Chapter 127
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 127
Chapter Title: Active Hero Dojo Challenge
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"The reward will be handed over next time when I call you for expo-related matters. Head back carefully."
After wrapping up his conversation with Lan Fei, Lee Se-hun stepped out of the Magic Engineering Department's main building and turned to Louise.
"Well then, now..."
"Follow me."
Louise grabbed Lee Se-hun's wrist and pulled him into a nearby shadowy alley, where she crossed her arms and fixed him with a stare.
"What's this about expo staff? Don't brush me off—explain it properly right now."
No matter how it looked to outsiders, there was no way the guy in front of her would step up just to steal tech from some big corporation.
Sensing something was up, Louise narrowed her eyes at him, prompting Lee Se-hun to fall deep into thought.
'Where should I start...'
Explaining the Ten Evils or the Watchers to just anyone felt awkward, but Louise was already tangled up with Dawn, so he figured he could open up a bit more with her.
Having decided, Lee Se-hun started from the Black Arms incident and explained everything step by step. Louise's eyes widened in shock as she listened.
"They're really going to raid this place?"
"No hard evidence. But the timing's too perfect to call it coincidence."
"Hmm..."
Louise pondered his words intently before suddenly asking something that came to mind.
"But even so, doesn't the academy president make it irrelevant?"
Babel's safety from external raids stemmed from advanced tech, high-rank heroes, and more—but the biggest factor was the academy president, Summit Climber Ludwig.
Could someone launch a raid that even Ludwig couldn't counter, without any warning, right in his own backyard at Babel?
It seemed impossible no matter how she sliced it, so Louise voiced her doubts. Lee Se-hun replied calmly.
"If he's there, sure. But what if he's not?"
"That's..."
"The president and the Summit Climbers are strong, no doubt. But they're not omnipotent. Hard to kill? Yeah. But tying them down in a fight? Easy enough."
It was just a question of whether to risk it or not—not truly "impossible."
'We can't rely too much on the Summit Climbers.'
Back in the early days when war with the Myriad Demons' Mire reignited, humanity thought the Summit Climbers alone could hold them off.
But over time, the Myriad Demons' Mire thoroughly analyzed their abilities, unleashed the Six Great Demon Gods, and picked them off one by one.
The end was mutual destruction, but given their goal of humanity's extinction, it was as good as defeat.
"...Fair point. If the president were omnipotent, no cadets would get hurt inside Babel."
Louise stroked the choker hiding her throat scar, thought for a moment, then asked.
"So we're handling this just the two of us? Sounds too big-scale from what you're saying."
Not some random criminals—possibly the Ten Evils and Watchers storming in together.
Imagining Babel in flames, Louise furrowed her brow. Lee Se-hun waved it off.
"Odds of it blowing up that big are low. If they wanted chaos, they wouldn't sneak in so quietly."
Considering the Ten Evils' and Watchers' tendencies, this was just a warning shot.
No Six Great Demon Gods around, no reason for all-out war with a Summit Climber, low chance anyway.
'That's just how they operate.'
Lee Se-hun knew this from fighting the Myriad Demons' Mire to the bitter end in his previous life. Unable to explain that fully, he skirted around it.
"Like I said before, it's just a hunch. We'll confirm at the expo and deal with it then."
"Hmph... Fine."
Louise nodded calmly at his explanation.
Anyone else saying that, she'd call it naive. But Lee Se-hun? She trusted him.
He'd always delivered optimal results amid countless incidents.
'How does he know all this, though...'
The Ten Evils aside, the Watchers were a shadowy group unknown to the public.
Born to an ordinary family like her, how did he know so much?
The question lingered, but she shook it off quickly.
'Doesn't matter.'
Whatever secrets he held, as long as he kept his promise and didn't betray her, she was good.
Brushing aside the irrelevant thoughts, Louise looked at Lee Se-hun.
"So, what do we do till they summon you for the expo?"
Something might go down—better to prepare a little.
Lee Se-hun pondered her question before asking.
"Ever tried controlling something with word spirit magic?"
"Control? No, never done manipulation spells."
Coming from the Elemental Department, she'd naturally focused on elemental magic.
Lee Se-hun nodded at her answer and pulled out a single White Light Dagger.
"Perfect. Watch closely."
He picked up a discarded soda can from the alley and tossed it high into the air.
Whoosh!
The can shot up forcefully before plummeting back down. Lee Se-hun placed the White Light Dagger on his palm.
"〈Automatic Interception〉"
The word spirit engraving etched deep within.
Thud!
The White Light Dagger pierced the falling soda can mid-air and embedded into the wall. It hadn't been manually controlled—the dagger moved on its own. Louise's eyes went wide.
"Automatic magic...?"
Magic difficulty skyrockets the farther it strays from user control.
For instance, a mana barrier set to "block attacks" stops everything, but "block flames" gets tricky.
A fire-wind composite spell might slip through if not purely fire.
'That's why auto-magic formulas are insanely complex...'
Not just volume—they must be hyper-detailed to avoid errors.
Such formulas were treated like secret arts for their intricacy. Yet Lee Se-hun pulled it off with a single word spirit.
'Well, basic interception might be simple enough...'
As if reading her mind, Lee Se-hun spoke calmly.
"Throw a punch at me."
"W-what?"
"Just do it."
Louise glanced at the dagger stuck in the wall, steeled herself, and swung full-force at his gut.
Smack!
"Ugh...?!"
The numb sting like punching rock made her yank her hand back in alarm. She turned to the dagger.
"It didn't move?"
If it intercepted all approaches, it should've reacted to her punch. As Louise puzzled over it, Lee Se-hun explained.
"Like I said before, word spirit magic operates on a totally different system from regular magic. So the difficulties you know don't apply here."
"So... word spirit magic specializes in auto-magic?"
"Less specialization, more 'easy mode.'"
He pulled the dagger from the wall and faced her.
"Take this as example. It speared the can instantly but ignored your fist. Why?"
"Uh..."
Distance, material, projectile—ideas flashed then vanished.
'If it were those, he wouldn't ask.'
Conditions tough for regular magic, simple for word spirits.
Pondering, Louise glanced at her still-numb fist from hitting his abs.
"...No harm?"
"Exactly. More precisely, 'even if it hits, no problem.'"
"How do you encode something that vague in such a short word spirit...?"
Different system or not, was that possible? As Louise reeled, Lee Se-hun continued.
"Don't overthink. Think of the word spirit—and the mental image in it—as your 'clone.'"
"...Ah!"
His words clicked. She finally grasped the word spirit engraving's effect.
'My standards for that effect are etched in the mental image like a clone.'
Just as flames instinctively scream "hot," word spirit magic embeds such intuitions.
No extra formula needed—looks-hot flame approaches, auto-magic triggers naturally.
"Not without downsides, though. Regular magic follows rigid formulas, zero errors. Word spirits vary wildly by user."
Quick reaction if you understand the attack type; clueless, and it's sluggish.
Regular auto-magic hinges on formula finesse; word spirits on combat experience diversity.
"Hmm. So if I set it to 'attack enemies,' it might go after someone I just personally hate?"
"Pretty much."
Louise's deep-seated grudges from past trauma could make auto-magic unpredictable.
Thus, precise self-objectification was key for reliable word spirit auto-magic.
"Gotta be careful."
"Exactly. Practice now to set firm baselines against rampage. More combat experience speeds reactions, so spar a lot."
"Sparring... perfect timing. Profs are calling in a ton of alumni for graduation stuff."
"Right, Martial Combat Department's in Aqar Quf."
Special class inviting active heroes for real combat experience. Perfect spot for Ten Evils or Watchers to infiltrate—worth checking thoroughly.
'How to probe that without just attending...'
Something easier than joining? As he mulled, a name popped up.
"Hold on."
He pulled out his phone and dialed. After a few rings:
-What is it?
Kasar, Swordsmanship Professor and Aqar Quf's next department head appointee. Lee Se-hun cut to the chase.
"Know about the special class coming up?"
-Of course. Old man Luke's trying to make a splash in his final year, calling every grad he can. Why?
"Prof Ma Gwang-su said I could join, curious about the format."
-Huh? That drunk said that...?
Kasar paused thoughtfully, then continued.
-Not set yet. If it goes smooth, departments handle separately.
"Then..."
-What change you want?
Kasar's direct cut-in surprised Lee Se-hun slightly.
"Pardon? I mean..."
-You didn't call just for format deets. You want a specific setup, right? I'm out next week—I'll handle it this week.
Kasar spoke like he knew everything. Relaxed, Lee Se-hun pitched his idea.
-Hmm... Not bad. More efficient, yeah.
"Feasible?"
-Totally. Luke's toothless this year anyway.
Last year in office, basically a figurehead. At Kasar's confident tone, Lee Se-hun smiled faintly.
"Appreciate it."
-Sure. So what's the play?
To Kasar's curious probe, Lee Se-hun replied confidently.
"Just some advertising."
In a conference room at Borsippa's headquarters.
The lead staffer grabbed the mic as the department head professors gathered.
"Next agenda: Exhibiting first-year department topper Lee Se-hun's work at the Future Expo."
Heavy silence fell. No one dared speak first; eyes drifted to two people.
"..."
"..."
Ryu Eun-ha sat stone-faced at the head, Michael Valmut equally impassive diagonally left.
With known friction between department head and vice over this year's topper, no one knew which side to back.
'Ryu might've quit anytime before, but with Lee Se-hun, she'll stick at least four more years.'
'Valmut's shaken post-incident... time to rethink allegiances.'
Michael's once-solid next-head buzz had crumbled lately; professors treaded carefully.
'Parasites, all of 'em...'
Michael hated their fence-sitting, but unavoidable.
Reminding himself to bide time, he spoke slowly.
"Sounds fine. He's forged hero-grade gear multiple times already. Requesting personally means he's confident."
He scanned the professors, gaze lingering on Kim In-cheol before Ryu Eun-ha.
"Whatever the outcome."
His barbed words hung. Ryu Eun-ha replied without looking up.
"Others' thoughts?"
Professors glanced around before chiming in.
"Seem... okay?"
"He's standing out among toppers, so a shot couldn't hurt."
Power-sensitive ones jumped to agree; others followed sans objection.
They were all curious what this topper would bring anyway.
"Next agenda, then..."
Creeak.
The door opened quietly; a staffer hurried to Ryu Eun-ha.
"Head. Message from Luke, Aqar Quf head."
Luke Baker, ex-S-rank hero retired to educator life at Babel due to age and injury.
His sudden contact puzzled Ryu Eun-ha.
'What's this about?'
No deep personal or professional ties. Still, she addressed the room.
"Brief recess."
Outside, she took the staffer's phone.
"Got it."
-Head Ryu! What the hell's going on!?
His shrill yell met her calm response.
"More details, please."
-That first-year topper you're pushing! He's causing a scene in Aqar Quf!
"...Cadet Lee Se-hun?"
-Yes!
Luke's shout drew a baffled look from Ryu Eun-ha.
Lee Se-hun had a rough edge, but not senseless chaos.
As she wondered what happened:
"H-head! This...!"
Another staffer rushed up, thrusting their phone. A sparring arena video.
A youth dual-wielding short spears faced a middle-aged man with a long spear—fierce exchange.
-Urk...!
Fierce flames scattered from the shorts, pushing the man back relentlessly. Soon, a dark-red flash erupted.
Clang!
Spearhead flew airborne, clattering down. As the man stared blankly, the youth spoke slowly.
-Skill's decent, but lacking. If... if...
Stammering emotionally, biting his lip. Arena eyes on him.
-Hurry up!!
A yell from below. Youth grimaced, sighed deeply, then spoke deliberately.
-Without reliable junior... Lee Se-hun's gear... I might've lost.
Yeom Seong-ha's grudging admission filled the screen, then panned elsewhere.
Lee Se-hun, beaming ear-to-ear. At this baffling scene, Ryu Eun-ha's eyes caught the title.
[Active Hero Dojo Breaking #12]
"...Dojo breaking?"
Lee Se-hun leading cadets to smash active heroes in spars.
Utterly inexplicable purpose. Ryu Eun-ha watched with an even stranger expression.
-Talks good!
Lee Se-hun just shouted enthusiastically, like he was having a blast.