After clearing the intense second-floor trial, Yushin was now able to use second-tier magic beyond first-tier magic.
From the second tier onwards, elemental magic appeared.
“Now, which one is faster?”
Yushin’s magic and Ha Jinho’s flame breath were fired simultaneously.
Kwaaaaaang!
The two fireballs clashed at the center, causing a massive explosion.
The scorching heat surged toward the audience, making people flinch and cover their faces. Thick smoke engulfed the surroundings, blocking visibility.
“Cough! Cough!”
“What just happened?”
With their vision obstructed, everyone was bewildered. However, Ha Jinho, wary of a possible follow-up attack, lowered his stance and prepared another ‘Flame Breath.’
As he took a deep breath, his abdomen swelled and heated up.
‘Once the flames clear and I get a rough idea of his position, I’ll fire again and charge in. I’ll drag him into close combat.’
But his plan fell apart before he could even execute it.
Fwoosh!
A crimson fireball tore through the explosion’s smoke and rushed at him. His flame breath was still rising to his chest.
‘This is way too fast…!’
Kwaaaang!
The fireball struck him. His body was flung several meters, skidding across the ground before coming to a halt.
“Urgh!”
A painful groan escaped his lips.
Just a single hit had left the salamander’s body in tatters.
Gritting his teeth, he lifted his head—only to see a magic circle forming right in front of his eyes.
“……?”
Before he could do anything, Yushin’s fist emerged from the smoke, passing through the magic circle.
Thwack!
A sharp impact sent Ha Jinho flying, slamming into the gymnasium fence before bouncing off and rolling onto the floor.
By the time he lay sprawled on the ground, his metamorphosis state had already dissipated.
There was no need to check the mana suit gauge on the screen.
A facility staff member shouted,
“Match over! The winner is second-year Kim Yushin!”
Whooosh!
With a wave of Yushin’s hand, a fierce wind blew, clearing away the explosion’s smoke.
The audience finally saw the scene—Ha Jinho lying on the ground, while Yushin stood alone in the center of the stage.
“…….”
The previously heated atmosphere of the gymnasium fell as silent as a library.
Yushin glanced around before smiling in satisfaction.
Clunk!
At that moment, the gymnasium doors swung open, and new figures entered.
“Who the hell is Kim Yushin?!”
RNG Club President, Yuk San.
“What the hell? Jinho and Ma Yeon-gyeong already lost?”
Aegis Club President, Lee Chan-hee.
The last two club presidents who had received the duel challenge had finally appeared.
“Welcome, seniors.”
Yushin politely bowed his head to them.
“This won’t take long.”
“Yaaawn.”
Jin Bora, left alone in the student council office, rubbed her tired eyes and slumped onto the desk.
The school was in chaos.
Rumors were spreading about some crazy guy challenging the club presidents to duels.
Not that she particularly cared.
‘So sleepy.’
Still lying on the desk, she grabbed her smartphone and snapped a quick morning selfie.
Checking the result, she found it had a nice, natural feel.
“Looks good. Time to update.”
Just as she was logging into her social media—
Click.
The office door opened, and someone walked in.
Thinking it might be a student council senior, she quickly sat up—only to see an unfamiliar face.
Jin Bora sat back down as the man approached.
It was a hassle, but she had to deal with it.
Plastering on a bright customer-service smile, she asked,
“This is the student council. How can I help you?”
Thud.
The man wordlessly dropped something onto the desk.
“……!”
Jin Bora’s mouth gaped open.
Club president badges.
Four of them, no less.
“We met at the café yesterday, remember?”
Yushin sat down with a faint smile.
“I’m here to register as a club president.”
Too shocked to process it, she stammered,
“A-All four clubs?”
“Yeah. There’s no rule against holding multiple positions, right?”
“N-No! I’ll register you right away!”
Scrambling, she started typing.
Yushin, now seated, let out a small sigh and casually fiddled with his smartphone.
After a moment, he glanced up—only to find Jin Bora staring directly at him.
The moment their eyes met, she flinched and quickly looked away.
Yushin chuckled inwardly.
‘So far, everything is going according to plan.’
“Wow! That’s amazing!”
When I told Jin Bora how I had defeated the club presidents, her eyes sparkled as she let out an excited squeal.
“You’re like a stormy transfer student straight out of a manga! You know, the kind that crushes the ruling elites and rises to the top!”
Transfer student? I’ve been here for nearly two years.
As she typed away, she fired off question after question.
It was clear she was now interested in me, meaning my initial goal had been achieved.
“But looking at your records, your grades weren’t great recently. How did you get so strong in such a short time?”
“That’s a secret.”
“That’s so unfair!”
She pouted, sticking out her lips in a mock tantrum.
So this is what Go Shinwook meant.
“Are you curious?”
“Yes! Yes! Super curious!”
“Hmm. Then… do you have time this afternoon?”
Her eyes widened in surprise.
She stared at my face as if trying to read my intentions—then gave a playful smirk.
“Hmm.”
Though filled with anticipation, she left some room for ambiguity, glancing at her phone.
“I should check my schedule first. Why?”
“I’ll tell you that secret. How about five o’clock after class?”
“Sounds good!”
It was finally time for my appointment with Jin Bora.
I was waiting on the street.
She was already ten minutes late.
“Seeenpaiiii!”
Just then, she came running, waving her hand.
She wore a denim shirt with a brightly coloured cardigan and a short wrap skirt—clearly, she had put effort into her outfit.
“Sorry! Sorry! My class ran late…!”
“It’s fine.”
Panting dramatically with a hand on her chest, she looked up at me—then scanned my outfit up and down.
Her expression turned odd.
“Uh… are you a fan of a European soccer team?”
“Oh? How’d you guess?”
“Your outfit…”
“There’s nothing more comfortable than a jersey.”
Her face scrunched slightly.
She mumbled, “But here, it’s a bit…” though I pretended not to hear it.
“Let’s go in there.”
Enjoying her reaction, I pointed at a well-known café chain.
Once inside, we placed our orders.
I stuck with my usual—iced Americano, year-round.
Jin Bora, on the other hand, ordered a complicated-sounding frappuccino with dessert.
“That’s so mean, Senpai!”
The moment we sat down, she whined.
“We’re meeting outside, so couldn’t you have dressed up a little?”
“Sorry, I came straight from practice.”
Her pout deepened, which, oddly enough, was amusing.
Sorry, but I had no intention of giving her any false hope.
She was just someone I was scouting.
Just then, our drinks and snacks arrived.
As if her sulky mood had never existed, she brightened up immediately.
‘Ah, I’m thirsty.’
I reached for my Americano—when she lightly pressed my hand.
“Wait!”
“……?”
She adjusted the coffee and dessert’s positions, then started snapping photos.
Click, click, click.
Not satisfied, she took shots from multiple angles.
“……It’s not even food. Why take pictures of coffee?”
“Hehe.”
She just smiled cutely.
“And why my Americano? It’s mine.”
“It looks better with both in the frame! Also, if I only photograph one, it seems like I’m eating alone.”
Satisfied with the pictures, she nodded.
“Okay, you can drink now.”
…How generous.
As I sipped my coffee, she was busy reviewing her pictures.
“Senpai~”
“What?”
Blushing slightly, she clasped her hands together and spoke in a cutesy voice.
“Can we take a picture together?”
“……Me?”
“Yes!”
Honestly, I didn’t want to.
…But I was the one trying to recruit her.
For now, I had to play along.
“……Fine.”
“Yahoo!”
She quickly ran over to my side and stretched out her arm, holding her smartphone.
“Come on, get closer! Hurry!”
Awkwardly, I leaned in to fit my face into the camera angle. Apparently, that wasn’t good enough for her, because she boldly slipped right into my arms.
A sudden wave of her scent hit me, making me flinch instinctively. When I shifted my gaze, I found Jin Bora’s pink cheeks right in front of me.
“Okay, smile! Say cheese!”
Haah, what kind of situation is this all of a sudden?
I forced a stiff smile, and she laughed like a refined lady.
“Hahaha! That smile is way too unnatural! Let’s do one more!”
After several retakes, I was finally allowed to drink my Americano in peace. Meanwhile, she happily tapped away on her smartphone.
‘This girl is way more exhausting than I expected.’
Out of curiosity, I glanced over and saw that she was logged into a popular social media platform. Intrigued, I opened the same site and searched for Jin Bora’s name.
‘…Wait, what? A regular student with 300,000 followers? What the hell is she?’
I scrolled through her feed.
There were pictures with senior student council members, photos with handsome foreigners, snapshots with professional hunters—basically, she was surrounded by well-connected people.
Her selfies and posed shots were particularly striking, with her expressions and angles resembling those of a professional model.
As I absentmindedly kept scrolling through her posts, a new picture suddenly popped up on her page.
‘…Oh, crap!’
It was the photo we had just taken.
Seeing my awkwardly smiling face on display made my whole body flush with embarrassment. Below the picture, she had left a short caption.
[One shot with the trending transfer student, Kim Yushin!]
#StormOfAStudentTransfer!
…It feels like reality itself is crumbling around me.
No, seriously, why would she post something like this? Is this what a clout-chaser’s life is like?
Seemingly satisfied, she finally started eating the coffee and dessert she had ordered.
“Anyway, why did you want to meet with me?”
Finally, she was getting to the main point.
She was the complete opposite of Jung Seojin.
“You said you were curious about my secret, right?”
“Oh, right! Right!”
She met my gaze and nodded enthusiastically.
Her hair swayed gently, releasing a pleasant fragrance. Then, as if on instinct, she casually tucked her loose strands behind her ear and smiled with a bright eye-smile.
Just as I’d heard—this girl was trouble.
“I don’t mind telling you. But in exchange…”
“…?”
I pulled out a small potion bottle from my bag and placed it on the table.
“I want to see your ability in action. Would that be okay?”
“Oh, is that all? No problem! You want me to enchant this bottle?”
“No, not the bottle. Enchant the liquid inside.”
She tilted her head in confusion but quickly responded, “I’ll give it a try.”
“It’s been a while since I’ve enchanted a liquid like this. I’m curious about the result, too. Hoo!”
As she got to work, I immediately activated my Sage’s Eye to analyze the item’s properties.
Category: Potion
Effect:
- [40 HP Regeneration]
- [Effects stack with repeated use]
Alright. Now I had a clear reference to compare the enchanted version against.
Just then, she suddenly stopped and looked surprised.
“Senpai! What’s inside this?”
“Why?”
“The structure feels… strange. Ah, never mind! I’ll keep going.”
‘Oh?’
So her ability isn’t just about strengthening objects—it seems she has to understand their internal structure to some extent before she can apply an enchantment.
That would explain why she seemed to be struggling with analyzing the potion’s composition.
I leisurely sipped my coffee as I waited.
“If it’s too difficult—”
“No! I can do it!”
At this point, she wasn’t just doing it for my request—her pride was on the line.
I had expected her to give up quickly, but she was more persistent than I thought.
After more than twenty grueling minutes—
“Done!”
As she lifted her hands, the potion inside the bottle shimmered with a brilliant glow. I immediately used Sage’s Eye to inspect it.
Category: Potion
Effect:
- [80 HP Regeneration]
- [Effects stack with repeated use]
- [+10 Stamina for 30 minutes]
‘…!’
Holy crap.
No, this was beyond impressive.
The potion’s effectiveness had doubled.
She had enchanted it in a single try, despite having no potion-related skills, and her compatibility with this ability was top-tier.
Her personality was a bit concerning, but with talent like this, she was practically a prodigy.
I hesitated.
‘Letting her go would be a waste. But security is a major issue… Luckily, the restrictions of the Mage Tower should help here…’
I had to recruit her before the guilds got their hands on her.
“Happy now? That was exhausting.”
Completely unaware of my scheming, Jin Bora contentedly munched on her cake.
Now, how should I approach this?
“So, are you finally going to tell me your secret?”
“Alright.”
I decided to pique her curiosity first. I opened my palm, and her eyes sparkled with anticipation.
<Shield>
Mana swiftly condensed, forming into a magic circle that hovered above my hand.
“Wow…!”
Forgetting her composure, she jumped up in excitement, staring at the glowing pattern with pure admiration.
“It’s beautiful! It looks like a hologram!”
With a casual clench of my fist, the magic circle dispersed into the air.
Realizing she had overreacted, she quickly cleared her throat and sat back down.
“I used this power to take down the senior club leaders.”
“That’s amazing!”
“Want me to teach you?”
“…Huh?”
Her eyes widened in disbelief.
“This is magic. Any player who can control mana can learn it.”
“Wow, that’s really something.”
…She wasn’t buying it.
She was just humoring me.
Come to think of it, I had been using magic openly in front of people, yet no one had ever considered it actual magic.
At most, they assumed it was just an advanced use of a personal ability.
It made sense—people in this era were so accustomed to unique abilities that the very concept of “magic” didn’t exist.
Even if I demonstrated it right in front of them, they would just tilt their heads in confusion.
If I couldn’t convince her through magic, I needed another approach.
I considered her personality.
Attention-seeker. Social media addict. Charismatic troublemaker. Status-driven.
…Not a single redeeming trait.
‘So I just need to grab her attention… but how?’
After some thought, I shook my head.
Magic and the Mage Tower were already special enough—what more could I use to intrigue her?
My plan wasn’t wrong. I just needed to take a direct approach.
“I actually have a proposal for you.”
“A proposal?”
Her eyes sparkled with anticipation.
“Want to work with me on something?”
“…What?”
Her expression was half-confused, half-disappointed.
“Suddenly, out of nowhere—”
“I’ll pay you 100 million won a year.”
Her shoulders twitched.
“You can stay in the academy while working.”
Now, she was interested. She leaned forward slightly.
“Is it hunter-related? Or maybe modeling or fashion?”
“Neither.”
“Then… something more adult-oriented—”
“No.”
Why the hell did her mind always jump to weird conclusions?
“All you have to do is use your enchantment ability properly.”
“Ah.”
Her expression turned oddly cold.
“I see. So that’s what this is about… You must not have done your research.”
“Hm?”
“You’re thinking of enchanting equipment and selling it, right? To be honest, my enchantments wear off after just a few uses. I can’t be a walking customer service center, reapplying them every time.”
“Not equipment.”
I shook the potion bottle in front of her.
“I want you to enchant this. Since potions are single-use anyway, it doesn’t matter if the effect is temporary.”
“…What even is that?”
Good. She was halfway convinced.
I crossed my arms, pretending to hesitate.
“Where should I start…?”
I began explaining my business plan without revealing the Mage Tower’s secrets.
Jin Bora listened intently, her curiosity growing stronger than I had expected.
We talked late into the night.
“Oh my! So this actually heals injuries? How did you even make something like this?”
Finally, she took the bait.
I reeled her in.
“Want a tour?”
TL : She’s surprisingly realistic contrary to other novel female casts which kinda makes her character annoying though.
