Chapter : 19
I’ll save you in the bad ending route
The Observer’s Sight
Demian twisted his head left and right like an owl, then bowed deeply to Aaron.
“Ah, hello.”
“Airan, how’s your body now?”
“I’m fine now.”
“That’s a relief.”
Aaron nodded lightly. He was holding a bastard sword. Beads of sweat—rare for someone who always had his nose in a book—dotted his forehead. He must have gone to the training grounds to test out the weapons himself.
Thinking Aaron will personally supervise the training… terrifying.
I suddenly remembered one of Aaron’s nicknames from the game—“The Demon King of the Training Grounds.” That’s how ruthlessly Sparta-style he trained people.
Still, with the Orion exam coming soon, what reason was there to refuse having an S-tier character personally evaluate my skills?
“You two, come here and stand.”
Aaron jerked his chin and guided us toward a small hexagonal pillar. The knee-high blue pillar glimmered faintly.
“We’ll start by measuring your stats.”
“My stats?”
I asked in surprise.
“You’ve never seen one, have you? This is a Soul Magic Stone.”
A Soul Magic Stone? I’d never heard of that item before. Was that even in the game?
Even I, a full-on veteran player, was baffled. Aaron smoothly added an explanation.
“Place your hand on it, and it converts your current abilities into numbers. It’s used to measure your magical capacity before facing monsters. Try it yourself.”
“Like this?”
“Yes. Spread your palm flat.”
Following his instructions, I placed my hand on the smooth surface of the stone. The instant I felt the cold touch, a blue glow spread outward. White light followed and sprang upward, forming several square windows.
On the right was a human figure showing magic flowing through the body. The left displayed numerical stats of all kinds.
And at that moment, I screamed inside.
Ah! This! A status screen!
So the player-and-companion stat system wasn’t just UI—it existed for real!
This world actually had technology like this. The gamer in me could barely contain the excitement.
“What do you see?”
Demian leaned over, trying to peek, though the display was invisible to others.
“You look at this one.”
Aaron led Demian to the other stone.
Alright. Let’s take a look at my numbers while I have the chance.
Let’s see… Airan’s stats…
[HP C- (357)]
[Attack D (85)]
Wait, sixth-year student? C to D tier? Is that a joke?
Everything else—defense, magic attack, elemental resistance—hovered between C and D.
The lowest was Magic Defense: D- (42).
Even brushing against someone slightly stronger would kill me.
I should be grateful Airan survived this long.
The highest stat was Evasion: B- (92).
Speed was Airan’s one redeeming strength.
But evasion hardly mattered in the game. Late-game enemies had attacks you simply couldn’t dodge.
Low defense plus unreliable dodging = dead kid walking.
Who designs a character like this? What is a player supposed to do with Airan?
I started scrolling to check the rest—then something strange appeared.
[Information SSS+ (9999)]
…Excuse me? SSS+?
Why is INFORMATION like this? Is this a bug? Why is it the only one maxed at 9999? Isn’t that the game’s cap?
I scrolled, refreshed—nothing changed.
If it’s not a bug… does that mean my information stat is actually maxed out?
That’s cheating.
“Information” was a meta-stat tied to rumors and knowledge about NPCs.
Completely pointless when you already know the game inside out like I do.
Wait—did the stat convert my real-world knowledge into a number?
Two thousand hours of playtime… finally paying off. Dying while gaming wasn’t for nothing!
This meant I was basically the world’s greatest genius. Even Aaron—“Judge’s Eye” himself—couldn’t have more than 2000.
And I absolutely dwarfed him.
What else changed…?
Scrolling down, another anomaly appeared: a new Soul Skill.
Soul Skills were passive, character-unique skills.
Airan’s original was Wind Shield, but it had been replaced with <Observer’s Sight>.
I racked my memory—no such skill existed in the game.
Even with 9999 Information, I’d never seen it.
Meaning—it wasn’t Airan’s.
It was mine.
My soul—the soul of An Jieun—was inhabiting Airan. So the Soul Skill was tied to the soul’s owner.
Yes! This is MY personal skill!
If someone with 9999 Information said it, it had to be right.
Thank goodness… I’m amazing. Even Airan’s soul skill was trash.
At least something turned out great.
Now tell me what this skill does.
Confident, I tapped it.
Nothing happened.
“…Huh?”
I tapped again. Nothing. Stared at it. Mentally yelled.
Silence.
Hold on. You give me a skill and no instructions?! How am I supposed to use this?! Who designed this?! Give me a tooltip!
Frustrated, I just blurted into the air—
“Observer’s Sight!”
Nothing.
What am I supposed to do with this?! It’s just a shiny decoration if I can’t use it!
“…What are you doing?”
“Airan… why are you like that…?”
Oh. Right. People are here.
Demian and Aaron were staring at me like I’d gone insane.
“Ah—no, uh—”
In games, you shout magic words, right?!
Doesn’t everyone?!
Oh no. I’m just the kid yelling random spells at air.
I scrambled for an excuse—none came.
What do I do? Aaron especially won’t buy anything.
Aaron’s stare sharpened.
“What are you three doing?”
Freya walked into the training grounds.
Savior!
I forced a bright smile and rushed to speak first.
“Nothing at all! We were practicing magic! Lady Freya, what brings you here?”
“I came to evaluate Demian. I told you—I’m testing him.”
“Eh?”
Freya strode to the center of the grounds, hair flying.
“…Me?”
Seeing her, Demian ducked his head and stole uneasy glances.
“Yes, you. I still don’t believe you’re fit to be Airan’s partner. I’ll judge your dark magic myself.”
Huh? Right here?
Demian looked between us, panicked.
“You’re a famous troublemaker, Demian.”
He trembled at the icy sharp gaze aimed at him, visibly pained at being treated like a monster.
“If you can damage me while staying sane, I’ll acknowledge you.”
My mind blanked for a moment—then a thought clicked.
No. This might be a good chance. He drank Laotis’s potion. He should handle darkness safely now. What he needs is to realize it himself—to gain confidence.
Dark magic was deeply emotional.
This could be perfect. Sparring with another S-tier like Freya will build his confidence.
She was the game’s top tank. She wouldn’t get hurt easily.
“Demian, you’re okay with that, right?”
“O-Oh…?”
Still unsure.
I glanced at Aaron—his Judge’s Eye watching silently.
Aaron might even diagnose Demian’s issues and help.
Sudden, yes, but zero downside. No matter the outcome, we gain something.
I nodded decisively and smiled at Demian.
“Come on. Show them how well you control dark magic now. Okay?”
Demian looked terrified—but when he met my eyes, he exhaled in relief. Still hesitating, still glancing between us—but finally he clenched his jaw and nodded.
“…Y-yeah. I’ll… be okay…”
He stepped forward to face Freya.
“Since I drank your potion!”
Aaron moved between them.
“I’ll judge.”
“Give us a fair call.”
“Six exchanges. Prove yourself before then, Demian.”
“O-Okay.”
Freya raised her hand—and an ice-forged spear materialized with a flash.
Her signature weapon: Sculpted Spear.
Whoa. The absolute Queen of Ice herself. Lady Freya arrives.
Holding her spear, she looked less like a noble daughter and more like a knight of divine rank.
I’m… I’m watching a live magic battle between in-game characters… Freyaaa!
The 2000-hour veteran in me was practically vibrating.
“P-please go easy on me…”
Black light rippled in Demian’s hand—summoning his weapon, Yorg’s Grimoire, a dark-magic conduit.
He faced Freya, tense and shaking.
“Stay sharp. Give it everything you’ve got. Otherwise, I won’t acknowledge you.”
Freya leveled her spear. Aaron extended his hand between them.
Ice and darkness collided in the air, crackling like opposing tides.
“On three.”
“All right.”
“…Understood.”
“One. Two. Three… Begin!”
Freya sprang backward like a flash.
“I’ll go first! !”
With a crisp call, she swept her spear against the ground.
A massive wave of ice erupted forward, engulfing Demian’s line of sight.
Absolute-zero chill swallowed the arena.
Freya spun her spear back into guard position—and smiled, relaxed and confident.
