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[Chapter 130]
[Cutting to the Chase (4)]
The academy is an educational institution established on land that transformed into a red dungeon.
As such, it's a land with many stories.
Because of this, various ghost stories circulated in the academy.
Among them were ghost stories that actually existed, and ghost stories that were accepted like legends as they passed through people's mouths over a long time.
The ghost story related to the academy lake also belonged to such legends.
"...They say the former Twelve Seats player Nam Gung Seong-un and those who conquered the academy dungeon discovered an artifact at the bottom of the lake."
"Minji, and then?"
"So the dungeon conquerors tried to get the artifact, but not only does the artifact choose its owner, but extremely complex traps were set up to prevent anyone from even approaching the artifact."
"Ah! Guys! Guys! I heard this story in class! So Yoon Seong-jin pl..."
"Binggu oppa, please be quiet. I'm talking. Anyway, so after investigating, Yoon Seong-jin player told people. That the artifact is waiting for a hero to appear who will drive away the darkness of this world. So let's establish an academy on this land so such heroes can emerge!"
At the bottom of the academy lake is a stone Buddha statue containing mysterious energy.
The stone Buddha wears a bronze mirror hung by a string around its neck, and that bronze mirror could be said to be the core of the legend.
The artifact, Cheoksa Danyo Jomun Mirror. Its name meant "rough pattern mirror that repels evil energy".
"But is that artifact really amazing? What kind of magic could be imbued in it for people to keep talking about it since earlier?"
"It's exactly as the name says. They say it's imbued with magic that cancels all debuff and buff magic applied to any being reflected in the mirror."
Ariel tilted her head after hearing Kim Minji's explanation.
Eunha, who had returned to his friends by now, satisfied her curiosity.
Meanwhile, his gaze followed the instructors simultaneously deploying magic.
""""Wow...""""
The lake splits in half.
Students exclaimed in admiration seeing the lake split cleanly as if cut by a knife.
Soon, the stone Buddha revealed its presence in the exposed area, as if a curtain had been lifted.
""""...""""
A stone Buddha that could commonly be seen in temples.
But the seemingly insignificant being was emitting a strangely enormous presence.
Above all, the bronze mirror hung around the stone Buddha's neck was shining brightly enough to catch the eyes of students looking down at the lake.
"...No one knows if the legend that whoever receives this artifact's selection will become a universally recognized hero is true or not. But they say no one has been chosen by the artifact since the academy was established until now."
"Since not a single person has emerged so far, it might feel more credible as a legend."
While students began burning with enthusiasm to become the owner of the artifact entangled in legend,
Eunha looked down at the lake bottom with calm eyes.
The Cheoksa Danyo Jomun Mirror became material for On Taeyang's sword in his previous life.
In other words, On Taeyang will be chosen by the artifact.
The people present were merely extras.
Starting from today..., On Taeyang's position within the academy will become solidified.
In his previous life.
On Taeyang, who received teachings from
And based on that skill, he broke through the Cheoksa Danyo Jomun Mirror's traps and gained recognition as the artifact's owner in front of people.
He gains attention from those around him as he obtains the symbolism of being destined to become a hero someday as the owner of the Cheoksa Danyo Jomun Mirror.
Thus, he finally gains influence not inferior to Mok Minho.
"—Is anyone going? If so, you should go quickly... Everyone's lining up now."
Minji asks her friends.
Most friends who harbored aspirations of becoming the artifact's owner raised their hands.
But Eunha didn't raise his hand.
"What? No Eunha, you're not going to do it? You never know, maybe you'll become the artifact's owner."
"I'll pass. You guys do it."
Then Minji expressed doubt.
Eunha apathetically refused and turned towards friends not participating in the game.
The reason for not participating was obvious.
—Because I wasn't chosen. Why would I stand in line for a long time knowing I'll fail?
In his previous life.
Eunha had participated in the game once, pushed by Lee Yujeong's nagging.
He was able to reach the stone Buddha.
But the Cheoksa Danyo Jomun Mirror did not recognize Eunha as its owner.
Surely this life would be no different.
With that mindset, Eunha decided to watch his friends participate in the game.
And to wait for On Taeyang to become the mirror's owner and show his
☆
The process of reaching the stone Buddha is extremely difficult.
Even though
Students participating in the game had to break through traps without using magic to prevent damaging the traps.
However, simply flowing mana through the body to enhance physical abilities was possible.
Breaking through traps isn't the end.
The most important thing is gaining recognition from the stone Buddha.
Meanwhile, the stone Buddha judges whether the student who breaks through the traps is its owner.
If the student's ability falls short, the stone Buddha's head enlarges, preventing them from removing the mirror from its neck.
But it's too early to be disappointed that the stone Buddha's head enlarged after breaking through traps.
The student places their hand on the stone Buddha's face and flows internal mana.
Even if their ability is lacking, if their mana meets the stone Buddha's expectations, it's said the head will gradually shrink and allow them to remove the mirror.
"Is that really true?"
"...Yoon Seong-jin player said so. We should just accept it and move on, what else can we do?"
"Hmm... It feels like we're falling for a shallow sales tactic, which makes me uncomfortable..."
The game had started and only dropouts were coming out one after another.
The majority of students couldn't break through the onslaught of traps, and a very small number barely managed to reach the stone Buddha.
But students had no choice but to turn away from the stone Buddha with its enlarged head.
"Where did the source that the mirror's owner will become a hero originate from in the first place? Yoon Seong-jin player shouldn't have prophetic abilities..."
"I guess there must have been someone with similar abilities among his party members."
"Aren't you thinking too conveniently? I find it extremely suspicious."
"Just say you're angry because you failed. Why are you saying it's suspicious after failing?"
Seona failed too.
She somehow broke through the traps, but the stone Buddha greeted her with an enlarged head.
In the end, she returned disappointed and was venting to Eunha.
"At times like this, you should just agree with what I'm saying."
"...It's hard enough dealing with Ariel, don't you start too."
"What!? No Eunha! What did you just say? Did you say I'm difficult!? How could you talk behind my back?"
"Aha. So I'm difficult too?"
The fox keeps harping on words.
The fish with exceptionally good hearing for its own stories whines.
Eunha was having trouble even watching the game, tormented by the fox and fish.
Meanwhile, dropouts continued to come out.
...In the end, Minho failed too.
Jin Parang, uncharacteristically trying to use his head to avoid traps, failed without even reaching near the stone Buddha.
Mok Minho, who was in line after Jin Parang, passed through the traps with movements clean enough to make students admire, but wasn't recognized by the stone Buddha.
Nevertheless, compared to others, it's said the stone Buddha recognized his skill and its head enlarged less.
Though it was the same in that he couldn't remove the mirror from its neck.
"Ah. Now it's Eunhyuk's turn."
After a few more people passed.
Eventually, it was Choi Eunhyuk's turn.
Eunha, who had somehow procured an ice-cold beer bottle as if just taken out of a refrigerator by magic, moved next to Hayang.
He felt he wouldn't be able to watch quietly if he stayed near the fish and fox.
"Want a drink?"
"Yeah. Just a sip for me. Thanks."
Eunha opened the beer bottle and offered it to Hayang first.
She smiled brightly and carefully took a sip of the alcohol.
Eunha brought the beer bottle she drank from to his mouth and looked down at Choi Eunhyuk approaching the stone Buddha.
"I heard he received teachings from
"It seems many people think like you, Eunha. Look at how people who went to enjoy the party are flocking back."
The line to participate in the game is so long.
Even people who had been watching the game got bored and left.
Then, as she said, people were crowding around the lake again, having heard news from somewhere.
Choi Eunhyuk was avoiding the traps' magic while receiving their gazes.
"How does he look?"
"Not bad. He's improved from before."
Eunha examined Choi Eunhyuk's skills.
He chooses to preserve stamina by avoiding as much as possible, even what he could block.
From Eunha's perspective, blocking what could be blocked would be more efficient, but he didn't think it was bad.
Instead, Choi Eunhyuk was advancing slowly but steadily, without any injuries.
"Hayang, aren't you going to try?"
"Me? Hmm... I want to, but we can't use magic, right? I'm not confident in my physical skills."
He finally broke through the traps.
Eunha asked her while watching Choi Eunhyuk place his hand on the face of the stone Buddha with a somewhat enlarged head.
She smiled bitterly.
Eunha nodded as if understanding and handed her the drink he was drinking.
"Ah, what a shame. It seemed like he could almost do it..."
Soon she let out a sigh.
Because the stone Buddha's head had barely enlarged.
So when Eunhyuk tried to lift the string, unfortunately the string caught on the stone Buddha's forehead and wouldn't come off.
Sighs of disappointment seemed to come from here and there seeing that sight.
It is disappointing.
The artifact seems to somewhat match Eunhyuk's internal mana...
Eunha was inwardly surprised.
If something had aligned just a little more, Choi Eunhyuk could have become the owner of the Cheoksa Danyo Jomun Mirror.
"Whether it's artifacts or skill stones, there are ones that match me and ones that don't. I wonder what criteria determines this?"
"Wouldn't you know that better than me?"
"I'm still learning too? And you, Eunha... You know more than us. I thought you might know."
She seemed to suddenly become curious after seeing Eunhyuk's disappointing failure.
She asked while handing him the beer bottle.
He drank the last sip, emptying the bottle.
"I don't know well either, but... I think there might be complex reasons. Things like internal mana amount, Gift, or connection to enlightenment..."
"Then what kind of person do you think that artifact wants?"
"Well..."
Eunha trailed off.
Just earlier, according to the first year head instructor, the stone Buddha reads the emotion of greed from the mana participants release.
The more greed, the larger the stone Buddha's head grows.
But Eunha didn't know how much of that story he could believe.
As Seona had doubted earlier, the source wasn't clear.
Above all—
—Can there really be a person in this world without greed?
If such a person truly exists in this world, they would be no different from a sage.
There's no one in the world without greed.
Eunha firmly believed this.
In that sense, On Taeyang must have had greed too.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have taken seven wives without any greed.
"...He's finally out."
Surely the stone Buddha must have recognized something in On Taeyang.
Eunha raised the corners of his mouth watching him, whom he had been waiting for, advance towards the stone Buddha.
But the raised corners of his mouth soon fell greatly.
...He falls short of expectations.
He's too weak.
Although On Taeyang is known as a promising talent
He didn't meet Eunha's standards.
His swordsmanship is terrible. He can't respond to irregular attacks.
Moreover, he seemed to be wasting a lot of stamina with unnecessary movements.
There was still quite a distance left to reach the stone Buddha, but his movements were visibly slowing down.
"Hayang."
"Yeah. What is it?"
"That On Taeyang, didn't you say he only trains in the training hall whenever he has time?"
"Yeah, that's right. That's why On Taeyang's reputation among students is really good. They say he's known as a promising talent who doesn't neglect effort."
"Does that look okay to you?"
"Hmm..."
The difference is too great even for there to be a difference.
Eunha frowned.
If things had progressed according to the future he knew, by now On Taeyang should have grown into a dealer who could contend with Mok Minho.
Even without receiving
On Taeyang rolls on the ground.
That sight looks just like a hero advancing tenaciously.
But to Eunha's eyes, it was nothing more than a pathetic sight.
The situation he's in is urgent, but it wasn't actually a situation that needed to be urgent.
In fact, Eunha's friends had avoided traps of that level without any trouble.
"—Isn't your expectation too high, Eunha? He's doing better than other kids. He's just not as good as Eunhyuk or Minho."
"..."
"Taeyang is also working hard, but Eunhyuk and Minho have been consistently working hard since long ago. So I think it doesn't make sense to compare them with Taeyang in the first place."
Jung Hayang speaks in a serious tone.
He listened to her words.
Maybe that's true.
His friends had fulfilled his expectations, so his expectations seemed to have become too high.
...Still though. At this rate, his skill level is similar to people just called promising talents.
Then Eunha realized that in this life, all the connections and networks On Taeyang should have gained had flowed to himself and his friends.
So what On Taeyang is showing now could be said to be the result of his growth by his own power alone.
If it couldn't be helped, it couldn't be helped.
Except for the Gift
And I can't train someone who dislikes me...
It makes me worry in many ways.
Eunha sighed.
Meanwhile, On Taeyang finally managed to reach the stone Buddha.
"The head has no choice but to be big..."
Eunha clicked his tongue.
The stone Buddha must not have been pleased with On Taeyang's skill in breaking through the traps.
The stone Buddha's head was enormous.
But since On Taeyang's mana matched the Cheoksa Danyo Jomun Mirror before the regression...
Huh?
On Taeyang placed his hand on the stone Buddha.
Eunha's eyes widened.
"This can't be..."
Recognizing On Taeyang's mana.
The stone Buddha's head seemed to shrink, but stopped shrinking at some point.
At this rate, he won't be able to remove the mirror.
The stone Buddha's head seemed larger than when Choi Eunhyuk placed his hand.
Nevertheless, On Taeyang didn't give up and strained with all his might to pull out the mirror.
Of course, there was no way the string connecting the
Of course, the string connecting the mirrors could not have passed through the large head.
"Even the whole sun was eliminated."
Finally, Ontaeyang turns around, grumbling.
Eunha stared blankly at the full sun rising from the bottom of the lake and listened to Hayang speaking next to her.
Her voice is strangely bright.
Finally, she opened her mouth and said─.
"─Galaxy, why don't you try it too?"
As if he had been waiting for this moment.
She smiled brightly.