Red Cult (1)

Friday.

It was the day the written exams started at Iroaz Academy.

And it was also the day when all 3rd and 4th-year students were absent.

This was a regular schedule at Iroaz Academy. While 3rd and 4th years had theory classes, they didn’t take written exams.

The 3rd and 4th years’ schedules were filled with only practical exams to encourage their motivation for real combat.

It meant half of Iroaz Academy’s fighting force was away from the academy.

No, if students were also counted as fighting force, it was more than half.

It was true that on average, the higher the grade, the stronger they were.

And a villain group called the Red Cult had been waiting for a day like this.

A dim dark room.

And a bright red round table.

Red Cult (赤色敎團).

“The professor we’ve been working on for a year has agreed to participate in this.”

“We’ve infiltrated and pre-drawn the magic beast summoning array. It will activate with blood and sacrifices.”

“There are students we need to kill as top priority. The first is Rachel Walker. She’s the strongest second-year student and is evaluated as having the most exceptional talent among magic class students in the school.”

“And the second is this student. Lee Dojin. He’s a first-year freshman this year. He killed a New Human Society executive alone and overwhelmingly took first place in the mock dungeon exam. He doesn’t hesitate to deal with villains. He’ll become a terrifying existence as time passes. We must kill him now, while his talent hasn’t fully bloomed yet.”

“We must keep this in mind.”

Cult members wearing dark red coats were seated around the round table.

All cult members had a common red brand on the center of their foreheads.

The man sitting in the middle of the round table continued speaking.

“Preventing humans from climbing the Tower. That is our mission.”

Mission.

“And killing the academy’s sprouts before their talents fully bloom will be a great help to our grand cause.”

Surprisingly, the Red Cult knew about the existence of the Tower.

And they were trying to prevent people from climbing it.

“That is the will of our mother, Hexath.”

Reaching the 100th floor of the Tower.

Preventing humanity from ending the Tower and concluding the Great Change.

That was the mission of the demons who came to the present world through dungeons.

---

Second-year Magic Department Class 1.

American student Rachel Walker tied her long blonde hair tightly.

Rachel Walker was evaluated as the top magician among second-year magic department students.

In fact, if talent was included, she was evaluated as the top among magic class students of all grades, not just second-year magic department.

Golden Generation.

Four people whom Cecilia, the vice principal of the academy, considered geniuses among geniuses.

Rachel Walker was one of them.

Rachel quickly scanned her notes with blue eyes. It was the final check before the exam.

Creak-

The sound of the door opening was heard and a professor entered. He was a very familiar professor to Rachel and other magic department students.

It was Professor Woon Hyeongcheol, a 7th circle magician and an authority on lightning magic.

A neat face with gray hair and horn-rimmed glasses.

Rachel stared at him intently.

This former hunter, who was called ‘Heavenly Thunder’ unfittingly for a magician, always had a dark expression.

No, it was more like an expressionless face without any emotion.

But today, he had an even more inscrutable face than usual.

Professor Woon Hyeongcheol stepped onto the podium.

“Everyone sit in your seats.”

At Woon Hyeongcheol’s words, the students who were gathered in small groups returned to their seats.

Woon Hyeongcheol took something out of his spatial pocket. It was a spherical machine.

Woon Hyeongcheol placed the spherical object on the floor.

Rachel looked closely at that machine, wondering what it was, but couldn’t tell what it was.

Professor Woon Hyeongcheol flicked his index finger. A gentle breeze blew in the lecture hall.

Bang!

All windows closed at once.

“We’re not taking the exam today.”

Questions arose in the students’ eyes at Woon Hyeongcheol’s words.

“What?”

“What do you mean, Professor?”

A natural question.

Woon Hyeongcheol looked at the faces of the students and opened his mouth again.

“No, this could also be an exam.”

Blue lightning flickered in Woon Hyeongcheol’s hands.

“It’s a test of survival. From now on, survive against my attacks.”

Kwang!

A streak of lightning fell from the ceiling.

And that lightning fell straight onto the crown of a male student’s head.

“…What?”

The smell of burning flesh reverberated through the lecture hall.

As the blue light faded, the students could finally witness with their own eyes the devastation caused by the fallen lightning.

He had died instantly from the sudden lightning magic attack.

“Kyaaaah!”

“Uwaaaaah!”

Screams covered the lecture hall. Even among second-year students, those who could maintain composure in such a sudden situation were few.

After all, it was usually from the third year that students gained a lot of practical experience.

“Quiet.”

Only one female student remained standing tall.

It was Rachel Walker.

Korean words from an American’s mouth. But there was no sense of incongruity at all.

A voice that no one would find unpleasant to hear. Rather, it was such a beautiful voice that it would make people turn around out of curiosity about who was speaking.

“Professor Woon Hyeongcheol. I sense demonic energy from you.”

Professor Woon Hyeongcheol’s eyes widened in considerable surprise at those words.

As if wondering how she noticed that.

Rachel’s voice continued.

“How ignoble.”

“……”

The academy students opened their eyes and mouths wide, astonished at Rachel looking for ‘nobility’ in this situation. It was a quiet shock.

Professor Woon Hyeongcheol’s mouth slowly opened.

“Is that… some kind of characteristic of the Walker family?”

The Walker family.

They were a prestigious family in the American hunter world.

All members of the Walker bloodline were strong, so there were all kinds of rumors.

“It’s not a characteristic. I just found out through an artifact. Professor Woon Hyeongcheol. Did you join hands with the Red Cult?”

“Your deductive skills are excellent too. That’s right. I’ve become a member of the Red Cult.”

“How ignoble.”

Red Cult.

It was one of the villain groups like the New Human Society, rumored to have a demon as its leader.

“When you’re blocked by demonic energy, you lose your own will too. For a magician to lose self-awareness, it means becoming nothing.”

Rachel no longer even used honorifics.

“So that’s why you’re doing this insane thing now. Becoming a dog of the cult.”

Woon Hyeongcheol’s brow furrowed deeply.

“I haven’t lost my self-awareness. I got tired of this meaningless professor play and became skeptical of this unchanging world, so I gained some enlightenment at the cult I visited. To spread that enlightenment to this world…”

“That’s losing self-awareness. From the moment a magician draws a magic formula, trust only your own fingertips, only your own judgment─”

Red lightning rose from Rachel’s hands.

“These are my father’s words. Magician apprentice.”

Rachel’s father, Brian Walker, was one of the world’s top grand magicians.

Woon Hyeongcheol’s face, his pride completely scratched, was completely hardened.

“Now I’m starting to get curious. Rachel, your skills didn’t seem as great as your mouth.”

Blue lightning surged in both of Woon Hyeongcheol’s hands.

“Despair, be frustrated at your incompetence that can’t protect anyone.”

Kwagwagwagwang!

Seventeen streaks of lightning struck down simultaneously.

But a red wave surged and completely blocked the descent of the lightning.

And Woon Hyeongcheol’s blue lightning seeped into Rachel’s hands. Stem by stem, it was like a picture of returning to its original owner’s hands.

Woon Hyeongcheol’s eyes were filled with shock.

Rachel Walker’s blonde hair fluttered. An even bluer light flashed in her blue eyes.

The tiered lecture hall.

Rachel, standing at the back end of the lecture hall, was in a position where her gaze inevitably looked down on Woon Hyeongcheol on the podium.

“Professor.”

Woon Hyeongcheol was overwhelmed by Rachel’s noble gaze looking down on him.

It shouldn’t be like this.

It shouldn’t be this way.

That high position. That angle at which Rachel looked down on him didn’t feel out of place at all.

“Despair, for your vain delusions will not come true.”

The magic department students gulped.

The line full of chuunibyou syndrome sounded like a historic great quote when it came from Rachel’s beautiful voice.

Rachel threw the gathered lightning towards Woon Hyeongcheol. The current drew curves and fell on Woon Hyeongcheol in the form of dozens of whips.

---

“Ugh, I did memorize, but I crammed too much.”

Baek Hwayeon roughly grabbed her light pink hair with both hands.

“You’ll damage your hair.”

Lee Dojin grabbed her trembling hands and lowered them.

“…Dojin, did you study?”

“Yeah, Changhyung’s explanation was really helpful.”

Today’s exam was on Dungeon Exploration Theory.

Fortunately, he felt like he could easily score over 60 points.

If they could just get through today, it would be the weekend again. They would have time to review for the written exams on Monday and Tuesday next week.

“Ah, I shouldn’t have dozed off on Wednesday.”

The door of Class 1 opened.

A male professor and a female teaching assistant walked in.

“Please distribute the exam papers.”

Despite the professor’s words, the teaching assistant only placed the stack of exam papers on the desk on the podium, not moving her feet.

“Assistant Jin?”

The professor tilted his head.

The long-haired teaching assistant took out something very thin. It was a needle.

A bright smile spread across the assistant’s face.

“I will return to mother’s embrace.”

Puk-

The needle pierced into her index finger.

Drop!

A drop of blood fell onto the podium.

A circular blood-colored magic circle burst into light.

Crack-

A grotesque monster’s mouth popped out of the magic circle. It was the maw of a bizarre life form. The assistant’s body began to be chewed up, spraying a fountain of blood.

Crunch! Crunch!

Blood flowed down between countless teeth.

By the time the female assistant’s body was recognized as a lump of flesh rather than a body, the monster’s body had fully emerged onto the magic circle. It was a black monster approaching 4 meters in height.

Twelve huge eyes opened simultaneously.

The killing intent rising from the magic beast’s body was enough to shrink the minds and bodies of all the combat class 1 students.

“What is that?”

Except for one student.

Someone casually muttered while gripping a wooden sword.