"In the end, it was a failure~"

In response to Grace’s words, Kaen nodded. If emotions were to become so intense, there must have been some signs. However, the sensors that responded to Dark Mana fluctuations remained silent.

"Well, the Psychometry of Manwol Tower isn't perfect either, right? How many times have we drawn blanks! Oh, I thought I was going to die of boredom! Well, the Director seemed to enjoy it, though.”

{TN:- Changed Dawn Tower to Manwol Tower since I don’t think it’s the correct English equivalent. Manwol basically means 1st month based on moon cycles.}

In response to Grace’s words, Kaen nodded silently.

It was enjoyable. As someone who had pursued the path of an alchemy master, he possessed deep knowledge in this field, allowing him to appreciate just how remarkable this woman, Alterisha, truly was.

The mission ended in vain, but the lingering feeling remained.

Kaen couldn't help but continue to observe Alterisha, no matter how far away.

"By the way, that kid who was listed as a co-author; was he a high school student? That little brat, he looked quite cute, didn't he? Right?"

Kaen turned his gaze towards the boy named Baek Yu-Seol. It was impressive that a high school student had contributed to solving a 300-year-old unsolved problem, and as someone who had an interest in alchemy, Kaen became curious, but it wasn't significant enough to pay special attention.

However, what happened next was suspicious.

"Please exclude my name from the article."

Right after the paper presentation, in the chaotic atmosphere of the conference, Baek Yu-Seol stated that he didn't want fame.

As a result, the article would only mention "Alterisha, and an anonymous alchemist."

Of course, it wouldn't be limited to just the article, and eventually, anyone who knew a bit about it would find out.

However, the attention of the public would be solely on Alterisha, and since his identity was not revealed, corporate sponsorship would be solely at her disposal.

Why was that?

Kaen became quite curious about the reason.

"Did you investigate him?"

When he asked Grace, she stared at her palm and replied, "Yeah. I just received a message, and there's nothing special about him. Except for the fact that his hometown was destroyed by Dark Mages right before his enrollment. He’s from a commoner background, and his grades are the lowest. But strangely, he’s in the S-class? I haven't been to the academy, so I don't know, but isn't it extremely difficult to get into that class?"

"... That's true."

"Moreover, he attends the world's most prestigious magic academy but can’t use magic. He’s peculiar in various ways."

The word ‘peculiar’ seemed insufficient to describe that boy.

"But apart from this, there's really nothing special. It was something that 'Max’ mentioned, so it must be accurate, right?"

"Yeah, I got it."

Regardless of his inner thoughts, the Shadowblade Division at the Manwol Tower was not idle enough to care about only one high school student.

While Kaen had such thoughts as he kept his eyes on Baek Yu-Seol, he suddenly turned his head and looked in Baek Yu-Seol’s direction.

...!

In an instant, their eyes met for a fleeting second.

However, Baek Yu-Seol turned his head as if it were a misunderstanding.

Kaen frowned for a moment, but his "Perception" magic and Grace’s "Shadow Veil" barrier were undoubtedly in effect. A mere high school student wouldn't be able to see through it.

"It must have been a mistake."

Thinking so, Kaen turned his head and spoke, "Let's go. We're done here."

"Yeah, yeah! I'm tired of this boring place too!"

They swiftly left as if carried by the wind, leaving no trace behind.

While Alterisha was being besieged by journalists and businessmen, Professor Maizen secretly slipped away through the back door.

It was truly a vile situation.

When they entered, Professor Maizen was at the main entrance, and Alterisha was supposed to be at the back door.

But when they left, Alterisha was at the front door, and Professor Maizen was at the back door.

"Damn it, damn it..."

Maizen, who boarded his self-driving carriage, bit his nails. His neatly arranged hair was now disheveled and unkempt.

"Ugh...!"

Thump! Thump!

As Maizen banged his head against the window expressing his anger silently, a low voice echoed from beside him.

"Calm down, Maizen."

"You, you!"

Seated there was a man wearing sunglasses. With his jet-black hair that had a hint of green shine, he calmly flipped through a notebook, as if he had been in that spot all along.

It was Professor Raiden of the Stella Academy from the New Moon Department. He sharply retorted Maizen.

"You caused an accident."

"This, this wasn't an accident..." Maizen stammered, and sweated coldly. Could it be that someone witnessed this spectacle?

"You almost went on a rampage. It was only because of the 'restraint' placed on you that you managed to control yourself. If your emotions had escalated any further and you went on a rampage, it could have ruined all of our plans."

"... I'm sorry."

"Hah, sorry?"

Raiden let out a bitter laugh.

"Do you think a simple apology is enough? The Grand Master is extremely disappointed. You have lost both of your values."

The first value being that he was a professor at Stella Academy.

The second value being that he had the potential to solve the Delta Augmentation Formula.

However, the first value was soon to be lost as he plagiarized the assistant's thesis, and the second value was now meaningless as someone else had already completed the formula.

"No, no! It's not over yet. I have connections in the Plagiarism Council. I can easily resolve this incident. I... I won't be expelled!"

Upon hearing this, Raiden closed his notebook with a snap and turned his head, locking eyes with Maizen.

Under his cold gaze, which seemed to see humans as nothing more than insects, Maizen gulped hard.

"Shut up and stay quiet. The most helpful thing you can do is keep your head down and stay still. Got it?"

There wasn't a single word Maizen could say in response to that demeaning remark.

"Stay still and keep quiet until further instructions from the Grand Master."

Raiden left those words behind and vanished into thin air.

Alone, Maizen clenched his fists, and started pulling his hairs like a madman.

"Baek Yu-Seol, Baek Yu-Seol...!"

He did his best to suppress the overwhelming urge to go on a rampage. He even bit his nails, plucked his hairs, and tore his skin to suppress himself.

"Not yet, not yet!"

He couldn't express this anger now. When the opportunity would come to corner that person, he had to unleash it all at once.

To achieve that, Maizen harsly endured.

"Just wait a little longer, Baek Yu-Seol...!"

[Dark Magic Corruption Progress: 49%]

As the presentation continued, Baek Yu-Seol used his specs to monitor the progress of Professor Maizen’s dark magic corruption.

Just when it was about to surpass 50%, the critical point where magical proof became possible, it abruptly stopped.

‘... In the end, I suppose I'll obediently stay put until the intended episode of rampage arrives.’

‘No matter how hard I try or how much effort I put in, the predetermined episode remains unchanged.’

‘I thought that if I could forcibly raise Maizen’s corruption rate to 50%, I might somehow prevent the dreadful disaster of the eighth episode.’

"Nevertheless, the preparations are steadily progressing."

The situation had ended on a positive note, and the activation of the lingering Resentment even succeeded.

The cheat-like item would undoubtedly make it easy to breeze through the eighth episode.

Furthermore, from now on, the direction of future alchemy would revolve around Alterisha. There was no need to worry about her safety.

With such a significant incident having erupted, she had become an invaluable presence to Stella Academy as well. Guards would quietly accompany her to ensure her protection.

Baek Yu-Seol took a deep breath, feeling relieved.

If things had gone according to plan, it would have been another year before the mages obtained the existence known as the "Item."

However, thanks to Alterisha awakening much earlier than in the game, the potential for Baek Yu-Seol’s growth had opened up wide.

Of course, the dark mages would also acquire information about the "Delta Augmentation Formula."

However, their skills couldn’t catch up to Alterisha’s. Even in the original game, she effortlessly surpassed the dark mages, who were already a year ahead in terms of their skills.

Moreover, it was not the only achievement.

[The direction of the main episode has undergone significant changes.]

[Your Narrative Power is greatly enhanced.]

[You regain the functionality of a downgraded item. You can inherit some of the abilities and skills that the character Baek Yu-Seol possessed.]

Even though Baek Yu-Seol hadn't progressed through the episode, he was rewarded as if he had completed one.

Although he didn't receive any EXP, it was satisfying enough. The rewards were still pending, but in reality, he had already decided in his mind what he wanted to receive.

"Ah... Ahh..."

Alterisha moaned as she laid down on the train seat. All the first-class and VIP seats were available, and for the first time in her life, she was treated with such luxury, obtaining those expensive seats for free.

"It feels like a dream..."

"In the future, even more dream-like things will happen. No, perhaps we will even be able to make things that were only possible in dreams a reality."

So far, despite only presenting theories, there hadn’t been as much sponsorship and interest as expected. The general public recognised that solving this problem was remarkable but failed to grasp what made it extraordinary.

Soon, when the first invention would be invented and presented, Alterisha would receive an overwhelming amount of attention and calls. It could be a moment where she possessed powers surpassing that of entire nations.

Alterisha laughed happily while twirling her feet.

Watching her, Baek Yu-Seol leaned against the window and thought about the person they had just encountered.

"That was undoubtedly Kaen."

There were two best 'magic towers' in the world.

The one in the light was called Sawol tower, while the other which was hidden behind the shadows was called Manwol Tower.

{TN:- Here, Manwol basically means 1st month and sawol means 4th month/april based on moon cycles. While Manwol also means full moon.}

Manwol Tower was the world's tallest and most famous magic tower, and was known to the world as the only magic tower to have been given the title of ‘Zenith’.

And the existence that suppressed the overwhelming power of the Sawol Tower and the Magic Council was none other than the Manwol Tower.

They were the elite magical forces and the supreme Dark Mage unit.

They were ghostly beings with exceptional skills in hunting Dark Mages and normal mages.

Among them, the leader of the 13th Shadowblade Division, was Kaen. He was the most elite of them all.

Even though he was nearby, his mastery of stealth was so exceptional that if it weren't for some "communication" magic that got detected by his sixth sense, he would have remained oblivious to his presence.

"Why are those dangerous guys here?"

Could it be that they noticed Maizen Tyren's Dark Magic corruption?

However, Baek Yu-Seol knew that those individuals had never interfered in any branch where they were involved.

‘If only I could be positively involved with them. With their knowledge of all the world's information and dynamics, and coupled with their formidable forces, they would be the most reliable allies. But if they were to turn against me, they would become the most fearsome adversaries.’

‘Of course, the chances of considering them as allies or enemies are extremely slim. To reach that point, one must undertake numerous affinity tasks and various subsidiary quests. In reality, only a very few players had succeeded in making contact with the Shadowblade Division.’

"Anyway, I need to be cautious."

Knock! Knock!

While Baek Yu-Seol was organizing his thoughts, someone knocked on the door.