Chapter 400
Chapter 400
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 401
Chapter Title: The King Moves
-----------------------------------------------------------------
If it was a 1v1, I might have thought there was a chance of losing, but Kim Sunwoo's strength far exceeded my expectations.
"Sigh... I warned you so many times not to get involved with Kim Sunwoo. I knew this would happen. So, how was it going up against him? How strong do you think he is?"
"Hmm. Well. As for that guy's strength."
Yoo Sungjin trailed off before continuing.
"S-Rank, right up to the wall? Honestly, I'm not entirely sure myself. His fighting style is just so unique."
"...Right up to the S-Rank wall?"
Jin felt a moment of doubt at those words.
Right up to the S-Rank wall meant he'd reached the pinnacle of A-Rank...
But the 'Kim Sunwoo' I knew wasn't just that level.
That guy definitely possessed overwhelming strength that surpassed S-Rank.
Hmm. Looks like he held back against Yoo Sungjin to hide his real power.
"Tch. You need to learn more. You don't know anything."
At those words, Yoo Sungjin narrowed his eyes.
"You're looking down on me just because you sparred with me, but that guy is really strong."
"No, that's not what I meant. It's the opposite."
"......Huh?"
Yoo Sungjin tilted his head at Jin's words.
"Kim Sunwoo is way stronger than you think. So when he fought you, he went easy."
"...He went easy on me?"
It was hard to believe. He held back against me?
Kim Sunwoo was 19 years old.
He already had overwhelming strength beyond his age, and he was hiding even more?
Yoo Sungjin felt incredulous and turned his head.
—Sunbae! How'd the exam go?
—Kim Sunwoo. Thanks to you, I got out quick. B-Grade is pretty much locked in now.
—Hehe. Sunwoo, want anything to eat? I'll buy you whatever!
Kim Sunwoo was surrounded by people, chatting.
Every one of those members was a famous rising star with recognizable faces.
At that moment, as if sensing the gaze, Kim Sunwoo turned his head toward Yoo Sungjin.
Their eyes met instantly. Expressionless eyes. Meeting that gaze sent an inexplicable chill down his spine.
Kim Sunwoo soon turned back to his friends.
—Anyway, I'm tired. Let's head back to school quick.
—Aw, Sunwoo. We gotta eat first.
—Yeah. I haven't had lunch yet either.
_Hmm... Should we?_
With that, Kim Sunwoo disappeared somewhere with his group.
Then, from behind, Jin muttered quietly enough not to be heard.
"...I think that guy just looked at me."
After the license exam.
I returned to the dorm after a simple meal with the main characters.
Even though I'd eaten my fill, my body felt completely drained of energy.
Was it the relief of having climbed one big mountain?
But there were still so many mountains left ahead of me.
With graduation not far off, I had no idea if my body could hold out until I scaled them all.
"Ung-ae!"
As I entered the living room, Gretel greeted me with a bright smile. I picked up Gretel and sat on the sofa.
Traces of sausages mixed with various elixirs were scattered on the floor.
Looks like she ate well and behaved while I was gone.
"Gretel, weren't you bored?"
At my question, Gretel shook her head while munching on a sausage.
It was her way of saying she was bored. That made me feel unnecessarily guilty.
"Gretel, how about we go hiking this weekend?"
"Ung-ae!"
Gretel jumped up excitedly at my words.
After putting Gretel down, I flopped onto the sofa.
Feeling the soft cushion envelop my body, I activated the Smart Sync function of External Benefactor.
"Hmm."
In the time I was away, a bunch of notifications had piled up.
Messages of all sorts, news alerts, and such...
I checked the backlog of messages first.
[Hello, student Kim Sunwoo. I'm Park Ga, representative of Innovator Guild...
I ignored scout messages like that and moved to the next.
[Hello. This is the Wizard Association. We're contacting you after reviewing student Kim Sunwoo's exploration log from today.]
"Hm?"
A message from the Wizard Association.
Probably because in the exam event 'Exploration,' I wrote down the summoning coordinates for the artificial mystery that the association hadn't uncovered.
[Following student Kim Sunwoo's deduction, we verified the coordinates. And we found the artificial mystery there.]
"Quick."
The artificial mystery was summoned to an uninhabited island a bit away from the actual 'Brahma Golden Empire' island.
This artificial mystery shows scenes from desired past moments, and later, Lee Seojun, who joins the association, uses it to track Jin Cheonwoo.
Of course, it's not a mystery you can use infinitely.
It requires a long recharge time for reuse.
[Thanks to this, the association's research team made a major breakthrough. As a token of our gratitude, we'd like to send a gift. Is it okay to ship it to your current dorm address?]
I tapped out a reply.
[Yes, please send it to the dorm.]
I didn't have high expectations for the 'gift.'
I already knew it was just an elixir set anyway.
More than that, the gift I wanted most right now was Pro Wizard A-Rank.
I considered asking for it but decided against.
The exam performance was so good, I figured I'd jump straight to A-Rank without needing to ask.
After that, I checked the next messages.
[The King has moved.]
A message from Ha Ryeong.
A single short sentence. But the weight it carried was immense.
The King of the demons, who had been hiding among humans biding his time, had begun to move.
The implications were not simple.
The movement of the King, one of the top five strongest in the world, meant massive chaos was coming.
"...Tense."
In my view, it was the tallest mountain left to climb before graduation.
His death would also seal the fate of Han Sejin, his collaborator.
To kill the King, I needed a way to suppress his infinite super-regeneration.
I already knew the method.
It was Yoon Hayoung's [Demon Extermination].
Of course, I had [Demon Extermination] too, but mine was low-grade, so I wasn't sure if it'd work on him.
"The association needs to respond quickly."
The association's movements were a bit slower than I'd expected.
Maybe because so many incidents were breaking out at once, things were chaotic?
"...Ugh. Cold."
Then, a sudden chill swept over my entire body.
I turned, thinking a window had opened, but they were all properly closed.
With cold resistance, I don't feel the cold easily, so what was that?
"Hmm. Winter already?"
With the Pro Wizard license exam—the most important event for third-years—over, the Wizard Academy shifted to a relaxed atmosphere.
Like third-years in my old world after finishing college entrance exams, they must be feeling liberated now that their ordeals were done.
After classes fully ended, post-school hours.
"Mmm~ We worked hard lately, so time to rest for a bit."
Yoon Hayoung, finished packing up to head home, stretched hugely and muttered to herself.
After grinding for the past few weeks, she was rewarding herself with a vacation.
Final exams were coming soon, but the other students weren't much different from Yoon Hayoung.
For third-years, the second-semester finals didn't mean much unless you were top-tier.
"I thought you were working hard lately, and now you're already thinking of resting."
At my words, Yoon Hayoung sneaked a glance at me, then playfully poked my side with a grin.
"Just a teensy break. Exactly! Just this week. Ara and Seojun said rest is important too, so they're taking this week off, right, Ara?"
Yoon Hayoung said to Yoo Ara, who had approached us before we knew it.
Yoo Ara glanced at me and said.
"...Rest is important. But Kim Sunwoo, you're not resting?"
Yoo Ara asked me. I looked up at her from my seat and nodded.
"Yeah. Planning to keep training without a break."
"...Then I won't rest either."
Yoon Hayoung frowned as Yoo Ara changed her mind.
"Ah. Why? You said rest is important."
It seemed Yoon Hayoung needed an excuse to rest, and that excuse was Lee Seojun and Yoo Ara—the top scorers—taking a break.
"Kim Sunwoo isn't resting, so I can't either."
"Nooo. Why's your standard Sunwoo? If you want to rest, rest."
Yoon Hayoung was imitating Yoo Ara herself, but now that Yoo Ara said no rest, she was blaming her.
I let out an incredulous chuckle and said to Yoo Ara.
"Fine. You rest. Rest is important, after all."
Rest was important.
Plus, Yoo Ara had basically run nonstop her whole life. She needed a break.
"Then why aren't you resting?"
"Me? ...I don't tire easily."
Armed with all sorts of stamina recovery traits, my condition resets after a day.
No need for her to force herself to follow my routine.
"That's not fair. I want to train too."
But Yoo Ara, unaware, declared she wouldn't rest.
If she wants to rest, she should. Why does she keep trying to copy me?
"Ara. Sunwoo says rest is important too. Let's rest together. Ung?"
"You can rest, but she can't."
I told Yoon Hayoung, and her eyes widened in shock.
"...Me? Why me?"
"You're doing special training with me for a while."
"...Uh, whaa?"
The King has moved.
And the King is a monster with near-immortal vitality.
Even the strongest wizard called 'Kim Jincheol' couldn't sever that guy's life force with his super-regeneration.
...But.
Yoon Hayoung's [Demon Extermination] was different.
Demon Extermination was the only key to killing the King with his infinite life force.
For the incident coming soon, I needed to sharpen her weapon even a little more.
At that moment, Yoo Ara's voice rang out, oblivious.
"...I've felt it for a while, but you subtly favor Hayoung? I want special training too."