16

“…I thought you were dead.”

Relieved by Park Yoocheon’s death, I shuddered belatedly.

It would have been dangerous if I hadn’t unlocked the fourth pouch while killing the hexagon. It was a close and precarious battle.

This incident prompted me to grow stronger quickly.

Since Park Yoochun awakened his Mind, more Minds have started to emerge.

I lived as a Eungaye, keeping my complex thoughts to myself.

Though there was a hint of redness around my lips, probably from biting them, fortunately, there seemed to be no serious injury.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“······Um, yeah.”

Eungaye seemed absent-minded, as if she had come back from the dead.

Suddenly, she turned her head, perhaps recalling that the fight in Zone 2 was not over yet.

I followed Eungaye’s gaze. Zone 2’s situation was almost coming to an end.

As the Masu led by Park Yoochun was just a low-level Masu, it would take some time, but they didn’t seem to need help.

Confirming that the situation was roughly resolved, I sat down where I stood.

I had run all the way here without a break and exhausted all my energy, so I had no strength left to stand.

Eungaye looked at me as if I were some kind of wonder and said, “Now tell me.”

“Tell you what?”

“How come you’re not surprised? Park Yoochun being a Mind.”

“Ah.”

It was only then that I remembered that I had promised to tell Eungaye why she should be cautious of Park Yoochun after it was over.

Eungaye seemed to be sure that she already knew that Park Yoochun was a Mind.

“That guy, he held a grudge against you.”

From Noble mtl dot com

Simply desiring to become a Mind does not make it so.

Those who had already become Minds had to receive magic through injection or make a contract with demons themselves.

The former might be easy depending on the situation, but the latter was not so simple.

Only those whose minds were pushed to the brink could hear the demons’ voices. That’s how they would fall into temptation and become Minds.

And Park Yoochun was the latter. A madman who had caused several accidents in the past.

He even beat Eungaye to a pulp during the entrance exam, only to be admitted later on······ that was his background story.

Ironically, the main perpetrator, Eungaye, didn’t even remember the incident.

Anyway, the decisive reason he became a Mind was the result of the physical test, but the above information was suitable for a rough explanation.

Eungaye looked puzzled at my words.

“Was that why you told me to be careful?”

“What else did you think?”

“Well, since you knew Park Yoochun was a Mind······”

“How could I possibly know?”

“······.”

Eungaye grimaced, as if she had something to say but then fell silent. It was absurd to think that I knew in advance that Park Yoochun was a Mind.

A brief silence followed. Unable to find words, I casually turned my gaze. And then my eyes widened.

“······!”

Suddenly, a Masu had approached. It was a shadow-type Masu, so silent that I hadn’t noticed it until it was close.

It lifted its front paw. I urgently drew my sword.

As I was about to unleash the energy-charged sword, a chilling aura swept past my cheek.

The next moment, black ashes scattered. It was the remains of the vanished Masu.

“This is······”

With astonished eyes, I gazed at the fierce blue magic that obliterated the demon horse, and the entity that caused it.

The blue magic was blazing like fire at the tip of Eunga-ye’s sword.

It was different from Eunga-ye’s usually rough yet somewhat restrained magic. It was a force that burned without restraint, warping space.

The true form of Eunga-ye’s magic she possessed was the ‘gravity magic’.

“I didn’t conjure this intentionally.”

Seemingly surprised by her own actions, Eunga-ye’s eyes widened.

Afraid she might quickly forget, I repeated the ‘hint’ I had given her earlier, “See, it works when you ease off the power.”

“What?”

Eunga-ye’s puzzled eyes turned to me. It was right before she was about to say something.

“Hey! Are you okay?!”

The 2nd squad who had defeated the demon horse rushed over.

“Sorry. It seems a demon horse slipped away, but what happened?”

“Eunga-ye took care of it.”

“…Oh, I caught it.”

“Really? Phew, that’s a relief.”

With my response, Eunga-ye nodded, and the focus naturally shifted to Bak Yu-chun.

Bak Yu-chun’s remains were at a level that couldn’t be called human – the skin was blackened, and the appearance was grotesquely distorted like a beast.

With a trembling voice, Lee Soon-chul asked, “This, a mine······ right?”

“Yeah, it’s a mine.”

As I nodded calmly, everyone’s expressions stiffened.

“Unbelievable······”

They were shocked to learn that their peers were mines.

The atmosphere grew heavy, but I didn’t feel the need to lighten it.

They too would have to get used to such an atmosphere.

As the semesters passed, they would encounter mines more often. Eternity was that kind of game.

Resting in the heavy atmosphere, the 3rd squad arrived shortly after. They looked quite tired.

Though there were occasional signs of traps as they approached, I, without magic, seemed to have triggered everything that didn’t respond.

The 3rd squad’s reaction that followed was not much different from the 2nd squad’s.

“Hey! Yi Ha-sol! If you suddenly rush ahead, what if ······!”

Kim Ha-yoon, who was about to speak, stopped in surprise when she saw Bak Yu-chun’s body, and Oh Jin-hyuk froze in place.

Especially, Han Se-yeon, who always made jokes, had lost her usual expression.

Her reaction wasn’t a surprise upon seeing the mine; it was more due to the distortion caused by the Celestial Punishment she carried.

“It must be tough for her.”

In reality, Han Se-yeon was a bombshell unlike Bak Yu-chun.

If Bak Yu-chun required attention for when he might explode, she was a problem because there was no clear solution for how to handle her.

The Demonic Beast Physique.

Han Seyeon was a being born with the constitution to attract demons.

And it was because of that cursed physique that around the second semester of her sophomore year, she summoned a demon in front of her former teacher and went on a rampage.

She was simply an event boss to add tension to the game. That was Han Seyeon.

However, I had no intention of dismissing Han Seyeon as just a simple event boss.

Considering the enemies we would encounter in the future, it was my fate to gather even non-existent forces.

Although it was an event, having a being that could easily become a boss by my side was quite something…

“I have to save her somehow.”

If Park Yoocheon was a seed of magic that could not be saved from the human race’s extinction, Han Seyeon was different. She was suffering due to her unique constitution, but she was not magic. She was a being who could be persuaded.

Was my vow to save Han Seyeon something the system could read? Suddenly, a quest notification popped up.

Ding!

[Character Quest: Han Seyeon]

[Rescue Han Seyeon from the fate of magical outburst.]

[Reward: Increase in maximum energy]

I definitely have to save her.

My biggest concern was already the lack of energy, and to think it would come as a reward like this.

As I was looking at the quest notification with determination, Hajinwoo and the field agents rushed in.

Hajinwoo, who had been surveying the area, discovered Park Yoocheon’s body and then said with a firm expression,

“Classes are suspended. Everyone, go outside.”

***

The news that Park Yoocheon was a magician spread like wildfire in Eternity.

Hajinwoo explained that they were late in realizing that all the equipment in the dungeon had been rendered useless by Park Yoocheon’s magic.

Nevertheless, despite the attack on Group 2 and the suspension of classes, the incident was quietly concluded as an accidental manifestation of Park Yoocheon’s magic.

Since no one had died and the injuries were minor, and ultimately Park Yoocheon’s magic manifestation was rare but not unheard of.

And so, on the night the incident was closed, at midnight.

There was a student who came out of the dark dormitory where all the lights were off.

The identity of the student was Han Seyeon.

After leaving the dormitory, she checked her surroundings for any followers and quietly moved to a secluded area with few people.

After walking deep into the back hill, she finally stopped.

“Phew.”

Her breath as she sat down was unusually warm. After encountering Park Yoocheon’s magic during the day, she had struggled to suppress the urge to release her magic.

It had only been a week since she had released her magic once every three months, so there was still a long way to go until the next release, but there was no harm in releasing her magic now. Perhaps more demons would gather.

Sigh…

In the dark night, the bluish-green magic shone eerily in the clearing of the forest. And then, a remarkable phenomenon occurred.

Space began to distort, and translucent monstrous beings started to appear.

*Krrr.*

A low-frequency curse resonated chillingly across the clearing.

These were demons that lived in the depths of the world, drawn by Han Seyeon’s magic.

At the same time, Han Seyeon’s gun spat fire.

Bang! Bang!

The blue trace imbued with magic illuminates the darkness, while the noisy gunfire echoes through the silent space.

Merciless bullets rain down as if in a familiar ritual, swiftly eliminating the revealed demons one by one.

The process of removing the demons continued until the spent cartridges covered the ground, and the heated barrels scorched the air.

The cessation of gunfire occurred when a disturbance erased the spatial anomaly. Soon, the demons vanished like illusions, causing Han Seyeon to turn her head in surprise.

Step by step.

The sound of trampling grass resonated, and under the moonlight, a figure emerged.

Han Seyeon’s eyes widened.

“Good evening.”

Smiling and playfully waving her hand, the stranger was Yi Haesol.

***

Since a young age, Han Seyeon had known that her magic attracted demons, leading to an accident that cost her those around her.

From then on, her life was a living hell.

She suppressed her magic forcibly, leading to daily struggles with pain and seizures as a result.

For Han Seyeon, releasing her magic happened once every three months. At midnight.

I didn’t know the exact timing of it. However, the reaction Han Seyeon showed in the dungeon today hinted that it might be tonight.

Sure enough, just before midnight, Han Seyeon left the dormitory and headed towards the academy’s backyard.

“It seemed like she would come out.”

To avoid detection, I followed Han Seyeon walking down the forest path at a distance.

Finally, Han Seyeon stopped at the edge of the mountain and unleashed her magic.

Despite being far away, the unleashed power of Han Seyeon was felt distinctly strong.

The ensuing spectacle was even more astonishing. Demons appearing from all directions as space trembled.

Han Seyeon’s gun ruthlessly shot down those demons. I bit my tongue at the baptism of bullets that rained down like a hailstorm.

The tremendous firepower, enough to make one doubt if it was the same person who explored the dungeon with me during the day.

And I had to prevent such an eruption of Han Seyeon’s power.

Using Icarus’s ring, I designated the target to nullify with magic.

The target: the entire magical space where demons were surging out.

[Magic nullification in progress. Mental strength is consumed······]

The system window appeared, and soon the anti-demonic energy wiped out the magical space.

Repeatedly performing the same task, the space where Han Seyeon expelled demons gradually calmed down. The gunfire ceased as well. Startled, Han Seyeon turned her head towards me.

“Good evening.”

Despite feeling dizzy from the mental strain, I forced a smile without showing any signs of discomfort.

“What did you do?”

“I erased them.”

“…Erased them?”

Questioning my words, Han Seyeon wore an expression of surprise, quite unlike her usual self.

It was understandable; she had suffered all her life due to her innate ability to summon demons.

The fact that I seemingly easily solved this chronic issue left her astonished. But it was merely possible due to my ability to nullify magic.

To prevent Han Seyeon’s power from erupting, a more fundamental solution was needed. From now on, I intended to propose that solution.

“Do you want to fix the demon summoning issue?”

“······!”

Han Seyun’s eyes widened.

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