During the days when Baek Yu-Seol played Aether World, there were a few occasions when he contracted with spirits due to his somewhat hardcore nature.

Although they were demanding, the spirits, who would grant contracts unconditionally as long as certain conditions were met, were indeed present.

However, there was a penalty for the termination of contracts if one failed to manage affinity properly, and he often found himself forced to terminate contracts.

Why?

Because spirits needed to absorb mana from mages to grow, and his Mana Accumulation Retardation Syndrome meant he had no mana at all.

Eventually, he completely gave up contracting familiars within the game.

But reality was different.

Even if he desperately grasped every possible opportunity, he didn't want to give up thinking, 'Oh, I've failed every time, so it won't work for me.’

Therefore, before the familiar contracting ceremony, he received Celestia’s blessing to slightly increase affinity with the spirits...

'I made a contract with Spirit Celestia!'

[Depending on affinity, you can inherit Celestia’s abilities and characteristics!]

He never dreamed that he would contract with the once-great deity-like spirit.

He didn’t even worry about contract termination.

After all, didn't Celestia propose the contract first, saying his mana leakage condition was actually beneficial?

'Is this a dream or something...'

Achievements that he couldn't even imagine in the game were coming true in reality.

He still couldn’t quite believe it.

[Grade 5 Spirit Celestia]

[Attribute: Nature]

[Affinity: Can even wager her heart]

[Inherited Traits]

[Gentle Embrace (Lv.3)]

[Whisper of the Wind (Lv.4)]

[Memories to the Flower Cluster (Lv.2)]

Indeed, a familiar was a familiar.

Even though she lost all her attributes, she still had several traits.

Among them, he could inherit as many as three traits.

It must have been thanks to the high affinity he had with her.

Aether World's 'Affinity System' didn't exactly favor players.

Unlike other games that easily displayed favorability in numerical terms, here it was merely hinted at vaguely.

Still, it wasn't too difficult to gauge the extent of their relationship.

Perhaps it was thanks to him offering the heart to save her life, but the affinity seemed to have reached its peak.

Even if Baek Yu-Seol had mana, he could have tried skills like 'Spiritual Conversion' or 'Unity with Spirit,' but unfortunately, his mana leakage condition made that nearly impossible.

For now, he checked the inherited traits.

While they didn't greatly boost his attributes, they had quite distinctive effects.

First and foremost, [Gentle Embrace] possessed the effect of 'purifying a contaminated body into nature.'

He didn't understand it very well, but he guessed it might mean purifying toxins.

Secondly, [Whisper of the Wind] was an ability that allowed him to sense the flow of air...

'This one seems quite useful.'

When engaging in battles, he solely relied on his [Intuition] to defend against or evade enemy attacks.

Whisper of the Wind had good synergy with intuition, making his senses even sharper.

If he were to combine it with Tae-Ryung Breathing Technique, he wondered if the synergy could increase by more than tenfold.

Lastly, he checked the effect of [Memories to the Flower Cluster].

'What's this?'

[When you smell the scent of flowers, you gain the ability to interpret flower language.]

The effect of the trait was so vague that he couldn't grasp it.

Baek Yu-Seol asked Celestia, who was humming and in a good mood after the contract.

“Hey, what does this mean?”

“When you smell the flower's fragrance, you feel happier!”

“Other than that, is there any other effect?”

“Huh? Um~ It makes you feel joyful!”

“Oh, I see... Thanks.”

He didn't quite get it, but it didn't seem like a particularly useful trait.

Still, it was alright.

He had managed to acquire two practical traits.

As he continued, his attention was drawn to [Gentle Embrace] once again.

'... Wait. It's called Gentle Embrace?'

Thinking that he had seen a related phrase in Ha Tae-Ryung’s divine scroll, he quickly retrieved it to check.

[… Therefore, I began the process of cleaning my body thoroughly. It wasn't for the sake of living longer when healthy. It was because the more naturally I could accept nature, the longer I could live. As the human body grows, it accumulates impurities and contaminants, and such a body is sorely inadequate for embracing nature as is. To truly become 'one with nature,' wouldn't it be better to maintain the body that nature has bestowed?]

'Indeed.'

Ha Tae-Ryung’s divine scroll contained the content of purifying the body.

To cut to the chase, he failed.

No matter what he tried, reverting a contaminated body was an impossible task.

However, he was very fortunate to obtain a chance.

[The ability she gifted me allowed me to purify my body like nature... (omitted) ... Finally, I succeeded in attuning to the 'Fine Veins.']

The content ended here.

Though it didn't explain how he did it or what methods he used, he understood it nonetheless.

Ha Tae-Ryung’s acquired gift was none other than Celestia.

Thanks to inheriting the trait [Gentle Embrace], he succeeded in purifying his body.

The attunement of Fine Veins.

Although the terminology might seem unnecessarily complex, to put it simply, it was like removing impurities from the bloodstream.

And... through this process, he might become stronger, possibly even faster than Ha Tae-Ryeong in the past.

Somehow, he felt a deep sense of gratitude towards Celestia for introducing him to the great master Ha Tae-Ryung and giving him a compatible gift.

‘Maizen Tyren’s sudden transformation into a dark mage.'

Even thinking back now, the reason he was able to overcome that desperate situation was solely due to Celestia’s gift.

Ultimately, if he hadn't met Celestia, he wouldn't have been able to compensate for that situation... He would have undoubtedly lost everything and fallen into despair.

Once again, he realized how crucial Celestia had been to him.

“Anyway, here's the thing.”

“Yeah?”

Anyway, being thankful was being thankful.

“I heard your friend even mastered swordsmanship…”

“Right! He was amazing!”

“Can you tell me about that too?”

If there's something to gain, one should gain it all. They were on such good terms that they had exchanged their hearts, so this much was fine.

The Aslan Seminar would be attended by magic practitioners from around the world.

Naturally, the Adolveit family wouldn’t be absent.

Until last year, Hong Si-Hwa Adolveit, the sister of Hong Bi-Yeon, attended the Aslan Seminar.

She submitted outstanding thesis every year and always made statements that caused a significant stir, garnering attention.

'It's all political maneuvering.'

Demonstrating such bold actions in Aslan, where only geniuses gathered, was a showmanship itself to become the king.

'’I’m this intelligent. And I can speak so boldly to the world.’

Hong Si-hwa had spent a remarkable 10 years attending Aslan, proving her abilities thoroughly, and now the baton had been passed to Hong Bi-Yeon.

From now on, every move of hers would be compared to Hong Si-hwa.

She couldn't afford to fall short even a bit. She couldn't afford to lack even a bit.

'Phew...'

The time remaining until the Aslan Seminar was just about two weeks.

It would be a lie to say that she wasn't nervous, but the countless thesis she had prepared with the help of numerous mages over the years provided her with reassurance.

'With this kind of thesis...'

At least, it would be comparable to the colossal magic displayed by Hong Si-hwa Adolveit when she attended the seminar.

Smart!

As Hong Bi-Yeon was about to go through her thesis one last time and slowly review it, someone knocked on the door of the dormitory.

“Come in.”

Since it was the weekend, she naturally assumed it must be one of the faction members who had come.

“Student Hong Bi-Yeon. I've come because I have some business.”

A strange man's voice came from outside the door.

With a puzzled expression, she opened the door, and a man who seemed to be an assistant professor nodded his head slightly in greeting.

“What's the matter?”

“Director Milkenen wants to meet with student Hong Bi-Yeon.”

“... Milkenen?”

“That's right. If you have time, would you go right away?”

While the assistant professor had shown courteous manners toward Hong Bi-Yeon, his gaze held no kindness.

'Why would Milkenen want to meet me...'

Although she didn't engage in political fights even in Stella, at the very least, the distinction between 'my person' and 'not my person' was clear.

Milkenen was the most powerful figure on the Stella board, and he undoubtedly belonged to the 'not my person’ category.

He had stuck around there during the time when Hong Si-hwa was at Stella.

From Hong Bi-Yeon’s perspective, there was no need to go out of her way to make Milkenen her person, given how Hong Si-hwa's efforts had not borne any fruit.

After all, Milkenen wasn't even a citizen of the Adolveit nation, so why would she bother trying to influence him?

“Yes. Let's go right now.”

And the reason for that became clear to her right after she faced Director Milkenen.

… In a negative sense.

“Student Hong Bi-yeon.”

“... Yes.”

Thud!

Gracefully placing the teacup down, Milkenen pointed to the thesis by Hong Bi-Yeon that lay on the table.

“I heard you'll be presenting this thesis at the Aslan Seminar. Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

Cold sweat trickled down the back of her neck.

‘Please, let this not be the situation I'm thinking of…’

She prayed desperately.

“Unfortunately, this thesis won't be allowed at the Aslan Seminar.”

With a heavy heart, Hong Bi-Yeon bit her lip as she asked, “...Why?”

As a last attempt, when she pressed for the reason, Milkenen responded without any emotion.

“We found significant 'similarity' with the previously presented thesis…”

'...'

“Did you not incorporate the 'Lagrangian Point Formula' from 'Pertin's Polyhedral Law' here? The one secretly included in the mock exam that Professor Colani assigned 37 years ago…”

{TN:- The "Lagrangian Point Formula" refers to a mathematical equation used in celestial mechanics and orbital dynamics. Lagrangian points are specific positions in space where the gravitational forces of a two-body system, such as the Earth and the Moon, produce enhanced regions of attraction and repulsion.}

Milkenen meticulously dissected Hong Bi-Yeon’s thesis one by one.

And... most of it was accurate.

Yes, truthfully, Hong Bi-Yeon had composed most of this thesis using the powers of other mages.

But that wasn't her fault.

For the magical elites attending Aslan, the 'permanent participants' all did the same.

How could they maintain their qualification for decades?

They all resorted to such tricks.

But now, they want to pick on her?

She could immediately grasp the reason without pondering.

The culprit of such deeds also swiftly appeared in her mind.

'Hong Si-hwa...!'

To some extent, she had anticipated facing some resistance.

After all, when Princess Hong Bi-Yeon of Adolveit was showcasing her abilities for the first time in the world, it was natural for the schemers not to hold back.

However, she could never have imagined that this situation, which she had considered since her time at Stella ten years ago, would involve Milkenen...

“Student Hong Bi-Yeon, I know this might be hard to accept, but there's no other way. There's concern of significant backlash within the magical community.”

After finishing his critique of the paper, Milkenen spoke, and without hesitation, Hong Bi-Yeon nodded.

“Yes.”

Of course, despite her words, she could still submit the thesis to the Aslan Seminar, ignoring all of this.

However, if that had happened, the situation could have become even worse.

Considering the influence held by Milkenen in the magical world... undoubtedly, it would have exploded like a bomb during the Aslan seminar, causing a 'plagiarism controversy.'

Perhaps, compared to the soaring achievements of Hong Si-hwa, who was on a winning streak, Hong Bi-Yeon’s status would have plummeted all the way to the abyss.

'Since it's come to this... let's prepare another thesis before the Aslan seminar.'

Thud!

Hong Bi-Yeon emerged from Milkenen’s office, and tightly bit her lips.

There was barely about two weeks left until the Aslan seminar.

It was a truly regrettable story, but Hong Bi-Yeon lacked the ability to write such an impressive thesis.

The feeling of despair kept creeping up from deep within her chest.

There was no other way.

Couldn’t she do anything except be pushed around by Hong Si-hwa?

'No, that's not it!'

Hong Bi-Yeon clenched her lips with all her might. Blood dripped, but she didn't feel any pain.

‘I know who I am.'

Yes, surely that was the case in the past.

Before entering Stella University, Hong Bi-Yeon couldn't do anything without relying on those around her... If it were back then, she would have given up.

No, reality would have given up on her.

'Not anymore.'

Now there was a reason she couldn’t give up.

So, she couldn’t ruin everything from the very beginning.

It was laughable that this fact was revealed two weeks before the start of this seminar.

Hong Si-hwa probably thought she wouldn’t be able to write another thesis on her own within two weeks.

She clenched her fist and turned around.

Not towards the dorm room, but towards the library.

‘You... think I can’t do it?’

11 PM.

A time when the pale moonlight illuminated the edge of the world.

Her day was about to begin from now on.