A/N: Credit to Tofu for naming the chapter
— — — — — — — — — —
Heo Soomin stepped in as the glass doors slid close.
"Sis! You're here!" Hu Jung-Lee jumped out of her chair in excitement, waving her arms like a child.
Heo Soomin and Hu Jung-Lee were sisters. Because of a divorce between the family, their mother changed Heo Soomin's family name. Although the distance between the family grew apart, Heo Soomin and Hu Jung-Lee stayed in touch secretly.
"Principal, please remember your dignity." Son Tae asked sternly, sitting next to her.
Hu Jung-Lee pouted. After she drank the elixir from the Elvin Tree, Hu Jung-Lee acted more and more childish.
"Sis! I'm going to send you to investigate A Chul and Nam Kyung!" Hu Jung-Lee pointed at Heo Soomin while standing in a chair. She took every chance to remind her sister who the second strongest Skilled in the nation was.
Heo Soomin instantly understood why she was asked to investigate Nam Kyung: His un-rankable Skill. After all, many Demon Worshippers have un-rankable Skills, and there was no way of revealing their skill even after years of research. However, investigating A Chul was a mystery to her. The biggest question surrounding him was the fact that he was in her class. After all, every other student in her class has at least a Skill ranked C or higher.
"Principal. We should explain the situation first." Son Tae suggested.
"You're right," Hu Jung-Lee agreed, taking a deep breath. The way Hu Jung-Lee looked trying to calm herself down made Heo Soomin want to hug her, but unfortunately, she had to resist.
"You said something about A Chul? That student in my class?" Heo Soomin asked, wondering if A Chul being in her class had something to do with her sister's influence.
"Yes. He was the one who killed the Demon Worshipper." Hu Jung-Lee nodded.
Heo Soomin was astounded. How could a student with only above average writing and one of the worst scores on fighting on the entrance exam accomplish something even someone with a rank A Skills couldn't?
Most of the Demon Worshippers are low-ranked, but locating them is extremely difficult. After years of experiments and research, the best scientists have found no way of differentiating between a Demon Worshipper and a normal human being. The fact that all Demon Worshippers were once human beings only makes the task harder.
"Didn't A Chul have an F-rank Appraisal Skill?" Heo Soomin wanted to confirm to make sure her sister wasn't making any mistakes, "Although Appraisal is rare and powerful at higher ranks, F-rank Appraisal Skill only reveals the name of the object! It's only useful as an identifier Skill!"
"After questioning several bystanders where the Demon Worshippers and A Chul first met on the bus, we received valuable information: The Demon Worshipper's family name was 'Park', and he was 64 years old. The passengers on the bus overheard both of these pieces of information."
Before Heo Soomin could ask how anyone found that out, Hu Jung-Lee continued, "Both of those pieces of information were revealed by A Chul. I suspect that A Chul possesses an artifact that's at least S-ranked that improves the rank of his Appraisal."
"S-rank Artifact? They're worth as much as a large company! Wasn't A Chul an orphan?"
Although Appraisal is an invaluable Skill, ranks two and three of Appraisal can tell the species. They were the only Skills that could reveal Demon Worshippers, so an Artifact that can improve the Appraisal Skill was labeled as a mid-S-rank Artifact.
So how could a student that hadn't reached adulthood own an S-rank Artifact? Even in the whole TREE academy, there are only seven. How can an orphan with nothing own that rare item?
The more Heo Soomin thought about A Chul, the more she understood why they needed to investigate the boy.
He was too suspicious! What if A Chul pretends to be on the side of justice, and had malicious plans against TREE-
"The boy is too kind!" Hu Jung-Lee interrupted Heo Soomin's train of thought.
Too kind? Does that mean there are no ulterior motives?
Heo Soomin was stunned. She turned her head towards Son Tae, who nodded in agreement.
Why did he agree with Hu Jung-Lee?
Heo Soomin wasn't able to wrap her head around this situation.
If both Hu Jung-Lee and Son Tae support A Chul, what did they expect to find out from the investigation? Who was this kid with the mysterious power, and what is his ultimate goal?
• • • • • • • • • •
"Achoo!" I sneezed. Was the room too cold?
I can't believe I said my new name out loud. It felt like I'm bullying myself. I was so used to the name that I instinctively turned my head when an instructor called me over to confirm my weapon choice.
What's up with him anyway? He looked at me with unconcealed disgust.
"Hey! F-rank!" Has someone started to pick on people? Didn't Son Tae say not to judge people by their ranks? Based on what I know about Son Tae, he'll probably kill the person who violated his rules.
When Son Tae comes back, there's going to be a huge scene. I wish I had chips or popcorn. Does time in the Shadow Inventory freeze? I want to store food.
[Ding! Time in the Shadow Inventory is three times slower.]
That's unfortunate. At least the snacks would last longer.
"Hey! You!"
Someone tapped my shoulder. I turned around. A boy who was a head taller than me stared down menacingly with a giant sword around his waist. A visible red B was on his badge. There was nothing else about him that made him stand out other than his size, arrogance and ignorance, and the idiotic look in his eyes that will get him killed someday.
"I'm talking to you!"
Where have I heard this line before?
"How dare an F-rank like you ignore me!"
Isn't that the cliché where a bully picks on a person weaker than them, then the Hero comes and stops the fight? But why is he approaching me?
"What? Are you mute? I can't hear you!" He yelled in my face. I was more worried about him accidentally spitting on me.
Ah- who's he?
[Appraisal: Ja Chungho, 17 years old Human. Title: (none)]
I realized a problem with Rosetta's Gift. It automatically translated everything into English for me.
Chungho means "a metal weapon". It suited this muscle head almost too well.
Since he's made out of metal, he must be hard to break.
After thinking for a few seconds, I decided to give him a title.
[Ding! What's the Host's suggestion?]
'Cockroach.'
Out of all the people, he chose to pick on me. To make it worse, wasn't he in my class?
Yes, I'm holding a grudge; a cancer to society, a pest that calls garbage its home, and the embodiment of "a thing that shouldn't exist but still do". I feel like the title suits him well.
[Ding! Title approved.]
I immediately reused Appraisal.
[Appraisal: Ja Chungho, 17 years old Human. Title: Cockroach]
I felt immensely satisfied.
"W- Why are you smiling?" Ja Chungho asked.
Am I smiling? What if I am? Why did he stutter?
Maybe he wasn't used to his intimidation tactics not working.
[Ding! Ja Chungho wondered if the Host was crazy.]
Am I crazy? He's the crazy one! Who causes trouble on the first day? Does he have a death wish?
[Ding! Is the Host not crazy?]
What do you mean, "am I not crazy?" I'm a normal civilized human being with a college degree and almost had my first full-time job! I'm not crazy!
[Ding! The Host died six times without losing his sanity.]
...
Maybe I'm a little crazy.
With the Skill Immortality, I'm more afraid of pain than death.
[Ding! The Host was never afraid of dying in the world of Numen in the first pla-]
Shut up!
Although, having pain increase after every time I die is indeed concerning. I hope the limit max out at 100%.
[Ding! Pain increase does not have a limit. Morte, the Goddess of Death, encourages the Host to die less. She said reviving the Host every single time is troublesome.]
Then don't revive me in the first place!
"-ey! Are you listening to me?" I forgot the cockroach still existed.
Ja Chungho raised his hand up high.
What is he doing? Is he asking a question?
His hands were big. Big tough slabs of meat. Big tough slabs of meat that are currently flying toward my face.
Here we go again…