“What is this? A drone?”
As Ji-hye tapped the machine, the speaker emitted a whoosh of wind sound.
The drone suddenly wobbled and performed a 360-degree spin right in front of her.
[Hello, friends?]
“Eeep! What… what is that?”
Well, I can’t say I’m not impressed.
“My friend. He agreed to film me for the day.”
“A… hello…!”
[Hehe, don’t mind me, just have fun! Just think of me as an invisible person, got it?]
“Sure!”
It would take about 15 minutes to walk to school.
We’d have plenty of topics to discuss along the way.
We passed by the bus stop where Seo Yu-na usually got off.
“Isn’t Yuna waiting for you?”
“She said her brother is driving her to school today because her legs hurt.”
“True, Yuna’s been practicing a lot and has had it rough.”
Seo Maru mentioned he recently got his driver’s license.
Even though 95% of vehicles were self-driving now, it’s fascinating that getting a license is actually harder than in the first life.
During our walk to school, I shared feedback from the interschool competition yesterday that we didn’t get to discuss.
“Th… that’s enough now…!”
“And Ji-hye, you should start learning coordinate transformations. You can’t rely on magical products forever. Right?”
“Yeah…”
“Learn matrix multiplication at home tonight. Then I’ll teach you.”
“Ma… matrix?”
“It’s not that hard of a concept, trust me.”
“Waaaah! No way!”
Time flew by, and I couldn’t help but wonder when these kids would finally grow up.
The middle schoolers already looked like kids, and these guys had to wait another four years before they graduated elementary.
Dueling seemed like something we’d have to put off for at least another decade.
“Huh? What’s going on? What changed so much in just a week?”
As we walked along the main street, I suddenly felt a strong sense of unease and looked around.
Even though it wasn’t Christmas, there were decorations and lights on the street trees.
A few helium balloons floated high in the sky.
“It wasn’t like this last Friday?”
Even Han Seori, who was the only one from our group still at the academy, tilted her head in confusion.
Banners stretched endlessly between the trees.
[Congratulations on Sephiron Academy’s victory in the Seoul regional interschool competition!]
“Wow! They must have decorated this way for winning the academy competition! It’s so pretty!”
“Did they do this last year too?”
“Well… I don’t really remember, but I think we didn’t have anything because we lost last year.”
It seems the principal splurged for our victory after eight long years.
[Congratulations on Sephiron Academy’s elementary division victory: 3 to 2!]
‘Just like Principal Gu On-yu!’
Meanwhile, the elementary division included the detailed score, showing she wanted to make a point since her relationship with the middle and high school principals was rocky; it made me chuckle.
But the real surprise came right after that.
“Huh? There are so many people!”
“Aren’t they our academy seniors? What are they all doing over there?”
“Adella, climb up and take a picture, then send it to my phone!”
[Okay!]
The drone flew high into the sky, powered by a separate electric motor.
When I saw the photo Adella sent, my eyes widened.
The crowd packed tightly from here all the way to the academy main gate.
‘500? 700 people? At this point, isn’t it almost the entire school?’
But everyone was orderly lined up on both sides as if waiting for someone.
I locked eyes with the seniors from the third grade of high school at the very back.
“…!”
As I approached, the commotion grew louder.
“Na-me, look over there!”
“…?”
Seori pointed to a giant banner hanging between the cherry blossom trees.
[Congratulations, NoName, on your victory in the academy competition and winning MVP!]
[From the Sephiron Foundation and all members of the academy]
“What… is all of this…?”
“NoName! It looks like they’re applauding you!”
Clap clap clap clap clap!
Hundreds of students all seemed to clap at once like it was planned.
Caught off guard, I froze for a moment.
Every pair of eyes was on me.
My heart began to race like a drum boom boom boom!
I’m not used to so many eyes on me.
Looking down at the ground, I saw my shadow stretching long beneath the morning sun.
“I think you should go from here on your own?”
“Seori and I will head in just a bit!”
“Just go on in!”
My friends pushed me from behind.
When I lifted my head again, I could feel the friendly gazes surrounding me.
The moment I stepped into the path made by the crowd,
the roar of cheers was louder than my pounding heart, filling the cool autumn air.
“Waaaah!”
“NoName! NoName! NoName!”
“Na-me, let’s live together at the academy forever!”
“You’re the best! NoName, thank you! You know I really love you, right?”
From the high school seniors to the second and first graders,
all the mature students shouted my name with enthusiasm.
Who set all this up? My face was burning red.
Then I turned back toward the middle school.
“Wooooo! Na~me Na~me Na~me Na~me! Na~me Na~me Na~me Na~me!”
These guys went a step further, singing a song using my name.
Among them, the seniors who participated in the competition were also there.
“What the heck… shouldn’t you all be at the hospital?”
The surrounding noise was so loud that I couldn’t comprehend their reply.
However, judging by their bright smiles, I could guess their meaning.
“Na-me, congratulations!”
“Our elementary division is the strongest! NoName, fighting!”
“Demon King Name is here! Make way!”
“Demon King Bing Bing Bing! Hoooorah!”
Even the elementary school kids with their prepubescent voices were shouting with enthusiasm.
As my embarrassing feelings started to transform into happiness, I finally reached the entrance.
At the end stood all the academy teachers, forming a finish line.
Principal Gu On-yu and Teacher Jacqueline Carroll raised their hands to greet me.
“What’s all this? Did the principal set this up?”
“This is how we celebrate when we win the academy competition.”
“Ah, I see.”
“We decided to do it this way from this year. I’m the principal, so who cares?”
Leaning against the wall, Principal Gu drew a magic circle on the ground with her wand.
Next to her, Teacher Jackie helped with drawing a smaller circle.
“Once again, congratulations on winning the academy competition, NoName.”
[4th Circle: Fireworks (煙火) Spell Cast!]
[5th Circle: Great Barrier – Total Solar Eclipse Spell Cast!]
A gigantic barrier unfolded, easily covering hundreds of people, and the sun began to lose its light, shrouding the borders in shadow.
Darkness!
The pitch-black night sky was suddenly illuminated by six fireworks shooting up, blazing upward endlessly.
Piyouuuum!
The little spacecraft defied gravity, crashing into the ceiling of the barrier and exploding.
“…!”
At that moment, a festival of light, fire, and stars unfolded.
Light gathered to form embers, embers formed stars, and stars emitted light again.
Boom!
Pop!
Within the explosion of stars, countless smaller stars were born with the sound of creation.
[N]
[O]
[N]
[A]
[M]
[E]
Six constellations adorned the night sky.
They formed letters and represented my name.
“Wow…”
It looked as if golden dust had been sprinkled on a black canvas.
And those starlights gradually descended upon us like slow-falling snow.
I rubbed my eyes and kept staring up at the sky, overwhelmed by the stunning beauty.
The silhouettes of people, including Teacher Jackie, began to appear one by one again.
The dark sky gradually regained its blue hue, and the magic circle melted into nature.
“Welcome to Sephiron Academy, NoName.”
But the momentary illusion would be forever engraved in everyone’s hearts.
I wondered if that was the very reason humans learn magic.
“Thank you… for giving me a place to belong.”
*
In front of the 1st-floor lobby stairs.
Principal Gu On-yu headed to her office while I had to go to the 2nd Grade A Class, ending our short journey together.
Adella had conditionally permitted filming at the academy, and everything seemed to be going smoothly today.
Just as I was about to part ways with a smile, I suddenly asked the principal.
“But principal, did the Sephiron Foundation approve this budget? I’m just curious.”
“I’m spending my own money; what do they care?”
“Oh, I see.”
That’s right, Principal Gu On-yu was incredibly rich.
But I clearly remembered her wand being inside the borders…
“Are you sure that magic was cast outside the academy grounds?”
“Huh? Uh… uh-oh?”
“I just wanted to check, you know?”
“W-wait…? Did I cast that from inside?”
Principal Gu On-yu hurriedly took out her phone to check something.
Her face turned pale.
“Oh no…”
Without a word, she turned around and dashed straight to the foundation headquarters.
I could only guess that Director Kim Yong-sil, overseeing the budget, was probably quite surprised.
“Adella, our class is this way. Let’s go.”
Wow… the school is truly a mess.
How sad it was to hear Adella say something like that about our great Sephiron Academy.
