Chapter 296: Episode 296

A ghost living in the Magic Tower…

It was a reason I hadn’t expected in the slightest. Desperately managing my facial expression to keep from laughing, I asked, “What kind of ghost?”

“Well…”

According to his frantic recounting, after I had fallen into my coma, Yonghee began witnessing numerous anomalous phenomena within the Magic Tower.

One evening, Yonghee had come down to the golden lobby on the first floor to head home, only to hear Doyeon’s voice echoing down the hall. She was chatting and giggling along with a few of the other female mages.

“I’m telling you, it’s true.”

“R-Really?”

“I’m positive. It’s one hundred percent true.”

Since he happened to have something to discuss with Doyeon regarding a new field magic formula he was going to create the next day anyway, he detoured. Yonghee approached the back of the potion manufacturing room where their lively voices were coming from.

He stopped in his tracks, completely shocked.

There was absolutely no one there. The room was empty.

Gripped by a sudden, chilling sensation, Yonghee quickly fled toward the lobby. Right at that exact moment, the front doors slid open, and someone walked in through the main entrance of the Magic Tower from the street outside.

“Oh my, Yonghee. What are you still doing here? Haven’t you gotten off work yet?”

It was Doyeon.

Startled entirely out of his wits, Yonghee let out a terrified shriek.

“…We see each other all the time, so why are you screaming at me? You’re making me feel bad.”

“D-Doyeon! Weren’t you just talking inside with the other guild members?”

“What are you talking about? I clocked out twenty minutes ago. I just came back inside because I forgot my wallet.”

After that terrifying incident, Yonghee began experiencing such bizarre phenomena unusually often.

It wasn’t just Doyeon’s voice. He started hearing Sarang’s voice, Bora’s voice, Shimhee’s voice… and eventually, even…

“You heard my voice, too?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“T-That’s right! And it wasn’t just voices, either!” Yonghee exclaimed in sudden agitation. “I definitely saw it! I saw you, Boss! You were supposed to be lying comatose inside the sealed second-floor library, but I saw you slowly walking up the stairs to the fourth floor…!”

…Okay, that’s actually a bit creepy.

My consciousness should have been locked in that realm that entire time.

“By any chance, did anyone else see or hear these phenomena?” I asked.

“Uh, um.” Yonghee awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. “Just… a few people.”

Judging by his reaction, it didn’t seem like a story that resonated widely among the Tower’s former staff.

“I kept being plagued by those ghosts. Then, after the incident with Samia and Doyeon, I ended up leaving the Magic Tower for good. Once I had that first strange experience, I just kept seeing hallucinations… Boss, I’m desperate to return to the Magic Tower, but even now, I’m too terrified to step foot inside.”

So, this was the real reason.

To suddenly start seeing ghosts of your friends inside the Magic Tower, a place where he had lived alongside everyone for a significant amount of time… I couldn’t entirely blame him for being spooked.

“Yonghee,” I started slowly. “Do you normally see ghosts often?”

“…Huh? N-No! Before I joined the Magic Tower, I’d never even experienced sleep paralysis in my life!”

“What about after you left and created Secret Maneuvers?”

“My symptoms have gotten a lot better, but I still see hallucinations occasionally since that day. Though, the frequency is much lower than when I was living at the Magic Tower.”

“…Hmm.”

It couldn’t be helped. Deciding to wrap up the ghost topic for now, I pivoted to the backup proposal I had prepared.

“Then how about maintaining your status as the Guild Master of Secret Maneuvers while formally linking up with us as an allied subordinate guild, just like Arcane? You won’t have to stay in the Tower, and I will still guarantee our absolute financial and magical support.”

Yonghee happily agreed to this compromise. Seojin would be in charge of finalizing his salary and the detailed contract terms later.

“I—I’ll take my leave then, Boss. Thank you for the ride.”

“Not at all. Thank you for making time in your busy schedule.”

Jo Yonghee was scheduled to clear a newly opened dungeon in Muhak-dong. After dropping him off near the site, I headed toward my original destination.

Since it was just around the corner, I arrived at the hospital in no time.

Jeong Seojin was already waiting for me. As I stepped out of the car, he offered a polite bow.

“You’ve arrived, Tower Master.”

“Oh, you’re here early.”

“My morning meeting wrapped up ahead of schedule. Shall we head up?”

We stepped into the elevator together.

“How did your talk with Jo Yonghee go?”

When Jeong Seojin slyly reached out to pat my head again, I caught his wrist mid-air.

“He won’t be taking the manager position,” I replied, “but he agreed to lead the Secret Maneuvers Guild under the Magic Tower’s umbrella.”

“I see. Please leave the contract proceedings to me. And regarding the demonic human investigation…”

I let out a dry chuckle.

“I was going to bring it up, but the conversation got completely derailed over a rather bizarre story.”

“A bizarre story?”

“Yeah. He claimed he saw ghosts in the Magic Tower.”

I recounted Yonghee’s story from start to finish. Judging by his reaction, this was the very first time Seojin was hearing about it.

“What about you?” I asked. “Have you ever seen ghosts or heard strange voices in the Tower?”

“Never.”

He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, his tone ice-cold.

“Because ghosts do not exist in this world.”

“Y-You’re very firm about that.”

“I understand the Magic Tower is old and isolated, making it prime real estate for occult rumors to circulate. Still, it’s hard for me to understand why a grown adult would pass up a manager position over something so trivial.”

I shrugged.

“Hey now, some people consider that a real dealbreaker. A magician’s mental fortitude is crucial, so we should be willing to make concessions on that front.”

The elevator chimed and the doors slid open.

We walked down the sterile hallway and stopped in front of the hospital room.

“Phew.”

Since it was our first time meeting face-to-face in a while, I felt a flutter of nerves. I knocked lightly, then slowly opened the door and stepped inside.

A woman sat on the bed in a stark white gown, staring out the window. When she spotted me, her face broke into a bright smile.

“Welcome, hunter Kim Yusin.”

I steadied my trembling voice.

“I’m sorry I’m late, Ms. Shin.”

Shin Nara, the CEO of Garam Management.

It had been five years since I last saw her, and she looked noticeably emaciated.

She was suffering from an illness, not an ordinary disease, but an entirely new affliction triggered by the Overlay incident. The number of patients contracting the sickness had surged, especially after the disaster known as the Brimstone Rain swept across South Korea a year ago.

I took a seat, and we chatted about this and that. She would occasionally tear up, only to laugh at my jokes a moment later.

Throughout my hunter career, she had been my greatest supporter. No one else had ever backed my work without asking a single question the way she did.

Even now, I considered joining Garam Management to be one of the best decisions of my life.

“It’s about time you return to Garam,” I told her.

She shook her head slowly.

“What’s the point of returning with a body that can’t even stand?”

Without a word, I reached into the basket I had brought and pulled out a piece of fruit. I set it on a tray and carefully peeled it with a knife.

“Oh my, what a beautiful color,” she murmured. “I’ve never seen fruit like that before.”

“I’m going to heal you.”

She blinked, taken aback.

“…Pardon?”

“CEO Shin. What do you think my job is?”

She tilted her head.

“You’re a hunter.”

“Before that.”

“Before that… a magician?”

I speared a piece of the neatly peeled fruit with a small fork and held it out to her.

“Exactly. So, I’m going to perform a little magic.”

She stared at me blankly.

Puzzled, she accepted the fruit and took a tentative bite. Her eyes went wide.

“Wow! What is this? It’s delicious!”

“Eat up.”

Jeong Seojin and I declined her offers to share, insisting we had already eaten. She polished off the entire fruit without leaving a single piece behind.

“Now then…”

I pushed myself up from the chair and approached the bed.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

“Whoa!”

I carefully scooped her up in my arms. Startled, she flailed her legs.

“Wh-Why are you doing this? Put me down, it’s embarrassing!”

“I’m going to help you walk.”

I bent my knees, lowering my center of gravity, and gently set both of her feet on the floor.

“N-No! I told you, I can’t walk!”

“You can walk now. Just trust me and gather your courage.”

To avoid startling her further, I slowly stood up straight, keeping her feet firmly planted on the ground. I could feel her weight, which had been completely leaning against me, gradually shifting down to her own legs.

Soon, she was standing entirely on her own.

“Ah…”

Without a doubt, she was standing upright on her own two feet.

“I told you, didn’t I? It’s magic.”

Mimicking a stage illusionist’s theatrical flair, I spread my arms. “Ta-da.”

Tears rapidly welled in her eyes.

“…Ah, how is this possible…! Thank you. Thank you so much…!”

Seeing her choke back sobs of overwhelming emotion, Jeong Seojin and I exchanged a warm smile.

*

Korea Advanced Institute of Magic, KAIM.

“Th-This is quite sudden.”

Faced with this perplexing situation, the principal of KAIM dabbed the sweat from his forehead with a tissue. In front of him, Ha Yerin sat in polite silence.

“Are you really planning to drop out?”

“Yes.”

Ha Yerin had concluded that there was absolutely nothing left for her to learn at this school.

Honestly, that had been the case the moment she reached the third Circle through Kim Yusin’s private lessons. She had attended classes for a few days at her mother’s urging, just to secure a high school diploma, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was wasting her life.

So, she decided to quit.

“Now, Yerin. Think this through carefully,” the principal urged, offering a strained smile. “You only have one year left until graduation. You need a high school diploma to have an advantage when deciding on your career path.”

“Career path…”

She chewed on the words before offering a blunt reply.

“I’m the Lord of the Sky Castle.”

Whether it sounded arrogant or not, it was simply the truth. High school diplomas and university admissions had completely lost all meaning to her.

“…Ahem. Is that so? Your resolve seems firm. But society is far too dangerous for a student to navigate alone. You’ll need an affiliation to support you. By any chance, have you heard from any guilds looking to scout you?”

She silently lowered her eyelids.

So he’s been bought off.

“They are a top-twenty guild, and they’ve prepared an unprecedented signing bonus for a rookie hunter…”

“I’m sorry,” she interrupted smoothly. “I have to go.”

Giving a slight bow, she stood up and walked out the door.

“Yerin!”

“Could we talk for a moment?”

As soon as she stepped out of the principal’s office, a swarm of teachers crowded around her.

They were likely there for the exact same reason as the principal. The school was teeming with adults whose pockets had been lined by aggressive recruiters. For the teachers, maintaining their professional dignity no longer mattered; they were willing to use any means necessary.

The greatest rookie hunter in history—the girl who controlled the Sky Castle and might even join a World Guild—had just hit the market.

Pretending not to notice the desperate shouts and grasping hands swarming outside the office, Ha Yerin headed down the stairs.

As she reached the first floor and walked down the hallway, the hushed whispers of spectating students drifted through the air.

“…That’s her. The girl who became the Lord of the Sky Castle.”

“Ugh, I hate how she’s acting all cool.”

“Did you see her totally ignore the teachers begging her?”

“Showing off when she only got it out of pure luck.”

Ha Yerin let out a quiet scoff. Before, they teased me for being a cursed child, and now they curse at me for being lucky.

Feeling the heavy weight of their envious glares, she kept walking. Honestly, she couldn’t care less what any of them had to say.

“Back the fuck off, you morons.”

A student roughly shoved his way to the front of the crowd.

…Oh Jungho.

His arm seemed to have fully healed, as he was no longer wearing a cast.

He slowly approached Ha Yerin and stopped in his tracks. As the surrounding murmurs grew louder, Oh Jungho whirled around and glared fiercely.

“What are you staring at? You fucking bastards. I said get lost!”

At his menacing bark, the students flinched and scattered, practically fleeing back to their respective classrooms.

Once the hallway was clear, Ha Yerin let out a bewildered laugh and looked at Oh Jungho.

“Um…”

Acting uncharacteristically shy, Oh Jungho ran a hand through his hair. Quickly muttering “Ah, fuck” under his breath a few times, he finally spoke, his voice fading.

“Th-Thanks for before.”

At those words, Ha Yerin burst into laughter.

“You acted all tough and made a huge scene just to say that?”

“…Ah, shut up.”

“You don’t think a bully picking up some trash on the side of the road is going to magically launder his image, do you? And besides.” She pointed at his arm. “I’ll consider me saving you back then as settling the score for your arm. We don’t owe each other anything anymore, so let’s cleanly go our separate ways. I pray we never run into each other again.”

With that, Ha Yerin turned on her heel and walked away.

“…Congratulations on graduating,” Oh Jungho called out.

Without looking back, she offered a dismissive wave and exited the building.

It was time to step out into the real world.

*

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep