The Reality I Want to Deny
The man’s voice cut through the air like a blade.
“Are you insulting the authority of the Magic Tower right now?”
Nam Jin-seok had just declared himself a direct appraiser for the Magic Tower. That meant he was a top-class mage who specialized in appraisal magic—one of the elite within the Tower itself.
To everyone present, the idea that Lee Hyunseung, a student labeled as a non-awakened, could bring in such an absurdly powerful figure seemed ridiculous. A lie. A joke.
But the overwhelming mana now flooding the hall was anything but imaginary. It was thick, oppressive, and unmistakably lethal. No one could doubt that Nam Jin-seok was a mage of the Magic Tower after feeling that aura.
-Tremble tremble tremble
Sung Hyun-wook, who had been thrusting his face forward with arrogant confidence, began shaking violently from head to toe. He hurriedly scanned Nam Jin-seok’s appearance. At first glance the clothes looked ordinary, almost cheap. But the artifacts he wore were on an entirely different level. The rings, bracelets, and belt—all of them were absurdly expensive pieces that boosted mana stats.
Sung Hyun-wook’s mind spun.
‘I’m fucked… This isn’t a lie. That mana I’m feeling right now, those accessories… He really is a direct mage of the Magic Tower? Fuck… Just what kind of pull does that bastard Lee Hyunseung have to drag in a Tower appraiser?’
Appraisal mages weren’t necessarily top-tier in pure combat ability, but as Tower-class mages, their fighting strength was still far beyond anything an academy student could match. If Nam Jin-seok felt like it, he could literally explode Sung Hyun-wook where he stood.
And even setting combat power aside, appraisal mages were valued so highly because very few could use Appraisal Magic at such a refined level. Mages capable of precisely detecting mana traces were worth more than gold. Their value was almost impossible to calculate in money. That was exactly why Sung Hyun-wook couldn’t understand any of this.
‘…All this over a simple academy stalking case? A direct appraiser from the Magic Tower gets involved?’
It was like calling in a full anti-terror special forces unit with dozens of helicopters to handle a petty apartment theft. No—it was even more absurd than that.
‘This isn’t the time to be thinking about that.’
Sung Hyun-wook quickly curled his body up like a pathetic insect.
“I-I’m sorry! I didn’t know you were affiliated with the Magic Tower. If I had known, I would never have spoken so rudely. P-please… just this once, forgive my mistake…”
-Shiver shiver
Even as he bowed his head, Sung Hyun-wook’s entire body continued to tremble uncontrollably.
Nam Jin-seok let out a short sigh and slowly withdrew his mana.
“Haa… I got a little excited there. Please pretend you didn’t see my disgraceful behavior. You’re still young and only an academy student, so I’ll overlook it this once. But there won’t be a second time.”
“Th-thank you…”
Sung Hyun-wook kept bowing repeatedly, practically groveling at Nam Jin-seok’s feet.
Looking down at the pathetic display, Nam Jin-seok spoke again.
“You. What’s your name?”
“S-Sung Hyun-wook.”
“Which guild do you belong to?”
“I… I don’t have one yet…”
“Then does your family run a guild?”
“It’s… it’s called Gauss…”
“Sung Hyun-wook. Gauss Guild. I’ll remember that.”
“I’m sorry! I’m truly sorry! My actions have nothing to do with the Gauss Guild, so please don’t let any trouble reach them. I’m sorry!”
A chill ran down Sung Hyun-wook’s spine. He felt compelled to apologize over and over again.
Finally, Nam Jin-seok picked up the hat he had taken off earlier and placed it back on his head.
The crowd that had been buzzing with suspicion toward Lee Hyunseung fell completely silent. Every single person was left speechless, eyes blinking in stunned disbelief. It was only natural. Once a direct appraiser from the Magic Tower had spoken, whose words could possibly carry more weight?
Among the spectators, Yoo Heeyeon stared at the scene with eyes full of confusion.
‘I… I was wrong?’
She couldn’t understand it. She couldn’t accept it.
Ever since she was a child, Yoo Heeyeon had been able to obtain anything she wanted—anything she desired. Her words had always been law. Everyone around her had affirmed whatever she said. Her judgment had always become reality.
‘This can’t be. I was really wrong?’
That was why she felt so disoriented. This was the first time in her life that someone with real authority had directly refuted her opinion. Everyone else always tiptoed around her because they feared the Artemis Guild. That had been the natural order of things.
‘Was it all really just my misunderstanding? Then… I drove an innocent person into a corner?’
Her stomach churned. She didn’t want to admit it. She didn’t want to accept that her judgment had been wrong.
An unpleasant emotion rose from deep inside her. It felt like someone was whispering directly into her ear.
“N-no! That’s not it at all!”
Yoo Heeyeon didn’t want to admit it, but there was one question she couldn’t shake.
Why had she gone after Lee Hyunseung with such flimsy evidence?
The root of that question lay in how the world had always evaluated her.
***
Every one of those words had been created for her.
The Artemis Guild was the strongest in the country. In power, wealth, and influence, they stood at the absolute peak. As the daughter of Yoo Hanbeom, the guild leader, Yoo Heeyeon had naturally walked the path of a queen from the moment she was born.
Private tutors, one-on-one lessons, practical combat training—she had studied under countless instructors, spending money that ordinary people couldn’t earn in several lifetimes. She had believed she possessed knowledge and strength that no one could ever rival.
“Heeyeon, you will inherit the Artemis Guild one day. You must be perfect in everything. You must always be the best on the path you walk. Do you understand?”
Her father had always placed enormous expectations on her. She had to live up to them. Before she entered the academy, her father had been kind. Yoo Hanbeom had been extremely pleased with his daughter, who took first place in everything she did.
But the royal road she had walked crumbled the moment she enrolled in the academy.
‘…Huh?’
Yoo Heeyeon stared blankly at her written exam results.
—Written Exam 1st Place: Lee Hyunseung
—Written Exam 2nd Place: Yoo Heeyeon
The day those results came out, her world collapsed. For the first time in her life, she had lost the top spot. And it had been taken by a non-awakened.
-Tremble tremble
With a shaking body, she had gone to her father and told him the truth.
“F-Father…”
“Is that you, Heeyeon? The written exam results came out today, right? Of course you got first place. I’m so proud of you.”
“Um… that is…”
Seeing her hesitate, her father’s expression began to twist.
“Why are you reacting like that? Don’t tell me…”
-Step. Step. Step.
Yoo Hanbeom strode over quickly, snatched the report card from her hands, and scanned it.
“……”
He stared at it in silence for a long time.
“What is this?”
“F-Father, it’s…”
“Don’t even think about making excuses. No matter what excuse you give or what reason you have, second place is still second place. And your father considers second place to be trash. Because no one in the world remembers who came in second.”
“……”
“Yoo Heeyeon, do you know how much money I’ve invested in you? Do you understand the expectations the world has placed on you? You were born with more than anyone else could ever dream of. Just by being my daughter, you can enjoy everything this world has to offer. So at the very least!”
-KWAANG—!
Yoo Hanbeom slammed a spell into the wall and roared.
“At the very least, you should be taking first place in a pathetic little playground like the academy!”
“I-I’m sorry… B-but I still got first in the practical exam…”
“Shut your mouth—!”
-Riiip—!
Yoo Hanbeom tore the report card to shreds and whispered coldly.
“You are not allowed to lose first place in any field. Use any means necessary. No matter how dirty or ugly it gets, use every ability you have to take first place. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
She had worked hard. She had given it her all. But she had still come in second. She wanted to say that, but faced with her father’s terrifying expression for the first time, all Yoo Heeyeon could do was tremble and answer.
“…Next time… I’ll definitely get first place.”
Yoo Hanbeom’s face softened again. He gently stroked his daughter’s hair.
“Good. That’s my daughter. I hope you never make such a filthy mistake again. Because next time, I might truly get angry.”
***
-Beeeeeeeeep—
A ringing sound echoed in her ears.
-Buzz. Buzz.
The murmuring of the crowd felt like it was all crashing down on her at once.
She couldn’t deny it anymore. Deep down, Yoo Heeyeon had thought it honestly.
If only Lee Hyunseung didn’t exist, I would be first in every written exam.
Lee Hyunseung had never gotten a single question wrong. To her, he had felt like an insurmountable wall. So she had secretly wished for it. She had hoped he would disappear. Or be removed.
It had been an opportunity. When they found the secret photos on his phone, she had genuinely seen it as her chance.
A chance to live up to her father’s expectations. A chance to claim first place for herself.
That was why she had recklessly built a tower of sand on such shaky ground. Using flimsy evidence, she had seized the moment and declared Lee Hyunseung guilty.
And that tower of sand had crumbled in a single wave named Nam Jin-seok.
-Step. Step. Step.
Lee Hyunseung walked forward with complete confidence. His footsteps stopped right in front of Yoo Heeyeon.
-Swish.
He looked down at her and spoke.
“I clearly told you. I wasn’t the culprit.”
“……”
“Don’t you have something you need to say to me?”
His words were clearly demanding an apology. Lee Hyunseung was giving her a chance to apologize. Yoo Heeyeon understood exactly what he meant.
But she refused to acknowledge her own filthy, ugly true nature until the very end. She didn’t want to admit the dirty truth inside her—that she had chosen to trample on someone else because her own abilities weren’t enough. She didn’t want to see herself that way. So Yoo Heeyeon chose to run away.
-Grind.
Her entire worldview was shattering.
Her body trembling violently, Yoo Heeyeon stared blankly into space with eyes that looked completely broken.
‘It wasn’t my fault. It’s not my responsibility.’
Repeating those words to herself, she glared at Lee Hyunseung and spat out her answer.
“I have… nothing to say to you.”
