Chapter 401
Chapter 401
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 402
Chapter Title: Mana Elixir and Special Agent Card
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“Ugh...”
After school, at the Wizard Academy’s comprehensive training grounds.
Exhausted from the nonstop training, Yun Hayoung collapsed weakly onto the ground.
She breathed heavily for a moment before closing her eyes.
“Seonwoo... I can’t do any more...”
Today, she had completed over six hours of [Demon Annihilation] adaptation training with me.
Unlike me, she didn’t have various recovery traits, so keeping up with this routine must have been tough.
But she stuck it out to the end on sheer willpower alone.
See? Yun Hayoung pulls through when she needs to.
Feeling proud, I handed her the water I’d prepared in advance.
“Good work. You kept up well, though.”
“Mm... My whole body aches.”
Yun Hayoung propped herself up briefly and took a sip of water.
I watched her for a moment before pulling a ‘Purified Mana Pill’ from my bag and offering it.
“Here. Take this too.”
Yun Hayoung blinked at it curiously.
“What’s that?”
“A mana elixir.”
“ Mana elixir?”
Yun Hayoung tilted her head.
Having never relied on external resources like this before, the concept must have been unfamiliar to her.
“You know those mana supplements you take after training? Think of it like that.”
“Ohh~ I’ve heard of them. But isn’t this super expensive?”
It hadn’t hit the market yet, so I didn’t know the exact price, but since it was made using Gretel’s leaves, it would probably sell for a high amount if it did.
Plus, it was an elixir crafted personally by Han Se-yeon, the world’s top pharmaceutical tech company.
“...Yeah, not cheap. It’s gotta be at least 10 million won per pill.”
Yun Hayoung’s face flushed with shock at my casual remark.
“T-Ten? This little pill costs 10 million won?”
Maybe it was a big sum for someone like Yun Hayoung, who skimped even on convenience store snacks.
I could hear the tremor in her voice.
Shouldn’t have said anything.
She looked like she’d refuse because it felt burdensome.
And sure enough, she shook her head in refusal.
“...N-No. I can’t accept this.”
“Hey now. You ignoring my gesture?”
“Even so...”
Yun Hayoung clamped her mouth shut and looked up at me.
Meeting my gaze, she realized there was no getting out of it and let out a deep sigh.
“Seonwoo. I feel bad always just taking from you.”
“What’s there to feel bad about? Don’t worry about it. And I’ve got tons of these.”
I had over 40 on hand, and if I ran low, I could just ask Han Se-yeon for more.
“Still... I want to give you something back for everything you’ve given me, but I don’t have the ability to, and it upsets me.”
Her words rang with sincerity.
She seemed to have lost some of her confidence, too.
A pang of sympathy hit me, followed by that same proud feeling, bringing a smile to my face.
“No. You’ve already done plenty for me.”
It wasn’t empty flattery. She had been a huge help.
Thanks to her, I’d taken down a powerful villain like an S-Rank Demon early on, and we’d even been able to plan for taking out the Demon King.
“To me, just having you around is a massive help. So no need to feel sorry at all.”
“......Huh?”
Had I said something too embarrassing?
Yun Hayoung’s face lit up with confusion. She averted her eyes awkwardly, then blurted out.
“O-Okay! I’ll take the elixir then? I-I’ll eat it well?”
“Y-Yeah. Swallow slowly.”
Yun Hayoung hesitantly took the elixir from me and popped it into her mouth.
Gulp.
As it slid down her throat, her expression twisted briefly.
“...Huh?”
It was a natural reaction for someone unaccustomed to elixirs.
Having external mana spread through your body wasn’t exactly familiar.
I approached her.
“Breathe slowly and control the mana.”
Yun Hayoung nodded through her discomfort and assumed a cross-legged position for mana circulation training.
I moved behind her back to assist with her mana control.
...A short time passed, and Yun Hayoung untied her legs, seemingly having successfully absorbed the elixir’s mana as her own.
“...Whew.”
“How’s it feel? Notice anything different?”
Yun Hayoung looked down at her hands, closing her eyes briefly to sense the new mana surging within her.
“Yeah. I can feel the mana rampaging inside me. It’s amazing.”
“Don’t forget that sensation. Commit it to memory.”
Yun Hayoung looked up at me and met my eyes.
I smirked at her.
“The elixir you just took? We’ll be doing one every three days.”
“......Huh? W-Wait. Seonwoo. Every three days?”
Yun Hayoung’s eyes widened once more.
Having successfully finished the all-nighter training session with Yun Hayoung, I returned to the dorm.
It had been a while since I’d trained this intensely, and my body felt fatigued.
As I walked down the hall and reached my dorm door, there was a small package waiting.
“Hm? Did I order something?”
I picked up the package and checked the name.
[Seoul Wizard Association Special Intelligence Division]
“Oh. From the intel team.”
They’d said they’d send a gift as thanks for my help finding the Brahm Empire’s artificial mystery, and it looked like it had arrived today.
I lifted the box.
It felt incredibly light, like it was empty inside.
“What is it?”
Doesn’t seem like an elixir set.
Puzzled, I opened the door and stepped inside.
The darkness suggested Gretel had turned off the lights and gone to sleep.
Moving carefully so as not to wake her, I sat on the sofa and opened the box.
Inside was...
“......A card?”
A single black card.
Curious, I picked it up. Elegant text read ‘Special Intelligence Division 5th Grade Agent ID.’
I checked the note hidden behind the card.
[Hello, Student Kim Seonwoo. This is Yang Ji-tae, 2nd Grade Agent from the intel team who served as chief examiner during your Pro Wizard qualification exam. I imagine this unexpected gift came as quite a surprise.]
I read the note slowly. Neat handwriting.
A personal note from S-Rank Wizard Yang Ji-tae.
I continued reading.
[This card is a temporary intel team staff ID valid for three months. It grants access to special facilities permitted for the Association’s intel team, with additional benefits provided during field activities.]
“Oh. A temporary staff ID.”
I’d expected a simple elixir set, so this was a bit unexpected.
And I could read the meaning behind this gift.
They wanted to recruit me into the intel team.
I hadn’t expected them to express it so directly.
“But I’m not interested in the intel team.”
Special Intelligence Division.
Alongside the Special Task Force, it was one of the Association’s largest organizations, specializing in ‘intelligence’ as the name implied.
The intel they handled covered ‘terrorism,’ ‘Demons,’ ‘magical beasts,’ as well as spells, unsolved cases, and mysteries.
Plus, with numerous S-Rank Wizards on staff, their ‘combat power’ was formidable, not far behind the Special Task Force.
“......Still.”
It didn’t hold the same significance for me as the Special Task Force.
They specialized in intel, sure, but to follow the original story’s flow, joining the Special Task Force was the better move.
And the Task Force handled most intel anyway.
“No real merits here.”
Muttering to myself, I fiddled with the card again.
The sleek black card felt premium.
It was actually pretty satisfying, even more than the elixir set I’d expected.
Even as a 5th Grade Agent ID, being intel-affiliated came with various perks and quality services.
Above all, with this card, I could access the Association’s special intel facility, the ‘Archive.’
The bitter memory surfaced of sneaking in previously to get the ‘Spirit Materialization Spell’ only to get caught on CCTV and turn back.
“Right.”
Now that the Pro exam was over, the ‘practicum’ schedule would be coming up soon.
I opened my smart student handbook and checked the schedule.
[Thursday. 3rd Year Field Practicum.]
“Day after tomorrow.”
♦ ♦ ♦
...Two days flew by.
A biting chill had set in, making it feel like early winter had fully given way to true winter.
The weather service even forecasted a slight chance of snow tomorrow.
Experiencing this midwinter cold made the end of my 3rd year feel all too real, stirring a strange mood.
And so, after a long while, I visited the Special Task Force in my capacity as an Association ‘practicum student.’
“Kim Seonwoo~ Long time no see~ How’ve you been? Heard you took the Pro exam?”
“Seonwoo junior~ You don’t have to reply to my texts, but at least read them. That message from 92 days ago is still unread. Okay?”
The Task Force staff spotted me the moment I arrived and greeted me warmly(?).
Perhaps because so much had happened in the past few months, their attitude toward me felt even friendlier than before.
After light greetings all around, a voice called out from somewhere.
“Kim Seonwoo.”
It was Lee Seojun.
With thirty minutes to go until clock-in, he’d arrived early and waited.
“You’re early.”
“Yeah. It’s been a while since practicum.”
I sat next to him, glancing at Yoo Ara, who was seated on his other side. She glanced at me and said,
“Hi.”
“Oh, hi.”
With simple greetings exchanged, Lee Seojun spoke up.
“Practicum after so long.”
“Yeah, pretty much. Practicum’s gonna fill most of our schedule for a bit.”
The Pro qualification exam had pushed back the field practicum a lot.
It’d probably be packed with practicum until finals started.
For reference, this practicum period would mainly cover the ‘Demon incident’ and the investigation into Hanseong Family’s cooperative relations.
I knew this not from the original plot.
I checked my smart student handbook.
[I leaked the info to the Association as you said.]
A message from Ha Ryeong.
I’d asked her to leak info on the ‘King’s’ movements and the Ten Demon Society to the Association.
The Association must have picked up what she spread by now.
Time passed, and Kim Deokhyeon entered, announcing,
“We’ve obtained intel from the intel team on the Demons’ secret organization and clues about their leader. Meeting now—everyone gather.”
“......Huh? Demon organization? The Ten Demon Society?”
The agents muttered in confusion.
Even Lee Seojun, on practicum after so long, tensed up at what seemed like a major case.
It was the expected flow, so I calmly stood.
We gathered for the meeting.
“I’ll brief quickly and simply.”
Kim Deokhyeon activated the hologram and began.
“This morning, we acquired intel from the intel team on a Demon organization.”
The Demon organization meant the ‘Ten Demon Society.’
The Association had a vague idea of the name but not its true nature.
“Yes. The Ten Demon Society. The one you all know about.”
A brief silence fell.
Since they always lurked in the shadows, this was probably the first time dealing with a massive Demon group like the Ten Demon Society.
“To explain simply: the Ten Demon Society has a leader called the ‘King.’ This ‘King’ is apparently in its second generation of succession.”
“Wait. We knew there was a King, but it’s being succeeded?”
One agent asked.
“That’s what they say. Not sure how the succession works, though.”
The Demon King’s succession.
A sort of mystical phenomenon.
When the King dies, the strongest Demon at that moment ascends as the next ‘King.’
If my guess was right, wouldn’t ‘Ha Ryeong’ become the next King?
“But where’d this intel come from? It’s not everyday stuff—there’s gotta be a source, right?”
“No idea. Per the intel team, it seems someone intentionally leaked it. Though that’s not confirmed either.”
The intel team, huh.
No clue how Ha Ryeong leaked it, but they’d caught on somewhat.
Not a big deal, though.
The agents stirred briefly at his words.
“......Someone intentionally leaked intel? Who?”
“A Demon? Or what?”
Kim Deokhyeon looked at them and said,
“No clue. Makes you suspect a trap, but the intel’s credible enough.”
He continued.
“My take? There’s a traitor inside the Ten Demon Society.”