Friday Morning.
My first class was pushed back to 1 PM, giving me some free time in the morning.
Not wanting to waste it, I headed to the training room.
[The door opens.]
As the door to the training room swung open, familiar faces came into view.
Lee Seo-jun, Shin Young-joon… and Choi Seo-yoon.
I wasn’t sure why Choi Seo-yoon was here, but since her secondary ability was enhancement-type, she was probably using that as an excuse to see Lee Seo-jun.
“Kim Sun-woo’s here.”
“Hey.”
“Oh, hey.”
As I stepped inside, Lee Seo-jun and Shin Young-joon greeted me.
I returned the greeting, and Choi Seo-yoon approached me.
“Hello.”
“Oh, hey.”
She looked straight at me and spoke.
“Senior, I have a question.”
“Yeah?”
“Why do you always ignore my messages?”
Caught off guard by her unexpected question, I stared at her blankly.
Messages?
What messages had she sent me?
I’d ignored so many that I couldn’t even remember.
“I don’t remember. What did you send?”
At my response, Choi Seo-yoon’s eyebrow twitched.
“I asked you last week if the rumors were true.”
“Oh, right.”
That was the day Jang Ye rejected me.
Now that she mentioned it, I did recall receiving that message from her.
When I finally reacted, she let out a deep sigh.
“Tch. You really have no interest in me at all, huh? Senior, do you have something against me?”
Something against her?
“No, not really.”
“Then why do you keep ignoring my messages?”
“Because you only send pointless ones.”
At my blunt reply, her delicate brows furrowed.
“Do I… really need to send only important messages? Can’t we just have casual conversations sometimes?”
She pouted, mumbling that I was boring.
Getting ignored a few times, and she’s already this upset?
Well, she’s probably used to being treated like a princess, so my attitude must’ve bruised her ego.
“Alright, I’ll try to ignore you less.”
“Ugh, seriously! What does ‘try to ignore you less’ even mean? Forget it! I just won’t message you anymore!”
[Character ‘Choi Seo-yoon’ is sulking.]
[You have earned 500 points as a reward.]
Choi Seo-yoon turned away with a huff.
And what exactly do you expect me to do about that?
Whatever.
I ignored her and started stretching.
Just then, Shin Young-joon, who had been watching our exchange with great interest, leaned in and spoke.
“Oh? What’s this?”
“What?”
“You two seem pretty close?”
Close, my ass.
This guy has a habit of twisting things he sees to fit his own imagination.
He did the same thing with me and Jang Ye last time, too.
Actually, now that I think about it, he wasn’t wrong about that situation.
I did get rejected, after all.
“Hey, this is all because you went around spreading nonsense.”
“What nonsense?”
“That time with Park Min—ugh, forget it.”
I didn’t want to bring up painful memories, so I shut my mouth and resumed stretching.
Just then, the door to the training room opened again.
Speak of the devil.
The person who walked in was none other than Jang Ye.
“Hey, guys.”
She greeted us cheerfully upon spotting us.
“Hello.”
“Hello, Park Minye Senior.”
Lee Seo-jun and Shin Young-joon bowed in greeting.
Behind them, even Choi Seo-yoon dipped her head slightly.
I glanced at them briefly before going back to my stretches.
“Hello.”
Then, she approached me and greeted me personally.
Her expression was completely different from when she rejected me—now, she was all smiles.
“…Uh, hi.”
Last time, she was so uncomfortable, but now she’s greeting me first?
I looked at her with suspicion, and she spoke.
“Why haven’t you been coming to the training room lately? I was looking for you.”
“…Huh?”
“I felt like I answered a bit too hastily last time. It’s been on my mind.”
“Oh, uh… I see.”
“Let’s stay friendly. Maybe even keep in touch.”
What’s with her?
Knowing that she was actually a demon made her sudden friendliness feel all the more unsettling.
“Ohhh…”
A small exclamation came from beside me.
I turned my head sharply to find Shin Young-joon watching me with an amused expression.
Behind him, Choi Seo-yoon was sneaking glances at me.
[Character ‘Choi Seoyoon’ is curious about you.]
[You have earned 500 points as a reward.]
[Character ‘Shin Young-joon’ is cheering you on.]
[You have earned 500 points as a reward.]
…What is with these guys?
After finishing my training in the gym, I headed to the magic training grounds.
Going straight into magic training right after intense physical training was both physically and mentally exhausting, but with the upcoming confrontation with Jo Seong-hoon’s group this weekend and a few techniques I wanted to test, I forced myself to push through.
[Generating target.]
[Setting target quantity.]
[Target quantity: 1.]
—Whoooong!
A magic sphere formed above my palm.
I gathered my mana and compressed it to the limit.
In just five seconds, nearly all of my mana was drained.
‘Tch.’
The lack of mana was frustrating, but I ignored it and fired the sphere at the target.
—Swoosh!
Leaving a bright white streak in the air, the magic sphere shot forward.
With a loud explosion, the target was obliterated.
“Haa…”
My entire mana reserve was emptied in an instant.
I felt a slight fatigue setting in.
Normally, I’d have to stop training here, but I had a way to keep going.
Opening my subspace, I took out a mana elixir that Han Se-yeon had given me and downed it in one gulp.
“Ugh…”
A disgusting, fishy taste spread through my mouth.
[The effect of ‘Amplified Mana Elixir’ increases mana recovery speed by 500% for 5 minutes.]
[After the duration ends, you will experience mana exhaustion for 30 minutes.]
The elixir’s effects manifested immediately.
The depleted mana rapidly surged back into my body.
Now, let’s begin the experiment.
The maximum amount of mana I can compress.
[Generating target.]
[Setting the number of targets.]
[Number of targets: 1.]
“Hngh!”
I focused my mind.
At the same time, a magic sphere emitting a pure white glow materialized above my hand.
Whooong—
Maintaining my concentration, I continued drawing in and compressing the mana filling my body.
Compress the mana.
Compress it again.
But soon, I reached the limit of how much mana I could condense. My lack of proficiency in mana control was the problem.
“Ugh.”
A momentary dizziness washed over me, but I held my focus.
The rate of compression had slowed significantly, yet I continued to condense the magic, even at this sluggish pace.
This experiment was meant to push my limits.
How much magic could I manifest at my current peak?
After about two minutes, I snapped back to awareness.
Floating above my hand was a magic sphere, shimmering in a silver glow.
“…….”
Silver mana—the symbol of an A-rank manifestation mage.
Even though it had taken two whole minutes to compress, the fact remained: the silver mana shone in my grasp.
As I stood there in awe, a message appeared before my eyes.
[Achievement unlocked: ‘Manifestation of Silver Mana.’]
[Reward: 5,000 points obtained.]
[First-ever successful manifestation of Silver Mana!]
[Proficiency in ‘Mana Control (B)’ increased by 30%.]
[Mana stat increased by 2.]
“……Oh? This is huge.”
A 30% increase in mana control proficiency was staggering.
Mana control was the most critical factor in determining a mage’s rank.
Given the massive gap between B-rank and A-rank, this growth rate was unheard of.
‘At this rate, am I going to reach A-rank soon?’
* * *
[Sale completed.]
At 1:00 PM, after finishing my personal training in the morning, I logged into my securities account and sold part of my Hanseong Pharmaceuticals stock.
I wanted to sell everything, but there wasn’t an immediate need for a large sum of money.
As a result, my brokerage account now held a clean 1 billion won.
Next, I would invest a portion of this into Dawn’s Blade stock…
“Alright! Looks like everyone’s here. Let’s begin class.”
The multipurpose training ground, located about 10 meters from the main building of the Mage Academy.
From the front, I heard Jang Ancheol’s signature booming voice.
Startled, I swiftly completed the purchase of 80,000 shares of Dawn’s Blade stock.
[Smart device usage terminated.]
Then, as if nothing had happened, I minimized the brokerage window—one of the perks of my unique abilities—and turned my attention to Jang Ancheol.
This function was incredibly convenient. I could browse the internet in secret without getting caught.
“Before we start, I’ll explain why we’re holding this class today. As you all know, a lot of troubling incidents have been occurring lately. Two days ago, a demon attacked the school, and just yesterday, a magic-based terrorist attack took place in Incheon.”
The students nodded solemnly, their expressions tense.
Jang Ancheol looked around at them before continuing.
“That’s why now is the time to train your personal defensive techniques against potential demon attacks. Today, we’ll be conducting a practical magic defense training session.”
“Whoa. That sounds intense.”
“Wasn’t practical magic defense supposed to be a third-year course?”
Excited murmurs spread among the students.
As the atmosphere grew livelier, Jang Ancheol’s face hardened.
“I can already see some students approaching this class too lightly. If any of you intend to participate half-heartedly, you might as well leave now. This session will include real combat defense drills.”
A combat role-training drill.
In this exercise, two students would take turns assuming offensive and defensive roles for a few minutes before switching roles and continuing the duel.
In simple terms, it was a training session where participants alternated between attack and defense.
“Now, for this magic defense training, we will conduct a combat role-training drill… Does anyone volunteer to go first?”
Jang Ancheol scanned the students.
However, the response was tepid.
Even I lacked confidence in magic defense, so I remained still.
As no one stepped forward, Jang Ancheol let out a disappointed sigh.
“Seems like no one is eager to go first. In that case…”
His gaze slowly swept over the students, stopping at one person.
“Park Inhwan, step forward.”
At his name being called, Park Inhwan strode to the front.
His confident footsteps drew the attention of the students.
“Would you like to recommend an opponent?”
Park Inhwan’s gaze swept across the students.
He seemed to be searching for someone, and soon, his eyes locked onto mine.
“Kim Sun-woo.”
…Me?
At his unexpected nomination, a wave of murmurs rippled through the students.
“Kim Sunwoo?”
“Well, he did perform pretty well in the last exam.”
“But isn’t the rank gap too big? That’s a difference between 5th place and 150th place.”
Jang Ancheol shifted his gaze toward me.
“Alright, Kim Sunwoo. Step forward.”
Caught off guard, I hesitantly walked to the front.
Forty-eight pairs of eyes fixated on me.
Some were filled with anticipation, others with amusement.
Among them, the gazes of Yoo Ara and Yoon Hayoung stood out the most.
“Good. Now, both of you, step onto the field and face each other.”
Park Inhwan and I faced off.
Though he feigned a composed demeanor, his eyes held a malicious glint.
“I will assign your roles. Park Inhwan, you will defend. Kim Sun-woo, you will attack. No other actions are permitted. Each of you will fulfil your roles for one minute before switching.”
“Yes, sir.”
Park Inhwan grinned as he responded.
His thoughts were obvious.
He was already savouring the idea of pounding me when our roles switched.
‘This guy needs to be put in his place.’
His enjoyment of tormenting others was a serious issue.
Taking a deep breath, I looked at Jang Ancheol and asked,
“Is there any restriction on attack methods?”
“None.”
“What if the opponent is inexperienced in defense and gets hurt?”
At my provocation, Park Inhwan let out a scoffing laugh.
“Ha. As if your worthless magic could even scratch me.”
Jang Ancheol cut in with a firm tone.
“Park Inhwan, don’t get overconfident.”
Park Inhwan promptly shut his mouth.
“Let me be clear—this is not a real battle. This drill is designed to help you develop a sense of magic defense. If someone gets hurt due to a mistake, that’s unfortunate, but emotions should not influence your approach to training. Understood?”
“……Yes, sir.”
“Then, prepare for battle.”
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