The Academy’s Time Stop Player
chapter-160

In a space filled with bones, Hajoon sat on a throne made of bones, looking indifferently at her.

As the space suddenly changed, she stood there with a serious expression. Hajoon spoke to her.

"Do you still see this as your world?"

-......

Despite the provocation, she couldn't readily respond.

She just narrowed her eyebrows with a hardened expression, glaring at Hajoon.

Her reaction was expected.

This world was no longer hers.

"Did you enjoy playing god?"

As he spoke, Hajoon's magic power surged violently.

The surrounding bones shook vigorously, as if echoing his emotions.

Frankly, it was displeasing.

The fact that such a creature dared to take him lightly was annoying.

Although these emotions could be a byproduct of the magic, Hajoon did not hide his displeasure and openly displayed it.

Huuung!

In the midst of this scene, she, who had been silently exuding hostility, sighed and spoke.

-Ha…, is that so? It's useless against someone of a similar caliber?

"A similar caliber?"

-Who would've thought you'd be able to consume a world? It would've been impossible unless you were of a similar caliber to me.

It was then.

[You're wrong. You pitiful being.]

Philaten's voice contradicted her, ringing out.

Accompanying her words, Philaten appeared beside Hajoon, who was sitting on the throne, as if guarding him.

Holding her staff, Philaten stood opposite Hajoon, addressing the being who called herself a 'god' with an angry expression.

[How dare a demon, self-proclaimed as a god, compare itself to a king?]

Her words caused the creature's eyes to flicker wildly in anger.

The demon was disturbed by Philaten's words, angered by them.

-Are you saying I'm not a god?

The 'origin' of the creature was clear, but it truly believed itself to be a 'god.'

Such belief must have been a strong part of its creation.

That's what 'demons' were.

Beings born from the fears of hundreds, thousands, millions of people.

More precisely, 'demons' were born from the fear of the unknown 'gods' in the beliefs of humans, including the religions on Earth.

[Listen, demon.]

Philaten spoke with an imposing voice.

[You must bring your true form if you wish to converse with my master. Don't you dare try to equate yourself with the king, you mere remnant of a being.]

-......

[Know your place, demon.]

Immediately after, the creature twisted its face irritably.

Warak- Its distorted face, grinding teeth, didn't resemble an omnipotent god in any way.

It was no different from a child throwing a tantrum because things weren't going their way.

Hajoon watched the creature's behavior with a look of ennui.

Having nothing more to say and tired of its tantrums, Hajoon extended his hand towards it.

"If you've got nothing to say, then scram. I'm bored of you now."

Simultaneously, numerous skeletal hands from the ground rose up and started to wrap around the creature's body.

Yet, the creature continued to glare at Hajoon with fierce eyes.

As the creature was gradually buried in bones by the hands, Hajoon looked down and delivered his final words.

"Tell your true form that I'll be coming to kill it soon."

At those words, the creature ground its teeth and finally spoke to Hajoon.

-You will regret this.

To that, Hajoon simply sneered in response.

"Make me regret it then."

The next morning.

[The number of awakened superhumans is rapidly increasing...]

[Intermediate hero Park Jinman reaches advanced hero status in just one month...]

Hajoon was browsing internet articles about these recent developments.

It was said that the number of people in Korea awakening as superhumans was increasing, and simultaneously, the powers of existing heroes were growing.

Interestingly, this led to an increase in tourism in Korea, but Hajoon didn't see it as a good phenomenon.

The Altar has started its operation.

Meanwhile, Anna, who was reading the article with him, spoke.

"There have been a lot of strange incidents lately, haven't there?"

She looked at the news of the increasing number of superhuman awakenings with a somewhat envious gaze.

Understandably, the number of awakenings in England was low, causing the country to lag behind the major powers.

"It's surprising how the number of superhumans has suddenly increased... I wish the same would happen in our country."

"Don't you find it a bit suspicious?"

"Pardon?"

At his question, Anna began to ponder again.

Now that she thought about it, it was indeed strange.

Such a phenomenon occurring in just a few months.

"Hmm... Hajoon, do you think it's something artificially induced?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"Come on... That's impossible. How can someone artificially awaken?"

Of course, it wasn't a human-induced awakening.

It was the work of a demon, not human power.

However, since its full power wasn't yet unleashed, this period wouldn't last long.

"By the way, Hajoon. Did you also have that dream?"

"The one where that god or whatever appears and grants wishes?"

"Yeah, it's quite well known these days. I think it might be heavily involved in this incident."

Hajoon just listened to her casually, even if he already knew about it.

But the following statement made Hajoon frown.

"I actually had that dream too."

"...You did?"

"Yes. It appeared in the form of your brother, asking me to make a wish."

"So, did you wish for something?"

"Uh... Yes."

Anna nonchalantly nodded her head.

Upon hearing her words, Hajoon clicked his tongue.

He understood the purpose and reason behind the creature granting wishes and knew there weren't any significant side effects to worry about. However, the 'belief in its existence' made the creature even more powerful.

"So, what did you wish for?"

"Um..."

Anna scratched her cheek for a moment before answering nonchalantly.

"I just wished to live a long and happy life, you know?"

"......?"

Hajoon made a curious expression at her rather ordinary and carefree wish, which was different from what he expected.

"But it was strange, you know. When I made that wish, it seemed dissatisfied, as if it wanted me to wish for something else. As if I had another desire."

"You do have another desire, don't you?"

"Um... yes, I guess. But that's something I don't want to achieve through a wish."

At her words, a chuckle escaped Hajoon's lips.

Indeed, considering Anna's personality, it made sense that she wouldn't want to achieve her goals through wishes.

She would probably prefer to achieve them through her own efforts.

'It's good that I don't have to worry about her...'

Hajoon's gaze then shifted to another playable character.

Han Siyoung.

There was no need to think about him.

Given his sharp instincts in the game story, he probably instinctively judged the creature as dangerous.

So, the real problem was Haruna Ruel.

Hajoon looked at Haruna Ruel, who was lying her head on the desk, asleep.

Given the creature's interest in Haruna Ruel, it was most likely that it would approach her first.

Or maybe it already had.

While he was contemplating this, Philaten spoke to Hajoon.

-Her body shows no sign of the creature's influence. It appears it hasn't approached her through dreams yet.

'Is there no way to prevent its approach?'

Hajoon asked Philaten telepathically.

Unfortunately, it seemed there was no way to do so.

-Even with your mental strength, you couldn't prevent the creature's approach. Regrettably, there's no way at the moment.

After all, a demon's power comes from the medium that gave birth to it.

Being born from the fear of God, it surely acquired a part of the omnipotence attributed to such beings.

-However, Your Majesty.

Just when he was thinking this, Philaten suggested there might be a way after all.

-We cannot stop its approach, but there is a way for you to protect her.

'How?'

-We can use the same method the creature used.

'Use the same method it used?'

It was certainly not a bad idea.

The only problem was how to do it.

As he pondered this, she explained the method.

-You just need to flow your magic power into her body. I will guide you after that.

'Is it really that simple?'

-You have already fully controlled your magic power and became the master of the mental realm. It shouldn't be too difficult for you.

'Really?'

Prompted by her response, Hajoon immediately hid his hand under the desk and raised one finger.

He had never tried controlling his magic power so minutely before, but he was willing to give it a try.

He quickly generated a tiny amount of golden magic power on his finger.

From that finger, Hajoon's golden magic power gently flickered and then shot in a straight line towards Haruna in an instant.

"Ugh! Huh? What? Zzz."

At that moment, Haruna suddenly woke up, looking around bewildered.

She scratched her back as if it tingled, even though she couldn't reach it, and then, feeling sleepy again, buried her face back into the desk.

Observing this, Hajoon thought to himself.

'Is it done?'

-Yes, it seems so.

'Any side effects?'

Hajoon knew about the potential dangers of this magic power.

Wouldn't it be worrisome if anything went wrong?

To Hajoon's question, Philaten reassured him.

-The power of destruction manifests at the will of the King. You need not worry too much.

Relieved by her words, Hajoon nodded his head.

However, it seemed that the two keenly sensitive people next to me had noticed my actions.

Han Siyoung and Anna were looking at me with incredulous faces.

"Why did you wake her up when she was sleeping just fine?"

As Hajoon pondered what to say in defense, he simply replied nonchalantly.

"She needs to wake up; class is about to start."

"Wow... Hajoon, don't you sleep during class yourself?"

"......"

That night.

Haruna, sleeping peacefully in the dormitory, was having a dream.

It was a wide field with a refreshing breeze.

In this field, Haruna felt an inexplicable sense of peace.

It was clearly a dream, yet the tranquility was so profound that she wanted to sleep there again.

"Yawn~"

Yawning in her dream, Haruna couldn't resist the peace and lay down in the field.

Staring blankly at the clear sky, she began to admire the surrounding scenery.

As she gazed at the clouds drifting with the wind.

-Hello?

"Huh?"

A girl's voice was heard.

Yet, it was a voice too familiar to ignore.

However, it was familiar and yet from a girl she did not know.

Haruna turned her head towards the direction of the sound.

There, she saw herself, smiling brightly.

-Nice to meet you.

"......"

But it wasn’t quite herself; she seemed much older.

Taller and more mature-looking than her current self.

Could it be her future self?

Haruna gazed at her for a moment and then cocked her head in confusion.

After staring blankly for a while, she finally spoke.

"Who are you?"

-I am a god.

"A god?"

Haruna thought to herself.

Is this that thing everyone's been talking about lately?

The thing where a god appears in dreams and grants wishes.

So, maybe it would grant my wish too?

-You're right. I came here to grant your wish.

"Gasp!"

Haruna was startled by the response.

'Did I say that out loud? I thought I had only thought it.'

Seeing her reaction, the girl, who claimed to be a god, chuckled softly and then looked at Haruna again.

-Is there something you desire?

Haruna crossed her arms and thought seriously.

'What I want... what I really want...'

There were quite a few things.

She found attending the academy tedious, wanted to eat whatever she desired, and above all, wished to sleep a lot.

These were wishes true to her desires.

However, it seemed as if the girl had read her thoughts, for she began shaking her head.

She said,

-Not those things. What do you truly want?

"What I truly want...?"

-Yes.

"Hmm... Are you really going to grant my wish?"

-Yes, I am. I'm on your side.

"On my side?"

This made Haruna think deeply once again.

Then, something came to her mind.

Her arms, previously crossed, slowly lowered.

Haruna gazed blankly at the girl's face, which looked just like her own, and then slowly opened her mouth.

"Will you really grant whatever I truly want?"

-Yes, if that's what you wish.

"Then..."

After a moment of hesitation, Haruna spoke to her.

"I want to see my family."

-...?