Chapter 32
After a quick lunch, we headed toward Hangang Park as Yoo Min-ha had hoped.
Many people came out for walks or bike rides in the cooler weather than expected.
"Ah, I need to breathe this kind of air."
Kang Si-yoon expressed regret while touching his mask.
You may want to feel the refreshing breeze with your bare face, but wearing a mask is mandatory in crowded places.
"There's an empty court over there!"
Yoo Min-ha took out a basketball from his bag and shouted loudly over his shoulder.
I felt a surge of excitement throughout his body, like a puppy excited to go for a walk.
I followed him with quick steps and snickered.
'If he had a tail, it would move like crazy.'
As I stepped onto the green clay court, I felt an inexplicable sense of awkwardness.
When on earth did I last set foot on ground made of this material?
'For the past ten years, my feet have always been on the carpets of a palace, the sand of a training ground, or the wet dirt of a battlefield.'
Memories of my experiences in
I felt like fragments of images were stabbing into my mind sharply, like shards of glass.
I was struck by the sudden shock and held my head in my hands.
'What? Why am I suddenly like this?'
I could always recall old memories clearly.
But not all images were transmitted to the central nervous system as vividly as they are now.
The enemies I had slain, the monsters I had repelled, the moments of victory I had achieved with the body of Karis von Walden.
So many memories flooded my consciousness at once.
"Ugh."
My legs started to wobble as my head went blank for a moment.
Luckily, there was a bench right next to me so I could avoid the unsightly sight.
I couldn't escape the sight of Kang Si-yoon, who was following me from behind.
"What's wrong, Karis? Are you okay? Why are you like this all of a sudden?"
"Whew... It's okay. I just misstepped for a moment."
"Really? Are you sure it's okay?"
"It's okay. You worry too much."
After taking a few deep breaths, the sudden pain gradually subsided.
I waved my hand at Kang Si-yoon with a faint smile.
"Warm up first. If you move your muscles without doing a proper warm-up, it can lead to injury. Our bodies are our life, so we absolutely must not get hurt."
"Okay, I understand. You should check if your ankle is okay and come slowly."
"I'll do that."
I tilted my head back as I watched Kang Si-yoon walk towards the court.
First, we need to sort out the situation.
'I've recalled old memories hundreds, if not thousands of times already. So why is this suddenly happening?'
In particular, if past memories are flashbacked in this way, it is only natural that there should be scenes from the days as an idol trainee.
But just now, all I could see was the
At that moment, I was turning my head quickly.
My status window appeared in front of my eyes without me even giving it a command.
'What is this all of a sudden?'
I checked all the sub-grades in case the stats had changed, but they were all the same.
I was about to close the status window, thinking it was just a simple error, when I saw something blinking below.
[Status Abnormality: Otherworldly Being (Possessed Person) - Activation]
A status abnormality that had never been activated before was blinking.
I stared blankly at the words 'Existence from another world'.
'I thought it was simply a modifier created by borrowing the body of a character in
When I looked at the status windows of other trainees, they all had at least one abnormal status.
And when faced with a certain moment, the status abnormality would blink and an indication would appear that it was activated.
A representative example is the 'Atrophy' that occurred during Kang Si-yoon's level test stage.
However, 'Atrophy' even showed a detailed explanation of what kind of debuff it had.
On the other hand, no matter how I look at it, there is no further explanation for my abnormal condition of 'existence from another world'.
[Possessor-nim, it's been a while. I'll give you a brief explanation of the activated status abnormality, 'Existence from another world.']
At that moment, the system generated a message as if it had read my thoughts.
It was a familiar situation, but what was different this time was that the system window was a blood-red color instead of the usual gold.
[Currently, possessor-nim is 100% synchronized with 'Karis von Walden'. That means you can use all of your physical functions. However, this is not limited to just physical body.]
'...no way.'
[Yes. The possessor-nim can use the mind of 'Karis von Walden' in addition to the body. However, since 'Han Ji-hyeok' possessed this body, the mind of 'Karis von Walden' is forcibly sealed. This state is usually maintained, but in sudden cases, the spirit of the crown prince can awaken for a moment and exert influence.]
Memories of
Was it the aftereffects of an abnormal condition that my memory was restored to the point of giving me a headache?
[When the Crown Prince's mind awakens, the abnormal status 'Existence from Another World' will naturally activate. Due to this abnormal status, possessor-nim may experience side effects such as momentary memory overload, inability to control oneself, and the display of the Crown Prince's traits.]
'How do I disable status abnormalities?'
[It's simple. It's what the spirit of 'Karis von Walden' unconsciously pursues. If you satisfy that sudden desire, the status abnormality will be deactivated.]
With those words, a quest window was created.
[Emergent Mission: There is no defeat on the path of the Crown Prince. Show an 'overwhelming' victory that lives up to reputation right now. (Format irrelevant, time limit 60 minutes)]
The red letters that reminded me of blood were a little uncomfortable.
I read the urgent mission twice and gritted my teeth.
Overwhelming victory. Where on earth is that overwhelming victory now?
'Ah.'
Just then I heard a voice calling my name.
"Karis! Come quickly! We've loosened up our bodies!"
"Come quickly and let's split up into teams!"
An overwhelming victory regardless of format.
The perfect stage to meet those conditions was right before my eyes.
I stood up from my seat, pushing the system window aside.
"Let's go right now."
* * *
Yoo Minha, who had finished stretching, was already practicing shooting.
Heo Yu-bin, who was completely unfamiliar with such outdoor activities, just kept waving his arms, and Kang Si-yoon was secretly taking pictures of him while making a joke.
As I stepped onto the court with light footwork, Yoo Minha immediately threw a pass with his eyes sparkling.
It was a sudden pass, but I simply reached out with one hand and caught the ball―.
'huh?'
I instinctively reached out and the basketball naturally landed there.
Yoo Minha, who saw that sight, applauded enthusiastically.
"Karis nim, aren't you really good at sports? It's no ordinary thing to catch a basketball with one hand!"
"Ha, haha.... My hand went there without me knowing."
"I can't even dream of that because my palms are small. I'm jealous!"
I turned my shoulder a few times as I passed the ball back to Yoo Minha.
I started to feel the same way I did when I took off my name tag.
'As expected, Karis von Walden's body is specialized for games and sports that involve exertion.'
Having spent years on the battlefield where life and death were at stake, these instantaneous reflexes are a given.
And the person who moved the crown prince's body for 10 years was me, so my skill level goes without saying.
"I have a suggestion!"
Before the game started in earnest, Yoo Minha raised his hand and shouted.
"Please give me a chance to redeem myself from my loss last time!"
"huh?"
"I got crushed by Siyoon hyung in the name tag tearing contest, right? I think I absolutely have to overcome the bitterness of defeat! I'm more confident in basketball than in other sports, so I'll definitely win and get revenge."
"You still have that in mind?"
Kang Si-yoon smiled leisurely, wrapping his arms around his shoulders.
"I played basketball in school too. Is that okay?"
"I also played basketball whenever I had time! I always had moments like this while watching my favorite cartoons!"
"Then, to match the number of people, let's go for a 2-on-2 battle. What do you think, Karis?"
"I do not care."
So the 2-on-2 match was set up.
Yoo Min-ha and I are on the same team. Kang Si-yoon and Heo Yu-bin are on the same team.
"Okay, Yubin. When the ball comes like this, just catch it. Okay?"
"Okay, I'm not sure, but I'll give it a try!"
"The ball should always be dribbled on the ground. And the pass should also be like this...."
While Heo Yu-bin was taking class, Yoo Min-ha and I warmed up our bodies by lightly shaking our wrists.
"Karis nim, you know the rules, right?"
"I remember everything."
"Since Karis nim is tall and physically strong, I think you should go under the post and focus on rebounding. I'll try to find an opening on the outside and pass to Karis nim or try to shoot!"
"Min-ha, you can do whatever you want, just don't get hurt."
"I'm so excited right now! I can finally play basketball with my friends!"
Kang Si-yoon won the game of rock-paper-scissors with the right to go first.
"Then shall we go right away?"
Kang Si-yoon, who was dribbling the ball at the half-line and waiting for an opportunity, lowered his body in an instant and attempted a breakthrough.
He gave the impression that he was going to make a layup with quick steps, but he soon broke and leaned back.
"It's a fade away!"
Yoo Minha, who missed the marking, shouted urgently.
Kang Si-yoon, who created an open chance, took the shot with a relaxed smile.
A situation where anyone can see that a score is certain.
'Well, I guess this is enough.'
After calculating the distance, I kicked the ground with all my might.
The strength in my knees lifted my body upward.
Thr long outstretched right arm accurately blocked Kang Si-yoon's shot.
Bang-!
The basketball I kicked hit the court floor hard.
A loud noise echoed through the deserted court where only we were present.
"...."
"...."
"Karis nim, your jumping ability is amazing!"
Kang Si-yoon and Heo Yu-bin looked at the spot where the basketball fell with eyes that seemed to have no idea what had happened.
Only Yoo Min-ha, who was sure that we had scored, gave a thumbs up.
I retrieved the ball and passed it to Kang Si-yoon.
"Should I continue?"
"Uh, uh. Hey, you were kind of cool just now?"
"I appreciate the compliment."
"Take it easy."
"I don't think that'll work given the circumstances."
Kang Si-yoon connected with the following attack with an outside shot, but it was a little too strong.
The ball that hit the backboard and fell coincidentally went towards where Heo Yu-bin was standing.
"Yubin! Grab the ball and come here straight away!"
"Well, we can't leave it like that."
This time again, my body moved instinctively.
I jumped onto Heo Yu-bin with smooth movements like a mollusk.
Even though I clearly jumped later than Heo Yu-bin, I had no trouble catching the rebound.
No, rather, there is some room left.
As my elbow rose well above his head, Heo Yu-bin muttered in a bewildered tone.
"Ho, how do I stop this?"
I landed lightly on the ground and scored a goal with one hand without using any strength.
I gave a thumbs up to Yoo Minha, who was watching all this from the 3-point line, and got a broken reaction in return.
"Wow, awesome. Karis nim, how many years have you been playing basketball?"
"It's been a while since I last ran. Maybe that's why my body isn't feeling well."
"I've only seen jumps like this in comics. Isn't this something that actually came out of a comic?"
"Unfortunately, that's not the case."
It's not a cartoon, it's a game.
Kang Si-yoon, who picked up the ball, had a soulless expression on his face.
"You didn't hear me tell you to take it easy, did you?"
"No, I heard it fine."
"But why on earth do you do this!"
I still smiled as I glanced at the [Emergent Mission] generated in the system window.
A hot heat was slowly rising inside my body.
"Because we need an overwhelming victory."
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