Chapter 347
Chapter 347
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 348
Chapter Title: The Core of the Unconscious
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At Cruas's words, Lee Seojun was momentarily stunned, but he quickly regained his composure and asked,
“What do you mean? Waiting for me?”
Cruas flapped its wings wide in response to Lee Seojun’s question.
Whoosh!
A fierce gust blew, whipping Lee Seojun’s hair.
[Far in the future, to kill you, the seed that disrupts the laws of the world. That is the mission fate has assigned me…]
……Killing me is your mission? No, more than that, what’s this about being a seed that disrupts the laws of the world?
At that moment, Lee Seojun recalled a childhood memory from his subconscious, the conversation with Jin Cheonwoo.
—This child is the beginning of all the changes to come.
—But someday, this child will die too.
Jin Cheonwoo had said that he was the start of all changes and that he would die in the future.
—The child Kim Changhyun must save is this one.
—More precisely, he’s a stepping stone to keep this child alive.
And Jin Cheonwoo had been preparing something for a long time to prevent his death.
A sudden thought struck him.
The death Jin Cheonwoo had tried to prevent—could it be connected to the black dragon before his eyes?
……But that thought brought up another question.
The creature before him was a being created by ‘Kim Sunwoo’s subconscious.’
And the backstory and tale of a lifeform born from the subconscious are shaped by Kim Sunwoo’s ‘experiences’ or ‘imagination.’
According to Kim Sunwoo, the black dragon before him wasn’t just his imagination—it was a real, existing creature.
That meant Kim Sunwoo knew some hidden secret between him and Cruas.
“……Kim Sunwoo.”
……What the hell does he know?
What does he know that a being from his subconscious is saying this to me?
Lee Seojun bit his lip hard, then gripped his sword tighter.
Woooom!
The pure white light enveloping the sword intensified.
Cruas gazed at the intense mana emanating from the sword.
[……Impressive power.]
Lee Seojun gripped his sword with both hands and assumed a stance.
At the same time, his body flashed with pure white light as he clashed with Cruas.
We barely managed to reach the fifth floor of the school, taking down the endless waves of black beasts one by one.
The higher we climbed, the fiercer the beasts became, but thanks to Shin Youngjun and Yoo Ara’s efforts, we ascended without major issues.
Pang!
—Kieeeek!
As the beast in front of us collapsed, Shin Youngjun wiped his cold sweat and asked me,
“Phew! How much farther?”
“Almost there. Fifth floor.”
“You said almost there ten minutes ago too.”
“This time it’s really almost there. Look.”
Kwang!
I took out the black beast in front of us and pointed to the end of the hallway.
Shin Youngjun and Yoo Ara’s gazes followed.
“Multipurpose room?”
“Yeah. We’re here, right?”
“……Yeah, looks like it.”
Shin Youngjun muttered in surprise.
At that moment.
—Kiiiiieeeeek!
A dragon’s roar erupted from somewhere.
At the same time, a powerful mana wave spread out, causing a massive tremor.
Looking out the window, I saw Lee Seojun locked in a head-on battle with Cruas.
An intense fight that made my skin crawl just watching.
Seeing it reminded me of the confrontation between Lee Seojun and Cruas I’d glimpsed through [Dimensional Observation], and cold sweat broke out involuntarily.
“Let’s hurry.”
We pressed forward, slaying the black beasts surging toward us.
In that short time, we must have taken down over a hundred each.
With Shin Youngjun and Yoo Ara added, probably around three hundred total.
The hallway was drenched in black blood as a result.
The choking stench that made it hard to breathe had numbed my nose, so now it didn’t bother me.
We finally reached our destination, the ‘multipurpose room,’ after clearing the beasts blocking our path.
I wiped the black blood from my cheek with my collar.
“……Phew. We’re finally here.”
Then Yoo Ara peered into the wide-open multipurpose room and spoke with a tense expression.
“Something ominous is coming from inside.”
“……Yeah. What’s in there?”
Shin Youngjun asked me.
Instead of answering, I stepped into the multipurpose room.
“Ugh.”
As soon as I entered, I felt a forceful pressure pushing my body away.
It was like being submerged in water—hard to move freely.
Even breathing felt constricted.
I took heavy steps forward.
Approaching the desk, I saw a smartphone lying there, just like before.
This was the crystallization that had created my subconscious……
Pushing through that intense pressure repelling my body, the moment I grabbed the smartphone.
Blinding light began to pour from the entire space.
Paaaaang!
A blue wave of light spread wide from the smartphone, brushing past our bodies.
A warm energy washed over us.
The suspicious pressure weighing on our bodies vanished, replaced by a refreshing sense of freedom.
We stared blankly out the window.
The buildings collapsed by Cruas and the black beasts, and the people who had lost their lives, were reverting to their original states.
The traces of the black beasts we’d slain were fading away too.
Cruas, who had been fighting Lee Seojun, turned to smoke and vanished. The sky, shrouded in darkness, was now beautifully dyed in evening sunset hues.
“……Is it all over?”
“……Seems like it. Kinda anticlimactic ending.”
As Yoo Ara muttered that, she looked at the smartphone in my hand.
“Is that the crystallization of your subconscious?”
I followed her gaze to the smartphone.
The smartphone I’d been using right before falling into the novel.
Even the slight damage on the frame was exactly as I remembered.
I stared at it blankly and replied,
“Probably.”
After retrieving the smartphone, we headed out to the sports field.
Looking around, I saw people who had died to the black beasts rejoicing at their revival.
Though they were from my subconscious, seeing those past people die had left a bitter taste, but this sight eased my mind somehow.
“Sunwoo!”
Lost in thought, I heard Yoon Hayoung calling from afar.
Turning my head, there she was, beaming happily in front of me.
“You did it!”
“Yeah, we did.”
This time, Lee Seojun approached.
His body was covered in wounds from the fierce battle with Cruas.
Lee Seojun looked at me with thoughtful eyes, sighed deeply, and smiled.
“Good work.”
“You too.”
After a light greeting, Lee Seojun asked,
“So, what was the crystallization of your subconscious?”
At his question, everyone’s eyes turned to me.
I pulled the smartphone from my pocket and showed it to them.
“This.”
“……A smartphone?”
Everyone reacted with surprise.
“It looks like some old model…… How’s this the crystallization of your subconscious?”
Choi Seoyun, who had approached quietly, muttered.
Old model, huh.
This was a pretty new model.
“Sunwoo. Does this thing have a story?”
At Yoon Hayoung’s question, I looked down at the smartphone.
“A story…… Yeah, it does.”
At my words, everyone wore intrigued expressions. Shin Youngjun, arms crossed, said to me,
“What story…… Nah, you won’t tell us anyway.”
You know me well.
“Kim Sunwoo!”
Then a shout calling me came from afar.
Everyone’s gazes turned that way simultaneously.
Hwang Eunhyun was heading toward me.
Behind him were other familiar friends, Baek Minseok and Park Jungmin.
“Hey! Where’ve you been this whole time?”
At the sudden appearance of new faces, Lee Seojun, Yoo Ara, Shin Youngjun, and Lee Hyunjoo’s expressions flickered with confusion.
“……Who are they?”
At Lee Seojun’s question, I turned to my friends.
“My friends.”
“Friends?”
As if it was surprising I had friends, everyone looked puzzled.
Then Shin Youngjun stepped forward.
“What? You don’t have any friends besides us…… Mmph!”
Lee Hyunjoo covered Shin Youngjun’s mouth.
Seeing that, Yoon Hayoung chuckled softly and whispered,
“They’re friends he actually hung out with before.”
“……Oh.”
Lee Seojun’s mouth fell open slightly as he looked at me with surprised eyes.
I turned back to Hwang Eunhyun.
He had a face full of questions he wanted to ask.
Probably wondering about the magic I’d used to protect him from the black beasts at school.
But unexpectedly, Hwang Eunhyun asked something else.
“These people, they’re all your friends?”
At his question, I glanced around at everyone, including Lee Seojun.
“Yeah. Friends.”
Hwang Eunhyun smirked.
“I see? They’re all good-looking.”
Then he turned to Baek Minseok and Park Jungmin.
“Hey. Let’s go look for the others.”
“Huh? Who?”
“Seongchan and Jihyun……”
At that, I gave a wry smile.
Seongchan, Jihyun.
Familiar names.
“See ya.”
“Yeah.”
Hwang Eunhyun gave a light nod toward Lee Seojun and left.
A brief silence fell.
I stared blankly at their retreating backs.
“Nice friends.”
At Lee Seojun’s words, I smiled faintly.
“Yeah, they are.”
“Alright, now we should get out of here. Do we just smash that smartphone?”
At Shin Youngjun’s question, I shook my head.
“Nah, probably no need to destroy it.”
“Then?”
“Wait and see.”
I turned on the smartphone screen.
The familiar background and apps after so long.
Old memories flooded back as I opened the email app.
[Subject: Congratulations! You’ve won the [Modern Wizard] Completion Celebration Event.]
[Hello, Kim Sunwoo. This is o1k, author of [Modern Wizard]. You’ve won the publisher’s event. Your prize is a ticket for a special trip.]
[Claim it?]
[Yes / No]
As expected, there it was—the email that was the starting point and culprit of everything.
This was the crystallization that manifested my subconscious, and the trauma the Abyssal Exploration Exam wanted me to face.
Still a mystery.
What is this email’s true nature, and who is o1k that sent me here? Was it really Jin Cheonwoo who called me?
“Kim Sunwoo?”
Lost in thought staring at the screen, Yoo Ara called my name.
“Oh, sorry. Was thinking for a sec. Shall we start?”
“Yeah~ Let’s get out of here quick. We’re dead last in the exam anyway.”
I smirked and selected the email. Then I tapped the ‘Delete’ button in the top right.
[1 email deleted.]
Right then.
The space in front of me warped, and an intense, mystical energy began to spread.
We were all startled momentarily by the energy, but the people created from the subconscious seemed oblivious, acting as normal.
The warped space soon became a massive rift emitting pure white light.
I could sense it instinctively.
This rift was the passage from the subconscious to reality.
“Wow, it’s really over.”
Yoon Hayoung muttered in relief.
“Yeah. Those monsters at the end were such a pain.”
Shin Youngjun placed his hands on his hips and sighed deeply.
“Wait, but how do we get out?”
At Lee Hyunjoo’s question, Choi Seoyun replied.
“Just go into the rift, right?”
“No, it’s an exam—exit order probably matters.”
“Oh.”
Everyone nodded in understanding.
All of us here were top performers at the Magic Academy.
Exit order would determine our rankings in this exam, so it was sensitive.
“……Rock-paper-scissors then?”
At Shin Youngjun’s suggestion, everyone narrowed their eyes. Feeling awkward, he scratched his head.
Lee Seojun looked at him and chuckled.
“Let’s just go out together.”
“Together? Hmm. Is the rift big enough?”
The rift was quite large.
If we lined up single file, we might squeeze through at the same time.
We stood side by side in front of the rift.
But it was just a bit short for all of us.
“Ah, it’s exactly short by one person.”
“Couldn’t we squeeze by pressing shoulders tight?”
“Nah, still doesn’t look like it.”
“Guess rock-paper-scissors it……”
Shin Youngjun slyly pushed his idea again.
That was when.
Ding!
An alarm rang from my old smartphone, the one I’d deleted the email from.
Everyone’s eyes turned to me, and I met their gazes before turning on the screen.
[Sunwoo, Dad’s home now. When are you coming back?]
A message from Mom.
Oh right—Dad was returning from his overseas trip today, and she’d told me to come home early.
I gave a bittersweet smile, then said to everyone,
“I’ll sit this out. You guys go first.”
At my words, everyone looked shocked.
“Why? Let’s find a way to go together.”
“No. I’ve got something to do here. You go ahead.”
“What do you need to do? I’ll stay and help.”
I shook my head at Choi Seoyun.
“It’s fine. I’ll catch up soon.”
Lee Seojun stared at me thoughtfully, then nodded.
“Yeah, let’s go first.”
“Huh? For real?”
Yoon Hayoung glanced between me and Lee Seojun.
She looked guilty, unsure if this was okay.
“He said he has something to do.”
“……Hmm. If even you say so, Seojun, I’ve got nothing to say.”
Yoon Hayoung nodded.
“Yeah, if he’s saying that, he’s got something going on.”
Shin Youngjun laughed heartily.
And so, the six others lined up in front of the rift without me.
Before entering, Lee Seojun turned back.
“Don’t be late. Hurry up.”
“I’ll be right there. No worries.”
“……Alright. We’re going?”
“Yeah. Go ahead.”
With that, the six stepped into the rift simultaneously.
A bright flash enveloped them, and they vanished in an instant.
Whoooosh—
A chilly wind blew from somewhere, brushing my hair.
Alone now, I looked up at the sky blankly.
The sunset sky had turned into a starry night.
The novel world’s night sky was beautifully studded with stars, but here, city lights hid most of them.
Less beautiful than the novel world, but it had its own charm.
“……Well then, time to go.”
I turned around and walked back for one last goodbye.