“Huuu.”

I took a deep breath outside the classroom. It was Friday, and cadets had returned after all the chaos. I nervously opened the door. Several gazes fell on me as I took my usual seat and heard them whispering about my bet with Chae Nayun. I tried to ignore them while burying my face in a textbook. At least the bullying stopped since I beat Kim Horak.

“Grades for the written exams are out.”

Yi Yeonghan walked in with large scrolls in his arms. He hung them up one by one on the wall. It listed the results for each theory class and a ranking of the total marks. Everyone groaned as they looked over the scrolls and turned towards me.

Rank 1. Kim Hajin

Rank 2. Rachel

My name stood at the top of every exam and the overall rankings. Not just in Veritas, but the entire academy.

“Cough.”

It felt slightly awkward as I stole a glance at Rachel. She sat behind me with her face resting down on her desk. I faintly heard her sigh and murmured in English, “I should have worked harder.”

“I hope everyone knows that we have new classes.”

Yi Yeonghan added.

“Check the announcements if you haven’t. Starting from today, Fridays will have two classes.”

Classes changed after the first semester midterms for freshmen because Cube wanted cadets to experience a wide variety. In addition, magicians would also join the second semester, and cadets could choose their own courses. Typically, they took classes for their roles.

I turned on my smartwatch and saw that today's new class was [Practical Magic and Intermediate Magic Power Control].

Drrrrk— The professor for phenomenon realm analysis walked in. The noisy classroom fell silent.

“Take your seats.”

The professor peeked at the scrolls and grinned.

“I’m sure you’ve all seen the exam results.”

The cadets slightly groaned.

“Now, now, your tests were much easier than the ones I gave to college students. Also, cadet Kim Hajin.”

Suddenly, the professor pointed at me. Everyone else also followed his finger.

“An unconventional outlook and logical judgment, I could sense true wisdom from your answers. Frankly, I can’t believe you’re only 16. You’re good enough to be writing thesis papers for graduation.”

I would have simply been happy if the professor’s praise had ended there. After all, it was the first time someone praised me for doing well on an exam.

“Since today is the first class after exams, I will give a quick lecture using cadet Kim Hajin’s answer sheet and call it a day.”

He caught me completely off guard by displaying my answer sheet on the screen.

“Now, take a look at this. Hajin wrote, If monsters had linguistic abilities…”

The class continued as I covered my face and felt it growing hot.

***

It was now 3:30 and time for Friday’s second class. Veritas class gathered at the magic library, where the chief magician waited in a lecture room.

“Hello, I am the chief magician from Seoul Magic Tower, Kim Hyojun. I will teach you practical magic and magic power control every Friday from 3:30 to 6. However, today’s class will only be 30 minutes.”

The chief magician introduced himself with a gentle smile. However, I couldn’t help but frown since I knew he was a prick. He led a successful life as the third generation of a magic clan, but wasn’t talented enough to become the chief magician. Although he landed the position thanks to his clan’s lobbying, that was his limit. In the end, he turned to education, but his poor character would be problematic. Eventually, he would even fearlessly touch Chae Nayun while pretending to teach her. Fortunately, he never contracted with a devil.

[Kim Hyojun – Currently considering a contract with a devil.]

But he might soon.

“You may be thinking, Why should I learn magic when I’m not a magician? That’s valid, but I’m sure you know, qi reinforcement and sword qi are an extension of magic.”

Kim Hyojun demonstrated with his magic power. The soft jellylike magic power instantly hardened when he concentrated.

“Now, if you physically reinforce your magic power, that becomes qi reinforcement or sword qi. However, if you refine your magic power with some calculations…”

A pink flame rose from his magic power. Cadets exclaimed in awe.

“It becomes magic.”

Kim Hyojun smiled.

“Even if you can’t wield magic of this level, you will learn to use more practical magic or wield things like qi reinforcement and sword qi more naturally. Since today is the first class, we will only go over our goals.”

Suddenly, a blue sphere the size of a ping-pong ball shot up from his palm.

“This is necessary magic to learn before entering any dungeon. It’s called a light sphere and will guide you in many dark areas. It may look simple, but to wield it skillfully…”

Kim Hyojun gave a complicated explanation. To simplify, we had to compress magic power and air into a spherical shape that lights up.

“Now, before I teach you, try it yourself.”

Cadets began to emit their magic power. I stared blankly at my desk before joining my hands and thinking, Appear, sphere of light. Appear, sphere of light.

Stigma’s magic power didn’t require intense focus or complex calculations. Soon, magic power flowed into my hands and formed a white sphere of light. The cute sphere floated around my palm.

Wiing—

My smartwatch vibrated. Startled, I canceled the light sphere.

“Please turn off your smartwatches during class.”

Kim Hyojun’s disgruntled gaze fell on me.

“Sorry.”

I slightly bowed and saw a message from Yoo Yeonha.

[Um, we can’t do something like that yet. If you show people what you just did, they’ll misunderstand.]

“What.”

I quickly scanned the room and found Yoo Yeonha sitting diagonally from me. We made eye contact, and she smiled while mouthing silently.

Amazing. You did that after listening to his explanation once?

I glanced around me after her sarcastic remark. Less than half of the cadets could compress their magic power into a sphere, and even those who succeeded couldn’t maintain the form for long. No one was even close to making the sphere shine.

“W-Whoa!”

A nameless cadet in the front row suddenly exclaimed. A blue light shone from the sphere in Kim Suho’s hand. Other cadets expressed their shock as Kim Hyojun’s face stiffened. He suddenly snapped after staring at Kim Suho’s light sphere.

“Stop.”

Oh right, this was why Kim Hyojun envied Kim Suho. He scowled, but quickly straightened his face before continuing in a kind tone.

“You’ll be wasting magic power if you make it like that. Now, pay attention everyone. I’ll give a more detailed explanation.”

Kim Hyojun began to give Kim Suho a private lesson. It seemed he wanted to test Kim Suho’s limits. Yoo Yeonha sent me another message as I watched quietly.

[It must look like child’s play since you can easily make a brilliant white light while someone else is praised for only a faint glow.]

“… What is she saying.”

I ignored Yoo Yeonha’s strange comment.

***

I arrived at the traveling club’s meeting place the next day at 12:30 P.M. on Saturday. Most had already gathered and seemed excited about the overnight trip.

“Hajin is here too. Alright, let’s form our teams before setting off.”

The club leader, Oh Hanhyun, took out a box for drawing lots like before. According to the original story, Kim Suho would pair up with Yoo Yeonha. I didn’t care about the rest.

“First, Suho? Please step forward. You’ll be drawing first.”

I was still a bit nervous. Hopefully, everything would match the original story. Now, who will Kim Suho pick?

***

I stepped into Paris for the first time. Thanks to the Seoul-Paris portal, it only took ten seconds to arrive.

“It really is different.”

The scenery resembled the pictures, but also looked different from my old world. State-of-the-art buildings surrounded the Eiffel Tower, and cadets from Paris Hero Academy walked around with swords and spears. For the record, France led the European Union in my novel because of their well-operated hero system.

“Korean cadets, over here!”

Someone called us over as we looked at the Paris scenery. We spotted a limousine in the direction of the voice. The club leader, Oh Hanhyun, walked up to the limousine with a hearty laugh.

“Nice to meet you. You must be Raymond.”

“Yes, nice to meet you.”

“Can we drop off our bags before touring the city?”

Raymond nodded with a smile. We stuffed our bags into the limousine.

“Now, we’ll travel in the pairs we formed.”

I paired with Chae Nayun. I felt good that Kim Suho went with Yoo Yeonha like the original, but I wasn’t too comfortable with Chae Nayun.

“Alright, it’s 1 P.M. right now. Let’s meet back here at 7.”

Oh Hanhyun left with his girlfriend, who he brought along with his authority as the club leader. They planned on attending the masquerade party later today.

“…”

Chae Nayun stared at Kim Suho with a wistful look before walking up to me.

“Hey, where do you want to go?”

“I’m getting lunch.”

I had already researched several gourmet places since I was excited about my first European trip. After looking through several pamphlets, I even used the Book of Truth to find the best restaurant.

“Lunch? I guess it’s about that time. Where are you going?”

“You’re coming with me?”

Chae Nayun didn’t seem to mind. I was surprised, considering the rumors that she practiced archery with pictures of my face on the targets.

“We drew lots, and what’s done is done. So what, do you want to split up?”

“Oh right.”

Chae Nayun had no sense of direction. She would easily get lost like a five year old in a forest. She could find her way home with her magic power and scent, but foreign places were like mazes to her.

“What’s right?”

“Nothing. Just follow me.”

Chae Nayun crossed her arms as though she doubted my manliness. Then she pouted and curtly spoke, “And how do you know where anything is?”

“I know better than you.”

The Book of Truth showed only two restaurants. A cheap, delicious restaurant and an expensive one worth its cost. I felt okay with either, but the latter should suit Chae Nayun more. I turned on my GPS to the expensive restaurant.

“Follow me.”

“Hmm… Okay, but I’m letting you know, I’m a really picky eater.”

“I know.”

She acted like a tomboy, but because she ate only the highest quality food from a young age, her palate was more refined than most nobles.

“… How do you know that?”

I ignored her and walked to the restaurant as Chae Nayun followed like a cat. After about 15 minutes, we arrived at [Goût Céleste]. I had no clue what it meant, but anyone could see it was fancy.

“Oh, this is the place?”

“Yep.”

“Ooh.”

We walked to the entrance until a man in a suit stopped us.

“@!#$!@#$!@#$”

We couldn’t understand because he spoke in French. Chae Nayun tilted her head and asked, “What?”

The man cleared his voice and asked again in Korean.

“Do you have a reservation?”

“Oh, he speaks Korean. Hey, you didn’t make a reservation, right? Don’t you know you need to make reservations for high-end restaurants?”

I silently opened my laptop. I didn’t make a reservation, but I could hack into their reservation list. I paid a cheap price to access the restaurant’s private server using the laptop’s internet function. Then I quickly found the reservation list and added my name around a 1 P.M. slot.

“Hey!”

Chae Nayun shouted. I took my eyes off the laptop and saw her right in front of me. I couldn’t spot a single flaw in her smooth skin.

“Eh? W-What?”

“Reservation. Did you make one?”

Chae Nayun asked again, and I nodded.

“Yeah, I did.”

“… Really?”

“Tell him my name.”

Chae Nayun looked doubtful, but approached the man.

“Kim Hajin. Is his name there?”

The man checked his smartwatch. He found my name and let us through with a smile.

“Yes, Kim Hajin and one companion. Welcome.”

“… Oh wow.”

Chae Nayun looked at me in surprise. Then we walked in together.

“I like the atmosphere.”

I agreed. The interior looked as imposing as the exterior. Calm classical music flowed, while every decoration appeared delicate and elegant. The customers inside wore dresses and suits despite it being lunchtime.

“Follow me.”

We followed the waiter and sat next to a window.

“Welcome to Goût Céleste. Do you need help with the menu?”

“You handle it.”

I let Chae Nayun decide. She skillfully looked over the menu and finished ordering. Silence descended once the waiter left. We awkwardly stared at each other until I looked out the window.

“… What?”

Suddenly, I spotted an unexpected individual.