Ma?gic (2)
Ma?gic (2)
"You know, word's going around that you pulled off quite a lot during the practice session."
Water-toned hair caught the ceiling light and sparkled. It brought to mind a sunlit blue sea.
Part of why Baek A-rin was so popular in social circles was certainly her trademark bright, gentle presence—but her outstanding looks, rivaled by few, didn't hurt either.
My fingertips were growing cold, so I moved them.
[Rumors?]
"Yes—the sparring room, was it? A few things your team members let slip there have been getting around."
The sparring room. Aiden and Nam Yeon-jung had said they'd settle the sword-versus-spear debate by going at it themselves. My name had come up there? How exactly?
"Oh, it wasn't anything detailed. Just a few words spreading about how impressive your detection ability was."
As if she'd read my confusion, Baek A-rin let out a small laugh and explained.
"Think of it as rumors about how exceptional you are, Lee Ha-yul. That's the simplest way to put it."
[I see.]
"Yes, that's right... Ah."
Baek A-rin had been answering in a playful, matching tone, but now she spoke as if the thought had just occurred to her.
"Now that I think of it, there was something else."
Her eyes settled on the nameplate of the room I'd just exited.
[Magic Practice Room]
"There was talk of you wielding magic, Lee Ha-yul. Would you mind if I asked about it?"
Why was she asking after already seeing the nameplate? Just confirming for the sake of it, maybe.
Somewhat nonplussed, I nodded. Baek A-rin's eyes lit up and she clapped her hands with a soft smack.
"Magic! A truly excellent discipline to pick up. You can use it in combat, you can use it in daily life. I've learned it myself, and I can tell you—life before and after are different enough to notice."
Baek A-rin had also learned magic. In the original work, her command of it was top-notch.
"So you've taken up magic too! You really can't go wrong with learning it—there's not a single downside."
Her primary weapon was the spear. In battle, she fought primarily with the spear. But she didn't rely on the spear alone.
The Azure Sea unique ability freely commanded both water and ice.
Water handled healing and harmonization; ice handled defense and attack. Even without a spear, she could pressure enemies and heal and protect allies with those two elements.
Close combat through martial arts. Protecting and healing allies and pressuring and attacking enemies—all freely shifting back and forth through her unique ability. And on top of that, a variety of magic layered over it all.
In the original work, Baek A-rin's concept was that of an all-rounder. A steady pillar who supported the party's core by excelling in countless fields.
To put it another way—
"The real advantage of magic, I'd say, is that it widens your range of options. It's genuinely useful for both offense and support, so you won't regret picking it up."
—Eight-Sided Beauty.
Back when I was building characters in the previous world and choosing the All-Rounder trait, the role model for using it properly had been none other than Baek A-rin.
.
.
.
Looking up materials in the library, then finding a practice room to test the magic directly—time had flown by.
By the time I stepped out of the practice room, the sun had already gone down.
I walked a path lit only by faint moonlight, the last glow of sunset long gone. Clack-clack—a rhythmic footstep that wasn't mine echoed beside me.
"Hmm-hmm~"
The source was Baek A-rin. When I'd said it was about time to head back, she'd said she'd been planning to do the same and offered to walk together.
I walked at an easy pace, observing Baek A-rin through my spatial perception as she kept right beside me.
Baek A-rin had her hands clasped behind her back and was taking quick, light steps. Humming a tune to herself was a bonus.
Her clicking footsteps and quiet humming, blending with the thin moonlight filtering down—it held a certain charm.
If I could have seen the night sky, it would have been even more so. Regrettably, that wasn't possible.
Toward the smiling Baek A-rin, I felt a tangled mess of emotions.
Hong Yeon-hwa was someone entirely different from her original-work counterpart, as far as I was concerned.
Gone was the violent streak—she'd thrown all that out. The Hong Yeon-hwa I knew wore an expression like the sky was falling if I so much as got hurt. Kind, gentle Hong Yeon-hwa.
A connection barely a month long, but in my entire life, I'd never formed one deeper than the bond I had with Hong Yeon-hwa.
Baek A-rin, by comparison... was almost exactly the person from the original.
"Are you wondering why I'm approaching you so warmly?"
As I walked in silence, Baek A-rin abruptly asked.
Clack-clack—she stepped a few paces ahead, then turned just her head to look back. A playful smile lingered at her lips.
"The reason's really nothing special."
In nearly every iteration, Baek A-rin approached the special admission student. And always with a friendly attitude.
"I think that someday, you're going to achieve great things. I don't care what anyone else says—that's just what I think."
Special admission. A position that still drew a few uneasy looks, but also the gazes of those wondering if they'd hit the jackpot.
Baek A-rin came in from a similar angle.
[Simpler than I expected.]
"Ahaha. If you call it calculating, well, I can't really argue... but that's not a bad thing, is it?"
The clicking steps sounded especially clear.
"Special admission... A cadet with no precedent in Siyoram's entire history showing up in my cohort threw me off, but... turns out it's not such a bad thing."
Before I knew it, we'd arrived at the dormitory building. A high-end facility that could pass for a high-rise.
"Getting close to you, Lee Ha-yul—you who'll clearly make it big—has exactly zero downsides. If we get friendly from the little things like this, couldn't we end up in a relationship where we help each other out down the road?"
In front of the main entrance, Baek A-rin spun around lightly. We stood face to face. That playful, gentle smile was still on her face.
"I've gone on and on, haven't I. To sum it up... yes—let's get along from now on!"
She held out a hand as she said it. Baek A-rin looked at me with a beaming expression. I hesitated for a moment, then extended my hand.
Our hands clasped. A soft, cool sensation spread across my palm.
Just then, Baek A-rin leaned her upper body forward. A faint breath brushed my ear.
She whispered.
"Don't only get close with Yeon-hwa—it makes me jealous. She's been shutting her friends out way too much lately. Don't just play together by yourselves; include me too."
With a wink, Baek A-rin pulled her hand back and stepped a few paces away.
"You must be tired, so I'm sorry for keeping you. I'll really be off now. Sweet dreams!"
With that, she turned away. According to my original-work knowledge—and what I'd heard from Hong Yeon-hwa—she'd been granted a separate house, not a dormitory room.
"......"
In every iteration, Baek A-rin approached the player. The reason was what I'd just heard: to build ties with a player who would one day achieve greatness.
The 1st Iteration. It hadn't exactly achieved greatness. It was a period when I didn't even know the proper hidden pieces or story.
By the time of Siyoram graduation, it had shown nothing particularly distinctive.
Thanks to the growth correction attached to special admission, it had managed relatively high grades—but only enough to be comparable to other cadets.
Not the kind of talent that would satisfy Baek A-rin.
Even so, Baek A-rin had extended goodwill to the 1st Iteration player. When the world fell back into chaos and the 1st Iteration fought desperately, Baek A-rin fought alongside.
What was certain was that until the 1st Iteration ended, Baek A-rin had remained a stalwart companion.
8th Iteration 〈Heavenly Thunder〉
It hadn't been a build that squeezed maximum potential from each position like 〈Diamond Warrior〉 or 〈Hybrid Summoner〉, but it was still enough to poke at the world's strongest figures and walk away intact.
Its hallmark was long-range sniping.
An iteration that had pushed an archery-type unique ability to its limit and awakened a lightning-attribute unique ability through a hidden piece.
A one-sided downpour of arrows and thunder, poured out from somewhere the opponent's attacks couldn't reach.
It even employed a spatial-type artifact for a tactic of teleporting fully charged shots directly into the enemy's face.
It had grown exceptionally well. The advantage of long range, in particular, made it a favorable strategy for survival. That was why I'd thought the 8th Iteration would survive especially long.
Contrary to expectations, it had exited early.
The 8th Iteration was different from the 1st.
Thanks to efficient training, it had achieved the feat of subjugating a 3rd-Rank monster before Siyoram graduation.
After graduation, it had roamed demon realms everywhere, precision-sniping high-rank monsters to subjugate them, and systematically shot down turncoats across the world to raise its fame.
A lottery ticket that had paid out just as Baek A-rin had hoped. Thanks to investing early, it was an iteration from which she could collect a hefty return.
But.
The 8th Iteration died because of Baek A-rin's betrayal.
* * *
Baek A-rin walked beneath the night sky without a word. Her long, steady strides made no sound; her presence was entirely muted.
At some point, the humming had stopped too. The surroundings, full of clicking and quiet singing just moments ago, were soon filled only with the chill unique to the small hours.
It was quite different from her usual lively demeanor. A calm, cool expression.
She paused in thought for a moment, then turned her head. The dormitory building they'd just reached. Lee Ha-yul had apparently already gone inside; she couldn't find him with her naked eye.
"Hmm..."
She tilted her head, lost in thought. Her mind replayed what had just happened, processing the information.
The train of thought resolved quickly. She touched her index finger to her lips.
"Why is he afraid of me?"
Baek A-rin tilted her head as if it genuinely puzzled her.