Possessor #2 Just Wants to Fangirl Chapter 145

The mastermind also uses pure mana.

What on earth could this mean?… I had no time to ponder. I had to pay the price for information.

“I’ll draw it as promised, okay? Come over here!”

One liter of blood per question.

That was the condition of our transaction.

Scientist unnie sat me in a massage chair in the corner of the lab, then busily began setting up blood collection tools.

I squeezed my eyes shut, feeling terror at the needle that would pierce my skin right now rather than destruction in the distant future.

But a small laugh came from right beside me.

“Hehe, you don’t need to be so scared—I won’t use a needle. I have this!”

The object unnie was holding was a toy duck. A yellow rubber duck that floats in bathtubs, with a transparent tube connected to its bottom.

Quack—

The duck opened its mouth, and unnie inserted my index finger inside. But what’s this?

As the duck sucked on my finger like a baby nursing a bottle, red liquid flowed into the transparent tube.

“That’s my blood, right? You’re drawing blood right now, right? Wow, amazing! Doesn’t hurt at all!”

“Of course not, it’s a painless blood collection method. Takes about 15 minutes, so don’t move during that time.”

“Where do they sell this? What company made it? How much?”

“It’s not on the market. I made it myself.”

“You made it yourself, researcher-nim!!! You’re a genius!”

“Oh come on, if this makes you a genius, half the world would be geniuses.”

I was making a fuss mixing half pure admiration and half deliberate flattery, but unnie’s expression remained indifferent.

‘Flattery doesn’t work.’

If it were Professor Ban, she would’ve happily babbled at being called a genius, but this unnie doesn’t react at all to flattery across the spectrum.

However, when I asked questions about the duck, she became talkative.

“It’s not penetrating the skin but passing through it. It’s a formula modification of blood magic… actually this is a somewhat dangerous technique, so I’d get arrested if caught, haha. I got caught once before so the excuse ‘I didn’t know’ doesn’t work anymore, and back then they let me off because I was a student but….”

She even started spilling dangerous content like this.

“Rejecting such good technology! The law is wrong!”

“Alas, can’t be helped. That’s how the world is. Innovation requires breaking the mold, but then people who make a living from that mold throw fits about losing their rice bowls.”

“Exactly. There are too many foolish people. No wonder even Chairman Seok Hyangjun, that icon of innovation, suffered so much in the early days, right?”

I subtly mentioned the mastermind riding this momentum, but scientist unnie suddenly closed her mouth and smiled sweetly.

“I can’t tell you Chairman Seok Hyangjun’s mana information. Want to make a deal if you’re curious?”

‘As expected, not easy.’

The operation to extract free information under the guise of chitchat failed.

This unnie readily tells answers if I just provide blood. The problem is the blood flowing in my body is limited. I have mountains of curiosity, but if I ask everything one by one, my body won’t survive.

‘I have to squeeze it out for free somehow!’

Fortunately, I got a hint from the conversation just now. I decided to revise my strategy based on a new hypothesis.

‘This unnie is also a true hardcore fan!’

The eyes craving Yeon Sora’s blood resembled a fan’s eyes discovering new merch. Enjoying duck praise more than self-praise is definitely evidence of being a fan!

I decided to throw bait thinking this unnie is fangirling over ‘pure mana.’

“Researcher-nim, this isn’t a question, just saying, but recently I thought ‘should I try putting a skill in a bullet once?’ and it just worked?”

“What?”

“A combat-type achieving skill implantation in one day is strange, right? I’m not even a crafting-type….”

“…!”

When I threw appropriate skill copier plot bait, brilliance shone in unnie’s eyes.

That gaze appropriately mixing joy, ecstasy, earnestness, and yearning! The eyes of a fan discovering new plot bait.

New plot bait temporarily paralyzes a fan’s reason.

“You mentioned classification earlier… so maybe I could become a skill vending machine using healing-type, information-type, crafting-type skills….”

“Right! Theoretically it’s fully possible!”

“So I was thinking next time I’d try challenging a healing-type skill….”

“No! Information-type should come first!”

“Why?”

“This requires looking at the classification system….”

Scientist unnie’s voice rose and her words quickened. At first she made efforts to carefully select words, but with some fanning, filtering gradually disappeared and information poured out like a flood.

“…Right now people think mana ‘grants’ power, right? If it’s fire attribute, you gain fire power! But it’s different if you think of it as ‘restrictions’! You can ‘only’ use fire and can’t use the rest! In that sense, yin-yang attribute mana is a higher concept than the Big 4 elemental mana. Because there are fewer restrictions. Pure mana is above all of this!”

Amid a flood of free information, I could fish out two important clues.

First clue:

“You’re the sixth, Cadet Yeon Sora!”

There are apparently 5 more pure mana users besides me. Likely masterminds, so this unnie knows the names of 5 masterminds.

And second clue:

“If you use blood for reaction tests, you can estimate abilities. Chairman Seok showed no reaction to combat-types at all, but you, Cadet Yeon Sora, showed both combat-type and crafting-type!! There are 302 tests total, so confirming compatibility is urgent….”

Conducting mana reaction tests using blood can apparently infer abilities.

In other words, if I steal the mastermind’s blood and experiment, I can narrow down roughly what skills they use. Amazing fact that I can find out whether they’ll use physical attacks or mental attacks!

As I was harvesting information so fruitfully—

Quack quack—

The duck burped and released my finger, and scientist unnie returned to reality.

“It’s done! Cadet Yeon Sora, good work! I’ll contact you next time, so leave on your own. I have to do this right away!”

Scientist unnie sprinted without even glancing my way.

When she blew mana at the wardrobe, the wardrobe suddenly collapsed completely and strange experimental equipment appeared. She must have hidden the equipment with illusion magic.

Whirrr—

Whooosh—

When she put the just-collected blood inside the machine, an ominous explosion occurred inside the glass tube. Unnie grinned at that sight, then this time ran to the desk.

The desk melted and equipment shaped like a water park slide appeared.

“Um… researcher-nim?”

“Kyaa!”

When I spoke after hurriedly crawling out of the chair, researcher unnie jumped. Soon the unnie who came to her senses grabbed my hand and began dragging me toward the door.

“You can’t be here! The experiment is top secret!”

“I still want to make another deal.”

“I don’t need it now! The higher the blood’s freshness, the more accurate the results! And if I draw more today, you’ll die! Next time! I’ll contact you tomorrow!”

“It’s an item containing pure mana—you really don’t need it?”

“…?”

While unnie paused briefly, I took out the gauntlet from my inventory and began explaining.

“I think I can detect pure mana through touch.”

“That’s impossible.”

“That’s why I need confirmation. I definitely feel mana in my hands, but people around me say they don’t feel it, so I wondered if it’s ‘mana only I can feel.'”

“……”

Scientist unnie accepted the gauntlet for now but tilted her head. She must not feel mana.

I thought she’d immediately put it in the experimental equipment, but instead she began muttering to herself.

“Is such a thing really possible? No, if higher-dimensional elements exist, it’s not impossible… but I’ve never seen such an object….”

“How about checking directly?”

At my pure question, unnie exhaled a long sigh.

“Running the equipment costs money too. I’m burdened to pour money in with zero evidence, research budget efficiency report numbers get ruined, and then securing future research funds becomes difficult too….”

“I’ll pay.”

“What?”

“If the result is negative, I’ll pay that cost.”

“…!”

Unnie, freed from capital constraints, moved swiftly.

This time she fiddled with the lab wall, and beyond it appeared a space surrounded by blue boxes.

Unnie put the gauntlet inside equipment shaped like an X-ray machine in the middle of the box, stepped back, and struck a praying pose.

“Never enter inside the blue space, okay? You might be disassembled without a trace.”

This wasn’t the timing to ask questions, so I closed my mouth.

Whirrrr—

Swoosh swoosh whoosh—

Shwaaaaa—

Meanwhile, experiments reeking of illegality proceeded in the blue space, and before long a hologram window appeared.

I didn’t know what those numbers meant, but I knew the result.

Because scientist unnie was hopping up and down.

“Oh my god!!!!! Where did you get this?”

“It’s a classmate’s item.”

“A classmate means… Ah! This is that famous Bang Haeun gauntlet?”

Recently Newspaper Club has been running ‘Yeon Sora Theft Incident’ feature articles—she must have read them.

Strictly speaking, this gauntlet is evidence of my crime, but scientist unnie who has no qualms about crime showed no sign of caring.

“What do Bang Haeun’s parents do?”

“They run Hwarang Guild.”

“Ah… that’s unfortunate. Hwarang Guild isn’t enrolled in the blood bank….”

Unnie’s face rapidly darkened. No exaggeration—tears even welled in her eyes.

“If only Hwarang Guild were a Ten Major Powers guild, I could somehow apply pressure….”

“How?”

“Ten Major Powers guild heads have a duty to ‘store blood for contingencies.’ Hwarang Guild is too small to force through other methods… and I can’t just walk into a guild I’ve never heard of and suddenly demand the guild master’s blood….”

“Really?”

“Cadet Yeon Sora, are you close with this friend? If I lend you that duck, can you go secretly extract 1 liter of blood? Aiming for when they’re sleeping….”

“We’re enemies though?”

“Then file a damage claim lawsuit to visit their home….”

Unnie seemed desperate to obtain Bang Haeun’s parents’ blood. But after mentioning numerous illegal methods, she realized it was impossible and became even more dejected.

I waited until unnie completely gave up. And when only silence flowed in the lab, I spoke again.

“I’m not certain, but I think Bang Haeun’s parents will come to school soon.”

“What?! When? Where? For what?”

“I’ll tell you if you deal with me. How about it?”

“Wait! I’ll go get a confidentiality contract right now!!!”

Unnie responded to the deal immediately without hesitation, and we drew up a new contract.

Even with many conditions attached, she had zero hesitation.

“G-good heavens… nothing for 5 years, and now two people in one year….”

‘So that’s how it is.’

I thought it was too easy, but from this unnie’s perspective, it’s a flood of plot bait appearing after 5 years of drought.

“Then go carefully! Make sure to contact me!”

Unnie waved her hand vigorously to see me off, and I returned to my room and revised the plan.

‘This is working out this way too.’

Actually, even if Bang Haeun’s parents came looking for me, I’d been at a loss not knowing what to do.

What I should ask, what I should find out.

Just as I was postponing because I had zero sense of it, the answer popped out from an unexpected place.

【Opening First Mastermind (Bang Haeun’s Parents) Elimination Method Brainstorming.txt】

1. Wait until Bang Haeun’s parents come.

2. Once the date is set, inform scientist unnie.

3. Unnie collects the mastermind’s blood, and I help that to the best of my ability.

4. Unnie conducts experiments and tells me the mastermind’s abilities.

5. According to Gyeon Junhwi, Bang Haeun’s parents will attack us on the 10th floor. Before going to the 10th floor, identify the mastermind’s abilities and devise appropriate strategies.

* * *

The plan was made.

Now all that remains is for the parents to visit!

I thought about building combat power while waiting, but I had no capacity for that.

“Midterms? Already???”

“The week after practicals end. Still about ten days left. Professors talked about midterms all this week—didn’t you hear?”

There are apparently written exams.

Just thinking about it made me dizzy.

‘Am I… okay?’

Looking back, I have no memory of properly attending theory classes.

The first week I was too excited because I’d just possessed someone, the next week I was absent due to Sleeping Beauty disease, and this week I was editing Yeon Sora Test videos….

“S-Sora, you okay?”

“No….”

“Think you’ll fail?”

“Uh… I… I don’t even know what subjects I’m taking….”

“Come on, surely….”

“You just need 70 points and even that won’t work? What about Rift Theory? Can you at least read charts?”

My babies’ worries and Seong Hayul’s nagging poured out. Gyeon Junhwi prepared a practice test, and the results were disastrous.

“20 points? Are you crazy? Are you stupid? Study right now! Library after this ends! Absolutely glue your butt down until 2 AM!”

Eventually, Seong Hayul got furiously angry and dragged me to the library.

Just when I thought everything would end like this, there’s always a ray of hope even when the world collapses.

“Yeon Sora! Heard you’re in danger of failing?”

“Here! Rift Theory past 10 years’ exam questions. Professor Kang barely changes question types… if you just memorize this, you can salvage 60 points!”

“This is Alchemy Theory notes. Red parts are 100% past exam questions, orange you should memorize for now, blue just skip! Now’s the time to aim for scores, not learning!”

Complete strangers approached me and provided various materials, reference books, and past exam questions.

I wondered why they were doing this, but they had their own reasons.

“You know if you fail this time, you’ll be under special management for a while?”

“Academic warnings drop depending on scores, so you absolutely must exceed 50 points! Below 50 points even club activities are banned.”

“Your broadcasts are life’s pleasure lately… absolutely can’t fail!”

“Just stop coverage for ten days and study first. Please!!!”

If I fail, I can’t make videos.

Everyone generously donated for their own amusement, and thanks to that, I’d really avoid failing.

“Yeon Sora! Use a study room instead of here! Too many people here, you can’t concentrate!”

“Study rooms are fully booked….”

“I’ll transfer mine. Go now!”

Someone even transferred their precious study room. Since I don’t refuse gifts, I gathered things and moved, when Seong Hayul whispered beside me.

“She’s… here again.”

“Who?”

“Who else? Bang Haeun!”

Indeed, Ki Hyeonmin standing beside me is also in a sharp state. Everyone’s sensitive because Bang Haeun’s been stalking me lately.

Seong Hayul started nagging again as soon as we entered the study room.

“This is all because of you, Yeon Sora!”

“Why me?”

“Bang Haeun’s already lost it lately, and you even talked about her parents!”

“No, that’s a misunderstanding!”

I’d advised ‘don’t try to solve problems alone, definitely consult your parents,’ but that got distorted and weird rumors spread.

Must have asked questions like ‘your parents are well, right?’ while smiling, of all things.

I just hoped they’d come quickly.

But Seong Hayul seemed genuinely worried.

“Bang Haeun’s really strange lately. She’s scheming something. She used to be thorough about self-management, but lately she’s openly gloomy and sharp…. So you, absolutely don’t go anywhere alone.”