RE: Player again

300

[Chapter 096] [Silently, Steadily (2)]

Specialized education: Applied Theory of Fire Magic.

Bae Soo-bin frowned at the heat coming from inside as soon as she entered the classroom.

Even though the weather was getting warmer.

The heaters installed on the ceiling were operating at maximum temperature.

That wasn't all.

"It feels just like being in a sauna."

Interiors reminiscent of a sauna could be found everywhere in the classroom.

There were no desks or chairs to be found, and the only place to sit was on steaming wooden boxes.

Moreover, a large flame was blazing in the center of the classroom.

Students who entered the classroom were initially surprised by the heat, and ended up sweating profusely while looking around.

"Hey! The next classroom is no joke either! There's nothing but ice over there!" "Wow! I heard Senior Ryu Yeon-hwa is participating as a teaching assistant there!" "Senior Ryu Yeon-hwa...!? Let's go see her once too!"

"Ah, should I just change classes..."

The students chattered.

From what they were saying, it seemed Ryu Yeon-hwa was participating as a teaching assistant in the next classroom, Applied Theory of Ice Magic.

It was understandable for them to be excited about the news that she, the disciple of Nam Gung Seong-un who was called the strongest in the country, was helping with the lecture.

But Soo-bin wasn't very interested.

She had already exchanged contact information with her and occasionally saw her through Eun-ha, so she didn't feel much excitement.

I'll learn fire magic first, then ask Yeon-hwa unni to teach me ice magic later.

Since she was acquainted with Ryu Yeon-hwa, she could just learn ice magic whenever she wanted.

If that didn't work, she could ask Eun-ha to arrange a meeting.

Bae Soo-bin thought that way.

Not knowing how poor she was at human relationships.

And forgetting that Eun-ha wouldn't arrange a meeting with Ryu Yeon-hwa without any compensation.

"Why is it so noisy! Quickly sit down!"

That's when it happened.

The students who were lingering at the entrance because it was so hot were startled by the shout from behind.

The students who rushed into the stifling heat sat on the steaming wooden boxes.

The students squirmed.

Soo-bin was the same.

Even though she was wearing clothes, the wooden box was so hot it felt like her bottom would get burned.

"This instructor will teach you the essence of fire magic over the semester!"

The instructor with sun-tanned skin waved his hand in the air.

When flames suddenly bloomed, the students' eyes shone even as they were sweating.

Soon they exclaimed in admiration at the sight of small flames swirling around the instructor like a vortex.

The instructor who smiled slightly withdrew the flames.

"I think the reason you're interested in fire magic is because fire magic is so powerful, and handling flames probably looks cool. Right? I understand, because I learned fire magic because it looked cool too."

Some students looked embarrassed.

It hit the mark.

The reason students wanted to become Players wasn't just hatred for monsters, but also a desire for recognition.

To them, blue mana that anyone could handle was boring, and transforming mana into something was a way to show off their skills.

Imbuing a sword with flames would make them stand out more than simply imbuing it with mana.

But why isn't Noh Eun-ha taking this?

So Soo-bin was curious.

This class wasn't one where the amount of internal mana mattered.

So Eun-ha who aspired to be a dealer should have been interested.

But Eun-ha showed no interest in classes on transforming mana.

"...Huh?"

Soon her question was quickly resolved.

Soo-bin opened her eyes wide seeing the instructor put his hand into the flames blazing in the center of the classroom.

"As you learned in 1st year, magic is the combination of mana and image. The more concrete the image, the firmer the will imbued in the mana, the more power magic has to reform principles. Then people trying to handle flames must know flames well."

"You need to know why fire burns, why it goes out, what the role of fire is, and how hot fire is. Even if you just know it in your head, if you don't perceive it with your body, you won't be able to properly exert effects even if you implement it. Flames only known in your head ultimately only exist as 'illusions'. Only when you know it with your body do flames finally go beyond 'illusions' to become 'real'."

The instructor's face contorted more as time passed with his hand in the flames.

The instructor who groaned pulled out his hand. After brushing off the flames on his collar, he showed his arm to the students.

The students were at a loss for words.

Because ghastly burn scars were spread all over the instructor's arm when he rolled up his sleeve.

"Actually, only a very small minority of Players can professionally handle transformation magic. The Players you've seen in the media who mainly handle fire magic are just a tiny fraction. Most only remember a few fire magic spells. Even those are rarely used..."

"This instructor prides himself as one of the top Players who use fire magic. However, even I haven't achieved great results despite trying to understand fire magic to the point of getting burns all over my body like this."

The instructor put his hand to his face.

Only then did the students realize.

That the instructor had been wearing makeup.

When he peeled off the artificial skin like a mask, a face with no hair at all appeared.

The students groaned softly.

A face melted and hardened by heat.

It was a face that made it seem strange he had been speaking so smoothly until now.

"See?"

The instructor who grinned covered his face with the mask again.

The students wiped their arms seeing the instructor's face return to normal.

"We are born with mana, but we are not born with flames. So no matter how much we try to understand flames, there will inevitably be a difference from people born with flames.

The same goes for ice magic being taught in the next class right now. If people trying to learn fire magic must be prepared to get burns, people trying to learn ice magic must be prepared to get frostbite. You can say people with dark blue bruises have learned ice magic.

Players who use fire magic and ice magic wear long-sleeved clothes even in summer.

They may look cool in the media, but they are hiding the most unsightly appearances in this world. So I hope you won't be too captivated by just what you see."

The students kept silent.

Some of them were quietly leaving the classroom.

The instructor didn't stop them.

"That's why the Player industry keeps trying to find people with Gift lineages that can transform mana into something else. Because it's such a powerful ability. Former Twelve Seats member Nam Gung Seong-un Player possessed , and current Twelve Seats members Kang Hyeon-cheol and Lee Do-jin Players also possess and ."

"Ryu Yeon-hwa, the 027th class valedictorian you all know who will be in the next classroom now, is also a possessor of ."

The wall of Gift lineages that people learning afterwards can never overcome.

That realization took away the will of those trying to learn.

Nevertheless, Soo-bin clenched her fist.

Even while sweating from the heat.

In the heat that would surely be nothing to Kang Hyeon-cheol who possessed the Gift.

Still, I want to learn.

Fire magic was certainly powerful.

Even if she couldn't overcome the wall of .

She wanted to obtain magic that could burn her enemies to ashes.

Not just fire.

Ice, lightning, wind too.

And other things as well.

I really want to learn.

Soo-bin recalled the sensation when she killed a Slayer with her own hands last autumn.

How ecstatic it was to feel the life struggling and gradually disappearing in her hands as she stabbed down with the knife.

The realization she gained then gave her a broad perspective to view the world and granted her new magic.

Then what if she felt other things?

Feeling fire to burn things.

Feeling ice to freeze things.

Feeling lightning to sear things.

Feeling wind to tear things apart.

How enjoyable would it be to know.

It's fun to learn about the world.

The instructor said.

Today's class would end with briefly putting your hand in the flames and pulling it out.

Soo-bin who waited for her turn put her hand into the flames without hesitation.

She felt pain and joy at the sensation of the flames striking her hand.

No matter how long it takes.

Silently, steadily.

Then someday she would be able to obtain what she desired.

☆

Ugh... Bae Soo-bin is really tough.

I could never learn transformation magic...

Eun-ha who finished the footwork class with Min-ho shuddered recalling Bae Soo-bin.

The realization of being able to transform mana into something was very helpful.

But the results weren't that good compared to the effort.

For him who pursued efficiency, it was better to learn combat techniques or auxiliary magic that could train himself.

Still, being able to use various magic is good.

Bae Soo-bin aspired to be a caster.

Whether caster or supporter, if you could use various types of magic, your usefulness was very broad.

Especially with Bae Soo-bin's talent.

So Eun-ha didn't try to stop her when she said she would learn transformation magic.

Because Bae Soo-bin was also skilled in magic in his previous life.

"If you're not going to aspire to be a caster... it's better to realize principles through things like skill stones."

Among the specialized education teaching transformation magic, there was also a class teaching how to transform mana into poison.

At first, Eun-ha had considered whether to take it too.

He gave up on this as well.

Because it was easier to use poison than to transform mana into poison.

Above all, he thought that even if he could transform mana into poison, he wouldn't be able to create a poison surpassing Virulent Venom.

"Noh Eun-ha, what's your next class?"

"I have Myths and Folktales class the period after next. You?" "This is my last one."

Eun-ha and Min-ho were walking side by side in the hallway.

Since they had never been left alone together, the two didn't talk much.

Mok Min-ho was on the quiet side, and Eun-ha kept silent knowing his personality.

...It's awkward though.

I should send Ha-yang a message.

I should call Ha-yang who's taking the same class after next.

Eun-ha sent Ha-yang a message on his smartphone while walking.

A reply came quickly.

It seemed she had another class.

Eun-ha who sighed pondered how to spend his free time.

"...Hey, what are you going to do now?"

"...I have to go to Ga-in."

Mok Min-ho answering after a pause.

Eun-ha frowned.

This guy, and Eun-woo...

What's so good about following Choi Ga-in...

From Eun-ha's perspective, the two didn't seem to follow her with sincere loyalty.

It was probably due to family orders.

But Cha Eun-woo had become lax recently, and played with other girls in her spare time.

Mok Min-ho was still the same.

Though he was hanging out with Eun-hyeok and Parang, he was still an authoritarian person who valued procedures.

He also had a strong sense of responsibility.

So that's probably why he was doing this.

"Come drink coffee with me."

"Why should I?" "It's a rare opportunity. I'm buying."

"How much could that cost..."

Perhaps separating Mok Min-ho from Choi Ga-in would be an even harder task.

The fortunate thing was that unlike before, Mok Min-ho was following along while grumbling.

Eun-ha decided to spend time drinking coffee with him at a nearby cafe.

"Noh Eun-ha." "Huh, what?"

That's when it happened.

Eun-ha who came down to the 1st floor turned his head when Min-ho following behind spoke.

Min-ho was furrowing his brows with his mouth firmly closed.

As if pondering something.

Why is he acting like that?

Eun-ha tilted his head.

As far as he knew, Mok Min-ho wasn't someone who pondered deeply like this.

He was someone who spoke after finishing his thoughts.

But he seemed to be constantly hesitating to speak even after calling out.

"I heard from Choi Eun-hyeok... that he learned a magic called Mana Crusher from you."

"Yeah. So?"

Mok Min-ho opened his mouth after a silence.

When Eun-ha asked with an uncomprehending face, he frowned sharply.

As if wanting him to catch on.

But Eun-ha just waited for him to continue speaking.

Finally, Mok Min-ho continued in a displeased voice.

"Teach me that too." "Mana Crusher?"

"...Yeah, that." "You can learn it in high academy even if you don't learn it now?" "Not just that... I heard Choi Eun-hyeok has been learning something called Thousand Steps lately too..."

"So?"

"That too..."

An uncharacteristic appearance for Mok Min-ho.

Eun-ha was inwardly perplexed.

The Mok Min-ho he knew wasn't someone who bowed his head to anyone except Choi Ga-in, seniors or instructors.

But he was making a request to him, a classmate.

"Why?"

"..."

Min-ho didn't answer.

But Eun-ha felt like he vaguely knew the reason even if he didn't answer.

The incident with the Slayers last year must have been a shock to him too.

It's not that hard to teach Mana Crusher.

The problem is Thousand Steps...

Eun-ha fell into thought.

Thousand Steps was a technique learned from Baek Seo-jin.

He felt somewhat reluctant to teach it carelessly.

To learn Thousand Steps, footwork also needed to be corrected.

Unlike Eun-hyeok who he had taught since childhood, it would take some time for Min-ho.

"Well, okay."

It wouldn't be a loss to bring Mok Min-ho into his party.

Even if not, there were parts of Mok Min-ho's swordsmanship he wanted to point out.

Even so, he couldn't teach him without any compensation.

"It seems like you should buy this coffee, not me."

"Fine, I'll do that."

"And bring grande size coffee for me to drink every time we train."

"...Am I your coffee shuttle?"

"Add cookies too." "...Alright."

Min-ho answered disgruntledly.

But it wasn't a loss for him.

Because Thousand Steps taught by Baek Seo-jin was magic worth that much.

"And..."

This next part was important.

"You have to treat me like a master when receiving teachings." "..."

Mok Min-ho was authoritarian.

Because he was authoritarian, he didn't try to go against people above him.

Then how about claiming to be Mok Min-ho's master?

Mok Min-ho wouldn't try to go against him.

He could put some constraints on Mok Min-ho's actions of serving Choi Ga-in.

Above all, if he brought him into the party, he needed to show the appearance of a superior over a long time so he wouldn't go against his words.

A master-disciple relationship would make it easier.

Even if he and Mok Min-ho were the same age, if he received his teachings, someday Mok Min-ho would psychologically consider him a superior.

"...Alright."

"Okay."

Mok Min-ho who was pondering with a serious face finally nodded.

Eun-ha who was satisfied with the results was about to head to the cafe.

Just then, he saw Yoo Do-joon coming out of the cafe.

Eun-ha was about to lightly raise his hand to greet him when─

"─Ah, what the. You spilled coffee."

"You should watch where you're going."

"But

"But… I think it suits you, hey." "Well, you're not the type of person to walk around like a prince, are you?"

The students who were walking behind him pushed him as if they were trying to get him to do something.

While Yudojun was falling to the floor, a student threw coffee at him.

And then, without even apologizing, he just kept making fun of him.

"What are those guys?"

It was definitely a swollen liver.