‘Ugh…’
I’ve been humiliated since this morning. I groaned as I ruffled my hair.
‘Not only did I sleep with my mouth wide open all night, but I was drooling all over…’
And it wasn’t just on my pillow or blanket; I had drooled all over Baek Ahrin’s arms.
I was so embarrassed that I couldn’t bring myself to look up.
Even if I’d done it alone, I would have felt awkward, but now I had inconvenienced someone else…
“It’s fine. Drooling doesn’t break your heart or anything.”
Baek Ahrin chuckled at my flailing self on the edge of the bed. She adjusted her open shirt and came over, giving me a reassuring pat on the back.
I turned my head away, trying to avoid her gaze.
Even though the victim herself said it was okay, my embarrassment didn’t go away.
Hong Yeon-hwa was still soundly asleep. Normally, even a heavy sleeper like her would have woken up with any commotion, but it seemed like she was exhausted from trying to tune in my raging Gop-hwa last night.
‘Ugh…’
A deep sigh escaped me.
A little while later, Hong Yeon-hwa finally came back from her dreamland.
“I think the trial is over,” she said, checking on me before we started breakfast.
This wasn’t just a casual glance.
She had me sit on her lap, and her hand slipped into my clothes, gently caressing my abdomen. Magic flowed from her soft palm, thoroughly examining my entire body.
“The heat seems to have settled down. It doesn’t look like there’s any sign of rampage, and your magic has calmed down.”
The Gop-hwa trial was finally over.
Since Hong Yeon-hwa was skilled in handling Gop-hwa beyond an advanced level, I could trust her.
More importantly, I was aware of my own condition. Just yesterday, my emotions were getting too heated even when I was still, but now they had calmed down peacefully.
‘……’
Usually, a superhuman who awakens a unique ability can recognize their own uniqueness.
I heard that while not everyone can feel the numerous small unique traits like me, they can recognize the major ones that have manifested as “abilities.”
I was no different. I could feel it just by focusing my mind without having to utilize the power of Observation.
There was a sense of unease I had felt since waking up.
I rubbed my solar plexus with a strange expression on my face.
Countless unique aspects. Two prominently sticking out, surrounded by many others that were gradually growing.
And then, nearby, I recognized one prominently protruding unique trait that had never existed before.
Recognition felt like a burning flame.
‘Gop-hwa.’
I could recognize it, but I didn’t understand it.
‘I didn’t turn on the Homogenization. So why…?’
I could feel Gop-hwa.
Even without going through homogenization, Gop-hwa was blatantly revealing its existence.
It wasn’t a delusion. Both my senses and the power of Observation were recognizing Gop-hwa.
Though I couldn’t understand it, what was happening was evident.
I manifested Gop-hwa. It wasn’t mimicking after going through Homogenization; Gop-hwa had taken its place within me.
‘How?’
My face was filled with a mix of complications and confusion.
If I thought about it, it was strange that I had even faced Gop-hwa’s trial in the first place.
The third round was when I manifested Gop-hwa. I had been using half of Gop-hwa carefully ever since I started acting alone. Even after I graduated Shio-ram, I had used it based on the round time.
I had dealt with it for such a long time. But I had never faced a trial for Gop-hwa. I had concluded that it was because I was just borrowing it in half measures, thus no trial occurred.
So I had naturally thought that there would be no trial for me as well.
After all, I was hardly even half of a temporary imitation.
I didn’t have a clumsy unique aspect inside me. It was simply changing the nature of magic to be similar to Gop-hwa for a moment and manifesting Gop-hwa’s flames.
Yet, I faced the trial, and the real Gop-hwa had lodged itself within me.
‘Does this mean I need to start managing Gop-hwa too?’
I hadn’t cared much about it before. I just had to control my emotions temporarily when flames were ignited, but now, I might also be affected by Gop-hwa in my daily life.
‘If, say, Changhae and Taesan also settle in me… would I become a psychotic mess with emotions rollercoastering up and down?’
Suddenly, I recalled the dream I had just had.
As dreams often go, it wasn’t the clearest of memories, but something surfaced.
Gop-hwa, Changhae, Taesan, and the time I ended up dead at the very bottom of the Magic Realm, as Lee Ha-yul… the memory of round three.
And then, what I witnessed during round two at the Tower of Growth.
‘…I should be able to gain something at the Tower of Knowledge.’
Although I wasn’t sure if I could enter right away.
Anyway, the trial of Gop-hwa was over.
Thanks to that, my emotions were stable, and I didn’t have any scandalous thoughts.
“It took longer than I thought. I thought it would end in a few days like when I went through it…”
– Like… squeeze…
“Ugh…”
… was not heard.
My skin was tickled by a palm, making me squirm. It was just a natural reaction to being tickled; I couldn’t help it.
My continuing worries were abruptly cut off.
“Did it take almost ten days? It’s finally over!”
Clap, clap—Elia’s eyes sparkled as she clapped her hands, a bright smile lingering on her face.
It wasn’t just me and Hong Yeon-hwa in the living room.
Baek Ahrin, who had also slept on the same bed, was there, and Elia and Seo-yul, who had slept in another room, had come out too.
“So now there’s no way Gop-hwa will rampage, right?”
“Uh… well, yes, for now. But it’s not entirely safe, Gop-hwa can erupt at any time, even outside of trials…”
“So it’s just like before? That’s great! Now Ha-yul and Seo-yul can all sleep together!”
“Well, sort of…”
“Seo-yul was really lonely for a while. Right, Seo-yul?”
“Yeah, I want to sleep with Dad.”
Elia asked rhetorically, and Seo-yul replied clearly as if he had been prepared.
His sulking gaze pierced me deeply. My shoulders involuntarily slumped.
I hadn’t been able to play with him because I was so worn out from managing Gop-hwa, having spent all my available time training to get accustomed to it.
It seemed Seo-yul had some pent-up grievances during that time.
“……”
Hong Yeon-hwa alternated her gaze between me in her arms and Seo-yul in Elia’s arms with a slight frown.
Her expression was complicated, as if she disapproved of something but couldn’t bring herself to separate the parent from the child.
After that statement, a strange silence hung over the living room.
“Since the trial is over, I guess Ha-yul’s Gop-hwa has changed too?”
[Yeah, it should have.]
Baek Ahrin’s serene voice broke the silence.
I, who had been glancing around nervously, could only see that strange atmosphere building up, and I quickly responded, flushing with excitement.
Then, I extended one hand forward.
This was a chance to change the atmosphere and check on the state of Gop-hwa. I knew that Gop-hwa had settled within me, but I needed to manifest it myself to see the differences clearly.
I was also curious about how Gop-hwa had changed.
Did Hong Yeon-hwa’s output increase after it was complete? Perhaps my output had risen similarly. If so, would the side effects have increased too?
‘Manifest, Gop-hwa.’
– Whoosh!
Gop-hwa gathered in my palm.
Suddenly, the bright morning sunlight was overshadowed as the flames colored the surroundings.
The flames took form. The Gop-hwa that lay dormant rose up as if stretching.
“Wow…”
A firm grip tightened around my waist. It was Hong Yeon-hwa, who was still cradling me. She was awestruck, her mouth agape.
The reaction from everyone else was no different. Round, wide eyes stared at the flames while awed gasps escaped their lips.
“It’s beautiful…”
That was Elia’s assessment.
Even I, observing the flames, barely nodded in agreement.
The fire danced wildly, bursting with energy, yet it smoothly coiled, as if accepting the world’s flow; it was almost like watching a performance.
The color was still red, but it felt somehow brighter and warmer. It seemed to emphasize warmth more than danger.
Before such praise, it was evident that the flames themselves were visually stunning. That’s how my brain registered it.
“Wow, wow… it’s so beautiful…”
“… Yeon-hwa. Is it possible for it to change like this?”
“Huh? Uh, well… there have been cases of changes in the nature, but I’ve never heard of such peculiar transformations.”
Hong Yeon-hwa, holding up my shimmering flames, responded hesitantly. It seemed she was too mesmerized by Gop-hwa to focus.
It wasn’t just her. Soon everyone was clustered around, admiring the flames from up close.
‘… Why is this fire so beautiful?’
I tilted my head in confusion. I had thought the output would just increase and that would be it, but the vibe of the flames had suddenly changed.
Outwardly, they looked more like ornamental flames rather than battle-ready ones.
Everyone admired the flames until I finally extinguished Gop-hwa.
.
.
.
With the trial over, the ticking time-bomb adhering to me had disappeared.
Of course, the danger wasn’t completely gone.
From now on, I’ll have to be cautious with Gop-hwa’s side effects, which I used to pick and choose only when I needed it through Homogenization.
Anyway, the immediate risk of it blowing up like a bomb was gone. Now Hong Yeon-hwa and Baek Ahrin wouldn’t have to stick by my side all the time.
For some reason, Hong Yeon-hwa and Baek Ahrin seemed a bit disappointed, while Elia was just glad that the trial had safely ended.
Anyway, I could finally resume my activities.
There were many things I had been behind on.
I needed to tackle the piled-up assignments for the classes I missed and couldn’t skip important lectures and learn.
But more importantly, there was something I had to do first.
“It’s been a while, Lee Ha-yul.”
[Yes, hello.]
In the top floor of the Central Administration that I had visited after a long time.
The figure sitting across the table from me… was the Vice President, characterized by her purple eyes and hair, bowing her head in greeting.
This was a pre-arranged meeting with the Vice President.
I also bowed my head in response, but a pout showed up on my face without me realizing.
I had a lot to discuss, and there were plenty of complaints I wanted to air.
There were also matters regarding entry into the Tower of Knowledge. Would they actually let me in? If not, what was the reason?
We needed to talk about what happened during the second round at the Tower of Growth. What on earth was that guy? Why did I feel pain? Why did he show me the second round? Are there other rounds too? Why did the Principal bring me here?
Questions I had held back, but now I wanted to spill them out immediately…
“First, this.”
[?]
Just before I let it all out, the Vice President suddenly reached out into the air. A spatial void unfurled. Although I could block it using the power of Space, I decided to wait for now.
The Vice President retracted her hand from the void. She held out two keys with her slender fingers.
One was a flashy golden key, and the other was an elegant silver key.
The Vice President held the two keys out to me.
[What are these?]
In response to my question, the Vice President answered casually, as if it was no big deal.
“These are the keys to the Shio-ram Vault and the Tower of Knowledge.”
[Huh?]
My mind, which had been preparing to firmly press a point, was abruptly cut off.
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