The Lecture
Association President's office.
The president let out a small sigh of admiration as he read the paper asd123 had recently published to the magical world.
"...No wonder he's a professor by trade. His insight is on another level."
The paper asd123 had released while hiding his identity. It had become so popular among mages lately that the president decided to read it himself.
Mages who had studied and internalized this paper were achieving remarkable results, so as president, he couldn't help but take interest.
Lee Dong-gyu watched him with envy.
It was because his own trait had nothing to do with magic, leaving him unable to comprehend the paper.
How nice it would be if there were a pioneer like that for my trait too...
Swallowing his envy, Lee Dong-gyu asked,
"Does even the president find something to learn from that paper?"
The president chuckled softly.
Of course, for a 6th Circle archmage like him, there was nothing particularly new. It was just refreshingly novel to interpret attributes through mathematical knots.
However.
"...I may not have anything to learn, but I couldn't explain attributes in such a systematic way myself."
He might be able to do it with enough time. But right now, even mastering his 6th Circle was demanding enough...
...Though saying that, asd123 probably doesn't have much time either.
asd123 was growing too, and he'd likely been burdened by the Association's excessive requests lately.
On top of that, he was still working his main job as a math professor.
Yet asd123 had even published a paper on attributes.
...Does he even sleep?
The president grew a bit worried. They were pouring everything into this cycle because of his potential...
If asd123 suddenly dropped dead from overwork, wouldn't that be utterly pointless?
Once they resolved the impending monster wave crisis, he should send over some nourishing tonic or something.
"By the way... what bizarre timing. Publishing a paper on attributes at a moment like this."
"Thanks to it, our plan's success rate has shot up dramatically. Quite the coincidence."
He was referring to their plan for the flying monster wave.
The Association had several plans, but the best one was to bring down the flying monsters.
If they could drag them to the ground, melee hunters could fight at full strength too.
However, crashing them required high-output wind-attribute magic...
Thanks to asd123's paper, mages and scroll makers had gained a deeper overall understanding of attributes.
"The odds of downing A-rank flying monsters over Seoul airspace have risen to 80%."
And that wasn't the end of it.
"I hear asd123 plans to hold a special lecture for select figures in the magic community soon."
"Intriguing... but is that okay? If such an event happens, he might get exposed as asd123."
"He seems to have a way out. With two talented A-rank awakeners around him. Though..."
He apparently hadn't revealed his own awakening yet, but maintaining that during a lecture would be tough.
Logically explaining incantations and circuits was nearly impossible for a non-awakener, after all.
The president pondered for a moment.
If asd123's identity leaked, he could become a target for the cultists, complicating things.
But asking him to cancel the special lecture might not fly either, since it could greatly aid their current plan...
So the best outcome would be delivering the lecture without getting exposed as asd123.
"How about we suggest this to asd123..."
Having heard the president's plan, Lee Dong-gyu sent an email to asd123.
Lee Dong-gyu
Math Department lab.
After giving Im Ji-won a full tour, Park Ha-jun explained the administrative assistant's duties.
She reacted with disbelief.
"Pardon? Really... this is all I have to do?"
Park Ha-jun replied without showing surprise.
"Yes."
Im Ji-won tilted her head.
"...And you pay a salary for this?"
"Of course?"
"Why...?"
"?"
Sensing something off, Park Ha-jun cautiously asked,
"...What did you mainly do at your previous guild?"
"Making guild-exclusive programs, overall server management and security... HR records, raid team profit-loss calculations... Frequent overtime meant I handled security duties too sometimes..."
Sniff.
Lee Soo-ji, eavesdropping nearby, felt her eyes well up.
It couldn't be mere sympathy... This must have been an exploitative guild that even a grad student pitied.
Asking if they paid salary suggested she might not have been paid before...
He felt sorry for her but couldn't pry into personal matters.
Swallowing a promise to treat her well if she joined, he said,
"Anyway, that's the full rundown of the lab. Take your time to think it over and let me know within the week."
"Yes! Got it!"
Im Ji-won left with polite bows to the end.
If she joined, she'd start next week.
...I was worried she'd be disappointed by the lab's poor setup, but it turned out the opposite.
Park Ha-jun gave a wry smile and returned to his seat. He checked his schedule. Eight days until the Association's forecasted monster wave.
...I've got a bit of an idea what preparations to make.
The idea he'd applied to this Detection circuit—altering mana wave properties to deal attribute damage...
Develop that further, and he could craft scrolls that distinguish friend from foe even in chaotic melee, inflicting damage only on enemies.
But it wouldn't be easy. He'd need to steadily refine circuits and produce them instantly...
...Gotta expand the math research team too.
Researcher interviews soon.
Sorting his thoughts, Park Ha-jun picked up the next task.
[Yeonhee University Special Lecture: Understanding Elements—From the Perspective of Knots...]
The special lecture proposed by the board earlier.
Park Ha-jun had demanded "benefits if the lecture succeeds," and the board accepted readily. If it impressed the magic community, they'd fully renovate this rundown science building.
The hefty observation fee made such an offer feasible.
...Not a bad deal either way.
The building was so outdated there were no fond memories. Push-button toilets in this era? Absurd.
Thus, accepting the board's offer, Park Ha-jun scheduled the lecture for two days later.
No special prep needed. It was just presenting his published paper.
Still, he worried a bit about getting outed as asd123.
Lee Dong-gyu, aware of Park Ha-jun's situation, had somehow gotten wind and emailed him.
Summarizing the content:
1. Planning to fully hide your awakening? If so, not recommended...
2. Otherwise, okay to publicize the paper's lead researcher as B-rank creator Suhak Sarang?
...Basically, use the Suhak Sarang name to block asd123 exposure.
Park Ha-jun felt no objection.
He could hide his awakening now because he'd only published one paper...
To achieve his goals, he'd have to reveal it eventually.
Just not as asd123.
Hadn't asd123 thwarted the cultists' core plans twice?
If revealed, the cultists would come charging with fire in their eyes.
Becoming famous as Suhak Sarang had risks too, but...
Nothing major.
He had real-time protection from the president's mana detection item.
With optimized mana efficiency, Barrier could soon be always-on.
Minor points, but Kang Eun-ho would hit 3rd Circle soon too. Manageable.
Thus, he emailed Lee Dong-gyu back.
asd123
After sending the email, Park Ha-jun sketched circuits for the monster wave.
Two days later.
The magic community buzzed with unprecedented excitement.
Yeonhee University's Math Department was hosting a special scroll circuit lecture. Observation fee: around 100 million won.
Normally, they'd laugh it off as lunacy.
But that professor's paper had graced the front page of the Mages' Association quarterly journal.
Tickets sold out instantly, with scalping rampant.
Possible because the main audience was mages. Though titled for scroll circuits, the paper helped them too.
Not everyone buying tickets had pure motives.
Some to learn. Some following the hype. Others to trip him up with tough questions...
A diverse crowd of mages and scroll makers committed to attend.
Amid this, a certain article fanned the flames.
This article perfectly baited a certain crowd.
No one knew who Suhak Sarang was. The Association only vouched that he was a registered awakener.
Hwang In-su, representing that crowd, had read the paper dozens of times to corner Park Ha-jun.
...A nameless B-rank creator dares put his name as lead researcher in the Mages' Association journal?
But the paper systematically detailed every process.
He pulled an all-nighter but found no ammo, so he headed to the venue.
Mages' Association 3rd floor. A hall for 200, packed full despite being just a math professor's lecture.
Hwang In-su gnawed his nails, waiting for it to start.
Let's see what this guy's face looks like.
The hall lights dimmed, and a figure stepped onto the stage.
"I'm Park Ha-jun, Math Professor at Yeonhee University. Let the special lecture on Understanding Elements begin."
His lecture commenced.