Supernova (2)
Cheolhyeol gritted his teeth and floored the accelerator. Even with the streetlights on, the outer road was shrouded in darkness. He couldn't tell if it was because dawn was about to break or because of his own rage.
"What the hell was Senior thinking…."
Yi Sang-yeop's magic system that he'd passed on to Lee Sera seemed more and more suspicious the more he thought about it. If it had been a standard Augmentation Method, Yi Sang-yeop would just be a crappy coach at worst. Sera would have been nothing more than a junior who picked the easy path because she hated boring training.
But Sera's magic was off. The Augmentation Method was characterized by crude, sloppy spells due to the brute-force ether boost.
Yet Sera's magic featured delicate ether touches.
And those sparkling ether residues that often appeared at the end of her casts. Those were only possible with extreme ether control refinement, which made her training method not add up. The whole premise of the Augmentation Method was to skip ether control and just overwhelm with quantity.
Sera had maxed out ether control while choosing that ridiculous method. Cheolhyeol gripped the wheel tightly, endless malice surging through him.
So, Sera's magic was....
Designed solely for the backlash of the Augmentation Method.
He arrived at the upscale single-family housing complex in Namyangju. These were luxury homes by any standard, and Yi Sang-yeop had lived in one. Back then, it made sense given his reputation as a coach. Now, it just fueled his anger.
Wrecked someone else's life and then cried about it like that.
It was probably just to make himself feel better.
That trash of a human.
Cheolhyeol calmly donned his gauntlets and loaded the ether cartridge. Maybe... Yi Sang-yeop wasn't the mage he thought he knew.
China behind it? Japan? Or maybe a mage hunter group.
Braced for combat, he rang the doorbell. No response from inside. Glancing sideways, he saw lights on in the curtained house.
Someone's definitely in there….
As he knocked, he absentmindedly turned the doorknob.
Click.
The door opened easily. Just as surprise hit him, the stench of blood wafted out.
He reflexively cast a survival spell.
4th Level Survival Magic
Iron Dome
*Having heard about the Augmentation Method that Lee Sera had learned, I headed out to meet her coach. Not to talk, of course—but to break something.
Jang-gil and Shasha, caught in my angry grip by the scruff of their necks, followed me to the subway.
[Oh, it's been ages since a guide dragged me around like this. So charismatic~]
"Subway? Yoo Eunha, are you insane? I told you to give up!"
The two boys were noisy, so I snapped sharply.
"Quiet down. Didn't you say your senses were off? Just follow silently. Shasha."
"Don't call me Shasha out here!"
"Tch. Is that the issue right now?"
I eyed the turnstile ahead and pondered briefly.
"Where do the tickets go?"
"Tickets? Use a card, obviously."
"I don't have a card…."
"Sigh…."
Without Monica, even this was inconvenient. I placed cash on the turnstile and passed through.
"Hmm, so Sera lives in Bundang, but the coach is in Namyangju… Surprisingly far."
I sighed at my phone.
"Namyangju doesn't have just one or two houses."
I narrowed my eyes, using the search function.
[Hey, why search when you've got high-performance me? And you're searching wrong. You think typing 'Lee Sera coach house address' will work? That's personal info.]
"Then what?"
Jang-gil snorted.
[Search 'Lee Sera coach land value controversy' or 'Lee Sera coach house price' like that.]
"Oh… Smart."
Indeed, searching 'Lee Sera coach house price' brought up an article.
Specific address: Namyangju Hopyeong-dong. Some articles even included maps obvious enough for anyone to pinpoint.
"Jang-gil, you're useful."
As I stroked his black hair, I felt people's stares.
"But doesn't it feel like everyone's looking at me? And their phones seem aimed my way…."
[You really asking?]
Jang-gil stared curiously; Shasha facepalmed.
"Haa… You, with that standout hair, take the subway? You're nuts…."
I glared at the grumbling Shasha.
"What, you gonna carry me on your back?"
"No, it's not—"
Shasha gestured to people fidgeting on subway benches.
"Feel nothing from them?"
"Life's tough? Commuting sucks?"
Shasha snapped.
"Shut up, idiot!"
"Idiot?! Forgot how smart this body is?"
"Smart my ass, it's just talent! Anyway—"
While Shasha and I bickered, the rush-hour subway packed with commuters arrived.
[Wow.]
"Ah, I'm crazy. Subway at this hour…."
[Mind the gap, mind the gap.]
Hiss—
Doors opened; people poured out.
"Huh?"
"Eh?"
"Uh…."
"Uh…!"
Everyone exiting gave me weird looks before vanishing into the crowd.
"Hmm…."
Feeling those odd stares, we boarded the packed train. Then someone shouted.
"Whoa?! Mage Yoo Eunha?!"
Shasha muttered low.
"Welp, busted."
*Lying in bed at home, Lee Sera suddenly teared up with sorrow. Why'd she hit that 10% backlash probability?
Coach Yi Sang-yeop had said 90% chance to stay at 5th level. But her mental core was crumbling.
Even if unlucky and hit 10%, it'd just turn me normal, right?
She'd brushed it off then, but now she regretted it a bit. Losing magic for someone like her meant losing a lot.
Might as well die….
Sera curled up under the covers. Her body burned. Embarrassing to have flailed pathetically in front of all those people. Ashamed to have exposed herself as a fallen star.
"Why…. Why…."
Why did Dad's business fail right when her talent was discovered? Why was her immense talent in something risky like the Augmentation Method?
As Sera swallowed tears inwardly, her phone buzzed.
Bzzz— Bzzz—
Staring blankly, she grabbed it at the familiar name.
"Ah?"
Joy and excitement surged. Maybe he found a way to fix the backlash?
Heart pounding, she opened it. A message appeared.
Chills ran through her.
"Oh my god…."
The world was still on her side, paving a path. Even 3rd level—no, 1st level—would do. Relief brought tears streaming.
"Hic…."
Sera wiped her blurry eyes with her pajama sleeve and got up.
"What time is it?"
Nearly 7 PM, late night—but it didn't matter. Her passion still burned hot; she wouldn't abandon her world yet.
*Cheolhyeol clenched his teeth, staunching shoulder blood. Slumped in the single-family yard, he quickly bandaged the wound.
Invisible attribute attack.
Ether was hazy, hard to gauge strikes. Mindful of ether tracking, the foe was clearly a pro who'd killed many mages.
The cold concrete wall propped his waist; strength drained.
"Grrrh."
Stuffing cotton into the shoulder hole dizzied him. Blue vision blurring, he tried standing—then rolled aside from incoming bullets.
[Blessed rounds. Dodging them? Not bad. Or rather—from the start. Dodging bullets? You human?]
A rough radio-like voice. No, it was radio static, words pieced from broadcasts—tone shifting per word.
The radio voice continued.
[Oops! I'm 'K'. You're not the target, but we need to talk. Up for it?]
"Did you kill Senior Yi Sang-yeop?"
[Contractor not dead yet! Your existence? Annoying. Contract must be fulfilled.]
"Contract?"
Radio cut off. Sensing killing intent, Cheolhyeol rolled forward.
BOOM—
Huge blast; wall tore away.
[Tch, didn't plan flashy, but.]
Lights flared; eyes gathered. The commotion would bring police, military, or mages—one of the three.
[Regrettable, but pro session end. Good night, folks.]
Ether surged from nowhere toward the voice.
5th Level Special Magic
Mass Compression
Invisible force closed in—then a clear voice rang.
"Ch-Cheolhyeol? Why are you here…. No, where's our coach?!"
[Here you are! Sera!]
As Sera reacted to the recorded voice, Cheolhyeol grabbed her and rolled across the ground.