Chapter 75: Pork Belly Party (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 75: Pork Belly Party (1)
After the practical training, a debriefing session followed.
More than half the students gathered in the lecture hall had bandages somewhere on their bodies.
Seeing the slightly lower headcount, it seemed some couldn't even attend.
“It’s harder to find someone who’s not injured.”
That was especially true since everyone here was a first-year.
They were all greenhorns with little practical experience, clueless about how to handle their talents efficiently.
And yet, their pride was so inflated that they fought amongst themselves like cats and dogs. Of course their bodies wouldn't be in one piece.
Professor Im Cheol-woong, who had just entered the lecture hall, silenced the room with his sharp gaze.
“I’ve watched your practical training.”
It struck me then.
How was it possible to pack so much disappointment into the words, “I’ve watched”?
What followed was a series of remarks sharp enough to kill.
He wasn't just poking at the kids' already wounded bodies; he was gouging out their hearts and drilling right through them…
The climax was the review for Team 9.
“All of you, except for Son Seo-yeon, should give up on being Hunters.”
The blunt, powerful words seemed to make the heads of Team 9’s members ring.
But even from my perspective, they were pretty bad.
Even if you account for being less tense because it was just training, fighting among themselves was going too far.
Well, look at that. One of them is even crying.
After turning the members of Team 9 into soulless, living corpses, it was our Team 10’s turn.
“Team 10… was perfect. It seems you’ve all surpassed the first-year level.”
Short, but powerful praise.
Even I had to admit, they did pretty well.
Of course, they were still a long way off from the standards of an active Hunter, but it was clear they had surpassed the level of first-year students.
…In more ways than one.
“That concludes the class.”
Even though class was over, the atmosphere in the lecture hall was like a funeral home.
“Hey, let’s get out of here, quick.”
Shin Yu-jeong grabbed my arm, probably feeling awkward about celebrating openly in a place like this.
As we escaped outside, the gloomy atmosphere surrounding us began to lift.
“Everyone, you worked hard!” Shin Yu-jeong shouted to the group, her voice filled with pure joy.
Im Na-eun then asked her with a worried tone, “You worked hard too, Yu-jeong. You took a real beating from those monsters… Are you sure you don’t need to go to the infirmary?”
“Hey, for a tanker, this is just another day at the office. If you can’t handle this much, you should quit being a Hunter.”
If there was one thing I could praise Shin Yu-jeong for, it was her mindset.
Not her entire mind, but her mindset for becoming a Hunter, to be precise.
Everyone has their own reason for dreaming of becoming a Hunter.
Popularity, money, honor, and so on.
While everyone else is lost in their own ideals, forgetting reality, Shin Yu-jeong dreams of the ideal while keeping her eyes fixed on reality.
If she doesn't lose that mindset, I have a feeling she’ll become a pretty decent Hunter.
She still seems to have a lot to learn, but if I were to teach her, maybe she could become even better?
Though whether she’d accept my teaching is another question.
“We all worked hard today, how about an after-party? My treat,” Baek Ji-hoon suggested while everyone was still excited.
An after-party…
Old memories came flooding back.
Back when I was young, I used to go to after-parties as a matter of course, as long as the people weren't complete assholes.
I wasn't too fond of the host, but maybe I should join in to relive the old days.
“That sounds grea—mph.”
Just as I was about to agree, Shin Yu-jeong quickly covered my mouth.
She pulled me and Im Na-eun closer to her side.
“Ah~ sorry, we already planned to have a pork belly party at my place today.”
A pork belly party all of a sudden?
Im Na-eun and I looked at each other at the same time.
Judging by her wide eyes, it seemed she didn't know about it either.
Is she just making an excuse because she doesn't want to go to the after-party?
“Aw, come on. All five of us worked hard together, but it’s just the three of you?” Baek Ji-hoon made it obvious he was disappointed.
But his opponent was Shin Yu-jeong.
“Sorry, sorry. We promised a few days ago, so we didn't know things would turn out like this.”
“…Can’t we all just do it together? We can buy the ingredients and stuff.”
“My place is too small, three is the limit. Plus, my mom’s there.”
She completely shut down Baek Ji-hoon, who was trying to find any opening to wedge himself in.
“Let’s do it next time, next time. I’ll treat then!”
And for the final blow, the noncommittal ‘next time’ attack.
Truly perfect, Shin Yu-jeong!
After she finished speaking, she started dragging the two of us away.
“Well, we’ll get going then! See you next time!”
“Uh, yeah…”
Leaving Baek Ji-hoon and his lackey Hyeon-seok behind, we quickly distanced ourselves.
I asked her, “You don’t seem to like after-parties much?”
I figured as much, seeing her refuse one on such a good day, even making up an excuse.
“No? I love after-parties.”
…What’s this about?
“Then why did you turn down the one just now? You even lied about it.”
“Lied? What lie?”
“Well… you lied about having a pork belly party at your house.”
“That wasn't a lie.”
“……?”
I was at a loss for words at her expression, which seemed to ask what I was talking about.
That was for real…?
* * *
After finishing his class, Im Cheol-woong immediately headed elsewhere.
He arrived at the Magic Department lecture building, located in Area D.
As he stepped inside, he unknowingly scowled.
‘This place is always so uncomfortable.’
It was because the magic resistance automatically applied to his body due to his trait was reacting negatively to the mana from the magic circles drawn on the building.
For that reason, he had made it a point to avoid the Magic Department building as much as possible.
Besides, it wasn't a place he had much business with in the first place.
The reason he was here now was none other than Kim Do-jin.
To be precise, the problem was the magic he had displayed at the very end of the practical training.
‘It was the best out of all the students, across all years.’
Destructive power, casting time, timing.
All of it was perfectly opportune.
But that was as far as his understanding went.
With his shallow knowledge of magic, that was all he could see.
He knew it was amazing, but he couldn't accurately gauge just how amazing it was.
That was why he had come here.
To borrow the insight of someone with superior magical knowledge.
He finally arrived at a professor's office on the highest floor of the lecture building.
He knocked lightly, and the door opened automatically.
“Come in.”
A gentle voice.
Despite the pleasant sound, Im Cheol-woong felt a slight sense of unease as he stepped inside.
The first thing he saw upon entering the office was a mountain of documents.
Papers densely covered with geometric patterns and letters he couldn't decipher.
From within the pile, a fair, delicate hand suddenly emerged.
“It’s been a while, Professor Im.”
“…It has.”
Soon, her face was revealed.
Though her makeup was heavy, there was no denying she was a beauty.
A powerful, seductive aura radiated from her enchanting face and voluptuous body.
“What brings someone who detests the Magic Department all the way here?”
At her languid question, Im Cheol-woong maintained a stiff expression and took an object out of his pocket.
“This is…”
What he placed on the desk was none other than a USB drive.
“I came because there’s a student I’d like you to take a look at.”
“Hmm…, it has been a while.”
This was one of the rare reasons he visited this place.
A faint glimmer of interest appeared in her eyes as she looked at the USB.
“Alright. I’ll check it as soon as I finish my urgent work. As for my review… I’ll get back to you by next week at the latest.”
“Mm.”
He gave a heavy nod.
“Are you leaving right away? Or would you like to stay for a cup of tea…?”
At her subtle invitation, Im Cheol-woong firmly retreated.
“It’s time to head home, so I’ll be on my way.”
“Oh my, what a shame.”
Though she said that, there was no trace of disappointment on her face.
“Well then, take care.”
“I’ll be waiting for your answer.”
Leaving only those words behind, Im Cheol-woong departed.
Now alone, the woman picked up the USB drive from her desk.
“I wonder what kind of student it is this time.”
She immediately plugged the USB into her computer.
She had said she needed until next week, but that was a lie.
There was no task so urgent that she couldn't watch it right away if she wanted to.
The reason she lied was to prepare for a potential situation.
If the person in the video he brought was to her liking and worth recruiting, she would need time to persuade them.
She played the video right away.
A party of five appeared on the screen.
“Is it that child?”
The first to catch her eye was the female student holding a staff, Im Na-eun.
The woman let out a small gasp of admiration at the sight of her storing magic using her trait.
“Heeh… what an interesting trait.”
Im Na-eun’s performance, which offset the chronic problem of casting time for mages, was nothing short of brilliant.
As proof, the male student next to her was unable to do anything.
Seeing his dejected expression from having no chance to shine, her own face fell in sympathy.
“That boy seems to be a mage too, the poor thing…”
Seeing a male student who was quite her type being unable to do anything stirred a strange sense of pity in her.
But that was only for a moment.
The woman continued her assessment of Im Na-eun.
“She’s definitely worth trying to recruit…”
She was tempted.
So far, the evaluation was excellent.
But was she valuable enough to contact…? Not yet.
Her trait was outstanding, but her magical aptitude hadn't been clearly demonstrated.
However, an opportunity to confirm that magical aptitude had now arrived.
“Her trait just ran out, too…”
Having reached the final room, Im Na-eun had used up all of her trait’s uses.
How she would perform now would be the final test.
She focused her gaze on the video.
And then, she felt a sense of confusion.
“Huh…?”
Something was happening.
Not from Im Na-eun, who had been the star until now, but from the male student who had been crumpled up beside her, unable to do anything, the one she had even felt pity for.
A Lightning Bolt was forming above his hand.
From that point on, she couldn't help but be utterly shocked.
“His casting speed is unbelievably fast…!”
He had created a Lightning Bolt in a mere five seconds.
The surprises didn't end there.
“C-Compression!?”
He was compressing lightning magic, a notoriously difficult element to handle.
He forcibly suppressed the lightning that looked ready to burst out in all directions, shrinking its size.
This alone was enough to prove his talent was not just sparkling but overflowing, yet he showed something even greater.
He coated the compressed ball of lightning with an Air Ball, and then on top of that, a Water Ball…!
“Wh-What is this…!”
It began to crumble.
The theories of magic she had accepted as gospel until now.
The high wall she had built, believing certain things to be absolutely impossible.
There wasn't just one or two things to point out and be shocked by.
The magic he was demonstrating was itself composed of impossibilities.
The power of the magic he finally unleashed was the finishing touch.
In the video, it ended with just three goblins and two orcs being burned to a crisp, but she could tell just by the size of the lightning spreading through the water droplets.
“At that level, even if there were dozens of orcs, they all would have died…”
It wasn't a spell that would end with killing just five.
“Amazing, amazing, amazing, amazing, amazing…!”
No matter how many times she said it, it wasn't enough.
It was that fantastic, that ecstatic.
“Heuk…!”
A thrilling pleasure shot through her lower body.
Her vulva, aroused by the shocking sight she couldn't believe even after seeing it, was gushing with wetness.
She touched the area with her fingers.
Then, with her other hand, she caressed the monitor displaying the face of the man who had shown her such a rapturous sight, and she made a decision.
“Haaah…”
No matter what it took, she would bring him there.