The Birth of a Witch (1)
I held Lee Seol's hand and poured magi into her for about an hour before her coughing finally subsided.
"Hyun-ah. I think I'm okay now…."
"Yeah? Then get some more rest. I'll head out."
"Okay. Hyun-ah, thank you so much for coming today."
She smiled brightly, as if she'd never been sick at all. After leaving Lee Seol's room, I wiped my sweat-soaked palm on my pants. No wonder—holding her hand for a full hour. The treatment had taken far longer than it had with Han Yuri. Was it because her awakening came later?
But her complexion seemed to have returned to normal…
As always, the bodies of Witches were impossible to fully understand.
The next day, the moment Lee Seol entered the lecture hall, a crowd formed around her like clockwork.
"Seol-ah, are you feeling any better?"
"You didn't push yourself too hard by coming out, did you? Shouldn't you rest more?"
"Thanks for worrying about me. I'm really fine now…."
Lee Seol shot me a quick glance. Her eyes were full of gratitude. When I gave her a small nod to say I understood, she finally turned back to her friends.
I'd been worried something might go wrong, but thankfully it passed without incident.
After class ended, it was time for Irena's private tutoring session. As I sipped my Aderti, I asked her,
"How's Camilla been doing lately?"
"Well… I'm not sure if she's actually working or not. I barely see her, so I wouldn't know."
She'd recently been assigned to guard me. I'd expected flies to start swarming around Shin Suyeon, but surprisingly, not a single one had appeared. So I'd thrown out a half-joking complaint, but Irena only gave me a bitter smile.
"If you can't see her, that means she's doing her job properly. We can't let the Demon Sect or our enemies know there's a guard watching over you."
"She's a total payroll loafer."
"Hehe. I suppose you could see it that way. If she does anything suspicious, let me know right away. I'll give her a proper scolding."
"Understood."
Maybe it was because we'd started talking about a friend, but Irena's mood seemed brighter than usual.
"Can I ask you something about Camilla?"
"Of course. Go ahead."
"No matter what, she's the leader of a guild. Is it really okay for her to wander around so freely?"
"Hmm… Even when I was around, she was always like that. She's the type who craves stimulation. The guild members have pretty much given up on her at this point."
Stimulation, huh. Camilla had said something similar last time—that she found it fun here. Well, for every kind of person in the world, there's another. I finished off my Aderti.
The inter-grade competition was drawing closer, so the three of us were in the training room, practicing our coordination. We'd picked a C-rank Ogre—one we were quite familiar with.
"Seol-ah!"
"Got it!"
At Lee Seol's gesture, the Ogre instantly turned into a block of ice. Then Han Yuri's Meteor and Meteor Shower slammed into the frozen statue, ending the fight.
"……."
These two really were monsters. I might not even get a chance to step in at this rate.
Our current average rank was D. If the second and third-years wore suppressors and dropped to D-rank… It might actually be possible? I was starting to understand why the first-years were so hopeful.
Of course, knowing that a certain 'power-hiding psycho girl' would appear among the third-years, I'd already given up on that particular fantasy.
"Another one's coming!"
"Okay!"
"Yeah."
Crack. Craaaack!
Boooom!
The combination of Lee Seol and Han Yuri was beyond broken—it was straight-up fraudulent against monsters. But still…
Something feels off.
Monsters had extremely low intelligence, so they wouldn't notice the awkwardness. But human opponents definitely would. They'd exploit that gap without hesitation.
Lee Seol and Han Yuri overlapped in roles, but their combat styles had a slight clash. If Lee Seol tried to crush enemies with the overwhelming power of her Eternal Snow, Han Yuri wanted to control every fine detail of the battlefield. She was always trying to read several moves ahead and prepare accordingly. And Lee Seol would cheerfully shatter those predictions every single time.
That's why Yuri can't use her full strength.
Because Lee Seol kept breaking her forecasts, Han Yuri kept hesitating. The best solution would be for them to sync their breathing, but after years of fighting in their own styles, that wasn't going to happen overnight.
When the simulation ended, I called them both over.
"You both know why I called you, right?"
"Yeah… I'm sorry, Yuri. It's because of me…."
"It's fine. We don't have time to sync up anyway, so we'll just go with this."
It seemed they were both aware of the problem to some extent. I made them an offer.
"Like Yuri said, we don't have time. For now, just follow my instructions exactly."
"Okay!"
"So we're going with our team's style?"
"That's right."
It was better to lock in a combat style early on. As our training was winding down—
Creak.
Three people entered the training room. One woman followed by two men. All three were famous, and they were third-years participating in this year's inter-grade competition.
The woman in front had long, elegant legs and a striking blue ponytail.
Yoo Yeonhwa.
The daughter of Korea's S-rank Hunter, the Sword Saint. She was considered quite strong for a third-year, but the general opinion was that she fell short of her father's legacy. However…
She's a crazy bitch who's hiding her true power.
And a sadist. She took pleasure in beating down talented people while concealing her own strength. So far, her real power had never been revealed within the Academy.
The two men behind her were well-known in the buff and healing departments.
Yoo Yeonhwa approached us and gave a light wave.
"So you three are the first-years participating in the inter-grade competition?"
"Ah, yes! Hello, sunbae-nim!"
As our team's resident friendly face, Lee Seol quickly greeted her. A bright smile bloomed on Yoo Yeonhwa's face.
"Sunbae-nim? Just call me unnie like you would in private."
"Hehe. Is that really okay?"
"Of course. Otherwise unnie will be sad, you know?"
"Yes! Unnie!"
When Lee Seol laughed brightly, the atmosphere instantly warmed up. Yoo Yeonhwa left Lee Seol behind and approached the rest of us.
"Hello. I'm Yoo Yeonhwa, participating in this year's inter-grade competition. Nice to meet you."
"Ah, hello. I'm first-year Lee Seonghyun."
"I'm Han Yuri."
She offered a handshake. The moment I took her hand, her eyes narrowed slightly.
What the…?
Her grip was stronger than a normal handshake, but not enough to make me frown. When I let go, she shook Han Yuri's hand as well before standing in front of us.
"But unnie, what brings you here…?"
"As you all know, the third-years have always won the inter-grade competition, right?"
"Yes, that's true."
"It's a bit awkward to say this myself, but it's practically a bad tradition at this point."
Just as she said, the inter-grade competition was flawed from the start. First, second, and third-years. Even if skills were balanced with suppressors, the accumulated combat experience and sense were on completely different levels. First-years were lucky if they got to play the role of background props. It had always turned into a showdown between the second and third-years.
"It started as a light friendly match, but it grew into this. Wouldn't it be better if everyone could enjoy it together?"
"That's true."
"So starting this year, the third-years will be coaching the first-years. We'll teach you all about our skills and combat methods."
Not only a penalty, but sharing information too. But…
Why is she looking at me while saying that?
Her expression seemed to say, I'll tell you everything, so try to win if you can.
"If unnie teaches us, we'd be grateful! Right, everyone?"
"Yeah."
"Definitely."
When we chimed in, Yoo Yeonhwa's smile deepened.
"Good. Then special training starts tomorrow?"
And just like that, I ended up receiving instruction from the Sword Saint's daughter.
That evening, as I was eating dinner like always, a message arrived.
[Real Man: Seonghyun-ah! I finally found the Altar! Are you coming now?]
"Cough, cough!"
"Seonghyun-ah, are you okay?! Here's some water!"
"Cough… thanks."
The sudden message caught me off guard. I'd thought it would take a while because of how large the dungeon was, but it had gone faster than expected. I sent a quick reply saying I'd head over immediately and stood up from my chair.
"I'll be back in a bit."
"Okay. Where are you going?"
"Something came up. It might take a while, so just clear the rest of the table for me."
"Hmm…"
"Oki-doki~."
Leaving behind a suspicious-looking Han Yuri and a waving Choi Ahyeon, I immediately caught a taxi and headed for Gangwon Province.
During the call on the way, I learned the seal was still active. It could only be released by controlling the magi. It looked like I had to be there after all.
When I arrived at the dungeon at a brisk pace, the entrance was completely deserted. They must have cleared everyone out so no one would discover that I was the Sacrifice.
As I went inside, an older man waved at me.
"Seonghyun-ah!"
"Uncle, where's the Altar?"
"It's right here."
Where Lee Jun pointed, a black box overflowing with magi sat on the ground. It was covered in dirt, as if it had been dug up from the earth.
"But uncle, your hand…."
"Just touching the box did this. No matter how much strength I use, it won't open."
His hand had turned pitch black, just like my sister's had when she removed the Altar from my head.
"Can you do it?"
Lee Jun looked at me with concern. I gave him a small smile.
"Don't worry."
I was the Sacrifice. It was the reason I was born into this world, and the reason I continued to breathe. If I couldn't even control magi at this level, I wouldn't be able to show my face anywhere.
"Hoo…."
The magi covering the box was as solid as a steel wall. I could clearly feel the Demon Sect's determination not to let anyone see what was inside.
The moment I touched the box—
Zap!
The purity of the magi was on a completely different level from what was in the crystal orb. If I was feeling this much, then Lee Jun, an ordinary person… the pain must have been overwhelming his mind.
No distractions.
I had to focus now. I gripped the box and channeled all the magi down into the floor. Like a lightning rod, I guided it along the surface of my skin and into the ground. The stinging sensation lessened slightly.
As the magi covering the box gradually decreased, I slowly opened it.
Creak.
Inside was a headband wrapped in black cloth. It had been packaged with almost reverent care, like a sacred object. I carefully unwrapped the black fabric, and the Altar revealed itself completely.
No matter which way I looked at it, it was clearly a headband. Geometric patterns were engraved across its surface in neat rows.
"Is this the Altar?"
"It looks like it."
"You've done well, Seonghyun-ah."
"It was nothing."
I carefully lifted the Altar. At that moment—
"……"
An unknown shiver ran through my body. It felt as if a missing part of me had finally returned. My previously foggy mind suddenly felt a little clearer.
And then a message appeared before my eyes.
[A calamity shall descend upon the world]
What the hell is this nonsense?
The moment I tried to focus on the next message that was about to appear—
Booom!
"Ugh!"
A powerful impact struck my side and head. The pain was like being hit by a five-ton truck. Before I could even blink, I was slammed into the wall.
Fuck…
My body wouldn't move. My consciousness began to sink, as if it had slipped beyond my control.
A man approached me. The symbol of a kind-hearted, handsome man—the one who had always worn a gentle smile—was now looking down at me with that same warm expression.
"Seonghyun-ah."
He grabbed my eyelids and pulled them down. As if my role was finally over, he closed off my vision.
In my fading consciousness, his words echoed.
"You've truly worked hard."