Chapter 202: Headhunting
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 202: Headhunting
Professor Shin Minha had made me two proposals before.
One was to transfer to the Summoning Department.
The other was an offer to come to her workshop not as a student, but as a teaching assistant.
I wasn't interested enough in summoning magic to become a teaching assistant, so I had refused.
A teaching assistant? That’s just a glorified slave.
In any case, a mere student had rejected a Magic Tower professor's offer. And not just any offer—she had been so earnest that she’d personally taken me to a gate to show me the advantages of summoning magic.
She didn't show it, but her pride must have been quite wounded.
That's why I tried to keep my distance at first.
But I was already taking Professor Shin Minha's class. Like it or not, I had to attend her lectures for the remaining half of the year.
I had arranged for some time alone with her under the pretext of asking a question, intending to offer a polite apology.
“Ah.”
I never imagined something like this would happen.
I glanced at Professor Shin Minha. She didn't seem to be teasing me.
“...I don't understand why you're suddenly doing this.”
“I'll answer after you eat.”
Professor Shin Minha held a cookie to my lips.
Just as I was about to reluctantly accept the cookie...
-!
A wave of killing intent washed over me from somewhere.
I instinctively started to summon my magic, but I quickly suppressed it once I identified the source of the killing intent.
'There it goes again.'
The one emitting the killing intent was none other than Professor Shin Minha's summon, Riyal.
Normally, I wouldn't be able to pinpoint Riyal's location due to its abilities, but since it was voluntarily projecting its killing intent, I had a rough idea.
It was sitting right across from me, glaring murderously. Its physical body was likely still in the Phantom Beast Realm, as it remained invisible.
'Is it incapable of learning?'
Whether it shot killing intent at me or not, there was nothing it could do.
Not unless Professor Shin Minha ordered it to kill me.
I ignored Riyal's glare and took the cookie Professor Shin Minha offered.
Crunch—
A familiar sound came from somewhere, but I let it go in one ear and out the other. It was none of my business.
“Is it good?”
“Yes, well...”
It tasted like a normal cookie, of course.
But apart from that, it felt good. Was it because a beautiful woman was feeding me?
“Now, the reason—”
“Ah.”
Professor Shin Minha held a second cookie to my lips.
“There are still plenty of cookies left, aren't there? I'll tell you when you've finished them all.”
It was absurd how she'd suddenly changed her tune, but I was here today to apologize to her.
If something as simple as this could improve her mood even a little, it was a small price to pay.
It wasn't a difficult request, so I ate every cookie she handed me.
“You have a good appetite.”
“You're not going to feed me the tea as well, are you?”
“If you wish.”
“I'm fine.”
After clearing the plate, I lifted my teacup.
“How was it?”
“Pardon?”
“I heard you did something similar with Miss Choi Hyena at the restaurant. I also read on the internet that men like this sort of thing. Was I wrong?”
Her expectant gaze fell upon me.
Could it be what I think it is?
“...It was nice.”
“I'm glad.”
A faint smile spread across Professor Shin Minha's lips. It was the first time I'd seen such a clear change in her expression.
“But Professor, what was the reason you fed me the cookies in the end?”
Aside from asking my opinion, I still didn't know why she'd fed me in the first place.
She couldn't have wanted to play house with me.
“Last time, I proposed that you become my teaching assistant, and in return, I would grant you anything you wished for, remember?”
“You did.”
I thought it was ridiculous when I first heard it.
The offer to be a teaching assistant was surprising enough, but to say she'd grant me anything...
I wondered if a grown woman even knew what it meant to say something like that to a man.
“Afterward, I returned to my workshop and thought about it carefully. I came to a conclusion. My offer might have felt like an empty promise to you, Hyun-woo.”
“Pardon?”
“After getting some advice from others, I realized my offer was somewhat inappropriate. So, I've decided to figure out, one by one, what I can and cannot do for you.”
Her conclusion seemed a little strange.
As if someone had been putting nonsense into her head.
“It would be a waste of my breath to even mention financial support. Professor Choi can provide you with as much of that as you need.”
Professor Shin Minha brought out another piece of paper. It looked like a contract form. She picked up a quill and began to write something on it.
- If Kang Hyun-woo (Party B) desires it, Shin Minha (Party A) must feed him personally.
Her beautiful calligraphy, worthy of being called masterful, formed a rather absurd sentence.
It was definitely Korean, but I had no idea what it was supposed to mean.
“The renowned headhunter Bill Herintz said that to acquire talent, you need to offer conditions that set you apart from the competition. So, rather than focusing on financial incentives, I'm trying to find conditions that only I can provide to you, Hyun-woo. I think about ten should be enough. What do you think?”
Her voice was strangely buoyant, and she seemed full of confidence. Seeing this new side of her, I was at a loss for words.
Where should I even begin to correct her?
“Nine more to go.”
After a moment of deliberation, I decided to keep my mouth shut.
She was trying so hard; it felt a little cruel to reject her outright.
Of course, I had no intention of becoming her assistant or transferring to the Summoning Department, but I was willing to help with her research from time to time.
It wasn't a difficult task, after all.
And it would be a way to get back at that damn summon that had been glaring at me with killing intent.
'Still, how is it staring at me without a physical body?'
It might not be able to exert physical force, but just manifesting its will from a spiritual state was a feat most mages couldn't even dream of imitating.
I guess that's to be expected from the sole summon of a 4th Circle summoner.
In my opinion, however, Riyal was one of those summons you should never make a contract with.
I could tolerate its hostility toward me, but preventing her from contracting other summons was a problem I couldn't overlook.
I had no idea why Professor Shin Minha would make a contract with a summon like that.
I considered asking her, but we weren't close enough for me to get deeply involved, so I decided against it.
“Well then, I'll be on my way.”
“Just a moment.”
Professor Shin Minha grabbed my sleeve.
“If it's alright with you, Hyun-woo, I'd like to set up a regular time to meet like this. Would that be okay?”
“Huh? Yes, well... In that case, I'll visit your workshop at this time every week.”
After getting roped into making an appointment, I was finally able to leave the workshop.
The moment I stepped into the hallway, I pushed my senses to their peak. A pissed-off Riyal might just jump me with a knife.
Fortunately, nothing of the sort happened. It seemed capable of some self-control.
Afterward, I returned to the classroom and sat through the remaining two lectures.
'Was it a mistake to enroll in this class?'
Aside from the niche topics of barrier magic and summoning magic, most of the material was stuff I had already learned from Iris.
If I had known, I would have asked the Tower Lord to let me audit classes for other years.
But it was too late now. All I could do was wait for next year.
I spent the time secretly reading the book I had borrowed that morning.
I had one class with Lumina, but she seemed to be avoiding me for some reason, so we barely exchanged a word.
'I had a few things to ask her about the research club.'
The club Lumina was a member of, Diabology, was a place for researching all things demonic.
It was on the verge of being shut down due to a lack of members, but it was apparently a research club with a long and storied history.
Thanks to that, the club room was a mess, cluttered with accumulated research materials.
If I played my cards right, I might find a way to safely absorb 'Bireciel's Essence' I'd obtained from Lord Wavel's underground vault.
I wanted to go to the research club right away, but I had a prior engagement today.
“How may I help you?”
“I have an appointment with the Tower Lord.”
“Ah, Student Kang Hyun-woo?”
“Yes.”
“You may go right in.”
After nodding to the female employee, I headed for the Tower Lord's workshop.
Creeak. As I opened the door and stepped inside, a peculiar scent brushed past my nose. It wasn't the smell of reagents common to other mages' workshops.
It was a scent I'd smelled somewhere before.
“Welcome.”
As I walked further in, a smile that could stir any man's heart was directed at me.
Gray hair, gray eyes, and a glimpse of smooth thighs between the folds of her clothes.
Few people in the world wouldn't know who she was.
She was Han Lael, the Lord of the Gray Magic Tower.
I bowed my head respectfully and sat across from her, but the Tower Lord said nothing.
She quietly looked me up and down, muttering something to herself as she tapped the sofa.
'Is this also part of her research?'
It wasn't my place to say, but there were definitely a lot of eccentrics among mages.
Of course, I had no complaints about a beautiful woman like the Tower Lord staring at me so intently. I quietly waited for her research to conclude.
About five minutes passed.
“Hyun-woo.”
“Yes?”
“Do you have any dragons among your ancestors?”
Faced with the Tower Lord's dead-serious expression, I was momentarily speechless.
“Are you serious?”
“Of course.”
I thought she was just making one of her usual silly jokes.
“...I'm not sure. My parents passed away when I was young. I'm not a pure-blooded human, but I'm certain there were no dragons in my lineage.”
If I had a dragon for an ancestor, there's no way I would have grown up in an orphanage.
No matter how diluted, a dragon's bloodline was incredibly precious.
“But, why do you ask all of a sudden?”
“Hmm, should I give you the short version? Or the long one?”
“The short version, please.”
The Tower Lord smiled faintly at my answer.
It was that same eye-smile that could charm any man.
Looks, talent—she lacked nothing. It was a mystery why she wasn't married yet.
“It's because you've changed so much in just one week.”
At that moment, the Tower Lord's eyes began to glow.
I was momentarily startled by the 180-degree shift in her atmosphere, but I had felt that gaze before.
'When was it?'
I remembered.
It was when I first met her on the other side of the gate.
“Your entire skeletal structure has changed, and the state of your mana circle is unusual. Just a week ago, you were barely at the 4th Circle. What sort of miracle did you perform...?”
The Tower Lord's voice trailed off as she stared, mesmerized, at the area around my heart.
As if in response to her gaze, my mana circle began to throb violently. Magic I couldn't control seethed within me.
It wasn't a dangerous situation, but the Tower Lord's actions were a clear breach of etiquette.
Nevertheless, I said nothing. We had mutually agreed that I would cooperate fully with her experiments.
The Tower Lord continued to observe me with heated eyes, as if urging me to calm my mana circle.
'She's asking for something weird again.'
It wasn't a difficult task, so I closed my eyes and focused on circulating my magic.
The moment the magic began to move through my magic circuits...
'...What is this?'
An unidentifiable sense of wrongness washed over my entire body.
The magic moving through my magic circuits was unnaturally fast, like a car speeding down a wide-open highway.
Just in case, I stopped circulating my magic and drew out the Vajra Ki sleeping in my dantian, sending it through my meridians.
Only then did I realize the changes that had occurred in my body.
Not only was my magic circulation faster, but the speed of my Small Heavenly Cycle had also increased dramatically.
I hadn't realized that flushing out the impurities last night would have such a massive effect.
Of course, it wasn't enough to reach the next realm, but one thing was certain.
No matter what the me of two days ago tried, he would never be able to defeat the me of today.
“Are you finished?”
The Tower Lord's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
Just as before I'd closed my eyes, she was looking at me with a faint smile.
Our eyes met for a moment before the Tower Lord stood up and approached me.
As she naturally sat down beside me, the Tower Lord's scent drifted past my nose. The stimulating fragrance was almost enough to make me lose my focus.
Seemingly pleased by my reaction, the Tower Lord chuckled softly.
“Now then, shall we have a more in-depth conversation?”
Her hand touched my chest.