Ranking War Finals (2)
"Play one move, and you give up the others…."
Lee Sera, watching TV, gave a bitter smile and glanced at the person sitting beside her.
The lord of Cheonseong Tower, a 7th-level mage idolized by all mages. Park Pyeong-su, the Heavenly God mage who debuted in '96, reached the pinnacle of Korean mages after 20 years, and retired.
"Long time no see, Tower Lord."
Park Pyeong-su nodded silently at Lee Sera's words.
After so much time, his crumbling body looked less like a mage and more like a frail old man. Considering he was only 40, the deep wrinkles on his face created an eerie dissonance.
"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. Yi Sang-yeop's data was flawless… I never imagined it'd end like this."
"It's fine, Tower Lord. It was my choice in the end."
Park Pyeong-su smiled bitterly. He knew her forced bright smile was her way of showing sadness.
"The vice tower lord suggested your expulsion…."
"Ah."
Seeing Lee Sera's expression, Park Pyeong-su bowed his head in silence. They'd held meetings inside the tower countless times, but he couldn't stop her expulsion.
Loss of magical ability meant expulsion from the tower. A dry, professional process.
But not something to do to an 11-year-old child.
"I have no power left. Cheonseong Tower is basically Daniel's now."
Lee Sera bowed her head, her face crestfallen. She wanted to say there was still hope, but part of her saw this as a chance to leave Cheonseong Tower.
Cheonseong Tower won't last long under Daniel anyway….
She knew Daniel's personality and abilities well. Without the giant tree that was Park Pyeong-su, the tower would never regain its former glory.
So if I'm leaving, now's the time.
"I'm okay, Tower Lord. Staying would just lead to favoritism accusations and ruin the tower's atmosphere."
Park Pyeong-su burst into laughter at Lee Sera's words.
"Hahaha!"
"…?"
As Lee Sera stared blankly, he smiled gently.
"Good. You seem to have a plan."
"…Huh?"
"Giving up Cheonseong Tower so easily. You've found a new nest, haven't you?"
"……."
Lee Sera's face flushed. She'd revealed her hand too hastily.
The 7th-level mage lifted his hazy eyes to gaze at her. His stare pierced right through her.
Sweeping back his white hair, Park Pyeong-su nodded and stood.
"I'll tell Daniel you're leaving."
With a kind smile, he placed his wrinkled hand on Lee Sera's head.
"May the guide of ether come to you."
"Pardon…? Guide?"
"I'll be off. If you meet your brother later, tell him we had fun while it lasted."
"Huh? Brother's missing…."
"Who knows~ The guy I know is tough as an angel."
"Huh?"
Muttering incomprehensible words about ether guides and angels, Park Pyeong-su left the hospital room.
Only then did Lee Sera turn back to the TV, seeing Yoo Eunha receive her 2nd Army placement card and step down.
"Ah. Match's over…."
Staring blankly, Lee Sera felt a strange emotion and burrowed into her blankets.
Suddenly, she recalled Yoo Eunha taking Eun-byeol to her tower.
"Iolde Tower, was it…?"
A weird name, like some cult religion.
"Hehe…."
In a way, it suited Yoo Eunha perfectly.
Maybe submit an application tomorrow….
Leaning into the cozy blankets, Lee Sera tried to wash away her tangled feelings and drifted to sleep.
Bam! Returning to the waiting room, Kang Seo-hee kicked her carry-on in frustration before collapsing onto the sofa.
"Aaaah!! What the hell was that first spell?!"
Kang Seo-hee glared at her black-haired female coach with a bewildered expression.
"Coach, what happened? You said proper training would let me dodge even new spells."
"W-Well, you see…."
Kang Seo-hee slowly rose from the sofa, her tentacles wriggling as she approached the coach.
The coach's eyes darted around before she started explaining.
"No new spells showed up in the prelims or qualifiers, right? There was that simulation-disrupting one, so we prepped with fast evasion as the strategy…."
Her voice even cracked a little, hands slick with cold sweat.
"I-It was a high-density ether spell that glitches 7th-level magic, so casting time should be long. That's why we went evasion-heavy…."
"……."
Kang Seo-hee relaxed her furrowed brow. The coach's strategy had no flaws.
Unable to argue, she wrinkled her nose and stroked the coach's neck with a tentacle.
"That choker doesn't suit you. You're warm spring tones, sis. Your usual rose gold necklace fits better."
"Ah, uh, thanks."
Sitting back on the sofa, Kang Seo-hee smacked her head repeatedly.
So.
"Haa…."
It was entirely her fault. She should've dodged the first spell, or not picked that idiot Yoo Eunha.
"I'm the moron, I'm the moron…."
Leaning back, she stared at the ceiling.
A beam of light hurtling at inescapable speed. 880 points gone in one spell.
Normally, she'd storm the judges for log analysis, demanding bug checks.
But.
"That was real…."
Extremely sensitive to ether, Kang Seo-hee had felt it. Ether exploding outward like a blast, compressed and unleashed.
That wasn't magic—it was like a natural phenomenon.
Lost in the match's afterimages, staring blankly at the ceiling—
Bang! The loser's waiting room door flew open.
"Is Kang Seo-hee here?"
"Who? Uh…. Y-Yoo Eunha?"
Hearing the name, Kang Seo-hee shot up.
"You?! What the—why are you in my waiting room?!"
The petite Yoo Eunha strode over and grabbed Kang Seo-hee's hand—though her small hand could only clutch the thumb.
For a moment, finding it cute, Kang Seo-hee blushed.
"What, barging into the opponent's room right after the match? Don't you know that's rude?"
Yoo Eunha replied with a serious face.
"I need thy help. Sensitive to ether, right?"
"…?"
Kang Seo-hee blinked, then frowned.
"N-No? Not really? But if I am, so what?"
"There's a junior thou must help."
"……."
As Kang Seo-hee pondered, Yoo Eunha instructed the coach and bundled her into the car.
"Wait, hold on, I haven't decided…."
By the time she agreed to help, she was already in the car, heading somewhere.
"……."
Staring blankly out the window, Kang Seo-hee sighed in disbelief.
"You…. Insane action speed?"
"Praise? Not wrong."
Yoo Eunha pulled a large green grape candy from her pocket—warm from being carried long—and placed it in Kang Seo-hee's hand.
Pondering as she took it, Kang Seo-hee scratched her head and popped it in her mouth.
"…Fine, whatever. Why do you need my help? You're 2nd Army now, I'm 3rd Army trash~"
At her sarcasm, Yoo Eunha pointed to her eyes.
"Eyes that see ether in detail. That's what I need."
The driving coach beamed.
"Ah~ Our Seo-hee's the world's most ether-sensitive. Those four tentacles? Even more so…."
"Coach! Why tell the enemy that?!"
"But…. She probably knows already…."
"Correct. I know all."
Kang Seo-hee shrieked.
"Liar! You couldn't hit me 'cause you didn't know!"
"Ow! I hit you at the end!"
"That was 'cause I zoned out!"
"Ha! I zoned out too! Focused more, and I'd have nailed you all!"
"This brat! Talking down to your elder by 10 years!"
"Hmph! No honorifics for losers."
Finally snapping, Kang Seo-hee pinched Yoo Eunha's cheeks hard.
"Egyaaah!"
"Hmph! No ether, and you're just an 8-year-old brat. Don't sass your senior!"
"Aaaah! Violence is wrong!"
Pinching until her cheeks were beet red, Yoo Eunha sniffled with tears.
But Kang Seo-hee felt her heart skip.
Ah, cheeks are so soft. Wanna touch forever.
As she stared at the cheeks, Yoo Eunha glared and scooted back.
"Monica would've blocked it all…."
"Right, you! Casual with Monica too!"
"Sigh, so many gripe about my speech."
"Obviously! This is the land of Eastern etiquette!"
"Fine! I'm trying to change…! Yes."
Grumbling, Yoo Eunha pulled out a massive staff.
"?!"
Startled by its sudden appearance, she pointed out the window.
"We're here."
"Hospital…?"
A massive hospital on Seoul's outskirts: Seoul Prime Medical Center, one of Korea's best.
"Uh, this place…."
Kang Seo-hee recalled it was where Lee Sera was hospitalized.
Augmentation Method backlash, right?
Rumors of ether loss from the backlash had spread through the mage world.
"No way, the help is for Lee Sera?"
Yoo Eunha, stepping out, nodded.
"Planning to fix her today."
Kang Seo-hee froze.
"Can't be fixed…."
"What's that suddenly?"
Stepping out, Kang Seo-hee gazed at the entrance, old memories surfacing.
"My dad's bedridden from it too. So…. I know the Augmentation Method backlash well."
"Oh, really?"
Despite her words, Yoo Eunha just grinned.
"Come. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
"Huh?"
"Will is the same."