LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 15
“Ugh…”
“Coming back to your senses?”
Just in time, the girl woke up.
It was a bit of a dramatic situation waking up right after vanquishing the wolf, but hey, that’s how the program was designed.
So this girl is the guide now?
“Wh-Who are you?!”
“Why are you asking me? Just let me use my magic!”
“…?”
Is this not what I expected?
It feels like the interaction isn’t really working out.
I figured I must be doing something wrong, so I decided to consult the chat window for help.
– How did you just use magic?
– ?????????
– Hacker?
– Even the NPC seems lagged. LOL
Well, it’s clear that something’s not right.
“Did you save me from the wolf?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you going to take the laurel from me?!”
“What’s a laurel?”
I raised an eyebrow in confusion, and the girl’s expression only deepened in perplexity.
– What Repi has is Arseria’s laurel.
– This world is cursed by the Demon King, so nobody can use mana.
– But if you have the laurel, it allows anyone to use magic without any restrictions.
Why did they pile all this convoluted lore on a magic experience program? It’s a complete hassle.
“All I need is to use magic.”
“Ultimately, the laurel is your goal, right?!”
“I don’t need any leaves.”
“This is not just any leaf!”
Before Repi could throw a tantrum, I heard footsteps approaching from afar.
“There’s a trace here. Search thoroughly!”
Repi’s face turned pale, her hands trembling. It seemed those tracking her had caught up. I suggested to Repi.
“So you were running away from them? Want me to help?”
“Even calling you ‘sister’ feels embarrassing, but how are you going to help me?”
Repi briefly fixed her gaze on my head.
What, does she think she can look down on me just because I’m shorter? That’s killing my urge to help her.
Honestly, I could easily complete the magic circle just by finding ten more wolves, so there’s no reason to squabble.
“Hand over the laurel.”
“That’s not happening!”
“Suit yourself.”
“Aah, don’t go! Please help me!”
Repi handed me some item that supposedly allows her to use magic, this laurel or whatever.
[‘leviatan’ donated 1,000 won!]
– With the current synchronization of the laurel, you can only use missile magic once.
The pursuers had closed the distance.
– There are 3 enemies, and you can only use magic once in this miraculous tutorial.
– Actually, you can progress the story even without defeating them.
– Is that so? I kept infinitely resetting for nothing.
– Korean temperament, LOL.
I just need to show them what I can do, right?
The enemies were closer than I expected, but it wasn’t close enough to stop me from drawing a magic circle.
“1st Circle Upper Casting: Assign Polar Coordinates.”
I created the guided missile from the method I was taught earlier.
The reason guided missiles are considered 3rd Circle magic is they are spatial magic without the dimension of time.
But I can borrow that authority just with a 1st Circle magic circle.
Since it’s just a guided missile (physical), it has no explosive capabilities.
A metal chunk, empowered by the laurels’ mana, fiercely struck the body of one pursuer. As soon as one fell, it swiftly lunged at another.
Whoosh! Boom!
“That was easy.”
– ?????????
– How did you do that????
– Are you a hook-collecting artisan? But really, what’s the principle?
– Share it!
– Mom, why can’t I shoot guided missiles? Mom, why can’t I shoot guided missiles? Mom, why can’t I shoot guided missiles? Mom, why can’t I shoot guided missiles?
Beep beep beep!
Amid the chaotic chatter, an alarm rang.
Is it time to leave already?
“I’m sorry, but I’ll have to end the broadcast here as I have another appointment today. I’ll cancel the delayed donation questions for now, so please send them again tomorrow, and I’ll answer then.”
*
Beep! It’s a child.
As I held up the disposable card, a familiar voice rang out.
On the surface, it’s meant to remind everyone that a child is on board, so they should be cautious.
But in reality, it’s a high-tech measure to publicly dispose of anyone not truly a child who used dishonest methods.
I’m definitely not thinking about feeling insulted being called a child at this age or anything.
[The next stop is the entrance of the Korea University Administration Office.]
The weekend campus was quiet.
Especially in the bitter chill of January.
I’ve never really gotten along with educational institutions like this.
In my first life, I couldn’t last even a semester, and I dropped out before finishing two years at my previous academy in my past life.
Honestly, since Ah-rin transferred, I’ve been going to elementary school all by myself.
My name still remains at the Merlin Orphanage, so the teachers seem unaware of the details.
There wasn’t anything to learn, nor did I feel any worth in going to school.
If anything, Professor Cheon Kyu-jin’s lectures were entertaining, at least.
Sometimes I skipped lunch to sneak out of school for his extra classes, and nobody ever seemed to notice.
No matter how advanced the technology is in this over-tech age, they don’t equip elementary students with tracking devices.
I also made a few friends from attending lectures together.
College students are generally quick-witted, likely because they were eager to absorb knowledge from me, not out of jealousy over the fact that Professor Cheon Kyu-jin favors me.
Every time that happened, I happily became the stepping stone for their grades.
After getting off the bus, I had to walk for quite a while before I finally reached the building set up by the professor for grade checks and complaints.
Since I wasn’t an undergrad of this school, I couldn’t check my grades online. I explained to the front desk that I had come to confirm my grades at Cheon Kyu-jin’s personal request.
Of course, I didn’t mention the former.
“Professor Cheon Kyu-jin? Oh! Just go to the 3rd floor, room 306. It’s a small auditorium, so finding it shouldn’t be too hard.”
Fortunately, they didn’t seem to think I was suspicious.
After taking the elevator and arriving in front of the auditorium, I could hear a raucous sound spilling from inside.
Among those voices, I recognized one that I’d heard in class.
From the sounds of things, it seemed they were engaging in a heated discussion about the exam questions.
“But professor, this formula should be worthy of partial credit, right? Although it wasn’t what you intended, it was part of my process to arrive at the answer.”
“I understand your point, Hoyeon, but look carefully. To derive the answer with a dimensional binary method, you need not 2 formulas but 3. With only these 2 formulas, the equation becomes indeterminate, and you can’t come out with just one answer. You happened to get the correct answer by chance. I won’t deduct your total score, but I don’t think I can give partial credit with this solution.”
While it seemed like a constructive exchange of opinions on the surface, what was really going on was the professor’s terrifying attack to deduct the total score if they didn’t agree with him.
Ultimately, the student left the auditorium with their shoulders slumped, seemingly unable to find a better alternative.
I sat in the front row of the auditorium, zoning out until everyone finished their questions.
Not that I had no thoughts at all; I was rather absorbed in feeling the joy of those who received points and the despair of those who had points taken away.
“Hey there, waiting for someone? Are you the professor’s daughter? Or maybe a niece?”
“Hey, don’t talk to the kid like that! Just quietly wait.”
“We’re friends with that person back there, but since it’s taking too long, we thought we’d strike up a conversation. Is that okay?”
“Sorry about my friend. He’s still immature.”
A male student and a female student sat right behind me. The girl almost hit the boy on the head, but I stopped her.
“No, it’s fine. I’m waiting for the professor too, not family or anything.”
“Oh, I see. You’re really cute. What’s your name? How old are you?”
“I’m 7. This is the first time meeting you, Baek Jeong-ho and Song Ga-yeon.”
“Wait, how do you know our names? Is there a nametag on us or something?”
While the two students were baffled, the last student stepped down from the podium.
“You’ve all worked hard for the past two months. By the way, my name is NoName.”
I watched their faces twist in surprise and horror as I smoothly facilitated the long-awaited meeting with the professor.
“Hello.”
I greeted the professor nonchalantly.
“What brings you here?”
“Isn’t there any reason to come other than to check my grades?”
I replied a bit cheekily, observing his reaction.
A hint of confusion, curiosity.
But unlike others, he didn’t rush to question me or prematurely judge me on his own.
He quietly waited for me to elaborate.
This guy, I like him.
I know peering into someone’s character can be quite rude, but I just couldn’t shake off the old habits from the palace.
I wasn’t sure how it would be received in this world, but treating him the same as I did with dukes or commanding officers would probably lead to quite the squabble.
“It seems I’m a bit late in introducing myself. I’m NoName. I’ve come to check my grades for the Harmonistic Interpretation class.”