Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Jang Ye's Doubts
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"Next next week, huh... Fine, go ahead and write up the application. It's been a while since I've gotten a look at my cute little disciple."
Jeong Yun-seul pulled her smartphone out of her pocket. She then typed out a message to Kim Yun-jin.
[Hey, Yun-jin. Got any promising talents in the support department at your school?]
Late at night.
Ominous demonic energy rose from the mountain behind the Wizard Academy, a little ways off from the school.
*Kwajik!*
A chilling sound rang out. At the same time, red blood sprayed as one life came to an end.
Jang Ye picked up her phone with blood-soaked hands.
"Cheonhae-nim, what do you mean by that?"
[We decided not to touch Kim Jin-woo.]
"What are you talking about all of a sudden? What about revenge for my father? What about Uncle Baek-gang's revenge?"
[It's Lady Haryeong's orders. Don't touch Kim Jin-woo.]
Jang Ye bit her lip hard. To back out now? What kind of nonsense was that?
No, before that, she couldn't understand why Haryeong would issue such an order.
Among the demons, Haryeong was famous for never forcing her commands on others.
"I'm not afraid of her."
[Jang Ye, wait, and the time will come. Wait for that moment.]
"When will that be?"
[I don't know. But the time will come. And besides, no matter how much we investigate, we can't find any trace of Kim Jin-woo. There's nothing we can do.]
Just what kind of guy was this Kim Jin-woo that no information on him turned up?
On top of that, even after he'd taken down Baek-gang—a B-Grade demon—not a single article had surfaced.
Any ordinary wizard would've reported it to the Association right away for the bounty.
"If that's the case, then I'll just have to kill someone else. Otherwise, I can't quench the rage inside me."
[Who?]
"There are others connected to my father's death, even if it's not Kim Jin-woo. Like the first reporter or the Association employee who killed my father."
Jang Ye recalled the reporters from the Han River demon incident she'd seen on the news.
[Do you even know who those people are?]
"I do. Jang Hyun-su from the Special Task Force, and Lee Seo-jun, Shin Young-jun, and Lee Hyun-joo from the Wizard Academy. Jang Hyun-su from the Special Task Force is still out of my league, so I'll have to take out the others one by one first."
[...If that'll satisfy your anger, then do it. But be careful. Especially Lee Seo-jun. He's not someone you can take lightly. You know who his master is, right?]
"I know. I'll have to wait for the right moment. I can't beat him as I am now anyway. And...
Jang Ye started to say something but then closed her mouth again.
She shook her head.
'No, that can't be.'
Jang Ye thought back to Lee Seo-jun's friend she'd seen that morning.
She wasn't sure if it was coincidence, but that guy's face bore a striking resemblance to Kim Jin-woo, the man who'd killed her father.
A sudden thought crossed her mind.
What if that guy and Kim Jin-woo were the same person?
She let out a hollow chuckle, realizing it was a foolish idea.
'No way.'
The Kim Jin-woo from the news footage wasn't anywhere near student level.
Even if Kim Jin-woo had infiltrated the Wizard Academy, there was no reason for it—like some spy movie.
'Yeah, just a coincidence.'
With that, she erased her suspicions about Kim Seon-woo from her mind.
I'd crammed in several days' worth of training that I hadn't done, and before I knew it, it was past 10 p.m.
Dragging my shaky legs back to the dorm, I immediately hopped in the shower.
I washed off the sweat from my workout with cold water. After getting out of the shower, I opened the fridge and grabbed a beer can.
*Chiiik!*
The crisp sound of the can opening.
I gripped the can and chugged it down.
"Kuuh!"
This was the stuff.
On a weekend night.
A cold beer after grueling training.
It felt like all the fatigue from the week melted away in an instant.
"This is why we live."
I flopped onto the sofa like my body was made of lead.
Then, out of nowhere, I remembered what happened in the training room that morning.
"Jang Ye..."
At this point, where the story had diverged from the original, what move would she make?
Demons weren't all that different from humans.
They had emotions and familial bonds too.
The difference was that humans could survive by eating non-sentient creatures, but demons needed human blood to live, so humans and demons were destined to be enemies.
In the original story, Jang Ye hated Lee Seo-jun for killing her father, Jang Han. To get revenge on him, she quietly hunted people one by one, growing her power.
But because I'd intervened in the story, the killer had become me.
The hatred that should've been directed at Lee Seo-jun had shifted to "Kim Jin-woo."
"So why did she approach Lee Seo-jun?"
That part didn't make sense.
It wasn't just a chance encounter in the training room. She had approached him with clear intent, just like in the original plot.
Which meant Lee Seo-jun was on her revenge list too.
"Hmm..."
It felt like something annoying was bound to happen because of Jang Ye.
Maybe I should deal with her before that.
'The problem is how to do it.'
I couldn't just attack her outright at school.
Waiting for her to snap and go berserk risked too many butterfly effect variables.
In the end, to take her out, I'd need to create a situation where it was just the two of us.
"Ah, my head hurts."
No answers.
I set aside the thinking and sprawled out on the sofa.
The crises of the main storyline were starting to pop up one by one.
There were a few villains hiding in the school besides Jang Ye. But thanks to the butterfly effects from my interventions, things were getting harder to predict.
Oh yeah, there was a big incident coming up next next week too.
Would that play out like the original?
"Sigh~."
Who knows.
It'll work out somehow.
Trying to perfectly predict a future that's already changed was pointless.
Anyway, time to check today's training results.
[Unique trait, 'Blessing of the Outsider,' activates.]
[Opening status window.]
[Stats]
Physical Fitness: 46.04
Strength: 35.05
Mana: 30.2
Speed: 31.04
Reflexes: 32.1
Dexterity: 28
My mana had finally broken past 30.
Physical fitness and strength had grown quite a bit too—a meaningful change.
Still, I was sorely lacking compared to others. Especially mana—even against other students, my level was pathetically low.
The average student probably had around 50 mana. I'd only just crossed half that.
"Gotta train harder."
My growth rate was fast, though. I could probably catch up within a year.
Bzzz.
Just then, my smartphone vibrated on the desk.
The only person who messaged this phone was Han Se-yeon. Checking it confirmed a message from her, as expected.
[An article about the commercialization of the Sacred Herb should drop sometime tomorrow or the day after.]
"Oh."
Tomorrow or the day after.
Once the Sacred Herb hit the market, Hanseong Pharmaceuticals' stock would skyrocket. And when it came out that Han Se-yeon was behind it all, her standing in the Hanseong Group would rise too.
Of course, it was still nothing compared to her brother Han Se-jin's position, but the key was that she was steadily closing the gap, one step at a time.
[Got it.]
[Also, when do you plan to use that underground auction ticket I mentioned last time? I've been swamped preparing for my business lately and can't make much time.]
Underground auction ticket. Not yet. The item I wanted would be at the auction in five months. And to buy it, I needed more money.
[Planning to go to the one in five months.]
[Five months? That's way after our contract ends.]
[That's different. The deal was one underground auction participation from the start.]
[Kidding. But why five months? I'm curious, but you won't tell me, will you?]
[Yeah.]
[Tch. How do you keep more secrets than someone from the Hanseong family?]
I chuckled at her message. Then a question popped into my head.
[What kind of business are you doing?]
[You never tell me anything, so what gives you the nerve to ask? It's a secret.]
A cute reply, uncharacteristic of Han Se-yeon.
As I was reading the messages, another one came in soon after.
[Kidding. It's a family business secret, so I can't tell you. Sorry.]
No need to apologize.
"Midterms start next week."
"Ah..."
Morning assembly that day.
A groan rose up from the students at Jang An-cheol's words.
"Since it's your first exam, I hope you've all prepared well. And as you know, guilds and other magic organizations will be observing during exam period. I trust you understand what that means."
The Wizard Academy's exams were observed by guilds and other magic organizations.
According to the original, a ton of guilds would attend this midterm. Not just scouts—guild executives would come in person.
Their goal was simple.
To lay eyes on Lee Seo-jun and Yoo Ah-ra, the once-in-a-generation geniuses.
"Whew."
Exams made me nervous too.
I needed to climb to at least 100th place this time.
As the bottom of the whole school, even that much would net me a nice chunk of points.
Plus, catching a scout's eye meant bonus points. Two birds with one stone.
Jang An-cheol spoke next in a more serious tone.
"And you've all heard the rumors, right? The ominous ones going around lately."
Tension rippled through the students at Jang An-cheol's words.
I had a feeling what he was talking about. The recent murders in nearby cities.
The peculiar detail: all the victims had been drained of blood, left mummified.
Classic demon attack victims.
The culprit was probably Jang Ye, the 4th-ranked 3rd-year.
But no one at school would dream a demon was among the students.
"According to the Association, demons are focusing their activity around here. You all know four people have died in the past week, right? Even though the Association's stepped up patrols, just in case, avoid going out past the school grounds late at night."
The students chorused "Yes!" in response.
Morning assembly ended.
The boring morning theory class wrapped up.
Students rose from their seats, stretching or studying.
I sat in my chair, staring blankly out at the sports field.
I could see the 3rd-years doing reinforcement magic training.
One student stood out in particular.
Jang Ye.
She wore a fake smile among her classmates, playing the part of the model student. Even after killing four people this week alone—truly shameless.
As I stared at her, a voice called from behind.
"Kim Seon-woo."
Turning around, an unexpected person was looking down at me.
Yoo Ah-ra. Come to think of it, it felt like forever since she'd talked to me.
"What's up?"
"Teacher Lee Hee-young wants to see you."
Lee Hee-young?
Why call me all of a sudden? I tilted my head in confusion.
"No idea."
"Hmm."
I nodded and stood from my seat. When a teacher calls, you go.
"Where is she?"
"Probably in the staff room."
"Wait, didn't you just talk to her?"
"I got a message too."
"Oh."
A quick glance at my smart student handbook showed a message for me too.
[Seon-woo, please come to the staff room after class.]
"Notifications were off, so I didn't notice."
I nodded to Yoo Ah-ra and left the classroom.
But when I glanced to the side, Yoo Ah-ra was following.
"...You don't need to escort me."
"What? Teacher Lee Hee-young called me too."
Oh, got it.
Makes sense. No reason to send Yoo Ah-ra on an errand for me.
I nodded and headed toward the staff room.
"But why call both of us?"
"Probably something about reinforcement class."
Reinforcement class?
Hmm. What could it be?
No clue.
We opened the staff room door and went in. Far off, Lee Hee-young raised a hand to greet us.
"Over here!"
"Hello."
"Hello."
Yoo Ah-ra and I bowed slightly and approached Lee Hee-young. That's when I noticed a familiar male student sitting in a chair.
Park In-hwan.
Lee Hee-young beamed and offered us chairs.
Yoo Ah-ra and I sat down.