The Regressed Extra Becomes a Genius Chapter 127 (Illustration)

[You have achieved the ‘Person of Interest’ achievement.]

[You have received 4,000 points as a reward.]

Early in the morning, as expected, a message popped up saying I had earned points.

4,000 points.

I felt like I had done pretty well yesterday, but it was less than I expected.

Maybe it’s because I’ve been drawing attention too often since the second semester started.

Even attention has a sort of diminishing return, I guess. Maybe it’s proof that people are getting used to me.

It’s a bit disappointing, but I’ve been earning a lot of points lately, so I’ll take it and be satisfied.

I stepped out of the dorm and walked down the long corridor toward class.

Since it was early morning, there were no other students in sight.

At the end of the hallway, I ran into a familiar face.

Long black hair and sharp, composed eyes.

It was Yoo Ara.

“Morning.”

As polite as ever, Yoo Ara greeted me first. I returned the greeting.

“Oh, hey.”

“Heading to class?”

“Yeah.”

“Then let’s go together.”

And just like that, I ended up walking to class with Yoo Ara.

We didn’t really continue talking after that. We just silently walked down the long hallway together. But it didn’t feel awkward or uncomfortable.

If anything, it felt… peaceful.

Then Yoo Ara broke the silence.

“How’s school life been lately?”

She probably meant all the attention I’ve been getting rather than just school in general.

I shrugged and replied.

“Annoying.”

She chuckled at my short answer.

“You’re basically a celebrity now. People around you won’t leave you alone.”

“Celebrity? Please. They’re just sniffing around hoping to get something out of me.”

“Why are you so negative?”

“Not like you have any room to talk.”

“…Whatever.”

Before we knew it, we had arrived in front of the 2nd-year Class A classroom.

Clack. As I opened the door, every student turned to look at me.

“Hey, Sunwoo. Morning!”

“You came with Yoo Ara, huh?”

“Yo, yo, Kim Sunwoo! What’s the deal with Lily Rose yesterday? Was it really you who caught her during finals?”

As I walked into the classroom, the expected flood of questions about Lily Rose came crashing down.

Seriously, why did she have to post that on social media and stir up all this drama?

“Ahh, I don’t know either.”

I ignored the attention and calmly walked toward my seat.

As I kept ignoring them, the students gradually lost interest and left me alone.

I sat down and stared blankly out the window, but I could feel someone’s harsh gaze on me, so I turned my head.

Park Inhwan.

He was staring at me with eyes full of hatred. Seemed like he still hadn’t let go of what happened during the test yesterday.

But, like… what does he want me to do about it?

I didn’t look away, so eventually Park Inhwan was the one who broke eye contact first.

Then, with a sour look on his face, he smacked one of his followers on the head.

Smack!

“Ow! Hey! Why’d you hit me?!”

“Shut up.”

“Wait, at least tell me why—”

“I said shut up.”

When Park Inhwan glared like he was ready to kill, the follower who got hit shut his mouth and looked down.

Thursday.

The day of the special elective activity had arrived.

The lecture I would be attending was the Myth and Mystery Discussion.

As usual, elective activities were done in groups.

“Is everyone here?”

Lee Seo-jun looked around and asked. All the group members nodded.

This time, our group consisted of:

Me, Lee Seo-jun, Shin Young-joon, Lee Hyun-joo, Choi Seo-yoon, and Song Seung-ah.

Somehow, it ended up being the same group from the demon safety training in the first semester. It was a solid combination of key characters.

“Ah~ I’m looking forward to this.”

“Looking forward to what? Shin Young-joon, you’re just gonna sleep through the whole thing.”

“How’d you know?”

But I was currently wondering about something.

According to the original story, this group was only supposed to include Lee Seo-jun, Shin Young-joon, and Lee Hyun-joo.

Choi Seo-yoon and Song Seung-ah were supposed to pick a different lecture.

I glanced over at Choi Seo-yoon. She flinched as if startled when she noticed me looking.

“What is it?”

“Why are you here?”

“…I just followed Seung-ah. Am I not allowed?”

“No, that’s not it.”

I turned my gaze to Song Seung-ah. She smiled brightly at me.

“This one seemed way more interesting in a bunch of ways.”

That sounded a bit ominous.

Especially the “in a bunch of ways” part—like it held several meanings I wasn’t aware of.

“…I see.”

While we were chatting, a teacher’s voice echoed from a distance.

“Alright! Everyone, board the buses!”

Time passed, and we arrived at our destination.

This was the “Mystery Hall” of the Mage Association in Seoul.

Like most Mage Association buildings, it resembled a massive palace.

The students looked around the surrounding park and statues with wide-eyed curiosity.

It really felt like a school trip.

Just as things were about to get noisy, a staff member from the association appeared.

“Hello, students of the Mage Academy. I’ll be your guide today at the Mystery Hall. My name is Yoon Min-soo.”

“Wow!”

The students welcomed him with enthusiastic cheers. The staff member smiled as if he found their excitement adorable.

“Alright, let’s head in. Please line up behind me.”

The students eagerly followed him into the Mystery Hall.

The staff member gave us a tour, explaining the various artifacts and objects related to myth and mystery.

Everyone looked around with sparkling eyes and fascinated expressions.

After about 40 minutes of touring, the main lecture was about to begin.

“Now we’ll move to the 4th-floor auditorium for the Myth and Mystery lecture.”

Following his lead, we moved to the auditorium on the 4th floor.

The fun part was over, so the students expressions dimmed a little, but the whole point of this field trip was this lecture anyway.

When we entered the auditorium, we were greeted by a massive space that could easily seat around 300 people.

Since we had to sit with our group, we found a row with enough empty seats and sat down together.

Just as I was sitting and yawning, someone poked me in the side. I turned my head to see Choi Seo-yoon looking at me curiously.

“Doesn’t this remind you of the first semester?”

I paused to think about her random comment and then realized what she meant.

“Oh~ the demon safety lecture?”

“Yeah. We sat together like this back then too.”

“But is it really worth remembering?”

At my response, Choi Seo-yoon tilted her head, confused.

“You slept through the whole thing.”

“Ah, come on. Why are you still remembering that? Forget it already.”

She frowned and replied.

“How could I forget? When I tried to wake you up, your hair was stuck all over your face. You looked like a ghost.”

Choi Seo-yoon’s ears instantly turned red.

“Oh my god. I did not look like a ghost.”

She playfully smacked my arm.

“Hehe.”

Just then, I heard a giggle. I looked over to see Song Seung-ah sitting beside Choi Seo-yoon, grinning mischievously at me.

…Uhh what?

As time passed, the lecture began.

The instructor introduced himself as “Yang Jinhyuk,” a researcher of mysteries.

Unlike the previous lecture on demon safety, this time the students listened attentively, as mythology and mysteries were subjects that sparked mages curiosity.

“The true identity of the ‘mysteries’ hidden in the world has yet to be clearly revealed. Neither science nor magic can explain them.”

The students focused on Yang Jinhyuk’s words with eyes full of interest.

Even Choi Seo-yoon beside me, who had fallen asleep during the last lecture, was paying attention this time.

That’s how captivating the topic of mysteries is to all mages.

“Mysteries have been a subject of study for mages since ancient times. Particularly the ‘holy relics,’ which are considered crystallizations of mystery, remain highly coveted by all mages to this day. Some researchers claim that the power of mysteries even holds the potential to make a human immortal.”

Yang Jinhyuk pointed to the giant screen in the middle of the auditorium.

The screen changed to display a round image glowing with blue light.

It was an illustration of “mystery” as drawn by ancient mages.

“Mages are instinctively drawn to mysteries. Why is that? Because they can cause miracles? Because they allow humans to transcend their limits?”

Yang Jinhyuk scanned the students before speaking again.

“We don’t know the exact reason, but many mystery researchers argue that the magical energy within mysteries possesses a special power that captivates the human mind.”

The screen changed again.

Black hair and pale skin.

And a strikingly handsome man appeared.

At that moment, everyone wore a startled expression. Especially Lee Seo-jun, who had been quietly listening.

“You probably know who this man is.”

The students remained silent, their faces stiff. Yang Jinhyuk looked around and continued.

“Yes, that’s right. Jin Cheonwoo, the former leader of Jaun who once struck fear across the entire world.”

The mention of Jin Cheonwoo made everyone hold their breath.

Even to the younger generation who hadn’t lived through those times, his name alone was enough to inspire fear.

“Did you know? Jin Cheonwoo was once a researcher who pursued mysteries.”

It was something I already knew, but the lecture was starting to get more interesting.

“A mind captivated by the power of mystery becomes increasingly clouded. Over time, it desires stronger and stronger mystical powers and becomes obsessed with chasing them. Jin Cheonwoo was no exception. He pursued mysteries more than anyone else. And he gathered others who shared that obsession and founded the organization known as ‘Jaun.’”

The origin of Jaun.

It wasn’t far from the truth.

“They didn’t care about the means or the cost. They stole and seized countless mysteries. And even now, we don’t know how those stolen mysteries were used.”

Yang Jinhyuk went on.

“The charm of mystery is dangerous. While all mages use tools infused with mysteries, overreliance must be avoided. We must always remain cautious and guard against obsession.”

“Jin, are you ready?”

“Yeah. You?”

“All set. Subspace kit, ID, passport, concealment mask. Perfect.”

“But once we leave Korea today, we won’t be able to come back for a while, right?”

“Right. Except for one person who’ll be left to watch Lee Seo-jun.”

A hidden Jaun hideout somewhere in Seoul.

Jaun’s members were moving busily.

“Hey. We’ve got two hours till departure. Move it!”

“Wait, wait. Where’d my passport go?”

“Here.”

“Oh, thanks.”

While everyone else was rushing around, Bert lay alone on a sofa, watching something on her smartphone.

Scar saw this and asked,

“Bert? What are you doing?”

“Watching the public ranking test video from the Mage Academy.”

“Why bother? They’re just kids.”

“Nope. It’s actually super fun.”

A wide grin spread across Bert’s face.

“This is seriously good.”

In the video, a young man stood before a target, casting a spell.

The magic orb shimmered silver for just an instant before launching forward.

It was a blink-and-you-miss-it moment for most people.

But Bert clearly saw the silver mana within the orb.

“Jin. Remember that time at the villa in Gangwon Province?”

At Bert’s sudden question, Jin paused mid-packing and looked up.

“The villa? Oh, when that demon attacked out of nowhere?”

“Yeah. And some mysterious magic blew off half its shoulder.”

“Of course I remember.”

Unforgettable. If it hadn’t been for that mysterious magic, something terrible could’ve happened to Lee Seo-jun.

“I’m finally sure who it was.”

“Sure?”

At Jin’s question, Bert just smiled and turned off the video.

“Ugh. It’s a shame we have to leave Korea right now.”

“Hey! Enough chatter, move your stuff already! You know how tight our schedule is!”

At Baek Eunseong’s shout from afar, Bert smiled and got up from the sofa.

“Yeah, yeah.”

[Character ‘Bert’ has taken a strong interest in you.]

[You’ve received 500 points as a reward.]

As the two-hour lecture ended, a mysterious message popped up in front of me.

…Bert?

As in, a member of Jaun?

The unexpected message startled me for a moment.

Why would she be interested in me?

Ah, maybe because of the test video?

While I was still puzzling over it, the other students began walking out of the auditorium. I snapped out of it and followed them outside.

“That was a cool lecture.”

“Whatever. I slept through the whole thing.”

“It was interesting, but the conclusion was basically, ‘Mysteries remain unexplained.’ Felt like a story that got cut off before the ending.”

The students chatted about their impressions of the lecture.

I stretched and loosened my stiff body.

Then a commotion started among the students again.

Everyone’s gaze turned toward the end of the hallway.

Curious, I looked that way too.

Ten people were approaching from the far end of the hall.

All of them wore sharp business suits and were engaged in conversation about official matters.

“If you keep going this way, you’ll reach it. The ‘Heavenly Vessel’ is being stored in the mystery vault. Is the lending period still the same?”

“Yes, the lending period is five years. And we’ll continue supporting the association as promised.”

“Haha. Understood.”

Their eyes suddenly turned toward us. Most of them were older, but there were a few young, familiar-looking faces.

One necklace in particular—decorated with a crystal—caught my attention.

“There are a lot of students here.”

“Oh, the Mage Academy is visiting today.”

“…Mage Academy?”

They glanced at us briefly.

“Hmm. We’ve got something scheduled with the Mage Academy soon too.”

“Do you? What kind of event?”

“Oh, just a sponsorship matter.”

“Ah, I see.”

And for about a second—

Our eyes met.

I quickly turned away.

At that moment, the footsteps stopped.

“……”

“Director?”

“…Ah, sorry. I mistook someone for someone I knew. Let’s keep going.”

Tap, tap. They walked off somewhere.

And then, shortly after, another buzz stirred among the students.

“Whoa. No way! That was Han Se-yeon, right?”

“Crazy! She’s stunning in person.”

The students were abuzz, thrilled at seeing one of Korea’s top celebrities in real life.

I calmed my racing heart.

What is Han Se-yeon doing here?

Official Illustration of Han Se-yeon