Chapter 28 - Regressor (3)

Students in class S were entitled to occupy the dormitory alone. However, it was not the case for everyone.

Edna was like that.

She shared a dormitory with four people, because she wanted to spend time with children her age.

She liked to hang out with people, and she was friendly with everyone from Class F to Class A, so she always had students from other classes coming over to her dorm.

Seven children were still huddled together, drinking desserts, coffee and chatted happily in that narrow space of 60 square meters.

"Edna, are you okay?"

In the meantime, someone approached as Edna was trembling with her head stuck in the pillow.

It was Jecky.

"... Uh."

"What is it? Tell us."

"That's right."

"Are you worried about something?"

"It's just menstrual cramps, so don't worry about it."

"Really?"

Then, the other girls quickly stopped paying attention to Edna and started talking amongst themselves again.

'How can I say anything? I'm not supposed to tell anyone, I have to suffer alone.'

'Baek Yu-Seol... he said that he forgot his purpose...'

Undoubtedly.

A side effect of regression was the loss of one's most precious memories and purpose.

He was really walking forward with a sense of mission, while leaving behind everything in the process.

Also, he said he wanted to live. Those words were heartbreaking, like drilling a nail through Edna's heart.

'He wants to live.'

If someone else had said that, she would have probably dismissed it, but Baek Yu-Seol was different.

If it was true that he returned with the power of the Silver Moon... then he would disappear immediately after fulfilling his mission, and his existence would be completely erased from this world.

Without leaving any records, memories, or even traces.

Maybe, she wouldn't even remember this conversation we had today.

Everything.

Or so she thought.

If he was a regressor, he must have an aim which could make him fearless even under the threat of being wiped off.

But no. With a sense of mission, he returned to save the world, but... He still wanted to live.

He knew that he would die eventually, and he was afraid, but he was still going to move down the path.

Didn't he say, 'let's tell each other half the truth?'

She too easily made a promise that should never be broken. From now on, he…

She would never pry into any secrets he had.

And... if he had the same purpose as her, she would try to support him as much as possible.

T-Dick!

The alarm magic rang on the door lock of the dormitory.

[Haewonryang: Call to Edna]

One of the other students stood in amazement as she checked the automatically engraved letters.

"Pooh, Edna? That… Haewonryang came to visit you?"

"..... Press the absent button."

"But...."

"Haewonryang is here..."

However, Edna completely stretched over the blanket to cover her head, too lazy to reply.

After looking at her for a while, Jecky looked at everyone's expression.

'Then, by any chance, if I... go out, will it be alright?'

Her heart beat faster. She knew it was pointless, but she couldn't bear the thought of not seeing his face.

She struggled quite a bit to glance at Edna, but she didn't seem to be in the condition to walk out.

If so, how could she possibly turn her attention to someone else?

"Guys. I'll go out for a while."

Jecky sneaked out of the dormitory without the other children's knowledge, and went down to the first floor.

In the distance, Haewonryang blankly looked at the night sky.

She saw him under the hazy light. Even those indifferent and cold eyes appeared beautiful to her.

"Hey...."

"...."

When Jecky shyly called out, Haewonryang looked back. 'Let's think positively. Edna is absent, I just came to tell you that. In the meantime, it would be nice if we could have a conversation even if it is only one word…'

However, the reality was much harsher than that.

"Who are you?"

"Yes?"

Jecky stammered at that, genuinely embarrassed.

So far, if not often, she still accompanied Edna, and had shown her face on a few occasions. Even if he couldn't remember her, he must have at least looked at her name tag a few times.

"I, I'm Edna's friend..."

"… Where's she?"

Even in the midst of this, Haewonryang, who only had eye for Edna, was remorseful, but he tried to get those thoughts out of his head.

"Now she's sleeping because she's a little sick, and can't walk...."

At her words, Haewonryang blankly stared into the air.

'Did he lose her energy just because she confessed to a trash student and then got dumped...'

A deep sense of defeat pierced his heart.

'What on earth do you like about a man who is inferior in everything?'

What was the point of being considered as a successor of the Manwol Tower? He was an inferior student who could not beat even Maeyuseong, who only learned magic as a hobby, and was an idiot who could not even express his feelings to a woman.

Even while he fooled around, Mayuseong would reach heaven in an instant with his talent, and Baek Yu-Seol could move the heart of Edna with his glib tongue.

In the meantime, all he could do was... Be jealous and envy them.

No matter how hard he tried, he did not have the confidence to acquire the talent of Mayuseong and Baek Yu-Seol.

That moment.

Haewonryang's head was filled with chaos.

He felt the pain course through his soul.

'Jealousy? An inferiority complex? Why am I feeling like this...'

Weird.

'If it were me, I would never have thought of such a thing.'

'Why do negative, dirty and ugly thoughts keep running through my head?'

'I must daze out of it. It shouldn't overwhelm me.'

*'It must be because of stress lately.' *Haewonryang thought so and said to Jecky.

"I get it. I will go back. Tell her to take care in my stead."

"Yes...."

After saying that in a worried voice, Haewonryang disappeared in the direction of the men's dormitory.

Jecky, who was staring at him, gritted her teeth and clenched her fist so hard that her fingernails dug into her palms.

'It's annoying.'

She was in a bad mood. "I am annoyed, fucking annoyed."

It had always been like this.

'Why? Why? Edna only? Why?'

Anytime, anywhere, anyone.

Everyone only looked at Edna.

The person who always received the spotlight was her, and the person who received love was also Edna.

She had a beautiful appearance that made everyone feel as if she had descended from heaven, a friendly personality that attracted everyone, and a special talent for handling the magic of different races.

She had everything.

Even Jecky's first crush had a thing for her.

Jecky blankly looked up at the night sky.

Main Tower, 79th floor.

Vice-principal's Office.

Stella Academy's vice-principal and Class 8 mage, Archie Hayden, stood before Professor Maizen Tyren and said.

"I heard that you were humiliated by a student this time, Professor Maizen."

"…. I am ashamed of you. How do you feel?"

At question, Maizen bit his lip.

"… I feel bad."

"Is that it?"

A persistent question.

However, Maizen seemed bewitched by his question.

He answered.

"I feel bad and angry. Why was a bastard given such talent... I can't quite understand."

"Yes. Very good. Haha."

Archie Hayden stood up, patted Professor Maizen on the shoulder, and whispered quietly.

"You should move forward with that spirit. What do you think? I have been working with the researchers on the study of 'Delta Augmentation Technique'."

"Is it being done?"

Professor Maizen was able to smile for the first time.

"Of course."

Currently, he was conducting a very special research. In a very special organisation called Wulzerin, there were many outstanding 'researchers,' and they were currently conducting a research on 'Delta Augmentation Technique' to combine alchemy and magic engineering.

Virtually impossible research.

Alchemy, which dealt with the essence of matter, and magic engineering, which gave magic to the material itself…

Numerous geniuses had tried so far, and all had failed.

But, this time, it would be different.

"Does your head feel a little awake? The time has come for the effect of the special 'blessing' that I have placed on you to expose itself."

"Yes. Thanks to that, research is progressing rapidly."

At those words, Archie smiled.

'Stupid…'

He wouldn't even know who he was being fooled by.

No, maybe he didn't mind even if he knew.

He coveted status and honor, and if he could obtain them, he would make contracts with real devils.

'A magic warrior to fight against the Dark Demons, who works for the Dark Demons...'

How much the world would laugh at that fact when they find out belatedly. Just thinking about that time made him feel dizzy with excitement.

'It's about time now.'

Pushed by the power of the magicians, the dark demons always had to hide. Now, there was only one way left.

With technology that was one step ahead of that of current mages, and cause chaos in the society.

'If alchemy engineering is completed, it is possible enough...'

'Soon, the time will come. Until then, I will wait quietly with bated breath.'

——-

Alterisha had nothing that she could call a private laboratory. She was only temporarily using the warehouse attached to Professor Maizen Tyren's laboratory.

I had to submit the report for that group assignment

When I came to visit her, Alterisha greeted me with a puzzled face.

"Haha... I didn't expect students to come even on weekends. Is that a report? Leave it here."

'What the hell are you doing?' I was about to ask, but I held back.

It was pure chaos. Why was the coffee cup hanging from the ceiling, and those wads of paper flying everywhere?

I wondered if it was an artistic decoration to decorate the background, and I really thought hard as to why the fluorescent lights were dancing around on the floor.

"I'll just leave it here."

When I put the thick book on the desk, it rumbled!

Something collapsed followed by the sound thunder and lightning.

"… Is it my fault?"

"Hehehehe... It's okay because I can clean it up right away! It's okay! Don't worry!"

"Ah, yes."

Alterisha smiled shyly and hurriedly tidied up the lab.

Actually, she was a teaching assistant who ignored even the students because she was always scolded by Maizen. Even she wasn't from Stella.

Did she say she was from a group of street alchemists?

Fortunately for her, she was able to join Stella Academy as an assistant, but unfortunately, she was a woman who suffered a lot because she worked under Maizen. "Ugh, this is a bit heavy..."

"Let me help you."

When I picked up a box and moved it, Alterisha revealed a surprised expression.

'What are you so surprised about? Makes me want to show off my muscles.'

By the way, when I put all the boxes aside, the blackboard that had been hidden came into view.

It was.

"That's..."

It was a magic formula. It would be developed in the future and used by all mages worldwide.

A formula that would become famous, I would have never thought it had already been developed as a beta version.

"Oh, that? Professor Meizen said that it's the formula he had been studying with the researchers."

Researchers? I was interested in magic formulas in the first place, so I didn't even know there was such a thing.

However, Alterisha seemed to have always been interested in it, so she kept talking about it.

"That's called the Delta Augmentation Technique. I... I wanted to see it too, but the professor told me not to touch it, so I stopped. Maybe it's because I'm lacking? I wish I could study a formula like that someday. The professor always calls me an idiot and curses at me, but..."

"Is that so?"

By the way, that formula.

It was kind of familiar.

'What was it?'

A sense of illusion floated in my memory. Like a hazy dream, it could not be grasped.

"Can I take a look at this?"

′′Please feel free to, but if you get caught by the professor, you're in big trouble? Both you and I are very hated…"

She mumbled something, but my head was already full of other possibilities.

'A flower of hope that bloomed on a handful of dry and desolate land.'

It was a sentence that appeared all the time when expressing Alterisha.

After the episode in which Professor Maizen transformed into Dark Demon, Stella Academy was shaken to the core.

There was a dark demon in the academy.

In addition to the loss of reputation, material and human damages were great because of the rampage.

In addition, the Dark Demons completed the 'First formula of Alchemy Engineering, the 'Delta Augmentation Technique', led by Professor Maizen Tyren, and the difference in this technology caused the Dark Demons to go crazy for a while.

Yes.

Alchemy engineering.

'So far, I've just been waiting patiently. One day, Alterisha acquired the technology of alchemy engineering and invented it.'

To develop products.

But when I thought about it, alchemy engineering wasn't Alterisha's technology in the first place.

It was the skill of the dark magicians.

'It wasn't a day or two when I was annoyed by the item monopoly while hunting dark demons in the game. Why didn't I think of this?'

Those innumerable items that made the already powerful black demons even stronger and more irritating.

How long did it take for that technology to come into the hands of mages?

At that time, the gap in technology had already widened, so it was judged that they would never be able to surpass the technology of the Dark Demons.....

Alterisha.

As she stepped in, everything changed.

Armed with a genius brain, brilliant and novel ideas, she came to mass-produce numerous 'items' that the Dark Magicians did not even dare to think of.

What if…

What if Alterisha got her hands on this technology first?

"… Assistant Alterisha?"

"Yes? Do you want some coffee?"

"No, that's not it..."

I looked into Alterisha's eyes. She was like an immature girl who now looked erratic for her age, but the moment she was given even the slightest 'possibility', she would immediately spread her wings and fly away.

From now on, I would give her every little chance.

"Could it be that Professor Maizen bullied you? Isn't it annoying?"

"Yes? Why would you ask such a question..."

"If there was a way to get revenge very refreshingly, what would you do?"

"Ehehe, I'm only an assistant, and if I try to go for revenge, and get cut off, I would really be kicked out into the street! Hmmm, being homeless has its own fun, though."

"So, how about this one? You will become a better alchemist than Professor Maizen. No, better than all the alchemists in the world."

At my question, Alterisha looked at me blankly and laughed like an idiot.

"Yeah, then… that would be great."

With that said, I was convinced. Alterisha was already very tired.

This life of being tortured by Maizen.

At best, the reality of having to take care of a professor in a dusty warehouse.

Her resentment for her own talent, which was gradually rotting away, and the inability to spread her wings high.

Pain and bitterness.

Someday Alterisha would have dreamed of it too. She dreamed of becoming an alchemist and creating inventions to her heart's content... She dreamed of becoming such a scientist.

Although it was a dream that she had to put aside for a while because she was discouraged by reality.

'That dream will come true sooner or later.'