Weak Class of Anti-Hero
Chapter 28: Soul Regeneration and Dimensional Rifts

Chapter 28: Soul Regeneration and Dimensional Rifts

The B-rank boy heard the noise. He turned around, his smile fading to incredulity.

The pieces of my body, scattered on the grass, were liquefying into a kind of black, energetic sludge that crawled to gather around my head.

It wasn’t my physical body that was regenerating. It was something else.

I had just understood, in that moment of impending death. Regeneration didn’t just apply to the physical body. It applied to all the layers.

I had forced the dissociation. My spiritual body, the Aura envelope, was rebuilding itself, using my destroyed physical body as mere fuel.

In a few seconds, a new body, my body, was completely reformed, rising from the ground. I was naked, but whole. And more powerful than before.

A notification flashed before my eyes.

[Extreme survival condition met. Fundamental mastery acquired.]

[Passive skill unlocked: Spiritual Body Regeneration.]

The boy was looking at me, terrified. "It’s... it’s impossible! I killed you!"

"You killed my flesh," I said, my voice calm and resonant. "Big mistake."

I summoned my dagger. The urge to cut him to pieces, as he had done to me, was immense.

But I remembered the director’s words. Another homicide, and I would surely be expelled, no matter the circumstances.

I could do worse than kill him. I could take what defined him.

I lunged at him. He tried to parry with his Aura katana, but I was too fast.

I didn’t pierce him. I just made a small cut on his arm, deep enough for blood to flow.

My dagger vibrated.

[’Absorption’ ability activated on a high-ranking target.]

[Target name: Lee Jin-Hyuk]

[Analyzing life essence...]

[Permanent abilities acquired: Aura Blade (Rank C), Combat Perception (Rank D).]

I felt his powers pour into me.

Lee Jin-Hyuk screamed, not from pain, but from panic. He felt his power, his pride, his reason for being, leave him.

I backed away, leaving him there, trembling and weakened.

I hadn’t killed him. I had just... erased him.

I left Lee Jin-Hyuk screaming like a madman in the night, weeping over the loss of his power. Flashlight lights began to appear in the distance. The academy’s supervisors, alerted by the noise.

It was time for me to leave.

Naked and covered in blood that wasn’t mine, I slipped through the trees and returned to the Beta building. I managed to get into my room without being seen.

I needed to wash. To wash away the blood, the dirt, and the memory of my own death.

The Beta building dorms had a luxury that the Gamma building didn’t: a communal hot spring in the basement.

I went down. The place was empty at this late hour. Hot steam floated over the clear water.

I slipped into the hot bath. The water soothed my muscles, still sore from the regeneration. I closed my eyes, trying to clear my head.

"You really like playing the demon, don’t you, Kang Ji-Hoon?"

I opened my eyes sharply.

The director was there. Sitting on a stone bench on the other side of the bath, fully dressed, watching me with his unreadable expression. I hadn’t even heard him arrive. _{free\we,bnovel.c o(m)}

"You knew," I said. It wasn’t a question.

"The system signals me any abnormal Aura fluctuation on campus," he replied. "And what just happened was very, very abnormal."

He leaned forward. "Your regeneration ability... Dissociating and rebuilding the spiritual body in this way... I’ve only seen one person capable of doing that. A former colleague. A legendary S-rank."

He stared at me, his eyes piercing mine. "How can a mere C-rank like you use such an advanced technique?"

I hesitated for a second. Then, I told the truth. "My father taught it to me."

The director didn’t seem surprised. A slight smile appeared on his face.

"I knew it," he murmured. "You reminded me of someone."

"Let me guess," the director said, a glint of nostalgia in his eyes. "Your father... his name is Kang Min-Ho, isn’t it? A stubborn, brilliant man, who always had a knack for disappearing."

I nodded. He was spot on.

The director’s serious expression softened, replaced by an almost paternal air. "So, the old wolf is back in town? How is he?"

"I don’t know," I replied honestly. "He stayed long enough for a little nap, gave me a few lessons, and vanished. As usual, I imagine."

The director laughed. A real laugh, which echoed in the hot spring. "That’s just like Min-Ho. He hasn’t changed."

He stood up, his expression becoming more serious again, but less hostile.

"It was a pleasure to chat with you for a bit, Ji-Hoon. But in the future..."

He looked me straight in the eyes.

"...avoid using your dagger on other students. Lee Jin-Hyuk was an arrogant bully, no one will miss him. But if you start erasing the abilities of everyone, even the most talented, it would be... catastrophic for the balance of the academy. And for our preparation against the Abyss."

He gave me a last nod. "Consider this a friendly warning. Don’t force me to make it an official one."

And as he had appeared, he disappeared into the steam, leaving me alone in the hot water, with his words echoing in my head.

He had let me do it. He had even covered for me.

The director of the academy was playing a much more complex game than I had imagined. And for a reason I didn’t know, he had decided that I was an important piece on his chessboard.

The next day, the rumor about Lee Jin-Hyuk’s "fall" spread like wildfire. No one knew exactly what had happened, but everyone knew that he had lost his powers after going after me.

My name was on everyone’s lips. Kang Ji-Hoon. The C-rank who had dismantled a B-rank. Fear and respect for me reached a new high.

I ignored all that. At lunchtime, I took my meal and went up to the roof of the Beta building, my new favorite spot. I sat on the edge, eating my sandwich while watching the other students down below in the courtyard, like ants in an anthill.

"You know, you can’t stay alone forever."

Min-Soo’s voice startled me. He approached and sat next to me.

"Everyone is afraid of you, but they are also curious," he said. "You’re the new lone wolf on campus. But even wolves need a pack. You should try to get to know the other C-ranks. Make allies."

"I don’t need allies," I replied coldly. "I have you. That’s enough for me."

Min-Soo sighed. "I’m not talking about fighting. I’m talking about... normality. Look."

He pointed to the rooftop door that had just opened.

A young girl appeared. She was petite, with short, messy hair, and eyes sparkling with overflowing energy. She was holding two bento boxes.

"Min-Soo-oppa!" she shouted in a high-pitched voice, running towards us. ("Oppa" is an affectionate term a girl uses for an older boy). "I’ve been looking for you everywhere! I made too much kimbap this morning, do you want some?"

She stopped in front of us, bouncing from one foot to the other, her smile so wide it seemed to take up her whole face. She was a concentrate of sunshine and hyperactivity.

She looked at me. "Oh! You must be the famous Ji-Hoon! Hi! My name is Bora!"

Her energy was so intense, so extroverted...

It was already annoying me to no end.

Bora’s enthusiasm was disarming. She was respectful, despite her overflowing energy. I couldn’t be openly hostile.

"Hi," I replied, in a neutral tone.

She took that as an invitation and sat down between Min-Soo and me, holding out the bento boxes to us. We ended up sitting all three on the edge of the roof, eating in silence for a moment.

It was Min-Soo who broke the silence, his tone becoming more serious.

"I’ve been hearing some interesting rumors lately," he began. "In the upper ranks’ forums. They’re talking about a new kind of breach that has reportedly appeared deep within the Pit. A stable breach."

Bora stopped eating, looking suddenly very interested.

"It wouldn’t be a normal breach," Min-Soo continued. "Apparently, it doesn’t lead to a dungeon or another region. It would lead to a four-spatial-coordinate dimension. A different plane of existence."

My heart skipped a beat. A higher dimension. Like that of the Creators.

"The rumor also says," Min-Soo added, "that the director told a few professors that to access it, you would have to be able to... ’dissociate your third body’. To reach a higher state of consciousness."

He was talking about the astral body. I knew exactly what he was talking about, thanks to my father’s notes.

"Where did you hear that?" I asked, trying to keep my voice calm.

Min-Soo shrugged. "The source is a bit vague. I hacked an exchange of messages between two lab assistants working for the dimensional research department. They were talking about a ’Pit Anomaly’ and the ’director’s special instructions’. That’s all I have."

A breach. A third body.

The pieces of the puzzle were beginning to come together. And the director was at the center of it all.