Chapter 13
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Blue Room (1)
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After the tournament ended, the academy entered a short three-day break.
Treatment period: four days. Free time: three days.
It was time granted by the academy for the cadets to rest.
But no cadet actually rested during this period.
Of course, I was no exception.
Pzzt!
The lightning-element skill, Spark.
I still couldn't maintain it for long, aside from fire-element skills, due to their low proficiency.
But that was a problem I had to overcome through practice.
Yoon Ji-yeon clapped her hands like a seal as she approached.
"Great, great! As expected, you pick things up fast."
"...Haa... haa... Thank you."
Even I thought I learned quickly.
I'd mastered not just fire magic, but water, lightning, and basic healing spells too.
All the skills were at the lowest level, but now I could wield a wider variety.
"Hmm... You've grown to the level of a Yoon Family elementary schooler now. Excellent."
"Ele... elementary...?"
"Exactly! You can now use magic like one of our Yoon Family kids. An elementary schooler from the Yoon Family."
Yoon Ji-yeon emphasized the Yoon Family especially hard.
She looked 23 on the outside, but her mindset was like a 13-year-old.
"But."
She suddenly shifted to a serious tone.
"Even if you can cast basic spells, you need to fundamentally combine them with your own abilities."
"Combine... them?"
"Right. Your fighting style is physical, built on a solid body."
I'm closer to a warrior than a mage.
And I can handle almost any weapon except a staff.
Swords, spears, bows, crossbows, throwing stars.
My role in expeditions was like a multi-purpose scout.
Though in reality, it was more like odd jobs.
"What I'm saying is, you don't need to raise your magic to the level of your other abilities."
Yoon Ji-yeon poked my chest as she continued.
"Magic is just a sub-skill to support your main strengths. Keep that in mind."
Sub-skill...
She was right.
I already had powerful weapons.
Leveling magic up to that point would take a ton of time.
She meant to train magic without neglecting physical conditioning.
I nodded.
"I'll keep it in mind."
"Oh, and one more thing."
Yoon Ji-yeon walked back and sat on a rock.
"Your other power that hasn't awakened yet."
"...Yes."
I had another power.
It still hadn't awakened.
"Awakening usually requires special conditions. Honestly, I can't draw it out with who I am now. I'm just a 'clone' of the real me."
"Clone?"
"Yeah. When you meet the real me later, I won't remember you. This Mana Manual is literally just a training manual pieced together from fragments of my memories."
Yoon Ji-yeon smiled brightly as she said it.
"It's fine. I'm basically a dead woman anyway."
"..."
After the First Gate.
The bodies of those 20 heroes were never found anywhere.
No one knew if they died or were sealed away.
If their corpses had been found, at least we could've held funerals.
The woman before me was the memory of a hero who died for Earth at the tender age of 23.
I knelt down.
Yoon Ji-yeon looked startled.
"What are you doing?"
"...I will."
I'd found what I needed to do for her.
"I will absolutely free the family head from that curse."
"...Uh... okay."
Her eyelids trembled in surprise.
She probably wouldn't remember anyway, but this was respect for one of humanity's heroes.
She walked over with heavy steps and stroked my head.
"...Yeah. I leave it to you."
"..."
"Hey."
As I moved to board the return warp, Yoon Ji-yeon called me back.
"Homework. Don't touch the intermediate manual until you shatter a rock with your skills."
A rock.
A rock with that kind of destructive power.
I grinned.
"Won't take long."
And with that, the Beginner Yoon Family Mana Manual was complete.
Perfect condition.
It would come when I discovered my other awakened power.
To achieve that, certain conditions had to be met.
I didn't know what those were.
Another day passed like that.
Among all the classes, C Class was the only one without any expulsions.
Ha Dong-hwan entered the classroom with a beaming smile.
"You all did great in the tournament. Ah, especially Kang Tae-hyun, you really stepped up, huh?"
Scattered applause rose around the room.
"Our class placed 19th overall. Not the best scores... but you still did well."
Ha Dong-hwan wrote something on the board as he spoke.
"...Alright. Now that the tournament's over, as you know, it's time to elect class officers. You all know what that means in our school, right?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Yes, sir!"
Ha Dong-hwan smiled, satisfied.
"Voting next week. We'll elect class president, vice president, and elites for each squad. Prepare yourselves."
The day of class officer elections was finally approaching.
Everyone in this class would probably aim for president.
The authority granted to the president and vice president was immense.
Considering future training and post-graduation ranks, it was no position to underestimate.
But it should go to someone qualified.
In my past life, Lee Jae-yeol was president, Lucy vice president.
Lee Jae-yeol was a natural strategist.
He hadn't shone in this tournament, but nurtured right, he'd be a huge asset to humanity.
I planned to vote for him first.
Under his leadership, C Class kept pace with others.
"That's it for today. Don't slack off just because the tournament's over."
Ha Dong-hwan left the classroom.
I stood to start physical training.
That's when Lucy blocked my path.
Lucy Ailin.
Blonde hair, blue eyes.
A tall, slender figure.
The picture of an American girl.
I was a bit surprised she'd approach me.
I tried to dodge her, but she stubbornly stood in my way.
"...You need something?"
"You're running for election, right?"
"What???"
I yelled in genuine shock.
Lucy clamped her hand over my mouth.
Then whispered.
"Quiet. You want Mitsuda to hear?"
I glanced sideways at Mitsuda.
He was staring our way.
I gently removed Lucy's hand.
"So what?"
"...Follow me. I have something to say."
Lucy grabbed my wrist and pulled.
Mitsuda watched silently.
Behind the classroom building.
A free park set up for cadet welfare.
Decorated with statues, fountains, and flowers.
And a pavilion in one corner.
About ten people were gathered there.
All wearing tense, excited expressions in silence.
Yoon Ah-young was among them.
Lucy dragged me there.
"Okay, say it again."
"Huh? Say what."
"Are you running for election?"
"No."
Class president was a huge hassle.
The title would help in real operations later, but that wasn't my goal.
Presidents had to take responsibility and command no matter what.
I was swamped with my own training; looking after others was a hard pass.
I couldn't face second-semester survival training as president.
My stance was firm.
Lucy brushed back her bangs and sighed.
"...You do know what class president means, right?"
"Yeah. Leader of C Class."
"Then why hand it to Mitsuda?"
"...Can't let that happen."
"Exactly, so why...?"
Lucy grabbed a sitting girl's shoulders.
"Olivia. You don't want Mitsuda as president either, right??"
"Huh? Ah... I, um..."
A girl in priestess robes.
A nun cadet from the church.
Most nuns here joined church orders like the White Knights after graduation to hunt designated monsters.
Olivia was shrouded in mystery even in my past life.
Always quiet, timid, passive in everything.
It was surprising she'd get involved here.
Olivia clutched her cross-shaped staff.
"I... I too... want Tae-hyun... to do it..."
She mumbled, and Lucy turned back to me.
"See? Olivia's voting for you too."
This was getting tricky.
I scratched the back of my head.
"These ten are voting for you. But the other 24 are all Mitsuda's. You're losing before it even starts."
"Hmm..."
That was a headache.
Plus, Lee Jae-yeol, who I'd pushed for president, wasn't here.
So he must be with Mitsuda.
I couldn't understand why Lee Jae-yeol sided with him.
Ah-young chimed in pleadingly.
"Tae-hyun, please. If Mitsuda becomes president, this class is done for..."
Mitsuda having the majority was a problem.
Changing the future was tough.
Normally, Lee Jae-yeol should've led.
...But it wasn't impossible.
"As long as Mitsuda isn't president, right?"
Lucy nodded at my question.
Simple-minded brutes fall for the slightest provocation.
I'd make Lee Jae-yeol president my way.
And for proper command, I'd take vice president.
Vice presidents had less broad power but could act independently and command during training and ops.
Perfect for me.
"I have a plan."
I declared confidently.
They looked at me with intrigued expressions.
After hearing my strategy, every cadet wore a dumbfounded look.
Weekend.
I finally dressed in civilian clothes.
Weapons were allowed in the city only with special cases.
Without government permission, weapons couldn't be used in urban areas.
Today was the day for my overnight pass to visit the Blue Room.
"Passengers bound for Seoul, please proceed to gate G, gate G."
The academy's warp zone.
Showed my weekend outing and overnight pass, then bought a warp ticket to Seoul.
Weekends saw tons of second-years and resident hunters heading out.
Most lined up for dungeon raids or family visits.
"...Haa. This line is insane."
The general warp platform had a massive queue.
One hour in, and it wasn't shrinking.
Every minute mattered to me.
Then someone tugged my hoodie.
"Huh?"
I lost my 20-minute spot pathetically.
Rage like nothing since regressing surged up.
"Who the...!"
I turned around.
Irina Delebayne stood there, arms crossed.
Three escorts behind her.
I suppressed my anger.
If it wasn't important, I'd flick her forehead hard.
Really hard.
"...Why wait like an idiot? Follow me."
"What?"
Irina strode ahead, heels clicking.
I could only laugh in disbelief.
Warping in progress.
Warp to Seoul complete.
Thank you for using Sonic Group Warp.
Seoul International Warp Zone.
Irina's private warp.
Made the one-hour wait look silly—arrived in Seoul in five minutes.
Power of a diamond spoon, huh.
"...Thanks. But what's a foreigner like you doing in Korea?"
"Had business, so I came."
I scratched my head.
Fair enough.
Irina smirked smugly before speaking.
"...You got a place to crash?"
"Huh?"
"Did some digging. Looks like you don't anyway?"
Who says that so brazenly after admitting to a background check...
But why was this brat helping me?
"If not, use our family villa. Location and password sent via Network."
"...Uh, sure..."
Felt like she had an agenda.
"See ya."
Irina donned black sunglasses and headed for the exit.
A luxury limo waited.
'Tch. Must be nice being rich.'
I had to wait here again for the Chuncheon warp.
The Blue Room was there.
As I headed to the Chuncheon warp zone, one of Irina's escorts blocked me.
"The young miss said to escort Mr. Kang Tae-hyun all the way. To the Sonic Group private warp zone."
Oh. Score.
Chuncheon.
Arrived earlier than expected, plenty of time to reach the mountain leisurely.
Originally a hidden dungeon.
Now abandoned.
Deep in the mountains.
I pushed aside fallen leaves searching for the entrance.
'Around here somewhere...'
Wished I could blast them away with wind magic.
But skill use in cities was illegal.
So I kept hunting manually.
About three hours later... I found it.
A massive door embedded in the ground with blue patterns.
Yoon Ji-yeon's name engraved as first discoverer.
Hidden under leaves, hard to spot.
No one came around here anyway.
"...Finally."
The item was here.
Finding such a treasure in Korea was huge news.
An S-Rank equipment item, no less.
"Let's go."
Entering the 'Blue Room' dungeon.
Please enter the password.
*********
"Lady Yoon Ji-yeon is super pretty X."
What a password.
Dungeon entry permitted.
Challengers: 1
Dungeon Difficulty: 3
Opening the gate.
(To be continued in the next chapter)