Chapter 39
Chapter 39
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Aftermath of the Demon Attack
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Among them were people from the Wizard Association gathered to express their gratitude to Jeong Yun-seol, and reporters who had come to spread tales of her heroism.
" S-Rank Wizard Jeong Yun-seol, who vanished for a year, protects the young sprouts of the Wizard Academy with brilliant ingenuity. How about that for a headline?"
"Oh. That's good. Let's go with it."
From afar, the reporters scribbled on their laptops while chatting.
Jeong Yun-seol stared at them with a bewildered gaze.
She had no idea where to even begin criticizing them.
"Wizard Jeong Yun-seol, I have a question. I heard the barrier set up back then was at least A-Rank or higher. Yet it was dispelled in less than five minutes. Is there some secret technique?"
Hearing the question directed at her, she thought to herself.
*That's something I'm curious about too.*
No matter how she thought about it, it didn't make sense. At minimum, an A-Rank barrier. Plus, traces showed it had been meticulously prepared over days, so even for S-Rank Wizard Jeong Yun-seol herself, dispelling it within thirty minutes would have been nearly impossible.
Yet that barrier had been undone in less than five minutes.
Just who the hell had dispelled that barrier?
Of course, there was one person she suspected.
But it was such an absurd suspicion that she couldn't bring herself to voice it.
It was more comforting to believe the one who set the barrier had dispelled it themselves.
"Sigh. Anyway, I'm busy, so I'm heading out."
"Huh? Wait a minute!"
"Wizard! Talk a bit more!"
Leaving the people calling after her, Jeong Yun-seol stepped outside.
"......Hoo."
Looking up at the already darkened sky, a sigh escaped her. The sudden peace felt so unfamiliar. What on earth had happened today?
That's when someone nearby greeted her.
"Guild Master~ You look extra cool today."
"......Shut up."
The one greeting her was Park Min-hee, the lead member of the 'Rune of Enlightenment' guild.
"But that barrier, you really didn't dispel it?"
"Yeah."
"Then who did? To cover the entire exam hall with a barrier, it had to be a pretty high rank."
"You got that right."
Jeong Yun-seol muttered, but no matter what, she couldn't erase one person's name from her mind.
As soon as the barrier over the 3rd Year exam hall lifted, Lee Seo-jun contacted Lee Hyun-joo and Shin Young-jun, then rushed to them. Together, the three took down numerous monsters that had appeared at the school, earning great merit.
Now, they sat on a park bench late at night, reminiscing about the events while chatting.
"Man, what the hell happened today?"
"Yeah. Why would demons attack the school?"
"But no casualties today, right? That's a real relief."
Then, as if remembering something, Lee Hyun-joo spoke to Lee Seo-jun.
"Right. Seo-jun, you were in the 3rd Year exam hall today, weren't you?"
Lee Seo-jun looked up at Lee Hyun-joo's words.
"Huh? Yeah."
"How was it there? Must've been total chaos."
"Well, I was somewhere else at the time."
"Huh? Somewhere else?"
"I was with Kim Sun-woo for a bit."
"Kim Sun-woo? He was there too?"
Lee Hyun-joo widened her eyes.
"Yeah."
"Where'd you go?"
"Uh...... It's a thing."
Lee Seo-jun replied with an awkward smile.
"Ah, what is it? Tell me."
As the three chatted animatedly—
High atop a distant building, out of their sight, a man watched them.
"Lee Seo-jun is safe."
—That's a relief.
The man was on the phone with someone. His interlocutor was a young woman.
"By the way, why'd those demons suddenly storm the school? Gave me a real scare."
—There must be a reason. Maybe they're after something.
"Anyway, the demons have been acting real suspicious lately. It couldn't be targeting Lee Seo-jun, right?"
—Nah. If he was their target, they'd have hunted him down for real.
The man nodded.
"Yeah, now that you mention it. And from what I saw earlier, the demon that fought Lee Seo-jun wasn't that strong."
—Still, keep a close eye on him. You know what Lee Seo-jun means to us, right?
"Of course."
—If his life ever gets threatened...
At that, the man smirked.
"Just kill the other guy."
—Yeah, keep it up for now. Jin.
Back in the dorm, I was checking my messages.
[B-Grade Villain, 'Jin-san', successfully subjugated.]
[Causality increases by 0.4.]
['Savior' achievement unlocked.]
[Reward: 3,000 points acquired.]
[Character 'Yoon Ha-young' feels gratitude toward you.]
[Interest level toward you added to Character 'Yoon Ha-young'.]
[Character 'Yoon Ha-young's interest level in you: Lv 1]
[Reward: 2,000 points acquired.]
[Character 'Yoo Ah-ra' feels strong curiosity toward you.]
[Interest level toward you added to Character 'Yoo Ah-ra'.]
[Character 'Yoo Ah-ra's interest level in you: Lv 1]
[Reward: 2,000 points acquired.]
As expected from today's hard work, I got a few rewards.
0.4 Causality and 7,000 points.
I still don't exactly know what Causality gained from taking down villains is for, but since it stacks up as a benefit, I'm thinking positively.
"Hmm......"
That said, today's events caused massive changes to the story.
Yoon Ha-young's awakening of her Demon Slayer trait happened a full month earlier than expected.
Demon Slayer.
As the name implies, this power is unrivaled against demons—no exaggeration.
She probably doesn't realize it herself, but her power will one day become the key to defeating the demon 'King', who's practically invincible.
Fortunately, I personally took out the only witness demon, so no word will reach other demons.
At least for the next few days, Yoon Ha-young's safety is secured.
"But what about the exam?"
Today's sparring class was canceled due to the demon incident.
It was a chance to earn a ton of points at once, so that's disappointing.
"Hmm. Wonder what happens tomorrow."
Tomorrow, the day after, all week.
Exams throughout.
After such an incident, I wonder how the school will respond.
That's when it happened. My smart student handbook chimed with an alert.
[School-wide notice: Tomorrow will proceed with regular classes, not midterms. Please take note.]
"As expected, canceled."
My question was answered instantly.
That said, after such an event, you'd think they'd close school, but regular classes? That's unexpected.
Then another message arrived.
[Sun-woo-ya, thanks for today. Owe you my life lol]
It was Yoon Ha-young.
Heard she was hospitalized, but seems she's doing fine.
Followed by another message.
[Ah-ra says thanks too.]
Yoo Ah-ra?
Right, they were sharing a hospital room.
Calling her by name without the family name means the incident brought them pretty close.
In the original story, it took a year for those two to get friendly. Another deviation.
"......Somehow feels ominous."
Yoon Ha-young with the Demon Slayer trait and Yoo Ah-ra, who drags in all sorts of incidents later, becoming friends this early.
How big will the butterfly effect be?
The future ahead is starting to worry me big time.
As expected, classes were delayed to 1 PM due to yesterday's incident.
Reasons like security-related teacher meetings and such.
Looking down through the classroom window, I saw tons of Association wizards guarding the school.
"You all must be shaken from yesterday. Some students faced great danger, others maybe not. But I bet you all felt something in common."
Morning assembly.
Well, at 1 PM, not really morning anymore?
......Anyway. In the 2nd Year Class A classroom with students gathered, Jang An-cheol spoke with a serious face.
"The danger of demons. And how exposed we humans are to their threats. You must've felt that."
The students kept silent with grim faces.
Yesterday's events must've been shocking for these young teens. They could've lost their lives.
Seeing them like that, Jang An-cheol smiled faintly, perhaps to ease the tension.
"So, we all gotta train harder, right? To survive against those evil demons."
"Yes!"
The students replied in unison. Their spirit was plucky.
"Alright, a few more announcements. As you know, midterms are canceled. Remaining scores will be covered by usual class scores, assignments, and magic practice scores."
"Ah......"
Groans rose from the students.
Soon, some voiced complaints.
"That's not fair!"
"I'm screwed. My class scores suck."
Clap!
As the classroom grew noisy, Jang An-cheol clapped to regain attention.
"Quiet, quiet. I've told you enough about how important class attitude and conduct scores are. And that they can affect exam scores depending on circumstances. Complaining now?"
The students fell silent at Jang An-cheol's words.
"I know some of you feel it's unfair. But this midterm won't weigh heavily on your grades. Of course, that means the second midterm and finals will count more, so keep that in mind."
That was it.
Jang An-cheol turned sharply and exited through the door. As he left, disappointed voices rose among some students again.
I'd managed my class scores well, so no big complaints. If anything, better for me?
"Hmm......"
According to the school notice, today and tomorrow have no regular classes. Instead, demon safety education.
Probably because some injured students can't come to school.
I glanced at Yoon Ha-young and Yoo Ah-ra's seats.
Empty.
Those two were hospitalized and absent. But not seriously hurt, so they'll be discharged soon......
"Huh? Yoon Ha-young and Yoo Ah-ra."
"What? They were hospitalized but discharged already?"
Yoon Ha-young and Yoo Ah-ra opened the classroom door and entered.
What. Already discharged?
"Yeah. Wasn't that bad an injury. Haha."
"Good thing. Oh, right. You guys took down a demon too? Awesome."
The atmosphere suddenly buzzed.
As kids eavesdropped on the chat, my eyes met Yoo Ah-ra's for a moment.
Yoo Ah-ra's peculiar gaze. No clue what she's thinking, but she's aware of me.
*......What?*
That's when the classroom ceiling speaker suddenly blared.
—Yoo Ah-ra, Yoon Ha-young, Kim Sun-woo students. Please come to the faculty office immediately.
Wizard Association Special Task Force HQ.
Kim Deok-hyeon sat in his chair, recalling yesterday's events.
"......It's weird."
Why did the demons attack the Wizard Academy? He couldn't figure it out.
Demons are cunning.
They sometimes rampage and attack humans out of nowhere, but basically, with high intelligence and meticulousness, they hide among humans to slowly build their power.
"Why would those guys......?"
For them to outright assault the Wizard Academy, there had to be a reason.
Plus, setting up a barrier to trap the wizards meant it'd been planned meticulously for a while.
"Hmm......"
Then, he suddenly recalled the demon subjugated by the students.
Yoo Ah-ra and one unfamiliar girl student. And Kim Sun-woo.
These three took down the demon.
From the distant mana intensity, it seemed B-Grade demon.
Of course, knowing Yoo Ah-ra's genius, the three combining forces could've done it.
But doubt lingered.
The dead demon's body bore traces of magic way too strong for student level.
Even if Yoo Ah-ra's a genius, this was over the line.
No traces of her specialty, fire-attribute magic, either.
"Then Yoon Ha-young? Or Kim Sun-woo?"
As he pondered alone—
The door burst open, and Jeong Hyun-soo rushed in.
"Sunbae!"
Seeing Jeong Hyun-soo call urgently, Kim Deok-hyeon asked.
"What? What's up?"
"Terror attack in Incheon right now!"
"What?"
We were called to the faculty office regarding yesterday's demon subjugation bounty payout.
Thanks to that, 5 million won dropped into my account. Felt good, couldn't help grinning.
"Here, subjugation reward for you."
After leaving the office.
Yoo Ah-ra suddenly said to me.
"You're giving it to me?"
"That demon, you took it down. Why should I take it?"
"Nah. By the time I got there, it was already half-dead."
"Don't exaggerate. It wasn't that bad."
Yoo Ah-ra said firmly with sharp eyes.
"Nah. You take it."
Yoo Ah-ra frowned at my response. Then she turned sharply to Yoon Ha-young.
"Fine. Then Ha-young, for you."