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Chapter 50

Though it sounded like the typical “study diligently,” freshmen who had truly begun their lives at Babel always soon realized the significance of that advice.

“I see that you’ve been on a break due to an injury for three days; take all of these assignments that have piled up in the meantime and finish them by this week.”

“Today, we will practice defending against thirty-eight types of irregular attacks using automatons. You missed the last class? Just watch and follow along.”

Taking a few days off meant that either dozens of assignments had piled up or that they would be facing unreasonably harsh lessons, oftentimes both.

Of course, all students accepted by Babel were exceptionally talented and caught up quickly, but the problem was that by the time they caught up, their recent assignments had piled up like a mountain.

“Why are these classes like this...”

“I would have only taken one minor class if I knew it would be like this...”

Students who casually took on too many minor courses felt the burden increase, and some even started to give up on the difficult classes.

Eventually, that fate would creep up on all of those who did not heed the advice.

“Here are all the assignments you’ve missed.”

Boom!

And Se-Hoon found that very fate creeping up on him as well.

“...”

Looking at the mountain of papers before him, he wore a puzzled expression.

He was sure he had signed up for the Barrier Composition class, so why had he been greeted with this pile of papers?

Did they change the subject during the last two weeks?

Entertaining that ridiculous thought, he just silently stared at the pile of assignments, and soon, Robert, the professor, calmly spoke to him.

“The deadline is the day after tomorrow. I recommend finishing everything since it will all count toward your grade. Of course, if you’re confident you can make up for it with the first semester exams, then you don’t have to do it.”

“The day after tomorrow...”

“We’re going to start the lesson now, so you may go back to your seat. Since you won’t understand the class material in your current state, it might be better to work on the assignments for now.”

Concluding the conversation, Robert turned to prepare for the lesson, leaving Se-Hoon to blankly stare at the papers before sighing deeply and stuffing the assignments into his void pocket.

This is why I hate school.

How could such a heap of assignments pile up after just two weeks? And since this amount was for the Barrier Composition class alone, he couldn’t even imagine what would happen when he attended his other classes.

The classes under the Department of Blacksmithing might be doable since they’re more focused on practical skills, but still... tsk.

If it was a field he had learned before the regression, he might have just skimmed the material and made up for it with the exams, but Barrier Composition was a completely new field for him. As such, he was determined to learn everything so thoroughly, that there was no need to study it twice.

I just need to cut back on sleep, that’s all.

Deciding to complete every single assignment, he took his seat.

“Hello,” greeted Erika, who had sat down next to him naturally.

“Weren’t you sitting over there earlier?”

“Yes.”

“Why did you move?”

“Because you sat here.”

Her manner of speaking was still as direct and truthful as ever. And while Se-Hoon knew that there was no hidden meaning behind her words, the students around them thought differently.

“Sigh...”

“Wow...”

“It must be true...”

Despite seeing it with their own eyes, some students were still in disbelief, having to confirm with each other.

Meanwhile, others glared with wide-open eyes, acting like they had been robbed of a treasure. Naturally, they were all students of the Department of Spells.

As if I forced her to sit here, Se-Hoon thought, looking at them with an incredulous expression.

Then Robert, who had finished preparing for the lesson, tapped the blackboard to gather their attention.

“Let’s continue from our last lesson and learn about how to apply the five elements’ mutual polarity in all directions. First, we’ll align the directions...”

He went on with the lesson, not minding those who had missed classes or couldn’t keep up. Realizing that what Robert said was not a joke, Se-Hoon sighed deeply, unable to understand anything about the content of the lesson.

I should just work on the assignments.

Pulling out some of the assignments from his void pocket, he flipped through the papers and read the content.

Using the spell patterns provided in the example above, create a barrier that allows entrances at north-northwest and south-southeast according to the sixteen cardinal directions... it basically wants me to assemble the whole thing.

It was essentially figuring out how to fit parts together without a manual and just the shape of the parts. The complex assignment was quite intriguing to him.

Let’s see...

While Se-Hoon was intently examining the assignment, the other students were glancing over with curious expressions.

Why is he just looking at it?

Is he trying to do it all in his head?

The spell patterns provided in the question looked fine at first glance, but in reality, important parts were missing here and there. They had to be modified to create a proper barrier, but there were too many variables to solve it without laying it out.

Maybe he’s being cautious because it’s during class?

Tsk tsk. That’s what you get for missing two weeks of class...

With everyone looking skeptically at him, Se-Hoon, who had been lightly spinning his pen in thought, suddenly gripped it with sparkling eyes and started writing.

Scribble scribble-

Having quickly completed the barrier, he immediately turned the page to read the next problem.

This time, an entrance in the southwest and an exit in the south-southwest...

The example contained a different spell formula than before, but when he closely examined its structure, he slightly lifted the corners of his mouth.

They’re similar, as I expected.

Although the spell formula was different from the previous problem, the way both of them had been twisted was similar. Having caught on to how Professor Robert tended to twist the spell formulas, he easily tweaked all of the following spell formulas to create the barrier.

Scribble scribble-

Initially, each problem made him think for a few minutes, but as he continued to solve them, the intervals between solutions became increasingly shorter.

Then, once he solved a day’s worth of assignments, he was able to write down the answers immediately without any hesitation after reading the questions.

“...”

“...”

Forgetting that they were in the middle of class, the other students just stared at him blankly.

How could he solve the problems that they had struggled with so effortlessly!? He looked as if he was simply copying down the answers.

Is he just showing off?

No, why would he do such a pointless thing...

Moreover, calling it showing off seemed off the mark, looking at the sense of exhilaration on his face. Se-Hoon was barely concealing his smiles, the ones that people would wear when successfully solving a problem.

Puzzled by the incomprehensible sight, the students’ gazes suddenly shifted toward the one next to him—Erika.

“...”

Instead of paying attention to the lesson, she was just intently watching Se-Hoon solve his assignments and then nodding slightly after quickly reviewing the answers he wrote.

Picking up on what her reaction meant, the students’ eyes widened.

Are they really the correct answers?

What...

As the students were all stunned by Se-Hoon’s unexpected capabilities—

“The advanced class this year sure is impressive.”

A voice full of admiration resounded from the front of the classroom.

“Does this mean my lessons are too easy for you guys? Maybe I underestimated you all.”

“Ah...”

“They’re not, just...”

Snapping back to reality, the students started sweating once they realized who was speaking. In front of them stood a person known for being one of the most malevolent professors of the Department of Spells.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure to adjust future lectures according to your capabilities.”

With that, Robert ended the conversation calmly and turned around to continue the lesson, leaving the students’ faces to harden.

Before, Barrier Composition was already considered quite difficult within the Department of Spells, and now, it had become even more difficult.

If one dared to take the course casually now, they would seriously fail.

We’re so screwed.

Shit...

While most students turned pale-faced because of the sudden disaster, two students just continued to focus solely on their tasks.

Scribble scribble-

Se-Hoon was tirelessly solving assignments which were then reviewed by Erika with quiet nods.

The two contrasting atmospheres continued until the school bell rang two hours later, signaling Robert to conclude the class.

“That’s all for today. I’ve prepared some assignments at the front, so make sure to grab them on your way out.”

Seeing the thick pile of assignments brought by the assistant professor, the students sighed and got up. And as they did so, Se-Hoon also stopped his busy hands.

“Whew...”

The two hours of continuous work on assignments for an unfamiliar field was headachingly intense, but in the end, it was ultimately rewarding.

I didn’t expect that I would finish it all during the lecture.

Having solved all of the assignments that accumulated over two weeks, he felt a sense of pride, but some uncertainty nagged at him.

Is it really okay to solve them like this?

By figuring out Robert’s tendencies when twisting the spell formulas, he just tweaked and fit them together to solve the question, which made the assignments feel more like he was piecing together puzzles than studying how to create barriers.

As he doubted whether these assignments were truly beneficial or not, Robert approached him and looked at the mountain of finished assignments by his side.

“Have you finished them all?”

“Yes, I’ve completed everything.”

“Hm...”

Glancing at Se-Hoon, Robert picked up a few assignments.

Skimming through the answers, which had been completed cleanly without any apparent trial and error, Robert’s expression stiffened slightly. The thought that the answer sheets had been filled out in advance flashed past Robert’s mind.

How did he understand the material to do these so perfectly in such a short time...

Se-Hoon had done more than just answer some questions; he had precisely grasped the intention of the caster when they laid the foundation. If he was able to understand this much, then he would be able to easily create dispelling techniques to break similar barriers—just as he did before.

So there was a reason she was intently watching him...

Glimpsing at Erika, who was still intently looking at Se-Hoon, Robert put down the assignments.

“Good work. Don’t forget to take today’s assignments with you.”

“Okay. Thank you for your hard work.”

Bowing his head, Se-Hoon picked up the assignments and left, Erika naturally following behind. Soon they were walking side by side, but instead of paying attention to the glances from all around them, Se-Hoon was thinking about his upcoming class.

The next class should be... Origins of Equipment.

The class was taught by In-Cheol, the lead professor of the Department of Blacksmithing. Today would be his first time attending the class since he had been hospitalized right before the first lesson.

I’m curious about this one.

Before the regression, the origins of equipment theory was considered one of the less significant hypotheses, but considering that it was currently being studied at Babel, it could hold different implications.

Lost in his thoughts about his next class, Erika, who was still walking next to him, very naturally asked, “Can you forge a weapon for me too?”

“A weapon?”

“Yes.”

“Why all of a sudden? You don’t even use weapons.”

For the demonstration during the entrance ceremony, she only used a common crow as a familiar. He had never seen her use any auxiliary tools like talismans.

Much like Jake, who fought with his bare hands, Erika seemed to be the type that wouldn’t use weapons.

“I want a weapon you’ve made.”

“But you haven’t been interested until now... ah, is it because of Luize?”

To others, it seemed as if Luize’s return was simply because she became stronger, but Erika, who had seen the creation of Vargr and its powerful effects firsthand, knew that Vargr was behind Luize’s strength. As such, it was natural that she’d become interested in obtaining one of his weapons after witnessing such a scene.

“...Somewhat,” she admitted after a short pause.

Se-Hoon smirked involuntarily.

She’s like the other students after all.

Despite her nonchalance, she seemed to be interested in becoming stronger. It was understandable since she had to have some degree of martial prowess to win the successorship.

“What kind of weapon do you want?”

“Anything made by you would be good.”

“...Is that so.”

He sighed internally at her answer.

Amateurs would typically think that asking for anything from the blacksmith made it easy, but in reality, it was the most complex and annoying request.

Since they don’t know what kind of weapon they actually need, they expect me to figure out something that’s useful and not cumbersome for them.

It wasn’t like he could make something without much either. Doing such a thing could easily backfire, something he had learned thanks to a lesson during his novice days before the regression.

A weapon suitable for her, hm...

To properly handle such cases, he had to consider the person’s innate talent, amount of mana, and combat style. However, since it was for Erika, he didn’t need to do any of that because he knew what weapon she wielded when she was an S-rank hero.

Forging something similar to the Mythic weapon she used back then should be sufficient.

Of course, sourcing the materials wouldn’t be easy, but that didn’t matter to him since it was Erika’s responsibility.

Seeing Erika staring at him, he quickly drew out a rough blueprint in his mind and then came to a decision.

“I think it’s going to be difficult.”

He decided to promptly refuse her request.

“Why?”

“I have prior appointments, and there’s quite a backlog of things I need to forge.”

He had several projects on his hands already: the memory aid tool that would be made out of the Dream Ivory, Jake’s sword, and the new equipment for Sung-Ha and Luize.

Sung-Ha’s and Luize’s equipment could be delayed since there was some time before their Fatestones were ready, but he had already delayed the Dream Ivory project and Jake’s sword for too long. He needed to address them now.

“...”

Erika looked slightly shocked at being refused, seemingly having never expected such a thing. He was pondering over how he would handle her reaction when he heard Jake, who was approaching quickly with a lively expression.

“Ah. There you are!”

“I got all the materials you asked for! We can make it now, right?”

Excited and oblivious to Erika’s presence, Jake eagerly awaited a response.

Nodding, Se-Hoon said, “We can start right away if everything’s ready. But like I said before, even if we start now, it’ll take at least a week to complete. Got it?”

“That’s fine. But before that, can you explain what kind of sword it will be...?”

Suddenly feeling a chill, Jake’s bright voice trailed off and he reflexively looked to the side.

“...”

There, he saw Erika staring at him with an expressionless face, one devoid of any emotions.

Caught off guard by the coldness in her eyes, Jake flinched unknowingly.

Uhm, huh?

Flustered, he wondered if he had somehow upset her by interrupting their conversation.

While Jake unsettledly endured the suddenly tense atmosphere, Erika slowly turned her head back to Se-Hoon.

“The prior appointment... is it him?”

“One of them is, yes.”

“Why did you accept his?”

Her question, clearly loaded with intent, made him put on a slight smile before responding, “Because he offered a Hero-tier tool and valuable information in exchange. It wouldn’t be right if didn’t deliver something on par with the fair requester’s fee.”

“Requester’s fee...” she muttered softly.

Seemingly pondering something, she nodded.

“Alright. I’ll come back later.”

With a final glance at Jake, she walked away as Se-Hoon watched with a contented expression. Considering her assertive actions at the second-year auction, he believed that when she returned, she’d likely bring something valuable enough to warrant a reservation.

I’m looking forward to what she thinks is worthy of an appointment.

Interrupting his thoughts, Jake, who had been watching her departure as well, cautiously asked, “Did I do something wrong?”

The question filled with genuine confusion made Se-Hoon chuckle softly.

“Maybe a little?”