The news of the Seoul Regional Academy Competition caused quite a stir the moment the closing ceremony ended.
Employees battling Monday blues could check their favorite portal sites flooded with the news.
“Did you hear? This year Sephiron Academy won!”
“Yeah, they’re always talking about generational change. Must feel good to break their losing streak.”
“But didn’t they forfeit in the Middle School Division?”
“Really? Why?”
The backlash against Lee Jae-hwan, who cast a forbidden spell during the competition, was unavoidable.
His and his parents’ quick decision to shut down their social media nearly quelled the controversy, but…
[2051/10/21]
[For this day, I actually learned some real magic. Did I hit too hard during the rehearsal?]
[Haha, are you really going to use that? You might get punished later!]
[If the operating committee approved it, there’s no problem, right?]
A 15-second short video uploaded by an anonymous account on V-tube ignited the controversy again as a conversation of students from Altair Academy was leaked, seemingly implying that they were all in the know beforehand.
With NoName holding the entire recording as leverage, no one dared to release a hasty clarification for fear of triggering her.
In the tightening atmosphere, they declared that they would no longer participate in the competition and posted a public apology before disappearing.
However, this controversy seemed trivial compared to the news that Na-me single-handedly defeated five members of the Middle School Division.
“They defeated a third grader? Students one grade above?”
“No! She defeated a 15-year-old in 3rd grade! Isn’t that a seven-year difference?”
“Come on, don’t kid. Noname looks like a total baby on TV; that doesn’t make sense.”
“Here, check this out.”
[“Korea is now a ‘NoName’ holding nation! The arrival of the child Demon King in a 1 vs 5 battle!” Full video of the 2051 Seoul Regional Academy Competition Middle School 3rd Grade highlights.]
[View Count: 3.97 million]
A story that sounded like a lie.
Yet, over 4 million people had already watched it.
An 8-year-old handling complex magic?
Theoretically possible, given she has the intellect to comprehend the world.
An 8-year-old manifesting aura and performing various martial arts?
That too was theoretically possible, if she possessed the blessed Aura Heart.
But when low probabilities accumulated in the body of one girl, people deemed it impossible.
It was natural that the entire community was ablaze with discussions about Na-me.
[Did I mention? NoName has undeniable talent at the level of a martial arts wizard, lol.]
Does NoName’s achievement of Story Mode 10/10/10 look like a joke?
Current wizards even praised Ballum Benavons.
Pointing out the loopholes between the open world and magic systems, they cleared challenges with ease.
Examining the Mephistopheles battle shows she possesses insight into 5th circle magic.
If she continues to grow her Aura Heart, I believe she could rise to the top 0.01% in Korea or even become the number one wizard in the world.
[Comments]
– I usually ignore national pride, but this is insane.
└ Seriously? She cleared a regional competition at 8? Who can replicate that? Lol.
– NoName was really that good? Time to rewatch the video.
– Virtual reality training, whoa.
└ That’s a bit far-fetched;;
└ She did say she studied online while trapped in a capsule. Am I wrong?
[Thank you, NoName, for staying in Korea.]
Looking back, Switzerland’s 10 billion seemed utterly trivial.
[Comments]
– Wasn’t it 30 billion?
└ No, it was 1 trillion.
└ Nope, they reportedly offered 100 trillion.
└ Not even close!
└ You guys are ridiculous, lol.
– Honestly, I was really annoyed that Switzerland’s Great genius only came in second. With an 8-year-old who crushes the top-tier monsters in the middle school division in a formal duel, let me see one come out.
└ First place was really nothing… I got my electrical engineering license when I was a kid, lol.
└ I mean that’s impressive, but compared to NoName? Just a bit pathetic, lol.
[Still, I’d totally buy the Demon King’s Horn if I were fooled, lol.]
Honestly, it seems like all victories are purely due to Na-me’s personal ability, but if there are naive fools out there, that’s hilarious, lol.
[Comments]
– Haha, does Na-me hate journalists? Her interview replies are hilarious, lol.
└ If you’re constantly slandered, would you like it?
– They say if you donate, you get free spell usage rights. How can I resist that?!
└ Talk about a clever idea, whoa.
└ This guy is crazy, lol.
└ This character is now part of NoName’s broth, lol.
– Hurry and take my money! Now!
└ Yeah~ The first round of pre-orders is already full~
└ There were 10,000 spots, and it filled up that fast?
└ Only 10,000, lol. They were gone in 10 minutes.
In the past, words could travel a thousand miles, but in the information age, Na-me’s news spread across the globe in mere seconds.
While everyone was curious about Na-me’s future after her rise to stardom,
her broadcast turned on late that night.
With a meaningful title.
[NoName]
[Just Chatting – Thinking Room (Thank you so much to everyone supporting today’s competition.)]
[Broadcasting Time – 0:01:49]
[Number of Viewers – 8,332]
*
The academy competition wrapped up with press conferences and closing ceremonies after what felt like an eternity, finally ending at sunset around 6 PM.
I passed out in the passenger seat, finally returning home after a week.
Professor Cheon prepared a dinner of butter-braised steak with thyme and garlic.
The herb’s crisp pine scent blended harmoniously with the vibrant red meat, creating a dish so delightful that even vegans would dissolve in guilt.
While fully enjoying the joy of consuming calories, I failed to notice how quiet Professor Cheon was that evening.
I just assumed he must be tired from staying in one place for too long…
“Na-me, come here and sit.”
Children are said to be more sensitive to ominous vibes. I suppose my body is that way too.
And so commenced a lengthy two-hour sermon.
Starting with asking how I felt, he chastised my actions during the duel when I slashed my arm, preaching about the importance of our bodies. A continuous loop.
No matter how many 15-year-olds I’d knocked out outside, in this situation, all I could do was respond with “Yes, yes.”
Every now and then, I felt a sense of injustice swell up in me, trying to argue back, but it only extended the sermon like extra time in karaoke.
When it seemed emotions would reach a peak, Professor Cheon sent me to the ‘Thinking Room.’
Just an ordinary room of mine.
– No opening today, huh… sips…
– The universe just went dark for a moment.
– NoName! NoName! NoName! NoName!
– Turn on the screen already!
– Donations are closed tooㅠㅠㅠㅠ
– Did you not do an after-party?
– The world’s strongest 8-year-old, whoa.
– Can you tell us stories from the competition?
With nothing to do, I eventually turned on the broadcast out of habit.
Since the Academy Competition tag would remain up until this week, numerous viewers flocked in, knocking at the door.
I placed my phone on the bedside stand and opened the desk drawer.
Click, click—
– ???
– Na-me, hurry! I can’t waitㅠㅠㅠㅠ
– You’re not going to bail, right? Please tell me you’re streaming today!
– Pre-ordered the Demon King’s Horn!
– I can’t resist the King’s nose, lol.
– Did you just get home?
To cool my flushed face, I pulled out a refreshing aloe mask and pressed it onto my face.
“Hmm.”
Then I dove onto my soft bed.
The moment the broadcast started, my masked face was shared across the screen.
– Gasp! So scary!
– Wow! I thought you were a ghost!
– What’s up with that mask? Lol.
– Yikes, so cute! Haha.
– You look so harmless!
– Harmless (but I’ll deliver a 720-degree kick if provoked).
– Cosmetic sponsors, please contact me!
“It’s a bit overwhelming now that it’s on. Maybe I should just turn it off?”
– Nooooo!
– We’re fine!
– The kid says she’s overwhelmed, lol.
– I just wanna bite that baby skinㅠㅠㅠㅠ
– Your face is so tiny the mask covers you all the way to your neck, lol.
“A while back, someone asked me to share stories from the competition. Where should I start? Ah.”
I brought the hologram near my head and showed the viewers pictures taken at the hotel.
“This is the Aquila Hotel where we stayed. The bed was surprisingly comfy, and I fell asleep super well.”
Not sure if it was the bed’s comfort or if I was just exhausted from staying up all night.
No matter how many pictures I scrolled through, they didn’t seem to end. Most were probably captured by Lee Ha-ru and Kim Han-gyeol taking turns.
“This one’s the unmanned soft ice cream machine in the hotel basement. Oh, what’s this?”
As a picture of me with ice cream smeared on my face appeared, I hurriedly flipped to the next. When did this even get taken?
– Hahaha!
– Aww, come on! Show us more!
– Eating that much ice cream without adults around?
– Pure bliss, pure paradise.
I love taking pictures, but I personally dislike being photographed.
“Anyway, I ended up participating as a substitute in the 3rd grade because the senior who was originally going to go got a stomach upset from eating ice cream. After the rehearsal day, due to security, I couldn’t take much pictures, so that’s all I can show you. Let’s review the rehearsal instead.”
In the rehearsal competition where Yoon Si-hoo represented the 2nd Grade Elementary Division.
Honestly, I got caught by journalists and had to do interviews in the dressing room, so I barely caught any of the match.
– Wow, is this kid really 8?
– The casting speed is insane.
– You gotta be this good to rank 1st in the Academy, huh?
– Talent is terrifying.
Together with the viewers on V-tube, I watched Si-hoo’s match while pointing out the things that could be improved.
“He built the liquid helium resonator well, but the rapid cooling was slightly lacking. This cooling system is called the Stirling cycle, and if we increase the operating pressure here, we could increase its efficiency tremendously. Si-hoo practiced a lot, but it seems the habit still stuck with him.”
– Spot-on tutoring, whoa.
– Now that you mention it, one side of the magic circle was a bit dim.
– Teacher NoName, you’re going too fastㅠㅠㅠㅠ
– Even with all this skill, he still lost, huh.
– Let’s hurry up and see Na-me fight, let’s go.
– But how did they end up forfeiting?
“Several spells were prohibited during the duel, and my opponent broke the rules, so it resulted in a forfeiture. I actually found out after the competition ended. I was dozing off through the rule explanation.”
– True, it’s easy to doze off while listening to thatㅠㅠㅠㅠ
– NoName is so cute; I can’t help but smile.
– How can your eyes be so pretty?
– How long are you going to keep that mask on?
And lastly, about the match I participated in.
To be honest, I had a lot to say about this part of the match.
There’s a ton I want to share with the viewers, and it’s hard to understand what decision I made in each moment without my explanation.
“Many are probably curious as to how I could come out fine after taking a direct hit from the Ice Hammer.”
– Yeah.
– I was so surprised when that Demon King hand? showed up.
– For real, it felt like a horror movie, lol.
– You just endure it by concentrating, right?
“To cut to the chase, I wrote a dispelling formula here as well. When thinking of the ice magic’s dispelling formula, most people think of raising the temperature to melt the ice, but in this case, I borrowed the concept of sublimation to turn it into something akin to dry ice. The dispelling formula doesn’t have to be a one-to-one response relationship, after all.”
– Whoa.
– Bruh is that even real? Hahaha.
– You used a dispelling formula at that moment?
– You’re basically a combat genius.
– Your face doesn’t match your genius level, Na-meㅠㅠㅠㅠ
– Crack (sound of a bone breaking)
└ Hahahahahahahaha.
– Isn’t this practically a record for external manifestation for your age?
└ I think even the Dalai Lama was around 10 years old?
└ NoName is basically life in speedrun mode, huh.
“Adjusting the natural frequency. This is a common principle of resonance to amplify vibrations and maximize collision power. The commentators do a great job explaining this.”
When the two previous participants were eliminated, Jo Soo-yeon and Lee Jae-hwan entered, and sharp reactions surfaced among the viewers.
Since they were students who had committed dishonorable acts and had not shown good behavior.
I decided to focus solely on the duel without evaluating the participants.
“The Lance of Longinus—this is a double-layered overlapping chain magic circle, right? You should be able to recognize such trap magic circles if a quarrel breaks out on the street. Otherwise, you could get hit by a follow-up attack and lose your organs in a flash.”
– Who in their right mind would use that kind of double-layered overlapping magic circle on the street? Lol.
– Brazil or Mexico wouldn’t do that either, haha.
– It’s scarier that Na-me could identify it right away…
– Magic is incredibly diverse. This is why the middle school division is more entertaining than the high school division.
“Next, for promotional reasons, I tried casting the Adela 20 times. As a 1st circle magic, its power is quite substantial, right? It truly possesses remarkable potential, so for those learning Kendo in Korea, you might want to give it a shot.”
– Here it comes. The scene everyone’s been waiting for.
– The infamous moment that the V-tube algorithm rejected…
– Are you okay, Na-me?ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
– That was absolutely terrifying…
I tossed the mask into the trash bin and checked the broadcasting time.
[NoName]
[Just Chatting – Thinking Room (Thank you so much to everyone supporting today’s competition.)]
[Broadcasting Time – 0:45:30]
[Number of Viewers – 31,928]
Viewer count had surpassed 30,000 in the blink of an eye.
It was so crowded I had to restrict the chat to subscribers, yet the excitement wouldn’t die down.
At this point, I paused the competition video and spoke to the viewers in a serious tone.
“The reason the stream is called ‘Thinking Room.’ Well, when I got home today… I got a little scolded by my father. Yes, for the reasons you’re thinking. It wasn’t about fighting or anything; he’s just worried about me. Since neither of us are good with words, we decided to take some time to think before talking again.”
In short, my argument was that since it was a substance made by magic, there would be no risk of tetanus. Right away, if I used regenerative magic, all the pain would disappear. What’s the problem with that?
Also, I found out this is known here as a method for signaling to send out interference for the nervous system.
“It’s pretty much the same as getting a shot or donating blood, don’t you think?”
It seemed my brain was a bit lacking to convince Professor Cheon, so I needed the viewers’ help.
– ??????????
– No, no, no, what do you mean, Na-me?!??!
– Do you really think that way?
– Our bodies aren’t game characters, you know?!ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
– Whizz! With a swoosh! is totally different!
– Thinking Room (+1 hour)
– Thinking Chair (+1 hour)
– The madness is real here…
– Father, I finally get itㅠㅠㅠㅠ Raising Na-me is no joke…
– What if someday she starts self-harming…? Oh crap…!
Despite deciding to trust in the power of collective intelligence, I was thoroughly betrayed by them.
“No one in this world is on my side.”
I puffed up my cheeks and turned my body away from the camera, lying down.
