Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Life's Truth
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"Easy. So easy."
Park Shin-woo muttered to himself, a smile spreading across his face. Even though it was still broad daylight, he strolled slowly through the quiet school grounds. His steps were incredibly light.
Easy. Was it really okay for it to be this easy? Or was it because he was just that capable?
Pfft.
Park Shin-woo burst out laughing and glanced back. A woman floated in the air behind him, her body wrapped in spells. She came into view.
The Magic Association's one and only weakness. The sole means to bring down the Association.
Thinking of the feat he was about to accomplish made it hard to hold back his laughter already.
"A place that calls itself the world's top academy."
Was it really okay for it to be this sloppy? He'd subdued even the faculty members who could be called true powerhouses without any trouble. No matter that they were heroes; they were powerless against "Sleep Magic". Who would even notice a magic circle they didn't know was being drawn in the first place?
To prepare for any possibilities, he'd scattered "Sleep Magic" throughout the entire building. There wasn't even a speck of uncertainty left—not the size of an ant's asshole.
No student could withstand an abnormal status spell potent enough to take down active heroes, and even if one did, they wouldn't be a match for him.
All that remained was to return to the Magic Research Club, activate the spell he'd prepared in advance, and wrap things up.
With everything unfolding so effortlessly, Park Shin-woo walked with wings on his feet and soon arrived at the clubroom.
He opened the door naturally and stepped inside, heading toward the spell's location to celebrate his victory.
Ignoring the other desks piled with dust, he stood before the one that was spotless.
And then he shoved the desk aside—
"Huh?"
It was gone. The spell that should have been there was missing. The teleportation magic circle he'd drawn over the past few days had vanished.
No way. Spells didn't just dissipate on their own like that—he'd never heard of such a thing. Panicking, Park Shin-woo spun around to redraw it quickly, but...
He only grew more flustered.
"Damn it. Busted."
Their eyes met. With a black-haired man. That alone would have been fine. But the man was holding a hostage in his arms.
How?
How had he resisted "Sleep Magic"? And more than that, the spells binding her, keeping her afloat in the air—they'd vanished without a trace. Even though he'd invested considerable mana to guard against any mishaps, she was now cradled in the man's arms, utterly free.
Impossible events kept piling up. While Park Shin-woo's mind struggled to keep up, the man clicked his tongue and bolted from the clubroom.
Park Shin-woo flinched, snapping out of his thoughts, and chased after him.
If he let him get away, he was screwed.
I placed the sleeping Lachesis on Raphael's back, roughly cleared away the dangerous knives scattered around, and left the clubroom.
It might seem leisurely. But honestly, it was damn leisurely.
No matter how hard I ran now, I wouldn't reach the destination before that guy. So what do you do in a situation like that?
Obviously, you don't run. When the starting line for the race is different, you skip the running altogether.
Cheetahs laugh at that. No matter how fast you sprint, they have superior genes that let them catch up in seconds.
Exactly. If running won't cut it, ride a race car. Then you can overtake him. Stubbornly competing on foot is just plain foolish.
With those random thoughts, I casually arrived at my destination.
[Faculty Office]
I opened the door to the boldly labeled room and stepped inside. What greeted me was total chaos.
Justitia's vaunted teachers were slumped against walls or desks, passed out cold. Anyone seeing them might think they were dead.
No point in trying to wake them—they clearly wouldn't stir. So I slipped through the gaps between them.
"Sleep" is the ultimate abnormal status spell I'd designed, after all. Park Shin-woo deserved credit for deploying it so stealthily that even active heroes didn't notice.
Not that it matters since I set it up.
Think of him as a specialist nurtured by some faction targeting the Association. That explanation should suffice.
Anyway, these folks would sleep until they woke up on their own. I hurried to a certain device and stood before it.
This magnificent contraption was the [Portable Warp Machine]. Why was something this incredible in the faculty office?
Obviously for the teachers' convenience. It whisked you to your desired location right before class—a ridiculously handy gadget.
Hail teacher privileges. Long live Justitia. Praising the mighty power of faculty rights, I activated the machine.
[Main Building] [Annex]
Only one destination. Straight to the Magic Research Club. By the original plot, it was Park Shin-woo's hideout until Isia joined.
He'd probably prepped his escape magic there too.
I pressed and held [Main Building], then selected the 3rd floor where the Magic Research Club was. The screen changed, bringing up a new window.
Of course. You'd need one for a machine like this. But? I'm the author of this world.
I switched the floating keypad from Korean to English and punched in the password naturally.
For reference, the password is "Justitia" in English. Thank goodness for my impoverished imagination making it an easy one.
A blinding light enveloped me, and my vision flickered.
Incredibly, I'd arrived on the 3rd floor of the main building. The school felt eerily quiet despite it being midday, but since the guy hadn't arrived yet, I had no time to slack off now.
I bolted to the Magic Research Club door and kicked it open.
A dusty, empty room filled my view. At the same time, my vision inverted.
Grateful to my trusty "Mana Eye" for activating on cue, I scanned the surroundings. But I saw nothing.
Just the dusty clubroom and mana drifting aimlessly. It was a bit disconcerting.
"I clearly saw him drawing it earlier."
I definitely saw it. When Raphael and I came here before, he was constantly moving around, drawing magic circles. If it wasn't for the "Sleep Magic", it had to be an escape spell.
Why was it gone? It had to be here. Was "Mana Eye" broken? As those thoughts crept in...
I sensed something off. My eyes caught a single desk free of dust.
Why was that one pristine?
—Yeah, it's a one-man club, so everything's like that except the desk.
Park Shin-woo's words came to mind, but no way. The guy I created would draw one more magic circle instead of dusting his desk.
So why was this desk clean? The answer was—
Scraaaape.
"Bingo."
Pushing the desk aside revealed the magic circle. No surprise—he wasn't the type to clean. Dust just hadn't settled because he'd shoved the desk around while drawing.
I pulled my scythe from the [Inventory]. Something felt off about it, but I jabbed the mana flow "Mana Eye" revealed.
The mana reversed course, and the magic circle vanished without a trace.
I breathed a sigh of relief. At least I'd stopped him from whisking Isia away. Now, I just needed to stall until someone stronger—Kim Tae-hyun or the faculty—woke up.
Easy enough. Run and hide? I slid the desk back and tucked myself into a dark corner of the clubroom. Securing Isia was priority one.
If he still had her, stalling was pointless. He'd just escape with her.
How much time passed in hiding? The door swung open cheerfully, and in walked Park Shin-woo, looking smug as ever.
Grinning ear to ear, he headed straight for the magic circle spot with a sunny expression—but froze as if the spring in his step had been a lie.
"Huh?"
A dumb noise leaked from his mouth. He stared at the empty spot like his body might crack, so I figured it was my chance and crept closer.
Sneaking up unnoticed, he was too flustered to notice, fixated on the missing circle. I jabbed the floating Isia with "Mana Eye" and caught her naturally falling body.
Surprisingly light. The training I'd done since arriving was finally paying off. Or was she just weirdly light?
The moment I tried to slip out quietly—
I locked eyes with Park Shin-woo, who'd turned around. Three seconds of silence.
A staring contest. Panicked eyes met tense ones.
In this atmosphere ripe for some dramatic BGM, I spoke first.
"Damn it. Busted."
How nice it would have been if he hadn't spotted me. It would've been hide-and-seek, not a chase.
No choice now but to bolt. I made up my mind and dashed out before he could react.
As I burst out, Park Shin-woo—who'd frozen like his brain had stalled—followed soon after. A glance back showed his eyes blazing with fury.
If he caught me, I was dead!
I ran desperately, but I had Isia as dead weight. Plus, I couldn't use [Mana Manipulation], standard for hero candidates in this world.
No mana, you see. As the gap closed with no chance of widening, I tearfully opened my [Inventory] mid-chase.
"Stop right there!! What the hell are you?!"
"Who stops when told to stop?! What kind of idiot does that?!"
Thud—
A massive steel beam dropped, blocking the hall. It'd only buy seconds, but better than nothing. I kicked into overdrive.
At this rate, I wouldn't last ten minutes before someone woke, let alone stall.
If caught, I'd die.
Park Shin-woo was a specialist half-raised by the anti-Association faction. No mana meant no chance for me.
Couldn't fight, couldn't escape. Only one option in a pinch like this.
While the beam bought time, I sprinted for the stairs. As they came into view, an ominous sound echoed from behind.
An explosion.
Then another.
"No way?"
A sound I didn't want to hear. Spell incantation.
"If he catches me, I'm toast."
Mana gathered in his hand, forming an orb of neutral mana. Terrifying. I gritted my teeth and pushed harder, but it'd be close—
"Whoa?!"
The mana bolt he fired slammed into the ground. Distance spared me a direct hit, but it slowed me down anyway.
This was why I didn't want to do it! Dodging a single mana bolt like my life depended on it—hated it.
I dropped another beam and hit the stairs. Up or down didn't matter; it was for obscuring vision.
Boom—!!!!
Breaking faster than before. He was ready this time.
"Argh!! Seriously!!"
"You little rat, pissing me off!! Stop!!"
Tears in my eyes, I climbed. Magic bolts rained with every flight, Park Shin-woo's curses filling the air.
And we arrived at...
The rooftop.
I closed the rooftop door neatly and slid behind a water tank to hide.
Calming my pounding heart and ragged breaths...
I recalled the story from my first club visit today.
—That kid? From day one of enrollment, he somehow knew about us and just came to sleep.
—Even after we left, he kept crashing there to nap.
Boom—!!!!!!!!
Moments later, an explosion blew open the rooftop door.
"The rooftop?! That's your hideout?! Come out!! I'll rip your bones from your flesh!!"
Park Shin-woo bellowed. Meant for my ears wherever I hid, but it was a mistake.
"Sleep Magic" was a powerful abnormal status spell. But like all magic, it had a weakness.
Namely...
It didn't affect people already asleep.
"You dug your own grave!! Run if you can!!"
And on this rooftop slept a guy who hated sleep disturbances more than anything.
"Hey."
"Finally surrendering? Sorry, but— Huh? Who...?"
Messy brown hair, cat-eye mask pulled up to his forehead, sleepy eyes that didn't gleam.
To finish the earlier thought: if you can't beat 'em, can't run, can't stall...
"Who the hell are you?"
Overpower them with someone stronger. If not Kim Tae-hyun, then Oh Seung-jin.
That's life's truth.