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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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-Is the preparation almost complete?
“Yes.”
In a dark room.
A figure trembled, prostrating themselves before a mirror.
Having failed both Lee Seok-hyun’s assassination and the Class S dormitory bombing, they now felt their life hanging by a thread.
‘What went wrong?’
They couldn’t pinpoint where things had gone awry.
If everything had gone according to plan, by now at least half of Mirinae Academy’s budding talents should have been burned to ashes.
While the low-ranking demon’s failure might have been overlooked, the Class S dormitory bombing had been meticulously planned.
Hiding seeds of black mana within Mirinae Academy’s tight security and letting them lie dormant while searching for suitable hosts.
Even just that much had required considerable effort.
Of course, such failures wouldn’t greatly impact demon society, but…
‘My life is different.’
Useless things get discarded.
In a place where strength was the only law and usefulness had to be constantly proven, being judged worthless meant death.
Peschino, the influential figure who had purchased Wongbak’s organs on the black market, knew all too well that this was his last chance.
-Very well, I’ll trust you.
“Th-thank you!!!”
Crash!
With those final words, the mirror shattered instantly, as if determined to leave no trace.
Peschino slowly rose, pulling mirror shards from his body as he made his resolve.
‘This time, I’ll end it for certain.’
If self-destruction wouldn’t work, he’d just have to bring about an even greater catastrophe.
Dark clouds were slowly gathering over Mirinae Academy.
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‘No way to know when the next random event will trigger.’
Sure, I’d gotten lucky stopping the first one, but the demons would definitely bring something stronger next time.
If I could at least know when it would happen, I could prepare.
‘But then it wouldn’t be random.’
In the worst case, a meteor infused with demon energy could crash into the middle of Mirinae Academy tomorrow.
With all the main characters gathered here now, even imagining the worst wasn’t enough.
And the biggest problem was that even knowing something would happen, I couldn’t prepare for it.
Like trying to cover the sky with your palm.
When I could barely protect myself, there was no way I could save everyone.
That’s why it was crucial to quickly get through Lee Seok-hyun’s early-game weakness.
Saving people was important, but I needed to survive first to do anything at all.
In that sense, the Forenta sapling I’d demanded from Bellos was critically important.
‘I’d love to demand a full-grown Forenta tree, but…’
While Forenta trees were currently treated as ordinary landscaping trees with no research value…
Demanding a mature tree would raise suspicions, so I had to be content with a sapling for now.
It would take more time, but I had to go with getting a sapling and growing it.
“Huh? That’s all you’re asking for?”
“The Forenta tree only exists in Skeria. I just want to try growing one here too.”
“Ah… well, if that’s all. I mean, you’d have to come to our empire to get one anyway.”
Since nobody cared about these trees, there was no supply—getting one was only possible through Bellos.
“Well… alright then. But if you’re worried about burdening me, you can ask for something bigger later, commoner.”
Truth was, it would’ve been too much to ask for more just for one bare-handed sparring session.
I hadn’t even given extensive feedback—just a light exchange—so a sapling was fair compensation.
‘The rest can wait.’
I had no intention of shaking down the others for sparring, so getting Bellos’s share was enough for now.
I’d already pulled off a big heist to get what I needed myself, and besides Bellos, the others had nothing I wanted.
‘No, wait.’
Come to think of it, there was one person in Class S who, while not quite at Bellos’s level, held a similar position.
“Mijuran.”
“Huh? Oh, yes?”
“Can we talk privately for a moment?”
“Ah… yeah, of course.”
Why was she so nervous?
To anyone watching, it probably looked like a delinquent shaking down a model student.
I was just a class president wanting to get closer to a classmate, but somehow the atmosphere had turned weird.
“…”
I had no choice but to make a silly bear impression to lighten the mood.
Recognizing it as a reference to Wongbak, Mijuran nodded in understanding.
‘The Wongbak incident has to stay secret.’
Since it was publicly known that Mijuran had caught it, we needed to handle this discreetly.
Classes hadn’t started yet, so Mijuran and I quickly found a private spot.
“Take this.”
“What is it?”
“Wongbak’s head.”
I got straight to the point, offering the spatial pouch containing Wongbak’s head.
“Why are you giving me this?”
“You’ll need clear proof that you caught Wongbak. People might not show it, but they care about these things.”
Since Mijuran was officially credited with catching Wongbak, we needed to add details to maintain the story.
Nobody would demand proof during the busy first week, but things were different now.
As people adjusted, they’d likely become curious about the solo hunt of Wongbak.
At the very least, when hanging out with Mijuran, wouldn’t they beg to hear how it was caught?
“Thanks. But getting this for free feels wrong…”
“Oh, I’m not giving it for free. Remember what I promised for the bare-handed sparring? I want to combine that with another request.”
Of course I wasn’t planning to give it away.
“Ah… if that’s the case, I’m fine with it.”
Mijuran’s eyes lit up at the mention of a request, clearly not wanting to receive it for free either.
‘But was she always this compliant?’
Her original character setting should’ve been a typical tomboy—rough and rowdy.
Her quiet obedience felt strange.
‘Both Mijuran and Meiri seem subtly different from the game.’
It seemed my involvement in the academy had caused some changes, but…
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what had changed.
Well, that could wait. What mattered now was what to request.
“I need some pure steel. Would that be possible?”
“How much?”
“As much as you can spare without losing out.”
“Hmm… okay.”
Perfect.
Mijuran was kind-hearted, so she’d probably give plenty of steel. Most of my worries were over.
‘This should be enough to complete a prototype.’
After thanking Mijuran, I headed straight back to class.
“Commoner, now you’re fleecing Mijuran too, not just me? You’re something else.”
The moment I entered, Bellos greeted me with an accusation full of misunderstanding.
Fleecing? I just asked for fair compensation.
I wanted to protest this injustice, but the way everyone looked at me was kind of like…
‘That look you give the troublemaker in middle school?’
Seeing how even So-hyun and Meiri weren’t as welcoming as usual, some serious misunderstandings had clearly built up.
Just as I was about to clear things up before more misunderstandings piled up…
“Getting noisy now that you’re all comfortable with each other, eh? Everyone take your seats.”
Gainard entered.
Lee Hwa-ryeong and Kerrar were nowhere to be seen—something must have come up.
“Hmm… everyone’s here except Kim Seok-cheol. I’ll get straight to the point. Listen carefully.”
Gainard checked the class attendance before focusing everyone’s attention.
“You are special. Not only did you enter Mirinae Academy, but you made it into Class S—we can’t help but value your talents highly.”
Here it comes.
Building up the students’ self-esteem from the start always had a reason.
“And nothing could be more foolish than letting such talent rot away sitting at desks. Therefore, you’ll begin practical training next week.”
The academy had various types of practical training, but for first-years—and especially coming from Gainard’s mouth—there was only one possibility.
“We’ve already arranged the dungeon teams, so you just need to prepare yourselves mentally.”
That was all.
As soon as Gainard finished speaking, silence fell over the classroom.
This wasn’t about fighting virtual entities—they’d be entering real dungeons crawling with actual monsters.
Even students who had experience fighting monsters couldn’t help but feel tense. Sure, someone would probably be there to help then, but student dungeon practice wouldn’t have such safety measures.
‘Well, they say there aren’t any safety measures, but they secretly have them.’
Not knowing this, the students were already imagining their deaths before training had even begun.
Gainard said nothing about the students’ unified silence.
After all, people need time to process their emotions.
However…
“Professor, where is Kim Seok-cheol?”
I had to break the silence—something had been bothering me.
Kim Seok-cheol’s absence, and Gainard’s casual attitude about it.
This sparked my curiosity, and I got an immediate answer.
“Ah… Student Kim Seok-cheol is with Professor Ki Ju-seon, due to his exceptional talent.”
Ki Ju-seon, Ki Ju-seon?
‘Ah.’
It’s because of me.
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“Hehehehe! A first-year who can use mana forging! How rare, how rare!”
“Professor Baktor also said this child has talent! Therefore!”
“Yes! Yes! We couldn’t get Lee Seok-hyun, but we’ve kidnap—I mean recruited a useful student, so specially!!! I’ll grant you 5 hours! No! I’m feeling generous! Six hours and forty-five minutes of sleep time!”
“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”
“Ohhh! Ki Ju-seon~ Another father after my birth parents~ My god~ Only god~ Ki Ju-seon~”
“Ohhh~ Ki Ju-seon! Another name for god and the being who will grant us heaven~That name is Ki Ju-seon~”
“…”
On a bright Monday morning.
Kim Seok-cheol had finished his morning routine as usual and just stepped out of the dormitory for school when…
He was kidnapped.
‘What is even happening?’
Kim Seok-cheol, who had revealed his talent in Ki Ju-seon’s lab due to the misunderstanding created by Lee Seok-hyun.
His talent had made him a target for Ki Ju-seon and his research students.
“Kim Seok-cheol! No, Seok-cheol! Your talent needs wings to soar higher! Trust me! Trust this Ki Ju-seon! The one who has never stepped back from the frontlines of magical engineering, not just in Mirinae Academy but worldwide! The one who only identifies and pursues research of the highest value! Trust me! Trust this Ki Ju-seon! Seok-cheol! Join my laboratory!”
Madness.
The moment Kim Seok-cheol was kidnapped and arrived at Ki Ju-seon’s lab, what he felt was pure madness.
“Well? How about it! Aren’t you overflowing with desire to join my laboratory!”
“P-please let me go, I’m scared.”
“…”
Silence filled the laboratory.
Kim Seok-cheol always said what needed to be said.
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Poor kid