Chapter 80

After finishing all my tasks and returning to Korea, I found myself repeatedly pondering one question.

That question was, of course, about Yoo Haon’s growth.

‘…….’

To be honest, a vague sense of unease had existed before, but through this incident, it took on a definite form.

One hypothesis that had persistently made me wonder.

The question of whether I might, in fact, be hindering the growth of the protagonist, Yoo Haon.

‘It’s definitely strange.’

Until now, I had tried to resolve the variables added due to the unknown barrier called Hell Difficulty within my own capabilities.

I aimed to adjust the story’s difficulty with that and ensure Yoo Haon grew safely.

‘But what about now?’

The rise in difficulty is steeper than I had anticipated.

Take the enemies from this story, Harvey and his group, for instance. If I hadn’t intervened, would Yoo Haon’s current party have been able to resolve the situation on their own?

‘…No, it was clearly impossible.’

That implies that the protagonist is already failing to keep up with the inflation of difficulty.

‘It was a common case in games too, though usually for sub-characters, not the protagonist.’

What’s certain is that it’s by no means a good sign.

In this industry, it’s an established truth that once a gap forms, it doesn’t narrow but only widens further.

Then, in fact, shouldn’t Yoo Haon have resolved even the previous crises himself, achieving faster growth than originally intended?

‘…If things continue like this, it’ll be problematic for both of us.’

Of course, my immediate achievements are impressive. Right now, I could certainly contribute enough strength to resolve most incidents.

However, I don’t know the limits of my capabilities in this world.

It might not come for a long time, or perhaps it’s closer than I think.

‘No matter what anyone says, the protagonist is the protagonist for a reason.’

Ultimately, when a true crisis arrives, the one who can control it is none other than Yoo Haon. At least, that’s what I believe.

‘I need to help Yoo Haon grow further.’

Even though I gained the power to grow Traits, compared to the Demon-Suppressing Trait, considered one of the most overpowered Traits in the series, it would be a minus at best, not a plus.

Then, at the very least, I had to use the knowledge I possess to make her stronger.

‘If things continue like this, she definitely won’t be able to keep up with the power inflation of Hell Difficulty.’

Amidst this, I suddenly harbored a peculiar thought.

At first, I thought it might just be my mood, but upon reflection, it was indeed strange.

‘Why, after removing the Demon-Suppressing Trait, was a new ability granted?’

The fact that the Demon-Suppressing Trait disappeared is understandable.

Wasn’t it named Hell Difficulty, after all?

But was there a need to deliberately mitigate that penalty in another way?

If it was minimal mercy, it wouldn’t be incomprehensible, but a slight doubt remains if I simply accept it that way.

Something, a very slight sense of incongruity that remains, not erased.

‘The rise in Trait rank, why did it have to be that specific new ability?’

In fact, the Exorcism Academy Series has countless Traits with clear hierarchical relationships.

Traits like Seo Jian’s Nature Series, or Intuition-Hypersensory, Growth Acceleration-Late Bloomer, were like that.

So, if I grow a lower-ranked Trait to raise its rank, does the higher-ranked Trait I know simply appear?

From there, I could come up with a new idea.

‘It’s possible.’

The Demon-Suppressing Trait, which I thought had completely disappeared. Perhaps a method to obtain it still exists?

What if a lower version of the Demon-Suppressing Trait exists?

And if it’s possible to evolve that lower Trait, ultimately, into the Demon-Suppressing Trait?

‘…This might not be just a futile hypothesis.’

Taking away the Demon-Suppressing Trait wasn’t merely an intention to increase the difficulty.

Rather, to cope with the higher-than-expected difficulty, perhaps an ability was granted to further increase the growth ceiling.

‘Of course, this is reality, but considering game balance, that makes sense.’

It was a hypothesis worth testing, at the very least.

Having organized low-rank Traits that seemed related to the Demon-Suppressing Trait right on the plane, I went to find Yoo Haon as soon as I arrived at the Academy and made a proposal.

“Let’s train.”

“…Just the two of us?”

It was a sudden proposal, but as expected, Yoo Haon accepted it without refusal. Truly living up to the epitome of diligence.

‘Well, she is the protagonist, after all.’

I then made full use of the fact that the next day was the weekend, taking Yoo Haon to scour every nearby spiritual spot there was.

“Phew, hah. D-do you often do this kind of training normally?”

“…Not really, but it might help.”

Yoo Haon, who had less resistance to spirits and evil spirits than I thought, was horrified, but this was all for the future of this world.

After spending the entire two days of the weekend inducing the fulfillment of conditions, a new Trait appeared in Yoo Haon’s Status Window.

【Spirit Dismissal Art (C+)】

▶ Grants additional damage when dealing with soul-type enemies.

After deep contemplation, I had guessed three Traits that might be the origin of the Demon-Suppressing Trait.

The first was the C+ rank Spirit Dismissal Art just obtained.

And the other two were the A rank Divine Power Trait and the B- rank Demon-Resisting Trait.

‘Other than those, nothing else really stands out.’

Of course, I couldn’t rule out the possibility of Traits existing in this world that I don’t know about, but among the Traits from the game, these three seemed the most likely.

“That’s enough for today. Let’s head back.”

“Yes…….”

While I succeeded in obtaining the easiest Trait first, the Spirit Dismissal Art, honestly, the process for the other two won’t be simple.

Moreover, growing the Traits will also require a considerable amount of time.

‘It won’t be an easy path.’

Nevertheless, it had to be done.

The presence or absence of the Demon-Suppressing Trait would be the biggest crossroads for Yoo Haon.

‘…If it seems utterly useless, I can just erase it.’

As I said before, it’s impossible right now, but someday, a method to erase Traits will also exist. It wouldn’t hurt to try at least once.

“…Will we be doing the same training next week?”

“No, this is enough. Now for something else. This time, it will be noticeably helpful.”

Also, I decided to aim for a definite increase in combat power rather than pursuing only uncertain possibilities.

“There’s something I must teach you.”

I don’t know if this is truly the right thing, but after much deliberation, I had already made up my mind.

“Come to the 4th Training Ground tonight.”

I was planning to teach Yoo Haon a future Cursed Technique from now on.

To Yoo Haon, Han Kangyoon was someone she knew, yet didn’t fully understand.

‘He doesn’t talk about my past, yet he’s incredibly concerned.’

Of course, she had now resolved to find out on her own, but on the other hand, she had become intensely curious about Han Kangyoon himself.

‘He seems to know an awful lot about me…….’

Sometimes, he even knew trivial things she hadn’t told him, startling her.

Anyway, whatever the case, it was clear that Han Kangyoon was an incredibly remarkable person.

Strong, reliable, and kind to those around him. He was the very image of an ideal senior.

However, sometimes, beyond those feelings, there were moments when something felt off.

A feeling that he was observing a world different from ours.

A feeling as if he was watching something from a completely different dimension.

That was surely closely related to the secrets Han Kangyoon held.

‘Anyway, at least he’s not someone who talks nonsense.’

Therefore, Yoo Haon and the others mostly followed Han Kangyoon’s words well.

So even now, Yoo Haon went to find Han Kangyoon at the training ground without hesitation.

And there, she witnessed an unbelievable sight.

“Can you get a sense of it? This is an Offensive Art, the Soul Rending Slash, a reconstructed form of the Soul Blaze Rending Wave.”

“…….”

A spiral Cursed Technique inscription, replacing the existing ring-shaped one. And within each layer, fragments of Art Formulas stacked upon each other.

To Yoo Haon, it was filled with concepts she simply couldn’t comprehend.

“You created all of this yourself?”

She knew he had garnered attention at the last public presentation with a newly constructed Barrier Technique.

However, the Cursed Techniques Han Kangyoon was showing now weren’t just one. That confused Yoo Haon.

“Actually, I’ve always been able to grasp the structure and improvement points of an Art Formula just by looking at it once.”

“Ah, so that’s how you knew the Cheong Family’s Secret Art…….”

Eunseo definitely didn’t believe it, thinking Juhwa must have told him, but if that were true, it certainly wouldn’t be strange.

Anyway, this was an incredibly remarkable thing. It was an achievement incomparable to evaluations like being top or second in the grade.

Was Han Kangyoon’s mind a veritable treasure trove of knowledge for modern Exorcists?

However, Yoo Haon couldn’t understand it all the more because of that.

“Why are you specifically teaching this to me?”

If offered to a prestigious family, or handed over to notable Korean factions, this knowledge could command a much higher price.

But Yoo Haon had nothing to offer in return.

To that, Han Kangyoon, wearing the same bitter expression he showed at the lakeside last time, answered.

“…There are various reasons, but I thought if I were to teach it to someone first, it should be you.”

“Why?”

“Just because. It makes sense.”

It was a statement she couldn’t understand at all. But Han Kangyoon’s attitude remained consistently earnest.

Faced with that, Yoo Haon had no choice but to accept his sentiment.

“Okay. I don’t fully understand, but I’ll gladly learn.”

Yoo Haon had been nurturing an even greater desire for growth lately.

Unlike during the Yeongwoldo incident, she had now developed mental fortitude that wouldn’t easily crumble even before powerful enemies, yet it still felt insufficient.

Someone who could fulfill their duty as an Exorcist against any enemy, no matter who.

Because Yoo Haon wanted to become such a person.

‘And then, at that time…….’

She would surely be able to stand back-to-back with Han Kangyoon on equal footing.

She didn’t want to keep passing everything onto him forever.

She didn’t know what secrets he held, but Yoo Haon vowed to grow enough to share them someday.

And so, another night came to an end.