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Chapter 77

There are truly many organizations in the world. Among the most prominent are the widely popular Hunter Guild and the Magic Tower, which is representative of magical organizations. When it comes to production, there are so many branches that it’s hard to enumerate them all.

Among them, the Magic Tower possesses a very unique structure.

Red, white, black, etc. The types of magic are categorized by color, allowing wizards from different sections to gain insights from various perspectives.

As a result, the Magic Tower can not only maintain checks and balances but also effectively unite to combat Aura users.

And the place Yeon-woo visited was the fifth floor of the Magic Tower set up in the Academy. The ‘Colorless Section.’

“Oh, you’re an Academy student! What brings you here?”

Fortunately, Yeon-woo’s disguise had worked perfectly. With attire devoid of any elements that would hint at being an Aura user, dressed neatly in a wide-brimmed hat and holding a simple stick instead of a weapon, most would mistakenly take him for a wizard.

“Uh, I major in the white section. I was hoping to get some advice from the colorless section regarding an assignment.”

“Oh my, you’re from the white section. I hear it’s quite tough over there. Shall I help you find someone who’s available?”

“No, it’s fine. I brought a professor’s recommendation.”

At those words, the sister smiled brightly and opened the door. It seemed suspiciously careless, but in reality, it was truly haphazard. Not checking a recommendation letter? That’s just plain sloppy.

Especially in the case of the colorless section, although it’s popular, the number of practitioners is relatively small, which adds to this impression. The black section, on the other hand, has both low popularity and few practitioners.

From Yeon-woo’s perspective, comparing it to the white section felt like a disservice. The challenges faced by the white section were real, but its practitioners were several times more numerous.

In any case, while casually strolling, Yeon-woo checked the nameplates of the rooms. There was someone he wanted to have a friendly chat with.

[What kind of person is this?]

‘Someone who will contract with the Spirit King in the future.’

[…You contracted with the Spirit King?]

Yeon-woo simply nodded. It seemed that the person had some issues, but their skills were sure to deliver.

With a simple yet impactful achievement, Shar let out a surprised sound. After all, being a Spirit King is a position that stands on par with a Dragon, if not slightly lacking.

‘Ah, found him.’

The man’s name is Cha Jinsu.

If I were to describe Yeon-woo’s first impression of him… Yep, I could say this much.

A hardcore spirit enthusiast.

Cha Jinsu had a challenging day ahead of him.

Caught napping in the lab by his supervising professor that morning, and with a junior who submitted an answer that was barely a line long, his exam score ended up in shambles.

His seniors are crazy, and his juniors seem to have more than one life, causing a series of major accidents.

Let’s not even mention the supervising professor.

But despite everything, what keeps him in the Magic Tower’s colorless section is his unwavering passion. He could almost knock out even a few supervising professors if need be.

Today, while rubbing tired eyes in the personal research room assigned to graduate students (which he read as his second lab), he hears—

“Hello~”

What appeared on the screen was the uniform of Harmony Academy. Just seeing the outfit made it look like the perfect model of a wizard. A typical student visit.

Cha Jinsu very happily opened the door. Responding diligently to awakeners or Academy students would boost his performance under the pretext of contributing to the future of the Magic Tower.

“Are you an Academy student? What’s your name?”

“Ah, I’m Choi Yeon-woo. Nice to meet you, Professor Cha Jinsu!!”

The student gave a cheerful 90-degree bow.

Wow, calling him professor!

“Hehe, I’m not a professor yet. I’m still a master’s student. But I think I’ll gradually earn my PhD and, ehem, become a professor.”

“Wow, you look so dignified and smart…?”

Oh, this kid knows how to see people!

Gazing at Cha Jinsu’s exceedingly prominent cheekbones, Yeon-woo inwardly cheered.

Most graduate students are weak to compliments. If you lay a little bit of gold on someone’s face while hiding behind a steel plate, they usually turn super friendly.

[This is dad’s life skill…!!]

‘Just be careful who you use this forbidden technique on, since it only works on grad students.’

Though Shar won’t ever have to use it.

“So, what brought you here? Ask me anything.”

“Uh, I came because I’d like to contract with a spirit… Is it possible to get guidance from an esteemed wizard in the colorless section?”

At Yeon-woo’s words, Cha Jinsu suddenly grabbed his hand.

“Oh, so you came to contract with a spirit!!”

“Yup.”

“Wow! What kind of spirit are you looking to contract? With this season, the ideal spirit is in season—personally, I recommend the Fire Spirit and Ice Spirit since you can use them in any season. If the material cost isn’t an issue, we can even contract with an Intermediate Spirit!”

Yeon-woo listened with one ear and let it flow out the other. Although he resembled a phone salesman, he was just overly excited about his favorite topic. Suddenly, Cha Jinsu showed a strange reaction.

“How about this one… Hmm? Hold on.”

“Uh, is something wrong? You’re not saying I’m doomed to not contract with a spirit, are you…?”

Yeon-woo was also an amateur when it came to spirit contracts. Before his regression, he didn’t have enough mana to even consider a contract.

Anxiously, he asked, and Cha Jinsu pushed aside the hair covering his left eye.

Revealing a right eye of a different color, a scarlet gemlike eye appeared. It looked less like an eye and more like a gemstone. Despite its bizarre look, it somehow suited him perfectly.

“…Wait, you already have one? Are you messing with me?”

“……No? That can’t be.”

Yeon-woo couldn’t help but grow serious at the shocking statement from an industry professional.

He’s saying I already have a contract? What does that even mean?

I never even met a spirit, let alone contracted one. Confused by Cha Jinsu’s gemstone-like gaze, Yeon-woo shook his head.

“Uh, that can’t be right. I’ve never even met a spirit, let alone contracted one.”

“…Just a sec. Let me check.”

Cha Jinsu said this with a serious face, placing a finger on his temple while staring deeply at Yeon-woo.

Who cares if he switched to informal speech? That gaze didn’t feel great from Yeon-woo’s perspective.

Who would’ve thought a guy would look at him with such heated eyes? Given Cha Jinsu’s tendencies, he should be directing those eyes at the unidentifiable spirit he contracted.

Yet, with nothing Yeon-woo could do about it, he decided to explore the interior of the room.

Papers scattered all over the desk. A bookshelf covering the wall filled with books related to spirits.

Dozens of photos of spirits hung behind the chair. It was quite a frightening sight.

Then a thought crossed Yeon-woo’s mind.

While he wasn’t contracted with a spirit, he had bonded with Shar. If that was somehow identified as within a spirit…?

“Um…”

Just as he thought to speak, Cha Jinsu suddenly issued a serious diagnosis.

“It’s asleep. It’s a Dark Spirit.”

“…A Dark Spirit?”

Must not be Shar. Upon seeing Cha Jinsu’s gaze, which seemed to be asking if he had something to say, Yeon-woo simply shook his head.

“If you agree, we could try to wake it. What do you think?”

“Could something go wrong?”

“Well, I’ve never seen a spirit sleeping inside a person who hasn’t contracted with it. I can’t guarantee anything.”

‘Is Cha Jinsu saying that’s rare?’

Regardless of the derogatory term ‘extreme spirit lover,’ Cha Jinsu was quite the impressive character.

Though he might be suffering as a grad student at this point, it was clear he was no ordinary person; just look at that unusual eye.

That eye was something tricky to explain and couldn’t possibly be considered normal. It was intertwined with many veils. But one thing was certain. It was akin to peeking behind the curtain separating the Spirit Realm and the human realm.

The kid who had such a terrifying item embedded in his eyes at a young age was deeply loved by spirits. He was a man who conversed with more spirits than any other wizard in the colorless section.

If even that extraordinary guy said he’d never seen anything like this before, what on earth could be happening inside of Yeon-woo’s body without his knowledge?

“Please wake it up.”

Humans typically feel fear toward the unknown. If one did not wish to feel fear, they had to understand what the unknown was.

The child lay asleep in silence.

His consciousness was there. But he was forcing himself to sleep. He knew the owner of this place wouldn’t be particularly fond of him. Fortunately, the location was one where he could sleep well.

Dark yet warm. Quiet yet lively. A place where the waves of life gently crested. The child felt attached to this spot.

Thus, the boy relinquished control of his body to the owner of this space.

Even if he were to be whittled down to nothing, he held no resentment. If there was anything he could do for the man who had shown him the warmth of another, he would do it.

So when something knocked lightly, trying to awaken him, he could only feel somewhat flustered.

“What is…?”

“1 mg of Light Spirit’s essence. This is an instant remedy if you want to see the Dark Spirit’s reaction.”

“Isn’t that likely to get me in trouble?”

“They don’t dislike it. They find it fascinating.”

…I suppose I have no choice but to believe the expert.

Watching Cha Jinsu crushing the white crystals in a small mortar, Yeon-woo felt a weary look wash over him.

The usage was simple. It was Yeon-woo who would eat it. Briefly feeling uneasy at the worn grip of the mortar, he shook his head.

He had suggested awakening it, so what could he do? He closed his eyes tightly and swallowed it down with some water.

Only after he swallowed did he think, ‘Huh? Is this some secretion of the Light Spirit?’ but at this point, it would be better not to ask.

The mixture of light slid down his throat into his organs.

Spirits are inherently akin to mana in this world. They could practically be regarded as embodiments of life force.

It was the essence of such spirits. The softly melting light’s crystal felt drawn to the Dragon Heart’s absorptive quality as it moved toward his heart. Ultimately, it would pass through the Dragon Heart and transform into pure mana, but before touching the heart, it collided with Elemental Mana.

Then, with a thump, the darkness circling around his heart pulsated once.

‘Of course.’

Yeon-woo sighed softly. There were only two candidates. It was either a deception that belonged to the category of darkness or a true embodiment of darkness from the get-go.

He thought it might even be a blessing in disguise. It was rather better than the Doppleganger, which was closer to being the oblivious beast than a spirit absorbed from that Louis character.

Still, dislike remained. The thought of absorbing something from a monster. How could such a thing become a spirit?

Yet, feeling the mana stirring as if it were stretching after waking up from a long sleep, Yeon-woo felt a mixed bag of emotions.

– User Choi Yeon-woo’s ‘discontent’ detected. Reinitiating sleep program…

‘Huh?’

“What? Why are you falling back asleep? There isn’t a single Dark Spirit that wouldn’t react to a Light Essence.”

Caught off guard by the sudden voice resonating in his head, Yeon-woo couldn’t help but panic.

Cha Jinsu’s eyes sparkled as if he had seen something intriguing. Honestly, it gave him the chills.

‘Hey, get up!’

[Wait, was I really a spirit? I had no idea!!]

– User Choi Yeon-woo’s request accepted. Sleep program deactivated. What can I do for you?

“Whoa? You’re awake.”

It was an utterly chaotic situation.

Shar blamed his own incompetence, while the Dark Spirit only voiced its own words.

Cha Jinsu, who couldn’t fathom the small chaos unfolding in Yeon-woo’s head, was merely narrating what he could see through the Spirit’s eye.

Unable to contain himself, Yeon-woo finally voiced his secret command.

“Let’s merge!”

“Merge.”

[Merge.]

– ? Unable to comprehend the action. Alert.

Don’t you understand this?

While he thought of sparing the spirit due to the fact that it was a spirit, Yeon-woo couldn’t suppress his rage at the fact that someone hadn’t taught this basic knowledge.

(To be continued in the next episode)

 

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