Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: The Regressed Extra Becomes a Genius
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Yun Ha-young looked up at me, muttering regretfully.
I'd gained a lot from this battle too. Playing mainly with reinforcement spells definitely solved my mana shortage issue.
That was when it happened.
[Character 'Jang An-cheol' admires your battle sense.]
[You have acquired 500 points as a reward.]
'Huh?'
Clap clap clap clap!
Applause rang out from the direction of the door to the private sparring room.
Startled, I looked toward the door and saw Jang An-cheol gazing at us with eyes full of emotion.
"Student Kim Sun-woo, Student Yun Ha-young. That was a very high-level spar."
Jang An-cheol spoke, looking back and forth between Yun Ha-young and me with a pleased expression.
Yun Ha-young smiled brightly and bowed her head at the sudden praise.
"Thank you."
"Student Yun Ha-young, your skills have improved tremendously in just a few days. Seeing how much clearer your manifestations have become, it looks like you started your basic training over from scratch."
"Yes, Sun-woo advised me to retrain from attributes and forms, so I focused intensively on the basics."
At Yun Ha-young's words, Jang An-cheol looked at me with an intrigued expression.
"Attribute and form training. Sound advice."
Then Jang An-cheol said to me.
"By the way, Student Kim Sun-woo, you mainly used reinforcement spells in this spar. Is there a particular reason?"
A reason for mainly using reinforcement.
I pondered what to say before just answering honestly.
"To compensate for my lack of mana."
"...Really? If that's the case, why not switch your main specialization to reinforcement? Your movements in that last fight were quite impressive."
Jang An-cheol urged me with a serious face.
I never imagined I'd hear advice to switch my main specialization to reinforcement after support.
"Manifestation is right for me."
Jang An-cheol chuckled as if amused by my response.
"Is that so? Your physical abilities are a bit too good for manifestation."
Muttering to himself, Jang An-cheol continued as if talking to himself.
"Hmm. What a shame. I can kind of understand how Teacher Kim Yun-jin must have felt. Well, the choice is yours. Good luck."
The next day.
After lunch ended, there was about an hour of break time. Students were running around the sports field or spending the time however they wanted.
I sat in a chair and accessed the internet via my smart student handbook. To keep tabs on international affairs in my spare time.
What to look at first.
I went to the news tab and clicked on the headline article.
[Overt demon killings have begun. Four murder cases discovered just this week. The Wizards' Association has stated they are devoting full effort to hunting demons.]
It seemed to be an article about Jang Ye.
I wanted to report her right away, but even if I did, there was no proof that Jang Ye, disguised as a human, was a demon.
To distinguish demons from humans, you had to check in berserk state or use a special tool called the 'Mirror of Truth.'
But that Mirror of Truth hadn't appeared in the world yet. Because it was a reward item from the 25th floor of the Tower of Mortality.
'Looks like she's gotten scared after all.'
She'd been killing diligently for a few days, but nothing happened yesterday or today. The Wizards' Association's crackdown must have made her cautious.
Her actions would probably get even more careful from now on.
"Hmm..."
I was skimming the article when another one caught my eye, and I clicked it.
[Hanseong Pharmaceuticals discovers special herb ingredient. All drug efficacies expected to rise by up to 20%...]
Just as Han Se-yeon had predicted, the article dropped today.
In the article's photo was Han Se-yeon, dressed sharply.
The comments were full of praise.
Probably because she was a chaebol daughter with outstanding ability and looks, forming a likable image close to affection.
Thanks to that, Hanseong Pharmaceuticals' stock was skyrocketing. My investment of 2 billion in a day had already surpassed 2.5 billion.
It'd probably exceed 3.5 billion by next week.
"Heh heh."
Suddenly, my pre-regression life came to mind.
I'd saved honestly for three years to buy one apartment in Seoul.
Every morning, I'd go to the guild, risk my life in dungeons or towers, working hard. The earnings from that were split among guildmates.
Being a wizard was dangerous, but easy money as a result—still, as a C-rank wizard back then, making tens of billions would take at least three years of effort.
But deciding to use future knowledge, I'd made this much in just three weeks.
What kind of life had pre-regression me even lived?
"The world is so unfair."
Time flew by.
To prepare for midterms next week, I repeated personal training after school every day.
And then Sunday came.
I was in the physical training room today too, building strength through exercise.
Increasing meal portions and gradually upping intensity over days had added a bit of muscle.
Of course, the massive contribution came from the 'Returner's Wristwatch' with its stamina recovery effect.
"Huff! Huff!"
Panting, I paused the running. Sat on the bench and chugged water.
"That guy's stamina is insane every time I see him."
"Yeah, he always looks like he's dying when he runs but never stops."
"It's his grit."
I heard whispers from around me, eyes full of awe.
Ignoring them, after five minutes of rest, I stood again.
Time for weight training now.
I loaded 80kg plates on each side of the bar and lifted.
"Grunt!"
With mana reinforcing my muscles to some extent, I easily bench pressed over 180kg.
"But isn't that guy manifestation?"
"Yeah, I think so. Heard he was reinforcement originally but switched to manifestation."
"Seeing him handle strength reinforcement, seems a waste for manifestation."
"I don't get it either. Why switch to manifestation and be dead last in school? Heh heh."
Are they here to work out or gossip?
"Hoo."
I wiped sweat briefly and added more plates.
Now 200kg including the bar.
"Hup."
Inhaled deeply and lifted it up.
"Urgh!"
Got it!
[You have achieved the 'Mana Weightlifting Big Three 800' accomplishment.]
[You have acquired 1,000 points as a reward.]
"Hoo."
Success.
Safely racked the bar and lay on the bench, closing my eyes.
Another new record today.
Unthinkable considering my body weight, but possible thanks to mana-reinforced muscles.
Physical training shows visible growth unlike mana cultivation—nice.
Lying there satisfied, a woman's voice came from beside me.
"Hello."
Looking up, a stunningly beautiful woman with flashy looks smiled at me.
It was Jang Ye.
"Hello."
I casually bowed my head in greeting. I didn't know why she was talking to me, but acting natural was key.
She nodded and said.
"Didn't we meet before? You're Seo-jun's friend, right?"
"Yes. That's me. But why?"
"I had something I was curious about from back then."
"Curious?"
"I was wondering if you have any siblings in your family."
Siblings?
"No."
"Then other family?"
I grasped the intent of her question.
She must suspect some connection to the culprit who killed her father, Jang Han.
Her repertoire is always the same anyway.
Siblings...? Family...?
"No. I have no family. Been alone since I was little."
In reality, I had family, but in this world, my setting was no family.
"Oh, sorry."
Jang Ye feigned slight surprise. Fitting for a demon whose daily life was an act—great acting.
"It's fine."
"Your name's Kim Sun-woo, right?"
"Yes."
"This might be rude, but I saw your MyTube video and learned your name."
"Ah, it's okay. I'm used to that kind of thing."
Jang Ye laughed at my words.
"Yeah. You just reminded me of someone I know, so I asked. No relation, so nothing more to say. Sorry for wasting your time."
As she turned to leave, a thought flashed in my mind.
The one way to quickly eliminate this demon with my own hands.
A way to be alone with her.
"Sunbae!"
At my call, Jang Ye stopped and turned.
"Yes?"
"I want to get close. Can I contact you?"
I said to her with the world's brightest smile.
[Character 'Jang Ye' feels displeased toward you.]
[You have acquired 500 points as a reward.]
[You have achieved the 'First Rejection' accomplishment.]
[You have acquired 1,000 points as a reward.]
"......Fuck."
Rejected.
I'd asked with my killer smile(?), but she turned dead serious.
—Sorry. You're not my type... We can be good sunbae-hoobae, but personal contact is a bit much. Sorry.
"...Ha."
I hadn't meant it sincerely since she's a demon, but actually getting shot down soured my mood terribly.
Demons have romantic feelings too.
Some even hide their identity and date humans.
I hadn't planned to actually date Jang Ye, but ending up like this still pissed me off.
"Feels like self-loathing..."
If rejecting, just reject cleanly.
Why the 'not my type' excuse.
No, before that—displeased?
I approached pretty politely, didn't I? What's the problem? My face?
As I cupped my face in self-pity, swimming in dejection.
"Kim Sun-woo, hang in there."
A consoling voice came from behind.
Turning, Shin Young-jun looked at me with a subtle expression.
"What?"
"I saw everything."
"...Saw what?"
"Tsk tsk. Guy like you has high standards."
[Character 'Shin Young-jun' pities you.]
[You have acquired 500 points as a reward.]
Shin Young-jun patted my shoulder. No clue where to even start retorting.
He wouldn't listen anyway.
I sighed in resignation.
"Think whatever."
"Hey, what's this?"
"Isn't it amazing?"
In a small coffee shop in Seoul.
Jeong Yun-seul stared in shock at the screen of her smart pad.
On the screen, a male student was dismantling a dungeon barrier at incredible speed. Skill so outstanding it was hard to believe even seeing it.
"Is this possible?"
"That's what I'm saying. It's just unbelievable."
When the video ended, Jeong Yun-seul replayed it. Still incomprehensible on rewatch. Support magic used complex spell formulas.
To dismantle, you had to analyze and interpret from the start, no easy task even for veteran support wizards. But this student did it in one minute. Beyond exceptional.
"What's his name?"
"Kim Sun-woo."
"This guy's the real deal? I got called top-tier back in the day, but he's even better."
At Jeong Yun-seul's mutter, Kim Yun-jin spoke.
"The problem is Student Sun-woo has no intention of making support his main specialization."
"What? He's not support?!"
Jeong Yun-seul yelled in disbelief. Instantly, eyes in the coffee shop turned to them.
Kim Yun-jin whispered embarrassedly.
"......Yes."
"No way—he has spell formula interpretation like that and uses support as a sub-spec?"
"Not even sub-spec."
Jeong Yun-seul blinked blankly, unable to process Kim Yun-jin's words.
"For real?"
"Yes, I tried super hard to convince him to switch to support, but he refused. So firm I gave up. Sounds like he has some backstory."
"Backstory? What backstory makes him abandon talent like this? Ha ha. Weird kid."
Jeong Yun-seul checked other videos. Week 1, week 2... up to week 3 this week.
Three straight times at that speed proved it was skill, not luck.
Is this even possible?
"Interesting. Very interesting."
"I knew Master would react like that."
"Any support wizard would react the same, not just me."
Kim Yun-jin smiled quietly at that.
"True."
"What is it? Did he unlock some special trait?"
"Trait? Hmm... But is there a trait that perfectly interprets spell formulas like this? That'd be too OP."