Chapter 3

‘I can’t figure him out.’

Seo Jian, the daughter of the largest shareholder of Daejin Industries, which currently forms the backbone of South Korea’s industrial sector.

She pondered deeply over the events that had transpired to her just an hour ago.

‘Just what is his deal?’

Seo Jian distinctly remembered Han Kangyoon from last year.

A hard worker, disappointed in himself for being demoted from A-Rank, yet striving to climb back up. Despite his efforts, his grades didn’t improve, and the widening gap eventually led to his demotion to D-Rank—an unfortunate figure.

That was about the extent of her impression.

‘He definitely wasn’t anything special.’

As the saying goes, the position makes the person. Having grown up within the conglomerate Daejin Industries, Seo Jian was confident in her ability to read people.

Yet, she had never sensed anything particularly special about her classmate Han Kangyoon.

In the end, all that remained in her memory was that he was an extremely diligent student.

‘But today was completely different.’

It felt like she was looking at a different person.

Recalling Han Kangyoon, who had somehow found her hidden training spot and approached her with an unexpected proposal, she let out a rather rare, deep sigh.

“Nothing went as expected…….”

Biting her nail slightly—a long-ingrained habit—Seo Jian quickly continued her train of thought.

‘The negotiation process was utterly clumsy…… No, actually, it probably didn’t matter either way.’

After all, Seo Jian had no choice but to accept Han Kangyoon’s demand.

Han Kangyoon also acted as if he already knew that would be the case.

“……I don’t like this.”

It felt like she was being played like a fiddle.

‘Was the orphanage support thing just for image-making? And why did he deliberately drop down to Class D?’

Until now, no one had noticed Han Kangyoon’s true nature. The entire process had been so natural and genuine.

‘I can’t figure out his motive or purpose, not a single one.’

Although Seo Jian personally analyzed and observed every figure within the Academy, this was the first time she had encountered someone so inscrutable.

Given her upbringing, constantly under threat and thus obsessed with gathering information, the current situation slipping from her control even evoked a vague sense of fear.

‘The risk of getting involved is high. But…….’

She couldn’t complain. She was in an absolutely disadvantageous position.

For Seo Jian, there was a reason she had to research Natural-Type Sorcery, no matter what.

‘For now, I should cooperate and see how things unfold.’

If Han Kangyoon were truly a dangerous entity, he wouldn’t be attending school so normally right now.

No matter what anyone said, this was Cheonghwa Academy, hailed as the future of Korea—not a place to be taken lightly in many respects.

They say crisis and opportunity are two sides of the same coin.

Seo Jian felt that now was precisely that time.

‘Honestly, it’s true that I couldn’t see a way out.’

The siblings who constantly checked her at every turn, the third parties trying to exploit her, and her own father, the largest shareholder of Daejin Industries, who had not a shred of humanity—they were all mountains to climb and enemies to defeat.

‘If Han Kangyoon possesses the knowledge I seek, then perhaps my younger sister too…….’

Her face darkened as she thought of her younger sister, Seo Jiha, born with an unwanted condition, barely sustaining her life at the astronomical cost.

‘Honestly, it was a bit risky.’

Returning to the dormitory, I let out deep sighs and ruffled my hair.

Of course, I had acted boldly because I was confident, but Seo Jian’s specs easily surpassed my expectations.

‘If Seo Jian from Class B, who wasn’t even mentioned much, is like this, just how high are the specs of the main characters from Class A who appear regularly?’

Moreover, considering the original story’s timeline, it wouldn’t be wrong to say their growth period was just beginning.

With the specs of Han Kangyoon, a mere Extra, I might fall behind in the upcoming story if I slip up even for a moment. The road ahead is indeed long.

‘Anyway, this incident made me realize something clearly.’

That my current specs are utterly insufficient.

The one-second Art Formula deployment I used against Seo Jian’s sorcery, when she doesn’t even fully understand her own talent yet.

‘Does it make any sense that just that drained over half my Spiritual Power?’

I expected it, but it’s a despairing level.

If Seo Jian had calmly repeated her sorcery barrage, I would have been torn to shreds like paper, ceasing to exist in this world.

“Status Window.”

【Han Kangyoon】

▶Level 24

▶Stats

【Stamina : C-】

【Spiritual Power : D】

【Art Formula : C】

【Mental Power : C】

▶Traits (2/10)

【■■■■(-)】

【Intracranial Spell Repository (B)】

Pathetic.

It looks pathetic even upon second glance.

“No, more than that, it’s strange.”

To discuss the peculiarity of my stats, I first need to explain this game Exorcism Academy’s stat calculation method.

‘Levels aren’t particularly different from other games.’

But stats were different.

In the Exorcist Academy series, stats weren’t something that simply increased alongside level; they were separate elements.

‘Simply put, Level is the fuel, and Stats are the engine.’

Using my Spiritual Power stat as an example, the fuel equivalent to Level 24 is supplied to an engine with D-Rank efficiency, and the resulting output is the total amount of usable Spiritual Power.

‘Increasing your Level naturally makes you stronger, but ultimately, if your stat tier is low, efficiency drops. Conversely, no matter how high your stats are, if your Level doesn’t support it, it’s meaningless.’

In the end, Level and Stats interact; having only one high doesn’t yield good efficiency. That’s why stats, where talent weighs heavily, become even more important.

‘Of course, like any game, there are ways to raise stats.’

In reality, from B-Rank onward is the realm of talent, but up to B-Minus Rank, it’s possible to improve through physical growth or effort even without special triggers.

There are also other special methods to raise stats.

And here lies the question about my stats.

‘Right, bluntly speaking, if you truly have no talent, it’s possible to have not a single B-Rank stat.’

Of course, you could easily find B-Rank stats even at the local bathhouse, but if you’re unlucky, that might not be the case either.

“But still, not having a single stat above C-Rank is strange, isn’t it?”

Why was Han Kangyoon once called a promising talent?

Because people in this world also know that you can raise your specs to a certain level regardless of talent.

In other words, Han Kangyoon, who stood out in Art Formula acquisition through the Intracranial Spell Repository trait, was a so-called safe asset—someone who, no matter what he did, would perform above average and wouldn’t fail.

‘Yet, he ultimately set the bizarre record of three consecutive demotions and hit rock bottom.’

Such a catastrophe doesn’t happen easily. Even in the original work, it was mentioned that a case like Han Kangyoon’s was the first since the school’s founding.

Isn’t that obvious?

In a place where you can struggle and raise all stats to B- at least, there wouldn’t have been anyone with growth as slow as Han Kangyoon’s.

‘To put it bluntly, these aren’t the stats of a human being.’

The Academy probably couldn’t bring themselves to give up on him because it was so hard to believe, allowing him to continue his studies even in Class D.

Hoping that someday he would grow normally.

But I, possessing broader information than anyone else in this world, was already certain.

‘The school’s assumption is wrong. Unless the fundamental issue is resolved, the stats probably won’t change no matter how much time passes.’

Han Kangyoon’s stats clearly had a Lock on them.

Five years after the first Exorcism Academy game was released, when the third series came out, a character named ‘Lee Seoyoon’ became a topic of discussion.

‘Lee Seoyoon’ boasted absurdly high levels in all other stats, but her Spiritual Power alone remained stuck at C-Rank, not budging an inch no matter how much her Level increased or the story progressed.

This sparked quite a controversy in the community.

• How do I raise Lee Seoyoon’s Spiritual Power to B-Rank?

• Isn’t this just a bug? No matter what I do, it won’t go up from C.

• I even fed her the Azure Mystic Pill obtained after clearing the Cheong Family storyline, and it still didn’t go up. Must be a bug.

But no matter how many inquiries were made, the developer kept giving the same answer.

[We have confirmed there is no design issue. Thank you.]

Meaning, it wasn’t a bug but an intended feature.

• So it was restricted from the start to not go up no matter what you do.

• Wasted my time for nothing. They shouldn’t have made it so confusing.

• Well, if Lee Seoyoon’s Spiritual Power was high-rank too, she’d be totally broken.

Most users gave up in disappointment, but some thought there might be a hidden element to the character Lee Seoyoon and immediately began researching.

And finally, they found the answer in Lee Seoyoon’s past story.

• Lee Seoyoon has aftereffects in her heart. If you get her examined by any Special-Rank Exorcist, related dialogue appears.

Lee Seoyoon, who lost her parents after being attacked by an S-Rank ice-type Specter in her childhood, suffered from sorcerous aftereffects inside her heart as a result.

Eventually, through user experimentation, it was discovered that Lee Seoyoon’s Spiritual Power rank could be increased by consuming fire-attribute Spiritual Elixirs above a certain threshold or acquiring related traits.

And the important part came next.

• But come to think of it, wasn’t there a similar character in the first game?

That’s right.

There definitely was a character whose stats were strangely terrible despite the setting that he tried countless times.

That was Han Kangyoon.

• The situation is similar, but he’s just a supporting character, isn’t he?

• Don’t you know they’re obsessed with setting details? It’s entirely possible.

• But there’s no way to check anyway, so it’s meaningless, right? In the first game, you can’t develop anyone except the protagonist.

• That’s true.

And so, the story was buried.

But now, it was precisely the key.

Buzz buzz.

[……Didn’t you say you’d call before bed?]

“Sorry. I got lost in thought, and by the time I came to my senses, it was too late.”

[Sigh……. If you’re thinking of taming me, there’s no need. I’m willing to cooperate with whatever is possible anyway.]

“No way. It’s not like that.”

Seo Jian seemed quite tired for some reason. Did she actually stay up all night waiting for my call? I scratched my head in bewilderment.

[So, what do you need?]

“I have a list prepared. I’ll send it via text now.”

Ding.

After checking the contents of the text, Seo Jian soon asked, sounding puzzled.

[……You need all sorts of things. Why do you need a fist-sized colorless stone?]

“I have uses for everything.”

[I’m sure you do.]

Click.

Seo Jian said she’d deliver the items as soon as she got them and ended the call.

‘Although I need quite a few things, she’s a member of that Daejin Industries, so this much should be nothing for her.’

Unlike Lee Seoyoon, whose clues were in her past story, no hints were given for Han Kangyoon. Therefore, I had to put in the legwork myself.

‘I hope this helps me get a bit of a lead.’

First, it was time to find out exactly what was placing a Lock on my stats.