Ch. 111 - Item Presentation (3)

Officially a week had passed since Baek Yu-Seol and Edna’s secret relationship became known.

The unexpected news of the two commoners' romance didn't die down as quickly as expected, and due to that, they were more cautious in their usual behavior.

Even though they pretended to go on dates, they had thought about possible places and sought advice from others, but in reality, the best place for teenage couples to go on a date was the library.

The library in the Fourth Main Tower was known as the National Library.

It was enormous, and resembled a national library in its scale.

It even seemed like a magic books museum with preserved spell books authored by accomplished mages.

This place included various departments like the "Magic Combat Department," which was the main focus of the Stella Academy, as well as numerous other departments such as alchemy, economics, politics, practical magic, and magical sociology.

All students had access, and the library was always bustling with people that had an abundance of reference materials.

In order to avoid drawing attention, Baek Yu-Seol and Edna found a corner in the library, but they couldn't prevent curious glances from passing students.

While talking softly to each other, they were unexpectedly witnessed by Haewonryang.

With a slightly melancholic expression, Haewonryang gazed at Edna, who was subtly smiling at Baek Yu-Seol.

He knew that she had a crush on Baek Yu-Seol, and her feelings were genuine, causing her days of contemplation.

She always relied on him and opened up her heart to him.

He knew, of course.

Yet, seeing that scene, his heart ached even more, and he felt as if he had lost his entire heart.

Why would she show such a radiant face to him during their conversation?

"Why do you look so gloomy in the morning?"

"Is it a group project?"

How great must things be for her to smile so innocently and charmingly?

Coincidentally watching from quite a distance, Haewonryang was unable to hear their conversation, and jumped to a completely wrong conclusion.

Of course, they both whispered so quietly that others also thought of them as a young, inexperienced couple on a study date, so it wasn't strange that he felt odd.

Haewonryang quietly left the library. He didn’t feel any sense of jealousy or inferiority.

After experiencing previous events, his mental strength had grown, and he came to think that negative emotions were only for losers.

Still, there was a slightly painful and bitter feeling in his chest... It must be inevitable.

On the other hand, there was a sense of relief as well.

Having been close to Edna, he always had such thoughts.

‘Someday, will you look back at me?’

‘But maybe she has some feelings for me.’

‘If we continue to be close like this, maybe I can win her heart someday.’

However, empty hopes would eventually consume his heart.

So now that Edna was completely gone... maybe it would be better to let go of all regrets.

———-

Class S exclusive training ground.

'Personal Magic Control Practice Room'

This small space of about 20 pyeong was Stella's state-of-the-art practice room where one could freely test magic.

Haewonryang sat on the floor, placed the staff on his knees, and took a deep breath.

With each exhale, a small amount of mana seeped into the air.

He had wielded mana so masterfully that there wasn’t any wastage at all.

It was to the extent that it was difficult to believe he was a Class 3 mage.

Sss...

Soon, as his hand pointed to the empty space, magic began to unfurl like a blooming flower.

It was a casting so quiet and detailed that there was no sense of movement of mana, as if it was controlled solely by his will.

Haewonryang became completely immersed in magic.

In the past, when he was consumed by dark magic, he burned away the feelings of loss with negative emotions like jealousy and inferiority.

But the current Haewonryang had directed all those emotions into his magic.

When focused on magic, he had no other thoughts.

Wasn’t that interesting?

The five original elements which make up this world moved according to his will.

‘What is it that excites me so much?’

‘When I immerse myself in the world of mana, I forget all the worries and concerns of the world.’

Magic became the meaning of life for him, the driving force, and the reason for living.

"A little more, just a little more..."

The determination to forget the painful and bitter emotions became an incredibly powerful driving force, throwing the consciousness of Haewonryang into the sea of mana.

"Ugh...!"

A strange sensation overwhelmed him as another thread of mana connected to his heart.

It formed the source of mana.

Haewonryang tightly closed his eyes.

It was not unfamiliar.

He’d experienced it several times before.

That was... the path to Mana Class 4.

———-

For the past few days, the reason Baek Yu-Seol had been frequenting the library wasn't anything significant; it was for the preparation of his presentation.

‘Item Presentation.’

Although the experts from the Alterisha Research Institute would surely provide advice, Alterisha still asked him once more, "What do you think?"

It was appreciative that they sought his opinion on every little detail, but honestly, he didn't know much about this part.

Even if he had Sentient Spec, they hadn't provided him with a presentation script or made any edits.

So, this time, he truly had to rely purely on his experience.

While he had some presentation experience from past lives and this life, he never thought of himself as particularly skilled in giving presentations.

However, he did remember a few famous figures related to presentations.

Among them, the CEO of the "Apple" company stood out. His presentation wasn't flashy, but it had a powerful impact.

He engaged the audience, making it comfortable and approachable, and delivered the core content effectively so it couldn't be forgotten.

Of course, this presentation style might feel somewhat unfamiliar in the Aether World.

In the Aether World, when introducing new magic or technology, people often laid out intricate and splendid magic circles, spouting all sorts of technical terms during the presentation.

This wasn't necessarily wrong.

In fact, it was the most orthodox presentation style, as it was known to have been initiated by Eltman Eltwin in the Aether World.

However, alchemy was a bit different.

While magic was familiar to everyone, alchemy and magical engineering had not become as well-known, and in many cases, people wouldn't understand even if you tried to explain.

So, he thought it would be better to express how amazing and revolutionary it was, rather than showing off technical prowess.

"If you present like this, the audience will surely nod off!"

"It might become boring and they might leave."

"This just seems wrong no matter how you look at it."

Of course, the experts from the Alterisha Research Institute were quite resistant, but what could he do?

"I think your idea is good. I'll talk to Professor Stoneforge too."

Alterisha really valued Baek Yu-Seol’s opinion.

Of course, as the one who suggested this approach, he couldn't simply shift the responsibility and say, ‘Just make it simple and cool.’

So, he searched for relevant literature and systematically planned the presentation.

This planning was already in its final stages, and now all that was left was to wait for the presentation date.

[Alchemy: Golden Alchemical Show]

*[Alterisha Research Institute, 'Item Presentation']^

Various media outlets were already buzzing about Alterisha's presentation.

Currently, Baek Yu-Seol only lived within the academy, so he didn’t feel it directly.

But thinking about the time when Alterisha presented a new technology copied from dark mages and introduced it to the world with nobles and grand nobles attending in the original game, the reaction would probably be quite heated.

It might be similar to the excitement of gamers when a long-awaited sequel to a game is released.

"Ugh... I'm tired."

After roughly finishing organizing, he stretched and looked outside.

It was dark outside.

Evening had deepened.

Edna had left a while ago, and the students had finished their studies and gone back to the dormitories, leaving the library empty.

At 2:48 AM, even the librarian was also dozing off.

As he was about to return to the dormitory, he noticed someone still sitting there.

"Hey, it's Hong Bi-Yeon."

She was sitting by the library window, diligently writing with the faint moonlight pouring in and her hair tied back in a ponytail which resembled a wisp of light.

Self-study could easily be done in the dormitory or the reading room.

Coming to the library and studying until this time indicated that she needed a vast amount of material that even her major textbooks couldn't cover...

‘Does Hong Bi-Yeon have a reason for doing this?’

From what Baek Yu-Seol knew, she studied solely for the sake of her school grades.

It was not very common in reality, but he had seen that type occasionally.

They excel in their studies to get into prestigious universities but lack common sense, giving off an impression of being foolish — that kind of type.

It felt quite awkward to see her studying with such intensity in the library at night, so he approached her discreetly.

"Hey."

Perhaps she didn't expect someone to talk to her. Hong Bi-Yeon's eyes widened like a cat's, and she hunched her shoulders before coughing awkwardly as their eyes met.

"... What's up, commoner.”

"Did you just feel like studying until this time?”

Glancing at the notes she was working on, he saw complex magic circles tangled everywhere, accompanied by jumbled explanations related to them.

It was completely disorganized, and he couldn't discern its purpose, but he could sense it immediately.

‘Could this be...?’

In one of the episodes in Aslan Seminar, there was an occasional episode where even if the player did nothing, the "villainess" Hong Bi-Yeon would meet her downfall.

The cause was unknown, but he had heard that if the "villainess" Hong Si-hwa Adolveit, who was known for her antagonistic relationship with the player, happened to meet the player by chance, there was a very low probability of triggering that episode.

For players who experienced that episode, it was like winning a lottery ticket by taking down one antagonist.

But reality was different.

The real Hong Bi-Yeon wasn’t a villainess.

Even though he had no knowledge of the "villainess Hong Bi-Yeon downfall episode," he could intuitively understand why she met her downfall in the Aslan Seminar.

Why would she be engrossed in writing a thesis until this time?

"Just organizing a thesis..."

The expression on Hong Bi-Yeon's face as she said this made her look almost like a dying person, and it didn't make him feel particularly good to see.

It seemed like everything was seriously tangled, not just her life and relationships, but her research paper too.

"Do you need help with something that's blocking you? Want me to help?"

Although Baek Yu-Seol said that because he didn't mind helping her, Hong Bi-Yeon hesitated.

She avoided his gaze and lowered her head as if it was deeply twisted.

"... No. This is a problem I need to solve on my own. Thank you, but I'll decline your offer."

Well, saying that makes it awkward to just jump in and help.

Even if she said she didn't need help, it would have been strange for Baek Yu-Seol to offer advice like, "Hey, this is how you fix this."

Of course, if he wanted to help, he could have provided assistance similar to what he did in Alterisha’s case.

However, he had to consider the differences in their personalities and situations.

At the time, Alterisha didn't have the ability to solve the "Delta Augmentation Technique" on her own, so he had no choice but to forcefully offer help.

Fortunately, Alterisha had a tendency to rely on anyone due to her self-esteem and self-confidence hitting rock bottom, so he managed to slip into that gap and avoid causing any resentment.

But, Hong Bi-Yeon was different.

Although her self-esteem was low, her self-respect was quite high, and in such a state, a few offhanded pieces of advice from Baek Yu-Seol might end up being better than any achievements she had made so far...

It could even shatter her mental state entirely.

‘It's a tough situation. Maybe I should find an appropriate opportunity to come back later.’

He glanced over and quickly read her thesis.

Perhaps she sensed his gaze because Hong Bi-Yeon asked quietly, "Why do you have that expression? Even you do not find it good?"

"Huh? No, I mean, it's just... a bit..."

To be honest, he wasn't wearing his specs, so he couldn't understand what was written at all.

He thought it might be some sort of alien language.

But, he didn't bother to put on his glasses and read it carefully; they both just brushed it off without addressing it fully.

"I don't really know what's written here, but it looks quite complex. Isn't this your style?"

"... This is my style."

"Really? I didn't know. I thought you were more about using explosive and flashy magic."

"You're an idiot. Even behind those explosive and flashy magic spells, there are ultimately complex computational processes and combinations of numerous magic circles... setting up..."

As Hong Bi-Yeon began to speak with a tone that suggested Baek Yu-Seol’s words were trivial, she paused for a moment and looked blankly at her notes.

Then, she looked up again to level a gaze at him through her rubies-like eyes, and blinked.

… And then, suddenly.

Rip! Rumble!

She tore apart the notes she had been working on for several nights and set them on fire.

"What, are you crazy?"

Startled, Baek Yu-Seol stepped back, and she spoke with a somewhat relieved expression.

"Thanks, commoner."

"No, not at all."

But Hong Bi-Yeon didn't respond, and after grabbing her bag, she immediately rushed out of the library.

Left alone in his seat, he was simply dumbfounded.

Could it be that the old saying among Korean high school students about studying too much can drive you crazy was actually true...?