Chapter 44 – Ragebaiting

Late Tuesday evening.

Kim Hajin let out a sigh as he sat down in his dorm room, feeling stuffed to the brim after being force-fed all sorts of things from Yeonha and Nayun.

...Well, it was actually just Yeonha.

Nayun just pretended to do it to rile Yeonha up.

"I guess this isn't a bad thing?" Hajin murmured and then opened his status screen.

===

[Variable Stats]

(Up!) Strength: 1.2 => 2.5

(Up!) Stamina: 1.3 => 2.5

(Up!) Speed: 1.5 => 3.0

(Up!) Perception: 2 => 4.1

(Up!) Vitality: 1.3 => 2.5

(Up!) Magic power: 1.0 => 2.0

===

"...Everything pretty much doubled, huh?"

Part of that was definitely because he achieved Enlightenment. Real enlightnment too, not from the system.

But most of that was because of everything he was fed and forced to process through brutal training.

And by brutal training, he meant getting beaten around by Suho, who seemed to be waaay too invested in seeing how much better Hajin could get.

"Hah... Well. I guess this is a good thing." Hajin let out a satisfied smile after staring at his stats.

It was kind of cheating. After all, he was being fed all sorts of magical steroids or equivalents by Yeonha.

But it was his.

Hajin had earned the stat gains through blood, sweat, and tears. Literally.

After all, if he had just eaten them, he wouldn't have improved so much. Maybe half a point at best. But since he worked himself to the bone, he managed to pull out that much progress.

"...I'm still below average. But at this rate..."

It was only the second week of Cube.

If he kept up this rate of improvement, he would already be average by the exams.

...Of course, that meant he would be bleeding and breaking himself down every day to earn that. But it was fun.

...Or maybe he was a masochist.

Probably not that.

Probably.

...Hajin tried not to think about how he felt when Yeonha dragged him around.

But in any case...

'Is the system still down?'

Although Hajin could see his status screen, it was through Enlightenment. The windows and messages were slightly different, letting him know it wasn't the system that the co-author had given him.

Of course, it was good to confirm that the things he made were still going to be available when the system WAS down. But it also bothered him.

"If I had access to my SP-"

A soft ding echoed. And then he got a vibration on his phone.

Hajin paused and pulled out his phone. When he did...

===

[Co-author]

> A system hotfix has been applied.

> You can now access the system using any smart device by just intending to open it.

> System usage will be obscured.

> Book of Truth has been added.

> Stigma and Internet will be added this weekend.

> Good luck and have fun, Kim Hajin.

===

"...You son of a- Have fun, huh? You want me to have fun like this?"

Hajin clicked his tongue when he read the message.

It was way too flippant. Especially considering all the nonsense Hajin had to deal with recently.

Hajin sighed and then opened the system, clicking to the <Book of Truth> function.

It appeared as a glowing blue icon on his phone. And when he clicked it, a line of text appeared on the phone.

*This book contains truth. Questions may be asked and answers will be provided, given sufficient magic power.*

"Given sufficient magic power, huh?"

It seemed to be an advanced form of his <Observation and Reading> Gift. But instead of just what he could see, it would answer what he asked.

"Hm... In that case..."

Hajin decided to test something out. A curiosity he had since he had first seen Lee.

Tapping on the text editor, Hajin typed a single question.

"Is Lee Shin an extra in my story?"

A buffering icon appeared on his phone, the classic circle spinning around and around. At the same time, Hajin suddenly felt drained, no doubt the magic power cost.

And then...

===

[Response from the Book of Truth]

Yes, Lee Shin is an extra in your story.

===

Hajin stared at the response. Then he blinked and tilted his head, wracking his brain for how in the world that made sense.

And then a thought crossed his mind. "...Wait."

In The Returnee Hero, the Chameleon Troupe had a certain character. A person who awakened to his past life as Cheok Jungyeong through enlightenment and awakening.

Lee Shin...

The fact that he insisted on going by Lee Shin instead of 'Shin Lee...'

And the way he used his spear, as well as how every move he used was decisive...

"...Oh my god." Hajin murmured. "...Is Lee Shin the reincarnation of Li Shuwen?"

*ding*

Hajin looked down and realized that the Book of Truth had responded. And that it apparently responded to spoken questions too.

===

[Response from the Book of Truth]

Lee Shin has inherited Li Shuwen's legacy.

===

Hajin stared at the response. Then he thought about how Lee fought, specifically how he seemed more of a professional killer than a martial artist... And his completely carefree way of life as well as focusing on just the little things, like Rachel and his daughter Evandel.

"...Not sure why Li Shuwen reincarnated as an American or ended up in Korea. But I guess Cheok Jungyeong's situation isn't any less weird."

Hajin sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "...This is definitely my fault for leaving out details, isn't it?"

Things were definitely a mess.

The co-author was stirring up drama behind the scenes. On top of that, since this was a real world, things were rippling out even more from what the changes that co-author made.

And now there was an American reincarnation of Li Shuwen who had definitely charmed Rachel, managed to get Evandel... and an Evandel who had clearly received the blood of both Rachel and Lee to be reborn as the biological daughter of both of them...

"...Forget it." Hajin let out another deep sigh. "Just focus on getting stronger, Hajin. We'll work out the rest as it comes..."

Considering Hajin never got to the ending of The Returnee Hero, he didn't really know what was happening in the end game anyway. The original plan was for Baal to descend as the Demon Lord and for Suho to defeat him with his Gift, but at this rate...

"Who the fuck even knows anymore, right?"

Hajin let out a helpless laugh and then grabbed a fatigue recovery soda, chugging it before falling asleep.

===

Wednesday. Anti-Personnel training day.

Lee had come to class with his halberd as usual, Evandel strapped to his chest in a harness.

And the moment he arrived, the female instructor blinked. "Huh." She took a look at Evandel and said, "...I heard from Soohyuk that we had a single parent this year. But I didn't think it was you."

Evandel waved. "Hello, Auntie!"

The female instructor's mouth quirked into a smile. But then she shook her head and looked at Lee. "You do realize it's dangerous for a child to be in this place, right?"

"Nah. It's the safest place on campus." Lee unfastened Evandel and then handed her over to Rachel... who immediately started putting all sorts of defensive artifacts on Evandel.

The female instructor looked at Rachel, amused. But then she looked back at Lee and said, "Why might that be?"

"Well. If anyone hurts my daughter, Lady Rachel is clearly going to snap and probably murder everyone in this room or throw everything she has for revenge? So everybody's going to be extra careful and also make sure she's safe. If my daughter was in my room though, you never know who might try and hurt her."

In the back, Suho stifled a laugh.

Hajin facepalmed.

Nayun... had turned around, clearly hiding a laughing fit.

And Yeonha was shaking her head.

The female instructor chuckled. "I suppose that's accurate." She looked over at Rachel and then said, "You can watch the toddler then. Think of defending her from random attacks as your training."

Rachel looked at the instructor and gave a solemn nod. "I am going to protect Eva with my life. If she is harmed, heads will roll."

"...Right." The female instructor nodded and looked at Hajin. "Anyway, Kim Hajin. You're with me again- Hm?" She tilted her head and looked at the weapon in Hajin's hand. "...Did you change your weapon again?"

As for what that weapon was...

Hajin shrugged and adjusted meteor hammer and chains in his hands. "You said it last time, right instructor? A gun isn't helpful in training against classmates. I got something that I can use instead."

"...First you switch from a sword to a gun. And now a gun to a flail?"

"Meteor hammer. And it should work. Probably. It's similar to a sling, so it should count..."

The female instructor looked confused. "...Count for what?"

Suho chuckled and cracked his neck, already moving to spar with Hajin. "It's either going to work, or you're going to make it work, Hajin."

Nayun finally finished her laughing fit. When she noticed Suho already claim Hajin for sparring, she clicked her tongue and said, "I wanted to spar with that guy... fine." She looked over at Rachel. Then she said, "Whatever. I guess I can play with Eva too."

Evandel waved and said, "Auntie Nun! Play!"

Nayun walked over and said, "It's Nayun, silly. And sure. I guess molding mana is training, right?"

Evandel giggled and then held up Aether, sticking her tongue out in concentration before it rippled into a chibi Nayun. "Auntie Nun!"

"...Oh my god, you are adorable and I hate that I love this." Nayun immediately crouched down to poke the Aether blob Nayun.

The female instructor sighed at the chaos and said, "This is why we usually don't allow single parents at Cube..."

Lee rolled his neck and leaned against his halberd, watching as the rest of the class reluctantly paired up to go train. Then he looked back at the instructor and said, "Why's that?"

The female instructor shook her head and said, "The last time we had a single parent, classes always got derailed when she had to feed the baby... But enough chatting. You got a partner, or are you challenging me, Cadet Shin?"

"Well-"

"No. He's with me." Shin Jonghak stepped forward, resting his spear over his shoulders.

The moment he called out, the training room fell silent.

Lee laughed and then turned around to face Shin Jonghak. "You sure you don't want to save face until the exam, Jonghak?"

"You don't have the right to drop my last name, second to last." Shin Jonghak spun his spear around and pointed it at Lee. "Now fight me. Unless blackmail is all you can do."

Murmurs started echoing across the training room.

Lee shook his head. "Childish... Is yapping all you can do?" He leaned against his halberd, looking completely relaxed. "Honestly, no wonder Nayun doesn't even-"

Shin Jonghak rushed forward in a blur, spear aimed to thrust at Lee's heart.

The female instructor moved, her voice sharp. "Shin Jonghak-"

But before she could interrupt it, Lee had already moved.

A quick step back with his right, the halberd shifting into both hands. Another step back with his left to reposition his halberd... and then swing.

*CLANG*

Shin Jonghak's eyes widened as his thrust was deflected to the side, leaving his back completely open.

But Lee didn't follow up.

All he did was slowly turn around, resetting into his leisurely stance from the start, leaning against his halberd.

"You know..." Lee smirked. "For the supposed second-rank in combat for our year, you telegraph a lot."

Shin Jonghak clenched his hands tighter on his spear and then straightened, turning to face Lee again. "...You talk too much."

The female instructor looked concerned... but seeing that Lee was relaxed, she eventually stepped back. "...I'll allow it. But Shin Jonghak, if you go overboard, even if your grandfather is-"

"Do NOT mention my grandfather." Shin Jonghak immediately snapped.

Lee raised an eyebrow and said, "Wow. Insecure much-"

*CLANG*

Shin Jonghak growled, trying to push Lee down with pure force, pressing his spear against Lee's halberd. "Shut UP!"

Lee laughed.