I Became an Academy Overpowered Growth Genius

I Became an Academy Overpowered Growth Genius – 044

EP.44 The First Awakening (1)

“Seo-Jun!! Snap out of it!!! Kang Seo-Jun!!!!”

Seo Eun-Ha slapped Kang Seo-Jun’s cheek hard.

– Slap! Slap! Slap! –

“Uh, ugh…!”

Although she had tried to control her strength, the touch was quite harsh for Kang Seo-Jun.

‘It hurts….’

The pain brought Kang Seo-Jun’s flipped eyes back to their original position.

“S-Stop….”

“Seo-Jun! Seo-Jun!!”

“Ah….yes….”

– Huff. Huff. –

Kang Seo-Jun knelt down, clutching his dizzy head tightly.

Thud. Blood-mixed saliva scattered on the floor.

– Huff. Huff. –

“I’m fine….”

Kang Seo-Jun said, dripping blood-mixed saliva.

“It’s nothing. This….”

“What!?”

Although it was meant to calm her, the words lacked any convincing power, almost as if he could die right now without any problem.

“I-It’s nothing! Let’s go to the hospital right away!”

“Ah, no. The hospital……!”

“It’s not negotiable! I’ll support you first!”

Seo Eun-Ha propped up Kang Seo-Jun and led him to her car.

“Ouch…! The hospital……!”

Kang Seo-Jun tried to endure, but he couldn’t overcome the strength of an A-rank hunter.

“No! Ku-eek!”

– Shriek! –

In the end, Kang Seo-Jun collapsed again, screaming and vomiting blood.

“S-Seo-Jun!!!”

“Haah, huff…! We can’t go to the hospital….”

– Huff… Huff… –

“Today…. There must not be any record of us meeting….”

Today’s events may have shifted the targets of the demons to Park Shin-Hoo, but Seo Eun-Ha was still expected to be under the surveillance of the demons for a while.

In the midst of this, if the demons were to obtain data that Seo Eun-Ha had met Kang Seo-Jun today…

‘I could also become their target.’

The demons would never overlook the emergence of a new individual lightly.

Certainly, Seo Eun-Ha would wonder why she met Kang Seo-Jun, who had no apparent connections.

If that happened, the aggro she had thrown at Park Shin-Hoo would be useless.

Of course, Seo Eun-Ha was not unaware of that.

“But…!”

– Huff… Huff… –

But it wasn’t right to leave someone wandering in dire straits, vomiting blood.

Regardless of strategies and plans, shouldn’t the priority be to survive and see?

“I’m really fine.”

– Splurt… Splurt… –

“Ugh…!!”

Kang Seo-Jun struggled to get up with the sound of his breath resembling that of a lung patient.

“Look…. You can’t even stand properly like this.”

– Wobble! Wobble! –

– Stagger! Stagger! –

“You can’t even stand properly!”

In case he fell backward, Seo Eun-Ha quickly supported Kang Seo-Jun.

“It’ll get better if I rest a bit.”

“S-Stubborn…!”

Seo Eun-Ha led Kang Seo-Jun back into the car.

“Ugh…!”

This time, there was determination in his resolve not to yield to her coercion.

“I’ll take you to the hospital! I’ll take full responsibility!”

“No, I can’t…!”

In resistance to Seo Eun-Ha’s strength, Kang Seo-Jun ended up lying back.

“Seo-Jun!?”

She could have forcibly dragged him along, but eventually, Seo Eun-Ha had to stop again for fear of Kang Seo-Jun getting hurt.

“This is a waste of time! Your condition will only worsen!”

“No…. This is the best option. I’ll really get better if I rest.”

Even though saying it while dripping blood might lack any convincing power, it was the truth.

Despite the cold sweat, difficulty in breathing, dizziness, and tingling sensation all over his body, Kang Seo-Jun was not in the severe state that Seo Eun-Ha imagined.

It was just symptoms caused by excessive drug side effects and severe fatigue.

For two days, Kang Seo-Jun had not slept properly, using ‘Revitalizing Tonics’ and ‘Revitalizing Painkillers’ excessively, resulting in what happened.

It was nothing more than a simple ‘health issue’ frequently experienced even in the original work, ‘Grand Hunter Academy’.

The solution was quite simple.

One could soothe the worn-out insides with a ‘Dimensional Shop Healing Potion’ and just rest.

Once fatigue was restored and all the drug components in the body were excreted through urine, the health issue would disappear on its own.

In other words, this phenomenon for Kang Seo-Jun was nothing more than a mild case of indigestion.

“Why… to that extent….”

However, to Seo Eun-Ha, who didn’t know that, Kang Seo-Jun’s condition held a different meaning.

– Groan… –

Seo Eun-Ha bit her lower lip tightly, bowing her head deeply.

“So that’s it….”

She murmured quietly.

“Insisting on going alone… was to hide that physical condition….”

“What?”

No, that’s not it.

“I… I know I’m not in good shape! Please, don’t…!”

“No, no…!”

“If you can’t believe me…. then at least use me as a disposable item!”

“No, no…!!”

Before she could misunderstand again, Kang Seo-Jun quickly interjected.

– Huff… Huff… –

“I suppose I need to show some evidence… for you to feel at ease.”

Kang Seo-Jun purchased a ‘Dimensional Shop Healing Potion’ from the dimensional shop window.

“Gasp!”

As Kang Seo-Jun unexpectedly pulled out a glass bottle filled with red liquid from thin air, Seo Eun-Ha gasped and swallowed her breath.

Kang Seo-Jun shook the healing potion and said,

“…This is why we don’t need to go to the hospital. We already have medicine.”

– Splash!! –

Kang Seo-Jun opened the potion’s cap and took a sip.

– Splutter! –

As the red liquid passed through his throat, the abdominal pain eased and breathing became much easier.

“Phew…. That’s better now. I can walk by myself.”

When Kang Seo-Jun lightly tapped Seo Eun-Ha’s hand, she cautiously released her support and observed his condition.

“…Are you really okay with just that?”

“It seems like you still can’t trust me?”

“…I’m sorry. I’ve made a fuss again….”

Seo Eun-Ha felt embarrassed as it seemed Kang Seo-Jun’s complexion and breathing had calmed down significantly compared to just before. She lowered her head with an awkward expression.

Seeing her like that, Kang Seo-Jun smiled with relief.

Now that he noticed, both of them were completely covered in blood.

“My clothes that I’ve tried so hard to clean are dirty again….”

Just as Kang Seo-Jun touched the dimensional shop window to purchase a ‘Downtown Cleaning Spray’.

– Wobble. –

“Huh…?”

The world tilted unexpectedly.

At the same time,

[Willpower is being tested due to severe fatigue.]

[Willpower is being tested due to severe fatigue.]

[Physical strength is being tested due to severe fatigue.]

[Physical strength is being tested due to severe fatigue.]

.

.

.

.

Underneath the continuously ignored repeating messages, a new message appeared.

[Reached the limit and fainted.]

– Thud! –

“Seo, Seo-Jun!? Kang Seo-Jun!!!”

Seo Eun-Ha’s voice echoed as if from a distant place.

====

***

====

[Consciousness has returned. Condition abnormality ‘Fainting’ disappears.]

[Exceeded one’s limits and survived, willpower has borne fruit! Willpower attribute +1 increase!]

“…Hmm.”

As consciousness returned, a severe headache pounded in his head.

“Ugh..!”

“Seo-Jun?”

When Kang Seo-Jun groaned, a familiar girl’s voice was heard nearby.

“Ugh…”

Struggling to lift his heavy eyelids, he saw Jin Se-rin right beside him.

“Se-rin…?”

“Oh… Thank goodness…. Thank you. I’m really relieved….”

Sitting by the bedside, she clasped Kang Seo-Jun’s hand tightly with both hands and prayed in gratitude.

On the other hand, Kang Seo-Jun’s expression became complicated.

Kang Seo-Jun tried to lift himself up by exerting force on his abdomen.

– Zing! –

“Ugh!”

However, he couldn’t help but lie down due to severe pain in his side.

“Hey! Don’t push yourself! Are you okay? Where does it hurt? Do you need anything?”

“…What’s going on? Where are we…?”

Although he wanted to get up and assess the situation firsthand, even opening his eyes was not easy at the moment.

Due to the dot damage from the abnormal conditions 《Severe Fatigue》 and 《Drug Intoxication》, his HP had decreased to a critical level.

“You can rest assured and take it easy. This is the dormitory. My room.”

“Dormitory…?”

Only now did the familiar ceiling come into view.

It was the dormitory room ceiling of Jin Se-rin, frequently seen in the original work, ‘Grand Hunter Academy’.

Kang Seo-Jun closed his eyes again and pondered for a moment.

However, he couldn’t guess how things had unfolded since he fainted.

“…How did I end up here?”

“Eun-Ha unni carried you here. She came in through the window, and you have no idea how surprised I was.”

“Through the window?”

“Yeah. We couldn’t come in through the main entrance because we can’t leave records with the CCTV.”

“Oh….”

Hearing that, the situation became clearer.

‘Eun-Ha took care of everything. Thank goodness.’

He felt a deep sense of relief at her thoroughness, even considering the CCTV at the academy. If Seo Eun-Ha had acted negligently, the situation could have been much worse, as the demons could have collected data on her movements and seen Kang Seo-Jun being carried by her on the dormitory CCTV, potentially causing unnecessary trouble.

“Phew….”

Kang Seo-Jun let out a deep sigh of relief.

And the reason Seo Eun-Ha brought Kang Seo-Jun to Jin Se-rin’s room instead of his own…

‘My room must have been locked…. She must have urgently asked for help from Jin Se-rin.’

This filled in the blanks in his memory somewhat.

He was curious about what happened when he lost consciousness, but thanks to Seo Eun-Ha, everything seemed to have been resolved without any issues.

He felt an immediate desire to express his gratitude.

“Uh…”

However, the MVP was nowhere to be seen.

“But what about Eun-Ha?”

“She left because it was getting late. About 10 minutes ago.”

“I see….”

Let’s express gratitude next time.

“Yeah. But hey…”

“Yeah?”

– Tap. –

Jin Se-rin placed her hand on Kang Seo-Jun’s chest and spoke.

“Did you fight with the demons today?”

“… Did Eun-Ha tell you about that too?”

MVP canceled.

“Shouldn’t I know about it?”

“No… It’s not that….”

There’s no need to worry unnecessarily about trivial matters.

“So, telling me wouldn’t help at all anyway?”

“…Huh?”

Kang Seo-Jun furrowed his eyebrows.

“No…. Why is your tone…”

“No, forget it.”

Jin Se-rin chuckled playfully and lay down beside Kang Seo-Jun.

– Thud! –

“I know too. You must have worried.”

Her gaze, a mixture of relief and resentment, fixed on Kang Seo-Jun from a slight distance.

“If you don’t want to worry me, then don’t get caught.”

“…Sorry.”

There was nothing else to say, her words were justified.

“Apologies aren’t enough.”

Jin Se-rin said, twirling her fingers above Kang Seo-Jun’s chest.

Kang Seo-Jun responded with a resigned expression.

Then, as if frustrated, Jin Se-rin sighed and extended her pinky finger.

“Promise me one of two things.”

“What?”

“Promise either not to get hurt like this again or not to hide anything from me wherever you go from now on.”

“Um….”

“Hurry up, this is a punishment!”

Seeing Kang Seo-Jun’s hand unmoving, Jin Se-rin hooked her pinky finger first.

“Now promise me you won’t get hurt in places I don’t know about.”

Jin Se-rin was unexpectedly imposing both promises on Kang Seo-Jun.

“I know I’m lacking compared to you. I know I might only be a hindrance even if I want to help. But…”

“……”

“At least I don’t want to be left in the dark.”

Kang Seo-Jun felt ashamed.

After parting ways in the afternoon and returning late at night like this, she must be trying her best not to get too angry.

“At the very least… Can’t you let me worry about you?”

“…I’m really sorry.”

Kang Seo-Jun exerted pressure on Jin Se-rin’s pinky finger as they faced each other.

“I promise. Never again will I… Wait, what!?”

At that moment, an unexpected revelation caught Kang Seo-Jun’s eye.

“Huh?”

“You. When did…!”

The mark of the ‘Chosen One’ engraved on Jin Se-rin’s backhand.

It had evolved a step further unnoticed.

What this evolution meant was that Jin Se-rin had become the strongest among the Korean Hunter Academy students.