Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: The Regressed Extra Becomes a Genius
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[Character 'Choi Seo-yoon' is wary of you.]
[You acquired 500 points as a reward.]
Tsssh!
The sound of the beer can opening rang out refreshingly.
I grabbed the can and took a long, cool swig.
"Kaaah."
This is the stuff. The end of the week calls for beer. Happiness bubbles up from these little things.
I grinned and half-reclined on the sofa.
Then I pulled out the brand-new smartphone I'd activated today and a business card from my pocket.
"Where's the number? Ah, there it is."
I inputted the number from the business card into the smartphone.
[Han Se-yeon]
Saved.
I'd bought this smartphone as a contact method for operating as Kim Jin-woo, not Kim Sun-woo.
Now that Kim Jin-woo was known to the world, I felt the need to clearly separate the lives of Kim Sun-woo and Kim Jin-woo.
[Hello, Han Se-yeon. This is Kim Jin-woo from this morning's deal. Contact me at this number if anything comes up.]
Send.
Calling this late isn't exactly polite, but I sent it anyway.
Our relationship wasn't just some simple coworker thing.
Ding!
Huh? A reply already.
Han Se-yeon was surprisingly quick to respond.
[I saved it. And I just checked the dirt on your 'oppa' that you mentioned. It's beyond vicious—it's downright shocking. I never imagined he'd kill someone.]
Her own brother was a murderer, but her response was surprisingly nonchalant.
Of course, being a text, it might not convey her shock fully.
[I'll wire the advance payment by tomorrow at the latest. And I'll contact you once the requested potion is complete.]
[Yes, understood.]
I put the smartphone away. And took another sip of beer.
[Character 'Han Se-yeon' trusts you.]
[You acquired 1,000 points as a reward.]
"Good. Trust is building, at least."
[A mine disguised as a conductor for a famous opera troupe, 'Jang Han.' Mines are hiding throughout human society like this. With anxiety and fear growing among citizens, it's time to establish countermeasures as soon as possible. This has been YHK News.]
Bang!
In a high-rise building overlooking Seoul's glittering nightscape.
A man slammed his desk in a fury.
"Jang Han is dead."
The man muttered in a trembling voice. His eyes, illuminated by moonlight, were pitch black.
"We knew he'd go berserk. It's his fault for not controlling his own mind."
A man watching from afar tilted his whiskey glass and spoke.
"We could've stopped him! If we'd intervened first during his rampage, we definitely could've!"
"'His' orders. Helping a mine that starts rampaging among humans would put us in more danger."
"Did 'He' say anything else?"
"He doesn't seem too concerned. It's not like this is the first or second time."
"Damn it! How long do we have to keep hiding like this!"
The man shouted again.
"Baek Kang, calm down. It's not time yet."
At the whiskey-drinking man's words, the man called Baek Kang trembled with clenched fists.
"I need to kill him. Otherwise, I won't be able to vent this anger."
"Who?"
"The guy who killed Jang Han."
The man took a sip of whiskey and set down his glass.
"That Kim Jin-woo guy?"
"Yeah."
"That guy's probably hard to find. I looked into him personally, and there's weirdly nothing on him."
"I've got info. He made some kind of deal with Han Se-yeon of the Hanseong family today. Tail her, and he'll show up eventually, right?"
At Baek Kang's words, the man wore a troubled expression.
"But isn't Han Se-jin of Hanseong Group your client? If he finds out, he won't let you off easy."
"Han Se-jin? Hah! Those guys have no family bonds whatsoever. He'd probably be thrilled if his sister died and her shares came to him."
"Kukuku. Fine, do as you please. Killing one human wizard won't cause any big problems."
"Alright! Sparring class tomorrow."
Monday morning homeroom.
Instructor Jang An-cheol addressed 2nd Year Class A, where 50 students had gathered.
"You all did this in your 1st year, so you know: sparring class is where you find a compatible partner and train together for two months. Excluding the exam at the end, it doesn't affect your grades, so find an opponent on your level."
Once morning homeroom ended, students rose from their seats.
"Ah, who're you pairing with?"
"Wanna pair with me?"
"Our ranks are way apart. Why would I pair with you?"
It looked like everyone was already scrambling for sparring partners.
Sparring partners were for improving your skills beyond grades. They gave feedback on weaknesses and even practiced privately outside class.
Naturally, people preferred partners at their level or higher.
I glanced at Lee Seo-jun; he was talking with Yoo Ara. This matched the original story. They were sparring partners there too.
'But who am I pairing with?'
I'm dead last in the school. Plus, I failed to release magic during the public ranking test, cementing my image as a total incompetent.
No one would want to pair with me.
'...This is bad.'
Today's first class was specialty training.
At the manifestation magic training ground, I focused on training by manifesting magic as usual.
—Kwachak!
A target shattered upon hitting my manifested magic sphere.
I caught my breath and took a short break.
"Hoo."
As I tried to rest, I felt a gaze from somewhere. Turning my head, I saw Lee Hee-young watching me with a pleased expression.
Our eyes met, and she spoke to me.
"Kim Sun-woo, your growth is impressive. Your mana capacity has increased just in the last few days."
"Thank you. I've been doing mana meditation in my spare time."
Truthfully, it was more the adaptive trait from the tower's rewards. My mana rose by 5, and magic power by 10%.
But I'm still sorely lacking.
In the fight with Jang Han, I barely created a good situation with the Heart of Great Nature, but once its one-minute duration ended, I was helpless.
If Lee Seo-jun's group hadn't arrived late, Jang Han would've recovered his broken body, leading to a dangerous situation.
Then Lee Hee-young smiled and said,
"Seeing you now, I'm convinced."
"Pardon?"
"I'm convinced you're suited for manifestation magic."
What was this about?
Seeing my confusion, Lee Hee-young continued.
"How's manifestation magic? Manageable?"
"Yeah, it's alright."
My lukewarm response made her eyes narrow slightly.
"You're not thinking of switching your specialty to support magic, are you?"
Ah, that was her worry.
"No, I'm not."
"Hehe. Good. Never abandon your convictions for material temptations like special talent scholarships. Even without them, you'll shine big in manifestation someday."
Suddenly, big words about convictions.
...I have no convictions about manifestation magic.
Curiosity struck, so I asked Lee Hee-young.
"Teacher, can manifestation majors not get special talent scholarships?"
"Huh? Special talent? That might be tough. The conditions are strict..."
Lee Hee-young mumbled anxiously, fumbling her words.
From her demeanor, I could tell why. She was worried I'd pull students to support magic.
Mischief bubbled up, and I said,
"Hmm. Now that you mention it, I'm rethinking things."
"W-Wait! Kim Sun-woo, you aren't switching to support, are you?"
Lee Hee-young exclaimed in surprise.
Her desperate look nearly made me burst out laughing.
"Yeah, I need the money urgently."
"Uh? Special talent's tricky... Hmm. Teacher-recommended scholarship might work? What about that?"
Huh? I said it as a joke, but she's offering a real scholarship?
"How much?"
"Up to ten million won. Less than special talent—way less... Actually, ten million's the max, so it's hard to give..."
Unlike her usual self, her confidence plummeted. She avoided my eyes, feeling apologetic.
This made me feel bad for no reason.
"Got it. I'm not switching, so don't worry."
"Really? Even if someone offers a scholarship to switch to support, don't be tempted. Promise? I can give you one too!"
"Yes, yes, I promise."
Only then did Lee Hee-young return to her bright self.
The long specialty class ended.
Students began heading to their next classes one by one.
I finished training and prepared to leave the training ground.
That's when I spotted Yoon Ha-young focused on magic training.
Out of curiosity, I examined her magic. It felt awkwardly unpolished, hard to describe.
'Her fundamentals are seriously lacking.'
Yoon Ha-young's current rank was 82nd, mid-tier. But her actual talent was top-ten level.
Far in the future, with Lee Seo-jun's advice, she'd rocket to 6th place.
So why was talented Yoon Ha-young ranked low now?
Simple reason: she learned magic wrong.
In the original, she'd get advice from Lee Seo-jun during the last dungeon exploration, starting her growth. But my intervention erased that.
'S should I give her advice?'
Advising someone could seem nosy, but Yoon Ha-young was in the same dungeon exploration class.
Monsters get stronger per floor, so for top rank, her growth was essential.
Plus, she's important in the original story.
Her growth would bring big advantages to the plot.
I approached her directly.
"Yoon Ha-young, not doing attribute adaptation training?"
Attribute adaptation training builds the imagination needed for manifestation.
She turned at my words.
"Huh? Adaptation training?"
"You look like you're not. Right?"
"Uh... I don't much, but how'd you know?"
"Obvious. Your manifestations are too sloppy."
"...Really?"
Yoon Ha-young tilted her head and tried manifesting again.
An ice lump formed in her palm.
"See? That's ice? Doesn't look cold at all."
"...What? Why're you suddenly critiquing me?"
"Anyway, got a sparring partner for tomorrow's class?"
"Not yet."
"Then pair with me."
Her eyes widened slightly at my words. Then she smirked and looked at me.
"Kim Sun-woo, so this was your goal?"
"Goal?"
"You're worried no one'll pair with you, so you pretend to know stuff and suggest teaming up."
"What? No."
"Then what?"
"...Shut up and pair with me. Got it? You don't wanna be dead weight in dungeon exploration either."
Yoon Ha-young looked exasperated.
"What does that have to do with sparring partners?"
"I'll train you to at least pull your weight. I know your issues."
"What?"
Disbelief flashed on Yoon Ha-young's face.
"You know our rank difference, right?"
"I just got a teacher-recommended scholarship offer from Lee Hee-young."
"Huh?"
"Means I'm better than you think."
She blinked blankly, not getting it.
"Think about it."
I patted her shoulder and left the training ground.
[Hanseong Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd.]
[535,000,000 won deposited.]
"Oho."
The promised 500 million advance arrived. The extra 35 million was probably for the Hidden Floor reward, Soul of the Red Dragon.
"No money worries for a while."
Now, just grow this into a fortune.
Hanseong Pharmaceuticals' stock would skyrocket monopolizing Divine Grass, so buying early is good—but there's a better way to multiply money now.
[Han Se-yeon, received the advance. Need something by day after tomorrow.]
Reply came instantly.
[Day after tomorrow? What is it?]
[Underground arena entry ticket.]
[Underground arena? Hey, what's your deal? Underground auction house, now underground arena. How do you know about these things ordinary people don't?]
What to reply.
To build mystique for future deals.
[Knowing hurts.]
[What hurts? Underestimating the Hanseong family?]
Fiercer reaction than expected.
[Anyway, why do you need the underground arena ticket?]
[Gotta grow the money I earned.]
[You're not betting it all in the arena, are you?]