I REMEMBERED MY PASSWORD. LET'S GO.
ANYWAY, I'M WORKING ON A PROJECT RN SO UPDATE MIGHT BE INCONSISTENT. ANYWAY, ENJOY.
ALSO, LITTLE QUESTION AT THE END.
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Back where we left off.
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It's the third day of the final exam. The sun was high and everything was peaceful and quiet until...
*Doom*
An explosion ruptured a small area of the island. The explosion caused the ground to tremble slightly. A large crater was formed and white smoke flowed out from within.
A young man flew right out of the smoke and crashed a nearby tree with his back. He hit the dirt with a thud and groaned.
"Urgh... I messed up the spell. Damn I think I cracked something. What the hell was she thinking, approaching a spell in that range?" The young man said.
He soon picked himself up, dusted off his clothes, and looked at the mess he had created.
But before he could check if his opponent was okay or not, another person flew toward his position at an alarming speed.
The person hit the ground quite hard and skipped a few times before coming to a stop. The young man looked at the flying person's face and recognised him immediately.
"Hey there, Hajin. How're you doing?" He said.
"Not very good, Teach. I think I just swallowed some dirt." Hajin replied.
"Same. I got a taste of my own flavour just now. I think I blew my back."
One person had just stood up and the other was still on the ground. Both of them are somewhat battered from their own problem.
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5 hours earlier. Shiki P.O.V.
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"Thank you, Rachel. I'll be going then. See you later."
"Have a safe trip, Teacher."
"Have a safe trip, Papa."
Waving to Rachel and our daughter, I made my way out to hunt for points. Before that, I asked Rachel to look after Evandel in exchange for half of what I gathered for the day.
It's also good for Eva to get to spend some time with her mother as well. Rachel is a kind person, even if she doesn't show it on her face. I trusted that she would take good care of her daughter.
I can go and do my things knowing that Rachel would protect Evandel with all she has. Now, I just need to focus and kill as much as possible before coming back.
"Let's do this... *Snap*."
As I triggered my usual incantation with a snap ofmy fingers, magic circuits form on my body as I stepped toward my first kill of the day
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————[King Crimson]————
"Please, I surrender. Don't hurt me."
"Sorry, no can do."
"Ahhh—" *Thud*
"And that's the fifth one. Cadets sure give me more points than monsters."
As I scanned the latest victim into my smartwatch, I started to wonder if I should switch my priority from Co-op to PvP instead.
It has been only a few hours since I left. At this pace, I would have enough points to bring Rachel and me to three digits.
However, before I could make that decision, I had to deal with someone else first.
"How long are you planning to watch me for, Ms. Yun SeungAh?"
"How did you know that it was me?"
"I didn't know. I guessed..." I lied.
I had spotted her following me a while back but didn't say anything. I decided to progress a bit first before confronting Yun SeungAh. That way, I won't return empty-handed.
"Interesting... Anyway. It's been a while, Tatsuya Shiki."
"It's not that long. I'm on your boat, remember?"
"Oh my, you're right. My apologies."
"Anyway, may I ask why you are following me?"
"Of course. I'm here to present a few events for cadets. This is not just a survival test."
"I see... What is it about, this event of yours about?"
"It's simple. Fight me one-on-one, anything goes. You can attack however you want. I will not use my full strength.
And if you manage to win or draw for twenty minutes, I'll give you my nametag. Sound good?"
"Is it too cruel an event for cadets?" I asked.
No cadet is crazy enough to accept that challenge, even if it were someone else. There's something beneath her words.
Also, I somehow knew that draw scenario would never come.
"Obviously. Normally, I'd stand still and only use my left hand. And instead of fighting, they only need to injure me or make me move to win.
But since it's you, I've made an exception. Beside,your acting back at midterm needs some work."
"Understandable." I said. 'I did throw that match after all.'
In essence, Yun SeungAh wants to test the waters with me. And because I went under her radar for months, she wants to assess my strength herself.
"So... what's your move? Are you going to turn tail? Or are you going to fight?"
'She's provoking me. Fine... I'll bite.'
I raised my hand, signalling her to 'bring it on.' Yun SeungAh smiled at my gesture and prepared herself.
Without hesitation, Yun SeungAh lunged straight for my face and threw her left. I swiftly dodged and returned the favor with my right.
She blocked it with her other hand, and we began trading punches and kicks.
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Meanwhile.
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It's been a peaceful day for the gun-wielding cadet. Nothing occurred to him as he spent the day hunting monsters and scanning for points. Unbeknownst to him, his day was about to get worse.
For starters, he bumped into Chae Nayun while chasing after a deer, making it escape his line of sight.
On top of that, Chae Nayun nagged him about his teleporting-like movements. It caused another headache for the man.
Even if Hajin spent an entire day, he wouldn't be able to explain Displacement Magecraft to Chae Nayun. Not because Hajin isn't good at explaining, but because Nayun is too... Educationally deficient.
Shortly after parting ways with the tomboy, Hajin encountered another hazard: Seo Ijin.
She appeared out of nowhere in front of him while he was walking.
There would be nothing to say if they just passed by each other. But to his dread, Seo Ijin's first words after meeting him were: "Raise your weapon".
At this point, Hajin feared for his life. 'Why would she be interested in someone like me?' Hajin wondered.
"What do you mean...?" Hajin said.
He was sure she was here to monitor Shin Jonghak. But now that her attention had shifted to him, he didn't know what to do.
'If I fight, I might not be eliminated for sure. With Magecraft, I could try to escape. I'll try to go for an indirect confrontation first. If it fails, I'll flee immediately.'
"You know why I asked you to do that," Seo Ijin said.
"You just appeared out of nowhere and asked me to..."
Hajin shaped his Mystic weapon [Aether] into a thin string and cast it beneath him. It slowly crawled toward Seo Ijin's position. At the same time, he prepared his magic circuits to escape.
"If you don't raise your weapon, then I have no choice."
"Come on. I'm asking you to explain what you want from me," he added.
'Almost there...'
"..." 'Seo Ijin' suddenly went silent.
When Hajin almost reached her smartwatch with his [Aether]. 'Seo Ijin' did something out of her character.
*Woom*
'Seo Ijin' released a massive amount of mana, pushing Hajin's [Aether] rope away from her.
"What are you trying to do?" she asked.
*Clack*
Something suddenly fell from her side. 'Seo Ijin' looked down and saw that her smartwatch had dropped to the ground. A thin, faintly yellow line was connected to it.
'Seo Ijin' traced the blurry line to see it attached to Kim Hajin's wrist.
'Shit.'
"Is this... your doing?" 'Ijin' looked at Hajin.
"No! You must be mistaken. There's no way I can do something like that?"
*How did she notice Aether? Aether is an artifact, not a mana object. Unless she saw the string directly, there is no way she could have known.*
True, 'Seo Ijin' never saw [Aether] nor sensed it moving. What she saw was Hajin directing his mana towards his legs. She had only responded in case Kim Hajin ran off. She didn't realise something was moving beneath.
Hajin's rare cautiousness was the reason he got found out. But it isn't the time to check for mistakes. He had to run... NOW.
"Anyway... See ya."
Without hesitation, Hajin yanked the rope and dipped. Ijin's smartwatch, bound to his wrist, flew into his hand as he ran off.
"Huh? Hey, where are you going?" Ijin yelled.
With her elimination on the line and questions unanswered, 'Seo Ijin' chased after Kim Hajin. She softly spoke while running:
—Ain, did you see that?
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Back to the present.
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Meeting here was no conincident. Both of us departed from the same camp, moving around the same area. It's just a matter of time before we cross path.
Anyway, like teacher like student, both of us pulled our hand out and drew into the air.
[Uruz] / [Uruz] (ᚢ)
The ancient word flew upright and exploded. A bright emerald light washed over Hajin and me as our battered bodies began to repair themselves. Vitality surged from both our magic circuits, enveloping us in its healing magic.
"Anyway, who launched you here? You're not the kind to get hit easily." I asked.
"Seo Ijin. Well, actually, she's the person we passed by back at midterm in disguise."
"Really? Small world we live in, huh? Mine's Yun SeungAh. She's a crazy one, I tell you."
Two men, both recovered from their own confrontation, seemed to have no luck with women. They talked as if there had never been a fight at all.
"SeungAh? What did she do?"
"She tanked an explosion point-blank."
"She did what? Is she okay?" Hajin asked in confusion.
"I held back, obviously. At most, it will only cause her some minor injuries."
True to his word, a woman emerged out of the same smoke from which he had flown. Aside from her hair burned at the ends and a slightly bruised right arm, she was fine.
"Damn... You didn't even hesitate, you crazy bastard. Are you trying to kill yourself?" Yun SeungAh said.
"You're the crazy one. Who in their right mind jumps straight at a spell?"
"And who in their right mind cast it regardless? Are you trying to make your daughter an orphan?"
"Pot calling the kettle black. As if you thought about your niece."
While the two 'adults' argued about responsibility, things were deadly silent on Hajin's side.
To avoid unnecessary suspicion, Seo Ijin had caught up with Hajin and reclaimed her smartwatch. Everything Hajin had managed to accomplish had reset to square one as she raised her sword towards him again.
'This is bad,' Hajin thought. Two of the most dangerous women in his novel were now facing him and Shiki. The pressure was enormous, even more so when he was the weakest of them all.
"Do you have any plan for this, Teach?" Hajin whispered.
"So we're teaming up against them?" I asked.
"Yeah... If you say no then I'm pretty much screwed."
"Hmmm... Fine. But I'll take both of their point, okay?"
"Deal."
"Good. Get some distance. You're my support."
"Got it."
"Let's go."
[Magic circuits: on.] / [My will, my power, Take shape.]
The Aria unveiled its miracles as the familiar magic veins spread on our skin. Hajin's circuits extruded a step further onto his pistol leaving a pattern on its frame.
On the other hand, my spell took its form as an imitation of the crimson spear belonging to my Servant, Gáe Bolg Alternative. Since I will be holding back two people, I figured that I should have some extra flexibility.
This Noble Phantasm's only similarity to its original is in its durability. I didn't want to stab any heart with the real thing in the first place. I also want to have some practical training with a weapon.
I held the spear to my shoulder, blocking the path behind me. Seeing me standing in front of them with an ominous-looking spear. Yun SeungAh and Seo Ijin asked perspectively.
"You know bringing a personal weapon is forbidden, right?"
"Are you trying to stand in my way?"
I immediately answered them promptly.
"Miss SungAh, does it really count if it was magic? I mean, a fireball is just a magic grenade.
And Seo Ijin, right? Sorry about this but I can't let you get to Hajin."
Seo Ijin said nothing, turning her blade toward me. Meanwhile, Yun SeungAh didn't accept my answer.
"What magic? That's obviously a personal weapon. You must have taken it from a magic bag." SungAh said.
"Miss SungAh, do you see me putting my hand into any bag or satchel?
Also, we had a luggage inspection, remember? Where I... You know."
"Ah!"
Yun SeungAh flashed back, remembering the little face that lay on Shiki's chest before they reached the island.
"I forgot about... That. Will this be on your report later?"
"Of course. Anyway, shall we resume our business?"
"Yeah, I haven't had enough yet."
I twirled the spear, bringing it behind my back. I took the stance that I had seen her do many times in my courtyard.
Her standing, her breathing, even the look in her eyes. It came back vividly in my mind, as if it were just yesterday.
'It seemed like Scáthach rubbed a bit off on me... What a woman she is.
Nah, I must have taken one too many beatings.'
As effective as her so-called 'training' was, it wasn't without flaws. If not for the healing she gave me afterwards, I would have gone to Cube with cuts and bruises every day. And don't even mention the traumas every time she got 'a little excited'.
With a sinister smile, I charged forward and slammed my spear onto Ijin's sword. The vibrations sounded crisp in my ear as the two cold weapons slid against each other, creating sparks.
I twisted my shoulder and tackled Seo Ijin with the butt end of my spear and switched to Yun SeungAh. I need to keep my eyes on both of them at all times.
Although I have a supporter behind me, Hajin's pace is too slow to keep up with me or both of my opponents and me right now. Precision and drawing speed do not matter if your bullet isn't fast enough to catch them.
Unless he had an 'enlightenment', or so he had written, I'll have to fight this out with a number disadvantage.
Just like Seo Ijin, I took the initiative and went offensive with Yun SeungAh. In our earlier confrontation, I noticed that Yun SeungAh wasn't exceptional at fighting bare-handed.
Most of her attacks are basic straights, jabs, and hooks, with a few overheads occasionally thrown in. Other than that, she also kept a certain distance from me. As if she were fighting with a sword instead.
I pushed extremely close to her to test out that theory. And in an instant, Yun SeungAh disappeared... not really. She just teleported back the moment my fist nearly reached her.
'Close-quarter combat is her weakest link indeed.'
Now, with a spear, my attack had more lethality; forcing Yun SeungAh to be more defensive. The frown on her face clearly showed that she wasn't in her element.
"It would have been better if you had gone all out from the start, right?"
"You? Telling me that?"
Once again, Yun SeungAh disappeared. But this time, I had already caught on. I raised my palm forward at where SungAh will probably be.
[Magnus Igniz]
The flaw of her teleportation is that her facing direction remains the same before and after she uses it. And having to keep an eye out for your foe makes it easy to predict where she will land.
What greeted SungAh when she reappeared was a big fireball flying toward her face. Fortunately, SungAh raised her arms in time to block the incoming spell.
*Boom*
The fireball came crashing directly, exploding upon contact. Smoke quickly rose and dispersed, leaving a semi-charred Yun SeungAh behind.
"That really hurt, you know." Yun SeungAh said.
"It's supposed to. Wouldn't make sense if it isn't." I replied, continuing my assault.
Fighting like this made me wonder: 'Is this how she felt sparring with me? Having to adjust your strength in order not to 'accidentally' injure somebody.'
Don't get me wrong, Yun SeungAh and 'Seo Ijin' weren't weak. In fact, they are among the strongest I have met in this world.
But when you compare them to the epitome of power that is Scáthach, they pale in all departments. She who was summoned with the Third Magic wasn't affected by the local Alaya's system.
Our world is on a higher power scale than this one. So I have yet to see anyone stronger than this goddess of the dead.
Scáthach's Noble Phantasm alone at A+ rank is already equivalent to all of SungAh's total stats combined and more. And her weakest stat, Luck, is comparable to SungAh's strongest.
Not to mention, Luck stat in this world is capped at 10, which is barely E-rank for a Servant due to Hajin's settings and Alaya's system.
That's right, everyone in this world, Hajin himself included, has worse luck than a blue Lancer and a red Archer.
Despite the vast difference, Servant-level combatants like Scáthach, and me(barely), can still be injured and killed by a lower-stats person.
Even so, I tried my best to have fun fighting at their own level. It's much better than fighting someone way out of my league.
...
In the meantime, Hajin was holding his gun pointing at the trio.
'Too fast.' Hajin thought.
Everything was proceeding at an astounding speed: Seo Ijin, or the Boss, sword slid without a pause; Yun SeungAh's peek-a-boo movement, vanishing back and forth; Or even Shiki's tempo, where his spear aggressively defended against the former two.
His eyes saw them clearly, capturing every motion of the fight. But his hand could not keep up with them.
When the crosshair reached one person, that person had already gone to another place.
'How am I supposed to catch up with these monsters?' He asked himself.
His first solution quickly arrived: [Bullet Time].
By going into the slowed-down time frame, Hajin can accelerate his processing and moving speed. This helps him easily trace his crosshair in a flash.
The only downside is that his current proficiency can only allow one minute of [Bullet Time]. After that, his speed will return to normal.
'Can I end this in just a minute?' Hajin pondered.
He turned to his second opinion, which was recently learned: [Reinforcement].
Hajin had only used the Magecraft a few times before, yet it proved its prowess to him every time he called out to it.
The spell does not only increases his muscle strength and exploding power, but it is also applicable to objects and flexible in its usage.
With different body parts, he can enhance different properties. Like thinking speed, arms dexterity, or perception.
And with his numerous Magic Circuits, He won't have to worry about running out of power any time soon.
'Will the Reinforcement boost enough for me? Is there another way?
Or am I missing something entirely?' Hajin thought.
Both of his choices had their own right. There could be no wrong in this decision. Either way, his choice will push him ahead.
'Wait... There is no rule about doing THAT... He never said anything about THAT. What if I do both
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What if I used [Reinforcement] on my gift?'
Without hesitation, Hajin's magic circuits roared into life. Its vein-like structure instantly extruded up his retinas.
A light shock went over his nerves as the power from two different systems began to merge.
"Grn..."
His left eyes bloodshoted as the visual information wave crashed into his brain.
A system window burst out of nowhere revealing his feat. But Hajin didn't have time to read the instructions, he had a fight to settle. Only the name of his achievement caught his attention.
[ Bullet Time and Thousand Miles Eyes had combined into: Mind eyes (fake) ]
As Hajin focused on his battle, he saw a strange phenomenon.
When Hajin used [Bullet Time], time slowed down to the point that every movement that occurred would leave afterimages. That's how much faster he became: enough to see the past.
This time however was different. Time was still a fraction of reality and Hajin could still perceive the blurry images. But those images no longer following after their original.
THEY ARE THE ONES WHO CHASE AFTER THE IMAGE.
'Am I... seeing the future?' Hajin asked.
He tried pointing his gun at The Boss and something occured. The Boss's future self changed her action. She went from chasing Shiki to deflecting a bullet with her sword.
"I am seeing the future. What the hell..." Hajin gasped.
'Seeing time slowed down is already crazy but this?'
But time was not on his side. Hajin cut off his thought and aimed his gun, ready to change the course of time.
One second... Two seconds... Three seconds... Now!!!
*Bang*
The 9mm bullet flew toward the new future that Hajin had carved.
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*Kang*
Under the witness of three surprised people, the bullet hit Seo Ijin's sword in the middle of its slash. With extreme precision, it caused her sword to dart off its course and missed Shiki by a margin.
"Gotcha." Shiki said.
A window of chance had revealed itself. Shiki hooked Ijin's arms with his own spear and pushed his back against her.
With a loud *Thud*, he turned his body and slammed Seo Ijin to the ground.
*Grunt*
Seizing the opportunity, Shiki quickly snatched her smartwatch and threw it to Hajin.
Shiki then stood up, picked up his weapon and turned to Yun SeungAh.
"Are you gonna give up? Or do we have to take your nametag from you as well?" Shiki asked.
Yun SeungAh stood there for a few seconds before reaching for her nametag. With a quick snap, she took it off and threw it into Shiki's hand.
"Take it. It's your win. A deal is a deal, even if it's a little unconventional."
"Thank you for your hard work."
"Yeah yeah. Now scram. I'll be waiting for your report later on."
"No need to remind me of it. See you later, Miss SungAh."
Shiki walked towards Hajin with a smile on his face.
"Crack shot. Even I was stunned for a moment there."
"Thanks, teach. Couldn't have done it without you."
"No need to thank me."
"Phew, I'm pooped."
"Let's get back, shall we? Rachel is looking after Eva right now."
"Yeah."
"Oh yeah, before that..." Shiki said, throwing Ijin's smartwatch back to its owner.
He had already took all of her points with him so keeping it made no sense.
Seo Ijin caught her watch, looking at the two men leaving. She turned back and forth between them and her watch a couple of times.
"Don't worry. You can catch up to them if you work hard enough." Yun SeungAh comforted her and left.
Now alone, Seo Ijin tapped her earpiece and said:
—Did you record all of it?
—Every second, Boss. We'll have a field day with this amount of footages.
—Good.
Seo Ijin then picked herself up, dusted herself and also left.
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————[King Crimson]————
As we were moving toward base, I had to ask Hajin that one question.
"What did you do back then? Normally, you wouldn't make that kind of shot."
"That? Well, I tried combining [Reinforcement] with my Gift. Turns out, they are very compatible with each other."
"Interesting... Alaya's enlightenment and Magecraft, huh? Can't say I have thought of it. Good riddance."
"You never thought of doing it? Why?"
"First of all, I never had an enlightenment, unlike you. Second, Magecraft is not a Gift but a mystic Art. So the thought never occurred."
"I see. It made sense when you think about it."
"That's why I had to ask. Another question, do you feel any discomfort? This is the first case it has ever happened so there might be some backlash."
"Besides a small fatigue after it wore off, I don't think I feel any."
"Good. Proud of you, Hajin." I tapped on his back.
"Yeah... Thanks." Hajin wore a soft smile on his face.
"We're here." I said.
I saw the rising smoke at a small distance. In that direction, I also saw two blond heads sitting together.
'It seemed like entrusting Evandel to her mother was the best choice. They must have exchanged many stories with each other.'
"Eva, I'm back."
Her little head perked up and she turned left and right. When she saw me, her face broke out into a big smile.
"It's Papa!!!... and uncle Hajin."
"Hey there, Evandel." Hajin said.
"Welcome back, you two." Rachel said, waving to the two of us.
"Yeah, I'm back. How's Eva? Did she behave well?"
"Yes, she did. She listened very well. Thanks to her father, I assume?"
"Partly. Eva really wants to meet you as well."
"I know. She talked about it with me."
"The sun hasn't set yet but do you want to prepare dinner? I already had enough points for the rest of the exam"
"Really? You must have worked hard then. Do you need to rest?"
"No need. I'll do that after dinner."
"I'll take your word for it. Tell me if you feel tired okay?"
"Okay."
Rachel then went to pick up Evandel and led her to her seat. After that, she helped us with our dinner. With an extra hand, we quickly fixed up a small feast.
After dinner, I immediately settled the point with Rachel.
"Show me your watch. I'll transfer the point."
"Here it is." Rachel pulled her hand out.
I promptly set up a transfer and scanned her watch. You only need a confirmation when someone requests your point. Thus when you want to steal a cadet point, you need their watch to hit the confirmation.
[ Point has been successfully transferred.]
The pop-up window appeared as I watched my point rapidly dwindling.
"A hundred and twenty-four points?" Rachel looked at the number appearing on her screen with wide eyes.
"Teacher, did you send me all of your points?" She asked.
"Nope, that is your share. Half of the profits, as we agreed."
"How did you manage to gather so many points? Don't tell me–"
"Here, this should clear things up." I threw the nametag in my pocket to Rachel.
She caught it and instantly recognised what it was.
"A nametag... Yun SeungAh? Teacher, you took this from her?"
"Pretty much."
"How did you do it?"
"It's a long story. You don't have to dwell on it. Rest. You'll need strength for tomorrow."
"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow."
As Rachel retreated to her sleeping bag, I also finished up what I had to do. I set up a simple Boundary Field and retired on the camping chair.
I closed my eyes as my mind drifted off. My body relaxed, clinging onto the foldable chair like slime.
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In the middle of the island lied a giant tree. Its span for ten meter wide and reach for nearly fifty meter tall. The tree can be seen from anywhere on this island.
In the root of the tree attached a black cocoon. It had red veins trailing all across the outer shell.
Not only that, every mana in the Leyline are currently coursing toward this cocoon. It is nurturing the being protected by the egg.
Faintly but not completely silent, something are beating inside the egg. Whatever it is inside that shell, it is living and gaining power from the Leyline.
*B'thumh B'thumh B'thumh B'thumh B'thumh...*
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Quick question for future plot points:
Enemy servant(as bosses)? And who?
Yay.
Nay.