Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: Gathering Suspicions
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“Huh? No. I didn’t do anything!”
Yun Ha-young waved her hands in surprise. Yoo Ah-ra let out a deep sigh, then looked back and forth between me and Yun Ha-young as she spoke.
“……Just take it, one of you. I feel like such an idiot for passing out like that, so it’s embarrassing to accept this money.”
This girl’s pride is no joke.
Refusing five million won just because it feels embarrassing.
She’s so young she doesn’t know the value of money.
“Then give it to me.”
There’s no reason to turn down five million won.
And putting on a show by refusing money just to save face isn’t my style.
You’ve got to grab what you can when you can.
That was when Yun Ha-young’s gaze turned toward me.
“Uh……? Then I’ll give you some too.”
What’s her deal now?
“Why you?”
“……Because you helped me out.”
Yun Ha-young replied with an awkward smile.
“You’re good.”
“You definitely hurt that demon. In fact, your power played the biggest role in taking it down.”
“But I’m not even sure that was really me doing it.”
I chuckled. She possessed the demon-slaying power known as the natural predator of demons, yet she had no idea what kind of power she wielded. Still, I couldn’t let her go on living in ignorance forever.
She needed to awaken to how to use her demon-slaying power as soon as possible and learn to protect herself from demons.
“That was definitely you.”
“What are you talking about? You didn’t even see me cast any magic.”
“No. It was you.”
You’re the only one in this world with the demon-slaying power.
“......Really?”
“Yeah.”
Yun Ha-young nodded as if she got it, convinced by my firm answer.
“Got it. If Sun-woo says so, then it must be. You’ve never been wrong once.”
She believed my word without any real evidence.
Looks like I’m someone she trusts implicitly.
That was when Yoo Ah-ra, who’d been blankly watching our exchange, spoke up.
“Kim Sun-woo.”
“Hm?”
“But you……”
Yoo Ah-ra looked like she was about to say something, then clamped her mouth shut. She turned her head to gauge Yun Ha-young’s reaction.
“What?”
When I asked, Yoo Ah-ra shook her head.
“Nothing. We’ll talk later.”
……What’s her problem?
A massive hologram video was projecting from the classroom podium.
The content covered the history and habits of demons—a safety education video produced by the Wizards Association for demon terror preparedness. But the students showed zero interest: some slept, others played games on their smart student handbooks, and so on.
Meanwhile, Yoo Ah-ra sat in her chair, lost in deep thought all by herself.
‘What could it be.’
She stared at Kim Sun-woo’s back as he lay slumped over his desk, fast asleep.
Kim Sun-woo.
Just last year, he’d been totally unremarkable.
His magic talent was nothing special, and he didn’t stand out in any other way.
But after advancing to second year, it was like he’d become a completely different person—drawing attention left and right, and yesterday, he’d shown combat prowess so incredible it was hard to believe even with her own eyes.
And that was against a B-Grade demon or higher.
What on earth? She’d replayed yesterday’s events in her mind over and over.
No matter how she sliced it, the power Kim Sun-woo had displayed wasn’t anywhere near student level. Immense mana reserves, plus the skill to wield it freely.
Another student might not have been able to gauge the caliber of magic he’d used, but Yoo Ah-ra was different.
When it came to manifestation magic, she had an exceptional grasp that set her apart from all 150 students in the school.
That was why she knew Kim Sun-woo’s magical ability had transcended mere talent.
‘……But why.’
Did he normally only show a fraction of his power?
Everything he’d revealed at school up to now was just the tiniest sliver of what he’d unleashed yesterday.
Despite his vast mana pool, he’d faked a mana depletion on the first day of public testing. And during Monday’s basic magic aptitude evaluation, rather than busting out the powerful manifestation magic from yesterday, he’d stuck to his sub-specialty of reinforcement magic for the exam.
He’d even turned down a special talent scholarship in auxiliary magic—his neither main nor sub specialty—from the teacher herself.
‘There has to be a reason.’
Hiding power on the level of a monstrous genius that rivaled—no, surpassed—Lee Seo-jun.
Did he have some backstory? At his age, there weren’t many possibilities that came to mind.
What if he carried the same kind of pain she did……
That thought triggered a sudden memory of her own childhood for Yoo Ah-ra.
Her unfortunate past. The parting. The agony. The torment.
The horrific event that had forced her to claw her way through life like she did now.
“What’re you thinking so hard about?”
The sudden voice snapped Yoo Ah-ra from her reverie.
She turned to find Yun Ha-young had slid into the seat next to her, smiling.
“Nothing. Just some random old thoughts.”
“What kind?”
“Just……stuff from the past.”
“Hmm. Yeah?”
Yun Ha-young wanted to press further but held her tongue.
It might’ve been her imagination, but there’d been a hint of sadness in her voice.
“Alright! Everyone, on your feet!”
Jang An-cheol’s call jolted me awake. I wiped the drool from the corner of my mouth with my sleeve and lifted my head.
As my fuzzy mind cleared, a message popped up.
［Key figure ‘Yoo Ah-ra’ is curious about you.］
［Reward: Acquired 500 points.］
“......What’s this.”
I glanced back at Yoo Ah-ra. Our eyes met for a split second.
She didn’t look away. Her gaze held something unspoken, almost expectant, before she turned forward again.
Huh?
I was still mulling it over when Jang An-cheol’s voice rang out again.
“Everyone up? Good. A few more announcements, then we’ll wrap homeroom for today.”
“Yes-.”
“First off, tomorrow’s classes will start at 1 p.m., as decided.”
Cheers erupted from a few students—the same ones who’d been nodding off during first period.
“And for midterm grading: the Monday and Tuesday exams count for 60%. The remaining 40% will pull from your regular class scores up to now.”
Groans of disappointment rose from a few students this time.
“Don’t be surprised if we see more sudden changes to grading like this. So stay on top of your regular classes. And finally……”
Every student’s eyes locked onto Jang An-cheol at that word.
“The special elective scheduled for next Wednesday has been canceled.”
More disappointed murmurs swept the room.
“That sucks.”
“Yeah. Campus feels so claustrophobic—outdoor classes are way better.”
Special elective canceled……
Suits me just fine.
I’m not a fan of traipsing around outside anyway……
“......Wait.”
Hold up.
……No special elective next week?
“This is insane!”
My outburst drew every eye in the room to me.
According to the original story, next week’s special elective featured a key episode.
The Seoul Station terror incident.
Lee Seo-jun and Yoo Ah-ra were paired up during a field trip to the Seoul Wizards Association, only to get caught in a minor terror attack at Seoul Station.
This episode was a big deal in the original.
It marked the point where Yoo Ah-ra’s role exploded, their relationship deepened, and even her hidden past and trauma came to light……
“What now?”
But story changes had gotten the special elective axed.
Without Lee Seo-jun and Yoo Ah-ra to stop it, no one would intervene in the Seoul Station terror.
That left the terrorists free to act. Their mana bomb at the station could rack up serious casualties.
If some unexpected key figure died as a result, that’d be a massive headache.
‘Do I have to step in?’
Problem was, the incident hit on Wednesday—a school day. How was I supposed to handle it?
The Magic Academy didn’t hand out early dismissals or sick days lightly.
You needed a rock-solid reason anyone would nod along to. And skipping without permission? The school’s warnings were no joke.
“......Hmm.”
Only one option, huh.
Eliminate the root cause before the incident even pops off.
Yeah, that’s the play.
“Your iced Americano.”
A small coffee shop near school.
I grabbed my coffee and took an empty seat.
“Hey, you hear? Terror attack in Incheon.”
“No way. Another one?”
“World’s gone to hell.”
I overheard chatter about the terror.
The Incheon incident.
Perpetrated by the same crew behind next week’s Seoul Station attack.
As expected, things were proceeding along the original timeline.
I fired up my smart student handbook and hopped online.
［Korea’s Largest Portal - Hermes］
I typed a name into the search bar.
Jo Sung-hoon, the ringleader and perp of this terror plot.
A small-time outfit you could barely call a terror group, but they had a name: Pyokyeon. And he was their boss.
[Search results for ‘Jo Sung-hoon’.]
[Person ‘Jo Sung-hoon’]
Affiliation - JQ Group
Occupation - Alchemist, Wizard
Just as I’d figured—no surprises. Only the bare-bones public info on Jo Sung-hoon.
He wasn’t a major player in the original either.
Felt like a throwaway extra tossed in just to trigger the event.
“Hmm……”
No dice digging for dirt on a portal site like this.
I closed the browser, pulled out my smartphone, and shot off a message.
[Han Se-yeon, got a favor to ask. Available?]
Sent.
Ding! Reply came right away.
[Long time no talk. What’s the favor?]
[Need you to track someone down. By this weekend.]
[Who?]
[Jo Sung-hoon from UQ Group.]
[I don’t know the guy. Why him?]
[Personal curiosity. Can you dig into his recent movements? Details.]
[Got it. I’ll check it out.]
[Thanks.]
That oughta do it. Hanseong Group’s intel network is solid.
I was sliding my phone back into my pocket when a voice called from behind.
“Phew. Took me forever to find you.”
I whipped around. A woman who looked young was eyeing me.
“Kim Sun-woo, right?”
Familiar face.
I knew her the second I saw her.
She was all over the news constantly.
Looked like a twenty-something, but her real age was easily double that.
“……Wizard Jeong Yun-seol?”
Jeong Yun-seol.
One of the world’s top five auxiliary wizards.
“That’s me. Nice to meet you.”
“……What brings you here?”
“Nothing big. Just wanted a quick chat.”
“With me?”
……Out of nowhere?
“I heard about you from Yun-jin.”
“Ah……”
Yun-jin had to mean Kim Yun-jin, the auxiliary magic teacher. In the original, Jeong Yun-seol was her master.
I could guess where this was headed, so I cut in first.
“Sorry, but I’m not switching to auxiliary magic.”
“Huh? Oh. Yeah, that’s a shame. Can’t force you if you’re not into it.”
What? Jeong Yun-seol was way more chill than I’d expected. I’d been worried given how the original painted her as a total eccentric.
“But mind answering a few questions? Got some curiosities.”
“Like what?”
“Were you at the third-year exam site yesterday by any chance?”
I went quiet at her question.
Had to think about what she was getting at.
“Yeah. I was.”
A lame lie would blow up in my face fast. Plus, I’d been with Lee Seo-jun, so a few people probably spotted me.
“I see. So……that barrier. Were you the one who dispelled it?”
Called it. That’s why she tracked me down.
She suspected me of cracking the barrier.
How to play this.
If I owned up to it here, word could spread, and I’d hit the radar. Short-term points windfall, sure, but it’d paint a target on me for demons.
Not the right time yet. I was still too weak, with nothing to my name. Demons could come sniffing later.
“Nope.”
Jeong Yun-seol stared me down straight-on. Then she grinned.
“You’re dodging, huh.”
“How could I possibly dispel something like that?”