Chapter 56

I had spoken ambitiously about official presentations and such, but in reality, I had to struggle desperately just to keep up with the A-Rank classes afterward.

‘…It’s harder than I thought.’

Of course, in most subjects, I could follow along thanks to my knowledge as a former player and the power of my Intracranial Spell Repository Trait.

However, now that I had risen to an upper class, there were quite a few things that couldn’t be solved by that alone.

“Han Kangyoon, could you explain the Cursed Technique origins of the Dongmyo Guanwu Ritual that was being conducted in 1617?”

“……”

In the game, information not needed by the player didn’t have a direct impact.

But, as I’ve said many times, this place wasn’t a game but reality.

This world had thousands of histories I didn’t know and all sorts of customs and cultures I couldn’t possibly be aware of.

Naturally, having been here for less than a year, it was impossible for me to understand those aspects accurately.

“That’s a problem. You might think it’s unrelated to actual combat, but these details pile up to serve as the foundation. Neglect them, and you’ll regret it later.”

“…I’m sorry.”

Frankly, I felt a bit wronged, but there was nothing I could do. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. What else could I do?

But for me, having to learn knowledge I was hearing for the very first time, it was inevitably a difficult situation to get a handle on.

‘It would be nice if there was someone I could ask to teach me.’

Fortunately, there was a person in the current A-Rank class who could fulfill that wish.

After the class, which was like an ordeal, I spotted my target among the A-Rank students leaving the lecture hall, followed him, and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Thump.

“Got a moment to talk?”

He was none other than Adrian, the official combat power measuring stick of the 2nd-year A-Rank class and the character called a civil servant among players.

“Hmm, I get it. So, you’re asking me to teach you, right?”

“Roughly, yes.”

Contrary to the ridiculous titles of combat power measuring stick and civil servant, this Adrian was an honor student who always maintained high grades among numerous elites.

Especially, he was a character who had a comprehensive grasp of the very knowledge I currently lacked the most and wasn’t particularly stingy about helping.

In other words, he was the perfect person to ask for this favor.

“No reason I can’t. I’m interested in you too. But you’re not asking for this for free, are you?”

“Of course not. If you have a desired price, I’m willing to accommodate it as much as possible.”

“Good. Then let’s set a time. How about Friday evenings every week?”

Fortunately, I succeeded in securing Adrian’s cooperation.

And after facing Adrian across a desk for the first time, I was convinced my choice wasn’t wrong.

“So, you mean the original purpose of the Yeongrimbong Treaty was an act conscious of the ownership dispute over a Divine Beast that had settled nearby at the time?”

“That’s the established theory. They presented other reasons on the surface, but that one makes the most sense.”

Adrian was more capable than I had thought. It was hard to believe he was a character always consumed as a gag character or comic relief in the original work.

Then again, if the game highlighted that character trait for fun, the true nature of the human Adrian might be a bit different from what I knew.

“I thought you’d completely walled yourself off from history studies, but you’re keeping up better than expected? Why haven’t you been interested until now?”

“…Circumstances.”

I couldn’t utter the absurd statement that I was living in another world just half a year ago. So, I averted my gaze and vaguely dodged the answer.

Adrian let it pass without much interrogation and asked me a question.

“I’ve heard rumors about you defeating Cheong Haram and such, but I don’t really know much about you. What’s your specialty field?”

“I don’t particularly discriminate in methods, but I mainly handle Shikigami.”

Whoosh.

Poof!

[Keeing!]

Swish.

Hop!

As I lightly summoned Mind Fox and offered my shoulder, Adrian let out a slight exclamation and continued.

“Using shadows as a Medium? That’s impressive.”

Quite observant. As I nodded, Adrian spoke.

“Even at a glance, I can feel the high level of skill. Have you been handling Shikigami for a long time?”

“Long enough not to fall behind anyone else.”

“Hoh.”

At those words, Adrian, his gaze sharpening as if interested, suddenly contacted me the next day and called me out.

“There’s someone I want to introduce you to.”

“Who is it?”

“You’ll know when you meet them. Let the price for the tutoring be fulfilling her request.”

The person I ended up facing was a fairly familiar face to me as well. It was Arietta, whom I had met during the recent Promotion Exam.

“This kid is…….”

“Did you know her too, senior? This is Han Kangyoon, who was recently promoted to the same class.”

Arietta, facing me, wore a slightly flustered expression and averted her gaze. Then, correcting herself, she greeted me.

“…Hello.”

“Long time no see.”

“Not really. We saw each other the day before yesterday.”

As I made a puzzled face, Arietta added a word with her characteristic expressionless face.

“…In the library.”

I didn’t remember well, but it seemed we had passed by each other at some point. I gave a slight nod and asked Adrian for a detailed explanation.

“So, what’s this request?”

“She’s a senior I usually know, and she recently became interested in Shikigami Art. Since it’s your specialty field, I’d like you to help her.”

Hearing that, I looked at Arietta with a ‘surely not’ thought.

After all, the only recent trigger for Arietta to become interested in Shikigami Art was her battle with me.

Considering she didn’t particularly use Shikigami when she appeared as a boss in the original work, it was almost certain.

“…No?”

“Not at all. I owe that friend a debt too.”

Anyway, as he said, since it was my specialty field, nothing was impossible. I decided to accept Arietta’s request as the price for receiving tutoring from Adrian.

“So, why the sudden interest?”

“After seeing your Shikigami last time……”

“You felt they would be useful.”

“…No, because they were cute.”

At those words, I looked at her with a slightly bewildered face. Frankly, it was a completely unexpected answer.

‘Was this her personality during her Academy days?’

Her appearance and characteristics almost matched the boss character Arietta I knew, but other aspects were indeed quite different.

What could have happened to this woman with such a gentle disposition to become like that? I couldn’t even begin to guess at this point.

“…No?”

Arietta, her silver hair shimmering in the sunlight, asked regretfully.

To that, I first nodded and accepted the request.

“I’ll help you within the scope of what I can do.”

Thus, a peculiar relationship was established where I taught Shikigami Art to the original work’s mid-boss character and learned common sense from the original work’s comic relief character.

Teaching Arietta wasn’t difficult because she basically had excellent talent in many areas.

However, she seemed to think of Shikigami not as weapons for actual combat but more like dogs or cats kept at home.

“With your combat style, this one would definitely suit you better.”

“Don’t like it. Too flashy. I like cute ones like your fox, junior.”

“……”

Since she wouldn’t listen at all, there was nothing I could do. In the end, I gave up and accepted her request, deciding to help create a suitable low-grade Shikigami.

“Then, let’s go with one of these three. Do you have a Medium prepared?”

“Yes. Here.”

Clink.

What Arietta offered was an earring containing a rather peculiar energy.

Feeling something was off, I used Appraisal, and sure enough, it was no ordinary item.

Ding!

【Phoenix Feather Earring】

▶An earring made from a phoenix feather. Contains energy that burns away impurities. Increases the power of Cursed Techniques used by the wearer.

While insufficient to be called a divine artifact, this could be considered a Cursed Tool just below that grade. I looked at Arietta with a dumbfounded face.

“You want to use this as a Medium? Just to house one cute Shikigami?”

“…Can’t I use this?”

“No. I can’t do it because it’s too wasteful.”

It’s like making a ramen pot out of diamonds.

Arietta stared at me with her uniquely subtle gaze, but a no is a no. This was an area where, as a player, I absolutely couldn’t compromise.

Then, suddenly, a clever idea came to mind, and I stared intently at Arietta’s face.

It wasn’t part of the original plan, but Arietta, having reached a mature level as a graduating class student, certainly had enough utility value.

“Then, how about helping me a bit in this upcoming public presentation?”

“Presentation? Why?”

“There’s something I want to obtain. If you cooperate to help me get that, I’ll make you a higher-grade Shikigami.”

Arietta, who had been silent for a moment, soon tilted her head slightly and asked me back.

“Is it… cute?”

“Yes. And strong too. I think you’ll like it.”

“Then I’ll do it.”

Seeing her not even hesitate, I felt an indescribable emotion and nodded.

The remaining time until the presentation was a total of two weeks.

With this many cards in hand, I should definitely be able to achieve satisfactory results.

Thus, my presentation preparations, having gained an unexpected collaborator, began.

“Understood. I will convey everything you said to the Ancestor.”

[Good. Thank you.]

After the promise with Arietta, during my busy days, I one evening received a call from Cheong Soha, an Elder of the Cheong Family.

The content was none other than about the Forbidden Arts Master, Hectail.

As he told me, Hectail, who went to meet Cheong Soha directly, seemed to have caused some friction with her before leaving the place for the time being.

‘…Personally, I wish they had settled it with a life-or-death fight.’

However, Hectail was also an invincible powerhouse, and it seemed he succeeded in safely escaping even after facing that Cheong Soha.

‘He definitely wasn’t the type to make empty promises.’

Hectail had declared during our previous battle that he would find me again after his business with Cheong Soha was concluded.

Since he wasn’t the type to care about anyone’s feelings, there was a high probability he would actually appear before me in the not-too-distant future.

‘I’ve sufficiently grasped Hectail’s strength.’

For me, he was a very favorable matchup in terms of compatibility itself, but in my current state, I still couldn’t win.

‘I need to quickly increase my cards.’

For that reason too, the outcome of this presentation became even more important.

Myeongyool, the hero of the first Night Parade of One Hundred Specters, now retired from being an Exorcist and devoted to Cursed Arts research and nurturing disciples, a former Special-Rank Exorcist.

And Hwang Jincheol, who has made a name for himself in both Korea’s industrial world and the Cursed Arts World, called a big shot in the industry.

First, I had to draw those two to my side.