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Chapter 62

Then, with a stir, a hand reluctantly slipped out from under the blanket covering the bed. After a bit of groping around, it then fiercely tried to smash the button on the alarm clock.

Clang-!

However, an enchantment inscribed onto the alarm clock just lightly bounced the hand away, before it turned off. A few moments later, Lea crawled out from under the blanket, her hair sticking out in all directions.

“I don’t want to go.”

Her face looked even more haggard than it did when she pulled multiple all-nighters. She had been up all night thinking about the enchantments she had to work on when morning came, causing her whole body to shake, goosebumps forming all over.

Should I just say that I’m sick and won’t be able to make it? She momentarily contemplated seriously making an excuse to avoid going.

But, she just sighed deeply and got up from her bed.

“Simply avoiding it won’t solve anything.”

Regardless of the outcome, she had no choice but to give it a try.

Quickly washing up, she casually tied her hair and then tucked in a hairpin that had a red gem on it.

Whoosh-!

In a flash, the enchantment carved into the hairpin instantly evaporated the moisture in her hair. Double-checking that her hair was completely dry, she then changed into her uniform and tucked in another hairpin, this one with a purple gem.

Swoosh-

Similar to the last one, the enchantment in this hairpin sent mana flowing through her hair. It then began to move as if it were alive, braiding itself into a single braid.

“Hm... maybe it’s time to adjust the enchantment.”

Observing that her hair was braiding slower than usual, she waited for it to finish while looking at a picture frame on the table.

Inside it was a photo of a smiling man with long hair and round glasses. On his lap was a child who was playing with the man’s hair which was also tied up as a single braid.

“...”

She gazed at the child—her innocent five-year-old self—sitting with her young father. Then, her gaze naturally drifted to one side, fixating on a white hand that was gently placed on her father’s shoulder. But that was all there was—the owner had been completely torn off.

“Whew...”

A long while later, she tore her gaze away and exhaled deeply, her anxious eyes slowly settling down.

“Get it together, Lea.”

Now was not the time for her to immerse herself in such thoughts.

Repeating those words over and over again, which she did several times a day, she tucked in the remaining hairpins and hair clips to her braided hair.

Finishing up, she put on a pristine white lab coat and grabbed her void pocket filled with equipment.

Bang!

Kicking open the door with all her might, she stepped outside the workshop.

***

“Huh...”

In the workshop set up in the main building of the Department of Blacksmithing, In-Cheol, having accepted Se-Hoon’s request for an intermediate-level forging session, arrived early and was startled by the list of materials that Se-Hoon would be using this time.

Dream Ivory and a Southern Flame Feather... he managed to procure such rare items?

They were both rare materials that were hard to acquire, even with money.

And that was especially the case for the Southern Flame Feather, the feather of the Vermilion Bird, which was a material so rare that even some professors coveted it.

Where on earth did he get these...? Could they possibly be from the Chairman?

Breaking In-Cheol out of his thoughts, a soft voice was sounded nearby.

“Freshmen these days really don’t fear anything. To think they would handle such rare materials so rashly.”

The woman who spoke had neatly braided brown hair and was wearing a brown shawl. Although she appeared to only be in her mid-thirties, she was emitting the matura aura of a much older woman.

“Out of everybody, I think Professor Rebecca is the last one who should be saying that,” In-Cheol calmly replied.

“Oh, what have I done?”

“Don’t you remember how you recklessly used a Legendary-tier material that took you six years of searching and then ended up wasting it all?”

“...”

At his rebuke, Rebecca Claudel, a professor of the Department of Enchantments and the one who taught the class on ancient enchantment studies, twitched her eyebrows.

“I didn’t waste it; it was used for research. It’s all for my future success.”

“Ah, I see. I’ll be looking forward to hearing good news in six

years.”

“...”

Hearing his sarcasm that poked at her sore spot, her eyes fluttered nervously. A moment later, she sighed.

“This student must mean a lot to you, seeing how you’re being so aggressive.”

She was just being a bit grumbly since her granddaughter, Lea, was involved despite supposedly struggling with her slump. And knowing that In-Cheol knew that, she was surprised by how he responded so prickly.

“I care for him as much as you care for your granddaughter, professor.”

“That much...?” She was genuinely surprised upon hearing his response.

She had heard from her granddaughter that Borsippa’s honor student this year was exceptional, but she hadn’t expected that In-Cheol would care for that student this much.

“Have you not met him yet?”

“I entrusted the first class to Lea due to personal reasons. After that, I was hospitalized due to an injury and couldn’t meet him in class.”

He nodded at her explanation, finally understanding the reason behind her grumpy attitude.

“Now I see.”

He was certain that she would have acknowledged Se-Hoon if she had met him even once.

Seeing his reaction, she looked at In-Cheol with a complex expression. At that moment, the door opened.

“Excuse me.”

“Excuse me...”

Upon the arrival of Se-Hoon and Lea in the workshop, In-Cheol stood up and just calmly said to Rebecca, “Well, see for yourself.”

“...Alright.”

Welcoming the two students, In-Cheol quickly introduced Rebecca to them.

“This is Professor Rebecca Claudel from the Department of Enchantments; she will be supervising with me today. Please introduce yourselves.”

“Pleased to meet you,” said Se-Hoon.

“Nice to meet you. We should have met sooner, but our schedules just didn’t match until today.”

“No problem at all. Also, by any chance...”

Quickly glancing at how tense Lea was, Se-Hoon asked Rebecca, “Are you Lea’s grandmother?”

“...Grandmother?”

Rebecca looked puzzled by his question.

“Did you just say grandmother?”

“Yes... is that not the case?”

“Well, it is, but...” she trailed off, taken aback by Se-Hoon’s seemingly confused expression.

It doesn’t seem like Lea has mentioned anything about me, though...

In that case, given that she appeared to be in her mid-thirties, shouldn’t he have guessed that her relation to Lea was either a sister, an aunt, or at most, her mother?

Wrapped in her own questions, she decided to ask Se-Hoon.

“How did you figure it out?”

“I was just able to when I first saw you.”

It wasn’t a lie; he was instantly able to tell her age range the moment he saw her. With the countless amount of heroes and corpses he had come across that were able—or once able—to slow their aging, he was able to easily distinguish between how old one appeared to be and their actual age.

It’s hard to hide the look in one’s eyes, the aura of their mana, and their overly developed physique.

Although these marks of time were hard to discern, once one got the hang of it, it was quite useful for identifying those trying to conceal their identity.

“...”

With a slightly stiff expression, Rebecca had started touching her face after hearing his answer. Suddenly, Lea interjected between them.

“Why are you here? Didn’t you say you had work this weekend?”

“I stopped by because I heard about how, after being cooped up in the workshop for a month, you suddenly started shouting and then ran out. So, I accepted your request for an intermediate-level enchantment session.”

Rebecca then looked at Lea with a slightly stern expression, her arms crossed.

“The Ivory Tower’s scholarship selection contest is only two months away. Have you finished making your submission?”

“...”

Upon seeing how Lea averted her gaze, Rebecca sighed.

“I won’t interfere with whatever you’re up to, but only as long as you don’t forget our promise, okay?”

“...Yes.”

“Alright. That’s settled then.”

With that, Rebecca stepped back, indicating that she had nothing more to say. Picking up the conversation, In-Cheol spoke up.

“If you encounter any problems, notify us immediately. We will help right away.”

“Understood.”

“Then, good luck.”

Left with nothing else to say, In-Cheol and Rebecca returned to their seats.

Se-Hoon turned toward Lea.

“...”

She had already seemed quite tense when they first arrived, and the recent conversation seemed to have made it even worse. Noticing this, he hesitated for a moment before speaking up.

“It seems you have something on your mind.”

“Ah, don’t worry. It’s nothing serious.”

Although she tried to smile and reassure him, he shook his head.

“I’m not worrying. I just wanted to know in advance if you think you can’t do this.”

“What?”

“Well, I’ll only be wasting my materials if I force you to do this when you can’t even focus.”

“...”

Stunned by his blunt words, she looked at him with a blank expression, her eyes blinking rapidly. They weren’t close enough to worry about each other, but that didn’t mean he had to be so cold.

“Then why did you even burden me with your request if you’re just going to tell me to quit...” She grumbled with dissatisfaction.

He had conveniently pawned off the task on her, yet he was now suggesting that she quit.

Hearing her grumbling, he calmly explained, “Because I know you’re the best.”

“...”

“Do I need any reason other than that?”

If he wanted to make a safe bet, it probably would’ve made more sense to use someone other than Lea, since she hadn’t completely overcome her slump yet. However, he didn’t have any regrets about his choice. Aside from how he could take this opportunity to raise the level of their bond, her enchantments suited the materials they were dealing with this time better than anyone else’s.

“...Whew.”

With a deep sigh, she rolled up the sleeves of her lab coat to her elbows and twisted her braided hair, securing it with a hairpin that had a purple gem. She then neatly arranged her bangs with other hairpins before glaring at Se-Hoon with a disgruntled expression.

“If you’re going to say something nice, at least try to use a nicer tone. Okay?”

“...”

“Let’s get started right away. I’ll be getting ready too.”

Having said her piece, she began to set up the tools she stored in her void pocket.

She’s definitely not ordinary, Se-Hoon thought with a chuckle.

Beginning his own preparations, he selected the necessary types of ignition stones from the material box, turned on the furnace, and then quickly tossed the selected ignition stones inside.

Fwoosh!

Mixing with the various types of ignition stones, the flame inside the furnace flared up in a disorderly manner.

Upon seeing his actions, Rebecca became bewildered.

What is he planning to do with such a chaotic flame...?

Wondering if he had already made a mistake, Rebecca glanced at In-Cheol, who was sitting next to her. However, in direct contrast to her, he seemed to be looking forward with anticipation to what would happen next.

Crack! Snap!

Suddenly, from the dazzling flames of the ignition stones, which were flowing in Se-Hoon’s palms, dry sounds sounded—the stones had collided.

Then, as Rebecca’s eyes widened, Se-Hoon threw a glowing red ignition stone into the furnace.

Clang-

At that moment, a terrifying explosion burst forth from the furnace, shaking the entire workshop and making Rebecca jump up in alarm.

Boom-!!!

“Wha-what...!”

“Calm down.”

Stopping Rebecca from taking out an emblem the size of a palm, In-Cheol calmly said, “That’s just the process of creating the fire.”

“What do you mean? Don’t you see that the furnace is cracked?”

With an explosion of that scale, it was practically no different from a bomb.

Seeing Rebecca trying to put a stop to the forging session immediately, In-Cheol sighed and said, “Rather than making such a fuss, just take a closer look. You’ll understand.”

“What am I supposed to...”

At In-Cheol’s repeated insistence, she looked at the furnace again, and her eyes widened upon noticing something.

Like the explosion moments before had been a lie, the furnace was perfectly calm. And within it was a white flame that was flickering like it would go out at any moment.

“A white flame...?”

The flame, which looked like it had been bleached white, almost seemed like a model, supported by the fact that no heat was felt from it. However, its flickering nature and the fact that it was absorbing mana from the furnace made it clear that it was a real flame.

“What is... that...?” She was dumbfounded by the incomprehensible scene.

Meanwhile, Se-Hoon slightly furrowed his brows upon examining the furnace’s flames.

So much for a state-of-the-art furnace. It can’t even handle a proper White Phoenix Fire.

The white flames were supposed to have formed a sphere, but due to the furnace’s insufficient functionality, it didn’t seem like the top would close. On top of that, the furnace was creaking and cracking here and there. Se-Hoon couldn’t help but click his tongue.

Looks like I’ll have to make up for it with my body.

Taking off his workwear, he casually tied it around his waist before picking up the Southern Flame Feather, which he had laid out on one side.

While it appeared simply like a normal red ore that was stored inside a blue crystal, if it was carelessly handled, it would immediately burn up and vanish.

Let’s see...

Manipulating the furnace to bring the White Phoenix Fire closer to the mouth, he moved the crystal containing the Southern Flame Feather to his left hand and then took out the Black Flame Hammer with his right.

“Hm...”

He examined the crystal, turning it over in his hand.

Also examining the crystal, Rebecca asked In-Cheol, “Isn’t that a Laplace crystal?”

“Yes.”

Rebecca immediately wore an incredulous expression.

“And he’s going to smash that with a hammer?”

Laplace crystals were used to preserve special materials because of their property where, before processing, they were very malleable. However, once preservation magic was cast on them, they became extremely hard. And that perfect property for preservation was what made it a very rare mineral.

Thus, the permanent preservation magic had to be undone to remove the material safely without shattering it, but it seemed Se-Hoon was about to smash it with a hammer.

Potentially damaging the material aside, that should be too hard to break in the first place...

His actions logically made no sense, yet Se-Hoon appeared unbothered, and In-Cheol was looking on with anticipation. Even Lea, her granddaughter, paid Se-Hoon no mind, leaving her feeling like the odd one out.

What on earth is going on...?

She was lost in confusion.

In the meantime, Se-Hoon, after fiddling with the crystal for a moment, found what he was looking for.

“Found it.”

Pressing onto a part of the crystal with the tip of his thumb, he started gathering a white, sharp aura with White Light Surge at the top of his thumb.

Now gathered, he brought the Black Flame Hammer over to where his thumb was and then lightly tapped his thumb with it.

Crack!

Like it had been cut in half, the Laplace crystal, which was enveloping the Southern Flame Feather, split open instantly.

“Isn’t that...!”

“What...?”

Upon seeing the supposedly impossible sight, In-Cheol widened his eyes in surprise and Rebecca was left speechless.

Se-Hoon had just used a technique that astounded even the esteemed professors of Babel, but he moved swiftly, unconcerned.

Fwoosh!

Since the crystal had been split and the permanent preservation magic had been undone, the Southern Flame Feather began to burn immediately. It wasn’t just a superficial burn either; its durability was being consumed in real-time, prompting Se-Hoon to quickly place it inside the White Phoenix Fire.

With the placement of the feather, the red glow of the feather intensified, and an ominous pulse began to emanate.

Closely observing the pulse, In-Cheol soon realized where it was emanating from, and his eyes widened.

Is he refining the Southern Flame Feather by resonating it with the white flame?

Normally, this was a useful process, since a material’s properties needed to be fully drawn out for a forging session. However, after remembering the S-Rank Vermilion Bird’s characteristics—its intelligence, ability to speak human languages, and... its frequent way of showing mercy for heroes who confronted it—In-Cheol shouted urgently.

“Lee Se-Hoon! Take that out now!”

Demon beasts were monsters that roamed freely outside of Danger Zones and were akin to demons. And the S-rank demon beast, the Vermilion Bird, was infamous because of its mercy for heroes. Its so-called mercy was sometimes an even more horrifying end since their minds could be completely burned by its flames.

A pulse of that strength could cause dementia or turn someone into a vegetative state...!

The professors were about to act swiftly to deal with the critical situation, but Se-Hoon’s calm voice stopped them.

“It’s okay.”

He enclosed the White Phoenix Fire with both hands.

Following his touch, the heatless white flames slowly closed, and the White Phoenix Fire, now resembling a white egg, completely enclosed the flames of the Southern Flame Feather inside.

Now contained inside, the Southern Flame Feather raged fiercely, thrashing about. Had it been an ordinary fire, the properties of the Southern Flame Feather might have overpowered it and broken through, but the White Phoenix Fire was different.

This is a pure fire that rejects all impurities.

The purpose of the White Phoenix Fire was simply to act as a shell to contain wild flames; it wasn’t meant to be used to heat metal for forging.

For a while, Se-Hoon continuously smoothed and adjusted the White Phoenix Fire, like shaping pottery, and the Southern Flame Feather inside began to calm down bit by bit.

When the violently spreading pulse also settled, he drew upon his fire mana, Scarlet Flame Wheel.

Fwoosh-

Laying the fire wheel on its side, like a nest, over his palms, he carefully moved his hands under the bottom of the White Phoenix Fire egg while maintaining the flow of the wheel.

Then, as he slowly lifted his hands away from the furnace, the White Phoenix Fire egg also began to rise.

“...”

“...”

In-Cheol and Rebecca stood dumbfounded at this mystical sight before their eyes.

With the giant fire egg that was resting in a nest made of flames in his hands, Se-Hoon approached Lea.

“Hey.”

“Huh? Why the fire...?”

Turning around from her enchantment preparations, she was left speechless at the sight before her.

What was this huge egg in his palms, and what were those flames enclosed inside?

She looked up an explanation for this extraordinary scene, however, before she could say anything, Se-Hoon smiled and extended the White Phoenix Fire toward her.

“Enchant this.”