Chapter 74
Chapter 74
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Aftermath of the Uninhabited Island
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That kind of passionate love was just a small romantic dream she harbored in her heart while watching movies or dramas.
After a moment of hesitation, Choi Seo-yoon opened her mouth.
"Sunbae-nim, how about mustering up a little courage?"
At Choi Seo-yoon's words, Kim Sunwoo turned his gaze to her.
"What courage?"
"I mean, you're always just watching from afar and never actually approaching."
"What are you talking about right now?"
"I'm talking about Park Minye sunbae-nim. If you're thinking of pretending it's not, you should give up. We all know you've been watching Park Minye sunbae-nim with those pitiful eyes from behind every time."
Kim Sunwoo let out a deep sigh. She didn't know what that sigh meant.
But she could feel the profound anguish contained within it.
...She really likes her.
"That's enough."
At that moment, Kim Sunwoo brushed off his pants and stood up from his seat.
"Yes?"
"Twenty minutes are up. We can go now."
"Oh."
Choi Seo-yoon glanced at the time on her smart student handbook.
Sure enough, exactly twenty minutes had passed, just as he said. It was precise to the second. What on earth was the reason for handing over a mana stone and making such a request...?
It was then.
Along with a rustling sound, a presence emerged from between the bushes.
Kim Sunwoo and Choi Seo-yoon turned their gazes there. Teachers walked out from beyond the bushes.
"It's Seo-yoon and Sunwoo."
"Ah, hello."
Choi Seo-yoon politely bowed her head.
"But what brings you here?"
Choi Seo-yoon asked the teachers with curiosity.
According to the exam procedures, the teachers shouldn't show themselves until the exam ended tomorrow.
"All the drones in this area have gone dead."
"Ah, I think I know what you mean. I saw a few on my way out too."
"It seems like someone deliberately did it, so we're investigating now."
"Hmm."
Choi Seo-yoon nodded. Kim Sunwoo's expression was impassive.
The next day at 10 a.m.
The exam ended.
The students gathered in front of the portal gate on the uninhabited island's beach, the assembly point. Everyone was busy boasting about the mana stones they had collected.
"One person's not here."
"They're not picking up their phone?"
"Yeah. We lifted all communication blocks, but still nothing."
The teachers were searching for Park Minye. When she kept not responding, they grew anxious that something might have happened.
And with no proceedings even after the exam ended, rumors began to spread among the students.
"Hey, Park Minye sunbae-nim still hasn't come?"
"What? Did she get lost?"
"What if something happened?"
As the commotion grew, the teachers huddled together for a meeting.
"For now, let's send the students back. The teachers will stay here and keep searching for Park Minye."
"Yeah. Let's deploy as many drones as possible first."
Having finished the meeting, the teachers stood before the students.
"Alright, quiet down. You all worked hard on the second midterm exam. Return one by one through the portal gate."
Time flew by. The weekend passed, and Monday, the start of the new week, arrived. And rumors spread through the school that Jang Ye's body had been found on the uninhabited island.
The students were greatly shocked. But what surprised them even more was the revelation that Jang Ye was a demon.
The media once again gleefully criticized the Wizard Academy.
Articles with sensational titles like 'Young Students Exposed to Demon Threats' spread everywhere.
Of course, the media's claims had truth to them, but the Wizard Academy felt unjust too.
With current human technology, there was no way to distinguish demons disguised as humans.
Broadcast stations even aired mystery specials about her.
What on earth happened on the uninhabited island? Why did the drones suddenly go dead?
Why did the demon, Park Minye, go berserk? And who killed her...?
"Alright! Don't make a fuss!"
During Monday's closing assembly.
Jang An-cheol spoke to the students with a stern face.
"I know the atmosphere in the school has been chaotic lately. And I know there are students unconcerned about the demon threat. The school is doing its utmost to investigate this incident, so please wait patiently for the results."
"Yes."
"That concludes today's assembly. Good work, everyone."
As Jang An-cheol left, the students began to stand from their seats.
"Wow, what the hell is going on?"
"Yeah."
While packing my things, I glanced at Lee Seojun and Shin Youngjun.
Their expressions were coldly hardened too. They couldn't believe that Park Minye, whom they'd spent months around, was a demon. Whatever, I headed back to the dormitory.
Normally I'd go to the training grounds, but with some fatigue lingering, I decided to rest for the day.
As soon as I returned to the dormitory, I trudged over to the sofa and flopped down, staring blankly for a moment.
"Ugh, I'm tired."
Maybe I should just sleep the rest of the time away.
"...Ah, right."
I pulled out a crudely shaped blue gem from my sub-space.
This was the item I got from Jang Ye's pocket after taking her down. I activated External Beneficiary to check the gem's properties.
［Blue Condensed Core (Relic)］
Description: Paralyzes nearby electronic devices.
［Usage Effect］
►Release
Inject mana into the 'Blue Condensed Core' to paralyze all electronic devices within 1km for 30 minutes.
*Cooldown: 30 days
Durability: B
It was a relic, no less.
The effect was similar to the 'Communication Jammer Kit' she used when I took her down. But with its range and cooldown, it was clearly a superior item.
"This is amazing."
The 30-day cooldown was a bit long, but still much better than the one-use 'Communication Jammer Kit'.
With this, I wouldn't need to buy another expensive 'Communication Jammer Kit' next time. And considering the time left ahead, this alone would save me a ton of points.
I smiled in satisfaction and lay back on the sofa.
The Ten Demons Association's hideout was steeped in its worst atmosphere ever. Cheonhae knelt, slamming his head on the ground with a face full of fear.
The King stared at him with a chillingly cold expression that made breathing difficult.
"Cheonhae. What is this?"
"I-I'm sorry!"
"We provided that much support, and you failed. Cheonhae. Because of you, we lost an A-Rank bloodstone and a relic."
"I'm sorry!"
The King leaned his head back against the chair. Then he let out a frustrated sigh.
"Is killing that one young human, Lee Seojun, really that difficult?"
"Your Majesty! There are many suspicions surrounding Jang Ye's death!"
"Suspicions... If you're about to spout nonsense like not knowing who the culprit is, stop right there."
"Failing to kill Lee Seojun is fine. That was for Seongjin’s revenge anyway. But at the very least, you should have identified the 18-year-old human in the Duel Realm."
"I-I'm sorry!"
"...Are you just going to keep repeating the same thing?"
Sssss...
Something writhed in the darkness. It slowly wrapped around Cheonhae's body and began to strangle his neck.
"Kuhk!"
What strangled Cheonhae's neck was the King's dark mana.
The mana constricted his body like a living creature.
"M-Mercy, Your Majesty! P-Please!"
"Mercy, Your Majesty!"
Ssss...
The dark mana strangling his neck vanished.
With his airway clear, Cheonhae gasped and panted for breath.
"I'll give you one more chance. Find your own way and keep investigating the 18-year-old human from the Duel Realm. And put Lee Seojun's assassination on hold for now."
"Y-Yes, understood!"
Cheonhae slammed his head on the ground again.
"Hmm..."
Lately, Choi Seo-yoon kept thinking about Kim Sunwoo.
It was because of the various mysterious incidents surrounding Park Minye recently.
How heartbroken must she be over what happened? How great a shock must she have received? What if she suffered a deep emotional wound...?
"...I wonder if she's okay."
"What's that?"
Song Seung-ah, walking down the hallway beside her, asked at Choi Seo-yoon's dazed mutter.
"Ah, nothing."
At her words, Song Seung-ah narrowed her eyes. She'd known Choi Seo-yoon since childhood, but this was a first.
"What's up? Tell me."
"No, really, it's nothing."
"...Fine then."
Forcing it out when she didn't want to talk wasn't her hobby. She'd say it eventually when the time came.
The two continued down the hallway.
Their destination was the Manifestation Department training ground for the next class.
At that moment, second-year male students appeared at the end of the hallway.
They spotted Choi Seo-yoon and pretended to know her.
"Hello, Seo-yoon hoobaenim!"
"Ah, yes. Hello."
"Heading to the Manifestation Department training ground, I see."
"Yes, next class."
Choi Seo-yoon responded to the second-years' attention with her usual fake smile.
Their baseless interest was nothing new, so she handled it very naturally.
After a brief chat, as they resumed walking down the hallway, a familiar face appeared at the end—a male student.
It was Kim Sunwoo.
"Huh? Kim Sunwoo sunbae-nim!"
At Choi Seo-yoon's call, Kim Sunwoo looked at her.
"Yeah, hi."
It was his usual emotionless greeting. While others lit up and greeted brightly to catch her attention, this sunbae always acted disinterested toward her.
She had thought it was because of Park Minye.
But today, whether it was her imagination or not, even his usual flat tone sounded sad to her.
"Are you okay?"
It might be meddling, but she too had often felt exhausted and lonely from her family's interference and excessive education.
She knew that even a small comfort could be a great strength to someone struggling.
"What's that?"
"...Nothing."
"You're mumbling weird stuff alone again. Talk so I can understand. Stop omitting subjects."
At the sudden jab, Choi Seo-yoon gritted her teeth while keeping her eye smile. He might be sensitive, so I need to understand.
"Sunbae-nim, fighting for the next class!"
Choi Seo-yoon flashed a spirited smile and held out her fist.
"...Nothing to say? I'm going."
Kim Sunwoo indifferently continued on his way.
Choi Seo-yoon blankly watched his back. He really had no social skills, no matter how you looked at him.
Song Seung-ah narrowed her eyes at Choi Seo-yoon.
"What’s with you?"
"Huh? Why?"
"Don't tell me you switched crushes?"
"What are you talking about?"
Another week passed.
The Jang Ye incident was quickly forgotten by the students, and the Wizard Academy returned to its usual peaceful atmosphere.
There was one notable change in the meantime.
［Character 'Choi Seo-yoon's interest in you has increased.］
［Character 'Choi Seo-yoon's interest level toward you: Lv 2］
［You have acquired 2,000 points as a reward.］
Choi Seo-yoon's interest in me rose to level 2.
I didn't know why it suddenly increased, but since I got points, it was a gain.
And today, Monday.
The second midterm exam results came out.
［2nd Midterm Evaluation Results］
［Kim Sunwoo］［2-A］
［Practical - 64th Place］
［Theory - 1st Place］
［Final Total - 60th Place］
［You have achieved the '2 Consecutive Theory 1st Place' accomplishment.］
［You have acquired 5,000 points as a reward.］
1st in theory, 64th in practical.
Theory was fine, but the practical score was quite disappointing.
It was because in the monster hunter exam, which gave the most points, I focused too much on Jang Ye and barely hunted any monsters.
It was regrettable, but unavoidable.
Resolving the crisis around Lee Seojun was more important than some exam score.
"What place did you get in practical this time?"
Then Yoo Ara approached and asked me. Not sure why she's suddenly interested, but I answered.
"64th."
"What? Why so low?"
Yoo Ara widened her eyes in surprise.
"In the monster hunter exam, I was unlucky and barely encountered any monsters."
"Hmm... Still, that's too much. You dominated the stage escape exam in 1st, how'd you end up 64th?"
"Well, some days are like that."
I shrugged.
"What about you?"
"...2nd."
She got 1st in stage escape, but apparently got crushed by Lee Seojun in survival, which gave the most points.
I gave a wry smile.
"Fighting."
"What’s 64th telling 2nd to fight? Worry about yourself instead of consoling others."
Hearing it, yeah.
"But you got perfect in theory again?"
"Yeah. Probably?"
I hadn't checked the score properly, but since I only wrote correct answers, it should be full marks.
"Wow, impressive. You’re always at the training grounds, no time to study—how do you do it?"