But something was strange.
It had indeed been the sound of a wooden sword striking something, but it was not the sound of it meeting human skin.
On top of that, he felt no pain.
‘This is…….’
When he grasped the situation again, Sechan’s posture had collapsed as if he had been bounced away by something, and a small golden shield had appeared over Daehyun’s right hand.
“You, just now, that was……!”
Sechan stared at his own sword for a long while, his face filled with bewilderment.
The attack that should have struck had been deflected in an instant.
It was a situation that was difficult to believe, even after seeing it with his own eyes.
“Who knows?”
But Daehyun did not care.
There was a high chance that it was a quest reward or some new power, and he hardly had the time to examine such a thing right now.
‘His posture has collapsed. If I strike now, one blow should be enough.’
In the current situation, that was the only thing on his mind.
“Haa…….”
So Daehyun clenched his fist with all his might.
Just as he had done in the Demon Realm, and just as he had done when he had been the Fist King, he tried to gather the demonic energy within his body.
‘But there is no demonic energy in this body.’
Just as he had confirmed through the status window earlier.
Because this place was Korea, not the Demon Realm, he could not feel even the slightest trace of demonic energy.
‘That does not mean…… there is no way.’
He felt it.
It was neither the demonic energy he had used in the Demon Realm nor the mana commonly used by superhumans.
It was the sensation of something bright and warm enveloping his whole body.
Something unfamiliar, different from demonic energy.
Ding—! Ding—!
[Skill, Divine Fist (LV.1), activates.]
[You have succeeded in drawing out your inner Divine Power!]
[The power of Skill, Divine Fist (LV.1), rises sharply!]
Daehyun’s fist shone brightly.
A golden aura covered his body.
The flow inside his body and the sensation of drawing it forth were both unfamiliar and unpleasant, unlike demonic energy.
‘Right. Divine Power.’
The power he had used for healing. Daehyun’s own original power. His unique special stat.
‘I never thought I would use Divine Power this way.’
He had succeeded in gathering it, and the opportunity had been created.
All that remained was to see how well this thing performed.
Daehyun clenched his fist.
‘Hup!’
Then he thrust out his arm with all his might and launched a powerful uppercut.
CRACK—!
“Guh!”
With a loud, heavy sound, Park Sechan’s body flew briefly into the air.
It had landed. He could feel the blow sink in.
He could feel the impact clearly.
As he looked down at his fist with a smile.
THUD.
Sechan’s body fell to the floor.
“……Hey. Is the one standing over there Kang Daehyun?”
“Stop lying. Then are you saying the one who flew all the way over there is Park Sechan?”
“This is insane. I saw it, but I still cannot believe it.”
“What was that just now? Did anyone see it properly?”
“Was Kang Daehyun always that fast? No, I did not even see him hit him.”
At the same time, the students began whispering wildly.
The sudden change in the situation had been so fast that they could not understand the scene all at once either.
“……Kang Daehyun wins.”
Even the teacher who was there could only announce the verdict with a blank expression.
‘Now then…….’
Step— step—.
Daehyun lightly ignored the gazes pouring over him and walked over to the fallen Park Sechan.
Sechan had fainted. His body, which was not moving in the slightest, proved that.
“Hmm.”
Daehyun looked back and forth between his own hand and Sechan’s fallen jaw.
‘Why is he fine?’
It had definitely been a blow powerful enough to knock him unconscious, yet Park Sechan’s jaw was perfectly unmarked, and Daehyun’s fist did not hurt at all.
“I thought something felt strange…….”
The impact and the sensation of the hit remained the same, but there were no wounds.
Daehyun knew what that meant.
“……What garbage.”
To think he was healing at the very moment he struck with his fist.
Dumbfounded, he let out a hollow laugh, and then surrendered himself to the fatigue that washed over him.
THUD—.
“Give me back my demonic energy…….”
For some reason, his eyes began to close.
***
The soft sensation wrapping around his body.
The warmth he could feel beyond it.
The place where Daehyun opened his eyes after collapsing was not the training hall.
‘I am tired.’
His body was still exhausted, and he felt a slight headache, but it was not to the point that he could not move.
‘This place is…….’
Daehyun clutched his head and looked around.
Curtains surrounding the bed.
The smell of medicine pricking the tip of his nose.
At the very least, he could tell that this was not the training hall.
Tidy the blanket after using an infirmary bed!
‘The infirmary.’
After the duel ended, his strength had strangely drained away, and in the end, it seemed he had fainted.
‘Is this the price of overusing a power I am not accustomed to?’
Daehyun rose from the bed and silently examined his whole body.
His arms, his legs, even his hands.
His body was wrapped in bandages to an almost excessive degree, and all of these were wounds he had received from a single duel.
‘My arms and legs still move, and they are neither broken nor severed.’
According to his original plan, his right arm should have been broken.
At the time, he had deliberately given it up with that intention.
‘The fact that I am this fine means that thing really was real after all.’
But thanks to the shield-like something that had appeared at that moment, his arm had not broken.
No, rather, it had destroyed Park Sechan’s posture, and Daehyun had been able to seize that opening and land one powerful blow.
‘Status window.’
Ding—!
[Kang Daehyun]
[Stats: Strength (10), Agility (13), Intelligence (30), Unique Stat = Divine Power (20)]
[Type: Healing-Type (C)]
[Traits: Speed Reading (E), Quick Thinking (C), Observation (C+), ??? (EX)]
[Skills: Lesser Healing (LV.1), Divine Shield (LV.1), Divine Fist (LV.1)]
He had forgotten because he had used only demonic energy for such a long time, but sure enough, it was there.
In the place where his original “demonic energy” should have been, there was neither mana nor demonic energy, but something called “Divine Power.”
‘Back then, it was quite difficult because there was no status window. No, perhaps I was able to accept demonic energy precisely because there was no status window?’
In any case, now that the status window existed.
The only force Daehyun could currently use was Divine Power.
‘Divine Fist and Divine Shield.’
His new skills, granted as quest rewards.
Clench.
Daehyun clenched his fist.
‘I can use it in this way too.’
Was it worth abandoning demonic energy to use this?
Was this truly a power suited to him?
More than that, where was the limit of this power?
Daehyun stared at his hand and thought for a moment. Soon, he clenched his fist and smiled coldly.
‘It is still more than worth investigating.’
Just as his demonic energy had developed endlessly during his days as the Fist King, this thing called Divine Power would surely do the same.
Once he was certain of that, there was no time to sit here in despair.
[Skill, Lesser Healing (LV.1), activates.]
“First, let us go back.”
Daehyun removed the bandages and left the infirmary.
***
“Daehyun! Daehyun! I heard today’s duel was incredible. Is it true? Is it really true?”
‘……He is the same as ever.’
The one who greeted him as soon as he opened the dormitory door was his old friend and roommate, Kang Shinhyuk.
“……Yes. I will tell you everything, whether it is the story or an explanation of what happened, so let go of me first. I am dying here.”
Shinhyuk suddenly threw him into a headlock, and Daehyun tried to push him away with all his strength, but perhaps because he was exhausted, he could not push him off easily.
“Ah…… right, right. Sorry. Wait a second.”
When Daehyun said that.
Kang Shinhyuk quickly headed to the kitchen, saying he had something to prepare.
Only after he finally shook him off did Daehyun sigh and go to wash up.
‘It has been a long time since I experienced this too.’
He had forgotten that Shinhyuk had always been excessive in expressing his emotions, so this kind of welcome was flustering, yet it also made him smile faintly.
‘My physical condition back then really was serious.’
As he looked at his body reflected in the bathroom mirror, he let out a sigh.
‘To think I planned to fight monsters with a body like this.’
If he looked at it half in jest and half in earnest, falling into the Demon Realm, losing the system window, and using demonic energy might even have been considered good luck.
……As a joke, of course.
“Behold. Your big brother ordered something for you last week, that is what I am saying!”
“……What do you mean, big brother? We are the same age.”
“Come now, let us not worry over every little detail.”
Kang Shinhyuk smiled without a hint of killing intent or malice.
Daehyun scratched his head and sat down across from him.
‘This, too, has been a long time.’
How long had it been since he sat face-to-face with someone and calmly held a conversation?
He could no longer remember.
“I heard you collapsed after the duel. You worked hard, so I am giving this to you. Drink it.”
Slide—.
As he said that, Kang Shinhyuk pushed a teacup toward him.
“It is a fatigue recovery tonic. Not the ordinary kind you buy at a pharmacy, but a special blend made by an S-rank alchemist.”
“……An alchemist?”
Had there been an S-rank superhuman called that?
Daehyun tilted his head for a moment, then immediately lifted the teacup.
‘Well, I suppose that is not important.’
Whatever it was, Shinhyuk would not have given him anything bad.
He lightly took a sip from the teacup he had lifted.
A warm heat quickly flowed throughout his body, and the numbness in his arms and legs slowly began to ease.
It truly felt as if his fatigue was fading.
‘……It is not bad, all things considered.’
Since he had to start moving again tomorrow, even this much was something to be grateful for.
“So what are you going to do from now on?”
In the middle of that, Kang Shinhyuk asked.
“……About what?”
“What else? The exam. The exam is next month. You know that if you fail again this time, you will be expelled.”
Expulsion meant leaving the school. It meant being driven out of school.
Kang Shinhyuk’s expression grew serious, but Daehyun tilted his head and said,
“……Expelled?”
“Well, for now, yes.”
“Hmm.”
Daehyun let out a low hum.
‘Well, if this body could produce good results, that would be remarkable in its own way…….’
Daehyun was able to feel, once again and to the bone, just how weak his past self had been.
‘I suppose there is no helping it.’
He had to avoid expulsion at all costs.
Going outside while he was still this weak was not a good choice.
Above all, he still wanted to learn more about this thing called Divine Power.
‘In my first life, I fell into the Demon Realm before I could even try applying anything.’
For that, he would need to keep facing new obstacles, and this place was truly the optimal environment for that.
“It is going to be on a completely different level from the entrance test. Will you be okay?”
“Probably…… I will be fine.”
“Can you really afford to be that relaxed?”
“Being overly anxious will not change anything.”
“If it comes down to it, should I help you?”
Kang Shinhyuk, unaware of what Daehyun was thinking, asked lightly.
“……Help me?”
He said he would train him himself, or that he would ask the seniors and find some trick that might help him during the exam.
As Daehyun watched him try to find solutions in his own way, he could not help but smile faintly.
‘As expected, he really is a good guy.’
He must have been busy taking care of himself, too.
How many people could go this far merely because someone was their friend?
‘In a way, it was thanks to him that I endured back then without being expelled.’
Daehyun was grateful. That was why, if he had been the Daehyun of the past, he would have accepted Shinhyuk’s help.
He was that kind, and that good of a person.
‘But this time, I really am fine.’
Thinking that, Daehyun lightly tapped Shinhyuk on the shoulder and said,
“I am fine, so this time, prepare properly for your own exam.”
“I am always fine…… You are the one I am always worried about.”
“Hmm.”
He really was a worrywart.
Daehyun coolly drank down the recovery tonic in his teacup.
Perhaps it was working better than he had expected. He could barely feel any physical fatigue now.
“If you are worried……”
At that moment.
Ding—!
A notification window appeared before Daehyun’s eyes.
[Newly Unlocked Quest: Preliminary Preparation]
“Then you should prepare.”
Daehyun smiled faintly.