The Secret of the Ice
After unpacking her bags in the instructor’s dormitory, Hana Rin stepped out into the corridor where Choi Pil was already waiting for her.
Despite his hulking muscles, she faced the man with a cool expression and a relaxed posture as she asked, “So, does that trainee Lee Do-hyeon belong to the hunter track?”
“Why? Interested?”
Hana Rin paid no attention to Choi Pil’s question. She fell into deep thought. The man’s reaction had clearly confirmed he was a hunter, but now that she thought about it again, it felt strange.
She had clearly seen traces of magic near the heart area. If the technique involved embedding mana into the body, it was the very principle of magic—spreading mana throughout the body to make spells possible at any time. A mage who had learned magic should always leave such traces in the heart.
Even if those traces were faint, Hana Rin possessed the blessing of a genius who could read even the smallest mana signatures, so the oddity left her unsettled.
*Both of them felt it.*
Just a moment ago, she had been confused by that strange sensation and assumed her own senses were at fault, but no matter how she tried to rationalize it, she refused to believe her instincts were wrong.
It was her enormous self-pride, but the thought was not incorrect.
And Hana Rin was thinking exactly the same thing.
Then…
*There’s no other choice but to check directly.*
A playful smirk tugged at her cold lips. Choi Pil’s face crumpled at the sight.
During her trainee days, whenever that mischievous smile appeared on her, accidents had followed. He had wanted to stop her, but he shook his head. He couldn’t stop her anyway, and Hana Rin was Hana Rin. There had been no casualties, so he decided to let it slide.
Do-hyeon might suffer for it later, but that was precisely why he was curious.
*How far will the trainee Lee Do-hyeon pass Hana Rin’s test?*
He was also curious about what results the cheeky bravado would produce, so he stayed silent.
* * *
After breakfast, the original schedule would have been a lesson on Black Gate information. Starting today, however, the timetable had changed.
The time had come to begin proper instruction in both skills and magic. The instructors decided to run a preliminary aptitude check for magic first.
And who would carry out that check? Naturally, a mage.
Thus began the magic aptitude exam time.
The trainees from both Class 1 and Class 2 gathered in the magic training ground looked visibly tense.
Becoming a mage was no ordinary thing.
They were classified as hunters, yet mages enjoyed a slightly higher honor. That alone made every single one of them anxious.
It could change their entire lives, after all.
Still, neither Lee Do-hyeon nor Ji Yu-chan seemed particularly nervous.
*After all, I’ve already mastered the skill.*
Ji Yu-chan had already learned some of the skill, so he had no doubt he would fail the magic aptitude test. Do-hyeon was the opposite.
*After all, it should come out as a talent.*
He had acquired the Ether Heart. If the result still said he had no aptitude, that would be even weirder.
Yet the trainees in Class 2 thought something entirely different.
“Lee Do-hyeon Oppa already showed talent with the skill, so he probably can’t do magic.”
“If he can do magic as well, that doesn’t make sense.”
“He won’t be able to do magic.”
“People who have talent for the skill can’t do magic, apparently.”
While they whispered among themselves, the Class 1 trainees could barely suppress their laughter.
They had already seen Do-hyeon cast magic, so the entire conversation was ridiculous to them.
Still, they kept quiet for the sake of the students who would soon wear surprised expressions.
As the murmurs continued, the magic training ground door suddenly opened. A silhouette appeared.
The figure was not particularly tall, yet the proportions were so perfect that it felt imposing. Long hair emitted a faint blue light, and sharp eyes glowed with the same ethereal blue. A woman with a cold expression and matching blue aura stepped forward.
Tap, tap, tap.
Each step sounded as if it had been sharpened. Every trainee stiffened in place and stared at her in silence.
The corners of her lips were slightly upturned, yet the air around her seemed to grow heavier, as if her colder presence itself had turned the atmosphere heavy.
And that was exactly how it felt.
**[Skill “Intimidation [D]” is subtly spreading.]** **[Skill “Intimidation [D]” is being resisted.]**
The rare skill that both hunters and mages could use—Intimidation—had been activated, spreading a pressure that made the surroundings feel oppressive.
Do-hyeon had seen it before, so he felt no thrill. Everyone else, however, was completely different.
“Hah, Hana Rin!?”
“Ah, that genius mage who broke the chief instructor Hwang Ha-na’s record, right?”
“I’ve seen the news about it too.”
“I forgot about her after she graduated from the training center…”
“Hah, Hana Rin came too!?”
“We’ll get the signature later, right?”
“I’m going crazy.”
Despite the air growing even heavier because of the sudden appearance of Hana Rin, everyone still felt a mixture of excitement and trembling—something a little less than pure intimidation.
Do-hyeon watched the scene and nodded as if remembering something.
*Ah, so that’s Hana Rin.*
For some reason, the name felt strangely familiar.
He had heard that a genius mage had appeared, but it hadn’t been important enough to remember. And yet this woman was that very genius mage.
Of course. Given that Hwang Ha-na was already called a genius, it would be strange if Hana Rin wasn’t referred to as one.
Anyway, as Do-hyeon watched Hana Rin approach, the woman suddenly looked at him and gave him a strange smile. The trainees exploded.
“Did you see Do-hyeon Oppa smile?”
“Do you two know each other?”
“What? Do-hyeon, you know Hana Rin!?”
“H-how did this happen? Hyung?”
The Class 1 students were in chaos too. Class 2 trainees reacted the same way.
“What? You know Do-hyeon Oppa?!”
“I saw it too! Hana Rin smiled at that Oppa.”
“There’s no way! Is this… a misunderstanding?”
“I saw it clearly. Do-hyeon Hyung was smiling at her.”
“…Hm.”
Even Ji Yu-chan looked at Do-hyeon with surprise, so everyone could tell how hot the reaction was.
Do-hyeon was at a loss for words. Just then, Hana Rin turned to the trainees and spoke.
“I am Hana Rin. From now on, we will perform the magic aptitude exam. Please remain quiet.”
“……”
The moment Hana Rin finished speaking, every mouth fell silent.
They understood that the proper exam had begun, yet their eyes still showed clear curiosity about whether she knew Do-hyeon.
But there was no reason for her to dig deeper, so she ignored the whispers and continued.
She stood before the whiteboard at the front of the magic training ground and wrote fluent letters in her elegant handwriting.
The words on the board were none other than theories about mages.
“Generally, what distinguishes a mage from others is how well one handles mana and how well one senses it. Even ordinary hunters feel mana and manipulate it, but their methods are entirely different.”
Hana Rin’s theory flowed as she wrote.
For a normal hunter, mana was felt instinctively through the body and operated from within the body. For a mage, mana was sensed rationally, not instinctively, and operated from outside the body with the will of the mind.
It was a sudden theory lesson, but everyone was focused. Hana Rin explained it so well that the concepts sank deep into their minds.
After briefly covering the theory, she naturally moved on to aptitude testing.
“So, when ordinary hunters look at the numbers I write in mid-air using mana, they may sense something made of mana there, but they cannot clearly identify what it is. Meanwhile, a mage will immediately recognize the exact numbers I drew.”
After her explanation, every trainee nodded in agreement.
The explanation was so clear and everyone’s interest in magic was so high that they listened intently. Suddenly, Hana Rin spread her fingers.
Just as she opened her mouth to continue…
“One.”
Do-hyeon suddenly spoke.
Hana Rin looked at him with a strange gaze. The other trainees stared at Do-hyeon, then at her again, utterly confused.
They had no idea what he was talking about.
“……?”
“???????”
Everyone tried to watch her fingers carefully, but almost no one could understand.
Then—
“Eh, eh? I think I can see it too!”
“I-I can see it too!”
Gu Min-a and Han Jun-seo answered belatedly. Hana Rin looked at both of them, nodded with satisfaction, and called them forward.
“Gu Min-a trainee and Han Jun-seo trainee?”
“Yes!”
“Correct!”
Hana Rin nodded at the two of them.
Even excluding Do-hyeon, two people had shown magic talent. That was far more than expected. The record for the most trainees who displayed aptitude was being broken right before their eyes.
But.
*She was right, after all.*
Hana Rin looked at Do-hyeon with a satisfied expression. She had not misread him. Confirming his magic aptitude in one glance had been enough.
She had discovered it extremely quickly.
*How strong is he, exactly?*
Hana Rin was one of the few who had immediately answered correctly during her own aptitude test. She was curious how strong Do-hyeon’s talent was.
Still, separate from that curiosity, the feeling that the cold eyes earlier had pierced through everything without mercy bothered her slightly.
A mischievous impulse rose within her. *I should give him a little more trouble.*
Hana Rin called Do-hyeon forward and spoke.
“Well, it seems mana is clearly visible to you. Can you do this as well?”
Clink—Clink—
Hana Rin flicked her fingers in mid-air, summoning a tiny ice crystal.
Of course, even someone with exceptional magic talent could not perform magic by simply watching and imitating it. Hana Rin herself could not do that. She could only observe and grasp the principle to a certain degree, but mastering the complete causal relationship of magic required reading books.
The basic magic she had just used was gathering water-attribute mana in mid-air and freezing it. Among basic element spells, it was rather difficult.
Naturally, imitating it was impossible, but the goal was simply to test how much of the principle she could grasp. As long as she could mimic the spell, she would pass.
Yet—
“This way?”
Clink—Clink—
“???????”
A small ice crystal appeared on Do-hyeon’s fingertip. Hana Rin’s usually cold expression cracked.
The sight was completely incomprehensible. Her face changed the way a child’s would if they saw something amazing. She looked at Do-hyeon and asked.
“How did you do it?”
“You told me to try, didn’t you?”
“Ah?”
Hana Rin stared blankly at Do-hyeon, stunned by the emotion she had never felt before.
And Hana Rin happened to think of Kang Ji-hoon.
*What kind of crazy monster is this guy?*