I had returned to the apartment and was sitting on the sofa, checking the email again.
━━
[Name: Kim Chang-hyun]
[Date of Birth]
May 22, 2014 (20 years old)
Sunhyeon Family, Paju, Gyeonggi Province
[Nationality]
Republic of Korea
[Family]
Kim Ji-cheol – Father (Died in 2020 due to Mystic Fever)
Jung Ji-hyun – Mother (Died in 2020 due to Mystic Fever)
[Education]
Graduated top of class from the Korean Mage Academy
[Specialty]
Manifestation Type
……
……
[Assessment]
- Diligent, highly intelligent
- No issues found in personality test at the Mage Academy
- Lacks social skills
- All family members deceased, no relatives
- Exceptional abilities, but appears to have little ambition according to peers
- First top graduate in the academy’s history to miss the graduation ceremony
━━
“Hmm…”
No matter how many times I looked at it, it felt strange.
It wasn’t that Kim Chang-hyun’s information itself was odd—rather, it was so normal that it felt suspicious.
He had a proper family, though now gone, and came from the Seonhyun family, which, while unfamiliar to me, seemed respectable.
Of course, if you analyse it in detail, it wasn’t exactly an ordinary background.
First of all, the fact that his entire family died of Mystic Fever stood out.
But considering the backstories of characters in the original work and Kim Chang-hyun’s suspicious behaviour, this background actually felt ordinary.
“Seonhyun family…”
What kind of family is that?
It wasn’t even mentioned in the original.
I had no choice but to search ‘Seonhyun Family’ online.
[Search results for ‘Seonhyun Family’]
「Mystery researchers Kim Ji-cheol and Jung Ji-hyun couple discover link between mysterious mana and enchantment.」
「Seonhyun Family wins International Mystery Studies Award」
……
……
Surprisingly, a lot of information came up.
After looking into it, I learned that the Seonhyun family was a lineage of scholars who studied mysteries and magic.
Unlike ‘Kim Sunwoo’, who didn’t exist in this world, he had a solid background.
I had suspected he might be someone from another world like me—but it seems that’s not the case.
I rested my chin on my hand and tapped the sofa with my fingers.
The email also included records of Kim Chang-hyun’s activities.
Apparently, he had shown exceptional magical talent from a young age.
Based on that talent, he entered the Mage Academy as the top student and even made an impressive showing at the Sacred Martial Festival in his first year, outperforming upperclassmen.
And then…
[Post-Graduation ~ Present: Missing]
He’s currently missing.
Even Jeogam Guild, known for managing all information in the world, didn’t know his whereabouts, which means he’s intentionally gone into hiding somewhere.
“……I thought I’d find at least a clue.”
Instead, it feels like I’ve been pulled deeper into a labyrinth.
There’s nothing I can clearly guess, though it does seem somehow related to mysteries—but even that isn’t certain.
“……I guess I’ll have to look into it myself.”
I got up and started getting dressed.
When you don’t know something, going to check it out yourself is the best answer.
The house where Kim Chang-hyun was born and raised.
Let’s go to the Seonhyun family estate.
Following a map I found online, I arrived at the Seonhyun family’s mansion.
It wasn’t hard to find since the family had once been prominent.
This was Paju in Gyeonggi Province—not exactly an isolated area.
There were several residential houses nearby, and a commercial district wasn’t far off either.
I stared blankly up at the mansion.
It was a four-story home—rare to see in Korea.
The building had a Western-style design, giving it a somewhat antique feeling.
But the moss and vines clinging to the outer walls showed it hadn’t been maintained in a long time.
Well, considering everyone from the Seonhyun family except Kim Chang-hyun had died, it wasn’t surprising.
They said even Kim Chang-hyun had left the house about eight years ago.
I knocked on the front gate.
Naturally, there was no response. I tried the doorknob.
Clunk.
As expected, it didn’t open.
Activating the Outsider’s Privilege revealed a complex magical formula wrapped around the doorknob.
“Hm…”
I glanced around to make sure no one was watching and infused my mana to alter the magical formula.
Vmmm…
Click!
‘Got it!’
Cheering silently, I opened the door.
The mansion was covered in dust.
The atmosphere was eerie—just like any abandoned house.
I slowly walked through, inspecting my surroundings.
The deeper I went inside, the more it felt like a scholar’s home.
‘No research documents left.’
Judging from the burnt paper remains on the floor, everything had probably been burned or discarded.
Or perhaps Kim Chang-hyun had taken it all.
“…Sigh.”
After searching the mansion for about 20 minutes, I came to a stop. I had turned the place inside out, but in the end, found nothing that could be called a clue.
I swept the thick dust off a sofa and sat down. I thought I knew everything, but there was still so much in this world I didn’t understand.
Even setting aside the ‘butterfly effect’ caused by my interference, there were so many detailed settings that were never described.
I couldn’t tell whether these were newly created or simply things the original work had never touched upon.
Since the novel was mainly focused on Lee Seo-jun, maybe it was only natural.
“Tch.”
Just as I clicked my tongue in frustration and prepared to leave—I noticed a painting that caught my eye.
It was a circular picture with a blue glow.
And the moment I saw it, I knew what it was.
It was a depiction of a ‘Mystery’ painted by ancient mages and scholars.
Just in case, I activated the Outsider’s Privilege and examined the painting.
“As expected.”
As I’d guessed, a magical device was hidden inside the painting. It was sealed with a complex formula, but it wasn’t too hard to unlock.
I infused mana to separate the lock embedded in the frame.
Then the frame opened, revealing a small compartment like a safe.
Apparently, the frame had been a disguised safe. Inside, I found a photograph of a young child.
A face that looked oddly familiar.
He resembled Kim Chang-hyun.
And I instinctively realized—this was a childhood photo of Kim Chang-hyun.
I examined the photo carefully, then turned it over and found some writing on the back.
[There’s only about one year left until the promised time. I’ll visit you in a week. 2018/4/22]
“…What is this.”
I had no idea who wrote it or what it meant.
What does it mean there’s only one year left?
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t come up with an answer. 2018 was fifteen years ago.
First, I stored the photo in my subspace.
With a faint hope, I activated the Outsider’s Privilege and looked around, but there were no special traces to be seen.
“…Should I head back.”
A week full of questions passed, and a new week began.
I was busy packing my things early in the morning. I filled my bag with food and various tools.
The bag was small, but it kept holding more and more. It was the highest-grade subspace bag I had purchased for a whopping one billion won.
Although I had a subspace ability myself, it had become too cramped from storing so many things, so I bought a new one.
As I was packing, Gretel, who seemed to have just woken up, approached me with sleepy steps.
Her face seemed to ask where I was going.
“Gretel, I think I’ll have to be away from home for a few days.”
Gretel’s expression instantly became gloomy. Maybe it was because I had been away from home so often lately, but she looked even more down than usual.
“Ungae.”
She looked at me as if asking how long I’d be gone.
“Hmm. About a week? Oh, but for you, it’ll be just two days.”
Gretel tilted her head, not understanding what I meant.
Of course she didn’t understand. The place I’m going to today is the Training Room.
The Training Room is imbued with the mystery of “slowed time,” so while a week passes inside, only two days go by in the outside world.
The reason I’m packing right now is because I’ll be living in the Training Room for a whole week.
“Anyway, I’ll be back in two days, so don’t worry too much and behave yourself, okay?”
“Ungae.”
Gretel smiled and nodded. I picked her up and gently patted her back.
Seeing her bright face put my mind at ease.
“Then I’m off!”
After saying goodbye to Gretel, I stepped outside.
The Training Room is located in the “Tower of Trials,” a place I had visited before.
Just like the hidden stage I entered previously in the Tower of Trials, the Training Room is another hidden stage within it.
Training Room tickets are given as rare rewards from the tower, and because of the slowed time and ability to focus on training, they are sold at high prices among mages.
Of course, even with money, it’s not something you can easily buy, since it’s rarely available.
“Hey, Kim Sunwoo’s coming.”
As I approached the Tower of Trials, Lee Seo-jun waved at me in greeting.
Around him stood the remaining team members: Yoo Ara, Choi Seo-yoon, and Shin Young-joon.
One thing they all had in common was that they each carried a large backpack.
“Why is your bag so small though?”
Shin Young-joon asked, noticing the small bag on my back.
“Oh, this? It’s a subspace bag.”
At my response, everyone except Lee Seo-jun showed a spark of interest in their eyes.
“Wow. Subspace bags are super expensive. I heard a proper one costs at least a hundred million won. And yours looks pretty big too. How much was it?”
“Uh… about a billion won?” *About 700,000 USD
“…W-What?!”
Shin Young-joon’s jaw dropped. I guess it was a bit much for teenagers who were still nineteen.
“…Where did you make that kind of money?”
“From stocks, dungeon raids, and relic rewards.”
I shrugged as if it were no big deal.
After exchanging greetings, we headed toward the Tower of Trials.
When we reached the tower’s entrance, an association staff member stepped in to block us.
“Oh? Are you Lee Seo-jun?”
The staff member immediately recognized Lee Seo-jun. Then, glancing around at the rest of us, he seemed to realize who we were.
“Hello.”
Lee Seo-jun gave a polite bow, and the staff member looked slightly puzzled.
“Ah, yes. Nice to meet you. But what brings the famous Mage Academy students here? The tower only allows professional mages to enter…”
“We’re here to use our Training Room tickets.”
At Seo-jun’s words, the staff member let out a small exclamation.
“Ah, right. I remember hearing something about that. You won the tickets as part of the school festival prize, correct? Haha.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
I stood quietly behind Lee Seo-jun, trying to remain unnoticed.
This was the same staff member who had been guarding the tower’s entrance when I, as Kim Jinwoo, had entered before.
It would be troublesome if he recognized me, so I stayed silent.
That’s when the staff member’s eyes met mine.
He looked at me with curious eyes, then opened his mouth.
“…Oh?! Could it be?!”
What the— Don’t tell me he thinks I’m Kim Jinwoo?
“Aren’t you Kim Sunwoo?”
At those words, I let out a silent sigh of relief.
Thank goodness—seems he doesn’t recognize me. Well, that was ages ago. No way he’d remember my face from back then.
“Yes, I’m Kim Sunwoo.”
“Wow. I’m personally a fan. Your rise from the bottom is really inspiring.”
“Ah, thank you…”
“By the way, do you all have your tickets with you?”
We each showed our tickets.
After confirming them, the staff member nodded and led us into the tower.
I looked around the interior of the tower, which I hadn’t seen in a long time. Just like before, there was a small space with a single blue portal.
“When entering the portal, you have to insert all five tickets at once at the entrance. That way, the will of the tower won’t reject you.”
We all nodded and inserted the five tickets at the same time.
Then, a blinding light enveloped our vision.
[You have entered the hidden floor of the Tower of Trials, the ‘Training Room.’]
[The Tower of Trials welcomes your return.]
[Mana of Mystery surrounds you.]
[Achievement Unlocked: ‘Entered the Training Room.’]
[Reward: 5,000 Points Earned.]
I heard the will of the tower echo in my mind.
It was a voice I hadn’t heard in a while—familiar and nostalgic.
Still, it says it welcomes my return?
It seems the tower has realized that “Kim Jinwoo” and “Kim Sunwoo” are essentially the same person.
“Wow. This is amazing.”
Next to me, Choi Seo-yoon looked around with sparkling eyes. Yoo Ara, a training enthusiast, also looked around with a bright expression.
I wasn’t much different.
I looked around, admiring the mysterious atmosphere.
A vast and pure white space.
Here, we could focus solely on training.
As I was taking it all in, Yoo Ara approached me.
“Have you decided on your training goal? Everyone who’s been here before says you should have one.”
“Yeah. I’ve decided.”
At my response, Yoo Ara gave me a surprised look.
“Really? What kind of training?”
It’s a pretty difficult one.
Even with a week—or rather, even with five years—I can’t say for sure I’ll master it.
But I have something I’ve prepared for this day, so I feel a bit confident.
━━
[High-Grade Potion of Comprehension (???)]
Description: Increases magical comprehension by 7x.
*Duration: 7 days
Price: 50,000 points
━━
My goal is to achieve even an incomplete version of Disc Rebound within a week.
