Chapter 63: The Regressor Does It All

Enchantments are typically used on materials with fixed properties.

When the material's properties are fluid, the complexity of the enchantment increases exponentially, not only because the formula must account for variability but also because post-processing is required to maintain the enchantment.

Moreover, if the material is volatile, the formula can disappear at any moment during the engraving process, leading to a shortened lifespan for enchanters, making it notorious.

Hum

The giant egg that Yisun held, the flame of the White Orchid, possessed both fluidity and volatility.

"..."

Leah, who had been examining the White Orchid, carefully picked up her brush and began to engrave the formula she had prepared.

Swoosh

The framework of the "Spatial Separation" enchantment began to be engraved on the surface of the White Orchid.

This enchantment, which binds and separates highly expandable materials, was essential for Nanhua Wu, who would otherwise burn himself if left alone.

Hum!

However, before the framework was fully completed, the red aura inside the White Orchid, Nanhua Wu's flame, began to fluctuate, and the painstakingly engraved formula was completely burned away.

Seeing the White Orchid revert to a blank slate, Leah covered her eyes with her palm and muttered, "This is hopeless..."

Enchanters were well aware of the notorious reputation of fire-attribute materials, so she had been somewhat prepared.

However, the situation far exceeded her expectations, making her want to run away immediately.

'How am I supposed to enchant a material that resets every five seconds?'

The "Spatial Separation" and "Designated Marking" that Yisun had requested were among the most complex enchantments Leah knew.

It would take hours just to engrave them, let alone in a situation where they reset every five seconds. It was physically impossible.

'Is this even possible? No matter how I think about it, it's not. But what does he think is possible? What about the selection competition? Grandma seems angry too. Should I just drop out first?'

While struggling to solve the problem in front of her, all sorts of irrelevant thoughts filled her mind.

The habit of avoiding difficult problems by dwelling on useless thoughts, which had pushed her into a slump a year ago, resurfaced.

"..."

Rebecca, noticing Leah's state, sighed.

She was disappointed that Leah had strayed from their agreement but had hoped that the slump had been overcome.

'Was it too much to ask?'

While Yisun's encounter seemed to have given her something, it wasn't enough to completely shake off the slump.

Rebecca, recalling her granddaughter's once vibrant and talented self as the top student in her first year at Borshifa, felt a bitter smile.

'Besides, that kid is really pushing it. Even if he lacks knowledge about enchantments, suggesting such an impossible task...'

She would have scolded him severely if this were a class. Asking someone to do the impossible as if it were possible is nothing short of torment.

'I need to teach him proper enchanting in the next class.'

While both the granddaughter and grandmother thought it was impossible, they continued to stare at the White Orchid.

"What are you doing?"

Yisun looked at Leah with a bewildered expression.

"Why are you spacing out when I told you to enchant? Your arm will fall off."

Yisun, holding the White Orchid with both hands, urged her to continue. Leah's eyebrows shot up, and she glared sharply.

"Did you not see the formula disappear just now? How am I supposed to engrave 'Spatial Separation' and 'Designated Marking' when it resets every five seconds?"

While it's good that he has high expectations, there are limits. As Leah was about to protest Yisun's unreasonable request, he replied nonchalantly.

"Then just complete the enchantment within five seconds."

"Is that hard?"

"It's not hard, you lunatic!"

"Hmm. Really?"

Yisun, seeing Leah shouting, muttered as if he genuinely didn't understand.

"I don't get why you can't do it when you already know how."

"..."

What kind of nonsense is that? The words rose to her throat, but Leah couldn't bring herself to say them.

Yisun's indifferent remark reminded her of the "White Light" enchantment she had spent a month conceptualizing.

'Instead of completing it as a whole... layer it.'

Like a single image made up of dozens of layers, design it to interlock while being separate.

With this idea in mind, Leah swiftly moved her brush over the White Orchid.

Swoosh

The framework for creating "Spatial Separation." She completed a part of it as a separate component and engraved it as a single enchantment.

Hum!

The enchantment, completed in one go, began to circulate with mana. After five seconds, the flame of Nanhua Wu inside the White Orchid touched the enchantment.

It should have burned and disappeared, but the enchantment gradually turned red.

Whoosh!

The flame bloomed and was engraved on the White Orchid.

"!!!!"

Leah, seeing the red inscription on the white canvas, opened her eyes wide and looked at Yisun.

Her gaze asked if this was acceptable. Yisun, noticing her look, smiled and extended the White Orchid.

"Hurry up. Your arm will fall off."

"Okay."

While impossible tasks were daunting, possible ones weren't.

Leah, putting aside the irrelevant thoughts that had filled her mind, began to deconstruct the formulas for "Spatial Separation" and "Designated Marking" in her head.

'Remove unnecessary formulas and compress the basic frameworks.'

Instead of assembling a robot toy from toe to head, focus on assembling each part and combining the limbs at the end, ensuring each part functions properly.

Whoosh!

Cut, attach, overlay, and combine.

As Leah's brush moved over the White Orchid, the formulas were densely engraved, and the flames of Nanhua Wu rose, causing cracks to spread across the White Orchid.

Crack!

The White Orchid, shaking violently like an egg about to hatch, caught the attention of Kim Incheol and Rebecca, who stood up to observe. However, the two people directly involved didn't blink.

'Just a little more... a little more!'

Leah had engraved all the formulas Yisun had requested, but Nanhua Wu's power still remained.

If completed as is, the remaining parts would scatter uselessly. Therefore, Leah continued to draw the ideas that came to her mind.

'Shape Fixation. Conscious Projection. Mental Synchronization...'

By adding a few components to the completed formula, she created new functions and amplified them.

Finally, when the formulas Leah had engraved filled the White Orchid,

Crack

Nanhua Wu, having unleashed all its potential, broke free from its shell.

Hum!

The flames, which would have burned away, were reborn based on Leah's enchantment.

'Even if I complete it this way, it will be a decent item...'

Unfortunately, the main material for this item isn't Nanhua Wu. Yisun, with Honglun Flame in both hands, immediately covered the compressing flames.

Whoosh!

The flames seeping through his fingers. Yisun controlled the fierce flames inside with the flow of Honglun Flame.

Whoosh

Following the flow Yisun created, the flames of Nanhua Wu intertwined and gradually calmed down.

As the seeping flames and the vibrations on his palms ceased, a gentle light flowed out.

Whoosh

Yisun's hands spread, and red inscriptions were woven in the air.

The flames, connected in a loop and endlessly circulating, formed a beautiful and elegant pattern. Leah, seeing this, was dumbfounded.

'Is this... what I engraved?'

The enchantments she had engraved without prior verification, which should have been a mess, perfectly interlocked with Nanhua Wu's flames and moved vividly.

'...It's been a while. This feeling.'

Before the slump, when she was confident in her talent and freely enchanted, the scene brought back those memories.

Feeling a surge of emotion, Leah also felt a sense of regret.

'I wanted to do more.'

When would such a moment come again? The fleeting sensation made Leah feel bitter.

"Great job."

Yisun, looking at Nanhua Wu's flames, smiled.

"With this, we can start right away."

"Start what?"

Seeing Leah's puzzled look, Yisun turned his gaze to the workbench.

A white ivory with bizarre patterns. The fang of the dream-walking demon, Mengxiangya, which traverses the boundary between reality and dreams. Yisun immediately extended his left hand.

Whoosh

The red enchantments, without hesitation, wrapped around the Mengxiangya and slowly lifted it into the air.

Yisun, controlling Nanhua Wu's flames as if they were part of his body. Everyone watched in amazement.

Hum!

Purple mana began to flow from the Mengxiangya.

The edges of the Mengxiangya began to blur, like a mirage.

Seeing the weight of the flames become lighter, Yisun heightened his senses.

'This is just the beginning.'

The most basic characteristic of the dream-inducing mana, 'dream substitution.'

This power, which pushes objects into the realm of dreams, is the main reason why processing Mengxiangya is difficult. The reason is simple.

In this state, Mengxiangya would deflect all stimuli, whether heated by fire or carved by a knife, like a mirage.

'While this happens, the dream-inducing mana is gradually depleted, and when you realize it, it has turned into an ordinary ivory.'

A cruel material that can cost millions if mishandled. Due to this characteristic, few people process and use Mengxiangya.

'If left alone, that is.'

Yisun began to heat the Mengxiangya without hesitation.

Whoosh

The flames, consuming the purple mana, burned more intensely. Normally, the dream-inducing mana would have evaporated, but Nanhua Wu's flames were different.

The purple mana flowing from the Mengxiangya, the dream-inducing mana, was completely absorbed, causing the Mengxiangya to blur.

"What... is this...?"

Is there a way to handle the dream-inducing mana like this? Wondering if she was the only one who didn't know, Leah turned her head to look at the professors behind her.

"..."

"..."

Kim Incheol and Rebecca, standing up, stared in amazement.

Leah, understanding the situation from their expressions, smiled bitterly and looked at the monstrous junior in front of her.

"How did you do that?"

"The flames of the Vermilion Bird are famous for burning human spirits. I thought of that and came up with this."

Holding the purple flames that were about to scatter, Yisun answered calmly.

"Since these flames can attach to the 'dreams' handled by the dream-inducing mana, I thought they might stick. After all, dreams are part of the mind."

"..."

"Of course, the dreams handled by the dream-inducing mana might be a bit different, so it wouldn't work just like that. So, I made it easier to stick with the 'Designated Marking' enchantment and coated it with the 'Spatial Separation' enchantment to prevent it from burning."

Yisun, looking at the purple flames that had completely consumed the dream-inducing mana, spoke with satisfaction.

"It worked as intended."

Yisun, who could come up with and successfully execute such a method that would shock others, made Leah ask without thinking.

"Aren't you scared?"

"Of what?"

"That your confident thoughts might be wrong."

Leah, looking at the flames, muttered as if she couldn't understand.

"If it fails, everything will disappear."

Her eyes were on the flames, but her gaze was elsewhere. Seeing this side of Leah for the first time, Yisun vaguely understood the cause of her slump.

'You must have seen something terrible.'

Challenges come with the risk of failure, and failure comes with a price. While this is obvious, the weight of it varies from person to person.

Something precious that can never be regained. Those who have paid such a price can never take failure lightly.

'Not a lack of confidence in talent, but fear of failure...'

Yisun knew how deeply rooted the despair could be, having seen it in others and experienced it himself.

A single word from him could change the future of a great talent. Choosing his words carefully, Yisun slowly spoke.

"Then don't do it."

"..."

"I mean it. If you're scared, don't do it."

Looking at the flames rising from his hands, Yisun spoke calmly.

"There's no guarantee that the risky path is better. Why choose such a method if you're not a masochist?"

"But you..."

"I don't have a choice."

In a voice so soft and clear that only Leah could hear, Yisun whispered.

"There's not enough time to always choose the safe path."

The future is changing constantly due to his presence as a regressor.

To respond to the countless variables, he needs to create a minimum margin.

"You..."

Leah looked at Yisun with a strange expression.

Despite growing much faster than other students, he still felt time was insufficient. What was he looking at to say such things?

Seeing him as if he was being chased, Leah was about to ask carefully when Yisun spoke.

"So, what will you do?"

Yisun looked at Leah and asked.

"If you don't want