A skyscraper in Seoul.
In the pitch-black darkness, a figure emerged.
It was the technique known as “Darkening,” primarily used by demons—an ability that only high-ranking demons could wield.
The man who revealed himself bowed to another man gazing out at the city’s nightscape.
“Lord Haryeong, I have discovered that Kim Jinwoo attended the ‘Night of the Pioneers’ last night.”
Following Haryeong’s orders, the man had investigated Kim Jinwoo, who had suddenly drawn attention with his actions the day before.
Tracking his movements had not been difficult. By tracing the movements of Jo Seong-hoon, the man Kim Jinwoo had confronted, Jinwoo’s whereabouts naturally became clear as well.
“And I also checked the hotel’s CCTV footage. He wasn’t being obvious, but it was clear that he was keeping an eye on Jo Seong-hoon. Kim Jinwoo capturing Jo Seong-hoon wasn’t a mere coincidence—he must have approached him with a purpose.”
Haryeong reached his hand back.
The man stepped forward and placed a few documents and a video device into his hand.
“And what about his movements after that?”
“We couldn’t track them precisely. The alley where Jo Seong-hoon and Kim Jinwoo fought was a deserted area, with no CCTV coverage.”
“…I see.”
“Ah, and there’s another message to relay.”
“What is it?”
At Haryeong’s question, the man hesitated for a moment, as if reluctant to speak.
“There has been a summons from the Ten Magi(demon) Council regarding the power of the Demon Slayer.”
A fierce killing intent surged from Haryeong. The man trembled in fear.
The Ten Magi Council.
It was a gathering of ten S-rank demons, centered around the Second Demon King.
As an S-rank demon himself, Haryeong was part of this group.
“Understood. You may leave.”
At Haryeong’s words, the man vanished into the darkness as if fleeing.
Left alone, Haryeong fell into deep thought before eventually playing the video device in his hand.
A bright light emitted from the device, projecting a hologram.
It displayed a luxurious event hall.
Haryeong fixed his gaze on a familiar face in the video.
A man in an elegant suit—Kim Jinwoo.
“…….”
In the footage, Kim Jinwoo appeared to be enjoying the event, but he occasionally glanced at Jo Seong-hoon.
Just as the subordinate had reported, Kim Jinwoo was keeping tabs on him.
“Did he already know Jo Seong-hoon was going to cause trouble?”
Then, the moment Jo Seong-hoon left the hall, Kim Jinwoo watched him go—before following after him.
The news had reported that Kim Jinwoo had coincidentally encountered Jo Seong-hoon as the latter was committing a crime.
But that was false.
The footage made it clear—Kim Jinwoo had come to the event with Jo Seong-hoon as his target.
“Hmm.”
Kim Jinwoo… that man was certainly not ordinary. He was hiding something—of that, Haryeong was sure.
And what could that secret be?
Haryeong leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, recalling memories from a distant past.
There had once been someone he had served.
That person had possessed a truly special power.
But the power was so immense that it came with severe restrictions.
Though that person had vanished from this world, they had left behind a powerful curse upon the demons.
And now… he had found someone who seemingly possessed the same power.
Kim Jinwoo.
Perhaps… he truly held the same prophetic abilities as that person.
[I’ll ask one last time. Are you absolutely sure it’s going to fail?]
[Geez, I told you already. Trust me.]
[Really? I’m about to put the final stamp on this deal.]
“Damn it.”
[If you don’t want to believe me, then don’t.]
Wednesday morning.
Before class began, I was exchanging messages with Han Se-yeon, using my “Outsider’s Privilege.”
It seemed she was struggling to abandon the business she had painstakingly built, even though she had been asking me the same thing over and over.
[Stamp is done.]
[Good job.]
After that, no more messages came.
I closed the chat as a man who looked to be in his 30s entered the classroom.
“Good morning, everyone! I’m Jung Taemin, and I’ll be teaching you Magic Potion Studies.”
Today’s morning class was a general education course.
These courses rotated every three weeks, and this time, it was potion-making.
“To introduce myself, I’m the chief researcher at Hanseong Pharmaceuticals. I also happen to be acquainted with Han Seyun, whom many of you may know.”Se-yeon
“Ohhh!”
Upon hearing Han Se-yeon’s name, some students gasped in admiration.
In South Korea, she was a household name.
Thanks to her striking beauty, she had even gained a massive fan following, comparable to that of top idols.
“Alright, let’s get to work. Today, we’ll be making a very basic antidote potion. But first, let me ask you all a simple question. What is the most important aspect of potion-making?”
I raised my hand without hesitation.
By now, my habit of shooting my hand up had become such a regular occurrence that my classmates no longer even reacted.
“Yes, you there—the student with the enthusiastic hand. What’s your answer?”
“The most important aspect of potion-making is the ratio of ingredients. The effectiveness of a potion is heavily dependent on how precisely and carefully the ingredients are measured and mixed.”
The instructor smiled, clearly satisfied with my response.
“Excellent answer. What’s your name?”
“Kim Sunwoo.”
“Good. Kim Sunwoo, your enthusiasm will be reflected in your participation grade. I hope the rest of you will also engage actively. Now, follow the recipe and start brewing your potions in groups.”
With that, students began preparing for the exercise.
Our group consisted of five people, two of whom were major characters—Shin Young-joon and Yoo Ara.
“Oh, Kim Sunwoo~.”
Shin Young-joon greeted me cheerfully.
I responded casually before getting ready for the potion-making process.
Yoo Ara glanced at me and asked,
“Are you good at making potions?”
“No.”
As I had just explained in class, potion-making required delicate hands.
And unfortunately, that wasn’t exactly my strong suit.
“Ugh, even reading this recipe makes no sense to me.”
“What does it even say? Is this even written in Korean?”
At that moment, the team members grumbled as they read the recipe.
I approached them, snatched the recipe, and read it myself.
At the same time, the “Outsider’s Privilege” activated, instantly embedding the contents into my mind.
“The ratio should be 2:3:6. The green herb should be 2.”
To quickly raise my grades, even these minor elective classes mattered.
As my enthusiasm outpaced the rest of the group, they commented.
“Just do it roughly. This isn’t worth many points.”
“Hey, shut up, you guys.”
Yoo Ara shot a sharp glare at the disgruntled teammate.
Perhaps intimidated by Yoo Ara, who ranked second in the entire school, they clamped their mouths shut.
She then turned her gaze toward me and asked,
“Have you made potions before?”
“No.”
“Then how do you know all this so well?”
“I studied it a little because I was interested.”
“Potions, huh…?”
Yoo Ara fell into thought at my words.
Even a casual response wouldn’t be brushed aside so easily.
“Looks like we just need to mix this now.”
“Let’s do it now.”
Shin Young-joon began mixing the ingredients I had prepared.
After about three minutes, a message appeared before my eyes.
[‘Beginner Potion Crafting’ achievement unlocked.]
[Reward: 2,000 points earned.]
“Oh, it’s done.”
“Yeah. Wow, look at the blue glow in the potion. Kim Sunwoo, is there anything you can’t do?”
As the potion was completed, Shin Young-joon reacted with excitement.
I simply shrugged as if it were nothing.
I glanced around.
The other teams were still struggling, unable to even interpret the recipe properly.
At this rate, first place was practically guaranteed.
After all the classes ended, I headed toward the main building of the Mage Academy.
It was to attend the first meeting of the Special Talent Class at 7 PM.
Click.
As I opened the classroom door and entered, a large number of students came into view.
A quick scan revealed that nearly 60 students, including first-years and third-years, had gathered.
Among them, there were quite a few familiar faces.
With the top students of the school gathered in one place, a certain tension filled the air.
“Kim Sunwoo!”
From afar, Lee Seo-jun called out to me.
At his words, the surrounding gazes shifted toward me.
Many here probably considered Lee Seo-jun their rival.
So naturally, his words drew a lot of attention.
“Come over here!”
I walked toward him.
I didn’t particularly want to sit with strangers either.
“Oh, Kim Sunwoo.”
Shin Young-joon, seated next to Lee Seo-jun, acknowledged me.
Nearby were Yoo Ara, Lee Hyun-joo, and Park Inhwan.
It seemed like the entire 2nd-year Class A had grouped together.
“Can I sit anywhere?”
“Yeah, sit here.”
Following Lee Seo-jun’s invitation, I took an open seat.
At that moment, Shin Young-joon turned around and spoke to me.
“So you made it into the Special Class too, huh? Well, I guess your ranking did jump a lot.”
“It did go up quite a bit.”
From 150th to 72nd—a huge leap.
“I guess they selected based on potential. I heard some students from other years were chosen purely for their latent abilities too.”
“Yeah, seems like it.”
Shin Young-joon nodded at my reply.
I took my time looking around, checking for familiar faces and any deviations from the original story.
In the first year, there was Choi Seo-yoon, Song Seung-ah, and the second-ranked Jeon Mingi…
For the third years, Kim Chang-Hyun, Jang Ye, Joo Isul, Cheon Wooyoung…
“Hmm…”
Scanning the room, I saw no major changes from the original plot.
The only difference was that I had taken the place of some minor 2nd-year extra.
Now, it finally felt like the story was truly beginning.
At that moment, the front door of the classroom swung open.
“Nice to meet you all. I am Park Jungwan, the instructor in charge of this Special Talent Class.”
A calm, deep voice carried across the room.
A towering man in his 40s, covered in scars, stepped forward.
His appearance caused a stir among the students.
“Whoa, it’s Park Jungwan the Mage.”
“Isn’t he with the Mage Association? Why is he here?”
Park Jungwan.
A special operative of the Mage Association.
Although his official rank was A-class, his combat prowess was nearly on par with S-class mages.
The only reason he remained in A-class was due to his lack of outstanding achievements or utility in areas beyond combat.
And his appointment as the Special Talent Class instructor was exactly as it happened in the original storyline.
“I’m sure you have many questions about me. However, I will not engage in any discussions unrelated to this class.”
The weight of his charisma silenced the students.
“Special Talent Class will primarily focus on practical training to make up for your lack of real-world experience. Magic is not just about how powerful your abilities are—it’s about experience. Now, let’s form groups for the next six months.”
Park Jungwan pulled out a small box from beneath the podium.
“The process will be fair—drawing lots. One by one, come forward and pick your group.”
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