48
A ghost is an entity born from the fusion of consciousness and mana. An ‘origin’ of that consciousness, when denied, starts to radiate.
【Eliminated! Eliminated! Eliminated! Eliminated! Eliminated! Eliminated! Eliminated! Eliminated! Eliminated! Eliminated! Eliminated! Eliminated! Eliminated! Eliminated! Eliminated! Eliminated! Eliminated! Eliminated! Eliminated! Eliminated! Eliminated!】
The voice of the Spirit Ghost echoes wildly like a malfunctioning recorder.
“Ahh!”
“Ugh!”
The disciples stagger and cover their ears, overwhelmed by the intense level of consciousness contained within.
However, the consciousness that shakes them does not affect me at all.
＜Advanced Immunity Mark＞ Lv.3
Steadily.
【Diiiiie────!】
The ‘play’ origin, denied by the Spirit Ghost to the extreme, rushes at me, throwing itself towards me.
This action by the Spirit Ghost, the ultimate expression of anger it can display, is the most fatal blow it can deliver.
Such behavior from the Spirit Ghost was an assumption with an extremely slim probability even among the scenarios I had considered.
For an entity that is a ‘mental entity’ like a ghost to throw itself and strike at the ‘mind,’ it was such a dangerous and worst-case assumption.
It was nothing less than a curse on the existence.
Even a professor from the Academy would not be able to withstand such an attack from a ghost without any preparation.
Even for the top-ranked superhumans, those within the top 500, it was a fatal blow difficult to avoid the annihilation of their existence. The enraged face of the Spirit Ghost flying like mist was chilling, but······
‘Rather, I like it.’
What came to my mind, accepting this, was a ‘smile.’
***
······The Spirit Ghost dragging me into the sea of consciousness.
Was it scheming to ‘drown’ me in the sea of consciousness, or was it continuously diving deeper.
To the depths of the subconscious, beyond the surface consciousness.
However, what the Spirit Ghost did not know was the fact that my consciousness, engraved with the mark of immunity, was not affected by mere things like this.
So, I leisurely let myself be embraced by the Spirit Ghost and looked around for a while.
Ding!
[Congratulations! As the first player, you have reached the consciousness while maintaining your own consciousness.]
[Title system is now open.]
[The title, 【Pioneer of Souls】, is awarded as a reward.]
——–
Title: 【Pioneer of Souls】
– The one who first glimpsed into the consciousness awakens the third eye, the eye of the soul. Those with the eye of the soul can read the state of others’ souls.
——–
······Hidden pieces fell into place on their own.
The world of my consciousness. There, it was a sea of chaos where there were no rules.
Clocks, buildings, stairs, clouds, sea, sun, moon, emotions, everything fluttered around like shattered glass fragments in all directions.
“Hmm, it looks like this.”
【······You, you, why are you unharmed?!】
The astonished voice of Dongjagwi echoed.
When I turned my head to the side, his face was trembling like a frightened young child.
Swept into the sea of my consciousness, shattered fragments that should have broken away, I maintained my existence intact, which seemed to be a great terror for him.
“Why did you come in? If you were outside, you would have had a chance to escape.”
Dongjagwi must have brought me in with the intention of killing me, but this was actually a misstep.
＜High-Rank Mental Seal＞ Lv.3
In the mental realm, I remain unwavering against anything, untouched by blows.
Moreover, this is my consciousness.
Here, I am the director, playwright, and director of the stage called my consciousness.
He, stepping into limbs he couldn’t escape from on his own.
【You’re lying! You’re lying! You’re lying! You’re lying! You’re lying! You’re lying! You’re lying!】
Dongjagwi pressed into me like a thought.
Snap!
I flicked my finger.
The next moment, as if the rushing figure hit a massive wall, it crashed and collapsed.
Subsequently, the space twisted like a spiral, squeezing and crushing the collapsed figure.
However, even when squeezed and crushed, Dongjagwi did not disappear. He soon turned into a current and smoothly slipped away.
I wasn’t particularly hoping for him to vanish with this.
To erase him, a more special power was needed.
For example, the shaman’s spiritual power, the qualities of a swordsman, or the divine power of a deity.
“He’s impressively good at running away.”
Watching Dongjagwi skillfully evade the mental collapse I deliberately caused, I clicked my tongue.
Anyway, ghosts were truly irrational beings. Although he was a particularly troublesome mutant born from the mana of the spirit vein.
At that moment, black webs descended from somewhere and ensnared the fleeing Dongjagwi.
【aaah!】
Dongjagwi writhed in agony.
It wasn’t my doing.
“Is it Elaine?”
Elaine from outside had used the curse of restraint.
As I gazed at the immobilized Dongjagwi, I summoned the weapon to eliminate him.
Despite the chaos of the owner being attacked, the unfazed Phoenix. This creature was the ace weapon I had prepared to eliminate Dongjagwi.
Its flames were truly a poison to beings like spirits.
There was a flaw in that it was only level 1, but consuming satiety could temporarily power it up.
Of course, the Phoenix wouldn’t voluntarily consume satiety, but…
“If you don’t want to die, use it, what can you do.”
I grabbed the neck of the Phoenix and threw it at Dongjagwi.
[Ke, Keaek?!]
The Phoenix, rudely awakened by a bolt from the blue, desperately flapped its wings to change course, but knowing that, I also threw all my strength into it.
[Roar─!]
The phoenix collided with the spirit wall, spewing flames in panic. There was no satiety or anything.
【Sizzle!】
The spirit wall was engulfed in blue flames. However, the spirit wall did not easily dissipate.
Released from Elaine’s curse, the spirit wall expanded like a massive curtain and overwhelmed the phoenix. Gradually, the phoenix disappeared behind the spirit wall. Yet, the time it was concealed was extremely brief.
Whoosh!
Blue flames burst through the curtain.
【Aah!】
The spirit wall’s tearing cries echoed. Whether it was making a final stand or trying to envelop the phoenix, it only hastened its demise.
Whoosh!
Blue flames spread across the spirit wall.
【Painful···! Painful···! Painful···! Ah···】
“It burns brightly.”
In an instant, the melting spirit wall vanished without a trace.
Ding!
[Congratulations! You have eliminated the ghostly spirit wall in the Eternity Library.]
[You will receive 1000 SP and 3% satiety of the phoenix as a reward.]
[Experience points for the Superior Indelible Mark Lv.3 will significantly increase.]
At that moment, a transparent orb floated where the spirit wall had vanished.
“Oh. Sajo, you’re quite something, aren’t you?”
[Grr!]
The phoenix raised its chin, its arrogance seeming oddly charming today.
Understandably so, the transparent orb was the remnants of the spirit wall, with the pure ‘mental energy’ left after the spirit’s departure.
Had the phoenix recklessly unleashed fire, the mental energy would have burned away with the spirit.
I never expected to cleanly preserve only the mental energy while incinerating the spirit, so this exceeded my imagination.
“I will enjoy this.”
I swallowed the transparent mental energy orb whole. Like water flowing down, the orb slid smoothly down my throat. And then.
[Consumed the essence of the spirit wall.]
[Mental energy significantly increases.]
[Mental energy significantly increases.]
[Mental energy significantly increases.]
[Mental energy significantly increases.]
[Mental energy significantly increases.]
[Mental energy significantly increases.]
[Superior Indelible Mark] Lv.3 → [Superior Indelible Mark] Lv.4
Ding!
[Mental energy has surpassed a certain threshold.]
─ The function of 【Soul Vanguard】 evolves.
─ 【Soul Vanguard】 can now not only sense the soul’s state but also read emotions.
“······Gah.”
Sweet.
***
Meanwhile, in the library, some students were gathered around the fallen Yihaesol.
“He sacrificed himself to save us.”
Nikolai looked down at Yihaesol with surprise in his eyes.
“Did he really walk towards the ghost like that…”
Yihaesol’s actions were truly reckless. Without any hesitation, he offered himself to the Dongjagwi.
It was indeed a foolish act, but if Yihaesol hadn’t done so, there would have been no survivors in the library by now, including Nikolai himself.
Yihaesol knew this, which is why he made the extreme choice to sacrifice himself to save everyone.
Nikolai understood that Yihaesol’s choice was the best option. However, part of him couldn’t help but think that if he had acted a little faster, or if he had noticed the Dongjagwi’s impending attack, he could have stopped Yihaesol before it was too late…
Nikolai watched helplessly as Yihaesol walked away. He, like the other students, could only stand by and watch. But Nikolai found his own inaction too pathetic to bear.
Of course, he knew that if he had stopped Yihaesol, Yihaesol wouldn’t be alive now. But it was more of an emotional dilemma than a matter of outcome.
“Hey, save your thoughts for later.”
At that moment, there was a stern voice interjecting. It was Eungye, frowning.
“Some of us are uncomfortable here. He’s not dead yet.”
Eungye pointed at the fallen Yihaesol.
There, Amelia and the healer Kim Hayoon were pouring their magic into Yihaesol continuously.
Originally, they were supposed to take him to the infirmary, but due to Elaine’s warning that it would be too taxing if Yihaesol’s mind was disturbed, a student rushed to call the infirmary professor.
Eungye was angry at her own helplessness, but she quietly watched over the fallen Yihaesol.
“…”
Nikolai loosened his fist quietly.
At that moment, Amelia, who was channeling magic into Yihaesol, wiped away her sweat and stood up.
Looking anxious, she bit her lip and turned to Elaine.
“Elaine, I heard there’s a spell I can use to intervene in his consciousness.”
“Yes, there is. But it’s not my expertise, and it’s risky to use. It would be better to wait for the infirmary professor to come…”
“But it will be too late.”
Amelia shook her head decisively.
“A spirit has entered Haesol’s consciousness. Once a spirit enters, it’s only a matter of time before Haesol’s mind collapses.”
“…”
Elaine fell silent.
From Noble mtl dot com
Amelia’s words were entirely accurate. Once a spirit had taken possession, the collapse of the mind was inevitable.
In an attempt to prevent this, she had placed a curse to restrain it, but even that might not hold out indefinitely.
After a moment of hesitation, Elaine made up her mind and said, “It’s not my field of expertise, and it could be dangerous to infiltrate the consciousness together. In the worst case, we might not be able to get out at all.”
“I don’t care.”
“I’ll go with you.”
Eungye replied. And then, Nikolai also chimed in.
“If it’s a fight within consciousness, I can be of help. I have experience.”
Experience was more important than anything else when it came to infiltrating someone else’s consciousness.
If Nikolai’s words were to be believed, he was someone they must bring along.
“I’ll go too. I have debts to repay.”
Even Han Seyeon, who had been staring at Heaesol with a stern expression, joined in.
Elaine shook her head.
“With my sorcery, the limit is three.”
“Then we definitely need to go.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t make an exception this time.”
Eungaye and Han Seyeon spoke in turn, and Amelia furrowed her eyebrows.
“We don’t have time to discuss this. Let’s decide quickly. First, Eungaye, you should opt out since you’re not familiar with the magical lineage.”
“What? Why?”
“It’s advantageous for someone who knows how to handle magic properly to infiltrate the consciousness.”
And so, while debating on who would infiltrate Heaesol’s consciousness, Kim Hayoon, who was infusing magic into Heaesol, interrupted.
“She’s awake.”
“What?”
The startled onlookers quickly looked down at Heaesol.
Indeed, as Kim Hayoon had said, Heaesol was blinking her eyes.
***
“Hey, are you okay?!”
“Phew, that was close.”
Eungaye exclaimed in surprise, Amelia breathed a sigh of relief, and even Han Seyeon’s rigid expression softened.
What’s gotten into them? I blinked in confusion.
“She’s awake.”
“Did I almost die?”
“You did something foolish.”
“Foolish?”
As I made a puzzled expression, Nikolai furrowed his brow.
“There’s no need to play dumb. I’ve already figured out that you willingly risked your life to accept the Dongjagwi.”
“…”
“Though I don’t like it, you’ve put your life on the line.”
“Uh…”
Nikolai extended his hand for a handshake. I awkwardly took it.
It wasn’t my intention, but it seemed like I had become a ‘fool who volunteered for sacrifice’ in Nikolai’s eyes. Others might have different thoughts, but it didn’t seem vastly different. As I looked around, I clicked my tongue.
“Many have fainted.”
Most of the onlookers had collapsed. Due to the frenzy of the Dongjagwi, except for a few, almost everyone had passed out. But oddly enough, this was a good thing.
“It would be sweet to sell potions to the fainted ones.”
Reviving the unconscious with potions seemed like a good way to make some money. Since I had a share in Han Seyul’s potions, it sounded profitable.
By the way…
I blinked.
Things that were not visible until I fainted were now in sight.
A transparent layer overlapping inside the bodies of the students. The colors of emotions emanating from there.
The third eye.
It was another side of the world I faced by awakening the eye of the soul. And that meant I had gained another weapon. Reading emotions meant dealing with others more easily.
It didn’t seem perfect, though.
“Good, right?”
I smiled satisfactorily at the somewhat better ability. At that moment, the library door swung open, and the medical team professors and members rushed in.
“Oh!”
“No way!”
“Quick, move them to the medical team!”
Medical team members hurriedly moved around, looking at the collapsed students.
I got up quietly from my seat. It was the end of the library commotion.
After the commotion where all the library students participating in the night watch fainted passed, four days later.
The first midterm exam of Eternity began.