Late at night. A black luxury car came to a stop in front of a massive mansion.
The back door opened, and Han Se-yeon and Han Se-jin stepped out. Their expressions looked somehow urgent.
At that moment, Elin also got out from the passenger seat. Han Se-jin turned his gaze toward her and spoke in a hurried voice.
“Wait here.”
With that, Han Se-jin and Han Se-yeon entered through the main gate.
Elin stood still for a moment, watching their backs. Then, after glancing around cautiously, she moved toward a nearby road.
“Ugh.”
Elin let out a small groan as she removed her gloves.
Magical circles, drawn like tattoos on her hands and arms, were glowing red as if they were wounds.
Taking a deep breath, she pulled out five special magical painkillers from inside her coat and threw them into her mouth.
Gulp.
It was a dosage that far exceeded the normal amount, but she swallowed them all without hesitation.
Then, she took out a transparent potion and sprayed it over the magical circles on her hands and arms.
Chiiiiiik…
“Grrrk!”
Thin wisps of smoke rose from the areas covered by the circles. Elin gritted her teeth against the excruciating pain.
“Haaah…”
The searing pain on her skin lessened, just slightly.
“Whew.”
With weakened steps, Elin leaned her back against the mansion’s stone wall.
Sitting there blankly for a while, she finally managed to regain her composure.
“Finally starting to feel human again.”
Muttering to herself, Elin recalled the events of the day.
That strange bearded guy who seemed to be part of the boss’s younger sister’s group.
Was his name Kim Jinwoo?
He had demonstrated an unbelievable ability to dispel barriers—something hard to believe even after seeing it with her own eyes.
From his combat style, he appeared to be a reinforcement or manifestation-type mage, but his barrier-breaking ability surpassed even the top-tier support mages.
“…What the hell is that guy?”
As the last surviving member of the Rune Clan, and having mastered nearly all of their secret magic, even Elin couldn’t have undone a barrier that quickly.
It was a speed that defied common sense. If she had only seen it on video, she would have never believed it.
“Hmmm.”
What exactly was he?
Could he also be a descendant of a rare clan like herself?
Usually, nine out of ten individuals with such unusual abilities were from rare bloodlines.
“But is there another clan besides us specialized in barrier-breaking?”
No. According to her memory, the Rune Clan was the only one specializing in support magic.
Suddenly, memories of her now-dead clan surfaced.
Though those days had faded into the past, she sometimes dreamt of them.
She was currently searching for the treasures of her lost clan, taken by Jaun.
While the most important treasure, the “Mystery,” was crucial, the one she was urgently seeking now was a book called Rune’s Book, which detailed the secret technique Rune’s Bind.
And somehow, the Hanseong family had gotten their hands on it.
That was why Elin had joined under Han Se-jin.
Han Se-jin had gathered people with the promise of granting them what they desired.
To Elin, he promised to return the Rune’s Book after three years of loyalty.
She had no choice.
Moreover, since Han Se-jin’s goal was the downfall of Jaun—the very one who annihilated her clan—she agreed to the terms.
It was troublesome, but if it meant reclaiming her clan’s legacy, it couldn’t be helped.
Staring up at the night sky, Elin pulled a smartphone from her pocket. She accessed The Mage’s Forest, an online community for mages.
Then, she searched for a post she had seen months ago.
+The Mage’s Forest Anonymous Board+
[We were raiding a field boss today when these beams of light appeared and bound us for a few seconds; what kind of magic is this? Never seen it before.]
“……”
It was just a speculation, but there was only one support-type magic she knew of that summoned beams of light.
Rune’s Bind, the secret art of her clan.
In other words, there was another survivor of the Rune Clan.
10 PM.
I returned to the dorm after finishing today’s schedule.
I pulled a box of beer out of my pocket space and loaded it into the fridge.
Gretel was sleeping in a corner.
I moved quietly, so as not to wake her.
“Whew.”
I slumped onto the sofa. Then, I checked the Authority that had been unlocked today.
━━
[Authority]
Dimensional Observation [Causality 10]
—You can briefly observe all the dimensions and timelines you’ve experienced.
━━
Dimensional Observation.
Just like it sounded, it was an ability to briefly observe the dimensions I had experienced.
The dimensions I had experienced…
There were three.
One was this current dimension.
The second was the dimension where I originally lived.
And lastly, the dimension from the previous round where Lee Seo-jun died.
Suddenly, a lot of questions about my original world sprang to mind.
Were my parents doing well? What had become of the real me back there?
Had someone else taken my place? Or had I simply vanished, leaving my parents desperately searching for me?
So many thoughts flickered through my mind.
But to use 10 causality points for such personal feelings would be foolish.
Even if I checked, there was nothing I could do about it now. It would only make my remaining time more painful.
I must conserve my causality points.
For the final Authority—Deus Ex Machina.
And just in case…
If the time ever came to use this Authority—
It wouldn’t be to observe my original world, but to look into the first timeline—the timeline where Lee Seo-jun died.
Sometimes, I wonder.
Back then, in the first timeline when Lee Seo-jun died—
How exactly did he die?
According to the news, it was said that Lee Seo-jun perished fighting the Evil Dragon.
But was that really true?
Back then, I lived quietly, doing my best not to interfere with events.
The story progressed steadily, exactly as it was supposed to.
If something serious enough to kill Lee Seo-jun had happened, shouldn’t I have noticed some changes beforehand?
But at that time, I hadn’t sensed any change at all.
“Hmmm.”
Still, assuming Lee Seo-jun died for another reason would open a whole new can of worms.
If he didn’t die because of the butterfly effect—
Then what did kill him?
“Whew…”
My mind started to get complicated. A few hypotheses came to mind, but they were so absurd that I quickly erased them.
I should just hope it’s nothing more than a baseless delusion.
Still, this authority might become the key to solving the mystery surrounding Lee Seo-jun’s death.
For now, I’ll just keep watching the situation.
I still had plenty of time left.
If anything suspicious cropped up during the upcoming developments, it wouldn’t be too late to confirm it then.
…Just as I was lost in my own thoughts,
A notification sounded from my smartphone. It was a message from Han Se-yeon.
[Sorry for the late reply. My father suddenly collapsed today. He’s stable now, but it seems it was pretty serious.]
“……”
Han Dae-hyeon’s health deterioration.
Even though Han Se-yeon was researching the Ilwol pharmacology book to find a cure, his condition was worsening just like in the original story.
A complicated feeling washed over me.
[Don’t worry about me. Just stay by your father’s side.]
I sent a reply. I didn’t send anything overly dramatic. Staying calm myself would help her feel more at ease too.
[Okay, I will. Thank you. Also, I think I’ll have to focus more on developing the new drug for a while. I might not be able to stay in touch as often.]
[It can’t be helped. Just don’t overdo it.]
[Okay. But… it’s still okay if I reach out when things get tough, right?]
A chuckle escaped me at that message.
So even someone like Han Se-yeon needs someone to lean on when she’s having a hard time.
[Of course.]
After sending that reply, I set my smartphone down.
“Sigh.”
When something bad happens to someone close to you, it drags down your mood too.
Han Dae-hyeon’s death was a fated event, significant enough to be dealt with in the original story.
But feeling this complicated probably meant the distance between me and Han Se-yeon had closed quite a bit.
Bzzz.
Just then, another vibration sounded. This time, it was from the smart student notebook.
[Second Semester Special Class Announcement]
[Next Wednesday will be the first gathering of the special class. All students, please assemble at Room 503 on the 5th floor of the main building.]
An announcement about the second semester’s special class.
The members probably hadn’t changed much from the first semester.
If there was one change, it was that Yoon Hayoung, who had recently shown a significant improvement in her grades, would be joining the special class.
This was a development that hadn’t even appeared in the original.
Originally, Yoon Hayoung was supposed to join the special class starting from the first semester of her third year.
It was one of the changes brought about by my intervention.
At that moment,
A message from Yoon Hayoung arrived, almost perfectly timed.
[Got the special class notice! Thanks to you, Sunwoo, I get to join too (bowing bunny emoji)]
I smiled when I saw the message. It felt like I could hear Yoon Hayoung’s voice coming from it, almost as if it were audio-supported.
I began typing a reply.
[No way. It’s because you worked hard. It’s not like I’ve been doing anything lately. Anyway, let’s find a place soon to train your demon slayer power.]
It was about time I started paying more attention to Yoon Hayoung. The second demon raid episode wasn’t far off now.
[Okay! (nodding bunny emoji)]
A dark night.
A new building had been completed on the grounds of the Mage Academy.
It was a new test artificial dungeon that Jung Hyun had been working on for months.
And it would also serve as the stage for the main exam of the second semester’s second midterms.
Jung Hyun looked up at the building with a satisfied smile.
The second midterms were just around the corner, but fortunately, the construction had been completed without delay.
There were no hitches in the plan. With this, the foundation was laid to eliminate the ‘Child of Prophecy,’ a threat to the demons.
As he admired the fruits of his labor, he sensed someone approaching from behind.
“Jung Hyun.”
Jung Hyun turned toward the voice. A student with an ordinary-looking face stood there with arms crossed, gazing at him.
“Won Hyuk-nim, you’re here.”
Instead of answering, Won Hyuk simply nodded and looked up at the newly constructed artificial dungeon.
“It’s finally complete.”
“Yes, all the installed devices and traps are functioning perfectly.”
“Well done. If everything goes smoothly, the king will bestow a great reward.”
At Won Hyuk’s words, Jung Hyun nodded. Then he asked cautiously,
“Are you adjusting well to school life?”
“I’m adapting just fine. Thanks to my natural acting skills, no one suspects me.”
That’s what he said, but the suspicious behaviour of Won Hyuk had already been noticed by everyone in Class 2-B.
His subtly improved magic and physical abilities. His noticeably reduced talking.
Even the students who used to be close to Kim Hyechan had started avoiding him, saying he had changed.
But since no serious problems had arisen, Won Hyuk believed he was blending in well.
“Won Hyuk-nim, there are about two weeks left until the promised day. Please continue to endure until then.”
“Hmph. You don’t seem to trust me, but don’t worry. No matter what happens, I won’t do anything to ruin the plan.”
Jung Hyun nodded.
Only two weeks left until the plan to eliminate the Child of Prophecy.
There could be no mistakes.
“Two weeks from now, the second midterms will begin. This time, there will be no secondary tests—only the main test.”
Monday’s homeroom time.
Jang Ancheol was briefing the students on the school schedule as he looked around the classroom.
“As you all know, the main test will take place in the newly completed large artificial dungeon.”
I casually turned my gaze toward the window and looked at the huge new dungeon. The clean, modern exterior stood out clearly.
“Hm.”
Only two weeks left now.
The upcoming second demon raid incident would likely be the biggest and most dangerous event at the academy this year.
“The dungeon rules are simple. All second-years will enter at the same time and race to clear it. One difference from previous dungeons is that although it branches off into multiple paths, it all eventually connects into one.”
I turned my gaze to Yoon Hayoung.
Since the demons’ target was the ‘Child of Prophecy,’ she was the protagonist of this upcoming episode.
I needed to make some kind of preparations to ensure nothing happened to her.
I wondered how the demons would strike.
Of course, knowing the original story, I had a rough idea of their attack methods.
But things had already diverged from the original story—like how the S-rank demon Seong jin had died much earlier, and how the terror attack in the first semester had played out slightly differently.
So this time, too, there was a good chance things would unfold differently than I expected.
Maybe warning her about the upcoming incident would be a good idea. Or setting up some kind of protection for her in advance.
“You’ll have to rescue teammates along the way and work together to clear the dungeon. There will be stages that can only be cleared as a team.”
As I kept staring at her, Yoon Hayoung seemed to sense my gaze and looked back at me.
Then she cutely mouthed the words without others hearing,
‘What’s up?’
I mouthed a reply back.
‘Let’s talk later.’
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