The Heroine Stole My Regression-Chapter 24

Park Gwangcheol answered the question with a short, firm reply.

"You have to be strong."

His gaze naturally shifted in my direction.

"You must be strong."

His words were simple, but the weight behind them was undeniable.

The female student who had asked the question nodded silently, as if convinced by his answer.

And just like that, the short ten-minute break ended, and the class resumed.

"Ugh... this theory stuff is so hard..."

When I snapped back to attention, I realized Cheon Yeoul had used the break as an excuse to slide into the seat next to mine.

She leaned far over the desk, grumbling in a low voice.

‘Well, I did design her, but still...’

Her figure was absurdly unrealistic.

The way she bent, subtly highlighting her curves—it wasn’t clear whether she was doing it on purpose or not, but either way, it was hard to ignore.

"Want to ditch class and—"

Before she could finish her playful suggestion—

Smack!

"Ahhn!"

Her shameless attitude was irritating, so I didn’t hesitate to flick her forehead.

Cheon Yeoul flinched and let out a soft moan.

Her face turned red in an instant, heat rising around her, and her breath escaped in shallow, ragged sighs.

“Huuuh...”

There was a strange glimmer in her eyes.

‘Did that actually hurt...?’

Feeling a bit bad, I glanced at her—but quickly composed myself and scolded her.

"Why did you do it?"

Thanks to her, my chronic issue with mana flow had vanished.

But there was no way she could’ve anticipated that outcome... so her actions still didn’t make any sense.

Why would she waste such a rare elixir like that?

At my question, Cheon Yeoul curled her lips into a slight smile, then pointed toward the ceiling with a teasing tone.

"Because she told me to?"

She closed her eyes and clasped her hands together like she was praying.

"O merciful Goddess, watch over us all..."

“....”

Blame the goddess.

The ultimate excuse for everything.

I sighed and stared at her.

Cheon Yeoul had never been the type you could control. This was probably just another one of her impulsive whims.

Still, in the end, my condition had improved beyond expectations, so it was hard to keep scolding her.

"...You must’ve put in a lot of effort adjusting the flow. Thanks for that."

At my words of gratitude, her eyes widened slightly—then she suddenly smiled.

‘Huh. So she can make that kind of face.’

It was a rare, innocent-looking smile, different from her usual expression.

"Then... can I ask one favor?"

"What?"

She hesitated, then spoke in a bashful voice.

"That forehead flick... can I get one more?"

Before she even finished saying it—

"Hey, you two talking over there?"

A stern voice filled the lecture hall.

Turning my head, I saw Park Gwangcheol on the podium, staring straight at us.

"Forget the saintess. Good-looking guy, come on up."

He couldn’t even hide the grin on his face as he pointed at me.

Every pair of eyes in the classroom locked onto me.

We must’ve gotten too loud while talking.

Cheon Yeoul quickly cleared a path for me without making eye ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ contact.

I gave her an exasperated look and reluctantly got up to walk to the front.

"And you are?"

"Jeong Haein."

"Jeong Haein... Today, the professor gave me full authority, so I’m giving you an F."

The hell’s wrong with this guy?

"Excuse me?"

"But if you solve this, I’ll consider it proof you’ve understood everything covered in this course and let it go."

Then he pointed to a problem written on the board.

"Go ahead."

From the back, I could hear students snickering.

Little chuckles.

Everyone assumed I wouldn’t be able to solve it.

This chapt𝓮r is updat𝒆d by ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom.

I took a deep breath and looked at the question.

—Define mathematically the critical conversion rate in the process of transforming the massive energy of a Fragment of Harmony into physical space, and provide its limiting conditions.

‘...Motherfucker.’

They weren’t wrong to laugh.

I knew this topic well—it was crucial to the world’s mechanics—but not to the point I could mathematically define it.

A Fragment of Harmony was a kind of authority left behind by the System. A legacy.

To put it simply, it was a high-dimensional power that transcended the logic of this world.

Only two had been discovered globally so far: one in the U.S., one in China.

But in truth, there were four in total—meant for the protagonist and the three heroines.

Acquiring one didn’t instantly make someone overpowered—it simply added a transcendent attribute to mana and attacks.

That attribute was especially effective against demons.

For high-ranking demons or Majin-class entities, this power was practically the only effective countermeasure.

Aside from that, the only other method would be to dump an unimaginable amount of divine power or mana into a brute-force attack... a horribly inefficient approach.

‘But who the hell could even do that...’

Pretty much no one.

Over the years, there had been countless attempts to extract energy from the Fragments.

All of them failed.

For one simple reason.

Only those chosen by the System could draw out that power.

Sung Siwoo’s role as protagonist stemmed from being one of those chosen.

‘Still... looks like someone’s managed to work out a rough method.’

I looked at the problem once more.

There was no way I could write out a formal equation for it, so I started breaking it down in a different way.

If I define the process of converting it into physical space as extraction, and assume the limiting condition to be the System’s selection...

I began slowly writing out a few key elements on the chalkboard.

“A Fragment of Harmony inherently contains high-dimensional energy.”

My voice filled the lecture hall.

Pointing to the notes and diagrams I had written out, I continued my explanation.

The sound of chalk scratched across the board as I mapped it out.

Once it was laid out enough, I placed the chalk back down.

“...So, ultimately, without a suitable vessel, extraction is impossible. That becomes the limiting condition—”

I turned around after finishing my explanation.

‘...Why is everyone so quiet?’

The classroom was dead silent.

The students who had laughed earlier were all quiet now.

Some of them were even hurriedly copying down the contents of the board.

I turned my head toward Park Gwangcheol.

He had a hand over his mouth, but I could clearly hear him snickering.

Laughter he was trying to hold back slipped through.

“Khmm... yes. You might just escape an F after all, right, Professor?”

I turned to look at the professor.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

He was staring at the chalkboard, glasses lifted, eyes fixed on the equations I had written.

A long silence followed.

Then, at last, he spoke.

“Jeong Haein.”

His voice was low and calm, but there was a strange heat behind it.

“Come see me in my office after class.”

With that, the professor walked out of the room.

“Bwahahahaha!!”

And Park Gwangcheol finally burst out laughing.

***

Six hours.

A full six hours.

I had to explain the method I used to solve that problem—and the deductive process behind it.

Park Gwangcheol, that crazy bastard...

I had assumed it was something that had already been mostly worked out.

After all, the topic had come up repeatedly in Vanquisher’s internal discussions lately.

But I had no idea it hadn’t been proven at all yet.

"We’ll need to examine whether Jeong Haein’s deductive process is truly valid..."

The professor had paused, flipping through the notes.

"What’s fascinating is that it closely resembles the early-stage framework currently being studied in the U.S."

He went on explaining excitedly, unable to contain himself.

But in the end, his conclusion was simple.

"Have you ever considered going to graduate school?"

I rejected him immediately and cleanly.

I hadn’t expected to see such a crushed expression on the face of a professor nearing sixty.

By the time I stepped outside, the sun had already started to set.

‘So much for my Friday...’

I had planned to breeze through class today and wrap up my club registration.

That plan was completely shot to hell.

Dragging my feet, I headed back to the dorm.

After showering and roughly drying off, I sat at my desk and opened my notebook.

I turned the TV on for background noise.

It was time to think about what kind of opportunity I should pursue over the weekend.

‘First, I need to retrieve the Camellia Sword tomorrow morning...’

What should I go after next?

Flipping through pages and weighing options, I suddenly froze at the stiff voice coming from the TV.

—Breaking news.

I turned my head toward the screen.

[Simultaneous demon raids reported in Shanghai and East Africa.]

[Hundreds of casualties, including A-Rank Hero Ling Chao.]

The screen showed cities in ruins, black smoke rising high into the sky.

People sobbing on the streets, a landscape of chaos, and at the center of it all—silhouettes of demons.

It was a familiar sight.

I slowly exhaled and stared at the footage.

‘It’s begun.’

Demons had made appearances before, but never launched assaults like this.

A coordinated demon attack.

This wasn’t an accident. This was a declaration.

They were moving in earnest now.

And that meant I had to start moving too.

I grabbed a notepad from the table.

I started rewriting my weekend plans from scratch.

Retrieve Camellia Sword.

That came first, no matter what.

Once I had the sword, the next priority...

I paused, thinking.

Fragment.

So far, only two Fragments of Harmony had been found.

One in the U.S., one in China.

And of the remaining two, one was in South Korea.

“Baekdu Mountain, Cheonji Lake.”

I let out a heavy sigh and held my head.

Cheonji... a beautiful name, but in truth, it was the most dangerous place in all of Korea.

Even with my knowledge of its location and the method of obtaining it, going there now...

I glanced back at the TV. The skies over Shanghai were thick with black clouds.

The city engulfed in flames. The fear on people’s faces.

That scene burned itself into my memory.

I picked up my pen and wrote a single line in my notebook.

Acquire the Fragment.

I underlined it with force.

This was something I had to do, eventually.

I stood up and looked out the window.

It was time to move.