Chương 92: 506
[Chapter 138]
[Another Strategy (4)]
Academy students can modify their schedules for a month after the semester starts.
As a result, students freely took classes for a month.
The same was true for Choi Eun-hyuk.
Yeah, I need to drop this.
Now I understand why the kids said to never take this instructor's class.
Elective course: Principles of International Mana Management Organization Administration.
Eun-hyuk decided to cancel the course without hesitation looking at the screen full of text.
He deeply regretted rashly signing up for the class in a momentary burst of academic enthusiasm.
"It was my mistake to think I'd take an impressive-sounding class when I'm not even going to the Mana Management Organization... I should have taken a combat-related class instead..."
Choi Eun-hyuk slipped out of the lecture hall without catching the instructor's eye.
Eun-hyuk who came out to the hallway decided to spend time somewhere until his next class started.
I wonder what the others are doing.
The boss said earlier he was going to class with Soo-bin...
Eun-hyuk checked the group chat.
It seems Eun-woo and others with free time are resting at the culture center cafeteria.
Thinking this was perfect timing, he decided to head to the culture center.
Just as he was about to move—
"—Honey, where are you going?"
"...Oh, Gu-rae. I just dropped a class and am on my way out."
"You too? I was just about to come out after dropping one too."
He happened to run into Bong Gu-rae.
He exchanged conversation with Gu-rae who approached from behind.
Bong Gu-rae was also going to the culture center to kill time, he says.
Eun-hyuk decided to go together with him but was inwardly wary.
He had to be wary.
I have ears too.
Did he think I wouldn't have heard the rumors about Gu-rae...
Since Bong Gu-rae confessed himself.
Now the academy students knew well what kind of person Bong Gu-rae was.
As a result, Eun-hyuk didn't know how to deal with him.
Though he was acting as calm as possible, he unconsciously became cautious.
The boss said to think of Gu-rae as a capable sniper, but that's easier said than done...
Even within the so-called No Eunha faction.
The friends' attitudes towards Bong Gu-rae varied.
First, the girls didn't seem to care much.
Rather, they even praised him saying he was the only guy they could converse well with.
There were some like Cha Eun-woo who were interested in someone like Bong Gu-rae.
The problem was that the male students' attitudes varied.
"Honey, are you trying to make this time a free period then?"
"I'm considering taking a class for now. I don't lack credits but I think it's better to take classes in advance when I can. What about you?"
"I need to take one because I lack credits. So I was looking for a new class to take."
Jin Pa-rang had no thoughts.
Kang Si-hyung and Yoo Do-jun were quite open-minded people.
Mok Min-ho's stance was that he didn't care much as long as no harm was done.
Lee Cheon-seo openly showed disgust.
Choi Eun-hyuk himself could be said to be similar to Mok Min-ho if he had to say.
But the difference from Mok Min-ho was—
—What if he...
Choi Eun-hyuk outwardly took the same stance as Mok Min-ho, but inwardly he was trying to avoid getting close to Bong Gu-rae as much as possible.
Doubts kept arising.
Wondering if perhaps Bong Gu-rae thought of him romantically.
In a way, he could be said to be standing between Mok Min-ho and Lee Cheon-seo.
"Then honey, if you're thinking of taking another class, want to try taking one together with me?"
"...Huh? Uh uh? Uh, that..."
Honestly, Choi Eun-hyuk found it awkward to deal with him.
It was the same now.
Bong Gu-rae suggested.
Eun-hyuk who received the sudden suggestion immediately took a defensive posture.
"I-I'll think about it..."
"Hmm..."
Choi Eun-hyuk psychologically backed away.
Then Bong Gu-rae who had been chattering and matching his pace suddenly turned his head.
He looks at Eun-hyuk.
Choi Eun-hyuk made a startled face and quickly stepped back.
Bong Gu-rae furrowed his brow.
"Honey."
"Uh, uh uh, what?"
"You're not avoiding me, are you?"
"I'm not... Why would I do that?"
"What do you mean you're not. It's written all over your face that you're avoiding me."
"..."
Bong Gu-rae asserts.
Choi Eun-hyuk was stung and couldn't give any answer.
Soon he realized that keeping his mouth shut was affirming Bong Gu-rae's words.
Bong Gu-rae's face twisted.
Eun-hyuk felt his heart sink seeing that face.
"Honey."
"...Yeah."
"Don't you look in the mirror?"
"Huh?"
"I asked if you don't look in the mirror."
Bong Gu-rae pouts his lips.
Eun-hyuk widened his eyes at the question with no context.
Then Bong Gu-rae continued.
"Do you know how many people at this academy are more handsome than you?"
"..."
"I have an eye for men too, you know."
"...!"
"So don't misunderstand, okay?"
Bong Gu-rae says with strength in his eyes.
Choi Eun-hyuk was shocked as if hit on the head with a hammer hearing those words.
He was dazed for a moment.
At the same time, he realized he had been wrapped up in prejudice.
He had been thinking self-centeredly and not truly trying to understand others.
Even though his eyes, his gift was most effective when truly understanding the other person.
Meanwhile—
"—I'm sorry... It seems I misunderstood for a moment. I won't do that anymore."
"Hmph! As long as you understand. Really unbelievable!"
—Somehow I feel strangely less confident.
Whether he should think it's fortunate he didn't catch Bong Gu-rae's eye, or think it's a big deal.
Eun-hyuk says he deeply pondered while following Bong Gu-rae who kept walking forward without looking back.
And understanding seeped in.
☆
What is flame?
Scientifically approaching it, flame is a phenomenon where heat and light are emitted, and can be said to be a chain of oxidation reactions.
But for players, flame was not a phenomenon that could be explained by science alone.
"How many people do you think can immediately connect the cause to an image just because they know the cause? The cause is just basic knowledge you must know. Magic is creating what suits your taste by putting flesh on that knowledge!"
Magic is directly connected to image.
Image determines the characteristics of magic.
Even if you understand the cause of a phenomenon, if you cannot imagine it, you have not truly understood it.
Therefore, to enrich the image, you need to not only grasp the cause of the phenomenon, but also know as much as possible about everything related to the phenomenon.
In that sense—
—<Flame Control> is really a wasted gift on that crazy squid.
Elective course, Flames in Mythology.
Eunha grumbled while taking the class.
Every time he took the class, he really envied <Flame Demon> Kang Hyun-chul who could freely use fire without knowing anything about what fire is.
Some people are born with the talent to handle fire, while others have to learn it.
But no matter how much you learn, you can never attain the power of the <Flame Control> gift.
It's truly an unfair world.
"—Didn't you say this was your first elemental magic class?"
"It is my first."
"No way... Then you did it after hearing only 3 times?"
"I didn't take classes but... I have experience. I have some knowledge too."
Until now, Eunha didn't feel much merit in magic that imagined flames.
It was because it took a long time to learn related magic, and even if you learned it, mana consumption was extremely severe.
You could reduce mana consumption, but in that case you couldn't enjoy much effect.
For Eunha who lacked internal mana, it was a power he couldn't use even if he learned it.
"...I can't use it in battle."
"From my perspective, No Eunha you seem to have too high standards..."
"Isn't it better to just cut with a sword rather than melt and kill with high heat?"
But starting with Violent Venom, he was able to greatly reduce the mana consumed in deploying several magics.
Eunha who gained some leeway in utilizing internal mana became interested in adding attributes to his magic.
Ice has too complex formulas.
Lightning has extreme control.
So fire is the only thing that suits me.
Magic using flame as a medium generally doesn't have complex formulas.
Once materialized, it burns well on its own as long as there's material to burn.
Also, it's not difficult to designate targets like magic using lightning as a medium, and if necessary you can just designate an area and burn everything.
That was the reason Eunha decided to learn magic using flame as a medium.
But it still didn't go as he wanted.
"What do you mean that's enough... More importantly, tell me how you did it. How can you create flames that emit that much heat with so little mana like you?"
"Well."
"Want to die?"
"This is remembered by sense, so I can't really explain it. Or you could go live at Hae-su hyung's workshop for a few days."
"Hmm... I'll think about it."
A huge fire is blazing in the middle of the lecture hall.
The students had to create flames similar to the flickering flames.
Of course, only a handful of students succeeded.
Eunha withdrew the flame flickering above his palm.
Bae Soo-bin seemed surprised that he created flames so easily.
I've lived for how many years including regression...
I'm someone who forcibly fought crazy squid as well as monsters that handle flames.
Though she who had taken various related classes was going on about talent.
He could assert that the flame he demonstrated was not talent.
It was the product of experience.
He understood how severe the damage caused by fire can be.
But even so—
—This isn't enough.
Experience alone was not enough.
He needed to fully create his own magic while adding imagination.
At this rate, there was little difference from simply starting a fire.
"...It's not easy."
But even if he added imagination.
No images came to mind.
No, there were some.
The problem was that since he was relying on experience, magic he had experienced came to mind.
Mainly <Flame Demon> Kang Hyun-chul's magic.
In other words, only magic that consumed ridiculous amounts of mana was coming to mind.
Snap
Especially the image of <Flame Demon> Kang Hyun-chul remained too vividly in his mind.
Eunha snapped his fingers like when he created flames.
The mana that rose from his fingertips reacted and a small spark appeared then disappeared.
This method doesn't suit me.
It's a tactic only that bastard who fights without worrying about internal mana can use.
Kang Hyun-chul didn't accurately designate a target the moment he snapped his fingers.
He who could freely handle flames roughly designated an area and recklessly fired magic.
It was a tactic that didn't suit Eunha who pursued efficiency of internal mana and tried to use flames to reinforce combat.
I shouldn't use magic using flame as a medium as a weapon itself. That way I'll lack internal mana.
I need to create better weapons by adding it to existing magic.
The style he pursued was different.
If the basis of Kang Hyun-chul's sword was flames and destructive power.
The basis of Eunha's sword was efficiency and speed.
He shouldn't confuse his own strengths.
I'm adding flames to my strengths.
That way the control burden will inevitably increase more.
I need to consider that too.
He had many concerns.
Eunha kept thinking while listening to the instructor's lecture.
He felt skeptical at times.
Whether he could really control the newly added power.
It would be nice if someone else could control it for me, but that's impossible—
"—Ah."
Just then.
No Eunha recalled a memory he had overlooked.
Was <Flame Demon> Kang Hyun-chul alone?
No matter how strong he was, could he have been proudly called one of Korea's strongest without proper control?
In his previous life, he prepared a way to make up for his lacking skills.
No, he was lucky to obtain it.
"Come to think of it, I think it was around this time..."
He didn't know the exact timing.
But he knew Kang Hyun-chul would visit the high school academy to give a lecture next year.
At that time, he was already the owner of 'that'.
So judging by the timing—
—I should ask Twenty-five to look into it.
He couldn't know the exact timing.
But he could tell it was this year based on the timing.
That egg appearing at the Player Market auction.
☆
There's something at Eternal Pharmaceuticals.
The flow of funds is strange.
It looks fine on the surface, but questions arise when checking the accounts one by one.
So Yoo Do-jun secretly traced the flow of funds.
The doubts became certainty.
"Am I supposed to believe what's in front of me now..."
Eternal Pharmaceuticals' movements were thorough.
But Yoo Do-jun found traces of them through months of effort.
Now that evidence was on the table.
"Hah, really..."
Yoo Do-jun swallowed a dry laugh.
He rubbed his eyes and carefully examined the documents on the table.
As he read the contents of the documents, his face twisted terribly.
"I want to deny reality. To think Eternal Group was doing such things..."
Is it true or false?
Yoo Do-jun couldn't believe the contents of the documents.
The documents only briefly explained the draft of the experiment.
This alone wasn't enough to clearly grasp it.
But if it was true—
"—The question is how far this matter is entangled..."
It was a headache-inducing problem.
One wrong move and not just the vice chairman, but the entire Eternal Group could be gone.
The contents were such that the future couldn't be guaranteed.
"For now, there's no other way but to have someone look into it more."
More clues are needed.
Yoo Do-jun thought that and postponed the conclusion.
He couldn't make a hasty decision.
"Hah... I wonder if I can ask Eunha about this."
He sighed looking at the documents on the table.
He didn't like the title written on the front of the documents from the start.
The title of the documents was as follows:
"—New Humanity Project—
On Cultivating Mechanized Players Through Heart Transplants"
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