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[Grace of Nature (A) [Grade: 4 (0%)]]
[Passive Effect]
▶ Blessing of Nature
When refining mana, you gain additional magic power. Depending on the surrounding environment, you can obtain up to 170% more magic power.
You also gain additional attribute proficiency. Depending on the situation, you can obtain up to 80% more attribute proficiency.
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“Amazing.”
A new effect had been unlocked in Blessing of Nature.
It allowed me to gain additional attribute proficiency—up to 80% more.
For someone like me, who had just begun handling attributes, this was an incredibly useful effect.
If I utilized it properly, I could increase my proficiency in the light attribute much faster.
As I sat on a bench reviewing my traits, someone called my name.
“Magician Kim Jinwoo?”
When I looked up, I saw a special operations agent checking Mujin’s corpse. He was looking at me.
“The verification is complete. You said you were attacked by a demon, but I’m relieved to see that you handled it well.”
Technically, I had been the one to attack first, but explaining that would have been a hassle.
Since the agent had no reason to believe I could distinguish demons, he accepted my words without question.
“And your subjugation reward should be deposited by tomorrow.”
“Understood. I’m a bit busy, so may I leave now?”
“Yes! Please go ahead. Thank you for your work.”
The agent bowed slightly to me.
I nodded in return and turned away.
The next morning, Sunday.
Articles about Kim Jin-woo subjugating another demon started circulating online.
The headline read: “The Fate of a Demon Who Didn’t Know His Opponent Was a Magician.”
The comments were a mix of amusement and mockery, with people saying he deserved it or that he had chosen the wrong opponent.
Thanks to that, I gained a small amount of fame points.
But there was also another interesting message.
[Character ‘Ha-ryeong’ has taken an interest in you.]
[You have received 3,000 points as a reward.]
[Character ‘Cheonhae’ feels anger toward you.]
[You have received 2,000 points as a reward.]
A message from Ha-ryeong and Cheonhae.
Cheonhae’s reaction was expected—he had lost both his close friend Jang han and his subordinate Mujin.
But Ha-ryeong?
Why was he so interested in me?
In the original story, Ha-ryeong was a bit different from other demons, but this was still strange.
“Oh well, I’ll find out sooner or later.”
If I knew his intentions, I could prepare for him, but since I didn’t, there wasn’t much I could do.
As I got up to start my Sunday schedule, my phone pinged with a notification.
[You really pulled it off.]
It was from Han Se-yeon.
[What do you mean?]
[You took down a demon yesterday. I thought you were just researching a criminal’s background, but I never expected him to be a demon. How did you know?]
Too lazy to come up with an excuse, I gave a short reply.
[Coincidence.]
After sending the message, I walked over to the shoe rack and put on my shoes.
Just then, another message arrived.
[(An emoji of someone throwing something)]
“……”
As usual, I started my daily training.
I met with Yoon Hayoung for magic training, then went to a dungeon to hunt demon-type monsters and improve my proficiency with the light attribute.
[Light Attribute Control] [Grade: 0 (54%)]
By the end of the day, my proficiency had surpassed 54%.
Fighting strong demons played a part, but the biggest factor was the additional proficiency boost from Blessing of Nature.
At this rate, I might fully master the light attribute within two months.
“Ugh, today was exhausting.”
By 8 PM, after a long day of outdoor training, Hayoung and I were walking to the bus stop.
“By the way, Sunwoo, when did you start using the light attribute?”
Hayoung suddenly asked.
“Hmm, not too long ago. Maybe two or three months?”
“Oh, so you awakened it pretty late?”
“Yeah. Oh, right. Keep it a secret from others that I can use the light attribute.”
This was to keep a clear distinction between Kim Sunwoo and Kim Jinwoo.
Kim Sunwoo was known for being attribute-less, while Kim Jinwoo wielded attributes. That difference would help keep my identities separate.
Hayoung tilted her head in curiosity.
“A secret? Why?”
“I want to keep it as a trump card, like how you’re hiding your Demon Slayer power.”
It was a made-up excuse, but Hayoung immediately understood.
“A trump card, huh? Yeah, having a hidden power that no one knows about can be a strong weapon.”
Thankfully, she accepted my reasoning without further questions.
As we walked, she muttered to herself.
“Ah~ I’m looking forward to this field trip. I’m curious to see how strong the British students are.”
“Everyone else is treating it like a war.”
“Oh, right. That girl, Lily. She went too far. Sniping someone like that isn’t good sportsmanship. What did Seo-jun even do to deserve that?”
Hayoung raised her voice slightly, clearly annoyed.
But instead of being intimidating, it was… kind of cute.
I smirked and let it slide.
Lily Rose.
She was always like that—proud, stubborn, and completely indifferent to others’ opinions.
“By the way, your skills have improved a lot. You’ll probably get a great score in the upcoming finals.”
“Yeah! Thanks to you, Sunwoo. I’m really grateful.”
Hayoung smiled brightly.
Compared to the past, she had indeed grown much stronger.
In the original timeline, her magic grade would have been around D.
But now, she was at C+.
She was just a step away from reaching B-rank.
“Sunwoo, what’s your goal for this finals?”
“Hmm. This time, I think I’ll take it seriously.”
“Oh, really?”
Yoon Hayoung’s eyes sparkled.
“I really hope you do well this time. Sunwoo, you’re incredibly skilled, but your grades are always lower than they should be. It’s such a shame.”
“Why are you the one feeling bad about that?”
“Well, there are a few people who look down on you. It annoys me for no reason.”
People who look down on me… Yeah, they exist. Of course, since I recently overtook Lee Seo-jun in a few subjects and ranked first, the number has decreased quite a bit.
“Don’t worry about me. Focus on yourself.”
“Oh? Is that so? Hehe.”
With that, we arrived at the bus stop. A sign reading [Korea Mage Academy Shuttle Bus] was displayed at the stop. The bus interval was a bit long, but at least it operated on weekends.
Luckily, the bus arrived quickly.
“It’s here.”
As we boarded, we tapped our smart student IDs on the terminal.
Beep!
With that sound, we stepped inside. Since the shuttle bus wasn’t used by many people, most of the seats were empty.
As I looked around to decide where to sit, a familiar light brown-haired figure caught my eye. It was Choi Seo-yoon, sitting down and looking at her smart student ID. She must have gone home again over the weekend.
I hesitated for a moment, wondering if I should greet her, when she lifted her head.
“…Huh? Senior Kim Sunwoo?”
Choi Seo-yoon looked at me with wide eyes, then glanced back and forth between me and Yoon Hayoung. Her expression subtly shifted.
“Oh… Hello. Running into you here is such a coincidence.”
“Yeah.”
Giving only a short reply, I walked over and sat in a suitable empty seat. Yoon Hayoung sat beside me.
Choi Seo-yoon peeked over slightly, staring at the two of us intently.
Feeling uncomfortable under her gaze, I asked,
“What? Got something to say?”
“…No.”
She mumbled that response, then put on her usual fake smile and spoke to Yoon Hayoung instead.
“Hello. You’re Senior Yoon Hayoung, right?”
“Huh? Oh. Yeah, that’s me.”
Caught off guard by Choi Seo-yoon’s sudden friendliness, Yoon Hayoung responded awkwardly.
“I remember you because you use ice-element magic, just like me.”
“Oh? What an honor. The top first-year student actually remembers me.”
“Oh, please, it’s nothing like that.”
Choi Seo-yoon answered with a smile.
“Um… By the way, where are you two coming from? Were you on a date or something?”
“D-Dating? No way. We were just training.”
Yoon Hayoung waved her hands in denial, looking unnecessarily frantic.
Choi Seo-yoon blinked and asked,
“Training? Why train outdoors?”
“Well… We had our reasons.”
Thankfully, Yoon Hayoung seemed to remember my request to keep the Demon Slayer Power a secret, so she avoided giving details.
But Choi Seo-yoon seemed suspicious. She narrowed her eyes and murmured to herself,
“Really? Even for practical training, the school has all the facilities you’d need.”
Then, her gaze shifted back to meet mine. I didn’t look away.
“What?”
“…Never mind.”
Time passed quickly, and the day of our school trip to England arrived.
It was now 3 a.m. on a Tuesday. Despite the early hour, all 150 second-year students gathered on the academy’s training field.
“Ah, I’m so excited for this trip.”
“Excited? I feel like we’re heading to a battlefield.”
Perhaps because of the intense rivalry between our school and England’s Mage Academy—especially with final exams coming up—the students’ expressions were unusually serious for a school trip.
In particular, Shin Young-joon and Yoon Hayoung, who stood beside me, looked especially determined.
“Hey, Lee Seo-jun. You have to take first place this time, got it?”
“Seo-jun, fighting!”
At their encouragement, Lee Seo-jun could only offer an awkward smile.
“Ugh… I barely got any sleep. I’m so tired.”
Yoon Hayoung yawned, muttering sleepily.
Beside her, Yoo Ara looked exhausted too, her eyes dark from staying up until 2 a.m.
The reason for this early gathering was none other than the time difference between Korea and England.
The current time in England was 7 p.m. It was tiring now, but staying up through the night would make adjusting to the time zone easier.
At that moment, Yoo Ara glanced at me and asked,
“So, what rank are you aiming for this time?”
“…How should I know? It depends on how well I do.”
Then, just to tease her, I added,
“Oh, right. You should be careful not to lose second place to Lily Rose.”
This time, our rankings would be determined together with the students from England’s Mage Academy. The scoring method had been slightly modified, though explaining it in detail would be complicated.
Since we had already taken the written test last week, only the practical test had changed.
As expected, Yoo Ara frowned at my words.
“…Shut up. You’re talking like I won’t take first place. That’s annoying.”
Now that I think about it, she had a point. At some point, it had just become natural to assume Lee Seo-jun would be first and Yoo Ara would be second.
Then, as if remembering something, Yoo Ara looked at me again and spoke.
“And Lily Rose… I watched her training videos. She’s nothing special.”
Taking the Incheon Exit Portal Gate, we arrived in England.
The vast terminal was filled with countless foreigners. The students, fascinated, looked around with sparkling eyes.
[You have unlocked the achievement: ‘First Overseas Visit.’]
[Reward: 3,000 points.]
“Wow. There are so many foreigners.”
“This is exciting.”
“Alright, everyone, settle down and follow quietly!”
Following the teachers’ guidance, we passed through a simple immigration check and exited the portal gate.
It was now 9 p.m. in England.
Back in Korea, the sun was starting to rise, but here in London, it was nighttime.
I took in the view of England’s capital at a leisurely pace. In the dark night sky, the massive clock tower, Big Ben, shone brightly with its lights.
“Whoa. It looks even cooler in person.”
“It’s huge.”
Big Ben was the heart of England’s magical society.
Countless magical studies were being conducted there, and the mage associations from various countries also had headquarters in that area.
In the original story, several key characters introduced in the middle of the plot were affiliated with that place.
And today, we would be visiting the British Mage Association near Big Ben.
For reference, the final exam would begin tomorrow night and last for three days.
“Alright! Load your luggage onto the bus! We’re on a tight schedule, so move quickly!”
And with that, our second-year school trip officially began.
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