Chapter 374
Chapter 374
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 375
Chapter Title: The Suspicious Video
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Somewhere in Seoul, in Jaun's hideout disguised as a small office.
"......Crazy. What the hell is this? Isn't this that guy Seok?"
Jin's gaze turned toward Baek Eun-seong at his muttering.
"Why again. What's going on."
"Look at this."
Baek Eun-seong played a video on his smartphone and showed it to him.
Jin, who had been watching the video without much thought, hardened his expression in an instant.
"......What is this."
In the video, a man wearing a black hat was fighting four Special Task Force agents.
A familiar fashion and fighting style.
It was someone he knew well.
This guy was definitely......
"......Kim Sun-woo?"
"Yeah. That's the bastard."
At the mention of Kim Sun-woo, Natasha approached them with interest.
"Kim Sun-woo? Why's Kim Sun-woo suddenly popping up?"
Instead of answering, Baek Eun-seong showed her the video as well.
Natasha watched the video with hardened eyes before letting out a laugh laced with absurdity.
"That guy's a total psycho. Not content with messing with us, now he's picking fights with the Special Task Force too?"
"Tell me about it. I thought our crew was the craziest, but this guy's on another level. First time I've seen someone pick a fight with the Special Task Force."
Baek Eun-seong clicked his tongue at the man on the screen. Then he added one more thing.
"......That's why I kinda like him. He's so damn annoying I wanna kill him right now, but the stuff he does is a bit like our style."
"Keukkeuk. I get what you mean. Totally relatable."
Natasha chuckled lowly.
At that moment, the office door burst open, and a blonde woman holding a black plastic bag in one hand, Bert, walked in.
"I'm here. ......But what's up with you guys huddled over there?"
Bert smirked as if she already knew.
"Ah~ I get it. You're watching that Kim Sun-woo video, huh?"
"Yeah. You've already seen it?"
"I just watched it too."
Bert pulled out a cup of instant ramen from the black bag in her hand as she spoke.
"But isn't it weird?"
"What?"
"In that video, I mean. Does it make sense for him to fight four Special Task Force guys like that? Kim Sun-woo's not that strong, right?"
"......Yeah. You're right."
The man in the video possessed far too much power to be considered Kim Sun-woo.
They knew Kim Sun-woo had skills beyond his 19 years, but not to the level of a monster like that.
Baek Eun-seong stared blankly at the video again.
Since it was filmed by a civilian, the flow of the battle wasn't perfectly captured.
The movements were too fast, as expected of top-tier wizards in combat.
But one thing was clear: the guy had the upper hand against four Special Task Force agents, including Kim Deok-hyun.
"......He wasn't that strong."
Baek Eun-seong recalled his encounters with the guy.
Incheon Port, where he stole the Cup of Life.
The mana cage Atlantis, where he severed his own arm.
And Jeju Island, where he stole the Blood Crystal.
......Thinking about it made his blood pressure rise suddenly.
"Did that bastard hide his power all this time?"
At Baek Eun-seong's mutter, Bert shook her head.
"I doubt it. No reason to hide that level of skill. He would've killed a few of us long ago."
"True......"
If he had that kind of power, there'd be no point in hiding it.
Bert continued.
"Kim Sun-woo's usual self is one thing, but especially the skills he's showing in that video—they're absolutely not something a 19-year-old should be capable of."
"So there's a chance it's not actually Kim Sun-woo."
"Could be. Or......"
Bert trailed off.
"He might have a trait that makes him stronger under specific situations or conditions."
"Oh, right. That kind of thing."
Traits that activate strength in certain situations.
Demons' 'Berserk Transformation' or abilities unique to certain clans.
"......Hmm. Even so, isn't that too strong?"
"Anyway, there's more than one weird thing. Him suddenly protecting a demon is suspicious too."
"How about asking Ha-ryeong?"
Ha-ryeong, the S-Rank demon who had secretly allied with Jaun.
The demon Kim Sun-woo protected was definitely one of Ha-ryeong's subordinates.
At that, Natasha clapped her hands.
"That's a good idea. Can Lee Cheong or Sca contact her?"
Lee Cheong and Sca were currently focused on finding the fourth chronicle.
For that reason, they were in frequent contact with Ha-ryeong, who knew information about the fourth chronicle.
"Just in case, we should mention it."
As Bert spoke, she poured water into the cup ramen.
Warm steam rose gently.
"We've got a lot to do. The fourth chronicle...... preparations for that one's revival......"
Jin stroked his chin and continued.
"And we need to find the materials for the necromancy spell to summon that one's soul."
At that moment, Bert closed the lid on her cup ramen and nodded.
"Since hearing from that one is the priority, let's focus on gathering the necromancy materials first."
During the break in the morning third-year elective class, 'Monster Dissection Studies.'
I sat at my desk checking my scores from the second midterm that had just come out.
［3rd Year - 2nd Midterm Evaluation Results］
［Kim Sun-woo］［3-A］
［Practical - 1st Place］
［Theory - 1st Place］
［Final Total - 3rd Place］
"......Hoo."
It was exactly the result I expected.
1st in practical, 1st in theory, and 3rd overall.
Since it was both expected and inevitable, I felt more relief than joy.
At that moment, a weak voice came softly from Lee Seo-jun on my right.
"......Second place again."
Lee Seo-jun muttered with a bitter expression.
He was always the one who took first place, so his disappointed look whenever he saw his scores never quite sat right with me.
Sensing my gaze, he turned his head.
"What. That look of pity."
"......What's wrong with my eyes."
"It looks like you're feeling sorry for me."
......Did it?
I scratched my head awkwardly for no reason, then turned my gaze to Yoo Ah-ra in the seat ahead.
Yoo Ah-ra was checking her scores with a similarly bitter expression to Lee Seo-jun.
Even when she got second, she showed frustration, so her feelings at dropping to third were beyond words.
Sensing my gaze, she turned around and met my eyes.
Then she narrowed her eyes and said,
"......What. That look of pity o"
No, what's wrong with my eyes?
I furrowed my brows for no reason, and she smirked.
"Kidding. You got first, right? Congrats."
"Yeah, thanks. You got thir—"
I shut my mouth at the sudden murderous glare from Yoo Ah-ra.
I misspoke.
Yoo Ah-ra let out a small sigh and turned back to her front seat.
Then she pulled out her script for 'Four Streams' and started reading.
Whenever scores came out, everyone got touchy, making me more nervous.
They all had the competitive spirit and desire for supremacy befitting the top ranks.
At that moment, Lee Seo-jun chuckled softly.
"Come to think of it, not many exams left now."
"Yeah."
With the second midterm done, the remaining tests for us were the 'Pro Wizard License Exam' and the 'Final Exam.'
But the final exam wasn't that important to me.
No matter how well I did, the chances of it changing my overall ranking were very low.
Unless Lee Seo-jun and Yoo Ah-ra bombed it.
"Hey, hey. Kim Sun-woo!"
Right then, an unfamiliar voice called me from behind.
I turned around to see two unknown students looking at me with curious eyes.
"Hey, hey. Quick question: you really learned magic through self-study, right?"
A sudden question.
With that, everyone's eyes in the classroom turned to me.
Lee Seo-jun, who had been inwardly curious, was also looking at me with interest.
Even Yoo Ah-ra, who had been reading her script up front.
Everyone reacting like this was probably because of yesterday's incident.
However, Yoon Ha-young, who knew a bit about my identity from my left seat, looked at me with anxiously trembling eyes and spoke up.
"......S-Sun-woo, self-study, right? Isn't it, Sun-woo?"
You're making it weirder, so just stay quiet. Please.
At Yoon Ha-young's words, one student narrowed his eyes.
"I didn't ask you."
"Huh? But I can answer for him......"
If I left it, it'd lead to weird misunderstandings, so I cut in.
"Yeah, self-study."
I said it firmly, but gauging the reaction, no one seemed to believe it.
Lee Seo-jun and Yoo Ah-ra surprisingly just looked at me without much response.
"......Hmm. Really?"
"Hey, hey. You know about that Seoul demon hunter incident? You don't know that guy either?"
This time, the other student asked me.
"Nope. How would I."
Perfect timing. Let's end this before they get more annoying.
"I'm telling you, he's got nothing to do with me, so stop spreading weird rumors."
"......Is that so?"
Unable to argue with my firm tone, he nodded.
Right then.
An announcement blared from the ceiling speakers.
—Kim Sun-woo of 3rd Year Class A, please come to the faculty office.
......What. To the faculty office?
Receiving the sudden summons, I stood in front of the faculty office door.
An inexplicable tension gripped me. Was it about yesterday's incident and an association investigation?
I let out a short breath and opened the door.
Kkiiik—
Entering the faculty office after a long time, the teachers' gazes focused on me.
Immediately, intense reactions poured toward me.
"Sun-woo!"
"Been a while since the faculty office~"
It was the usual welcoming atmosphere whenever I came here.
Maybe because I listened well in class and behaved politely, more teachers liked me than I thought.
After exchanging appropriate greetings, one teacher smiled and said,
"Go see Ms. Lee Hee-young."
"Ah, thank you."
I nodded and headed to Lee Hee-young's spot.
Upon arriving, Lee Hee-young turned to me with a smile.
"Sun-woo? Congrats on first place this exam."
"Ah, thanks...... But what's this about?"
"Nothing major, just a proposal I wanted to make."
Lee Hee-young spoke with a pleasant smile.
"A proposal?"
"The Taehwi Festival is coming up soon, right?"
"Yes. It is."
"I was wondering if you could be the student representative for this year's Taehwi Festival."
......Student representative?
I received an unexpected proposal.
The student representative was literally the face representing the school.
Last year it was Choi Seo-yoon, the year before Lee Seo-jun—always a student with top grades and star quality.
Originally, Yoo Ah-ra was supposed to be the first student rep instead of Lee Seo-jun this year.
"Ah! Of course, if it's a burden, you don't have to. But you're popular outside school lately too? A lot of other teachers recommended you."
Student representative speech......
I didn't think my looks were lacking much compared to the main characters (?), but with so many standouts, it was more than I expected, leaving me conflicted.
At the same time, an image flashed in my mind from before regression: Yoo Ah-ra giving the speech as student rep.
She had been hurt a lot by losing to Lee Seo-jun, but she had shown recovering her self-esteem through something like this.
In that case, maybe it was better to yield it to her.
"Hmm. With all the talk about you lately, if it's a burden......"
Lost in thought, a sudden realization hit me.
......Come to think of it, this is a chance to earn points.
"No, I'll do it."
I immediately accepted the proposal.
I felt a bit sorry for Yoo Ah-ra, but I could boost her shaken self-esteem myself.