Chapter 33

Chapter 33

I Installed a Dating App and Girls from Another World Became Obsessed with Me.

Episode 33: Blind Date

Worldwide, all children at the age of 10 were required to undergo a magic power test.

The magic power test measured innate magical ability, and if the innate magic power exceeded a certain threshold, the child gained the option to enter the Magic Tower’s training institute.

Naturally, giving up the opportunity to enter the training institute was extremely rare. Becoming a wizard could lead to corporate sponsorship and a chance for a life-changing reversal of fortune, making it a more fervent hope for ordinary families than a lottery ticket.

Of course, the situation wasn’t much different for wealthy families.

Even if their child didn’t become a wizard, having them make connections with potential future wizards at the training institute could offer various business advantages, making it natural to strive to send their children there.

However, of all the children who entered the training institute with high hopes, only about 30% could actually enter the Magic Tower.

Moreover, even those who managed to enter the Magic Tower could be expelled at any time if they received an “unsuitable” evaluation from their professors.

The time it took for a child in the Magic Tower to establish a mana circle was typically 8 to 9 years, with about 40% achieving it within that timeframe.

About 30% established their mana circle later, and 29% were deemed unsuitable and expelled from the Magic Tower.

Among the exceptionally talented children who survived this rigorous selection process, there was a particularly bright 1%.

They established mana circles at an overwhelmingly faster rate than others and would become wizards representing the nation in the future. They were the so-called geniuses.

And in the Gray Magic Tower, there was a once-in-a-generation genius who had reached the 3rd circle at the mere age of 21.

“Hello?”

It was Choi Hye-na, from the Seongbuk Choi clan, one of the three major magical families representing South Korea.

-Hello? My granddaughter?

“…What do you want?”

Choi Hye-na’s mood began to sour at the call from her paternal grandmother.

-Oh, my dear. I just wanted to hear my granddaughter’s voice, but you’re asking me for my business right away? That’s harsh, isn’t it?

“Then you’ve heard my voice, right? I’ll hang up now.”

-Ah, ah!! Wait a moment!!

Of course.

She wasn’t the kind of person to call without a reason.

The problem was that she always brought troublesome and annoying matters.

Last time, she tried to arrange a marriage with another magical family.

‘I’m busy to death with magic research, what’s with marriage?’

Choi Hye-na, who had reached the 3rd circle at the young age of 21, had a grand goal.

She aimed to surpass the Gray Magic Tower Master, who was called the next generation archmage, and reach the supreme level of the 8th circle.

To achieve that, she couldn’t stop her magic research for even a moment, and marriage was just a waste of time.

-Would you like to go on a blind date?

“Haa…”

As expected.

How come nothing ever deviates from my expectations?

“Grandma, I’ve told you before, I have no intention of getting married…”

-Don’t be surprised? He’s your age and already at the 2nd circle.

Thump, Choi Hye-na dropped her phone.

“…I’ll just see his face.”

With a subtle expression that mixed suspicion and interest, Choi Hye-na picked up her phone.

Bba-bba-bba-bba!! Bba-bba-bba-bba!!

In a cramped studio apartment, a loud and annoying alarm rang.

“Ah… damn noisy…”

It was the moment he regretted setting the alarm before going to bed.

Why did he set an alarm when he had no plans?

Kang Hyeon-u rubbed his swollen eyes and struggled to get up.

The familiar screen appeared before his eyes.

[Matching has ended]

[Affection change]

[Cheon Yeo-hwa 0♡ → 87♡]

[Relationship level change]

[Cheon Yeo-hwa Lv.0 → Lv.2]

[Calculating…]

[500 Love Coins have been awarded]

[Remaining coins: 1,700 coins]

[Name: Cheon Yeo-hwa

Age: 20

Race: Human

Affiliation: AXZ-174

Occupation: Second Young Lady of the Heavenly Demon Sect

Disposition: Cold, Cruel, Calculating, Pure Love (New!)]

[Time remaining until rematching: 122:49:45]

“…Has this been up all day since yesterday?”

Yesterday afternoon, after a wild night with Cheon Yeo-hwa, he returned home as soon as the matching time ended.

As soon as he got home, he passed out from exhaustion after two days of mountain hiking and five consecutive ejaculations.

“Did I sleep for… about 20 hours?”

He really slept a lot.

But he felt very refreshed.

“They gave me 500 coins this time.”

It was more than he expected.

However, the shop hadn’t reset, so there was nothing to spend them on.

“I’ll save them for now, in case I need them later.”

He roughly dismissed the screen and headed to the bathroom.

He had no plans, but he had a place to go.

After washing up, he hailed a taxi.

“Please take me to the Gray Magic Tower.”

Meeting Iris and Cheon Yeo-hwa made him realize something.

He was too weak.

He had become a wizard, something he had always dreamed of, and reached the 2nd circle, but he couldn’t even beat the gatekeeper of the first floor of the dungeon.

Moreover, Cheon Yeo-hwa, who hadn’t even fully detoxified, was several times stronger than him.

‘To rescue Iris from that place, I need to become much stronger.’

He also needed to become stronger to protect Cheon Yeo-hwa from the assassins targeting her.

His immediate goal was the 3rd circle.

To achieve that, he needed to meet Choi Yeong-ok again, whom he had met last time.

He couldn’t get a proper lesson during his last meeting with Iris. And he had five days left until rematching.

Magic Tower enrollment was still a whole month away.

To reach the 3rd circle, he needed to accumulate more knowledge. For that, he needed the help of a wizard stronger than himself.

‘I thought she was an unusual grandmother, but to think she’s Choi Yeong-ok of the Seongbuk Choi clan.’

Seongbuk Choi clan.

One of the three major magical families in South Korea, known for producing many excellent elementalists and distinguished by their red hair.

The reason people in Korea avoided redheads as much as possible was precisely that.

As far as he knew, there was only one grandmother with a granddaughter from the Seongbuk Choi clan.

‘The Pyromancer of Crimson Flames.’

He had seen an article on the community forums about a genius who reached the 6th circle at the relatively young age of sixty.

“Eh? Isn’t sixty old?” one might ask, but Choi Yeong-ok looked, at most, in her mid-forties.

Moreover, the denser the magic power, the longer the lifespan, so her lifespan as a 6th circle wizard would be twice that of an ordinary person.

‘Considering there are wizards who can’t even reach the 3rd circle in their entire lives, she’s amazing.’

It was a bit strange that such a person wanted to connect him with her granddaughter, but for now, as he aimed for the 3rd circle, there was no one better.

“We’ve arrived.”

The Gray Magic Tower, which he hadn’t visited in a while, was still bustling with people.

While waiting in the first-floor lobby, he saw a familiar face in the distance.

“Grandson-in-law!”

“…”

The sudden appearance of a 6th circle wizard caused the eyes of everyone in the first-floor lobby to focus on her.

‘…Is that grandmother crazy?’

Many people who came to the Magic Tower for business were corporate executives, but there were also journalists and people from the hunter industry.

For the Pyromancer of Crimson Flames from the Seongbuk Choi clan to look for her granddaughter’s husband in front of such people?

It was only natural that people’s eyes would turn from Choi Yeong-ok to him.

As dozens of pairs of eyes focused on him in an instant, a faint smile appeared on Choi Yeong-ok’s lips.

‘…I should have worn a mask and hat.’

That old woman definitely wanted to spread the word that he was her granddaughter’s husband in front of everyone.

Given the circumstances, it seemed to be the case, but even so, he wondered why the Seongbuk Choi clan would go so far for someone like him.

There were so many men with better qualifications than him, so why him?

He felt a bit uneasy, but he smiled and approached Choi Yeong-ok.

“I’m sorry for not contacting you.”

“It’s alright. Wizards often lose contact for a month when they’re focused. Not to mention during a breakthrough in their cultivation.”

Although she said that, Choi Yeong-ok looked at Kang Hyeon-u with a surprised expression.

He really was at the 2nd circle, as she had hoped, and his magic power was quite stable compared to when they last met.

‘It’s hard to achieve that unless he’s been in actual combat.’

Choi Yeong-ok smiled.

She seemed to have chosen a good husband for her granddaughter.

“By the way, I didn’t expect my son-in-law to contact me first. Shall we go up to my workshop?”

Following Choi Yeong-ok, he arrived at her workshop on the 54th floor.

The enormous size of the entire floor made him realize Choi Yeong-ok’s position in the Magic Tower.

‘…It’s cleaner than I thought.’

He had imagined a wizard’s workshop to be a mess of magic materials and papers, but it looked like a normal office, except for the machines with unknown purposes scattered around.

“This is also used as a reception room. My main workshop is upstairs.”

“…Huh?”

“I use the entire 54th and 55th floors.”

He couldn’t help but be surprised by Choi Yeong-ok’s casual statement that she used two floors of the Magic Tower in the prime location of Seoul as her personal workshop.

‘I’m so jealous… I’m looking into loans because I don’t have enough for a deposit.’

As a wizard, he could get a hefty loan, but it was nothing compared to the building prices of the Gray Magic Tower and the wealth of the Seongbuk Choi clan.

“Ah, of course, our grandson-in-law doesn’t have to worry about anything. We’ll support you with a personal workshop.”

“Oh.”

The grandson-in-law of a prestigious family… it might be much better than he thought?

If the photo of her granddaughter he saw last time wasn’t heavily photoshopped to the point where her parents wouldn’t recognize her, he was all for it.

It was just the topic of marriage that felt a bit heavy.

“By the way, what brings our son-in-law here today?”

He bowed his head to Choi Yeong-ok, who was sipping her tea.

“First of all, I wanted to thank you for what you did last time.”

“Oh? Ah.”

The news article he saw while taking the taxi showed Assemblyman Jeon Jin-muk being pelted with rotten eggs by citizens and the backs of Jeon Hye-seong’s maternal relatives attending the prosecutor’s office.

“It was nothing, you don’t have to worry about it.”

Choi Yeong-ok waved her hand as if it was nothing, but honestly, taking down a member of the National Assembly and a powerful family in a region at the same time couldn’t be nothing.

“And family doesn’t bow their heads for such trivial things.”

“…But does your granddaughter know I’m going on a blind date with her?”

Honestly, that was the most suspicious part.

Would the eldest granddaughter of a family with wealth comparable to a conglomerate and an excellent bloodline as a magical family be happy to go on a blind date with a war orphan like him?

It was too improbable.

“…She knows.”

She only knew, but it didn’t seem like she had agreed to the blind date.

He couldn’t help but imagine getting slapped with water at the blind date.

He hoped it was just his paranoia.

“Ahem, ahem. So, did you come here to thank me for what I did last time?”

“Ah, that too, but I have another favor to ask.”

“A favor?”

The only magic he could currently use, apart from basic common magic, was elemental magic dealing with fire and lightning.

Lightning was powerful, but difficult to control.

On the other hand, fire wasn’t as powerful as lightning, but it boasted superior firepower compared to other elements and could be used in various situations.

“Could you teach me some magic?”

If he could control the fire element more skillfully and use more magic, he felt like he could see a path to the 3rd circle.