Chapter 113.

I returned home before it was too late in the night .

As soon as I opened the door, Evandel and Hayang ran up to me . By now, I was used to Evandel’s ‘Hajin Hajin’ and Hayang’s meowing .

I hugged the two children and sat down on the couch .

I bought an animated movie, which I promised Evandel, and put it on TV .

Evandel and Hayang both became silent the moment the film distributors logo popped up on screen .

No matter how much I thought about it, Hayang’s intelligence seemed to be at the level of humans . Not only did she refuse to eat normal cat food, she knew to be absolutely obedient to this household’s ruler – me .

“…Wait a minute . ”

Suddenly, I caught sight of the ring on my finger and Hayang’s wagging tail .

I had a strange idea .

Who said only humans could wear rings?

===

[Homer’s Ring] [Artifact] [Awakened]

A ring that was worn by Homer in the past .

Resonates with nature and endows its wearer with a crystal clear energy

「Intelligence Increase – increases the wearer’s intelligence by 0 . 001 points every 24 hours up to a maximum of 0 . 365 points . 」

「High rank Magic Power Amplification」

===

Out of curiosity, I modified the ring’s setting .

「Intelligence Increase – increases the wearer’s intelligence by 0 . 001 points every 24 hours up to a maximum of 0 . 365 points . 」

「For one selected non-human target, the increase becomes 0 . 01 point per 12 hours . 」

[40 SP will be used . ]

“Huh? This works?”

I tried calculating in my head .

With 0 . 02 points per day, 18 days were enough to obtain the maximum stat increase .

Plus, the required SP was small .

…What if I got rid of the non-human part?

「The rate of intelligence increase will double for the first person who wears it . 」

[250 SP will be used . ]

The required SP was 250 . It seemed the gap between a human and an animal was big .

“…Hm . ”

I fell into thought for a moment .

The cost was 40 SP and 18 days’ worth of time .

Would Hayang be able to help me more if she was smarter?

I looked at Hayang who was in Evandel’s arms .

Although she might not be able to help me, she should be able to help Evandel .

…It probably wouldn’t hurt .

I put the ring on Hayang’s tail .

Hayang turned and looked at me, then found the ring on her tail .

1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds… . She stared at the ring fixedly, then wagged her tail, seemingly satisfied by the ring’s sparkle .

“Let’s see how smarter you are in two weeks . ”

I stroked Hayang’s back .

Because of Hayang, I thought of the wolf Evandel gave me .

I turned on my laptop and checked the wolf’s stats .

===

「Ghost Wolf」

[Servant] [Intermediate rank]

—The first Servant created by the witch, Evandel .

▷Basic Stats

[Strength 5 . 350]

[Bite force 6 . 150]

[Speed 7 . 550]

[Perception 7 . 605]

[Vitality 2 . 750]

[Magic power 3 . 850]

▷Special Skills

[Intuition (Advanced)]

*Ability to sense danger .

[Absorption (Low)]

*Strengthens itself through absorption .

[Tattooification (Low)]

*Merges into its master’s body in the form of a tattoo, charging its magic power and strengthening its master’s stats .

▷First Servant

*Its growth potential and hierarchical rank is superior to other Servants .

▷Unity of Soul

*Grows stronger to match the level of its creator witch .

===

“Wow . ”

First, I was surprised by its stats . Its speed and perception stats were especially incredible . If its vitality and stamina stats increased, I could even ride it instead of my bike .

What caught my attention next was the word ‘Servant’ .

“So that’s why . ”

Then I understood why it was so strong .

The ability to create Servants was one of a witch’s authority . In doing so, a witch would separate a part of her soul to create a ‘clone’ of sorts .

As a result, Servants were stronger than a witch’s normal creations, and a witch was only able to create three to five Servants throughout her life .

In the original story, Evandel’s most notorious Servant was the three-headed dog, Cerberus . I remember taking special care in describing it . A huge body burning with black flames… or something like that .

“…I’ll have to give the Under Armor to him . ”

This wolf had the potential to grow into a real Fenrir .

But why did Evandel choose a wolf? Did I resemble one like Boss said?

“Haha, look at that, Hayang . ”

I could hear Evandel’s giggling .

She was focused on watching the animated movie .

She laughed at the funny scenes, stared in shock at the serious scenes, teared up at the sad scenes, and moved her head side to side for racing scenes .

Woong—

I received a message .

[Traveling club . This Saturday, we will go to a festival in Busan . Please RSVP to say whether you are going or not . ]

I furrowed my brows .

To be frank, the traveling club would get involved in some sort of trouble every time it went out .

“Vroom~”

Evandel tilted her head to the right following the car on TV . I carefully placed my hand on her head .

“Evandel?”

“…Yeah?”

“Let’s go out and play this Friday . ”

The traveling club’s destination was Busan . Since the festival was Saturday and Sunday, I should be able to grab a hotel room and play with Evandel on Friday .

“Play!?”

Evandel’s eyes sparkled .

“Yeah, it looks like I’ll have time on Friday . Since we went to Disneyland last week, this week, we will… . ”

Evandel’s eyes sparkled with anticipation .

“Go to a festival . ”

**

Friday, 2 P . M .

“Combat magic is important, yet simple . ”

Currently, I was in the middle of [Combat Magic and High-rank Magic Application] class .

I glanced at Tomer who was sitting next to me . She was jotting down notes as though she wasn’t affected in any way .

Recently, I was talking with Tomer a lot .

Tomer stealthily asked me questions on Agus Benjamin, like what kind of relationship I had with him and what kind of a person he was . As I replied to her questions, I set up devices to bring Tomer to my side .

The cremation urn of Tomer’s father should currently be surrounded by flowers I gifted .

“Most spells require you to refine the magic power inside your body . However, there are spells where this is unnecessary . The most well-known example is the Barrier spell… . ”

The class continued, seemingly without end .

Just when I was about to doze off, Tomer tapped on my shoulder . When I wiped away my drool and turned to the side, she gave me a piece of paper .

[How did you get close to that person?]

I looked at the paper, then at Tomer’s face .

She had a serious expression .

I cleared my throat and began to jot down the reply .

[It wasn’t easy . ]

[So how? The nurses said even they couldn’t get close to him . ]

[Well… he didn’t have a family . We were in similar situations . ]

With that, I passed the paper back .

Tomer looked like she didn’t understand what I meant as she began to jot down her next question .

[What do you mean by similar]

“…Oh right . ”

However, she stopped writing mid-sentence .

Since she should have investigated my background, she would know that I’m an orphan .

Tomer glanced at me with sympathy, then scratched out her previous sentence and wrote a new one .

[Got it . ]

Next, I took the lead .

[You’ve been asking about him since last week . Why?]

[That person is my biological father . ]

“…Eh?”

I wanted to poke her a bit, but I never expect her to drop the bomb .

I was seriously taken aback .

[I know what you’re thinking . I feel the same way . I never thought I’d find someone who knew him either . ]

Tomer jotted down quickly .

[That person abandoned me and ran away . That’s why I’ve been looking for him . ]

I closed my mouth .

Unlike Tomer, I knew the truth . Tomer’s father didn’t abandon her and run away .

It was the opposite .

He had protected her by leaving . The reason he killed his wife was because she became a Djinn and tried to sell off their daughter .

[So, I’m wondering . Did that bas… person leave a will or keepsake behind?]

The South American culture back then was to kill off all relatives related to Djinns . Because of this witch hunt culture, Tomer’s father had chosen to become a criminal .

Although he ran away to protect his daughter, he had always missed her and wanted to see her . The letter he left behind was for that purpose .

[Yeah, he left behind a letter . ]

Immediately, Tomer’s eyes flickered with coldness .

[Where?]

[In a memorial, along with his cremation urn . ]

[Where’s the memorial?]

[Let’s go together . I’ll take you there . ]

[Shut up and just give me the address . ]

…Although the theatrical effect wouldn’t be as strong if Tomer went alone, it didn’t matter too much .

[Here . ]

I gave her the address .

Tomer typed the address on her smartwatch, then wrote on the paper once again .

[By the way, today will be my last day at Cube . I’m not trying to run off with your money, so don’t misunderstand . ]

“Excuse me . ”

It was then .

Kim Hyojun, the chief magician from Seoul Magic Tower who was giving the lecture, pointed at us .

“Are you two in a relationship?”

Only then did I realize what position Tomer and I were in . Our arms were practically touching while we were writing secrets notes to each other .

Tomer quickly scurried off to the side, but the cadets’ attention had already fallen on us .

“I don’t think you guys suit each other… also, dating so openly is prohibited in Cube . ”

“It’s not like that . ”

As I answered, I felt an intense stare on me .

It was Chae Nayun . Yoo Yeonha, who was sitting next to Chae Nayun, was taking notes without caring about Tomer and me, but Chae Nayun was glaring at me with puffed up cheeks .

“Cadet Kim Hajin? Come here for a minute . ”

“Ah . ”

“Ah?”

“Ah, yes . ”

…I knew this would happen . There was no chance Kim Hyojun would just let this slide . He was the type who embarrassed students to make himself feel superior .

I scratched my neck and got up the front of the class .

“Cadet Kim Hajin, you passed the first semester with average scores all around . ”

Kim Hyojun projected the scores I got on last semester’s tests .

Light Sphere, magic power emission, magic power harmonization, etc .

The scores were all between C and B+ .

“Then what was today’s lesson about?”

“Uh… . ”

I didn’t know .

I was dozing off .

While I was at a loss for words, a quiet whisper rang out .

—Barrier, Barrier .

It was Kim Suho .

“It’s Barrier . ”

“…That’s right . Can you demonstrate it for the class?”

Kim Hyojun asked .

Wait… Barrier?

I suddenly remembered a scene from the original story .

Seoul Magic Tower’s Chief Magician Kim Hyojun .

Just like I explained in the first semester, Kim Hyojun was a jealous, petty prick who bothered Kim Suho in various ways .

“Barrier?”

“Yes, try it . ”

Feeling a bit nervous, my lips parched up .

I activated Stigma’s magic power and created a Barrier that was only big enough to cover my upper body .

Doing so cost one and a half streaks of Stigma .

A clear and glaringly blue magic power formed a pentagon that covered my upper body .

In my eyes, it looked quite decent . The pentagonal barrier had a vein-like circuit that efficiently transported magic power across the barrier . As magic power passed through, the magic power circuit glowed with a pretty blue color .

Although I didn’t mean to, what I created was a perfect Barrier .

Kim Hyojun made a somewhat displeased expression, but he soon put on a fake smile and praised me .

“…It looks good . The magic power’s transparency is especially noteworthy . ”

However, he quickly added negative remarks .

“But it’s weak, too weak . Everyone, do you know what the problem is with a cadet like him?”

He suddenly turned to the class and lectured as though I did something deplorable .

“It looks pretty on the outside . In fact, it’s extremely pretty, as if its appearance is all that matters . No, that’s the truth . ”

I glanced at my barrier .

It was just what Stigma gave me .

“Cadet Kim Hajin!”

Suddenly, Kim Hyojun pointed fingers at me .

“You are not a celebrity! A Barrier must be sturdy, even if its appearance isn’t the best!”

Kim Hyojun ignited a fireball on his palm .

“The Barrier you created will be blown away by even this tiny fireball . ”

“Um… . ”

I stared at the fireball .

To be honest, I didn’t think it would penetrate my Barrier .

“Cadet Kim Hajin, are you ready?”

“Yes? Ah, yes . ”

“Then I will now demonstrate why a Barrier shouldn’t just be pretty . ”

Kim Hyojun didn’t throw the fireball . An instantaneous combustion of magic power sent the fireball quickly flying toward me on its own .

Boom!

A small explosion erupted, along with a light smoke .

However, my Barrier was perfectly fine, and the fireball scattered when it touched my Barrier .

Immediately, a heavy silence descended .

I was surprised .

As I thought, Stigma’s magic power was qualitatively on a whole nother level . Its only flaw was its quantity .

“…K-Kuhum, looks like it isn’t so bad . BUT!”

Ding—

At that moment, the bell rang signaling the end of class and cutting off Kim Hyojun .

“Huu . ”

After letting out a sigh, Kim Hyojun glared at me uncomfortably and muttered with his teeth clenched .

“You can go back to your seat . ”

4 P . M .

Friday’s final class ended just like that .

**

[5:00 P . M . ]

A large, 1500-square-meter mansion located in Gangnam, Seoul .

This Western-style castle, which took up land that was tens of billions of won, was the family house of the famous Yoo clan .

Yoo Yeonha came here today as soon as class ended .

“Welcome home, Young Lady . ”

When she approached the front door, a butler greeted her politely .

“It’s been a while . So… are Father and Mother home?”

Yoo Yeonha whispered .

“Master is on a business trip, and Mistress left for a seminar . ”

“Oh~? How unfortunate… I dropped by to see them . ”

“Should I give them a call? Mistress left not too long ago . ”

“Yes? Ah, no, you don’t need to do that . ”

Yoo Yeonha smiled happily as she gave her baggage to the butler . With even her Mother gone, the situation was better than she expected .

“I have exams coming up, so I’ll go up to the library to read Father’s books . ”

“Yes, Young Lady . ”

Although she knew her father and mother weren’t home, she still tiptoed upstairs to her Father’s library .

It was to look for information regarding the Kwang-Oh incident .

“I haven’t been here in such a long time… . ”

Her father’s library was filled with tens of thousands of books . The entire collection would be just as expensive as their family house .

However, Yoo Yeonha’s attention was elsewhere .

She pushed aside her father’s desk and moved the carpet that was underneath it .

A secret vault revealed itself .

“…Huh? It needs a password now?”

Ten years ago, it was only a simple box .

Yoo Yeonha thought for a moment, then pushed four numbers .

0429 .

It wasn’t Yoo Yeonha’s birthday .

0816 .

It wasn’t her mother’s birthday either .

“Hmm… . ”

Yoo Yeonha thought harder .

Although there was a skilled hacker among her investigators, this vault wasn’t connected to the internet, so it was impossible to hack into it . Did she have to give up after coming all the way here…?

04290816 .

Suddenly remembering something, she put together her birthday with her mother’s .

Bingo .

Peebeep— The vault opened .

“Let’s see . ”

Inside, she found an old and thick diary .

It was the diary her father kept for 20 years . Flipping through pages of the diary, Yoo Yeonha looked for the word ‘Kwang-Oh’ .

Kwang-Oh, Kwang-Oh, Kwang-Oh… .

“Ah, here it is . ”

[Today, I received a report on Kwang-Oh . ]

September 9th, 2008 .

Yoo Yeonha began to read the diary happily .

Tip: You can use left, right, A and D keyboard keys to browse between chapters .