Episode 20: Prologue Ends

“Whew… Alright, as promised, I won’t ask anything about that strange thing in the hospital room.”

“Thank you, Chairman-nim.”

My gradually recovering body-I can clearly feel my limbs moving with complete ease now.

I should be discharged soon to discuss company matters with Deok-bae, and I also have a dinner appointment with Thomas Andrea, who wants to purchase additional potions after the first batch proved effective…

-Gwaaaah…!

“Hey, are you sure you won’t join our guild? With your talent, I could see you succeeding me as the leader of the Golden Guild~”

Unfortunately, my entire body is still wrapped in Eve’s iron chains, so even if I’m fully healed, I can’t break free.

‘Seriously, if it weren’t for Cheonma-ssi… I would’ve been in big trouble.’

Eve Maitner, driven half-mad by my repeated refusals, tried to force my restrained body to stamp the guild registration form, but Cheonma, who had just returned from feeding Nectar to someone, appeared in the hospital room just in time. Thanks to that, I narrowly avoided the “Graduate Student Ending” a few hours ago.

“Well, clinging to someone who’s already recovered would just make me look desperate.”

“That seems to be the case.”

“We’re still meeting every Sunday, right?”

“Yes, I still don’t know how to properly handle this power yet.”

My body feels lighter. Looking down, I see Eve’s chains lying on the floor, now released.

-Ding!

“I should head in now. Need help with the discharge procedures?”

This is the Golden Guild’s healing room. Since I, a non-member, received treatment here, the procedures are bound to be complicated.

Unlike government-run clinics with fixed fees, guild-operated recovery rooms can demand whatever they want as payment.

Technically, I did defeat Shena, who had been defeated by Eve, saving her life. But if it weren’t for me, Eve would’ve just wiped Shena out with her highest-level lightning magic. Still, I doubt I can use that to negotiate free treatment.

‘I don’t have any potions in stock…’

The value of saving the Demon Sword’s disciple with Nectar is too great to waste on something like this.

‘I got an S-rank hero’s support for free-I can’t possibly use such a huge favor for something this trivial. Absolutely not.’

This enormous debt I owe him must be saved for a more critical moment, so for now, I’ll have to break through this situation on my own.

For now, the only things I can offer are money or potions from the Yuseong Group.

Since I was suddenly dragged into the Gate incident, they might go easy on me… or so I thought.

“Ah, the guild leader said not to charge you for treatment. You’re free to go home as you are.”

“…Ah, thank you.”

“The Golden Guild always welcomes talented heroes. If it benefits Cadet Yun Se-ah, we can assure you it will never be to your detriment.”

Now that I think about it, Chairman Eve, who rescued me from a life-threatening emergency, provided hospitalization and treatment, overlooked the information about my eyes, and could have extorted a fortune but chose to waive the fees, seems truly remarkable.

-Vroooom…!

As soon as I stepped out of the Golden Guild after being discharged, a black sedan was parked in front.

[Deok-bae-ssi]

[Young miss, please board the car parked ahead.]

“How considerate.”

A modest four-seater sedan. It seems he bought a new car after I complained about the two-seater we used last time.

‘Couldn’t he just use one of the cars he got from Yun Seong-ho?’

There were already way too many-enough to warrant a selection process-so maybe I should just sell them all.

[Welcome, young miss. Please input your destination.]

“…Please take me home.”

[Understood. Resetting destination… Estimated travel time: 40 minutes. Would you prefer autonomous or manual driving…]

“Autonomous, please.”

“Then I’ll ensure a comfortable ride to your destination, young miss.”

‘Judging by the interior and features… this is 100% custom-made.’

Burning company money like this… I’ll have to give him an earful later.

…

…

…

-Clank, clank…!

[“Next station…”]

A lot of time has passed.

The heavy snowfall has stopped, the New Year’s Eve bell-ringing event with a slew of celebrities has concluded successfully, and the cold winter air has begun mixing with warm spring breezes. The end of winter break is approaching.

[Raon Academy: The Greatest Golden Generation Enrolling Soon? From the Demon Sword’s Hidden Disciple to a Flood of Talents Applying from Abroad!]

“Raon Academy’s first-years are naturally the protagonists of the story. Of course they should be the golden generation.”

Without a golden generation, the grueling story ahead would be impossible to navigate smoothly.

‘…Status window.’

Information

Name: Yun Se-ah

Age: 19

Alignment: Good, Chaotic

Skill List

Psychokinesis (A)

Can freely manipulate psychokinetic energy

Recovery (S)

Can perfectly heal any injury, though pain is still felt

Dulled Senses (B)

Due to prolonged experiments, pain is barely felt

Great Fortune (S)

All your actions have a high chance of being blessed with luck

Stats

Physical Strength: B

Defense: C+

Magic Power: A+

Stamina: D

Agility: B+

Luck: S

‘Visiting the National Cemetery paid off.’

The Jeju Island Raid, once dubbed “The Greatest Calamity to Befall South Korea,” remains the Dungeon Break with the highest casualty count in the country and one of only fifteen S-rank Gates to have occurred worldwide.

Thanks to the efforts of then S-rank heroes Eve Maitner, Cheonma, and Kang Jinmyeong, the Gate was successfully sealed, but countless A-rank and lower heroes perished. Even mentioning it is somewhat taboo, and it will likely remain so.

The fallen were all honored as national martyrs and buried in the National Cemetery. I visited and inherited their legacy.

Unlike limited-quota hidden pieces, the ones here were practically handed out like photocopies to those who met the requirements-a generous hidden piece. I’ll have to bring the main characters here later, but I’ll think about that another time.

Inheriting the legacy wasn’t an issue. With Dulled Senses (B), the quest was a breeze for me.

The condition was to experience the pain the heroes endured during the Jeju Island Raid.

Thanks to Recovery (S), I survived fatal wounds that would’ve killed an ordinary hero hundreds of times over. Before enrolling in the academy, I read a guide stating that obtaining this skill beforehand would drastically lower the difficulty, so I recklessly entered the dungeon and died hundreds of times to clear the quest.

‘Shame I couldn’t no-hit clear it.’

If I hadn’t taken Eve Maitner’s fatal attack at the end, I could’ve no-hit cleared it. A slight regret.

Still, getting Great Fortune (S) before the original story begins is a relief.

“This year’s freshmen… First, the protagonist and…”

The original protagonist. Unfortunately, I don’t know their name-it’s player-customizable.

Hanae Sakura, a shrine maiden who transferred from a Japanese academy.

Seong Arin, who would later succeed Eve Maitner as an S-rank magic hero.

These were the names of the main characters enrolling at Raon Academy.

‘I only remember the names of the main heroines. I’ll have to recall the others.’

For second-years, the key figures are me and Kang A-yul, Kang Jinmyeong’s granddaughter.

Third-years? None at all.

-Clunk!

The seat jolted slightly.

‘The tracks always bump here.’

[“Next station: Raon Academy. Raon Academy Station. Doors will open on the right…”]

I think I’ve prepared fairly well.

Well then…

‘Is this the beginning of the original story?’

To return home, I’ll make sure this story ends with a happy ending.

No matter what it takes.