Chapter 321
Chapter 321
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 322
Chapter Title: Three Days Before School Starts
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Three days before the semester began.
I stared at the Formless devouring the Wizard Academy uniform, pondering the schedule ahead.
“Aporia…”
If things didn’t deviate too far from the original story, Jaun’s next target would be Aporia.
Aporia.
A special prison that housed magic criminals of 6th rank and above. It was where Teresa, a member of Jaun, was imprisoned.
It also buried countless mysteries from the past. The treasures Jaun had lost alongside Jin Cheon-woo’s death were hidden there too.
For those reasons, Aporia was known as the most secure place in the world after the Magic Association headquarters.
But what Jaun was after wasn’t rescuing an old comrade or reclaiming past treasures.
They wanted something else.
Something hidden beneath Aporia—unknown to the world at large, a top-secret matter known only to the Association’s executives.
This “something” was so crucial to Jaun that it tied directly to their ultimate goal. From the Association’s perspective, it was something they could never allow to be taken.
“…About a month left, huh.”
With the semester approaching, classes were on hold for about two weeks to allow for school adjustment activities.
Because of that, I had no way of knowing what talk was circulating in the Association right now.
But I could guess the mood there without even looking.
By now, they’d have figured out the nature of the ritual key and reinforced Aporia’s security.
Still, the incident wouldn’t erupt right away.
Jaun wouldn’t start their terrorist attack for about a month.
Not until all preparations, including the key, were complete.
“Gotta stay on my toes.”
As I mulled over the upcoming events and sketched out my own plans,
[The Formless has finished devouring.]
[All of the wearer’s stats increase by 0.1.]
A message popped up saying the Formless had completed its meal.
I looked up and turned my gaze to it.
The Formless lay sprawled on the floor as if dead(?).
Gretel peered down at it with a curious expression.
“Ngah.”
She reached out to poke the Formless.
It sprang up in a flash and smacked her hand away.
“Wahng!”
Gretel cried out that it hurt.
The sight drew a small chuckle from me.
“Come here.”
I extended my hand to the Formless.
It flew straight to me like a magic carpet, wrapped around my arm, and shifted into clothing form.
I should be used to it by now, but it was still amazing to watch it turn into clothes.
“Gretel, time to head back to the dorms.”
“Ngah.”
I tucked Gretel into my bag, gathered my things, and stepped out of the apartment.
Then I took a gate to the Wizard Academy.
Upon arrival, I saw other students who had come to move their luggage, just like me.
As I passed, they recognized me and bowed with bright smiles.
“Hello, Sunbae!”
“Wow! Sunwoo Kim Sunbae! Hello!”
They were bold, like they were trying to make an impression on me.
Maybe because I’d been subtly ignored at the start of last semester, situations like this still felt awkward.
Right then.
“Sunwoo!”
A familiar voice called from somewhere.
I turned to see Yoon Ha-young dragging a huge case bag toward me.
It’d been about two weeks, but since we’d kept in touch, it felt more like a pleasant reunion than something long overdue.
“Wow, what a coincidence.”
“Right? Here to unpack?”
“Yeah. You too, Sunwoo?”
“Yep.”
And so Yoon Ha-young and I walked together toward the dorms.
She had so much pent-up chatter from not seeing each other that her words didn’t let up for a second.
“Oh, right. Sunwoo.”
Yoon Ha-young looked at me with curious eyes.
“I’ve got a question. What happened with the Full Moon Night incident?”
“Full Moon Night?”
“They say another S-Rank demon got taken out. I figured it was you.”
True to form, she picked up on it right away, knowing my abilities to some extent.
No need to hide it from her, so I answered honestly.
“Yeah. That was me.”
“I knew it. It was you, Sunwoo.”
Yoon Ha-young looked pleased with her detective work(?), wearing a satisfied smile.
Then, as if a question occurred to her, she whipped around to face me.
“Wait, then what about Sunbae Kim Chang-hyun? The media’s saying he’s the culprit.”
“No idea. It’s true I ran into him there, and true he disabled the barrier.”
“Hmm… Really?”
Yoon Ha-young nodded, lost in thought.
Before long, we reached the dorm entrance. Since it was separated by gender, we had to part ways here.
“Let’s train your Demonbane power sometime soon. I think I can help with a few things.”
“Help?”
Yoon Ha-young blinked at me.
“Yeah. I’ll explain later. See you.”
She looked puzzled by my words but soon flashed a bright smile and nodded.
“Mmm. Okay, got it. Get back safe, Sunwoo!”
Yoon Ha-young waved cheerfully and headed into the girls’ dorm.
After parting with her, I took the elevator up to my room.
And the moment I approached my door,
I spotted a small box placed in front of it.
“…What’s this?”
Inside, it read [Hanseong Pharmaceuticals].
“Hanseong Pharmaceuticals…”
Ah, a gift.
Han Se-yeon had wanted to repay me for the help and called the number for “Kim Sunwoo,” but I’d refused, saying it was fine. Looks like she sent it by courier instead.
“…Hmm. Wonder what it is.”
I picked up the box and went inside.
The instant I entered the dorm, Gretel burst out of the bag.
“Ngah!”
Maybe feeling stuffy in there, she bounced around the living room.
I watched her for a bit, then walked to the sofa and sat down. Carefully, I opened the box.
At the same time, the Outsider’s Boon activated.
[Refined Mana Pills (B)]
Description: Consuming restores some mana. Also heightens mana sensitivity for 30 minutes.
*Limited to once per day.
[Heart of the Storm (A)]
Description: Consuming doubles the growth rate of wind attribute control techniques for 30 days and increases wind attribute control proficiency by 5%.
“…Oh. Jackpot.”
Two elixirs.
One was a small vial containing 50 pills, the other a chunk of flesh that gave off a chilling wind.
The effects were solid, as listed.
Plus, I rarely used wind attributes, so my proficiency had been lagging.
“Perfect timing.”
This was a gift right up my alley.
Han Se-yeon returned to work after her semi-mandatory vacation ended.
Even just a few days away had piled up documents like a mountain.
There was enough to work through the night and still not finish.
But she couldn’t focus on the job.
It was because of a new mystery born from Full Moon Night.
“…How did he create the identity?”
Han Se-yeon was almost certain that Kim Sunwoo and Kim Jinwoo were the same person.
No twins born at the exact same time, same hour, could match in build, scent, and even the tiniest habits.
But the question was how he’d split the identities.
From her investigation, both Kim Sunwoo and Kim Jinwoo’s IDs were registered with the Association.
Even her father, Han Dae-hyun—who was said to hold the world’s second-strongest power—couldn’t pull that off.
“…What could it be.”
Then, suddenly, she recalled the voices she’d heard while dozing.
—Just play your role well. There are plenty of bad guys hidden in the world.
—…That’s right. Take them down one by one, get stronger, and protect the people you care about.
Those voices weren’t just a dream.
They were snippets of conversation between Kim Sunwoo and Kim Chang-hyun that she’d overheard while half-asleep during Full Moon Night.
“…A role.”
Tap tap.
Drumming her fingers on the table, she recalled keywords from the talk.
Role… villains… precious people…
Did that mean Kim Sunwoo had been assigned a role to take down villains?
…A role? What is this, some comic book character?
Either way, talk of taking down villains didn’t sound malicious. And above all, he’d been protecting her for a long time.
“Mmm.”
Overthinking was giving her a headache.
Pondering alone wouldn’t yield any answers.
…Then the only way was to find out directly.
Han Se-yeon picked up her smartphone and dialed a number.
It was the head of the intelligence guild under Hanseong Group. She typed a message.
[Investigate the Full Moon Night suspect, Kim Chang-hyun.]
September.
The busy summer break ended, and the second semester for third-years began.
Third-years hadn’t gotten much rest due to internships, and they looked full of regret.
“Ugh~ This is our last semester.”
“Yeah. Kinda bittersweet.”
But from the chatter, it seemed they were bummed it was the Wizard Academy’s final term.
Hearing them, I felt an indescribable pang myself.
Before regression, I’d just been counting down to graduation. Now I felt nostalgic?
Guess I’d grown attached to the school.
—This concludes the second semester opening ceremony.
With the mic announcing the end in the auditorium, students began standing.
I shook Yoon Ha-young, who’d fallen asleep with her head on my shoulder.
“Uwah, huh?”
Yoon Ha-young jolted awake with a big motion. She looked at me and mumbled.
“…I was just fighting a demon and fell off the roof?”
“You’re still half-asleep.”
“…Oh.”
Only then did Yoon Ha-young grasp the situation, giving an embarrassed smile as she fixed her hair.
“Sunbae!”
A voice called me from afar.
I turned to see Choi Seo-yoon, who’d represented the students onstage, heading our way.
Choi Seo-yoon bowed to Yoon Ha-young, who waved back.
“Seo-yoon. Great speech. So cool!”
…As if you heard it. I saw you sleeping the whole time.
“Psh, it’s just reading from the script up there.”
With that, Choi Seo-yoon stretched with a big yawn.
Then she glanced at the banner reading [Second Semester Opening Ceremony].
“Anyway, this is the last one.”
Choi Seo-yoon murmured quietly. She played it cool, but her voice brimmed with regret.
“What’s the last? You’ve got a year left.”
“No. The last time I can see you sunbaes at school.”
As she muttered, Choi Seo-yoon turned to me and pouted.
“Ugh, it’s seriously sad. I wish I’d been born a year earlier.”
I’d heard that before.
Back at last year’s school festival, ‘Taehwije,’ she’d said it to me in front of the fireworks.
Recalling that made my cheeks heat up for no reason.
Then, I remembered some episodes from this semester’s third-year-only ‘Taehwije.’
…Anything but ‘that event.’ I had to avoid it no matter what.
“Don’t say that in front of your classmates. They’ll feel bad.”
“Of course I wouldn’t say it to them.”
Choi Seo-yoon flashed a little-devil smile and whispered.
“But after graduation, will we still see each other often?”
“Who knows.”
“Ugh, ‘who knows’ what?”
Choi Seo-yoon frowned in dissatisfaction.
“Wait just one year. I’ll pass the Special Task Force exams in a flash.”
Her eyes blazed with determination, fist clenched.
That’s when Lee Seo-jun, who’d finished cleanup onstage, approached.
Lee Hyun-joo and Shin Young-jun trailed behind.
“Everyone’s here? What’re you talking about?”
“Our last semester, so let’s keep meeting after graduation.”
Yoon Ha-young chimed in. Shin Young-jun tsked teasingly.
“Graduation’s still five or six months away. Worrying about that already?”
“Not ‘or,’ it’s a whole six months. This is the final semester.”
Yoon Ha-young shot back.
“…Yeah, true. But we’ll see each other plenty after anyway. We’re all aiming for the Special Task Force.”
As Shin Young-jun said, everyone here was gunning for the Special Task Force.
In the original story, they all ended up there, so it wasn’t exaggeration to say we’d see each other daily post-graduation.
We’d probably run into each other nonstop until the story wrapped.
“So we’ll meet every day in the end. Graduation doesn’t matter.”
“…Honestly, I’m not confident about passing.”
Yoon Ha-young, with her relatively lower grades, looked sheepish.
I gave her a light smile.
“Nah. You’ll pass, no problem.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah. The Special Task Force will recognize your talent.”
Not empty words. As graduation neared, they’d naturally discover her ‘Demonbane’ gift and recruit her specially.
But Shin Young-jun, unaware, narrowed his eyes.
“…What’s with you, Kim Sunwoo? Acting all wholesome.”
Shin Young-jun hugged his shoulders like it creeped him out.
“What’re you on about…”
And then.
“Anyway, looks like we’ll all meet in the Special Task Force. As long as Kim Sunwoo doesn’t die?”
His joking remark instantly froze the mood like ice.
Sensing the chill, Shin Young-jun waved his hands in panic.
“No, it’s a joke, chill.”