BXBX NOVEL Chapter 75 - Old-timers (2)
Chapter 75: Old-timers (2)
‘…Reinterpreting runes that have long been neglected in dungeon raids into a modern form, allowing for a variety of tasks that couldn’t be done with traditional magic…’
‘Verified by Archmage Kim Chae-min (Registration Number KR-0148-D1788)…’
The booklet that Hong Seok-young gave me contained thirty different runes. As Lee Mi-seon had mentioned, there was no Mana Concealment Rune. The auxiliary runes—such as Sustain, Calibration, Waterproof, Amplify, and Resonance—were also individually separated. I remember this because I did the separation myself.
The explanations were simple.
Sustain: Makes the rune last longer.
Calibration: Adjusts the rune.
Waterproof: Prevents it from getting wet.
As simple as they were, they were also vague.
But Lee Mi-seon had already warned me about this in advance.
What did she say again? She mentioned that writing it this way would make the fussy mages let their guard down.
Because of that, the explanations of the runes had become deliberately vague for that sole purpose. In fact, Lee Mi-seon even asked me to put the least impressive and vague-looking runes at the front of the booklet.
I turned the page again.
Clarity: Clears the mind and helps with concentration.
…Looking at it like this, it really does seem weird.
Still, this was actually one of the more commonly used runes. On its own, it’s almost ineffective, but if you resonate it with about a hundred other runes, it works pretty well.
While the description about clearing the mind and aiding concentration isn’t a lie, it’s more accurate to say that it purifies mana. It acts as a kind of mana purifier. Hunter Academy had installed it in places like meditation rooms, and mages would always be rubbing against it like cats entranced by silvervine.
Of course, I left out that part and only told Lee Mi-seon about the rune’s effects. Lee Mi-seon burst out laughing and said it was perfect. I don’t know what she found so perfect, but she probably wanted to put it in the guild office. While it doesn’t work as well on Hunters as it does on mages, it would still be beneficial. Just like the description said, it would help clear the mind and improve concentration.
“That’s just a sample.”
As I was staring intently at the booklet, Hong Seok-young suddenly spoke up.
“If you want to make any corrections, let me or Hunter Lee know.”
“No…”
I skimmed through the booklet again from the beginning.
“I think it’s fine as it is.”
“Don’t say that. Look properly, as the writer would.”
Hong Seok-young opened the inside cover that I had glossed over.
“It says here that Daeyeon and Daseon are credited. They’ve also put Teacher Kim’s name on it.”
“Yeah, I heard they were going to do that…? Did something change?”
“No…”
Hong Seok-young scratched his head.
“You’re not going to include the name of that mage you know?”
“…Ah. That.”
It was a backstory I’d half-forgotten myself. I’d been selling the reputation of a mage that didn’t even exist. In the meantime, it felt like a lot had happened.
Out of laziness, I had attributed all explanations to a non-existent mage from Ark. Every time, the image that came to my mind was that of a French archmage. We’d often meet and exchange greetings at international conferences. By now, I guess… he’d probably be busy struggling to establish some kind of scholarly organization.
“There’s no need to include it.”
In fact, including it would cause trouble. He’s a famous archmage even now. The pride of France, the jewel of Nantes. A generous archmage…
“But isn’t that the person who created such incredible runes? Shouldn’t you at least leave his name?”
To keep my conscience intact?
Absolutely not.
I’d once wondered if I was stealing one of the archmage’s greatest achievements before it was even born. Sure, I’d argued that it was to save more people, but that was just an excuse.
Still… it’s too late to back out now. In fact, by announcing a few key runes early, he might even be inspired to create even greater runes or spells later.
That would certainly be more beneficial for humanity. It’s much better than creating the Mana Concealment Rune twice over. Doesn’t it save time?
“It might draw unnecessary attention. If Ark catches on, it’ll be a hassle, so it’s better to leave it as is.”
“If you say so…”
“Have you found anything on the guy who attacked the orphanage?”
“Oh, that guy.”
Hong Seok-young shook his head.
“I tried shaking up some people overseas, but nothing came up. That guy was always more of a rumor than a real lead.”
I recalled the video Lee Mi-seon had shown me. The only moment I could gauge his power was when he crumpled a car. But even that was just a reference point, not something I could be certain about.
We still didn’t even know why the orphanage was attacked in the first place. All we could do was speculate it was some sort of internal conflict.
Hong Seok-young agreed with me.
“They went through the data left at the orphanage, but nothing concrete came up. Still, there are quite a few orphanages connected to the supporting foundation. With any luck, we might find your sibling soon.”
“…That’s good to hear.”
I sighed inwardly.
Hong Seok-young laughed loudly, trying to lift the mood.
“Cheer up. Has No. 3 still not opened his mouth? We need more internal information, anything would help.”
“He’s just a kid. He’s still watching and waiting.”
“Try to win him over. That’s your job as a teacher, isn’t it?”
“If I’m a teacher, I should be teaching kids well. That sounds more like something a teacher should never do to a student.”
“We’re not exactly a formal school, so it’s fine.”
Is this really something a principal should be saying?
I’m not sure what Hong Seok-young read from my expression, but he cleared his throat awkwardly and turned his head away.
Clicking my tongue, I handed the booklet back to him. I considered the thirty runes now to be out of my hands.
From now on, with these runes, the world of Hunters and dungeon raids will change completely from the time I knew.
Hong Seok-young accepted the booklet from me and tucked it back into his coat. I forcibly pushed the memories of those lost times out of my mind.
“Anyway, it’s fine as it is.”
* * *
“Anyway, this can’t stay as it is.”
“…What?”
Kang Tae-woo looked down with a gloomy expression. I repeated what I said and quickly waved my hand.
“No, it’s not that you did something wrong. Let’s just change our approach. This method is too inefficient.”
“Really?”
“That’s how I learned it, but it’s not the right fit for you.”
“Uh…”
Kang Tae-woo couldn’t see mana. So, it didn’t make sense for him to use the method I had learned. It’s an obvious truth.
It’s not a completely useless method though. Kang Tae-woo, like me, is a product of artificial experimentation. Compared to natural Awakened, his mana conductivity is incredibly high. If he weren’t planning on living as a Hunter, it wouldn’t be a problem. He’d probably never feel inconvenienced in his daily life. But if he’s going to become a Hunter and enter dungeons, that’s a different story.
Regardless, we did enroll him in the pilot school, so we have to at least provide proper management. I have some responsibility here. If I heard he collapsed from mana pressure right after passing through a gate and his heart stopped, I wouldn’t sleep well at night.
The old man forcibly made me get used to mana. Since I could see mana, I could somehow keep up with the old man’s lessons.
Get used to mana? Basically, he would move his mana roughly to train me.
“It’s battle training and mana adaptation, all in one! Two birds with one stone, isn’t it?”
If the old man hadn’t been Hong Seok-young, I might’ve slit his throat in his sleep.
Anyway, a sensitive body that’s highly conductive to mana can adapt after continuous exposure.
But giving Kang Tae-woo the same kind of training… would be too much for him. I tried lowering the intensity to mimic the process, but it didn’t feel right.
Maybe it’s because he hasn’t been awakened for long? He barely learned how to break a fall, so if I increase the intensity any further, he might run away. Not that he has anywhere to run, but I should prevent any problems before they arise.
Telling him to blindly dodge mana with his eyes closed was probably a bad idea too.
“Let’s start again from the basics.”
It would be perfect if I had that coin I used to play with back in the day. The one where mana would drop when you shook it.
…Should I ask Hong Seok-young for one?
I shook my head. What would I even say to ask him for it?
Instead, I waved my hand. Mana gathered and pooled in the palm of my hand.
“Feeling mana isn’t difficult, right?”
“Yes.”
“You’re sensitive to mana like me, so you need to get this right now.”
“Is being sensitive to mana a bad thing?”
“No, not really… it just means you’ll have more things to worry about. But once you adapt properly, it actually becomes easier.”
I spoke slowly as I observed Kang Tae-woo.
Is this the right way to train him? What if, after all this effort, he runs back to Ark? That would be like making porridge only to feed it to a dog. And Ark members are worse than dogs.
Still, I couldn’t just ignore it. Even if he does go back to Ark, knowing how they treat Awakened people, I couldn’t just stand by.
If I didn’t know, that’d be one thing. But knowing what I do, how could I just sit back and do nothing? Yeah, even if he returns to Ark, I should at least teach him the basics. That way, his chances of surviving would at least go up, no matter where he ends up.
“When you enter a dungeon, sometimes you can sense traps. It depends on your effort, but you’ll even be able to tell where spells are coming from. That’s a huge advantage when facing magic-type monsters.”
“I see…”
His expression didn’t show any understanding.
Hmm. Ah, that’s right. I know what to do.
“You’ll get it as you go. But first, you need to recognize the mana your body perceives. Once you can do that, we can really get started. Wait here for a second. I’ll go get what we need.”
Since it’s not mine, I keep forgetting to carry it around. Not that I use it much anyway. In fact, I don’t even use my own spear. It’s been so long since I last took it out that I can’t even remember when it was.
I headed to the container we use as the faculty office, where I found Hong Seok-young lying on the sofa, casually flipping through Lee Mi-seon’s rune booklet. Watching him wave at me so nonchalantly irritated me for no reason.
I grabbed Yoo Ji-eun’s sword, which was leaning against the wall. It was heavier than it looked, but still much too light compared to a spear.
“A sword? What for?”
Hong Seok-young lazily sat up and asked.
“No matter how picky this sword is about its owner, isn’t it careless to just leave it lying around like that? What if someone steals it?”
“Who’s going to steal it here?”
“You never know.”
“Are you planning to steal it?”
“Tsk. It’s a good sword, but it’s way too light for me.”
Hong Seok-young stood up fully and followed me.
“So, what are you going to use it for?”
“To teach Kang Tae-woo.”
“You’re already giving him a sword? If you train him too harshly now, you might get sued. You’re not thinking of going easy on him just because he’s an orphan, are you?”
“What nonsense are you talking about?!”
He says the most ridiculous things. I glared at him, but he just grinned. This guy, seriously.
I sighed and approached Kang Tae-woo. When he saw Hong Seok-young behind me, his expression visibly sank.
“You can ignore the principal.”
I ignored Hong Seok-young and raised the sword. Blue flames flickered along the edge. I swung the sword toward the ground to demonstrate. The Hunters from Daseon, who were working nearby, stopped what they were doing and looked up. The kids inside the classroom also peeked out of the windows.
The blue flames moved erratically across the training yard, following the path of my swings. When I shook the sword one last time, the flames vanished.
I turned to Kang Tae-woo, whose eyes were wide with surprise.
“Now, try to guess what I’m about to draw on the ground.”
“…With my eyes closed?”
“You can keep them open.”
I drew a line on the ground.
“You won’t be able to see it anyway.”
“…What?”
I swung the sword.
I first drew a line on the ground. This part was easy. Starting from just in front of his feet, I traced a large circle that passed in front of the classroom container.
“If you step inside, you might get burned.”
I said it loudly enough for the other kids to hear as well.
Then, I moved the sword again. By now, the familiar blue flames filled the circle.
And next.
This was one of the techniques Yoo Ji-eun used to do. I roughly mimicked the angle she used to shake the sword, and thankfully, the flames changed just as I wanted.
Everything became invisible.
I could still see it, the wavering mana. But to everyone else? Well, they might see some mirage-like distortions from the heat.
I turned to Kang Tae-woo and said,
“Now, all you have to do is guess the letter I’m writing inside the circle.”
*****
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