Episode 461. School Starts (3) [Revised and Re-uploaded]

Victoria Academy is basically a place that nurtures ability users.

Most students are in the combat major, but that doesn’t mean combat majors don’t need written classes.

Especially Dungeon Studies and Modern Hunter Studies taught things that were helpful even in the field, so even if the proportion of practical classes increased, they were still important subjects.

“It’s already been several weeks since the black pillars appeared. Research hasn’t progressed enough to put them in the curriculum yet… but they can’t be left out of Modern Hunter Studies, right?”

Dr. Kang Hyorin, who was conducting the Modern Hunter Studies class, looked at the students with a smile.

In Class A, the Modern Hunter Studies class was in full swing.

Classes right after the vacation ended? Even the professor herself dislikes it, so how much must the students hate it.

That emotion was clearly visible on the faces of the students attending the class.

Especially Lee Hoyeon, who was sitting between two pretty students. Anyone could see he was practically radiating boredom.

Kang Hyorin spoke to Lee Hoyeon, who was wearing a bored expression.

“Shall student Lee Hoyeon talk about the black pillars that recently appeared? Student Lee Hoyeon would probably be aware of the research on the black pillars, right? Do you happen to know about Professor Rental’s thesis on the relationship between dungeons and the black pillars?”

“…Yes. I know the related thesis. Shall I present it?”

“Hmm, no. I was just curious if you knew. Let’s all emulate student Lee Hoyeon’s research drive.”

Clap clap.

Kang Hyorin nodded at Lee Hoyeon’s answer and clapped.

The other students didn’t properly grasp the situation, but they clapped along with the mood.

Kang Hyorin, wearing a satisfied smile, observed Lee Hoyeon’s expression.

Although he still looked annoyed, he was surely happy on the inside.

She knew well that Lee Hoyeon was going around with Team Leader 1 for the research on the black pillars.

He would naturally have mastered a thesis of this level.

‘Irene-nim is discreetly approaching Lee Hoyeon.’

There was no way the great Irene, Team Leader 1, would contact Lee Hoyeon without a reason.

Unless she was perhaps dating Lee Hoyeon, it was clear she was aiming for guild recruitment.

Lee Hoyeon must be receiving Irene’s favor because he’s interested too.

‘If Lee Hoyeon joins the Iris Guild… he’ll probably join the Korean branch, right?’

Kang Hyorin also knew that his girlfriends were in Korea.

To go to the headquarters in France, Lee Hoyeon would probably want to stay in Korea. The possibility of him joining the Korean branch is high.

Building up favorability with a future junior like this in advance is what professional life is all about.

Kang Hyorin scanned the students who were clapping.

Look at the gazes of the other students who were looking up to Lee Hoyeon because of her praise.

She knew well how students of that age group felt.

Even if they acted shy on the outside, they’d naturally feel good about it.

Kang Hyorin continued the class, satisfied with her professional life.

‘Why is that person looking at me with those kinds of eyes?’

Lee Hoyeon frowned and looked at Kang Hyorin’s back.

It felt unpleasant somehow, the way she occasionally looked at me while smiling.

It’s bothersome enough to receive unnecessary attention from being praised, so why does she keep glancing at me?

‘…No. It’s possible. Let’s think a bit more positively.’

Lee Hoyeon shook his head back and forth.

Lately, maybe because I’ve been busy, I might be viewing the world too negatively.

That person was always strange.

She probably acted without much thought, since we’re just acquaintances.

Scratch scratch.

Lee Hoyeon looked at Kang Hyorin’s back as she returned to the lesson and scribbled something in his notebook.

• Emotion Control….

These days, Lee Hoyeon was doubting himself.

Although he never doubted his abilities, when it came to emotion control, he might need to.

‘…Am I that bad at acting?’

All the women said in unison that his emotions showed on his face.

No matter how much I think about it, it’s not that bad, you know.

“Lee Hoyeon. What are you thinking so hard about?”

“Huh? Ah. I was thinking about the thesis.”

“Lies. You had a sad face? Were you thinking about that sad movie we talked about earlier?”

“…That’s actually right.”

“How are you in first place when you don’t even attend class every day? It’s unfair.”

Lucy pouted, ‘Tsk tsk,’ and twirled her pencil.

Seeing that reaction, Lee Hoyeon closed his mouth and pondered.

‘…I got caught again.’

The upcoming fake dungeon plan.

The details of the plan were almost all worked out.

First, create a huge dungeon that kidnaps everyone in the academy.

Inside the dungeon, they cannot use magic smoothly due to the influence of the black pillars.

However, the magic array constituting the dungeon belongs to Lee Hoyeon.

Therefore, Lee Hoyeon can use magic to some extent by utilizing the dungeon’s magic power.

A dramatic situation created from that difference.

The best outcome would be saving the heroines through Lee Hoyeon’s sacrifice. Or rescuing the kidnapped heroines.

‘It would make for a better picture if I sacrificed myself, right?’

It seemed like a good situation: create an enemy so strong they couldn’t be opposed, and have Lee Hoyeon sacrifice himself to save the heroines.

The exact details would be decided based on the atmosphere inside the dungeon… but for now, that was the most likely scenario.

‘There’s nothing more ridiculous than having everything prepared and then getting caught because of my expression.’

Lee Hoyeon didn’t want to get caught like that either.

‘Should I hide my expression with magic? I don’t want to waste magic power on that… Or maybe I should try learning an assassin’s poker face from Scarlet.’

The magic array was perfect, so he didn’t want to miss out on such a trivial detail.

Just a little more.

It would be good if it were just a tiny bit more stable….

“Huh?”

Just as Lee Hoyeon was feeling a pang of disappointment.

Suddenly, he started feeling a pain in his chest.

Clutching his chest from the pain that made him frown, Lee Hoyeon looked down at his own brightly shining heart area.

‘…What is this? Why now….’

---

[Emotion Amplification]

Uses surrounding magic power to provide sensory stimulation, amplifying the emotions of targets within range.

It can be applied to all living beings except the user themselves.

However, it can only amplify emotions they originally possessed, and can only be used on negative emotions.

---

Before Lee Hoyeon could grasp the situation, a message window appeared before his eyes.

“…What the.”

“Hoyeon-ssi, what’s wrong?”

“No, right now….”

Lee Hoyeon looked into Lumi’s bright, clear eyes and closed his mouth.

Light was still leaking from his chest.

Seeing that she wasn’t interested in this light, it was probably right to assume it was only visible to him.

‘…A gift?’

Lee Hoyeon suddenly recalled the gift the God of Betting had given him.

The gift he had given to his heart.

Quite some time had passed since he received it, but there was no information until now.

Is this the gift?

‘And that thing comes out right now, of all times?’

It wouldn’t come out no matter how much magic power he put into it when he was home alone, but it popped out during class.

Lee Hoyeon asked Lumi, who was tilting her head, for understanding, then read the message before his eyes.

Amplifying emotions with magic power… what does this mean?

‘It’s a bit awkward to experiment right now… Let’s try it later.’

Since I received it, I guess I have to use it.

Lee Hoyeon vaguely went through the class, waiting for time to pass.

*

“How nice would it be if they just gave it generously once.”

After class ended.

Walking towards Professor Im Sol’s lab, Lee Hoyeon pressed his chest firmly, making an uncomfortable expression.

The gift from the God of Betting, [Emotion Amplification].

He had tried experimenting in various ways while walking around the academy, but even after using it, he couldn’t really get a feel for it.

In the first place, he didn’t understand the point of amplifying only negative emotions.

If there had been even just a fighting couple, he might have tried…

‘No, that’s probably not right. Because it amplifies negative emotions.’

It’s not that he didn’t understand the God of Betting’s position.

What Lee Hoyeon was doing was a bet conducted with the god of this world, [Sex Academy].

From the position of a mediator, he couldn’t give a gift that would undermine fairness, could he?

Giving such a gift was already preferential treatment.

“…I understand, but then at least give me a manual.”

Lee Hoyeon complained and entered the magic institute.

When he came during the vacation, there were almost no people, but perhaps because school had started, there were quite a lot of people inside the building.

Familiarly passing the lobby, Lee Hoyeon boarded the elevator.

There wasn’t really a specific reason for coming to see Professor Im Sol.

If I had to think about it, it was to ask about practical sparring.

However, it wasn’t a particularly important matter. I just came to see her face.

“Should I try using Emotion Amplification on Sol?”

It didn’t have much effect on passersby, but if it’s just the two of us, it would be easy to check the effect.

Besides, I can also directly induce emotions.

“If I use it on Sol, I’ll also be able to know if I get caught… Hmm. Sounds good.”

As it’s a skill that uses magic power, I should check it beforehand, right?

Ting-

The elevator arrived on the 2nd floor, and familiarly entering the lab, Lee Hoyeon found Im Sol sitting in her seat.

She was doing research, touching magic tools as always.

“Professor-nim! I’m here!”

“Yeah. I thought you would come, and you really did.”

As soon as Lee Hoyeon entered, Im Sol stopped her research and snapped her fingers.

A coffee cup and kettle flew from mid-air, automatically brewing coffee, while cookies and chocolates automatically unwrapped themselves and appeared on the desk.

Lee Hoyeon sat on the reception sofa and received Im Sol’s hospitality.

‘My treatment has gotten better.’

Originally, she wouldn’t stop her research even when he came, but now she lets him sit on the reception sofa without him even having to ask.

It was natural to feel good about that.

★ Heroine Status Window

[Im Sol]

• [ Affection: 99 ]

• [ Lust: 70 ]

• [ Appetite: 33 ]

• [ Fatigue: 40 ]

Current Status: Seeing that you came to the lab from the first day, you really are my student.

Lee Hoyeon nodded while looking at Im Sol’s status window.

Her Affection was still 99, but looking at the status, he could clearly feel the affection.

Perhaps the remaining 1 would increase the moment he perfectly wins over Im Sol.

“I just came because I missed you, Sol noona. Is that okay?”

“Of course. You always did.”

Lee Hoyeon thought while watching Im Sol eat chocolate in front of him.

Using Emotion Amplification on Im Sol was good, but how to use it was the problem.

Because it’s a skill that amplifies only negative emotions, Lee Hoyeon has to create the situation himself.

Moreover, he had to check the ability’s effect and stealth.

Still, Im Sol was a good test subject. Because even if he got caught, he could just make excuses that it was a new magic.

Im Sol, who was serious about magic, would probably forgive him generously.

“… Sol noona. Do you know what 20% of Victoria Farm’s income is? The answer is quail eggs. Because ‘2할’ (20%) sounds like ‘매출 2할’ (sales 20%).”

As always, Lee Hoyeon spouted nonsense and observed Im Sol’s reaction.

If it were the usual Im Sol, she surely would….

“Speaking of which, did you see the black pillars?”

“Uh, yes. I saw them.”

“I went there myself too, and the movement of magic power was incredibly difficult. I wonder if researching magic there would yield different results… Want to try it later?”

Im Sol smiled as always and picked up some chocolate.

She ignored Lee Hoyeon’s joke and continued talking about what she wanted to say, but surprisingly, this was the same reaction as usual.

Maybe I should try using Emotion Amplification this time.

Lee Hoyeon moved the surrounding magic power.

“Sol noona. If an owl falls into the water, do you know what happens? The answer is ‘cheom-bu-eong cheom-bu-eong’.”

Lee Hoyeon threw out the joke, amplifying negative emotions.

But even looking at it myself, this joke was funny, so would this be effective?

“Hoyeon, what did you just say?”

“Huh?”

But contrary to Lee Hoyeon’s thoughts, Im Sol’s expression immediately furrowed.