— Istantel Low Clan House Records
『After the Allied War』 — Page 3 of 12
(Text excerpt: …Then, suddenly glancing out the window, I saw the severed heads of two women hanging from the central tree. After confirming their deaths abruptly, they were hung there as a morale booster.
Our alliance had completely crushed the Beechwood Union, capturing the key users and locking them all up.
Honestly, thinking back on all we suffered, and the comrades we lost to them, I desperately wanted to tear them apart. Yet, we only imprisoned them—probably because the Clan Lord’s greed for talent kicked in.
But last night, I received some grim news.
‘The Holy Queen’ Yoo Hyun-ah couldn’t endure the guards’ repeated assaults any longer and took her own life. I’d heard she was holding up better than most in similar situations, but perhaps the death of her lord was unbearable.
Well, whatever. The Clan Lord may mourn, but just knowing ‘she’ is dead brings me some peace.
…No, actually, I still can’t quite believe it. Every time I look at ‘her’ head hanging there beyond the window, even though death is certain, it still feels surreal.
I think it’s a kind of fear born from the abilities ‘she’ displayed. Though we were enemies, some things must be acknowledged.
One thing’s for sure: ‘she’ was an extraordinary user.
Not just in the usual sense. Her brilliant mind, her uniquely creative magic no one could replicate, and that incredible transportation ability that drove us mad.
Even compared to so-called geniuses, no one could match ‘her’ exceptional talents.
Looking back, it’s a shame about that transportation ability—the power to render distance meaningless. Had ‘she’ joined our clan, it would have been an incredible asset.
Of course, regretting the past is pointless, but if we can learn from it, it’s worth reflecting on.
Sometimes I hear the Clan Lord lamenting that we once had a chance to recruit ‘her.’ But due to some reason, we lost that opportunity… I suspect that’s when the Clan Lord’s hunger for talent intensified.
Ah, whatever! In any case, our alliance won, and the Beechwood Union will no longer appear on the Whole Plain. It’s been a while, but with the Hamill Clan’s destruction by demons, the aftermath, and stabilizing the Northern Continent, there’s still much to do. So why waste time agonizing alone?
Oh, and lately there’s been talk about the Dragon-Sleeping Mountain Range… Its terrible reputation alone makes me uneasy. I have a bad feeling about it.
I should call Suhyun today and ask the Clan Lord’s intentions. After all, Suhyun is the most….)
— Recorder: User Jeong Chang-min (died during exploration of the Dragon-Sleeping Mountain Range).
Suddenly, my heart dropped. Reflexively, I squeezed my eyes shut. After calming my breath, I looked again—and there it was, the unmistakable trace of activation etched into the ground.
This was definitely a warp…
No, no. It looked so much like a warp gate activation circle that I momentarily mistook it.
To be precise, this was the trace of a transportation spell based on a warp gate activation circle.
Normally, that wouldn’t make sense. Warp gate activation circles are ancient legacies of the Whole Plain, and weren’t used in battle until Helena Lu Ayens appeared.
But right before me was clearly the mark of transportation magic. It was faint, probably because it targeted an individual, but no matter how many times I looked, it matched the traces of transportation magic in my memory. There was no doubt.
…How could I forget? I’d seen it tens, hundreds, no, thousands of times during the first cycle—and suffered from it.
Some time passed.
After one last check, I slowly stood up.
Transportation magic.
Her trademark during the first cycle, almost a unique ability—the strongest auxiliary skill. The mighty Istantel Low Alliance was consistently outmatched by the Beechwood Union largely because of this ability.
And the appearance of this transportation magic meant only one thing.
That the ‘her’ from the first cycle had entered the Whole Plain.
But when? How? Why hadn’t she appeared until now? She wasn’t visible during the recent magical talent mental training, was she?
Granted, that training was only for the top twenty students, but there’s no way she wouldn’t have stood out.
No, more importantly—she’s already using transportation magic? A trainee only eight weeks in?
Questions flooded my mind.
But I pushed them aside. There was no way to know now. Instead of wasting time here, I had to find her and confirm if it really was her.
That was my priority, so I didn’t hesitate and changed direction.
Using transportation magic meant she had moved somewhere. Assuming she developed and used it herself, she probably hadn’t gone far. Surely she hadn’t left the User Academy, and likely only used it to avoid Anhyun.
With that in mind, I maximized my magic detection and carefully scanned the surroundings.
As expected, I found the trace quickly. About twenty steps ahead, something caught at the edge of my detection. That distance was enough to avoid Anhyun’s notice if he was still where I thought.
I stared at the trace for a moment, then followed it. From here, clear footprints showed she was walking.
As I tracked her, an inexplicable feeling washed over me. Judging by the direction, she hadn’t returned to the dormitory—the trail led the opposite way.
Still unsettled, I looked around. Thick trees and lush grass surrounded me. Yes, this strange yet familiar feeling…
I tilted my head. Anyway, I decided to go deeper. Just then, through the dense trees, I caught sight of a small clearing.
That was the moment.
“Oh.”
Realizing this was the place I once called the Easter Egg, and hearing a beautiful female voice—
It happened almost simultaneously.
Thump.
My heart suddenly pounded.
“I thought I erased the traces for sure… Did I slip up?”
I stopped immediately and stared ahead. Every sense was on high alert.
“I need to get out of here fast.”
Then, a smooth flow of magic. It was far beyond a trainee’s level. But before I could be surprised, I stepped forward, gathering my magic and striking the ground.
Boom! The earth trembled as a surge of magic flooded the clearing. I intended to disrupt the flow with a destructive spell, determined not to lose her.
But—
“Hmm? Hyah!”
A quiet kiai sounded, and I staggered back a few steps from the returning magical shock.
My magic stat is 96 points. And she not only blocked my destructive spell but countered it?
I was beyond shocked—almost disbelieving. I hurriedly focused on the clearing. The magic I’d sent in had stopped advancing, as if caught in an invisible barrier, struggling to move.
I summoned all my strength again, leapt into the clearing, and punched toward the barrier with all my might.
Thud. A heavy sensation traveled through my fist. It seemed effective—countless cracks appeared in the air like a shattered eggshell.
“Ah?”
I struck once more, breaking the magical barrier completely, then landed firmly inside the clearing.
Looking up, I saw a woman stumble and fall on her backside.
And at that moment—
“Ouch.”
I—
“……!”
Felt as if my heart might burst.
“……”
“……”
Deep in the night.
Silence hung in the air.
In the center of the clearing, bathed in starlight so bright it seemed ready to pour down, a woman knelt demurely, hands on the ground, legs folded neatly.
She looked to be in her early twenties. With long, straight hair flowing down to her hips and legs like a model’s, she was stunning.
The moment I saw her face, my mind went blank.
She spoke.
“Ah. You caught me.”
“……”
“Ahem. Sorry about that~ The stars in the night sky were just too beautiful. I couldn’t help myself. Heh.”
“……”
“Um… hey~ Instructor~?”
“……”
A voice rang out—beautiful and soprano, reminiscent of a seraph’s, yet with a slightly coquettish lilt rising at the end. Only then did I manage to pull myself together, swallowing hard just as I was about to study the woman’s face in detail.
Slowly, her legs folded beneath her, and with a quiet effort, she rose to her feet. Like a lone flower blooming in a meadow, she turned to me and smiled brightly.
That smile caught me completely off guard. Maybe it was because we were in a place where starlight gathered intensely, but the way her smile reflected the stars was so dazzlingly beautiful, I could barely meet her gaze.
My heart had been pounding as if it might explode since moments ago. I pressed my hand to my chest, trying to calm myself. And I thought:
I had expected this. I knew it—no, I was certain.
Yes. It had to be this way.
But now that we were face to face, why couldn’t I calm down? Why were my lips trembling and my throat drying up?
Why? Why, in the world, why?
“Hmm~. Do I have to accept some kind of punishment?”
I barely managed to shake my head. Her eyes softened into a gentle curve, and her black, pearl-like pupils drew closer to me.
“You’re so kind. Thank you, Instructor. I promise I won’t do this again.”
“……”
“Instructor?”
“……”
“…May I be on my way then?”
“……”
She tilted her head slightly.
But then, with a light nod, she stepped past me with a lively stride. Or rather, she was about to pass.
I found myself staring blankly at the pale, exposed nape of her neck. Suddenly, I gripped her arm tightly. Instinctively, my left hand moved to her waist. But my hand grasped nothing—it passed through empty air.
Wait a minute. What?
What did I fail to grasp?
“Ah.”
I gasped, realizing my mistake. It wasn’t that I’d forgotten the glory of Victoria.
Just moments ago, I had instinctively reached for a sword. If there had been one at her waist, I might have slashed her down without hesitation.
In other words, I had almost killed this woman standing right before me. I had wanted to kill her. A feeling I hadn’t even been aware of.
Had she sensed it?
“……?”
Her gaze shifted back to me, now resting on my left hand suspended in midair.
But only for a moment.
Slowly, very slowly, her heavily lidded eyes lifted to meet mine head-on. Then, suddenly, her eyes opened wide with a bright, lively sparkle.
『User Jegal Haesol’s unique ability, “Wisdom’s Eye That Gazes Upon the Heavens (Rank: S Plus),” has been activated.』
『User Kim Suhyun’s unique ability, “The Third Eye (Rank: S Zero),” is responding.』
『Response result: “The Third Eye” receives a two-rank boost over “Wisdom’s Eye That Gazes Upon the Heavens.”』
『“Wisdom’s Eye That Gazes Upon the Heavens (Rank: S Plus)” has been analyzed!』
“Huh?”
This time, a puzzled voice escaped from the woman’s lips. She looked at me with a startled expression, then took a few steps back, still watching me. I kept holding her arm, staring at her—no, at Jegal Haesol—without letting go. The forcibly activated Third Eye began projecting a user info window into the air.
<User Information (Player Status)>
Name: Jegal Haesol (0 years)
Class: Normal Mage (Expert)
Nation: -
Clan: -
True Name / Nationality: One who awakened her own qualifications / Prodigy / Republic of Korea
Gender: Female (29)
Height / Weight: 168.7 cm / 48.7 kg
Disposition: Rationality / Observation
[Strength 38] [Endurance 43] [Agility 52] [Stamina 37] [Magic Power 95] [Luck 93]
Week 8 and already Expert? Magic power stat 95?
“Instructor… you’re not really looking at me, are you?”
It was then, while I was staring at the absurd user info window, that a smooth, flowing voice whispered in my ear.
I hurriedly turned my gaze. When our eyes met, Jegal Haesol smiled broadly, as if amused.
“Oh. Now you’re looking at me. Before, you were staring into empty space.”
Her smile hinted she knew something, but it was so refined and graceful that I couldn’t deny its charm.
A moment later, she gently placed her hand over mine, which was still gripping her arm. She softly stroked it downward and gave me a pretty, teasing smile.
“Like you’re reading something.”
My arm fell limply, against my will.
---------------------------= Author’s Note =---------------------------
At last, a user with a magic power stat of 101 has appeared. Haha. Honestly, I agonized a lot over introducing this character early on. The biggest challenge was deciding her personality.
I narrowed it down to three options: a serene, unwavering calm like a seraph; a coy, slightly anxious demeanor; or a bright, lively, refreshing vibe.
In the end, I decided to blend all three, leaning mostly on the first and third. Haha.
I’m sure many of you are curious about Jegal Haesol. I plan to explore her character more deeply in future chapters, so please be patient.
Oh, and I have some unfortunate news. I’ll need to take a short break due to some personal matters.
From Friday, April 11th to Tuesday, April 15th.
That said, I might be able to post something on the 11th and 15th if I push myself. But the 12th, 13th, and 14th will be difficult, so those days will be on hiatus. I ask for your understanding and will remind you again in the April 11th author’s note. (__)
Also, I’ve got a pile of messages and questions in the forum. I’ll be answering them all before I sleep tonight. Haha.