NOVEL WEB Chapter 13 - Witch Park Seo-hyun
Translator: FenrirTL
Editor: KYSOIWDI
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[ Chapter 13: Witch Park Seo-hyun (2) ]
Runes were the exclusive domain of wizards.
It was natural because only wizards could draw runes.
However, even wizards had neglected runes for a long time. Everything that could be done with runes could also be done with magic, and it was simpler to use magic.
To draw a rune, one had to focus magic power into their fingers and draw a path through which the magic could flow… I wasn’t a wizard, so I didn’t know the details. Anyway, the results of using runes were often unsatisfactory compared to the effort required. Moreover, they were easily erased.
However, the emergence of Magic Concealment runes brought runes back into the spotlight. They caused a significant stir, enough to overcome all previous drawbacks. There was now a reason to use them despite their disadvantages.
Then, magic pens were invented. It became an era where even non-wizards could draw runes. Naturally, the value of runes increased even more.
Modern dungeon strategies were now divided into before and after the resurgence of runes.
This was the content of the first lesson in “Introduction to Runes,” a mandatory course for first-year students at the Hunter Academy.
“So.”
I looked at the two wizards sitting in the storage room-cum-classroom.
Choi Jin-woo, who was sitting up straight and burning with enthusiasm, and Park Seo-hyun, who was chewing the end of a pencil and muttering incomprehensible words.
Honestly, I wasn’t sure if Park Seo-hyun could even hear my words, let alone follow the lesson.
I turned my gaze to the back of the classroom.
“Why did you stop talking? Just keep going, don’t mind me.”
When our eyes met, Hong Seok-young waved his hand and smiled.
“We’ll stay quiet too!”
Next to him sat the remaining students. There was still plenty of time, even though they were attending a rune class they couldn’t use.
Among those faces, the only one I knew even twenty years later was Oh Hyun-wook. In fact, even Oh Hyun-wook looked unfamiliar. He was now a skinny boy instead of the pig buried in fat. Time indeed changes things….
Aside from Oh Hyun-wook, Park Seo-hyun, and Lee Seung-yeon, I couldn’t find any information about the others in the Magic Watch. It was from a time before the Bureau was established, so I didn’t expect much from the search.
I hoped that at least one of them had talents on par with Oh Hyun-wook or Park Seo-hyun.
I looked at the two wizards who were supposed to take this class.
Let’s start by assessing the wizards.
“Let’s see what level you’re at.”
“Level?”
“There’s no need to be nervous. You know how to draw runes, right?”
Choi Jin-woo blinked and answered in a bewildered voice.
“We drew runes in Myeong-dong.”
Crrack.
At the same time, I heard an unusual sound from Park Seo-hyun.
“Huh….”
Park Seo-hyun lowered her head deeply.
After a while, she lifted her head, and the broken pencil fell from her mouth.
“…….”
“…….”
Even though wizards were much sturdier than civilians, I still asked.
“Is there a problem?”
“…….”
“Park Seo-hyun? Is that correct?”
Park Seo-hyun answered after a long pause.
“…I’m fine.”
Her voice was so small that I would have missed it if I hadn’t been listening closely.
She didn’t seem fine at all.
I wondered if I was the only one who thought Park Seo-hyun’s condition was unusual and looked around.
Choi Jin-woo glanced sideways at the sound of the pencil being chewed, but that was all. He didn’t seem to be particularly concerned.
While it was expected from someone like Hong Seok-young due to his personality, shouldn’t the others find it strange? One of their peers had turned into this state overnight.
Perhaps I was the unusual one for finding this odd.
This was why a mental evaluation was necessary when getting a Hunter license. Skills were important, but mental issues couldn’t be ignored.
Even at the Hunter Academy, there were dropouts every year who couldn’t withstand the atmosphere. In a way, if they couldn’t endure this, how could they handle dungeon raids?
I couldn’t figure it out.
Giving up on my thoughts, I drew a rune on the blackboard. It was the Magic Concealment rune we had used in Myeong-dong.
“You’ve drawn this many times, right?”
“What?”
“Surely, you haven’t gone without drawing it since escaping Myeong-dong?”
This rune?
Choi Jin-woo hesitated, glancing at me, then answered.
“…I’ve drawn it.”
“You must have practiced a lot.”
He probably thought I’d be upset about him using it without permission. I didn’t mind.
“I told you to use it. Feel free to use it as much as you like.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah. So, go ahead and draw it. I want to see how well you do.”
—
Hong Seok-young squinted his eyes.
“No, you’ve got that part wrong again.”
“I heard that runes can still work with this much error….”
“They will activate, sure.”
Woo Hee-jae took the rune Choi Jin-woo had drawn and stuck it to his forehead. Then, realizing his mistake, he peeled it off and stuck it to Choi Jin-woo’s forehead instead.
“Activate it.”
With a magic suppressor on his ankle, Woo Hee-jae couldn’t activate the rune himself.
Only Hong Seok-young was aware of this internal issue. Without any suspicion, Choi Jin-woo obediently activated the rune. The young wizard’s magic, which had been floating around, vanished.
It was a scene I had witnessed several times. I had checked with the children countless times. But every time I saw it, I was amazed. A rune that could hide magic?
How many dungeons deemed unassailable could be conquered with this rune? I could think of at least a dozen immediately. Including overseas dungeons, the number would be even higher.
This was why, despite the opposition, I had forcibly brought him to the Development High School. If he knew any other runes besides the Magic Concealment rune, they would be helpful.
“Let’s assume you’re in a dungeon raid.”
Woo Hee-jae began explaining leisurely. He seemed quite skilled at it. Had he taught someone before?
“In what situation do you think this rune would be used?”
Hong Seok-young stroked his chin.
—
“In what situation do you think this rune would be used?”
“Uh… when fleeing from monsters?”
Since they had used it that way in Myeong-dong, it was a natural response.
“And?”
“And? Um… when ambushing… secretly?”
I nodded.
“Have you ever been in a dungeon?”
“What? No, I awakened last year. I got my Hunter license this year.”
“Really?”
What was Choi Jin-woo’s shield casting speed again? 4.2 seconds?
Considering that he had been awakened for less than a year, Choi Jin-woo was not just decent; he was excellent.
His answer wasn’t wrong either. The Magic Concealment rune was typically used for such purposes.
However, some dungeons had particularly nasty traits. They were filled with old-fashioned traps or had special mechanisms that required specific conditions to be met for the path to open.
Such dungeons often consumed more Hunters than simply high-risk dungeons.
If he had no dungeon raid experience yet… would he be entering a nearby dungeon soon?
I glanced at Hong Seok-young. When it came to dungeon raid theories, I was better. The issue was how much I could teach them….
“This time, all you had to do was run. There was no problem when you were at the forefront, right?”
“Yes… there weren’t many monsters.”
Of course, there wouldn’t be any. I had cleared them all out.
“But what if a real battle occurred? Could you handle it then?”
“Uh….”
“Why haven’t runes been used until now?”
“…Because magic is more convenient?”
“Why is magic more convenient?”
This might have been a difficult question for Choi Jin-woo, who had been awakened for only a short time.
I looked at Park Seo-hyun.
“……..”
Crunch.
The broken pencil disappeared into her mouth again.
…Should I ask her? Would she answer?
I mustered my courage. Hong Seok-young had dismissed her disheveled appearance as a change in style. Maybe that was true. Teenage girls often went through such phases.
“Uh… Park Seo-hyun?”
“……………Yes?”
“Why haven’t runes been used until now?”
“……..”
Park Seo-hyun mumbled, and I waited for a moment.
Ptooey.
Thunk.
A piece of pencil fell from her mouth.
Why on earth did she… was that really a style choice? Or had she lost her mind?
“Uh… it’s because runes… erase easily….”
“That’s right. Runes erase easily.”
That was one of the main reasons why runes hadn’t been used.
I picked up a piece of the broken pencil from Park Seo-hyun’s desk.
There was no need to use magic. Just rubbing it with my hand or drawing a line with the pencil could easily ruin it. In dungeons where the ambient magic frequently twisted, they couldn’t possibly last.
“That’s why it’s important to draw runes precisely.”
“Drawing them precisely won’t increase their durability….”
“Of course.”
The kind French Grand Mage who developed the Magic Concealment rune had also improved this drawback of runes. Vive la France!
“Just to let you know, I’m not a wizard. I don’t know the principles even if you ask.”
Just in case, I blocked any questions.
“On a precisely drawn rune….”
I drew over the Magic Concealment rune on the blackboard.
It wasn’t just one rune. At least five runes were combined. Durability, correction, waterproof, amplification… what was the other one? Ah, resonance.
The effect was simple. It helped prevent the rune from being easily erased.
Geometric shapes intertwined, forming a pattern so complex it was hard to recognize. The original Magic Concealment rune was almost unrecognizable.
“If you draw over it like this, it won’t be easily erased.”
Choi Jin-woo’s eyes wandered along the rune, eventually losing focus.
“Do you think you can draw it?”
“Uh… uh, teacher…?”
Park Seo-hyun, who had been holding the pencil in her mouth, carefully called out to me.
“Yes?”
“Why… why didn’t you teach us this before?”
“What?”
Park Seo-hyun closed her mouth. I waited, thinking she wanted to ask something, but she only bit her lip.
After a long pause, she finally spoke again.
“In Myeong-dong…”
Oh.
Hmm.
No way.
As I struggled to find the right words, a thought crossed my mind, and Park Seo-hyun suddenly shuddered and shook her head.
“No, never mind… It’s because I drew the rune incorrectly in the first place… Even if I had known… it wouldn’t have mattered….”
“……”
“Sorry for interrupting….”
She mumbled quietly and put the pencil back in her mouth. Why on earth with the pencil… no, never mind.
“Um, Park Seo-hyun?”
I called out to her.
“…Yes?”
So, this girl…
“…Teacher?”
No way, could it be?
“Uh, oh… no. Alright. I’ll continue the explanation. Where was I?”
“You were saying we need to draw the runes precisely.”
“Oh, right. Jin-woo, since this is a combination of runes, if the initial rune is incorrect, it won’t activate properly. If even one rune is wrong, the effect won’t work at all. So, you always need to draw them accurately.”
“It’s a combination of runes? How?”
“I can’t distinguish them. But the person who created it said so, so just memorize it whole.”
I ran my hand through my hair repeatedly, trying to hide my confusion.
…Could this be real? Is this really happening?
So…
So…
Could it be that Park Seo-hyun is in this state because of what happened in Myeong-dong?
Twenty years later, understanding her reaction due to the deaths of her peers in the Myeong-dong incident made sense. I had anticipated that. But now?
Is it because the rune she drew for Lee Seung-yeon didn’t work?
“It looks too complicated….”
“You need to practice.”
So…
“…Teacher!”
Are you saying it’s my fault?
No, no, no, no, no. Even if her mental state is weak, this is too much. She might have been shocked, but everything turned out fine, didn’t it? No one died?
Isn’t that enough?
Park Seo-hyun and Choi Jin-woo began to draw the rune I had sketched. It was such a complex rune that it wasn’t something they could perfect with just a few tries like the Magic Concealment rune.
However, Park Seo-hyun handed me her paper. She had drawn the rune by pressing down hard with her pencil.
For a first attempt at copying a rune she had never seen before, it was quite well done.
“…It’s not wrong, right? I drew it correctly, didn’t I? This will activate, right?”
She looked at me with desperate eyes and asked.