My Catalyst ?

"Well just like you said, I could see it clearly on the bed and the wall" I noted.

Hwang Jeong-yeon remained silent.

"Can I start with the wall first?" I asked.

"Yes of course you can!" she replied.

" Is Miss Hayan using the room next door?" I inquired.

"Yes, ahh......" Hwang Jeong-yeon hesitated.

"She seems to be a little sneaky," I remarked.

I began to understand what she must have seen. 

Since the tutorial's beginning, I'd already seen Jung Hayan create walls with her illusion magic. 

However, it felt embarrassing to realize that I had not noticed her change an entire wall. 

Leaning forward, I placed my hand on the wall and was surprised that it was still solid from my touch. 'Didn't she change it?' I looked towards Hwang Jeong-yeon in confusion. Upon seeing this, she began to explain.

"Only a small hole has been changed, not the entire wall," she clarified.

"Oh?" I responded.

"If you put your finger in here, you'll understand what I mean," she said, pointing to a specific spot in the wall.

As she beckoned at the particular spot, I followed her lead and poked my finger through. 

Embarrassingly enough, it pierced through to the other side. It was absurd for me not to notice something like this up until now.

"How can I not know…" I muttered.

"It was created with weak magic power, and since this room itself is already surrounded by magical power, it's understandable for you not to have noticed. I don't think you are that sensitive to magical power… Most of all, this hole seems to have just been recently made," Hwang Jeong-yeon explained.

"Ah, you can tell?" I asked.

"Yeah. It looks like it's been here for less than a month… I don't know why Miss Hayan dared to do something like this, but… I can guess why," she replied.

"Ah… Yeah," I tried not to pay heed to Jeong-yeon's suggestive expression.

Of course, I didn't remember doing anything specific in this room, but I felt uncomfortable as I realized that Jung Hayan had probably seen all of me already. 

At times, I even dared to lay on my bed naked. I'm sure everyone would understand. 'She would only do this because of me.' 

I hadn't expected her to go this far, but it was the one responsible for leading her on, anyway. 

I had to tolerate all the mishaps that would emerge from it. 

Perhaps I should find it fortunate that I discovered this right away. 

Who knew what else she might find out through this gimmick of hers?

"In fact, what's really amazing is this bed," Jeong-yeon continued.

"Huh? What about it?" I asked.

"It is no exaggeration to say that this is a new revolution in magical science," she said.

"Ah…" Seeing her impressed look at someone else's work made me feel bitter for some reason.

After a few moments of waiting for her to speak, Hwang Jeong-yeon began to explain further. "It's fatigue recovery type magic."

"I see."

"It's not just that. In addition to checking your condition, there are also various kinds of magic present, so many that I cannot explain all of them. From invigorating magic to magic that boosts vitality… There's also magic that speeds up brain rotation and blood circulation. In addition to this, there is also a built-in protection-type magic that can protect you when something bad happens. If a large magic falls upon this Guild House, you will probably be unscathed. If you had slept in this bed, you would have stayed in a deep sleep. I don't think you ever felt tired after waking up the next day. Am I right?" Jeong-yeon asked.

"Yeah… I think so. I've always woken up feeling refreshed," I replied.

"By the way, if you slept in a bed like this, it would be natural for your fatigue to go away. I find that so romantic of her…" Jeong-yeon remarked.

Indeed, I felt my heart warming up to Hayan. I thought there would be some magic, sure, but I didn't know it would be this kind. 

What was embarrassing here was the type of magic Jung Hayan had chosen to cast.

"Then, are you saying that the bed itself has magic? That's…" I started.

"Yeah. It would be impossible, right? I mean, even if it was, it would be inefficient. Putting magic into objects is something that many people have given up on doing," Jeong-yeon explained.

"Yes. Most of those would just be commercialized products. I have personally conducted research about it," I replied.

"That's why I said this is revolutionary. If the concealment technology of the location tracking magic on you is of a thesis level, the magic on this bed has the potential to shake the magic academia and create a new school. A newbie has done what others who have been here for years couldn't… I personally feel a little intimidated," Jeong-yeon commented.

I remained silent.

"Of course, there are no restrictions," she continued.

I didn't know what to say. No matter how talented Jung Hayan was, she could not have done all this so perfectly.

"This magic only works on you, Mr. Kee," Jeong-yeon emphasized.

"I understand," I acknowledged.

"Yeah. I think that this magic also made use of catalysts. Using a part of your body as a catalyst, the magic was compressed to the point where the effect is only activated on the individual. The efficiency would be very poor if everyone could activate it. This means that it is a bed exclusively for you" she explained.

"I see. Even so…" I started.

"To put it simply, the magic activates because your genetics and the genetic makeup of the catalyst match," she concluded.

Her explanation made sense to me.

"However, one has to charge it," Jeong-yeon added.

"Oh?" I asked.

"At least once a month, the person who memorized the spell has to put in the magic again. Seeing that this type of magic has been here up until now, it must mean that Miss Hayan has been able to come here for some steamy visits… Ho ho ho…" she chuckled.

I didn't know how to respond.

"There is also another thing," Jeong-yeon continued.

"Tell me, please," I urged.

"Like I said, this type of magic uses catalysts. Hmm. Could you please turn the mat over? Or there must be a secret space somewhere…" she suggested.

"Of course, of course," I replied.

If what she said was true, the device should be somewhere within the bed. Not long after, I could see something white stuck inside the mattress.

"Huh. That's your teeth, right?" she inquired.

"Yeah. Probably so," I agreed.

"Would you believe me if I told you that your information stored in that catalyst is the one responsible for keeping the magic?" Jeong-yeon asked.

"This is definitely something similar…" I replied.

"Ah, so you're knowledgeable on the topic?" she questioned.

"I wouldn't say I'm an expert."

"This method is certainly similar to alchemy," I observed.

The only thing I was sure of was that this wasn't a simple type of magic. Using magic on a specific type of catalyst to ensure that it would only be triggered if the right target was present was on a complex level all by itself.

"Huh…" I realized this approach perfectly matched the direction in which I wanted to grow. 

The idea of mixing different magic with catalysts was just the same as using one's genetic makeup. 

Homunculus research, chimera research, and even magic potion research. This was the best approach I could use.

"This is great…" I said.

Of course, my method would be different. Unlike Jung Hayan, I would have to approach this with my alchemy magic. 

As a user of catalysts and genetically modified formulations, I had more knowledge than she did. 

In other words, the method would be the same, but how I was going to study all this would be done differently. 

I would have even thought that Jung Hayan had prepared all this in advance.

"This works," I concluded. I was sure of this now. Here was a result that would have taken me countless failed experiments to achieve. It would be unnatural not to get excited.

"You must be happy, too. Oh my God," Jeong-yeon remarked.

"Ah… Yes. Honestly, I do feel happy," I admitted.

"Ah, but there's also another amazing feature hidden within this bed," she revealed.

"Oh? There's another one?" I asked.

"Yeah. There's a magic called Reverse," she said.

"Ah."

"There's a built-in debuff that removes all granted buffs," she explained.

  I was taken aback.

"Except for you, it's probably triggered when you are close to the bed or lying down. Of course, in the case of others, the effect is not so great because the catalyst doesn't match with the target, but it can still cast a curse. If I sat down, I would have been affected a great deal. It means that if any other woman lay on this bed, she would receive a curse that would lead to her death," Jeong-yeon elaborated.

"So, that's why you asked me to lift the bed," I realized.

"Yes, so basically, it's Miss Hayan's way of saying you shouldn't bring other women to your bed. That's so romantic!" she exclaimed.

I did not find this romantic at all. Rather, I found it a little scary.

"Is there anything else?" I inquired.

"No, this is all I can find. If you say you are doing research in earnest, the results may be different, but I'm sure that there's very little information about this sort of magic. Jung Hayan looks like a cute little Magician, but she's actually more capable than one would think," Jeong-yeon concluded.

"Thank you," I replied.

Rather than focusing on the bad aspects of this newfound information, I felt grateful to Jung Hayan for showing me which way I should take for my growth. 

Who knew I would find the answer in my room? Of course, it didn't mean that I would ignore everything she had done, but my training took precedence over everything else. 

As I looked over my bed once more, the tooth stuck in the corner began to look more lovable than creepy.

'Wait…' It had been a while, but a question began to arise in my head.

"I wonder…" I began.

"Yeah?" Jeong-yeon prompted.

"If my position as of this moment is being transmitted to Jung Hayan, does this mean that she also has some part of my body?" I asked.

"Yes," she confirmed.

'What…' What other parts of me did Jung Hayan have? My hair remained the same, and I didn't remember her ever drawing blood.

No, Jung Hayan could not have hurt my body before that. 

In the case of normal monsters, the parts used as catalysts were very diverse. 

It was not only hair and teeth bundles but also blood and eyeballs that could be used. 

The heart worked best, and even bones and organs would come a long way. 

In the case of certain monsters, saliva and the liquid generated by the body for males were also effective, but it was difficult to guess what the hell Jung Hayan had taken. I tried not to think about it too much.

'Surely… Surely she didn't…' 

I was curious about what kind of catalyst she would have taken from me, but there was no way of actually knowing.