Chapter 262
Chapter 262
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 263
Chapter Title: Overimmersion Unlocked
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[Your latent trait has been unlocked!]
[You have achieved the 'Latent Trait Unlock' accomplishment.]
[You have obtained 3,000 points as a reward.]
“What’s this?”
Wednesday morning.
After a quick wash to head to school, a message popped up right in front of me.
I blinked, staring at it, and realized what it was.
Latent trait.
It was the ability I’d gained after consuming Gretel’s fruit last week.
It was supposed to take seven days to unlock, so I’d forgotten about it for a bit, but it looked like it had activated right on schedule today.
“Hmm… I wonder what it does.”
Truth be told, I wasn’t expecting much.
Latent traits only had minor effects unless they went berserk for some reason.
Above all, the ‘activation condition’ was key.
If it had some tricky requirement like ‘when passing knowledge to someone,’ like with the law teacher, then even a great ability would be pointless.
So, let’s check what the ability is first.
I immediately activated Outsider’s Boon to view the trait.
Normally, you couldn’t check your own trait, but I could thanks to Outsider’s Boon.
［Your latent trait: Overimmersion］
“…Overimmersion?”
The unexpected name left me momentarily dazed.
Was this the overimmersion I knew?
［Activation condition: Activates when fully immersed in a specific situation.］
［Upon activation, focus and composure increase by 300%, completion rate of the immersed task rises, and it instills strong trust in those around you.］
In simple terms, it was a trait that boosted focus.
Not something I could call great, but it might be better than some complex, convoluted ability.
The condition was straightforward, and there didn’t seem to be any notable side effects.
“Useful for assignments or training.”
Beyond that… I wasn’t sure what other situations it could apply to.
Did it work in combat too?
“Ugh!”
I stretched and changed into my uniform.
Then I glanced at Gretel, sprawled on the floor, snoring away.
Checking the blue leaves for any new buds, but sadly, nothing yet.
“…When will the next fruit ripen?”
As I muttered that, Gretel’s eyes suddenly snapped open.
Our gazes met.
“......Ngah?”
“…Oh, you’re awake, Gretel?”
Friday. The Wizard Academy’s midterms were finally over.
It was the first exam since advancing to third year, but with graduation looming, it differed a bit from last year’s.
Group exams outnumbered individual ones, and scoring emphasized teamwork or flexible handling of emergencies over raw ‘magical ability.’
Even so, my results weren’t bad.
Having more wizard experience than my peers gave me advantages even without relying on ‘magical ability.’
Plus, in the group project prepped with Choi Seo-yoon, Yun Ha-young, and the others, our presentation went smoothly, earning the highest score.
Thanks to that, I took 1st or 2nd in most exams.
With these results, I might push aside Lee Hyun-joo, a top guild figure, and climb to overall 4th place?
Now that all exams were done, I was crossing the Wizard Academy’s park.
While other students had long gone off to celebrate, I had to stay due to an appointment.
Walking along, I spotted a familiar face by pure chance.
“Hey? Seonwoo!”
It was Yun Ha-young, holding a bag of snacks in one hand. She approached with a bright smile.
“Wow~ What a coincidence. Where are you headed?”
Yun Ha-young asked, beaming.
She seemed more excited than usual—probably thrilled with today’s exam results.
Her mood lifted mine too, and a slight smile crept onto my face unbidden.
“To the training grounds.”
“Training grounds? Exams are over today, though?”
Yun Ha-young blinked cutely in surprise.
“I have practical guidance class today.”
That’s why the person I was meeting now was Choi Il-hyun, my practical guidance instructor.
We hadn’t met much lately due to schedules, but academy rules required fulfilling class hours, so we had to meet even on a day like this.
“Ah.”
Yun Ha-young nodded in quick understanding. Then she glanced around furtively.
Confirming no one nearby, she leaned in and whispered softly.
“But Seonwoo, you said the demons would know someone with demon-slaying power attended the expo, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Thinking about it, there weren’t many participants at the expo. Doesn’t that narrow down the suspects a lot? Isn’t that dangerous?”
She had a point.
It was my biggest concern too, which was why I’d been trying to limit her outings.
“True. But you don’t need to worry too much at school. Security’s stepped up several levels since last year’s incident. The demons won’t dare barge in openly. They can’t infiltrate like before either.”
“I get that, but what about after graduation? It’s not just me—you, Seo-jun, Young-jun were all at the expo too. We could all be at risk.”
So that’s what was worrying her.
After graduation…
From her perspective, it was definitely concerning.
Less than a year until graduation meant less time under protection too.
I paused in thought before speaking.
“I have a plan.”
At the word ‘plan,’ Yun Ha-young looked at me questioningly.
“What plan?”
“A plan to keep everyone safe from demons even after graduation.”
Not something like asking the Association for help.
Sure, their protection would be solid, but it’d restrict my future actions too.
With no telling how events might accelerate, I needed to plan accordingly.
And my plan wasn’t hiding from the demons’ eyes—it was a frontal assault.
“Before graduation, I plan to take down at least five from the Ten Demons Society… you know, S-Rank demons.”
Yun Ha-young blinked, not getting it.
“......What?”
“In other words, strike first and smash them before they come for us.”
Did my words sound too grandiose? Yun Ha-young looked flustered.
“W-Wait. Is that even possible? Take down at least five before graduation?! How?”
“By combining our powers, obviously.”
Yun Ha-young stared at me in disbelief. I flashed her a confident smile.
“Nothing we can’t do. We’ve already taken down two S-Rank demons together, right?”
“…True, but five might be a stretch. More importantly, how do we even find S-Rank demons?”
“I have ways.”
Knowing the original story, I had the fake identities of all S-Rank demons hiding in human society down pat.
Hunting them down would be a piece of cake.
That wrapped up my chat with Yun Ha-young as we reached the multipurpose training grounds.
Up on the second floor, I found Choi Il-hyun sitting, checking his smartphone.
Felt like a month since we’d last met, but his messy hair and scruffy beard were as ever.
“Oh, my disciple’s here?”
“How’ve you been?”
“Eh, managing. You’ve been meeting Jawoon folks, demons, dragging in all sorts of weird incidents. How’re you still alive?”
Choi Il-hyun teased with a grin.
I chuckled along.
“Yeah, I’m amazed sometimes too.”
“Amusing guy. Anyway, no time to waste—let’s train.”
“Yes, sir.”
That’s how I received his instruction.
Rather than new spells, we focused on fundamentals.
[Latent trait ‘Overimmersion’ activates!]
[You have achieved the ‘Latent Trait Activation’ accomplishment.]
[You have obtained 3,000 points as a reward.]
Getting immersed in training naturally triggered the latent trait.
My focus surged, and I could feel my learning speed skyrocketing too.
It hit me then: talent matters when learning something, but so does the ‘focus’ you bring.
[Latent trait ‘Overimmersion’ has ended.]
About an hour passed like that.
Today’s training wrapped up.
Though the session was short, Overimmersion’s effect let me gain more than usual. Felt like my talent had jumped.
Choi Il-hyun noticed too, eyeing me with narrowed gaze.
“…You’re following along better than usual today.”
“My focus is way up, right?”
“Yeah, focus improved, and your learning speed’s much higher too. Eat some wonder drug or what?”
I smiled faintly.
“Nah, where would I get something like that?”
“Why not? Hanseong Pharma’s been dropping all sorts of miracle meds lately. Their stock’s skyrocketed. Should’ve bought some. Tsk.”
It sure had soared.
I’d profited nicely too.
Then Choi Il-hyun crossed his arms, leaning against the wall.
“So, why’d you wanna meet today? Looks like it wasn’t just for training.”
I smiled lightly. Sharp as always.
“Got something I want to ask.”
“Ask away. What?”
“You know anything about Jin Cheonwoo’s fourth journal?”
The more I learned about Jin Cheonwoo, the bigger the questions he raised for me.
The fourth journal was never mentioned in the original story.
According to Jawoon, it held the ‘truth,’ so I vaguely suspected it contained the mysteries I sensed from him.
Choi Il-hyun had spent years with Jin Cheonwoo since childhood, researching together.
If anyone knew, it’d be him.
At my question, his expression hardened.
“…Jin Cheonwoo’s fourth journal?”
I nodded instead of answering.
“Why ask about that all of a sudden?”
“Heard some Jawoon guys at Seongmuje talking about it.”
“What those guys say?”
“They’re looking for Jin Cheonwoo’s fourth journal.”
Choi Il-hyun frowned questioningly.
To help him understand, I explained what I’d seen.
Jawoon seeing the future. No future visible. And deciding to find the fourth journal.
His face grew serious again.
“…That happened, huh?”
“You know something.”
“I’ve got guesses, sure. But just guesses. Nothing certain.”
Choi Il-hyun muttered lowly. Then he turned to me.
“I’ve got nothing to say about his fourth journal. So drop it. It could get dangerous.”
He drew a line.
About what I’d expected. No other way?
“How about this? Trade info.”
“…Info trade?”
“Yeah. You know anything about the Seonhyeon family?”
He scowled at my question.
“Seonhyeon family? Where’d you hear that? Lee Seo-jun asked last time—did he tell you?”
……Lee Seo-jun?
Why’d he come up?
“…Lee Seo-jun asked about the Seonhyeon family?”
Choi Il-hyun clamped his mouth shut.
Looked like Lee Seo-jun had indeed asked him about them.
……Why was Lee Seo-jun investigating the Seonhyeon family?
They weren’t even mentioned in the original story.
Naturally, no scenario where Lee Seo-jun took interest in them.
Pondering why, I vaguely got it.
Must be from when I asked Yoo A-yeon directly during the Disease Beast incident.
My head throbbed.
Now that I knew what atrocities the Seonhyeon family committed alongside Jin Cheonwoo.
If Lee Seo-jun learned that, who knew what he’d do.
“Tsk. Slipped up.”
Choi Il-hyun grimaced, regretting spilling Lee Seo-jun’s secret.
“…Anyway, how’d you learn about the Seonhyeon family?”
Torn on how to answer, I reused the excuse I’d given Yoo A-yeon before.
“Found out investigating Kim Chang-hyun. Something suspicious about him.”
“…Kim Chang-hyun? Why him?”
Curiosity colored Choi Il-hyun’s face.
I smiled instead of answering.
“Info trade—deal?”