Chapter 134. Festival (5)
In a lavish yet dim room, a man was kneeling in prayer.
Before him stood a grotesque statue.
"Maestro... it's time for the meeting."
"Ah... I know."
The man replied without opening his eyes.
Slowly opening them, he looked at the attendant who called him.
"What's your name?"
"Ah, my name is Seok Don."
"Hmm. Seok Don. Got it."
The Maestro slowly stood and brushed himself off.
Then, he pierced the heart of the attendant who disturbed his prayer.
Crunch—
"Seok Don. You dared to interrupt my communion with the Lord. You deserve death. Do you agree?"
"Kh—Aagh... Yes. Happily... grk."
Thud.
The man collapsed to the ground, eyes rolled back in bliss.
"Offer this as a sacrifice."
"Yes, understood."
Another attendant waiting behind him stepped forward to clean up the body.
Shaking the blood from his hand, the man walked toward the meeting room.
Naturally, he took his seat at the ornate head of the round table.
The executives of Pandemic, seated around the table, turned to face the Maestro in unison.
"Everyone... has gathered. Sorry I'm late. I was communicating with the Demon King."
Though he was significantly late, no one dared voice a complaint.
"Report on the offerings."
"We are preparing to trigger a rampage in the monster at the Eiffel Tower in Paris."
"Hmm, not bad. Next?"
"We're targeting a terrorist attack during Victoria Academy's Heavenly Festival."
"There's no time when people lower their guard more than during a festival. Good. Who's handling it?"
The Maestro nodded in satisfaction.
"Gilstiven."
"He's reliable."
One of the founding executives, Gilstiven.
Though not powerful, he was efficient—enough for the Maestro to trust.
The meeting continued until the last agenda item was finished, and the Maestro stood up.
"Where there is no light, there is no shadow... I must return to praying to the Demon King."
Step, step.
As the Maestro exited, the other executives also began to leave one by one.
"Ugh, that dumbass always drags it out with pointless crap."
"Rebecca. That's blasphemy against the Maestro."
"Shut it."
The red-haired beauty called Rebecca brushed her hair back and left the room.
"Tired of sitting around with those puppet freaks. Ugh."
She never got used to these meetings.
They were called meetings, but they were just one-sided announcements.
No executive ever dared oppose the Maestro.
But attendance was mandatory, so Rebecca stayed.
She was cooperating with this nonsense about summoning a Demon King, but she didn't believe it would work.
As she exited the hideout, one of her loyal subordinates approached.
"Lady Rebecca. The investigation report."
"Give it."
"We combed through hunters in their first and second years, plus all Academy years. Only one matched your conditions."
Rebecca reviewed the files.
Two short videos.
The first was the Victoria Academy 1-on-1 duel finals.
The man in the footage used high-level barrier magic.
"This is... a Rune barrier...?"
Having mastered Rune barriers all her life, Rebecca sensed something was off.
The base magic circle was the same, but it lacked the feeling of proper Rune lineage training.
'Unless they're a child, adults should've completed their education...'
With a hint of suspicion, she played the next video.
The survival exam.
The same man erecting a barrier and entering a tent.
Again, the barrier looked different from what she knew.
But this time, she distinctly saw a Rune mark.
The mana structure of a Rune barrier—recognizable only to Rune clan members.
That final doubt cleared, Rebecca quietly closed her eyes.
"...Finally found him."
She had searched ever since her clan was annihilated.
Searching for the one who could revive it.
And luckily, the last remaining member was a man.
Meaning she could rebuild the Rune bloodline.
*
"This is too expensive."
I was browsing the auction on my smartwatch.
I hadn't sold the [First Edition of Falcon Tower of Mount Zhangyang, Volume 1 (Signed)], which I'd previously listed.
I thought about offering it to Elise as a bribe.
But now, I was seriously considering selling it.
The last bid had surpassed 300 million won... It really was a masterpiece.
Anyway, I needed money for my gear.
This world doesn't have wands or anything like that.
Being an eroge, the equipment system was barely functional, basically ignored.
But after the game became real, it turned out that artifacts did exist.
Excluding the low-tier ones, the ones that suited me were all pricey.
"200 million... Another hundred million there... Everything starts in the billions. What a ripoff."
Honestly, with Liliana's income, I could afford it soon.
In a few months, I could buy a great artifact with my own money.
But who can predict the future that far ahead?
"Guess I'll stop buying top-tier mana stones."
Reality hit me when I remembered the upcoming terror attack.
My life could be in danger any moment now—why plan for a future that might not come?
Investments are for when you're surviving.
'I'll just leave what I already bought.'
I'd need them to maintain my contract with Liliana anyway, so they're not wasted.
For now, I'll stop buying mana stones and start saving for artifacts.
Relying only on Liliana's money doesn't feel very manly.
"Do I really need to model or something? I mean, I do have some PR experience."
With that pointless thought, I got dressed in my cadet uniform.
Since I was meeting Professor Im Sol today, I had to look neat.
Liliana was lying on the bed half-asleep, fondling her own tits.
Maybe her clothes were too tight and itchy, because she occasionally lifted her top slightly and slipped her hand underneath.
Every time I saw her do that, I wanted to do it for her instead.
"I'm heading out. I'll be back tonight."
"Okay. See you later."
It was starting to get pretty warm outside.
Maybe it was a sign the world was ending—it's only May and already this hot.
People passing by were dressed lightly, and I didn't bother with a jacket either.
"One of these, please."
"Thank you very much."
I bought a chocolate bar to bribe Im Sol, then headed to the Mage Tower.
"Aren't you Cadet Lee Hoyeon?! Could I get a quick interview?!"
Just then, a man in a suit shoved a mic in my face.
"Sorry."
Used to this situation, I gave a quick apology and bolted.
"Cadet Lee Hoyeon! Just a moment, please!"
"Haa…"
The reporter chased after me like a lunatic but gave up once he couldn't match my speed.
Lately, reporters keep showing up any chance they get.
Is this what it means to be famous?
I've been trying to avoid them as much as possible, but once the festival ends, that's going to get way harder.
For now, it's easy to hide thanks to the crowds—but not for long.
The Mage Tower came into view.
An entire floor of that massive building was Professor Im Sol's personal lab.
That's my professor for you.
'Now that I think about it, didn't she say she was going to give me something?'
It's been almost a month since Im Sol mentioned some kind of elixir or whatever.
She wouldn't just ghost me… right?
"Cadet Lee Hoyeon, confirmed. Go on up~"
"Thanks. Appreciate it."
After getting my clearance at the lobby desk, I took the elevator up to the second floor.
Ding.
It had been a while since I'd last visited the lab.
The last time was right before the survival exam—a week ago.
"You're here?"
"Yes, professor. Your lowly student greets you."
"Quit with the weird stuff and sit down."
I set the chocolate on her desk and took a seat on the couch.
"I saw your duel the other day. Nicely done."
"Ah, thank you."
"Heard it caused a stir… you really awakened, didn't you? Your internal mana flow is way cleaner now. That's how it was for me, too."
"Yeah. I was training and… somehow it just happened."
Can't exactly say it happened during sex, so I just claimed it was during training.
And I'm pretty sure the internal changes were from that elven essence.
But seriously, how did she awaken and clean up her internals without drinking elven essence?
"During training, huh… Same as me. I awakened during training too."
"Oh… as expected of a genius."
I have no room to talk, since I awakened during sex, but awakening through training is seriously impressive.
Pushing past your limits isn't easy, and doing it during regular training? That's almost impossible.
I mean, sure, training can be intense—but mentally, it's a whole different challenge.
It just proves how much of a genius Im Sol really is.
"You're the real genius. I awakened after graduation. Back then, people were shocked I'd done it through training."
"Haha… is that so?"
"Be careful. Getting envied at a young age can be tough."
Well… I don't really have friends who care about that stuff, and I've been rejecting all interviews, so I'm good for now.
"I'm used to jealousy and resentment. It's usually the people lacking something who act like that."
Maybe it's because of [Steadfast Willpower], but reading hate comments doesn't even bother me.
I just think, 'Man, their lives must be tough.'
That's all I meant, but… Im Sol was looking at me with pity in her eyes.
"…Really? I'm glad to hear that."
★ Heroine Status Window
[Im Sol]
- [ Affection: 62 ]
- [ Lust: 25 ]
- [ Appetite: 30 ]
- [ Fatigue: 39 ]
Current Status: How much pain must he have gone through at such a young age…
'…What is she even talking about?'
She's totally misunderstanding something again.
Eh, I'll just leave it. It's not the kind of misunderstanding that'll hurt me.
If it makes her feel sorry for me and hand out goodies, all the better.
"Really, I'm fine. By the way, Professor, you remember you promised to go to the Magic Expo with me, right? I've been waiting for the grade announcements just for that."
"Grades'll probably be out after the festival. One of the professors fell behind on grading. Plus, a lot of them wanted students to enjoy the festival first."
"Ah…"
Not a big deal. I already know my own scores.
Top in written exams.
Second in practicals.
First in the special exam.
I'm just waiting for that shiny report card to be handed to me.
"Oh, right. Instead of grades… I have something for you."
Im Sol stood up and pulled out a box from under her desk.
"I've been looking for a good elixir for you… but all the high-quality ones for magic are completely out of stock. So I managed to get this instead."
"Oh…! Thank you so much!"
Feeling a bit guilty for doubting her earlier, I opened the box.
As expected, Professor Im Sol never lets me down.
────[ Red Ginseng Root ]────
▶ Grade: High
▶ A red ginseng that absorbed yang energy at the mountaintop for 100 years
▶ Filled with yang energy, excellent for boosting male stamina and sexual vitality.
────────────
"…?"
"Y-You've been looking really tired lately. Ahem."
With slightly reddened cheeks, Im Sol avoided my gaze.
This… feels like she gave it to me with a lot of personal interest.