Ch.2222 – RIP

My birthday was June 11th.

I’m not entirely sure, but does it really matter?

I just chose that date because it was when my first virtual reality login was recorded.

It might actually be earlier than that, but the difference probably isn’t significant.

Coincidentally, the day I was rescued from the capsule was also exactly June 11th. In other words, I was able to see the light of the world exactly on the seventh anniversary.

But June 11th wasn’t special because it was my birthday.

[No Seol-ah: February 21, 2022 ~ June 11, 2045.]

Since I couldn’t determine the exact date of Seol-ah’s death, I decided to make my birthday the same day her soul departed.

So I could remember her forever as I live on.

The columbarium was packed with urns containing ashes.

It’s unsettling to think that all the people enshrined here are no longer in this world.

Do their souls exist eternally in their families’ memories? Or is death itself the end?

Well, if they’re lucky, maybe they’ve been reincarnated in some fantasy world.

I stood there for a long time, praying that Seol-ah could receive eternal peace.

“There’s no photo.”

The other compartments for the deceased were nicely decorated with flowers or family photos besides the urns containing ashes.

It made me a bit sad seeing how bare Seol-ah’s compartment was.

“Next time I’ll bring you a gift.”

I left the columbarium with mixed feelings, wondering what Seol-ah would like.

The full moon was already high in the sky. Professor Cheon Kyu-jin got out of the car to welcome me.

“Your mother would be proud. Having such a brave daughter.”

“Do you think so?”

“Of course.”

While I was visiting Seol-ah, Professor Cheon must have stopped by a nearby food stall because he handed me a steamed bun.

“It’s hot. Blow on it before eating.”

“It’s delicious. This could work as dinner.”

“You didn’t order lunch today? Have you eaten nothing all day?”

“How did you know…?”

Did he hear my stomach growling right before getting in the car?

“I didn’t see any payment confirmation texts. I thought there might be an error, but you really didn’t eat anything.”

“I don’t eat much normally. Potions make me feel full anyway.”

“I don’t want to sound like a nag, but you need to eat properly to grow healthy. By the way, what you’re drinking is a potion, not medicine?”

“Yes, would you like to try some?”

“I thought potions were only for military mages. I didn’t know they sold them in pharmacies.”

That’s true. But drinking it all at once like that…

“Cough! Cough…! Huk cough cough!”

For a Po*ari Sw*at, it might be a bit strong.

Thank goodness the driving system was AI-controlled. Thirty years ago, this would have immediately caused a major traffic accident.

Professor Cheon continued coughing uncontrollably and was still clearing his throat with small coughs as if the sensation hadn’t left his tongue.

“Ahem… Do you have to drink this *cough* every day?”

“Professor, you’re being too dramatic. It’s not that bad.”

“Even so…”

It is bitter, but the potion’s effects give you a mood boost which is a plus.

I agree the aftertaste is hard to tolerate, but Professor Cheon showed an even more intense aversion beyond that.

“I suppose I should find you better potions. Ahem. Hmm.”

When we arrived home, it was already 8 PM.

Since neither of us had dinner, we stopped by a chicken place on the way and bought a fried chicken.

He set two plates and two cups on the table and took out a really cold-looking beer from the refrigerator.

“Pour me some too.”

“Huh?”

“Oh, is there an age restriction for drinking alcohol in Korea?”

I asked for a cup when I saw him only pouring for himself, but then I vaguely remembered the laws here.

“Have you ever had alcohol before?”

“No, of course not. I was talking about water.”

The smell of alcohol makes me want to drink after so long.

Old memories are coming back. But right now I should focus on the tempting chicken leg in front of me.

“Weren’t you bored all day?”

“I managed to entertain myself. Used the capsule in my room a bit. Did anything special happen with you, Professor?”

“Just signing off on final grades for university students and writing financial reports. Occasionally checking on our lab students’ research progress.”

“The chicken is really delicious. Thank you for buying it.”

“Oh come on, no need for such formal thanks… so awkward!”

Why didn’t they have food like this in my previous world?

I have the silly thought that perhaps the development of cuisine requires the fall of imperial houses and the rise of the bourgeoisie. If I’d known, I should have toppled the Kaizen Empire sooner.

“NoName, what was your previous school like? Aren’t you sad about leaving your friends behind?”

“Not really… I had one close friend who transferred away, and I was always alone after that. Do I really have to go to school?”

“Unfortunately, it’s compulsory education. If you’re okay with it, I’d like you to enroll in an academy. What do you think?”

“An academy?”

What does he mean by academy? Isn’t an academy just a school?

Seeing my confused expression, Professor Cheon explained about academies in Korea.

“Compared to regular schools, you could say they’re magic-specialized schools. As you probably know, you couldn’t learn various magical studies at the elementary school you attended, right?”

“At most, we just traced rune characters on paper.”

“Magic is a very expensive field of study. That’s why schools established by world-renowned magical foundations are specifically called academies. Here in Gangnam, the Cephiron Academy founded by the Cephiron Foundation is the most famous.”

“That’s interesting. Are there academies like that all over the country?”

“There are eight in total in our country.”

Based on my knowledge from my previous life, is this like each magic tower directly establishing academies in the capital?

Come to think of it, even the mighty Kaizen Empire could only establish two academies due to budget constraints. And those were always overflowing with talents gathered from all over the world.

“Well, if I have to go somewhere… an academy would be better.”

At least at an academy, I probably won’t have to pay every time I use magic.

I should look this up later.

“I think so too. Besides, when you draw magic circles, you use somewhat unusual grammar. Last time when I was grading, I even ran it through AI and still had a hard time translating everything. At the academy, you’ll probably learn the international standard rune grammar.”

“It doesn’t really matter much, but I definitely need to master it to read professional literature.”

“Right?”

“Did you attend an academy too, Professor?”

“Well, I…”

Professor Cheon put down his half-eaten chicken and seemed lost in memories.

“I attended Cephiron Academy until middle school. But it didn’t really suit me, so I left the academy and graduated from a regular high school.”

“For something that didn’t suit you, you’re now a professor at Korea University.”

“Haha, that’s true. You never know what the future holds.”

There seemed to be some circumstances behind it, but I decided not to pry further.

Besides, I recently learned that Korea University was the most prestigious educational institution in Korea, worthy of bearing the country’s name.

Furthermore, Professor Cheon was the Vice Dean of the College of Magical Studies and Director of the Theoretical Resonance Research Institute, so it really hit me that he was in a higher position than I thought.

“Cough! Ahem!”

Even though right now he’s just noisily picking at a chicken neck. Still, he’s a good person.

‘Academy… modern magic…’

It all piques my curiosity.

How advanced is magical studies compared to my previous life?

I wonder if any of the “Seven Challenges of the Magic Tower” have been solved here?

Even those people who did nothing but draw magic circles after meals really racked their brains over those problems.

Professor Cheon’s suggestion about enrolling in an academy stayed on my mind for a while.

* * *

“What do I need to do to enter an academy?”

“Huh? You want to go to an academy? Hey, jungle gank incoming, back off!”

“Technically it’s transferring, and I was told I don’t need to prepare anything.”

Since last week when Professor Cheon recommended I enroll in Cephiron Academy, NoName couldn’t get the academy out of her mind.

Sia and I briefly retreated to the fortress to catch our breath.

“High school transfers are super tough! Especially for high school, you need recommendation letters and have to go through three interviews from what I know!”

“What about middle school or elementary school?”

“Probably a bit easier, but you can’t transfer to an academy without recommendation letters in the first place. Are you planning to go? Or is it for someone you know?”

“I don’t know. Sia, we’re getting dived. Their mid is here too.”

“Huh? They’re doing a four-man dive at this timing?”

-Are they all snipers lol 😂😂😂 It’s like a fan meeting

-I’m a fan ^^

-I failed academy entrance exams for elementary, middle, and high school 😭😭😭

-So many academy fanboys these days. Regular high schools send plenty of students to good universities too

-There are only 8 academies but over half of prestigious university students come from academies, just saying

[Manager: Hey, this is a gaming stream, stick to game talk]

-But they brought it up first

-(This chat has been blocked – 600 seconds)

-Wow, they just reversed and killed 3 people lol 😂😂😂 Game’s over in 8 minutes

-NoName is truly legendary

-Hyebam only plays support so she really seems like a local, no challenger vibes

-Supports can’t carry in the current meta

-⬆️ It’s “can’t” idiot

“Whew. These guys are completely insane! They should know their limits – diving with no minions?”

“So for transferring, I just need recommendation letters and nothing else to prepare?”

“Huh? Oh… honestly I don’t know much about current admissions. I went to an academy but never saw a single transfer student in all three years.”

[‘grgrgrwen’ donated 5,000 won!]

-Hyebam, you went to an academy? How did I not know this?

“Eh? You didn’t know? Have I never mentioned it? I wasn’t trying to hide it.”

-So the rumors about Hyebam being a university goddess are true?

-Is this being reevaluated now?

-You’re not a military-service-completed high school girl, are you?

“Academies are great. Great but sooooo hard. During exam periods, anyone who sleeps more than 6 hours a day fails, no joke. College was actually easier for me.”

[‘misolasido’ donated 3,000 won!]

-But your GPA… ah, I’ll stop here

“Want to die?”

“This game is over.”

[TRIPLE KILL]

Sia joined late and surveyed the battlefield that wasn’t even that intense.

“Is this really Diamond/Master tier? If you hide the ranks, it looks like someone smurfing in Gold/Platinum.”

NoName agreed with her.

The entire enemy team seemed less than worthy of being called Masters.

“It’s because Asteria is broken.”

NoName still wanted to defend them a little.

-Enemy Calli has 76% winrate, 812 points Grandmaster last season lol 😂😂😂

-They’re getting destroyed without even being able to breathe, is this the dignity of Challenger?

-It’s not about Hyebam, NoName is just insane

-NoName’s montage videos dropped Asteria’s winrate to 41% lol 😂😂😂

-Is that champion garbage or broken??

In the end, it was impossible to turn public opinion around.

“Wow, 47 wins in a row is a first in my life. I think I understand why Riot removed duos.”

Sia scrolled through their recent match history.

Her alt account “IfSunnyFallsThenNightComes,” originally created to snipe low-tier streamers, had shed its yellow clothes and was now adorned with a brilliant Diamond I.

And now NoName’s ID was looking at Master promotion series.

[‘daerongherong’ donated 100,000 won!]

-500,000 won if you achieve Master with no losses!

“What? 500,000 won?”

Sia’s eyes widened at the appearance of a big spender offering an additional 500,000 won on top of the original 500,000 won for reaching Master.

“If someone was going to give 500,000 won from the beginning, there was no need to accept separate donations, huh?”

“Hey! You shouldn’t say things like that out loud!”

Sia covered NoName’s mouth to cut off her words.

“We were planning to do the promotion series tomorrow, but hmm. NoName, do you have time today?”

“I can play for about 2 more hours.”

“Two hours should be just enough to go win-win-win and barely make it. Alright NoName, let’s go for Master today!”

Sia changed the stream title. Her eyes were more determined than ever.

[NoName-Hyebam Invincible Tank Duo: Master Promotion Series _ _ _ _ _]