Ch. 122

[Magician Planet]

[Demon Kalaban Reappearance...]

[Why Did the Psycho Killer Target Stella's Students?]

[The Mage Slayer Who Hid for 10 Years Reappears as a Dark Mage!]

When Baek Yu-Seol and his group were attacked, a single photograph taken by a journalist created a big buzz.

It vividly captured the sight of the psycho killer, who had turned into a dark mage, tearing through the train and attacking Stella's students!

Stella's students leaped out of the almost wrecked train and the two dark mages were pursuing them.

If it weren't for the life-threatening situation, it could have passed for a musical poster due to its beauty and artistry.

However, it gave rise to numerous rumors and controversies.

[How Did Stella's Students Survive?]

[Even the Killer Kalaban Can't Hunt Stella's students!]

The legendary Demon Kalaban had a history of killing numerous mages even before he became a dark mage.

Yet, now that he had returned as a dark mage after ten years, he couldn't even catch a group of seventeen-year-old boys.

If there were anything like a 'career' for a killer, this incident would have been a significant stain on Kalaban's career.

However, whether Kalaban was embarrassed by Stella or not, the magical world was alarmed.

The failure to apprehend Kalaban and letting him slip away was one of the biggest black marks in the history of the Magic Order, and it had started to fade from memory until he reappeared.

Although he failed to hunt Stella's students, he had hunted countless magical warriors, so the magical world was tense once again.

... That was still a somewhat distant story for Stella's students.

——-

A week had passed since the incident broke out, and students were busy with their own lives.

Sunday morning.

Even for the elite students of prestigious Stella Academy, there was only one day every week when they were allowed to oversleep a little bit.

As twilight faded and dawn broke, there was a girl who had spent the night working.

Hong Bi-Yeon Adolveit.

She wrote the last note on her paper, while struggling to keep her drowsy eyes from closing.

'It's done.'

Even though her thoughts were hazy and her body lacked strength, she felt a deep sense of joy and accomplishment in her heart.

Hong Bi-Yeon raised her palm, and cast a spell based on the thesis she wrote.

The size of the spell was not much bigger than a candle flame, but the commotion it created was akin to a bomb blast.

This was the result of transforming the idea which had flashed in her mind right after Baek Yu-Seol told her, 'It's not like you.'

"It's a success..."

She had always strived to master magic by any means necessary, and that wouldn't change in the future.

However, the essence of fire magic was ultimately explosive firepower.

Keeping that in mind, Hong Bi-Yeon had completely given up on 'control' of the flames and focused solely on firepower.

And by sheer coincidence, just as the dwarves had discovered gunpowder in ancient times and developed a strange object called a bomb, Hong Bi-Yeon had developed a thing that could be called the 'gunpowder of the magical world.'

Despite lacking control, it allowed her to produce incredibly powerful flames with a minuscule amount of mana.

Truly, it was more original than any spell, something which could be called as uniqueness of Hong Bi-Yeon.

A magic she had discovered all on her own, without anyone's help.

Hong Bi-Yeon secretly raised the corners of her mouth and held her precious thesis close to her chest.

Now, all that remained was to present it properly at the Aslan seminar.

She picked up her stationery and was about to leave the library when she noticed a familiar silhouette in the corner.

It was Eisel. She was lying on the desk with her face buried in it, and remained stationary like a corpse.

Hong Bi-Yeon was about to pass by without much thought, but she secretly glanced at the papers lying in front of Eisel.

It seemed that she still hadn't properly completed the thesis for the Aslan seminar.

Feeling a strange sense of victory, Hong Bi-Yeon's mood improved even further, and despite fatigue weighing down her entire body, she was able to return to the dormitory with light footsteps.

——-

After finishing breakfast, Hong Bi-Yeon headed to the professors' building at the First Tower. She wanted to submit her thesis as soon as possible.

"In this short amount of time..."

She had submitted the thesis to the unfortunate staff who worked even on weekends, and they were surprised that she had managed to write a whole new thesis in just two weeks.

Feeling superior once again, Hong Bi-Yeon swept her hair back, lifted her chin slightly, and said, "Make sure to review it thoroughly."

"Oh, yes...! I'll report to the professor right away."

Hong Bi-Yeon neatly completed the submission process, and left the professors' building.

Confirming that there was no one around, she exhaled a deep breath.

"Ah... refreshing."

For her, who usually had no hobbies, couldn't enjoy leisure activities, and had an impaired sense of taste, today felt like a day when stress had washed away cleanly.

So, as she was about to leave in high spirits...

"Oh, meeting you in a place like this?"

As she passed by the professors' building, she ran into Hong Si-hwa.

"You seem busy even on the weekend. Oh, I think you mentioned something about that recently, didn't you?"

Walking alongside her was one of Hong Si-hwa's faction members; a senior in the third year named Saye-Ran Orkan.

He was the heir of the Orkan Family, one of the two major powers in the Adolveit Kingdom. They stood shoulder to shoulder with the Duke Atalek.

Saye-Ran's blank eyes made him look like a corpse. Even without that, due to his pale skin and the expressions he made, he was often called a 'living doll.'

"Yes. What brings you here?"

"Recently, I've been busy because of the Aslan seminar, you know? I'm an observer too! Oh, I guess I can watch my younger sibling's presentation nearby? I'm really looking forward to it! Is our Bi-Yeon working hard on the seminar preparations?"

It was disgusting and shameless.

The fact that she could casually utter such words on the situation planned by her was truly astonishing.

But...

It seemed to be okay after all.

In fact, a smile crept onto her face.

If she had failed to complete that paper, she might have been consumed by deep feelings of defeat and anger. Instead, thanks to Hong Si-hwa, hadn't she developed her own original magic?

"Yes. I worked hard. You can look forward to it."

"… Oh? Really? You worked hard?"

Hong Bi-Yeon smiled and said, which left Hong Si-hwa slightly dumbfounded.

'Isn't this strange?'

By now, Hong Bi-Yeon should be probably lying on her bed, feeling exhausted and crying her heart out.

What was with her overconfident attitude?

The reaction she wanted from her sister was completely different, but in the end, it was still Hong Bi-Yeon.

With Hong Bi-Yeon's dimwitted mind, she could never write a new thesis within two weeks.

Even Hong Si-hwa knew it was a challenging task.

"Well, our cute little sister~ If you don't have talent, at least work hard!"

Hong Si-hwa sang a little tune as she led Saye-Ran towards the main hall.

'Calling that a princess...so pitiful.'

Absolutely pathetic.

But... Thanks to this, Hong Bi-Yeon mood improved.

She mentioned attending Aslan, didn't she?

Even though she had tried to trick her a bit, Hong Bi-Yeon felt happy thinking about presenting a better thesis and the moment when she would witness the ugly expression on Hong Si-hwa's face.

But now, her eyelids were getting heavy.

After staying up for several nights, she felt an overwhelming fatigue wash over her.

She wasn't particularly fond of morning sleep, but if she didn't take a nap, she might collapse.

She quickened her pace toward the dormitory.

In the midst of that, she stumbled upon an unexpected sight.

"Hey, isn't that it? It's the magic you created. Why do you keep loosely fitting theories to it?"

"Ugh! It's annoying! Who the heck made this kind of magic?"

"You did..."

Seated on a park bench with their heads almost crashing, Baek Yu-Seol and Eisel were busily working on something.

He was seriously examining her paper.

"I have a seminar next week, and if I can't complete this by then, what should I do?"

"Ugh, seriously. Stop making me feel bad."

"I didn't know I was this weak in theory."

"Study more."

"... Well, I'm still at the top in theory, right?"

"Oh, I'm number one. Just shut up and study."

"Argh! So annoying! It's even more irritating to lose to the number one..."

Hong Bi-Yeon silently watched this scene and turned away. She didn't want to pass through that area for no reason.

'... How pathetic.'

She thought.

'To be helped by someone and not be able to finish their own paper.'

She had managed to resolve everything on her own without much assistance from Baek Yu-Seol.

In the end.

'This is proof that I'm superior to Eisel.'

————

Baek Yu-Seol's good mood vanished suddenly, and he felt strangely irritated.

After going to the dungeon together, Haewonryang and Baek Yu-Seol had a lot of work to do, but their relationship had definitely not become closer, not at all.

It just happened due to the circumstances.

"You fool. That's not how you handle that device."

"...Ah, I see."

Baek Yu-Seol sighed as he fiddled with a magical tool that resembled a modern microscope.

Although he excelled in theory through his specs, he was quite lacking when it came to handling actual magical devices.

Fortunately, as a commoner, he never had the chance to touch magical devices, so the excuse of being inexperienced seemed to work well.

However, it didn't seem to appease Haewonryang's disapproving gaze.

"Try again."

"Ah, come on! You do it!"

"We agreed to divide our roles and not interfere with each other, didn't we?"

"I said I would handle the theory."

"Judging by your performance, it doesn't seem like you're better than me."

"Ugh."

Baek Yu-Seol reluctantly tried to manipulate the magical tool again, but Haewonryang's expression remained cold.

Judging by his expression, it seemed like he was saying, 'I can't believe I have to do group projects with someone like this.'

Group project.

Yes, it was a group project.

Haewonryang had very few friends, and Baek Yu-Seol was the same.

So whenever a group project came up, they would always be randomly matched.

But this time, it happened to overlap with the lecture on the history and understanding of magical tools, so unfortunately, they ended up doing the group project together.

Still, somehow, the class had ended, and the magical tool was barely operational, allowing him to finally catch his breath.

Haewonryang didn't seem satisfied, as he kept muttering complaints.

Anyway, to avoid seeing that beggar-like face for even a moment, Baek Yu-Seol got up from his seat and quickly left.

However, in the hallway, he ran into Edna.

She was wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt and shorts for physical education, with a basketball tucked under her arm.

She had been chatting with some male students and waved at Baek Yu-Seol when she saw him.

"Hey, Ahjussi. What are you doing right now?"

"Busy."

"Do you want to take a nap?"

How did you know?

Baek Yu-Seol wondered.

"How about playing basketball?"

"It's bothersome..."

"Oh, come on. Let's go. We should show those Basketball Club guys who's the boss."

"What club are you in?"

"Healing Club."

A basketball showdown between the Healing Club and the Basketball Club... It sounded interesting.

"So, are you in or out?"

Edna looked at Baek Yu-Seol with a mischievous smile.

It had been a few days since her contract relationship had ended.

Edna treated Baek Yu-Seol like a friend again, telling others that they had returned to their usual friendship.

It didn't feel awkward to Baek Yu-Seol either.

They weren't really dating, and they had planned to return to this state eventually.

Seeing how awkward others felt just made him laugh.

"Okay, sure... Shall we?"

"Great! We will win!"

As Baek Yu-Seol watched Edna, who was clenching her fists in triumph, he heard a cold voice from behind.

"... Baek Yu-Seol. Instead of fooling around, make sure to study the proper use of magical devices by the next class."

"Uh, well... okay."

After Haewonryang said that, he walked away to the opposite side of the hallway.

It felt like Baek Yu-Seol had been hit with a chill, as if he had encountered a real master of dark magic.

"Anyway, hurry up and get changed."

Edna pushed Baek Yu-Seol with her shoulder, and he had no choice but to change into gym clothes.

"Ugh, so annoying..."

Back when he was in the military, serving as an active-duty soldier, he thought he would never play ball again after the last game of pickup soccer, but he never expected to end up playing here.

'Life is full of surprises.'

Baek Yu-Seol reluctantly put on gym clothes and headed to the gym, but something felt off.

"What? We can't use it right now?"

Nine cadets of Stella Academy wore uniforms, and the burly guys surrounding them were in the midst of a confrontation.

The guys were wearing clean white activity uniforms with 'Stella Knights Cadet Corps' written on them, and their imposing presence was quite intimidating.

'Stella Knights Cadets Corps…'

Come to think of it, they did have that.

It appeared as an episode during the time at the academy, so he was somewhat familiar with it.

Unlike regular Stella magic warrior cadets, they were known as 'graduate students' who went through an additional educational process to join the Stella Knights after graduating from the academy.

They were considered an elite force that had even entered Stella Knights Cadets Corp.

But more importantly, the key point was that they remained with Stella and became knights under their direct control.

Unlike other students who scattered to their respective kingdoms or entered other towers after graduation, they were practically part of Stella and received slightly better treatment than regular cadets.

For example.

"We have a small sports meet at the military training academy today, so please go back. You can use a different gym, right?"

"No, this is a gym exclusively for first-year students."

"That doesn't matter. We decided to use it."

Even in situations like this...

"Hah, what is this..."

Edna glared at them with fiery eyes.

If they confronted them and caused a real fuss, they might somehow regain access to the gym, but the other cadets didn't seem too keen on that idea.

Whether it was the Basketball Club or the Healing Club, they were essentially groups formed by commoners, so they didn't want to mess with the elite officer cadets.

Well, it was a bit pitiful for them, but for someone like Baek Yu-Seol who found basketball bothersome, it was actually a blessing.

"Uh, Ahjussi!"

Edna, who had spotted him belatedly, looked at him with a pleading expression, but unfortunately, Baek Yu-Seol had no intention of doing anything.

'What can we do if the knight cadets are using it?'

'Shouldn't we take a nap or something.'