After cramming in the training I had missed for a few days, I realized it was already past 10 p.m.
Dragging my trembling legs, I returned to the dormitory and immediately took a shower.
I washed off my sweat-drenched body with cold water.
Afterward, I stepped out of the shower, opened the refrigerator, and grabbed a can of beer.
— Ssshhk!
The refreshing sound of a beer can opening.
I grabbed the can and chugged it down in one go.
“Ahhh!”
This is it.
A Saturday night.
A cold beer after grueling training.
It felt like all the exhaustion built up over the past week melted away in an instant.
“This is what I live for.”
I threw myself onto the couch. Then, the incident in the training hall that morning suddenly came to mind.
“Jang Ye…”
At this point, with the storyline deviating from the original, how would she move?
Demons are not so different from humans.
They have emotions and even familial love.
The only difference is that while humans can survive without consuming other living beings, demons must drink human blood to live.
That very nature forces them to exist in conflict with humans.
In the original story, Jang Ye despised Lee Seo-jun for killing her father, Jang Han. So, she quietly absorbed people one by one, building her power to take revenge on Lee Seo-jun. But now, with my interference, I became the one who killed Jang Han.
The hatred that was supposed to be directed at Lee Seo-jun had now shifted toward “Kim Jinwoo.”
“Then why did she approach Lee Seo-jun?”
I couldn’t understand it.
It was too deliberate to be a mere coincidence in the training hall.
It felt just like in the original, where she approached Lee Seo-jun with a clear purpose.
Which meant… Lee Seo-jun was still included in her revenge plans.
“Hmm…”
I had a bad feeling that something troublesome was bound to happen because of Jang Ye.
It might be best to deal with her before things get out of hand.
‘The problem is, how do I handle her?’
I couldn’t just attack her out of nowhere at school.
But waiting for her to go berserk carried the risk of unpredictable butterfly effects.
Ultimately, if I wanted to take her out, I had to create a situation where we were alone.
“Ugh, this is giving me a headache.”
No answer came to mind.
I set the thoughts aside for now and sprawled on the couch.
The main storyline’s crises were about to unfold, one by one.
Apart from Jang Ye, there were several other villains lurking in the school.
But thanks to my interference, the butterfly effect was making things harder to predict.
Come to think of it, there was another major event happening in two weeks. Would it follow the original flow?
“Sigh…”
Who knows?
It’ll work out somehow.
Trying to perfectly predict a future that has already changed would be foolish.
Forget it, I should check today’s training results instead.
[Activating unique trait, ‘Outsider’s Privilege.’]
[Displaying ability stats.]
━━
[Stats]
Stamina: 46.04
Strength: 35.05
Magic: 30.2
Speed: 31.04
Agility: 32.1
Dexterity: 28
━━
Finally, my magic had surpassed 30.
My stamina and strength had also improved significantly—meaningful progress.
But compared to others, I was still far behind. Especially when it came to magic. Even among students, my magic was embarrassingly low.
The average student’s magic stat was around 50. I had just barely passed the halfway mark.
“I need to train even harder.”
Still, my growth rate was fast. At this pace, I should be able to catch up within a year.
— Bzzzz.
Just then, my smartphone, sitting on the desk, vibrated.
The only person who ever contacted me on this phone was Han Se-yeon.
Sure enough, when I checked, there was a message from her.
[An article about the commercialization of Sacred Bloom will likely be published within the next two days.]
“Oh.”
In two days, huh?
Once Holy Grass was commercialized, Hanseong Pharmaceuticals’ stock would skyrocket.
And when people learned that Han Se-yeon was responsible for all of it, her standing in the Hanseong Group would also rise.
Of course, compared to her brother Han Se-jin’s influence, it would still be insignificant.
But what mattered was that she was taking steps toward catching up to him.
[Understood.]
[By the way, when do you plan to use the underground auction ticket you mentioned before? I’ve been busy preparing for business lately, so I can’t make much time for you.]
The underground auction ticket.
Not yet.
The item I wanted wouldn’t be available until the auction in five months.
And to buy it, I needed to save more money.
[I plan to participate in the underground auction five months from now.]
[Five months? By then, our contract will have ended long ago.]
[That’s unrelated. We agreed from the start that the underground auction was a separate deal.]
[I was joking. But why five months? I’m curious, but you’re not going to tell me, are you?]
[No.]
[Tch. You have more secrets than someone from the Hanseong family.]
Her message made me chuckle.
Then, a thought occurred to me.
[By the way, what kind of business are you working on?]
[You won’t tell me anything, so why should I tell you? It’s a secret too.]
“Pfft.”
That was an unexpectedly cute response from Han Se-yeon.
Not long after, another message arrived.
[Just kidding. But it’s a family secret, so I can’t tell you. Sorry.]
No need to apologize.
“Starting next week, it’s midterm exam period.”
“Ugh…”
Morning homeroom.
At Jang Ancheol’s words, groans filled the classroom.
“Since it’s the first exam, I hope you all prepare well. As you know, during the exams, guilds and other magic organizations will be observing. I trust you all understand what that means.”
The magic academy’s exams were monitored by magic guilds and other mage organizations.
According to the original story, an unprecedented number of guilds would be observing this midterm.
Even more notable was that, instead of regular scouts, high-ranking guild executives would be attending in person.
They had only one goal.
To witness, with their own eyes, the two prodigies of the century—Lee Seo-jun and Yoo Ara.
“Whew…”
Hearing about the exams made me tense up.
I needed to climb at least to the top 100 this time.
Since I was currently ranked dead last, even raising my rank to 100th place would earn me a significant amount of points.
And if I caught the scouts’ attention, I could rake in even more points—a win-win situation.
Then, Jang Ancheol’s voice turned serious.
“And I assume you’ve all heard the disturbing rumors lately?”
A tense silence spread through the students.
I already knew what he was referring to—the recent serial murders in the nearby cities.
The unusual part was that all the victims had been completely drained of blood, leaving them shriveled like mummies.
A classic sign of a demon attack.
The likely culprit?
Jang Ye, ranked fourth among the third-year students.
But the school probably had no idea that a demon was among its students.
“According to the Mage Association, demons seem to be actively operating in this area. Four people have already died in just a week. The association has increased patrols, but just in case, I urge you all to avoid going out late at night.”
The students responded in unison.
“Yes, sir.”
And with that, the morning assembly ended.
The dull morning theory class had finally ended.
The students got up from their seats, chatting or studying.
I sat in my chair, blankly staring out the window at the training field.
The third-year students were attending an enhancement-type class.
Among them, one student particularly stood out—Jang Ye.
She was putting on a false, benevolent smile, acting like a model student among her peers.
It was shameless, considering she had killed four people just this week.
As I stared at her intently, a voice called me from behind.
“Kim Sun-woo.”
Turning my head, I saw an unexpected figure looking down at me.
It was Yoo Ara.
Now that I think about it, it’s been a while since she last spoke to me.
“What’s up?”
“Teacher Lee Hee-young is calling you.”
Lee Hee-young?
Why is she suddenly calling me?
I tilted my head in confusion.
“Why?”
“How would I know?”
“…Hmm.”
Nodding, I got up from my seat.
If a teacher calls, you go immediately.
“Where is she?”
“She’s probably in the faculty office.”
“Wait, so you didn’t hear this from her directly?”
“I also got a message.”
“Oh.”
Checking my smart student notebook, I saw a message had arrived for me as well.
[Sunwoo, please come to the faculty office after class.]
“I had notifications off, so I didn’t even realize I got a message.”
I nodded at Yoo Ara and left the classroom.
But when I glanced to the side, she was following me.
“…You don’t need to escort me.”
“What are you talking about? Teacher Lee Hee-young called me, too.”
Oh, I see.
Well, it makes sense. There’d be no reason to send her just to fetch me.
Nodding, I walked toward the faculty office.
“But why would she call both of us together?”
“She probably has something to say about the manifestation-type class.”
Manifestation-type class?
Hmm.
I had no guesses.
When I opened the faculty office door and stepped inside, I saw Lee Hee-young waving at us from afar.
“Over here!”
“Hello.”
“Hello.”
Yoo Ara and I greeted her with slight bows as we approached.
Then, I noticed a familiar face sitting in a chair—Park Inhwan.
Lee Heeyoung smiled brightly and offered us seats.
Yoo Ara and I sat down.
“I called you because there are a few things to discuss. First, about the scholarship. It should be deposited by tomorrow.”
Oh, so this is about the scholarship.
I honestly didn’t expect to receive one.
That offhand remark I made to Lee Hee-young before actually came true.
“Ara, you’ll receive the special talent scholarship, while Inhwan and Sun-woo will receive the teacher-recommended scholarship.”
“How much will we get?”
“Ara will receive 50 million won, Inhwan 10 million won, and Sun-woo 5 million won.”
Glancing at Yoo Ara, I noticed she wasn’t particularly excited.
She had the expression of someone receiving something they obviously deserved.
That kind of confidence was impressive.
At that moment, Park Inhwan spoke in a bewildered tone.
“Kim Sun-woo is getting a scholarship?”
“Yes.”
“Why? He’s the lowest-ranked student in the school.”
“Because Sun-woo has talent.”
Park Inhwan turned to look at me, his face full of disbelief.
“Talent? Is it for the support-type category? At least if it were something related to unlocking barriers, like what Teacher Kim Yunjin mentioned before, I could understand…”
“No, it’s for the manifestation-type category.”
“…If the students find out about this, it’s going to cause an uproar. The support-type case at least had a justification, but…”
Park Inhwan mumbled in a dissatisfied voice.
Well, I could understand his reaction.
I had shown something in the support-type category, but in the manifestation-type category, I hadn’t demonstrated much.
Lee Hee-young simply smiled and said,
“That’s not a problem. The teacher-recommended scholarship is at the teacher’s discretion.”
Then, she changed the subject.
“Let’s move on. The real reason I called you all here is for something else.”
Everyone’s attention shifted to her.
“This year, a special talent class will be created. Five students will be chosen per year, per category. For the second-year manifestation-type class, I plan to recommend you three first. The other two will be chosen from different classes.”
Ah, the special talent class.
That was an episode in the original work as well.
To put it simply, it was like an advanced placement class in a regular school.
Selection was based purely on talent and potential, not grades.
I never expected to be recommended for it, considering I was ranked last in the entire school.
“Is there anyone who wants to decline?”
Silence.
Of course, there was no reason to refuse.
It was a rare opportunity to receive special lessons among the most talented students.
Plus, it would allow me to interact with high-ranking students, giving me opportunities to earn achievement and reputation points.
“No one wants to decline? Then I’ll proceed with the recommendation.”
“Yes.”
As everyone responded together, Lee Hee-young smiled in satisfaction.
Then, she looked at me.
“Oh, and Sun-woo.”
“Yes?”
“There’s a condition for you.”
“A condition?”
“You’re ranked last in the school, right? As you are now, you can’t join the special talent class. Instead, you need to prove your potential and talent to the school.”
Prove my potential and talent?
“In the upcoming midterm exam next week, you need to rank within the top 80. Think you can do it?”
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