[1st Place: Lee Seo-jun – 32.40 seconds]
[2nd Place: Kim Sunwoo – 32.52 seconds]
The result of the race echoed through the stadium via the announcer’s mic.
As everyone expected, first place went to Lee Seo-jun.
Second place was Kim Sun-woo.
It was a predictable outcome, but the race itself was so close that no one could tell who would win until the very end.
Lee Seo-jun was crazy fast, as usual, and Kim Sun-woo clearly showed why he’s considered the hottest rising star these days.
It was the kind of match that kept every spectator on the edge of their seat.
Truly worthy of being called the stars of the famed “Midterm Tournament Finals.”
“……”
And Han Se-yeon had been watching that intense race from a distance the entire time.
She couldn’t miss it—after all, it was a showdown between Lee Seo-jun and Kim Sunwoo, the key sponsorship targets of Hanseong Pharmaceuticals.
Especially Kim Sunwoo.
Though he lost, he didn’t fall short in the slightest against the one hailed as the greatest genius of all time, Lee Seo-jun.
Even though she knew nothing about magic, it was clear even to her just how outstanding Kim Sunwoo’s performance had been.
“Team leader, let’s take a moment to watch.”
“Pardon? Director, the next schedule…”
“It’ll only take three minutes.”
Han Se-yeon walked toward the track.
As she approached, the surrounding spectators turned to her with surprised expressions.
“H-Han Se-yeon?”
“No way. Is it really her? Wow.”
Voices whispered from nearby, but she ignored them and kept walking forward.
She approached Kim Sunwoo, who was sitting near the finish line, panting heavily.
Sensing her gaze, Kim Sunwoo lifted his head.
The moment their eyes met, Han Se-yeon’s thoughts came to a halt.
Up close, he looked even more like that person. Not just the face, but the build, the vibe—everything.
No, at this point, aren’t they basically the same person? Honestly, if Kim Jinwoo just shaved his beard, he’d look exactly like this.
“……”
And Kim Sunwoo’s expression shifted slightly at Han Se-yeon’s sudden appearance.
She assumed it was because of her fame.
“Hello. You’re Kim Sunwoo, right? I just watched your race—it was impressive.”
Han Se-yeon smiled warmly as she spoke. Kim Sunwoo nodded without a word.
His eyes held a guarded look. Unfazed, Han Se-yeon continued speaking.
“Caught you off guard, didn’t I? The truth is, I’ve had my eye on you for a while now. Enough to consider you a potential sponsorship candidate.”
“…Yes, I’m aware.”
A short reply. His voice was ordinary—young, the kind of tone you’d expect from a typical high schooler.
Still, it felt a little off to her, maybe because she’d been imagining Kim Jinwoo’s voice, which was much deeper.
Then, Kim Sunwoo dusted himself off and stood up. Han Se-yeon looked up at him from up close.
Standing, he seemed just a little taller than Kim Jinwoo.
His frame looked slightly sturdier, too. A very subtle difference—almost unnoticeable.
“Do you have anything else you’d like to say?”
Kim Sunwoo asked bluntly. That tone snapped Han Se-yeon back to reality.
That’s when it hit her—this person wasn’t Kim Jinwoo.
“Huh? Oh, no. I just wanted to tell you that I enjoyed the race.”
She smiled gently. Kim Sunwoo gave a small nod.
“Ah, thank you. Then, I’ll be going.”
“W-Wait a second!”
Han Se-yeon called out, stopping him. Kim Sunwoo turned to her, eyes filled with curiosity.
“Is there something else?”
“There’s something I’d like to ask… personally.”
“Personally?”
Han Se-yeon glanced around, aware of all the eyes on them.
His family background—that’s what she was curious about.
There was no information about his family in Kim Sunwoo’s documents.
And now that she’d seen his face in person, she couldn’t help but revisit the possibility that he might be connected to Kim Jinwoo.
But with so many people watching, it didn’t feel right to ask here.
That’s when—
[The long-throwing competition will begin in 10 minutes.]
[Participants and spectators, please head to the Secondary Athletic Field.]
The next event announcement echoed from the speaker.
“Looks like the next event’s starting. I have to get going.”
“…Huh?”
Han Se-yeon blinked.
“Oh. Right. Of course.”
She was briefly flustered, but since she didn’t intend to stop him, she smiled and let him go.
Kim Sunwoo gave a polite bow and then disappeared somewhere.
Left alone, Han Se-yeon let out a soft sigh.
‘…He’s less personable than I thought.’
Tch. She felt strangely disappointed.
The way he so openly showed discomfort toward her, the way he looked at her with caution…
Maybe she’d set her expectations too high just because he looked like Kim Jinwoo.
She found herself missing Kim Jinwoo for no reason.
Even though he always seemed harsh, he was surprisingly kind to her.
He’d act busy, but still respond to her messages right away. He’d listen patiently when she was stressed about work.
When they drank together alone, he’d sometimes speak gently… and he had this charmingly tsundere side to him…
“Hmm-hmm.”
Yeah. The fake could never live up to the real one.
She’d have to give him a call after work.
[The Rescue Competition has ended.]
[Announcing the rankings.]
[1st Place: Kim Sunwoo]
[600 Coins have been awarded to Kim Sunwoo.]
“Whew.”
Even after the race, I participated in several other events. The long throw, the magic accuracy challenge, the rescue event, and so on. I placed first or second in most of them.
My coin count—a measure of my score in the Taehwi Festival—had grown quite a bit.
“First place goes to Kim Sunwoo! Please share a few words with us!”
The announcer shouted cheerfully. The crowd burst into applause.
“Um… I’m happy with the results. Thank you.”
I answered, and the announcer let out a slightly awkward chuckle.
“Y-Yes! A simple and clean response! You may step down now!”
I stepped off the stage.
[Coins Owned: 2,600]
[Current Rank: 1st]
Currently, I’m in first place.
The second-place score is 2,200 points, so the gap is quite significant.
There’s a specific reason why I’ve been able to achieve such good results.
While others focused only on their area of specialty, I achieved high scores in both enhancement-type and manifestation-type categories.
“Let’s call it a day.”
My goal is to make it into the top 5 anyway.
Taking a break now isn’t a bad idea. And tomorrow is the group event—an important one at that—called “Hunt.” I’ll rake in a bunch of coins there and can just relax on the final day, day three. The plan is perfect.
Still, I do have a slight worry that my involvement might alter the original rankings.
If that happens, I might end up unintentionally hindering the growth of the other characters.
“Hmmm.”
I walked slowly toward the dormitory.
“…It’s already evening.”
The sky had turned crimson with the sunset, and it was growing dark. Most of the outsiders that had filled the school earlier seemed to have left.
Then I recalled my earlier encounter with Han Se-yeon. Her gaze filled with interest—it was so intense that it made my heart pound with tension.
It felt completely different from approaching someone who knew Kim Sunwoo while looking like Kim Jinwoo.
We’ll probably run into each other again during the closing ceremony. What should I do then?
As I wandered in thought, I spotted a familiar face in front of the dormitory.
It was Choi Seo-yoon. She noticed me too and greeted me with a bright smile.
“Already heading in?”
“Yeah. I earned a nice haul of coins.”
“Ooh~ What’s your rank? I saw the sprint event earlier.”
“First place.”
Choi Seo-yoon reacted in surprise.
While the coin scores for each rank were publicly displayed via the smart student notebook, the names themselves were not.
“Wow. As expected…”
She nodded.
“Where are you headed?”
“Oh, I’m waiting for the next event.”
Events run until 9 p.m. If the second-place player wins the next one, I might lose my lead.
Well, even if I do, it’s not like I care that much.
“Yeah? Anyway, good luck.”
I was about to pass by her and enter the dormitory when—
“Sunbae!”
Choi Seo-yoon called me again. When I turned my head, she looked nervous under the soft evening lights.
“Do you have time tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow?”
“Yes! I was wondering if you might want to join the team battle with me.”
If we’re talking about tomorrow’s team event, then it must be the “Hunt” that Yoo Ara and I already agreed to do together. But something felt off.
Choi Seo-yoon wasn’t originally supposed to participate in the “Hunt” event.
“There’s this event called ‘Hunt’ where we just have to take down monsters. Oh, and afterward there’s also a firewor—”
“I already joined a team for that.”
“Huh?”
“I’ve already got someone to team up with.”
Choi Seo-yoon looked dazed for a moment.
“Uh… with who?”
“Yoo Ara.”
“Oh, I see.”
She said that and then muttered to herself.
“Didn’t know that.”
She looked a bit down, and I felt kind of guilty for some reason.
“Uh… anyway, I’m already set, so you should try finding someone else.”
She nodded, then gave me an awkward smile.
It didn’t suit her usual image as the “master of fake smiles.”
“You’ve been hanging out with Yoo Ara sunbae a lot lately. You two must’ve gotten really close.”
“…It’s not like we’re constantly together or anything.”
“Oh come on, you two even met up secretly late at night the other day. Feels like you’ve been sharing a lot of secrets too.”
“Hey, that was—”
“Oh! It’s getting late. I’ll be going now! Gotta find someone for the team event!”
She said cheerfully. Her voice was unnecessarily high-pitched.
“Ah… yeah, go ahead.”
“Good luck, sunbae!”
Then she dashed off somewhere. Her steps were fast—almost like she’d used magic.
9:50 a.m. the next day.
The team event considered the most important of the day, the monster hunt, had begun.
Nearly 150 students passed through a portal and arrived at the Mage Association-owned monster field, “Ghost Island.”
This island has long been used as a monster field for tests at the Mage Academy.
Just like Fog Island from before, this place is also affected by a unique natural mana anomaly.
The anomaly afflicting this island is known as “Trace Preservation.”
[This island possesses a unique mana anomaly. It is called the mirage of mana, phantom, or ghost. You may experience something extraordinary on this island.]
The host—no, the instructor in charge of today’s monster hunt—spoke.
Yoo Ara, standing beside me, nodded as if she finally understood.
“So this is that Ghost Island. Interesting.”
I joked with her.
“It’s famous for ghost sightings, you know. Better be careful not to get possessed.”
“…Possessed? It’s probably just illusion magic or something.”
Yoo Ara’s response was cool.
It wasn’t that she was pretending not to be scared—she genuinely wasn’t.
Yeah, even if ghosts were real, she probably wouldn’t be afraid.
If a ghost appeared, she’d just blast it with a fire spell.
[The event rules are simple. Defeating monsters earns you points. When the time limit ends, rankings are determined based on your score. Points also vary depending on the magic stones obtained from the monsters.]
This “Ghost Island” episode may seem like just another school festival mini-event, but it’s actually quite important.
Clues about a character central to the main story will emerge here.
[Additionally, stealing other teams’ magic stones or causing them harm is strictly forbidden. If caught, you’ll be immediately disqualified.]
I glanced over at Lee Seo-jun.
He had no idea what was about to happen and was happily chatting with his teammate, Lee Hyun-joo.
I checked on the other major characters.
Won Hyuk and an extra.
Me and Yoo Ara.
Choi Seo-yoon and Song Seung-ah.
Even now, I still have no idea why Choi Seo-yoon and Song Seung-ah are in the mix.
Some kind of butterfly effect caused by my interference, no doubt.
At that moment, my eyes met Choi Seo-yoon’s. She seemed briefly startled, then quickly looked away.
…What the heck?
Then the voice rang out again.
[The test duration is 8 hours total!]
[The team that defeats the most monsters will earn the highest coin reward!]
[Let’s begin!]
The event had started.
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