Chapter 35 - Half-Baked Mage (2)

Chapter 35: Half-Baked Mage (2)TL: SHW

“…W-wait a minute. First… um. Okay. Can you try to calm down?”

Woo Hwijae hastily dragged a chair and sat in front of Park Seo-hyun.

“Why… why do you think that way, Seo-hyun?”

“No matter how much I think about it…”

Park Seo-hyun roughly wiped her eyes with her sleeve. Her tear-streaked face was a mess, red and blotchy. Her eyes were still filled with tears.

“I, I…”

Her voice trembled.

Park Seo-hyun’s lips quivered as she tried to calm her voice with deep breaths.

After a while, Park Seo-hyun finally spoke with a somewhat calmed face. Woo Hwijae patiently waited.

“…I have no talent.”

“……”

“I don’t even deserve to be a mage. Before I cause more harm to the others… I should quit as soon as possible.”

“Hmm…”

Woo Hwijae closed his mouth with a troubled expression.

Park Seo-hyun noticed that Woo Hwijae was choosing his words carefully to avoid hurting her.

He’s really a good person.

That’s probably why he taught runes to someone like me.

‘Wow! That’s amazing! Can I use magic like you?’

Hunter Training Pilot High School, which she had followed Hong Seok-young to.

‘Uh, uh, um? I heard you were a mage too…’

‘I just awakened recently! I’ve never used magic before! I don’t even know how!’

There were only two mages, herself and Choi Jin-woo. Even Choi Jin-woo, who had recently awakened, couldn’t be considered a real mage yet.

Even with simple light magic, Choi Jin-woo was amazed as if he were an archmage. Perhaps she got a little carried away and thought beyond her capabilities.

That I too…

Can do it.

But didn’t she see it in Myeong-dong?

She drew the rune instead of Choi Jin-woo, who was not yet familiar with handling mana. She thought it would be better for her to do it rather than a novice mage who had only been at it for three months.

It was all a misunderstanding.

Just as her grandfather had said, her arrogance ruined everything. She almost caused a disaster not only for her precious friend but also for other civilians.

If it hadn’t been for Woo Hwijae, maybe less than half of them would have survived….

“…Seo-hyun! Park Seo-hyun!”

She had a premonition that it would turn out like this someday. If she had given up when she first had that premonition, it would have been much better.

As a child, she had come this far, driven by the desire to conjure the light cluster her grandfather had shown her.

But now, it’s time to let go of everything.

Magic that she can’t even use. Maybe she should just reveal it like the teacher said. So that anyone, any real mage, could use it.

It might even be better for her grandfather. Rather than remaining an unfortunate archmage with a talentless granddaughter…

“Park Seo-hyun!!”

Snap!

Woo Hwijae called Park Seo-hyun’s name loudly and snapped his fingers.

Park Seo-hyun flinched her shoulders and looked up. The tears that had stopped for a moment were welling up again.

Woo Hwijae ran his hand through his hair with a complex expression.

“Um… first, stop crying.”

Woo Hwijae fumbled around his chest as if looking for something in his pocket. However, as if he remembered something, he clicked his tongue and brought a roll of tissue from the lectern and handed it to her.

“Here… wipe your tears. It’ll sting if you keep wiping like that with your hands.  Water… should I bring you some water?”

“Sniff… no, it’s okay.”

“Have you calmed down a bit?”

Park Seo-hyun couldn’t lift her head and kept looking at her knees.

As she fiddled with the tissue soaked in her tears, she heard a sigh from above her head.

“I don’t even know where to start….”

Is it serious enough that he doesn’t even know where to start?

“So…”

Woo Hwijae asked in a calm voice.

“Let’s start from the beginning.”

“…Yes.”

“Why do you want to quit school?”

“That’s because…”

There are too many reasons. It’s not hard to think them out loud, but as she tried to voice them, she felt utterly miserable.

Among the many reasons swirling in her mouth, Park Seo-hyun, as Woo Hwijae suggested, started from the beginning. She spoke of the most fundamental reason.

“…Because I’m not qualified to be a mage.”

“Hmm… I don’t understand. Are there even qualifications for being a mage? Other than a Hunter license.”

“There’s no such thing, but…”

Woo Hwijae furrowed his face in frustration.

“Did someone say something to you? Did the kids…?”

“What? No!! Nothing like that!”

Park Seo-hyun hastily denied Woo Hwijae’s assumption, startled. Woo Hwijae, still puzzled, asked again.

“Then why do you think you’re not qualified?”

“Well, that’s because…”

Park Seo-hyun bit her lip.

Did he really want to hear it directly from her? She knew the teacher didn’t like her, but wasn’t this too cruel?

Tears began to well up again.

“Why are you crying again?!”

“Because I!!”

The already soaked tissue tore. Park Seo-hyun clung to the torn tissue as if it were a lifeline and shouted.

“I can’t even use magic properly! How can I call myself a mage!”

She said it. She finally said it.

There was no turning back now. Even though she had decided to give up, she still felt this way, indicating she hadn’t fully let go. Since her grandfather passed away, this had been the only thing keeping her going, but there was nothing she could do.

Still, she had to hold on and let go. It was the only pride left for Park Seo-hyun.

“…What do you mean by that?”

But Woo Hwijae, not grasping Park Seo-hyun’s earnest feelings, spoke with an incredulous face.

“You’ve been using magic just fine all along. What about the rune durability test you did? Isn’t that magic?”

“Th-that’s basic magic…”

“Are you dismissing basic magic now?”

“That’s not what I mean…”

“That’s good enough. What more do you want? For someone your age, even just knowing how to properly cast a shield is enough to make a living.”

This reaction was different from what she had expected.

Park Seo-hyun stammered as she refuted Woo Hwijae’s words.

“Shields aren’t basic magic…”

“What? Are you saying basic magic and common magic aren’t real magic?”

“That’s not what I’m saying!”

After her brief panic, Woo Hwijae spoke in his usual indifferent manner.

“Isn’t that what you’re saying right now? That’s how it sounds to me.”

“No…”

“Then what? What do you want to say? You said you weren’t qualified to be a mage. There must be a reason you think that.”

Park Seo-hyun bit her lip hard.

“…Because I have no talent.”

Woo Hwijae let out a deep sigh.

“This is getting repetitive, but for your age, being able to perform basic or common magic to that extent means you have more than enough talent. Your shield casting speed is even fast. How fast is it again?”

“Three seconds…”

“Your shield is better than most active mages. So what are you dissatisfied with?”

Dissatisfaction?

She had agonized over this decision for so long.

…Maybe it’s because the teacher isn’t a mage. Non-mages can’t understand how crucial this issue is for mages.

Park Seo-hyun calmed herself and opened her mouth to speak. If she explained slowly, the teacher might not fully understand, but he would at least partially understand and empathize.

“I need to become an archmage.”

“An archmage?”

“But I don’t have the qualifications or the talent to become one.”

Park Seo-hyun glanced up at Woo Hwijae. Seeing his slightly furrowed brows made her nervous, so she quickly lowered her head again.

“Did I pressure you by saying you could become an archmage?”

“…What?”

“Or is it because of Teacher Kim? Because Teacher Kim is an archmage? Did being an archmage seem too easy?”

“What? No! Not at all!”

“Hmm… Can I be honest with you?”

It seems like you’re already being honest…

Woo Hwijae didn’t wait for Park Seo-hyun’s answer.

“How many archmages do you think there are in the world?”

Park Seo-hyun blinked her eyes.

“Out of a hundred thousand mages, there shouldn’t even be one archmage.”

“Well… that’s probably true.”

“So you knew? I thought you didn’t know.”

Woo Hwijae clicked his tongue briefly. Park Seo-hyun flinched.

“There are countries with no archmages at all. Do you know how many archmages there are in our country?”

“T-ten.”

“Oh. There are only ten now? No way. Did you want to be one of those ten? If you joined, it wouldn’t be ten anymore. Right. Did you want to be the eleventh?”

“……”

“Archmage. It’s great to be an archmage. But there are far more mages who can’t become archmages. Should all those mages quit? Do they all lack the qualifications to be mages? What about the things you did with Teacher Kim? Was Teacher Kim teaching magic to someone who wasn’t even a mage all this time? Was it charity work?”

Though it was close to charity work, Park Seo-hyun didn’t know that. And Woo Hwijae had no intention of telling her.

Woo Hwijae’s words pierced sharply. Park Seo-hyun raised her head, which had been bowed deeply. The tears had long since stopped.

Woo Hwijae tilted his head and asked.

“Or do you mean basic magic isn’t magic?”

“No! That’s not it!”

“What you’re saying now sounds like that.”

Woo Hwijae let out a loud sigh.

Hearing that made something boil up inside her.

“Ah. So Choi Jin-woo shouldn’t be a mage either then. Should I call Jin-woo here? According to Park Seo-hyun, you don’t qualify as a mage.”

Park Seo-hyun clenched her fists tightly and lifted her head sharply.

“He has nothing to do with this!”

“That’s exactly what you’re saying.”

“Why does it sound like that?!”

“Then? Why is he okay and you’re not?”

“That’s because!”

Through her messy hair, she saw Woo Hwijae with his arms crossed. Leaning back in a chair that looked too small for his frame, he even had his legs crossed.

His eyes, looking at her, held no emotion. Just a look that seemed to say, ‘Go ahead, speak’.

An irritated face.

“He awakened less than half a year ago, and I’ve been awakened for over ten years!”

Over his figure, her grandfather’s image overlapped.

“And I!!”

“You?”

“I know unique magic!”

“Hmm.”

Woo Hwijae uncrossed his legs. His body leaned forward. His indifferent face changed to one that listened more intently. Park Seo-hyun didn’t notice and poured out her words.

“I know the formulas, and I understand them! It’s not just that I know them! I understand them!”

Park Seo-hyun shouted, clenching her fists.

“What kind of mage can’t use the formulas they understand?! This was doomed from the start!!!”

“……”

“…I can’t. I just can’t.”

Her head drooped again. Tears that had stopped began to well up again.

Feeling like a child who had done something wrong, Park Seo-hyun tried her best to hold back her tears. There wasn’t anything she did well.

“Park Seo-hyun.”

But there was a hand that stopped her head from falling.

“…Huh?”

Woo Hwijae supported her chin with his fingers. Park Seo-hyun opened her eyes wide. Her disheveled bangs swayed as their eyes met.

When their eyes met, Woo Hwijae didn’t smirk as usual but smiled softly. It was a smile that someone in the future might say was pretending to be upright, but Park Seo-hyun didn’t know that.

“You know unique magic?”

“Yes… yes?”

“How? How do you know it?”

“G-grandfather… before he passed away… he taught me other magics too.”

“Grandfather, huh…”

Park Seo-hyun, feeling uncomfortable with her forced posture, rolled her eyes and twisted her body. However, Woo Hwijae, lost in thought, didn’t notice her discomfort.

“T-teacher?”

“Oh… right. Your grandfather’s name, no… do you know his magic affinity?”

“Affinity?”

“Yes, his affinity.”

Park Seo-hyun blinked a couple of times before answering.

“Light… My grandfather mainly used guiding magic.”

“Light and guiding? I see.”

Woo Hwijae began to mutter something quickly in a low voice. Most of it was incomprehensible.

“Teacher?”

“So… huh?”

“Could you, um, let go of my chin…?”

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“Your hand, um…”

“You can become an archmage.”

Park Seo-hyun, who had been squirming, suddenly stopped moving.

“You have talent.”

Woo Hwijae repeated kindly in a soft voice.

“I will make you an archmage.”

If someone twenty years from now had heard this, they would have cursed at him for trying to deceive a child.

Of course, Park Seo-hyun still didn’t know that.