Possessor #2 Just Wants to Fangirl Chapter 92

Professors obsessed with research can’t be reasoned with.

If you say ‘I won’t participate in the research’?

They go ‘Can’t be helped’ and kidnap and confine you like it’s the most natural thing. Because their research is more important than individual human rights.

If you say ‘My parent’s birthday is coming up, I need to go out’ before or after experiments?

They go ‘Can’t be helped’ and kidnap and confine you. Because they loathe any errors caused by external environmental factors.

What’s more, kidnapping and confinement by professors rarely results in disciplinary action. If they punished every case of this, there’d be a professor shortage and classes couldn’t run smoothly.

That’s how frequently it happens.

On top of that, it’s difficult to hold them legally accountable.

The actual kidnapping environment maintains optimal humidity, provides beds with the finest bedding, serves the best food, and more—essentially no different from a resort.

Though being kidnapped prevents participation in Tower practicals and disrupts class progress… the cadets who return often come back with drastically upgraded abilities.

Because research lunatics are ultimately a species that values results.

In the end, the academy just turns a blind eye to the situation, gathering only kidnapped cadets for supplementary practicals.

‘Actually, if not for the impending destruction, it wouldn’t be too bad.’

If you’re prepared to waste some time, get pricked with needles, and have some blood drawn, then obediently accepting a research lunatic’s kidnapping isn’t bad for growth.

But I have to prevent destruction.

What if the mastermind shows up and my babies are in danger?

The moment I say ‘If I don’t go, the world will be destroyed!’, they’ll go ‘Can’t be helped’ and kidnap and confine me. Because research lunatics prioritize their research even over world destruction. I confirmed this directly through the novel.

‘If only they were reasonable…’

Their most troublesome aspect is that they’re impossible to communicate with. When you agree with them, communication works, but the moment opinions diverge even slightly, they immediately resort to kidnapping and confinement.

The only beings capable of exchanging opposing opinions with research lunatics are fellow research lunatics. Strangely enough, they can rationally debate and negotiate among their own kind.

I don’t know why.

It’s just… maybe they’re like zombies.

When a zombie encounters a human?

They lose reason and bite.

But when a zombie approaches another zombie?

Everyone follows the rules among their kind and peace is maintained. They even all run together when running, and when eating they share one bite at a time, showing excellent cooperation.

Outsiders don’t know the rules among their kind, and even if they did, they couldn’t use them. Because no matter how well you disguise yourself, they can uncannily distinguish between their kind and fakes.

Anyway.

The important thing is that I need to use one of their kind to convey what I want to say.

A strategy to use research lunatics against research lunatics!

Also known as the ‘Lab Rat Auction Strategy’!

‘It’s okay, I can do this too!’

I don’t know if it’ll work as well as with our Junhwi, but I decided to at least try.

First, let me introduce the auction participants.

“I have no doubt that both Researcher Cheon Ari and Professor Ban will achieve outstanding accomplishments. Being told to choose just one of you is truly too cruel.”

“Well, if it’s Cheon Ari, she is that kind of opponent.”

“I don’t even know where to start. Maybe I should just pull out entirely… But Professor Joo has also shown special interest in me, so I’m wondering if I should go in that direction instead…”

“That’s absolutely unacceptable!”

Three people are participating in the Yeon Sora auction.

Professor Ban, Professor Joo, and Researcher Cheon Ari.

Professor Joo isn’t research material, but after experiencing him directly, he’s also severely afflicted with obsession, so I decided to throw him in. The more participants, the better for auctions.

Now that everyone’s gathered, let the auction begin!

I looked at Professor Ban with a troubled expression.

“I need to choose just one person… but since I don’t know the details of your research, Professor, I’m in a difficult position too.”

“I apologize. For security reasons, it can’t be helped.”

Professor Ban wants a closed bid, but I can’t allow that.

Open pricing is fundamental to auctions.

Participants need to see each other’s offered prices, get nervous, tremble, and act out—only then can it be called an auction.

“Researcher Cheon Ari said if I reveal the secret of my mana characteristics, she can strengthen my stats and skills several times over… She even said she’d provide research funding, list me as a co-participant, give me credits, and conduct research participation only after 7 PM.”

“Cheon Ari said all that…”

“Professor Joo said he’d reveal the secret of my unique constitution. My agility stat is peculiar, and he even created a special training schedule for me. He told me to experience it firsthand and then decide.”

“……”

“But I don’t even know the subject of your research, Professor Ban. This way, I can’t even make comparisons… Haah, what a shame.”

I wondered if this would actually work, but it really did.

Because after Professor Ban gnashed his lips together, he opened his mouth.

“I’m trying to eliminate Cadet Yeon Sora’s walls.”

“That’s quite a poetic expression.”

“Just a small… spoiler… Haah, I’m trying to research the compatibility relationship between Cadet Yeon Sora’s characteristics and skills. Through that, I intend to smash through your inner walls and achieve maximum potential.”

Characteristics and compatibility…

This is actually pretty useful information.

“Then that means I’d have to disclose my characteristic information?”

“Of course.”

“Then I’ll have to refuse.”

“……”

“Researcher Cheon Ari and Professor Joo didn’t request such information disclosure. Because it violates the Awakened Personal Information Protection Act.”

My characteristic is ‘Devoted Reader.’

Disclosing that would be insane. I can’t do a bin-coming-out to a research lunatic when I haven’t even done it to my babies.

Professor Ban gnashed his lips together again, but soon nodded.

“Well, if that’s the case, I won’t request characteristic information disclosure either. That much can be discovered through research anyway.”

This is how I need to openly compare conditions and grab only what’s favorable to me. Making research lunatics check and control each other.

Junhwi extracted information this way by sucking it all out.

That’s not all.

“Professor Joo said no matter what, he’d raise my agility stat within two weeks.”

“Hmph, compared to what I can do for you, that’s laughably small.”

“But Professor Joo trained me ‘directly.’ Not an assistant—Professor Joo himself worked one-on-one with me, giving me practical tips. He told me to confirm the effects with my own eyes before deciding.”

“……”

“The former ‘Rank 3’ Professor Joo, who climbed to the Tower’s top floor three times, showed such dedication. For someone like me, just a cadet, refusing would be too disrespectful…”

Our Junhwi even got free samples.

Attempting this now is a bit premature, but since Professor Ban mentioned something like ‘I was Rank 10 in my day’ earlier, I decided to poke once by bringing up Professor Joo who had a higher ranking.

Professor Joo’s personal guidance is hell for me, but there’s no need to mention that detail.

Listing Professor Joo’s ranking, position, and prestige, and repeatedly appealing that such an amazing person even provided free training, I’m honored to death, if I don’t accept his sincerity I deserve to die, and so on—after continuously emphasizing this, Professor Ban also gradually started providing samples.

“I can increase your skill accuracy by 300% using a special training method I developed.”

“My skills already have high inherent accuracy. Professor Joo’s agility training seems like it would help more.”

“Thirty injections and your attribute enhancement will increase power by 200%.”

“Researcher Cheon Ari said I could become several times stronger… Wouldn’t that be higher than double?”

“Within one month, you’ll be able to double-cast skills.”

“Unfortunately, I have a small mana pool, so even if I learned it, I couldn’t use it.”

“Then there’s a mana expansion room that increases mana stats from just one day of use!”

“Oh really?”

When I, who’d been giving lukewarm rejections with an indifferent face, showed interest, Professor Ban seemed excited.

“The most important thing for your abilities is mana! Your fuel tank needs to be big to do anything!”

“I tried using the mana training room, but it had no effect at all, though?”

“Of course it wouldn’t. The mana training room available to freshmen uses only minimal mana concentrations to prevent mana rampage. My facility doesn’t crudely blast mana in—it has absolutely no issues with rampage! The structure circulates according to air currents, with the interior…”

A lengthy explanation followed, but when I yawned slightly, Professor Ban hurriedly opened his mouth.

“Cadet Yeon Sora! Since you used quite a lot of mana today, how about trying it out?”

“But I promised to definitely consult with Professor Joo before making any decisions…”

“Of course, I’m not asking you to make any decisions right now.”

Professor Ban wore a slightly twisted smile.

This man’s expression isn’t great whenever Professor Joo’s name comes up.

“Yes, I acknowledge it. I’ve devoted myself solely to one research project for nearly ten years, so my external achievements and recognition are lacking. It’s not unreasonable for you to hesitate. However! Rankings inherently favor weapon users. For skill users like us, mana is more important than agility or stamina, and a faculty advisor needs someone with that level of technical skill. If you experience it just once, you’ll come to recognize my technical capabilities.”

The auction strategy seems to be working quite well.

Now if I do the same thing to Professor Joo and Researcher Cheon Ari, they’ll all raise their prices against each other, and even if I get kidnapped by one of them, one of the three will rescue me.

I don’t know if it’ll work as well as with our Junhwi, but at least the start is good.

Professor Ban is looking at me with eyes full of anticipation.

“Class time still has an hour left anyway, and you just need to sit quietly in a room. Would you like to try it now?”

“A quiet room?”

“Yes, the view is quite nice too.”

It’s tempting, but going alone with Professor Ban right now wouldn’t be a wise choice. I need to inform the other auction participants too, so even if I get kidnapped, they’ll come rescue me.

Moreover,

‘A quiet room…’

It’s exactly the space I’ve been looking for. And apparently sitting there makes your mana pool bigger.

This… would be perfect as Yeon Sora’s mobile fortune-telling shop?

“Um, can I bring a friend?”

“What?”

* * *

I used the Sleeping Beauty disease excuse.

I need to regulate my body temperature properly, but I used too much mana today so I’m in bad shape, if I can’t manage this I’ll hibernate, if I go to a new environment in this state there’ll definitely be problems, the person who understands my body temperature better than me is Juwan, if our Juwan doesn’t check my condition I could sleep for 100 years, and so on.

‘This is actually pretty useful.’

When I didn’t know what it was, it was just an absurd physical debuff, but now that I know the name, there are so many places to exploit it.

Professor Ban, who was startled by the hibernation talk, went straight outside and summoned Yeom Juwan.

“Then let’s depart immediately.”

When Professor Ban opened a wardrobe door in one corner of his office, a colorful magic circle inside revealed itself.

“My facility’s location is secret. We need to teleport there.”

The place we arrived at was…

Surprisingly, a glass elevator floating in the sky.

If this were an island, it would be called a floating island, but since there’s just a single small glass room hanging there, I don’t know what to call it.

“This is my mana expansion room.”

That name is kind of gross, isn’t it?

But Professor Ban was proudly pounding his chest.

“This facility represents the pinnacle of my technical skills. You just need to stay inside for one hour.”

“I don’t have to do anything, just stay still?”

“Think of it as a type of mana sauna. Saunas use steam alone to relax muscle tension and dilate blood vessels to promote blood circulation, right? This expansion room is also filled with my secret recipe ingredients like steam. Just breathing makes your mana circulation improve.”

Expansion room, expansion room—it keeps making me feel like I’ve come to a bathroom. Even though it’s such a pretty space…

“I’ll come pick you up after an hour, so enjoy yourselves.”

After winking one eye, Professor Ban left. And I was left alone in the glass castle floating in the sky with just Yeom Juwan.

Finally, a session with our Juwan!!

Actually, I need to have a more important conversation with Juwan than futures or fortunes or destiny.

Because I figured out why he seems strangely anxious and nervous unlike the original.

There was a butterfly effect I overlooked.

I need to handle that first.

“Juwan, shall we have a talk?”