Somewhere in Gyeonggi Province, four people gathered at Jaun’s temporary hideout.
They were all core members of Jaun, the ones who had stayed behind simply because they found vacations bothersome.
The rest of the Jaun members had vanished without a word, busy enjoying their time off, while one had been assigned to monitor Lee Seo-jun from afar.
“Wow, but is it for real that all the ones who went on vacation turned off their phones?”
“Tsk. Those heartless bastards. Enjoying their break is fine, but they should at least keep their phones on.”
Natasha, sitting on the sofa, grumbled. Then she turned to Jin, who was seated across from her.
“So, you’re saying everything was stolen?”
“Yeah.”
“Even though the barrier hadn’t been broken?”
“That’s what I’m saying! It’s so ridiculous that I kept investigating, but there weren’t any other traces left behind.”
Jin complained, still in disbelief.
“Who took it? The Association? Or maybe Dawn’s Blade?”
“It has to be one of them, right? It’s not like someone from our side could have stolen it.”
“Well, it’s not entirely impossible. Hey, Jin. You didn’t secretly stash it away yourself and pretend not to know, did you?”
“Do you wanna die?”
Jin’s face turned serious.
Just then, the door opened, and Bert walked in. Exhaustion was noticeable on her face.
“Ugh. I really have no clue.”
“Nothing even after investigating?”
“No. I still can’t figure out why those demons attacked Lee Seo-jun.”
Muttering to herself, Bert turned to Jin.
“You’ve been tailing Lee Seo-jun for two months straight. How the hell did you not know the demons were going to attack?”
“How was I supposed to know? It’s not like I actually infiltrated the school.”
“Tsk… You’re slacking off, aren’t you? While we’ve been working all over the world and you’ve been lazing around.”
“Ah, seriously. What’s your problem?”
Frustrated, Jin shot to his feet. Bert looked up at him with narrowed eyes before flashing a small smile.
“I was joking. Calm down.”
“Watch your mouth.”
“Alright, alright.”
Bert leaned back against the sofa, letting out a quiet sigh.
“But still, it’s true that there are too many things that don’t make sense. The stolen treasure, the demon attack, and…”
She recalled the incident at their hideout in Gangwon Province.
“The mysterious spell that blasted half of an S-rank demon’s body.”
Whose magic could that have been?
As far as she knew, aside from the members of Dawn’s Blade, no one else had the ability to cast a spell of that magnitude.
The sheer destructive power she had witnessed that day was, at minimum, A-rank. If she judged solely by its force, it had seemed closer to S-rank.
And most baffling of all—there had been no detectable trace of mana.
“Hm…”
But the caster of that spell wasn’t from Dawn’s Blade, the demons, or Jaun.
That meant there was another unknown “third party” keeping an eye on Lee Seo-jun.
“…Who the hell could it be?”
Before I knew it, Sunday had arrived.
Lee Seo-jun and I met up in Gangwon Province for our monster biology assignment. Since we had already made significant progress last week, all that was left was a simple video recording and investigating the creature’s weaknesses.
“I swear, no matter how many times I come here, I can never remember the way.”
The monster field in Gangwon Province was dangerous. The mountainous terrain made it even more challenging, but beyond that, the geography was different from the Gangwon Province I had known in my previous life.
We spent about thirty minutes climbing over hills, leaping across trees and rocks, until we arrived at a cliff.
“There it is.”
Lee Seo-jun pointed to our target—the “Giant Black Stone Lizard.”
Its body, resembling a golem, was made entirely of stone. Even in a monster-rich region like Gangwon Province, this lizard was considered a rare species.
The teacher had promised higher scores based on the rarity of the chosen monster, so we had deliberately picked one that was hard to find.
“But seriously, how did you even know this thing was here?”
Lee Seo-jun asked, clearly intrigued.
It must have seemed strange to him that I knew the exact habitat of a rare monster.
Of course, the answer was simple—I had been here in my past life.
“I just happened to see it once.”
“In the past?”
His eyes narrowed with suspicion.
“Yeah, something like that.”
At my curt response, he nodded, seemingly satisfied.
“We already documented its biology and behaviour last time, right?”
“Yeah. Now we just need to film a quick video and analyze its weaknesses.”
“This won’t take long, then.”
“Alright, I’m recording now.”
“Yeah, just make sure not to attract attention.”
I activated the video function on my smart student notebook. Keeping a safe distance to avoid provoking the creature, I began filming.
The lizard, its massive body composed of solid rock, moved sluggishly.
Its classification as an A-rank monster meant that even with both of us working together, it wouldn’t be an easy opponent to take down. Getting noticed would do us no favours.
I was calmly capturing footage when—
The rock beneath my feet suddenly crumbled.
“Huh? Whoa—!”
Rumble…
Thud!
―!
At the same time, the lizard’s gaze locked onto me.
“….”
Ah. I’m screwed.
I could’ve sworn that rock looked solid.
What kind of rotten luck is this…?
As expected, the Giant Black Stone Lizard’s eyes rolled back slightly as its unique trait, “Human Hatred,” activated.
“Damn it.”
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Before I could even finish cursing, the lizard slammed the ground and charged straight at me.
“Watch out!”
Lee Seo-jun, realizing the situation, sprinted toward me from a distance.
“Tch.”
The monster was closing in fast.
I infused mana into my shoes and activated Air Walk. My body lifted into the air, and with an agile twist, I dodged the attack.
From a distance, I heard Lee Seo-jun’s awed voice.
“Don’t just stand there—help me!”
“Oh, right! Hold on!”
He unsheathed his sword, and a powerful aura of mana surged around it.
In a blur of motion too fast to follow with the naked eye, he dashed toward the lizard and slashed at it.
Clang!
But our opponent was an A-rank monster.
Not just any A-rank, but one with an incredibly tough, stone-like exterior.
As expected, despite taking a direct hit, the lizard barely showed any damage.
“Be careful!”
At my warning, Lee Seo-jun quickly retreated.
I hurriedly formed a spell above my palm.
A magic sphere materialized, its intensity far stronger than before thanks to my recent training.
“Haa…”
But it wasn’t enough.
To pierce that rock-hard defense, I needed more power.
If only I had a Mana Elixir—but I had used them all up in training.
That left me with only one option.
Thump!
The Heart of Nature activated, and an explosive surge of mana coursed through my body.
At the same time, the magic sphere floating above my palm swelled with newfound energy.
Buzzzzzz…
I reached out my hand and aimed at the lizard.
As the Outsider’s Privilege activated, the creature’s weak point became visible.
It was the middle section connecting its torso and tail.
Gathering my mana, I fired at that spot.
Paang!
The magic shot forward, leaving behind a brilliant white trail, and struck the weak point dead on, producing a thunderous explosion.
—!!
A massive hole opened on the lizard’s back where its tail connected.
Judging by its movements, I had definitely hit its weak spot.
However, the creature was tenacious—it writhed in agony but refused to die.
At that moment, Lee Seo-jun lunged forward.
He precisely pierced the exposed flesh where the hole had formed and then slashed through it.
—!!
It all happened in a brief span of five seconds.
Despite its tough hide, the giant black stone lizard could not withstand our combined assault and finally collapsed.
“Let’s take a picture of this part. It’s the weak spot.”
The long battle had finally ended.
Seo-jun and I were now dissecting the lizard’s corpse.
Unfortunately, we hadn’t been able to record a long video, but capturing and dissecting an A-rank monster ourselves would surely earn us high marks, making it a worthwhile trade-off.
Click.
“This spot, too.”
Click.
Seo-jun continued snapping pictures as I directed him, occasionally glancing at me as if he had something on his mind.
But he kept his lips sealed.
“You got something to say?”
“…No. Anywhere else we should photograph?”
“Hmm… Over here.”
Click.
“That should be enough.”
“Okay. Man, I never imagined we’d actually take down an A-rank monster.”
“Me neither.”
I also hadn’t expected the rock beneath my feet to suddenly crumble.
Still, the outcome was good, so I had no complaints.
“Oh, right. Let’s cut off some of its hide.”
The hide of a giant black stone lizard was incredibly tough and widely used for crafting armor.
On top of that, its rarity made it highly valuable—easily worth over fifty million won.
“Oh yeah, this stuff’s super expensive, isn’t it?”
“Yep. At least fifty million.”
“…Whoa.”
Seo-jun’s jaw dropped.
Without hesitation, he hurriedly drew his sword and began cutting away the hide.
After about five minutes of work, he dusted off his clothes and stood up.
I also stood and gathered the harvested hide.
“All done. I’ll hold onto it for now and let you know when I sell it.”
“Got it. So, we’ve got to write the report now. Should we hit a café and start right away?”
At Seo-jun’s suggestion, I shook my head.
“No, I have plans this evening.”
“Plans? With who?”
I hesitated for a moment.
The person I was meeting was none other than Han Se-yeon.
But telling Seo-jun that outright felt a little… tricky.
“Just someone I know.”
“Hmm, really? Now I’m curious.”
I responded with a faint smile.
“So it’s a secret, huh?”
His tone suggested he knew I was keeping something from him but was choosing not to pry.
I considered saying something but ultimately decided to just go along with it.
“Yeah, it’s a secret, so don’t ask.”
That afternoon, I changed into my Kim Jinwoo disguise and entered a well-known café in Seoul, our designated meeting spot.
As I stepped inside, I spotted a familiar figure.
A woman wearing a cap, sunglasses, and a mask—suspicious-looking, to say the least.
“Hello.”
I greeted her as I took the seat across from her.
“Nice to see you. It’s been a while.”
“You do realize you look super suspicious right now, right?”
At my comment, the woman lowered her sunglasses slightly.
Clear, bright eyes peeked out from behind the lenses.
“This still draws less attention.”
I let out a chuckle at her response.
Han Se-yeon.
There were very few people in South Korea who didn’t know her name.
With her stunning looks on top of her fame, she was even easier to recognize than most other celebrities.
“Let’s start with the goods.”
She groaned as she struggled to lift a heavy case from under the table and placed it on top.
“…One hundred bottles. Making them was seriously a nightmare.”
She shot me a sharp glare.
I responded with an awkward, apologetic smile.
Opening the case, I saw exactly one hundred bottles of mana elixir neatly arranged.
“You really worked hard. You must’ve been busy.”
“Oh, and per your request, I made some with an extended duration but reduced effect. They’re mixed in. The bottom four rows are those potions.”
Just as she said, the potions in the last four rows had a different hue.
━━
[Enhanced Mana Elixir II (C)]
Type: Potion
Description: Increases mana recovery rate by 150% for 20 minutes upon consumption. After the effect ends, causes mana exhaustion for 10 minutes.
━━
The duration was longer, and the side effects were significantly shorter.
This was a potion I had specifically requested for magic training.
The usual mana elixirs had excellent effects, but their short duration and long-lasting drawbacks made them unsuitable for training purposes.
The downside was that the mana recovery boost had been significantly reduced, but since I only planned to use them for training, that was an acceptable trade-off.
Now, it was time to give her a reward.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the Ilwol Pharmacology Book.
Han Se-yeon glanced at the book and asked,
“What’s this?”
“A gift.”
At the word “gift,” her eyes lit up with curiosity.
She took the book from me and started flipping through it.
At first, she browsed with interest, but as she read further, her expression gradually stiffened.
Finally, she looked up at me with an unreadable gaze and spoke.
“Where did you get this?”
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