Lecture Preparation
The Magic Association went all out promoting Park Ha-jun's follow-up paper.
Even before the academic journal's release, they announced that MathLove's sequel would be featured.
By previewing commentary from high-ranking mages, they whipped up widespread anticipation.
Of course, true to the rigid ways of the magic academia, plenty of mages voiced resentment at some mere math professor strutting around.
But Shin Ye-ji's existence—a B-rank who had broken into the 4th circle—was more than enough to quiet that backlash.
Didn't MathLove's paper enable B-ranks to shatter their 'limits'?
In this era of pure meritocracy, whether the author was a math professor or a scroll maker they once scorned didn't matter much anymore.
And so, amid sky-high expectations from mages and scroll makers alike...
The Magic Association's fourth-quarter academic journal hit the shelves.
Around that time, in the Mathematics Department lab.
Park Ha-jun was feeling the full ripple effects of the paper.
Floods of emails, interview requests from the press, and lecture invitations from every group under the sun...
The attention was overwhelming, more than he could handle.
The silver lining? It wasn't all piled on him alone.
Kang Eun-ho and Kim A-hyun, seen as the real hands-on researchers in magic fusion, were drawing even more heat.
"Honestly, all I did was translate circuit concepts into incantations. Do I even deserve this kind of spotlight?"
"Whoa... The Magic Association offered me a 10 billion gold scout deal. Back when I enrolled, it was just 500 million..."
"Pfft, no way I'm going! That's where all those mages who mocked my low grades hang out. Now I'm just wondering how to turn them down in the most satisfying way. Haha."
Kang Eun-ho was reveling in the buzz.
"Huh? No idea what any of it says. I don't even open emails unless they're commissions..."
Kim A-hyun seemed utterly oblivious.
Apologizing for dragging them into the hassle, Park Ha-jun scratched the back of his head.
Meanwhile, the department's researchers clustered around Kim Ji-won, peeking at the lab inbox.
It brimmed with fan messages from sponsors, lecture requests, and outreach from other labs.
These emails were key indicators of their research output and bonuses—they had no choice but to pay attention.
"Holy crap... Is that CIMS? They want to meet us?"
CIMS was NYU's premier math institute, long dominant in applied mathematics.
"Wait, seriously? Why us? Is our research really that big a deal...?"
Truth be told, the non-awakened math researchers didn't grasp the study's magnitude.
The math concepts Park had tasked them with weren't revolutionary.
And the magic theory was too arcane for them to connect the dots to the results.
They had some expectations after those fat bonuses before, sure.
But not this level.
As Im Ji-won sorted the flood, one researcher clenched a fist in excitement.
'I gotta finish my PhD soon and become a proper mathematician like Professor Park...'
One paper shaking the academic world to its core.
He dreamed of one day drawing his own bold stroke across it.
Watching from behind with a pleased smile, Park Ha-jun spoke up.
"...Shall we get serious about preparations now?"
He turned to Kang Eun-ho and Kim A-hyun.
Mathematical Circuitry lectures were right around the corner. Time to review content, exams, and such.
They were set to TA, after all.
"Yes!"
They nodded with determined faces, just as they dove into planning—
—the request was to accept Jeong Hyun-seok as a student in the upcoming regular lectures.
Having gleaned the Mines' identity and movements via Shards of the Story, hadn't the Chairman warned already?
The Mines aimed to strike Park Ha-jun directly.
He didn't know how, but better safe than sorry—keep Jeong close, was the vibe.
Jeong didn't know asd123's identity and had the Chairman's stamp of trustworthiness.
Not a bad deal for Park Ha-jun.
Limited seats meant prioritizing talented awakeners anyway.
And Jeong was a 4th circle master on the cusp of Archmage.
Park was dying to see what happened if he absorbed these concepts.
Still...
'Fine by me, but...'
Would a top-tier mage even deign to take Park's class?
Without passion trumping talent, the lectures would be pointless.
No way he'd waste one of the mere 20 spots on an unmotivated mage.
After a moment's thought, Park replied.
A math test.
To follow the lectures smoothly, you'd need third-year undergrad math basics anyway.
Want in? Grind math like mad for the next three months.
'...This'll weed out the passionate ones. Nobody forces math study.'
Give credit where due: math was boring if it didn't click with your aptitude.
If Jeong passed anyway, he'd be Park's ideal student.
A passionate, skilled mage.
One blocked by the 5th circle wall.
Arrogant maybe, but...
If Park's lectures broke that wall, his goals would accelerate.
'...And if Jeong fails, no big loss.'
Post-warning, Park had prepped too.
Lab 2 delved into darkness and space circuits.
Tweaking Barrier's mana cost and duration for 24-hour runtime.
Plus that powerhouse item.
◈ Upgrades a skill's limits
Probably tonight.
He'd waffled between geometric analysis and Circuit Enhancement.
Barrier research tipped the scales toward circuits.
Thoughts sorted, he reviewed lectures with his TAs.
Spare time went to outlining the math exam before heading home.
That evening.
Synced to US time, the International Hunter Federation meeting convened.
With wave crises resolved across most nations, promised concessions were due.
"As agreed, we'll send Korean hunters to territories we've received subjugation rights for. Temporary branches are in the works..."
Lee Jong-hwa stated flatly. Satisfaction bubbled, but no need to show it—avoid stirring needless conflicts.
At last, he could pay his hunters proper gold.
Including himself and asd123. Their gold-fueled growth wasn't capped yet.
This round's stakes were high; he eyed unlocking 7th circle.
To activate 7th Circle Magic, pay 500,000,000,000 G.
Astronomical gold required.
Same for asd123. Snagging subjugation rights from powers didn't make anyone filthy rich.
'...Still a solid win.'
Masking a smile, the Chairman polled the powerhouses.
"...Any objections?"
No gripes. Sour faces, but they nodded along.
They knew Korea's wave impact.
Knew Korea's might.
As the meeting wrapped, though, the US Awakener Association head asked Lee Jong-hwa:
"...Mr. Lee, one question."
"Go ahead."
"That final explosion that neutralized Garuda—was that your magic?"
Hundreds of chained blasts over Beijing skies.
If the wave and Garuda wrecked the area...
The total annihilation? Unwittingly asd123's Explosion.
'...Ah, so that's why they didn't outright reject my demands. That blast.'
Chucking softly, the Chairman shook his head.
"No. It was a scroll from that 'special maker' you mentioned. Heh."
Great, yet bittersweet. Too specialized in magic—Korea got called a magic powerhouse, not hunter nation.
At his cryptic words, foreigners just swallowed dryly.
Those who'd gotten direct Korean aid pondered: was handing over subjugation rights truly worth it?
The Archmage Chairman and top awakeners? Fair price, value-wise.
But if they'd gone the asd123 scroll route like others, it'd cost tens of billions—not this.
Made them rethink scrolls' worth.
"...I've droned on too long. Kept busy folks tied up unintentionally. Meeting's over—I'll sign off."
Lee Jong-hwa ended the video call first.
But back home, he got a shocking report.
Jeong Hyun-seok, next Archmage hopeful, was... studying math? Bizarre.
The Mines' hideout.
Shhh—
Gazing at sand surging upside-down in the hourglass, the Bishop clicked his tongue.
'...Defeat was inevitable.'
asd123's existence. Vasky's betrayal.
Even Garuda couldn't win against that duo.
But there were limits.
Garuda ranked equal to top gods in combat prowess.
Weak defenses offset by flight and insane speed.
Yet...
'...Wrecked one city and poofed?'
Not even hollow. Chaos accumulated fell woefully short.
Swallowing quiet rage, the Bishop asked a curse-wielding Mine:
"...With current chaos stockpiled, what can we do?"
Target: asd123. Original plan: exploit the maker's fleshy vulnerability, kill.
Impossible now.
"Break that being's will, at most."
"Will..."
A faint sneer curled the Bishop's lips.
Sometimes mental collapse bred deeper chaos than bodily death.
Given asd123's human impact, his fall alone would drown the world in despair.
"...Start soon. Don't dawdle."
At that, the Mine began chanting.