[Baek Ho-chan: (screenshot)]
[Baek Ho-chan: “I only got 330 million won deposited?!”]
[Baek Ho-chan: (crying rabbit emoji)]
[NoName: “I gave 10 million won to the Grandmaster.”]
[Baek Ho-chan: “Huh? To Grandpa?”]
[NoName: “I commissioned a magic item.”]
[Baek Ho-chan: “When?”]
[NoName: “I took good care of it.”]
[NoName: (sparkling cat emoji)]
[Baek Ho-chan: “Hey! That means you spent your own money! I gave you 40%! You have to fulfill your investment obligations!”]
[NoName: “Do you even know how hard it is to take care of Minwoo Oppa and Ah-rin? Just think of it as babysitter wages.”]
[msg: NoName has left. (inviting to the chat room)]
[msg: Baek Ho-chan has invited NoName.]
[Baek Ho-chan: 🔥🔥🔥]
Before leaving Duri Do, I asked Master Baek if he could make a wearable Light Transmutation Circle Inscriber equipped with a gyroscope.
He confidently declared that he could complete it in a month.
I didn’t know whether it would turn into a bracelet or gloves, but anyway, when I told Ji-hye the news, she was so grateful that she didn’t know how to express it. It made me personally proud.
I was also curious about what the final product would look like and asked him to at least give me a rough idea, but Master Baek firmly refused.
“This is totally a random box!”
And it’s a whopping 10 million won random box!
This kind of thing isn’t trendy these days, but still, I had to respect the artisan’s wishes.
Even while we were on the island, the world’s gears were turning rapidly.
The most positive news was that the columbarium where Seol-ah’s ashes were interred was going to be remodeled.
The government was like a giant dinosaur, so its steps were very slow.
There were still no advances in the investigations about Valpurgis, but for now, there was room to consider their willingness to improve.
However, I became uncomfortable to find out that all seven challenges I had previously proven had received impossible verification opinions from universities around the world.
Several reporters twisted my proofs as if there were errors, creating quite a headache.
And that was exactly when I received a call directly from Principal Gu On-yu.
She informed me that people dispatched from the Sephiron Headquarters were staying at the Korea University faculty lounge.
They came here because I didn’t go to America.
“So, if our student Na-me has time, it might be good for her to meet them.”
“But why did you choose to stay at Korea University instead of the Academy?”
“It’s not like the Academy lacks meeting spaces.”
“We are currently saving electricity.”
“Huh?”
“Just kidding! But we’ll be inviting other professors too, so wouldn’t it be more convenient for everyone to go with the national university?”
Her words did not sound like a joke at all.
Anyway, it was decided that during the vacation, we would head to Korea University.
—
“Why do we have to come all the way up to this school when the college English class is done in VR?”
“I hope the school blows up later.”
“Exactly what I’m saying.”
After finishing the statistics class in the morning, the first-year students at Korea University were becoming increasingly irritated by the scorching weather as they waited for the afternoon biology class.
If someone asks about the future of the nation, tell them to “look up” and see Gwanak!
Really, how elevated must the school be that they have to literally look up?
They were so burnt out from attending school for one semester that they no longer had any enthusiasm left for Korea University.
Thinking about living like a walking corpse during the remaining seven semesters, simply waiting for graduation, made me feel dark.
“I have to go to the military for a year and a half.”
“Quit messing around.”
The preparations for the 98th anniversary of the power outage event must be steadily progressing somewhere in Korea.
Unfortunately, Korea has failed to escape the status of being a divided nation for over a century.
“Healing… I need some healing.”
The young man in the plaid shirt asked his friend with the sentiment of searching for an oasis in the desert.
“Have you seen V-tube? NoName plays the gayageum there; it’s amazing!”
“Who’s NoName?”
“You don’t know NoName?”
Recently, the President of Korea visited the hospital and gifted a flower wreath to her, and she was designated as the official survivor of the Valpurgis incident.
Especially, she was a child with unprecedented intelligence and was gaining fame worldwide.
“Oh, her name was NoName?”
They might not know her name, but anyone would recognize her as a genius just from the news coverage.
His friend pointed to a video of Na-me that had recently been uploaded on V-tube.
“You have to see this!”
“Wow, she has a V-tube channel?”
“You seriously have no interest in current events, do you?”
“Does this even count as current events? Anyway, I’ll watch it.”
V-tube shorts had 20 million views.
How long had it been since it was uploaded to have already surpassed 2 million views for the main video?
Talent, surprisingly, is not easily observed.
If it’s too far above average, it may not be appreciated by ordinary people, or it might be a case of being born in the wrong era, failing to find the appropriate use for talent.
This was especially true for mathematics.
Even South Korea, known as an educational powerhouse, has a ratio of about 30% of people who struggle with math.
It was true that so far, Na-me’s achievements had not resonated well with the general public.
However, music was different.
Masterpieces of great composers include everyone, even those who do not enjoy music.
Although the gayageum and the otamatone might obscure things since they’re not commonly played instruments, when an 8-year-old completed a challenging piece, the young man’s mouth fell open in awe.
What I felt then was pride, right?
No, it was admiration.
“Isn’t she overpowered? There’s definitely a serious bug in this world!”
“Isn’t Na-me super cute?”
“Wait, is that a snake next to her? Is this Aladdin or something?”
“His name is Sebastian, isn’t he cute like Na-me?”
“Did he have a name too?”
Due to the editing of the ‘documentary episode,’ the name of the serpent was still exclusive information known only to viewers of the live broadcast.
Comments on V-tube were filled with inquiries about Sebastian’s current status.
The promise to study in the library during free periods was long forgotten.
His friend played Na-me’s fandom video for the young man for an entire hour, successfully creating another fan.
“Why did I only find out about someone like this now? I wasted half my life! If I could meet Na-me just once in my life, I’d have no more wishes!”
“Hey.”
“I’ll sacrifice my grades for this summer semester, no wait, for the first semester’s GPA! Please let me meet the Goddess Na-me!”
“Hey…!”
“Cute, smart, good at speaking, and with chubby cheeks! What the heck is this perfect being!”
“Thank you.”
“Yeah, just like that thank you, her voice is so refreshing… huh?”
As if the gods had played a prank, the young man’s wish was immediately granted.
A black twin-tail was fluttering in the wind.
A small girl with a little height hurriedly walked away without paying any mind to look back.
“Hey… I told you to look over there… It’s NoName.”
Even the friend who had been enthusiastically promoting froze, leaving the two unable to move for a while.
—
In the anonymous community of Korea University, they were busy tracking Na-me’s location.
[Korea University Everytime]
[Free Board]
[NoName is currently feeding ducks at Jahayeonㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
(Recent status of Jahayeon.gif)
She’s floating around in a rubber boat with a pond manager(?).
So cuteㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Anonymous1: This is really bad for the heart.
-Anonymous2: Wait, can you really float a boat in that narrow pond?ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Anonymous3: Who’s that? I want to know her too!
└ Anonymous (Writer): Just search NoName.
└ Anonymous4: Wls
[Somebody go talk to NoName quickly!]
Are the students at Korea University for real?
It’s like they’re watching chimpanzees in a zoo, just huddling around and not stepping forward. Is this correct?
-Anonymous1: It’s just… Korea University doesn’t have that kind of courage…
-Anonymous2: Don’t you think it’s rude for someone from the general public to go and talk to her? I think that’s how it is! Phewㅠㅠㅠ
└ Anonymous3: I really want to smack their writing styleㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Anonymous4: Oh, someone is going!
[Who’s the crazy guy giving 10,000 won as a donation? Come out, you crazy personㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
You could clearly see Na-me was startled by the sudden donationㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Anonymous1: Is this dude insane?ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Anonymous2: That’s me. Na-me said thank you. She said she’d use it to buy crepes later.
└ Anonymous3: You deserve an upvote.
└ Anonymous (Writer): If I also donate 10,000 won, can I see Na-me up close?
└ Anonymous4: The writer has been temptedㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ Anonymous5: Me too… I’ll donate 10,000 won too!
[NoName has declared GG in real life!]
You’ve blocked the donation window because of you all! What are you going to do about it!?
-Anonymous1: Is this the community or some random one?
└ Anonymous (Writer): How do you know about the random one?
└ Anonymous2: I’m just a fellow angry anonymous person unable to meet Na-me! ^^
-Anonymous3: Who’s the violin villain just now?ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ Anonymous4: What’s going on?
└ Anonymous2: A music student just handed her their violin!
└ Anonymous (Writer): Today is legendaryㅋㅋㅋ
-Anonymous5: Are they really going to play? For real?
—
One thousand won, five thousand won, and ten thousand won bills lay piled on the ground.
I felt awkward accepting any more, so I politely declined further donations.
To keep them from flying away, I briefly placed a heavy stone on top.
“NoName! Can you play the violin?”
Just as I was about to appropriately respond to the last student and head off to tend to my own business, a group of visitors hurriedly approached.
“We are called ‘Bach,’ running a classical music V-tube channel!”
“Bach?”
“It’s an abbreviation for ‘Babo-deul-ui Crescendo’! In English, it’s Bach.”
“Oh, it’s a pun. I think I’ve heard of it.”
“Wow, you’ve heard of us? We’re now world-class!”
While I hadn’t seen their videos, I had a general idea of what kind of content they produced.
“How did we get to meet on the day we’re recording? Right after it ends too.”
“The god of entertainment has descended. We can’t let this opportunity slip away.”
Two men whispering from behind, along with the two women talking to me, had been smiling brightly.
“If it’s okay with you, would it be alright if we film? Do you have time today?”
“I don’t have that much time. I have to leave a bit later.”
“Oh no, what to do!”
The four of them huddled together for a briefing.
Then they opened a dark violin case to reveal a slightly faded violin.
“Then could we ask you to perform on this? Please, please…”
I sniffed the smell wafting from the case.
It was well-maintained but had an aged scent.
“Is this expensive?”
“Yes, yes! It’s a Matteo Goffriller! Since it’s a rental, I’m not sure about the price, but it’s surely over 500 million won! Oh, they said it’s 700 million!”
“700 million…?”
What on earth am I carrying around, a house?
That’s even double the amount Baek Ho-chan had barely managed to obtain after all that suffering on the island.
I cautiously received the violin she handed over and adjusted it on my shoulder.
It must be an adult-sized one, as it felt quite burdensome for me.
However, this instrument…
The mana barrier had been maintained on its body for over 300 years.
Just holding it, I could tell.
It was a product that had never been laid on with or contaminated by mana since its creation.
I wondered what sound it would make when I drew the bow across it.
It was impossible to suppress my curiosity.
Which is superior, Kaizen’s violin or that from 17th century Italy?
“I’ll give it a try.”
“Then, can we ask for that piece…!? Please?”
“What piece? Paganini?”
The four nodded their heads up and down simultaneously.
“Oh, so you like that sort of thing. I thought someone majoring in it would surely dislike it.”
Although my skills weren’t really up to par to showcase in front of true majors, I still had to give it my all.
I began to familiarize myself with the fingerboard of the violin while gradually adjusting my posture.
I took a deep breath.
It felt like my debut performance with countless spectators gathering before the pond.
However, they weren’t dressed in flashy dresses or suits but in comfortable t-shirts and shorts.
The visible emotions were different.
In a space where envy had transformed into curiosity, I wove the melodies that would unfold ahead of me.
“I’m starting now.”
