A small building’s rooftop, about one kilometer away from the Magic Academy.
A man stood alone in the quiet, empty space, talking on the phone.
―Jin, how’s Lee Seo-jun?
“He’s fine. Completely unscathed.”
As always, their conversation revolved around Lee Seo-jun.
Was he okay?
Was he hurt?
Were there any other dangers?
Those kinds of questions.
―That’s a relief. Keep a close watch on him. Why did he suddenly fall into the hidden stage anyway? That really freaked me out.
“Well, he did manage to clear it. It was incredible, really. How does a kid his age clear a hidden stage in just one day? I thought it would take at least two or three days.”
The man muttered to himself, still finding it unbelievable.
―That just proves how exceptional Lee Seo-jun is. Maybe it was inevitable. Actually, this only strengthens my confidence in him. Oh, right—what about the guy who cleared the dungeon with him? Do you know anything about him?
“Oh, that guy… Kim Shin-woo? Or was it Kim Sun-woo?”
―Yeah.
The man shook his head.
“I don’t know much. From what I heard, he was ranked dead last in the school. Though, with the recent midterm results out, that might not be the case anymore.”
―The two seem to be crossing paths pretty often.
“Yeah, but that’s probably just a coincidence.”
“So, how are things over there?”
―We just arrived in Rome. Preparations are nearly complete. The operation will proceed as planned at 3 PM.
The man glanced at his wristwatch.
It was currently 12 PM in Korea.
3 PM in Rome meant it would be around 10 PM in Korea.
“Heh. I wish I could be there too.”
―Just hang in there a little longer. I’ll treat you to a meal soon.
“Got it. Be careful.”
―Yeah.
Click.
The call ended.
The man stared blankly in the direction of the Magic Academy.
“Ugh…”
As I regained consciousness, a piercing headache struck me.
Pain radiated from the places where the dagger had stabbed me.
When I opened my eyes, a message appeared before me.
[Your body has fully adapted to the paralysis poison!]
[Adaptive trait ‘Paralysis Poison Resistance (D)’ has been acquired.]
━━
[Paralysis Poison Resistance (D)]
Category: Trait
Description: Enhances your body’s resistance to paralysis poison.
[Passive Effect]
▶Paralysis Poison Antibody
Increases Mana by 1.
Paralysis poison resistance increased by 50%.
Paralysis poison recovery speed increased by 70%.
━━
“…Got it.”
I had acquired a new trait.
An increase of 1 Mana and 50% resistance to paralysis poison.
The effects weren’t overwhelmingly powerful, but since I got it for free, I was more than satisfied.
Besides, gaining 1 Mana normally required days of focused mana training.
“Ugh, this hurts like hell.”
I wiped away the dried blood on my skin.
Thanks to my body’s recovery abilities, the wounds had already started to heal.
It wasn’t completely gone, but at least moving around wouldn’t be a problem.
“How long was I out?”
Checking the time, I saw that it was already 10 PM.
Had my exhaustion from clearing the dungeon caught up with me?
I had been out for nearly seven hours, paralyzed the entire time.
What should I do now?
10 PM was an awkward time.
I had already slept so much that going back to bed wasn’t an option.
“Training, I guess.”
Yeah. That was the best choice.
When in doubt, train.
And I still hadn’t acquired an adaptive mana-related trait.
“Oh, right.”
I pulled out my smartphone from my subspace and typed a message to Han Se-yeon.
[Han Se-yeon, there’s something I need you to get for me.]
Sending a message this late at night felt like an inconvenience.
But tomorrow was a holiday, so it should be fine.
As expected, I got a reply in less than ten seconds.
[What is it?]
[I need another batch of the mana elixir you made before, along with a pair of sturdy combat boots. Of course, I’ll cover all the costs.]
Was I asking her for too many favours lately?
Maybe.
But from her perspective, this was probably nothing.
For her, requests like these were no big deal.
[Got it. Should I prepare the same mana elixir as last time?]
[Yes, please.]
After finishing my conversation with Han Se-yeon, I stood up.
With my personal errands settled, it was time to head to the magic training hall.
[The door has opened.]
Boom!
The moment I arrived at the magic training hall, a deafening explosion rang out.
Of course, the source of that explosion was Yoo Ara.
Maybe because tomorrow was a holiday, she showed no signs of stopping her training even though it was close to 11 PM.
Rumor had it that she practically lived in the training hall these days.
I was about to ignore her and head into my personal training room when—
The door to the next training room swung open, and Yoo Ara stepped out.
Our eyes met.
“…Hey.”
“Oh, hey.”
She wiped the sweat from her forehead with a towel and then gave me a once-over.
“You look fine. I thought you’d at least have a few injuries after clearing the hidden stage.”
She muttered as she looked me over.
I wasn’t sure what she meant by “even you,” but I simply nodded.
Then, her gaze landed on my forearm.
“…Never mind. You are injured. That wound on your arm.”
“Oh, this?”
The wound on my forearm.
It was the one I had inflicted on myself earlier in the dormitory with the paralyzing dagger.
“It’s nothing.”
“Wait, isn’t that a sword wound?”
Yoo Ara narrowed her eyes and grabbed my wrist.
“Oww! Hey! That hurts!”
I yelped in surprise and shook off her hand. Yoo Ara narrowed her eyes again and said,
“What the hell? Were there monsters using swords in the dungeon?”
A monster that used swords? Of course not.
Monsters wielding bladed weapons were incredibly rare and overwhelmingly powerful, only found in at least A-rank dungeons.
If such a high-tier monster had been in the dungeon, the time required to clear it would have at least doubled.
“No, this is a separate injury.”
“…What? It looks like a fresh wound. Did you… get into a fight with someone?”
Yoo Ara looked at me suspiciously.
“No, I just stabbed myself.”
At that moment, Yoo Ara’s expression hardened.
And I realized I had just said something I really shouldn’t have.
Not in front of her.
“Hey, hey. I’m joking.”
“….”
Seeing me flustered only made her stare at me with even more suspicion.
[Character ‘Yoo Ara’ feels doubtful about you.]
[You have earned 500 points as a reward.]
“…Kim Sunwoo. You’re not into self-harm or anything, are you?”
“Are you crazy? Why would I do that?”
“Then why are you so nervous? Do you have more wounds?”
Yoo Ara suddenly stepped closer, oberserving my arm.
“Hey! Hey, what are you doing?!”
“What the—this isn’t the only one, is it?”
Her expression turned serious. She looked at me with an unreadable, complicated gaze before speaking.
“…Hey, I don’t know why, but don’t hurt yourself. That kind of thing really scars the people around you.”
“It’s not like that.”
“…Is it not? The wounds clearly look self-inflicted.”
“That’s…”
I hesitated, unable to respond immediately. Yoo Ara just kept staring at me in silence.
[Character ‘Yoo Ara’ feels pity for you.]
[You have earned 1,000 points as a reward.]
…She was completely misunderstanding the situation.
I needed to say something—fast.
I was just about to come up with a convincing excuse when—
Beep! Beep! Beep!
A loud safety alert blared from both my and Yu Ara’s smart student notebooks.
[Anti-Terror Safety Headquarters]
[There has been a sharp increase in terrorist activity worldwide. Please refrain from visiting crowded places for the time being.]
A surge in global terrorism.
This was referring to the terrorist organization, Jaun.
Of course, it was just a warning for now—Jaun wouldn’t start full-scale operations in Korea just yet.
Then, another alert followed.
[A terrorist attack has occurred in Rome.]
[The core member of Jaun, ‘Bert,’ who was thought to have disappeared after the group disbanded 13 years ago, has been spotted.]
[Photo attached]
[If you see someone matching this face, please report them to the Mage Association’s Special Task Force.]
The attached image showed a young Caucasian woman with blonde hair.
Bert.
A key member of Jaun and an incredibly ruthless individual.
The number of people who had died by her hands was close to a thousand.
In the original story, her photo had been captured purely by coincidence. I thought this incident might disappear due to the butterfly effect, but it still happened. That was unexpected.
I glanced at Yoo Ara.
As expected, her expression was anything but calm.
The smart student notebook in her hands trembled slightly.
Jaun.
For her, they were objects of hatred and revenge.
Thirteen years ago, Jaun had wiped out her family—the Yoo Clan, once known as one of the five great mage families.
Jaun had brutally slaughtered her loved ones, stolen the clan’s treasures, and vanished.
She had lost everything except for one person—her older sister, Yoo Ah-yeon.
That was why she pushed herself so hard in training. Why she was obsessed with growing stronger.
Because her only goal was to eliminate Jaun with her own hands.
“Yoo Ara.”
At my call, her body flinched. She quickly masked her emotions and turned to me.
“O-Oh. What?”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I’m fine. It’s nothing.”
“Really? You suddenly look unwell.”
She shook her head.
“I must’ve overtrained today.”
With that, she looked at the clock hanging on the wall.
“It’s late. I should get going.”
“Yeah, be careful on your way back.”
She nodded before walking out of the training hall.
Outside the training hall, Yoo Ara walked through the dimly lit night.
Then, she sat down on a nearby bench and let out a deep sigh.
Her hands were still trembling from the lingering surge of emotions.
Jaun.
They were still alive.
Although their recent terrorist attack had resulted in many casualties, a strange sense of relief welled up inside her.
Because it meant she still had a chance at revenge.
‘All my efforts to grow stronger haven’t been in vain.’
She would personally erase them from existence.
She suddenly thought of her sister.
How had Ah-yeon reacted upon seeing the resurfaced Jaun members?
The day their family was massacred—Yoo Ara had been only five years old.
Her memories of that time were growing faint, but Ah-yeon was different.
She still carried the weight of that trauma every single day.
At one point, it had gotten so bad that she even resorted to self-harm in an attempt to escape the pain.
“…Self-harm.”
That reminded her of Kim Sunwoo.
Why had he done that to himself?
Even now, he remained an mystery.
The lowest-ranked student in the academy, yet incredibly skilled. Someone overflowing with mana, yet pretending to be powerless.
There was a reason behind his actions.
‘Could he also be a victim of Jaun?’
She seriously considered the possibility.
After all, the number of Jaun’s victims was said to be in the tens of thousands worldwide.
“Maybe I’m overthinking things…”
Yoo Ara lifted her gaze toward the night sky.
A cool breeze drifted past, brushing through her hair.
Just like the wind, countless thoughts swirled through her mind.
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