Comparison
Moonlight bathed the campus grounds.
Kim Min-jun, a researcher in Park Ha-jun's lab, sat on a bench, chugging a beer.
"Kya..."
His nose tingled. The pleasant night air, the fresh vigor of the undergrads, and above all...
After paying tuition, dorm fees, and living expenses, the remaining balance in his account soothed Kim Min-jun's body and mind.
...Finally, I can see the end of this hellish life.
The loans were still piling up—he wasn't fully free yet.
But just having a shot at escaping hell was something!
In his excitement, Kim Min-jun even bought beers for a grad school buddy from another lab.
That friend gulped down the beer Kim Min-jun handed him.
"Kku... The day you buy me a beer has finally come."
It was just convenience store canned beer, but for Kim Min-jun, who could never afford even that before...
"I've been mooching off you forever. Of course I'd buy now that I've got some cash."
The friend eyed Kim Min-jun with quiet envy.
"Yeah... What's up with your advisor prof all of a sudden? He was grinding away on pure math last year, and now he's flying high with magic fusion research."
"Um..."
Kim Min-jun chuckled awkwardly, at a loss for words.
He was still a green newbie who couldn't understand even 1% of what his professor was doing.
He just frantically tackled whatever assignments came his way.
But even he could feel the changes sweeping through the lab...
Lately, the professor seemed different somehow.
His usual gentle demeanor and strictness during math work were still there, but now there was a relaxed ease to it all?
Probably because...
"He let it go."
"Let what go?"
"In this day and age, pure academic research in our country is hell. Look at the papers coming out—most are just rephrasing old ones..."
But Professor Park Ha-jun had aimed higher. Rumor had it the expectations from those around him were no small thing.
Yet in a rotten system like this, how could anyone produce real results?
"He probably couldn't do jack... Accepting that must be why he started magic fusion research."
"Is letting go really enough to make that happen...?"
A single math professor had rocked the magic world in just a few weeks.
"Your prof was already famous. If the system had supported him, he could've done big things with pure math alone."
Not to mention in magic research, where the infrastructure was rock-solid—
Of course, Kim Min-jun figured the recent breakthroughs owed more to the A-rank awakeners—Kang Eun-ho and Kim Ah-hyun—than to Professor Park's skills alone.
The friend, somewhat convinced, gazed at the night sky and murmured.
"It's a shame... Even someone like him gave up pure math for applied."
As math majors, it stung. If even a star like Park Ha-jun folded, what future awaited them?
But Kim Min-jun grinned and corrected him.
"He just set it aside for now."
"For now?"
"Yeah. If he'd truly abandoned pure math, he wouldn't be chilling like this."
It was a step back for two steps forward.
Professor Park Ha-jun would surely build a foundation with magic fusion research, then shake the world with pure math.
"So by the time we hit the job market, the world might be totally different."
"Haha, what fantasy is that?"
"Fantasy? I pulled in nearly 300 including performance bonus this month. Me, a math major?"
"Uh... Fair point."
He imagined it for a moment.
A world where pure math thrived. Not grinding away in the dark with no path ahead...
But studying joyfully with a bright future in sight.
"...Wouldn't suck."
Kim Min-jun chuckled at that.
"Right? Anyway, it's nice to chill with beers like this for once."
"For real."
"Tonight, I'm heading straight home and crashing—no work..."
Right then.
Bzzz-
His pocket vibrated. A call—from a lab senior...
"..."
A bad feeling washed over him. This had to be a new assignment from Professor Park Ha-jun.
"You gonna answer?"
"Ugh... Y-yeah, gotta."
Loans to pay off.
Kim Min-jun took the call and bolted back to the lab before it even ended.
Mouthing something like "Sorry, clean up for me..."
Watching his retreating figure, the friend murmured.
"...Lucky bastard."
How great would it be to rush back to the lab for a project like that...
As he nursed his beer alone with a bitter taste, his own phone rang. His advisor.
"Yes, Professor..."
- Hey, Kim. Guests from another uni tomorrow, so come early and tidy the lab, got it?
He sighed at the abrupt hang-up. While others earned bonuses on math projects, he slaved over chores for minimum wage.
Sometimes he wondered what he was even doing here.
Kim Min-jun never seemed to doubt, no matter how tough.
"Tsk."
Truth be told, back when labs were recruiting, Park Ha-jun was a brand-new professor.
Especially young, so Kim Min-jun's friend had picked elsewhere.
Lately, that choice stung like hell.
Park Ha-jun's workspace.
After emailing the researchers, Park Ha-jun reviewed the commission details again.
1. The Cradle of the Desert has a total of seven pits.
2. Four are traps; the other three hide keys to the boss monster.
3. But the pits are covered by surface soil. Step on one, and you're sucked in.
4. So they need a Detection scroll that scans the entire field, finds all pits, and identifies their contents.
......
In other words, add identification to the existing Detection scroll.
The Detection scroll he'd sent the Association president already scanned vast areas for anomalies.
...Adding identification won't be hard.
But Onhwa Guild had offered 25% of the gate revenue. He wasn't sending a half-baked "identification" upgrade for that.
Deadline: Three days, generously.
First, add "identification" to the Detection scroll.
Then spend the rest brainstorming more value.
With that, Park Ha-jun emailed the lab a mana-based variant of the Fourier transform equation.
The Fourier transform, simply put, decomposes complex signals into simple components.
For example, audio editing to remove harsh highs from a song uses it.
But.
What I need now isn't frequency—it's analyzing mana wavelengths to distinguish traps from keys...
Specifically, just distinguish them. For mana efficiency, mere separation would help most.
Decompose the mana wavelength into individual waves...
Find commonalities: group traps together, keys together.
Wonder if the researchers can prove it out.
It wasn't their main field, and the content was pretty arcane.
Tough for one day.
...Have them try casually; if not, we'll do it together tomorrow.
He texted Soo-ji, then laid mid-grade parchment on the workbench.
While they proved it, he'd check the equation's viability and compatibility with existing Detection circuits.
The next morning.
Entering the lab, Park Ha-jun let out a groan at the grim atmosphere.
"Professor..."
"It's too hard..."
"Wahhh."
The researchers looked like homeless wrecks, weeping pitifully.
...He'd said try casually and head home if stuck.
They'd apparently pulled an all-nighter.
Couldn't be helped. They were math lovers too.
Once hooked on a problem—especially Park Ha-jun's—they wouldn't let go till solved. It eased their souls.
Understanding that, Park Ha-jun said apologetically.
"Haha, sorry... It was a tough proof, huh?"
But Soo-ji shook her head.
"The mana wavelength made it tricky, but... that wasn't the main issue."
"Huh?"
Soo-ji's explanation was simple.
Backlogged admin from recent projects.
They'd rushed it last night, draining their energy.
"...Sounds like an excuse, but it's true!"
"Um... I haven't said anything yet."
"..."
He got it. Even Park Ha-jun sometimes lost more energy to admin than math.
...Good I scheduled interviews today. Gotta free them soon.
Whittled 300 applicants to 20 monsters.
No more admin drudgery for researchers.
"...We'll prove it together. And soon, one or two admin staff. Till then..."
The researchers lit up.
"Oh! Finally!"
"When?! Please... this week..."
Park Ha-jun chuckled.
"Interviews over lunch, so show me your progress first? Gotta wrap in three days. Might be our fattest bonus yet..."
"!!!
Their eyes widened. Especially Kim Min-jun, who was hyped.
They showed computers and papers, explaining their ideas and proofs in turn.
Park Ha-jun synthesized it all, stood at the board, and concretized the mana-based Fourier transform proof.
......
Lunchtime. Proof mostly done. Bonuses were magic.
Now request details from Onhwa Guild, refine the circuit.
But four hours of brainstorming and chatter had...
Exhausted everyone. They ate silently.
We've been pushing too hard lately.
Not just him—the researchers had all-nighters too.
Gazing at their fatigue, he thought: Admin hires aside...
Maybe aggressively recruit more researchers...
Shifts of 2 or 3? Funding overflowed since sponsorships poured in.
Not a bad idea...
Post-lunch, Park Ha-jun took Lee Soo-ji, Kang Eun-ho, and Kim Ah-hyun to interviews.
And met a brain-type awakener who blew him away.
The next day, Onhwa Guild.
Kim Chae-won, awaiting asd123's scroll, felt a twinge of worry.
...Was I too hasty?
25% of A-rank gate revenue.
A jaw-dropping offer. Necessary to hook asd123, but...
As guild master, she needed some profit, right?
If asd123's scroll just ID'd traps and keys...
Near-zero net gain. Long-term, this raid could lose money.
I rushed 'cause missing this shot might mean never getting another.
But there was hope.
Meant no basic scroll.
...But can explaining even make it possible?
Everyone knew asd123 was amazing.
But limits existed.
No matter how great Detection, it couldn't exceed finding and IDing.
Prior Barrier seemed special, but still fit defense mold?
...Don't expect too much.
Plant good impression, goal achieved...
Rationalized, Kim Chae-won soon got a reply.
Already...?