The Day Before School Starts
I returned to the Mage Academy after a long time to unpack my belongings in the dormitory.
Looking around, I saw that quite a few students had come back to settle in as well. Judging by their bright expressions, they must have spent their vacation well, resting and having fun.
“Kim Sunwoo!”
“Sunwoo, hey!”
People I didn’t even know were acting like they were familiar with me.
Since I’d already experienced this after the first semester’s final exams, I wasn’t particularly surprised.
Rather, it was amusing—yet somewhat disheartening—how people’s interest and treatment of others changed based on academic performance.
“Senior!”
At that moment, Choi Seo-yoon’s voice called out. Turning my head, I saw her dragging a massive suitcase nearly the size of her own body as she approached.
“You here to unpack?”
“Yep! Did you come to unpack too, senior?”
“Yeah.”
“Aha.”
Then, she scanned me up and down.
“But where’s your luggage?”
“My luggage?”
I had stored everything in a subspace, so I didn’t carry any bags with me.
“I actually stopped by the dorm once before to drop some things off, so I don’t have much left to unpack.”
“Ah~”
It was a lie I made up on the spot, but Seo-yoon nodded without any suspicion.
“Oh, right! The reward from the Nightmare Fog Dungeon that you let me have last time—it’s been amazing!”
“That so? That’s good to hear.”
“Yep! Here, look.”
Seo-yoon raised her hand and released mana. Soon, a small chunk of ice formed above her palm.
“This was the magic I could manifest before vacation. But now—”
She inhaled briefly and focused.
A new chunk of ice appeared.
At first glance, there wasn’t much difference in size or shape. But after honing my sensitivity to magic, I could feel the change.
“Can you tell the difference?”
“The temperature.”
“Yeah, it’s much colder than before. And I can manifest it a lot faster, too.”
Seo-yoon grinned.
“That’s great. Makes it worth giving it up for you.”
“Yes, yes! All thanks to you, senior. I’ll definitely repay you someday!”
She clenched her fists with determination.
Just then, someone approached from behind her.
“Hey! Choi Seo-yoon! Where have you been—oh! Kim Sunwoo, senior? Ah, hello!”
It was Song Seung-ah, Seo-yoon’s best friend.
Seeing me, she looked startled for a moment before quickly bowing in greeting—a full 100-degree bow, not just 90. Her manners were almost excessive.
“Uh, yeah. Hi.”
She lifted her head and stared at me intently.
I looked back at her, wondering what was up, but then she suddenly gave a knowing smirk.
“What? Got something to say?”
“Nope. Nothing at all… Ah! I just remembered something I need to do! I’ll be right back!”
With an awkward tone, Seung-ah blurted that out, patted Seo-yoon’s arm a couple of times, and then walked away.
Seo-yoon tilted her head as she watched her leave.
“What the heck? Why’s she acting like that?”
I had no idea either. Was Seung-ah always like that?
“Beats me. What’s up with your friend? Keep her in check.”
“Huh? Did you just insult my best friend?”
“…No, that’s not what I meant.”
Just as I was chatting idly with Seo-yoon—
A blond-haired, pale man approached us.
My gaze naturally shifted toward him. Seo-yoon’s did as well.
“Hello.”
The man greeted us in fluent Korean.
Now that I saw him up close, he was incredibly handsome—the kind of face that would make anyone turn around for a second look.
“Uh, hello.”
Seo-yoon responded awkwardly to his greeting.
The man glanced between the two of us before speaking again.
“Are you students at the Mage Academy?”
“Yes.”
“I was wondering if you could help me. Do you know where the second-year faculty office is?”
At his question, Seo-yoon pointed toward the main building.
“It’s on the 8th floor of that building.”
“Ah, thank you. Such kind students.”
The man bowed his head slightly.
Then, as he started walking toward the main building, he suddenly paused.
“Oh, by the way, I’m a new instructor this semester. My name is Chris. If you end up taking my class, I hope we get along well.”
“Oh! You’re a teacher? We’ll be in your care, then!”
Seo-yoon bowed her head in response.
Chris gave a small smile before continuing toward the main building.
As I watched his go his way, I activated Character Insight.
━━
Name: Jung Hyun
Age: 28
Race: Demon
Status: At ease
Mana Rank: A
Interest Level: 0
━━
Meanwhile, after parting with the two students—
The man walked alone toward the main building.
Since it was still vacation, the building was quiet with hardly anyone around.
He climbed the stairs without pause.
The faculty office was on the 8th floor.
But instead of heading there, he stopped at the 4th floor.
There, he found the 3rd-year classrooms.
Walking down the corridor, he stopped in front of one particular room—Class 3-A.
Click.
He opened the door and stepped inside.
Rows of empty, tiered desks filled the classroom.
His gaze swept across them before he continued walking.
Then, something caught his eye—a desk covered in graffiti.
It was filled with curses and threats.
The man ran his fingers over the crude etchings and muttered softly,
“Jang Ye…”
Chris—or rather, Jung Hyun—stood lost in thought before finally turning to leave the classroom.
Beep!
Back at my dormitory.
It felt strange, like I was looking at a familiar place through unfamiliar eyes.
But that feeling quickly faded, replaced by the comfort of familiarity.
“I should clean up a bit.”
A month’s worth of dust had settled.
I ran my finger over the desk, and a thin layer of dust clung to my skin.
“But before that…”
There was something I needed to think about.
I had just encountered the most pivotal villain of the second semester.
Jung Hyun, the Demon.
As in the original story, he had joined the academy as an instructor for the second semester.
Jung Hyun was a well-known figure in the field of magic education.
Under the alias Chris, he had worked as a magic education consultant and even spent two years as a teacher at Britain’s Mage Academy.
Because of that prestigious background, the academy placed immense trust in him.
No one would ever suspect that he was a demon.
“Hmm.”
Jung hyun has multiple objectives.
First, the primary goal of the Mages: locating the Child of Prophecy.
Another is his personal revenge.
Jung hyun and Jang Ye were childhood friends, almost like siblings.
They had grown up together, and he even had some familiarity with her father, Jang Han.
When news of her death reached him, Jung hyun was the one who grieved the most.
In the original story, Jung hyun devised a plan to eliminate the entire second-year class of the Mage Academy, including Lee Seo-jun, in order to avenge Jang Ye.
His goal was to carry out both Jang Ye’s revenge and the killing of the Child of Prophecy at the same time.
That plan is set to take place on the day of the second midterm exam.
There are still three months left.
Of course, whether the events will unfold exactly as they did in the original story is uncertain.
My involvement has already caused significant deviations in the storyline.
To avoid the worst-case scenario, I need to closely observe what Jung-hyun does next.
Thursday.
The first day of school after a month-long summer vacation.
The students were chatting away excitedly, their faces a mix of anticipation and reluctance.
“Ah~ I wish the break was longer.”
“Same. I should’ve had more fun.”
“I went to a training camp.”
“I got a B-rank sword with the money I saved from my part-time job and some support from my parents.”
“What? Seriously? How much did it cost?”
“Nine thousand.”
“Nine thousand? Wow, swords are crazy expensive. Other B-rank weapons cost around four thousand.”
Since they weren’t major characters, I wasn’t particularly interested in what they were up to.
I just sat in a corner, yawning.
“Ah. It’s hot.”
This school is loaded, yet they don’t even turn on the air conditioning.
Just as I was about to open the window, I happened to spot a blond man outside.
Jung hyun.
He was staring at an empty plot of land on the school grounds, writing something down.
It looked like he was designing the new dungeon training facility that would be introduced in the second semester.
Jung hyun was known as an education consultant, but he also worked as a designer of artificial magic training grounds.
His appointment at the Mage Academy wasn’t just as an teacher, he was also here to oversee the construction of the new training facility.
In about two months, a new training dungeon designed by Jung hyun would be built on that empty plot.
And on the day of the second midterm exam, that place would be where…
“Sunwoo!”
A voice called out to me.
It was Yoon Hayoung.
Even though we had met just three days ago, she greeted me as if it had been a whole month.
“It feels different seeing you here, even though we met three days ago.”
She smiled at me.
“Does it?”
“Oh, right! Sunwoo, have you opened that dungeon reward chest yet?”
“No, not yet. The seal is stronger than I expected.”
I’d probably be able to unlock it tonight or tomorrow.
Whatever was inside, it had to be valuable if it was sealed so tightly.
If I went through all this trouble just to get something useless, I’d be pretty annoyed.
“Ugh. I’m so curious. What a shame.”
“Huh? What? You guys cleared a dungeon together?”
Shin Young-joon suddenly joined our conversation.
Yoon Hayoung blinked at him before responding.
“Oh, uh? No, I mean… not really…”
She trailed off suspiciously, probably trying to keep the Demon Eradication power a secret.
“What’s with you? Why are you suddenly acting like it’s not a big deal?”
Shin Young-joon narrowed his eyes, glancing between the two of us.
“What is this? You two are acting shady. Did you do something behind my back?”
“Sigh…”
Here he goes again.
“We cleared a dungeon. Yoon Hayoung is my sparring partner, remember? We happened to discover a dungeon, so we tackled it whenever we had time to gain real combat experience.”
At my words, Shin Young-joon’s jaw dropped.
“You found a dungeon?”
“Yeah.”
“Wow. That’s crazy.
Now that I think about it, didn’t you also clear the Nightmare Fog Dungeon with Choi Seo-yoon?”
At his words, Yoon Hayoung turned to me with a puzzled expression.
“Nightmare Fog?”
“Oh, that was during the special class retreat.”
Her curiosity was obvious, but I didn’t feel like explaining everything in detail.
“I’ll tell you about it later.”
“Hmm. Okay.”
Just then, the classroom door burst open, and Lee Seo-jun and Lee Hyun-joo walked in.
“Jeez. Look at them strolling in like they own the place. Do they even know what time it is?”
Shin Young-joon muttered in disbelief.
Lee Seo-jun gave an awkward smile.
“Alright! Everyone, take your seats!”
Jang Ancheol entered the classroom.
His already massive frame seemed to have gotten even bigger over the past month.
How does someone even work out to get that huge?
“It looks like everyone had a good break. Your faces seem bright.”
Jang Ancheol scanned the room with a faint smile.
“Alright, enough chatting. Let’s talk about the second semester.
From now on, you’ll be learning new things. Some of you might even find enjoyment in picking up new skills.”
The students nodded.
“The second semester is when you need to reset your mindset. Don’t just think of it as another semester—consider it your last one before becoming third-years. What you gain from the academy as a third-year is completely different from what you get as a first or second-year.”
Third year.
Now that I think about it, next year is going to be far more hectic and challenging.
I’ll have to prepare for the graduation exam, deal with major events that happen every three years, and handle other unexpected challenges.
“Did everyone understand?”
“Yes!”
The students answered in unison, their voices filled with energy.
Jang Ancheol smiled.
“And finally, this semester won’t be an exception to the academy’s traditions. I’m sure you all know what that means.”
The All-Year Ranking Test.
Just like on the first day of the first semester, we’d be taking it again today.
“Alright! The test starts at 10! Everyone, head to the auditorium!”
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