29. Item Presentation (2)
Back when I used to play Aether World, I was enough of a veteran that I had formed contracts with divine beasts a few times.
That was because there were divine beasts that, while demanding, would definitely make a contract with you as long as you fulfilled the conditions.
However, if you failed to manage your affinity with them at all times, there was a penalty where the contract would be terminated, and I often had my contracts forcibly canceled.
Why?
Because divine beasts could only grow by receiving the mana of mages, and my mana leakage constitution had no mana whatsoever.
In the end, I completely gave up on contracting familiars in the game.
But reality was different.
Even if I desperately clawed together every fortunate encounter I could possibly obtain, it still wouldn't be enough, so I didn't want to give up before I had even begun with some half-baked mindset like, 'Ah, I failed every time, so it won't work for me.'
That was why, before carrying out the familiar contract ceremony, I had accepted the item 'Iphanel's Key' in order to raise my divine-beast affinity even a little…
[You have formed a soul contract with the divine beast Iphanel!]
[Depending on your affinity, you may inherit Iphanel's stats and traits!]
I never once dreamed that I would end up forming a contract with the greatest divine beast, one that had once been a spirit deity.
I didn't even have to worry about the contract being terminated.
Hadn't Iphanel been the one to suggest the contract first, saying that my mana leakage constitution was actually a good thing?
'Is this a dream or what…'
Fortunate encounters I couldn't even imagine in the game were coming true in reality.
Even now, it still didn't feel real.
[5-Star Divine Beast Iphanel]
Attribute: Nature Affinity: I'd stake my heart on it Trait Inheritance ・ Self-Purification (Lv.3) ・ Whisper of the Wind (Lv.4) ・ A Memory for the Blossoms (Lv.2)
A spirit deity really was a spirit deity, after all.
Even though she had lost all her stats, she still possessed several traits.
The fact that I could inherit as many as three of them was probably because my affinity with her was extremely high.
Aether World's 'affinity system' wasn't displayed in a way that was all that friendly to the player.
In other games, affection levels were often shown clearly in numbers, but here, at best, it only let you vaguely infer things.
Even so, it wasn't hard to guess how close we were.
Was it because I had given her my heart and she had gained life once more?
It seemed like the affinity had almost hit the maximum.
If only I had mana, I could've tried for skills like 'Divine Beast Summoning' or 'Divine Beast Union,' but sadly, with a mana leakage constitution, that was close to impossible.
First, I checked the traits I had inherited.
They didn't raise my stats by some absurd amount, but they had quite a few unusual effects.
First of all, [Self-Purification] had the effect, 'Purifies a contaminated body through nature.'
I wasn't entirely sure, but if I had to guess, didn't that mean it purified toxins and poisons?
Second, [Whisper of the Wind] was an ability that let me read the flow of the air…
'This one's pretty good?'
When engaging in battle with an enemy, I relied solely on [Sixth Sense] to block or evade my opponent's attacks.
Whisper of the Wind had excellent synergy with Sixth Sense, and thanks to that, my senses became even sharper.
If I activated Taeryeong Divine Art on top of that, I felt like the synergy might jump by more than tenfold.
Lastly, I checked the effect of [A Memory for the Blossoms].
"…What the hell is this?"
[If you smell the fragrance of a flower, you gain a trait corresponding to that flower's meaning.]
The effect of the trait was so vague that I couldn't understand it at all.
I asked Iphanel, who was humming to herself as if she was in a good mood because of the contract.
"Hey. What does this mean?"
If you smell flowers, you feel good!
"Not that. Doesn't it do anything else?"
Hm? Umm~ You become happy!
"Uh, sure… Thanks."
I wasn't sure, but it didn't seem like a very useful trait.
Still, that was fine.
I had gotten two practical traits already.
Then, all of a sudden, my eyes went back to the trait [Self-Purification].
"…Wait. Self-Purification?"
Thinking I had seen a line related to this in Ha Taeryeong's secret manual, I hurriedly pulled it out and checked.
…Thus, I began the task of thoroughly cleansing my body.
It is not because health leads to a longer life.
It is because the more a mana leakage constitution accepts nature as it is, the longer it can survive.
As the human body grows, waste and contaminants naturally build up within it, and such a body is woefully insufficient for accepting nature.
If one is to become, quite literally, 'one with nature,' would it not be better to maintain the body that nature itself has bestowed?
"As I thought."
Ha Taeryeong's secret manual did contain content about purifying the body cleanly.
To state the conclusion first, it failed.
No matter what methods were used, it was impossible to restore a contaminated body.
However, I was fortunate enough to obtain a fortunate encounter.
The ability 'she' gifted me cleansed my body as purely as nature itself…
(omitted in the original)
…At last, I succeeded in setting the 'Fine Veins (細脈)' into motion.
That was where the content ended.
It didn't say how he did it, or what method he used, but I understood.
The fortunate encounter Ha Taeryeong obtained was none other than Iphanel, and thanks to inheriting the trait [Self-Purification], he had succeeded in purifying his body.
Setting the Fine Veins into motion.
The term was pointlessly difficult, but put simply, it was enough to think of it as removing waste from the blood vessels.
And…
If I went through this process,
then I too, like Ha Taeryeong of the past, might be able to grow stronger—perhaps even faster than he did.
For some reason, gratitude welled up fresh inside me toward Iphanel, who had introduced me to a great master named Ha Taeryeong and had even gifted me a fortunate encounter worthy of him.
"Hey… seriously, thank you. I'll succeed someday and pay you back."
Hm? I'm even more grateful though~
Iphanel had lived because I saved her heart.
Thinking of it simply, it made sense that she would feel grateful toward me.
But…
If I really thought about it properly, the reason I could smile like this now was also all because I had met Iphanel.
'Meizen Tiren's sudden corruption by dark magic.'
Even now, just thinking about that desperate situation made me shudder, and the only reason I had been able to overcome it was because of the gift Iphanel gave me.
In the end, if I hadn't met Iphanel, I would never have been able to resolve that situation…
And I certainly would have lost everything and fallen into despair.
Once again, I realized just how important a fortunate encounter Iphanel had been to me.
"Ahem. But, you know."
Hm?
Anyway.
Gratitude was gratitude.
"I heard your friend was even skilled in swordsmanship…"
That's right! He was amazing!
"Can you teach me that too?"
If there was something I could receive, I had to receive it all.
We were close enough to have literally exchanged hearts, so this much should be fine.
The Aslan Seminar was scheduled to be attended by all sorts of prestigious mage families from around the world.
Naturally, the Adolevit family would not be absent either.
Until last year, it had been Hong Si-hwa Adolevit, Hong Biyeon's older sister, who attended the Aslan Seminar.
Every year, she submitted excellent papers, and she always drew attention by making remarks powerful enough to cause enormous ripples.
'It's all just a political tool.'
The very act of showing such radical conduct in Aslan, a place said to be filled only with geniuses, was showmanship meant to become king.
'I am this intelligent.'
'And I can speak this boldly even before the world.'
Hong Si-hwa had proven her capabilities thoroughly by attending Aslan without fail for a full ten years, and now Hong Biyeon had inherited that baton.
From now on, every single move she made would be compared one by one to Hong Si-hwa's.
She could not be even slightly lacking.
She could not be even a little inadequate.
"Whew…"
There were only two weeks left until the Aslan Seminar.
It would be a lie to say she wasn't nervous, but the paper she had spent years preparing for that day, with the help of countless mages, gave her heart reassurance.
'If it's a paper of this level…'
At the very least, it would be comparable to the shockingly tremendous magic Hong Si-hwa Adolevit had presented when she attended the Aslan Seminar.
Knock knock!
She was about to slowly review the paper one last time to organize it properly when someone knocked on the dormitory door.
"Come in."
Since it was the weekend, she naturally assumed one of her faction members had come to see her and said so, but—
Student Hong Biyeon. I have come because there is a matter to discuss.
An unfamiliar man's voice came from outside the door.
Wearing a puzzled expression, she opened it, and a man whose name she did not know, seemingly an assistant professor, gave a slight nod in greeting.
"What is it?"
"Director Milkhen wishes to see Student Hong Biyeon."
"…Director Milkhen?"
"That is correct. If you have time, would you go at once?"
The assistant professor was treating Hong Biyeon with perfect courtesy, but there was not the slightest goodwill in his eyes.
'Why would Milkhen want to see me…'
They might not engage in political fighting even at Stella, but at the very least, the distinction between 'my people' and 'not my people' was absolutely clear.
Director Milkhen, who held the strongest influence on Stella's board, was unquestionably one of the latter.
Back when Hong Si-hwa had attended Stella, Milkhen had been someone attached to her side.
From Hong Biyeon's perspective, she had never understood Hong Si-hwa's conduct in going to the trouble of trying to win Milkhen over.
Milkhen wasn't even a person of the Adolevit nation in the first place, so why had there been any need to bring her over?
"Yes. I'll go right now."
And the reason became clear the moment she faced Director Milkhen.
In a bad way, that is.
"Cadet Hong Biyeon."
"…Yes."
Clink.
Elegantly setting down her teacup, Milkhen pointed to the paper Hong Biyeon had placed on the table.
"I heard you intend to attend this year's Aslan Seminar with this paper. Is that right?"
"That's correct."
A cold sweat ran down her back.
Please.
Please let this not be the kind of situation I think it is…
She prayed desperately, but—
"Unfortunately, this paper can no longer be used at the Aslan Seminar."
Flinch.
As soon as those words fell, Hong Biyeon bit her lip hard.
"…Why?"
As a last struggle, she asked for the reason, and Milkhen answered readily.
"We discovered a considerable amount of 'similarity' with papers that were previously published."
"Now, here—didn't you substitute in this 'Multipartite Law of Partanium' and the 'Lagranew Point Formula'? This was something Dr. Collanian secretly included in a problem from thirty-seven years ago on the 'Final Mock Examination' that no one else knew about—"
Milkhen tore into Hong Biyeon's paper piece by piece.
And…
Most of what she said was correct.
Yes, to be honest, Hong Biyeon had written most of this paper with the help of other mages.
But that was not her fault.
This was how all the prestigious mage families attending Aslan, the 'fixed attendees,' did it.
How else could they have maintained their qualifications to attend for decades?
It was only possible because they all resorted to these kinds of expedient tricks.
And now they were picking a fight over it?
She didn't even need to think about the reason to know immediately.
She could also instantly picture who had done this.
'Hong Si-hwa…!'
She had expected to be checked to some degree.
There was no way that sly snake would do nothing at the moment Princess Hong Biyeon Adolevit first tried to proclaim her own ability to the world.
But to think that ten years ago, back when she was still attending Stella, she had already anticipated this situation and won Milkhen over…
Hong Biyeon had never imagined it.
"Student Hong Biyeon. I understand this may not satisfy you, but it can't be helped. There is concern that the magic establishment will strongly object."
After finishing her critique of the paper, Milkhen said that, and Hong Biyeon nodded without replying.
"…I understand."
Of course, she could ignore Milkhen's words and submit the paper to the Aslan Seminar anyway.
But if she did, an even worse disaster could occur.
Considering Milkhen's influence over the world of magic…
she would surely set off a 'plagiarism controversy' like a bomb right in the middle of the Aslan Seminar.
Most likely, Hong Biyeon's standing would be thoroughly dragged down into the abyss, compared against the achievements of Hong Si-hwa, who had soared upward without seeming to know the sky had any limit.
"Now that it has come to this… prepare a different paper before the Aslan Seminar."
Clack.
After stepping out of Milkhen's office, Hong Biyeon bit her lip tightly.
There were barely fifteen days left until the Aslan Seminar.
As regrettable as it was, Hong Biyeon had absolutely no ability to write a paper of that caliber on her own.
Despair kept creeping up from the deepest part of her chest.
There was no other way.
Was she really going to collapse from the very start, unable even to withstand such a simple bit of scheming from Hong Si-hwa?
Was she always destined to be trampled by her?
'No, no!'
Hong Biyeon bit down on her lip with all her strength.
Blood trickled out, but she did not feel the pain at all.
'Do they even know who I am…'
Yes, if this had been the old her.
If this had been the Hong Biyeon from before she entered Stella, the one who could do nothing without relying on those around her…
Then she would have given up like this.
No, reality itself would have forced her to give up.
'Not now.'
Now she had a reason she could not afford to give up.
So she could not let everything fall apart from the very first button.
The fact that they had informed her of this only two weeks before the seminar started was ridiculous too.
They must have done it because they thought Hong Biyeon could never write another paper within two weeks by her own strength.
She clenched her fists and turned her steps away—not toward the dormitory, but toward the reading room.
'You think… I can't do it?'
11 p.m., the hour when pale moonlight shone at the edge of the world.
Her day was only beginning now.
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