Chapter 64
Chapter 64
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: Assessing the Gains
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At that moment, Yoo Ah-yeon returned after thoroughly searching the mansion.
Her expression was dark, likely because she was in a bad mood over missing Jawun's group.
"The Witch of Fire?"
"Wow, that's amazing."
Choi Seo-yoon and Lee Hyun-joo reacted with curiosity upon seeing Yoo Ah-yeon.
"She looks just like Senior Yoo Ah-ra."
The moment Yoo Ah-ra's name came up, Yoo Ah-yeon's body twitched slightly.
She ignored them and spoke to Jung Je-won.
"I searched through the entire mansion, but nothing special turned up."
"I see. Can't be helped, then."
Yoo Ah-yeon let out a deep sigh before looking at Lee Seo-jun.
Then her gaze shifted to me.
It was an incredibly enigmatic look.
I couldn't read her thoughts at all, so I decided to let it go.
Come to think of it, there had been a message about Yoo Ah-yeon harboring suspicions toward me.
That's when Yoo Ah-yeon spoke up.
"It's getting late. We should head down."
It was 1 a.m. now.
She was saying we couldn't stay here and sleep.
It made sense, so I nodded.
"Let's go down."
It was only around 3 a.m. by the time we made it back to the dorms.
At first, I thought we might stay at a hotel near the Black Flame Mercenaries, but since we'd finished all the requests anyway, we all just returned to the dorms.
"Ah... I'm exhausted."
I took a shower to wash off clean, then slumped onto the bed.
Maybe I should just crash.
As I debated, I remembered there was something I needed to confirm.
['Successful effective hit on S-Rank Demon' achievement unlocked.]
[Acquired 5,000 points as reward.]
['Indirect subjugation of S-Rank Demon' achievement unlocked.]
[Acquired 5,000 points as reward.]
[Contributed slightly to the subjugation of S-Rank villain 'Seongjin.']
[A major story change has been detected.]
[Karma increases by 1.2.]
"Hmm..."
As expected of an S-Rank Demon.
The points and karma gains were quite substantial.
And this was just from landing a minor effective hit, without even handling it myself.
I wonder how much it would go up if I solo-subjugated an S-Rank Demon on my own.
"...I'm curious."
That said, the story had suddenly changed drastically.
The message window even notified me of a major story shift.
'A major story change has been detected.'
It was starting to feel intimidating, almost like a warning saying, 'What are you going to do now?'
Truth be told, the story had been changing steadily up until now.
But those changes had never directly affected Lee Seo-jun.
If anything, it had just created annoying situations where villains who were supposed to cross paths with him ended up getting taken out by me instead.
But this time was different.
The demons had mistaken Lee Seo-jun for the Child of Demon Extermination.
If I'd been even a little later, he might have lost his life.
Fortunately, Jawun intervened and averted the worst-case scenario, but their favor toward Lee Seo-jun wouldn't last.
Sooner or later, they would become his formidable enemies and put him in peril.
"Hoo..."
I felt the urgent need to get stronger, and even faster—ideally within a single day.
I also needed to set up safeguards to ensure Lee Seo-jun wouldn't die.
Whether that meant allies or some special artifact to bolster his power...
Sure, it was great that I was shaking things up, snatching opportunities, taking out villains, and nearing the ending.
But first and foremost, creating a situation where Lee Seo-jun survived was most important to me.
"Oh, right."
There were the items I'd stolen from Jawun this time.
I opened my sub-space and laid out all the items I'd acquired on the desk.
Twelve items.
And one sword obtained from defeating the demon.
I'd already used the 'Beast Summon Scroll,' so I put it back into my sub-space.
"...Hmm. Nothing particularly useful here."
Weapons like swords or spears weren't something I needed, so I'd sell or trade them off somewhere.
As I pondered what to check first, I picked up a glass ring that shimmered transparently.
[Legacy of the Formless Spirit (Relic)]
Description: Can imbue magic with attributes.
[Usage Effects]
> Attribute Storage
Stores attribute energy in the ring.
> Attribute Imbuement
Applies stored attributes to magic. Successful imbuement consumes the stored attribute energy.
Durability: B
"What is this..."
The item's grade was a relic, no less.
Relics were items infused with mystical power but falling short of holy relics in performance.
"Attribute imbuement, huh..."
Back before my regression, when I first learned magic, I hadn't had time for attribute affinity training, so I'd stuck to neutral magic.
This item was a bit tempting for someone like me.
Of course, handling attributes wouldn't make my magic stronger or anything.
Each attribute had its pros and cons.
I slipped the ring onto my finger.
['Relic equipped' achievement unlocked.]
[Acquired 3,000 points as reward.]
Pushing aside the joy of gaining points, I channeled mana into the ring.
Light emanated from it at once.
The glow lasted about five seconds before fading away.
"So how do I store an attribute?"
As I puzzled over it alone, I got a rough sense of how to use it.
I stood up and turned on the faucet.
With mana flowing into the ring, I dipped it into the water, and the transparent glass ring turned blue.
"That's it."
Feeling the wonder of it, I conjured a small spell above my hand.
Whoooong...
A pure white magic orb floated above my hand.
Neutral, just like always.
"Not that."
This time, I conjured the spell with mana flowing into the ring.
"Jackpot."
A liquid-formed magic orb manifested above my hand.
To think I could imbue attributes into magic this easily.
Used right, it could give me the upper hand in attribute matchups.
"It's a bit underwhelming for a relic, performance-wise."
Still, beggars can't be choosers.
Especially since I'd gotten it for free.
I stroked the ring fondly before returning to the desk to check the remaining items.
"What's this book?"
Two worn tomes.
One had an illegible title, while the other was labeled 'Ilwol Pharmacology Manual.'
"Ilwol Pharmacology Manual..."
It rang a bell.
Skimming the contents, it was all about potion-making recipes.
Ilwol...
"This is it."
Fifty years ago, the secret manual of the Ilwol family, renowned as a pharmaceutical powerhouse.
I'd learned about it in school history class.
"Amazing."
I got a sense of how to use this pharmacology manual.
There was one person around me who came to mind when it came to pharmacy.
Han Se-yeon.
I'd only been receiving from her lately and felt a bit guilty, but this would make a perfect reciprocation.
"And this one?"
I picked up the book with the faded title.
[Book of Cheonil]
Description: Secret manual of the Cheonil Clan.
"...Whoa. They stole this too."
The Cheonil Clan.
This had been briefly mentioned in the original story as well.
Their entire clan was wiped out, and their treasures vanished with them.
I opened the book and skimmed the contents.
Nothing special.
It detailed mana usage techniques usable only by those with Cheonil Clan blood.
Useless to me.
But the book wasn't without value.
I knew one person obsessed with antiques laden with such stories.
"For now, storage."
I tucked the Book of Cheonil into my sub-space.
Handled well, it could serve as excellent trade bait.
The remaining six items were similar antiques with storied backgrounds.
Mayan tribe stone tablet, Sayul tribe urn, Shakan golden statue... and so on.
"Tch."
The leftovers were a letdown, but I'd scored the 'Beast Summon Scroll' and 'Ring of the Mutable Spirit,' so I had to be satisfied.
"Yawwwn..."
I stored everything except the ring back into my sub-space.
My body was finally hitting its limit.
Exhaustion was clouding my mind.
I flopped straight onto the bed.
As expected, news of last night's Jawun and demon raid hadn't leaked to the outside world.
The Wizards' Association must have suppressed it internally.
I had a rough idea why they'd quashed rumors of yesterday's incident.
Probably Kim Jin-cheol, the Wizards' Association Chairman, worrying about questions over Lee Seo-jun's ties to Jawun.
This followed the original story's flow as well.
"Hmm..."
With the story changing so rapidly now,
I decided to buy a new trait.
I'd accumulated a fair amount of points over the past few weeks, and minimizing variables was key to keeping Lee Seo-jun safe.
[Outsider's Boon: Character Insight (???)]
Category: Special
Description: Adds character insight ability to Outsider's Boon.
[Usage Effects]
> Character Insight
Reveals basic information on the target.
Price: 30,000
"30,000 points..."
The price was steep, but this trait was essential for me.
Villains could disguise themselves and pop up around Lee Seo-jun at any time.
Especially now, with Seongjin's death—it was possible new demons would be deployed near him.
[Purchased 'Outsider's Boon: Character Insight (???).']
With almost no ways to distinguish villains right now, I trusted this trait would help.
"Time to test it out."
I had to grab breakfast anyway, so I'd try it at the cafeteria.
I pulled on a cap haphazardly and headed out.
Looking around, there was hardly anyone in sight.
Normally, you'd see one or two heading to the cafeteria at this hour.
"...Oh, right."
Today was Friday.
Me and Lee Seo-jun's group had returned early due to the unfortunate incident during mercenary training,
But the other students hadn't.
It was a three-day, two-night program, so they wouldn't be back yet.
To run into people, I'd have to head outside.
"Hmm..."
As I felt that pang of regret, a voice called out from beside me.
"Kim Sun-woo?"
It was Lee Seo-jun.
Judging by his outfit, he wasn't just heading to the cafeteria like me.
Looked like he was going out somewhere.
"Where you headed?"
"Got a call to come home for a bit."
"Ah."
Lee Seo-jun's home meant Kim Jin-cheol's residence.
Raised under the chairman's care since childhood, he lived with him.
Probably summoned over yesterday's incident.
I nodded.
"I see."
"You heading to the cafeteria?"
"Yeah. Starving after last night's ordeal."
Lee Seo-jun gave a quiet chuckle at my words.
Watching his smile, I decided to test the new trait I'd just acquired: 'Character Insight.'
[Activating unique trait, 'Outsider's Boon.']
[Reading target's information.]
Name: Lee Seo-jun
Age: 18
Race: Human
Status: Calm
Mana Rank: A-
Interest Level: 2
Just basic info popped up.
Name, age, race, status, mana rank, and interest level.
Mana rank seemed to be the Wizards' Association standard,
And interest level was probably his level of interest in me.
No real complaints.
Honestly, knowing just name, race, and mana rank let me see through most villain disguises.
That said, A- mana rank at 18...
Insane, no matter how you sliced it.
Even historically acclaimed geniuses usually hit A-Rank around 21.
"Kim Sun-woo?"
Lost in the info window for a moment, Lee Seo-jun called me.
"Huh? Yeah. What's up?"
"You just spaced out."
"Oh, got lost in thought for a sec."
Lee Seo-jun glanced at me but let it pass without a second thought.
"Right. When do you want to do the Monster Biology assignment?"
I'd forgotten about it briefly.
Due in two weeks.
"Sunday work?"
Lee Seo-jun was unavailable today, and I had training with Yun Ha-young's Demon Extermination Power on Saturday.
Lee Seo-jun seemed to mull it over briefly, then nodded.
"Yeah, Sunday it is. I'll message you later about what to research."
"Sure."
"...Oh, right. I've got something I've been wondering about you."
"What?"
Lee Seo-jun looked at me for a moment.
He seemed to ponder deeply to himself, then shook his head.
"...Nah. We'll talk later."
With those cryptic words, Lee Seo-jun headed toward the main gate.
"What was that?"
Staring blankly at his retreating back, I ran into another familiar face.
"Senior?"
It was Choi Seo-yoon.
"Where are you off to?"