Episode 14: The Secret Magic Tutoring (2)

“If you’re not here for business, I suggest you leave. I’m a busy person, you see.”

The lobby fell silent for a moment.

Despite his reputation as a thug and a loafer, wasn’t Yoo Seon-jae the younger brother of the guild leader?

There were few who could speak to someone of his status in such a manner.

Even the receptionist at the help desk opened her eyes wide in surprise as she looked at Jae-hyeon.

Yoo Seon-jae’s face contorted with anger at Jae-hyeon’s audacious attitude.

“What the hell?! This damned brat!”

Yoo Seon-jae immediately grabbed Jae-hyeon’s collar, shouting at the top of his lungs.

“Do you know who I am? I’m the future head of the Yeonhwa Guild! You get that?!”

“Sorry, but I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

“What?!”

Jae-hyeon’s words made Yoo Seon-jae falter for a moment. Seizing the opportunity, Jae-hyeon continued.

“Better let go if you don’t want to get seriously hurt.”

Yoo Seon-jae’s hand shot up instantly.

And just as his hand was about to make contact with Jae-hyeon’s face,

a voice rang out from behind them.

“Yoo Seon-jae! Can’t you stop?!”

“Sister?”

Yoo Seon-jae’s face twisted with confusion.

His gaze shifted between Jae-hyeon and Yoo Seong-eun.

“He’s my guest. If you mess with him, you won’t get away with it.”

“Ah… sigh. Of all people, this brat is a guest? Instead of looking after such trash, you should take better care of your brother. I haven’t seen a dime this month.”

“I have no reason to give you money every month. I’ve told you before. You’re no longer my family.”

Yoo Seon-jae clicked his tongue in response to Yoo Seong-eun’s words and spat on the floor.

“Whatever. When you die, this will all be mine. You get that? It’s all going to be mine!”

“President Yoo Seong-eun isn’t going to die.”

The unexpected reply came from another individual.

Yoo Seon-jae was annoyed not because the voice came from the distant Yoo Seong-eun, but from someone right next to him.

He put pressure on the hand gripping Jae-hyeon’s collar and asked,

“Who the hell are you to interfere? You know our family matters?”

Jae-hyeon smiled, grasping Yoo Seon-jae’s left wrist that was holding onto his collar, and forcefully twisted it backward.

There was a cracking sound of bone breaking in the lobby.

“Aaaaak! Damn it! What are you doing, are you one of those awakened too?!”

“What good does it do you to know?”

After tossing the screaming Yoo Seon-jae aside, Jae-hyeon walked towards Yoo Seong-eun.

Yoo Seong-eun, holding her face, said,

“Sorry. That guy is my brother. We cut ties a long time ago… Ever since the guild has been doing well, he keeps coming to ask for money. It’s difficult to kick him out because of the guild’s image, so it’s always like this…”

“It’s alright. I’m used to this kind of thing.”

Of course, Jae-hyeon meant that he had faced many troubles before regression and knew exactly how to handle them.

However, Yoo Seong-eun, unaware of his meaning, thought differently.

‘Jae-hyeon… Does he have a troubled family history? Is that why he has grown up so mature?’

While Yoo Seong-eun watched Jae-hyeon with a sympathetic gaze, making guesses about his family history that was not even in his profile, Jae-hyeon silently walked towards the training ground.

Jae-hyeon stopped abruptly and turned to Yoo Seong-eun.

“Aren’t you going? Maybe you should help your brother up.”

Yoo Seong-eun chuckled and replied,

“No way.”

* * *

The floor of the secret training ground was not cracked as it had been yesterday.

Yesterday, because of the mana cube, I hadn’t had a proper look, but it was certainly a large place.

The floor was made of Ark Metal, a special material obtained from dungeons, which didn’t break easily and would quickly return to its original form even if damaged.

It was so expensive that ordinary training grounds didn’t use it, but for the special training ground of the Yeonhwa Guild, it was just the right thing.

While Jae-hyeon looked around curiously, Yoo Seong-eun spoke first.

“Before we start the first lesson, I want to see your combat senses and skills. So basically, we’re going to have a sparring lesson.”

“Sparring lesson?”

Jae-hyeon blinked in surprise.

“Isn’t that a bit too intense from the start?”

“You’re the kid who smashed the mana cube in 10 minutes. Doesn’t sound like you should be the one to complain.”

Yoo Seong-eun chuckled and added,

“Don’t worry. I won’t attack you.”

“Well, that’s a relief.”

Jae-hyeon casually replied and assumed a combat stance.

His left foot forward, knees slightly bent, shoulders lowered as much as possible.

This was the basic stance for quick movement in combat.

It was the classic stance of the martial arts world, designed to evade attacks and find an opening.

Yoo Seong-eun, smiling gracefully, instructed,

“Now go ahead and attack.”

“Alright.”

With a burst of speed, Jae-hyeon closed the distance between him and Yoo Seong-eun, extending his hand.

He used all his reflexes and intuition honed from his time as an active raider.

But Yoo Seong-eun lightly avoided Jae-hyeon’s blow with a simple tilt of her head.

Jae-hyeon broke out in a cold sweat.

‘She’s fast. Even as a healer, an S-rank raider’s movements are beyond imagination.’

“Inhale!”

Without pause, Jae-hyeon spun around and aimed a punch at Yoo Seong-eun’s torso.

However,

“I think I’ll just start calling you ‘Jae-hyeon’ now.”

Her hand easily captured his powerfully thrown punch.

Yoo Seong-eun sighed softly.

“Jae-hyeon, you said you were originally from the fighting sector, right?”

“Ah… yes.”

“It seems you haven’t yet let go of your fighter-style movements. As a mage, you shouldn’t be rushing in like this.”

That moment, Jae-hyeon felt stunned as if he had been hit on the back of his head.

‘Combat styles. This was something I had been pondering.’

Jae-hyeon recalled when he was transported to Helheim dungeon, and he had broken his staff.

He hadn’t let go of his combat-oriented movements and hadn’t fully adapted to being a magic user.

In fact, that was exactly why he had contacted Yoo Seong-eun and asked her to teach him magic.

‘Did she figure all that out just by looking? Is this what it means to be an S-rank raider?’

He suddenly appreciated the formidable figure before him.

Yoo Seong-eun put a hand on his shoulder and asked,

“What do you think is the biggest difference between the fighter and mage sectors?”

“Fighting up close versus dealing with enemies at a distance.”

Yoo Seong-eun nodded.

“Right. Typically, a mage raider weakens the enemy from afar before engaging in combat. But you tend to get too close. If you do that, the already vulnerable mage can easily fall.”

“Frankly, it’s something I’ve been thinking about too. It’s just that it’s become a habit, and it’s not easy to change.”

“I haven’t taken it seriously enough. It’s time I do. You need real combat experience as a mage.”

Woong…

Yoo Seong-eun drew mana from her body, reaching out toward Jae-hyeon.

“I’m going to attack you this time. It won’t be enough to hurt you badly… I’m a healer, after all.”

Regaining her stance, Yoo Seong-eun smiled meaningfully at Jae-hyeon.

“I know you’re hiding more than you’ve shown.”

The mana she had brought forth wrapped around her body and radiated out from her fingertips in thin threads.

Yoo Seong-eun smiled faintly and said,

“So… show me everything you’ve got.”

Suddenly, a blue light exploded from her fingertips.

The radiated threads converged at one point and were fired as a beam of a laser.

Jae-hyeon quickly rolled away to avoid the attack of blue effects.

Despite being a healer, was it really okay to attack a student so ruthlessly?

If it had been a direct hit to the shoulder, it would have been powerful enough to create a sizable hole.

‘Scared me.’

Jae-hyeon focused on Yoo Seong-eun’s next move without even having time to wipe his sweat.

‘No way. I can’t hide my cards and handle her.’

He looked at her with tense intensity.

Yoo Seong-eun waited with a relaxed expression, hand on her hip, for Jae-hyeon to stand up.

“Now it’s your turn. Go ahead and attack.”

No sooner had she finished speaking than Jae-hyeon also surged with magical energy.

Crackle! Psssss!

― Active skill 《Chains of Lightning》 activated.

Zap, zap, zap!

In an instant, bright yellow lightning gathered at his fingertips.

Jae-hyeon unleashed four chains at once towards Yoo Seong-eun.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

As she easily avoided each assault, Yoo Seong-eun’s face lit up with intrigue.

She watched Jae-hyeon with interest and said,

“An A-grade skill. 《Chains of Lightning》… You’ve been hiding more than I thought. But…”

Her breath caught in her throat.

In the midst of tension far different from the mana cube situation, Jae-hyeon was about to launch another attack.

Suddenly, white arrows appeared out of thin air, surging towards him.

Fwooosh!

Jae-hyeon grimaced as arrows of light headed straight for him.

‘Damn. Too… fast!’

Kaboooom!

《Holy Arrow》 hit Jae-hyeon directly on the torso.

At first, it seemed like he managed to defend himself, but he ended up being thrown back against a wall.

Dust filled the training ground.

Yoo Seong-eun began to walk towards Jae-hyeon, stretching herself.

“No matter how good the skills are, they’re pointless if you can’t hit your target, right?”

Her words pinpointed Jae-hyeon’s problem precisely.

He possessed great skills.

《Chains of Lightning》 were among the top-tier A-grade skills.

They could be used to bind or pierce enemies with chains, including a paralyzing effect.

But even so, such great skills were useless if they didn’t hit the mark.

Jae-hyeon was only at a weak level as a mage.

He was a blank slate, nothing more.

Without proper control of mana, it would be difficult to hit the enemy or dodge their attacks.

‘Did I go too far?’

Yoo Seong-eun thought, crossing her arms.

The 《Holy Arrow》 she had just used wasn’t a strong magic spell.

However, whether it was a skill that a middle schooler like Jae-hyeon could withstand was another matter.

‘Well, we’ll see.’

Shortly after, as the dust settled, Yoo Seong-eun’s face revealed a bit of shock.

Contrary to her expectations, Jae-hyeon was standing firmly on his legs.

Her lips curled upward.

“Unexpected. Although I did reduce the skill’s power… I didn’t expect you to be standing.”

Yoo Seong-eun’s face lit up with competitive spirit, and the atmosphere became increasingly heated.

As four arrows of light emerged,

“Let’s see if you can handle this, too.”

Cutting across the void, the arrows shot straight toward Jae-hyeon.

‘Damn it!’

His eyes wide open, Jae-hyeon calmly watched the arrows approaching him.

As Yoo Seong-eun’s eyes narrowed at his odd behavior,

‘Is he planning not to dodge? What’s he thinking? Even with a weakened skill, a direct hit would cause a significant wound. Unless…’

In the moment Yoo Seong-eun was bemused, a smile spread across Jae-hyeon’s face.

Yoo Seong-eun bit her lower lip greedily.

‘He doesn’t seem to be giving up.’

The series of four attacks began to overwhelm Jae-hyeon.

He extended his arms and released his magical power, his left eye gleaming golden.

― Active skill 《Absolute Computation》 has been activated.

― Active skill 《Holy Arrow》 has been successfully destroyed.

The magic 《Absolute Computation》, which he had showcased during the confrontation with Jung Woo-min, allowed Jae-hyeon to destroy all four incoming arrows.

Yoo Seong-eun’s face turned to dismay.

‘He destroyed my magic?!’