A vacant lot far enough that the EDM sounded faint.
Hoo—
A thick, acrid smoke, packed with everything bad for the body, spiraled high into the sky.
“Keh-rok, keh-rok.”
I let out a cough.
Even so, the nicotine in the cigarette definitely lifted my mood.
I used to think Marie Caulfield smoked for the same reason.
But maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t that simple.
“Hey, dumbass. Keep talking.”
Marie Caulfield spoke as she gazed up at the night sky.
The cigarette, the rough way she talked—it all suited her unusually well.
She really was the perfect supporting character, crafted to torment Han Taepyeong.
A stone, flawlessly shaped for that purpose.
“…Where should I start? Let’s see. Peptocratin, 120mg.”
“……?”
“Lorazedex, 130mg. Tefropam oil, 500mL. Seraphimzepam, 300mg….”
Now.
Marie Caulfield was no longer looking at the night sky.
The night sky wasn’t fun, wasn’t interesting.
Instead, she widened her eyes and stared straight at me.
“Alright. That was the morning dose. For lunch, Solenoitan, 240mg. Ibupentoxin, 150mg….”
“…Stop. Just stop.”
Was she embarrassed? Shocked?
Marie Caulfield struggled to continue speaking.
“This bastard… How the hell….”
She had every right to be shocked.
Because what I had just listed—Was Marie Caulfield’s entire medication regimen.
“That’s not even the point here. More importantly, Miss Caulfield. Be honest. You beat up your doctor, didn’t you? Huh? There’s no way a prescription meant for a human being would look like this.”
Marie Caulfield shook her head, as if she didn’t want to hear it.
“So what? It’s none of your business, is it? More importantly, it’s way weirder that you even know my prescriptions. Are you… stalking me?”
“Do I look like an idiot? Who in their right mind would stalk a noble heiress?”
I’d rather stalk a T-Rex.
That’d be way safer.
“Hah. Keep denying it. You did sneak into my house. How do you explain that?”
“Well… I got lost.”
“This little shit… You call that an excuse?”
Not buying it, huh.
I stared straight into Marie Caulfield’s aura.
(Supporting Character)
- Role: Unique Magic User
- Traits: Integrity worn down. Most of her innate abilities are sealed.
(Detailed settings have been unlocked.)
- Detailed Setting #1: Character’s prescription.
My enhanced Spirit Eye revealed more details than before.
Not stuff like her love life.
Something more essential.
For example, the drugs she was taking.
I continued.
“Marie Caulfield. Let’s start with Peptocratin. That drug is made from the heart of a deep-sea shell fish monster—”
“You trying to act smart so I don’t beat the shit out of you?”
“Shut up and listen! A normal person would die instantly if they took 30mg of this in one go. And you? Wow~, amazing~! You take 120mg just in the morning.”
“…Hah. They’re just weak. I’m… a superhuman.”
“Yeah, and characters who say stuff like that in movies always die first.”
Marie Caulfield’s prescription was practically a catalog of monster hearts.
The heart of a winged lion.
The heart of a two-headed alligator.
The heart of a monster shaped like an angel.
Heart, heart, heart….
Sure, monster hearts can be used to create elixirs.
But obviously—
Overuse has side effects.
And in this case, those side effects weren’t as mild as fainting and getting rushed to the ER.
“Miss Caulfield. You do know what these drugs actually do, right?”
“What’s there to know? They’re painkillers.”
Marie Caulfield stared at me with dark, sunken eyes.
They suited her withered soul all too well.
“They’re not painkillers.”
“Hah. Oh, so you think you’re smarter than my doctor now?”
“At least I wouldn’t poison you. Even Kim Seungtae would’ve caught on by now. Besides, there isn’t a single actual painkiller in your prescription.”
Painkillers made from monster hearts? Yeah, right.
A monster’s heart is the most valuable part of its body.
And what does it do?
Simple.
It’s what makes a monster a monster.
Magic amplification.
Energy concentration.
Overclocking.
So any medicine made from hearts is essentially a modern-day elixir—an elite doping stuff.
Which means, in Marie Caulfield’s case…
If she’s downing monster hearts morning, noon, and night—
That’s not medication.
That’s a poison.
A very expensive poison.
“So what? It doesn’t matter. To me, they’re painkillers. Even if they’re a little pricey.”
A little pricey?
Her daily med costs alone could buy three or four luxury cars.
“What’s hurting you so much?”
Whoosh.
Marie Caulfield averted her gaze.
Then she started biting her nails.
A vulnerable stance. Signs of anxiety.
Her once-clear aura trembled, fragile and unsteady.
“…….”
I had never seen Marie Caulfield like this before.
Marie Caulfield…
A name that always left a bad taste in my mouth.
The genius of the noble Caulfield family.
A stone in Han Taepyeong’s path.
Never once had a conversation with her been beneficial.
Never once had getting involved with her been worthwhile.
I’d never even had a real conversation with her before.
Ever.
Notable detail:
Disappeared near the end of first year.
Listed as “missing” in the ending credits.
That was all Marie Caulfield had ever been to me—just another supporting role.
But.
If she was taking that much medication…
Anyone would lose their mind.
Hell, just surviving it was impressive.
Actually—
Why was she still alive?
“You’re not gonna tell me what’s wrong?”
“…There’s something. But you don’t need to know.”
“It’s migraines, isn’t it?” *Migraines are recurring headaches that can be caused by stress or certain foods
“……!”
Marie Caulfield flinched.
…Huh.
Why did that feel so satisfying?
“Oh? Did I get it right? Your arms and legs seem fine, so I just guessed.”
“…….”
“Marie Caulfield. Want me to help?”
“No. I don’t need it.”
“Don’t be stubborn. You’re the only one losing out.”
Marie Caulfield bit her lip.
She hesitated, but only for a moment.
“No.”
A cold refusal.
Very much like her.
“Listen—”
“Fuck off. I said I don’t need help. Do you have any idea how many quacks like you I’ve already met? I’ve wasted enough money to buy a few skyscrapers in New York.”
“I’m different.”
Sure, I was a quack.
But I was a quack who had cleared Hell Mode.
I had solutions.
Especially for cases like this.
So simple, they were almost laughable.
“No. You’re not different.”
Marie Caulfield shut me down.
Her unsteady aura flared.
“I’m sick of guys like you. Sick of your bullshit. My current doctor is the best trash I’ve got.”
And just like that—
Marie Caulfield was back to being the Marie Caulfield I knew.
Insecure. Unstable.
A supporting role doomed to vanish without a trace.
She took a slow drag and exhaled.
“Hoo—.”
I used to smoke out of habit.
Most people probably did.
But Marie Caulfield… might be different.
Maybe, to her, cigarettes weren’t just about the habit.
Maybe they were another way to dull the pain.
Just a guess, though.
“Hey. Kim Seungtae. The smoke’s gone dull. I’ll let your little break-in slide for today.”
“Oh, thanks, but I’m not Kim Seungtae—”
“Just don’t go blabbing about what we talked about.”
“No worries. I don’t have any friends to tell.”
I reassured Marie Caulfield and got up to leave.
And, with great generosity, I gave her one last piece of advice.
“Miss Caulfield. If you keep this up, you’re going to suffer Qi Deviation. You’ll cough up ten liters of blood and collapse. Within a year.”
“…….”
That wasn’t a threat.
Not advice. Not a warning.
It was a certainty.
Mari Caulfield…
The genius of the noble Caulfield family.
A stone in Han Taepyeong’s path.
Notable detail:
Disappeared near the end of first year.
Before now, I didn’t know why she vanished.
But now—
I did.
In a year’s time.
That insane level of drug doping—Would completely destroy her.
The Next Day.
I felt so restless that I wasn’t even sure how I managed to sleep.
“There’s no way I couldn’t sleep because of Marie Caulfield. Right?”
I asked my room partner.
[Lucy… Snore snore!]
[Lucy… Deep sleep!]
My partner was completely off-topic!
It seemed like they had a lot to say, but maybe they needed to grow a bit more before they could talk properly.
“As long as you slept well….”
I threw on some clothes and headed to Classroom 1-A, yawning widely.
The Superhuman Academy was made up of thirteen departments, but that didn’t mean much for first-year cadets.
The first-year curriculum consisted mostly of required general education courses, helping cadets build a solid foundation.
A solid foundation!
For example…
Theory classes!
“It’s an honour to be teaching your first class at the Superhuman Academy.”
The much-anticipated first period.
The first theory class.
Professor Wrangler, standing on the podium, introduced himself.
“I am Wrangler. My primary field of research is Kaiju Extermination Metrics.”
Professor Wrangler was a renowned scholar, famous for his ground breaking theories and experiments.
The kind of academic who operated on a global scale.
Not many institutions could claim a professor of his caliber.
That was the prestige of the Superhuman Academy.
“Enough about me… Today’s methodology is F-COM. Let’s get right into it, shall we?”
But for the cadets, it was nothing short of a nightmare.
His teaching methods were notoriously brutal.
You think theory lessons can’t be harsh?
“Of course, no one here is new to F-COM, right? You’re all elites. Let’s skip the explanations and jump straight into practical application.”
Ahhh.
The cadets let out groans.
They were already getting dizzy from the professor’s pace.
“Hehehe. I like this!”
While everyone else was groaning, the person sitting next to me was grinning confidently.
I turned to see who it was.
“Uhh….”
A sigh escaped me.
It was Yoo Eunha.
Yoo Eunha, feeling confident in a theory class?
That was an extremely rare sight…
Grinning from ear to ear, Yoo Eunha turned to me.
“Oh! You! You’re the one who woke me up yesterday!”
“Kim Seungtae.”
“You’re Kim Pirate, right?”
“Yoo Eunha. Are your ears bad?”
“No, it’s just that your weapon… Everyone was saying it’s an old relic that only pirates would use!”
Pwahaha~
Yoo Eunha burst into cheerful laughter.
Meanwhile, Lucy—who had just been labeled as ‘that kind of thing’—
[Lucy… Likes pirates!]
[Lucy… Arrr!]
Surprisingly, she seemed to like it!
Well, ghosts and pirates do have some similarities.
[Lucy… Ghost pirate!]
[Lucy… Plunder! Arson!]
Anyway.
Yoo Eunha’s major was in the Healing Department, meaning she was a healer.
No matter the era, professions that saved lives always required extensive study.
Healers were no exception.
They needed to master a wide array of healing theories, and since medical techniques were constantly evolving, their studies never really ended.
But, as always, there were exceptions!
Somewhere out there, there were monks who slacked on their Buddhist studies.
There were nuns who preferred bowling over prayers.
Similarly, not all healers were bookworms.
Yoo Eunha, for example, was one of those.
Despite being at the top of the Healing Department, she was terrible at theory classes.
“Heh! F-COM is no problem for me!”
And yet, here she was, bursting with confidence in a theory class.
Did her entire character setting change overnight?
Well, I’d find out soon enough.
[F-COM is starting.]
The devices attached to our desks activated, and holograms appeared before each cadet.
The holograms projected various battlefields—glacier zones, jungles, deserts, and more.
The cadets scanned their assigned fields.
Some were easier, some were more challenging.
My field was an underground ruin, crawling with goblins the size of my pinky finger.
Goblins in underground ruins, huh….
A moderate difficulty level.
Pop!
Tiny soldiers appeared in my hands, about the size of my thumb.
The objective of the F-COM course was simple.
Use these tiny soldiers strategically to defeat the monsters!
It was essentially a turn-based strategy game.
[Level #1]
[A goblin squad has taken position in the Underground Ruins. Retake the facility.]
A class that feels like a game?
If you think it sounds fun, you’re mistaken.
F-COM was a notoriously difficult subject.
And Professor Wrangler?
He was the worst of them all.
Cadets familiar with F-COM were already frowning.
“Professor? There are way too many soldiers.”
“If we just throw them all in, there’s no need for strategy at all….”
Half right.
Sure, deploying all units at once would clear this mission easily….
Wrangler smirked.
“Ah, I should’ve clarified. You have to use these same soldiers to complete all the levels.”
“All… the levels?”
“There are five levels in total. Naturally, the difficulty will increase.”
“Huh? Then how do we recover health and mana for our heroes?”
“You don’t.”
“……!”
“This is a continuous deployment scenario. Managing your units wisely is the key to success.”
“…Professor. Isn’t that a bit too difficult?”
“I don’t have high expectations for you all anyway.”
The cadets stared at Wrangler in shock.
“I don’t expect you to succeed! Even seasoned strategists would struggle with this. But if, by some miracle, someone clears all five problems….”
Wrangler paused for a moment, deep in thought.
“Screw it. I’ll personally give them an A grade. Show me your creativity and tactical genius.”
Rustle—
The atmosphere in the lecture hall shifted.
Everyone fell silent, their focus locked on the F-COM simulation.
I clicked my tongue.
Wrangler wasn’t here to build his career.
Everyone would figure that out soon enough.
[Lucy… Bored!]
[Lucy… Hates studying!]
Agreed.
But sleeping through this wasn’t an option.
I picked up one of my tiny soldiers.
I didn’t care about an A grade—I just needed to kill time.
…Forty minutes later.
“Aaargh! Restart!”
“Me too… Restart!”
Shouts of frustration erupted all around.
If your unit management failed, you had no choice but to restart from Level #1.
But if you went back to Level #1….
“Aaaargh! The Level changed?!”
Of course, it did.
Do you know who designed this system?
Groans and cries filled the air.
Wrangler, completely unbothered, enjoyed his book as their suffering played out like background music.
“He’s living the dream.”
I was sure of it.
That bastard came to the Superhuman Academy just to torment cadets.
Meanwhile.
My F-COM units were diligently navigating the simulation battlefield.
I had already reached Level #4.
The field was a scorching jungle.
My tiny troops cautiously advanced, preparing to take on the boss, King Da Kong.
“Hruaaaah!!!!”
A sudden roar startled me out of my simulation.
What the hell?
Did King Da Kong just appear in real life?
No.
It wasn’t King Da Kong.
Yoo Eunha had her face buried in her desk.
“Huwaaaah!”
Thud! Thud!
She let out a beastly cry and slammed her desk repeatedly.
I already knew what happened.
Sure enough… Yoo Eunha’s tiny soldiers lay sprawled out like this (x_x).
[Level #4]
[Boss Desert Cobra: Remaining HP – 2]
“No way! I missed?! This subject is garbage!”
Thud, thud!
She continued her furious desk-pounding.
I’d been there before.
I lost count of how many keyboards I’d destroyed playing F-COM minigames.
With only 2 HP left, the boss was so close to being defeated… But F-COM was just that kind of subject.
You had to watch your so-called elite soldiers miss their attacks on enemies standing right in front of them.
It was less about tactics and more about sheer faith.
“Waaah-!”
As Yoo Eunha lay there sobbing.
Above her head.
The victorious Desert Cobra danced triumphantly.
Ssssshhhaaak~
At the same time, my units finally encountered King Da Kong.
(To be continued in the next chapter.)
