The Obvious Villain and the Veteran
In a story filled with obvious villains and seasoned veterans. "Is the prepared plan proceeding smoothly?" "Yes, it seems we can execute it with just a little more time."
In a room lavishly gilded with gold, the man who had bought the goods from the black market was conversing while staring into empty space.
"Now that I think about it, you lost one bodyguard, didn't you?" "Yes... It appears he met with an accident." "Even a low-grade demon shouldn't die that easily. Look into it properly." "Understood!"
A sharp crackling sound tore through the room. After it faded, the man straightened his knees and briefly recalled what had happened at the black market.
'That bastard had terrifyingly fast situational judgment.'
The thoroughness of thinking about escape the moment a fortune appeared before his eyes. The boldness to anticipate being followed, set a trap at the door, and lie in wait. Even the killing method used mana over-absorption so cleanly that not a single trace of himself remained.
Part of him wanted to threaten and torture the innkeeper for information immediately, but he couldn't commit such a reckless act near a district managed by Mirinae Academy. It would be like burning the whole house down just to catch one flea.
'The probability that he's a Mirinae Academy student is very high.'
Causing that much chaos and then vanishing without a trace was nearly impossible otherwise. The only way to kill a low-grade demon in a short time and slip past the surveillance network was to enroll in Mirinae Academy.
As he slowly fit the puzzle pieces together, one new possibility rose to the surface.
'Did he calculate everything from the beginning?'
If he could kill a demon through mana over-absorption without leaving any traces, it was safe to assume he had shown up at the black market specifically to hunt one.
'Wungbak organs sell well anywhere, yet he deliberately chose the central market to draw attention... Was he aiming for me?'
The situation fit together too perfectly. From the start, the man had planned to hunt the demon, drawn attention, and closed the deal the instant they appeared. He could have dragged things out with an auction, yet he accepted a large sum without any haggling?
'Business was never the goal.'
The real objective was to make the demon aware of his existence. He must have anticipated they would recognize his talent and try to recruit him, then set the trap accordingly.
"But you made one mistake."
Did he really think the man would move personally over a single Wungbak? In the end, after all that elaborate planning, he had only managed to catch one easily replaceable low-grade demon.
'To trigger mana over-absorption, you need at least a mid-grade magic stone...'
It seemed the man had aimed for him as well but failed. Still, the attempt itself deserved recognition.
'In the end, your identity will be exposed no matter what.'
The man wore a confident expression as he turned his head toward Mirinae Academy. Because the seeds of demons existed everywhere.
'You'll have no choice but to reveal your power.'
And that moment would be his funeral. With that thought, the man formed a dark smile. He could already picture Mirinae Academy's future exploding with a bang.
"It's about to start soon."
Final Destiny always handled the prologue with solo play, but the main story branched out in many different ways depending on player choices. The place that created the most branching paths was the academy. When every character gathered in one location, even events that shouldn't occur would naturally arise. As a game, Final Destiny had poured tremendous effort into that aspect.
It had researched countless devices to keep players continuously engaged. 'Events like the Paramore Eclipse or the Behemoth Fist incident will definitely happen.'
Among them were events that occurred 'unconditionally.' They forced incidents to happen so players would never feel bored. Even if it felt clichéd, the increased content helped players immerse themselves.
That was why he could roughly predict what would happen right now.
'What was the original 38th rank's name again... Kim Baesung, I think...'
The guy was almost certainly preparing some petty scheme with him as the target. It was obvious.
'The fact that he didn't show up at the sparring arena means he's sulking in his room, muttering and plotting. If so...'
Considering events that could happen immediately.
'An immediate option would be a suicide attack, but that's too easy to detect, so he won't do it. His final goal is to eliminate me and enter S-class, so a suicide attack is out too.'
Dealing with an obvious villain didn't require much time. The reason he was going through all this was deeply tied to acquiring his second hidden skill.
'If I miss this chance, I might never get it in my lifetime.'
It had extremely difficult conditions, so he had to learn it the moment it became available.
'The demonification must be nearly complete by now. With power boiling over, he'd feel like he could do anything... If it's an event possible at a time like this.'
He organized the likely and unlikely incidents through process of elimination, predicting Kim Baesung's behavior. A first-year ranked 39th, steeped in inferiority, with no other talents and, from what he remembered, a mage specialized in summoning.
His target was only him. In that situation, the only thing the guy could do was...
'Summon a demonic beast.'
The moment he reached that conclusion, he moved to the predicted summoning spot.
A villain created by Final Destiny to build tension for the player. Right now, he was nothing more than nourishment for obtaining the hidden skill.
'This should be far enough...'
Kim Baesung approached the outer wall of the S-class dormitory to prove his worth. After surviving the survival test and completing the sparring matches, the students would naturally be inside resting.
'The guards really are idiots.'
The hardest part of this plan had been infiltrating the S-class dormitory. But when he told the guard he was meeting a friend, the problem solved itself effortlessly. Thanks to that, Kim Baesung could draw his magic circle on the outer wall without any interference.
'The guards will only be watching the entrance anyway.'
He would show them exactly what kind of results that complacent belief that nothing would happen could produce. And once they learned he had done this alone, they would be impressed by his talent and promote him to S-class.
Kim Baesung dreamed of that bright future as he continued drawing the circle.
Mid-grade demonic beast, Daepoltan. A terror-specialized summon that self-destructed the instant it was called, dealing massive damage to its surroundings. It was perfect for proving his ability.
In truth, Daepoltan possessed enough power to completely annihilate the S-class dormitory rather than simply demonstrate skill, but Kim Baesung hadn't properly realized that.
'I'm the best...! I'm the best, damn it! I'm the one who belongs in S-class!'
The immense power he had gained had clouded his reason, impairing his judgment and leaving him with nothing but the desire for destruction.
"It's done!"
He poured mana into the magic circle he had completed without any interruptions. An ominous black light burst out.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Like someone pounding on a closed door, the violently shaking circle cracked open. A hand the size of a shipping container burst through.
The flow of immense black mana would act as a warning to everyone nearby, but—
"By the time you notice, it'll already be too late!"
Once the summon began, the self-destruction couldn't be stopped. Kim Baesung was absolutely certain his plan would succeed.
Proof of his talent and promotion to S-class. With both pleasures right before his eyes, Kim Baesung smiled darkly and recited the summoning chant.
"Come forth, Daepoltan!"
At the call of its name, a pitch-black upper body like coal emerged. Bubbles continuously burst across its body as if it could explode at any second. Just a little more, just a little more and an unstoppable disaster would descend—at that exact moment.
Shhhhhhh.
As if everything that had just happened was a lie, the magic circle began disappearing in an instant. Daepoltan, already more than halfway materialized, turned into black smoke and vanished along with the circle.
Kim Baesung couldn't process how everything had disappeared so futilely in mere seconds.
"Wh... what? Why... why? This can't be?"
While he stood there panicking at the sudden turn of events—
"Of course it wouldn't work. A first-year tried to summon a mid-grade demonic beast like Daepoltan by dumping a ton of mana into an incomplete magic circle."
A voice spoke.
"It's pretty sloppy since it's still early days, huh. The dormitory has its own defensive magic built in, you know? But this... Never mind. You probably wouldn't understand even if I explained."
Who is it? Who is speaking?
The moment Kim Baesung saw the owner of the voice, his eyes—now completely dyed black—widened as he growled. It was proof that his increasingly corrupted mind was even eroding his human reason.
"Lee Seokhyun!"
Kim Baesung immediately spat out the name of that certain outstanding commoner still lingering in his mind.
"Don't call me that. I might start to like it."
Lee Seokhyun walked forward with a relaxed smile, holding the Wungbak's head in one hand.
"Time to face the consequences, Baesung. You did something wrong, after all."
"A worthless commoner like you has no right to speak to me that way!"
Unable to endure any longer, Kim Baesung charged at Lee Seokhyun.
United Will
Lee Seokhyun's low murmur sank into Kim Baesung's ears.