Chapter 33

I Became an Academy Overpowered Growth Genius – 33

EP.33 Record of Destiny (2)

 

“I’m sorry….”

Seo Eun-ha stood in front of Kang Seo-jun, bowing deeply as if she couldn’t even look him in the eye.

He felt the need to confirm whether she had indeed seen his heroine route.

“Did you see it? What happened on the summit of Everest….”

The Everest summit was the background where Seo Eun-ha’s route unfolded when it led to a bad ending.

“…Yes. And what happened afterward.”

“Hmm.”

It was confirmed that she had seen the heroine route.

As expected, Seo Eun-ha had witnessed her own heroine route.

Moreover, it was a flow leading to a bad ending.

Seo Eun-ha’s route was one that players could take when Jin Se-rin died while being a member of the Seongjin Group.

With the invasion of demons, Jin Se-rin dies, and Seo Eun-ha, consumed by self-blame and vengeance, becomes overwhelmed.

If she is completely consumed by self-blame and vengeance at this point, she follows the bad ending route.

Overcoming self-blame and vengeance, transforming her beliefs, and saving the world leads to a happy ending.

Seo Eun-ha must have seen the bad ending route, witnessing her own descent into madness for revenge.

And as a heroine route, she and Kang Seo-jun were probably already in a romantic relationship.

In the bad ending route, Seo Eun-ha, consumed by vengeance, makes an unreasonable demand to Kang Seo-jun, saying, “If you really love me!”

Kang Seo-jun, following that unreasonable demand, embarks on a gate strategy with an extremely low success rate, resulting in severe injuries and a lifelong disability.

Only then did Seo Eun-ha realize the guilt of pushing Kang Seo-jun, who always stood by her side, to his death, and she struggles desperately to find a way to recover him.

In the process, Seo Eun-ha discovers the ‘Altar of Regression’.

A mysterious monument stuck at the summit of Everest, where mana storms relentlessly rage for 365 days.

It was the miraculous artifact that could rewind everything.

However, Seo Eun-ha never thought it would actually turn back time.

She merely wanted to return Kang Seo-jun’s body, broken by curses and fatal injuries, to its original state.

Perhaps her mind was partially broken, and she couldn’t make a proper judgment.

Facing the cruel outcome of placing Kang Seo-jun’s body on the Altar of Regression, she sacrificed him to turn back the world’s time.

Seo Eun-ha, having regressed to her past young body, faced the harsh reality that Kang Seo-jun had regressed with a body inheriting all curses and fatal injuries, losing all mana and good traits.

Realizing her irreversible mistake once again, Seo Eun-ha’s mind shattered into pieces.

In the end, she fell into a delusional disorder and couldn’t maintain her sanity for a while.

When she regained her sanity, surprisingly, Kang Seo-jun had become the president of the Seongjin Group.

Utilizing future knowledge, he achieved legendary achievements, earning fervent support from the board of directors.

However, could the world not be saved with just one regression? Or, even with future knowledge, was there a limit due to Kang Seo-jun’s damaged body?

Eventually, the world faced destruction once again.

And now, in the present.

Seeing Seo Eun-ha living in the present, having forgotten everything, perhaps Kang Seo-jun sacrificed himself again after the second destruction to save the world.

He offered his body as a sacrifice, continuously inheriting wounds and curses, repeating regression alone.

Seo Eun-ha thought so.

“If there’s something you want to tell me… even now… Huh!?”

Kang Seo-jun lightly flicked Seo Eun-ha’s nose as she bowed her head and mumbled.

“Unreasonable delusions….”

Seo Eun-ha, with round eyes, looked at Kang Seo-jun, then quickly lowered her gaze again.

Her shoulders were trembling. If Seo Eun-ha was left in this state, it seemed like she might cause some accident soon.

There was a need to salvage the situation, even if only slightly.

“You’re having an unreasonable misunderstanding.”

Although what she saw was a fact clearly present in the previous episode, it couldn’t be dismissed as mere delusion. However, there was one thing she was firmly mistaken about.

“Right now, I have no regrets towards Miss Seo Eun-ha.”

Kang Seo-jun held no grudge against Seo Eun-ha. It wasn’t real, and it happened in the game, making it even more of a weird memory.

“Ah….”

However, to Seo Eun-ha, that statement meant something entirely different.

Saying there were no emotions meant that there was no room for anger, resentment, or disappointment.

Regardless of what that person did, it would be accepted as natural, thinking, “That’s just the way they are.”

Seo Eun-ha thought that Kang Seo-jun saw her as such a person.

“That’s… right….”

Seo Eun-ha’s face turned into a tearful expression.

The lower lip was tightly creased, as if she desperately held back tears trying to burst out.

“Um….”

This wasn’t right….

Kang Seo-jun rolled his eyes in embarrassment.

[Intelligence: 9]

This was a moment where quick thinking was crucial, but due to the low intelligence stat, there was no insight into what to say here to improve the situation.

“All right….”

In the heavy atmosphere, Seo Eun-ha was the first to move.

She took out a small box from her bosom.

It was the box containing the necklace Kang Seo-jun had requested, the necklace of Demon.

Seo Eun-ha bowed her head and held out the box with both hands.

Kang Seo-jun received it and checked its contents.

Inside the box, Demon’s necklace, which Kang Seo-jun had requested, was neatly placed.

“I apologize for bothering you so late at night.”

Seo Eun-ha bowed deeply.

Then, she turned away almost as if fleeing.

She felt even standing in front of Kang Seo-jun was not right.

“Well, wait.”

– Thud! –

Unconsciously, Kang Seo-jun grabbed Seo Eun-ha’s arm.

He did so because he felt that letting her go like this would cause disruptions in all the things they would have to do together in the future.

“Ugh…!”

Seo Eun-ha’s shoulders tensed.

Kang Seo-jun poured determination into the hand that held hers.

“I don’t regret any moment I spent with you. And I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Seo Eun-ha’s head slowly turned towards Kang Seo-jun.

He waited until her eyes met his before continuing.

“In this life, I won’t give up or abandon anyone.”

His eyes held sincerity.

Tears deepened in Seo Eun-ha’s eyes.

A drop of tear soon rolled down her cheek.

As she hastily turned her head to wipe away the tear, Kang Seo-jun pulled her arm.

– Thump! –

Seo Eun-ha’s small face buried into Kang Seo-jun’s chest.

– Sniff! –

A sound of inhaling through the nose was heard.

A warm and moist sensation spread widely on Kang Seo-jun’s chest.

Seo Eun-ha’s hand trembled as she clutched Kang Seo-jun’s clothing.

Kang Seo-jun gently held her trembling hand.

A few minutes passed.

Seo Eun-ha, who had calmed down a bit, took a step back and turned around.

– Sniff. Sniff. Hm. –

After wiping away the tears and mucus from her face and fixing her appearance, she looked at him again.

Kang Seo-jun sighed silently.

The guilt still lingered in her expression.

Even if Kang Seo-jun forgave her, she couldn’t forgive herself.

Without saying a word, Seo Eun-ha bowed slightly and distanced herself.

This time, Kang Seo-jun couldn’t reach out to her.

“Sigh…. Hm…”

Kang Seo-jun sighed slowly and mumbled.

“Hidden DLC… a bit challenging.”

====

***

====

About 10 minutes ago.

Lim Chae-Won’s dorm room.

She was lying on her bed in pajamas, watching a drama titled [She Likes You Too Much, She’s Your Wife].

It was a story about a man who had an affair with a maid despite having a loving wife.

– Smack! –

“Ouch.”

The wife slapped the man’s face forcefully.

[You jerk….]

The drama’s plot was reaching its climax.

The protagonist, who secretly met with the maid behind his wife’s back, was finally caught having the affair.

– Slap! –

The man grabbed his stinging cheek and shouted defiantly.

[I love two women at the same time! Falling in love isn’t a crime!!]

“Wow. This guy is insane?”

Lim Chae-Won marveled.

– Smack! –

The wife’s hand rose again.

[C-Crazy jerk…! You’re a monster!]

Without looking back, the wife left the scene.

[I’m sorry…. Even if I didn’t interfere between you two… I’ll… I’ll leave….]

The maid looked up at the male protagonist with self-destructive eyes.

The male protagonist’s eyes widened again.

[No! There’s no need for that!]

– Smack! –

The male protagonist embraced the maid with the determination to burst her.

[Even if I face death, I won’t regret any moment with you. I’ll fight and conquer everything! You too! And my wife, I’ll never give up on her!]

[Sob… Jun-seo….]

[To be continued in the next episode….]

“That was good.”

Lim Chae-Won, satisfied, removed her earphones and stretched.

“Ugh….”

Now it was time to sleep.

She placed her phone on the wireless charger and turned off the bedside lamp.

– Thud! –

Then, she buried her head in the soft pillow and closed her eyes.

Softly snoring.

“Huh?”

However, the sound from outside quickly opened Lim Chae-Won’s eyes again.

“What’s going on at this hour?”

Lim Chae-Won got out of bed and approached the front door.

Soft murmuring.

The murmuring sound was coming from not far away.

Lim Chae-Won heightened her senses to the sound.

– Shuffle, shuffle. –

Someone was approaching from nearby.

Lim Chae-Won focused on the sound using her heightened senses.

– Thump, thump. –

Someone was walking in this direction.

Lim Chae-Won looked through the peephole to see outside the front door.

– Thump, thump. –

Oh…. Huh!

“….?”

Jin Se-rin passed by, stealing glances at the door, her eyes red and puffy, making it evident she had been crying silently with sniffles and nose-blowing sounds.

“What’s going on…?”

Moreover, the direction she came from was beyond the central staircase…

“That side leads to the men’s dormitory….”

Jin Se-rin, a prominent figure in the top ranks of the Seongjin Group hierarchy and one of the promising members of this term, was sobbing while coming out from the men’s dormitory late at night.

“I can’t ignore this.”

Unable to resist her curiosity, Lim Chae-Won quietly opened the door.

Her base was an Archer.

If she decided to suppress her sound and presence, no one could feel her presence with her normal senses.

Lim Chae-Won squinted her eyes and peered through the crack in the door towards the men’s dormitory.

Two figures shimmered faintly in the dim lighting.

She heightened her senses, reaching Grade B Sense.

Soon, Lim Chae-Won’s pupils widened significantly.

‘Kang Seo-jun…? And next to him is….’

Seo Eun-ha!?

Jin Se-rin, the closest aide and A-ranked hunter, was a person even found in Lim Chae-Won’s database.

‘Why at this hour… Why are those two together…?’

Surprisingly, Seo Eun-ha was crying, and Kang Seo-jun held her arm with a stern expression.

‘What on earth?’

Lim Chae-Won’s eyes bulged as if they were about to pop out.

However, the shock was just beginning.

[I don’t regret any moment we spent together.]

‘What…?’

For a moment, the dialogue from the drama she had just watched flashed through Lim Chae-Won’s mind, but she shook her head vigorously and refocused on the scene before her.

‘What’s going on…?’

[And I don’t want you to get hurt. In this life, I won’t give up or abandon anyone.]

– Snap! –

‘Wha… What…!?!’

In the following scene, Lim Chae-Won’s eyes and mouth widened dramatically.

Seo Eun-ha was in Kang Seo-jun’s embrace, shaking her small shoulders and sobbing.

– Tok…. –

Lim Chae-Won closed the front door as quietly as possible.

Then, she returned to her bed, lying down with the utmost silence. Her eyes and mouth remained wide open.

‘K-Kang Seo-jun made a woman cry…! Both of them at the same time!’

Moreover, the two women were Jin Se-rin and Seo Eun-ha.

‘T-This can’t be true!’

Even though she herself found it unbelievable, the overlap between the drama she just watched and the recent situation was inevitable.

‘C-Could it be…!’

Her eyes and mouth stayed wide open until the sun rose.