Chapter 69

He was a young man. Tall and handsome.

Murata and Mahinda tilted their heads for a moment.

They felt like they had seen him somewhere before.

Where had they seen him?

The thought was very brief.

What they needed to worry about now was not who that man was.

Finding His traces quickly was more urgent.

Murata looked at the young man and spoke.

“I’m sorry, but you’ll have to leave.”

The tone was polite, but the words were firm.

The power contained in his voice was not something to be ignored.

But the man was just staring at them.

His expression, in particular, was unsettling.

The way he was looking at their chests with an amused expression.

It couldn’t be, but it felt as if he had seen right through the five rings in their hearts.

Murata stepped forward with a frown.

“Hey. Didn’t you hear me···.”

-Just a moment, Murata-nim.

Mahinda, who was beside him, stopped him.

It was through telepathic magic.

-I think he might be related.

-What do you mean?

-I mean the person who erased the traces of the Grimoire that was here.”

-…Is that so?

Magic that erases traces was on the difficult side.

Moreover, the work was done very cleanly. So much so that it would be hard for them to find it even if they went all out.

Murata looked at the man in front of him again.

He tilted his head.

-But he’s too young for that.

-That’s why I said he might be related. The one who erased the traces must be the young man’s master.

Mahinda nodded his head as if certain.

-Murata-nim. It seems there are people in this small country who are also chasing His traces.

-And that man?

-He must be a disciple they’ve painstakingly raised.

It was a plausible story.

Furthermore, it naturally explained why the young man had appeared at this timing.

-It seems that man’s master was also looking for us.

-That would be right. It must have been difficult to undo the Seal on the Grimoire.

-What should we do?

-We share the contents, but we take the Grimoire.

The two old monks reached an agreement and nodded.

Fitting the jumbled puzzle pieces together, Murata took a step forward.

“I take back what I said about leaving. We are Mahinda and Murata, Level 5 disciples of the Oracle.”

“I’m Choi Gi-woong.”

“Choi Gi-woong?”

He had heard that name before.

Murata searched his memory.

Only then did Murata realize why the young man’s face was so familiar.

For the past few days, this young man’s face had been all over the TV screens wherever he went.

Though he hadn’t bothered to interpret what was being said.

But if it were only that, Murata wouldn’t have remembered the name.

“You were the one the Association requested to see us.”

“That’s right.”

“If I’d known, I would have come sooner. As you might have guessed…”

Murata glanced behind him for a moment.

“What? You know each other?”

Hwang Mu-yeol, who had been assessing the situation, clapped Choi Gi-woong on the shoulder and said.

“Doesn’t seem like anything serious, then?”

“That’s what I thought when I came, so that’s a relief.”

Hwang Mu-yeol’s face, which had been stiff until just a moment ago, softened.

“Call me if anything happens.”

“Thank you.”

After Hwang Mu-yeol left.

Murata carefully continued.

“As you might guess, we are Mages. You know what this means, don’t you?”

“The same goes for me.”

“To meet a practitioner in this foreign land. By any chance, how long has it been since you began your Training?”

“Less than half a year.”

“…Half a year?”

Murata asked again, dubiously.

Choi Gi-woong nodded.

“Yes. To be precise, it’s been about five months.”

Murata scratched his bald head.

He had high hopes because the man’s aura was extraordinary, but it seemed he had barked up the wrong tree.

“This isn’t the way. We should see your master first. Where is he now?”

“……?”

“The people you’re training with. Where are they now?”

Choi Gi-woong tilted his head. He seemed to think for a moment, then gave a strange smile.

“As far as I know, I’m the only Mage in the Republic of Korea.”

“Then your magic…”

“I’m learning on my own.”

“…On your own?”

He nodded when asked dubiously.

But was that even possible?

Learning magic on your own?

He had never heard of or seen such talent.

In the strange atmosphere, Mahinda asked.

“That… I mean, Saint Dragorin Ian’s Advanced Magic Compendium. Do you have it?”

“Yes. That’s actually why I came to find you.”

At least that was a relief.

Their purpose for seeking him out seemed clear.

Choi Gi-woong fumbled around in the bag he had brought and took something out.

The Grimoire they had been looking for popped out.

The two old monks’ eyes lit up for a moment.

“Oh, this.”

But something was strange.

The Seal that should have been on it was completely undone.

“What happened to this?”

“I undid it.”

“What?”

As he asked dumbly, Choi Gi-woong waved his hand.

Clank— Clank—

Chains made of Mana wrapped around the Grimoire.

“And I put it back on.”

The two old monks’ eyes widened.

Regardless, Choi Gi-woong continued speaking nonchalantly.

“I’d like to propose a deal to the Oracle.”

A space created for people to sit and rest while their Skill Books were being packaged.

Three people, including me, sat there.

To my left was a Mage with five rings, and to my right, an intermediate Dragon Language Mage.

First piece of information.

My thoughts were correct.

Mages did exist in this world.

And they were more developed than I had expected.

That was why I had deliberately revealed my power. Showing them would make the conversation faster than just telling them.

And my prediction hit the mark.

The two old monks still seemed unable to recover from the shock.

They said nothing even as hot tea was brought out, just staring blankly into space.

They looked like defeated soldiers.

Apart from magic, they were also S-Rank Awakeners.

Was it really that surprising that I had learned Advanced Magic, to people who could kill me right now with a flick of a finger?

Thanks to that, the sound from the TV seemed louder.

[So, are you saying, Professor, that Hunter Choi Gi-woong raising Potential Ranks is a fact?]

[We can’t be certain yet. But based on the circumstances that have been revealed, that seems to be the case.]

It was a current affairs program on a general programming channel.

I knew the professor on the show.

I think he was said to be an authority in Awakener research.

And that man. He was also sponsored by JW.

[This seems like a huge revolution. I mean, this means even an F-Rank Awakener can be made into a C-Rank, right?]

[It’s difficult to limit that ability to just C-Rank.]

[The three Association agents presumed to have been raised by Choi Gi-woong. Aren’t they C-Rank?]

[If you look at this video, the Skills the three of them are using also look like A-Rank.]

[What do you mean by that?]

The professor’s voice began to boil with excitement.

[Well, you see. This is just speculation for now. But perhaps, not only the Potential Rank, but also the Skills…]

At that point, I looked forward again.

That’s a relief.

They’re slowly coming back to their senses… no, they’re not.

The old monk who had introduced himself as Murata was chugging the tea.

That must be hot.

As if that wasn’t enough to calm him down, he let out another one of the hollow laughs he had been sighing out.

“I just can’t believe it. Only half a year? You mastered Advanced Dragon Language Magic in half a year? On your own?”

“……”

“Do you know? It’s been well over 50 years since we learned about magic. I’m saying this was before Awakeners even appeared.”

“……”

“I’d have an easier time believing you were His reincarnation.”

I take back what I said about the professor on TV being excited.

Compared to this man right now, he would seem quite calm.

I learned one more thing here.

To them, the existence of magic is more important than I thought.

This is good news for me.

It means there’s a lot for me to gain.

I hope that among those things to gain, there’s something that can make me an S-Rank.

“Alright. You said you wanted a deal, right?”

I nodded.

“And what you want is something on the level of Advanced Magic…”

One of the old monks stopped mid-sentence and shook his head.

“No. It would be more than that. Since you must have mastered all of Advanced Magic.”

After a moment of thought, they made eye contact again, just like before.

Unlike before, it seemed their exchange of opinions wasn’t going well.

They seemed to be arguing quite fiercely.

That too was brief, and I thought maybe they hadn’t reached an agreement.

One of them suddenly stood up and went outside.

“We have many items that would satisfy you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Literally, that we have many of His traces. Items equal to, or even greater than, an Advanced Magic Grimoire.”

“‘His’?”

I asked what I had been wanting to ask from the beginning.

They kept saying ‘He’ and ‘His’ like they were referring to some religious leader, and I was wondering who it was.

After a moment of thought, the old monks spoke in a hushed voice.

“Ian, I mean.”

I almost asked, who?

But their expressions were too serious for that.

Ah.

Ian.

“……”

I don’t know what my expression looks like right now.

I hope I’m not smiling, am I?

I wiped my face.

If a laugh escaped at this timing, I might really die.

I guess it’s possible. They said they had been researching magic for 50 years.

They could have discovered Ian’s Traces here and there and been surprised.

Hmm.

Still, that’s a bit much.

“Anyway, we have many of His traces. The staff he used, his necklace, his ring…”

As the list went on, honestly, I was disappointed first.

Unlike these people, Ian was not an object of reverence to me.

Just a past life.

Moreover, Ian was not the type to rely on Items.

The effects attached to them were probably…

It was then.

One of the old monks who had gone outside earlier came rushing back in.

He spoke, catching his breath.

“He’s coming.”

“?”

“The Master, he said he will come here to find you. That’s what he said.”

This was shocking in a different way.

The Master of the Oracle, known as one of the Three Sovereigns along with Yeo Ju-kyung.

Ingrid Bergman.

One of the Three Sovereigns was breaking his Secluded Training and coming to Korea to see me.

One of the Three Sovereigns is coming to Korea in three days.

This is no ordinary matter.

But an extraordinary matter is an extraordinary matter. When it came to magic alone, I couldn’t hide my disappointment.

I still didn’t even know if he had what I wanted.

-Ugh, when I was coming to work earlier, reporters swarmed me asking where you were, oppa!

Choi Soo-jung said in a voice mixed with trouble and amusement.

-They even asked if I had any thoughts on doing a photoshoot!

-I already turned that down, so don’t worry, Team leader.

Kim Soo-gyeom chimed in with a grin.

The sound of a pig being slaughtered was heard right after.

-Anyway, that’s not what I was trying to say.

Choi Soo-jung said in a troubled voice.

-Daehu made us a scout offer earlier. They said they’d give us better conditions than we have now.

The smile that had been on my face vanished.

“…So what did you say?”

-Of course we refused.

-I told them to get lost!

“Good job. Alright, I’ll call you back later.”

The name Daehu has been bothering me for a while now.

It seems that sooner or later, whether we reconcile or light a fire.

I’ll have to see it to the end.

That’s that.

A high-end mattress, a goose-down duvet, and even a functional pillow I bought for a high price because it was said to help with deep sleep.

Drawing the blackout curtains completed the preparations.

For this moment, I turned off all the noisy sounds.

Would the damn Skill that hadn’t appeared for nearly two months appear today?

Even so, I have to keep trying.

Since I’ve decided to go to Jeju Island, I have to do everything I can before then.

Damn it.

Perhaps because of all the incidents that piled up today, I just couldn’t fall asleep.

Is today another failure?

It was when I was about to force my closed eyes open.

It was then.

[The Skill, Past Life Lucid Dream, will be Cast!]

It was a System Message I could see clearly even with my eyes closed.

My body went limp like a water-soaked towel. At the same time, I felt as if something was pulling me from under the mattress.

I waited, breathing deeply.

And the next moment.

My consciousness flew to that place.

Whoosh