I Became the Academy’s Disabled Student - Chapter 168

ââ¦â¦â

ââ¦â¦â

Silence enveloped the room.

It wasnât a pleasant quiet; it was awkward and uncomfortable.

Just a moment ago, I had blinked as if my unseen eyes were functioning for once.

Lately, I had been opening and closing them quite a bit, but I still preferred keeping them shut.

That was how shocking Lee Ji-yeonâs appearance was right now.

Her brown hair was a complete mess, making her look like a new house.

Dark shadows under her eyes made her look like a panda, and her face was pale enough to resemble a corpse.

If I asked ten people, everyone would agree that her face looked like sheâd collapse any momentâ¦

Across from me, Lee Ji-yeon seemed bewildered, as if she had done something terribly wrong, constantly glancing my way.

I was utterly flabbergasted by her reaction.

After all, the last time we met was in China during that emergency situation, and it was a quick encounterâwhat could I have done wrong?

Even now, as I retraced my memories, there was nothing that would make us blush.

We had acted cool and rational given the circumstances.

âYour conditionâ¦â

Lee Ji-yeonâs tightly shut mouth finally opened.

She seemed to struggle to speak, her words stumbling but barely managing to continue.

âYour condition, is it⦠no, Iâm sorry! Thatâs not what I meantâ¦â

Her words trailed off.

She muttered to herself before panicking and waving her arms around.

[Iâm fine]

[Ah]

[Come to think of it, your wounds seem to have healed, right?]

[Iâm glad youâre safe⦠I mean]

I thought it was an okay topic, but Lee Ji-yeonâs expression darkened immediately.

Just a moment ago, it was a gray sky with clouds, but now it felt like a thunderstorm was about to erupt.

âOh dear.â

Did I say something wrong?

Was it a mistake? At the same time, Lee Ji-yeonâs lips trembled as she spoke.

ââ¦Iâm really sorry.â

[Huh?]

Suddenly?

As if confused by my reaction, she finally lifted her gaze from the floor, which she had been avoiding.

Her dark green eyes calmly reflected my figure but then started trembling as if an earthquake had hit.

â¦My appearance?

âOh.â

I suddenly shifted my legs. My stubby legs didnât even touch the ground.

Thinking about it, my current appearance was quite different from what Lee Ji-yeon last saw.

Back then, my hair was bizarrely mixed with white and black like an animal shedding fur, but now it was completely white.

Not to mention, my body seemed to have somehow aged down.

I wasnât in a normal state either.

âAt that time, I abandoned you and ran away. Just to save myself, I turned my back, scaredâ¦â

Lee Ji-yeon continued to ramble, her words disorganized and trembling.

It seemed like she felt guilty for leaving me behind in China.

âI shouldnât have run⦠I shouldâve died alongside you⦠But because of meâ¦â

Was her current haggard look due to the mental turmoil she was in? Lee Ji-yeon was desperately apologizing and blaming herself.

That made me recall the original story.

Lee Ji-yeon.

The eldest daughter of Lee Jia, the 11th head of the Taesan Clan.

The selected heir of the Taesan Clan and its manifestation user.

She was the next head of the Taesan Clan, which produces a large quantity of artificial elixir ingredients.

From a young age, she had been raised on elixirs and received high-quality early education through accumulated ancestral knowledge.

Her talent was outstanding, and she had excelled enough to enter Shio-ram as the top student.

Even now, she maintained a sharply increasing growth trajectory, a future divine being.

She had a background that was lackluster.

Even if you lined up all humans in this world, she would be at the very top like a jewel-encrusted spoon.

âIâm sorry⦠Iâm so sorry⦠because of meâ¦â

Contrary to that background, Lee Ji-yeonâs mental state was unhealthy, marked by inferiority complex.

In the original, the emotional states displayed when building rapport with her were always âhard exterior, soft interior,â âfeelings of inadequacy,â âinferiority complex,â and âjealousy.â

Considering that one of the characteristics of the Taesanâs manifestation user was the middle path of emotions, it was a very peculiar type.

It might seem ridiculous, but when considering Lee Ji-yeonâs surrounding environment, it wasnât hard to understand.

Moreover, it wasnât an impossible flaw to overcome.

If she could resolve that crushed self-esteem, Lee Ji-yeon would truly become a reliable and devoted ally.

That was also true in the first playthrough.

In the first playthrough, while chasing after all sorts of subplots, I had also built a strong bond with Lee Ji-yeon and recorded a very high favorability.

Thanks to that, she remained by my side until right before the end of the first playthrough, being one of the comrades who protected me.

[Itâs alright]

[Really, itâs okay⦠donât worry about itâ¦]

But I had no skill to resolve Lee Ji-yeonâs inferiority complexâ¦

Lee Ji-yeon was so absorbed in her guilt that the surroundings felt somber.

Thank goodness this was a private room on the upper floor of a café; if we were in the open space of the first floor, troublesome rumors would have floated aroundâ¦

[Just try not to hurt yourself that much]

[Even now, I donât regret the choice I made back then]

[Thanks to you, many people survived, right?]

[Iâm also in a position that received help]

I spoke as coherently as possible to comfort her.

I didnât mean to be rude, but Lee Ji-yeonâs state seemed very dangerousâ¦

[In the end, Iâm alive and so are youâ¦]

[Donât worry about this state]

[It wonât be long before things go back to normal]

I wondered if my efforts had actually worked. Gradually, a light began to return to Lee Ji-yeonâs once dead fish eyes.

ââ¦This is hardâ¦â

I swallowed a sigh of relief inwardly.

For someone lacking eloquence like me, this was a tremendous ordealâ¦

.

.

.

A little while later.

Lee Ji-yeon seemed to have calmed her emotions, sipping on her coffee.

Her face had slightly reddened, perhaps realizing her earlier behavior was embarrassing.

She hesitantly opened a necklace that had been tightly closed.

[â¦That]

[Are you okay, Senior?]

âUhâ¦â

The confession necklace clicked shut.

I only realized the question sounded weird after that stiff voice came out.

She asked if I was okay, but even a cursory glance deemed Lee Ji-yeon absolutely not okayâ¦

âAh⦠Thank you for worrying about me. But Iâm okay. The wounds have long healed⦠I just didnât sleep well, thatâs allâ¦â

Ahaha⦠Lee Ji-yeon awkwardly smiled, lifting her lips.

âThe perception ability is quite amazing. Usually, itâs not that preciseâ¦â

Her smile that seemed to reassure me paired with her not-okay-at-all complexion created a notably haggard impression.

Not realizing this, Lee Ji-yeon continued to suck on her straw, sipping the coffee.

âIf you canât sleep, why are you drinking coffeeâ¦?â

I instinctively made a face as I observed the scene.

In front of her table lay numerous plastic cups, all emptied.

Superhuman physique. Considering she was a manifestation user of the Taesan Clan, the effects might vary, but even so, downing coffee like this was an apt description.

The amount someone unable to sleep would consume was definitely not this muchâ¦

But given the atmosphere, I swallowed the question back and sipped my own drink through a straw.

A cold liquid filled my mouth.

It wasnât coffee; it was orange juice. I wanted to ask why it wasnât coffee, but I swallowed that question too.

Instead, I got straight to the point.

[Did you see the application email?]

[I sent it earlierâ¦]

âAh! Yes, I checked it. Thatâs also why I wanted to meetâ¦â

Lee Ji-yeonâs words trailed off.

Her strange reaction made me tilt my head.

[Do you already have someone in mind?]

âOh no, I was thinking of you, Lee Ha-yul, as well.â

At that moment, my expression brightened. I had been worried she might refuse, yet it seemed she was considering me as well.

âHowever, Iâm a bit worriedâ¦â

[Huh? What do you mean worried?]

âWell⦠honestly, I feel like thereâs not much I can teach youâ¦â

Lee Ji-yeon rolled her eyes and slowly sipped her coffee.

âJudging from what I saw in China, I think youâre far superior to meâ¦â

âHmmâ¦â

I made a strange face at her words.

She thinks Iâm superiorâ¦

There are various aspects, but in terms of combat, I definitely wouldnât lose.

Not arrogance, but a somewhat calm judgment led me to believe that.

When my basic skills were lacking, it didnât show, but now that theyâve improved, the diversity of my means began to shine.

With the unique ability of being a Jack of All Trades and magic affinityâ¦

I was learning and mastering magic manipulation, strengthening techniques, combat techniques, magic, and spirit techniquesâ¦

And the expansions of these abilities allowed me to replicate various skills and unique abilities with different attributesâ¦

The powers of observation and spatial powersâ¦

Along with durability stat corrections from the proof of protection attached to my left arm and power of protectionâ¦

Not to mention, the wings of the sky had vastly improved applicationsâ¦

I had so many tools at hand. Hitting weaknesses was easy, and I had numerous ways to nullify my opponentâs attacks.

If I hadnât urgently pulled up my unique poison resistance against the dual-headed dragon, I would have been dead for sure.

While there are many means to teach beyond mere strength, itâs mostly about battling in Shio-ram, where everyone aims to be heroes.

It wouldnât be odd if Lee Ji-yeon had such thoughts after catching a glimpse of my battle with the dual-headed dragon.

[Thanks for the compliments, but please donât say that]

[You have so much for me to learn from you]

ââ¦Is that so? Can you give me an example?â

[Thereâs so much that itâs really hard to list them all]

[But if I had to pick one, I could experience your unique ability]

âTaesan, I seeâ¦â

I managed to squeeze out a response somehow.

Lee Ji-yeon nodded, seemingly convinced but suddenly flinched at the mention of wanting to experience Taesan.

â?â

She seemed to think for a moment before cautiously glancing my way and asking.

âTaesan⦠youâve experienced it before, right? How was it?â

[Yes]

[It was an incredible unique ability]

[Thanks to you helping me back then, I could retain my stamina safely]

It wasnât flattery.

At that time, I was preparing to become spiritual while fleeing the dual-headed dragon, and Lee Ji-yeon held up time for me.

If she hadnât been there⦠the preparation process would have been far more complicated.

[Thank you]

âOh no, thank you⦠rather, I owe you ten thousand timesâ¦â

[Iâve also received plenty of help]

[Did you see it?]

[The pit where the dual-headed dragon had died]

âYes⦠I went to see it directlyâ¦â

[Thanks to your quick judgment, we succeeded]

[If there had been people nearby, I might have had to self-destructâ]

âWhat, what did you say? Self-destruct⦠self-destruct!?â

Lee Ji-yeonâs eyes widened in astonishment.

âOh.â

For a moment, my head stopped in shock at her reaction.

Thinking back, my word choice was a bit hasty.

Self-destruction. I didnât mean it in that way, but⦠I mean, it was that kind of mindset, but I certainly didnât want to dieâ¦

My cluttered brain hurriedly tried to salvage the situation.

[â¦No? What do you mean self-destruct? What are you talking aboutâ¦]

âSelf-self-destructâ¦â

I couldnât salvage it.

Lee Ji-yeonâs mouth hung agape. From her expression escaped a sound suffused with despair and guilt.

The light that had been returning to her eyes was once again darkened.

âDamn it.â

[Shit.]

The confession necklace clicked shut.