Chapter 66: The Reincarnated One Completes Everything

One of the specialized courses in the Metallurgy Department, 'Metal Refining.'

Since it is a course that teaches basic refining methods, the content itself is known to be easy among the students, but the assignment has a notorious reputation for various reasons.

"This time, the assignment is to create a small shield weighing 1.2 kg and 28 cm in diameter using Alloy 21. The main theme is resilience, so pay attention to that aspect. It must be at least of standard grade to be accepted, so keep that in mind."

"......"

"......"

The students looked at Han In-seong, the teaching assistant, with tense eyes, as if bracing for what would come next.

Han In-seong glanced at them and smiled, continuing his speech.

"And, as usual, you can submit this assignment before the final evaluation. Be grateful for the professor's consideration."

"Ah......"

"No way......"

The students covered their faces and sighed at Han In-seong's words.

The generous submission period before the final evaluation. While it might seem like a good thing to have more time, in reality, it wasn't.

The Metal Refining assignment is graded on a relative scale. The better the other students' submissions, the lower your score, and it naturally turns into a game of guessing.

'I'm not good at making shields... but if I spend about two weeks... '

'I want at least an A grade... but how much will the others do... '

While there can be a significant gap between students when they use various materials and their specialties, the gap is surprisingly small when it comes to basic skills.

Moreover, with the generous deadline, the lower-ranked students grit their teeth to score points, while the top-ranked students grit their teeth to avoid falling behind.

"Hehe..."

The students, who were carefully inspecting each other's weapons and repeatedly refining and designing them, made Han In-seong smile contentedly.

He had suffered a lot in this Metal Refining course during his time as a student. Back then, he wanted to strangle the professor, but now he had developed a deep respect for the professor's unwavering approach despite numerous complaints.

'After all, it only happens in the early stages of enrollment. You have to endure it now.'

While their basic skills are similar now, the longer they spend in Babel, the more the gap widens due to talent.

This kind of competition can only last for about two semesters. It was a spectacle that could only be seen during this period, which is why Han In-seong watched it with enjoyment.

Suddenly, a fierce flame burst out from a corner of the workshop.

Clang! Clang!

Lee Se-hoon, who seemed to be in a different space, was heating metal and hammering it into shape.

Sizzle!

Unlike the other students, it seemed as if time was moving several times faster for him. In an instant, the weapon was completed and piled up on one side.

Swish— Swish—

Lee Se-hoon, who had completed the four overdue assignments during his month-long hospital stay, gathered them and handed them to Han In-seong.

"I'm submitting these."

"......"

Han In-seong, who inspected the weapons presented before him, had a complicated expression.

If it were another student, he might have scolded them for lack of effort, but he couldn't do that with these weapons.

'All of them are high-grade mid-level products...'

Among the previously submitted assignments, there were some high-grade ones, but the level of the weapons in front of him was in a different league.

Han In-seong, who had been looking at the new student with a mix of admiration and confusion, finally nodded.

"Good job... The professor said that if you submit all the assignments, you don't have to attend class until the next assignment. Do as you please."

"Then I'll go."

Lee Se-hoon, having finished his task, immediately left, and the students, who had been watching his back, started whispering.

"Wait, is he really injured? Why does he look so fine?"

"He must not have been seriously injured."

"Didn't you see the photos? He was carried in by Professor Ryu, covered in blood."

The photos that had been posted on the unofficial student community, Tower, had caused a stir. They showed Lee Se-hoon, covered in blood, being carried into the hospital by Professor Ryu, who looked unusually urgent, sparking various discussions.

"There's a rumor that Professor Ryu gave him special medicine."

"What? No way."

"Why not? If she took him on a private hunting trip over the weekend, it's entirely possible."

The situation was further complicated by a photo of the two walking together at the subspace terminal, leading to various speculations.

Since neither Lee Se-hoon nor Professor Ryu cared about the rumors, there was no clarification, which only fueled the speculation. As a result, some people, feeling dissatisfied, began to make sharp comments.

"Even if he looks fine on the outside, we don't know what's going on inside. They say he lost all his materials in a mid-level refining attempt."

"Oh, I heard that too. Professor Kim In-cheol saved him from a near accident."

"There's also a rumor that he developed a mana node when he was attacked by a mine. If it's true, it's like a bubble bursting."

No matter how talented one is, if they can't properly control their mana, they will inevitably fall behind over time.

The doubts about Lee Se-hoon's injuries and poor performance grew as time passed, and the observation of his poor mana control during class only fueled the speculation.

As time passed and the weekend approached,

"What kind of trick are you using?"

Leah, sitting opposite Lee Se-hoon, asked curiously.

"What do you mean?"

As Lee Se-hoon, who was engraving enchantments on cheap pottery, glanced at her, Leah had a puzzled look.

"How can someone become so underestimated in just a week? This doesn't make sense."

While the hero industry is a dangerous world where a single injury can lead to a downfall, suspicions usually remain just that until they are confirmed.

However, the rumors and slanders about Lee Se-hoon spread at an alarming rate, and now it was widely believed that he had suffered an injury that affected his mana control.

Even if the creation of the Illusionary Ring was kept secret, the atmosphere was abnormal. Lee Se-hoon, seeing Leah's confusion, replied indifferently.

"There are suspicious aspects, and you're not denying them. So, it's natural to be suspicious."

The controversy surrounding Lee Se-hoon could be easily quelled with a word from Professor An Jung-wan, who was in charge, or from Professor Ryu, the head of Borshifa, or Professor Kim In-cheol, the advisor of the Metallurgy Department.

However, the rumors continued to spread because the three of them, at Lee Se-hoon's request, were keeping quiet.

"Indeed... If you just sit there and take the abuse, people will think you have something to hide."

"That's the idea. And there are also those who have always disliked me, and they will probably join in."

The vice-dean of Borshifa, Michael, who was trying to take control of the department and the Metallurgy Department, would likely seize this opportunity to spread more rumors.

Leah nodded, but she still had a puzzled look.

"But if it turns out to be false, won't it all be for nothing? Why are you doing this...?"

Rumors are just rumors. No matter how much people talk, it's impossible for Lee Se-hoon to suddenly have an injury and a decline in skill.

But why is he doing this? Lee Se-hoon, hearing Leah's mutterings, thought to himself.

'He must be confident that he can turn the rumors into reality.'

Using this chaotic moment to make himself truly irrecoverable. It might seem extreme, but the situation has changed.

'The Barmut family and the Guardian have joined forces to cripple the Metallurgy Department.'

If he is aiming for power beyond Babel, it's a reasonable attempt.

With the talent he has shown, he won't destroy the Metallurgy Department but will elevate it to the top of Babel.

'I need to observe this a bit more.'

The memories from before the regression, seen through the Illusionary Ring.

While the events themselves are real, the act of turning around to read the data during the regression was not something that originally happened.

Therefore, he couldn't be sure if the information he obtained was accurate.

'Right. I still don't know...'

Thinking about the data he had skimmed through and the information about Kim In-cheol he had confirmed at the end, Lee Se-hoon stopped writing and organized his thoughts.

"It's done."

"Wow. Faster than I expected. Let me see."

Leah, who received the pottery from Lee Se-hoon, turned it around to examine the engraved enchantments.

The lines were drawn cleanly without any mistakes, and the framework perfectly incorporated the magical formula he had taught her. There were also visible modifications in various places.

'Is this based on boundary magic? The connections between the formulas are a bit loose... No, they are filled in when mana is applied. How can a beginner do this...?'

Clearly, he hasn't properly learned enchantments, but the ones he engraved are far superior to those of the students in the Enchantment Department.

'No, no. I should check if it works first.'

No matter how shiny it looks, it's meaningless if it doesn't work properly. Leah, who carefully examined the pottery, slowly infused it with her mana.

Hum—

As the freshly engraved enchantments glowed faintly with mana, the air around the pottery began to waver.

Soon, the wind started to seep into the pottery, and a small noise could be heard from inside.

Whirr

The sound of the wind echoed in the room with all the windows closed.

Leah, who felt the faint vibrations from the pottery, flipped it over and shook out its contents.

Whirl

A small green vortex, made from wind-type materials and enchanted by Lee Se-hoon, rotated on the desk for about 20 seconds before collapsing and disappearing.

"......"

Leah, who carefully examined the trail of the wind, pondered for a moment before speaking.

"I can maintain it for over a minute."

It was more of a protest than a boast. Lee Se-hoon smiled slightly.

"I didn't ask."

"......Annoying. Just do everything yourself."

Leah, who praised Lee Se-hoon and placed the pottery, an assignment for ancient enchantment, on the side, looked at him again.

"Now that the assignment is done, let's work on enchantment research. I'm in great condition lately. I can help with even the difficult materials like before. Oh, by the way, you said you wanted to enchant the Mokjuwan. How's that going?"

Leah, who started chatting as if she hadn't been grumbling, looked at Lee Se-hoon, who found it amusing but decided to bring up a topic he had been putting off.

"Before that, I have something to show you."

"Hmm? What is it?"

"Look."

In response to Leah's curious question, Lee Se-hoon started unbuttoning his jacket and shirt.

Surprised by his unexpected action, Leah's eyes widened, and as the buttons came undone, revealing his bare skin, her mouth moved involuntarily.

"Oh..."

While she might not know much about muscles, she could tell that this was impressive. As Leah stared at Lee Se-hoon's chest in amazement,

Whoosh!

A familiar purple flame burst forth.

"Ah!"

Leah, who was startled by the sudden flame, jumped up, and Lee Se-hoon looked at her with an exasperated expression.

"Why are you so surprised?"

"How can you not be surprised when flames suddenly burst from your body? No, wait, is that... the Illusionary Ring?"

"Right. It's been absorbed into my body."

"What... Hold on a second!"

Clang!

Leah, who had crawled under the