Tap, tap.
A campfire flickered in the forest, its light dancing as the eerie wind swept across the fallen leaves.
Sitting in front of it, Choi Seo-yoon and Kim Sunwoo stared blankly at the flames.
“So, what exactly do you want to talk about? Why haven’t you said anything this whole time?”
“There’s nothing specific I wanted to say.”
“Then why did you offer mana stones just to have a conversation?”
Choi Seo-yoon asked in a puzzled tone.
“There are just things like that.”
“…Sounds suspicious.”
Muttering to herself, Choi Seo-yoon glanced at Kim Sunwoo.
He was gazing into the campfire, lost in thought. Unlike his usual self, his eyes carried a sense of emptiness. Maybe it was just her imagination, but he even looked physically drained.
For him to go so far as to hand over mana stones just for a conversation—it had to mean he needed someone to talk to.
‘A concern, huh? What could it be?’
If he wasn’t speaking, it meant he was hesitating to bring up his concerns. In that case, she needed to figure it out herself.
Then, Choi Seo-yoon recalled Park Minye.
After observing Kim Sunwoo for months, she had noticed—he was always watching Park Minye.
But with Lee Seo-jun, the perfect man, by Park Minye’s side, he never managed to approach her. He could only watch from afar with a helpless gaze.
It was so pitiful that even she felt sorry for him.
There was no love story quite like this.
Yet, Choi Seo-yoon thought it was kind of admirable. At the same time, she felt a slight twinge of jealousy toward Park Minye.
A love that deep and painful—she had only dreamed of such romance while watching movies and dramas.
“Hmm…”
After a brief moment of contemplation, Choi Seo-yoon spoke.
“Senior, why don’t you try having a little courage?”
Kim Sunwoo turned his gaze to her.
“What kind of courage?”
“I mean, you always just watch from afar. You never actually step forward.”
“…What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about Park Minye. If you’re planning on pretending otherwise, don’t bother. I know you’ve been watching her with those sorrowful eyes every time.”
“…”
Kim Sunwoo let out a deep sigh.
She didn’t know what kind of sigh it was.
But she could sense the weight of his emotions in it.
…So he really does love her.
“Forget it.”
Kim Sunwoo suddenly brushed off his pants and stood up.
“Huh?”
“The 20 minutes are up. You can go now.”
“Oh.”
Choi Seo-yoon glanced at her smart student notebook to check the time.
Sure enough, just as he said, exactly 20 minutes had passed.
He really was precise to the second.
What kind of reason would make him offer mana stones for something like this…?
It was at that moment—
Rustling sounds came from the bushes.
Both Kim Sunwoo and Choi Seo-yoon turned their gazes toward the noise.
From beyond the bushes, teachers emerged.
“Seo-yoon and Sunwoo.”
“Oh, hello.”
Choi Seo-yoon politely bowed.
“But what brings you here?”
She asked the teachers with curiosity.
According to the usual test procedures, they weren’t supposed to reveal themselves until the exam officially ended the next day.
“All the drones in this area went offline.”
“Oh, I think I saw a few like that while passing by.”
“We suspect someone deliberately disabled them. We’re investigating now.”
“Hmm…”
Choi Seo-yoon nodded in understanding.
Kim Sunwoo’s expression remained unreadable.
The next morning at 10 a.m., the exam came to an end.
Students gathered at the portal gate on the uninhabited island’s shore.
Everyone was busy boasting about the mana stones they had collected.
“There’s only one person missing.”
“Are they not picking up their phone?”
“No. We even lifted the communication block, but still no answer.”
The teachers were looking for Park Minye.
As time passed without any response, they began to worry that something had happened to her.
And with the exam over but no further proceedings, murmurs started spreading among the students.
“Hey, Park Minye still isn’t here?”
“What? Did she get lost?”
“Did something happen to her?”
As the commotion grew, the teachers gathered for a meeting.
“For now, let’s send the students back. We teachers will stay here and continue searching for Park Minye.”
“Agreed. Let’s deploy as many drones as we can.”
After concluding their discussion, the teachers faced the students.
“Alright, quiet down. You all did well in the second midterm exam. Please proceed through the portal gate one by one.”
Time passed quickly.
The weekend flew by, and Monday, the start of a new week, arrived.
By then, rumors had spread throughout the school—Jang Ye’s corpse had been found on the uninhabited island.
The students were in shock.
But what stunned them even more was the discovery that Jang Ye had been a demon.
The media once again jumped at the chance to attack the Mage Academy, putting out sensational headlines like:
“Young Students Exposed to the Threat of Demons.”
Of course, what the media said wasn’t wrong, but from the academy’s perspective, it was an unfair situation.
After all, with current human technology, there was simply no way to distinguish a demon disguised as a human.
Even broadcast stations aired mystery specials on the case.
What exactly happened on the uninhabited island?
Why did the drones suddenly go offline?
Why did the demon, Park Minye, go berserk?
And who was the one that killed her…?
“Alright, settle down, everyone!”
Monday’s homeroom session.
Jang Ancheol addressed the students with a stern face.
“I understand that the atmosphere in the school is uneasy. I also know that some of you are worried about the threat of demons. The academy is doing its utmost to investigate this incident, so I ask that you all remain calm and wait for the results.”
“Yes, sir.”
“That’s all for today’s homeroom. You’ve all worked hard.”
After Jang Ancheol left, the students began rising from their seats.
“Wow. This is seriously insane.”
“No kidding.”
While packing my bag, I stole a glance at Lee Seo-jun and Shin Young-joon.
Their expressions were just as cold.
It was clear that they still couldn’t believe that Park Minye, someone they had been close to for months, had actually been a demon.
But that was none of my concern. I simply headed back to my dorm.
Normally, I would have gone to the training hall, but I was still feeling a bit drained, so I decided to take the day off.
The moment I stepped into my dorm, I walked straight to the couch and slumped down.
“Ugh, I’m exhausted.”
Maybe I should take a nap.
“…Oh, right.”
I reached into my subspace and pulled out a rough-cut blue gemstone.
It was an item I had obtained from Jang Ye’s pocket after defeating her.
Activating my Outsider’s Privilege, I checked the gemstone’s properties.
━━
[Blue Condensed Core (Relic)]
Description: Paralyzes nearby electronic devices.
[Usage Effect]
▶ Release
By injecting mana into the ‘Blue Condensed Core,’ all electronic devices within a 1km radius will be paralyzed for 30 minutes.
*Cooldown: 30 days
Durability: B
━━
A relic, no less.
Its effect was similar to the ‘Communication Disruption Kit’ which I used to take down Jang Ye. However, considering its range and cooldown, this was clearly a superior version of the item.
“This is amazing.”
The 30-day cooldown was a bit inconvenient, but it was still far better than the single-use ‘Communication Disruption Kit.’
With this, there was no need to buy expensive kits again. Looking ahead, this item alone would save a tremendous amount of points.
Satisfied, I smiled and stretched out on the sofa.
A suffocatingly tense atmosphere hung over the hideout of the Ten Demon Council.
Cheonhae knelt on the floor, pressing his forehead down, his face filled with fear.
The King watched him with an icy, oppressive gaze.
“Cheonhae, explain yourself.”
“I—I apologize!”
“Despite all the support we provided, you still failed. Thanks to you, Cheonhae, we lost an A-rank bloodstone and a relic.”
“I deeply apologize!”
The King leaned back in his chair, exhaling in frustration.
“Killing that young human, Lee Seo-jun—is it truly so difficult?”
“Your Majesty! There are many mysteries surrounding Jang Ye’s death!”
“Mysteries… If you intend to waste my time with nonsense about not knowing the culprit, I suggest you stop now.”
“……!”
“Failing to kill Lee Seo-jun is not an issue. That mission was merely for Seong jin’s revenge, after all. However, at the very least, you should have identified the 18-year-old human in the barrier.”
“I—I am truly sorry!”
“……Are you just going to keep repeating yourself?”
Ssss…
From the darkness, something began to writhe.
It slithered forward, swirling around Cheonhae’s body, then tightening around his neck.
“Gah—!”
The force choking him was the King’s own dark magic.
It tightened him like a living entity, crushing his throat.
“Y-Your Majesty! Please, have mercy!”
“……”
“Y-Your Majesty—!”
Sssss…
The darkness around his neck dissipated.
The moment the pressure lifted, Cheonhae gasped desperately, coughing and sucking in air.
“I will give you one more chance. Find your own way to uncover the identity of the 18-year-old human in the barrier. For now, abandon the assassination of Lee Seo-jun.”
“Y-Yes, Your Majesty!”
Cheonhae bowed his head to the ground once more.
“Hmm…”
Lately, Choi Seo-yoon found herself constantly thinking about Kim Sunwoo.
It was because of the strange and mysterious incidents surrounding Park Minye.
How devastated must he be? How shocked?
Did he suffer a deep emotional wound…?
“…Is he okay?”
“What?”
Seo-yoon’s absentminded mumbling was met with a curious question from Song Seung-ah, who was walking beside her down the hallway.
“Ah, it’s nothing.”
Seung-ah narrowed her eyes.
She had known Seo-yoon since childhood, but she had never seen her like this before.
“What is it? Spill it.”
“No, really, it’s nothing.”
“…Fine, whatever.”
Seung-ah wasn’t the type to pry if the other person didn’t want to talk.
She figured Seo-yoon would eventually open up when the time was right.
The two continued walking down the corridor, heading toward their next class in the Manifestation Training Hall.
At that moment, a group of second-year boys appeared at the far end of the hallway.
When they saw Seo-yoon, they immediately brightened and greeted her.
“Hello, Seo-yoon!”
“Oh, hello.”
“You’re heading to the Manifestation Training Hall?”
“Yes, it’s our next class.”
Seo-yoon smiled warmly, entertaining their attention as naturally as always.
Getting unwanted attention from male students was nothing new to her, so she handled it effortlessly.
After the brief conversation, she was about to continue walking when a familiar figure appeared at the end of the corridor.
It was Kim Sunwoo.
“Oh? Sunwoo-sunbae!”
At Seo-yoon’s call, Sunwoo glanced at her.
“Oh, hey.”
His greeting was as indifferent as ever.
Most people tried to grab her attention with bright and enthusiastic greetings, yet he remained the only one who always seemed utterly uninterested in her.
And, of course, she assumed it was because of Park Minye.
But perhaps it was just her imagination—his usual detached voice sounded… sad today.
“Are you okay?”
Maybe it was unnecessary meddling, but she knew from experience how painful loneliness could be.
Even the smallest bit of comfort could mean the world to someone struggling.
“What?”
“…Never mind.”
“You always talk in riddles. Can you stop dropping the subject and speak clearly for once?”
At his abrupt irritation, Seo-yoon kept up her smile but clenched her teeth.
I should be understanding since he’s probably feeling sensitive.
“Sunbae, good luck in your next class!”
She gave a bright smile and held out her fist.
“……If you have nothing else to say, I’m leaving.”
Without acknowledging her gesture, Sunwoo turned and walked away.
Seo-yoon blankly watched his retreating figure.
He really had no social skills whatsoever.
Seung-ah, watching this unfold, squinted suspiciously at Seo-yoon.
“What’s up with you?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“…Don’t tell me you’ve switched targets?”
“What are you even talking about?”
—————
Official Illustration of Choi Seo-Yoon
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