Chapter 223: Predecessor and Successor (1)
” Ugh, my back. Huff~!”
Stre-e-etch!
Kyung-joon took a deep breath and stretched his clasped hands towards the sky.
His back, stiff from sitting for almost three hours straight, stretched out.
This was the back of the Liberal Arts Magic Hall.
━Sigh. Haa.
━Puff.
It’s a place frequently visited by people like Kyung-joon, who come to smoke a pipe and catch their breath after a hard study session.
The pungent smell of tobacco smoke grazed his face, but Kyung-joon didn’t particularly frown or anything.
Because Kyung-joon came here to do something similar.
Swoosh.
Kyung-joon took out a stick from his inventory, similar to theirs, but in the form of a cigarette, not a pipe.
[Herb Hits – Green (Prototype)]
▶Dried and finely ground herbs rolled with Arliv sap and leaves. A still-lacking prototype made with Skycliff Mint as its base.
▶Instantly clears the head, chases away drowsiness, and the energy remains in the mana circuit for a long time.
▶Instantly 『Memory·Concentration·Creativity +30%』, then the effect rapidly decreases to 10% over 1 hour and then to 0% over the next 2 hours.
▶As a side effect, all stats are reduced by 30% for the duration. It lasts for 1 hour at 10%, and then for the next 2 hours at 0%.
※This product must be used with a separately designated mana heating device.
▶Item Grade: Rare
Click.
He inserted the stick into a dedicated mana heater he made himself and took a long drag.
” Huff, ha.”
As he did so, buffs and debuffs began to take effect as described in the status window.
At the same time, Kyung-joon tried to visualize what he had studied for the past 3 hours.
” Slightly above the solar plexus is the heart, lungs on either side, and the aorta passes between them, and the esophagus and thyroid gland appear… Below the heart is……”
The buffed memory, concentration, and creativity allowed him to visualize things in his head much more vividly than before.
And the memory is embedded in his mind as if it were seeping in.
He wondered if it was okay to study like this even though he was still a minor, but Kyung-joon, who even drank Black Leopard’s poop coffee for studying, wouldn’t refuse this.
“……Lastly, the kidney is made up of nephrons and is responsible for body fluids, excretion, blood pressure, hormone regulation, and so on. Okay.”
Kyung-joon, who perfectly reviewed what he had studied for 3 hours.
He makes a slightly proud expression.
This means that he’s done preparing for next week’s biology performance evaluation.
But the more you study, the more you feel your own shortcomings.
” Ah, I simulated it and memorized it all, but I’m still nervous. Because I haven’t actually done it.”
Kyung-joon was still not satisfied even though he had studied like that.
Because even though he received help from Teemo’s 3D simulation, he hadn’t actually performed the dissection himself repeatedly.
Originally, this kind of practical training is much more helpful to learn by doing it yourself than by studying it a hundred times.
<✧ʕ̢̣̣̣̣̩̩̩̩·͡˔·ོɁ̡̣̣̣̣̩̩̩̩✧>
<I’m sure you’ll do well enough. If you’re really worried, why don’t you catch a rat and dissect it yourself?>
” But the important thing is not just cutting open the stomach, but doing it with the right tools and procedures…… Our school is surprisingly good at this kind of thing.”
Cheongshin High School, where Kyung-joon attends.
It is a general high school, but it has been paying a lot of attention to entrance exams since the past, and the quality of classes has improved significantly, perhaps because Seolha Group’s granddaughter also attends.
Especially the Department of Medicine, which is establishing itself as a top department in the Korean college entrance exam.
Perhaps because they were conscious of that, the high school biology performance evaluation was completely perfect, like a medical school anatomy practice.
Of course, thanks to this, it’s not bad because there are more things to write in the self-introduction letter or student record.
” By the way, the various items I use when I study would be a huge hit if I sold them to the Fael Alliance, right?”
<Hmm. They say that the competition for entrance exams is very fierce there, just like in Master’s world. I’m sure it’ll sell like hotcakes. Maybe that would be a better fit than the Unique Bread.>
” That’s what I’m saying.”
Unique Bread, which restores stats and HP/MP, is already selling well to various players and human NPCs through World’s Best.
However, this was because the place where they are positioned is the Holy Cross Faction, a gathering of human kingdoms that are directly confronting the monster faction.
It may not work well in the Humanity Cantons, which are made up of fairies, elves, beastkin, or dwarves, who are far superior to humans in terms of mana and physique.
It is possible that items much better than Unique Bread are already out there, and there may not be much demand for them in the first place.
It seems that this place, Humanity Cantons, is a region where political, military, and economic checks and balances are much more important than actual large-scale wars, like the Earth in reality.
” Well, let’s think about the complicated stuff after I win first place in the Magic Competition.”
Thud.
Kyung-joon pulled out the used Herb Hits from the dedicated mana heater and threw it in the trash.
The people who were taking a breather with him a while ago – strangers, of course – seemed to have already gone back to their studies.
When Kyung-joon was about to follow them.
Thud!
He saw three elves who fell down as they ran away towards the back of the Liberal Arts Magic Hall.
” Heuk, heuk! I, I can’t study any… anymore!”
” Sob… Mana… Ma, mana is running out… Even though it’s a large magic practice room, the recovery can’t keep up….”
” Hehehe…! Department of Healing… Octa attribute… You… You’re so scary…!”
It was the three elf delinquents who looked like thugs but were actually model students that he saw at the entrance.
Kyung-joon knows the condition of those three.
Mana exhaustion.
Their faces were pale and haggard from using too much mana.
But to hear them talk, it seems like it wasn’t their own will, but someone else’s.
As if their mana had all been sucked out by a mana drain.
” What the……? “
What on earth happened to them?
As Kyung-joon fell into deep thought, looking at the three delinquent elves lying face down on the floor.
” ……! “
He felt it.
A very powerful mana.
From the front.
From the back.
A total of two energies were approaching him.
‘Could this be why those delinquent elves are like this……?’
As Kyung-joon sat down with a chill, he became wary of his surroundings.
The first direction from which it appeared was the front.
” Oh my, oh my. It’s a problem if you’re already collapsing like this. In my day, we all did this much as a basic~ “
And then.
” Teina. Relax. Relax. Kids these days are different from our time, it’s an era of peace. We can’t think like we did back then.”
The second powerful energy that appeared from behind.
The two powerful energies blocked the back of the Liberal Arts Magic Hall from front and back.
Unlike before, they weren’t hiding their powers, so their names were all revealed.
▼Teina Sebra (NPC)
▼Siam Tinya (NPC)
But he didn’t recognize them at all.
” …… “
Kyung-joon was completely trapped between those unknown people.
And.
” Oh my.”
” Oh.”
The two powerful energies discovered Kyung-joon.
Click-clack.
Flap, flap.
As if they weren’t interested in the three thugs who had just collapsed, they just brushed past them……
” Oh my, oh my. I was wondering where you were, but you were here~”
” Ho ho ho, Teina. Is that him, Kyung-joon?”
” Yes~ That’s right~”
……They began to slowly approach Kyung-joon, changing their target to him.
Gulp.
Kyung-joon tensed up and gathered mana in his back, ready to fly away at any moment.
Of course, while carefully concealing his mana with Hide Casting so they wouldn’t notice him.
But as if they had sensed it to some extent.
Thud.
The two of them stopped approaching.
” Oh my, I’ve been so busy teaching for a while that I forgot to hide my mana. I’m sorry~”
” Ah, right, me too! Look at me!”
Swoosh.
The overwhelming pressure from before vanished as if it had been a lie.
It happened in an instant.
Did they know that this was actually increasing the tension?
Kyung-joon didn’t withdraw his mana.
Because they could have relaxed him like this and then made him like those three thugs lying there.
Kyung-joon knew that Hide Casting only hides mana, it doesn’t get rid of his power.
The elf 『Teina Sebra』 in a white coat.
And the fairy 『Siam Tinya』, always with a ^^ smile.
” So you’re Kyung-joon? It’s a pleasure to meet you, successor.”
” Ho ho ho. Huma’s successor, how nostalgic.”
Just as the tension reached its peak!
Swoosh.
” Please take this.”
The two handed something to Kyung-joon.
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
┌─────────┐
†Magic Tower Mother Teina
†Sole Representative Magic Tower Master
†Teina Sebra
└─────────┘
┌─────────┐
†Magic Tower Arc-en-Ciel
†Magic Tower Edes Meruk
†Magic Tower Rokakolka
†Each Representative Magic Tower Master
†Siam Tinya
└─────────┘
” Ah, so you two came here as judges for the 『World’s Top Magic Competition』? And as mentors as well.”
Kyung-joon was talking to the two women.
What the two had handed him were none other than business cards.
The misunderstanding was cleared up, and they were now talking at a cafe on campus, having been invited to chat for a bit.
” Yes, that’s right~ As you can see, I’m a professor emeritus of the Department of Healing here, so I’ve been here since a week ago.”
” I heard about it yesterday and leisurely warped and flew here today.”
Teina Sebra the elf and Siam Tinya the fairy.
The two said they would be judges for the preliminary round, followed by the first and second presentations, and the final presentation.
The judges were supposed to be decided after discussions between Fairy King and the president, and it seemed these two were it.
There are three judges in total.
” But is it okay for the judges to be talking to me like this?”
He was currently talking to two of them, and he wondered if this was allowed.
Because it could lead to biased judgment.
” It’s okay~ We’re currently under a perception-inhibiting spell. Unless you’re as sensitive as Mr Kyung-joon, you won’t be able to recognize us~”
Teina said in a slightly drawn-out voice that it was no problem at all.
” Aha. That’s a relief. There’s no one around anyway.”
There was no one else in the cafe except for Kyung-joon and the two women.
The festival was over and classes had resumed as normal, so it was the time of day when most students were in class.
The barista, having no customers at the moment, was taking a nap after serving them coffee.
<-_-a;;>
<I don’t think that’s a good thing……>
The real problem was that if Kyung-joon and the judges made contact like this beforehand, it could compromise the fairness of the upcoming judging…
” Well, as long as we don’t get caught, it’s not a problem, right?”
……Kyung-joon actually thought it was fine as long as they didn’t get caught.
” Oh my, oh my. He’s a smooth talker~”
” Ho ho. If the kids these days knew about this, they’d go crazy.”
Teina and Siam chuckled at Kyung-joon’s words, amused.
After a moment of this amicable atmosphere between the two judges and Kyung-joon.
” Speaking of which, Kyung-joon, you said you’re Huma’s successor, right?”
Siam, still with a ^^ smile, asked in a much more serious tone than before.
” Yeah, so?”
As Kyung-joon nodded in response.
” Then I’m going to test if you’re really Huma’s successor. Heave-ho.”
Siam took something out of her inventory.
” Do you know what this is?”
Of course, what she took out wasn’t a business card.
” This is……”
This heavy, metallic object was……
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