Chapter 38: Normalcy

2012, the night after the fire.

I quietly stood by the rubbles of my home.

Looking in at the charred black interior, memories buried within the ashes and the things I lost.

A subtle weight crushed at my heart.

To my left was a tall man in shining silver armour, a red cape billowing behind him.

He placed a gloved hand on my shoulder as if to comfort me, but the filth that spilled from his mouth was anything but that.

Suffocating anger wrapped around my throat.

"Those rotten thieves got what they deserve. You can't blame us for this. In a way, this was all your doing."

'My fault? My fault?!'

I kept staring at the wreckage as many others who called themselves heroes, whispered and snickered.

"You're still just a kid. Being the son of that bastard was just bad luck. Haha- ahem. Forgive me, but I have other things I need to attend to."

'...This…'

He walked away from the scene with that arrogant voice of his.

I turned my gaze to him, remembering his appearance, burning it into my retinas so I would never forget.

Glimmering silver armour, worn without shame. A flowing red cape stained with blood. Golden, slitted eyes hiding behind a cool steel helmet. 

In his hand was a coin, engraved with many symbols.

That man told the world my family died in a monster outbreak. Told them it was an unfortunate accident.

No one believed them.

But what could they do?

They were, after all, Heroes.

…

"Good morning, Rachel." 

My calm voice spoke out as I took my usual seat next to my terminally early classmate.

The events of yesterday had left no visible marks on me but my emotions were still a little unstable from Yeonha's response.

—I… I'll try my best.

Although it wasn't yet a total recovery, it was a step in the right direction for Yeonha.

'I'm almost certain she'll be thinking of me more often now on. The fruits of my plan are beginning to show.'

"Good morning." Rachel responded with her ever stoic face.

She seemed bright and vibrant, as though she had used the two weeks as proper rest and recuperation unlike many of her peers.

I took my seat next to her, noting how Hajin hadn't arrived just yet. The man was the centre of a massive rumor recently, and from the looks of it everyone was talking about it.

As for those who had arrived, there was a majority of them staring at me. One of which was the simmering, begrudging silence of Shin Jonghak, who I had beaten during duels.

As for the other important member staring at me… well, he seemed a bit confused.

'Well, it's less confusion and more…weariness.'

The man in question was Kim Suho, who seemed like he wanted to ask me something. 

'Better nip this in the bud before he thinks something strange.'

[Me: What's with the stare?]

I flicked him a message on the Cube watch, my other one long incinerated by my own spell.

Kim Suho looked at the message before typing back.

[Kim Suho: Was the explosion you?]

'Are you an idiot!? Why would you say that with the Cube watch you idiot!?'

I stared at the message with a blank face while I internally died a bit.

'Calm down, I'm sure he means well…Alright, how should I do this?'

I looked at Kim Suho and found him staring at me.

'...This guy… alright. Seeing as how he's as pure as a golden retriever I'm almost certain he'll look for the best in someone. Which means if I'm honest he'll think something along the lines of 'I'm sure he has his own reasons.' The problem lies with if he's smart enough to understand subtle gestures. He's not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed.'

I paused before nodding, my facial expression falling serious.

Kim Suho widened his eyes in surprise but before he could type anything stupid on the monitored device I replied.

[Me: You mean the one in Wonju? Yeah sorry for scaring the monsters away.]

'Suho, please for the love of god understand. I know you aren't exactly an intellectual bu-'

[Kim Suho: Don't worry about it. I was just curious is all. We should go hunting together next time if your up for it.]

"..."

I pumped my imaginary fist at Suho's display of 'reading the room', truly, a spectacular performance on his end.

[Me: Of course. I'll make some time when I can.]

At that, the door to the class opened and in came Kim Hajin. The very man who's challenge to Chae Nayun had spread far and wide.

Shin Jonghak, who's nerves were already bubbling, seemed to get even more agitated, not that he could do anything about it.

Hajin took his usual seat, Rachel and I greeting him as he sat down, him giving a nod in return.

"Did those guys ever come back?" I muttered under my breath fully expecting him to hear it.

"I didn't stick around to check." He whispered to the point only I could hear him speak.

"Oh right. Hajin, you're the centre of attention these days. Who the heck did you annoy this time?" I pretended to begin a conversation.

"Ugh, don't mention it. I already hear it enough from everyone else."

Hajin skillfully brushed me off, as expected.

An awkward silence settled in but was shattered before it could get too bad by the class president bursting through the door with his usual gusto.

"Guys, grades are out for the written exams."

He carried large scrolls before slamming them up the wall, one by one.

Everyone stared at the scrolls while groaning.

I simply smiled as I felt the slight shift in demeanor beside me. 

Rachel had her eyes set on the board as her fists were clenched.

'Ahh, she's sulking again.'

===

Rank 1. Kim Hajin

Rank 2. Minori Nii

Rank 3. Rachel 

Rank 4. Shin Jonghak

…

===

I looked at Rachel out of the corner of my eye only to see her burning gaze on me and Hajin, who conveniently sat beside each other.

Rachel then buried her face in her arms and flopped onto her desk in a very un-princess-like manner.

She muttered under her breath in english.

"I should've studied harder… am I losing my touch?"

I felt a little bad for her but noted down her feelings in my head.

"Also, I hope everyone knows that we have new classes."

Yi Yeonghan added.

"Look at the first year announcements if you haven't. Starting from today, Friday will have two classes."

For first-year cadets, classes changed after their first semester midterms. It was Cube's way of giving cadets a diverse selection of classes.

In addition, magicians would join in from the second semester and cadets would be able to choose the classes they wanted to take. In reality, they were taking classes that fit their roles.

The new class today was [Practical Magic and Intermediate Rank Magic Power Control].

I could hardly wait.

Drrrrk—

And I wouldn't have to, as the phenomenon realm analysis professor walked in.

"Take your seats." His calm voice dampened the cadet's volume.

He turned to peek at the scrolls on the wall before grinning.

"I'm sure you've all seen the exam results."

The cadets groaned.

"Now, now, your tests were easier than the ones I give to college students. Also, Cadet Kim Hajin."

The professor pointed to the boy beside me. I smirked and looked at his face as he remained calm.

"An unconventional outlook and logical judgment, I could see true 'wisdom' from your answers. Frankly, I can't believe you're only 17. You're good enough to be writing thesis papers for graduation."

Seeing the praise I decided to test something.

"Look at you go… it'd be a real shame if they found out all you had to do was turn that gift of yours on." I whispered under my breath, hard for even myself to hear.

Hajin's eyelids lowered for a split second as his eyes darted to and from me. It was incredibly subtle, so fast, most people wouldn't be able to catch it.

But I'm not most people.

'So it really is related to his gift.'

My wild shot in the dark managed to hit bullseye once again as I collected yet another hint to Hajin's identity.

He ignored my comment, or at least he acted like he was ignoring me, before nodding at the professor.

"Since today is the first class after exams, I will give a quick lecture using cadet Kim Hajin's answer sheet and call it a day."

When the professor spoke those words Hajin flinched while the princess on my right took out a notebook with a determined gleam in her eyes.

"Now, take a look at this answer. He wrote, if monsters had linguistic abilities.."

I felt the boy cringe as the professor began.

I chuckled internally but focused up to understand Hajin's writing.

Something about a monster with linguistic abilities raised a few flags with my gift.

…

It was now 3:30 in the afternoon and the time for Friday's second class. 95 cadets of the Veritas class were gathered at the Library.

The chief magician in charge of the class was waiting in an empty lecture room, which only had desks and chairs in case of a magic accident.

In this class, Minori had picked his spot far from Kim Suho, knowing that the boy would probably open his mouth and say something stupid while the spies were still around.

Instead, the pale eyed young man decided to place himself next to his new ally, Yoo Yeonha. The goal for now was to deepen the bond between them to open new avenues in the future.

But before any of that-

"Hello, I am the chief magician from the Seoul magic tower, Kim Hyojun. Every Friday, from 3:30 to 6, I will be teaching you practical magic and magic power control. But of course, today's class will only be 20 minutes."

The chief magician introduced himself with a gentle smile.

'Chief Magician… he's not going to say what section. He's bringing attention to only himself… judging by his threads, he wouldn't outlast me…he seems weaker than Jin Joohwa, probably has a big ego in that skull of his. His eyes are also a bit… perverse.'

Minori made silent observations and decided to keep an eye on the man.

'He fits the description of many Djinn from just a glance. The only difference is that he isn't being strung along by some Devil.'

"You might be thinking, 'Why should I learn magic when I'm not a magician?' That's a valid question, but as I'm sure you know, qi reinforcement and sword qi are an extension of magic."

Kim Hyojin released his magic power into the air as a demonstration. The soft and jelly like magic power he emitted instantly hardened when he concentrated.

"Now, if you simply use your 'physical power' to reinforce your magic power, that becomes qi reinforcement or sword qi. But if you refine your magic power with a proper method."

Immediately, a pink flame rose up from his magic power.

The cadets nodded, not a hint of surprise or awe on their faces. They had seen much larger and much more destructive flames during the midterms after all.

Slightly discouraged by the lack of reaction, Kim Hyojun's gentle mask faltered.

"Even if you can't wield magic of this level, you will learn to use more practical magic, or learn to wield things like qi reinforcement and sword qi more naturally. Since today is the first class, we will only go over what we will learn in the future."

Suddenly, a blue sphere the size of a ping pong ball shot up from his palm.

"This is a necessary magic skill to learn before entering a dungeon. It's called Light Sphere. It will be your light source in many dark areas. It may look simple at first glance, but to wield it skillfully…"

Kim Hyojun gave a complicated explanation. 

'It's pretty basic… and a lot more convoluted than what I use. Though, I can't exactly make fun of him since my method is just being created.'

"Now, before I teach you where to begin, try doing it yourself."

"..."

In an instant the room bloomed into a mess of mana threads and badly crafted spells. Threads fell onto the floor like wet noodles at the Cadet's pathetic excuse of an attempt.

I didn't let my expression change as I quietly observed the surrounding cadets, my eyes falling onto Yeonha, who sat beside me.

I found it much easier to look at someone who was actually getting the hang of it.

… or maybe she wasn't…

"Yeonha, reinforce the inside of it a bit. You're making a solid ball of light, not a shell." I gave her a gentle nudge in the right direction.

For mages, spell and skill level was a simple equation; Talent + Intuition + Equation = Skill.

Giving someone a small push could mean breaking a barrier with the right Talent.

Yoo Yeonha looked at me with an unreadable expression before looking back down at the ball.

"...ok." Her voice was low and meek, as if she wasn't too sure how to talk with me.

'Still find it a bit awkward to chat with me? That's fine, I'll let her simmer for a bit longer.'

Although she acted all shy and reclusive, she did take my advice and gradually her ball of light shone a bit brighter.

The threads within were jagged and unrestrained, probably a side effect of her electric related gift. 

I chuckled inwardly and was about to point it out when a bright sphere of light caught my attention.

A small fluffy ball, bobbing up and down in Hajin's expression.

I couldn't help the smirk on my face when I saw his awkward expression.

"This idiot." I muttered under my breath as Yoo Yonha sent him a message with a serious expression.

Peeking over her shoulder I saw what she wrote.

[We can't do anything like that yet. If you show people what you just did, they're going to misunderstand.]

'Jeez, even her texting is serious. On another note, it seems she thinks of Hajin the way he wants her to think.'

Hajin waved the orb away clumsily and looked at Yeonha, who rolled her eyes and gave a look as though to say 'You should know better'.

Most other cadets were so garbage, I couldn't even bring myself to look at them. The amount of mana wasted in just a few moments with close to zero output, seriously put a dent in my image of Cube cadets.

But from the foremost seat, a blue shining light dissolved my previous doubts.

Other cadets looked on in surprise, while Kim Hyojun's face stiffened. After staring at Kim Suho's light sphere for a good minute, he suddenly snapped.

"Stop."

'There it is. I had a feeling this would happen, which is why I didn't even try to make one.'

"...If you make it like that, you'll be overburdening your magic power. Now, pay attention everyone. I'll give a more detailed explanation."

As Kim Hyojun began to give Kim Suho a private lesson, I felt Yeonha turn to me.

"Aren't you going to try?"

She asked in a simple tone, trying to feel out how to converse properly with me.

"Your display at the midterms was enough to turn heads. So I'm assuming you don't mind concealing your powers at all."

Yeonha's tone gradually gained a hint of confidence.

I just gave her a soft smile and then tapped the table to form a semi circle of hard light.

Then, with a flick of the finger, I let it roll and disappear when it hit the flat side.

At Yeonha's wide eyes and slightly slack jaw, I spoke softly.

"Sure I don't mind concealing my powers, but who's to say I'll show off at every corner?"

At my words, Yeonha nodded her head and went back to trying to form her own ball of light, a more serious expression on her face.

Some cadets caught my display and were slack jawed, unable to make any sound, while others were engrossed in Kim Hyojun's longer explanation.