Returning to Hedgewood
Only two episodes would be pre-released on their own channel, while the remaining two would be uploaded to a global OTT platform.
"Mr. Seol Ha-woon. It is time to board."
Before I knew it, a flight attendant approached and spoke politely.
"Yes."
I stood up from my seat and headed toward the boarding gate.
It was time to return to Hedgewood.
"...An observation program?"
New York, USA. The Academic Affairs Office at Hedgewood University of Arcane Arts.
I had just received an unexpected proposal from Mac, the Dean of Academic Affairs.
"Yes," Mac said, resting his chin on his interlaced fingers.
"As you know, the Element Park class you opened, Spellcaster Seol, is incredibly popular. Rumors are rampant among spellcasters that practicing there is immensely helpful for real-time mana control and unformed spells—in other words, a spellcaster's intuition."
He pushed up his glasses and continued.
"You seem to be the type who focuses on practical application rather than theory, Spellcaster Seol. Indeed, one can glimpse your intention to foster a practical sense in the students through that space."
Not at all, actually.
I just did it because I wanted to make a game.
"However, you strictly capped the capacity at three hundred students, citing 'server stabilization' as the reason."
"Yes. It is due to the limit of the Mana Core's total mana capacity."
"That is why I am asking. If you tell us specifically what kind of support you need, Hedgewood will back you wholeheartedly."
I blinked.
Does this sort of thing usually happen?
"Well... first of all, I would need a large quantity of highly pure, rather expensive magic crystals."
To update the server and expand the capacity, resources—specifically, an additional mana core that could double as a data center—were required.
However, these magic crystals were priced at market value. Just as famous chefs obsessed over top-tier ingredients, highest-purity magic crystals held even greater value for spellcasters.
"Hedgewood has access to the world's finest magic crystal distribution channels. That much is easy," Mac nodded readily.
My brow furrowed slightly.
"Why? What is it you want?"
I was naturally suspicious of such sudden goodwill.
"What we want... If I had to say, we only ask for the 'maintenance' of and 'accessibility' to that space."
Mac looked down at the campus outside the window as he added his explanation.
"As you know, Hedgewood is built upon a spiritual vein that is highly advantageous for deploying spell formulas, magic, sorcery, and spell arrays. Your Element Park likely wouldn't have lasted long if it were anywhere else."
It was true. Hedgewood was a place optimized for magic; in fact, the space itself was practically magic.
"But we live in a digital generation now. It is the era of mass media communicating with the public. And so... Labyrinth Exploration NaN."
Mac mentioned the show, pronouncing the Korean abbreviation with clear pronunciation.
"We at Hedgewood have been watching the global impact of Labyrinth Exploration NaN very closely. I, too, thoroughly enjoyed watching it personally."
His eyes shifted, taking on the sharp look of a businessman.
"Hedgewood now needs a symbolic space that we can open to the general public to showcase the wonders of spellcraft. A so-called 'landmark.'"
Hedgewood's landmark.
"An observation program that is highly stable and safe for ordinary people who know nothing of magic to enjoy. If Element Park could play that role, it would be absolutely perfect."
"It might not be all that stable, though."
At my reply, Mac raised an eyebrow.
"I plan to add a monster system soon. Once night falls, mobs will spawn, destroy structures, and attack players."
"Oh, that's even better!"
Mac leaned forward and snapped his fingers.
"Thrills and experiences that go beyond mere sightseeing and tourism! Hedgewood is ready to step out of its stuffy ivory tower and actively seek public recognition and familiarity. If Element Park is at the vanguard of that effort, wouldn't that be beneficial for you as well, Spellcaster Seol?"
Mac smiled warmly and offered his hand.
"What do you say?"
I stared at him, running the numbers in my head.
Securing achievement points, an endless supply of magic crystals, and above all, the massive wave of attention that would come from opening it to the public.
This could be the perfect opportunity to raise my **Public Recognition**—the very shackle of life extension that still bound me.
There were tiers to recognition.
Now, I needed to reach a level where I could capture both the hearts of the general public and the evaluation of academia at the same time.
"Very well. Please send the contract to the NEXIT Guild."
"Of course."
Mac beamed and clapped his hands.
Outside my private atelier at Hedgewood. From early morning, a long queue of three hundred students packed the yard, filling it to capacity.
Standing at the door, I tapped my cane against the ground to draw their attention.
"An announcement. Today is a rest day."
In an instant, the expressions of all three hundred students turned fierce. I could feel the raw bloodlust in the air.
The sudden surge of mana actually made my left knee throb. Seriously, was someone actually glaring at my knee?
"...Only for the morning, that is."
Only then did their menacing brows smooth out.
This was why you had to deliver the bad news first and the good news second. Order was everything.
"It is for a server update, and I also have some good news."
I scanned the crowd before continuing.
"Our Element Park has been officially selected as Hedgewood's public observation class."
A quiet murmur rippled through the spellcasters.
"The structures you have built will be opened to the general public, and I plan to factor their reactions and experience points into the final evaluation of this class."
Just then, a student in the very front row raised their hand.
"When will the update be finished? Exactly when in the morning?"
I checked my wristwatch.
"You may return after 11:00 AM. So, everyone, please disperse."
"..."
"Disperse."
"..."
Yet, no one showed any intention of leaving. Instead, they stood their ground, warily eyeing one another to make sure no one stepped out of line.
Seriously, whether you line up or not, it only makes a ten-minute difference in when you get in.
"And please, don't bring tents next time. This isn't a campground."
In front of the atelier, dozens of tents had been pitched by those waiting overnight.
"...The doors will open at 11:00."
I stepped inside the atelier and locked the door behind me.
Inside, the update work was in full swing.
I had arranged the massive quantity of magic crystals provided by Mac around the Mana Core, and the server expansion was well underway.
As I was developing Element Park through the mana calculations of the crystals and the Mana Core—
Ding.
I stood up abruptly. It was finally here!
Putting the update work aside for a moment, I immediately opened the mobile app. MoMo login!
"...Come to me."
Welcome to the world of MoMo.
Tester privileges have been verified.
Character Card: [Seol Ha-woon] has been distributed.
"Ah..."
Suddenly, a wave of nostalgia washed over me. Though "the past" only referred to the days I spent rotting away in that tiny studio apartment, I hadn't wasted a single moment of that time.
I had maintained a strict routine, dividing my day into sleeping, gaming, and eating blocks. Through efficient farming, I had sustained myself on the MoMo economy—selling in-game currency.
[Every adventure we imagine—]
I skipped the opening cinematic. I had seen it hundreds, if not thousands, of times before my regression.
MoMo: Your First Village
As the game loaded, my character—Seol Ha-woon—spawned in the starting village. Unlike the first-person virtual reality experience I had accessed via the capsule last time, this was a third-person perspective where I controlled the character on a mobile screen.
"They really did a great job making this."
The long, dark hair with a hint of navy, the facial features, the cane, the proportions... it truly felt like I had been placed directly into the game.
I manipulated the directional pad to hunt the tutorial monsters.
On the screen, the mini Seol Ha-woon moved, leaning on his cane. *Tap. Tap. Tap.*
"...His movement speed is definitely slow."
*Tap. Tap.*
*Tap.*
*Tap.*
As I watched the character move, my hand instinctively went to the back of my neck.
"...This is way too slow."
Movement speed was a crucial stat in RPGs like this. It determined the efficiency of everything: traversing the map, dodging enemy attacks, and farming resources.
"Ah, wait."
I swallowed hard.
I could already picture the future forum posts and chat logs of other users evaluating Seol Ha-woon in the MoMo economy.
"...Well, surely his performance makes up for it."
Just then, an enemy monster approached my character on the screen. I tapped the attack button.
Bang! Kaboom!
With a single magic bullet fired from the tip of his cane, the tutorial goblin evaporated without a trace.
The impact and visual effects shook the entire screen. However, there was a noticeable reload time, and as with most magic-based characters, the cost of mana potions would likely be astronomical.
I let out a complicated sigh.
"He's a late-game carry."
A classic "King's Return" archetype. It meant high-risk, high-reward: excruciatingly painful to level up in the early stages, with incredibly difficult level caps to unlock, but once fully grown, his power curve would spike to absurd heights.
Based on my years of experience playing MoMo, Seol Ha-woon would be nearly impossible to raise through conventional means. Trying to farm with this turtle of a character would probably make me lose all my hair.
Indeed, in MoMo, a movement speed penalty was the worst possible debuff, as it slowed down character growth and ruined a player's time efficiency.
Honestly, I thought it would be somewhat manageable, but seeing a flat -35% slapped on him right from the start made him ridiculously, unbelievably slow.
"I'll have to raise another character first."
In other words, the optimal path was to pull a different character from the gacha, use them to farm resources, and then buy a mountain of movement speed buff items to plaster all over Seol Ha-woon before even attempting to build him.
Simply put, he was a bottomless pit.
He was like that brilliant but utterly helpless son from a poor family who required his parents to sell their only cow and house just to send him to Seoul National University, supporting him for years until he finally passed the bar exam.
Even though it was my own card, the design was brutally harsh.
"Sigh."
Scratching my head, I opened the world map.
Suddenly, a portion of the map that differed slightly from my pre-regression days caught my eye.
◈ Traces of ancient legends and their stories may be found here.
"...Ah. This."
The village that the Labyrinth Exploration NaN members and I had built together during our tester days was now implemented as an official map.