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Chapter 248

“Have you sided with the humans, Delain!!”

“You’re the one who first sold our kind to the humans, Chepes. What face do you have to say that?”

“It was a necessary sacrifice for our clan to seize the world…!!”

In a desperate cry that resembled a death throe, the pale-faced man known as Delain shook his head. He simply couldn’t accept it.

What kind of “necessary sacrifice” was he talking about? If it was a short-term goal, that might be one thing, but if they failed to seize the world, what would happen to those who were sacrificed?

“You’re making it sound like they voluntarily sacrificed themselves. The more you try to ease your guilt, the more amusing it is for me.”

“Ha, you think you can kill me? You, who have been submissive your entire life!”

The two vampires lunged at each other. Watching from the sidelines, Kim Hyun-soo slammed his mace down on the ground with a thud and raised his voice loud enough for the many presences of life emanating from within the palace to hear.

“Alright then, shall we have some fun, remaining folks?”

With a cheery smile, darkness spread out towards Kim Hyun-soo from all directions. Now that’s loyalty, even after hearing that.

“Human, hand over your blood!!”

“You all seem like the rotting parts, huh?”

What a troublesome situation it was. How could they know I enjoy cutting out cancer cells and prepare this kind of warm welcome?

The first vampire to charge at him received a careless punch from Kim Hyun-soo. The flying trajectory twisted at a 45-degree angle as the vampire’s face smashed against the wall, utterly flattened.

Thanks to their notorious vitality, they probably wouldn’t die, but they’d be left unconscious for a long spell.

The other vampires who were about to rush in halted, realizing that they would meet the same fate if they rushed in too carelessly.

Gazes crossed, and the vampires all shot into the air. Dozens of crimson beams were fired towards Kim Hyun-soo.

“Not bad.”

The mace swung smoothly like flowing water. In the illusion that the mace had split into several strands, the tips of the mace gathered the red light in the void of the air.

As if it was always meant to be his, Kim Hyun-soo spun around and unleashed the light.

The spreading rays shot out like buckshot, burning the bodies of the vampires that stood dumbly in front.

“People think maces are all blunt, but that’s not the case.”

Displaying his overwhelming might, Kim Hyun-soo launched himself at the vampire horde.

*

[Ha ha, that’s how it was.]

“Yeeah…”

Hearing the calm voice of Kim Hyun-soo on the other end of the phone, Yeon-woo could only respond vaguely.

“You finished that already?”

[The opponent wasn’t that difficult, plus I had some intel. Ah, Double D helped out a lot too. Transylvanian stronghold is gonna be noisy for a while. The lord has fallen, and gratitude is pouring in from the outside.]

“That’s a relief. And what about the vampire collaborator on their side?”

[He’s alive. He was dying, so I gave him an emergency blood transfusion, and he bounced back.]

“Of course, giving a vampire the blood of an Aura Master would make them come back to life. That’s good news. So, do you think we can collaborate?”

[If he can somehow settle into society?]

“That’s quite a generous evaluation for you, Professor.”

[But he better do well if he wants to live. The king just built up his forces, and then they all crumbled.]

Ha ha, he laughed, but thinking about the fact that the one who crumbled those forces was Kim Hyun-soo himself was simply terrifying.

“I’d like to meet him… I guess I need to find a way.”

[Got it. Then let’s head back. It seems things went well on your end?]

“Yeah, thanks to you, it went well. I’ll bring something back with me. Thanks for your hard work, Professor.”

[Ha ha, it was an entertaining experience. See you at the Academy, Student Yeon-woo.]

With a click, the call ended, and as Yeon-woo put her smartphone in her pocket, she looked up.

The sturdy stronghold of Harmony City came into view. Most of them had gone off to work, but the sweet vacation had come to an end.

Yeon-woo was alone. Of course, Tae-oh and Shar were inside her, but the other members of the Magic Tower annex, including Riley, had decided to take a different train.

Everyone knew that Yeon-woo frequently visited the Magic Tower annex, but being with her would inevitably lead to interactions with the media, making things uncomfortable for the researchers.

There were several reasons for this, but anyway, it was time to enter Harmony City.

As Yeon-woo confidently approached the city gate, the Hunters stationed there came up to her. But soon their expressions relaxed, and they greeted her warmly.

“Oh, Student Yeon-woo. Did you have fun? Show me your student ID. I’ll check it for you.”

“Ugh, don’t even get me started. I was so busy I barely had time to have fun!”

“Ha ha, but being able to go out during the semester is a big deal, right? So enviable, Contract Holder!”

“You’re not too busy to do something as trivial as guarding a gate! Huh? If you give me some leeway now, can I count on a favor later? Huh?”

“Hey, it’s not that we can’t do gate duty because we lack skill! It’s just that it’s a hassle to work!”

“Did I get caught? Ha ha!!”

The two gatekeepers chatted cheerfully as they skillfully checked the student ID. While standing guard might seem like a minor job, it was quite the opposite.

Gatekeepers are frontline positions in the Academy and imply that only capable individuals can perform those duties according to the situation.

The gatekeepers of Harmony City are such positions. At least a C-rank Hunter is needed, with a B-rank Hunter recommended for the job.

This means that these two before her are as skilled as Killian of the Crescent Moon Knights.

“I’ll head in first, you take care~.”

“Alright, see you next time~.”

“Next time, bring back some snacks~.”

Passing through the chuckling gatekeepers, she entered. It wasn’t exactly my hometown, but seeing it again after a week felt somewhat nostalgic.

“So, shall I go to the afternoon class…?”

How unfortunate that there was an afternoon class on the day of her return. Thankfully, it was a lesson that strained the mind rather than the body; otherwise, if she had immediately been caught by the Demon King and thrown around, she might have vomited right there.

*

“There are various types of magical tools, but… hmm, you all seem quite tired, so how about a short break?”

At the elderly female professor’s words, some students who had been barely keeping their eyes open suddenly perked up. Why do they wake up just hearing “break”?

“If I were to ask what you all hope to gain from this class, there’s an answer that comes up every year. What do you think that is?”

As the old professor leaned on the lectern, a question mark floated above the heads of the students. They couldn’t see the point of the question.

However, they could somewhat guess the answer. Everyone was probably thinking the same thing.

A girl cautiously raised her hand and answered.

“Artifact… right?”

“Correct. Most of you are taking this course with the sole wish of creating artifacts. Your seniors and juniors felt the same way, I suppose.”

Ooo… Gasps of admiration erupted. If one could create artifacts, then perhaps their names would be passed down to future students of this course, leading them to happily spiral into daydreams.

“Then let me share a story that might be helpful to you all. To be honest, I’ve created an artifact before.”

“…?”

At that statement, the students initially showed confusion but soon those who processed it jumped out of their seats.

“Is that really true!?”

“You’ve created an artifact before!? How did you do it!?”

Encouraged by the students’ fervent enthusiasm, the professor burst into a bright laugh.

Watching from the back, Yeon-woo couldn’t help but admire the old professor’s secret for snatching away the sleep from all the students in the lecture hall.

‘That artifact is hanging around her neck…’

The pendant hanging from her neck was indeed that artifact.

In fact, Yeon-woo had no idea about it until she heard the story; however, she thought the flow of mana was peculiar compared to typical magical tools, which only became clear after using her Insight.

“It seems a few have already caught on.”

The professor smiled brightly as she noticed Yeon-woo’s gaze. Yeon-woo awkwardly shrugged her shoulders. She had been caught…

“Yes, the rocket I’m wearing around my neck is the artifact I created. Although it’s not anything extraordinary, it was made so that it wouldn’t break under regular impact.”

“Wow…”

“What kind of impact is considered ‘regular’?”

As soon as a student posed that question, the one who had just inquired gasped in surprise. Typically, a rocket is created to commemorate a specific memory.

In that case, it wouldn’t be hard to guess what event prompted the creation of that rocket.

“It’s fine, really. I was curious too, so I experimented. I don’t know if Professor Kim Hyun-soo was using full power, but he said after giving it a smack that he wouldn’t do that again.”

“Oh, ohhh…”

The students’ gasps were a bit more lukewarm than before. Giving someone a memory-laden rocket a smack and actually doing it is not typical behavior.

Yet, regardless, the performance was astounding. It wasn’t special, but the fact that it was an indestructible special artifact that withstood a blow from a mace was undeniably impressive.

If only it weren’t filled with memories…

“How did you come to create this artifact, Professor?”

“I can’t go into too much detail because the backstory would be too long, but to put it simply… I wanted to remember the appearance of my beloved for a long time.”

“Ah…”

At the professor’s words, the atmosphere in the lecture hall grew solemn. With a small smile, the elderly professor urged them not to dwell on it and continued speaking.

“As someone who has created an artifact, let me give you a single tip: pour your soul into it. Forget everything else, and focus on that one moment. Of course, I’m sure you all are doing just that, but that was truly the only thing. I just put a photo inside the rocket while crying.”

At that, the mood in the lecture hall became subdued. On the other hand, some students showed determined expressions as if they were making a firm resolution.

The professor scanned those expressions with a smile.

‘Pour your soul into it, huh…’

Yeon-woo tucked that information away in her mind. Whether creating or disassembling artifacts, it might come in handy someday.

(Continued in the next episode)

 

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