Chapter 228
Chapter 228
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 229
Chapter Title: The Apostle's Forbidden Vision
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Chapter 229
On the way back to the dorm after the exam ended.
“Yawn……”
I dragged my exhausted body down the hallway, shuffling along.
Having pulled an all-nighter and pushed myself to the limit, the fatigue was no joke.
Physical exhaustion was somewhat mitigated by the ‘Stamina Recovery’ effect, but mental fatigue couldn’t be healed by any trait—it was pure agony.
And mental strain affects the body to some degree too.
If I’d known it’d be this bad, I should’ve caught a nap during the break time too.
“Kim Sunwoo!”
As I zombie-walked down the hall, a voice called from behind.
It was Lee Seojun.
Lee Seojun approached and fell into step beside me.
“Ugh. I’m beat. It’s already 4 a.m.”
I checked the time on my smart student handbook at his words.
4:15 a.m.
Time had flown that far already.
I let out a deep sigh.
“……They really work teenagers like slaves.”
My comment must’ve amused him, because Lee Seojun chuckled softly.
“But we’ve got free time until 5 p.m. now.”
“Hey. After grinding us like this, of course they’d give that much rest.”
“Is that so?”
Lee Seojun chuckled again, then seemed to remember something and opened his mouth.
“Oh, right. Congrats on taking the lead.”
“Congrats? It’s only the first day. Don’t you know we’ve got five more days of exams?”
Lee Seojun looked surprised at my words.
“Wow…… It’s still just the first day? Feels like three days have passed.”
He muttered in disbelief.
“Technically, it’s the second day past midnight. Including the opening ceremony and mixer, it’s the third.”
“Yeah. Almost halfway done……”
Lost in thought, Lee Seojun spoke up again.
“By the way, what’s next trial?”
“They ground us all day, so probably something lighter tomorrow.”
“Lighter?”
He tilted his head at my words.
“Like a written exam. Or a drinking game.”
That’s how it went in the original story. I doubt it’ll change.
“Hmm. Could be. They’ve stuck to Seongmu Festival traditions so far. Guess you’ll take first again then.”
I just shrugged instead of answering.
Saying “Of course I’ll get first” out of my own mouth felt a bit embarrassing.
We reached the stairs, heading different ways. I shot Lee Seojun a glance.
“See ya.”
“Yeah, tomorrow.”
After bidding Lee Seojun farewell, I headed to my private room.
Creak.
I opened the door to my private room and stepped inside.
Tension drained from my body all at once, fatigue crashing in.
I flopped onto the bed face-first.
The soft sensation brought instant comfort.
My eyes grew heavy, sleep flooding in……
Just as I was about to drift off.
I snapped awake and struggled to prop myself up.
“I should at least brush my teeth before sleeping……”
No shower, but brushing at least.
4:50 a.m.
As all students returned to their dorms to sleep.
Werner climbed the empty stairs to the mansion’s fourth floor.
The fourth floor was reserved for examiners only—students forbidden.
Werner walked the hall and stopped before a certain room.
Knock knock.
“Come in.”
A woman’s voice came from beyond the door.
Creak.
He opened the door. A white-haired woman sat in a chair, gazing at the night sky outside the window.
This room was the ‘Apostle of Observation’s’ private space.
Werner entered and scanned the room.
Bed, desk, wardrobe—none of the furnishings for human living.
Just the chair she sat in, another in the corner, and picture frames adorning the walls.
Werner eyed the frames.
They displayed long arrays of complex incantations.
“……Putting something like this up as decor. Quite the unique taste.”
“The world looks different to me than to humans.”
The Apostle replied, gazing at the night sky.
Werner looked at the picture.
“So this is how the world looks to you?”
“Something like that.”
“Hmm……”
He examined the incantations closely.
Even with his exceptional insight into incantation fields, he couldn’t grasp what information they held.
They seemed related to space or time, judging by form.
“What incantation is this?”
“A secret.”
Werner narrowed his eyes.
Made by human hands, yet it revealed nothing.
“Don’t you know your creator is human?”
The Apostle didn’t respond.
Werner felt frustration again but soon gave up.
“……Fine. Explain why Kim Sunwoo’s doppelganger acted strangely in today’s test.”
“A simple error.”
“……Error?”
He hadn’t expected her to admit it was an error so plainly—Werner was slightly taken aback.
“What kind of error?”
“The limit of my incomplete grasp of the world’s truths.”
“Sorry, but I’m not in the mood for word games. You understand every incantation composing the world—how could there be something you don’t know?”
“Word games? I said it that way because there’s no other expression.”
Werner sighed deeply. As expected, she had no intention of answering properly.
“……Alright. I’ll be going.”
As Werner turned to leave.
“Mr. Werner.”
At the Apostle’s call, he stopped and turned.
She still sat, gazing at the night sky.
“Interfering too deeply in the exam isn’t wise.”
Werner clenched his fist at her words. She knew his entire plan.
“……Annoying bastard.”
With a stiff expression, Werner exited. He sensed a presence nearby.
“Mr. Werner?”
Turning, he saw James, his fellow special examiner for the Seongmu Festival.
Usually in sunglasses and a suit, stiff and formal—now in a T-shirt and shorts, relaxed.
Hair still damp from a recent shower.
“Coming from the Apostle?”
“Yes. Curious about the cause of the doppelganger’s odd behavior this time.”
James nodded.
“So, what’d she say?”
“A simple error.”
“An error……”
James pondered.
Werner stared at him squarely before speaking.
“Then I’ll head out—I’m tired. You rest well too, Mr. James, in the time left.”
As he moved past James.
“Mr. Werner.”
James called from behind.
Werner stopped and turned.
“.”
“Where were you during the doppelganger exam?”
Werner smiled at the question.
“Nearby, watching closely.”
Time passed. 5 p.m.
The underground auditorium in the Seongmu Festival midpoint ‘Mansion’ filled with the scratch of pens.
“Ugh…… It’s been ages—my head’s killing me.”
“Lily Rose, please be quiet.”
At James’s words, Lily bowed her head deeply. Some students snickered softly.
We were now on the Seongmu Festival’s third trial: ‘A Wizard’s Basic素养’.
Unlike ‘Credential Verification’ and ‘Doppelganger Hunt’, this was pure individual.
‘A Wizard’s Basic素养’ ranked by theory exam scores, awarding personal points from highest.
These points would play a key role later in the individual finals, ‘Final Exam Grounds’—earn as many as possible now.
Scribble scribble.
—…
And of course, theory exams were my specialty.
Just copy the answers from Outsider’s Benefit.
“……Done.”
I filled the answer sheet completely and stood.
Everyone in the auditorium stared in shock.
Especially Lily Rose, huddled in the corner with her head wrapped tight—eyes wide as she gaped at me.
So shocked she dropped her pen on the desk.
Overkill much?
I took the exam sheet to the podium where James stood.
After submitting, voices rose behind.
“……What? He finished already?”
“He got perfect scores in six straight theory exams at Korean Wizards Academy.”
“Still, that’s too fast.”
As murmurs grew, James spoke again.
“Quiet, everyone. One more noise, and I’ll disqualify you under my authority.”
At “disqualify,” the hall went dead silent.
James sighed deeply, took my sheet, and eyed me suspiciously.
“Kim Sunwoo, you did this properly?”
“Yes, properly.”
James looked at me dubiously, then scanned the sheet.
“Hmm.”
His blank expression shifted slightly as he read.
Soon, it turned to shock.
“……What is this.”
“Examiner, may I go now?”
“Uh…… Y-yeah. Free time left. Rest easy.”
I nodded and left the auditorium.
Planned to relax in the dorm for the remaining time.
As I walked the hall.
“Kim Sunwoo?”
A voice called. Turning toward it, an unexpected figure stood there.
“……Chief Examiner?”
The Seongmu Festival chief examiner, ‘Apostle of Observation’.
The Apostle looked at me and said,
“You finished first, as expected.”
Her tone implied she’d foreseen it all. She continued.
“If you have time, care to chat with me?”
The Apostle led me to the fourth floor, examiners’ area.
A place I shouldn’t enter by status—felt oddly guilty.
“Come in.”
The room she showed me was empty save for chairs.
A space never mentioned in the original—fascinating.
“This is my residence. Looks a bit sparse from a human view, right?”
Sparse indeed.
Just chairs in an empty room—not like anyone lived here.
Though Apostles don’t sleep human-style or have hobbies, so natural maybe.
“But we could talk outside—why here?”
“This space blocks all external surveillance.”
She replied calmly.
“Hmm. What do you want to discuss that needs blocking surveillance……”
At my question, the Apostle smiled faintly.
Seeing that smile, a chill ran through me.
Not a machine’s fabricated smile, but natural, like a living person’s.
The ‘Apostle of Observation’ has emotions after all.
I sat in the chair she offered.
She sat opposite, looking at me.
“How’s life here?”
“Fine, except the tight schedule.”
“Good to hear.”
She smiled again.
Facing that smile felt strangely uncomfortable—I averted my eyes.
Then I noticed the wall frames.
Bizarre pictures of densely packed, intricate incantations.
Slightly different from standard magic circle incantations?
That’s when.
Outsider’s Benefit activated, flooding my mind with the incantations’ info.
Time, space, dimensions, mystery, mana, causality, constraints……
“……Urk!”
Sudden headache hit.
Overwhelmed by the massive info influx, I squeezed my eyes shut.
Hand to forehead, I gritted my teeth against the pain.
“Kim Sunwoo, are you alright?”
The Apostle sat still, asking calmly.
“Urgh.”
I breathed raggedly.
The headache gradually faded. Sensing my recovery, she asked again.
“What did you see in those pictures?”
I looked at her.
The scene I’d just witnessed overlapped with her now, plunging me into deep confusion.
My heart pounded.
“……The future where you violate the world’s laws and shatter.”
The Regressed Extra Becomes a Genius