“Hey! Kim Sunwoo! Was it really you who posted that on the internet?”
Monday morning.
The moment I arrived at school, the students’ attention was focused on me.
It was because the ID from my internet post had been traced, sparking curiosity among everyone.
Thanks to that, I found myself in a rather embarrassing situation.
[4,263 people have taken an interest in you.]
[You have received a reward of 5,000 points.]
…Well, at least I earned a decent amount of points.
“It wasn’t me.”
“Come on, it’s obviously you.”
“Here.”
I turned on my smart student notebook and showed the gathered students the screen.
[swk1234]
“This is my smart account ID.”
“…Wait, for real? This is actually yours?”
“Yeah, take a good look.”
“It’s legit. What the heck?”
In this world, each person could only own one smart account.
A smart account allowed access to the internet and various online activities through smart devices, enabling users to post on websites, leave comments, and more.
Creating additional accounts was illegal under security laws.
Some might think the law was overly strict, but since this world was constantly exposed to the threats of dark mages and terrorists, such measures had been put in place.
And the swk account I had just shown them was created based on Kim Jinwoo’s personal information—something I had temporarily swapped using the benefits of an external entity.
“Then who the heck is the one spamming the internet with Kim Sunwoo’s name?”
“Right? It seems like they’ve been active for a while. Could it be someone from this school?”
“Wow, crazy! Does Kim Sunwoo have a stalker or something?”
“Holy crap. So you’re saying the stalker might be in our school?”
…What kind of nonsense is this now?
I stared at the students in front of me, utterly baffled.
They were chattering away with completely incomprehensible speculation.
Just trying to follow their train of thought gave me a headache, so I decided to drop it.
Clatter.
At that moment, the door opened, and Jang Ancheol walked in.
“Alright, everyone, return to your seats!”
The students quickly took their seats. Seeing their quick response, Jang Ancheol gave a small smile.
“I have a brief announcement. Starting this week, the second round of elective field training will take place.”
The second elective field training.
It was a class that allowed students to experience real-world jobs, just like the previous mercenary training.
“There are three options again this time. Special Ops, the Tower, and Ruins Exploration. These are your three choices.”
At his words, the students’ eyes lit up.
Outdoor classes were always popular.
Especially ones like the elective field training.
This time, I felt at ease about my choice.
Unlike the mercenary training last time, no major incidents would occur during this round.
“Make sure to select your desired field training activity through your smart student notebook by Tuesday midnight. That’s all.”
“Yes, sir!”
Afternoon. The training field in front of the Mage Academy.
Fifty first-year students from Class A were undergoing physical training.
“Jeon Min-gi! 21.25 seconds!”
“Wow! That’s insane!”
Jeon Min-gi, the second-ranked first-year student, had just set his record for the 400-meter sprint, drawing astonished reactions from the others.
Sitting nearby and resting, Choi Seo-yoon watched the scene with discontent.
Her record was 28 seconds. A whole 7-second difference.
‘Well, his specialty is enhancement magic, so I guess it can’t be helped.’
She consoled herself with that thought, but she couldn’t shake the lingering worry about maintaining her top ranking.
“Sigh.”
Just as she sighed—
“Kim Sunwoo! 20.93 seconds!”
A familiar name was called nearby.
Turning her head slightly, she saw the second-year students training in the enhancement magic sub-specialty.
Kim Sunwoo was wiping sweat from his forehead, panting for breath.
“You’re improving fast. You’ve shaved off a whole 4 seconds in just three months. That’s impressive growth.”
“Thank you.”
“At this rate, you’d be in the top ranks even among those specializing in enhancement magic. Honestly, it’s a waste to keep it as just a sub-specialty.”
At the praise, Kim Sunwoo simply smiled.
Despite receiving near-flattering compliments, he didn’t seem overly excited.
Choi Seo-yoon watched him absentmindedly.
20.93 seconds—was that for the 400-meter sprint?
20 seconds was an incredibly fast time.
Her record was around 28 seconds, so there was an 8-second gap between them.
Even compared to Jeon Min-gi, who specialized in enhancement magic, Kim Sunwoo was faster.
She also remembered seeing him demonstrate remarkable manifestation magic before.
How could he be so exceptional in enhancement magic as well?
What was going on?
If he had such skills, why was his ranking so low?
Was he deliberately hiding his true abilities?
Or had some hidden talent just recently begun to bloom?
Kim Sunwoo walked off by himself and sat alone under the shade of a massive tree.
With no one around him, he stared blankly into the distance with a hollow expression.
“…….”
Choi Seo-yoon watched him in silence, lost in thought.
What was he thinking about right now?
No matter how much she observed, she couldn’t understand what kind of person Kim Sunwoo truly was.
After the Park Minye incident, he seemed depressed for a while, but then he suddenly filmed a documentary, and now he had been caught self-promoting on the internet.
It was all so sudden and incomprehensible that she had even wondered if he was forcing himself to act cheerful to forget his grief.
But now, seeing him like this, she thought she might actually be right.
Or maybe she just wanted to believe that—because she didn’t want to be disappointed in him.
For some reason, she found herself wanting to interpret his actions in a positive light.
“Hmm.”
As she was deep in thought, Song Seung-ah came over and sat beside her.
“Ugh, I’m exhausted.”
Song Seung-ah let out a long breath and glanced at Choi Seo-yoon.
Then she followed her gaze to Kim Sunwoo.
“What are you doing?”
“Huh? Oh, nothing, just sitting here.”
“…Really?”
“Why?”
“Heh, no reason.”
After chatting for a moment, Song Seung-ah suddenly recalled something she had heard that morning.
“Oh, did you hear?”
“Hear what?”
“The whole thing about Kim Sunwoo’s comment incident. Turns out he wasn’t the one who did it.”
“Really? But the ID seemed like solid proof.”
“Nope. He even verified his smart account today.”
“Then who the hell posted those comments?”
Choi Seo-yoon murmured in confusion.
Song Seung-ah chuckled and answered,
“According to rumors, it’s the work of Kim Sunwoo’s stalker here at school.”
“What?”
Choi Seo-yoon’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Seeing her stunned reaction, Song Seung-ah smiled silently.
But then, Choi Seo-yoon’s eyes narrowed, and she suddenly burst into laughter.
“Pfft. Hey! A stalker? That’s ridiculous. Wow… That’s honestly the funniest thing I’ve heard all year.”
She laughed so hard that she almost doubled over.
It was a genuine, hearty laugh—not one of her usual forced smiles.
Watching her, Song Seung-ah tilted her head slightly in curiosity.
Seoul Mage Association Counter-Terrorism Task Force
The quiet office atmosphere was suddenly disrupted as Jung Hyunsoo burst through the door. At his entrance, Kim Deokhyun turned his gaze toward him.
“Senior, the analysis results for Park Minye have come in.”
“And the results?”
“They detected light-attribute magic. Judging by the burn marks, it was in the form of a manifested sphere.”
“A light-attribute sphere?”
Kim Deokhyun murmured, surprised.
Light-attribute magic was rare, and mages who used it in the form of a sphere were even rarer.
“Were there any students who used a light-attribute sphere during the exam?”
“No, I checked, and there weren’t any.”
“Really? That’s strange.”
Jung Hyunsoo nodded and continued reading from the documents in his hand.
“Also, the magic’s intensity was at least A-rank. There were also traces of B-rank magic all over the body.”
“So, it was the work of a mage at least B-rank. The A-rank magic was likely a concentrated attack after gathering mana.”
“Yes, I think so too.”
Kim Deokhyun crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair.
“It was an ambush. A planned one, at that.”
The drone jamming and the prolonged compression of magic before the attack—these weren’t things that could happen spontaneously.
“There are too many oddities.”
It seemed like the attacker already knew Park Minye was a demon.
Despite achieving a significant feat—eliminating a hidden demon within the school—they hadn’t revealed their identity at all…
Why?
For what reason?
“…There shouldn’t be more than six students at B-rank or higher in the school.”
“Yes, three in the second year, three in the third year. Among them, the only one with a light attribute is Lee Seo-jun.”
“The marks indicate a manifested sphere type, so that rules out Lee Seo-jun.”
Jung Hyunsoo nodded.
“Yes, it’s not him. And looking at the top students’ records, they were hunting monsters all day, so they have solid defense.”
“Then, was it an outsider?”
“Most likely. Though, there are no records of any outsiders entering.”
“Is that so?”
An outsider…
Was there even a way to enter that island unnoticed?
Kim Deokhyun’s mind filled with doubts.
Tuesday Afternoon, Behind the School – Training Portal Gate
The second-year Class A students gathered in front of the portal gate for their Ruins Exploration Training.
“Alright! Today’s training is a ruins exploration exercise.”
Ruins, along with dungeons and towers, were one of the three primary sources of special item rewards.
If one was lucky, they could even obtain relic-grade items, making ruins far more rewarding than dungeons or towers.
However, ruins were hidden behind special magical barriers and seals, making them difficult to locate.
“There are 20 fake relics hidden in each ruin. Your score will be based on the number of relics you find.”
The ruins we would be exploring today were artificial ruins created by the school.
Of course, being artificial, there were no real artifact rewards.
But as with anything, there were always exceptions.
I knew, from both the original story and past experiences, that there was a secret chamber hidden within the ruins.
And today, that was my target.
“Alright, is everyone ready?”
“Yes!”
“Good. Then let’s begin. Everyone, enter the gate!”
At Jang Ancheol’s command, all students, myself included, stepped into the portal gate.
A surge of powerful mana wrapped around my body, and when I opened my eyes, I was surrounded by a dense forest.
This place wasn’t far from the school—it was just behind the mountain. Other students were likely scattered across the area.
“Now, where should I start?”
I pulled out a 30cm-long metal rod from my pocket.
This was a Ruin Detector—an item given to all students that could track the location of hidden ruins.
I infused mana into the rod, and it began to pull in a certain direction like a magnet.
I loosened my grip and let the rod guide me forward.
After walking for a while…
The Blessing of the Outsider activated, revealing a hidden illusion barrier on the ground.
“Found it.”
Less than five minutes had passed since the start.
No one could have discovered a ruin faster than me.
Following the glowing area, I pressed my hand against the ground and infused mana.
Rumble—
A bright light surged from the earth. The ground trembled, and soon, a moss-covered, square entrance emerged.
“Phew.”
Using the staircase, I descended underground. Surprisingly, it wasn’t as dark as I expected.
As I reached the bottom, I found myself in a complex maze.
Inside this ruin, 20 fake relics were hidden.
Even I had no way of knowing their exact locations.
I’d just have to walk and find clues along the way.
For about 10 minutes, I continued through the maze. Occasionally, small monsters attacked, but I dealt with them calmly.
“…This is harder than I thought.”
I kept moving forward when suddenly, I noticed a peculiar marking on the wall.
“Is this it?”
It looked suspicious at a glance.
I immediately activated the Blessing of the Outsider and inspected it closely.
I could feel a hidden flow of mana.
One brick, in particular, had a high concentration of mana.
Seeing that, a grin formed on my lips.
“Found it.”
I pressed my hand against the mana-infused brick.
Click.
With a mechanical sound, the wall slowly opened.
“Ohh.”
Inside, a small treasure chest was hidden.
Opening it, I found a glowing red stone.
It looked just like the fake relics from the original story—a Mana Stone.
“Nice. Nice.”
That was one point secured.
I tossed the Mana Stone into the air and caught it before tucking it into my pocket with satisfaction.
Just then, I heard footsteps from a distance, followed by a familiar male voice.
“Where is it?”
Moments later, Lee Seo-jun appeared around the corner.
“Kim Sunwoo?”
“Oh.”
“Huh. You got in pretty fast, huh?”
“Yeah, I got lucky and found an entrance quickly.”
Lee Seo-jun nodded at my response.
Ruins were vast, with multiple entrances—likely around 15 for this one.
Then, his gaze fell upon the now-empty treasure chest at my feet.
“Wait… You already found one?”
“Yeah. Lucky find.”
“…Damn, I was a step too late.”
Lee Seo-jun muttered in disappointment.
I smirked and said,
“Well, I gotta go. I’m a bit busy today.”
“Huh? Oh, yeah. See you.”
I waved and continued down another path.
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