Chapter 400

Chapter 400

Chapter 72: Heading Home (1)

The sudden war that had trammeled upon humanity’s daily life had ended.

There was worldwide damage, and time quickly flowed by as humanity worked to recover it.

It had been a year and two months since the official declaration of the war’s end.

Although the remnants of war still lingered in various parts of the world, more people than expected were returning to their normal lives.

As evidence, more than half of the countries had resumed entrance exams.

Korea was no exception.

The college entrance exam, which had been impossible to conduct immediately after the war, was being held once more.

“Are both of you ready?”

“I’ve packed everything!”

“Me too. Let’s go, Jaehyuk hyung.”

Hyunwoo’s younger siblings, Jinwoo and Yeonwoo, set off at dawn, bearing the identity of exam takers.

They got in the car driven by Seo Jaehyuk and headed to the exam site.

Both of them were silent, lost in the contemplation of the time they had built up for this day.

The twins originally should have taken the entrance exam last year.

But unexpectedly, they had to retake the year.

Of course, they didn’t have much regret about that.

‘Last year wasn’t a time when the exam system could function properly.’

The declaration of the war’s end had come at the end of September last year.

It was a time when global disasters and unquantifiable damages were scattered everywhere.

After the Holes disappeared, it took over a month just to clean up the monsters left on Earth.

The number of deceased was staggering, and the infrastructure that collapsed back then had yet to be fully restored.

In such circumstances, it was impossible to meticulously take into account the situations of exam takers, who were only a part of the entire population.

Therefore, there was no resentment.

‘Honestly, last year there were many days when I couldn’t focus because of the war.’

I was somewhat prepared in my heart for retaking the exam, as there was an awareness of not having met some learning goals.

Yet this year, after preparing once again with renewed determination, I was confident of achieving good results.

As the twins steadied their minds for the day, seo Jaehyuk, who was in the driver’s seat, glanced at the rearview Mirror and asked,

“Are you nervous?”

“A little?”

“It’d be a lie to say I’m not at all.”

At their expected response, seo Jaehyuk chuckled lightly and said,

“That’s not bad. Being appropriately—”

“Appropriate nervousness prevents mistakes.”

Before he could finish, Jinwoo filled the empty space with his words.

“Oh, as expected of Kang Hyunwoo’s brother.”

The statement Jinwoo had just finished was one of Hyunwoo’s sayings. Keeping just the right level of nervousness was helpful when facing important matters.

‘But staying controlled in the face of nervousness is also important.’

Not overdoing or underdoing anything but maintaining an appropriate level in everything.

Whenever he had the chance, Hyunwoo had always taught the twins that way.

Yet, today, Hyunwoo was not there to say those words.

So Seo Jaehyuk took the initiative to say what needed to be said.

‘Since that stubborn friend requested it, I should take care of things.’

Seo Jaehyuk calmly reassured the twins he saw in the rearview Mirror.

“With your skills, you’ll do great as long as you do the same as you usually do.”

“Yes!”

“Got it.”

A few light exchanges later, the vehicle stopped near the exam site.

“Tiffin, exam slip, and what else….”

The twins meticulously checked themselves to make sure they were not leaving anything behind and then stepped out of the vehicle.

Seo Jaehyuk, who got out with them, spoke after a moment of contemplation.

“Focus only on the exam and don’t worry needlessly, okay?”

He feared that worrying about Hyunwoo might distract them, but—

“What is there to worry about?”

Yeonwoo tilted her head in confusion and asked back. Then as if she realized something, she let out a short exclamation.

“Oh, our brother?”

“Uh… yeah, right?”

Seo Jaehyuk had thought that the twins, though not showing it, were still worried about Hyunwoo, who had yet to return.

However, he himself was anxious and thus couldn’t readily broach the subject to console them.

He wasn’t in a position to discuss it.

After all, he had no idea about Hyunwoo’s current state or whereabouts.

He couldn’t give a firm assurance that he would surely return, as he knew nothing.

He had avoided bringing up this subject for fear that he might unsettle the two, who were managing their emotions well.

Since today was important for them, he intended to give them solace, even if it meant lying and saying Hyunwoo would surely return.

Thankfully or regrettably, it didn’t seem a necessary comfort for the twins.

“Our brother is alive. Knowing that means he’ll return one day.”

“So we’re not worrying about him.”

“Given his personality, it’s unlikely he’s struggling somewhere.”

“He promised to return; he’ll come back when it’s time. So…”

The twins exchanged glances and smiled widely.

Then they left a word for Seo Jaehyuk, who seemed more anxious than themselves.

“You shouldn’t worry.”

“You shouldn’t worry.”

Hyunwoo was alive. Several pieces of evidence proved it, so there was no reason to tremble in worry.

“We’re off, then!”

“Thanks for driving us, oppa!”

With that, the twins thanked Seo Jaehyuk and headed toward the exam site.

He was worried they might be unsettled during the exam out of concern for Hyunwoo, but fortunately, that didn’t appear to be the case.

“Do well!”

Seo Jaehyuk waved them off with a lighter heart and got back into the vehicle.

He had left early to avoid being late, so when he returned home, it was just a bit past 8 o’clock.

Seo Jaehyuk went straight to turn on the TV.

With a few pushes of the remote, the news channel appeared.

‘The college exam news must have been the first report to go.’

Just as the screen changed, the announcer moved on to a new report.

『Next is the news about a drunken brawl at the reconstruction site in Insadong on the night of the 15th, which caused…』

『The war damage, even after one year today, is still being repaired…』

『The United Nations has announced it is working more closely with the Mage Association to resolve Earth’s climate issues…』

『The price of spirit stones has skyrocketed, leading to the formation of illegal trade markets…』

『New artifacts by the dwarves, also known as the small folks…』

『Currently, in Bihar, discussions are underway regarding the habitat of the Beastfolk, as well as the fairy and other Demi-humans…』

Reconstruction, mages, spirit stones and dwarves, and all the Demi-humans involved.

Every bit of news felt unfamiliar and awkward.

Stories I’d heard fewer times than not in my entire 28 years.

These would be the future I would live from now on.

War had unexpectedly claimed humanity’s everyday life, and the world had changed.

Seo Jaehyuk was realizing anew, day by day, as time passed.

‘When I heard the evacuation order from Seoul, it truly sent a chill down my spine.’

During the time military personnel escorted us out of Seoul under martial law, I had endless streams of thoughts running through me.

Having only my ID and some food in hand, it definitely felt like I was being driven out of my home with nothing but my bare essentials.

Anxiety, fear, worry, and sadness.

The memory of that day, over a year and two months ago, left a fairly large scar.

Of course, the period during which we wandered like refugees, with neither a house nor a home, wasn’t long.

Thankfully, seo Jaehyuk and his family soon returned home and resumed their everyday life.

Some of the stories that seeped into that daily life were unfamiliar and awkward.

But they would soon settle in as the new norm.

Even though the one who made them possible was absent from the place.

“What’s keeping you so long…?”

Seo Jaehyuk sighed deeply as he looked at the empty spot of his lifelong friend.

Had he given any glimmer of when he’d be back, it’d be easier to wait for him.

That friend, past and present, was a free spirit.

“If only that made it more like him….”

Still, it would be nice if he returned to his family soon.

* * *

“…… Do you perhaps lack intelligence?”

Kim Yul bit his lip at the relentless insult raining down on him from above his head.

It was truly frustrating, but there was no room for rebuttal, leaving him unable to argue.

All he could do was clench his lip and glare at the shadow of Ahel at his feet.

That was all the rebellion Kim Yul could manage.

At the sound of another sigh, anger welled up within him, but—

“Why on earth can’t you manage this?”

He shrank back immediately under the subsequent reproach.

Swallowing the urge to cry, Kim Yul thought.

‘If you ask why something doesn’t work, what am I supposed to say?’

He wallowed in self-pity, wondering why he had to endure this torment.

As he began lamenting his situation, he traced back to the origin of all these events.

It had started when he was dispatched to support the Mage Association of Biharin under the Player Association’s direction.

Installing a magic circle to resolve Earth’s peculiar climate seemed quite intriguing.

And it was an excellent opportunity to shed new light on the necessity of players whose roles had diminished after the war.

So, with a light heart, he visited the Mage Association.

‘I should have run when I had the chance.’

Knowing he would end up leading a life indistinguishable from slavery for the next few years as a consequence of missing that chance—

I would have feigned stupidity and fled!

“Sigh, every second we waste like this is precious. Let’s start over.”

Swallowing tears of blood, Kim Yul sat atop the half-formed magic circle.

“Well… so… here it should be in Garma letters….”

“That’s Heman script. Garma has the end tail pointing up. Both scripts have different mana structures and operations required to be shaped. What on earth is in that head of yours that you still haven’t memorized all of it?”

As soon as he resumed work, more reprimands followed, and Kim Yul bit his lip again.

Seething with rage, he glared at Ahel’s shadow with eyes full of loathing.

He thought if he included that annoying face in his gaze, a bloodbath might ensue, unable to bear it any longer.

To prevent that, he glared at the shadow rather than the face.

Kim Yul, filled with grievances, sorrow, and bitterness, stared daggers at the shadow, willing it to shred.

Did that person not genuinely consider it a problem with the subtle differences in the height of each character’s tail?

‘And it’s not just this one kind of issue.’

Out of thousands of characters, several hundred possessed such similar forms.

Yet, the required mana arrangement and quantity to craft each character was vastly different.

To construct a magic circle, one needed in-depth familiarity with related content.

However…

‘How can a human possibly memorize all this perfectly?’

If only they had designed it distinct and separate from the start, wouldn’t that have been much better?

Though my heart was brimming with confrontational desires—

‘Other mages, including that person, managed to memorize them all…’

Confronting them would only render oneself pitiful.

Particularly before Ahel, maintaining utmost caution with words was paramount.

From what he experienced, that side truly belonged to the genius category.

If there existed anyone who grasped ten things when taught one, it would symbolize a person like Ahel.

What good would complaining about lacking intelligence and needing technological supplementation before such a person do?

‘Perhaps I’d be subjected to another few days of protracted lessons.’

Merely staying silent and tentatively wielding mana as instructed was better than facing that outcome.

‘Damned, damned.’

Suppressing curses, Kim Yul delved back into the work of magic circle installation.

In the magic circle installation task, where both Biharin-origin mages and Earth-born players were largely involved,

The players’ level of knowledge was the biggest hurdle in this collaboration.

Those without understanding in related studies couldn’t complete the magic circle installation within a short time.

It was a complex and challenging task to create the magic circle.

One needed the knowledge to comprehend the special characters and their composition,

An incredibly detailed mana control skill that would naturally bring tears to one’s eyes,

And lastly, a vast amount of mana for the construction and activation of the magic circle.

All these three aspects had to be thoroughly aligned.

‘But there’s unlikely anyone who’s studied magic science or magic circle characters among the players.’

Damned System.

**New Characters & Elements:**

– 진우 = Jinwoo(he)

– 연우 = Yeonwoo(she)

– 서재혁 = Seo Jaehyuk(he)

– 아헬 = Ahel(na)