Category: The Regressed Extra Becomes a Genius

The exam had been going for an hour.

Today, the first day of the final exams, was proceeding relatively peacefully.

That was because the main team events wouldn’t start until the second and third days.

For reference, the largest event—a massive battle—would take place on the last day, the third day.

Because of that, rather than combat roles, everyone had begun taking on different responsibilities.

Scouting, keeping watch, food supply, and so on.

My role was scouting.

Incidentally, I volunteered for the scout role myself.

Since the most important thing in a captains match was “information,” I didn’t want to leave it to anyone else.

“Hmm.”

That’s why I was currently climbing a mountain.

Rather than wandering around this wide area aimlessly, climbing to higher ground to get an overview offered several advantages.

“Whew! The air’s nice.”

Even though it was a virtual world, the natural environment was implemented as realistically as the real one.

The clear air made me feel like my whole body was being purified.

Breathing in deeply, I gazed out from the mountaintop at the surrounding scenery.

Vast grasslands and forests. And scattered in between, modern buildings standing alone.

It felt like the secret labs from a sci-fi movie.

As I scanned the area, I occasionally spotted groups of people gathered together.

It was Team A and Team C.

Since they had a lot of members, it wasn’t hard to spot them.

“……They’re all focused on getting food first.”

They were catching animals using magic and transporting them—like watching a primitive tribe.

The whole concept of this “Combined Captains Match” was inspired by tribal warfare anyway.

Then, at the edge of my vision, I noticed a man surrounded by several people.

It was Kim Chang-hyun, the top student of third year.

“Hm……”

I fidgeted with my fingers, briefly conflicted.

Kim Chang-hyun was the commander of Team A.

If I could assassinate him, there’d be no need for a large-scale battle—we could eliminate all of Team A in one move.

Not to mention, I would earn a massive amount of points based on the number of survivors in Team A.

“……”

And honestly, if I wanted to, I was confident I could assassinate him right here and now.

If I drank a magic concealment potion, even an S-rank mage wouldn’t be able to detect my surprise attack. And if I compressed my mana deeply, I was sure I could hit him from this long distance—though the power would gradually weaken.

But I gave up on that idea.

The exams in the virtual world were all broadcast live in real time to the outside world.

Using a concealment ability for a bit of greed would definitely bring more trouble.

That kind of risk wasn’t worth taking.

“……Tch.”

I’d wait for the next opportunity.

There was still plenty of time.

Now then, I should start preparing for the event.

There were no team events on the first day, but that didn’t mean there were no events at all.

There were personal and small-group joint events.

The first event coming up was the “Monster Hunter Time Attack.”

Being the first event, the points it offered weren’t that huge, but one of the rewards for first place was quite important to me.

It was something I absolutely needed in order to reach fifth place in the overall rankings.

The “1-on-1 Colosseum Summon Ticket.”

It was a ticket that let you summon one opponent of your choice and fight them one-on-one.

Naturally, you couldn’t use it on a commander. But that wasn’t a problem for me.

My target was the fifth-ranked overall competitor, Park Inhwan.

To reach fifth place myself, Park Inhwan’s early elimination was essential. That item was a must.

[The first event will begin in 3 minutes.]

Just then, a voice announcing the event rang out.

[The first event is a two-person team event: ‘Monster Hunter Time Attack.’ The top 10 will receive individual points, and first place will receive the special reward: a 1-on-1 Colosseum Summon Ticket.]

Monster Hunter Time Attack was an event where you had to defeat a semi-boss monster in a two-on-one match as fast as possible.

The rules were simple enough that anyone could participate.

As long as you had someone to take the test with.

[If you’d like to participate, please add your ‘party member’ and apply using your smart student notebook.]

I immediately sent a party request to Lee Seo-jun through the smart student notebook.

And I typed a message.

[Accept the request.]

About ten seconds later—

[‘Lee Seo-jun’ has accepted your party request.]

The message appeared saying he had accepted. I liked how he accepted it without a single complaint.

[Your application has been completed.]

[2 minutes until the start of the ‘Monster Hunter Time Attack’ event.]

Before the event started, I checked over my condition.

Stamina, mana. Both were in good shape.

There was still time until the biggest event on the third day, so for today, the first day, I planned to go all out.

Saving strength for the end could wait until tomorrow.

My goal today, Day 1, was to earn as many individual points as possible.

[10, 9, 8, 7……]

[3, 2, 1……]

[Teleporting to event location!]

A surge of strong mana enveloped my body.

At the same time, a blinding light flashed before my eyes.

Flash!

When the light disappeared, I was in a new place.

A pure white space.

It looked like a secret experimental facility with hidden secrets.

—Grrr…

A monster’s growl echoed from somewhere.

I hadn’t participated in personal events in my previous life, so each moment felt unfamiliar.

“Kim Sunwoo.”

Just then, a familiar voice came from behind me. I turned around and saw Lee Seo-jun approaching with a cheerful expression.

“Yo. You made it?”

“Yeah. But I didn’t think they’d have two-person events in a Captains Match like this.”

He looked around curiously as he spoke.

“Probably so it’s not boring while everyone’s just waiting around, trying to gauge each other without making the first move.”

“Good point.”

I shifted my gaze to the side.

A massive iron cage.

Behind it, in the darkness, a giant wolf with glowing red eyes stared out.

Even at a glance, it looked over 2 meters tall standing upright.

Its name was the “Giant Red One-Eyed Wolf.”

Despite having only one eye, it was an A-rank monster that was tough to deal with, thanks to its huge frame, sharp teeth, and tough hide.

[The event is beginning!]

[Rankings will be determined based on how quickly you defeat the monster in front of you!]

─Clang!

The iron gate rose, and the wolf slowly stepped out of the darkness, drooling.

I calmly activated the Outsider’s Privilege and pinpointed the wolf’s weakness.

“Aim for its forehead.”

“What?”

“The forehead is its weak spot. The skin there is relatively thin.”

Lee Seo-jun stared at me for a moment, then nodded. He could have asked how I knew or if the information was reliable, but he didn’t.

“The forehead, huh. Got it.”

White mana burst forth from Lee Seo-jun’s sword.

[Time Attack begins.]

---

Boom!

The massive one-eyed wolf was engulfed in flames and collapsed. The ground trembled from the impact.

“Hoo…”

Yoo Ara let out a long breath of relief, her body releasing the tension of victory.

Her teammate and Team C leader, Choi Seo-yoon, approached her.

“Weren’t we pretty good just now? I think we have a real shot at first place.”

At her words, Yoo Ara nodded. For a team working together for the first time, their coordination had been surprisingly smooth.

She was slightly wary of Lee Seo-jun and Kim Sunwoo, but even those two, who had broken numerous records at the Mage Academy, didn’t seem unbeatable this time.

“….”

Yoo Ara glanced from the fallen one-eyed wolf to Choi Seo-yoon, replaying the battle in her mind.

Choi Seo-yoon’s magical combat style was the complete opposite of her own.

While Yoo Ara overwhelmed opponents with her raw magical power and destructive force, Choi Seo-yoon utilized precise mana control and keen instincts to shape various forms of ice, applying slow and steady pressure.

It was a style more suited to 1-on-1 fights than dealing with multiple opponents—very similar to Kim Sunwoo’s style.

“….”

Recently, Yoo Ara had found herself conscious of Kim Sunwoo, and she even secretly practiced magic and fighting styles resembling his.

“…I’m kind of jealous.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Your combat style. I don’t have that kind of finesse. I’ve been practicing to be more like that, but it’s not going well.”

Choi Seo-yoon tilted her head at Yoo Ara’s muttering.

“I’m actually jealous of your destructive power.”

“Really?”

“Yup. The grass always looks greener, right?”

Yoo Ara fell into thought at that.

The grass looks greener on the other side, huh?

That might be true.

“But you’re practicing a different style because of Sunwoo-senpai, right?”

“Eh?”

Yoo Ara flinched, caught off guard. Choi Seo-yoon chuckled.

“Knew it. But I get it. When I see Sunwoo senpai mixing martial arts into his combat, it looks really cool. I want to be like that too.”

Yoo Ara nodded in agreement.

Mixing physical combat into an elemental-based style was definitely admirable.

But Yoo Ara had never dreamed of mimicking Sunwoo’s martial arts. She had no physical aptitude whatsoever—she had even chosen support magic instead of enhancement for her sub-specialty.

While chatting with Choi Seo-yoon, they waited for the results of the event.

[‘Monster Hunter Time Attack’ has ended.]

The event was finally over.

[Announcing the top 10 teams.]

━━
1st: Lee Seo-jun, Kim Sunwoo (2 minutes 22 seconds)
2nd: Choi Seo-yoon, Yoo Ara (7 minutes 52 seconds)
3rd: Kim Chang-hyun, Jeon Min-gi (7 minutes 55 seconds)
…
…
━━

[Congratulations. You have earned 600 personal points for 2nd place!]

“…?”

Yoo Ara and Choi Seo-yoon were baffled as they looked at the rankings.

They had expected to potentially lose first place to Sunwoo and Seo-jun—but what shocked them was the time difference.

The gap between first and second place was massive. Nearly three times faster.

“…That’s insane.”

Even Choi Seo-yoon was stunned.

“How do you beat that thing in under 3 minutes?”

Yoo Ara had the same thought.

It was as if they knew the monster’s exact weakness and only targeted that.

Well… if it’s Kim Sunwoo, maybe he really could…

“…Kim Sunwoo.”

Yoo Ara clenched her fist.

When they had been teammates in the previous team battle, he’d been incredibly reassuring—but as an enemy, he was a nightmare.

“…Should’ve been on the same team for finals too instead of midterms…”

She couldn’t help but feel unfairly annoyed.

---

Flash!

After the event, I returned to the original location.

In my hand was the first-place reward box from the event.

I finally had it.

The 1:1 Colosseum Summon Ticket.

With this, I could attempt to eliminate Park Inhwan early—the biggest obstacle to me achieving 5th place overall.

The special prize only went to one person, but I arranged with Seo-jun to let me use it.

“Heh.”

I chuckled quietly and opened the box.

Inside was a single small ticket.

[You have obtained the ‘1:1 Colosseum Summon Ticket.’]

[You may designate one person for a one-on-one battle.]

There was no reason to delay, so I immediately infused mana into the ticket.

The ticket glowed faintly with mana, and a voice echoed in my ear.

[Using the 1:1 Colosseum Summon Ticket.]

[Please state the team and name of the person you wish to summon.]

“Team C, Park Inhwan.”

[Team C Park Inhwan. Target located.]

[Would you like to summon him to the Colosseum now?]

“Yes.”

[Confirmed.]

[Team C Park Inhwan is being summoned to the Colosseum.]

A flash of light—then the scenery changed.

I looked around. As the name suggested, it resembled the Roman Colosseum almost exactly.

[You have entered the Colosseum.]

[Only the surviving victor may leave this place.]

Looking ahead, I saw Park Inhwan appear, startled by the sudden summoning.

Our eyes met.

Park Inhwan stared at me, stunned, and I smiled.

“Nice to see you again, Inhwan.”

Back at the dormitory, I was eating chicken with Gretel.

As I was happily munching on the chicken, Gretel suddenly picked up a drumstick and placed it on my plate.

“What’s this? You want me to have it?”

Gretel nodded in response.

“No, it’s okay. You eat more, Gretel.”

I handed the drumstick back to her.

Gretel looked at the drumstick for a moment, then glanced up at me.

She seemed to be asking why I wasn’t eating the best part.

It was surprisingly touching that she’d offer her favourite piece. Is this what being a parent feels like?

Just watching Gretel eat was enough to make me feel full.

“Gretel, your favourite part is the drumstick, right?”

“Ung-ae.”

Gretel nodded.

“If that’s your favourite, should we just order drumsticks next time?”

“Ung-ae?”

Gretel’s eyes widened, as if asking, Is that even possible?

“If you want, we can get just drumsticks. Or a mix of drumsticks and wings.”

“Ung-ae!”

Gretel jumped for joy, clearly happy.

Seeing her that happy brought a smile to my face too.

Honestly, I could give up the drumstick so easily because I’m a wing person.

Not a fan of thick meat, I preferred the crisp skin you get with wings. That’s the best part.

Either way, I was glad Gretel and I didn’t like the same part—it avoided any conflicts.

“Next time, we’ll order only drumsticks and wings.”

Gretel nodded and took a bite of her drumstick.

I watched her happily, then got up.

After washing the sauce off my hands, I sat down on the sofa.

Yawning from after-meal sleepiness, I glanced at the fruit hanging from the branch on Gretel’s head.

It had grown quite a bit in the past few days.

At this rate, it would probably be fully ripe within two weeks.

“Hm.”

As I stared at the fruit on her head, I noticed something odd.

The colour had changed.

Last time it was green, but now it had turned yellow.

“…Maybe the effect changed?”

That seemed likely.

A yellow glow… I wondered what kind of effect it would have this time.

As I secretly licked my lips in anticipation, an alert came from my smart student notebook.

[Sender: Korea Mage Academy]

[All Year Combined Captain Match Rulebook and Testing Site Information]

The rulebook had arrived.

I immediately opened it to check the contents.

It was nearly 20 pages long, filled with dense and complicated rules.

With a much larger number of participants, they’d added many new rules, unlike the simple “defeat the captain” setup from before.

The easiest way to describe this version of the captains match was that it combined elements from the previous end of semester Tower Climbing Survival.

But there was no need to study the rulebook too deeply—I already had knowledge from my past life and the original story.

It was all perfectly memorized in my head.

I closed the rulebook and checked the location information.

With almost 450 students participating, the test location had been upgraded to something more fitting in scale.

[Large-Scale Virtual Training Center on a Special-Purpose Artificial Island under the Mage Association]

An artificial island owned by the Korean Mage Association.

This “Large-Scale Virtual Training Center” was the designated testing site.

It was known as one of the best, along with the tower in the UK.

“Yawn…”

I closed the message and stood up.

The test would begin next Tuesday. I should start managing my condition and go to bed early.

---

Monday afternoon.

After completing this week’s final practical—Phantom Maze Escape—I returned to the waiting room.

“Phew.”

I let out a deep breath and looked around the room, noticing all the empty seats.

“…Am I first?”

“Yeah, you’re first. By a landslide.”

As I muttered to myself, Jang Ancheol suddenly appeared behind me.

I’d sensed someone approaching, so I wasn’t too startled.

Jang Ancheol stared at me like I was some kind of marvel before speaking.

“You really surprise people every time. I’ve never seen someone with such high illusion resistance in my life.”

Illusion resistance.

Since Jang Ancheol didn’t know I’d learned Eunwol Illusion Severance from the Eunwol clan, his reaction made sense.

“Tsk. If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve voted for Team B too…”

“Vote?”

I tilted my head at his random comment.

Jang Ancheol waved his hand awkwardly.

“Ah, it’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

“…Suspicious.”

He gave a awkward smile and pointed toward a part of the room.

“There’s a waiting room over there. Just relax there for now.”

“…Okay.”

I walked over in the direction he pointed.

With some time to spare, I decided to check my stats again for the first time in a while.

---

[Stats]
Stamina: 73.2
Strength: 76.57
Mana: 64.1
Speed: 40.2
Reflexes: 73.3
Dexterity: 29.2

---

No noticeable increases—probably because I’d already made big improvements.

But stats were just that: numbers.

In truth, they weren’t that important.

Stats were more for showing your class level, so to speak.

Like how a super strong bodybuilder still wouldn’t stand a chance against a trained martial artist.

High stats alone didn’t mean much without strong magic control or combat technique.

Still, with stats like this, no one would look down on me.

No one could say my talent was being held back by physical limits.

Flash!

Just then, a portal opened and Lee Seo-jun stepped out.

Apparently, he was the second to escape the illusion maze.

Since we both learned Eunwol Illusion Severance, this result was to be expected.

“Lee Seo-jun is second. You made it out pretty quickly too.”

At Jang Ancheol’s comment, Lee Seo-jun didn’t look pleased—he looked more like he’d just lost.

“…Second.”

 

Perhaps because he was always aiming for first place, Lee Seo-jun didn’t seem satisfied with the result.

Noticing how Lee Seo-jun felt, Jang Ancheol lightly patted him on the shoulder.

“I can understand how you feel. Honestly, if it weren’t for today’s first place, your record would’ve been a new one for the Mage Academy.”

Lee Seo-jun nodded, then asked,

“First place was Kim Sunwoo, right?”

“You caught on right away. That’s right.”

Jang Ancheol replied while glancing at me. Lee Seo-jun also glared at me following Jang Ancheol’s gaze.

“…There’s no way to beat you in the escape exam.”

“Don’t be too discouraged. Your result was still outstanding, enough to shock people.”

“…Yeah.”

Lee Seo-jun nodded and walked toward me with firm steps.

As I watched him approach, I said playfully,

“Second place showed up, huh?”

At my words, Lee Seo-jun frowned and became serious.

He was too competitive for any jokes when it came to rankings.

“Tsk.”

If you’re upset, just take first place. Who told you to settle for second?

Time passed, and students began to appear one by one after escaping.

Yoo Ara, Shin Young-joon, Lee Hyun-joo, Park Inhwan.

The order of escape matched the overall second-year ranking.

Park Inhwan, who escaped late, checked the scoreboard and clenched his teeth.

Then, he glared at me as if he wanted to kill me.

“Ha. So annoying.”

“…What’s with him again?”

Lately, Park Inhwan had been glaring at me more and more.

He would badmouth me behind my back or shoulder check me on purpose when passing by.

Of course, I always reinforced my shoulder with mana and gave him a proper lesson in return.

At that moment, Shin Young-joon, sitting next to me, smirked.

“He’s just scared you’ll take his fifth place in the final exam. He’s super sensitive about it.”

“Ah…”

So that’s what it was about?

I chuckled softly.

“That’s all?”

At my mumble, Park Inhwan’s expression turned even more hostile.

I returned his glare with ease and composure.

Come to think of it, despite being humiliated by me during several trainings, that guy still hasn’t learned his lesson.

Seems like he’s still bullying others too.

“Hm.”

Looks like he needs a real wake-up call in this captain match.

---

Time flew by, and the final exams began.

The main event, the “All-Year Combined Captain Match,” would start tomorrow, Wednesday. Today was the written exam.

Naturally, I finished filling out the answer sheet in under five minutes thanks to my outsider’s privilege.

Beep—

An alert sounded to signal the end of the exam, and the teacher came by to collect the answer cards.

“Alright, students. That concludes the written test. Great work, everyone.”

As the teacher finished speaking, students began stretching and rising from their seats.

Then, like predators eyeing their prey, they turned their gazes to me and swarmed in.

“Sunwoo! What’s the answer to number 6?”

“Hey, hey. Kim Sunwoo, what was your answer for number 19?”

‘…What is this?’

I was flustered by the sudden barrage of questions.

“Hey, hey, just give us your answer sheet.”

They even called my test paper the “answer sheet” and tried to take it.

These guys normally don’t even care about written exams, but now they’re going wild since it’s the last test of the year.

“Ugh!”

Annoyed, I just threw my test paper out the back door.

Everyone’s eyes followed it, then they rushed after it.

---

The next day.

With the written exam over, it was finally time for the most anticipated event of the Korean Mage Academy’s finals — the “All-Year Combined Captain Match.”

Nearly 450 students used the portal and arrived at the “Large Scale Virtual Training Center.”

Like the previous tower climbing exam, this center used the mysteries of holy relics to create a vast virtual space that could accommodate all 450 students.

“As you all know, the exam can last up to three days.”

The biggest difference from previous captain matches was the duration.

Past exams ended in a single day, but this combined captain match could last up to three days.

The key word here is ‘up to’.

Depending on how the exam goes, it might end in less than a day.

In other words, if a team defeats the opposing captains quickly, the exam could end early.

But realistically, that’s nearly impossible.

This isn’t a 1:1 match — it’s a 1:1:1 scenario, meaning most of it will be a game of chicken between teams.

To prevent that, the exam introduced new mechanics.

One is “base capture.”

The other is “events.”

Base capture, as the name suggests, allows teams to gain various blessings during the exam.

Strategically, it also grants numerous advantages, including large amounts of points.

And events are just like in the previous tower climbing test — challenges that occur at intervals during the exam.

Winning these events gives team points, personal points, and special rewards. These special rewards can greatly influence future events and battles.

“As stated in the rulebook, if no team wins within three days, the one with the most points will be declared the winner.”

That’s why this captain match has a point system.

Since it’s a 1:1:1 structure, the system discourages teams from playing passively and trying to win by outlasting others.

“Alright, the exam will now begin. Each team, please proceed to your designated portals.”

Along with the other students, I entered the portal assigned to my team.

Flash!

As I passed through the portal, a vast green field came into view.

Around me were nearly 150 members of Team B.

[The exam will begin in approximately 3 minutes.]

“…Feels kinda like the tower climbing test, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah, it does.”

“Hmmm.”

I looked around. Where’s the captain?

While scanning my surroundings, I spotted Lee Seo-jun and Team B’s support unit captain, Jang Soo-yeon, nearby.

“Kim Sunwoo? We were looking for you. Come here.”

At Lee Seo-jun’s call, I approached. Jang Soo-yeon glanced at me and spoke.

“You’re Kim Sunwoo, right? I look forward to working with you.”

She extended her hand.

Up close, her broad shoulder muscles made her frame look even larger. She seemed about the same height as me.

“Yes, I look forward to working with you too.”

I took her hand and felt the roughness on her palm.

After the handshake, she seemed to recall something.

“By the way, I saw your performance in the midterm captain match. You were quite impressive.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you.”

Caught off guard by the compliment, I slightly bowed my head. When I looked up, Jang Soo-yeon was staring directly into my eyes.

Her gaze was a bit intense.

“I heard that was the first time Lee Seo-jun didn’t come in first.”

At her comment, Lee Seo-jun gave an awkward smile.

Unbothered, she continued to stare into my eyes and spoke.

“Kim Chang-hyun has always been number one. But I want to beat that guy just once. Help me out.”

Her voice was calm and composed.

But there was sincerity in her words.

I nodded.

“Yes, let’s go for first place together.”

Pleased with my answer, Jang Soo-yeon gave a small smile.

“Good.”

Then, a voice echoed from the sky.

[We will now begin the exam countdown.]

[5, 4, 3, 2, 1…]

[The All-Year Combined Captain Match has begun.]

At last, the final exam for the second year — the last test of the year — had begun.

“Ugh. It’s disgustingly hot…”

Somewhere in the scorching deserts of East Africa, where it felt like my whole body might burn away.

I pulled a water bottle from subspace and poured it into my mouth.

Gulp, gulp.

“Ugh.”

My immediate thirst was quenched, but the fatigue in my body remained.

That’s because I had completely drained my mana while testing out a newly acquired skill, Rain of Mana.

I had anticipated as much, but Rain of Mana was just like Rune Bind—a mana-devouring beast.

Even with Heart of Nature and Fighting Spirit activated together, just maintaining the spell was a struggle.

Still, the results weren’t bad. Actually, they were satisfying.

The skill’s power, tested against a swarm of monstrous locusts, exceeded even my expectations. As expected of an S-rank ability.

“Oh, right.”

Now that I think about it, a ton of messages popped up the moment I killed the locusts.

Since I had to use Rain of Mana in Kim Sunwoo’s form during the final exam, I quickly left to avoid being seen and didn’t get the chance to check them.

I opened the outsider’s privilege system to review the previous messages.

[You have achieved the ‘Desert Traveler’ achievement.]

[You have received 3,000 points as a reward.]

[You have achieved the ‘Massacre’ achievement.]

[You have received 5,000 points as a reward.]

[You have achieved the ‘Locust Slayer’ achievement.]

[You have received 3,000 points as a reward.]

[From now on, ‘Locust’ monsters will feel fear toward you.]

[You have successfully slaughtered monsters using a skill. Rain of Mana proficiency has increased by 8%.]

“Oho.”

I earned 11,000 points in one go.

That felt pretty good, but what really caught my attention was the increase in Rain of Mana’s proficiency.

Most of the skills I’d gained recently were fixed-type skills that didn’t even have proficiency levels.

[Rain of Mana (S)]

[Grade: 1 (8%)]

Since the power and attributes of the skill change depending on the user’s abilities, it looks like it can be improved by leveling up its proficiency.

It’s already this good—how much better will it become once it levels up?

“Looking forward to it…”

Being this satisfied made one thing all the more frustrating.

Because of how unique the ability was, I couldn’t use it while in the form of Kim Jinwoo.

If Kim Jinwoo used the same ability as Kim Sunwoo, people would eventually figure out they were the same person.

“Tch.”

Pushing that regret aside, I started walking through the desert again, and in the distance, I spotted a giant desert spider—just slightly smaller than my own body.

A Ruins Guardian Spider.

It was a monster known for its docile nature. It rarely attacked humans first.

“……”

I carefully observed the Ruins Guardian Spider.

If the spider was here, that meant there were ruins nearby.

The name “Ruins Guardian” wasn’t just for show.

“…Desert ruins, huh.”

Now that I thought about it, there was a part of the upcoming plot that required visiting a hidden desert ruin to collect Mysteries.

Since I was already in the desert, I wouldn’t mind trying to explore the ruins… but unfortunately, I had another engagement today besides wandering the desert.

I took out my smart student notebook to check the message.

[There will be a Team B strategy meeting at 6 PM today in the 2nd Grand Auditorium of the Sage Building. All B-Team members are required to attend.]

“Busy day.”

It was 4 PM now, so I had about two hours left.

Of course, I could instantly travel from here to Seoul using the interdimensional gate.

The problem was… the gate was pretty far from here.

Looking back, I really regretted not renting a car.

How long was I going to have to walk?

“Sigh…”

Just as I let out a deep breath and started walking again through the desert—

Three massive vehicles came barreling across the sands toward me.

They were headed straight in my direction.

I watched cautiously as the vehicles approached.

The deserts of Africa had long become lawless zones unfit for humans, due to the frequent appearances and attacks of monsters.

That meant there was a very real possibility of armed bandits.

Thankfully, my mana had recovered somewhat.

Even if those vehicles were full of armed thugs, I was confident I could defend myself.

After all, their magical capabilities likely wouldn’t be worth worrying about.

“Jinwoo?”

But the voice that called out from the vehicle was completely unexpected.

At the same time, a rear window rolled down, revealing a familiar face.

Black hair. Stunning beauty that could charm anyone who looked.

“Han Se-yeon?”

It was Han Se-yeon.

Her eyes went wide, clearly surprised to see me.

“What brings you here? I never imagined I’d run into you in a place like this…”

The feeling was mutual.

Why was she here?

As I stood there, stunned by the sudden encounter, the reason for her presence clicked in my mind.

Africa was a monster-infested lawless zone, but it was also a land of boundless opportunity.

Various energy resources, ancient ruins, and countless field monsters were hidden throughout the desert.

You could say the entire African continent was one massive “Monster Field.”

In the original story, Han Se-yeon expanded her business into Africa, seizing that potential and achieving tremendous success.

It even became a stepping stone for her to close the gap with Han Se-jin—something that once seemed impossible in the Hanseong Group hierarchy.

“I know, right? I didn’t think I’d meet you here either, Miss Han.”

At my reply, Han Se-yeon stepped out of the vehicle with a bright smile.

“So what brings you out here?”

“I’m…”

 

I closed my mouth for a moment and thought about what to say.

It wouldn’t be good to associate the identity of Kim Jinwoo with the locust extermination.

“I came to investigate a desert ruin.”

“Ah~ Recently, a lot of ruins have been discovered around here. So, did you find anything?”

“Like I said, I only came to check things out. But from what I’ve seen, it doesn’t seem bad. What about you, Han Se-yeon?”

“Me too. I’m here to investigate the desert.”

Han Se-yeon answered with a small smile.

“Jinwoo, then where are you headed now?”

“I’m on my way to the portal gate to return to Seoul.”

“Oh? Same here. Then let’s go together. I’ll give you a ride to the immigration gate. Deputy Chief Yang, is that okay?”

Han Se-yeon turned her gaze toward the window and asked someone. It seemed one of her companions was sitting beside her.

Apparently, she got the okay, as she turned back toward me.

“The team says it’s fine. Let’s go together.”

I nodded.

I was already worried about how long it would take to reach the destination, so I had no reason to refuse.

“If you’re offering me a ride, I’d be happy to accept.”

At my reply, Han Se-yeon gave a gentle smile.

Then she opened the door and got back into the car.

I followed her and was about to sit beside her when I made eye contact with a woman in her 30s sitting next to Han Se-yeon.

“This is Deputy Chief Yang, who’s in charge of the development industry sector at our company.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Yang Wonjoo.”

The woman called Yang Wonjoo bowed her head slightly in greeting.

Yang Wonjoo… That’s a name I’ve never heard before. Probably nothing I need to worry about.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Kim Jinwoo.”

Yang Wonjoo stared at me for a moment, then gave a nod.

And so, I sat beside Han Se-yeon. The cool air from the car’s air conditioner hit me the moment I got in, and it felt like heaven.

The vehicle started moving right away.

It drove forward across the rough sands.

Still, with three people sitting in the back, it felt a bit cramped.

Every time the car shook, Han Se-yeon’s shoulder bumped against mine..

Feeling a bit awkward about it, I glanced toward Han Se-yeon—and at that moment, our eyes met.

“…….”

“…….”

We both gave a small laugh at the awkwardness.

---

As soon as I returned to Korea, I rushed to the Mage Academy’s auditorium.

I had gotten caught up chatting with Han Se-yeon and ended up a bit late.

The scheduled time was 6 p.m. It was now 6:12 p.m.—twelve minutes late.

Clunk.

When I opened the auditorium door, I saw a large crowd of students, probably around 150.

Everyone turned their eyes toward me at the sound of the door opening.

Lee Seo-jun, who was leading the meeting at the front, frowned and spoke to me.

“Why are you so late?”

“Ah, sorry. I had something personal to take care of.”

At my reply, Lee Seo-jun shot me a glance but gave a light nod and resumed the meeting.

I sat by myself in a seat toward the back.

The meeting content was predictable.

How to divide the roles for the Captain Match.

“There are three main roles: Assault Team, Defense Team, and Support Team.”

As expected, with the increased number of people, the roles were more specialized compared to the last Captain Match.

Assault, Defense, and Support. You could probably guess their functions without needing much explanation.

The Assault Team attacks the enemy, the Defense Team protects the captain, and the Support Team assists both depending on the situation.

That’s the simple explanation, at least. In reality, it’s a bit more complex.

For example, the Assault Team doesn’t just attack enemies—they also have to capture outposts to earn points and blessings.

By the way, the blessings gained from capturing outposts include things like mana recovery and magic resistance.

“First, we’ll vote on the role each person wants. I’ve sent the voting link via message in the Smart Student Notebook group chat.”

I checked my Smart Student Notebook.

Without hesitation, I voted for the Assault Team.

Once voting ended, the meeting resumed.

I listened half-heartedly, then got a bit bored and started browsing news articles on my Smart Student Notebook.

[Who is Responsible for the 20,000 Dead Locusts Found in East Africa?]

News of the locust massacre had spread faster than expected.

Looking at the details, it said even the Tu Wang Guild, who first discovered the bodies, had no idea who was responsible.

I had worried about being suspected after crossing paths with the Tu Wang Guild, but it seemed that concern was unnecessary.

Well, wide-area magic users are common enough, and Kim Jinwoo is already known for a combat style focused on 1-on-1 fights, so that probably helped avoid suspicion.

“Now that roles are more or less decided, we’ll vote for each role’s leader.”

I looked up from the article at Lee Seo-jun’s voice. Apparently, it was time to vote for leaders.

“Is there anyone who wants to volunteer as a leader?”

At that moment, a woman with short black hair sitting in front raised her hand.

“I’ll volunteer as the Support Team leader.”

Even from behind, her sturdy and broad frame stood out.

Jang Soo-yeon, 3rd year, ranked 2nd.

She’s a reinforcement-type mage who uses a sword. She didn’t have much importance in the original story.

Lee Seo-jun nodded and looked around again.

“Anyone else want to volunteer?”

“I’ll volunteer as the Defense Team leader.”

This time, someone raised their hand from the left corner.

I couldn’t quite recall the name since the character didn’t appear in the original story, but I think she was ranked 4th in the 3rd year.

Her specialty was barrier and binding magic—support type.

Since both the Defense and Support leader volunteers had great credentials, the students seemed to agree and nodded.

“Only the Assault Team leader is left… Any volunteers?”

No one raised their hand right away.

Understandably so.

While the Assault Teams of Teams A and C were composed mostly of manifestation-type mages who excel at wide-area magic, Team B had relatively more reinforcement-type mages.

People probably didn’t want to take responsibility for a likely failure.

I raised my hand.

“I’ll volunteer as the Assault Team leader.”

I was sitting on the sofa, examining the ability I was thinking of purchasing.

━━

[Rain of Mana (S)]

Category: Skill

Description: Unleashes a rain of mana.

*The attribute, destructive power, and duration may vary depending on the user’s mana capabilities.

Price: 120,000

━━

Rain of Mana.

Just as the name implies, it’s an ability that allows the user to release magic from the sky in a torrential downpour across a wide area.

Rather than buying someone else’s unique power, the idea was that I could use my points to instantly master a form of magic that’s normally extremely difficult to learn.

To master a special magic form like this “rain” usually takes at least ten years of training.

But with points, I could buy that decade of training time.

And to my knowledge, no mage in the current era uses magic in this form.

Ah, of course, if you dig into history books, there are records of mages who used rain-like magic forms.

What matters is that in this era, no such mage exists.

That’s what makes this ability even more appealing to me.

Wielding a form of magic no one else uses… it could become my symbol.

“The problem is I don’t have enough points to buy it right now…”

[Current Points: 101,200]

The price of Rain of Mana is 120,000 points.

I’m about 18,800 points short.

Considering there’s less than two weeks left before finals, it’s a tricky situation.

“Hmm. How should I make up the remaining points…?”

“Unga.”

As I sat on the sofa thinking of ways to earn more points, Gretel came over from the fridge.

I gently smiled and picked up Gretel.

“Gretel. What’s the easiest way to earn points?”

Gretel tilted her head, seemingly not understanding a word I said.

“Unga?”

“It’s nothing. Go ahead and eat the snacks I bought.”

I set Gretel down and pointed to the sausage box on the floor.

Gretel nodded, toddled over to the box, pulled out a sausage, and put it in her mouth.

I watched her back with a fond smile.

Eat lots and grow up strong, little fruit.

I mean—Gretel.

After seeing Gretel off, I leaned back against the sofa and fell into thought again.

How to earn points.

“…Yeah, if I want to earn a lot of points in a short amount of time, there’s really only one way.”

No matter how I look at it, there’s just this.

Drawing a large crowd’s attention all at once.

In the short term, the Fame System is much more profitable than the Achievement System.

I turned on my smart student ID.

Then I tapped on the “Messages” section in the bottom left corner.

Immediately, countless messages I’d been too lazy to reply to came flooding back to mind.

From ordinary students to guilds, even reporters—quite a variety.

“Guess it’s time I responded.”

I opened the “Interview Requests” folder I’d created in preparation for this day.

---

Thursday.

After finishing lunch, Choi Seo-yoon and Song Seung-ah went to a small cafe inside the Mage Academy to chat.

“One small strawberry smoothie, please.”

“I’ll have an iced Americano.”

After ordering, they sat down at an available table.

As one of the most popular students at the Mage Academy, Choi Seo-yoon naturally drew glances from nearby male students.

Some even walked over and struck up awkward conversations.

“Hey, Seo-yoon! I’m in Team C—looking forward to working with you! Hahaha!”

“Oh, uh, sure…”

Choi Seo-yoon forced a smile and played along with their attention.

In the past, she would’ve responded more warmly, but lately she didn’t feel like it.

The arrival of one particular boy—someone she couldn’t help but want attention from—had affected her emotionally.

About five minutes passed before the attention died down.

Song Seung-ah sipped her coffee and spoke up.

“Aren’t you tired of entertaining everyone?”

“…It’s getting old.”

“Sigh. You’re really exhausting yourself, you know.”

When Song Seung-ah clicked her tongue, Choi Seo-yoon gave a awkward smile.

“Maybe it’s because of the captain match, but people are extra chatty today.”

“Well, I am the captain of Team C. It comes with the role.”

At Seo-yoon’s mumble, Seung-ah nodded.

“But are you confident about the match? Being a team leader comes with a lot of responsibility.”

In response, Choi Seo-yoon smiled confidently, the corners of her lips rising.

“Of course I’m confident. I’m aiming for first place.”

“If you get first, what about Senior Kim Sunwoo?”

At that, Choi Seo-yoon tilted her head in confusion.

Senior Kim Sunwoo? What does he have to do with this all of a sudden?

“What about him?”

“His entry into the Sacred Martial Festival depends on this exam’s results.”

“Oh…”

She’d heard rumors. It was already a hot topic around the school.

Even in the Forest of Great Sages, there was an ongoing vote related to it.

The question was whether “Second-Year Kim Sunwoo,” who was rapidly climbing the ranks, could reach the overall top five through this exam.

Most people didn’t think so.

For Kim Sunwoo to make it into the top five, not only would his team have to win, but Park Inhwan would need to be eliminated early, and he’d have to personally defeat nearly 60 students to earn enough individual points.

But Kim Sunwoo’s combat style wasn’t well suited for large-scale fights.

Because of that, even though he had excellent skills, most people believed this time would be difficult for him.

“If your team gets first place, then Senior Kim Sunwoo probably won’t qualify for the Sacred Martial Festival. Won’t he blame you for that?”

“…Come on. He wouldn’t do that, would he?”

Choi Seo-yoon laughed it off as if that was ridiculous.

But the thought that she might be the reason Kim Sunwoo couldn’t attend the Sacred Martial Festival weighed uncomfortably on her chest.

That’s a shame. I wanted to go with him…

In her imagination, Team C had already taken first place thanks to her surprisingly strong leadership for a first-year student — though the real power was Yoo Ara — and Kim Sunwoo would be left devastated.

The very thought made her heart ache.

She didn’t even know how she could possibly comfort him if he failed to qualify.

No — what if her comfort made things worse? What should she even do…?

As she spiraled further into her own delusions—

Suddenly, a small commotion began outside the café.

“What’s with the noise?”

Startled by the sudden ruckus, Choi Seo-yoon and Song Seung-ah turned to look outside.

A crowd of people was following a young man.

And his face looked very familiar.

“…Isn’t that Senior Kim Sunwoo?”

It was indeed Kim Sunwoo.

“…Aren’t those all reporters behind him?”

The people trailing him all had microphones and cameras in hand.

Judging by how they were speaking into their mics and pointing them at him, it looked like they had gathered to interview Kim Sunwoo.

“Is he giving an interview?”

Song Seung-ah muttered absently.

“Looks like it.”

Then Kim Sunwoo raised both hands to stop the reporters.

Like disciples of some cult leader, the reporters all stopped exactly as he gestured.

Then Kim Sunwoo began speaking to them, rambling on.

---

[2nd-Year Mage Academy Student Kim Sunwoo, Confidence in Being Number One]

[Yoo Ara, once an ally, is now an enemy. Lee Seo-jun, once an enemy, is now an ally. Can Kim Sunwoo truly become the icon of victory?]

[Kim Sunwoo, Realistically Very Unlikely to Participate in the Sacred Martial Festival]

……

After school.

I was lying comfortably on my bed, checking internet news articles.

After doing interviews with dozens of reporters, as expected, the buzz was huge.

No matter which news category I clicked on, the name “Kim Sunwoo” appeared right at the top.

Of course, this wasn’t purely because of interest in me. A big factor was the rivalry narrative of Lee Seo-jun vs. Yoo Ara.

It was a long-standing dynamic that had continued since last year. But with my recent involvement, a major upset occurred—Yoo Ara came out victorious in the rivalry.

I closed the article and accessed the school’s community site.

━━
<Forest of the Great Sage – Anonymous Board>

[Do you think Kim Sunwoo can make top 5 overall? I have a feeling he will, lol]

[I think it’s possible. I’ve been watching him lately, and I seriously think he’s on par with Lee Seo-jun.]

[On par with Lee Seo-jun, lol. So many followers of the Church of Kim Sunwoo these days. Is this a religion or what?]

[With Park Inhwan getting eliminated early, I don’t think he’ll make top 5.]

[Agreed. And how do you even get 60 kills without wide-area magic? You’d need AOE magic on Yoo Ara’s level for that, lol.]

━━

The school community was also buzzing with talk about me.

There were plenty of negative comments, but also some embarrassingly worshipful ones.

Well, I try not to let it get to me.

[15,210 people are placing high expectations on you.]

[You have received 20,000 points as a reward.]

Thanks to that, I gained a full 20,000 points.

That completes my goal. Time to finally buy Rain of Mana.

[You have purchased ‘Rain of Mana (S)’]

A bright light appeared before my eyes and settled into my body.

Instinctively, I learned how to use it in the form of a torrential downpour.

Satisfied, I smiled and returned to the internet to check another article.

[1 Billion Monster Locusts Swarm… East Africa Devastated]          *Locusts are a type of grasshopper.

A monster locust swarm attack.

Just like the locust plagues that occurred back in my original world, this world also suffers from such infestations.

Of course, these aren’t ordinary locusts.

They’re monster locusts.

They’re five times larger than normal and use their sharp teeth to devour humans.

They’re a kind of “field boss,” a calamity that strikes various parts of the world.

“East Africa, huh…”

It’s a bit—actually, very—far from Korea, but with a portal gate, I could get there instantly.

And considering their numbers, it would be perfect to test out Rain of Mana.

“Should I go this weekend?”

It’d be tough to test this ability in Korea anyway. And with the sheer number of locusts, I’ll definitely get to gauge its power.

“Yeah, let’s do it.”

I immediately booked a departure gate.

---

Sunday.

A flag bearing a sword emblem crossing a massive shield fluttered across the blazing desert.

The emblem belonged to Tu Wang, one of the world’s top 10 guilds.

Tu Wang Guild had come to deal with the monster locust swarm that was devastating East Africa.

“Man, it’s freezing in Korea, but here it’s boiling.”

One of the guild members muttered while sweating heavily.

Hearing this, Jeon Chanwon, a guild executive, nodded.

“Hey, you. You’re an ice-type mage, right? It’s hot as hell—make some ice.”

“Ah, yes sir.”

The guild member conjured ice.

Though the heat made it hard to maintain its usual form, the chill was real.

Chanwon took the ice, slipped it under his shirt, and rubbed it across his body.

“Ahh. That’s better.”

Just then, a figure appeared in the distance.

Chanwon narrowed his eyes to get a better look.

It was an East Asian man—not someone commonly seen in Africa.

As the man got closer, Chanwon greeted him warmly.

“Hello? You’re Korean, right?”

“…Ah, yes.”

The man nodded.

Chanwon studied him. A youthful face… with an oddly out-of-place mustache.

He looked vaguely familiar.

Then it clicked.

“Oh? Weren’t you the guy I ran into at the Ganghwa-do monster field? I think you said your name was Kim Jinwoo?”

The man stared blankly at Chanwon, then glanced at the Tu Wang flag. He nodded in recognition.

“Ah, I remember now. You’re the guy who spoke informally to me the first time we met.”

“Huh? What did you just say?”

“Nothing.”

“…Well, whatever. So what brings you here?”

“Just some personal business.”

“Yeah?”

Chanwon was curious, but since the man clearly didn’t want to talk, he just nodded.

“You seem busy. We’ve got work too, so see you around.”

“…Then I’ll be on my way.”

With that, the man disappeared.

“Who was that?” a nearby guild member asked.

Chanwon stared at the retreating figure and replied:

“Someone I met at the Ganghwa-do monster field.”

“You mean when you took down the field boss?”

“Yeah, that’s the one. Remember how that weird beam of light restrained the boss?”

“Of course I remember. It was so crazy, we kept talking about it in the mage community, but no one believed us.”

“Heh. Not surprising. It was pretty unbelievable.”

A beam of light binding the entire body of a massive field monster.

Chanwon still couldn’t forget that spell.

He’d been on the front lines for 30 years and never seen anything like it.

Who on earth cast that spell?

If he could just find out who it was, he’d do whatever it took to recruit them into Tu Wang Guild.

“Anyway, enough about the past. Let’s get to work.”

“Yes, sir!”

The Tu Wang Guild resumed walking toward their destination.

After about five minutes…

“…We should be seeing something soon.”

“Oh! Over there!”

One guild member pointed with wide eyes. Chanwon followed the gesture.

“What… what the hell is that?!”

At the end of the pointing finger were tens of thousands of locust corpses.

---

TL : Hey everyone, our AdSense was recently suspended, so please support us by becoming a Patreon member.  LINK

Tuesday, 8:30 a.m.

From early in the morning, the students were checking the team list posted on their smart student notebooks.

━━
[Team A]
<Captain> Kim Chang-hyun (3rd year, 1st place)
Lee Hyun-joo (2nd year, 4th place), Yoon Hayoung (2nd year, 22nd place)
Jeon Min-gi (1st year, 2nd place)
……
━━
[Team B]
<Captain> Lee Seo-jun (2nd year, 1st place)
Jang Soo-yeon (3rd year, 2nd place)
Kim Sunwoo (2nd year, 9th place)
……
━━
[Team C]
<Captain> Choi Seo-yoon (1st year, 1st place)
Yoo Ara (2nd year, 2nd place), Shin Young-joon (2nd year, 3rd place), Park Inhwan (2nd year, 5th place)
……
━━

“The team balance looks pretty even.”

“Looks like they picked the top student from each grade as the captain.”

“Then wouldn’t Choi Seo-yoon’s team be at a disadvantage? She’s only a first-year.”

“Yeah, but her team is stacked with top-ranked second-years. Idiot.”

At that moment, the classroom door slid open and Yoo Ara walked in.

As she sat down, Shin Young-joon approached her with a smile.

“Hey, Yoo Ara. You’re on Team C with me, right?”

Yoo Ara nodded at his words.

“Yeah. I was a little worried since there are a lot of manifestation-type mages on our team, but I’m glad you’re in it.”

Team C, Yoo Ara’s team, had many manifestation-type mages.

Of course, since the upcoming battle would involve over a hundred participants, having more mages capable of large-scale area attacks was definitely advantageous.

But Yoo Ara’s team had too many of them.

Among the top-tier students in Team C—Yoo Ara, Choi Seo-yoon, and Park Inhwan—all three were manifestation-types.

“We do have a lot of manifestation-types, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing. We can reduce the enemy numbers quickly. And look at Team B—their balance is a total mess.”

Team B.

The team that included Lee Seo-jun and Kim Sunwoo—whom Yoo Ara was the most wary of.

She hadn’t expected those two to end up on the same team, which made her even more uneasy.

The only silver lining was, as Shin Young-joon had said, their team’s balance was a disaster.

In Team B, the top students were Lee Seo-jun and Jang Soo-yeon, both enhancement-type mages.

And while Kim Sunwoo was a manifestation-type, his combat style didn’t suit large-scale battles.

He specialized more in one-on-one fights, unlike typical manifestation mages.

“Still, we can’t underestimate them. Both Lee Seo-jun and Kim Sunwoo are the kind of guys you can’t read the limits of.”

“True. Lee Seo-jun’s a complete lunatic. And Kim Sunwoo—he’s been on a crazy streak lately.”

Shin Young-joon muttered as he glanced at Kim Sunwoo’s empty seat.

“Hey, when are we having the Team C strategy meeting?”

Park Inhwan interjected between Yoo Ara and Shin Young-joon.

“What’s gotten into you, Inhwan? Since when are you so proactive?”

Shin Young-joon said mockingly, and Park Inhwan frowned.

“Why do you think? It’s an exam—I’m serious about it.”

“Oh, I get it. You saw that article, didn’t you? Heh.”

Shin Young-joon chuckled, and Park Inhwan’s frown deepened in irritation.

Not understanding what they were talking about, Yoo Ara looked at them curiously.

Shin Young-joon pulled up an article on his smart student notebook and showed it to her.

[16 Days Until the Korean Mage Academy’s Final Exams. Will Rising Star Kim Sunwoo Overtake Park Inhwan to Join the Sacred Martial Festival?]

“…Ah.”

Seeing the article, Yoo Ara immediately understood.

After the finals, the participants for next year’s Sacred Martial Festival would be confirmed.

The top four had already secured their spots with overwhelming scores.

The remaining spot was the 5th rank—currently held by Park Inhwan.

Depending on the results of this exam, the final participant could very well change.

“So that’s why you’re suddenly so proactive—you’re afraid of losing your 5th place?”

“L-Lose? No way I’m losing it! Just watch. I’m keeping that spot no matter what!”

Park Inhwan shouted. Shin Young-joon gave a small laugh and said:

“But what rank is Kim Sunwoo now for an article like that to even come out? I doubt he’s in the top ten.”

“Ninth.”

Yoo Ara’s answer made Shin Young-joon’s eyes widen in shock.

“Whoa. He’s ninth? Wasn’t he like 150th last semester? That rise is insane.”

Shin Young-joon shook his head in disbelief.

“Still, getting to fifth will be tough. Jumping from ninth to fifth isn’t something you can do just by having your team win.”

“Winning is the bare minimum. He’ll need to rack up a massive personal score too.”

“But can he really do that? He’s not like you—he’s not specialized in large-scale combat. And he’s not even the team leader, so he won’t get those bonus points either. I don’t think he’s got a shot this time.”

Yoo Ara nodded, agreeing with Shin Young-joon’s negative outlook.

The odds were definitely against him.

Climbing from 50th to 10th was one thing—but going from 9th to 5th was several times harder.

And this team battle format placed Kim Sunwoo at a disadvantage in almost every way.

“…Still. If it’s Kim Sunwoo, you never know.”

Yoo Ara whispered quietly.

He was someone who had always defied expectations and created twists even in the worst conditions.

Just like before, he might pull off another miracle and break into the top five.

Slide—

Just then, the door opened, and Kim Sunwoo entered the classroom.

Behind him were Lee Seo-jun and Lee Hyun-joo.

It looked like they’d run into each other on the way to school.

Yoo Ara sat still, staring at Kim Sunwoo.

As if sensing her gaze, Kim Sunwoo met her eyes.

Then, with a faint smirk, he turned his gaze out the window.

“…What the heck.”

Was that a provocation?

Yoo Ara clenched her fist tightly.

She wouldn’t lose. No matter what, she wouldn’t lose.

Yoo Ara’s determination burned even more.

---

“So, which team do you think will take first place this time?”

Lunch time.

The teachers, having finished their meals, were gathered in one spot, enjoying drinks and taking a break.

The topic of conversation, of course, was the upcoming final exam’s “All-Year Combined Captain’s Match.”

It had long been a tradition in the Mage Academy’s faculty office to place bets on the team rankings of the second semester’s final exam.

“I’m going with Team A.”

“Same here.”

Two teachers put slips with their names into the glass box labelled [Team A].

Seeing that, several other teachers followed suit and dropped their slips into the [Team A] box as well.

“Lots of votes for Team A, as expected. Heh.”

“They’re the safe bet.”

The reason most teachers chose Team A was simple.

It had the best balance, with mages from various classes of magic.

And Kim Chang-hyun, the top third-year student, was part of it too.

“There’s some anticipation around Seo-jun and Sunwoo, but third-years experience and composure are hard to beat.”

“I heard Chang-hyun is really fired up this time. It’s his final exam before graduation, after all.”

Kim Chang-hyun.

Currently the undisputed number one third-year student, he had never lost the top spot in test scores since entering the academy.

In fact, Lee Seo-jun was also expected to maintain a similar undefeated record, but in the last Captain’s Match, he was narrowly beaten by Yoo Ara and Kim Sunwoo’s team and came in second.

“A match-up between Chang-hyun and Seo-jun, huh. That’s definitely exciting. Normally, I’d bet on the third-year, but Seo-jun’s special, isn’t he?”

“Even so, it might be tough for Seo-jun this time. His team has a lot of close-combat mages, and as a reinforcement-type himself—and the ‘captain’—he won’t be able to participate in fights easily.”

A teacher who had been quietly listening finally spoke up.

“The highest-ranking student being revealed as the ‘captain’—that’s a bad move for Team B.”

“In the end, it all comes down to this—can a team overcome its weakness?”

Team weaknesses.

At a glance, the teams looked balanced, but a closer look revealed fatal flaws in each.

Team A had strong top-tier students, but their lower-tier members were generally weaker than average.

Team B leaned too heavily into close-combat.

Team C leaned too much into long-range combat.

The team that overcame its weakness would take first place.

“When you consider all that, Team B definitely has it the hardest. Not being able to do area of effect attacks in multi-member battles is a big handicap.”

“Exactly. That’s why I think Team C—with Yoo Ara—is guaranteed to win.”

One teacher said this while placing a slip into the [Team C] box.

“Me too. In this kind of test, Yoo Ara’s basically a cheat code.”

Another teacher added their vote to Team C. The glass boxes for Teams A and C steadily filled up with slips.

In contrast, Team B’s glass box remained empty.

Then, Lee Hee-young, who had been quietly listening, put her slip into Team B’s box.

“I’m still voting for Team B!”

The teachers turned to Hee-young in surprise at her unexpected move.

“Classic Hee-young. Voting out of pure Sunwoo bias.”

“Ahem! I voted with cold, objective judgment, thank you very much.”

“Come on. Team B’s in a tough spot. Sunwoo’s impressive, sure, but he’s pretty much specialized for one-on-one battles…”

Hee-young let out a small laugh.

“Sunwoo and Seo-jun are on the same team and you’re not voting for them? You guys are still naive. Half baked analysis doesn’t mean anything, folks.”

There was a strong note of confidence in Hee-young’s voice.

---

Afternoon, after all classes had ended.

I was sitting in the classroom with Lee Seo-jun, talking about the necromancy notes we found in the “research journal” yesterday.

“You need six Mysteries to use necromancy. Two of them are known to be in someone else’s possession.”

I explained to Seo-jun what I’d learned from my own research and from the original story.

He nodded along, listening to me.

“The biggest problem is the ‘Dreamcatcher Mana Crystal.’ It’s owned by the French National Museum, and from what I found, they don’t do loans.”

Seo-jun nodded seriously at my words.

“Hmm… owned by a museum, huh. That’s definitely going to be tricky.”

“There are two ways. Either we find a substitute item, or we offer something of equal or greater value in trade.”

Seo-jun crossed his arms and fell into deep thought. Then he glanced at me.

“…You really did a lot of research in just one day. You seem more driven than me.”

I flinched slightly.

It was all stuff we’d have to go through eventually.

I just figured it’d be easier if I prepared in advance rather than waste time fumbling later. But I guess from Seo-jun’s point of view, I might look a little strange.

“I didn’t have much else to do. And I’ve always been interested in Mysteries anyway.”

Seo-jun nodded. Mages being interested in Mysteries wasn’t unusual, so he didn’t seem too suspicious.

“Yeah, it shows. You know quite a bit, surprisingly. But don’t get too deep into it. You know how dangerous it is.”

“Don’t worry about that. Anyway, with the Dreamcatcher, a substitute’s not really viable, so let’s focus on negotiating a trade.”

“Yeah, I think that’s the better route too. A trade gives us way more options. So, when do we start collecting the Mysteries?”

“With finals right around the corner, let’s wait until the exam’s over.”

Seo-jun nodded.

“Okay. Oh, right. By the way, Sunwoo—are you aiming for the Holy Warrior title this time?”

I fell silent for a moment at Seo-jun’s question. Then I nodded.

“Yeah.”

“Really? I looked at the team lineups, and it seems like you’ve got a tough road ahead.”

I quickly realized what he was getting at.

I’d already heard the talk among the students—that Team B had the worst odds.

The reason? Lack of area of effect magic.

In large-scale battles, the absence of AOE spells is definitely a disadvantage.

Even I’d been thinking about it just last night.

But not anymore.

“It’s because of the AOE magic, right?”

“Yeah. That’s the main thing I need to figure out…”

“Don’t worry about that.”

“Huh?”

Seo-jun looked at me with a puzzled expression. I smiled confidently.

“I’ll handle the AOE combat part.”

I already knew exactly where to spend my points.

As soon as we stepped inside, just like last time, the illusion barrier activated.

At the same time, my vision blurred momentarily, and strange sounds rang in my ears.

When I quickly came to my senses, the illusion spell contained in the barrier disappeared.

It wasn’t because I had used the illusion severance effect.

It was because the illusion barrier was created by the Eunwol clan, and my 90% illusion resistance allowed me to endure it.

“Visiting the Eunwol clan really was the right call. It’s much easier than before.”

Perhaps feeling the same way, Lee Seo-jun muttered quietly beside me. I nodded instead of answering.

We continued walking down the long hallway. After about three minutes, the illusions gradually grew stronger.

“The illusion spell’s getting stronger…”

“If it’s too much, use the Eunwol Illusion Severance.”

At my words, Lee Seo-jun looked at me with a curious expression.

“…You seem fine though?”

“I can handle it.”

The ‘Eunwol Illusion Break’ I possessed was integrated with my illusion resistance trait and was ranked S-class.

Naturally, my illusion resistance was much higher.

Unaware of that, Lee Seo-jun looked at me as if he found it fascinating.

[Character ‘Lee Seo-jun’ feels a slight sense of competition with you.]

[You have gained 500 points as a reward.]

…What the heck.

He sure gets competitive over the smallest things.

“Really? Then I’ll use it.”

Lee Seo-jun gently closed his eyes and emitted mana throughout his body.

Though similar in form to protective energy reinforcement, this required more delicate control since it was meant to protect the mind.

The illusion severance must have activated properly—Lee Seo-jun opened his eyes looking much more at ease.

“Whew… That’s better.”

I gave a small smile as I looked at him.

“Good? Then let’s go.”

We resumed walking down the hallway. At the end, there was a narrow staircase leading underground.

Descending the stairs, we saw a small iron door.

“This must be it.”

“Yeah. Let’s open it.”

Creeeak…

As we opened the door and stepped inside, the illusion magic surrounding our bodies vanished.

At the same time, a lighting artifact activated, brightly lightning up the room.

“Oh…”

[You have achieved the ‘Seeker of Traces’ achievement.]
[You have gained 3,000 points as a reward.]

[You are deeply intervening in the main story.]
[You have gained 2,000 points as a reward.]

Just by entering the hideout, I earned two separate point rewards.

The achievement made sense, but this was the first time I had received a separate reward for intervening in the main story.

Lee Seo-jun and I looked around the room.

It resembled an ordinary magic research lab.

It hadn’t been used in a long time—dust covered everything.

Then I spotted a plaque on the wall that read [Mystic Research Society].

“Look at that nameplate.”

When I pointed it out, Lee Seo-jun looked intrigued.

“The Mystic Research Society… This must be the hideout mentioned in Eun Seol-ah’s mother’s diary.”

“Yeah, seems like it.”

According to the original story, this place should contain Jin Cheonwoo’s research journal.

While pretending to look around, I searched for the journal.

Soon, I found a desk drawer.

There was a simple barrier cast on it, but something like that posed no problem for me.

I disabled the barrier and opened the drawer, and just as I expected, there was an old book inside.

━━
[Mysterious Book (Artifact)]
Category: Book
Description: A mysterious book that reacts to mana
━━

I examined the cover of the book.

“Mystery Research Journal…”

At my soft murmur, Lee Seo-jun approached.

“What’s that?”

“It says it’s a Mystery Research Journal.”

I checked the contents of the book. As the title suggested, it was filled with research about mysteries.

Lee Seo-jun, reading beside me, opened his mouth.

“This handwriting… It’s the same as in the book in my grandfather’s study. It’s sloppy, but unusual enough to remember.”

At Lee Seo-jun’s words, I nodded and looked at the book again.

This was one of three journals owned by Jin Cheonwoo.

And this was the second one.

Incidentally, the third journal was in Jaun’s possession, but that one was a replica.

“Is that so? This book… seems to be a journal written by Jin Cheonwoo.”

At my words, Lee Seo-jun tilted his head in confusion.

“How do you know that?”

“His name is written right here.”

I pointed to the small text at the bottom of the book: ‘Author: Jin Cheonwoo’.

“Oh, you’re right. So the one in Grandpa’s study was written by him too, then.”

“Enough about that. Let’s check the contents.”

Together, we examined the journal.

It contained stories about mysteries and research into them.

Predictably, it included research aimed at creating an immortality spell—what kind of mystery would be required, and so on.

Now that we had confirmed most of the contents…

It was time to activate the book’s hidden power.

Naturally, I handed the book over to Lee Seo-jun.

He accepted it without suspicion and continued reading.

That’s when it happened.

Vwoooong!

With a surge of powerful mana, light burst from the book.

Flash!

“…What is this?”

Lee Seo-jun stared at the book with a dazed expression.

I approached him, pretending not to know what was happening.

“Looks like there was some kind of mechanism in the book. Maybe it’s a magic tool?”

“If it is, I don’t see any real change, though.”

I flipped through the pages of the book that Lee Seo-jun was holding.

Then, letters glowing with a soft blue light appeared.

A faint trace of mana—no, a mysterious energy—was emanating from the letters.

“This is it. These letters weren’t here before.”

When I pointed at the glowing text, Lee Seo-jun nodded.

“A hidden message… That’s amazing.”

Together, we read the words that had emerged from the mystery.

[I have always wanted to transcend the limits of humanity.]

[The limits of being human. To surpass them, one must first overcome the inescapable ‘death.’]

[But no human has ever conquered death. Many researchers of mysteries claim that an immortality spell exists. But not a single one has discovered how.]

[But I found it. Through a very special method.]

“He’s been obsessed with immortality for a while, hasn’t he?”

Lee Seo-jun muttered quietly.

“He had a lot of power. Probably came with a lot of greed.”

“Power doesn’t necessarily mean obsession. My grandfather was strong too, but he never fixated on immortality.”

I nodded at Seo-jun’s words.

“True. Guess it’s just a matter of personality.”

Seo-jun gave me a sideways glance and asked,

“…By the way, do you want to be immortal too?”

“Immortal?”

“Yeah.”

Immortality…

I wasn’t sure. If it were free, maybe I’d take it. But it also sounded lonely.

“Not sure. I guess I don’t really know.”

At my answer, Seo-jun nodded, not thinking much of it. Then we turned our attention back to the next part of the journal.

[The method I found for immortality turned out to be surprisingly simple.]

[All I had to do was ask the Mystery. The Mystery knew everything in this world. If the spell for immortality existed, the Mystery would surely know how.]

A conversation with the Mystery.

It reminded me of what I experienced during the Eunwol Clan’s trial.

[After much trial and error, I got the chance to speak with the Mystery.]

[The Mystery knew countless things—not just the spell for immortality, but many other spells worthy of being called ‘mysteries.’]

[The Mystery demanded a price for this information. I was surprised by what it wanted at first, but I accepted.]

Lee Seo-jun read through it, visibly startled.

“…He asked the Mystery for information?”

His surprise made sense. The Mystery didn’t speak unless it was interested in someone. Jin Cheonwoo must have recognized his own uniqueness, which gave him the confidence to approach the Mystery.

“That’s an original approach. Asking the Mystery about something unknown…”

I already knew all of this, but pretended to be intrigued.

Seo-jun nodded in agreement. We flipped to the next page, but there was no further narrative.

“Looks like that’s the end.”

The rest of the book contained information about the Mystery and various unique spells.

How to obtain the immortality spell.

How to revive a dead body.

How to summon a soul.

How to speak with the Mystery, etc.

“In the end, we didn’t really gain anything concrete from this.”

“I think the book itself is quite valuable. All the contents came from the Mystery, after all.”

“You’re right. Still, I didn’t expect Jin Cheonwoo to have made a deal with the Mystery…”

Lee Seo-jun muttered seriously, then continued.

“Do you think there’s anything in this research journal we can actually use? These spells should all be usable, right?”

“There should be. Some of them seem practical.”

Lee Seo-jun pointed to a section of the page while deep in thought.

“What about this one?”

[Necromancy]

I couldn’t help but smile inwardly at his choice.

Even in the original story, necromancy was the first thing Lee Seo-jun tried after finding the journal.

“Necromancy, huh. Is there someone you want to summon?”

Without hesitation, he replied,

“Jin Cheonwoo.”

---

After finishing our time at Jin Cheonwoo’s hideout, Seo-jun and I made our way down the mountain.

“At least we didn’t came empty-handed.”

Seo-jun muttered as he trudged down the slope.

“Yeah.”

“But that research journal… no matter how much I read it, I don’t get it. I don’t even know where to find the materials needed for necromancy.”

“Well, we’ll have to figure it out slowly from here. Judging by what I saw, all the materials seem to be Mysteries.”

“This’ll take a while to track down, won’t it?”

Definitely.

We wouldn’t find them all before the year was out.

My plan was to gather as many of the Mystery materials as possible with Seo-jun over winter break.

“Probably. And we also need to consider the possibility that someone else already owns some of the materials.”

At that, Seo-jun stopped walking.

“…I didn’t think about that. What do we do if someone else already has them?”

“Buy them. We can’t exactly steal them like Jin Cheonwoo did.”

“Ugh. The future’s already looking bleak.”

Seo-jun sighed deeply.

We continued down the mountain in silence.

Eventually, I glanced at the time on my wrist.

It was already 9 p.m.

I suddenly wondered what Gretel was up to.

Since the effect of the ‘Mysterious Demonic Fruit’ depended on her mood, I wanted to make sure she was in good spirits.

Maybe I should buy something tasty on the way.

Come to think of it, I hadn’t spent much time with her lately. Maybe we should play a round of Jenga tonight.

Just as I was thinking about Gretel, it happened.

Ding!

Both mine and Seo-jun’s smart student planners rang from our pockets.

“What’s that? We both got alerts at the same time.”

Seo-jun glanced down and muttered.

“Remember? The final grand team match announcement was set for 9 today.”

“Oh, right.”

I checked my planner.

My fingers trembled slightly from nerves as I tapped to view the team list.

Who would I be grouped with…?

Since each team had over a hundred members, it’d be best if I had allies skilled in wide-area magic.

Like Yoo Ara, for example. She may be ranked second, but talent-wise, she was right behind Seo-jun on a global scale.

I accessed the homepage and clicked the team roster.

---

[Final Match Team List – All Grades]
…
…

---

Names began to flood the screen.

I used the ‘Find Name’ function to search for mine.

[Kim Sunwoo: Team B]

“I’m in Team B. What about you?”

“Me? Hold on. Why is this list so long—?”

Seo-jun kept scrolling, grumbling as he searched.

“Idiot. Just use the ‘Find Name’ feature.”

“Oh.”

“‘Oh’? Seriously?”

He was surprisingly bad with tech. Or maybe not bad—just the type who only cared about swords.

Just then, Seo-jun’s scrolling fingers stopped.

“Found it.”

“Which team?”

He looked up at me and grinned.

“I’m in Team B too.”

Monday afternoon, the start of a brand-new week.

With all the regular classes over, it was time for elective activity.

The activity I chose was Herbology.

I headed to the large lecture hall on the third floor of the main building.

Creak.

As I opened the door, I saw students seated around the room.

Among them were quite a few unfamiliar faces. Actually, “most” might be more accurate.

“Hey, isn’t that Senior Kim Sunwoo?”

“Yeah, I think it is.”

As I walked into the classroom, I heard whispers and saw glances shot my way.

All the stares came from first-years.

Because of scheduling conflicts, elective activities sometimes mixed different years and sections together like this.

I sat down in an empty seat, and the first-years stared at me with curious eyes.

What’s so fascinating?

Feels like I’m an animal in a zoo or something.

“Hm…”

Sitting there, I started to feel bored.

It would’ve been nice to have at least one familiar face. It’s kind of lonely.

I had heard Yoo Ara and Yoon Hayoung went to take a course on the History of Classical Magic.

Lee Seo-jun and Shin Young-joon were supposedly heading to a Magi-tech class.

No matter what, that class is way too boring. I really don’t get how they can sit through that.

As I gathered my thoughts, I decided to kill some time by checking out the point shop.

I’d saved up some points, so I figured I’d do a little window shopping.

[You have entered the Point Shop.]

[Current Points: 101,200]

“Hm…”

As I browsed the point shop, my current point balance suddenly caught my eye.

A hundred thousand points.

I’ve thought this before, but if I hadn’t spent on consumable “special” items like the Concealment Elixir or the Demon Detection Compass, I’d have even more points saved.

With the amount I’ve already used, I could’ve bought at least one S-rank trait.

Tsk. Well, it is what it is.

I needed them for safety. The Concealment Elixir is just too effective to pass up.

Chatter, chatter…

While I was browsing, a commotion started behind me.

Curious, I turned around and spotted Choi Seo-yoon surrounded by a crowd of students.

“Huh?”

At that moment, her gaze met mine.

“Sunbae-nim?”

Choi Seo-yoon called out to me and then said,

“Guys, I’m heading out!”

“Huh? Where are you going?”

She slipped away from the group and came toward me, then sat down next to me with a smile.

The students behind us stared at us with curious eyes.

“Sunbae-nim, you chose Herbology too?”

“…Yeah. Didn’t know you were taking it too.”

“Yup. I’m interested in the subject.”

She smiled brightly, looking pleased.

“Oh, right. You heard about it, right, sunbae?”

“Heard about what?”

“The team announcement for the Captain’s Match today.”

“Ah.”

The Captain’s Match team announcement.

It referred to the upcoming “All-Year Combined Captain’s Match” being held as the final exam.

Students are split into three teams, balanced based on year and grades.

“They said the announcement is at 9 p.m. tonight, right?”

“Yeah, they’ll notify us by message.”

“Wonder what the teams will look like…”

To make the top five, we have to come in first.

To be first, I need solid teammates.

Having more third-years—who’ve got experience—would definitely be an advantage over first or second years.

“Oh, right, sunbae-nim, by any chance…”

Just then—

Creak.

The door opened, and Lee Seo-jun and Shin Young-joon came in.

“Huh? Kim Sunwoo, you’re in Herbology too?”

Lee Seo-jun looked surprised to see me.

Then he turned to Choi Seo-yoon, who was sitting next to me.

“Seo-yoon’s here too.”

“Ah, hello.”

Choi Seo-yoon gave a slight bow after glancing at me nervously.

I looked at Lee Seo-jun with confusion.

Why was he here?

“Weren’t you taking the Magi-tech class?”

“Ah, well…”

Before he could finish, Shin Young-joon cut in.

“I accidentally messed up the registration, heh.”

“…”

Considering it’s Shin Young-joon, I could totally believe that.

Lee Seo-jun and Shin Young-joon naturally took the seats beside me.

Before I knew it, I was surrounded by a bunch of campus celebrities.

“Oh, right. Hey, Kim Sunwoo. Did you see that?”

Shin Young-joon put a Herbology textbook on the desk and asked.

“See what?”

“The survey in Daesup.”

Daesup, short for “The Forest of the Great Sage,” is the online community for the Korean Mage Academy.

Almost all students use it, and posts go up constantly.

Not that I use it much.

Most of the content is useless, and I don’t relate to it.

I do log into the pro mage community once in a while to check for news, though.

“What kind of survey was it?”

“A popularity poll for the Captain’s Match team picks.”

Right. They had something like that in my previous life too.

“Bet Seo-jun came in first, no surprise.”

Hearing that, Seo-jun gave a awkward smile.

He wasn’t denying it. He knows he’s good. Tsk.

At my comment, Shin Young-joon chuckled and continued,

“Yeah, Seo-jun took first. Want to guess second and third?”

“Second is Choi Seo-yoon.”

When I said her name, she looked at me with wide eyes.

But it’s no surprise she’s second.

She’s talented, pretty, and has a great personality.

I’m sure tons of the guys voted for her.

There’s Yoo Ara too, but she intimidates a lot of students with her personality.

“Third must be Kim Chang-hyun.”

“It’s Senior Kim Chang-hyun. Geez, Kim Sunwoo, show some respect.”

Shin Young-joon shook his head in disappointment.

“Same difference. He’s barely older than us.”

“Oh? Then can I talk casually to you too, sunbae-nim?”

Choi Seo-yoon suddenly jumped in.

I paused to think. Talk casually? Well…

“No way. You think you’re on my level or something?”

At my words, she muttered just loud enough to hear—

“…Boomer.”

Boomer? What the hell. I’m not a—

[You’ve unlocked the achievement: “Boomer.”]

[You’ve earned 1,000 points as a reward.]

“……”

What the hell is this?

While I was still stunned by the sudden achievement notification, Choi Seo-yoon spoke again.

“Then if not ‘sunbae-nim,’ what other title would you prefer?”

“What do you mean, ‘what other title’?”

“Uh… like, oppa… maybe…?”

Choi Seo-yoon stuttered shyly, clearly embarrassed. Her awkwardness made me feel strangely self-conscious too.

“……Just call me ‘sunbae-nim.’”

“Even after graduation?”

“Yeah. Forever.”

“Won’t that seem weird to other people?”

“Still, don’t change it.”

“I don’t want to.”

“…You’re really trying to talk down to me, huh? Watch yourself.”

“Che.”

Choi Seo-yoon pouted.

Shin Young-joon looked at the two of us and grinned mischievously.

“What’s going on with you two? You guys are kinda cute.”

“…What are you even saying?”

“Anyway, you were right that Seo-yoon is second. But third? Nope.”

I frowned at Shin Young-joon’s comment.

It’s not Kim Chang-hyun?

“Then is it Yoo Ara?”

At my guess, Shin Young-joon chuckled.

He pulled out his smart student notebook and showed it to me.

━━
Popularity Survey
1st. Lee Seo-jun (35%)
2nd. Choi Seo-yoon (19%)
3rd. Kim Sunwoo (18%)
4th. Kim Chang-hyun (14%)
……
……
━━

What the…

…I’m third?

---

Time flew by after that. The elective class ended, followed by physical training and a theory lecture, and with that, the school day was officially over.

Time passed again, and the after-school 1:1 combat training session began.

Choi Ilhyeon, whom I hadn’t seen in a while, returned even more brutal than before. Saying we had skipped duels for a few days, he relentlessly pushed me to the edge.

Even with all sorts of recovery-type traits stacked on me, my body trembled as if all my muscles were tearing apart once we were done.

On top of that, I hit full mana exhaustion.

[You’ve gained a small insight through the duel.]

[Your mana control proficiency has increased by 0.5%.]

[Your stamina and mana have increased by 0.1.]

“Your stamina went up a tiny bit. A real tiny bit.”

Choi Ilhyeon looked at me and clucked his tongue, arms crossed.

I had gone all in, but couldn’t even lay a finger on him.

Well, he is one of the world’s top-ranked mages.

With my mana level hovering between B and A-rank, he’s not someone I can realistically challenge.

Still, it stings.

“……Haaah! Haaah!”

I collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath. My heart pounded like crazy.

“That’s it for today. We’ll continue next time. But hey, are you even able to move? I pushed you kinda hard today.”

“……I’m fine.”

“No, I’m seriously asking. You’re in mana exhaustion right now.”

“……Huuuuh!”

I took a deep breath and stood up.

My legs were shaky, but hey—these traits aren’t just for show.

In just a short moment, I had already recovered a good amount of stamina.

“……See? I can still move.”

Choi Ilhyeon gave me a look like he was fed up.

“I’ve thought this before, but you’re one stubborn guy. It’s impressive.”

“What is?”

“Every time I see you, your mental toughness stands out. And you seem to have a pretty fast recovery rate too.”

He continued.

“Quick recovery is a rare talent. It means you can endure way more training.”

He wasn’t wrong.

“Since today’s training didn’t break you, I’ll push you even harder next time.”

Choi Ilhyeon said with a chilling smile.

“……”

“You gotta suffer at least this much to grow. Oh, and one more thing.”

He looked me straight in the eye.

“Your martial arts seem decent enough now, so starting next week, I’ll teach you magic.”

“Magic?”

“Yeah. We’ll begin with the basics, like manifestation techniques, and then move on to some applied spells from the projection system.”

Learning applied projection spells from Choi Ilhyeon…

He’s known for his practical mastery of magic—no fluff, just effectiveness.

Just imagining being taught by him made my heart race.

You can never go wrong learning a new technique.

“Yes, sir. Then, I have something planned, so I’ll head out now.”

“Alright.”

I gave him a final bow and left the school training center.

It was now 8 PM.

My next destination: the mountain behind the school.

When I arrived, Lee Seo-jun waved at me under the dark sky.

“Kim Sunwoo!”

“Have you been waiting long?”

“Nah, I just got here too.”

“Cool. We don’t have much time, so let’s go.”

“Yeah.”

Lee Seo-jun and I began climbing toward Jin Cheonwoo’s hideout.

Since we had been there once before, getting back was easier and faster.

Eventually, the entrance came into view.

Just like before—the illusion barrier at the start of the path.

Nothing had changed.

“This is kinda nerve-racking…”

Lee Seo-jun muttered quietly.

I reassured him.

“Nothing to be nervous about. You’ve learned Eunwol Illusion Break, right?”

“…That’s true.”

“Then let’s head in.”

“Yeah.”

I stepped into the illusion barrier—the heart of the main story.

A small villa located somewhere in Northern Europe.

On the surface, it looked like an ordinary vacation home, but in reality, it was one of the secret hideouts of the terrorist group, Jaun.

And today.

All of Jaun’s companions, who had been scattered around the world carrying out their missions, had gathered here.

“Bert~ Been doing well?”

The door burst open, and a black-haired East Asian woman, Lee Cheong, waved her hand as she approached Bert.

“I’ve been good. Did your mission in Japan go well?”

“Yeah. The power base has stabilized to some extent, and there shouldn’t be any problems funding our operations.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“How about you, Bert? Your recent mission was to go after the Heart of the Beast, right?”

“I completed it successfully. I even secured the Heart of the Beast.”

Bert pointed to the “Heart of the Beast” placed on the table behind her.

“Wow. So this is the Heart of the Beast. Fascinating.”

Lee Cheong stared at the heart on the table, intrigued.

Though it was the heart of a dead monster, it was still pulsing as if alive.

“Was it difficult to kill the beast?”

“Not really, but the charging time for the Grand Mage Purifier took longer than expected, so that was a bit of a hassle.”

At Bert’s words, Lee Cheong’s eyes sparkled.

“Wow, so you actually used the Grand Mage Purifier? How was it? Is it really as powerful as the legends say?”

“If even a disaster-class monster couldn’t withstand it, then yeah, the firepower is incredible. Honestly, I think if you aim it right, you could kill anything in a single shot.”

“That strong? I’m so bummed I didn’t get to see it in action.”

As Lee Cheong and Bert continued chatting, Baek Eun-seong inserted himself between them with a mocking tone.

“Bummed? Come on. Compared to the hell we went through, bossing people around in Japan sounds like a vacation.”

“Geez. Even after all this time, your negative attitude hasn’t changed, Eun-seong.”

Lee Cheong crossed her arms, clearly annoyed.

Baek Eunseong ignored her and turned his attention to Bert.

“Bert. So… have you figured out why Choi Ilhyeon went to the Rain Island back then?”

“Nope. No matter how much I looked, there was nothing. I even reviewed his research journal again, but the only thing related to the Rain Island was the Heart of the Beast.”

“…I see.”

Baek Eun-seong’s expression turned grave.

Choi Ilhyeon’s appearance wasn’t something to be taken lightly.

He had been a close friend of him for many years and had even conducted research with him.

It was possible that Choi Ilhyeon had taken something from the Island that Jaun had overlooked.

“Bert, where’s the research journal?”

Bert walked over, picked up a book, and handed it to him.

“Here you go.”

“Thanks.”

Baek Eun-seong looked at the cover of the journal.

It was a book that had clearly been made over fifteen years ago, its cover slightly worn.

Inside were writings about Mysteries. There were also notes added by Jin Cheonwoo.

As he flipped through the pages, he noticed some were missing.

The reason the journal had ended up in this state was because part of it was damaged during Jaun’s past defeat at the hands of the Association.

“There’s no way to restore these missing parts, right? What if the reason Choi Ilhyeon came was in here?”

“It’s already damaged. Nothing we can do. Not even Mysteries can fix this.”

“…Yeah, you’re right.”

Baek Eun-seong stared at the journal, lost in thought, then suddenly spoke up again.

“The original.”

“Huh?”

“If we find the original, that should solve it.”

The journal Jaun currently had was a copy.

The real original had been kept separately by Jin Cheonwoo. If they could locate it, the holes in their plans might be filled.

“How are we supposed to find that? He stored it somewhere only he knew.”

“There’s got to be some way to track it down.”

“We don’t have time for that. Forget it. Don’t get too hung up on Choi Ilhyeon. Let’s just do what we’re supposed to do. We don’t even have a clue where to begin looking for the original.”

“…”

At Bert’s words, Baek Eun-seong checked the journal again with a frustrated look.

It was frustrating, but Bert wasn’t wrong.

---

9 PM in front of the main gate of the Eunwol clan.

The members of the Eunwol clan had gathered to bid us farewell.

“Thank you for taking care of us these past few days.”

Lee Seo-jun bowed politely, and Eun Hye-soo responded with a gentle smile.

“No need to thank me. I owe you all as well. No need to be so formal.”

Then she turned her gaze to me.

“As I said before, you are a benefactor to the Eunwol clan. And we never betray our benefactors. If you ever need help, don’t hesitate to reach out.”

Eun Hye-soo took a piece of paper from her robe and handed it to me.

Written on it was a phone number in bold black ink.

“This is my contact.”

“Thank you. I’ll reach out if I need help.”

I accepted the paper and put it in my pocket.

With that, I had gained a strong ally in the Eunwol clan.

I didn’t know what kind of impact it would have on future events, but being backed by such a prestigious family would surely be a great help.

“Alright. It’s time for you to head back. Oh right—Seol-ah, make sure to say goodbye too.”

Eun Seol-ah nodded and looked at me and Lee Seo-jun.

“Thank you for curing my illness. I’ll see you again next year at the Mage Academy!”

Her voice rang with courage. I looked at her for a moment and then gave a small smile.

“Yeah. See you next year.”

Eun Seol-ah shyly lowered her head, then handed me a folded piece of paper.

It had her contact information.

“…It’s my number. If you ever need help, I’ll do what I can.”

I accepted the paper.

“Okay. I’ll call if I need anything.”

Once the farewells were finished, Eun Hye-soo chuckled.

“Well then, since goodbyes are done, off you go.”

“Yes, we’ll be on our way.”

With the farewells over, Lee Seo-jun and I walked toward the portal gate.

As we walked, he spoke up.

“This feels kind of strange.”

“What does?”

“I don’t know… It feels like I got attached to this place.”

“Attached? We were only here for about three days. Including last week.”

“…That’s true. But we went through a lot of strange stuff.”

Strange stuff.

Yeah, we did.

To cure Seol-ah’s illness, we defeated a demon, found traces of Jin Cheonwoo, and endured the Trial of the Soul Stone.

“Forget that—just think about what we’re doing next.”

“Next, huh…”

Seo-jun paused to think for a moment.

“First, like you said, we’ve now learned the Illusion Protection Magic, which was our goal. So I guess we should start with the space that’s blocked by the barrier.”

“When do you want to go? Should we just head straight there once we get back to Seoul today?”

Seo-jun shook his head.

“We worked hard all weekend. Let’s take a break today. Aren’t you tired from the trial too?”

I wasn’t all that tired, honestly. Thanks to all the recovery type traits I’ve got stacked on me, I don’t get worn out easily.

“I’m fine. Not really tired.”

“Really? Your stamina is ridiculous,” Seo-jun muttered, half tired.

“Still, let’s rest today. We have class tomorrow anyway.”

“Do what you want.”

“Oh, and… thanks.”

At the sudden thanks, I looked at Lee Seo-jun. He was walking calmly, eyes ahead.

“For what?”

“For the advice to learn magic at the Eunwol family. That was your suggestion, wasn’t it?”

“Ah.”

So that’s what he meant.

“If you hadn’t given me that hint, I probably wouldn’t have thought to break through the barrier that way. I would’ve just given up.”

That’s not true.

Even if I hadn’t said anything, Seo-jun would’ve ended up learning the Eunwol Illusion Break at the Eunwol family to get past the barrier.

The original Lee Seo-jun did exactly that.

“You would’ve figured it out on your own.”

“Come on, how would I have known to learn protection magic at Eunwol just by looking at the barrier?”

“You would. You’re capable of that.”

At my firm reply, he fell silent. He looked a bit unsure, but eventually nodded.

“Maybe you’re right. Anyway, there’s a lot I’m thankful to you for. You came all the way here to help me too, after all.”

“If it’s that kind of thanks, I’ll take it.”

Lee Seo-jun smiled faintly at my reply.

---

Beep!

I smiled as I opened the door to the dorm.

As I stepped inside, Gretel greeted me.

“Ung-ae!”

I smiled and picked Gretel up.

She felt heavier than a few days ago.

I didn’t know exactly how much, but maybe close to 15kg?

“Gretel, you’re growing so fast.”

“Ungae.”

“The fruit’s growing nicely too.”

“Ungae?”

Gretel suddenly looked a little anxious. I ignored it and gave her a smile.

“Hmm… At this rate, aren’t you going to get bigger than me?”

Suddenly, a strange thought crossed my mind.

If Gretel kept growing and got bigger than me…

Would she still babble like ‘ung-ae’?

Just imagining it gave me the creeps.

But picturing Gretel speaking like a normal person somehow felt off, too.

“Gretel, don’t grow any more, okay? Just stay this cute forever.”

Gretel tilted her head, clearly not understanding.

“Oh, right. I bought something yummy for you.”

I put her down and showed her the chicken box I brought.

She’s a tree based creature, but she loves meat so much I figured I’d try buying it.

Not sure if it’d suit her taste, though.

Still, after living with her for a few months, I’ve realized Gretel’s taste in food is very close to a human’s.

So fried food should work too, right?

“This is called chicken. It’s deep-fried chicken meat.”

When I opened the box, Gretel’s eyes filled with curiosity.

She must’ve caught the sweet smell.

“Don’t swallow the bones. Put them in the bag, got it?”

Gretel nodded energetically.

I patted her lightly on the back and flopped onto the sofa.

“Hoo…”

The moment I sat down, a deep sigh came out.

Home is where the peace is.

“…It’s about time I buy a trait.”

I’d accumulated quite a few points.

Just this weekend alone, I’d earned over 10,000.

With all the points I’ve gathered recently, I could afford at least one S-rank trait or skill.

“A trait, huh…”

Part of me wanted to buy one immediately, but…

There was something I needed to check first.

I opened the schedule on my smart student notebook.

Excluding regular training and special class duties, the next major event was the final exam in three weeks.

This exam was crucial.

It would determine whether I placed in the top 5 — the minimum qualification for next year’s biggest global magic academy event, the Sacred Martial Festival.

“…I should buy a trait that fits this.”

The final is a combat battle.

That means I need a combat-related trait.

There were a few I’d already considered, ones that would be particularly effective in captain style matches.

But there were still three weeks left.

Rather than buy something now, maybe I should save points and aim for an even better one.

Yeah — I’ll save up and buy the most expensive, most powerful trait I can.

With that decision made, I lay still on the couch.

Then Gretel suddenly appeared in front of me, holding out a piece of chicken.

It was the first time she’d ever done something like that, so I was a little taken aback.

Why was she offering me food?

“Why? It doesn’t taste good?”

Gretel shook her head. Good — at least it wasn’t because she didn’t like it.

“Then you’re full?”

Again, she shook her head.

Well, yeah. I’ve never seen Gretel turn down food because she was full.

Then why…?

Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind. I hesitantly asked,

“…Is it because it tastes good and you want to share with me?”

Gretel nodded.

“Ungae!”

“Gretel…”

At the same time, my eyes began to tear up.

When I came to my senses, I was standing alone in a dark space.

I slowly looked around.

Countless stars lit up the darkness.

A brilliantly glowing Milky Way sparkled beautifully.

It felt as though I were floating in the middle of space.

I was briefly overcome by the dreamy atmosphere that had suddenly shifted, when a message appeared before my eyes.

[Achievement Unlocked: ‘Entered the Trial Space’.]

[You have received 3,000 points as a reward.]

This must be the trial place bestowed by the Soul Stone.

I realized it because it matched the setting described in the original work.

Besides, I had undergone adaptation training in a similar environment just last week.

To master Eunwol Hwanjeol also known as Eunwol Illusion Break, the protective magic of the Eunwol family, I would likely have to endure three days here.

Knowing how gruelling that process would be, I naturally tensed up.

I walked dazedly through the zero-gravity void of space.

Though the trial had supposedly begun, nothing had changed except the scenery.

Just as boredom was starting to settle in, I sensed an unusual presence from somewhere.

Ssshh…

The space around me began to distort.

The distortion spread wide like an infection, eventually reaching where I stood.

I took a step back, trying to escape it.

But this was a virtual space created by mystical power.

Escape was impossible.

Eventually, the twisted space gripped my arms and legs tightly, binding me so I couldn’t move.

Whoosh!

At that moment, I heard something slice through the air.

A spear, crackling with thunderous energy, flew straight toward me.

Of course, with my limbs bound, dodging it was impossible.

Thud!

“Gah!”

The spear pierced through my chest, soaking my clothes in blood.

Pain surged through me.

It wasn’t real pain, but a false one conjured by illusion—yet it felt no different from reality.

[Due to Illusion Resistance, the pain is significantly reduced!]

Fortunately, whether because of the drug I’d taken or the illusion resistance trait I’d gained during previous training, the pain was bearable.

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

But the illusionary assault didn’t stop.

Spears, arrows, swords, spheres—

Various weapons flew toward me.

With my limbs still bound by the warped space, I clenched my teeth and endured every attack with my whole body.

“Ugh…!”

One attack had been tolerable, but taking multiple blows at once doubled the pain.

“Hah… Hah…”

…To think I had to endure this for three whole days. Calling this a trial was no different from calling it torture.

Even now, this felt like madness.

“All right, let’s see how far I can go.”

I braced myself and opened my eyes wide.

---

…I had no idea how much time had passed.

As the name “trial” implied, the time that followed was nearly unbearable.

Countless weapons were now lodged in my body—so many it was hard to count.

[Adaptive Trait ‘Illusion Resistance’ has leveled up.]

[Additional stat gained. Magic Power +1.]

[Illusion Resistance increased by 5%.]

The only comfort was that I’d gained additional abilities through the trial.

Combined with the drug given to me by Eun Hye-soo, the pain had faded to the point it was nearly gone.

This virtual space seemed to possess a will of its own, relentlessly attacking me with various illusion spells.

But they no longer worked on me.

“Hoo…”

Time passed again.

Eventually, the illusionary weapon attacks ceased entirely.

The many weapons embedded in my body vanished like a mirage.

“…Is it over?”

Just as I was starting to feel relieved, something completely unexpected occurred.

[What… are you?]

A mysterious voice echoed through the mystical space—even Eun Hye-soo couldn’t interfere here.

Strangely, the voice hadn’t entered through my ears, but resonated directly in my mind.

In other words, it wasn’t a “sound,” but someone’s will.

“…What the hell?”

A mysterious voice heard during the trial.

This part hadn’t even appeared in the original story.

Who could it be?

[I’ve never seen anyone like you. No trial seems to affect you at all.]

The voice spoke with a tone of weary disbelief.

From those words, I could vaguely guess the identity of the speaker.

This space was created by the artifact, the Soul Stone.

There could be only one being capable of communicating will here.

“…Mystery?”

[Sharp one. You figured it out immediately.]

As expected.

The voice belonged to Mystery—

More precisely, to the will of the Mystery hidden within the Soul Stone.

Then, from the darkness, a black shadow in human form began walking toward me.

Its face had only a mouth, giving it an eerie appearance.

[Still, what exactly are you?]

“What do you mean, what am I?”

[Why hasn’t your mind succumbed to corruption?]

“Mind corruption” was a condition that sometimes occurred when one was exposed to illusion or mental magic.

Its symptoms varied, but in severe cases, the victim would go insane and live like a hollow shell for life.

[It’s fascinating. Even if you have high illusion resistance, it shouldn’t be enough to completely ward off mind corruption.]

The will of the mystery kept muttering to himself as if truly puzzled.

I, too, remained uncertain—why had the Mystery appeared before me at all?

Unable to answer, I kept quiet. The Mystery chuckled softly.

[Whoops, I’ve been talking too much by myself. Anyway, you’ve passed the trial. Even though only a day has passed in the real world, it’s meaningless to let this test continue any longer.]

What?

I could’ve sworn at least two days had passed, but it had only been one?

[As promised, I will now imprint the technique of ‘Eunwol Illusion Break’ onto you.]

The mystery waved his hand through the air.

A sphere of blue light floated up from his palm and shot toward me.

The orb merged into my body.

[Adaptive Skill ‘Eunwol Illusion Break (A)’ has been added.]

[Similar abilities are being integrated!]

[Adaptive Trait ‘Illusion Resistance (B)’ has been absorbed into Eunwol Illusion Break (A)!]

[Your resistance to illusion magic has increased significantly!]

[‘Eunwol Illusion Break’ has been upgraded to Rank S!]

[Achievement Unlocked: ‘Ability Integration’.]
[You have received 3,000 points as a reward.]

Several strange messages popped up before me.

The ‘Illusion Resistance’ I had acquired through evolution and adaptation had now been absorbed into the newly gained ‘Eunwol Illusion Break’.

I immediately checked the skill’s effects.

━━
[Eunwol Illusion Break (S)]

Category: Skill
Description: Illusion protection magic of the Eunwol Clan

[Passive Effect]
▶ Willpower of the Eunwol
Reduces pain received from illusion magic by 70%.

Reduces confusion chance by 60%.

Grants 90% resistance to illusion magic created through the power of the Eunwol Clan.

[Active Effect]
▶ Illusion Severance
Uses mana to grant temporary immunity to mental-type magic.
*Cooldown: 24 hours
*Duration: 30 minutes
━━

The effect was better than expected.

Especially the active skill, Illusion Severance.

It was a powerful ability that granted temporary immunity to mental-type magic.

“Not bad.”

With this, the objective was complete. It was a surprisingly anticlimactic ending.

I hadn’t expected the trial to end in just a single day.

I looked at the being in front of me—The Mystery.

“Hey, Mystery.”

[Why are you calling me?]

“Since the trial’s over, will you let me out now?”

It shook its head.

[That’s not how it works. This space will remain for three days. It’s part of the ‘agreement’, so I can’t let you out early.]

“What? So I have to stay here for the rest of the time?”

[Seems so. Well, if you get bored, come talk to me.]

The Mystery chuckled and sat down on the ground.

Then it stared at me.

[The more I look at you, the more curious I get. You’re unlike any human I’ve ever met.]

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

[When I see humans, I can understand their essence—what they fundamentally are. It’s a power beings like me all possess.]

That was something I already knew to an extent.

Even in the original story, during the final exams of the first semester, the “Will of the Tower” instantly recognized the connection between Lee Seo-jun and Jin Cheonwoo.

And it was already somewhat known that Mysteries had the ability to charm humans.

[That boy, Lee Seo-jun, who my avatar is watching right now—he’s special too. He reminds me a lot of an interesting human I met long ago.]

“You mean Jin Cheonwoo?”

[Yeah, that’s right. I suppose it’s quite a distant past for humans, so you must know him? Anyway, both Jin Cheonwoo and Lee Seo-jun were special humans I’d never seen the likes of before.]

“……”

[But they were still just extraordinary humans. I could still see clearly what kind of people they were.]

I silently listened to it’s words.

I couldn’t tell what it was trying to say.

[But you’re different.]

“……?”

[With you, I see nothing.]

“What do you mean by that?”

[Exactly what I said—nothing is visible from you.]

I furrowed my brows.

It was making increasingly incomprehensible statements.

[You are… chaos.]

“…Try saying that in a way I can actually understand.”

The Mystery giggled at my response.

[Hehe… What are you? I’m going crazy with curiosity.]

After that, It kept chuckling, its shoulders shaking.

---

Flash!

In the blink of an eye, two days had passed, and I returned to reality.

I looked around and found myself in the cave on Eunwol Mountain.

[You have completed the achievement: “Overcoming the Soul Stone’s Trial.”]
[You have received 3,000 points as a reward.]

[You have completed the achievement: “Mysteries Interest.”]
[You have received 3,000 points as a reward.]

Staring blankly at the message before me, I fell into thought.

The conversation with the Mystery still lingered in my head.

I had hoped it would share more information, but it just kept laughing, so I couldn’t get anything else out of it.

A bit disappointing, but I guess there was no helping it.

Then I suddenly noticed Lee Seo-jun next to me, drenched in sweat.

“Lee Seo-jun.”

He looked at me when I called. It seemed he still hadn’t fully recovered from the trial’s aftereffects.

“You okay?”

“Y-Yeah. I’m fine.”

“The trial?”

“I got through it. You?”

“Of course I passed.”

Lee Seo-jun smiled faintly at my response.

“Glad to hear it. I figured you’d make it through just fine.”

Just then, Eun Hye-soo approached us.

“Good work, both of you. That trial is dangerous enough to drive most mages mad, but you endured it well.”

“Yes. I think the medicine the clan head gave us helped a lot.”

“Heh. I brewed that potion over three sleepless nights. But ultimately, it was your own mental fortitude that got you through. Even with the potion, nine out of ten would still fail. Now then… shall we test whether you’ve properly learned Eunwol Illusion Severance?”

Fwoosh!

Eun Hye-soo waved her hand in the air.

At the same time, the magic circle beneath our feet lit up.

Darkness surged up from the floor and engulfed me and Lee Seo-jun.

Countless bats made of illusion charged at me.

I activated the skill immediately.

[Activating skill: Illusion Severance.]

The illusions vanished in an instant.

When I looked to the side, Lee Seo-jun had also returned to calm, watching me with a composed expression.

Eun Hye-soo looked back and forth between the two of us, smiling in satisfaction.

“Excellent. You’ve both gained full control over the ability.”

“Yes, all thanks to you, Clan Head. Thank you.”

Lee Seo-jun bowed politely.

That’s when—

Grrrrrgle.

My stomach growled.

I laughed awkwardly in embarrassment. Eun Hye-soo glanced at me and let out a small chuckle.

“You haven’t eaten for three days. Of course you’d be hungry. I’ve had a meal prepared—let’s head back.”

---

TL : I will use Illusion Break instead of Hwanjeol in the future. They mean the same thing, but since I haven’t used Korean romanization for any of Sunwoo’s abilities. I don’t intend to start now.

“Eun-seong? It’s been almost ten years. What happened to your arm? Did you get injured?”

“…Why are you here?”

Baek Eun-seong asked in a wary tone.

“That’s what I should be asking. Why are you guys here?”

“…Well…”

At that moment, Choi Ilhyeon let out a small laugh.

“I think I can guess why. I bet you came after reading Jin Cheonwoo’s research journal.”

“…”

“That research? I worked on it with him back when we were students. Which means… your target is the ‘Heart of the Beast,’ isn’t it?”

The entire Jaun team looked flustered, their plans exposed in an instant.

As expected of Choi Ilhyeon.

That man knew far too much.

Maybe even more than the Mage Association itself.

After all, he was a long time friend of their leader, Jin Cheonwoo.

“Are you after the Heart of the Beast too?”

Bert glared at Choi Ilhyeon as she spoke.

“And if I am?”

“…Then we’ll have to kill you.”

A smirk formed on Choi Ilhyeon’s lips at those words. He calmly stroked his chin.

“One, two, three, four, five, six… Where are the rest of your people? Six of you won’t be enough.”

“We’ll see about that!”

Crackle!

A lightning-charged spear formed in Bert’s hand and shot toward Choi Ilhyeon—as fast as lightning striking from the sky.

But without even moving to dodge, Choi Ilhyeon blocked it by unfolding a translucent magical barrier.

Boom!

The lightning’s shockwave made the rain-soaked ground tremble.

Seeing her attack blocked so easily, Bert clenched her teeth. She could faintly sense just how powerful Choi Ilhyeon was from that single defense.

This time, Baek Eun-seong gripped his polearm tightly and charged forward.

Choi Ilhyeon calmly twisted his body, dodging Baek Eun-seong’s attack.

But Eun-seong didn’t stop. He continued to attack, spinning and stabbing with speed.

Yet his attacks weren’t as sharp as before—because of his prosthetic left arm.

Choi Ilhyeon seized the opening and shoved a fireball into Eun-seong’s abdomen.

Fwoosh!

“Argh!”

Baek Eun-seong’s body lifted off the ground and was thrown backward.

Even with his defensive aura reinforced, the pain was intense.

“Damn it! If only my arm was fine…!”

Eun-seong shouted in frustration.

A tense standoff resumed.

Jaun didn’t make the first move.

And Choi Ilhyeon, seeing he was outnumbered, didn’t rush either—he observed calmly.

“Bert. What are we doing? Are we really going to keep fighting him?”

Natasha asked, her voice filled with concern.

“What else can we do? We need the Heart of the Beast for our future plans.”

“Still, fighting that guy right now is reckless. You know that too.”

“…Yeah, I do.”

They had underestimated Choi Ilhyeon’s power—likely because he had lived secluded.

But Jaun knew better—thanks to their leader, Jin Cheonwoo.

They knew how powerful he truly was. How many hidden abilities he still kept secret.

Then it happened.

Ding-ling~

A ringtone rang out. Choi Ilhyeon blinked and pulled a magical communicator from his pocket.

“Hold on. Timeout.”

“…”

“Yeah, hello?”

Choi Ilhyeon casually began a call. The Jaun members stared in disbelief at the absurd situation.

“Oh~ yeah? You found it? Okay. I’ll head over. Yep. Got it.”

Click. He ended the call.

“Ah, sorry. I gotta go.”

“…Go? Weren’t you after the Heart of the Beast?”

“Not really. I mean, it’s tempting, but I don’t exactly need it right now.”

Jaun briefly looked puzzled at his words.

“…Then why did you come to the Rain Island?”

“You don’t need to know. Anyway, I’m busy. Take care.”

And with that, Choi Ilhyeon disappeared somewhere.

The Jaun group stood there, staring blankly at the spot where he had just stood, full of questions.

“Hey. Wasn’t Choi Ilhyeon always a loner?”

“Yeah… did he find someone to work with?”

---

Thursday, after school.

The special class had ended. With finals just around the corner, the class ended 30 minutes earlier than usual out of consideration for the students.

“That’s all for today’s class. You all did well.”

“Okay~”

The students quickly dispersed. Lee Seo-jun, who sat in front of me, stretched out to ease the stiffness in his body.

“Ugh, I’m starving. Let’s grab dinner.”

“Kim Sunwoo, you’re eating with us, right?”

I nodded at Shin Young-joon’s question. I happened to be hungry too.

“Yeah, I should eat.”

“Sunbae! I’ll join too!”

Choi Seo-yoon, who sat beside me, jumped in. I didn’t mind, so I nodded.

“Sure.”

“Hehe.”

And with that, we headed straight to the school cafeteria. The group was the same as during the Atlantis incident.

Me, Lee Seo-jun, Shin Young-joon, Lee Hyun-joo, Song Seung-ah, and Choi Seo-yoon.

“Kim Sunwoo, what are you eating?”

“Ramen.”

“Ramen? Isn’t that a bit small?”

“I just feel like something spicy.”

Seo-jun nodded at my answer. We got our food and sat down.

I glanced around and saw some students studying while eating.

“Everyone’s studying even during dinner.”

“Finals are just around the corner.” Choi Seo-yoon, sitting beside me, responded.

“Still, you should just eat during meals. It’s not like cramming last-minute will help much.”

“Ooh. Spoken like someone who’s aced theory five times in a row.”

“…Come on. I just think it looks bad, that’s all.”

“Ah! Right. Sunbae, sunbae, sunbae.”

“What, what, what. Just call me once.”

“What are you doing this weekend?”

Choi Seo-yoon looked at me with hopeful eyes.

“This weekend?”

“Yeah.”

I glanced subtly at Lee Seo-jun, who was sitting across from me.

He, too, was watching me and Choi Seo-yoon with a curious expression.

This weekend, I was scheduled to visit the Eunwol family with Lee Seo-jun to learn protection magic.

“Why are you asking about the weekend?”

“Oh, it’s nothing special. I just wanted to know if you could help me study. I don’t have to go back to my family for a while.”

Choi Seo-yoon said with sparkling eyes.

“You’re good at studying, though.”

“Still, I’m not getting perfect scores like you.”

“Forget it. I’m too busy studying for myself.”

With that, I slurped up a mouthful of ramen. The seasoning was just right—delicious.

“Then you don’t have to teach me—just study with me.”

“No. Not this weekend.”

“What are you doing?”

At that moment, Lee Seo-jun cut in.

“He’s training with me this weekend.”

Choi Seo-yoon blinked at his words.

“Both Saturday and Sunday?”

“Yeah.”

“What about tomorrow, then?”

I answered in his place.

“Nope. Training tomorrow too.”

“You’re training for three days straight? Where?”

“That’s…”

As I trailed off, Lee Seo-jun jumped back in.

“We’re learning magic at the Eunwol clan. The process is pretty complicated, so we probably won’t have time.”

“The Eunwol clan?”

Everyone looked intrigued at the sudden mention of the Eunwol family.

“You said you were busy last weekend—did you go to the Eunwol clan then?”

Lee Hyun-joo, who had been listening quietly, finally chimed in.

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“But why the Eunwol clan? Don’t they specialize in support magic?”

“There’s a reason. I’ll explain later—it’s a long story.”

“Hmmm. Okay.”

Lee Hyun-joo nodded.

“Let’s eat.”

“Yeah.”

Just as we were about to resume eating, my smart student ID buzzed strongly in my pocket.

I checked the message right away.

[Training resumes starting Monday.]

It was from Choi Ilhyeon.

---

The next day.

The day of our appointment with the Eunwol family arrived.

As soon as all our school classes ended, Lee Seo-jun and I took the portal gate and returned to the Eunwol household.

“You’ve arrived.”

Eun Hye-soo came out to greet us at the front gate in person. Her demeanor was noticeably different from last week.

They did say I was now a benefactor of the family—clearly, we were being treated accordingly.

“Come in.”

“Yes.”

We followed Eun Hye-soo inside.

Just then, a silver-haired girl, Eun Seol-ah, stepped out of her room.

When she saw us, she looked unsure of what to do.

I thought we had grown more comfortable before parting, but in just a week, she had reverted to the old Eun Seol-ah.

“Ah, hello…”

Eun Seol-ah gave us a polite bow.

“Hi.”

When I returned the greeting, she smiled brightly. Eun Hye-soo looked at her with a fond expression, then turned to us.

“We’ll begin right away. Are you mentally prepared?”

“Yes. We’re ready.”

“Then follow me.”

We followed Eun Hye-soo out the back door.

Outside, a massive mountain appeared before us.

“You must climb this mountain. Follow me.”

The mountain we were ascending was called Mount Eunwol, named after the family itself.

It was famous for being imbued with various natural illusion spells suited to the clan’s specialties.

“It’s dark, so watch your step.”

“Okay.”

Eventually, we arrived at the entrance of a cave.

Even from a distance, I could sense a special kind of magical energy emanating from within.

“This is the place where you will face the Trial of the Soul Stone.”

Eun Hye-soo spoke in a calm voice.

“The Soul Stone trial gnaws at a person’s mental strength and can drive them insane. Even seasoned S-class mages struggle to endure it.”

She pulled out small pills from her robe and handed them to us.

“That’s why I prepared these. Take one before you use the Soul Stone.”

━━
[Eunwol Clan’s Special Protective Pill (B)]
Type: Medicine
Description: Increases resistance to Eunwol clan’s illusion magic by 20% for 3 days.
━━

“This pill enhances your resistance to our family’s magic. I made them especially for you. They’ll be a great help in enduring the Soul Stone’s trial.”

“Thank you. Should we take them now?”

“Yes.”

I tossed the pill into my mouth.

I didn’t know what it was made from, but it had a slightly bitter taste.

[The effect of ‘Eunwol Clan’s Special Protective Pill’ increases resistance to the clan’s illusion magic by 20% for 3 days.]

[Effect amplification boosts both effectiveness and duration by an additional 20%.]

As soon as I swallowed the pill, a special energy surged within me.

It was the power of protective magic.

A 20% boost in illusion resistance was a significant effect. The ingredients must be rare and expensive.

“Ugh. It’s kind of bitter.”

Lee Seo-jun frowned.

Eun Hye-soo looked at the two of us in satisfaction before leading us into the cave.

The cave looked like any ordinary cave.

It didn’t feel like a dungeon—just a plain cave.

The only major difference was the walls, which were covered in magic circles.

“This place is used for special rituals. The family head succession ceremony is also held here.”

Eun Hye-soo spoke as she walked inside.

With each step she took, the candles installed in the cave lit up, lightning up the surroundings.

“These magic circles on the walls are designed to respond to the Soul Stone and the mana of the clan’s head.”

How long had we walked?

Eun Hye-soo finally stopped.

“This is where you’ll use the Soul Stone to learn Eunwol Hwanjeol over the next three days.”

Beneath her feet was a large magic circle.

At that moment, the outsider’s privilege activated, and the information within the magic circle poured into my mind.

It was a spatial magic circle that reacted with the Soul Stone to create a new virtual space.

“Are you both ready?”

“Yes. I’m ready.”

Lee Seo-jun answered, and Eun Hye-soo nodded before looking at me.

“I’m ready too.”

“Good. Then let’s begin.”

Eun Hye-soo released her mana.

The Soul Stone in her hand slowly rose into the air, absorbing her mana.

Whoooosh—

Blue light began to emanate from the Soul Stone, curling and expanding like mist.

In an instant, the blue light engulfed both me and Lee Seo-jun.