Chapter 44
Chapter 44
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: Pioneer's Night
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I stared blankly at the message, and another one popped up.
[Do you have time tomorrow by any chance?]
Time? It felt like she was asking me out on a date.
“...What the hell.”
［Why tomorrow?］
［Let’s hang out lol］
I was tempted to say yes just out of curiosity about what she wanted to do, but...
Tomorrow was packed with stuff related to Jo Sung-hoon, so no dice.
［Sorry. Busy tomorrow.］
I sent the reply.
[The supporting character ‘Jang Ye’ is dumbfounded by your response.]
[You acquire 500 points as a reward.]
“What the...”
Then another message came.
[No choice then. How about next Sunday?]
...Next Sunday I had a dungeon appointment with Yoon Ha-young.
［Sorry, looks like next weekend won’t work either.］
Reply.
[The supporting character ‘Jang Ye’ feels intense humiliation toward you.]
[You acquire 500 points as a reward.]
No reply for about three minutes.
Just as I thought I’d been ghosted and set down my smart student planner,
Another message arrived.
[Lol... no choice then.]
The next day at 3 p.m.
At Han Se-yeon’s summons, I entered the promised spot—a luxury officetel in Seoul.
She said this was one of her personally purchased private residences, a space she used now and then for rest.
“Come on in.”
As I stepped inside, Han Se-yeon greeted me with a faint smile.
I’d only ever seen her in stiff suits, but now she was relaxed in a soft-knit top and short shorts.
“What’re you staring at?”
“Oh, nothing. Just different from your usual image. More natural—looks good.”
She chuckled at my words.
“I can’t wear suits in my own private space. Anyway, here—take this.”
Han Se-yeon handed me a square box. On top were the letters ‘YKH’.
YKH. The world’s most renowned luxury suit brand.
“...It’s just for one wear, and it’s this expensive.”
“You’ll wear it more than once after buying it, right? There’ll be more days ahead. Go on, open it.”
At her urging, I opened the box. Inside was a perfectly tailored black suit. The moment I saw it, its info popped up before my eyes.
[YKH Classic Men’s Suit (A)]
Category: Clothing
Description: A men’s suit from YKH.
[Continuous Effect]
►Custom-Fit
Changes to fit the user’s body.
Durability: A
“Oh.”
Not even armor, and it had A-rank durability. Plus a custom-fit effect. As expected from the world’s top luxury brand—something else entirely.
This must’ve cost a fortune.
“Thanks. I’ll wear it well.”
“Put it on now.”
At Han Se-yeon’s words, I started to change right there. That’s when—
“Wait!”
She suddenly shouted loudly.
Wondering what was up, I looked at her, and she pointed to a small room on the left.
“Change in there.”
“...Right.”
Feeling embarrassed, I hurried into the room.
‘Pioneer’s Night’ was held at Brujour, a luxury hotel in Seoul.
Brujour Hotel had a spacious prepared courtyard, art gallery, and various cultural facilities, making it a frequent venue for events.
When I arrived, I saw people dressed to the nines. It was 8 p.m., and colorful lights illuminated the surroundings.
“Good evening. May I see your invitation?”
At the entrance, a hotel staff member said to me.
I pulled a small card from my pocket. The invitation from Han Se-yeon. The staff checked it and bowed slightly with a faint smile.
“Confirmed. Enjoy your evening.”
“Yes, thank you.”
I entered the hotel.
Pleasant classical music flowed through the air.
All around were tempting foods and drinks.
The event started in a separate venue on the first floor and the wide courtyard. Arriving at the venue, I saw crowds chatting and laughing.
“Oh my, Vice Chairman Han Se-jin?”
“Hello. Nice to see you.”
Then a familiar name caught my ear from the side. Turning toward the voice, I saw Han Se-jin, sharply dressed, laughing amid a group of women.
‘Popular guy.’
It’d be great to take out Han Se-jin, who becomes a major villain later, but security was tight—no chance.
Dealing with him could wait.
Finding Jo Sung-hoon was the priority now.
That’s when a familiar face passed by in front of me. My gaze instinctively followed.
‘Choi Seo-yoon?’
What? Why was she here?
I stared at her in a daze.
Her beautiful dress and dolled-up look shone as always, but tonight she seemed even more radiant.
Then a middle-aged man approached her side. I recognized that face too.
‘Choi Jae-hyung.’
Patriarch of the Choi family, one of the five great magical noble houses.
...She came with her dad.
For about thirty minutes, I wandered searching for Jo Sung-hoon.
Whenever I bumped into Choi Seo-yoon, I awkwardly averted my eyes for no reason. Fortunately, she didn’t seem to register my existence at all.
Trailing her father for greetings everywhere, she looked exhausted—almost pitiful.
‘Not the point.’
Finding Jo Sung-hoon was my top priority.
But no sign of him. Not even a glimpse.
Now I was starting to doubt if he’d even come.
“Where the hell is he?”
As I kept scanning the area, I spotted Han Se-yeon chatting with people in the distance.
I didn’t acknowledge her.
Before coming, she’d said not to act like we knew each other even if we crossed paths.
But then she looked my way and made a strange gesture.
‘What?’
Tilting my head, she urgently mouthed something.
‘Lo. ok. There.’
Look there?
Ah, follow her finger.
Realizing, I turned my gaze in the direction she pointed.
There was a middle-aged man chatting animatedly with a woman. Seeing him, a smile crept onto my lips.
“...Found you.”
The face from the photo.
Jo Sung-hoon, the Incheon terror perpetrator, was right there.
Night deepened, and the event heated up. Time was now 9:10 p.m.
Tipsy guests began trickling out of the venue one by one.
Jo Sung-hoon was no exception. After enjoying a chat with the woman, the two headed outside.
I followed them out.
“Haha. Follow me. I’ll show you the way.”
“Mm... No. It’s fine. I can go alone...”
“No, let me help.”
Their conversation drifted from afar. This woman seemed to be the one Jo Sung-hoon murdered in the original story.
But up close, her condition looked off.
She appeared drunk, but from what I’d seen, she’d barely touched her drinks.
‘Slipped her something...’
Jo Sung-hoon was a wizard and alchemist. Making a drug to mess with someone’s mind was child’s play for him.
‘Trash bastard.’
They headed into a dimly lit alley. I followed cautiously.
Inside the alley, six men bowed to Jo Sung-hoon.
Then they lined up, guarding the entrance.
Like gangsters from a movie. But these weren’t ordinary thugs—they were magic-using thugs. Worse quality.
I immediately opened my sub-space and pulled out a bottle of mana elixir, uncapping it.
“Whew.”
Unlike the Heart of Great Nature, mana elixir boosted recovery for a full five minutes.
For mana-poor me facing multiple foes, it was essential.
Time to drink.
Gulp gulp.
“Ugh... tastes like crap.”
[Effect of ‘Amplified Mana Elixir’: Mana recovery speed increases by 500% for 5 minutes.]
[After duration ends, mana exhaustion occurs for 30 minutes.]
I tossed the empty glass bottle to the ground.
Crash!
The shattering sound startled his underlings, who whipped around.
“W-What?”
“Didn’t you hear something break just now?”
I slowly gathered my mana.
Not as much as the Heart of Great Nature, but I felt my body’s mana recovery speeding up.
This would suffice to take them down.
‘Here we go.’
I unleashed the magic manifested on my hand toward them.
A brightly glowing magic orb pierced the darkness.
Boom!
A loud explosion rang out. One underling screamed as the magic pierced his shoulder.
“Arghhh!”
The sudden commotion made Jo Sung-hoon hurriedly scan around.
His men sensed danger too, gathering mana in defensive stances.
“First one.”
I manifested magic again. Time was limited.
Had to drop them fast.
This time, I compressed the mana a bit more before firing.
The orb on my hand sliced through the air, piercing one’s gut.
Bang!
“Gahhh!”
“Two.”
Four left.
I manifested four magics on my hand at once.
Then fired them at the targets.
Bang! Boom! Boom! Bwoom!
“Arghhh!”
“Urk! What the—!”
All except Jo Sung-hoon collapsed unconscious.
Good thing their combat skills were underwhelming.
“Whew.”
Six underlings down. Boss time.
Jo Sung-hoon, looking around, lifted his head and spotted me squarely in the shadows.
“Who’re you?”
He growled lowly. I didn’t answer. Instead, I strongly manifested magic and blasted it at him.
Pang!
But my magic collided with the transparent mana enveloping his body and vanished.
He brushed off the spot casually, glaring at me with axe-like eyes.
Protective aura.
A signature defensive technique of reinforcement wizards, hardening the body’s surface with mana.
Handling an aura that strong.
His level was high. At least B-Grade, even lowballing it.
‘Well, yeah—Lee Seo-jun and Yoo Ah-ra together barely took him down...’
Lost in thought, Jo Sung-hoon bellowed in fury.
“I asked who you are!”
I fired magic instead of answering. More compressed than before.
Boom—!
But he blocked it smoothly with his aura. Still, thanks to the compression, blood trickled from his forearm.
“You little shit. I’ll kill you.”
Crunch!
The ground under his feet cratered. His calves visibly swelled, reinforced with mana.
Crack!
He kicked off the ground and charged me.
“Die!”
True to his reinforcement specialty, his speed was insane.
I reinforced my body too, trying to widen the distance, but against a pro reinforcement wizard, it wasn’t easy.
In a blink, he closed in, and I activated the Heart of Great Nature.
[Activation effect: ‘Heart of Great Nature’ invoked.]
[Mana recovery speed increases by 1000% for 1 minute.]
Thump!
My heart pounded rapidly.
Mana surged, stacking with the elixir’s recovery.
It felt like mana was infinite as depleted reserves refilled.
I reinforced my body another level with mana.
Muscles bulged like they’d burst.
My body erupted with explosive power, shoving his like a strike.
Pang!
“Urk!”
Jo Sung-hoon’s face twisted in confusion at my sudden shift.
“What? How’d your mana recover that fast?”
“Phew. Close call.”
I let out a sigh of relief. If that hit had landed, I’d be crawling on the ground seeing stars.