Once I started to become conscious, I could tell that I was hearing similar sounds all around me.
'… status window.'
_______________________
Lucus Rein Astian
Title: Hunter of ???
Stamina: -3.5 (+0.3)
Mental Strength: -8.2 (+0.5)
Horsepower: ?
Skill: +1.015 (+0.5)
Impression: -10
Luck: -6.985 (+0.5)
Trait: Dawn 777, Divine Power
____________________________
I just turned it on out of curiosity, and my title really did change. Does it change depending on how I'm called bCed on this standard?
'Looking at the shape of the title, it looks like it'll continue like that for a while.'
Even the Chimera Iri has not been reported yet. If the higher-ups decide to report on it, the current fever will last even longer.
I glanced at the students carrying newspapers and thought.
• * *
As it turned out, the name wasn't something the students came up with themselves, but was used by the newspaper that first reported on it. Seeing that other newspapers were using the same name, it seemed like it had already been completely established.
In fact, if we look at the situation, Leon's situation was more serious than mine.
I can just tolerate the incomprehensible names, but Leon has to endure the questions and attention of countless students.
As expected, every time I met him on the street, his face became dark. If the guy who always smiled had a fierce expression, that would have said it all already.
The next evening" Leon sat down on the training ground floor and remained there in silence for a long time.
I looked down at Leon and said something.
"Are you okay?"
"no."
Leon answered with a face that looked ten years older.
We gathered at the training ground, but looking at that, it looks like we're not in a good condition to train today.
'You must have been bombarded with questions all along, so there's nothing you can do.'
In this sense, it is quite advantageous to keep your identity a secret. I interpreted this in a positive way and sat down next to him.
Leon spoke weakly.
"Did you know that our article was in five different daily newspapers today? Why did they all do this…. Yesterday, we received three interview requests."
"You've had a hard time."
I expected it to decrease to a certain extent, but people's interest grew more and more.
'It must be because of the mysticism.'
If it was just Leon and his servant Leon with a black face who went to subdue the demons together, it would have ended as just a good story about Leon, but because he was a suspicious person with many things going for him, people were talking about it even more frantically.
And the investigation revealed that the wolf was not of the type seen in the Empire, and the imperial family announced that the culprit was most likely someone belonging to the Pleroma.
It is bound to become a hot topic when two magicians show up at just the right time to prevent an accident involving a cult.
'I'm glad I didn't get caught.'
Why are you bringing up Pleroma in particular?
Even though I'm not Pleroma, I'm already being pushed into that image, so if I get caught here, it's really over.
Considering the worst case scenario, things were looking pretty good now.
"ah."
Leon noticed the package next to him and handed it to me.
"I almost forgot to give you this. It arrived today."
"You arrived earlier than I expected."
"I asked you to make it as fast as possible. And it doesn't take long to make it."
Even so, I never thought I'd fly all the way here in one day.
I accepted the box Leon handed me.
"thanks."
"What, I have to live and work hard to use magic."
"What…."
"huh?"
"Okay."
It's not like 'I need to get healthy', but 'I need to work hard on my magic'. What does that mean?
I feel this every time, but he's crazy about magic.
I ignored Leon and unpacked the package.
"and…."
Leon was amazed when he first saw the packaging, but after seeing the item, he began to admire it with a slightly different meaning.
"Wow, this is really ordinary."
It contained a wristwatch of such an ordinary appearance that it was hardly memorable, and a silver necklace chain.
For best results, the device must penetrate the skin, either by inserting a small, dull chip under the skin or using an earring.
The former did not try it because of the psychological resistance, and the latter was better… but if a wizard pierces his ears, it means that he is using an artifact. There was a possibility that he would be in danger when he met his brother.
Still, since wristwatches and necklaces are the type that stick to the body, the effect wasn't bad. To increase the effect, I also consecrated the artifacts by putting blood and magic into them.
Among these, the watch is used to hide the magical power flowing through the body, and the necklace string is a tool to stabilize the core. The necklace I am using now is an artifact with only the pendant, so there is no problem with changing the string.
We spent a lot of money on making it look like a normal accessory by thoroughly blocking the leakage of magic power, but there was still about 10 million won left.
'I must never go out again.'
To a wizard, a thousand dollars would be money that would disappear in an instant… I guess I'll go and beat up another demon. I smiled happily.
"Write it quickly. I'm curious."
"okay."
I roughly put the watch on my wrist at Leon's urging.
"…!"
Perhaps because it contained my blood and magic, an unknown sensation wrapped around my wrist even though it wasn't something that pierced my skin.
"…I feel like something is pulling me, but I don't feel anything else?"
"No, just try using magic."
Leon waved his arms excitedly and pointed to the other side of the training ground. I pulled out my wand and fired my magic at the place Leon pointed.
Bam!
"oh."
It felt like something had been built for me, unlike usual. If I had been driving on an unpaved road, I felt like I was now driving on a paved road, albeit a bit later.
"You felt it too? And before and after using the magic, the magical power surrounding you died down a lot. It became much cleaner."
"Really? The amount printed was the same as usual."
"That's right. This only kills the magical power that dissipates after printing."
"Good."
I brought up the status window again.
________________________
Lucus Rein Astian
Title: Hunter of ???
Stamina: -3.5
Mental Strength: -8.2
Horsepower: ?
Skill: +1.015 [+4.015]
Impression: -10
Luck: -6.985
Trait: Dawn 777, Divine Power
_________________________
'hmm?'
The skill went up by 3 points?
Leon's words that things had become neater had to be true. It was surprising to see the numbers go up by decimal points, then suddenly go up.
I tucked the wand back into my waistband and felt the necklace chain.
This doesn't seem to have much of an effect yet… but it might be different when I actually use it.
I changed the necklace chain and put the pendant inside my shirt to organize it.
Leon waved his wand slightly to feel the magic around him, then tilted his head.
"Maybe it's because of the clock effect, but I don't feel it right away."
"…okay?"
But not for me.
I pressed my heart hard without being able to close my mouth.
Unlike before, the core has become so light that its very existence cannot be recognized.
___________________________________
Lucus Rein Astian
Title: Hunter of ???
Stamina: -3.5 [-0.5]
Mental Strength: -8.2
Horsepower: ?
Skill: +1.015 [+4.015]
Impression: -10
Luck: -6.985
Trait: Dawn 777, Divine Power
-_____________________________________
'Stamina also increased by 3 points.'
I tried to make a spark from my hand.
The slight cracks and shocks that I felt whenever I used magic were no longer there. No, I didn't even know that they were cracks and that they were shocks.
However….
'So that's how it was originally.'
This is how a normal core works.
To be precise, a core of -0.5 feels like this.
I am a 21st century human without a core, and Luca's core has been damaged for a long time too, so I don't know what a healthy state is.
But this incident has made me realize for sure.
Unlike before, breathing and magical power management have become much freer.
I took the pendant out of my shirt and kicked it off my skin.
As the artifact moved away from the core, my chest felt heavy again, as if it had been slammed shut.
I didn't know this before writing this, but now that I know what a healthy core feels like, I can't just leave it like that.
"If the core is completely healed, it will get better than this."
"It looks different. I'm glad I chose well."
If you make a booster, you can feel this sensation without the artifact.
If we can create a cure, we will be able to live with a permanently healthy core even after the effects of the enhancer wear off.
It was reckless to just wait for the medicine to be made.
If I had left the normal core alone, I would have ended up learning magic with a severely damaged core.
I sent Leon, who was in poor condition, back to the dormitory and practiced magic alone.
When I started to feel out of breath, I checked my watch. It was midnight when I entered the training grounds, but it was already close to 3 in the morning.
Even though magic uses a lot of stamina, three hours was a bit disappointing. Even with -0.5 stamina, this seemed to be the limit.
'But I should rest for tomorrow.'
I went to my dorm, threw my bag on the desk, and plopped down on my chair.
"hmm?"
There was something foreign in the place where my eyes met.
Bam-
As I opened the door, a note fell to the floor.
When I unfolded the roughly folded yellow paper, similarly roughly scribbled writing appeared.
[I know everything.]
The back of my neck feels cool.
I looked at the note with cold eyes.
[Come out of the dorm right now.]
I stared at the note, relaxed, and burst out laughing.
I don't know what you're saying you know, but… .
If you are going to exploit my weaknesses, it is a welcome thing to think about going to some media outlet and confronting me without me revealing my identity.
'Is hunting the devil the most likely option for now?'
Let's think about what would have happened if you had known about it and called him out.
It is highly likely that they only have a hunch without any other evidence.
In this case, they will ask what weakness you knew and that the fact that you came out despite this warning is proof that you are the hunter.
If it comes out like that… I can just pretend not to know.
I don't know about others, but it's possible with Luca.
Even though he doesn't know what's going on, he's the kind of person who follows along just to see if something scary is going to happen.
'Of course, that's a story from the past year… .'
There's no evidence anyway, so if you just mumble something and say you came out because they told you to, it won't be easy for the other person to be convinced by your personality.
'The problems that arise when you go out are solvable.'
Then of course you have to leave. In this case, it is not a problem that can be solved by telling the teacher.
I didn't know it would happen this soon, but if someone who knows something is fishy is willing to show up in front of me, I'd welcome it.
Without hesitation, I put the note back in the crack of the door and headed for the stairs.
As I opened the front door of the dormitory and went out, a student approached me hesitantly.
"I… by any chance…."
From what you said, it doesn't seem like you're the one who sent the note.
As I stared at him silently, the student looked at me with terrified eyes.
"why."
"Did you see the note? The seniors from the magic department asked me to bring you here."
"Who exactly are you?"
"Me too…."
I guess he just grabbed someone on the street.
Normally, if a stranger asked me to bring someone, I would decline, but seeing them here… Did they threaten you or something?
As I silently waved my hand forward, the student quickly took a step forward.
After a long time, there was no sign of him arriving. I blurted out a word to the student behind him.
"It's quite a distance?"
"Huh?! Oh, yeah…. I didn't know that either, but that's true. But I'll be there soon."
The main school building was already in the distance, shrunken.
All around, disused buildings and school outskirts began to appear.
"Did those seniors say anything about me?"
"Oh, no. He just told me to bring him because he'll be out soon."
"okay."
At that moment, I saw four or five people moving in the distance.
Since it was an abandoned building, I couldn't go inside, so I waited in the middle of the building.
Upon discovering the sight, the student hurriedly turned around and left before even reaching where the person was standing.
I approached them.
"What the…. It's really coming."
"Hey, hand me the Oman Pel."
"Are you crazy? Anyway, I wrote the note just like you said."
The students were giggling among themselves.
As I was just staring at them in silence, one student stepped forward.
"hey."
The student who had been staring at me for a long time jutted his chin forward.
"Why are you here? Is something bothering you?"
"Come out."
A few people standing behind me burst into laughter at my indifferent answer.
"What is this kid saying…."
"I'm right. Even if you tell me to just come out without wearing anything, I'm telling you, I'll come out. Nothing has changed."
"That's right."
"So just give me your pride."
"XX, don't give it to me. Shut up. You're ruining the mood."
The guys were giggling at each other and then suddenly looked at me without saying a word.
'Were we in the same class?'
These are faces I often come across here and there.
A far cry from top students like Leon.
He came here knowing how to use magic, but he doesn't have any outstanding qualities in terms of grades or character, and he interprets all human relationships based on hierarchy.
For students like Leon who have good grades and a good family background, he will do anything to look good, but for someone like Luca who is hated by everyone, he tries to keep them under his feet.
'About the Pleroma….'
You don't seem particularly afraid.
I don't know about people outside who don't interact with me, but there were a few people on campus who knew my personality and looked down on me.
'I know there aren't many of them, but I'm unlucky enough to be in the same class as these guys.'
As expected, it remained as a terrible image in Luca's brief memory.
When he was in the first grade, Luca was plagued by rumors that he ate rats alive, and these students were the ones who started the rumors.
It might have been an attempt to see how much of a joke Luca would tolerate right before he started to look down on him in earnest.
Then the one standing in front came closer, raising his voice.
"It's nothing. I just think you've become a little strange."
"...."
"Is something going on these days?"
A student who had been giggling while sitting in the back stood up and put his arm around my shoulder, asking,
"What happened to make you look at me with your eyes wide open like that? You're not usually like that."
"Hahahaha! Your eyes are so vivid. XX, I'm scared to look at you."
At those words, I burst out into a short laugh.
Yeah, it'd be a shame if there weren't any. I knew I'd meet guys like this at least once.
The reason I had been putting strength into my shoulders up until now disappeared in an instant. They knew nothing about the part I was worried about.
You just called me to harass me.
The words 'I know everything' were really intended to scare me into coming out.
'If you say things like 'If you don't come out, you'll be killed', then when a problem arises, there's no way out.'
Just enough to shamelessly insist that it wasn't your intention to threaten.
I used just that many words and sentences.
I didn't know I would have to participate in the kids' ranking game… .
'That's good.'
It's not a headache.
I sighed as I looked at the students' increasingly grim faces.
"Tell me why you called."
"This kid is sighing now, man."
"Hey, okay. I have to say it, okay. I don't like it when guys like you walk around with their heads held high and act like everything's ok. Got it?"
"What about people like me?"
"Don't you know? Are you asking because you don't know? Are you just trying to change your image and take out some of your brain?"
The guy laughed and shook his head.
"Ah, XX. You talk too much. You're just like the guy you were with last year, so what's the matter with you acting normal?"
"No, don't talk. This kid doesn't understand."
"I think so. Hey, do you understand? If you didn't understand, I'll tell you directly."
The guys started giggling like before.
A student sitting on the floor waved his hand.
"Hand it over."
"What, kid?"
"…Hahahaha…. Oh, this kid curses too. I'm really embarrassed. I'm so shocked I can't speak."
The guy got up from his seat and pointed at my top.
"Hand over your jacket, Inma."
"...."
I was so shocked that I couldn't close my mouth and burst out laughing.
'these guys….'
It's obvious. The moment I pass this, I'll be unable to wear clothes.
I looked at them with cold eyes and became lost in thought. Suddenly, a good idea occurred to me.
'… This might be a better thing than I thought.'