Chapter 363
Chapter 363
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 364
Chapter Title: The Evil Dragon Cruas
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As I stepped out of the chairman's office, I spotted Kim Deok-hyun waiting in front of the door.
My conversation with Kim Jin-cheol had dragged on quite a bit, yet he was still waiting outside.
"Is the talk over?"
"Yes."
"Good work. I'll see you out."
Kim Deok-hyun said that and started walking ahead.
I followed behind him.
I'd thought he might ask what the chairman and I had discussed, but Kim Deok-hyun didn't inquire about anything.
Instead, he asked something else.
"I heard about your ranking exam results. You got a Grade 1 in mana utilization, right?"
"Yes. That's correct."
"Then you could aim for A-Rank in the pro wizard exam."
"I'm definitely aiming for it, but I'm not sure if I'll make it."
At that, Kim Deok-hyun chuckled.
"Acting humble now, huh? With your skills, it seems totally doable."
I gave a small laugh in response.
"Honestly, I'm pretty confident."
"What about your plans after graduation?"
"I've gotten offers from all over, but I'm leaning toward the Special Task Force."
"......Hmm. I see."
Kim Deok-hyun trailed off.
I wasn't sure if it was just my imagination, but his reaction didn't seem welcoming.
Curious about his response, I asked.
"Why?"
"Oh, just a gut feeling, but I don't think Special Task Force life suits you."
......Special Task Force life doesn't suit me?
Kim Deok-hyun turned to look at me and continued.
"I get the sense you'd want more freedom in your activities...... Joining the Special Task Force would come with some restrictions on your freedom, so you'd probably feel stifled."
I knew that.
What it meant to join the Special Task Force.
And with all I had to do ahead, he was probably right that it wasn't the best fit for me.
Even so, I was choosing the Special Task Force because the main episodes unfolding from now on would revolve around Lee Seo-jun.
"Anyway, it's just my personal opinion, so don't mind it."
I'd wondered if he was indirectly trying to dissuade me from joining, but that didn't seem to be the case.
After that, an indescribable awkward air hung between us.
That's when a message appeared before my eyes.
[A change in the future has been detected.]
[Karma increases by 1.0.]
After seeing Kim Sun-woo off, Kim Deok-hyun headed back up to the chairman's office.
As he opened the door and entered, he saw Kim Jin-cheol sitting with his shirt off, eyes closed, breathing mana.
Kim Deok-hyun inwardly admired the sight.
The domineering aura emanating from him was hard to believe came from a white-haired old man.
On top of that, his visible muscles bore the marks of long years of training.
Kim Deok-hyun waited for him to finish meditating.
After a while, Kim Jin-cheol completed his mana breathing and opened his eyes.
"......Hoo. Thanks for not disturbing me."
"Not at all. But why the mana breathing all of a sudden?"
"I have a feeling I'll need to use some power soon."
Kim Deok-hyun felt puzzled by the words.
"With you as chairman, you wouldn't need to prepare like this—you'd win anyway."
"Heh heh. This opponent is dangerous enough that even I need to prepare thoroughly."
For the unrivaled Kim Jin-cheol to rate him that highly.
What kind of guy was he?
"Anyone would think you're off to hunt a dragon single-handedly."
"Oh, it is a dragon. How'd you know?"
"Pardon......?"
I'd thrown it out as a joke, but it was real?
Kim Jin-cheol stood up and wiped the flowing sweat with a towel.
"The evil dragon Cruas, king of disaster-grade beasts born with an immortal fate."
King of disaster-grade beasts.
It was a being I'd never heard of, but at that level, it was no wonder even Kim Jin-cheol, called the strongest wizard in history, was reacting this way.
But Kim Deok-hyun felt another question arise.
"Why go after a monster like that? Don't tell me it's because of Kim Sun-woo?"
"Yeah, he warned that the kid has to take down the evil dragon. Didn't seem like a lie. Well, we can't just leave a disaster-grade beast like that alone, so I figured dealing with it early isn't a bad idea."
If Kim Jin-cheol sensed that, then it must be true. Tricking him, with his sharper senses than anyone, was impossible.
Kim Deok-hyun nodded and asked what he most wanted to know.
"Can we trust Kim Sun-woo?"
"No idea. But at least he's not an enemy of the Association. For now."
Muttering that, Kim Jin-cheol picked up his clothes from the floor.
"One thing's for sure—he's no ordinary guy. We'll have to watch to learn his true identity, but for now, he's trustworthy enough."
Kim Jin-cheol draped the clothes over his body.
"More importantly, I have lizard hunting to do, so gather any materials on disaster-grade beasts."
Late evening.
After finishing up at the Association, I returned to the dormitory.
The house was dark, and Gretel was sprawled out in the living room, sleeping soundly.
Her sleeping form was so cute that I turned on a small light to watch her before sitting on the sofa.
"Hoo."
Then I recalled what had happened at the Association today.
The tense meeting with Kim Jin-cheol had somehow gone well.
There had been a moment of panic when the 'Constraint' activated midway, but that wasn't important.
In a situation that could have turned the Association against me, I'd gained a degree of Kim Jin-cheol's trust.
Above all, I'd gotten a potential resolution where the strongest wizard, Kim Jin-cheol, might handle Cruas—my biggest headache right now.
"......But Kim Jin-cheol won't lose, right?"
Having read the original story, I couldn't picture Kim Jin-cheol losing to anyone.
The dozens of orbital strikes from his hands.
No matter how many S-Rank wizards gathered, piercing his absolute defense was impossible.
As a user of orbital strikes myself, I was certain.
But the problem was elsewhere.
I recalled what the kumiho had told me in Japan.
—Even so, killing him is impossible. Even if a being several times stronger than him appears, it can't kill him.
—He was born with a fate of immortality.
Cruas was born with an immortal fate.
Unless Kim Jin-cheol possessed the same 'Chaos' as me, slaying Cruas was impossible.
Just in case, I'd explained to him that the guy was immortal, but from his reaction at the time, he didn't seem too concerned.
"Maybe he's planning to seal him?"
A seal would definitely work to subdue even an 'immortal' opponent......
"Makes me nervous for no reason."
A showdown between Kim Jin-cheol and Cruas.
I couldn't even begin to imagine how the battle would play out.
But as a wizard and a reader of the novel [Modern Wizard], thinking of the fight between two near-top powerhouses in the world made my heart race.
It would probably be as intense as the clash between Choi Il-hyun and Jin Cheon-woo, one of the key episodes in the original.
"......A battle of the strongest."
As I recalled the original story's upcoming episodes one by one, a bitter smile tugged at my lips.
Whether me or Lee Seo-jun, we needed to grow strong enough not to be outdone by them, and fast.
"How much further to the next rank in mana control?"
My current mana rank was A.
I needed to hit S-Rank to face the villains head-on.
I immediately checked my mana control skill.
[Mana Control (A)] [Training Progress: 52%]
"52%?"
Considering I'd only reached A-Rank a year ago, the training progress was higher than expected.
Normally, it took at least 2-3 years to go from A to S, even at the fastest.
Plenty of wizards never even touched A in their lifetimes.
"I can definitely reach S-Rank within two years."
Two years from now, I'd be 21.
S-Rank at 21 would massively expand what I could do in the story ahead.
As I thought that, Kim Deok-hyun's words from earlier suddenly came to mind.
—Oh, just a gut feeling, but I don't think Special Task Force life suits you.
With more options open to me, it might indeed be better to move freely, taking down villains independently, rather than being tied to the Special Task Force.
"......Surviving until then comes first, though."
The karma built up inside me from altering the world's fate.
According to the prophecy, it would erupt around the time I graduated from the wizard academy.
Only about four months left.
Time flies.
"Oh, right."
Then, a task popped into my head.
Kim Chang-hyun's incantation, parts of which I'd recently deciphered.
Content about time travel passages and soul transfer......
I'd photographed it. Then I typed a message and sent it to Yoo Ah-yeon.
[Photo]
[Sending the deciphered part of the incantation. In my opinion, this looks like a time travel guide or manual in incantation form.]
A reply came shortly after.
[Thanks. I'll contact you again soon.]
A luxury car glided to a stop at a coastal road in Gyeongsangbuk-do, overlooking the East Sea.
Screech. The door opened, and out stepped Han Se-yeon, a beautiful woman with jet-black short hair and a coat.
"......So this is it."
Han Se-yeon gazed at the scenery before her.
The vast blue East Sea stretched out.
And right in front of it stood a single pristine white building that looked like a research lab.
[Korean Dimension Research Institute]
Han Se-yeon checked the name on the building, then pulled a business card from her pocket.
[Korean Dimension Research Institute Director Lee Pil-hee]
She seemed to have arrived at the right place.
Han Se-yeon tucked the business card back into her pocket and opened the door to enter.
"Hello. How may I...... Oh."
The receptionist looked startled upon seeing Han Se-yeon.
As if to prove the recent surge in her company's stock, she recognized her instantly.
"You're...... Han Se-yeon from Hansung Pharmaceuticals......?"
"Yes, that's me."
As Han Se-yeon smiled faintly and replied, another staff member came rushing up behind her and bowed politely.
"Hello. I'm Baek Jong-woo, Team 5 Leader at the Dimension Research Institute. The director mentioned you'd be visiting today."
"Oh, yes. Nice to meet you. I'm Han Se-yeon from Hansung Pharmaceuticals."
"Haha. We know. I'll take you to the director right away!"
Han Se-yeon followed the staff member down a long corridor.
Through the corridor windows, she saw people experimenting with special machinery.
Curious, Han Se-yeon asked.
"What's that machine?"
"Oh! That's a device for detecting radio waves or energy floating in dimensions."
"Radio waves or energy floating in dimensions?"
"Yes. Simply put, it reveals the presence of other dimensions and what's happening there."
"Hmm. Have any signals been detected?"
The staff member nodded at Han Se-yeon's question.
"A few times. Especially last year, a massively powerful energy was detected, causing quite a stir. Of course, we still haven't identified it."
"......Hmm."
Han Se-yeon felt dubious but decided to ask for details later.
They walked down the corridor until they reached a small door.
They'd arrived at the director's office.
"Director, Director Han Se-yeon is here."
—Come in.
Screech.
The door opened, and as they entered, she saw the back of a man standing with hands clasped behind him.
"Hello. Director Lee Pil-hee."
At Han Se-yeon's words, the man turned around. She was slightly startled by his face.
A monstrous face, half-melted.
Even after two years, it was a face that didn't fail to shock.
But Han Se-yeon kept her composure and smiled.
The man smiled back at her and said.
"Haha. It's been two years, Ms. Han Se-yeon. Have a seat."