“Feels like I’m gonna die….”
I staggered off the bus.
Thanks to today’s hellish training, my body was in shambles, but I still managed to drag myself outside the Superhuman Academy.
The first main episode would begin soon.
I came here for a preliminary survey of the battlefield. Just in case any changes had occurred.
“Those punks, Yoo Eunha and Han Taepyeong… making me train until 10 PM….”
Honestly, I partly ran away because I was sick of it. Either way, it had been a while since I stepped outside the Academy.
Towering buildings and bright city lights welcomed me.
The Superhuman Academy wasn’t just the world’s top training institution—it was also a research center.
And as such, it had developed an extensive network of supporting infrastructure.
Like Silicon Valley in the U.S.
Stanford University grew and expanded, eventually giving rise to Silicon Valley.
Landmarks attract people. When people gather, infrastructure follows.
That infrastructure, in turn, draws in even more high-level talent.
The cycle repeats infinitely.
When enough human and material resources stack up like a Jenga tower, a city is born.
A city that operates with a singular, specialized purpose.
[Lucy… doesn’t know Silicon Valley!]
[Lucy… curious!]
“I don’t really know either… I mean, it’s called Silicon Valley, so… do they make silicon there?”
No idea….
Probably not. But Lucy had already decided to believe it wholeheartedly.
“Hm.”
I might not know what Silicon Valley’s purpose is, but this city, centered around the Superhuman Academy—this massive artificial island, Alpha Nest—its purpose was clear.
Superhuman research and talent development.
Just hearing the explanation makes it sound like the safest place in the world, but that won’t last.
As the game progresses, different training institutions will start clashing, factions will intervene….
“Just thinking about it gives me a headache.”
Alpha Nest would become a powder barrel.
And the first spark to set it off would be the first main episode—The Hope and Grace Church Incident.
The events that would unfold were as follows:
A peaceful weekend. A large-scale kidnapping.
Terrorists would seize the church and take hostages.
It’s a classic yet reckless move. Something that blatant is practically suicide.
But….
The masterminds behind this attack don’t just disregard other people’s lives—they don’t value their own, either.
To them, death is just another career step.
I climbed a hill and read the sign.
<Welcome to Hope and Grace Church>
Because they’re fanatics.
“This place is massive.”
The church was enormous.
The dazzling LED cross on the roof flashed brightly—so bright that heaven itself might notice.
[Lucy… eyes hurt!]
[Lucy… dizzy!]
The parking lot was packed with luxury cars.
Hope and Grace Church was thriving.
Thanks to the brilliance of its priest.
Father Johan.
A genius who built Hope and Grace Church into what it is today.
But being a priest was just a cover. Johan was a fanatic from a secret religious cult.
The illegal sect—Demonic Heaven Church.
A name like that doesn’t exactly scream peace and charity, does it?
[Lucy… hates Demonic Heaven Church!]
Even an evil spirit shudders at the thought.
Demonic Heaven Church. Or simply, Heaven Church.
A cult centered around its leader—where followers obey without question.
If their leader were to proclaim, “Erupt every volcano on Earth,”
They wouldn’t debate feasibility or logic. They’d simply try.
Because they’re fanatics!
Fifty years ago,
When the leader of Demonic Heaven Church declared a ‘holy war’ on the world,
The cult actually fought against the entire world.
Because their leader told them to.
“And they got utterly annihilated.”
What an extraordinary leader. What extraordinary followers.
This cult will keep haunting Han Taepyeong well into the late game.
The real problem is….
Demonic Heaven Church isn’t the only group like this.
There’s the secret order of intellectual supremacists, <Knights of Malta>.
The <Evolution Society>, which aims to forcibly accelerate human evolution.
<PepsiCoca>, which does anything as long as it pays.
And let’s not forget the <Devil Contractors> or the violence-worshipping cults.
There’s no shortage of lunatics.
No wonder Han Taepyeong keeps collapsing from exhaustion.
“There are way too many villains.”
[Lucy… is an evil spirit!]
[Lucy… is the hidden final boss!]
The church doors were open, so I stepped inside and circled the hallway.
“This is where the first wave of terrorists will be stopped.”
I scanned the layout with my eyes.
Then, I’d move over there….
Johan had been preparing for this kidnapping for a long time.
He carefully selected sacrifices for his leader.
Personally handpicked the terrorists.
And on the day of the incident,
Johan would wear the mask of a devoted priest, comforting the congregation.
Telling them not to resist, that help would arrive soon.
The classic ‘internal collaborator’ scenario.
Well, everyone has a plan—until they meet Han Taepyeong.
“How can I help you?”
I was checking the corridor’s dimensions when a graceful nun approached. Someone I didn’t recognize.
I pulled out a prepared excuse.
“Oh, hello. I’m just Seungtae Kim. The paintings looked amazing, so I was admiring them.”
This church was rich. The hallway was lined with massive oil paintings.
“My, you have a keen eye.”
The nun smiled.
Even her habit couldn’t fully hide her fatal charm. Of course, charm wasn’t the only thing she failed to conceal.
There was also an aura—
A venomous, snake-like presence.
A green aura reminiscent of lethal poison.
“Is the church closed? Am I intruding? Should I leave?”
“Not at all. Feel free to look around as much as you’d like.”
She subtly blocked my way.
Standing beside me, gazing at the paintings.
But that aura….
That sickening, deadly aura slowly coiled around me.
This was—
I might not make it out alive.
[Your understanding of the opponent is low.]
[The opponent is skilled at concealing their identity.]
[Information readable with <Necromancer’s Eye> is significantly reduced.]
I controlled my spirit energy. Not to prepare for battle, but to disguise myself.
If I suppressed my energy, I was no different from an ordinary civilian.
“Sister, how much do these go for? Maybe… five hundred? Haha, just guessing.”
“Oh, no. Not five hundred billion.”
“…Excuse me?”
“This oil painting is….”
She dropped an utterly ridiculous price. My eyes nearly popped out.
[Lucy… shocked!]
“All that for a few brushstrokes? Is this a money glitch?”
“Hoho… The Grace Hope Church gallery is quite famous. You didn’t know?”
“…Oh. I see? That’s… amazing. Hope and Grace Church, huh. But, uh, I’m an outsider. Is it really okay for me to hang around? Should I leave?”
“Hoho, you’ve been fidgeting for a while now.”
She slowly, smoothly drew closer.
“Do you have an appointment somewhere?”
I hesitated.
Analyze her intent. If this were a game….
[1. Yes, I do!]
[2. No, I don’t.]
I’d be choosing between these. My decision—
“No, I don’t.”
“Oh… Then….”
The venomous aura receded.
The nun silently drifted away, as if she wasn’t even walking.
“Take your time looking around. A nun with poor conversational skills will disappear now. Hoho….”
And she vanished beyond the wall.
I think I made the right choice.
If I had hesitated or tried to bluff—
Things might have gone much worse.
“A single wrong choice and instant death….”
So it really is catastrophe difficulty.
“Wow, that was… educational.”
I recited a textbook passage in monotone as I exited the church.
From beyond the walls, that green aura was still watching me, unblinking.
“…Phew.”
Like a frog that just barely escaped a snake’s jaws.
I replayed the conversation in my head.
‘The Grace Hope Church gallery is quite famous. You didn’t know?’
Of course I didn’t.
Because the LED cross above me clearly read:
<Welcome to Hope and Grace Church>
Would a nun forget the name of her own church?
“So this really is catastrophe difficulty, huh?”
A nun I’ve never seen before.
But she doesn’t seem to be on the same side as Johan. She’s too reckless.
If she were one of Johan’s subordinates, she would have kept a low profile until the day of the kidnapping.
Then what is her identity?
There’s a saying that the enemy of my enemy is my friend, but in reality, it usually just results in a three-way battle.
“Dizzying.”
Coming for a preliminary visit was worth it.
Something has changed. Something feels off.
The next day.
Morning.
“Uuuggghh….”
A zombie-like groan escaped my lips. It was my first time experiencing such extreme muscle pain.
“Oh, right….”
I mustn’t forget the item for Marie Caulfield.
I grabbed the ‘cure-all’ that had been delivered and carefully removed the label from the bottle.
[Ranked #1 in U.S. Consumer Index for 15 Years!]
[Stay Healthy with Just One Pill a Day!]
[Approved by the U.S. FDA!]
[Comprehensive Vitamin 500]
I made sure to peel it off completely—getting caught was not an option. Then, I sent Marie Caulfield a message.
- If you want to get rid of your headache, follow these instructions.
- Bring all of your Seraphim Zepham.
- The meeting place and time are….
After sending the message, I realized it sounded like a kidnapper’s threat.
After some thought, I added a sticker of a bear tossing dollar bills.
The bear threw wads of cash everywhere.
Hmm.
“…I regret that.”
After first period.
A quiet corner of the campus.
“F*ck, I must be crazy….”
Marie Caulfield chewed on her nails as she reread the message.
(A bear tossing dollar bills)
The smug-looking bear made her blood pressure spike. She lit a cigarette.
Nicotine coursed through her veins, easing her headache.
Clatter.
The pill bottle of Seraphimzepam in her hand rattled.
I actually brought it.
I really must be insane….
I’ll know after a conversation.
They’re probably just another quack.
All those pretentious frauds who just spewed complicated words.
Marie Caulfield clenched her cigarette between her teeth.
“Hey…. Why are you smoking a cigarette?”
Kim Seungtae—or was it Sungtae?—appeared.
He looked noticeably older overnight. His limbs trembled slightly, and he seemed exhausted. Did he overexert himself yesterday?
“Ugh… Caulfield. My body’s a mess. Can’t you spare me a cigarette?”
“No.”
“…….”
Kim Seung-whatever glared at her and pulled something from his coat.
Another pill bottle.
“Hah.”
So much for a ‘solution.’
He talked so confidently, but in the end, it’s just medicine. Figures.
Still, medicine is familiar. It’s comfortable. It’s something I like.
“Give it here. Let me see where it’s from.”
“Uh….”
Kim hesitated briefly.
“It’s from far away. I got it from a distant place.”
“Where exactly? What kind of medicine is it?”
“It’s a secret. Just know that it’s not from here.”
From overseas?
Considering that ginseng infused with magical energy has proven effects, most top-tier elixirs are Korean-made.
That’s unusual. Did he actually prepare properly?
Does his exhausted state have something to do with its origin? Did he go on some midnight smuggling run?
She was a little curious.
“Anyway, Caulfield. Did you bring the Seraphim Zepham?”
“What, did I leave it in storage or something?”
“So that’s a yes? Good. Among the meds you take, that one’s the biggest issue.”
“This is an insanely expensive drug.”
She didn’t like this.
This was the only thing that seemed to work.
“Caulfield. Expensive doesn’t mean good. A jet engine on a shark just makes the problem worse.”
“What the hell are you saying?”
“Give me the Seraphim Zepham. From today, replace it with this.”
Kim held out the new pill bottle.
Marie hesitated before handing over the Seraphim Zepham.
“Sorry, but I actually like this drug. It’s the only one that seems to work.”
“Wrong. That’s just a placebo effect~ The shark with the jet engine might be having a blast, but for the beachgoers, it’s just a disaster! By the way, in this metaphor, the beachgoers represent your brain cells—”
Blah, blah.
Kim wouldn’t stop talking.
“Enough nonsense. Do you even know how much this costs?”
“Yeah. It’s an elixir you can’t even buy with money. But listen. How did you feel after eating that seaweed strand yesterday?”
…That damn seaweed strand.
Marie spat out her cigarette.
She didn’t want to admit it.
It was probably just her imagination.
But her headache had eased.
Like a tank had been lifted off her head.
Even that small relief was enough to make her happy.
“Alright. From today, you’re quitting Seraphim Zepham.”
Kim Seungtae held out the unknown overseas drug.
For real, this was the last time.
Marie decided to let herself get scammed.
I stared at the pill bottle.
Seraphim Zepham.
I did it. I swapped vitamins for Seraphim Zepham. Even turning stone into gold wouldn’t be this efficient.
[Lucy… learned!]
[Lucy… will start a multi-level ghost company!]
“Receiving high praise from a ghost….”
Should I be ashamed as a human? Maybe.
But the deal itself was a win-win.
Stopping Seraphimzepam—1 stack of healing.
Adding vitamins—2 stacks of healing.
With her body’s extreme nutritional imbalance, the vitamins would restore her properly.
“Remove the poison, add the medicine.”
One step at a time.
And since she seemed dependent on Seraphim Zepham, I’d keep it under my care.
“I’ve become the most expensive doctor in the world…. Not that I’d ever take this myself….”
Could I sell it on the second-hand market?
I limped toward the lecture hall, still sore from muscle pain.
“Ugh… why is the campus so huge?”
This superhuman academy’s building is just too big.
I crawled to the front door and opened it.
“-So, answer this question.”
The professor, who had been writing on the board, set down the chalk. His feathers were covered in chalk dust.
Feathers.
I wasn’t seeing things.
This professor was a crow beastkin and one of the academy’s leading figures… but I couldn’t remember his name.
Anyway, the crow professor flapped his wings, scattering chalk dust, and repeated himself.
“Answer. Can you?”
“Me?”
“Correct! Since you boldly entered the front door just three minutes into class.”
Hundreds of cadets from Class 1-A turned to stare at me. Their gazes burned.
[Lucy… haha….]
[Lucy… embarrassed!]
Uh…
By the way, when did class even start?
Asking that would probably get me killed.
I glanced at the blackboard, but I had no clue what the topic was.
Even as a veteran of Superhuman Chronicles, I had no idea about The Three Factors of Monster Breeding in the Mongolian Region.
I had visited Mongolia countless times in the Wrangler Lab arc, but I never bothered memorizing academic details.
Who needs breeding factors when you just need to hunt?
“Ah! You don’t know?”
The predatory gaze of a crow!
The professor wasn’t as much of a menace as Wrangler, but he was known for being strict.
At this rate… extra lessons…
Screw it.
I discreetly swallowed a Seraphim Zepham.
The drug coursed through my body.
(To be continued)
