Episode 24: Vanquisher (2)
Park Gwangchul answered the question briefly and firmly.
“You have to be strong.”
His gaze naturally shifted toward me.
“You must be strong.”
His words were simple, but the weight behind them was anything but light.
The female student who had asked the question seemed convinced by his answer and quietly nodded.
With that, the short ten-minute break came to an end, and the lecture resumed.
“Ah… Theory is so difficult….”
When I came to my senses, I realized that Cheon Yeoul had moved next to me during the break.
She stretched her head out over the desk, grumbling.
‘I may have designed her, but….’
Her figure was unrealistically perfect.
The way her posture subtly emphasized her curves was both deliberate and not, making it strangely hard to ignore.
“Should we just ditch class…?”
Before she could even finish her joke—
Thwack!
“Mmgh!”
Annoyed by her shameless attitude, I didn’t hesitate to flick her forehead.
Cheon Yeoul flinched, letting out a small whimper.
Her face instantly flushed red, heat radiating from her cheeks, and her breaths grew shallow.
“Hnn….”
Her eyes held a strange glimmer.
‘Was that too hard…?’
I felt a bit guilty and looked at her, but I steeled myself and scolded her.
“Why did you do that?”
Thanks to her, my chronic low endurance had disappeared.
But there was no way she had done it with that in mind… so it was only natural that I couldn’t understand her reasoning.
What on earth had she been thinking when she fed me that precious elixir?
In response to my words, Cheon Yeoul smirked slightly and, in a playful tone, pointed to the sky.
“I was told to do it.”
She closed her eyes and clasped her hands together, as if offering a prayer.
“Oh, benevolent goddess, watch over us….”
“…”
Blaming it on her goddess.
How convenient.
I sighed and looked at her.
Since Cheon Yeoul was never the type to be controlled, I figured it was best to just chalk it up to a momentary whim.
Besides, in the end, my condition had improved significantly, so it was hard to be too mad about it.
“… Still, it must have taken a lot of effort to adjust everything. Thanks for that.”
At my words of gratitude, her eyes widened slightly before she suddenly broke into a bright smile.
‘I didn’t know she could make that kind of expression.’
It was different from usual—an innocent-looking smile.
“Then, can I ask you for a favor?”
“What?”
She hesitated for a moment before speaking in an embarrassed voice.
“The forehead flick… can you do it again…?”
Before she could even finish her sentence—
“You two over there, making noise?”
A heavy voice from the lecture hall interrupted us.
Turning my head, I saw Park Gwangchul standing on the podium, looking directly at us.
“The saintess is excused, but the handsome male student. Come forward.”
He couldn’t hide the smirk on his face as he pointed at me.
The entire lecture hall’s attention suddenly focused on me.
It seemed we had gotten a bit too loud.
Cheon Yeoul subtly stepped aside to make way for me, pretending not to notice.
I gave her a look of disbelief.
In the end, I reluctantly got up and walked to the front.
“So, what’s your name?”
“… Jung Haein.”
“Jung Haein… Today, the professor has given me full authority, so I’ll be marking you with an F.”
…This crazy bastard?
“Excuse me?”
“If you can solve this problem, I will consider that you have understood the entire lesson and we can move on.”
With that, he presented the problem written on the blackboard to me.
“Go ahead and solve it.”
From the back of the classroom, I heard faint laughter.
Snickering.
Everyone thought I wouldn’t be able to solve it.
I swallowed a sigh and looked at the problem.
- Define mathematically the critical conversion rate in the process of transforming the vast energy contained within a Fragment of Harmony into real space, and present its limiting conditions.
‘Ah, fuck.’
They were right.
I knew about this because it was an important concept, but defining it mathematically was another matter entirely.
The Fragment of Harmony was a type of authority left behind by the System—a legacy.
Simply put, it was a higher-dimensional power that transcended the very concepts of this world.
So far, only two fragments had been discovered worldwide—one in the U.S. and one in China.
In reality, however, there were a total of four.
One for the protagonist, and the remaining three for the heroines.
Acquiring a fragment didn’t grant overwhelming strength outright.
Rather, it added a higher-dimensional attribute to one’s mana and attacks.
It was, fundamentally, a power specialized for combat against demons (악마).
High-ranking demons or beings like Demonic Humans (마인) could only be effectively opposed using this power.
Other methods were nearly nonexistent.
If there was another way, it would involve pouring an unimaginably vast amount of divine power or mana into an attack—an incredibly inefficient approach.
‘But who would even use such a method…?’
Almost no one, probably.
Over the years, countless attempts had been made to extract energy from the fragments.
But all had failed.
The reason was clear.
Only those chosen by the System could harness the power of the fragments.
That was also why Sung Siwoo was the protagonist—he was one of the chosen.
‘But it looks like someone managed to come up with a rough solution for this problem.’
I looked at the problem again.
Since I couldn’t express it in mathematical equations, I had to derive an answer using a different approach.
‘If I define the process of converting it into reality as extraction, and assume that the system’s selection acts as a constraint….’
I slowly began writing down a few key elements on the blackboard.
“The Fragment of Harmony fundamentally contains higher-dimensional energy.”
My voice filled the lecture hall.
Pointing to the explanations and diagrams I had written, I continued.
The sound of chalk scraped across the blackboard.
After a while, I wrapped up my explanation and put the chalk down.
“… So, in the end, the absence of a suitable vessel acts as a limiting condition, making extraction impossible.”
As I finished speaking, I turned around.
‘Why is it so quiet?’
The lecture hall was silent.
The students who had been mocking me had all shut their mouths.
Some were even taking notes from the blackboard.
I turned my head to look at Park Gwangchul.
He had his hand covering his mouth, but I could hear a stifled chuckle escaping.
He was struggling to hold back laughter.
“Khh… Well… At least you managed to avoid getting an F, right, professor?”
I turned to look at the professor.
He had lifted his glasses slightly and was staring intently at the board where I had organized the formulas.
A long silence followed.
Then, finally, he spoke.
“Jung Haein.”
His voice was low and calm, but there was an odd intensity to it.
“Come to my office after class.”
With that, the professor left the lecture hall.
“Hahahahahaha!!”
And Park Gwangchul finally burst into laughter.
***
Six hours.
For six long hours.
I had to explain to the professor how I solved an as-yet-undiscovered theory and the entire logical process behind it.
‘Park Gwangchul, you crazy bastard….’
I had naturally assumed the problem had been somewhat solved.
After all, this topic had been a frequent subject of discussion within Vanquisher lately.
But I had no idea that not a single part of it had been proven yet.
“We still need additional verification to determine if Jung Haein’s deductive process is valid….”
The professor paused briefly while reviewing the materials.
“What’s interesting is that it bears a striking resemblance to the early-stage framework currently being researched in the U.S.”
He couldn’t hide his excitement as he explained various aspects.
But ultimately, the conclusion was simple.
“Have you considered pursuing graduate school?”
I immediately declined without hesitation and left.
I hadn’t expected to see the nearly sixty-year-old professor’s dejected expression.
By the time I stepped outside, the sun was already setting.
“There goes my Friday….”
Today, I had planned to attend a simple lecture and finish my club registration.
But everything had completely fallen apart.
Dragging my heavy steps, I headed to the dormitory.
After taking a shower and roughly drying off, I sat at my desk and opened my notebook.
I turned on the TV as background noise and started thinking about the opportunities I could seize this weekend.
“First, I’ll get the Camellia (Dongbaek) Sword tomorrow morning….”
What should I go after next?
As I flipped through my notes, I suddenly stopped, hearing the tense voice coming from the TV.
“Breaking news.”
I turned my head to look at the screen.
[Simultaneous Demonic Humans attacks in Shanghai and East Africa.]
[Hundreds of casualties reported, including A-rank hero Ling Chao.]
The screen displayed a city in ruins, with thick black smoke rising.
People wailing at the scene. Streets in utter chaos.
And at the center of it all stood the silhouette of a Demonic Human.
It was a familiar sight to me.
I exhaled slowly as I watched the screen.
“It’s begun.”
Up until now, Demonic Humans had been active, but they had never launched full-scale attacks like this.
A simultaneous, coordinated Demonic Human attack.
This wasn’t an accident—it was a sign that they were finally making their move.
And that sign also meant that I needed to start moving as well.
I reached for my notebook and a memo pad on the table.
With a pen in hand, I began rewriting my weekend plans from scratch.
“Retrieve the Dongbaek Sword.”
This had to be my top priority.
Once I had the sword, the next step would be….
I hesitated for a moment before continuing.
“The Fragment.”
So far, two Fragments had been discovered.
One in the U.S., the other in China.
And among the remaining two, one was located in South Korea.
“Baekdu Mountain, Cheonji.”
I let out a sigh, rubbing my forehead.
It was called Cheonji, but in reality, It is one of the most formidable and treacherous locations in Korea.
Even knowing its location and how to obtain it, heading there right now was….
I turned my gaze back to the TV screen.
The Shanghai sky was covered in dark clouds.
A city engulfed in flames. People frozen in terror.
That image seared itself into my mind.
I gripped my pen and wrote a single word in my notebook.
“Obtain the Fragment.”
I underlined it with force.
This was something I had to do sooner or later.
I stood up and looked out the window.
It was time to move.