Chapter 151
Chapter 151
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 151
Chapter Title: Victory Shortened by Four Hours
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The opponent was none other than an S-rank demon. I'd been terribly worried about what might happen if we failed.
Thank goodness.
I checked the time.
Six hours since the exam began.
In the original story, it took ten hours to finally kill Won Hyeok, but thanks to my intervention, we'd shortened it by a full four hours.
The implication was clear: far fewer students had died compared to the original.
I had no idea exactly how many had perished, but it was surely much less than before.
I had no clue how this change would ripple into the future,
but I hoped it would have a positive impact.
I stood up and walked over to Won Hyeok's corpse.
There lay a man who appeared to be in his fifties.
Beside him was a wooden mask that had fallen off—the Human Skin Mask.
"Seon-woo."
Just then, Yoon Ha-young walked over to me. Her voice carried a weary tone as she called my name.
Yoon Ha-young stared at me intently.
Her eyes held a multitude of unspoken questions.
Magic without detectable mana, Rune Binding, and so on. No doubt, she was puzzled by the various spells I'd used.
I gave her a faint smile and said,
"I'll explain everything step by step later."
"Mm. Okay."
Then she glanced at the Human Skin Mask.
As a Grade 1 illegal magic tool, mere possession was a serious crime.
I was tempted to take it, but recovering it myself
might lead them to peg the demon slayer as a criminal and launch an investigation.
...That didn't make any sense.
Even if I didn't take it, Jeong Hyeon, who'd infiltrated the dungeon, would likely claim it anyway.
In that case, it was better if I pocketed it.
I casually scooped up the Human Skin Mask, and Yoon Ha-young beside me spoke up.
"Is that a Human Skin Mask?"
"Yeah, it is. Just in case, I'll hold onto it. Another demon might come snatch it up."
It was an excuse at best, but Yoon Ha-young nodded.
"Oh, and today's events stay secret from everyone else, got it?"
"Of course."
The light attribute magic I'd used today. And special spells like Rune Binding.
I didn't want my abilities getting out just yet. Plus, Yoon Ha-young possessing Demon-Slaying Power was something best kept under wraps for now.
"Seon-woo. What now?"
At Yoon Ha-young's question, I fell into thought.
We'd succeeded in taking down Won Hyeok, but the danger hadn't fully passed.
Jeong Hyeon was somewhere in the dungeon.
Given the fierce battle that had just raged here, there was a high chance Jeong Hyeon was racing toward the noise.
But I had nothing left. Fighting Spirit, Heart of Great Nature—everything was spent.
Yoon Ha-young had burned through a ton of her strength too.
In our current state, we couldn't take down Jeong Hyeon.
"Let's get out of here first."
Time passed, and Jeong Hyeon arrived at the source of the noise.
On the way, screams and massive explosions had echoed nonstop.
One of those screams had sounded eerily like someone he knew. But Jeong Hyeon had forced the thought away.
There was no way the person he had in mind would struggle against mere students.
"......What the hell?"
But upon reaching his destination, the sight before him left Jeong Hyeon momentarily stunned.
A grotesquely mangled corpse lay in plain view. A whirlwind of chaotic thoughts flooded his mind.
What is this? Is what I'm seeing actually real?
With trembling steps, Jeong Hyeon approached the body.
"Lord Won Hyeok?"
Won Hyeok didn't answer.
Jeong Hyeon reeled from the shock.
Won Hyeok was an S-rank demon.
His death wasn't part of the plan.
The plan had failed.
No, this was beyond failure.
It was a total disaster.
Jeong Hyeon inspected Won Hyeok's body. Wounds everywhere caught his eye.
He couldn't even begin to fathom what kind of battle had transpired.
"......No way it was the Child of Prophecy?"
That had to be it.
Without the Child of Prophecy's Demon-Slaying Power, defeat for Won Hyeok was inconceivable.
Even so, the opponent was just an 18-year-old student.
Won Hyeok losing was beyond comprehension.
"......Something's off."
There had to be traces of the fight on his body. Clues to what battle occurred and how he'd lost.
He needed to take the corpse for autopsy.
Jeong Hyeon decided swiftly. He channeled mana into his hand and cast a spell on Won Hyeok's body.
He cauterized wounds with fire and stitched them shut with mana to stem any further bleeding.
This would prevent leaving traces during transport. Then he hoisted the body onto his back.
Time to head back to the Ten Demon Society.
Lee Seo-jun and Lee Hyun-joo were racing through the dungeon.
They'd sensed a massive mana explosion from afar.
A battle had clearly broken out.
Judging by the mana and past experiences, it was likely an S-rank demon.
Lee Seo-jun and Lee Hyun-joo arrived late at the battle site.
They looked around and were stunned.
Traces of an intense fight remained.
Walls and ceiling were utterly demolished, and the floor was drenched in the demons' signature black blood.
But something was off.
After a fight like this, there should at least be a body.
Yet nothing remained in this space. It was like stumbling into a crime scene from a mystery novel.
"......What is this?"
Lee Seo-jun stared blankly around him.
Then he crouched down and examined the black blood on the floor.
"......Demon blood."
He scanned the surroundings again, wondering if there might be human blood.
Fortunately, no signs of human blood appeared.
That meant the victor of this fight was likely human.
But against an S-rank demon? Did someone capable of that even exist?
"Looks like a fight went down here. The destruction suggests at least A-rankers clashing."
"Yeah. Who could it be?"
In that moment, a face flashed in Lee Seo-jun's mind.
Demons sought out those with Demon-Slaying Power, he'd heard.
And that power was like kryptonite to them.
If someone had it, taking down an S-rank demon wasn't impossible.
No way... Kim Seon-woo?
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 154
Chapter Title: Aftermath and Shared Secrets
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Time passed, and Lee Seo-jun and Lee Hyun-joo successfully cleared the dungeon.
Upon exiting through the portal after conquering it, an unfamiliar landscape greeted them.
A vast forest.
They should have arrived back at school, but this was somewhere entirely unrelated.
"Where are we?"
Lee Seo-jun hurriedly checked his smart student handbook.
Fortunately, there was signal here.
He quickly pulled up GPS to check their location.
It was Gwanak Mountain, some distance from the Sorcerer Academy.
The demons must have set the exit in this remote spot for an easy getaway.
Lee Seo-jun promptly contacted the Association. Once word got out, Association special agents and academy officials rushed to Gwanak Mountain.
"Student Lee Seo-jun! Are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm fine. But first, the students inside the dungeon..."
"Ah, yes, sir!"
After that, Association sorcerers and dungeon/portal experts arrived.
They used the conquest portal to pry open the dungeon's blocked exit.
With the dungeon open, the incident was swiftly contained.
They dismantled the stages, rescuing students along the way, and soon saved everyone.
The Association staff grew somber during evacuation.
They'd found students who'd lost their lives inside.
"This is awful..."
"So young. Tsk."
Eight dead, two injured.
This incident would go down as the worst accident in Korean—no, global—magic education history.
As the Association's investigation began, they uncovered several oddities inside the dungeon.
Two demon corpses were found, but the one disguised as 'Kim Hye-chan' from the footage was missing.
And during the probe, they discovered a mysterious site with only battle traces remaining.
"Something's weird about this. That spot with the fight traces—just demon blood, no signs of a body."
"Guess the demon disguised as Kim Hye-chan fought here?"
"Yeah. But who against? The traces scream intense battle."
"Not Lee Seo-jun?"
"Nah. He said he only handled the one found as a corpse earlier."
The investigators figured the demon had lost to someone, since no human blood was present.
"Whoever it was, impressive. Using Darkening means at least A-rank demon."
"Hm. Y'know, this reminds me of the Park Min-ye incident."
"Ah~ I thought the same."
The investigators recalled the 'Park Min-ye' case from half a year ago.
Slaying a hidden school demon.
And vanishing despite the huge feat. The similarities were piling up.
"......Same person?"
Late at night, I returned to school with Yoon Ha-young.
It was already 10 p.m. We could've come back sooner, but to avoid suspicion, we'd taken our time.
Even at this hour, the school teemed with people.
Mostly reporters covering the incident and families of students.
To dodge any reporter hassle, we slipped away to a quiet park for now.
"Safer here, I think."
Then Yoon Ha-young, whose expression had been dark for a while, spoke to me.
"Seon-woo. Did you hear? Eight people died today."
"I heard."
My response darkened her face further.
Knowing the demons' target was her, she couldn't help feeling guilty.
I patted her shoulder to comfort her.
"Like I said before, it's not your fault."
"......Mm."
She acknowledged it, but the sadness lingered in her voice.
Seeing her like this—usually so bright—brought my mood down too.
To snap her out of it, I lightly flicked her forehead.
"Ow!"
Yoon Ha-young clutched her forehead and looked up at me with puzzled, teary eyes.
Like she might cry any second.
I'd barely tapped her—what a drama queen.
"Stop moping around."
She stared at me fixedly, lips pursed.
Thinking she still hadn't shaken it off, I raised my finger again, and she flinched back.
"Ah! Really. Fine!"
Yoon Ha-young yelled at me. Her gloom from earlier was long gone.
I grinned and lowered my hand.
Yoon Ha-young and I sat on a park bench. She gazed up at the night sky, then turned to me as if remembering something.
"Oh, right. Seon-woo."
"Hm?"
"Your magic today had no mana signature. How'd you do that?"
She'd finally asked.
She'd held back on other questions, but couldn't resist about magic.
How to answer?
After a moment's thought, I spoke.
"It's a trait."
"A trait?"
"Yeah. Just like you can wield Demon-Slaying Power, I've got my own unique power."
Yoon Ha-young looked at me with brief surprise, but no suspicion.
Traits weren't that rare to begin with.
And special powers wieldable by few weren't uncommon if you looked.
"Wow, a trait like that exists? First I've heard."
"Not something people talk about much."
"Then what was that light beam? Seemed like support magic. Pretty high-grade too."
"Spot on. Support magic."
Yoon Ha-young's eyes widened in wonder.
"Knew it. Your barrier dispel speed was off from the start. Doesn't make sense to be that good at dispels but suck at other support magic."
She grew serious, continuing on her own.
"But for a sub-specialty, that binding spell packed serious power... Huh? Wait."
Yoon Ha-young, deep in deduction, whipped around to me.
I watched tensely, wondering what wild theory her little mouth would spit out.
"Your main specialty is actually support magic!"
"Huh?"
"Think about it—your dispel skills and today's binding. Nothing else explains it. Near S-rank sorcerer level."
I gave a wry smile. Her imagination was too wild for words.
"That face says I hit the nail on the head."
"What nail?"
"Wow, seriously impressive. You handle manifestation as a sub-specialty like a pro. And reinforcement too."
Yoon Ha-young looked at me with eyes full of admiration.
I just stared back in sheer bewilderment.