Chapter 194
Chapter 194
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 195
Chapter Title: Grades Are Announced
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The grades were announced.
Rumors quickly spread through the school that Kim Sun-woo had overtaken Lee Seo-jun in the practical exam to claim first place.
Some students marveled at Kim Sun-woo's turnaround from being at the bottom of the entire school, while others fretted pointlessly that the competition in the top ranks was too fierce, noting that Lee Seo-jun had now lost first place twice in a single semester.
And Kim Sun-woo rose as an icon of effort(?), becoming an idol among students with low grades.
Of course, this wasn't limited to inside the school. Public opinion outside was abuzz, making a huge fuss about how effort had triumphed over genius.
“……Lee Seo-jun is one thing, but don't you think Yoo Ah-ra got the biggest shock today?”
“Yeah. Third place has to be a first for her too. She was born in Korea at the wrong time. If she'd been born in another country or era, first place would've been guaranteed.”
Yoo Ah-ra stopped in her tracks at the voices coming from the stairs.
Footsteps echoed down—thud, thud—and the two male students who'd been chattering animatedly descended.
The moment they spotted Yoo Ah-ra standing there quietly, they jumped in fright.
“……You heard?”
“Yeah.”
The boys broke into awkward grins, sweat beading on their foreheads at her curt, low reply.
“Uh, yeah? Sorry about that.”
“I'm ranked 65th. So there are people like me too—don't take it too hard……”
“I'm not mad.”
Yoo Ah-ra said.
Surprised by her unexpected response, the boy tilted his head.
“Really? I thought you were pissed and got scared for a sec.”
“Oh, uh, can we go then? We're outta here~”
With that, the boy vanished from Yoo Ah-ra's sight at top speed.
“……Haa.”
Left alone, Yoo Ah-ra let out a deep sigh.
Her first-ever third-place ranking had sparked all sorts of talk, just as she'd feared.
It left her feeling unnecessarily frustrated.
But the 'frustration' she felt now wasn't from achieving third place.
It was frustration at herself for being utterly unfazed despite landing what was—for her—the worst score(?).
She had convinced herself.
Losing to Kim Sun-woo was only natural.
In her gloomy mood, Yoo Ah-ra sighed deeply again and moved on.
“Yoo Ah-ra?”
Just then, a familiar voice called her name from somewhere.
Yoo Ah-ra looked up and turned toward the sound.
Lee Seo-jun stood at the classroom door, holding his smart student handbook and looking at her.
She could immediately tell what was displayed on Lee Seo-jun's smart student handbook screen.
It was the grade report.
Even the great Lee Seo-jun was in the same boat as her.
Yoo Ah-ra gave a wry smile.
“You too, huh. Must sting.”
At her words, Lee Seo-jun flashed an awkward smile and shook his head.
“Thanks to you, our team took first. It's disappointing, but not that bad.”
Lee Seo-jun took a breath before continuing.
“But it does make me think I need to do better next time and win for sure.”
“......Yeah?”
Yoo Ah-ra nodded as she looked at Lee Seo-jun.
He exuded confidence that he could snatch first place anytime, which sparked a twinge of envy.
Right then, alarms sounded from both their smart student handbooks.
[Today at 6 PM: Assembly for students participating in next year's Seongmu Championship in the main auditorium.]
[All eligible students must attend.]
At 5:30 PM, after all classes ended.
Once homeroom wrapped up, students rose from their seats one by one to prepare to head home.
I packed my things, getting ready to leave the classroom.
“Kim Sun-woo.”
That's when Lee Seo-jun approached me.
“What?”
“Come on, let's go together. You're heading to the auditorium too, right?”
I nodded.
And so Lee Seo-jun and I made our way to the main auditorium.
Pushing open the wide doors, I saw five first-years and three second-years gathered.
Among the top first-year students, aside from Choi Seo-yoon and Jeon Min-ki, I didn't recognize the others.
But they all knew me, eyeing Lee Seo-jun and me alternately with sparkling gazes.
“Lee Seo-jun, Kim Sun-woo. Late as usual, huh.”
Shin Young-jun teased with a playful grin.
“We're not even tardy.”
“True enough.”
Shin Young-jun nodded.
I checked the time. Ten minutes left until 6 PM.
As I pondered what to do with the remaining time, Choi Seo-yoon silently came up beside me.
I glanced at her. Choi Seo-yoon met my eyes and gave a small smile.
“What? Something to say?”
“No. I was really bummed our team lost to you in the finals, but being on the same side for the Seongmu Championship feels great.”
“……Yeah?”
“Yeah, it feels super reassuring. At least for the school competition, we're teammates, right?”
The Seongmu Championship proceeded in two formats.
School competition and individual battles.
The school competition had students from each school teaming up to compete, while individuals pitted themselves against each other one-on-one.
“Yeah, sure.”
And so Choi Seo-yoon and I chatted idly.
Mid-conversation, Choi Seo-yoon seemed to notice something off and looked at me.
“Huh?”
Choi Seo-yoon stepped closer, almost into my arms.
She sniffed me.
It had to be the effect of Gretel's Fruit.
Choi Seo-yoon looked up at me and asked.
“Did you put on cologne?”
“Nope.”
“Something smells nice.”
Choi Seo-yoon sniffed again, leaning in.
Lee Seo-jun, Yoo Ah-ra, and Jeon Min-ki watched us with odd looks at her behavior.
“Hey, hey. People are watching.”
“Oh, sorry.”
Choi Seo-yoon stepped back a bit.
“But what is that smell?”
“Shampoo.”
I wasn't sure, but according to Yoo Ah-ra, it didn't smell like cologne, so I made something up.
Choi Seo-yoon tilted her head.
“More like soap and body scent than shampoo, though.”
“……Yeah?”
That's when a question popped into my head.
If others could notice the scent this distinctly, wouldn't there be a risk of getting caught when operating as Kim Jin-woo?
To prepare for any possibilities, I should figure out the scent's range beforehand.
I backed away, putting some distance between me and Choi Seo-yoon.
“Smell it now?”
“Hmm. Not really now…… Hold on. My nose is numb.”
She took a deep breath to clear her nose, then approached me again.
Sniff, sniff.
“Nothing now.”
“Got it.”
The distance between Choi Seo-yoon and me was about 20 cm now.
Maintaining this should prevent detection while active in another identity.
“What about here?”
I leaned in just a tiny bit.
Choi Seo-yoon flinched slightly.
“……Doesn't smell.”
“Yeah?”
Even at this close range, no scent meant it was safe unless we were pressed right up against each other.
I'd just need to avoid skin-to-skin contact.
“But why the scent?”
“Just 'cause. Too much isn't good.”
“Ah.”
Choi Seo-yoon nodded.
We were idly chatting when.
Teacher Lee Hee-young stepped onto the podium.
“Hello. As you all know, we've gathered you regarding next year's Seongmu Championship.”
The students listened intently to Lee Hee-young.
“The exact rules for next year's event haven't been announced yet, but I'll explain the basic format.”
Lee Hee-young began enthusiastically describing the Seongmu Championship's fundamentals.
“First, it runs for a week. The exact venue is TBD, but it primarily follows the school competition format.”
Lee Hee-young started explaining the core concept.
“Determining the winner is simple: schools compete in various events, and the one with the highest total score wins. However, in addition to team events, there's also an individual competition.”
Individual competition.
Just as it sounded: competitors set aside affiliations and faced off personally.
The top performer in individuals even received an MVP award.
In truth, many viewed the personal MVP as more prestigious than their school's victory, making the individual stakes brutal.
“There are four event types in total, but their specifics haven't been revealed yet.”
Lee Hee-young scanned the ten students before speaking again.
“……With that in mind, to prepare for the Seongmu Championship, we plan a short training camp over winter break.”
At the mention of a training camp, the students nodded as if they'd half-expected it.
Holding camps before the Seongmu Championship was tradition—not just in Korea, but worldwide among magic academies.
“And we've finalized the list of provisional first-year participants for this winter break camp.”
“Ooh, looking forward to the first-years.”
Shin Young-jun muttered quietly beside me. Lee Seo-jun glanced my way with a meaningful smile.
He probably wanted to tell me about Eun Seol-ah.
Just then, Lee Hee-young spoke up again.
“The Seongmu Championship is a battle of school pride. I hope you all gain much from this winter camp and deliver great results.”
After finishing Friday's schedule, I met Choi Il-hyun and began our practical sparring.
As usual, I attacked Choi Il-hyun with everything I had, and he deflected with his typical relaxed movements.
After about ten minutes, we ended the bout and separated.
“Whew……”
“What's with you? You've improved massively in such a short time.”
Choi Il-hyun said in an amazed tone.
“I broke through a wall recently.”
I meant my mana control technique upgrading from B to A Rank.
Choi Il-hyun's eyes widened in understanding.
“……Breaking through isn't easy to notice on your own. Sharp senses.”
“Yeah, I felt it clearly. So, does my growth show?”
“It shows. Your mana control and efficiency are way better. Manifestation speed's faster too.”
I nodded. I'd felt those improvements myself.
“At this level, you could confidently call yourself an A-Rank Wizard anywhere.”
Then Choi Il-hyun added.
“Hmm. But the more I think, the weirder it gets. That rainstorm AoE spell from the captain match—what was that? Learned it? Or did you invent it?”
I knew he'd ask about this.
No one used wide-area dispersed magic like that, so any wizard would be curious—especially from an 18-year-old student.
“I made it. I just kept practicing, thinking it'd be cool if such a spell existed.”
I gave a plausible excuse.
Choi Il-hyun eyed me with admiration.
“How much practice? It didn't look like 1-2 years' work. Using magic circles as a medium too.”
He meant the magic circles that floated on my hands when unleashing Mana Rainstorm.
Manifestation magic via magic circles was the pinnacle technique called 'synergy'—like Lee Seo-jun's reinforcement + light manifestation synergy. Mana Rainstorm was manifestation + auxiliary synergy.
“I copied spells. Worked better than expected.”
“Anyone can think of copying spells for simultaneous casts. But not at your insane scale.”
“Everyone has their talents.”
“What?”
Choi Il-hyun chuckled in disbelief.
“……Talents, huh. True enough.”
Choi Il-hyun pondered briefly, then nodded as if organizing his thoughts.
“I said I'd teach you magic, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I had something in mind originally, but I've changed it.”
“......Pardon?”
“I suddenly thought you might master this spell. It's high difficulty, so full mastery'd take at least five years. But if your talent's real, you could field a decent version in 1-2 years for real combat.”
Five years for full mastery?
Now I was curious too.
What spell could it be?
“What spell?”
“Manifestation type. Not pure—it's 'synergy' with auxiliary.”
……Synergy?
Synergy was tough unless you had freakish talent like Lee Seo-jun.
I'd pulled off Mana Rainstorm via points, not synergy skill.
Still, curiosity won; I'd try and quit if it flopped.
“I'll explain the theory, so listen well, memorize, and practice bit by bit over break.”
I nodded.
“First, the spell's name: 'Circle Counter'.”
“……Circle Counter?”
I was startled.
Circle Counter (圓反擊).
As someone who'd read the original, I knew this spell.
Choi Il-hyun grinned at me.
“It's the 'Absolute Defense' spell created by Kim Jin-cheol, called the strongest wizard.”