Chapter 178
Chapter 178
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 178
Chapter Title: Promise of Magic Lessons
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Choi Il-hyeon flashed a chilling smile as he spoke.
"To grow, you've got to put up with this much hardship. Oh, and."
Choi Il-hyeon looked me straight in the eye.
"Your martial arts seem solid enough now, so starting next week, I'll teach you magic."
"Magic?"
"Yeah. We'll start from the basics like manifestation and cover a few applied techniques from the manifestation system."
Applied techniques from the magic that Choi Il-hyeon himself used.
Choi Il-hyeon was known as a sorcerer who wielded magic more practically than anyone else.
The thought of learning manifestation magic from him already had my heart racing with excitement.
No harm in picking up new skills, after all.
"Understood. I've got a promise to keep, so I'll head out now."
"Sure."
I gave Choi Il-hyeon a final bow and left the school training center.
It was 8 p.m. now.
I headed to the entrance leading to the back mountain of the school.
When I arrived, Lee Seo-jun waved at me from under the dark sky.
"Kim Seon-woo."
"You been waiting long?"
"Nah, I just got here myself."
"Good. No time to waste—let's go."
"Yeah."
Lee Seo-jun and I began climbing the mountain toward Jin Cheon-woo's hideout.
Having climbed it once before made the path to our destination far easier and quicker this time.
Upon arrival, the entrance I'd seen last time came into view.
The illusion barrier that had been maintained from the very start of the entrance.
It looked exactly the same as before—no changes.
"Kinda tense, huh."
Lee Seo-jun muttered quietly. I reassured him.
"No need to worry. You've mastered the Silver Moon Reversal, right?"
"...True."
"Shall we head in?"
"Yeah."
I stepped into the illusion barrier. No—the heart of the main storyline.
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 179
Chapter Title: The Mystery Research Journal
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As soon as we entered, the illusion barrier activated just like last time.
My vision blurred for a moment, and a strange noise rang in my ears.
I snapped back to my senses, and the illusion spell embedded in the barrier vanished.
It wasn't the effect of using Illusion Severing.
With 90% illusion resistance from the Silver Moon Clan training, I'd endured the barrier.
"Going to the Silver Moon Clan was the right call. This is way easier than before."
Lee Seo-jun, feeling the same, muttered quietly beside me. I nodded in response instead of replying.
We walked down the long corridor. About three minutes in, the illusions started growing stronger.
"The illusions are getting stronger..."
"If it's tough, just use Silver Moon Reversal."
At my words, Lee Seo-jun gave me a strange look.
"...You're fine, huh?"
"I can handle it."
My 'Silver Moon Reversal' had fused with illusion resistance traits, reaching S-rank.
Of course, my illusion resistance was higher.
Lee Seo-jun, unaware of that, looked at me in amazement.
What the...
This guy gets competitive over something so trivial.
"Really? Guess I'll use it then."
Lee Seo-jun closed his eyes briefly and radiated mana throughout his body.
It resembled a protective aura but required more delicate mana control to shield the mind.
Once Illusion Severing activated properly, he opened his eyes with a more relaxed expression.
"Phew... That's better."
I smiled faintly at him.
"Good. Let's keep going."
We continued down the corridor. At the end, a small staircase led underground.
Descending it revealed a small iron door.
"This must be it."
"Yeah. Let's open it."
Kiiiik...
As we entered, the illusion magic enveloping my body dissipated.
At the same time, lighting magic tools activated, flooding the room with bright light.
"Whoa..."
Just entering the hideout netted me two point rewards.
The achievement made sense, but getting separate points for main storyline intervention was a first.
Lee Seo-jun and I surveyed the room.
It resembled an ordinary magic lab. Dust covered everything, as if it hadn't been used in ages.
I spotted a plaque on the wall reading [Mystery Research Club].
"Check out that plaque."
Pointing it out, Lee Seo-jun looked intrigued.
"Mystery Research Club... Eunseol-a's mother's diary mentioned the Mystery Research Club hideout. This must be it."
"Yeah, looks like it."
By the original story, Jin Cheon-woo's research journal should definitely be here.
Pretending to browse the room, I searched for it.
Scanning around, I found a desk drawer.
A simple barrier sealed it. Child's play for me, of course.
I dispelled it and opened the drawer. Inside lay a weathered book, just as expected.
[Mysterious Book (Relic)]
Classification: Book
Description: A mysterious book that reacts to mana
I examined the cover.
"Mystery Research Journal..."
My quiet mutter drew Lee Seo-jun over.
"What's this?"
"Says it's the Mystery Research Journal."
I checked the contents. True to the title, it detailed research on mysteries.
Lee Seo-jun peered over my shoulder and spoke up.
"This handwriting... It matches the 'Mystery Research Book' in Grandpa's study. Bad handwriting, but distinctive—I remember it."
I nodded at his words and examined the book again.
This was one of the three research journals owned by Jin Cheon-woo.
The second one, specifically.
For reference, the third was held by Jaun, but it was a copy.
"Huh. Looks like Jin Cheon-woo wrote this one too."
Lee Seo-jun gave me a puzzled look.
"How do you know?"
"His name's right here."
I pointed to the small text at the bottom: 'Author: Jin Cheon-woo'.
"Oh, yeah it is. So the one in Grandpa's study was his too."
"Anyway, let's check the contents."
Lee Seo-jun and I reviewed the journal together.
It covered mysteries and the research conducted on them.
Predictably, studies for an immortality spell. And which mysteries were needed.
That sort of thing.
Contents confirmed well enough.
Now, time to activate this book's hidden power.
I casually handed the book to Lee Seo-jun.
He took it without a second thought and scanned the pages.
That was when it happened.
Wuuung!
A surge of strong mana erupted from the book, along with a burst of light.
Flash!
"...What?"
Lee Seo-jun stared blankly at the book.
Playing dumb, I approached him.
"Must've had some mechanism. A magic tool maybe?"
"But nothing obvious changed."
I flipped through the pages he was holding.
A faint blue glow shimmered, revealing hidden text.
A subtle aura emanated from the letters—not quite mana, more like a mystical energy.
"Here it is. These letters. Weren't there before."
Pointing them out, Lee Seo-jun nodded.
"Hidden message, huh. Neat."
Lee Seo-jun and I read the emerging mystical text.
[I always wanted to surpass human limits.]
[Human limits. To surpass them, one must first overcome the inevitable 'death' that plagues humanity.]
[Yet no human has ever conquered death. Many mystery researchers claim an immortality spell exists. But not one has discovered the method.]
[But I found it. Through a very special means.]
"I've felt it before, but Jin Cheon-woo was obsessed with immortality."
Lee Seo-jun muttered quietly.
"He had great power. Probably got greedy."
"Power doesn't really factor in. Grandpa had immense power too, but he never obsessed over immortality."
I nodded at Lee Seo-jun's point.
"Fair enough. Just a difference in personality."
He shot me a side-eye at my response before asking.
"...But do you want immortality too, by any chance?"
"Immortality?"
"Yeah."
Immortality, huh...
Not sure. If it were free, sure, why not.
But it sounded lonely too.
"Dunno. Hard to say."
Lee Seo-jun nodded nonchalantly at my answer.
Then we read on.
[The method to attain immortality was surprisingly simple.]
[Just ask the mystery itself. The mystery knows all things in the world. If an immortality spell existed, it would surely know the way.]
Conversation with the mystery.
Something I'd experienced myself during the Silver Moon Clan trial.
[After twists and turns, I earned the chance to converse with the mystery.]
[The mystery knew much. Not just the immortality spell, but all sorts of special spells worthy of being called 'mysteries'—truly vast knowledge.]
[The mystery demanded payment in information. Stunned at first by what it wanted, I ultimately accepted.]
Lee Seo-jun's eyes widened in surprise as he read.
"...He asked the mystery for info?"
No wonder he was shocked.
Mysteries only converse with those that pique their interest.
Jin Cheon-woo, confident in his uniqueness, had dared to attempt it.
"Pretty clever, huh? Asking the mystery what you don't know."
I feigned ignorance despite already knowing.
Lee Seo-jun nodded in agreement.
Turning the page revealed no more text.
"Guess that's it."
The rest detailed mysteries and various special spells.
Methods to obtain the immortality spell.
Ways to revive dead flesh.
How to summon souls.
Communing with mysteries. And so on.
"Not much gained here, ultimately."
"The book itself seems valuable enough. All this info came straight from the 'mystery'."
"Huh, true. Never imagined Jin Cheon-woo traded with a mystery..."
Lee Seo-jun muttered thoughtfully, then continued.
"So, anything we can try from this journal? These spells look usable."
"Probably. Some seem pretty practical."
Lee Seo-jun pondered and pointed to a section.
"What about this?"
[Spirit Summoning]
I chuckled inwardly at his choice.
In the original story, checking the journal, the first thing Lee Seo-jun did was spirit summoning.
"Spirit Summoning, eh. Whose soul do you want to call?"
He answered without hesitation.
"Jin Cheon-woo."
After wrapping up at Jin Cheon-woo's hideout, Lee Seo-jun and I descended the mountain.
"At least it wasn't a total waste."
Lee Seo-jun muttered as we trudged down.
"Yeah."
"But that journal... I still don't get it. No clue where to find the materials for spirit summoning."
"We'll figure it out step by step. Looks like all the materials are mysteries anyway."
"Gonna take a while to track them down, huh?"
A long time, yeah. At least not before year's end.
My plan was to gather as many mystery materials as possible with him over winter break.
"Probably. And someone else might already own them."
Lee Seo-jun paused at my words.
"...Didn't think of that. What if they do?"
"Buy 'em with money. Can't just terrorize like Jin Cheon-woo."
"Ugh. Future looks bleak already."
He let out a deep sigh.
Lee Seo-jun and I descended the mountain in silence.
How far had we gone? I checked my watch.
It was 9 p.m. already.
I suddenly wondered what Gretel was up to.
The 'Mysterious Demonic Tree Fruit' effect depended on her mood, so I wanted to cater to it as much as possible.