Abyssal Monarch: Rebirth of the Forsaken

Information is not just being remembered in his mind, they are being sorted, simplified, and...

With a shocking tingle as if someone nailed a hammer into his brain.

Memorized.

A soft, crackling hum filled the air as Jin-Su clutched his head from the pain. Around him, faint trails of magical energy floated like dust motes in sunlight, reacting to his sudden outburst. Nearby, a small, translucent bird-like spirit with glowing blue feathers perched briefly on a nearby lamp post, tilting its head curiously before vanishing into the ether. The pain felt… strange. It didn't feel bad. It was… satisfying.

All the information was now in his mind. To the last detail he knew from the past... But there was still a problem.

"I can't do anything about ANYTHING," he said, punching the wall and creating a crater.

The sound echoed sharply down the corridor, accompanied by the faint whir of arcane circuitry embedded in the walls. Nearby students froze mid-step, their conversations halting. Some were shocked, some were awed… most had already started snapping pictures and scribbling notes. A faint, violet glow shimmered along the edges of the crater before it repaired itself seamlessly, the academy's auto-repair systems activating in a soft hum of science and magic intertwined.

Jin-Su cast a glance at the murmuring crowd before storming off, his boots clicking against the enchanted stone floor, which seemed to ripple faintly with residual energy as he moved.

Jin-Su did not have any authority or impact to gain any information regarding anything about how, why or who was the main culprit behind the Great Isolation Incident. It was kept under wraps and classified from the general public. Other then unconfirmed whispers and gossips . In elven blight he was basically a fodder. He learned how to fix the disruption in a short area way way later at the end of the metallic horde invasion due to...interest of the many sides. Just a pawn in a large board. He only knows the very few things that could help him. But not solve any of his problems.

He found himself standing in front of his dorm room, the faint hum of the academy's warding system crackling like static in the air around him. Somewhere above, a jellyfish-like spirit floated lazily near the ceiling, its translucent form faintly glowing as it bobbed along the currents of mana saturating the building.

Jin-Su leaned against the door, letting the throbbing sensation in his head subside. The information coursing through his mind now felt like an intricate mosaic—organized, clear, but frustratingly incomplete. He knew more now than he did before, yet the key pieces to make sense of everything remained just out of reach.

"Always a pawn," he muttered under his breath, a bitter smile forming on his lips. "Even with a second chance, the board hasn't changed."

He only learned how to fix the disruption when he needed to after the Elven blight, when he gained authority. And by then, the truth of all things by then had been muddied. Who knows what caused what. But after that he had just arrived to help for the desert folk. Later down the line, in the civil uprising, he only had just held the front line while the upper management took care of the things in the background.

Straightening up, he pushed the door open, stepping into the dorm room. The soft light inside revealed his roommate Min-Ho seated at his desk, scribbling furiously into a notebook. A faint scent of tea lingered in the air, mingling with the warm, coppery tang of activated mana nodes scattered across Min-Ho's workstation. Above his desk, a small mechanical dragonfly hovered, its wings clicking softly as it traced glowing glyphs in the air. Jin-Su noticed Min-Ho flinch slightly, likely sensing his presence.

"Oh! Jin-Su," Min-Ho said, turning to greet him. His smile was polite, though tinged with hesitation. "You've been out for a while. Everything alright?"

Jin-Su nodded, masking his internal struggle. "Yeah, just… getting familiar with the campus."

Even as he replied, his mind was elsewhere. Memories of the Bloodstorm Plague resurfaced vividly. He could almost smell the acrid stench of death from the cult's desecrated village, the blackened remains of once-thriving homes seared into his mind. A faint echo of whispers seemed to fill the room, though it was likely just his imagination. The cultists had writhed in their own vile corruption, black ooze spilling from their forms as they heaped frail, drained bodies onto carts. The village had turned into a wasteland, the damage irreversible. He had stopped them and extracted their base location, but by then, the blood had already been spilled.

The memory faded as Jin-Su moved toward his side of the room, dropping himself onto the neatly made bed. The faint, ever-present hum of the academy's magic-tech infrastructure buzzed faintly beneath his fingers as he ran a hand over the bed's edge. As Min-Ho returned to his work, Jin-Su sat on the edge of his bed, resting his elbows on his knees, his mind wandering back to the fragmented knowledge he'd just processed.

But now… now he could do something about it. He had the power to change the future.

His train of thought was interrupted by the faint rustle of paper. Min-Ho turned in his chair, holding up a sheet with rough sketches of what looked like a rune system. The glow from his enchanted lamp illuminated the diagram, casting sharp shadows on the desk. "Do you know much about mana stabilization circles? I've been trying to figure out why they keep destabilizing during high-load spells, but nothing's clicking."

Jin-Su studied the sketch, his lips twitching upward in amusement. Outside the window, a large feline-like spirit with curling horns prowled the courtyard, its faintly shimmering outline vanishing into the shadows as quickly as it appeared. "That's because your anchor points are uneven. The flow of mana would ripple like water hitting an angled surface."

Min-Ho blinked. "Wait, seriously?" He glanced at the paper, his expression a mix of surprise and curiosity. "How do you even know that?"

"Let's just say I've seen it happen before," Jin-Su replied cryptically. "Move the anchor points here and here." He pointed to the diagram, his suggestions simple but effective. "It'll stabilize the flow, though you'll need to reinforce the outer edge to handle prolonged use."

Min-Ho's jaw dropped slightly, but he quickly recovered, scribbling down the adjustments. "Wow. Thanks! I didn't think about that."

Jin-Su waved it off. "It's nothing."

Later that night, Jin-Su lay in bed, staring at the ceiling as shadows danced across the room. The dim light of a magical lantern cast faint ripples, mimicking the flow of mana through the runes etched into its surface. A faint, mechanical whir emanated from the corner, where Min-Ho's enchanted dragonfly rested, its wings folded like a machine winding down. Somewhere in the distance, a faint howl echoed through the campus, the sound unnervingly ethereal.

"System," he murmured, keeping his voice low. "Highlight any information I can use to gain leverage with the Student Union or faculty."

The System's voice responded almost smugly.

[Analyzing…]

The familiar cold voice of the System filled his mind, taking a few moments before responding.

[Suggestions:

Investigate faculty backgrounds for hidden affiliations or biases. Forge alliances with key Student Union members to access restricted information. Observe individuals involved in prior anomalies for recurring patterns of behavior.]

Jin-Su frowned, considering the options. Alliances and observations were viable, but faculty backgrounds… that would require more finesse. There are MANY faculty members in he school...MANY important characters who are all over the place, future strong commoners, hiding threats, nobility, royalty, next years freshers, creatures...how could it be ever possible to number it down to anything controllable. 

[Suggestion :

Cross-reference any found anomalies.]

"System, highlight anything that was..out of place in these two days."

[Analyzing...]

The response was swift.

[Detected - Will to reduce effectiveness of capabilities]

[Physical - Manual. Magical - 20%. Spirit- Manual]

"So I used less then 20% to fight Kang-Woo and Dean?"

[Detected - Unknown sensation felt.]

"This was at the corridor.."

[Detected - Abnormal Magic Field crossed.]

"When Kang-Woo was bullying Mina?"

[Detected - Unusual aura experienced.]

"I was with Mina then.."

[Detected - Helpful Enchantment(s) gained.]

[Detected - Strange spells blocked.]

[Detected - Unusual aura.]

[Detected - Unusual aura.]

[Detected - Unusual aura.]

[Detected - Unusual aura immunized.]

"These are all from Mina?"

[Detected - Analyze attempt blocked X 63948 and counting.]

"During the coronation..."

[Detected -Analyze attempt almost fully (91%) blocked X 1.]

[Attempting falsehood]

[Falsehood successful]

"The principle. What did you show him?"

[I swapped your stats with Min-Hos stat.] 

Jin-Su slapped his forehead. He is not going to believe that...

[Detected - Mental Manipulation "attempt" Countered.]

[Detected - Turning spell to non lethal non Humanoid damaging.]

[Detected - Emotion Corrosion aura - Nullified.]

"Those were all around Kang-Woo's room," he realized, the weight of the realization settling over him. Someone had actively worked to modify the environment surrounding Kang-Woo—not just to weaken him, but possibly to provoke him into violence. The presence of an Emotion Corrosion aura suggested intent to inflame his anger, which, combined with the turning spell, could have easily escalated to disaster if not for Jin-Su's intervention.

"Someone wanted him to lash out or make it easier for him to be emotional" Jin-Su said aloud. "But why?" His mind raced with possibilities. Was it to discredit Kang-Woo? Or was he simply a pawn, a distraction to keep Jin-Su occupied while something bigger played out?

[Detected - Helpful enchantment in effect.]

"Why did you not tell me of all these things?!" 

[You detected these on your own. These are very poor attempts and of a poorer quality of power. Thus, I deemed it unnecessary. I am only reporting your own findings.]

"Unnecessary?!" Jin-Su growled. He slammed his fist into the wall, the stone cracking slightly before repairing itself. "You're supposed to help me, not decide what I should and shouldn't know!"

[Correction: I assist by enhancing your own detection capabilities. The quality of the manipulations posed no significant threat and were within your capacity to notice and counter. Reporting would have served no purpose beyond distraction.]

Jin-Su gritted his teeth but couldn't argue with the logic. He detected these? But he didn't even feel all of them...accept one. Still, the knowledge that these attempts, poor as they were, had gone unnoticed at the time irked him. If these were low-quality manipulations, what would happen when he faced a real threat?

[Correction : Misunderstanding. These manipulations were truly weak. Too weak for you to feel in the first place. Like ants biting a dragon.]

"System, if these manipulations were so weak, why bother at all? What could anyone hope to gain?"

[Correction : Misunderstanding. These manipulations are weak for you specifically. Let's put Min-Ho in your place. He would not feel these because they are too strong for him to even fathom and he would get manipulated. However if, Professor Hans were to be the target of these, he would feel them and nullify them at the same time.]

"Why can I do that then? And also find the source at the same time?"

[Correction : You are sensing them all the time and whenever they are being used upon you. You can feel them yourself. It just won't stand out for your senses.]

"So I am numb because I am too strong?"

[Technically.]

The single word sent a sharp pang of irritation through Jin-Su. He stopped pacing and glared at the air, as though the System itself might materialize to explain further. "You mean to tell me that I'm so far above these manipulations that I can't even feel them properly? That makes no sense. If I'm strong enough to ignore them, shouldn't I be strong enough to dissect them?"

[Clarification :]

[Strength does not equate to precision. A dragon may not feel the sting of ants, but that does not mean the dragon lacks the ability to swat them if it focuses.]

Jin-Su huffed, his irritation mixing with reluctant acceptance. The System wasn't wrong, but its analogies were grating. "Fine," he said finally. "So, what do I do about this? How do I stop these… 'ants' from crawling around unchecked?"

The response came with an almost smug efficiency.

[Recommendation :]

[Focus your attention deliberately when anomalies are suspected. Enhanced sensory training may also allow you to detect subtler manipulations.]

Jin-Su sat on the edge of his bed, the faint vibration of the academy's mana-tech infrastructure humming beneath him. His gaze shifted toward the ceiling, where faint trails of mana from the warding system pulsed rhythmically. "So I need to focus harder… like lowering myself to their level just to see them."

[Observation :]

[Lowering your focus is not lowering yourself. It is adapting to the scale of interference, just as a dragon might narrow its gaze to see the details of a battlefield.]

Jin-Su chuckled dryly, the corners of his mouth twitching upward. "You really like the dragon analogy, don't you?"

The System didn't reply this time, leaving Jin-Su alone with his thoughts. Somewhere outside, the faint sound of laughter and a brief shimmer of magical energy broke the silence. Jin-Su exhaled, his frustration softening into resolve. But he has some directions as to what to think and figure out about in the future.

Right now, he could do some sleep.