Destruction Flower of Seocheon (1)

After passing the Academy's entrance exam, I spent the remaining days until enrollment moving nonstop.

It was because of my pitiful stats.

Even with a fine skill like Gucheon Hyeongeom, if the body wielding it was weak, you could never draw out its true power. That was why, over that stretch of time, I sought out several places to raise my stats.

The ones I lacked most were Strength, Stamina, and Mana. Strength I raised by eating the heart of a fifty-year-old wild boar. Stamina, by digging up ginseng steeped in mana. And to raise my Mana, I had just finished hunting this Hundred-Year Azure Serpent.

Once I swallowed its inner core, my Mana rank would climb as well.

In effect, I was snatching Lee Shinwoo's fortuitous encounters—but for him, losses like these barely registered as damage.

He's not the type who gets stronger off the power of items in the first place.

Lee Shinwoo was, at his core, an extreme hard worker. In the early stages, he raised most of his stats through sheer personal ability. Of course, the late game was a realm effort alone could never reach, so he borrowed other powers eventually—but those were never low-grade spiritual elixirs like these.

Elixirs of this sort only worked on people with truly abysmal stats, like me. Past B-rank, the effects plummeted. Meaning even without them, he would have done just fine on his own.

"Then, as promised, I'll just take the inner core."

"I didn't really do anything in this fight…"

"A promise is still a promise."

I'd gone alone for the first two, but the Hundred-Year Azure Serpent had been a little too dangerous to handle solo. Even at the lowest Fairy Tale grade, a magical beast was still a magical beast—catastrophe to ordinary people, and nothing low-ranked contractors could casually put down either.

With my stats raised a touch, I probably could have managed it if I pushed myself. But when going together was an option, there was no reason to insist on going alone.

Right now, the only person close enough to come somewhere like this with me was a single girl. Which was why I was here with Seong Harim.

One person is enough.

Seong Harim was an extraordinary supporter—the kind of force that made fights which should have been impossible suddenly viable. Her buffs carried that much weight. She wasn't a main heroine for nothing. The truly startling part was that this was still her barely-grown state.

"Shall we head back now?"

"Yes. It's getting dark, so let's go home."

After taking down the Hundred-Year Azure Serpent, we headed straight home. The day was already dimming, and today's schedule ended here. Besides, with the semester about to start, wandering around too much wouldn't do any good either.

Only two days remained until the term began. It was time to prepare properly.

"The semester's almost here now."

"Yeah. Right around the corner."

"Let's do our best!"

With those words, Seong Harim held out her hand. After glancing at her face a moment, I took it in return.

"Yeah."

That handshake done, we each headed for our own homes.

Creak—

These days I was out so often the place was little more than somewhere to sleep. The moment I stepped inside, I swallowed the Hundred-Year Azure Serpent's inner core from my pocket.

There was no taste. Only the sensation of a somewhat large bead sliding down my throat.

Still being low-rank, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my stats climbed quickly with even a little effort. Later on, raising even a single rank would be grueling—but I was still a long way from that level.

My stats had finally reached a fairly respectable level. Everything at C-rank. That much was enough for Class A among the first-years. The skill window was still pretty bare, but Gucheon Hyeongeom was versatile enough that it hardly mattered. I'd pick up more once I contracted with other constellations anyway.

Enrollment's tomorrow, so I should go check out the holy relic right away.

The holy relic housed in the Divine Circle: the Broken Holy Sword. It had been there since the Divine Circle first formed, and it was still enshrined with considerable reverence. You couldn't wield it as a sword the way the name suggested, but it was an artifact that granted significant buffs—and that was exactly the holy relic I was after.

The constellation bound to it was The One Who Faces the Demon. Her true name was Kamael, a high-ranking angel just below the Four Archangels.

"She's a perfect fit for me."

Kamael was a combat angel—tied to battle rather than healing or embrace. Setting aside Michael, leader of the Four Archangels, she was a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠demon-slayer who, despite being only Epic-grade, had killed more demons than any other angel. The skill she granted was one I desperately needed right now.

The skill given upon contracting with her—and the one I would demand—was Holy Fire. For someone who had melee options but no ranged attacks or utility, it was practically optimized.

And that's not the only reason.

The second reason I'd chosen Kamael was the first major event in the original novel: the subjugation of the evil dragon, Fafnir. Including the final battle, there were four ultra-major events in total, and the first of them was Fafnir.

About half a year left, huh.

The timing fell right after final exams, just before summer break began. Counting from now, it was an incident that would erupt in roughly half a year. And the first piece of preparation for it was Holy Fire—a skill that granted the holy attribute, one of Fafnir's two weaknesses. If I also obtained that other skill on top of it, the preparations would be complete.

"I hope the semester starts soon."

I was already looking forward to it.

The Academy's entrance ceremony was no different from an ordinary school's. You listened to the headmaster's congratulatory address. New students received various orientations. Even though the Academy existed to train contractors and forge them stronger, it was still an educational institution first—so none of that changed.

I wish this part were different, though.

And sure enough, the headmaster's speech being interminably long was the same as ever. Right now we were in the Academy's grand auditorium. With the ceremony in full swing, the place was packed wall to wall—more than half of them outsiders rather than students. And at the very front of them all, one old man delivering a speech.

"…hoping that you will learn a great many things at this Academy, and also strive higher than other nations and stand tall among these contractors…"

The Academy's Chancellor, Robert Han. His constellation was Knight Chasing Illusions—in other words, Don Quixote.

Why is someone who was so cool in the original…

A man who thought of his students more than anyone. One who faced reality even while chasing illusions. When students were attacked, he'd dyed the entire Academy in phantasms and been cool as hell—so why, here, was he just a talkative old man?

"My ass hurts…"

It had already been an hour. I had lost count of how many times I'd heard "just one last word." At first I'd listened well enough. Past the thirty-minute mark, I no longer had any idea what he was saying.

"Yeah. Same."

"But… we should still listen properly…!"

The voices came from either side of me—Lee Seah and Seong Harim. I'd walked over from home with Seong Harim and sat with her as a matter of course. Lee Seah had simply appeared and planted herself beside me. More precisely, she'd stolen the seat.

She'd shown up out of nowhere and stared fixedly at the male student sitting next to me. The pressure must have been crushing, because that student quietly vacated his spot, and Lee Seah sat down as if it were the most natural thing in the world. When I asked why she'd chosen this seat, her answer was:

Spar. When?

A true sparring maniac, right here. Who would have thought the first words out of her mouth upon seeing me at the Academy would be about sparring. If Lee Shinwoo was a guy obsessed with effort, this one was just obsessed with sparring.

"Are you actually in pain?"

"Yeah. Ass hurts."

"Why don't you ask me?"

"Because anyone can tell you're hurting just by looking."

Lee Seah was so expressionless I genuinely wondered whether she felt anything at all—person or doll, hard to say. Seong Harim, on the other hand, wore every ounce of discomfort on her face. Every time she shifted her hips even slightly, she made a pained little grimace. Impossible to miss.

"I'll buy you a cushion later."

"Huh? No! It's fine…!"

"It's okay. I've freeloaded plenty, so I can at least buy you one."

Of course, as the cherished jewel of a major Nebula she had no shortage of money—but wasn't the thought what counted? I'd sponged quite a few meals off her these past few days. I wanted to give her a gift at least once.

"So, new students, do not forget these words, and revere the constellations all the more, just as one upholds chivalry…"

Naturally, our Don Quixote still hadn't finished talking by then.

Please live in reality.

Once the Academy's entrance ceremony ended, the new semester officially began. And even the first-years had lectures from day one. The lecture I'd registered for today was a single one: Fundamentals of Mana and Concepts of Control.

I'm still lacking when it comes to mana control, after all.

The rank was C, but until recently I hadn't used mana at all. My regulation itself was crude, so this lecture was essential. It was popular enough that getting a spot had been a real struggle. Even with plenty of time left before class started, the classroom already held a considerable number of students.

Less than half of these guys actually came to learn, though.

The ones sincerely here to take the class didn't even make up half. So why had the rest registered? Because of the professor teaching it.

Bang—!

The front door slammed open, and someone strode into the classroom. Brown hair ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tied up carelessly, green eyes, an outfit light enough to pass for a student's rather than a professor's—and flower stems bound around her wrists.

"Nice to meet you, students. Looking forward to working with you this semester."

Visitor of the Seocheon Flower Garden. Incarnation of flowers. And, excluding Hwanung, the strongest constellation on the Korean peninsula.

The contractor of Destruction Flower of Seocheon—Jacheongbi—was the professor of this lecture.