I Didn't Want This Kind Of High Teen Possession (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 5

Simon’s fist shot toward Adrian’s face.

It was a fist hardened by reinforcement, like a gleaming gauntlet.

Even with the fist flying right before his eyes, Adrian remained utterly still.

More precisely, his face was lost in thought.

He was pondering whether to dodge the punch or block it lightly and pacify Simon.

After all, to him—whose agility stat was S-rank—Simon’s fist was no different from a slow-moving toy train.

He normally wanted to avoid such wasteful conversations and displays of inferiority complexes…

He even felt tempted to show off his skill once to his inexperienced friends and send them packing, but he held back.

More accurately, he couldn’t help but hold back.

While Simon’s fist crept slowly toward him, Adrian glanced at his own status window.

[Skill: (Locked).]

‘Why am I locked?’

Everyone believed they had simultaneously awakened the moment the first Gate opened on Earth.

He’d even read news articles stating most people received one or two skills upon awakening.

Yet Adrian’s skill remained stubbornly locked.

Just why was that?

While lost in thought, Simon’s fist drew so close it nearly brushed his eyes.

At that moment, something flew in and struck the back of Simon’s head.

“Argh!”

Simon ran his hand over the stinging spot on his head.

“Damn it, who—? Huh?”

Blood had started to seep through.

“What… what was that?”

The football team members nearby looked around in confusion.

It seemed the stone rolling on the ground had hit the back of Simon’s head…

Simon, still rubbing his wounded head, suddenly flared his eyes with fury.

“Adrian, is this your power? Are you the one doing this?”

“No, I’m innocent. I didn’t do anything.”

Adrian replied calmly.

Yet, his handsome face genuinely showed bewilderment, as if he truly were blameless.

He had done nothing but watch the incoming fist.

Another stone suddenly came flying from somewhere again.

“Argh! Ow!”

“Ow, that hurts!”

The stones, initially just gravel, were gradually growing larger. The burly football players, proud of their strength, turned pale under the barrage of stones coming from an unknown source.

And when a final, massive rock—bigger than a fist—struck one of them squarely in the back, they decided enough was enough and fled in frustration.

“Adrian, you haven’t seen the last of us!”

“We’ll definitely figure out your skill!”

Grumbling, they quickly scanned their surroundings—worried another boulder might come flying—and dashed away.

Adrian was left alone, standing awkwardly behind the gym.

“……”

Adrian’s blue eyes briefly swept across the empty air.

Then, after glancing at the ancient trees opposite him, he gave a faint, knowing smile.

“Thanks, Juno.”

At his gentle words, the branches high up in the old tree trembled slightly.

Soon, the air there blurred faintly—and where moments before no one had been, a girl with auburn hair appeared atop the branch.

She wore thick-rimmed black glasses as well.

“…You knew? Since when?”

“About halfway through.”

Juno looked down at Adrian with an embarrassed expression, her hands still full of rocks she hadn’t managed to throw yet.

[Skill activated.] [Skill: Extra’s Basics (A).] [Upon initiating an attack or taking damage, your presence is concealed for 60 seconds. Low-tier Hunters cannot detect your presence.

Activation probability: 50%.]

Her passive skill activation notice filled the blue status window.

She had entered the passive state the moment she threw that first pebble—along with lethal intent—to strike Simon’s head.

Now, sixty seconds had passed, and the skill had ended.

Likely, the football players she’d attacked were all F- or D-rank, so they hadn’t sensed A-ranked Juno’s presence.

Of course, Adrian—being S-rank—had clearly sensed her all along.

Seeing her dangling playfully from the branch, Adrian gave a soft smile.

“I saw you the moment you picked up that rock the size of a fist.”

At Adrian’s words, Juno awkwardly dropped the stone she’d been holding.

Thud. The heavy rocks fell to the ground beneath the tree.

[This is the timeline separator]

I climbed down from the branch with Adrian’s help.

Truthfully, I hadn’t wanted to help Adrian at all.

Being noticed by the student council president clashed directly with my plan to quietly spend my school years in peace.

‘But I couldn’t just stand by and let my lifeline get hurt. If he cracks a bone or something and can’t enter the dungeon, that’d be a real problem.’

With a grimace, I pushed my glasses back up from the tip of my nose.

‘That said, I certainly didn’t wish for a situation like this.’

I strode briskly toward the school building, then suddenly whipped around.

Adrian, who had been following behind me, instantly stopped and met my gaze.

“Sorry, but… Adrian, am I imagining things?”

“What?”

“I feel like you’ve been trailing after me.”

It was a roundabout way of asking, ‘Why are you following me around like a lost puppy?’—but Adrian smiled as if he found my words amusing.

“Well, aren’t we just walking to the school building together?”

“Yeah, that’s true… So I guess it really was just my imagination?”

“Of course, it’s also true that I’m following you.”

“……”

Adrian said it plainly, with no intention of hiding anything.

Ah, I see. So he really has been trailing after me like a lost puppy…

Which brings me back—why exactly are you following me around?!

‘On top of everything, it’s already suspicious that you, of all people—an Extra—know my name.’

Now that Adrian stood so close, I took the chance to open his status window again.

‘Still locked.’

[Dedicated Skill: Skill Awakening Pending (Locked).]

When I clicked the word “(Locked),” a new window popped up.

[Your skill is currently locked.] [S-rank Awakeners must complete a quest to unlock their skill.] [Complete the Awakening Quest to remove the lock.]

‘So just what the heck is this “Awakening Quest,” anyway?’

As I glared fiercely at the status window, as if reading my thoughts, a new window suddenly popped up with a cheerful chime.

[‘Adrian Roy Coleman’s S-rank Skill Bloom Quest.] [Unlike lower-rank Awakeners, S-rank Awakeners must complete a ‘Skill Bloom Quest’ to unlock their skill window.] [Complete the Bloom Quest to awaken your S-rank skill.] [※ Condition: Strict confidentiality regarding the Bloom Quest.] [Frost Mage’s Skill Bloom Quest.] [Survive for 30 days at the summit of the Himalayas. Conquer all 14 Himalayan peaks within 30 days.] [Upon completing the Bloom Quest, the S-rank skill ‘State Freeze (S)’ will be unlocked!]

Wait… What did you just say?

[This is the timeline separator]

Could it really be the Himalayas I know?

The Himalayan mountain range in southern Asia?

The very same Himalayas with over fourteen peaks exceeding 8,000 meters in elevation?

I hurried back to the school building and hid in the last stall of the restroom, frantically searching “Himalayas” on my phone.

‘No, it’s too early to jump to conclusions. Maybe this is just a fictional America from a drama—perhaps “Himalayas” here refers to a village with the same name, or even a six-story building?’

Or at the very least, maybe the Himalayas in this world weren’t that tall.

Surely, ordering someone to conquer fourteen high Himalayan peaks in thirty days must be either a system glitch or just a local hill nicknamed “Himalayas.”

But…

‘…Nope. Not a chance.’

The search results clearly showed the real Himalayan mountain range in Asia—with its 8,000-meter peaks.

So the system really was pushing Adrian to climb the Himalayas right here in this fictional American setting.

And this, despite him being a minor who should legally be under societal protection—without even a proper passive skill, just because he’s an S-rank Awakener!

‘Isn’t this basically telling him to go die?’

Was this really necessary? They always said, “With great power comes great responsibility,” but did unlocking an S-rank skill really demand a life-threatening quest?!

Anyway… Adrian must know about this insane quest, right?

At the very least, he himself must be aware of it.

‘Even if you’re S-rank, without a properly awakened skill, you won’t be able to perform in dungeons.’

He’d basically become a gilded but rotten persimmon.

My lovely Porsche—my lifeline to Harvard—had instantly turned into a useless fruit.

Just in case, I searched “S-rank Awakener” in the browser.

Who knew? Maybe there were other S-rank Awakeners who’d unlocked their skills through perfectly normal quests.

[(Breaking News) U.S. Army Major Nelson, S-rank Awakener, vanished after abruptly entering the Amazon.]

A-and the next article…?

[S-rank Awakener civilian Mr. M, found frozen to death while attempting to scale Nepal’s Makalu Mountain naked.] [Actor-turned S-rank Awakener Neut McNeil abruptly departed on a unicycle to circle the globe. Reason cited: ‘Confidential.’]

I couldn’t bear to read any further and switched off my phone screen. My face had gone pale, and my stomach churned.

“No way…”

No way! My lifeline!

I took a deep, calming breath and pressed my fingers to my forehead.

I absolutely couldn’t let Adrian head off to the Himalayas like this.

Somehow, the worst possible scenario naturally surfaced in my mind.

[Head Boy of R High School goes missing after abruptly attempting to conquer the 14 Himalayan peaks…]