With only the corners of his mouth smiling, Park Jinsung stood still with his head tilted at a 90-degree angle. Despite his shoulders hanging limply, there was a visibly ominous atmosphere around him.
It was as if the ground where Park Jinsung stood had turned into dead, black earth, and his shadow seemed to take on a three-dimensional form and run wild.
It was too real to be called a nightmare, yet too surreal to be considered reality.
An illusion never before experienced flickered in the trainees’ vision.
The remaining trainees’ instincts warned them to quickly get away from the pool.
Edeya, an Edeya that partially reproduces the complete murderous intent, partial murderous intent.
Smirk!
Even if it was just a fragment, it was not a pressure that mere high school students could withstand. Even among Edeyas, there was a clear difference in level.
Park Jinsung gripped the dagger in reverse.
Just as he was about to kick off the ground, a hot throbbing emanated from the dagger.
“Huh? What’s this.”
Thump! Thump!
It was an intensely throbbing momentum, like a heartbeat.
The throbbing that had enveloped the entire dagger gathered at the blade’s edge and then disappeared. It seemed like the throbbing was absorbed into the edge.
The dagger with a white blade and a black handle.
The blade of the dagger dyed a deeper red than blood.
[The Bloodsucking Dagger]
World Spirit Unit Classification System: D+++(F↑)
It absorbs blood from its target, allowing the owner to move forcibly.
As long as the minimum conditions for bodily motion are met, action can continue without end.
“Eh…?! Ha… hahahahahahahahaha!!”
Park Jinsung laughed as if he was going to send the entire pool area away.
His Edeya had evolved.
The dagger in Park Jinsung’s hand transformed from a common kitchen knife into a weapon of some distinction.
A waste rated F was upgraded to D-class recyclable trash.
“What’s this?”
Theoretically, the class of an edeya could indeed change. Theoretically.
However, cases like Park Jinsung’s were rare worldwide.
Statistics showed that Edeyas closer to either extreme were less likely to evolve.
According to some academic reports, the lower the class, the more it tends to belittle itself, and the higher the class, the more it tends to be complacent and satisfied.
“Ha ha. What is this?”
Therefore, while there were many cases of D class moving up to C class, changes above or below that were not commonly reported.
At best, a few plus signs were added above the alphabet.
Most Edeya training institutions, including Haeun High, initially aimed for an increase in the plus signs.
“Heheh. I like the ability. It’s the perfect weapon for the current situation, isn’t it?”
The weapon’s performance itself was merely D-class, but its chemistry with Park Jinsung was satisfactory. The blade, darker than blood, seemed to smirk back at him.
The F-class dagger was originally an Edeya belonging to the complete murderous intent, a repercussion of the abuse he suffered in his childhood.
“Does this mean I’ve distanced myself even further from my uncle and aunt…? Have I succeeded in shaking them off even more…?”
Park Jinsung quietly mused to himself.
How much progress he had made during this guerrilla training.
He had successfully controlled the complete murderous intent, at least partially, and upgraded the dagger into a bloodsucking dagger.
In essence, he proved that the entity known as himself was above the classes of Edeyas.
No matter how low the class, he showed that anyone could surpass others, that the soul itself could change.
“It wasn’t in vain!”
If you roll around crazily like me, you can change your Edeya like this and prove many things!
Woo-hoo! Welcome to a historic scene!
“Smirk!”
Park Jinsung stylishly uttered an onomatopoeia.
“…….”
‘My connections’ devices continued to display the REC mark, diligently recording the situation unlike their stunned owners.
“Heheh. Should I take the last one too?”
“Hi, Hiiiiik!”
Park Jinsung’s swinging dagger drew bright red trajectories as it struck at the trainees.
The beginning of a merciless slaughter where no one dies.
The trainees, who had been quietly listening to Park Jinsung’s soliloquy, could only repeat falling defenselessly.
“I said it before, if you don’t want to get hurt, scram on your own.”
Park Jinsung attacked without mercy in his movements. Getting hit was painful enough to make one wail in agony, but it was within the level that a school nurse could completely heal.
Pwook! Pwook! Pwook!
“Aaaah! My thigh!!”
“Sa, Save me!!”
The first 20 were intentionally targeted in their thighs to create a lively scene.
The Edeya, the Bloodsucking Dagger, forced the exhausted Park Jinsung to move. His eyelids felt as heavy as stones, but his body cheerfully fulfilled its role.
“Hehehehehehe!!”
“No, nooo, nooooo!”
“Uh… Didn’t I tell you to run away if you don’t want to get hit?”
A combat ability of A wielding a D caused an ADHD reaction among the trainees. Like ants that lost the control of their queen, they collided and created chaos amongst themselves.
Park Jinsung leisurely hunted his prey, never forcing the trainees out of the pool by force.
The trainees, drowning in pain and tears, would instill great fear in the others.
“Heheh… Hehehehehehehehe, heheh!”
Park Jinsung splattered blood with a cute laugh.
“Uaaaaaaah!! [As solid as a rock!]”
[As solid as a rock]
World Spirit Unit Classification System: C—
Only as hard as rocks are perceived to be by people.
Current absolute hardness: 4.5
Overall combat ability: C
A half-resigned trainee charged at Park Jinsung with a body hardened like a rock.
“Ah, haven’t you seen me carve through rocks?”
“Even if it’s a moving rock like me, kuh, kuaaaaak!”
Crack.
There was a different sound from when he struck the trainees before, given it was a rock.
The dagger gently sipped blood from the trainee’s thigh like a mosquito.
“Waaaah! My leeeeg!!”
Despite being as hard as a rock, the trainee cried over his thigh. Thanks to their Edeya, they hadn’t experienced real pain until now.
Park Jinsung only sucked blood when his body felt sluggish; otherwise, he hit the trainees solely with the flat side of the blade.
Thumpthumpthumpthumpthump, thumpthumpthumpthumpthump!
He poked with the handle where he had poked before, and if someone tried to block with their arm, he kept striking that arm until it fell.
“Hehehehehehe!!”
It was truly a spectacle of abuse.
A living embodiment of hell!
If hell had a mouth, it would undoubtedly resemble Park Jinsung’s right arm.
“Ahh.”
“Uh, ugh.”
The pool was filled with trainees sprawled on the ground.
“I can’t take it anymore!”
“Me too! I don’t want to do this!”
“I give up! Just please don’t hit me anymore!”
Trainees refusing entry to this hell declared their voluntary withdrawal.
Out of the remaining 180 people, 60 had fallen, 20 were watching cautiously, and a whopping 100 had given up.
“…….”
Park Jinsung silently stood, observing the terrified trainees. Then, slowly turning his head, he looked at the zombie horde outside the pool.
Apparently, the nurse’s energy hadn’t returned yet, as there was no one who looked unscathed.
Their faces were so swollen that it was difficult to tell who was who.
‘…Did they remove their bracelets and beat them?’
Then how much had they been beaten to end up like that?
Park Jinsung’s gaze shifted to the trembling principal and staff, and to ‘my connections,’ who were frantically recording everything.
“Uh, ugh.”
The staff, engulfed in indescribable fear, all averted their gazes. Especially the principal, whose legs were shaking visibly even from a distance.
“……”
Park Jinsung moved his gaze once again.
It finally rested on Kim Seyun and Ahn Sungho.
“Hmph.”
Ahn Sungho lifted the combat cap he had been covering his eyes with and smiled at Park Jinsung. And,
“Kill.”
Kim Seyun made a gesture of slitting her throat and whispered softly.
“Smirk.”
The tables had turned.
This time, he decided to fully indulge in his middle school syndrome.
Creak!
Park Jinsung tilted his head 90 degrees and limped like a zombie.
The fatigue Park Jinsung was experiencing made it difficult to maintain coherent thought. He was forcibly extracting energy with the bloodsucking dagger.
“Ah, my apologies, everyone. I’ve changed my mind.”
“We’re not doing it anymore?! We give up?!”
“Just leave us alone!”
“Heheh. I’m quite tired, you see.”
“You’re letting us go? We’re, we’re saved.”
“You all have to die.”
“Huh…?”
The still coherent trainees all wore dumbfounded expressions.
The dagger, which had been quiet for a while, began to scream again. With every crimson trace it left, screams layered upon screams filled the air.
“If we can’t escape anyway, let’s just fight!”
“Take him down! That monster-like guy! We still have more than 100 people!!”
Park Jinsung laughed at the sight of any trainees who stirred up even a bit of anger.
“After all this, there are still those among you who are aggressive? Really, you are remarkable.”
“Let’s all chargeee—eek! Ah… aaa… aaaaaah!!”
Being aggressive didn’t mean they couldn’t scream. In fact, having more energy than others, they screamed even more vibrantly.
The swift dance of the dagger quickly enveloped the entire pool.
“Hehe.”
The traces that had painted the pool red lingered only for the blink of an eye. There was something ethereal and bizarrely artistic about it.
Swoosh.
The first traces to appear began to disappear in order, one by one.
But to everyone, it felt as if they vanished all at once, unaware of their sequential disappearance.
Eventually,
“Hehehe?”
The fog-like traces had all cleanly disappeared.
Thud… thudthudthudthudthudthudthud!
Standing trainees, none.
Those capable of training, none.
Those with any spirit left, none.
Exhausted, Park Jinsung numbly tilted his head toward the ceiling.
“Phew. Normally… they say one A-class can take on 100 non-A-class people, right?”
He continued his monologue, indifferent to whether anyone was listening.
“But that’s not true…! I can take on 200 by myself…! Heheh!!”
Above the groaning trainees, the only person still standing was Park Jinsung.
“Just a bit tired… not too much, just a bit…”
Park Jinsung’s eyes finally succumbed to rest, resisting fatigue until now.
The 367th trainee, who had brutally taken down 200 people, passed out while staring at the ceiling.
“……”
No one outside the pool dared to speak easily.
“Uuuugh…”
Only the people left in the pool continued to groan senselessly.
Scribble scribble.
The director’s hand moved the pen mindlessly.
*Trainee number 367 of Haeun High
World Spirit Unit Classification System: F~D (estimated)
Overall Combat Ability: At least A (estimated)
* * *
Lee Shin.
The Chief Combat Advisor of South Korea.
An S-class Edeya according to the World Spirit Unit Classification System.
Overall combat ability in marine environments: SSS.
With over 70% of Earth covered by oceans, there was no entity that could defeat Lee Shin.
S-class, also known as Special class, holds combat power equivalent to ten A-classs individually.
If an A-class can handle up to 100 non-A-class opponents, S can handle 1,000 without A-classs, and SS can suppress 10,000 without S-classs.
It’s simple multiplication.
In other words, Lee Shin, with triple S-class overall combat ability, could face 100,000 opponents below SS-class alone.
Owning even one SS-class could elevate a nation to the ranks of the powerful. Two SS classes, without question, would make it a superpower.
Considering that the term “superpower” is a privilege of the few, Lee Shin’s existence far surpassed the meaning of special.
Yet, despite having an exceptional human like Lee Shin, South Korea could barely rise to the status of a powerful nation. This was because, besides Lee Shin, they had no means to check other powerful nations.
Moreover, considering global entities like Pest, while also keeping an eye on superpowers like the USA, China, Japan, and Russia.
Even if Lee Shin could take on 100,000 alone, it wasn’t easy to disrupt the balance. If anything, it was thanks to Lee Shin that a delicate balance could be maintained.
But still, nonetheless.
Whenever the triple S-class even slightly moved regions, the nearest country’s emergency bells rang.
Moreover, the Chief Combat Advisor of South Korea had to use either the sky or the ground when moving to another country, a strict international legal measure to somehow check Lee Shin.
In the eerie dawn.
Such a remarkable person was currently at the most dangerous place on the Korean peninsula.
Located in the middle of the Southern Limit Line and the Northern Limit Line, the Military Demarcation Line.
At Panmunjom, where the 38th parallel north meets the Military Demarcation Line.
“Huh. It’s been a while, old-timer.”
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