Chapter 59

Chapter 59

I Became the Only Non-mage in the Academy.

Episode 59: Usurper (2)

“Hmm.”

Ershil pursed her lips as she examined the documents.

They suggested that the alchemists were eager to collaborate with her mages.

The reason was straightforward.

A new figure, Veritas, had recently appeared.

This entity, Veritas, emerged suddenly, delivering lectures that sent the alchemists into a frenzy.

‘What’s so special about it?’

Ershil tapped the tablet to search for the video.

On the screen, a masked man was lecturing.

“Ah!”

Ershil couldn’t help but exclaim with each new revelation in the lecture.

The content was revolutionary. It talked about tuning magical power to awaken the abilities of materials, drawing out their opposite properties to create bombs, or transforming poison into an elixir.

Even for a magician, the lectures were extraordinary.

‘What do you think?’

-It’s impressive.

Ershil nodded in agreement with Melanie’s assessment. If magicians found it impressive, the alchemists must have been completely captivated.

-It’s probably on the level of the birth of circle magic.

‘…That significant?’

-Yes. This Veritas will be a pivotal figure for alchemists. The whole discipline of alchemy will likely evolve around him.

“Hmm.”

In that case, they needed to secure this entity’s allegiance.

The problem was that others aware of this were already making their moves.

Korea. And the USA.

Although the UK was renowned as the land of magicians, it was overshadowed by those two powers. Either of them could turn the world on its head if they chose to oppose her.

“Then, we’ll have to concede this time. Just instruct the subordinates to uncover the identity.”

Ershil stated this decisively and switched off the tablet.

-What are you saying?

‘What?’

-This Veritas. He’s someone you know.

‘…What?’

Melanie’s revelation left Ershil momentarily speechless, her face a mask of surprise.

-Lee Seo-ha. The man you’re interested in, that’s him, isn’t it?

‘…’

Ignoring Melanie’s teasing, Ershil stared at the screen.

Indeed. Even beyond the lecture, the man’s presence felt familiar.

Above all, the pressure emanating from this man named Veritas when he first appeared was immense. Although it was felt through the screen, Ershil had encountered such pressure before.

Lee Seo-ha.

It happened when she was selecting weapons. The moment he picked up the Black Heavenly Demon Sword, she experienced that same pressure.

‘He’s a curious person.’

Just when she thought she had him figured out, he revealed another facet.

Like just now. He was that kind of man. Like an onion, peeling back layer after layer only revealed more beneath.

“Then we must change our approach,”

Ershil said, issuing additional instructions.

After all, she had prepared a substantial gift to make Lee Seo-ha indebted to her. But now it seems insufficient.

After augmenting the gifts, Ershil smiled.

What expression will he wear? Will he simply nod as if it’s expected, or will he show surprise? She yearned to see a look of surprise, but he would probably behave as if it were all anticipated.

Ershil visualized this scene as she leaned back in her chair.

Where am I?

Hong Yu-hwa gazed at the sky with a dazed expression. It was clear, without a single cloud in sight. The sun blazed fiercely. Yet, her future seemed bleak.

“Time’s up,”

Lee Seo-ha declared with a faint smile.

Her entire body was in agony.

Muscle pain.

She had anticipated some physical demands in becoming a hero, but this sensation was novel. A feeling of pain that was evenly spread across all her muscles.

“Tired? You can rest if it’s too difficult,”

Lee Seo-ha offered in a gentle voice.

Hong Yu-hwa felt a surge of irritation, but her body refused to cooperate.

Physical training with Lee Seo-ha.

It was proving to be incredibly beneficial. Lee Seo-ha was tailoring the training of her muscles to her specific needs.

However, Hong Yu-hwa was puzzled. How did all this relate to unlocking her talents?

Annoyed, Hong Yu-hwa stood up.

“More training?”

A girl standing next to Lee Seo-ha, Seo Ga-yeon, inquired with a subtle edge to her voice.

With her black hair and eyes, she might have looked like an innocent girl, but to Hong Yu-hwa, she was nothing short of vexing.

“Yu-hwa is a magician, doesn’t physical training seem pointless?”

See?

There she went again, prodding at her pride with her insinuating tone.

But Hong Yu-hwa ignored Seo Ga-yeon’s words because she saw the anxiety hidden in her eyes.

‘I could give up.’

Then, Lee Seo-ha would adjust to Hong Yu-hwa, lowering the intensity and pushing her. And his expectations of her would drop.

Seo Ga-yeon knew her feelings well.

Jealousy.

Hong Yu-hwa possessed dazzling talent.

Proof of it lay in her ranking fourth in the Tower of Trials as a magician at the academy. A great talent met a great family. The Red Tower Master had been teaching her since she was five. In terms of magic, only Ershil could rival Hong Yu-hwa at this school.

So Lee Seo-ha’s help shouldn’t even be necessary.

Seo Ga-yeon concealed that feeling.

She enjoyed being noticed by Lee Seo-ha. She could do anything if only he looked at her. If he knew her feelings, it would trouble him. Seo Ga-yeon didn’t want to be a burden to him.

What could she do? She needed to try harder.

If she refined her star magic and achieved results, then Lee Seo-ha would look at her.

‘Is this okay?’

Meanwhile, Lee Seo-ha was watching Seo Ga-yeon and Hong Yu-hwa, contemplating.

It was good to bring Hong Yu-hwa for training, but the problem was agreeing to let Seo Ga-yeon join.

‘Jealousy?’

Seo Ga-yeon tended to be dependent.

It’s true that he had attached himself to awaken Hong Yu-hwa’s talent.

However, he didn’t want their relationship to sour because of Seo Ga-yeon’s jealousy.

Dislike.

He could sense a murky emotion, as if peering vividly into her heart.

– That’s strange.

– …What’s with that girl? How is she resonating with the Energy of Defying Heaven?

Eternal Heaven was puzzled.

‘Resonance?’

– Yes, she’s resonating with Master Seo-ha. This is really special.

Resonance, huh.

It was something he knew about as well.

There are magics whose wavelengths match unusually well.

Like Ershil’s Dream Magic and Melanie’s Reality Magic.

Though not yet introduced, there’s a hero who resonated with both Lightning and Flame Magic.

But Seo Ga-yeon’s magic his my energy were different.

Seo Ga-yeon’s magic was empowered by starlight.

He possessed the Energy of Defying Heaven, which rejected and negated all magic.

Could these resonate?

Yet, the vivid emotion he had just felt was indeed Seo Ga-yeon’s.

This was… something to look into.

Resonating would be good. It would allow combining two energies into a deadly technique.

Anyway.

Lee Seo-ha kept his eyes forward. Hong Yu-hwa exercised, her eyes blazing at him.

Hong Yu-hwa had a strong competitive spirit.

But sometimes it became unusually intense. She challenged him with this spirit, though she was not as exceptional as Ershil. And it never faded.

Was it the influence of her talent, The Usurper? Or perhaps that influence had created her talent.

‘It might be time for the next phase.’

The reason for physical training was simple.

To fulfill her subconscious wish.

‘Where was that appropriate Mine lair nearby?’

Lee Seo-ha recalled a suitable Mine lair in his mind.

Weekend, Saturday.

Weekends usually meant an empty school, but today was different. With final evaluations approaching, club activities ceased, and everyone stayed for self-study.

“Training again today?”

Hong Yu-hwa asked with a tired voice.

Lee Seo-ha nodded silently.

‘She seems quite exhausted.’

Now was the perfect time.

The Usurper was a sensitive topic for Hong Yu-hwa.

She was upright.

In competition, she chose her means and methods. She didn’t use the ways of an apostate.

She competed fairly, and if defeated, she gracefully conceded.

That was why she was popular. Her followers admired her for these traits.

But the Usurper contradicted her nature.

Usurpation.

The power to literally take from others.

That was why I had pushed her.

To her limit, to confront herself, as her talent responded to Hong Yu-hwa’s will.

“Let’s go for real combat instead of training today.”

“Real combat?”

“Yeah, it seems like the right timing.”

Especially since a big incident was going to occur after the final evaluations.

One of the villain groups, ‘The Brigade of Eternal Heaven’.

They would attack the Red Tower, leaving the Tower Master gravely injured.

Hong Yu-hwa also gets attacked, potentially endangering or taking her life.

As a player, I could only save Hong Yu-hwa.

But this time, I wouldn’t let it be.

A space shrouded in dark magic.

A figure on the throne watched a video.

The Heavenly Demon.

The video was obtained after their defeat. In it, a being with black wings that moved at will.

Heavenly Demon.

The being from the video. The noblest being worshipped by the Heaven Society. Called a demon that could cover the sky with evil.

This being was well-known.

Among some transcendents, it was said that Heavenly Demon possessed the power of the Energy of Defying Heaven, negating everything. It was said to be the negation of all existence.

There were no exceptions.

Whether a transcendent or a being who had shed its shell to gain alien powers.

-Is this being the one from the prophecy?

Though it asked so, it seemed not.

This being negates everything.

Magic, alien powers, special abilities. Not all mysteries, but it ignored the laws of the world and even those beyond. This being was not the one from the prophecy.

However, this being possessed a significant threat to them. Still at a student level, but its growth was rapid. Eventually, it would become a threat to their heart.

‘It doesn’t seem like a Supreme.’

It had ‘heard’ nothing about such a being with special powers. A Supreme was such an entity. Echoing its existence in the world and the world responding.

It was the same for the Mines.

No being could escape that law.

Dong-dong-dong.

Bells rang, despite being within the ‘Boundary’ created by a being hailed as a great hero in human history. It was not like there were actual bells here.

This was the law that manifested when a being ‘shed its shell’ and shook the world’s laws.

Supreme.

It meant a new Supreme had emerged.

-King.

A shadow rose, taking human form. Kneeling, it spoke to its king.

-One of the Brigade of Eternal Heaven has ascended to Supreme.

-Is that so?

-Should we use them?

-Hmm.

The Brigade of Eternal Heaven.

A group of villains whose strength differed from other Minions.

Most were Supreme or above. Now, probably all were Supreme or above.

-Yes. Send them a request.

The being known as King shifted his gaze.

-The request… Yes, this will do. Target Lee Seo-ha. It doesn’t matter whether he lives or dies.

The subordinate nodded at King’s command.