Chapter 125: The Assassin
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 125: The Assassin
Thump. Back home, I threw myself onto the bed.
More had happened in the last hour on my way home than in the entire day, and my head felt too jumbled to think straight.
The image of the Tower Lord sucking my dick, the sensation of it, was still vivid.
On top of that, I could still feel her gaze as she collected my semen in a flask, her eyes lingering on my still-hard cock as if she was reluctant to let it go.
I felt like I would've really crossed a line if I stayed, so I had no choice but to hurry out of the workshop.
‘…It’s really hard to hold back.’
If I had my way, I would've thrown the Tower Lord down and fucked her like an animal. But I wasn't confident I could handle the aftermath.
If the guy engaged to the successor of the Seongbuk Choi family was caught fucking the successor and acting head of the Jinryu Han family—the Tower Lord—I could very well lose my head to an assassin sent by one of the two families.
Of course, Grandma Choi Young-ok and the Tower Lord wouldn't go that far, but in prestigious magic families with long histories, it wouldn't be strange for a rebel or two to defy the family head's orders.
‘Cooperating with her research is only once a week, so I don't have to worry about tomorrow, but…’
Given the Tower Lord's personality so far, I couldn't guarantee something like this wouldn't happen again.
“Hoo…”
My feelings were so complicated I couldn't talk to anyone about them, and I wanted a drink, but my magic power and internal energy automatically broke down the alcohol, so I couldn't get drunk even if I wanted to.
Unless it was a drink like Hundred-Day Drunkenness, alcohol was now no different from bitter water to me.
I lay on the bed staring blankly at the ceiling for a moment before getting up.
‘…What's the point of resting? I need to keep moving.’
I quickly got ready to go to the dojo.
I desperately wanted to just go to sleep, but when I thought of Cheon Yeo-hwa, I couldn't rest easy.
Thanks to my magic power and internal energy, three to four hours of sleep was enough, and like any mage, mental fatigue could be quickly relieved with meditation.
My master compared humans who had awakened their magic power to iron.
-The more you strike iron in high heat, the harder it becomes. Humans are the same.
At first glance, it seemed like a justification for a brutish, Spartan training method, but there was some truth to it.
Leaving the house, I went up to the villa's rooftop instead of catching a taxi.
I'd just be doing the same training as yesterday, consuming magic power and internal energy, so I figured I might as well use a lightness skill on the way and burn off some internal energy.
Formless Electric Body was fast, but it consumed a significant amount of internal energy. I even deliberately slowed down.
In that state, I ran toward the dojo, leaping across rooftops.
I could feel my internal energy draining away.
Compared to before, the total amount of my internal energy hadn't increased much. That was partly because I had intentionally avoided circulating my qi.
Right now, my dantian was in a precarious state, with Vajra Qi and Demonic Energy in a delicate balance.
I needed to find a way to increase the volume of the Demonic Energy itself.
I once considered getting rid of the Demonic Energy and focusing solely on the Formless Vajra Art, but I quickly gave up on that idea.
The Formless Vajra Art is both a martial arts manual and a collection of sayings left by Vajra Divine Monk.
He said that the Formless Vajra Art was a martial art that pursued harmony.
But because he was obsessed only with good during his life, he ironically couldn't advance to a higher realm.
Vajra Divine Monk left a warning for his successors in the first chapter of the Formless Vajra Art.
-Only when all things achieve harmony can they truly shine in their original light.
I didn't fully understand the meaning of his words, but for now, I was following his instructions and looking for a way to increase the volume of my Demonic Energy to create that balance.
Of course, that was easier said than done. To grow my Demonic Energy, I needed an internal energy cultivation method from a demonic sect, not one from an orthodox martial art.
Since I couldn't go to Cheon Yeo-hwa right now, it was a distant goal.
Lost in these thoughts as I ran, I soon arrived at the dojo building.
When I opened the door and went inside, my eyes met with my master, who was standing with her arms crossed.
“Are you a thief?”
“Huh?”
“Stop running across rooftops.”
I started walking normally from quite a distance away. If she could sense me from that far, just how wide was her qi sense's range?
Suddenly, I became curious about the exact level of my master's martial prowess.
Seeing her create an Aura, she was clearly an A-rank Hunter.
But there were so many A-rankers, and the standard for S-rank was so high, that there were often huge skill gaps even among those of the same rank.
‘Still, she must be in the upper tier of A-rank.’
Otherwise, there's no way I wouldn't be able to gauge her level.
‘…By the way, do my pheromones not work on my master?’
She must have been directly exposed to my pheromones before I created my magic armor, but she never showed any particular reaction.
‘To be able to resist my pheromones when even the Tower Lord reacts… is it a trait of the Silver Wolf Tribe?’
Then again, if she was from the clan of that infamous Triad boss, it wouldn't be strange for her to have any kind of ability.
Thwack!
The moment I got distracted, a wooden sword came crashing down on the back of my head.
“Your sword path is wavering.”
“…You could've just said so.”
“Instead of complaining, swing your sword again.”
That day, like usual, I swung my sword until I was on the verge of collapse.
I was starting to want to ask my master a few things about herself, but I just couldn't find the right timing.
*
After returning home exhausted the previous day, I got absorbed in my assignments and didn't go to bed until 4 AM.
Around 7 AM, I quickly got ready and headed to the Magic Tower.
“…What's that?”
A sizable crowd had gathered in front of the Magic Tower.
Most of them were holding cameras; they were clearly reporters. I had a bad feeling about this.
Ding. Just then, a text message arrived.
It was from Grandma Choi Young-ok. It basically said that reporters had swarmed the area around the Magic Tower to cover me, and I should try to get in as stealthily as possible.
She also added that I should stop by her workshop later.
I didn't know why reporters had suddenly shown up, but it was obvious it would be a pain if I got caught.
[Phantom Shifter].
I cast an invisibility spell on myself and walked leisurely through the crowd of reporters.
“Ah, when is he coming?”
“Let's wait a little longer. Surely he wouldn't skip out on his second day?”
“You never know. He's a mage, after all. A genius mage with an unbelievably promising future. You think he wouldn't be a little arrogant?”
“…True.”
“But is this for real? Not only did he create a circle through self-study, but he reached the 2nd Circle in less than half a year of learning magic?”
“Hey, I told you not to doubt it. I got this information from a pretty reliable source.”
“No, it just doesn't make sense. Unless the Magic Tower is openly grooming him to be the next Tower Lord, where the hell would a monster like that come from? He's not even from a prestigious magic family; they say he's a commoner. It's fucking suspicious no matter how you look at it. The current Tower Lord isn't old enough to retire, so what does it mean for them to be pushing a monster like this?”
“…What does it mean?”
“What else? A power struggle within the Magic Tower.”
It wasn't anything worth paying attention to, so I let it go in one ear and out the other.
As expected, they were reporters who had flocked here after hearing about me.
Now that I was officially part of the Magic Tower, not even Grandma Choi Young-ok could completely control the flow of information. It was unavoidable.
But I didn't expect the news to spread among reporters this quickly.
‘Then again, I saw yesterday that quite a few students already knew. It's no surprise the reporters found out too.’
The only saving grace was that no one seemed to know my true level.
Like the students and regular professors, the reporters only seemed to know that I had started learning magic on my own and reached the 2nd Circle in less than half a year.
I had no intention of becoming news fodder for them, so I hurried inside the Magic Tower. I dispelled the magic in a secluded spot and went upstairs.
No matter how trashy the reporters were, they couldn't just run wild with their cameras in the Magic Tower's lobby.
But gazes as sharp as camera lenses were fixed on me. It was even more intense than the first day, likely because of the reporters gathered outside.
I did my best to ignore the flood of attention and headed to the classroom.
“Oh, he's here!”
“The genius mage has arrived!”
“What, what? Is the interview over already? I was just putting on my makeup!!”
As I've said before, mages are a bunch of weirdos. Among them are plenty of attention seekers and people with a desperate need for recognition.
Of course, it's not that strange. Since it's a long shot to raise one's realm just by working their ass off researching magic, they want to be rewarded for their hard work.
Money is one thing, but proud mages usually crave social prestige.
“I didn't do an interview.”
“Huh? Why not??”
People recognizing me and striking up conversations every time I go out, asking for autographs and pictures on top of that?
Just imagining it was annoying.
Of course, I'd be more than willing if they were pretty female fans, but assuming half the population is female, how many of them are beautiful?
Probably not even 30%.
“Hyun-woo is being smart. There's nothing that works on the public better than a mysterious persona.”
“Ooh…”
I played along with the girls who were helpfully misunderstanding the situation before heading to my seat.
“Hey.”
“Ah, h-hello…”
Lumina answered again today with a trembling voice, her eyes cast down.
I wouldn't think much of it if she was like this with everyone, but when she talks to other people, she doesn't avoid their gaze or stutter like this.
She was only like this with me. It got to the point where I couldn't help but wonder what on earth she saw when she did my reading.
‘I'll have to ask her after I finish the antidote.’
I was just killing time with my head on the desk when Professor Lee Chaewon came in.
“Anyone absent today, raise your hand.”
“…Professor, how can someone who's absent raise their hand?”
“Yoo Jin-ah.”
“Yes.”
“Be quiet.”
“…Yes.”
After Professor Lee Chaewon finished taking attendance and left, another professor came in and class began, just like yesterday.
However, since it was all first-year level material, there wasn't much for me to learn, so I just let it go in one ear and out the other to pass the time.
That's not to say I wasted the time completely. I recalled what Iris had taught me and did a simple meditation to try and modify the mechanisms of magic to be more optimized for myself.
Magic is divided into the processes of deployment, construction, and activation, but if you break it down by stage, it becomes endlessly complex.
To tear down and rebuild the mechanism to my liking, I needed to break down every single stage.
It goes without saying, but despite investing the entire morning, I made no progress at all. In terms of completion, it wasn't even 1%.
In a way, it was to be expected. Iris had said that re-establishing the mechanisms of magic was a feat for the 6th Circle realm. It wasn't an area I, who hadn't even officially reached the 4th Circle, should be meddling with.
Still, I'd tried it hoping I might gain something, but the result was utterly disappointing.
‘Was it greedy of me to aim for the 5th Circle already?’
I leaned back in my chair and looked up at the ceiling.
Both my martial arts and my magic felt like they were missing a screw.
That's why I was trying to find some kind of clue, but every attempt ended in failure, leaving me with a lot on my mind.
“…I should just go get some food.”
Moping around by myself wouldn't solve anything. It was lunchtime anyway.
Lumina was nowhere to be seen; she must have headed to the cafeteria early. The way she was so openly avoiding me was a little depressing.
Shaking off the strange, unsettling feeling, I tried calling Choi Hyena first to avoid a repeat of yesterday's disaster.
-The person you are trying to reach is unavailable. Please leave a message after the beep.
Strangely, she didn't answer. There were no texts from her either.
‘Is she busy?’
Looks like I'll have to eat alone today.
*
After a quick meal, I headed to Grandma Choi Young-ok's workshop.
Click. A teacup was set down in front of me.
“Have some. It's a tea I received as a gift recently. The aroma is wonderful.”
“Thank you.”
It was my first time drinking black tea. It was sweeter than I expected and quite delicious. I could also feel a faint surge of vitality in my body.
It was clearly black tea brewed with herbs containing spiritual energy.
“Um, why did you ask to see me?”
In response to my question, Grandma Choi Young-ok placed a file folder on the table in front of me. It looked quite thick.
“This is…?”
“It's a list of the people who pushed for the redevelopment of the area that included your orphanage.”
Thud. I set my teacup down. If I'd been a moment later, I might have crushed it in my hand.
I forced myself to relax my grip and slowly scanned the documents. I couldn't stop my brow from furrowing.
The documents I received detailed the circumstances of how high-ranking officials, the chairman, and the union leader had embezzled various funds from the redevelopment project, including construction payments, compensation money, service fees, and design costs.
“If you need any help, just say the word.”
“…I'm fine.”
This was the first time my magic power had ever surged like this. It wasn't easy to control my emotions.
“This is something I have to do myself.”