Chapter 443
Chapter 443
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 444
Chapter Title: After the Burial
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After finishing Kim Sun-woo's burial, Lee Seo-jun's group dispersed one by one.
Choi Seo-yoon, Yoon Ha-young, and Shin Young-jun headed to their family homes, while Yoo Ah-ra got into a car with Yoo A-yeon and disappeared somewhere.
Lee Hyun-joo stayed behind on a park bench with Lee Seo-jun, keeping him company.
She comforted Lee Seo-jun, who was lost in grief, and only returned to her own home late into the night.
Lee Seo-jun exchanged final goodbyes at Kim Sun-woo's grave and stepped out of the national cemetery.
"You're here."
As Lee Seo-jun returned to the main gate, Kim Jin-cheol—his only family—greeted him.
He had waited a long time to head back together.
Lee Seo-jun looked at Kim Jin-cheol, feeling both sorry and grateful.
"I'm sorry. Did you wait long?"
"It's fine. When it's the last farewell with someone precious, you have to make it proper."
Muttering that, Kim Jin-cheol examined Lee Seo-jun's face.
His disciple, always brimming with vitality, looked more worn out today than ever.
"Seo-jun. Now that you've chosen the path of a wizard, you might face something like this again someday."
Lee Seo-jun pressed his lips together.
Face something like this again? Just imagining it was horrifying.
"Wizards are those who dedicate themselves to the world's safety. In that process, they might lose their lives, or face a situation where they're forced to sacrifice like Kim Sun-woo."
Kim Jin-cheol placed a hand on Lee Seo-jun's shoulder.
"That's exactly why wizards must grow stronger. To protect yourself. And to protect those around you."
It was true.
If we—if I—had been stronger, Kim Sun-woo wouldn't have had to sacrifice himself like this.
"Seo-jun, if you truly want to walk the wizard's path, you must never forget this. Carry it in your heart forever and become stronger."
Advice that sank into his bones and flesh. Lee Seo-jun nodded slightly.
"Thank you, Grandpa."
"......Yeah."
Kim Jin-cheol gave a wry smile before playfully ruffling Lee Seo-jun's hair wildly.
"And if something sad happens, just cry it out! Holding it in will only rot you from the inside!"
"Ah, Grandpa!"
Lee Seo-jun flailed to escape Kim Jin-cheol's playful antics.
His hair was a mess, like a fool's.
As Lee Seo-jun fixed his hair, he soon bowed his head deeply. Moments later, his shoulders began to tremble faintly.
"......Tch. Come here."
Kim Jin-cheol pulled Lee Seo-jun into a hug. Embraced in those arms, Lee Seo-jun finally unleashed the tears he'd been holding back.
A week later.
'This is the news. The World Wizards' Association has officially begun investigating Kim Chang-hyun, known to be an alumnus of the Wizards' Academy.'
'The Association has named Kim Chang-hyun as the prime suspect in the calamity-grade beast attack on Seoul, and it has been revealed to be closely linked to the suspicions surrounding "Chaos," which came to light through Kim Sun-woo.'
'Furthermore, renewed attention is being given to the fact that Kim Chang-hyun had close ties to the terrorist who once terrorized the world, "Jin Cheon-woo," heightening public anxiety.'
In a small office on the outskirts of Seoul.
Baek Eun-seong tilted his head while watching the news.
"But seriously, what the hell is that Kim Chang-hyun guy's deal?"
"No idea. From what we know, he seems like one of that person's experimental subjects. But he leaves no spiritual traces..."
Jin stroked his chin as he replied.
As various exposés on Kim Chang-hyun continued, Ja-un had also pursued his traces to verify the facts, but hadn't found even the slightest clue.
"He's a weird one, but the way he keeps getting tangled up with Kim Sun-woo makes it clear there's something there."
"That person was always concerned about calamity-grade beasts even before passing. Maybe it's related to that?"
Everyone nodded at Natasha's words.
He—that person, Jin Cheon-woo—had been wary of calamity-grade beasts for a long time, without making a big show of it.
And he'd researched ways to effectively subjugate them.
If the Association's suspicions were correct and Kim Chang-hyun was behind the calamity-grade beasts, then the "Crua subjugation" situation might have been part of that person's plan.
"But is that guy really on our side?"
Ja-un couldn't be sure.
If he was carrying out some mission according to that person's will, they'd definitely be on the same team...
But Kim Chang-hyun showed no inclination to contact Ja-un. If anything, he was avoiding it.
At that moment, Baek Eun-seong quietly raised his hand.
"Ahem. If I may speak my mind, I just don't like that Kim Chang-hyun guy."
"Why? I thought you were glad he drew the Association's attention, letting us move freely without worry."
Jin muttered, then narrowed his eyes.
"You're not saying it's because Kim Sun-woo died, are you?"
"......Well, yeah, there's that too. Feels like something got wasted, you know."
"Tsk tsk. You forgot all about how he beat you?"
"No, no."
Baek Eun-seong waved his hands frantically.
"I wanted to kill that guy with my own hands. With this left arm."
Baek Eun-seong's prosthetic left arm trembled slightly.
Having lost part of his body to Kim Sun-woo, it was his own brand of(?) reasonable grudge.
"It's a shame the chance for revenge is gone."
Jin stared at him impassively before turning to Bert.
"Anyway, shouldn't we do something with this opportunity? The diary's clues haven't turned up either."
"Yeah. How long are we gonna keep lounging like this?"
Then Bert spoke up.
"No need to complain. We'll be active again soon."
"Oh. Really?"
"Two months from now, there's an auction in Paris."
Bert continued calmly.
"It's a VIP auction hosted by the Paris Bankers' Association chairman. Lots of people will gather because of it."
At the word "auction," Ja-un's group's expressions turned serious.
A VIP auction hosted by the Bankers' Association chairman.
An enormous number of wizards would flock there for security.
"Target?"
Bert swiped his hand over the hologram generator in front of him.
Moments later, a wooden log glowing with red light appeared in the hologram.
"This item's called Shin-mok-hyeol. It's a relic known as the blood of the divine tree."
"Shin-mok-hyeol? First time hearing it. What's it for?"
"It'll serve as the 'vessel' in place of the Cup of Life. A temporary 'body' for that person to use."
A body for that person...
They'd acquired that person's soul, but the lack of a relic to serve as a body had been a huge problem. They'd finally found one.
This brought their wish one step closer.
"Nice. Let's wrap it up quick in two months."
"Okay."
As the group aligned their resolve, a voice came from the TV in front of them again.
'...Lee Seo-jun, known to be Kim Sun-woo's close friend, has joined the investigation team on Kim Chang-hyun.'
In the blink of an eye, two weeks passed in the boundary.
A long or short time, depending on how you looked at it, but a lot had happened in between.
First, to deal with the spirits raiding the village and the boundary predator, I'd fought nonstop.
The boundary predator was easy to dispatch with magic, but the spirits could only be hurt by silver weapons, so I had no choice but to use "Masquerade" to take them down.
['Lee Seo-jun's' assimilation rate is 13%.]
In the process, I uncovered a few secrets about Masquerade.
First off, the degree of understanding of the target I was trying to impersonate was crucial.
To deal with the spirits more efficiently, I tried impersonating "Sword Ghost," the strongest reinforcement wizard I knew of, but my low understanding of him meant I couldn't even use his power properly.
[Your understanding of the target is very low.]
['Jang Su-gi's' assimilation rate increases by 0.2%.]
In the end, I gave up on using Sword Ghost against the spirits.
No matter how strong a wizard Sword Ghost was, it was meaningless if I couldn't borrow his power properly.
After that, on a hunch, I checked my understanding of other characters too.
Yoo Ah-ra, Choi Seo-yoon, Shin Young-jun, Yoon Ha-young—the ones I'd spent a lot of time with had relatively high understanding.
But compared to "Lee Seo-jun," they were all much lower.
That meant my understanding of "Lee Seo-jun" was overwhelmingly superior.
Probably from reading "Modern Wizard" and building up understanding of "Lee Seo-jun."
Of course, other characters were described too, but none could have more focus than the protagonist.
Either way, I had no choice but to borrow Lee Seo-jun's persona for most of the battles in the boundary.
As a result.
[You achieved a great victory using the sword.]
[Adaptive trait 'Basic Swordsmanship (E)' level up!]
[Your body adapts to swordsmanship.]
[Acquire adaptive trait 'Baekcheon Swordsmanship (E)'.]
Contrary to my intentions, sword-related traits were growing day by day.
Basic Swordsmanship had gone from E to D, even reaching C-grade, and I'd acquired "Baekcheon Swordsmanship," one of the many secret sword techniques Lee Seo-jun knew.
[Baekcheon Swordsmanship (E)] [Proficiency: 62%]
Classification: Trait
Description: A swordsmanship devised by the wizard 'Baekcheon' for light-attribute reinforcement wizards.
[Continuous Effects]
>Swordsmanship
You can use the basics of Baekcheon Swordsmanship.
>Light's Inspiration
Light-attribute control increases by 15%.
All stats increase by 10% when using light attributes.
Stamina and Strength +5.
"......Hmm. Wonder if I can actually use this in real combat."
In a village on the southwestern edge of the boundary world.
I examined my new traits, lost in thought.
I'd somehow acquired them, but their low grades left me wondering if they were worth using.
"......Too bad to discard, though."
Baekcheon Swordsmanship was an advanced technique among the many sword arts Lee Seo-jun knew.
Especially among light-attribute sword techniques, it was practically the pinnacle.
Even as an emission wizard, it might be good to learn one sword art for unexpected situations.
As I was checking my traits in the room, the door burst open.
"Hey! Kim Sun-woo! The chief's calling!"
The one who entered was Jeong Min-hwa.
Ever since becoming my first friend in the boundary, she pestered me often, and after a week of living together, she'd learned I was "Kim Sun-woo," not "Lee Seo-jun."
Of course, I'd told her myself.
With potentially two years here, I couldn't keep deceiving forever, and I suspected the village chief knew something about "Lee Seo-jun."
Naturally, he hadn't shared any info with me.
I planned to investigate gradually, but with my abilities and all, he was a mysterious figure in many ways.
"Why's the chief calling me?"
"No idea. Seemed like something important—he's been stirring up all sorts of stuff."
"......Stirring up trouble?"
At her words, I immediately opened the door and headed to the chief's office.
Villagers greeted me warmly as I bowed my head and walked along the path.
"You're here?"
The chief, Kim Jung-hee, welcomed me.
Beneath where he stood was a complex ritual circle drawn largely, which I could immediately recognize thanks to outsider benefits.
"......Spirit materialization ritual?"
"To be precise, it's a slight modification of what you told me about."
Kim Jung-hee activated the ritual with his magic power.
Light gradually emanated, and the ritual began to move.
Soon, the ritual's motions sped up rapidly.
I watched in bewilderment.
The spirit materialization ritual was one of the ancient rituals, known as an extremely difficult one.
And he'd modified it?