Chapter 314
Chapter 314
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 315
Chapter Title: Caught in the Act
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After entering the banquet hall, I excused myself from my colleagues and headed to the bathroom.
It wasn't for anything else—it was to equip the gear I'd stored in my sub-space beforehand.
I slipped into a stall, then donned the magic artifacts I'd kept in my sub-space.
Watch, bracelet, pendant, shoes...
And finally, I pulled out the Formless and slipped it on.
The Formless wriggled like a living thing as it wrapped snugly around my body, then flashed with pure white light, transforming into the shape of the shirt, pants, and shoes I'd been wearing.
"......Phew."
Now I could finally breathe easy.
Gear like this had to stay on my body at all times to put my mind at rest.
Was it like how modern folks always keep their smartphones close?
I checked myself over from every angle.
Making sure nothing had changed since earlier. Confirming the magic artifacts I'd just equipped wouldn't catch anyone's eye.
"Hmm."
Perfect.
I'd tucked things like the pendant inside my clothes, so no one would spot them.
"Alright, good."
I strode out of the stall with confidence.
Then I checked my dashing good looks(?) in the bathroom mirror, washed my hands, and headed to the first-floor hall.
The hall was lit by dazzling chandeliers, filled with elegantly dressed people.
I couldn't get an exact count, but there had to be at least two hundred, just on the first floor.
Add in the crowds from the second floor up to the sixth, and it was way more.
As I strolled around taking in the sights, I spotted Jeong Hyun-su at the center of the hall, munching on fruit from a table.
He noticed me too and waved happily.
I walked over to him slowly.
"Where'd everyone go?"
"If we all stuck together, it'd draw weird looks, so we're split up scouting the area."
"...Ah."
Yeah, even one Special Task Force agent stands out—bunch us together, and we'd look suspicious.
"You should poke around too—check the structures and such. Place is huge; tons to inspect."
"Mm. Got it."
I nodded, and Jeong Hyun-su dusted off the hand holding his fruit before standing.
"Hmm! Guess I'll get moving too. Oh! No comms artifacts, so if anything comes up, hit me up on your smartphone—wait, you got the smart student handbook, right?"
Jeong Hyun-su grinned.
"Yeah. Will do."
"Alright. Take care. I'm off~"
With that, he vanished somewhere. I stared blankly at his retreating back.
Right then—
—In a moment, a thank-you address from Hanse Group Vice Chairman Han Se-jin. Those interested, please gather in the first-floor hall.
The announcement rang out.
People started descending the stairs from the upper floors, one by one.
Soon the hall was packed. About a minute later, another announcement.
—Vice Chairman Han Se-jin is entering!
From the top of the stairs, Han Se-jin descended slowly, a kindly smile on his face.
Applause rippled through the crowd, and I grabbed a peach from the table while watching him.
"Nice to see you all. I'm Hanse Group Vice Chairman Han Se-jin."
Clap clap clap clap!
The audience applauded.
"The purpose of tonight's gathering is twofold: to herald a new chapter for Hanse Group, and to unveil artifacts from the floating island that have never before been revealed, all in service of advancing the world. Of course, it's also to seek the aid of the wizards and researchers who've graciously accepted our invitation."
Han Se-jin continued in a powerful voice that commanded everyone's attention.
No real interest in the speech, so I popped the rest of the peach in my mouth, bored.
That's when, purely by chance, I spotted a familiar face on the terrace above the stage.
A woman in a blue dress, beautifully made up—Han Se-yeon.
She leaned her chin on her hand, gazing down at Han Se-jin on stage with an enigmatic expression.
"The artifacts will be unveiled tonight, as promised, when the full moon rises. But as you all know, the floating island's moon has observation limits—it only appears at a set time."
Lost in staring at Han Se-yeon, she seemed to sense my gaze and turned toward me.
For a split second.
Han Se-yeon dropped her hand from her chin.
She looked startled, somehow.
At the same time, I naturally shifted my eyes back to Han Se-jin.
Since I was in Kim Sun-woo's identity, not Kim Jin-woo's, drawing her attention wouldn't do me any favors.
Then, about five seconds later.
[A message has arrived.]
A message popped up in front of me.
It was the Outsider's Benefit 'Smart Sync' showing my smartphone notification.
[Jin-woo, where are you right now?]
As expected.
A message from Han Se-yeon, just like I'd figured.
I glanced back up at the stage.
Han Se-yeon, leaning against the terrace railing, gripped her smartphone tightly in both hands, staring my way.
Had some suspicion arisen between me and Kim Jin-woo?
As I tried to reply using the Outsider's Benefit without moving a finger—
Bzzz.
My pocket vibrated. The long tone made me flinch.
Checking via the Outsider's Benefit, the caller was Han Se-yeon.
My brain froze.
What now?
Sending a message without her noticing was doable with the Outsider's Benefit, but a call was another story.
I could take it, but with her watching in real time, I'd slip up for sure.
Ignoring it and sticking to texts would look weird too.
"......Hmm."
After agonizing over it dozens of times, I decided not to pick up.
Just say I was busy.
The Outsider's Benefit relayed several rings until the call finally cut off.
I wanted to check Han Se-yeon's reaction, but didn't dare risk eye contact again.
...Wait.
Oh, right—there's this.
I held out my palm.
[Activating 'Third Eye.']
Pure white light gathered above my hand, forming a blinding orb.
The orb quickly floated up to the ceiling of the first-floor hall.
Suddenly, the whole interior came into crystal-clear view.
Through the Third Eye, Han Se-yeon looked disappointed as she stared down at her smartphone.
She stood, turned, and leaned back.
Seeing that made me feel oddly guilty.
No bad intentions, but I was definitely deceiving her.
"......This job sucks sometimes."
...Still, someday.
Maybe a day would come when I could tell her the whole truth.
Feeling bittersweet, I reached for another peach on the table. Right then—
Slurrrp!
The cuff of my shirt sleeve opened like a mouth and devoured the peach in an instant.
['Formless' has feasted.]
['Formless' is satisfied with the sweet meal.]
[Wearer's magic resistance increases by 0.1.]
...Huh, what was that?
I panicked for a second.
It eats food too?
I glanced around in shock.
Luckily, it happened so fast no one noticed.
"Whew..."
That was close—nearly a disaster.
If anyone had seen, my magic artifacts would've been exposed, leading to a huge headache.
Really dodged a bullet.
As I let out a sigh of relief—
An intense gaze locked onto me from above.
Instinctively, I followed it and looked up.
At the end of my gaze, Han Se-yeon stared down at me with wide eyes.
Meeting her eyes, I felt utter dismay.
"......Busted."
Meanwhile, outside the banquet hall where Han Se-jin's speech was underway, in a small park.
Ellen marveled at the power of the S-Rank magic artifact she was wearing for the first time.
"......Whoa. This is insane."
An overwhelming strength surged through her body—nothing like her usual power.
Magic power, physical strength, focus.
It felt like twice... no, nearly three times stronger than normal.
"No wonder wizards obsess over gear."
Ellen smiled in satisfaction and lightly activated the magic circle drawn on the back of her hand.
A magic circle appeared in front of the park, and countless chains of light shot up.
The magic power packed into them was incomparable to her usual spells.
"Anyone caught in this couldn't break free."
It wasn't her pure own power, but manifesting such magic from her hand filled her with great satisfaction.
"......Still not enough compared to Master."
She remembered it vividly.
The 'Rune Binding' from Master's hand.
Those dozens of light tendrils she'd seen—irretrievable by any wizard—an absolute binding spell.
Even armed with S-Rank magic now, she couldn't match his.
"When will I even catch up to his heels..."
The joy from the item vanished in an instant, leaving a touch of melancholy.
Wonder what Master is up to now?
Then she recalled what he'd told her.
—...To uproot the roots of evil hidden in human society.
Unlike him, secretly acting to excise evil's roots, she'd joined hands with it...
Pathetic. Me.
She felt depressed again.
Right then.
A faint trace of demonic energy reached her from somewhere.
Soon, black smoke coalesced from the darkness, revealing S-Rank demon and AY Life's 'Hyun-gyo.'
"Impressive skill for looks."
Hyun-gyo said to Ellen.
Ellen didn't reply. As a human, she harbored ill will toward demons.
Sensing it, Hyun-gyo frowned in discomfort.
He wanted to kill her on the spot, but hearing the Special Task Force was involved in tonight's event, he suppressed his anger.
"Set aside the bad blood for now—focus on the plan."
Ellen nodded at Hyun-gyo's words.
"How much time left on the plan?"
"About two hours."
Two hours from now—the full moon rises.
"Two hours... Weird, though."
Hyun-gyo asked at Ellen's mutter.
"What's weird?"
"No magic power detectable inside the central island, right?"
Ellen pointed to the central island, shrouded in the full moon barrier.
The central island hid a magic phenomenon blocking all detection of magic power.
A secret known only to the tiny few studying the floating island.
"Never imagined they'd prepare a place like this for assassinating Kim Jin-woo."
"......Yeah, it's surprising."
Here, any battle could rage without a soul noticing.
Once Han Se-jin lured Kim Jin-woo, he was as good as dead.
Han Se-jin's speech ended.
I was climbing the banquet hall stairs.
Ahead of me, Han Se-yeon climbed too, and following her felt like a naughty student trailing the teacher to the office.
"......Tch."
This wasn't in my plans.
She'd gestured for a quick chat, so I was going along.
But she hadn't said a word since, leaving me clueless to her thoughts.
Grateful she wasn't raising a fuss over the magic artifacts, at least.
"......Hmph."
Being with Han Se-yeon as Kim Sun-woo always brought this hard-to-describe awkwardness.
Plus, now worrying how to explain the artifacts.
I pinched the Formless's cuff absentmindedly.
A message appeared.
[Bond with wearer decreases.]
[Formless's ego decreases by 0.3%, wearer's magic control decreases by 0.2%.]
I yanked my hand away the second I saw it.
Then I stroked it gently.
Sorry, that hurt.
Just then, Han Se-yeon glanced back.
"I won't tell anyone about the magic artifacts, so don't worry. Just wanted to ask something quick."
"......Ah, sure."
I nodded.
As I followed her up the stairs—
We crossed paths with someone coming down.
He eyed me and Han Se-yeon back and forth, a meaningful look on his face.
"......Kim Sun-woo, what're you doing there?"
The man was Kim Deok-hyeon.