst in.
Even if he thought I was Balzac, did it make sense for him to show up so abruptly?
Even with a disguise.
I wished I could challenge him about it.
“Oh? He's really your uncle? Wow, amazing.”
Do Haru's jaw dropped.
She was half-convinced by Jack’s words, and now that I had affirmed it, she seemed to accept it.
“He's really your uncle?”
Seol Hayun, on the other hand, didn't seem entirely convinced yet.
Her emotion was still stuck at [Doubt].
“It's tragic, but true. I don't know if we're actually blood-related, though. He looked after me briefly when I was little.”
“Hey, don't add weird stuff arbitrarily.”
When I nodded and added that, Jack threw a jab at me.
“Shut up, damn uncle.”
“This damn little brat......”
Intimately. Even more casually.
To leave no room for doubt, I added a loose detail in reverse.
A detail that would blend well with our current appearance.
Jack seemed to grasp my calculation and naturally went along with it.
However, soon after, magic power emanated from Seol Hayun's hand.
Shhkk-!
A notebook and pen were suddenly in her hand.
[Seol Hayun]
[Interest, Curiosity, Skepticism.]
‘She's still suspicious.’
Then again, it would be strange to immediately accept that a sudden strange man was an uncle.
I thought Jack and I had put on a sufficiently good performance, but that seemed to be a separate issue.
‘......It's not unreasonable for her to think I'm making up the uncle excuse because I'm being threatened.’
It was actually the truth of the situation.
“May I ask a few questions?”
“Tch, suit yourself.”
“What was Ryu Jinwoo like when he was little?”
Seol Hayun’s red eyes sparkled with interest.
Was she really suspicious? Or was she just asking what she was curious about?
It was a somewhat ambiguous situation.
“It's pointless to ask this old man, he was never interested in me anyway.”
“Quiet, you runny-nosed brat.”
For now, I decided to keep up the desperate acting.
“Runny-nosed brat....... Did he have a lot of a runny nose?”
“That’s right.”
“I see, Jinwoo has rhinitis even now. It must have been since he was little.”
Seol Hayun nodded lightly.
Seriously, she accepts that part?
“Any other peculiar details?”
“Tch, anyone would think you were interrogating me.”
“I’m just curious.”
“That he has a heart-shaped mole on his back. Are you asking about things like that?”
Jack shrugged and replied to Seol Hayun’s follow-up question.
What was he talking about now?
I looked up at Jack in confusion.
Because it was a story I didn't even know.
“A heart-shaped mole on your back?”
Do Haru reacted first.
“......”
Seol Hayun, who had suddenly quieted, stared at me fixedly.
“Hey, little brat. Turn around.”
“Excuse me?”
“Stay still. Let me see your back.”
“What the crazy......”
Before I could protest, Jack’s heavy hand grabbed the back of my neck, and he pulled up my shirt.
“Wow! It's really there. Down here. Hayun, look. It’s really big! It’s a real heart!”
Do Haru’s excited shout came closer.
“......I’m fine.”
Seol Hayun cut her off curtly and turned her gaze away.
The moment she snapped- her notebook shut, the tips of her ears were slightly flushed red.
Judging by the reaction, it seemed to be real.
A heart-shaped mole.
Setting aside the fact that it existed, when the hell did he see that?
I had never exposed my back, and this was the first time Jack had met me.
Did he grasp it instantly in the brief moment it was revealed between my clothes?
I felt somehow creeped out.
“Tch, I can't even count how many times I've washed this damned brat. What an annoying kid.”
Letting go of me as if abandoning me, Jack exhaled- smoke and muttered as if reminiscing.
At this point, it would be crazy not to be fooled.
When I looked at Seol Hayun again.
She had already put away her notebook and pen.
[Seol Hayun]
[Embarrassment, Fluster.]
It seemed her suspicion was definitely gone.
***
With my back sacrificed to thoroughly remove their suspicion, Jack dusted off his cigarette and left.
“See you next time.” He left with a brief comment.
I hoped there wouldn't be a next time.
“He's a truly unique person. Your uncle.”
After Jack left, Do Haru looked back at me and said.
Unique, yes. Too unique is the problem.
But Jack hadn't left behind just a unique impression.
We had another problem in front of us.
Our gaze fell downward.
The collapsed children and Seo Seungbeom.
“That’s Seo Seungbeom. Ugh, how annoying. Didn't they bully you anyway? Let's just leave them and go.”
Do Haru shook her head dismissively.
“Well, the matter might not be that simple.”
Seol Hayun looked around with a momentarily serious expression.
“If only Jinwoo isn't here when these kids wake up, that could become a problem.”
“Huh? Me?”
“Since your uncle was the one who beat these kids up. Even if there was a reason...... since they were hit this badly, they will try to catch the perpetrator. But what if you’re the only one who's fine?”
Seol Hayun’s eyes pierced me.
“It would look like you have a connection with the perpetrator.”
“......”
“At the very least, you would be interrogated as a witness who was present here.”
She was right.
I was actually a witness, and what's more, I had a connection with the perpetrator.
“Then what should I do? Should I also be collapsed?”
“That would be the safest. We can say everyone here was attacked by an unknown assailant. While praying your uncle doesn't get caught.”
Seol Hayun calmly reached a conclusion.
“We will report it. We’ll say we didn't see the perpetrator and that they were already in this state when we found them. Then you won't get unnecessary suspicion.”
She was thorough.
As expected of Seol Hayun.
I absolutely couldn't say that Jack was the culprit.
If so, it was best to remain as one of the victims rather than a witness.
“Alright, then. I guess I’ll collapse.”
“That alone isn’t enough.”
“Huh?”
The presence of someone firmly grabbing my shoulder from behind.
Seol Hayun whispered quietly.
“It would be more suspicious if you're the only one without injuries.”
At that moment.
Snap- Crack-
I heard the sound of finger joints cracking.
At the same time, a thick killing intent was felt.
Do Haru, with a cold gaze fixed on me, was slowly approaching.
“You haven’t forgotten what happened earlier, have you?”
Her voice echoed low in the alley.
A chill ran down my spine.
“J-Just a moment. Calm down. That was an accident.”
The memory suddenly resurfaced.
Because of the curse my 'Black Fang' had arbitrarily inflicted, Do Haru had suffered humiliation in the bathroom for dozens of minutes.
“......Calm down? For those thirty minutes in the bathroom, my stomach didn't calm down for a single moment.”
“Wait a minute, at least let me prepare myself mentally......!”
Thwack-! Pow-!
Striking sounds rang out consecutively in the alley entrance, echoing.
Ding-!
[Ryu Jinwoo]
[Strength: 14 (+4)]
‘......General strikes increase Strength, I see.’
I learned another fact about the operating principle of my ability.
Pain from current increases Agility, and pain from general strikes increases Strength.
But that was only for a moment.
The plus stats disappeared like a candle flame being extinguished, and only the pain remained.
[Kee hee hee! Slurp, slurp! Woo hehehe!]
And throughout the time I was thoroughly beaten by Do Haru, the Mimic’s lunatic cheers happily rang out.
‘Life.’
I slowly closed my eyes.
***
After that day, the back alley assault incident was simply concluded within a few days.
Based on the fact that the children’s money and valuables were missing, the situation was classified as a simple robbery.
Jack naturally left no trace, and as a result, the perpetrator was never caught, remaining an unsolved case.
Seo Seungbeom's side wasn't particularly aggressive either.
The very reason they went to the back alley was to bully me in the first place.
It seemed they didn't want to escalate the matter, conscious of Zero Academy and their family.
I also did not report the incident that occurred there.
Since ‘Reporter’s Sense’ activated and a coverage quest occurred, I would have received quite a reward if I had written an article.
But it was better to let the incident quietly pass than to needlessly stir up trouble.
In any case, as a result, I could continue my academy life as usual.
Having fiercely completed my training today as well, I returned to the dormitory and threw myself onto the bed.
[Paying 100SP to use ‘Intermediate Rehabilitation Art’.]
A teal-colored energy enveloped my entire body.
My exhausted muscles loosened slowly, and the suffocating weight gradually lightened.
“Hooah-.”
My eyelids slowly closed.
I thought this peace, even if only for a moment, was very nice.
[Kee hee hee! It's here! It’s here!]
There was no way I could have complete peace.
The Mimic suddenly started its fits again.
Since it was familiar, I thought I would just ignore it and go to sleep.
[It’s here! It’s here! It's hereeeeee!]
‘He’s being particularly annoying today.’
If his usual tantrums were at the level of a mosquito, today he was at the level of a flying hornet.
Yet, I tried to ignore him somehow.
Ding-!
[Tactical Manual]
[Synchronization with Black Fang is in progress......100%]
A message popped up on my closed eyes.
‘What?’
It was surprising that I could see the message window even with my eyes closed.
But what made my eyes snap open was the content of the message.
‘Synchronization...... 100%?’
The memory suddenly resurfaced.
The mysterious loading that began after I acquired the Black Fang.
The percentage had been steadily rising, but it had hit 100%?
Snap- The moment I opened my eyes.
[You have entered the ‘Core of the Soul’.]
I was lying not in my dormitory room, but in another space.
“Where is this......?”
It was a familiar space.
The place I had entered when I defeated Balzac.
The Core of the Soul.
The scenery hadn't particularly changed.
An empty land, a bizarre sky.
“......Why did I come here again?”
Hoo— I sighed and looked around.
But something was strange.
What should have been there wasn't.
“Mimic?”
The guy who always buzzed like a mosquito was nowhere to be seen for some reason.
Ding-!
[‘Synchronization’ is complete.]
And a message suddenly popped up.
At the same time, an alien presence was felt.
I lowered my gaze, following the presence.
My shadow was there.
While I stood still, the shadow began to move on its own, wriggling.
The shadow repeatedly swelled and contracted, then began to stretch out long.
The shadow, now stretched out dozens of meters, writhed strangely and began to form a mysterious shape.
The figure slowly began to take form.
The shape that appeared was.
‘......That’s me?’
‘Ryu Jinwoo’ was standing there.
The exact image I saw in the mirror every morning.
However, only the fact that his eyes were entirely black was different from me.
The message followed.
[Subdue the ‘Black Self’.]
The guy began to move.
Toward me.