Entering the Game with a Cheat Physique

Episode 47 Answer (2)

Episode 47 Answer (2)

Dreams show what comes next.

Taegeuk High is a school for cultivating sports athletes.

The curriculum is packed with lectures corresponding to each sport, but some, like a university, also included liberal arts.

The lecture I was in charge of was exactly that.

‘Clear Mirror of Still Water.’

A name that felt a bit grand to attach to a mere high school lecture.

It was said that training in martial arts is the same as training the mind.

A new lecture established by the idea of an old man who had invited me.

As the first teacher assigned, I was faithful to my responsibilities.

─It’s not just about flailing your arms.

Various fist techniques I had learned in the Zodiac Twelve Fists Sect.

I arranged them to suit high school students and taught them.

─Apply force to your feet, accelerating your legs and waist. Transfer that force to your upper body and shoulders, then receive it again and deliver it through your arm to make it even stronger.

I didn’t teach more than was necessary.

The principle lightly, focusing mainly on moving the body.

It was something I had taken great care in, but seemingly the students didn’t feel the same way.

─Teacher. Tell us about your first love.

Just when I thought they were moving a little, they would start talking to me.

─Where did you come from, teacher? You’ve got the best body in the whole school.

─Show us what you just did again. When you punched, there was a wind whooshing out.

……Is my lecture boring?

It didn’t seem so, given that their attitudes weren’t bad.

More like, I’m just more interested in me, you know?

—That’s forbidden.

Still, I had to keep quiet about what happened back at the sect.

Even *that* made them squeal that I was cool, it was a problem.

…Anyways.

I continued my lectures like that and used the rest of the time to observe school life.

I wondered what kind of lives these students lived.

What I found out was—

—Hey! Your competition isn’t popular, is it? What’re you gonna do?

—Bullshit. We’re better than you lot anyway.

A peculiar structure that encouraged competition between the male and female students.

A competitive dynamic deliberately set up by the old man himself.

Even I, someone clueless about school life, found it odd.

It’s a school for cultivating athletes, but not all the men and women pursue the same career paths.

It’s a given that men are physically more advantageous, and most sports have more popular men’s leagues.

Though there are some exceptions, like volleyball or tennis where the women’s leagues are more popular.

This was a major cause for frequent conflict, particularly at Taegeuk High.

—Teacher! Good morning!

One interesting thing is that I was closer to the girl’s volleyball team than the boys.

The girls approached me and spoke to me readily.

Talking to them, I could feel a smile forming on my lips.

‘So this is school.’

A vibrant space of youth.

A period I’d never experienced even once until I became an adult.

Experiencing it as a teacher, even, was quite a nice feeling.

…Of course, the tension between the boys and girls was a little worrisome.

But, I figured no serious problems would arise.

Problems occurring at the student level would be cute, at best.

—But.

It wouldn’t take long for me to realize that was a mistake.

*

“……”

I open my eyes, which had been closed.

It’s like I’d been asleep for ages, my body barely responding to commands.

Slowly, I move my fingers, little by little, waking up the feeling.

‘Did I have a dream?’

A memory from long ago.

The days when I’d just become an adult and worked at Taeguk High for a few years.

Why did I suddenly think of that?

My head throbs for a moment, and I close my eyes again, when a leisurely voice comes from beside me.

“Huh? You shouldn’t fall asleep again.”

The voice was strong yet gentle.

A tone that evoked contradictory feelings.

…Yeah, a woman who wields both sword and magic could easily be like that.

I turn my gaze.

A woman in uniform is sitting by my bedside.

Her tightly bound ponytail reaches down to her waist.

A beautifully crafted sword nearby, the flow of magic in the air.

The chairwoman of Olympia Academy.

Athena.

“You’re awake? How do you feel, can you see clearly?”

She waves her hand back and forth in front of me.

It looks like she’s playing a prank, but she’s not.

This is a check-up.

To see if my consciousness is clear.

If my cognitive functions are normal.

…If I’ve properly crossed the line.

“…I can see clearly.”

“Hm. Really? Then that’s good.”

She seems relieved at my words and retracts her hand.

Athena just shut her mouth and stared at me, silent.

Probably giving me time to think.

I, too, stayed quiet, recalling the events from before I’d blacked out.

—When I took down the Nemean Lion.

I’d thought that by defeating the first-act boss, I’d solved all my immediate problems.

It was only natural to think that.

Just looking at the notification messages that popped up the instant the lion fell confirmed it.

Stat increases, new body cheats, and whatnot.

So, of course, I’d relaxed, letting the tension drain from my body.

My whole body was covered in wounds, the amount of blood I’d lost was enough to put me in bed for days.

But I didn’t think it was anything life-threatening.

—*Cough!*

I threw up a mouthful of blood.

It didn’t make any sense.

I was past the critical point. The battle was over. There was nothing else threatening my body anymore.

So, why, was my body racing towards death?

“Aren’t you curious?”

Athena asked, leisurely.

Like she could tell me everything I was curious about.

She looked down at me and smiled.

“Why you collapsed, how I saved you. What do you want to know first?”

“…Tell me why I collapsed, first.”

“Good. You can discern the importance of matters.”

She chuckled and praised me.

Then, Athena snapped her fingers.

Casting a spell that simulated the entire view of the Olympia Academy.

“Mana insensitivity. Shall we start by talking about the peculiarities of your body?”

Herak Leonhardt.

She began to unravel the secrets of this body, one by one.

*

Apathy to magic.

A congenital disease where one cannot feel magic.

Talent for both aura and magic, which are based on magic, disappears.

Therefore, one cannot become a knight or a mage.

That’s how it’s known in the world, it seems, but in reality, there’s one more fact.

No— rather than a fact, it’s a truth closer to a tragedy.

“All those with magic apathy are short-lived.”

Athena stated.

Based on her life experience.

From seeing numerous individuals with magic apathy.

“As you know, all humans circulate magic both internally and externally. This principle used in aura and magic, many have called it a blessing. But if that’s truly the case— what happens to those who haven’t received this blessing?”

“……”

“Indeed. Those with magic apathy don’t have this circulation. And that immediately signifies the collapse of the body.”

A simple story.

Magic circulates and moves through the body and outwards.

Through this, humans maintain their physical balance.

If magic can’t flow, the magic within the body will be depleted, and the body will die.

That’s what magic apathy is.

“…I understand that. But what does that have to do with why I collapsed?”

“Look here.”

The magic she mimicked.

The central tower of the Olympia Academy, where a mana stone is embedded.

From that mana stone, a massive flow of magic spread out, filling the academy.

“A mana stone originally installed to promote the growth of students. Its characteristic is to increase magic density. …Do you understand the meaning of this?”

“Hah.”

A sigh escaped.

There’s no need to ponder.

Given the flow of the conversation, the reason she asks at this timing is obvious.

“The magic radiating from the mana stone. The magic density, which became dense because of it. That’s what blocked the penalty due to my magic apathy, isn’t it.”

“Oh. Quite perceptive?”

Clap, clap, clap—

Athena chuckled, clapping several times before continuing her explanation.

“Even with a body that can’t circulate mana, if the mana density in the air is thick enough, it’s not a problem. The mana will forcefully penetrate your skin.”

“I heard I have a mana layer on my skin.”

“That’s the mana that couldn’t circulate due to your mana insensitivity, remaining on your skin. But if the density exceeds a certain point, it’s inevitable it will permeate.”

…Was that so?

The mana layer on my skin that the previous Margaret mentioned.

They said they didn’t know why it existed.

‘Of course they wouldn’t know.’

There’s never been anyone with mana insensitivity who has lived this long.

It’s an unprecedented case, that’s why it hasn’t been discovered.

“Haa.”

A sigh escapes me again at this newly discovered fact.

My head throbs.

I never knew mana insensitivity had such a danger associated with it.

‘Right, so that’s why I die if I go outside the academy.’

Going to the outside where mana density is low, causing a bodily imbalance and death.

Inevitably, I’m stuck inside the academy.

“Then, the method you used to save me was by replacing the mana stone? I heard the existing mana stone had reached its lifespan.”

“Ah, originally, that was the plan. The mana stone was supposed to arrive around the time I did. But—”

Athena’s finger extends.

She placed her index finger on my chest, where my heart is located.

“—The injuries you sustained while stopping the rampaging monster were severe. Your body was collapsing before the mana stone arrived. If I had left it as it was, you would have died.”

“…Then, how?”

“Item.”

Her finger presses down firmly.

My throbbing heart.

Whether it was some special item I ingested, my heart was beating stronger than before.

“The item that dropped after defeating the Lion. I made you eat it right away.”

“……”

【Lion’s Heart】.

An item dropped upon defeating the Act 1 boss.

Its effects vary, but primarily, it’s akin to a power-up tonic.

“With an item that rare, it should have no problem curing your magic insensitivity. It’s incredibly hard to find, but, well—I think it’s just a natural right for the victor.”

Originally, the 【Lion’s Heart】 is eaten by the male lead.

That makes pushing the story forward a lot smoother, but…

“…Hah.”

“Huh? Why the sigh? You’d be dead without that thing, you know?”

“No, it’s nothing. I’m grateful enough.”

Yeah.

It’s about time I thought I’d take over the main character’s role anyway.

Like Athena said, I would have died if I hadn’t eaten the heart.

Think of it easily.

I’ll push the story forward.

Act 1 is cleared, now I just have to finish Act 2.

“Anyway, that’s the urgent stuff done. Anything else you’re curious about?”

“I don’t know.”

“Think hard. It’s a chance to have a one-on-one with the director, no less. I recommend making good use of this opportunity.”

“……”

What I wanted to ask Athena about.

The secret behind my magic insensitivity, the reason I collapsed, how I was saved, I figured it all out.

That alone was an adequate answer, but—

“The reason you brought me here.”

—Not yet.

The fundamental question hasn’t been resolved.

“I want to know why you specifically enrolled Herak Leonhardt into Olympia Academy.”

The beginning of it all.

It’s time to uncover the truth behind it.