Chapter 262: Episode 262

I held up three fingers.

Magic circles for Mana Arrow, Shield, and Gauntlet unfolded in the air. The anticipation on her face quickly turned to dismay.

“More basics? We do tons of that at school already.”

“I did some digging into how magic schools work these days, you know.”

I sat down on a rock and popped open a can of Pine Needle’s Bud.

“If a high schooler is already learning second-circle spells, that’s actually really fast. The people I used to teach became licensed hunters in their mid-to-late twenties with nothing but first-circle magic.”

“Whaaat? No way, you’re lying!”

“I’m not.”

Taking a sip, I continued, “Maybe it’s because everyone thinks the number of circles equals strength, but the magic world these days is obsessed with rushing through the curriculum. In reality, solid fundamentals are the most important thing in magic. I still use first- and second-circle spells all the time.”

“Okay, fine. So what exactly are we training?”

“Give me a second to set things up.”

I hopped off the rock and drew a magic circle on the ground.

<Field Magic – Healing Circle>

VWUUUUM!

A blue barrier spread out around us, completing my preparations.

“All right, there are only two rules. First, you can only use first-order spells. Second, you don’t step outside the Healing Circle.”

“O-okay!”

“And there are three patterns in this training.”

I summoned a Mana Arrow.

“First is this. A Mana Arrow flying at an average speed.”

I showed her how the Mana Arrow moved through the air, then summoned its evolved form, a golden arrow: Rapid Arrow.

“Second is also a Mana Arrow variant, but I’ll be firing this one at a speed you can’t dodge.”

I loosed the Rapid Arrow, and it shot forward like lightning, burying itself in a tree.

“And third is this.”

Using Gaia, I made the ground surge upward, forming a wall of packed earth. She tilted her head, baffled.

“…I have no idea what kind of training this is supposed to be.”

“Heh heh, if you don’t get it, your body will learn the hard way.”

I went back to my rock, sat down, and raised my right arm.

“Unofficial First-Floor Trial. Starting now.”

* * *

“Haa… haa… haa…”

Ha Yerin was collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath. Only then did I dispel the magic circle surrounding her.

“You did it on your fourteenth try. Nice work.”

She stared up at me with a completely vacant expression.

“…Ahjussi.”

“What?”

“You’re a psychopath, aren’t you?”

Avoiding her resentful gaze, I answered lightly, “It’s just training.”

“Training my ass! You were trying to kill me!” she shrieked, eyes brimming with tears. Judging by how she had begged me to just kill her halfway through, it must have felt like pure hell.

“I held back on the power. You’re not even hurt.”

“Of course I’m not hurt! You put down a Healing Circle! That just makes it crueler!”

I had taken the First-Floor Trial and adapted it for her.

Compared to the trial that drove me to the brink of death with Mana Arrows actually piercing my body, this version was downright generous.

“Save the complaints for after you check your stats.”

“…Huh?”

She opened her Status, and I checked it along with her.

Name: Ha Yerin

Innate Ability: Settler

Personal Traits: [Child of Mana Lv.1], [Fortified Mind Lv.4], [Escape Lv.2]

Main Stats: [Magic 121], [Agility 30], [Stamina 17], [Strength 10]

Special Stats: [Willpower 33], [Focus 14]

Total Stat Points: [225]

“Ah…”

Her eyes went wide.

“Your stats went up quite a bit, right? How’s your spell proficiency?”

“All my first-circle spells are over seventy percent now.”

Before she knew it, a huge grin had crept onto her face.

Then our eyes met, and she flushed bright red and snapped at me.

“Sociopath!”

’…Is that supposed to be better than psychopath?’

“Even so! I was crying and begging you to stop, and you just kept shooting at me! That’s too much!”

“And yet, even while you were crying and begging, you dodged just fine.”

She flinched.

Ha Yerin was overflowing with talent, but she was also a huge whiner. She was the type who could do far more than she believed but kept herself locked within her self-imposed limits.

’This much is enough.’

’This is as far as I can go.’

I wanted to shatter that defeatist mindset of hers. Perhaps realizing I would never cancel the spell no matter how much she cried, she had faced the final attempt with genuine resolve and cleared the trial.

“If you don’t like my training style, you can quit anytime.”

I shrugged.

“But sitting through classes and doing the same old practice drills at school won’t do much for you. For a mage, the foundation is pushing yourself to the limit and wringing every last drop of focus out of your mind.”

“…Okay.”

Letting out a tiny sigh, she pushed herself to her feet.

With a soft rip, the one thing I had overlooked became apparent.

Her body had healed perfectly, but her clothes had not. As she stood up, the shredded scraps of her uniform slid off and fell to the ground.

I fell silent.

She was too stunned to speak.

We both froze for a moment, then her face went scarlet.

“KYAAAAAA!”

“Y-Yerin! Wait a second!”

“Pervert! Turn around! Turn around right now!”

I hurriedly spun around, the back of my head burning under the ferocity of her glare.

“Ugh! You really are a pervert psychopath!”

’…Back to psychopath again.’

* * *

I borrowed Ha Yerin’s phone and called Jin Bora.

—“Who is this?”

Her voice, worn down by life, came out flat over the speaker.

“Bora, it’s me.”

—“Ah—ah! Sir! Yes! Yes! Thank God! You didn’t disappear, did you? I kept pinching my cheek during the meeting because I thought I was dreaming! I’m so glad you’re not an illusion! Ha ha ha!”

The sudden shift in tone caught me off guard.

“I need a favor. Can you send a courier over?”

—“Of course! I was just about to send you your new phone and forged ID anyway!”

“Yeah, that, and there’s something else I desperately need right now.”

—“What is it?”

I made sure my voice didn’t shake.

“I need clothes and underwear for a girl around eighteen. Top and bottom, a full set. Oh, and a KAIM girls’ uniform too, please.”

A heavy silence fell.

—“Sir?”

I could practically feel the contempt radiating through the phone.

“Just so you know, it’s not what you think.”

—“Then please explain.”

’I was training with a high school girl in the mountains and accidentally shredded her clothes.’

…That was the truth.

But in this world, sometimes lies are more useful than facts. A harmless white lie.

“Remember the Child of Mana I told you about?”

—“Yes.”

Her voice was still icy. I could feel cold sweat trickling down my back.

“She was attacked by a monster. I treated her injuries on the spot, but her clothes got torn, so we’re in a bit of a bind.”

—“Oh, so it was a monster, all right. A man blinded by lust…”

“I said it’s not like that!”

She clearly wasn’t buying it.

—“So a monster just popped up out of nowhere in the middle of Seoul, one of the most secure cities in the world? And it just so happened to rip her underwear too?”

“…Just this once, can you look the other way and send it? It’s really urgent.”

When I spoke in a rushed tone, she let out a long sigh on the other end.

—“Fine. Send me your location. I’ll get everything together and dispatch a courier right away.”

“Thanks. Really.”

Thankfully, I managed to get her to agree. I crossed the busy road and slipped into a little side area near the path up Achasan Mountain.

There, wearing my hoodie and curled in on herself, was Ha Yerin, sniffling.

“The courier will be here soon. Get dressed first, and I’ll have them send the uniform too, so you can wear it to school tomorrow.”

“…Okay.”

Ugh, I really am an idiot.

Maybe it was the five years I spent sleeping. I had come out here thinking only about the training and never once considered bringing a change of clothes.

“Yerin.”

“Don’t come any closer!”

She hunched down and growled. I shut my mouth and sat down a little ways off.

She pressed her legs together and wrapped her arms around them. The men’s hoodie was big on her; even with her arms fully extended, only the tips of her fingers peeked out of the sleeves.

After sitting like that for a while, she must have gotten bored, because she lifted the cuff to her nose and sniffed.

“You don’t actually smell like an ahjussi at all.”

’…I decided to stop reacting to every little thing.’

“I told you I’m too young to be called an ahjussi.”

“Says the guy who takes black goat extract every day?”

“You have to start taking care of yourself while you’re still young.”

She snickered, and I kept my eyes forward as I spoke quietly.

“I’ve been wondering about something.”

“What?”

“Why do you hate Kim Yusin?”

Her eyelids lowered slowly.

“It’s just… a personal reason.”

And that was it. She didn’t say another word.

’Damn it. It bothers me. Another day without an answer.’

“What about you, Ahjussi? Are you really not going to tell me what you do?”

“I told you. I’m a hunter.”

“Then why did you stop working as a hunter?”

I lifted my gaze to Seoul’s night sky, empty of stars.

“I got hurt pretty badly in a fight. I’ve been in rehab ever since.”

“Oh…”

While we were chatting, my phone rang.

—“This is the courier.”

“Yeah, I’ll be right there.”

I jumped to my feet.

“I’ll go meet them. Stay here.”

“Okay.”

Back on the main road, I looked around and spotted a guy standing in front of a motorcycle, holding a box.

“Hi, I’m the recipient.”

“Sure. Can you sign here?”

While I signed, the courier took off his motorcycle helmet.

A cascade of thick, wavy purple hair spilled out. My jaw dropped.

“…B-Bora!”

“Customer. What, exactly, are you hiding from me?”

She bolted in the direction I had come from.

“Hey! It’s not what you think!”

I rushed after her, but it was too late. Jin Bora faltered to a stop.

From farther in, I heard Ha Yerin scream.

’I’m screwed.’

What she was seeing was undoubtedly a high school girl, naked under my hoodie and curled into a ball, with the shredded remains of a school uniform scattered beside her.

“Siiiiir!”

Jin Bora turned stiffly to look at me. She was smiling, but the smile was grotesque.

* * *

“Oh, so that’s what happened!”

We had gone to a nearby barbecue place. I was manning the grill while Jin Bora, sitting across from me, rested her chin on her hands with a big, beaming grin.

“As a hunter, I’m just glad I didn’t have to arrest you for assaulting a high school girl!”

I frowned and shot back, “…They say you only see what you want to see.”

“Oh, come on, this was suspicious enough! And besides,” she said, folding her arms and glaring at me with a sulky look, “you do realize this whole thing is seriously messed up, right? A First-Floor Trial for a kid who’s still in high school? You’ve lost it. For real!”

“Ahem, I told you, I toned down the firepower.”

“Then why did you rip her clothes?”

“It was training. There was no way around it.”

While we were bickering, Ha Yerin, who had gone to the restroom, came trotting back. She had changed into a long-sleeved Sprite T-shirt and skinny jeans.

“Wow! Seeing you again, this is still so surreal!” Her eyes sparkled as if she had just spotted an idol. “You’re really hunter Jin Bora, right?”

“Yup, that’s me!”

Watching her strike a smug little pose, I sighed inwardly.

’This one hasn’t grown up at all, mentally.’

“Uh, you just sighed to yourself, didn’t you?”

I pretended not to hear and hurriedly flipped the meat.

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