Kim Myeongju left the Training Institute in a car.

The driver was driving, but Kim Myeongju, sitting in the back, had no time to rest.

‘Hmm.’

He was currently reading research data related to magic education.

The nation operates not only the Training Institute but also other organizations related to Hunters, gates, and Dungeons.

Excluding the organization in charge of the unknown, quite a few research facilities were being operated.

As it was a project on which the fate of the Republic of Korea depended, it was impossible for it to be operated haphazardly.

“The feasibility of this is… I should make a suggestion.”

Kim Myeongju was on his way to attend a magic education curriculum council meeting.

As he was reviewing the materials in advance, he noticed some content here and there that was disconnected from the unknown.

It was Kim Myeongju’s role and the authority of an unknown expert to point out such parts.

There was nothing more headache-inducing than a plan without a current reality being applied to the Training Institute.

Ding.

Kim Myeongju’s mobile phone rang.

He glanced at the screen and saw ‘Cha Sehyeon’.

‘…Why?’

The moment Kim Myeongju saw that name, his heart pounded.

Cha Sehyeon never called first.

Unless she caused some kind of trouble, that is.

Kim Myeongju unconsciously chewed on his lip, then brought the mobile phone to his ear.

“Hello?”

Kim Myeongju answered the phone as if nothing was wrong.

[Director, come quickly.]

“Why? What’s wrong?”

[Just come. It’s the Center here.]

The Center.

It was the only place, besides the Training Institute, where Dungeon entry stone slabs were placed.

As the predecessor of the Training Institute, the Special Tactics Center, disappeared, only the two words ‘Center’ remained.

“I need to know what’s wrong to go, Sehyeon. I’m on my way to the council meeting. I can’t go right now…”

[You’d better come.]

There was a strange hint of laughter in Cha Sehyeon’s voice.

Come to think of it, he couldn’t remember when he had last heard such a playful voice.

Something was odd.

Kim Myeongju’s expression, which had been puzzled, hardened in an instant.

He judged that the constantly nagging girl suddenly acting like this was an ominous sign.

Kim Myeongju instructed the driver to turn the car around.

“Let’s go to the Center.”

“Yes? Now?”

The driver asked again, but Kim Myeongju did not change her mind.

At this point, Kim Myeongju was the only one who could even try to persuade Cha Sehyeon.

The car sped into the Center Main Gate.

The Center consists of three buildings.

Among them, the Central Building, the Main Center, was where the Stone Slab was located.

Cha Sehyeon was standing in front of the Main Center.

She gestured towards Kim Myeongju as she got out of the car.

Kim Myeongju, as if possessed, quickly walked towards Cha Sehyeon.

“Sehyeon…”

Just as she was about to say something, Cha Sehyeon went inside the Center.

Kim Myeongju had no choice but to run in her dress shoes.

Upon opening the Main Gate and entering,

“Over here.”

Cha Sehyeon’s voice echoed through the Lobby.

It was a voice coming from the room with the Stone Slab.

Kim Myeongju immediately turned the corner and entered the room with the Stone Slab.

“Hey, you…!”

And the moment she witnessed the scene unfolding in that room, she was speechless.

Currently, the Stone Slab in the Training Institute’s Guardian Hall is placed in a quite spacious room.

The interior also has a grand feel.

This is because care was taken to boost the trainees’ morale.

However, the Center’s Stone Slab was simply placed in an ordinary room.

At that time, there was no room to pay attention to various things.

“What in nothingness…?”

And now, that room was filled with books.

Dust and the smell of ink filled the air from the stacked books.

“No way… are these magic books?”

Kim Myeongju picked up the nearest book with trembling hands.

She couldn’t read it, but she knew it was definitely in Arcadian.

“They’re all magic books. From 1st Circle to 6th Circle. All kinds of magic books. About 1000 of them. Surprised?”

Cha Sehyeon finally grinned playfully.

The reason she had kept it a secret was because she wanted to surprise Kim Myeongju.

But for Kim Myeongju, this was more than just a simple surprise.

All sorts of emotions surged within him.

He knew better than anyone else.

The value of these magic books.

This was almost like discovering a pile of treasure.

A treasure he wouldn’t trade even for the gold of the same nothingness.

“From 1st Circle to 6th Circle…? All of these…?”

Kim Myeongju’s voice trembled.

“That’s right.”

“How on earth did you get all this…?”

Kim Myeongju walked a few steps and grabbed Cha Sehyeon’s hand.

His eyes were already red.

“I don’t know how you got them… but the Republic of Korea hasn’t done much for you…”

“I didn’t get them.”

Cha Sehyeon peeled off Kim Myeongju’s fingers one by one with her index finger and thumb, as if removing sticky glue.

With a displeased expression, she wiped Kim Myeongju’s sweaty hand on her pants and then flopped down onto a magic book.

“You asked me about it last time, didn’t you?”

“Hmm?”

Kim Myeongju looked puzzled. It had been since Cha Sehyeon said, ‘I didn’t get them.’

His misplaced tears dried up, and he just wiped away a clueless sniffle.

“The trainee who couldn’t form a Circle.”

Cha Sehyeon naturally took out a cigarette and put it in her mouth, but Kim Myeongju quickly snatched it away.

It would be a disaster if these magic books caught fire.

“Ugh.”

Cha Sehyeon glared at Kim Myeongju once and continued speaking.

“The trainee who couldn’t form a Circle. He’s the one who got them.”

“…Mr. Kim Songcheol?”

Only then did Kim Myeongju roughly understand what had happened.

He had already heard a general outline from Kim Songcheol.

However, Kim Songcheol had spoken as if it were nothing special, saying that he had found a good official position that allowed him to give out one magic book at a time.

How could he have immediately connected that statement to this pile of magic books?

“I’ll explain the details later. What’s his name?”

“Uh… Kim Songcheol.”

“That’s an unusual name. So, what are you going to do with these now?”

“Huh?”

“These. The magic books. You’ll have to translate them and categorize them, right?”

That was true.

Even three bushels of beads are not treasure unless they are strung together.

The magic books bought with points come kindly translated into Korean, but these were original Arcadian texts, directly shipped.

“Right. I have to do something.”

“Then you do that. I’m going to go meet that friend. I have something else to do for him.”

“Wait a minute.”

Cha Sehyeon, who was about to leave the doorway, stopped and just slightly turned her head.

“What is it?”

“He’s not a friend. He’s much older, an older brother.”

“Older than me? A trainee?”

“Yes, about six years.”

“Crazy. He’ll be easy to find, then.”

Cha Sehyeon disappeared with the Teleportation Magic Circle.

Kim Myeongju, left alone, stared blankly at the magic books, then tried to go out, came back in, and then stopped abruptly as he tried to go out again.

He stood there blankly again, then suddenly grabbed his phone and called someone.

“Yes, this is Education Director Kim Myeongju.”

[Yes, what is it? The Council Head is almost here…]

“That’s not important. Doctor, come to the Center immediately.”

[Huh? Suddenly?]

“All the magic books from 1st Circle to 6th Circle are here. There are over 1000 of them.”

[What!?]

“Come quickly.”

Kim Myeongju made a few more calls besides Dr. Seo Ju-gyeong.

Of course, no one refused to come.

They were all people who rushed over, saying they would come quickly, asking him to wait a moment, and worrying about the magic books that weren’t going anywhere.

After 10 minutes, two or three elderly scholars rushed in, and after 30 minutes, nearly a dozen people had arrived.

Because the room was small, more than half of them couldn’t even enter the room.

“No…!”

“Where on earth did all these magic books come from…!”

They were astonished the moment they saw the pile of magic books.

Things that shouldn’t exist in the Republic of Korea had appeared.

They wouldn’t have been more surprised even if they had seen a ghost.

But soon, that surprise turned into admiration and anticipation.

The people gathered here are ‘Earthlings’ who research magic.

They were people who, with only a few magic books, repeatedly researched, like those who drink drops of water and smile contentedly when two drops fall.

And today, an explosion gunner, whom they had only seen in dreams, appeared.

There was no greater gift than this.

“Who on earth brought this?”

Someone asked.

It was, of course, a question directed at Kim Myeongju.

He hesitated for a moment, then uttered a name.

“It’s… Mr. Kim Songcheol.”

“Huh? Who’s that? I haven’t heard of such a hunter?”

There were only about 30 hunters in the Republic of Korea.

He had memorized all their names and then some.

“Well… he’s a trainee.”

“…What did you say?”

Everyone gathered there looked at Kim Myeongju in disbelief.

A trainee.

No one had imagined it.

***

Kim Songcheol returned to the dormitory after training.

He entered the password as usual and opened the door.

And as he stepped into the entrance hall.

“…?”

A female staff member was sitting under the TV, watching it.

In front of her, a table was set with chicken feet and soju.

He didn’t know where she got it, though.

Kim Songcheol went back out of the entrance hall and checked the room number.

‘It’s right?’

It was definitely Kim Songcheol’s home.

“Brother, don’t you know me?”

A voice flowed from inside. Kim Songcheol took another step into the entrance hall. The door was still open.

“Ah?”

Now that he looked, her profile was familiar.

When he saw her in a photo before, she had long blonde hair, so he was slow to recognize her.

When did she change to pink bobbed hair?

“That’s right, it’s me. Cha Sehyeon.”

Cha Sehyeon poured soju into her mouth with a gulp. Her gaze was still fixed on the TV.

“What brings you here…?”

“Do you like chicken feet?”

Only then did Cha Sehyeon turn to look at Kim Songcheol.

She had emptied two bottles of soju, but her face showed no signs of intoxication.

“No.”

“Alcohol?”

“Not really…”

“You don’t smoke either, do you?”

“But why are you here…?”

Cha Sehyeon picked up the notebook she had placed beside her and put it on the table.

It was something that had been hidden by her legs.

“Today, I received magic books from the 1st Circle to the 6th Circle. From the Arcadians who call you a descendant of the Great Sage.”

“Huh?”

“Didn’t you ask for them?”

“I just asked for a few books, you know?”

“For that, they gave quite a lot. Over 1000 books.”

“What?”

That was something Kim Songcheol hadn’t expected either.

He thought he’d just get one or two books as he came and went, but to receive over a thousand through Cha Sehyeon.

Cha Sehyeon poured another glass of soju, then picked up a chicken foot and stood up.

“Was this the director’s intention? I have high expectations for you, brother. Do you know what I mean?”

“I don’t know.”

“It’s fine if you don’t know.”

Cha Sehyeon grinned. The chili powder stuck in her teeth was clearly visible.

Kim Songcheol was bewildered.

Because she was different from the way she appeared in the media.

Cha Sehyeon wasn’t this kind and cheerful.

He had never even seen her smile like that in the media.

“Brother, do you know what my dream is?”

“…?”

“My dream is to be second place. No, third place is good too, and fourth place is good. I just don’t want to be first. I’m the eldest at home too. I hate being the first.”

“What are you talking about…?”

“This is it…”

As Cha Sehyeon waved the chicken foot, the notebook on the table flew up and stopped right in front of her.

“It’s the ticket to make you first place faster, brother.”

This time, a bottle of soju flew to her. Cha Sehyeon snatched the soju bottle, gulped it down, and wiped her mouth with a ‘Kyah’ sound.

Pink-haired Cha Sehyeon, holding chicken feet in one hand and a soju bottle in the other. And even the notebook floating in front of her.

It was pure chaos.