58
“You must have known why you were called here, right?”
In the student counseling room, upon the homeroom teacher Jung Haejoon’s words, I paused for a moment lost in thought.
It sounded as if I should have naturally known why I was called, but honestly, I’ve broken so many rules that I don’t know why I was summoned.
“Why did you call me?”
From Noble mtl dot com
Thud.
Jung Haejoon threw several photos on the table.
There, my actions of the past month were vividly captured.
Wearing the Eternity uniform, confidently striding through the first floor of the Black Market.
Receiving a salute from some thugs (Vajard Guild) and getting into a car.
Records of entering the Black Market on weekdays, and so on.
“You probably know, but the first floor of the Black Market is off-limits for students like you.”
He went out wearing casual clothes.
“Do you know that it’s forbidden to wander around the suburbs as you please on weekdays?”
“Yes, I know.”
I scratched the back of my neck.
Well, whatever, this much was quite commendable. It wasn’t even half of what I had done.
Testing reactions by sneaking into the third-year dormitory every night as if it were my own living room, entering the field without permission, bringing potions into the school to sell, climbing the clock tower without authorization… The list was endless.
All of them seemed necessary at the time, but they were all violations of school rules.
“My grades are going to drop.”
The difference in scores between Cheon Woo-jin and me wasn’t that big, but how much would they drop?
It wasn’t something to take lightly; each incident was serious enough to cause trouble, so I thought they might drop quite a bit.
Rip—
“Hmm?”
Jung Hae-joon gathered his materials and tore them apart.
The shredded pieces of paper were thrown into the trash.
“Well, you know this isn’t why I called you.”
“Really?”
As I blinked, Jung Hae-joon suddenly smiled brightly and patted my shoulder.
“Our proud school’s face might even be seen on the first floor of that measly black market.”
Taking pictures of trivial things like that. That’s the problem with paparazzi, isn’t it?
Seeking my understanding, Jung Hae-joon offered advice that wasn’t advice.
“Just make sure to take off your school uniform when you go to the market. And when you go out on weekdays, use the back gate only.”
“Yes. I’ll be careful.”
Was this unofficially allowed?
I wondered if it was okay for a grade representative to say this, but I asked my immediate question.
“By the way, the school’s face?”
“Oh, you haven’t seen it yet.”
Jung Hae-joon showed me the photos published on the internet.
Photos that had just been posted as breaking news in the world-renowned daily newspaper The World.
Among them were two photos at the very top. On the right was Noah, who appeared high above the clock tower, and on the left…
“That’s me?”
There, the scene captured us, including Amelia, students of Saint, flying in the air.
“When was this taken?”
Taken right next to me, my figure was featured prominently like the cover of a magazine.
So, this was what he meant by the school’s face.
“I heard from Amelia. She said you led this situation.”
“Yes, I thought that by exchanging magic with the other side, the terrorists, we could obstruct their view and prevent them from casting spells.”
“You could also stop the magic by blocking the senses, but that requires quick thinking and response.”
Clap, clap.
Jung Hae-joon applauded briefly with admiration.
“The top scorer of the midterm exams and someone who assisted in preventing the recent terrorist incident; they deserve a reward.”
Jeonghaejun took out a piece of paper and a brightly shining stone from his pocket of non-space.
“It’s a scholarship and a Chaos Stone. I want to give both, but as a matter of principle, giving duplicate rewards is not possible.”
The Chaos Stone is a magic stone that enhances magical capacity, a rare find only in the Eternity Academy’s Leylines worldwide.
It is also classified; lower-grade ones are given out as simple practice rewards, but as the grade goes up, it becomes more challenging to obtain. And what Jeonghaejun handed over was a top-grade item.
[The Phoenix requests the Chaos Stone.]
[The Phoenix requests the Chaos Stone.]
[The Phoenix requests the Chaos Stone.]
Parang was trembling in fear as he looked at the Chaos Stone in Jeonghaejun’s hand.
Of course, to me, whether it’s a premium or a practice item, it had no value whatsoever.
Without magical power, even if I were to obtain something that enhances magical power, I wouldn’t be able to use it.
I didn’t want to use the reward I had painstakingly obtained, being called Phoenix and all.
Let alone the fact that selling this could lead to being traced back.
Naturally, what I chose was a ‘one-semester scholarship.’
Honestly, as good as it sounds, a one-semester scholarship is nothing compared to the exorbitant tuition fees at Eternity.
Pouring all the money earned from selling potions into tuition fees, a ‘one-semester scholarship’ was like a godsend in times of drought.
“Ho, giving up the Chaos Stone, your patience is admirable. You must be focusing on building your skills rather than enhancing magical power.”
Jeonghaejun, mumbling something with his chin in hand, was just ignored.
***
The conversation with Jeonghaejun was extremely brief. At most, 10 minutes?
Jeonghaejun seemed to have called me due to The World’s breaking news, wanting to fuss over it, but as soon as I finished my business, I got up.
I was curious about our class’s stage, but more than that, I was concerned about Han Seyon.
However, as I hurried back to the stage, I was greeted with an empty seat.
“Where did she go?”
Han Seyon was nowhere to be found. She wasn’t the type to disappear without a word, so something must have happened while I briefly left the seat unattended.
“Hey, Kindel. Where did she go?”
I asked my classmates in the back seat, who I had asked to look after Han Seyon before leaving.
“Huh? Who? Oh, the class president? Sorry about that. I didn’t see her while watching the stage.”
“She disappeared at some point.”
“Maybe she went to the restroom?”
I received answers one after another, all claiming they hadn’t seen her. It didn’t make sense logically.
“She’s in trouble!”
I quickly turned on a smartphone app.
My expression stiffened as I synchronized the detection device attached to Han Seyon’s class badge with the app.
The location shown on the app was Eternity’s field, far from the square.
What I feared had come to pass.
An unforeseen event, not dealt with in the game, accelerating Han Seyon’s rampage and turning her into the boss of the 2nd year’s 1st semester event.
“Damn it.”
I had left it with my classmates just in case, but I had returned quickly because I was worried.
“Hey, Haesol, where are you?”
“Didn’t I say everyone should gather?”
“We need to start joint performance rehearsals now······”
Ignoring the students, I sprinted towards the field.
***
Kim Dojun’s first encounter with Han Seyeon was when he was invited as a career counseling instructor at Eternity Academy.
At that time, Kim Dojun felt nothing when he saw Han Seyeon. He was just an ordinary student, with only the remnants of the horse he hunted the previous day lingering in his mind.
However, Kim Dojun couldn’t shake off the strange feeling that Han Seyeon kept irritating him.
At first, he casually brushed it off as his recently heightened sensitivity causing a malfunction, without knowing the reason behind it.
The next time Kim Dojun met Han Seyeon was at the opening ceremony of Eternity Academy’s founding anniversary.
Forced to attend the opening ceremony by the guild’s insistence on taking breaks, Kim Dojun coincidentally encountered Han Seyeon again. And Kim Dojun felt the same ‘irritation’ as before.
It was a sensation that only Kim Dojun, who had dedicated his life to hunting horses, could feel without any tangible reason.
Despite the festival’s purpose to rest, Kim Dojun spent the whole day thoroughly monitoring only Han Seyeon.
Han Seyeon, searching the academy for magic bombs to disarm.
Kim Dojun was taken aback by the fact that magic bombs were circulating at the festival. However, compared to what he later found out, that was nothing.
When Han Seyeon removed the bomb and raised the magic, Kim Dojun detected a faint residue of magic that even a transcendent being, or a mine, couldn’t sense. But Han Seyeon was not a mine, just a pure human.
The entity emitting magic was not Han Seyeon, but the horse she summoned.
“…a horse contractor.”
Learning of the existence of such a thing for the first time, Kim Dojun was astonished.
However, he couldn’t reveal this fact to the outside world. Any organization would try to protect Han Seyeon at all costs.
Until he found a way to create more horse contractors, he would confine Han Seyeon to a safe place and continue researching. Kim Dojun was well aware of this.
Moving for profit was the group’s nature. But that was not the direction Kim Dojun desired.
That’s why Kim Dojun felt the need to handle this quietly. He had more than enough confidence to handle it.
He had dealt with countless horses alone as a veteran horse hunter.
Of course, it might be difficult to say he was at the world’s highest level, but at least in terms of hunting horses, Kim Dojun was a veteran who could not be surpassed by anyone.
The opportunity for the hunt came quickly.
Approaching Han Seyeon, who was left alone as if a stuck piece of gum had fallen off, Kim Dojun demanded that if she didn’t want the truth to be revealed, she should quietly follow him. Surprisingly, Han Seyeon complied.
Using spirit magic to confuse the people around, no one noticed their movement. And so, they arrived at Eternity’s field.
Facing each other across the empty, desolate field, Kim Dojun and Han Seyeon stood.
“How did you contract with a horse?”
“Is there a reason I should tell you?”
“No.”
Kim Dojun initiated the conversation.
“Hand over the horse, and I won’t interfere. Swear on your magic.”
His goal was the horse, not Han Seyeon. However.
“I don’t want to.”
Han Seyeon playfully smiled. Kim Dojun’s expression hardened.
“Then I have no choice but to take it by force.”
His hand reached out forward.
Swish─
The flames surged up like lightning towards Han Seyeon.
Han Seyeon stood still in her place, not even considering dodging.
Darkness rose before her like a curtain, blocking the flames. However, the flames, which had hesitated for a moment, did not extinguish.
“It’s useless.”
【Purifying Flames (A)】
The gift Kim Dojun obtained, ‘Antimagic (A)’, was a constraint that he would only fight those who possessed magic.
Every spell he used was imbued with the power of Antimagic.
As the flames pierced through the darkness towards her, Han Seyeon held back a smile.
The flying flames struck Han Seyeon directly. However, Kim Dojun’s expression turned cold instead.
As if the darkness that rose from Han Seyeon had devoured the flames, they disappeared. The flames could not harm Han Seyeon in any way.
That was the reason for Kim Dojun’s frozen expression. The flames he unleashed were the flames of the superior fire spirit, Ignis.
Even the purifying flames imbued with the property of Antimagic did not affect Han Seyeon’s darkness.
‘Could it be Lord-class···’
No way.
With a smirk at my delusion, Kim Dojun’s hand conjured a much more intense flame than before.
The red flames burned yellow-hot, distorting the heat in the air.
Eventually, Kim Dojun shook his hand.
A yellow flame, illuminating the fading field with a fiery glow, shot towards Han Seyeon.
***
Kim Dojun.
He had never been seized by the emotion of fear, even when he was losing in a battle with a demon or facing death.
It was natural. Fear comes from the unknown. He was the executor of the purifying flames, burning demons, and nothing in this world could withstand his flames. There was no room for the unknown. Therefore, there was no fear. Was it really so? No.
For the first time in his life, Kim Dojun was feeling the emotion of fear.
Before his eyes, everything he had built was being denied.
Ssss.
The lesser fire spirits engulfed by the swirling darkness melted away in heaps.
Brrr···
Ignis, the superior fire spirit, which had been hurling its crimson body, erupted like a firecracker.
Pwoooosh!
Fragments of Ignis scattered in all directions, embedding into the ground and emitting smoke.
Darkness oozed from Han Seyeon’s body, staining the field’s ground black.
“Keeyaaa!”
Beast-like demon horses, struggling like insects in a swamp, were devoured by shadows.
Squelch─! Squish─!
Crushed like fruits in a juicer.
Shrieeek─!
Blood gushed out like a fountain.
“This is absurd···”
Kim Do-jun took a step back unconsciously.
At that moment, Han Se-yeon’s head turned in that direction.
Kim Do-jun trembled as their eyes met, his filled with fear.
Having lost his courage, Kim Do-jun hesitated to retreat.
From Noble mtl dot com
In a fight, you could lose or even die. But this wasn’t a fight.
Dying at the hands of a monster couldn’t be called a fight. It was a dog’s death.
Then, there was a man passing by his side into the darkness.
“Danger…!”
Just as a startled Kim Do-jun tried to stop him.
“Shut up and get lost.”
The owner of the annoyed voice went into the darkness without hesitation.
Whoosh!
Darkness engulfed the man from all sides.
“…!”
In the following scene, Kim Do-jun’s eyes widened in shock as the darkness that was covering the man vanished without a trace.
And so, Kim Do-jun stared blankly at the man walking into the darkness as if nothing had happened.