“Dual?”
“That kid?”
“Isn’t he that guy who was a new class?”
“Holy shit, does it even make sense for two Duals to appear in one generation?”
“His luck is insane.”
Various voices dug into Sihyeon’s ears. As he let out a sigh at the murmuring students, even the other teachers who had been conducting engravings set aside their work and crowded around him.
“Is what you just said true?”
“But if he’s Dual, the device should have reacted during the class test. Did it malfunction because a new class was mixed in?”
“Then I’ll bring the class tester first.”
“A new class and a Dual ability user? This has never happened before!”
With the teachers growing noisy, Sihyeon—now surrounded by many people—covered the back of his neck. This was all happening because of that damn mark. Why did the author of This Kind of Ending have to make such a ridiculous setting where the mark disappears once engraving is complete?
If the author were in front of him, he’d want to kick their shin at least once—no, considering everything he’d gone through, maybe three or four times. As Sihyeon, who had been keeping his head down, lifted it to gauge the situation, he met a pair of violet eyes staring straight at him.
“…….”
Hamin’s expression looked complicated. At a glance, he seemed surprised; at another, frustrated; and at yet another, almost depressed.
For someone who was supposed to be a typical rude character in a web novel, Sihyeon had expected him to feel offended that he wasn’t the only Dual among the freshmen—but he hadn’t expected that kind of expression.
Is he regretting not forming a partner?
It was entirely possible. As Sihyeon kept looking at him, Hamin abruptly turned his head away first. Just as Sihyeon frowned at the last expression he’d seen on Hamin’s face, a teacher hurriedly returned with the class tester and placed the black sphere in front of him. It was a device he was now quite familiar with.
“Go on, put your hand on it, Sihyeon!”
“…Do I really have to?”
Just looking at the pitch-black sphere made him uneasy, and as he let out a reluctant protest, the excited teacher nodded so hard it looked like his neck might snap.
“Of course! You might become part of this school’s history!”
I seriously hate that idea.
History? He wanted nothing to do with something like that. He openly frowned to show his reluctance, but the teacher, as if Sihyeon’s opinion didn’t matter at all, pushed the tester closer and kept urging him.
“Come on, put your hand on it. Hurry! Hurry!”
The constant prodding from all directions made his stomach churn.
Why did it have to be a Copy ability?
Wouldn’t it have been better if it were something that could just smash the tester?
“If it shows black light, that means All-Rounder, so Dual Class is confirmed! The new class is already engraved, so the tester won’t react to it!”
“Oh my, my heart is racing.”
Whisper whisper. Hearing the teachers murmuring behind him made Sihyeon want to ask why they were the ones getting excited. Swallowing dryly, he stared at the tester right in front of him. He wondered if he really had to do this in front of everyone, but knowing there was no way out, he closed his eyes.
Not black. Not black. Not black.
He’d heard that when a person’s desperation reached a certain level, it could actually have an effect. At least, that’s what dramas said.
“…….”
Even knowing it wouldn’t work, Sihyeon clung to that ridiculous superstition, hoping for a dramatic outcome as he placed his trembling hand on the tester.
Vrrr, vrrr. He could feel the device vibrating beneath his hand. It was a familiar sensation.
It would be nice if it didn’t react at all, like with the new class.
He clung to that faint hope, but nothing unusual happened. After a slightly longer vibration, a flash of light burst forth, illuminating the tent.
Fortunately, it wasn’t black.
It was simply a dazzling, radiant platinum light.
“…….”
Silence fell over the area as if the world itself had ended. Startled by a light he had never seen before, Sihyeon stared at the tester as it flickered with platinum brilliance before settling back into stillness.
He felt uneasy. Incomparably more uneasy than before.
Swallowing hard at the overwhelming sense of dread, he looked at the teachers. They were staring blankly at the tester as if possessed, their mouths slowly falling open.
“…….”
The silence dragged on. As fear began to creep in, wondering what kind of class could cause this reaction, the teachers—who had been stammering without words—suddenly inhaled sharply all at once, as if hooked up to oxygen.
“…Tri-Triple? Or… even higher?”
“…….”
Sihyeon’s mouth fell open. In that single second, he fully understood how the teachers felt. The puzzle pieces finally began to fall into place, and his lips trembled.
When engraving is completed, the tester doesn’t react to that engraved class. It also doesn’t react to classes not registered in the tester. Once engraving matching the mark is complete, the mark disappears.
And yet, Sihyeon’s mark hadn’t disappeared.
During the class test, the tester hadn’t reacted to him. He thought it was because he was a new class—but now, Sihyeon could more clearly grasp the real reason.
It was because he was a complete new class.
A multi-ability user capable of using four abilities, including Copy.
Faced with the absurd truth, Sihyeon’s lips parted soundlessly as he turned to the teachers with a questioning look. It made no sense. Kang Sihyeon had clearly said he was Dual…
“Your ability includes mine. So I have to be the one to teach you.”
Suddenly, Kang Sihyeon’s words resurfaced.
Your ability includes mine.
He hadn’t said they were the same—he said included. As those words echoed in his ears, it took Sihyeon a few seconds to fully understand, and then he pressed a hand to his forehead.
Grit. His teeth clenched. That overexcited seventeen-year-old Kang Sihyeon, who had been happily explaining his abilities, had described the fact that “Yoo Sihyeon” also had abilities in such a vague way.
So how was he supposed to know?
He’d been too busy trying to understand Copy, shocked by Dual Class, angry at Kang Sihyeon’s confession, and wallowing in pessimism about his situation to pay attention to such a trivial remark. Now that oversight had come back to bite him, and Sihyeon frowned as he looked at the still-stunned teachers.
If I’d known this would happen… I would’ve avoided checking the mark, even if it meant spouting nonsense like it was engraved on my heart.
“Ha….”
He let out a sigh so heavy it felt like his soul was escaping. Then one of the dazed teachers quietly defined his class.
“Quadruple….”
Starting from All-Rounder, which has compatibility with all classes, to Dual with two abilities, Triple with three—
And now, Quadruple, with four abilities, something that had never existed before.
The first Quadruple had been born.
It was something that could happen someday. Sure, it could happen…
But Sihyeon had never, not even for a second, imagined it would be him. As the saying goes, words have power—he had truly become history.
Is this one of those lucky breaks or cheat codes that people who get transmigrated into novels always receive?
Originally, Kang Sihyeon—the sub male lead of the web novel—was a Dual ability user with a new class, and Sihyeon, upon entering this world, gained that Dual ability as a kind of bonus. But the body was Kang Sihyeon’s, and the soul was Yoo Sihyeon’s, so their classes combined into a Quadruple…
Overwhelmed by the most plausible yet absurd theory, Sihyeon stared blankly at the tester. He suddenly wanted to take back all the complaints he’d made about not having a protagonist-like cheat ability.
This was an unprecedented Quadruple.
Not just in Korea, but likely to attract attention overseas as well. Interview requests would undoubtedly flood in. The media would publish article after article about the first Quadruple ability user. The entire nation would learn his face, his name, and his class.
Thinking that far, Sihyeon closed his eyes in resignation. The new goal for his new life that he had thought of that morning surfaced in his mind.
Crash!
Something shattered. Probably his last sliver of hope.
“…….”
He felt a fleeting sense of guilt toward Kang Sihyeon for firming his resolve like this, but rather than endure the storm that was coming, Sihyeon would honestly rather smash his head into something and die.
But regardless of whether he lived or died, a class announcement was a class announcement. As the teacher announced “Quadruple” in a trembling voice, the students couldn’t even cheer.
In the heavy silence, the principal—who had been watching everything—looked at the pale-faced Sihyeon and furrowed his brow.
“…Let’s finish the engravings first and proceed with the schedule. After that, we’ll hold a meeting regarding this matter.”
At the voice breaking the silence, the teachers nodded and belatedly returned to their positions, resuming the engravings. As the process began again and the students’ attention finally shifted away from him, Sihyeon turned toward the principal.
“…I should finish my remaining engravings too, right?”
“…Yes.”
The principal nodded at his subdued tone. Sihyeon had expected him to be jumping with joy, but instead he seemed oddly restrained. Guessing at the reason but pushing the thought aside, Sihyeon swallowed.
They say if you keep your wits about you, you can survive even in a tiger’s den. Though part of him wanted to give up entirely, his mind—running on habit—had already come up with a plan.
At least for the time being, a way to minimize the attention focused on him.
“Then I’ll choose only one class.”
At his dry declaration, the principal’s eyes widened. People who heard him turned their heads, looking at him as if he were crazy, but Sihyeon’s expression remained calm.
“…May I ask why?”
The principal looked at him with surprise. Without a single change in expression, Sihyeon met his gaze steadily.
“Just because I’m a Quadruple, do I have to take all four class abilities?”
“…Not necessarily. But until now, all multi-ability users have chosen abilities corresponding to each of their classes.”
Everyone else does it—so why aren’t you?
That was the question. Letting out a sigh as if he’d expected this, Sihyeon glanced around. He had already prepared every excuse from the moment he decided to say this.
“Just because everyone else does it doesn’t mean I have to. It’s too much of a burden for me.”
“…….”
“I don’t have the confidence to handle four class abilities.”
“You won’t know unless you try.”
“I’d rather not take that risk.”
He responded immediately, without leaving even a gap. The principal blinked, staring at him, then slowly curled his lips into a smile.
“Why do you consider it a risk?”
What is this, an interrogation? It should’ve been convincing enough by now, yet he kept pressing. Wanting to just gloss over it, Sihyeon rolled his eyes and looked for Dawoon.
Even in the midst of the chaos, she must have felt his gaze, because Dawoon turned her head toward him and lifted her chin. Seeing her look at him as if asking “What?”, Sihyeon swallowed, slowly closed his eyes, then turned back to the principal.
It seemed he’d have to use that method after all.
“Actually, I’m not in good health.”
“…What?”
The principal looked dumbfounded at the completely unexpected answer. As a bonus, Dawoon, standing nearby, shot him a look that clearly said What kind of bullshit is that? But despite their reactions, Sihyeon calmly continued his lie in a gentle voice.
“I have migraines, and I also suffer from anemia. When I’m stressed, I tend to get sick easily and end up bedridden. I also get nauseous and vomit often. Actually, it happened this morning too. So I’m worried that trying to adapt to too many classes might just increase my stress.”
Everything except the vomiting was a blatant lie. As if to prove it, Dawoon’s face was twisting more and more, but Sihyeon didn’t even glance her way and simply shrugged. The shrug he’d learned from Kang Sihyeon was finally coming in handy.
“So I think handling all four classes would be a burden both mentally and physically. Would that be alright?”
“…….”
As he spoke with an earnest, almost pleading look, bewildered gazes poured toward him. Unbothered, Sihyeon stubbornly maintained his “frail, sickly boy” act, and the corner of the principal’s lips twitched.
Twitch, twitch. His lips trembled a few times. For a moment, Sihyeon wondered if he was angry—but then, suddenly, hearty laughter rang out across the field.
“Hahaha!”
The principal laughed loudly, and Sihyeon watched him with an awkward expression. After laughing to his heart’s content, the principal straightened his slightly bent back. His eyes, as he looked at Sihyeon, were clear. It seemed his argument had worked.
“If that’s the case, then of course I should allow it. So, which class will you choose?”
Hearing the faint amusement in his voice, Sihyeon let out a quiet breath of relief. It worked. Slowly, he opened his mouth.
He had already decided which class to engrave.
