“… So, in other words, mana is inherent in all living things, including human beings... and even inanimate objects. Also, this… What was it, yes. Just as blood flows through the veins, mana flows along the path created in the body. The size, density, and shape of this path vary greatly from person to person, and especially in the case of wizards….”
Nod-nod.
Choi Hyun-Woo, who was sitting next to me, shook his head back and forth.
As I tapped his arm, he opened his eyes and let out a small sigh.
“It's killing me, really….”
I couldn't help but laugh seeing his groaning appearance.
Boredom aside, it was because just listening to Professor Noh's really quiet voice as he lectured, with no highs and lows, was making me sleepy like crazy, too.
Even if you looked around, there were only a handful of people who were properly taking classes in the classroom.
And one of those people was sitting right next to me.
“…….”
Han Soo-Young was taking notes while listening to the professor's class with a serious face.
Because of her appearance like that, I was struggling to put up with the rush of sleepiness.
Because when someone is working hard in class, there is nothing more disappointing than sleeping next to them.
"What?"
Meanwhile, Han Soo-Young blinked and stared at me.
Then she giggled and moved her mouth silently.
'Why?'
I shook my head as if saying, it's nothing, and looked forward again.
Professor Noh went on with his class, regardless of whether most of us fell asleep or not.
Wouldn't he rather have made a lot of money if he had made and sold lullabies instead of being a professor? While I was thinking this, Han Soo-Young, who was next to me, tapped my arm.
When I turned my head, I saw she was still smiling mischievously, holding a candy in her hand.
As she handed me the candy she grabbed with her thumb and forefinger, I involuntarily reached out.
“Hmm.”
Then she pulled her hand back and made a sound like one makes to an animal.
And then she gestured me to open my mouth, and I nodded my head as if to say, look around.
'It's okay. Everyone is sleeping.’
At the shape of her mouth, I sneaked a look to the side, and before I knew it, Choi Hyun-Woo was sound asleep with small breaths.
He wasn't the only one.
Most of the kids who were awake there were in the front seats, avidly writing while listening to the class.
‘Come on, aah.’
Following Han Soo-Young, I opened my mouth slightly, and she put the candy in my mouth.
I thought she might do something unnecessary, but she really just fed the candy and did nothing.
While I thought it was surprising, my expression involuntarily contorted at the intense sour taste I felt on my tongue.
“… Heup, eww."
I covered my mouth with my hand, and seeing me like that, Han Soo-Young giggled in a half-suppressed way.
"Oh, cute….”
Han Soo-Young, who was muttering like that, looked at me and smiled, revealing her teeth as if she were teasing me.
She had the same candy in her teeth as I had eaten.
With a clattering sound, she closed her mouth and rolled the candy.
‘This is strawberry flavor.’
Do you want this?
At the words she said, smiling mischievously, I turned my head away.
The sound of her half-suppressed laughter lingered in my ears, not leaving.
“Well.… then that's it for today, and everyone read the textbooks in preparation for the next class. And don't forget that review is the most important thing....”
When the class was over, Professor Noh left those words and walked out of the classroom slowly.
Then Choi Hyun-Woo stood up in a disheveled manner and looked around.
“… What, when did I sleep?”
“You slept really well.”
“Ah, sh*t… I can't keep sleeping like this....”
Choi Hyun-Woo shook his head as if he still hadn't come to his senses.
And seeing that the students around him were also waking up slowly, he murmured grumblingly.
“No, but what do they want us to do if they suddenly changed all the afternoon classes to written classes in the morning? We were originally supposed to have a mock dungeon class today.”
“Well, nothing can be done. Since professors are suddenly coming from Urea, I guess they are trying to make us familiarize ourselves with even the basics in a rush."
It was as Han Soo-Young said.
It had already been widely announced to us that professors visiting from urea would stay here for about a month and conduct classes on magic.
However, very few students were aware of the fact that they had almost unilaterally moved up the date of their visit.
Orhe Academy continues to try to negotiate, but the other side is taking a very hard stance.
Therefore, it was not difficult to realize that they were in a hurry to teach the students about magic as quickly as possible.
It was said that, perhaps because the current Orhe Academy had something quite disappointing from the Urea side, they had no choice but to follow their conditions reluctantly.
All of these were stories that Lee Ye-Eun and Student Council President Rev Dunkinson told me.
… I understand that Le Ye-Eun told me, but Rev Dunkinson, I don't know why he told me this.
“…….”
Certainly, the date of their visit was too early.
I knew that Urea had already been dominated by Isaac McDowell, the leader of the Big Watch, but I could not easily see why he was in such a hurry.
‘Isaac McDowell….'
He was a man who stood at the opposite end of the spectrum from Lee Jae-Joon of the Thorns Cross Society.
In addition, he was a man supported by both humans and monsters with intelligence, and was also an alchemist of great ability.
Inevitably, the group of villains most closely related to Alice Blesbuck and Cass Lyle.
However, it was impossible to guess why he had to rush to come to this place without Alice Blesbuck.
“No, do they think it'll come into our heads if they thoughtlessly press down on classes like this? Of course, I admit that some knowledge is necessary, but why on earth do I have to memorize the formulas needed to use magic....”
Choi Hyun-Woo muttered in a low voice, as if he didn't particularly like it.
Then Han Soo-Young took something from her pocket.
It was candy.
That too, the candy with a strong sour taste she fed me earlier.
"Now, now. Our Hyun-Woo. Stop grumbling and eat this to take your mind off?”
“Am I a kid? Eating candy to take my mind off.”
“Then you're not going to eat this?”
“I should eat. It’s candy.”
Choi Hyun-Woo took the candy Han Soo-Young handed him and put it in his mouth without hesitation.
Soon, his expression contorted in a strange way.
“Ugh…! Han Soo-Young, you really…!”
Seeing that, Han Soo-Young and I burst into laughter.
While we were watching Choi Hyun-Woo struggling in such pain, Han Soo-Young secretly stared somewhere and muttered.
“More than that, Jin Ye-Seul, she doesn’t really take classes these days.”
It was where Jin Ye-Seul had always sat.
Around it, the female students she had spent time with in class were sitting, but even without Jin Ye-Seul, they didn't seem to be particularly disappointed or curious.
“She does show up during practical training like advisor's classes and mock dungeon classes.”
Choi Hyun-Woo muttered like that, slightly distorting the bridge of his nose.
Han Soo-Young nodded.
“Yeah, I asked around and found that she hasn't shown her face even once in the club in the last few days. She disappeared right away after class. What the hell is she doing....”
“…….”
I kept my mouth shut.
For the past few days, Jin Ye-Seul had always been with me after class.
It was in the name of acquiring the technique of the legacy.
“By the way, aren’t the three of us busy these days?”
Choi Hyun-Woo grinned and muttered.
I immediately nodded at his words.
"Yeah. Come to think of it, Soo-Young, is the interpretation of your grimoire going well?”
"No… It really hurts my head.”
Han Soo-Young shook her head with a tearful look at my question.
She used to complain to me when she was bored, saying that she had been holding on to the grimoire that Nam Hyun-Hwa handed over for a while, but there was no progress at all.
“I have to spar with Do-Hoon today, too.”
Choi Hyun-Woo began to relax his shoulder muscles with a belligerent smile, as if he was already looking forward to it.
He had been sparring with Ahn Do-Hoon every day for the past few days.
When I went to take a peek, I mistakenly thought they were having a life-and-death fight for a moment because of how fierce the momentum of the two was.
“These days, he's suddenly asking me to teach him swordsmanship.”
“… you, don't tell me.”
When Han Soo-Young stared at Choi Hyun-Woo to the point where jii sound was heard, he quickly waved his hand. [Note: I think it's the sound of sparks, or something roasting(?).]
“No, how could I have taught him Master’s swordsmanship? We’re just practicing the basics together.”
Choi Hyun-Woo, who waved his hand, gave a small cough.
“But Do-Hoon really couldn't do detailed swordsmanship.”
I nodded slightly at his words.
Ahn Do-Hoon was indeed able to raise the limits of his strength and stamina to the maximum, but the growth value of art and luck was quite low.
If that guy was going to train anyway, rather than touching on the art side in vain, it would be better for him to focus on his strength, stamina, and endurance.
As I was thinking like that, Choi Hyun-Woo, who had been secretly watching my expression, opened his mouth.
“Ji-Hyuk, if it’s okay with you, the three of us together today….”
"Uh. I'm sorry, Hyun-Woo. I have to stop by the alchemy club today.”
"Oh, really?"
At my words, Choi Hyun-Woo put on a very disappointed expression.
I'm not just saying this, but I received a text message from Cass Lyle telling me to come by today and take the item I asked for since it had been prepared.
“If I have time later, let’s have a sparring match. I'll be sure to visit you."
"Ooh."
Choi Hyun-Woo's eyes lit up at my words.
He didn't seem to have noticed that Han Soo-Young was staring at him from the side as if she didn't like it.
“When do you think it will be?”
"Well….”
I mumbled, stretching the end of my words.
It had already been several days since Jin Ye-Seul and I had started having time together to learn the technique of the legacy.
And as I recalled the time we had spent so far, I quickly shook my head.
“I don’t know.”
I think it'll take a while.
Choi Hyun-Woo did not hide his disappointment at my words.
* * *
“Keuk!”
Jin Ye-Seul groaned again and fell to the floor.
She was wearing short pants and had even taken off her shoes, saying that it would interfere with her training.
“…….”
Looking at that figure, I held my breath quietly.
Mirror Twins.
A ring-shaped artifact with the ability to increase status and restore mana.
And above all, the legacy of the Shadow Walker, which makes three-dimensional maneuvers possible for Jin Ye-Seul, who has no choice but to be helpless against opponents flying over long distances or in the air.
However, as far as I know, it was a legacy that was less difficult to learn than Flowing Snake or Bird Tongue that Jin Ye-Seul had already mastered.
“…….”
From my point of view, it made no sense that she couldn't even grasp the legacy for days.
But….
Boom!
“Ugh!?”
A small explosion broke out under her feet as kicked in the air while spurring into the air.
She was immediately caught up by the force, flew away, and was struck unsightly to the floor.
“Ah….”
I got up from my seat, wondering if she had been seriously injured, but she was already dusting off the dust from her body.
Then she glanced at me and flew into the air again.
I sighed a little as I sat back in my seat again after standing awkwardly.
I couldn't ask someone who was practicing so desperately, why it was taking so long to learn it.
"What?"
Meanwhile, I could see something red riding and flowing from her fingers.
Blow was flowing, as if she got hurt when she fell down earlier.
“Ye-Seul, wait a minute.”
“Huu… What's, wrong?”
Jin Ye-Seul, who was panting for breath, looked at me as if questioning me.
I got up, pointing at her hand.
“Let's get your wounds treated and take a rest for a while. It's not like efficiency is going to increase just because you're rushing recklessly."
“…….”
At those words, Jin Ye-Seul carefully sat down, pretending not to win.
I approached her and handed her water and a towel first.
“Give me your hand.”
“… I can do it myself.”
"You asked for help. I should do this."
Even though she asked me for help, she was thoroughly reluctant of my intervention.
Sometimes, sharing a few words of opinion is all it helped.
In the end, that's why I was taking care of her in a small way, hydrating or treating her wounds like this.
“…….”
Jin Ye-Seul silently held out her hand at my words.
I put a band-aid on her fingers, sprayed pain relief on her reddened wrist, and wrapped a compression bandage.
Then, as I was putting the stuff away, she opened her mouth in a crawling voice.
“Ank, ankle too….”
"Ankle? Where?"
“Right.”
She cautiously offered me her right leg.
Then I put her foot on my lap, sprayed pain relief, and bandaged it the same way I did her wrist.
"It's over."
“… ah, yes."
Jin Ye-Seul, who stayed still even after the treatment, dawdled and straightened her posture as if she understood what I said.
In the meantime, I could find three gems glowing subtly in the bag.
I forgot.
I murmured and reached for them.
These were the things I got from Cass Lyle before coming here.
“Come on, here. I almost forgot about these.”
"Yes? What."
“Take these.”
I half forced her to hold them.
Jin Ye-Seul held them in her hands and stared at me as if she didn't understand.
"What're… these?"
“The things you need to get the next legacy.”
Hearing those words, Jin Ye-Seul's expression hardened as if frozen in an instant.
She immediately lowered her gaze and stared at them, which were glowing subtly.
I couldn't see her expression because her head was down.
“The next legacy I think of is Scorpion's hoof….”
“… th, the next legacy?”
At those words, Jin Ye-Seul looked up at me right away, panicking.
“I, I'm sure I said we won’t talk until I've mastered the technique of this legacy….”
"That's true, but it’s not like I can’t look at you forever. Honestly, I'm doubting if I should be here for this practice, too. Rather, I think I'm just a hindrance.”
When I answered her murmuring, she bit her lip slightly.
“It's, it's not. It's not like that....”
“Besides, in the first place, this dungeon is something you have to do alone. So, it's better to prepare like this in advance.”
“…….”
"Anyway, it would be better for you too to deal with it as soon as possible."
At my words, Jin Ye-Seul quietly shut her mouth.
With her head bowed slightly, she stared intently at the three gems I had given her.
"Then you have to use the things I gave you now....”
“… like it."
"What?"
"I don't like it."
What in the world is it that she doesn't like?
As I was thinking about it, I heard a crackling and ominous sound.
Immediately afterward, with a breaking sound, the gems in her hands shattered.
“What are you now…?!”
I couldn't help but swallow my breath while talking when my eyes met her, who slowly raised her head.
"I don't like it….”
Tears were flowing from Jin Ye-Seul's both eyes.
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