Upon confirming that the person in front of me was Elin of the Rune Clan, I fell into serious contemplation.
The fact that Elin had come to the event—
It meant that, just like in the original story, an incident was going to take place here.
That incident was the appearance of a magical crime organization targeting Han Se-jin.
In the past, Elin had successfully fended off an attack by the group on this day and made a name for herself.
The organization responsible for today’s incident was called “Tetra.”
Not as famous as Jaun, but still a notorious group in this field.
Their reason for targeting Han Se-jin was simple.
Recently, Han Se-jin had gone around destroying several criminal groups, claiming it was to test his elite mage team.
As a result, he had earned the grudges of numerous magical crime syndicates, and for the time being, he would frequently be caught up in dangerous incidents like this.
Of course, this eventually led Han Se-jin to absorb those criminal groups one by one, steadily expanding his influence.
It also became the catalyst for his awakening as the true “villain” of the mid-story.
“Mmm~.”
Just then, I heard Elin’s voice beside me.
When I turned my head, she was happily stabbing a chunk of meat on her plate with a fork and eating it.
She must have felt my gaze, because she looked at me while chewing and said,
“What are you staring at?”
“Oh, you just looked like you were enjoying your food.”
“Mind your business, will you?”
“Whether I do or not is my business.”
“…Hmph. Fair enough.”
Elin nodded, then picked up more meat with her fork and continued eating with a smile of bliss.
I stared at her for a moment before asking,
“Hey. Did you come here for security?”
Since she kept speaking informally to me, I decided to drop the honorifics too. Besides, I was currently in the identity of Kim Jinwoo, not Kim Sunwoo, and she spoke informally first—so it should be fine.
Elin looked slightly taken aback at my change in tone, then replied,
“…Huh? Oh. Yeah, I did.”
“That so? Well, good luck with that.”
I stood up.
It was about time to move. I didn’t know when the incident would break out, so I had to be prepared.
Just as I was about to leave to find Han Se-yeon—
Thump.
A chilling sensation washed over me.
Killing intent—directed at me.
Suddenly, I sensed several magical presences all at once, and someone swung a sword at me from behind.
Whoosh!
I dodged the attack with a simple motion and swiftly grabbed the attacker by the neck.
“Argh!”
“Who the hell are you?”
The guy was wearing a mask.
Elin and I exchanged glances, then looked around.
Ssshhh—
Masked intruders—about twenty of them—had stormed into the party hall.
Instinctively, I knew these were the main villains of today’s incident.
Damn. Was I too late?
—“Move in.”
Using magic, they quickly turned the area into chaos.
People screamed in panic at the sudden assault.
“Aaahhh!”
“Security! Where’s security?!”
The guards, late to grasp the situation, intervened—but they weren’t skilled enough to stop the intruders.
They were stronger than I had expected. Judging by my skill at assessing people, they ranged from C to A-rank, and there were way more of them than I remembered.
It didn’t make sense, considering this incident had been treated like a minor one in the original story. Was this another butterfly effect?
Then it hit me—Han Se-yeon.
Right. Where was Han Se-yeon?
I hadn’t seen her since she followed Han Se-jin earlier.
And the ones they were targeting were after Han Se-jin.
It was possible his biological sister might be in danger too.
Tension surged within me. If something happened to her…
I blasted the guy I had by the neck with a magic orb to the stomach and focused my mana into both legs. Then I sprinted forward.
Fwoosh!
Elin, surprised by my sudden movement, followed behind me.
A few intruders noticed me and tried to attack, but I calmly took them down one by one.
Thanks to my recent combat training with Choi Ilhyeon, my instincts had sharpened, and I was able to dispatch them even faster.
“Graaagh!”
—“Target Han Se-jin confirmed!”
—“He’s in Hall 3!”
Hall 3?
If Han Se-jin was there, then chances were high Han Se-yeon was too.
Elin must have heard the same thing because she took off running as well.
We eventually reached the location marked Hall 3.
Just as we were about to enter, a barrier activated. The intruders must have prepared a stationary barrier spell in advance. Very strategic.
“Tch.”
“Let me handle this.”
Elin, behind me, stepped forward. The Rune Clan specializes in support magic.
Since barrier magic is a type of support spell, she should be able to break down something hastily constructed like this in no time.
But right now, every second mattered.
No matter how specialized the Rune Clan was in support magic, they couldn’t outperform the Outsider’s Privilege.”
I grabbed Elin’s shoulder.
“Move. I’ll do it.”
She frowned at my words.
“I’m a support mage. I can break this in two minutes—one, tops.”
“I’ll do it in under thirty seconds.”
“What? What are you talking about…?”
Elin looked at me, baffled.
I ignored her and stepped forward, injecting mana into the floor. A blue light glowed from beneath us, and the barrier lit up in response.
Staying calm, I traced the source of the barrier’s power and rewrote the magic formula.
Having broken several barriers by now, I could handle this one far more smoothly.
Beside me, Elin’s stunned voice rang out in disbelief.
“Wh-what? You’re really breaking it in under thirty seconds…?”
[Character ‘Elin’ is shocked by your ability.]
[You’ve earned 500 points as a reward.]
Huuuuu…
The barrier quickly began to unravel, and within twenty seconds, it completely collapsed.
“There.”
I sprinted forward again like it was no big deal. Elin stood frozen, staring at me, then finally snapped out of it and hurried after me.
Following the trail of magical energy, we reached our destination.
And I saw a familiar face.
Han Se-jin—guarded by his loyal subordinate, Gwak Byungjin.
Gwak Byungjin was fighting off six intruders on his own.
His body was covered in wounds, and he looked like he was barely hanging on.
Some of the attackers looked pretty strong, even at a glance. The fact that he’d managed to hold out this long was genuinely impressive.
At that moment, Elin behind me removed her gloves. When she did, several magic circles tattooed on her hands were revealed.
Soon, those circles began to glow with a blue light.
“Ugh…!”
Elin winced in pain. Drawing magic circles directly onto your body is known to cause searing pain.
That was likely why she was reacting that way.
Then, in response to the magic circle’s light, the ground beneath the intruders began to glow.
Rings of light formed and bound their bodies.
“Wh-what is this?!”
“Graaagh!”
But there was no time to marvel at the power of her tattoo magic.
I quickly scanned the area.
Where was Han Se-yeon?
I looked around the hall, but she was nowhere to be seen.
Frankly, I didn’t care whether Han Se-jin lived or died.
If he died, one villain would be eliminated—that would actually work in my favor.
Tsk.
I moved again to search for Han Se-yeon. She had to be somewhere in this hall.
Just then, I sensed magical energy from somewhere again. Trusting my instincts, I ran toward it.
“…Found you.”
When I arrived, I saw a lone intruder radiating magical energy—and facing him was Han Se-yeon.
Thankfully, nothing seemed to have happened to her yet.
The intruder, unaware of my presence, was approaching her.
I kicked off the ground and sprinted forward, channeling mana into my foot and striking him hard in the ribs.
Wham—!
“Guaaargh!”
The intruder’s body slammed into the wall with a thunderous crash.
“J-Jinwoo?”
I heard Han Se-yeon’s voice calling me. I approached her.
“Are you okay?”
She nodded in response, her face pale with fear.
“You’re not hurt anywhere, right?”
“No, I’m fine…”
“Good.”
I almost ended up in a dangerous situation.
“Kh… You bastard!”
I stared at the man.
The blow just now had knocked off his mask, revealing his bare face.
I used Insight on the figure to check his mana grade.
Mana Grade A?
Higher than expected. His mask was different from the other intruders too—maybe he’s their leader.
Tension began to rise.
I’d never truly fought a proper A-grade villain before.
But I wasn’t scared.
I’d grown quite a bit. If I used all my abilities, I was confident I could handle an A-grade villain.
Yeah. This is an opportunity.
The “Victory Call” effect happens to be active today, and I’ve been wanting to try it on a high-level enemy.
“Miss Han Se-yeon, find a safe place to hide. Actually, stay nearby. This place might be safer.”
“No. Jinwoo, I’ll stay here with you.”
Han Se-yeon spoke firmly, her expression tense. I smiled at her concern.
“I’ll finish this quickly.”
With that, I turned my attention to the enemy.
[Activation Effect: “Victory Call” is now active.]
[Target: Kim Jintaek.]
[If you win this battle, you will gain a random stat increase or trait.]
…Alright, let’s do this.
I pulled a mana elixir from my coat and downed it. The bitter taste made me wince—it had been a while.
[Effect of “Amplified Mana Elixir”: Mana recovery speed increases by 500% for 5 minutes.]
[Effect of Potency Boost: Potion effect and duration increase by 20%.]
“Ugh.”
Right then, the enemy conjured a flaming spear and rapid-fired it at me.
His speed was half a beat faster than usual—dodging it under normal circumstances would’ve been tough.
But my agility stat had significantly increased recently.
I read the attack and twisted my body to dodge it.
Boom!
The flaming spear exploded against the wall behind me.
“Tch.”
He clicked his tongue after watching me dodge.
Then, he conjured another spell. This time, it wasn’t just one—five flaming spears shot toward me.
Dodging wouldn’t be enough this time.
If I avoided them, they might hit Han Se-yeon.
So I activated the new “Barrier” spell I’d been practicing, blocking the magic.
Barrier spells consumed a lot of mana, but with the elixir, I could sustain it easily.
“Not bad.”
He mumbled as he watched my movements.
Ignoring his comment, I activated every ability I had at once.
No reason to drag this out.
[Activation Effect: “Heart of the Nature” is now active.]
[Activation Effect: “Will to Struggle” is now active.]
Once activated, overwhelming power surged through my body.
And thanks to the mana elixir, it was no exaggeration to say I had nearly infinite mana.
Sensing the shift in my aura, the enemy’s expression stiffened for a moment.
I charged forward.
Fwoosh!
Like a flash of light, I closed the distance instantly.
As expected of an A-grade mage, he summoned a pillar of fire to block me.
But I activated “Instant Acceleration.”
Everything around me slowed down, and I could clearly see the flames rising.
I dodged quickly to the side and slipped behind him. Then I began casting.
Whoooom…
Mana swirled and compressed above my hand.
The two-second window of Instant Acceleration ended.
Time returned to normal. But I’d already taken the advantage.
Perfect position behind him.
Spell fully charged in my hand.
Couldn’t have asked for more.
I placed the spell orb right against his body.
He was wide open—no way to dodge.
And I released the spell.
BOOM!
“Aaaaargh!”
His piercing scream rang out.
Messages flooded my vision.
[You have defeated A-grade villain “Kim Jintaek.”]
[Causality has increased by 0.75.]
[Causality has reached 10.]
[A new Authority has been unlocked.]
[Victory Achieved!]
[“Victory Call” effect: Strength +0.2, Mana +0.2, Mana Control Proficiency +3%, Mana Amplification +5%.]
I blankly stared at the messages.
They were longer than expected.
As I scanned through them, one caught my eye.
My causality had reached 10, unlocking a new Authority.
“Jinwoo, are you okay?”
Han Se-yeon rushed over, her face full of concern.
Snapping out of it, I looked at her. She anxiously checked my body for injuries.
She looked genuinely panicked.
“Yes, I’m okay.”
The incident was resolved quickly.
The special ops team arrived, and Elin used binding magic to restrain all the intruders, leading to their arrest.
Apparently, this incident played out differently than in the original story.
Originally, only a single crime group called “Tetra” had carried out the attack.
But this time, several organizations had banded together to target Han Se-jin.
Most likely, it happened because Han Se-jin had stirred up more trouble than he did in the original timeline.
Part of that was probably my doing—my involvement had raised Han Se-yeon’s status, after all.
Thanks to the massive role she played in subduing the villains, Elin attracted the attention of the special ops team and a few reporters.
Of course, I got noticed too, but Elin’s outstanding performance overshadowed me a bit.
The reporters seemed more interested in my relationship with Han Se-yeon than my actual combat feats.
They kept asking odd questions, and I started worrying they’d write strange articles about us.
“Thank you for today.”
Han Se-yeon repeatedly apologized and thanked me.
She felt guilty for dragging me into danger by insisting we attend the party.
Even though everything ended well, her expression stayed dark the whole time.
I kept assuring her it was fine.
Eventually, she nodded and said her father, Han Dae-hyeon, was calling, then quickly left with Han Se-jin.
Left alone, I walked the road back to the dorm by myself.
A lot had happened today.
And now that Elin had shown up, it was best not to use “Runes Bind” for a while to avoid misunderstandings.
“Oh right. I need to check my Authority.”
The Authority unlocked when my causality hit 10.
Even though I didn’t plan to use any Authority until I reached 100 causality, I couldn’t help being curious.
━━
[Authority]
Dimensional Observation [Causality 10]
– You can briefly observe all the dimensions and timelines you’ve experienced.
━━
“…Observation?”
Totally not the kind of ability I expected.
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