The Path Where Power Hurts

Of course, my memories weren’t going to disappear, and my confusion only piled up with each passing day, but no one bothered to clear it up for me.

Even as he force-fed me food like he was tormenting me, there were moments when, just before a loud noise, he would carefully lift both hands to my ears and cover them.

So yeah, it was enough to drive me insane.

Isn’t it natural to want to know why someone is kind to you, and why the same person turns around and acts spiteful?

‘At the very least, if I knew what Jeong Iheon’s ability was, I wouldn’t feel this suffocated.’

Maybe I’d been unconsciously biting at my nails, because Jeong Iheon gently caught my wrist and lowered my hand.

Today was the day we’d decided not to return to the ability-user camp and instead discuss my ability.

I agreed with the argument that you needed to properly understand an ability in order to respond to it.

I didn’t want to get injured again, like when I saved that boy.

‘If this is really my ability, and not the system, that is.’

The men, excluding the boy, were seated in a circle around me.

The boy I’d saved was sitting off in a corner, eyes sparkling as he stared straight at my back.

He was the same type as Ju Noeul.

From my perspective, he pretended not to look, but the moment you stopped paying attention, he stared like that.

Sitting directly in front of me now was Ju Noeul, who couldn’t quite manage to look away.

“Hey. You not focusing?”

He said his ability was the type that amplified strength, affecting not only his own physical power but also that of others.

Since he claimed it affected my strength too, he’d taken a seat opposite me to serve as the test subject to draw out my ability efficiently.

Ju Noeul looked extremely uncomfortable sitting across from me.

Every time our eyes met, he sharply furrowed his brows.

I spoke to Ju Noeul, who was diligently scowling as usual today.

“How am I supposed to focus if I don’t even know how to use my ability.”

What if my ability only worked when I was asleep?

Then all of this was just wasted effort.

Ju Noeul extended one hand toward me, motioning for me to take it.

When I obediently placed my hand in his large palm, he grasped it with only the faintest pressure.

“Your ability is definitely mental-type. It’s not obvious, but it’s dangerous when used on people.”

“I don’t really get it. The last time it activated, I was the only one who got hurt.”

I tilted my head as I spoke.

“And when I woke Jaeyul up, no one got hurt.”

“When I say dangerous, I’m not talking about the body. I mean mentally.”

When I looked puzzled, Won-gyeong, who had been quietly listening, spoke up.

Ju Noeul seemed irritated just from holding my hand, shaking his leg like he was possessed.

From where our hands were clasped, something like a strange heat began to rise.

That warmth traveled up my arm, passed my shoulder, and reached my chest.

As it approached my abdomen, the heat intensified.

Wrapped in that warmth, I felt a strange sense of calm.

Ju Noeul slowly moved his gaze, as if tracing where the flow of his power was headed.

Just as his eyes followed it past my chest and toward my abdomen—

“Ugh!”

I screamed as a searing pain tore through my entire abdomen and yanked my hand away from Ju Noeul’s.

“W-what was that?”

Clutching my stomach with one hand, I trembled violently.

It felt like something had sliced straight through my abdomen.

When I doubled over, Won-gyeong rushed in and lifted my clothes without hesitation.

As my pale skin was exposed, Ju Noeul was the first to turn his head away.

Hyeon Jaeyul, who had seen my body before, had been about to look away too, but seemed to notice something and froze, eyes fixed on me.

His usually blank expression was faintly furrowed.

Jeong Iheon, who was holding me steady so I couldn’t curl in on myself, spoke as he looked at my exposed skin.

“You engraved a spell circle… there?”

“I didn’t have time.”

Their voices didn’t sound good.

Breaking out in a cold sweat, I let my head fall against Jeong Iheon’s shoulder.

I didn’t really care what they were doing with my clothes anymore.

It felt similar to doctors examining an injury.

I looked down at my abdomen, where a dull ache lingered.

A strange red sigil was drawn broadly from my pelvis up to just beneath my chest.

“…What is that?”

Seeing a bizarre pattern I’d never noticed before, I asked blankly.

‘Why is something like this drawn on my stomach?’

“It’s the spell I told you about last time.
It’s supposed to be drawn over the entire body to lessen the pain, but we didn’t have time, so this was the best we could do.”

I squinted and examined the sigil.

I couldn’t shake the thought that the pain tearing through my body earlier had come from this thing.

I immediately asked Won-gyeong.

“So this is what caused the pain?”

“Probably. Your ability and the spell seem to be incompatible.”

“I can’t erase this either, can I?”

“Yeah….”

Ju Noeul, who’d been listening silently, spoke without turning his head.

“Her ability pools around the abdomen. So why would you draw a sigil on the abdomen in the first place?”

Won-gyeong’s expression grew serious at that.

Furrowing his brow, he watched the red sigil pulse into view in time with my heartbeat, then fade again.

After throbbing like that for a while, the sigil vanished once the pain subsided.

Confirming that nothing was visible anymore and that I wasn’t in pain, he lowered my clothes and called to Ju Noeul.

“Is it impossible to use her ability without going through the abdomen?”

“…Not impossible.”

At Ju Noeul’s answer, Won-gyeong brightened.

As if any method would do, his eyes gleamed as he waited for more.

“Either we create a new pathway for the ability, or we reduce the area affected by the sigil.”

“Reducing the area isn’t possible.”

“Then we’ll have to create a new pathway. I’ll try it first and see if it works.”

Ju Noeul crooked his fingers at me, signaling for me to take his hand again.

When I placed my hand in his once more, the heat stopped just before reaching my abdomen.

Ju Noeul frowned deeply, focusing as if wrestling with something unseen, and his gaze shifted upward toward my chest.

‘I know he’s not actually staring at my chest, but the way his eyes are stuck there makes this weird.’

When my expression soured, Ju Noeul noticed and abruptly flung my hand away.

“It’ll work. It’ll just take time.”

He said curtly, tossing my hand aside.

“That works that easily?”

“You think it’s easy?”

“I’m asking because I don’t know.”

There’s always that kind of person.

The kind who snaps at you just for asking.

Jeong Iheon stepped in to explain in Ju Noeul’s place.

“It’s not easy. People who can interfere with other abilities like Ju Noeul are rare.”

“It’s not ‘not easy,’ it’s hard. You have to connect a path from the abdomen to the brain. You think that’s easy?”

Did it really have to go all the way to the brain?

Wouldn’t it be simpler to create a path near the chest?

I didn’t bother hiding my thoughts.

Jeong Iheon caught my expression immediately and continued explaining.

“Ju Noeul said before that most abilities originate in the head. The head, the heart, the abdomen…

Hm? Then wouldn’t the heart area work?”

Mid-explanation, Jeong Iheon tilted his head in confusion and looked over.

Ju Noeul replied in the same curt tone as ever.

“It’s better to do it properly than half-ass it. The heart’s close to the abdomen. It might still be affected.”

I nodded, more or less convinced.

‘If that’s what the ability user says, then I guess it is what it is.’

“So what do I need to do?”

“What do you think. I’ll handle everything else, you just hold my hand.”

“Oh….”

I heard Won-gyeong let out a long, deeply irritated breath.

He closed his eyes and pressed his thumb hard between his brows, as if trying to calm himself.

I glanced at Jeong Iheon, who had let out that little sound of admiration after watching Won-gyeong.

‘Oh… my ass.’

“I mean, Ju Noeul’s wording has been funny since earlier. What am I supposed to do about that.”

“What exactly did I say that’s funny.”

“It sounds pretty romantic.”

“…What?”

“That’s why Won-gyeong reacted like that too.”

Jeong Iheon chuckled as he replied.

At this point, he wasn’t even trying to hide how he acted like he could read my thoughts.

Until he explained his ability, I’d probably have to live with this, so I just gave up.

Thinking about it wasn’t going to get me answers anyway.

Ju Noeul’s face flushed bright red at Jeong Iheon’s words.

He looked like he’d just crawled out of a blast furnace.

His hands even turned red, and he could only gape silently.

Seeing how plainly his emotions showed on his face, I couldn’t help but smile faintly as I spoke.

“Don’t worry. I know it’s not like that. Jeong Iheon’s exaggerating.”

Which wasn’t really true.

But when I said that, Ju Noeul clamped his mouth shut and turned his head away stiffly.

Without meeting my gaze, he spoke.

“Set aside about two hours a day. If you do that, I can make a new pathway within a month.”

“A whole month?”

“Only a month.”

I glanced down at my legs, which still wouldn’t move.

In about a month, I’d probably recover enough to move on my own.

Once I could move, I planned to leave and use the treatment drug.

But with my ability involved, it might take even longer.

“Then testing Doya’s ability today will be difficult.”

“It’d be bad if her ability activated again.”

At Jeong Iheon’s words, Won-gyeong, who’d been openly jealous, spoke with a furrowed brow.

Ju Noeul didn’t look pleased either.

“Your abilities are too incompatible. If her ability activates, it won’t end with just ‘it hurts.’”

Listening to them, I thought carefully before opening my mouth.

“About the condition for my ability activating.”