Episode 108
When I returned to the academy again, I had a life with nothing in particular.
The exam is over, and the field trip is over. In fact, it could be said that now is the time to finish the semester through self-development by attending classes in moderation.
But even in the midst of that, there were no quiet days around me.
“Son, look at this. Don’t you want to try it together?”
Arietta, who came to me every day without fail, saw an announcement written in an essay paper and stuck to her side and encouraged her to participate.
“Why are you doing that to me?”
“Your junior is smart.”
“I’m not at all confident about that, I’m sorry.”
It was annoying, but when I took a peek, it was full of contents that I couldn’t really understand what I was talking about.
No, it’s okay to just use the spells well. Do you really need to study so deeply?
“… I’m sorry.”
“At first, when I became a senior, there would be a lot of people who wanted to work with me, even if they weren’t academy cadets.”
“I don’t like researchers who are pushed too far by evil. There are a lot of strange people.”
If you think about it that way, there must be many people who want to sit next to her for personal gain.
It’s not like it’s happened once or twice, so she just got tired of it.
“And, if your grandmother hangs out with your juniors… … .”
“I heard that more than ten times. Isn’t that what it means to stick together like this in the first place?”
“Sister, you are serious. You also shared sweets yesterday.”
I just ate it during the cycle, but apparently it was an action that meant a lot to Arietta.
Seriously, the person who swept ten bowls of dessert alone for some reason shared everything to eat.
“If you keep eating like that, you will get fat. Especially if you don’t change the habit until later.”
“… Wherever you go, you shouldn’t be doing that.”
“You don’t have to worry as I won’t tell anyone except for your senior.”
A few days ago, it was so annoying that I tried to hand it over to Sophia, who I can say, but somehow the three of them went together, so the hassle only doubled.
But on the other hand, I used to pay close attention to her mood.
‘… There are no problems yet.’
In the original story, Arietta appears as the story boss when the main characters, Ha-on Yoo, are in their sophomore year.
That is, next year.
‘Then, at least until then, something is going to happen between Arietta and Myungyul.’
As the second semester is coming to an end soon, it may already be closer than you think.
A little bit anxious, I looked at Arietta with a serious expression and asked a question.
“Have you ever been concerned about anything around you lately?”
“What do you care about?”
Arieta, who had been pondering over and over with her characteristic expressionless face, soon clapped hands and signed a handshake and suddenly summoned something.
It was Baekyang, the twin shikigami of my black yin.
poop.
Whirlik.
turuk.
Arietta, who circled in the air, picked up a white sheep on her shoulder and held it in front of me, with a serious expression on her face.
“The fox you gave me, doesn’t it look like you’re fat?”
“… … ”
There seems to be nothing special about it. Haha, if there are any strange signs around, she will be the first to notice.
It was meaningless for me to worry and ponder in advance.
“Don’t you look fat?”
“He doesn’t sweat. Even if you are fat, you will be fat.”
“… … .”
Seeing me throwing a fastball with even the bare minimum of respect now, Arietta subtly pouted her lips.
From that indifferent face, for a moment, it seemed that he was a little dissatisfied.
“Junior, you said you had nothing to do today.”
“Yes?”
“Then follow me.”
The place I was drawn to by Arietta was to the 4th training ground dedicated to the A-class.
Arietta said to me, who was full of questions and looked at me.
“… It’s fat, so digest it.”
In the end, I had to roll over the floor several times while dealing with her without even knowing English.
***
The next day, as usual, as I was about to finish class and head to the training ground, Cheongju-hwa called me.
Then, in a rather triumphant attitude, he started to accompany him.
“I have something to show you.”
“what?”
“Anyway, I know.”
Returning to Training Ground 4, which I had only visited yesterday, I shook my head in an unfamiliar chill.
Looking at me like that, Cheongjuhwa rummaged through his arms and pulled out something.
It was a mystical amulet with a deep blue color.
“Do you know what this is?”
“… I don’t know.”
I’ve been thinking about it, but I can’t remember anything. Even in the original story, she had never brought something like this, but it seems like something I didn’t know about it.
“Then I’ll show you.”
👌👌👌👌👌👌
Cheongju-hwa got up from her seat excitedly and threw the amulet on one of the walls of the training ground.
It wasn’t a new amulet, it was a ready-made product that was always used.
And targeting it, he began to infuse spiritual power into the blue amulet.
Nettle juice!
“Heat wave.”
Whoops!
Whoops-!
I looked at it and raised my eyes wide. And instinctively began to analyze its power.
‘… Is it some level of intermediate attack technique?’
Obviously, the heat wave was a basic attack technique with decent power, but even then, it couldn’t show this clear attack power.
‘It must be the influence of the amulet that was just released.’
Clearly, at this level, it is much more powerful than the original heat wave. Perhaps it will boil down to the higher-level rite, Baekhwayeolpa (魄吙裂破).
“how about it?”
“… What did you do?”
This was not the heat wave I knew. When I glanced at the place where the attack had hit, the wall of Training Ground 4, the highest level facility, was noticeably dug.
It’s not at the level of simply casting a spell with more power than usual.
At my question, Cheongjuhwa looked around for a moment and took out a blue dragon from a necklace studded with cheongsim jade.
Fuwaak!
[I thought you might know, but I was wrong. That’s a talisman crafted by the method of Chungwoon.]
“Is that a talisman of good fortune?”
[okay. Although time has passed, I have yet to see anyone who has reached the extreme of magic as he did. There is probably no one in the modern world who can make a better amulet than this.]
No, there was no such thing as an item in the game.
“Cheongryong taught me. Isn’t this pretty useful?”
“It’s not good enough. This is great.”
I just thought it was a powerful shikigami, but there was no such thing as a fully alive treasure trove. I looked at the blue dragon and cast a surprised look.
[You seem to have realized a little bit of my greatness. Still, I have no intention of making a fuss. I’ve taught a number of contractors over the years, but this kid is the only one who’s been able to reproduce it properly.
“… okay.”
[It seems that I will let you use it too, so please accept it with gratitude.]
It was really nice.
To be honest, it’s an achievement I never thought of, so I’m stunned.
‘Even if it wasn’t, I was in the middle of a little bit of anxiety.’
In the subsequent dispute on the Cheongga side, it seemed that the existence of this amulet could be used in various ways.
It’s like a new card has been created.
As if satisfied with my reaction, Cheongju-hwa shrugged and mentioned what happened last time.
“Then I’ll give you this, so please give me a dozen of them.”
“Request? ah.”
Perhaps it refers to losing successive bets when we went out to play.
I happily nodded my head and accepted it.
“It doesn’t matter that much. You can do it without it.”
“Yep. But you know I have one wish left, right?”
“… Okay.”
What the heck are you so obsessed with what you are trying to do?
Cheongjuhwa handed me five blue amulets and gave me a warning as if I almost forgot.
“If you use this, it will be harder to control the spell than you think, so be careful. I’m still at intermediate level and above.”
“I will remember.”
So I left the training ground with Cheongju-hwa and headed to the dormitory. And there, he met Han Seo-ah, who seemed to have a purpose.
“brother.”
“What’s up?”
“I have a guest. to both of us.”
“… Guest?”
It seemed that there was still work to be done before he could take a break.
***
It was a very pleasant face to meet after that.
It was none other than Jang Han-soo, a second-class exorcist whom we met in the eternal maze.
“Long time no see.”
“Are you finished with all the work you need to do?”
“Thank you.”
On Jang Han-soo’s face, there was now a more relaxed and smiling face than the coolness he had seen in it.
Fortunately, he seemed to be able to properly communicate with the people around him, including his family.
“By the way, are you really okay?”
Since most of them had been treated as missing, Yoo Tae-jin and his party had to tell the world what had happened to them inevitably.
So, before I went out, I had told the party to keep quiet about Han Seo-ah with me.
“This is an unprecedented discovery. You can probably make a name for yourself.”
“it’s okay. Because it is better for us to do that.”
I don’t want to tell the world that I have cleared one of the eternal mazes.
I don’t know what kind of impact it will have after that, so I had to be as careful as possible in that area.
Nodding his head at my words, Jang Han-soo started telling us information about the other party one by one.
From what I heard, they each returned to their families and seemed to be fully enjoying their present life.
“Mr. Hansoo, do you intend to return to the executive branch again?”
“No, I completely washed my hands. No matter what country, I am tired of fighting for the time being.”
yes it will be Because I spent 7 years just surviving in the labyrinth.
“I heard that you guys are going to the academy, so I came to see if we could meet if we wanted to.”
It didn’t look like that from the inside, but he seemed to be a surprisingly friendly type.
I don’t hate that feeling, so me and Han Seo-ah had a happy conversation with Jang Han-soo for a while.
And just before parting, Jang Han-soo delivered a meaningful piece of information that he seemed to have forgotten.
“Come to think of it, this place is also not far from the source of the rumors.”
“Are you talking about rumors?”
“Yeah, it’s a bizarre rumor that’s spreading among the executives at headquarters.”
Jang Hansoo pondered for a moment, then nodded his head and opened his mouth again.
“Hey, it’s true that something like that happened, so there’s no way this is a lie either. Don’t tell me if you don’t know.”
“Yes. I’m sure you’re concerned.”
“Recently, it seems that the ghosts of the past are appearing in this area.”
“… … .”
“Exactly, the ghost of a high-ranking exorcist who lost his life during the Baekgwi Nightfall.”
Jang Han-soo left the academy with only those words, promising a reunion.
And I stayed there for a while, just reflecting on it with a meaningful expression on my face.