EP.87 Request (4)
Pod-
Pababat-
A vast chill extends in all directions.
The cold, which had been scouring the surroundings like a beast hunting its prey, soon reached its destination, a massive rock, and began to concentrate there.
A rock much larger than a person.
The rock was devoured by the cold, transforming into a single lump of ice.
As time passed, it became difficult to tell if it was a rock or ice…
It seemed like a kind of ice sculpture was being created.
Crackling sounds-
After a while, the rock was completely engulfed by ice.
A woman who had been watching her jumping up and shouting.
“Teacher! I did it! Yay…!!”
A neatly braided hair on one side and a small hairpin.
In her hand was a staff with a large blue gem embedded in it.
Despite her disheveled appearance due to long training, her beauty still shone through.
Two weeks ago, she came down to Busan.
Kim Chae-eun, who was undergoing special training consistently.
And beside her.
Jeong Seon-young, who was teaching her one-on-one…
Looked at the ice-covered rock in front of her with an incredulous expression.
‘She actually did it in just two weeks…’
It was an astonishing feat.
The skill Kim Chae-eun had just displayed was the [Ultimate Frost].
It was considered one of the top-tier skills among single-target skills that could be unleashed with [Freeze]. To utilize it, one had to be at least a B-grade Holder.
Compared to Jeong Seon-young’s ultimate skill [Blizzard] from [Frozen Battlefield], it had less power, but comparing a normal rune’s regular skill to an epic rune’s ultimate skill was absurd in itself.
Considering Kim Chae-eun’s Holder grade, what she had just achieved was an unbelievable casting.
‘It’s not just an average talent…’
As a result of her focused training for the past two weeks, Jeong Seon-young reached one conclusion.
Kim Chae-eun had an extraordinary talent not only in ice magic but also among all magician types.
She had reached a considerable level with the common runes [Spell Enhancement] and [Magic Amplification], and she even occasionally attempted the notoriously difficult [Adrian Spell], although she was still inexperienced.
With this level of rune setup and proficiency, she had already surpassed the level of an ordinary student. Among the Holders affiliated with most clans, she was almost at the level of a B-grade Holder.
“Teacher? Why are you acting like that?”
Kim Chae-eun, who had been happily jumping around on her own, asked while looking at Jeong Seon-young lost in thought.
Jeong Seon-young looked at Kim Chae-eun with a blank expression and said, “Chae-eun, is Ice your primary rune?”
“Yes? Oh, yes. Freeze is my primary rune.”
While the runes held by Holders were often a closely guarded secret, there was usually no need to hide them among fellow adepts for the sake of training.
And Kim Chae-eun’s straightforward answer confirmed that [Freeze] was her primary magic rune.
So, it was even more puzzling.
A Holder’s talent was directly related to their runes. If a Holder had exceptional talent, it was common for them to have rare runes or epic runes from the beginning.
However, what was hard to believe was that Kim Chae-eun implemented [Ultimate Frost], despite her young age and grade, only had normal runes.
So, Jeong Seon-young thought for a moment and then said, “In my opinion… Chae-eun, you might have latent talent.”
“Latent talent?”
“Yes.”
Just because you obtained normal runes at the time of awakening didn’t mean that the Holder would only operate with normal runes for the rest of their life.
There were cases where runes were acquired through special items or dungeon rewards, and there were also cases where new runes were obtained through enlightenment during a Holder’s training or growth.
And in Jeong Seon-young’s opinion, Kim Chae-eun was the latter case.
“To crudely implement [Ultimate Frost] at your age and grade… It’s almost impossible. Even if you manage to arrange magic power, everyone usually hits a wall in application and manifestation.”
Holders with latent talents usually obtained normal runes when they awakened. However, because of their exceptional talent and deep understanding, they could elevate those runes to their limits.
That’s why, through advanced rune usage, they often acquired additional primary runes or even rare and higher-grade runes in the future.
And based on what she had observed so far…
Kim Chae-eun’s latent talent seemed evident. Without it, the current results couldn’t be explained.
‘Maybe…’
Jeong Seon-young briefly entertained the thought.
Perhaps, if she continued to grow steadily, even her primary rune, [Frozen Battlefield], which she always kept to herself, might become something Kim Chae-eun would acquire.
Jeong Seon-young looked at Kim Chae-eun, envisioning such a future.
“From now on, you can call me Teacher.”
“Huh? Teacher?! Then…”
“Yes, Chae-eun. You’re my exclusive disciple now.”
“Wow, wow…!!”
An exclusive disciple.
With just that word, Kim Chae-eun was overjoyed, as if she could leap with happiness. Her face showed more excitement than when she successfully cast [Ultimate Frost].
Watching her, Jeong Seon-young also smiled warmly.
She was also receiving her first exclusive disciple, but she was determined to teach her with no regrets. Kim Chae-eun was a disciple with great potential and a passionate and cute one at that.
“And now, let’s head to Seoul. It seems there’s no need to stay in Busan anymore.”
“Huh? Really?”
Kim Chae-eun, who had been running around with her staff, stopped in her tracks. She seemed hesitant about the idea of going to Seoul.
Jeong Seon-young looked at her teasingly this time, as she knew the reason very well.
“Is it because you’re excited?”
“Hehe…”
“When we get back, prepare to dress up nicely. There might be someone special waiting for you. There won’t be any classes until August, so don’t worry about that.”
Being an exclusive Teacher-Disciple relationship wasn’t just about teaching the disciple. There was much Jeong Seon-young had to prepare for as the teacher. Unlike the temporary teaching she had done so far, this was a formal and official relationship.
A declaration of two weeks’ rest for that purpose.
Kim Chae-eun’s expression was filled with delight.
“Okay. I understand, Teacher!”
She was happy not only about receiving a new education from her teacher but also because she had someone waiting for her in Seoul.
***
Ippotranslation
***
The meal with Moon Jong-hyuk was scheduled for the following weekend. We decided not to delay it any further.
Fortunately, my internship at <Judgment of Fire> wasn’t too busy. Since the ‘Forest Covered by Snakes’ strategy had been such a major project, once I completed it, my tasks within the hunting team became quite manageable.
Thanks to that, Moon Ga-eun and I were able to meet early and plan our strategy.
“What was the first meeting place we decided on?”
On our way to the agreed-upon restaurant, I asked Moon Ga-eun, momentarily forgetting an important detail.
Moon Ga-eun gave me a sharp look and playfully hit me on the back of my head.
“Are you kidding? What if you forget already? It was the temporary training ground where we had the showdown.”
“Oh, right, right. And we started to like each other from that time?”
“Yeah. We officially started dating a month later, on March 27th.”
So, if we officially started dating a month after that time…
Considering it’s summer vacation now, have we been dating for four months?
I tried to calculate the exact number of days in my head.
“It’s been 112 days since we started dating. We’re a couple who passed the 100-day mark.”
Whether she sensed my situation or not, Moon Ga-eun explained her curiosity.
Wow…
I couldn’t help but admire her for calculating and already memorizing it.
“Moon Ga-eun, you have a meticulous style in your relationship, don’t you?”
“Ugh… You were the one who said we should do it without any flaws!”
Smack-
Once again, Moon Ga-eun’s smack landed on my back.
I did tease her about it.
I can remember everything else perfectly, but why can’t I remember details like dates or places?
I continued to mutter the date to myself, making sure it stuck.
Then, a sudden question came to mind, and I asked Moon Ga-eun.
“Oh, right. How are we going to explain my internship at <Judgment of Fire>?”
According to the setting, I’m your boyfriend, and you tried to recruit me to the <Royals>. Now, I’m working as an intern at <Judgment of Fire>. Although it’s separate work, Moon Jong-hyuk might still find it suspicious.
“Don’t worry about that. I scouted you because you’re a truly talented Holder, not because you’re my boyfriend. That’s what I told him, and it’s true.”
It was a straightforward answer. Although it might feel a bit strange for me, if that was the reason, it should be convincing enough to justify my recruitment by <Judgment of Fire>. We also discussed how we would address each other (we decided to use our first names), why we kept our relationship a secret.. And other potentially suspicious details.
As we talked, we reached the restaurant where we had made our reservation.
“Wow… They’ve decorated it beautifully.”
An Italian restaurant located in Yeoksam-dong. Like many popular restaurants in Gangnam, it had an elegant design and a clean exterior. The modern building design blended harmoniously with medieval European architectural elements. They must have spent quite a bit on the exterior design alone.
Moreover, the food wasn’t lacking either. I heard it was a Michelin 3-star restaurant, and with my [Cooking] rune enhancing my taste, I was quite excited.
However, before entering the restaurant, something unusual caught our attention.
“There’s… no one inside?”
There wasn’t a single person visible in the restaurant. It was supposed to be a popular and fully booked restaurant, but the interior looked strangely empty.
Seeing this bizarre sight, Moon Ga-eun let out a sigh and rubbed her temple.
“My dad must have rented the entire place for the day.”
I instantly understood. Renting a restaurant like this for the whole day was probably a pocket change for the high-ranking members of the top three clans. Now, it finally hit me that I was about to meet my friend’s dad, who was undoubtedly wealthy and influential, and I had to do so as her boyfriend. I realized it was time to steel myself for the occasion.
“Shall we go in now?”
“Yes! Uh… What?”
As we were about to enter the restaurant, Moon Ga-eun suddenly looked surprised and stared at me. Her expression had gone from determined to bewildered, and her face had turned quite red.
“W-what, why are we holding hands?”
Ah, she must have been surprised by this. I had naturally tried to hold Moon Ga-eun’s hand…
Was this not part of her plan, or was she trying to avoid physical contact?
I chuckled and said, “Why are you so startled? We’re a couple, remember? To properly deceive your father, we should at least hold hands when we go in.”
I had never acted as a stand-in boyfriend before, but was she not planning for any physical contact? Nevertheless, Moon Ga-eun still appeared flustered and responded with a trembling voice.
“I-is that so? B-but it hasn’t even been 100 days since we started dating.”
“…”
I felt a slight headache coming on.
…This might get even more challenging from now on.
