So, Not Disqualified?

Ha Ji-eun couldn't keep her mouth shut as she watched the broadcast. She'd seen it with her own eyes.

'The simulation shut down the instant Yoo Eunha snapped her fingers...'

Which meant... perhaps she...

Ha Ji-eun hurriedly pulled herself together and showed her camera the goosebumps on her arms.

"D-did you all see that just now? Anyone else catch it?"

A massive donation followed someone's chat. Half supported Yoo Eunha, half demanded to know what happened.

Ha Ji-eun grinned wickedly and taunted them.

"If you missed that, you're basically certifying yourself as a total noob... Guess that's the level of you spies, huh."

A few comments protested, claiming they were on the same side.

Ha Ji-eun lifted the 3-month sub restriction, and chats flooded in.

Ha Ji-eun rewound the stream and said,

"Okay, check this out. Right before the simulation blew up here."

She moved her mouse to point at Yoo Eunha's spot.

"See this? A tiny spark right here."

"The simulation crashed the moment Yoo Eunha cast her spell. Doesn't that ring a bell?"

"Think about it—famous newbies like Lee Sera got their full DQ scenes shown. But why not Yoo Eunha?"

Ha Ji-eun clicked her mouse and continued.

"The simulation crashes whenever Yoo Eunha casts. And right after prelims, she got called somewhere—that was the review committee."

Ha Ji-eun's eyes sparkled. The puzzle pieces were finally falling into place. Why Yoo Eunha was so confident despite the DQ. Why she was so sure she'd advance in the chaotic 60-man brawl.

"So basically, Yoo Eunha's protesting. 'You sure about this? I'll keep crashing your sims.' Like that. Wow, she was confident for a reason."

Ha Ji-eun hurriedly clicked on that expert's ID to check the chat.

Ha Ji-eun beamed at the camera with sparkling eyes.

"Um... expert? Care to explain?"

"Whoa, global mega-corp! Market cap #1! NovaTech researcher incoming. Everyone, applause!!"

"Alright, let's hear it," Ha Ji-eun said, and everyone spammed clapping emojis.

"Oh, like punching doesn't draw blood but a knife slice does?"

The donations poured cold water on the hype.

But it was just a brief splash—the situation was too juicy, and everyone swung back to Team Yoo Eunha.

Bang So-yeon, watching the live prelims, squeezed her eyes shut.

"Haa... Park Seong-gil sunbae's 'good luck' must've meant this..."

The new Mage Association president slumped into her chair in exhaustion. The elders were already driving her insane, and now this Yoo Eunha kid—every time she got involved, something exploded.

'She's the one who wrecked the mage restrictions from the start, right?'

She glared at Yoo Eunha's image, then swept her hand over her forehead.

'No, what am I thinking? She's done nothing wrong.'

Rationally, she knew the kid was in the right. Mass-producing low-quality mages. Juniors obsessing over levels over substance. All stemmed from the mage restriction policy's bad habits.

Yoo Eunha's actions deserved praise—no, respect.

"But even the president can't fix that!"

The real issue was the elder council dominating the Association. The miraculous generation's great elders.

'Ma! Han River Miracle!'

'Eui! Our sacrifices!'

'Ni! Miracle Generation! Don't you know?!'

They clung to that logic, refusing to yield their privileges.

"Aaaagh!"

Bang So-yeon clawed at her hair, watching purple strands scatter. The floor was piled with them.

"You trash elders! This is your mess again!"

No sooner had she spoken than the match operations chief burst through the president's office door.

"President, simulation issue just blew up."

"I know, I saw! Sim glitch, right?"

"...Yes. Yoo Eunha's spell concentrated too much ether in one spot."

She shook her head in despair.

'Fine, 6th-level mages get it. They overdo power control sometimes!'

"But you're only 3rd-level, you damn genius brat!!"

She slipped off her chair onto the floor and sobbed.

"Park Seong-gil you bastard. This is just dumping sh*t on the successor..."

Park Seong-gil was miracle generation fringe too. He'd retired knowing sh*t was about to hit, leaving her to clean it up.

Bang So-yeon wiped her tears and stood.

"No choice. Last verification was probably biased as hell... But procedure-wise, call it a glitch and rematch."

As she struggled up, the chief added something soul-crushing.

"Uh... Committee members say no way it's a sim issue, no verification done... Yoo Eunha crashed it the same way."

"So that means..."

"Yes, prelim fairness is now in question."

Bang So-yeon's vision went black. She collapsed, pounding the floor.

"Please! Just once! Follow procedure you damn geezers! Aaaaaagh!"

The advancement match arena buzzed. Rumors flew of a rematch due to some insane 7th-level spell explosion.

'Who? Why?'

Park Yu-hye bit her nails anxiously. She was losing her mind.

Her trump card, Abyssal Bog, had tricky casting conditions. Long chant time, had to spread slowly without notice. One-shot surprise magic.

Pros knew her spell now—they wouldn't fall for it again.

"Sim crashes out of nowhere. Why this match, why now..."

A message pinged the anxious Park Yu-hye.

"A-Abyss..."

Park Yu-hye trembled, clenching her fists. Her skill level in Abyss? 100% death.

"F-f*ck... no choice now..."

She was desperate—life's most desperate moment. Pushed to the brink, she recalled her final ace.

'Yeah, that might work.'

Constitutional felony, but she had no room for scruples now.