“So the mystery of the base must’ve whispered something useless to you.”
Kim Chang-hyun spoke to me with a faint smile.
The fact that he brought up the Mystery himself suggested he had something to feel guilty about, yet his tone and behaviour were calm.
“What did the Mystery of the Base say to you?”
“It said it couldn’t see your roots and felt a strange sense of familiarity from you.”
“Is that so?”
Kim Chang-hyun returned to his expressionless face and nodded. He seemed lost in deep thought.
I quietly observed Kim Chang-hyun.
Kim Chang-hyun.
Despite being ranked number one among the third years and possessing outstanding skill, he barely appeared in the original work.
I had assumed he was just a side character whose importance naturally faded out, but that wasn’t the case.
There was a special background to Kim Chang-hyun that wasn’t known in the original story.
I couldn’t be sure whether this setting had newly formed or simply hadn’t been revealed before.
But if it was a newly formed element, it wasn’t something I could ignore.
It had a high chance of becoming a major obstacle in the future developments.
I used Character Insight on Kim Chang-hyun.
━━
Name: Kim Chang-hyun
Age: 19
Race: Human
Status: Tense
Magic Rank: A-
Interest Level: 0
━━
The status window revealed by Character Insight didn’t show anything unusual. Nineteen years old, human, magic rank A-.
And as far as I knew, Character Insight couldn’t be fooled.
That meant the information I saw in front of me was accurate.
So what was his true identity?
“Tell me. What are you really?”
Kim Chang-hyun silently stared at me before speaking.
“My true identity, huh…”
He muttered to himself, then opened his mouth again.
“Sorry, but I can’t tell you.”
“What?”
“No—more precisely, even if I wanted to, I couldn’t tell you. That’s the right way to put it.”
He wanted to tell me but couldn’t?
What did that even mean?
Was he under some kind of restriction?
“Why not?”
“Because I’m not as free as you are.”
His cryptic words made me frown.
“What do you mean you’re not as free as I am?”
Kim Chang-hyun shook his head.
“Like I said earlier, I can’t tell you anything.”
I felt a wave of confusion.
If he didn’t want to tell me, he could’ve just said so—but saying he couldn’t was deeply frustrating.
One thing was clear: Kim Chang-hyun was hiding something.
As I was lost in thought—
“…Hoo. I’m at my limit.”
Kim Chang-hyun muttered to himself.
Worried, I looked at him. His face was pale, like he was in pain.
“I need to go.”
“Where are you suddenly trying to run off to?”
“I already told you. I’ve got nothing I can tell you.”
“Hey!”
Was he seriously playing around with me?
After stirring up my curiosity, he was just going to leave?
“Oh, and just so you know—don’t bother trying to find me. Even if you do, I still won’t be able to tell you anything.”
With that, Kim Chang-hyun turned around.
“…Let’s meet again later.”
With those final words, he enhanced his body with magic and sprinted off somewhere at high speed.
His movements were fast enough to rival those of reinforcement-type mages, not something I’d expect from a manifestation-type.
But I wasn’t about to just let him go.
I compressed and deployed a spell at full force and launched it at him.
Pang!
But a powerful barrier flared around Kim Chang-hyun’s body and blocked my attack.
It was on a completely different level from the magic I’d seen from him so far.
A barrier of this level wouldn’t seem out of place even for an S-rank mage.
“……”
I stopped in place and blankly stared at his retreating back.
As I suspected—Kim Chang-hyun had been hiding his true strength.
And now—
The way he ran off was far too fast for me to catch up to.
While I stood frozen, lost in all my questions, a message popped up before my eyes:
[Change in the World has been detected.]
[Causality Rate has increased by 1.5.]
“…What?”
Why did the causality rate increase?
After everything with Kim Chang-hyun, I returned to the dormitory.
It was already 1 a.m.
So much had happened in just a single day that both my body and mind were exhausted.
“Ungaeh.”
Hearing the sound of the door opening, Gretel came to greet me.
I hadn’t seen her in three days due to finals, so her welcome felt extra heart warming.
“Did you do okay?”
At my question, Gretel nodded.
Judging from the pile of sausage casings in the corner by her personal trash box, she seemed to have eaten just fine while I was gone.
And the yellow glow from the fruit on her head had grown noticeably deeper over the past three days.
It looked like it wouldn’t be long now before the fruit was fully ripe.
The anticipation made my mouth water, though I didn’t let it show.
“You must be tired—go to sleep.”
Gretel nodded again and waddled over to her little mat, where she flopped down and fell asleep.
Watching her, I smiled faintly and pulled a can of beer from the fridge.
Tomorrow was a day off, so this small indulgence should be fine.
Thump.
I sat down on the sofa and took a sip of beer.
“…Phew.”
The cold beer slid down my throat, and the fatigue seemed to melt away.
But at the same time, my mind filled with unanswered questions.
“…Kim Chang-hyun.”
Just what is he?
The Mystery said it couldn’t see his roots, just like me.
Could that mean… he’s another possessor from another world, like me?
The more I thought about it, the more my head ached.
Another possessor in this world besides me?
“…But that can’t be right.”
Kim Chang-hyun may have had almost no narrative weight in the original story, but he was still a character who existed.
If he were a possessor, wouldn’t he be someone like ‘Kim Sunwoo’—a character that didn’t exist in the original story at all?
Of course, all of this was still just speculation.
There’s also the possibility that someone from another world, like me, has possessed Kim Chang-hyun.
“But then what does it mean that the Mystery felt a sense of familiarity?”
Hmm.
No matter how much I think about it, I can’t find an answer.
The more I think about it, the deeper I feel like I’m sinking into a maze.
There are several hypotheses related to the Mystery, but they’re only theories and nothing has been concluded.
Maybe he’s a human created by the Mystery.
Or perhaps a human infused with the Mystery’s power.
Considering there’s even a disease called “Mystic Fever” caused by housing Mystery inside one’s body, it’s not entirely impossible.
“…Should I try using that?”
I activated the Outsider’s Privilege and checked the “Authority.”
━━
[Authority]
Dimensional Observation [Causality Rate 10]
―You can briefly observe all the dimensions and timelines you have experienced.
━━
The flow of the original story is clearly changing now.
I felt strongly that it was time to use this.
I felt like using it would uncover one of the world’s secrets.
I set the observation point to before the regression—specifically, the moment Lee Seo-jun died.
“…What a waste.”
Causality Rate 10.
I would have to use almost all the causality points I had.
Since it took nearly a year to gather that much, I couldn’t help but hesitate.
“Ugh…”
But there was no choice.
It was time to make a bold decision.
If I kept hoarding it and a bigger disaster happened later, I might not be able to handle it.
I immediately activated Dimensional Observation.
[Consumes 10 Causality Rate.]
[Using the Authority: Dimensional Observation.]
Uuuuuung……
As I activated the authority, a new type of energy I had never felt before began to spread through my body and skin.
Then, shortly after, the mana in my body started draining rapidly.
I wasn’t surprised since I had expected that using an authority would consume mana.
“Huh?”
But as time passed, the rate at which my mana drained began to accelerate.
At this rate, it was consuming more mana than using both Rune Binding and Rain of Mana at the same time.
And then—
“Guh!”
As expected, the mana consumption reached a level I couldn’t handle.
Sssssss!
Unable to control the mana being drained from my body, my strength completely left me and I entered a state of mana exhaustion.
[Dimensional Observation has been cancelled due to insufficient mana.]
[The Causality Rate has been returned.]
“…What the hell?!”
I had steeled myself to use my authority, only for an outcome I never saw coming.
I never imagined I’d fail just because I didn’t have enough mana.
Judging by how fast my mana was draining, not even using Nature’s Heart and Combat Will together would have made it manageable.
In short, Dimensional Observation isn’t usable by ordinary means.
“Wow. This is just ridiculous.”
Why even give me an authority like this, then?
And what’s the point of causality if I can’t use it?
As I sat there dumbfounded, Gretel woke up and looked at me with sleepy eyes.
She must’ve been woken by the noise I was making alone.
“Sorry. Go back to sleep.”
Time passed, and Monday came.
The first week after the final exam—the last exam of the second semester—had begun.
Naturally, now that all the school exams were over, the atmosphere had turned into a party.
It was like this after the first semester too, but it was even more intense now since the school year was ending.
And after lunchtime, a bit of a stir began to spread among the students.
“Hey, Lee Seo-jun. Is it true that Kim Chang-hyun won’t be attending the third-year graduation ceremony?”
At Shin Young-joon’s question, Lee Seo-jun nodded.
“Yeah, I think so. I talked to a teacher earlier during the end-of-term meeting, and I heard he’s not coming.”
“Really? I heard he didn’t come to school today either.”
Pretending to check my smart student planner, I eavesdropped on Lee Seo-jun’s conversation.
Possibly because of what happened with me, Kim Chang-hyun didn’t come to school today.
According to the rumors, it seems he won’t be showing up at all until graduation.
“Well, I guess it doesn’t matter. He’s already officially graduating, so he doesn’t really need to show up.”
“Still, he’s the third-year representative. He should show up to maintain his image.”
I stopped paying attention to their conversation and looked out the window.
Students were running around on the playground, using their free time.
A cold breeze blew through the gap in the window.
Autumn was ending, and winter was fast approaching.
After returning to the past and going through so many events, the school year was already nearly over.
‘Winter break is almost here.’
I slowly recalled the incidents that would occur over this winter.
Just like during the last summer vacation, several major events would unfold during this winter break.
Two big ones came to mind right away.
One of them was dangerous enough to risk my life.
Just thinking about them made my vision go dark.
No—before I even get to those, there are already too many things piling up.
“Sigh.”
When am I supposed to deal with all this?
If only a day had 48 hours.
“What’s with all the heavy sighing?”
Just as I was feeling overwhelmed by the future ahead, Yoo Ara, surprisingly, spoke to me.
“Just tired.”
She gave me a side glance, then sat in the seat next to mine.
“You got the official announcement for the Sacred Martial Festival. The school confirmed it too.”
“Yeah?”
The grade report hadn’t come out yet, but I wasn’t surprised. Given my performance, it would’ve been strange not to be selected.
“And I heard you might be the top contender.”
First place, huh?
It actually seemed possible, depending on how things went.
Though while I was resting from mana exhaustion at the end, Lee Seo-jun had a major performance against the bosses that awarded the most points, so I wasn’t entirely sure.
…Wait.
If it’s between me and Lee Seo-jun for first and second place, then—
“Then you’re in third, right? Isn’t that a first for you?”
“…W-what are you saying?”
Yoo Ara was flustered and glared at me sharply.
Then, a moment later, she glanced at me like she had something to say.
“By the way, the spell you used during the final exam—was that based on simultaneous casting? Or was it a dispersed form?”
Yoo Ara asked in a subtle voice.
So that’s why she suddenly started talking to me—this was her goal.
Though she lost in the exam, I could tell she had a strong academic drive and wanted to learn.
“I used both. I used simultaneous casting as a base and then dispersed it into multiple forms.”
At my answer, Yoo Ara looked genuinely surprised.
“…Is that even possible?”
“Yeah. It is.”
I didn’t think it would be either, but when I used my points, it worked.
Before I knew it, Yoo Ara had a serious expression as she sank into thought.
She was probably mentally simulating the casting process—using simultaneous casting first, then shifting into a dispersed form.
But a few moments later, her face drooped in frustration.
“How did you even do that?”
“…”
You think that kind of thing comes easily?
It cost me 120,000 points, for crying out loud.
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