It's Because of Me
"It's because of me. Preparations are almost complete, right?"
"Yes."
In a dark room, a figure knelt prostrate before a mirror, body trembling violently. Lee Seokhyun's recruitment had failed. The assassination attempt had failed. The S-class dormitory bombing had fallen apart. Now he felt his life was in danger.
'What went wrong?'
He couldn't pinpoint where the plan had derailed. If everything had gone smoothly, more than half of Mirinae Academy's promising new sprouts should have burned to death by now. While losing a few low-grade demons might be overlooked, the dormitory bombing had required meticulous effort. Planting seeds of black mana inside the heavily guarded academy and waiting for suitable hosts had taken considerable work. Of course, a single failure like this wouldn't cause major damage to demon society.
'But my life is different.'
Once you became useless, you were discarded. In a world where only raw power was law and you had to constantly prove your worth, being labeled defective meant death. Peschino, the powerful figure who had purchased Ungbak's organs on the black market, knew this was his final chance.
-Very well. I will trust you.
"Th-thank you!!!"
Crash.
The moment those words echoed, the mirror shattered into countless pieces, as if determined to leave no trace. Peschino slowly rose from his prostrate position, pulling shards of glass from his body, and made a vow.
'This time, I'll end it for certain.'
If self-destruction wouldn't work, then he would simply bring about an even greater calamity. Dark clouds were slowly gathering over Mirinae Academy.
'I have no idea when the next random event will trigger.'
The first one had been stopped by sheer luck, but the demons would undoubtedly come back with something stronger. If only he could predict the timing, he could prepare in advance.
'But then it wouldn't be random.'
In the worst case, a meteor packed with demonic beasts could crash right into the center of Mirinae Academy tomorrow. With all the main characters gathered here, even imagining the absolute worst felt insufficient. The biggest problem was that even knowing something would happen, there was no way to prepare for it. Just as you couldn't cover the sky with your palm, you couldn't save everyone while barely protecting yourself.
That was why it was crucial to quickly move past the early stages where Lee Seokhyun was at his weakest. Saving people mattered, but he had to survive first if he wanted to do anything at all. In that sense, the Forenta sapling he had requested from Velos was extremely important.
'If I could, I'd ask for the entire Forenta tree itself, but...'
The Forenta tree was currently treated as an ordinary landscaping tree with no research value. Asking for a fully grown specimen outright would raise suspicions, so he had no choice but to settle for a sapling. It would take time, but he would have to obtain the sapling and grow it himself.
"Hm? You're only asking for something like that?"
"Forenta trees only exist in Sceria. I just wanted to try growing one here too."
"Ah... If that's the case, well, you'd have to go through our empire to get one anyway."
Since no one showed interest in the tree, there was no supply chain. The only way to obtain one was through Velos.
"Well... I got it. But if you're holding back because you're worried about burdening me, feel free to ask for more later, commoner."
Truthfully, asking for something bigger after just one bare-handed sparring match would be excessive. The feedback hadn't been particularly detailed, and a sapling seemed like a reasonable reward for a light exchange.
'I'll save the rest for later.'
He had no intention of extorting the others as payment for the bare-handed sparring, so for now, he would only collect from Velos. He had already pulled off a big score by trying to obtain what he needed himself, and there was nothing to gain from the rest of the kids anyway.
'No, wait.'
Come to think of it, there was one person in S-class who held a similar position to Velos, though slightly below him.
"Mi Juran."
"Huh? Uh, yeah."
"Can I talk to you alone for a moment?"
"Ah... uh, of course."
Why was she so nervous? Anyone watching would think a delinquent was shaking down a model student. He just wanted to speak privately because he was the class representative trying to get closer to a classmate, so why was the atmosphere like this?
"..."
Left with no choice, he made a ridiculous face and imitated a bear to lighten the mood. Realizing the imitation represented Ungbak, Mi Juran nodded in understanding.
'The Ungbak incident has to stay hidden no matter what.'
Since it was publicly known that Mi Juran had caught it, anything related needed to be handled discreetly. Classes hadn't started yet, so he and Mi Juran quickly moved to find a private spot.
"Take this."
"What's this?"
"Ungbak's head."
He held out the subspace pouch containing Ungbak's head to get straight to the point.
"Why are you giving me this?"
"You'll need clear proof that you caught Ungbak. Even if people aren't interested, they do pay attention to details like that."
Since it was publicly accepted that Mi Juran had defeated Ungbak, he needed to add those little details to her story. During the first week there had been too many incidents for anyone to demand verification, but things were different now. Once people started adapting, they would likely grow curious about how she had solo-hunted Ungbak. At the very least, if they saw her with him, they would pester her to explain how she did it.
"Thanks. But just giving this to me feels a bit..."
"Ah, of course I'm not giving it for free. Remember that bare-handed sparring match we agreed on? I want to combine that with another request."
He had never planned to give it away for nothing.
"Ah... If that's what it is, I'm fine with it."
Mi Juran had no intention of accepting it for free either. The moment she heard the word "request," her eyes sparkled.
'But was she always this obedient?'
According to the original setting, she should have been a typical tomboy—loud, rough, and mischievous. Yet she was following his words so meekly that it felt strange.
'Mi Juran and Meiri too... The kids are all strangely different from the game.'
It seemed Lee Seokhyun's involvement with the academy had influenced them somehow, but no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't figure out exactly what had changed. He decided to think about it later. What mattered now was the request.
"I need some solid steel. Is that possible?"
"How much?"
"As much as you can give without taking a loss."
"Hmm... Alright."
Done. Mi Juran was kind, so she would definitely give him plenty of steel. Most of his worries were over.
'With this much, I should be able to complete the prototype.'
After thanking Mi Juran, he immediately returned to the classroom.
"Commoner, now you're even shaking down Mi Juran? You're something else."
The first thing that greeted him was Velos's voice, thick with misunderstanding. Shaking her down? He had only asked for fair compensation. He was about to protest when he noticed the way the others were looking at him.
'That feeling you get when you see a problematic delinquent in middle school?'
Even Sohyun and Meiri weren't greeting him as warmly as usual. A massive misunderstanding had clearly taken root. If more piled up, it would become troublesome, so he tried to clear it up immediately.
"You all seem to be getting quite rowdy now that you're closer. Everyone, take your seats."
Gainard entered. Lee Hwaryeong and Kerar were nowhere to be seen. They must have had some business.
"Hmm... Everyone except Kim Seokcheol is here. I'll get straight to the point. Listen carefully."
After checking the class roster, Gainard immediately drew everyone's attention.
"You are special. Not only did you enter Mirinae Academy, but you made it into S-class. Your talents deserve high praise."
Here it comes. There was always a reason they started by inflating the students' egos.
"And there is nothing more foolish than letting such talent rot while sitting idly at a desk. Therefore, starting next week, you will begin practical training."
Practical training at the academy came in many forms, but for first-years, and coming from Gainard's mouth, there was only one possibility.
"The teams for the dungeon have already been decided. All you need to do is prepare yourselves mentally."
The moment Gainard finished speaking, silence fell over the classroom. Entering a dungeon filled with real monsters—not virtual constructs—and clearing it themselves. Even students who had experience fighting monsters couldn't help but feel tense. There would supposedly be someone to help them, but in student-led dungeon training, there were no such safety measures.
'Of course, they say there aren't any while secretly providing them, but...'
The students, unaware of that, were already imagining their deaths even though the dungeon training hadn't even begun. Gainard didn't say anything in response to their uniform silence. They needed time to compose themselves. However—
"Instructor, where is Kim Seokcheol?"
He had been wondering about it for a while, so he broke the silence. Kim Seokcheol had been absent, yet Gainard had treated it as nothing important. That had piqued his curiosity, and he received an answer immediately.
"Ah... Student Kim Seokcheol is with Professor Gi Juseon thanks to his outstanding talent."
Gi Juseon, Gi Juseon?
'Ah.'
It's because of me.
"Hihihihihi! A first-year who can use mana forging! How rare, how precious!"
"Professor Baktor also said this child has talent! In that case—"
"Yes! Yes! I couldn't bring Lee Seokhyun, but I managed to kidnap—no, recruit—a useful student, so I'll grant you all a special privilege!!! Five hours! No, wait—I'm in a good mood! I'll give you six hours and forty-five minutes of sleep time!"
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"
"Ooh! Gi Juseon~ My second father after the parents who gave birth to me~ My god~ My one and only god~ Gi Juseon~"
"His name is Gi Juseon~ Ooh~ Gi Juseon! Another name for god, the one who will grant us heaven~"
"..."
On a bright Monday morning, Kim Seokcheol finished his usual grooming and stepped out of the dormitory to head to class, only to be kidnapped.
'What on earth is going on?'
Due to the misunderstanding Lee Seokhyun had caused, Kim Seokcheol had revealed his talent in Gi Juseon's lab. That talent had made him a target for Gi Juseon and his researchers.
"Kim Seokcheol! No, Seokcheol! Your talent will soar even higher if it grows wings! Trust me! Trust this Gi Juseon! Not just within Mirinae Academy, but across the entire world in the field of magic engineering—I, who have never once retreated from the front lines, who only identifies and explores things of the highest research value—trust me! Seokcheol! Join my lab!"
Madness. The moment Kim Seokcheol arrived at Gi Juseon's lab after being kidnapped, what he felt was an overwhelming sense of madness.
"How about it! Me! Aren't you overflowing with the desire to join my lab!"
"P-please let me go. I'm scared."
"..."
Silence hung over the lab. Kim Seokcheol had simply said what needed to be said.