bookpower Chapter 51
Chapter 51
[Translator - Helga ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]
Chapter 51
“So, you're telling me to investigate Professor D?”
The Emission Department’s student lounge.
In the lounge, thick with cigarette smoke, Nam Kang-ik spoke with a sour expression.
“Why all of a sudden? Weren’t you the one who was all over Professor D and jumped ship to the Deconstructionist Department?”
“I was not all over—!”
Seo Su-kyung flared up but quickly caught herself. Clearing her throat, she spoke again.
“Ahem... I had my reasons for switching to the Deconstructionist Department. You don’t need to know the details.”
She had no intention of explaining herself to Nam Kang-ik. No—no one could know the truth.
‘This academy is crawling with wolves dying to find my weaknesses.’
A figure both admired and envied.
That was Seo Su-kyung’s position in the Masterclass. She knew all too well that the moment she showed any vulnerability, vultures would be waiting to tear her apart.
‘I’d do the digging myself if I could...’
But under the terms of her Binding Oath, the subordinate could not go against the superior.
Any action that harmed or disobeyed the superior would result in penalties.
Since she couldn’t directly investigate Professor D herself, she needed a pawn to move in her stead.@@@@
Someone like Nam Kang-ik.
“Anyway, I need you to look into Professor D. Use your people or do it yourself—I don’t care. Just bring me something I can use.”
“Hmmm~ Something to use against them, huh...”
In the past, he might have grumbled but still done what she asked. But now? Things were different.
Nam Kang-ik glanced around at the other students in the lounge.
The Emission Department students, pretending to be busy but eavesdropping on their conversation...
Their silent attention made him uneasy. He shoved his hands into his pockets and muttered, “Why should I?”
“...What?”
“I said, why the hell should I do your dirty work? Let’s be real—you’re not even part of the Emission Department anymore.”
“Do you even know what kind of relationship your family has with mine?”
“And? It’s not like you’re inheriting the International Group. What, there’s gotta be at least twenty heirs in the Seo family ahead of you, right?”
Seo Su-kyung was caught off guard by Nam Kang-ik’s sudden shift in attitude. He had always complained, sure, but in the end, he would act as if he’d pluck the stars from the sky for her.
“Wake up, Seo Su-kyung. You’re part of the Deconstructionist Department now. You’re at the very bottom of the Masterclass. And I? I’m the top dog of the Emission Department.”
Nam Kang-ik jabbed his thumb toward himself with a smug grin.
Now, she finally understood this bastard’s game.
“...So, this is about your pride? The great leader of the Emission Department can’t be seen following orders from some lowly Deconstructionist Department student?”
“Looks like you’re finally getting it. So if you need a lackey, go find one in your own department. Not that you’ll find anyone useful in that bunch of losers.”
He sneered at her, confidence brimming.
Nam Kang-ik took another glance around the room.
Oh! The infamous Sword Saint just got completely humiliated!
That’s what their faces were saying.
He could feel their admiration washing over him.
‘Yeah! This is what it means to be the leader of the Emission Department!’
The ace of the Emission Department, the shining jewel of the Masterclass.
This was his place now—not Seo Su-kyung’s.
“If we’re done here, you can leave. And quit loitering around our lounge—you’re bringing down the class.”
His arrogance reached new heights as he threw out the final jab.
Unfortunately, he had no idea what kind of disaster was about to hit him.
“...Hey, you thick-headed idiot.”
Swish-!
A sudden flash of light streaked across his vision!
At the same time, Nam Kang-ik felt an excruciating pain, as if his shoulder was being ripped apart.
Seo Su-kyung’s razor-sharp blade had already pierced more than half an inch into his shoulder.
“You’re really getting cocky just because I let things slide, huh? Everyone calls you ‘Iron Fist,’ and now your brain’s turned into a damn rock, too?”
Her voice was chilling as she twisted the blade slightly, making Nam Kang-ik feel like he was about to scream.
“Y-You’ve lost your mind! Do you really think you’ll get away with this?!”
“Get away?”
Professor D handed her a stack of papers, and she glanced over them with clear skepticism.
Deconstructionist Department Personality Test (MBTI-D) – 34 Items. Answer as honestly and thoroughly as possible.
...She was dumbfounded.
“MBTI...? You’re seriously using this internet nonsense as class material?”
“Your eyesight must be failing. You didn’t see the ‘D’ next to it?”
Seo Su-kyung looked at the paper again. Sure enough, it wasn’t just MBTI—it was MBTI-D.
“MBTI-Deconstruction. A personality assessment reconstructed from a deconstructing perspective. I personally reviewed it, so I’d appreciate it if you didn’t question its credibility.”
...She had no real counterargument.
If the top authority of the Deconstructionist Department said so, there wasn’t much room for debate.
“...Wait a second. Someone in line earlier said you were doing DNA analysis. This isn’t that.”
She had just started checking off answers when she suddenly remembered what she’d overheard while waiting.
Professor D, completely unfazed, reassured her.
“The DNA analysis equipment is right here, so there’s no need to worry.”
He pulled back a cloth, revealing a blood-drawing syringe and a refrigerated storage unit.
Seo Su-kyung grimaced when she saw the fridge, packed full of blood samples.
“You’re seriously drawing blood for this?”
“If you don’t want to give blood, you can offer hair instead—about 120 grams should do.”
Seo Su-kyung hesitated.
But after a quick mental calculation, she realized 120 grams of hair was a lot. A handful wouldn’t even come close.
In the end, she reluctantly rolled up her sleeve and extended her arm.
“You really hate getting your blood drawn, huh?”
Professor D remarked as he brought the syringe to her arm.
Seo Su-kyung, eyes squeezed shut, snapped back, “Oh, and there are people who actually enjoy this?”
“No matter how much someone hates it, most don’t tense up their arm this much. I can’t even get the needle in.”
Crap.
She inwardly panicked.
The truth was, she had been terrified of needles since childhood. She had never once donated blood and even skipped blood tests during health checkups whenever she could.
Not wanting to expose this weakness, Seo Su-kyung took a deep breath and forced herself to relax.
“This’ll sting a little.”
As her rock-hard arm finally loosened up, the cold needle pierced her vein—
“Agh...!”
An electrifying sensation shot through her body.
It was unlike anything she had expected.
Not the quick prick of pain she was bracing for, but something completely unfamiliar—something impossible to describe.
‘What... what the hell? Is this what a needle is supposed to feel like?’
Seo Su-kyung had never once gotten an injection in her life—or at least, not that she could remember.
Her mind was in chaos.
Thump, thump...!
Her heart pounded rapidly, her head felt hazy, and her breathing grew strangely uneven. It was like a rush of endorphins and adrenaline, as if she had taken some kind of illicit drug.
‘Wait... that syringe... What was that light?’
Half-opening the eyes she had tightly shut, she thought she saw a strange glow flickering around the syringe.
A shimmer, almost like a spellbinding glint—
Just as she tried to focus on it—
“That’s enough.”
Professor D swiftly withdrew the needle from her vein and remarked, “Your blood is healthier than I expected. I assume you don’t smoke?”
The moment the syringe left her arm, the strange sensations gripping her body instantly vanished. Almost instinctively, Su-kyung hurriedly rolled down her sleeve and responded,
“O-Of course not. Do you know how much drinking and smoking lower spell success rates? Why would I do something that stupid?”
She spat the words out and then, realizing how rattled she sounded, quickly stumbled out of the tent.
For some reason, she was out of breath.
Catching a glimpse of her reflection, she noticed her flushed, reddened face.
‘What the hell was that? It was just a blood draw, so why do I feel...?’
Gripped by an unfamiliar and unsettling sensation, Seo Su-kyung pressed her lips tightly together and hurried to her seat.
Even as the lecture began, the pounding of her heart echoed loudly in her ears.
[Translator - Helga ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]