Chapter 367
Chapter 367
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 368
Chapter Title: Shooting Star Rain
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Somewhere in a small office on the outskirts of Seoul.
"Wow, look at Kim Sun-woo. He's insane."
Jin marveled as he watched the video floating on the hologram screen.
Baek Eun-seong felt a twinge of doubt at those words and walked over to Jin.
"...Kim Sun-woo? What are you watching?"
"It's the live broadcast of the Wizard Academy exam. Come check it out."
At Jin's words, Baek Eun-seong turned his gaze to the screen.
In the video, Kim Sun-woo was unleashing magic against a colossal monster—a giant whale.
Golden magic formed through prolonged compression. And pinpoint accuracy striking right between its eyes.
Baek Eun-seong watched Kim Sun-woo's performance and forced the corners of his mouth upward.
"...Impressive. It's just like my school days, huh? Ahem."
"It's not even comparable to your school days. Honestly, that's not even high school level."
"W-What? I was doing that at his age too, you know? I was ranked number one in the world promising talents back then."
Jin smirked at Baek Eun-seong's rebuttal.
"Who among us couldn't do that?"
Just then, the office door opened, and Yoo Seong-jin stepped inside.
Seeing Jin and Baek Eun-seong huddled together watching something, he felt curious.
"What are you watching?"
"Hey, Seong-jin, you're here? Come take a look. It's your rival in the pro certification exam."
My rival?
As Yoo Seong-jin puzzled over that, Baek Eun-seong, who had been staring at the screen, hardened his expression.
"...Is that the rumored Rainstorm spell?"
Jin nodded slightly at the question.
"Yeah, it's as incredible as the rumors say. Though it looks more like a Meteor Shower."
"...To create an original spell like that at his age. What's this kid's real deal? And it's a support-type synergy spell, no less."
"Right? Wow, but that magic is truly beautiful."
Yoo Seong-jin felt puzzled listening to their conversation.
What kind of spell has these two prideful guys praising it so highly?
Following their gazes to the screen, Yoo Seong-jin was startled by the sight.
Dozens of beautiful beams of light cascading down, illuminating the darkness amid the thunderclouds.
The beams poured down toward the giant whale like a shower of shooting stars from space.
Yoo Seong-jin couldn't help but feel awe and grandeur.
To think such magic existed in the world.
Who on earth could create something like that?
Pondering that, he turned his gaze to the one casting this beautiful spell.
In that instant, Yoo Seong-jin's expression stiffened.
It was a face he knew well.
The guy who had humiliated him in the ranking exam.
...Kim Sun-woo.
The 14-hour 'Ocean Monster Hunt' exam had finally concluded.
The results were satisfying. One colossal, three large.
And in the remaining time, I'd caught ten medium and small monsters, securing excellent results.
Since I'd poured my all into every battle, my personal contribution score would naturally be high too.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say first place was locked in.
Of course, surpassing the overall rankings of Lee Seo-jun and Yoo Ah-ra, who had monopolized first and second for three years straight, would be tough.
[You focused fire on a single enemy with wide-area magic, bringing it down.]
['Mana Control Technique (A)' proficiency increases by 5%.]
['Spell Comprehension (B)' proficiency increases by 5%.]
[Many people feel aesthetic appreciation for your magic.]
['Mana Artist' achievement unlocked.]
[Reward: 3,000 points acquired.]
[Adaptive trait 'Aesthetic Sense (B)' added.]
['Charm' slightly increases.]
...
"Hmm."
Back in reality, I checked today's gains while waiting for the exam results.
Various proficiency increases. And 3,000 points acquired.
Plus, I'd gained an unusual trait called [Aesthetic Sense]...
Aesthetic Sense? Was there a trait like this?
I immediately checked it out.
[Aesthetic Sense (B)]
Category: Trait
Description: Your aesthetic sense rises. Additionally, the magic you manifest emits even more brilliant light.
It's got to be good, right?
It seemed utterly useless for combat,
but with magic becoming more beautiful, it'd draw more attention from people.
That should increase chances for extra points too.
Hm. Yeah, think positive.
"Sun-woo!"
As I reviewed my gains alone, Yun Ha-young's voice rang out.
Turning my head, I saw her approaching with a grin.
"Good work today. Thanks to you, we even took down a colossal monster."
"Nah, you did great too."
Yun Ha-young had performed beyond expectations today.
Using her innate mana, she'd successfully turned the sea into an ice field, effectively restricting the ocean monsters' movements.
Her evaluation must have skyrocketed among the guild scouts observing the exam.
But her top choice, the 'Special Task Force,' still wouldn't show much interest in her.
Though her skills had improved greatly,
they'd still find her a bit lacking compared to the perfection the Special Task Force demanded.
But that wouldn't last.
The second midterm was over, and graduation wasn't far off, so a 'major demon-related incident' was about to erupt soon.
There, Yun Ha-young's 'Demon Slayer' would shine, drawing strong interest from the Special Task Force.
"When do the results come out?"
No sooner had she spoken than a voice announced from somewhere.
[Students who took the exam, great job everyone.]
[Score statistics are complete.]
Murmurs rose here and there at the words 'score statistics complete.'
Looking at reactions, both Lee Seo-jun's team and Yoo Ah-ra's team brimmed with confidence.
They'd probably succeeded in hunting a 'colossal' monster too, so they believed their team was first.
But there was a clear difference in hunt speed. I was certain our team took first.
[Exam results will now be revealed.]
Flash!
The electronic board lit up.
[+Team Rankings+]
1st: Team 3 - 21,500
2nd: Team 1 - 15,350
3rd: Team 2 - 13,200
[+Personal Contribution Rankings+]
1. Kim Sun-woo — 43,200
2. Lee Seo-jun - 35,720
3. Yoo Ah-ra - 31,450
—Whoa!
A small cheer erupted. I stared blankly at the results with a satisfied smile.
First place.
Just as expected.
—Kim Sun-woo got first?
—Even though manifestation types have an advantage, the gap with second is bigger than I thought.
While those around noted the surprisingly large gap with Lee Seo-jun, I thought the opposite.
The gap was smaller than expected.
Even though I'd taken down far more monsters than Lee Seo-jun had in the original story.
This was probably because Lee Seo-jun had grown more than in the original flow. Same for Yoo Ah-ra.
Seeing the main characters' growth filled me with an odd sense of pride, bringing a smile.
Then I subtly glanced toward Lee Seo-jun.
His face, looking up at the board, was filled with deep regret.
Late at night. All exams done, back at the dorm.
The 14-hour exam meant it was already dawn.
But the Wizard Academy had declared tomorrow—Friday—a holiday for student recovery, giving us three days off.
"Uwaa!"
Unusually awake until dawn, Gretel greeted me with a smile.
"Gretel, why haven't you slept yet?"
I picked her up and walked to the living room.
Setting her down, I sank onto the sofa with a deep sigh.
"...Phew. So now the real schedule kicks off."
From the end of the second midterm to graduation.
Numerous events were lined up.
And the time for my 'karma clearance'—where anything could happen—was approaching.
With no idea what the future held, there were a few things I wanted to handle preemptively.
For example...
I looked at my smart student handbook screen.
「Hanseong Group Chairman position still vacant... Who will inherit it?」
The fight for control between Han Se-jin and Han Se-yeon.
Following the original flow, Han Se-jin would become the head of the Han family first.
But I had zero intention of letting Han Se-jin take that seat.
"The plan's mostly ready, so...
With demon gate incidents bubbling to the surface nonstop, now's the chance.
Han Se-jin must have his own preparations, but the Association's investigating him closely too.
I might be able to take out this mid-to-late game major villain easier than thought.
「Another demon-run company busted. Third this month... Association says they're probing the backers behind them nonstop...□」
"It's going well."
I smiled in satisfaction and closed the internet tab. Then I logged into the school community.
As expected, talk of the third-years' main exam dominated.
Praise for Lee Seo-jun. Praise for me.
Browsing the threads, there was discussion on the 'titles' star wizards get after graduation.
[What'll Lee Seo-jun's title be?]
[Sword Dragon?]
[-[Looks old]]
[Handsome Swordsman]
[That's kinda...]
1_[Something something =1 super something]
Seeing that, I chuckled.
"A title, huh."
Witch of Flames, Pure Heart, Iron Blood, Sword Ghost, Eccentric,
Divine Spear, Strongest, Worst...
Nicknames symbolizing star wizards.
For reference, original Lee Seo-jun had no such title.
'Lee Seo-jun.'
His name alone was treated like a brand.
Uncommon, but nothing better captured his identity.
"...Wait, actually, he did have one."
Hero.
A vague term, but a title no one in history had claimed.
A title from the distant future, but recalling that moment from reading the original brought a smile.
[What's a good title for Kim Sun-woo?]
Idly scrolling the community, I spotted my name.
"...My title?"
Curiosity suddenly hit.
In my previous life, I had no title.
Checking the replies, tons of suggestions poured in.
[Mutant]
[Rain of Mana]
[Meteor]
[Heretic]
[Spell Interpreter]
"Tons of them."
Over a hundred. More interest in me than I'd thought.
As I checked replies—
Ding!
The news alert I'd set blared.
Wondering what it was, I checked immediately.
「[Breaking News] Mysterious giant black dragon sighted in Himalayas... Wizards Association estimates 'disaster-grade beast, mana rank detection impossible」
"...Giant black dragon?"
What?
I stared at the breaking news in shock.
A giant black dragon and disaster-grade beast pointed to Cruas, but...
A strong doubt hit me.
In the original, Cruas's first appearance was four years later.
...Why?
Han Se-yeon returned to the family home after a long time.
She hadn't visited since her father Han Dae-hyun's death, but today she had a purpose.
After visiting the dimensional research lab, she'd investigated the world's laws but found no proper info.
Even asking other spell scholars yielded the same.
Lee Pil-hee surely wasn't lying.
—Chase the mystery.
—Pay the rightful price to the mystery, and you'll find the answer you seek.
"...Mystery."
Truth be told, she didn't fully grasp that either. Pay the rightful price to the mystery?
Was mystery an object? How do you pay it?
Of course, she'd heard tales that mysteries held 'will.'
And Han Se-yeon believed her father held the answer to this riddle.
He'd always had unusual interest in mysteries.
Lost in thought, Han Se-yeon entered the mansion.
The long-unvisited mansion felt shabby compared to before.
She turned on the dim living room lights and headed to the study.
Bookshelves packed with all sorts of tomes.
A quick scan showed many on mysteries.
Gazing at the shelves, Han Se-yeon pulled out one worn ancient book.
'The Will of Mystery and the Hidden World'
A book her father often read.
Opening it, a metallic object slipped from between the pages to the floor.
Han Se-yeon stared at it blankly.
"...A key?"