Chapter 143
Chapter 143
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 143
Chapter Title: Securing the Wish
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A smile bloomed across Choi Il-hyun's lips. That guy was enjoying this.
"Good, good. Let's see you go at it with more sincerity. Yeah, if you land even one effective hit, I'll give you a gift. Make even a single 'eek' escape my lips."
"...What kind of gift?"
"What do you want? You're not gonna land a single hit anyway, so go big."
"Then let's make it a wish instead of a gift."
Choi Il-hyun chuckled.
"A wish, huh. Fine, a wish it is. If my young lord lands a hit, that's the least I can do."
I grinned.
One hit...
Could I really pull it off? Of course, with a wish on the line, my competitive spirit was ignited.
It wasn't impossible. I'd been practicing a new technique lately, after all.
"Here I go."
"Yeah."
I released five spells and charged at Choi Il-hyun simultaneously.
Choi Il-hyun deployed a barrier to block the attacks. Then he waited for my approach.
I reinforced my legs with mana and swung them. But Choi Il-hyun caught my leg with one hand.
Seizing that opening, I immediately targeted his head with my other foot while manifesting and firing mana orbs from his blind spot.
"Not bad!"
Choi Il-hyun neatly dodged every attack.
"Too predictable!"
None of my strikes connected.
Even so, I kept up the same pattern of attacks.
Melee combat interspersed with occasional spell releases. Enough to let Choi Il-hyun get used to my movements.
And just as he started to feel a bit bored...
'Now!'
Thump!
I activated the Heart of Great Nature and Battle Lust.
With multiple abilities stacking, my body felt lighter, strength surging through me. On top of that, I further reinforced my body with mana.
The plan was to let him grow accustomed to my movements, then introduce a sudden change and strike.
I spun my body quickly and unleashed a kick.
Choi Il-hyun seemed to sense the shift, his expression flickering with slight surprise.
My foot grazed his hair.
One might think he'd dodged with minimal movement, but "barely" dodged would be more accurate.
Next, I triggered Instant Acceleration.
For a moment, the world around me slowed.
Choi Il-hyun's movements appeared slower than before, tiny openings visible.
"Haat!"
I manifested a new mana orb above my hand.
The manifested orb shot toward Choi Il-hyun's abdomen.
"Keuk!"
Startled by my altered movements, Choi Il-hyun panicked and deployed his barrier.
At the same time, my body was forcefully repelled by the barrier. Timing it perfectly, I used the Hand of Great Nature to nudge one of his legs with natural mana.
As his balance wavered from the unexpected force...
Smack!
"Eek!"
A pillar of mana erupted from the ground, slamming into Choi Il-hyun's stomach.
The "pillar" form I'd been practicing with Yoo Ah-ra over the weekend.
He wouldn't have expected me to use something like this.
A flash of bewilderment crossed Choi Il-hyun's face.
"...Huh?"
"Whew. Finally got it."
I collapsed onto the ground. My body went limp, unable to move.
Still, the thrill of success felt great.
"I win, right? I heard that 'eek' loud and clear."
In response, Choi Il-hyun shook his head.
"...Nah. I said 'huh?' not 'eek.'"
Choi Il-hyun insisted shamelessly.
"What are you talking about? I heard 'eek' plain as day."
"I said 'huh.' Not 'eek.'"
Choi Il-hyun squinted and doubled down. It was so absurd I was speechless.
"Wow, that's really pathetic."
As I turned serious, Choi Il-hyun let out a deep sigh.
"...Fine. You win. Happy now?"
Choi Il-hyun finally admitted defeat. A smile crept onto my lips.
"So, what's your wish?"
"I'll tell you later."
"...What kind of wish are you planning? Tsk."
Choi Il-hyun scratched his head, looking troubled.
But a satisfied smile played on his lips.
After school.
Lee Seo-jun and Lee Hyun-joo headed to Seoul right after classes ended. They'd taken on a commission from some organization after returning from Ghost Island.
Their destination was an information guild on the outskirts of Seoul.
As they opened the door, a staff member greeted them.
"Welcome. You're Lee Seo-jun, the client, right?"
"Yes, that's me."
The staff member glanced at Lee Seo-jun's face and looked slightly surprised.
"Oh? I had a hunch from the name, but you're Lee Seo-jun from the Wizard Academy?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Wow, didn't expect a famous person like you for a client."
The staff member beamed.
"Come on in, have a seat."
Lee Seo-jun and Lee Hyun-joo sat at the table as guided.
"Here's the personal information on 'Lee Yun-kyung' you requested. As you specified, there was indeed a Lee Yun-kyung who attended the Wizard Academy during the same era as Choi Il-hyun."
Lee Seo-jun took the documents.
"There wasn't much else. No standout background or anything."
Lee Seo-jun nodded as he reviewed the contents.
Just as the man said, there was nothing special about Lee Yun-kyung's information.
It was ordinary.
Her Wizard Academy grades placed her 4th, in the top ranks, though.
"...And normally, an investigation like this would reveal who she was and such, but surprisingly few people seem to know her. It's a bit of an unusual case."
2006 Wizard Academy graduation
2007 Seoul Special Task Force activity
2009 Death
Age at death: 23.
"...Hold on."
Lee Seo-jun narrowed his eyes.
"She died in 2009?"
"Yes, that's correct. And another odd thing—there's no clear cause of death. The Special Task Force lists it as an accident."
A shadow of doubt crossed Lee Seo-jun's face.
Beside him, Lee Hyun-joo frowned and spoke up.
"Wait, you're an information guild and this is all you've got?"
"Haha, cases like this are rare for us too. But 'not finding anything in the investigation' can be information in itself."
"Got it for now."
Lee Seo-jun stood and headed outside. Lee Hyun-joo followed.
"Looks like she's got nothing to do with me. Probably just someone who looks like me."
"Huh? How can you be sure? She looks way too similar for that."
"She died in 2009."
"So?"
"We're born in 2015."
"...Oh!"
Lee Hyun-joo's eyes widened in realization.
"Right, the timelines don't match."
"Or we could just ask Choi Il-hyun directly."
There was no need to take detours, really.
The person who knew Lee Yun-kyung best was right there.
Friday night.
The eve of a weekend everyone looked forward to.
I lay in bed trying to sleep, but oddly, sleep wouldn't come. Only emptiness and a heavy mood lingered.
Had insomnia set in without me noticing? Lately, I hadn't been sleeping well.
I let out a hollow chuckle at the absurdity, then glanced at my smart student planner.
Three minutes ago, a message from Choi Seo-yoon.
[Are you asleep, sunbae?]
[You must be busy lately.]
I debated replying but decided against it. My mood was off.
Ever since the Fire Festival incident, I'd been subtly avoiding her.
Not obviously, just enough that she wouldn't notice...
It wasn't that I disliked or felt uncomfortable around Choi Seo-yoon. Just seeing her stirred something strange inside me. My head got complicated, and I avoided her without thinking.
And I wasn't oblivious. Her recent attitude toward me, the friendly gestures, the way she looked at me.
It'd be weirder if I hadn't noticed.
One might call avoiding her like this cowardly, but I couldn't think of another way.
And with that came several doubts.
Did I even have the luxury to get close to someone in this world?
In a world where the future was unknown.
A world that might reset with Lee Seo-jun's death, or face destruction.
In this unstable place where I couldn't even tell if the people around me were real or fake.
Could I afford to grow attached to anyone?
And if the world reset upon Lee Seo-jun's death...
Could I endure it?
Lost in such tangled thoughts, an inexplicable gloom settled over me.
Some might call it philosophical pondering; others might mock it as chuunibyou.
But I still clearly remembered the original world I'd lived in.
My parents, family, friends.
My original world without magic.
I'd gotten over homesickness after the first round, but recent events had me unconsciously recalling those memories.
"Sigh..."
Sitting on the bed with a depressed face, Gretel woke briefly and approached me.
"Mrrrow..."
She nuzzled into me with a sleepy voice. I gave a faint smile and stroked her back.
Gretel fell asleep again. I gently laid her on the bed.
"...Maybe some night air will help."
My mood was all over the place anyway.
Tomorrow was a holiday, so staying up late was fine.
I stepped outside and strolled through the park, where I spotted a familiar face on a bench.
"Kim Sun-woo?"
It was Lee Seo-jun.
"Lee Seo-jun, what are you doing?"
"Just... my head's a mess, so I came out for some air."
I chuckled.
My head's a mess, huh.
No such scene was described in the novel.
Moments like this made me want to believe this world was real.
"What's got your head in a twist?"
"Oh, various things..."
Obviously, it was thoughts about Lee Yun-kyung.
I plopped down next to Lee Seo-jun.
"Because of that Lee Yun-kyung person?"
My blunt question made Lee Seo-jun's expression stiffen slightly.
I'd seen her on Ghost Island myself, so no point pretending ignorance.
"Reading minds or something?"
"It's all over your face."
I gazed at the night sky before speaking.
"Lee Yun-kyung... she's probably your mother."
Lee Seo-jun turned to me with a questioning look.
"What's your basis for that?"
"I have great intuition. It just feels right. And with how much you two resemble each other, it wouldn't make sense if she wasn't."
"What kind of reasoning is that? By that logic, you look like that Kim Jin-woo wizard too. So are you related to him?"
Huh? He had me there.
"No, you and I aren't the same. I'm handsome; you're not."
"What kind of nonsense is that? Give me some actual convincing evidence."
"Sheesh. Think what you want."
Then Lee Seo-jun fell silent for a moment before speaking cautiously again.
"And that person... she died in 2009. Timeline-wise, she can't be my mother."
I pondered briefly.
How much of a hint should I give Lee Seo-jun?
Having gone through the first round, I no longer wanted to idly wait for the original ending.
Could my interference hasten it?
"Someone who died in 2009 giving birth to you in 2015... it's not impossible."
"What are you saying?"
"Mystery."
Lee Seo-jun frowned at my word.
"Mystery makes the impossible possible."
"You're saying some mystery intervened between that Lee Yun-kyung and me?"
"I'm just talking possibilities."
Lee Seo-jun sank into thought. That was the extent of hints I could give now.
Acting too knowledgable wouldn't be good.
"...Mystery, huh."
Lee Seo-jun mulled it over deeply. It made enough sense to complicate his mind further.
"Lee Seo-jun."
He looked at me. I spoke to him calmly.
"You want to know who your parents are, right?"
I met Lee Seo-jun's eyes directly.
"Let's find them together. I'll help you."
The past weekend had been quite tough for Lee Seo-jun. The various doubts arising from Lee Yun-kyung had made normal life impossible.
Asking Choi Il-hyun directly was the obvious answer, but without contact info, he had no way.
Even Kim Sun-woo didn't have his number. In the end, Lee Seo-jun had waited for today.