Chapter 49: The Reincarnated One Completes It

After Louise and Gerwin's sparring match ended.

Babel was in an uproar, as if a bomb had exploded, due to the unexpected outcome, which no one had predicted except for the two participants.

"Did the Undeads' heads all fly off in one hit?"

"Really. It wasn't even a spell; he just muttered a few short words, and the entire sparring ground shook, and their heads flew off in one hit."

"Didn't Gerwin just bring some equipment and Undeads casually?"

"Casually? He came out fully armed, just like during the previous extermination practice."

Since filming was impossible inside the martial arts hall, the students who witnessed the sparring match spread Louise's heroic tale, and those who heard it were both shocked and found it hard to believe.

"If Gerwin is at least a B-rank hero, and Louise overpowered him in one go, that means she's an A-rank hero. Does that make sense?"

"Probably Gerwin was just careless. When the Undeads were swept away at first, he just froze and couldn't do anything."

"He might have been taken aback by a spell he had never seen before. I heard he awakened a unique skill, too."

If he had fought with all his might and lost, it would be understandable, but he just kept sending the Undeads to charge and then stood there blankly before losing.

To those who didn't see the sparring match, it seemed like he was just careless, and most of those who did see it also thought so.

However, the students' doubts would never be resolved because Gerwin, the person involved, could no longer fight.

"38 mana nodules, and they're spread all over his body. At this level, we have to consider it as a complete loss of mana ability."

Putting down Gerwin's diagnosis on the desk, the blond man, Michael, sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"The UD Group is determined to get compensation for this incident. Even though he was foolish, in terms of potential, the 25th was quite useful."

"..."

"Also, the martial arts hall has strengthened its security because of this incident, and Professor Charles and Dawn have sent complaints, saying they've lost an opportunity."

"..."

"Since the equipment we provided was delayed, it's understandable. It has made our relationship awkward."

Not only Gerwin, but also Bier and the Barumut family, who were often mentioned alongside him, received negative attention.

While there was no immediate evidence, such suspicions could accumulate and become a hindrance in the future.

To Michael, it was as if they had exposed a weakness.

"Do you now understand the extent of the damage our family has suffered from this incident?"

In response to Michael's question, Bier, the young man with a sturdy appearance standing in front of him, nodded with a serious expression.

"Yes. I apologize."

"Hmm... Well, if you've brought things to this point, you must have a solution in mind. What do you plan to do?"

Bier answered calmly in response to Michael's question.

"Since Louise Valentine has returned to Babel, I plan to discuss with the members of Dawn who are based in the Ivory Tower and sort things out. I think we can use the upcoming special student selection at the Ivory Tower."

"And?"

"I plan to deal with Lee Sehoon during the upcoming extermination practice. If you could just give me a little help, I'll make sure to finish it off definitively."

"Hmm..."

After a moment of contemplation, Michael nodded as if he had made up his mind.

"If you need anything, let me know. I'll support you to the extent that it doesn't cause problems."

"Thank you..."

"However."

Michael cut off Bier's words and looked at his son with cold eyes.

"If you fail again, it would be best to give up your succession rights."

"...I will keep that in mind."

"Go now."

Michael turned his gaze back to the documents, signaling that the conversation was over. Bier bowed slightly and quietly left the office.

"..."

An empty, deserted corridor. Bier, who had been staring at it, began to walk with a blank expression.

The sound of his shoes echoed calmly in the corridor. But soon, a strange noise joined in.

Grinding... Grinding...

The eerie sound of teeth grinding. Despite his expressionless face, the sound coming from his mouth gave the impression that Bier was wearing a mask.

And when the sound of grinding teeth stopped, Bier's mouth slowly opened.

"Lee Sehoon, huh..."

While not directly revealed, it was clear to anyone who thought about it that Lee Sehoon had influenced this incident.

Louise, who had been crumbling smoothly, had changed after Lee Sehoon was admitted to Ascus and became close to her.

"Lee Sehoon..."

The arrogant junior who had ruined all his plans. Muttering the name, Bier clenched his fists with sunken eyes.

Then, he resumed his blank expression and continued walking.

* * *

In the Ascus hospital lobby.

Lee Sehoon, sitting on an empty sofa, reread the description of the skill in front of him.

[Awakening Dream] [C]

A self-hypnosis that forcibly awakens a blurred mind.

It activates reflexively when mental contamination reaches a certain level. However, the effect diminishes the longer it lasts.

*Forcibly awakens the mind.

*If activated repeatedly in a short period, the skill's effect weakens.

'A mental skill...'

Considering that even powerful heroes can die helplessly from mental attacks, it's a good skill regardless of its rank.

However, Lee Sehoon felt quite uneasy about its existence, despite its usefulness.

'No matter how I think about it, it's strange...'

There were various opinions on how skills are acquired and formed, but they all shared one common point.

One must have talent or a foundation in the relevant field. In other words, to acquire a mental skill, one must have at least some related talent.

'But I didn't have any skills in this area before the regression.'

Someone might say it's a good thing that he somehow developed talent, but for Lee Sehoon, who had returned to the past, it was an uncomfortable story.

'If it's just a talent I didn't know about, that's one thing, but...'

If he had developed a new talent, what could be the reason? Perhaps all of this...

[Awakening Dream has been activated.]

Whoosh!

His mind, which had been clouded, suddenly became clear, as if he had been doused with cold water.

Realizing that his deep thoughts had been abruptly cut off, Lee Sehoon looked down at his body with wide eyes.

'So, this is how it works.'

A skill that forcibly awakens the mind when it is negatively affected by deep thoughts. The straightforward effect made Lee Sehoon think of a possible application.

'Hmm. This might be useful for dreamers too...'

As he was filling in the ambiguous parts of the design for a device to assist his hazy pre-regression memories, Louise approached from the adjacent corridor.

"What are you doing there?"

Louise, standing askew, asked. Lee Sehoon looked up at her calmly.

"Just sitting."

"Did you think I didn't know that? Anyway..."

Muttering as if she was displeased, Louise sat down on the sofa one seat away from Lee Sehoon.

The two of them sat side by side, with an empty seat between them.

Passersby looked at them strangely, as they seemed both close and distant, but the two of them ignored it and continued their conversation.

"Are the discharge procedures done?"

"No way. I have tests all week."

Professor An Jeongwan, in exchange for allowing Louise's discharge and re-enrollment, required her to undergo a week-long series of tests.

While it was to secure a case of overcoming mana nodules, it was also to ensure that Louise wouldn't have a seizure or a recurrence of her injuries as she had in the past.

"Quite the doctor, huh?"

"Yeah. He's helped me a lot over the past six months."

As if recalling the past, Louise looked at the lobby with a slightly dazed expression. After a moment, she took a deep breath and spoke in a low voice.

"I met Professor Charles yesterday."

The mentor who had helped Louise in many ways and was a member of Dawn, who had tried to make her mana-incompetent through a mana erosion device.

Lee Sehoon asked about their conversation.

"What did he say?"

"Just that I should do well in the Elemental Department. He said he would help me get accepted as a second-year special student at the Ivory Tower."

It was a proposal that would have made other students' eyes widen, but Louise twisted her face in displeasure and muttered.

"I should have ripped his head off..."

"Did you refuse right away?"

Louise nodded in response to Lee Sehoon's question.

"I told him I was having a hard time transferring to the Combat Department from the Elemental Department. He seemed to understand when I explained the reason."

Verbal magic, which was far from the theoretical approach of general magic, didn't help Louise much even if she attended classes.

That's why she decided to transfer to the Combat Department, which taught 'combat techniques' using magic, and used that as a reason to reject Professor Charles's offer.

"Good. As I said before, you shouldn't reveal anything yet."

"Don't worry. I gritted my teeth and endured it."

Lee Sehoon advised Louise to pretend she knew nothing about Professor Charles and, more specifically, about Dawn, which was behind him.

It was too risky to confront them recklessly, and they could easily cut off any leads with just the mana erosion device.

'They're the kind who wouldn't hesitate to terrorize Babel if necessary.'

The 'Watchers,' a group of madmen who studied the Six Great Demons to create them in their desired form.

Dawn, a fanatical group of magic worshippers, was particularly dangerous, with extreme ideologies and actions.

While it might be necessary to eliminate them someday due to their past with Louise, now was not the time.

"As I said before, don't be overconfident. You only won this time because of a combination of factors."

The intense mental imagery and verbal magic he had practiced obsessively over the past six months, the performance of the Barg, which was specialized for amplifying verbal magic.

The unique nature of Louise's verbal magic, different from traditional verbal magic, and Gerwin's ability, which was specialized for controlling Undeads. The poor handling due to lack of practical experience. It was a result of exploiting numerous weaknesses.

If she had fought a student with similar specs to Gerwin, who was smart and had extensive practical experience, Louise would have lost.

"Am I a kid? I'm not going to brag about this."

"You are a kid."

"Whatever. Just don't worry about it."

Louise, stroking the scar on her right hand, smiled bitterly.

"After all that, my throat was torn open. I'm not going to do that again."

While the trap was set by those who targeted her, she had also been careless, intoxicated by her talent and overconfidence.

Seeing Louise's bitter expression, Lee Sehoon thought for a moment and then nodded.

"True. If you do it again, you'll only have yourself to blame."

"...You're crazy."

Normally, people would be flustered and fumble when such a topic was brought up, but this guy always seemed to bring it up as if he was waiting for it.

Looking at Lee Sehoon as if to say, "Did I say something I shouldn't have?" Louise shook her head and looked back at the lobby.

"..."

The familiar sight of the ward where she had lived for the past six months.

As if she would never return here again, Louise slowly took in the scenery.

"When I was first admitted here, I thought I would be expelled soon."

"..."

"Even though I was burning with the desire for revenge... If you think about it, you know it's not an easy thing to do."

The mana nodules, which even Professor An Jeongwan, the authority in rehabilitation, had shaken his head at. Louise, who had tried to ignore it, was well aware of her condition.

The reason she didn't give up and stubbornly stayed at Ascus wasn't just because of her determination for revenge.

"But I was scared to give up."

Looking at the scar on her hand, Louise smiled bitterly.

"What could I do if I wasn't a hero? And could someone as insignificant as me take revenge on them? The bleak future was so scary that I hid here."

Knowing that she would eventually be expelled from Babel without being able to treat her mana nodules, but unable to find any other way, she stayed at Ascus.

While undergoing rehabilitation experiments here, it felt like there was a real possibility for her.

"Looking back, it was a really foolish thing to do. I wasted time being afraid to think of anything else, even though I thought it was meaningless."

"..."

"But... um..."

Louise, struggling to organize her thoughts, opened and closed her mouth repeatedly. Lee Sehoon, instead of urging her, waited silently.

After organizing her thoughts, Louise slowly continued.

"Thanks to you, I can make some excuses now."

"Excuses?"

"Like, because of all the hardships, I was able to acquire verbal magic, or I was able to easily defeat Gerwin..."

Louise, glancing at Lee Sehoon, muttered in a small voice.

"Or because I met you here."

If she had endured everything knowing all the facts, she might have praised herself, but meeting Lee Sehoon was nothing short of a miracle. That's why she called it an excuse.

It was all thanks to Lee Sehoon that she had found a reason for her otherwise meaningless time.

"So... what I want to say is..."

How should she conclude this long story?

Because she had spoken without much thought, Louise recalled Lee Sehoon's usual demeanor as she struggled to organize her thoughts.

He was completely unconsiderate, arbitrary, and stubborn, but he had always guided her in the right direction in difficult situations.

'...What is it? It's easy.'

When she thought about it, the conclusion came naturally, and Louise smiled.

"Thank you for helping me."

Expressing her sincere gratitude.

[The affinity level with 'Louise Valentine' has increased to Level 2.]

[As the affinity level increases, the relationship is established. The relationship with 'Louise Valentine' is 'Guidance'.]

[Relationship: Guidance]

Leading someone affects their future deeply and requires a significant responsibility.

While guiding someone on the right path is not easy, if you do so without shirking responsibility, there is no more solid relationship.

*An affinity stone is created each time you guide the target correctly.

*The affinity stone's maturation speed increases when you are in a situation to guide the target.

*Currently created affinity stones: None.

Seeing the notification window in front of him, Lee Sehoon had an unexpected expression.

'So, this guy can think like this too.'

Bier was someone who judged everything based on himself.

If things went well, it was all his doing, and if they went wrong, it was everyone else's fault.

He also did self-hypnosis to avoid self-blame, which would weaken his verbal magic, but on the other hand, he genuinely believed it.

'He couldn't trust anyone but himself.'

However,