Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Dawn Training Begins
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“Understood.”
A snicker escaped him.
Hae-jin chuckled as he recalled Yohan's response.
Seeing Hae-jin laugh like that, Raffaello da Vinci feigned surprise.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Huh? At what?”
Hae-jin glanced at Raffaello, who had suddenly addressed him.
When Hae-jin asked, Raffaello explained his earlier question.
“No, you just started laughing to yourself out of nowhere.”
“Me?”
Hae-jin pointed at his own face in response to Raffaello's words.
Raffaello nodded.
“Yeah.”
“Hmm, probably just remembered something ridiculous.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah. Anyway, how's the experimenting going for you?”
There was no need to explain every little detail to Raffaello.
Instead, Hae-jin brought up the tasks Raffaello needed to handle.
Experiment.
Having acquired the Alchemist Mage class, Raffaello could conduct two kinds of experiments.
One was magic experiments, and the other was alchemy.
In truth, the magic experiments were just studying spells, while the real experimentation lay in alchemy.
Raffaello nodded at Hae-jin's question.
“Yeah, who would've thought I could do alchemy in the real world too? It's amazing.”
He looked genuinely excited.
Hae-jin knew it well.
How passionate Raffaello was about creating things.
Later, after mastering magic and alchemy, he even learned smithing from the dwarves and took on the role of blacksmith.
That's how Raffaello became a 'Sage.'
A being who had comprehended everything.
However, even with that enlightenment, his spellcasting speed and higher insights fell short of an Archmage.
Thus, Sage Raffaello was more accurately a sub-magic dealer and producer supporting the main magic dealer, the Archmage.
In that other world, they praised him as a 'Sage,' but from their perspective—that is, Hae-jin's party's view—Raffaello was essentially a jack-of-all-trades.
The phrasing might sound harsh, but he was a handyman who did everything except tanking.
The silver lining was that Raffaello himself loved doing all sorts of things, so his personality perfectly matched his role.
In any case, Raffaello was thrilled that alchemy experiments were possible even in reality.
Hae-jin had prepared plenty of materials for him.
The concept of alchemy existed on Earth too, and it could be performed with real-world items, not just those from the other world.
Moreover, players involved in alchemy realized why real-world alchemy had never worked properly.
It was all due to the absence of mana.
With mana, alchemy was fully viable even in reality.
In any case, Raffaello marveled at being able to experiment with alchemy in reality.
Hae-jin spoke to him.
“Players can train and hone their abilities in all sorts of ways even in the real world.”
“Since I'm an Alchemist Mage practicing alchemy and magic, is Brother doing something similar?”
Raffaello asked, emphasizing that players shouldn't neglect training in reality.
Was Hae-jin training something in the real world too?
At Raffaello's question, Hae-jin pointed at his own face with his index finger.
“Me?”
“Yeah.”
Asking if he was training something in reality too, Hae-jin revealed that he had his own preparations.
“I'll start tomorrow.”
“Huh? Why tomorrow?”
Raffaello was puzzled, thinking that if there was something to do, he should start today like himself, but Hae-jin said he'd begin training tomorrow.
He was someone Hae-jin would be with long-term, but as mentioned earlier, Hae-jin had no intention of explaining every trivial detail.
So he just gave a vague schedule.
“It's just how it is. Anyway, let's sleep. Gotta head out early at dawn.”
Hae-jin said he was going to sleep since he had to leave at dawn.
But Raffaello said he'd stay up a bit longer.
“Then I'll do a little more alchemy experimenting before bed.”
“Do what you want.”
“Yes! Good night!”
“Yeah.”
After bidding Hae-jin good night, Raffaello headed to the terrace.
After moving into the luxury apartment, Hae-jin had set up a space on the penthouse terrace for Raffaello's alchemy experiments.
It was because explosions were commonplace during alchemy.
Hae-jin still couldn't forget the conversation with Raffaello before his regression.
“You really have to do those loud, messy, explosive experiments?”
“What are you talking about, Brother? This is art, plain and simple.”
“Art all of a sudden?”
“Explosions are art!”
It was clearly a sign of failure to anyone else, but Raffaello enjoyed it as art.
Watching Raffaello head to the terrace to revel in alchemy experiments, he seemed on the verge of becoming an explosion fetishist.
Hae-jin shook his head.
“I should get some sleep.”
With that, Hae-jin went to his bedroom and turned in.
He had no choice.
Starting tomorrow, he had to undergo the training that Damian—the original Regressor and Leader Nam Joo-hyuk—had spoken of.
Hae-jin had received everything from Joo-hyuk in a completely unexpected way, but nothing really changed.
He had simply acquired what he needed to obtain, faster than planned, based on Joo-hyuk's information.
‘This is the last chance.’
The 'Rune of Regression' that the original Leader Joo-hyuk possessed had now lost its regression function.
To make this final opportunity a success, he had to carry out Joo-hyuk's dying wish: to diligently learn dual-wielding swordsmanship from Damian.
With that thought, Hae-jin fell asleep.
Beep-beep-beep.
The alarm rang.
It was the one Hae-jin had set for 3 a.m.
Damian had announced training at 3:30 a.m.
But Hae-jin had already opened his eyes almost the moment the alarm went off, silencing it with lightning speed.
Click!
Having shut off the alarm immediately, Hae-jin sat up.
He checked his physical condition.
“With my stats going crazy, I can control my body freely.”
It wasn't just about quickly silencing the alarm.
The fact that he'd thought about waking at 3 a.m. before sleeping and opened his eyes exactly then was part of it.
The ability to control his body as desired.
All of it stemmed from his stats.
In any case, having woken on time, Hae-jin said,
“Hmm, guess I'll just wash up army-style and go.”
He'd get wrecked by Damian's training anyway.
So there was no point in washing thoroughly beforehand. With that in mind, Hae-jin gave himself a quick rinse and headed straight to the meeting spot with Damian.
Since he'd been there before, he could Shadow Blink using the shadows there.
Upon arriving, Damian jumped in surprise.
“Huh?! Messiah, have you arrived?”
Startled for a moment, Damian asked upon recognizing Hae-jin before him.
Asking if he'd arrived.
Hae-jin nodded.
“Yes, I'm here. You're out early, though.”
“How could I make the Messiah wait? I've been here since an hour ago.”
“......”
Hae-jin was at a loss for words.
Damian, an elderly man, had been waiting an hour early because he saw Hae-jin as the Messiah.
They'd agreed on 3:30 a.m., but Hae-jin had arrived early too, and it was just past 3:10 now.
Yet Damian said he'd been waiting an hour, meaning since at least 2 a.m.
After a brief stunned silence, Hae-jin called out to Damian.
“Damian.”
“Yes, Messiah.”
“From now on, come at exactly 3:30. You're not as young as you used to be—what if you catch something?”
“Hoho, no need to worry about me. I've never been sick a day in my life.”
“......This is a ‘revelation.’”
Worrying about his age wouldn't get through.
So Hae-jin resorted to something that would work immediately.
For those who saw him as ‘Messiah,’ nothing beat a ‘revelation.’
Sure enough.
At the mention of revelation, Damian looked troubled.
“Ah, a revelation......”
He'd come an hour early to avoid making the Messiah wait, but now a revelation commanded him to arrive exactly at 3:30 starting tomorrow.
He muttered with a troubled expression.
But the effect of the ‘revelation’ was tremendous.
“Understood. Since the Messiah has given this revelation, I'll arrive on time starting tomorrow.”
“Yes, let's meet on time from tomorrow.”
“Understood.”
Around then, the sound of a car approaching from afar reached them.
Both Hae-jin and Damian looked over.
A familiar vehicle came into view.
It had to be familiar.
It was the car Yohan Fascia had driven the day before to guide them here.
Seeing the car, Hae-jin said,
“Anna's arrived too.”
“I see.”
Soon, Yohan parked, and Anna got out.
The father and daughter, stepping out, looked quite surprised to see Hae-jin already there.
“Gasp! You've already arrived, Messiah?”
“Ah, Hae-jin! You're here already!”
Yohan and Anna greeted Hae-jin upon seeing him.
Hae-jin welcomed them too.
“Yes, I'm here.”
As Hae-jin greeted them back, Yohan looked embarrassed.
“Oh no!”
“Hm?”
Hae-jin wondered why Yohan was reacting like that.
Yohan explained to the puzzled Hae-jin.
“I'll have to come even earlier starting tomorrow. For us to arrive after the Messiah—what insolence......”
“......”
Hae-jin was speechless again.
He'd told Damian to come at 3:30 a.m.
And that time hadn't passed yet.
So Yohan and Anna arriving now was perfectly fine.
Yet Yohan deemed arriving after Hae-jin himself as insolent.
And then he said,
“Starting tomorrow, we'll come an hour earlier.”
“......”
It was absurd.
How long ago had he just talked Damian out of waiting an hour early, and now Yohan, who arrived on time, planned to come an hour earlier tomorrow.
Damian then called out to Yohan.
“Yohan.”
“Yes, Damian.”
“Don't do that.”
“Pardon?”
“The Messiah gave me a ‘revelation.’”
Damian emphasized revelation.
Yohan looked envious as he asked,
“Ooh, a revelation...... What was it?”
“I was out an hour early, so the revelation said to arrive on time starting tomorrow. So you and Anna just come like today.”
“Ah?”
Hearing the content of Damian's revelation, Yohan turned to Hae-jin.
His expression asked if the same revelation applied to them.
Seeing Yohan's look, Hae-jin nodded.
“Yes, it's a ‘revelation’ that applies to you and Anna too.”
“Hmm, understood. If it's the Messiah's revelation, we must obey.”
That damn revelation......
But it was too effective not to use.
Anyway.
Having sorted things out with a ‘revelation’ again today, Hae-jin finally looked at Damian.
“Shall we start the training now?”