I bought dinner ingredients at a grocery store near Shimurin’s workshop. I then used the recipe from a Michelin 3 star restaurant to cook broiled calves and dumplings.

The smell of delicious food began to spread throughout the mansion and Shimurin, who initially claimed to be uninterested, came to the table. Shimurin kept asking, “What’s this? What’s that?” as she popped a bit of every dish into her mouth. Eventually she sat down and ate with us.

“...Mm.

Gulp.

I see.”

Afraid that Shimurin would steal from her plate, Boss hurriedly swallowed the last dumpling and nodded.

“Yes.”

I had just finished explaining to Boss everything about the Transnational Peace Conference, my reunion with Yoo Yeonha, Rachel, and the others, and the fact that the last major event of my setting, Baal’s Descent, would take place at the Conference.

“Hmmm....”

Nom, nom

Chewing a mouthful of dumplings, Boss fell into deep thought.

Nom, nom

A lot must be crossing her mind right now.

Nom, nom

She’s probably thinking about Bell’s true identity, and his relationship with Yi Yeonjun and Baal....

Tak—

Suddenly, Shimurin put down the fork.

“Mm....”

Shimurin looked at us in turn, then gave a small smile.

“So, your claim that you’re from another world seems to be true. You know about this world’s future, and your magic power is clearly different from ours.”

Boss and I stared at Shimurin in silence.

Neither of us were surprised. We acknowledged the fact that Shimurin was far more knowledgeable than we could imagine. She was, after all, a grand magician.

I suddenly recalled ‘Oh Jaejin’, the Nine Stars member and a 10-star magician. I used Setting Intervention to make pills that could cure his Gift’s side-effect. He took it, then ran away with his wife.

Of course, that didn’t mean I could devalue everything Oh Jaejin had done for humanity. Still, I couldn’t help but feel somewhat disappointed about the fact that I had lost the help of someone who probably was as knowledgeable as Shimurin.

“So, how much time does this world have left? Is this world going to end soon?” Shimurin asked.

I hesitated for a moment but soon nodded. I wouldn’t be able to fool her even if I tried. I decided it was a better bet to be honest and just ask for her help.

“Yes, probably.”

“...’Probably’. That’s a tricky word,” Shimurin muttered so as she rose from the chair.

“I said ‘probably’, because it can be stopped,” I remarked earnestly.

Still, Shimurin remained expressionless and glared at me with cold eyes.

“It doesn’t matter to me anyway. Didn’t I tell you that my goal is to migrate to another world?”

“....”

My heart sank.

But I couldn’t say anything.

This world had fallen long ago.

What I was seeing now was nothing more than Baal’s reconstruction of the fallen world.

Dimensional Travel was naturally impossible, since Shimurin was, in the end, a mere reflection of the dead.

“...I see.”

In the end, that was all I could say.

Shimurin stared at me for a long time, then turned and went down to the basement.

**

[The Capital of the Republic of Leores]

The next day.

Seraine was roaming the streets of the capital. As the daughter of the President, she liked to study public sentiment up close from time to time. No one recognized her underneath her disguise.

𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

So, she walked with confidence. The streets were full of men traveling in and out of tall brick buildings and women in antique coats. The city was as busy and vibrant as ever.

“Extra! Extra!”

It was then that she heard a boy shouting. He was handing out newspapers to the passersby.

Seraine widened her eyes. She had heard of this phenomenon before. Sometimes, when there’s a newsflash, newspaper companies would print extra copies of newspapers in the evening. She heard it happened sometimes, but this was her first time seeing it in person, and she was amazed.

“Come find out the truth about the monster massacre from 3 days ago~”

The boy shouted, and only then did the passersby finally show interest in the newspaper.

Seraine hesitated for a second before grabbing a copy herself.

She turned her gaze to the front page, and....

[Monster massacre from 3 days ago — The hero who wiped out monsters was an ‘F-rank sharpshooter from the Lorenzio Duchy?]

“...What the.”

Seraine opened her eyes wide and clenched her fists.

The article was about Kim Hajin.

She had gone through so much trouble to keep all of this strictly confidential. How did they find out about Kim Hajin?

[...Three days ago, the people of the Republic witnessed an unforeseen phenomenon. The fifth largest ‘Monster Pathway’ in history appeared in the Republic’s capital city.

However, damage was nonexistent, thanks to the mysterious hero.

At around 8:37 p.m., a rush of magic power gracefully descended from the roof of Lady Seraine’s mansion and wiped out all the monsters on the ground. 30,000 monsters were annihilated in just two hours.

As a result, President Zucri declared the complete subjugation of the pathway at about 11:29 p.m. He, however, declined to comment about the mysterious hero.

But the next day at 7:33 a.m., according to an anonymous source...]

“Dammit...!”

Seraine crumpled the newspaper. But she was too late. Already everyone in the street was reading this article.

—F-rank sharpshooter?

—Seriously? They’re joking, right?

—This is interesting. I’m gonna show it to my son.

The murmur of the people alarmed her.

This was beyond bad.

At this rate, it wouldn’t be long until Arunheim hears about Kim Hajin. He came here with the daughter of the Leon clan. And there was only a month left until the Transnational Peace Conference....

Bzzzz—

At that moment, Seraine felt a vibration in her pocket. It came from her portable crystal which she used for long distance communication. Seraine took out the crystal in a hurry and picked up the call.

“Yes, it’s me.”

—Miss, we just received a message from Lorenzio. It’s Airun. She claims to be in charge of the military unit Kim Hajin belongs to. She wishes to speak to her subordinate.

Seraine bit her lower lip. Of course she knew Airun. She was currently the most famous knight in Kruni, and one of the leading candidates for the title of the current era’s Strongest Swordsman.

“Tell her we don’t know.”

—...Pardon?

Even though the Transnational Peace Conference was just around the corner, Seraine was unwilling to give Kim Hajin up.

‘A man who can single-handedly stop a war.’

That was Kim Suho’s description of Kim Hajin.

At first, Seraine was skeptical. But now, after witnessing Kim Hajin’s power in person, she had come to consider Kim Suho’s assessment of Kim Hajin an underestimation.

He was the ultimate weapon, much more valuable than a knight; an army of a single man that could replace hundreds of thousands of soldiers.

Seraine also learned from Kim Suho the reason Kim Hajin was so strong. That the source of his strength were his ‘equipment’. More specifically, it was his ‘gun’, a weapon that Kim Hajin invented on his own.

Arunheim probably wouldn’t allow him to carry such a weapon. The Kingdom had strict restrictions on the manufacture of illegal weapons.

“Make up a credible excuse. Tell her that he suddenly disappeared, or better yet, that he’s already left for the Kingdom.”

How dare they label a man of such talent F-rank and wish to get him back?

Talent was like a jewel buried in mud; it belonged to a discerning eye.

—Ah, yes. Okay.

“And please request for correction of the news article and prepare a new ID,” Seraine said with a smile.

**

[Transnational Peace Conference D-26]

“...Listen carefully.”

In the basement of Shimurin’s workshop, I was currently in the middle of an intense lecture.

If I had to name this lecture— it would be something like ‘How to utilize Stigma’s magic power (by Grand Magician Shimurin)’.

“Your Stigma is a mysterious power indeed. It seems to be in touch with the end of the world,” Shimurin muttered as she stared at my Stigma. Her expression soon stiffened, however, and she remarked flatly, “But there’s something wrong with the way you’re using it.”

“Pardon?”

This took me by surprise. I thought I’d been using it pretty well until now.

“The way you use magic power is far from efficient. You use it without control, like you’re borrowing it from the outside, like you’re turning water on a faucet, for example. Just like the absolute majority of people,” Shimurin explained.

She then gathered magic power in her right hand. Her magic power clung together to form a distinct ball. It buzzed and vibrated like it would during an ultimate skill.

Next, she gathered magic power in her left hand.

This time, however, her magic power appeared dim. There was no vibration whatsoever.

“Observe the difference. Both contain the same magic power, but their shapes are different.”

“Mm.... Let me try.”

I gathered magic power in my hand as Shimurin had done.

Then, something strange happened. The amount of my magic power was similar to that of Shimurin, but mine seemed faint and less distinct.

“...Huh?”

I was dumbfounded.

This was the way that I’d been using Stigma my whole life. So how could I be wrong?

Wasn’t Stigma the power to make my wish come true?

“You’re not completely wrong. This is just my way of doing it.” Having noticed my confusion, Shimurin continued with a smirk, “It’ll take a while for you to understand. Most magicians and knights ‘exert’ magic power, but I carefully assemble and ‘place’ magic power....”

As Shimurin’s explanation continued, I decided to use [Setting Intervention] to accelerate my learning.

Taking classes and learning something over a period of time was just unnecessary for someone like me.

===

▷Arts (3/3)

1. 「Parkour」

2. 「Charming Voice」

3. 「Exuberant Spirit Power Utilization Technique」

===

I deleted the second Art, 「Charming Voice」, and added a new Art in the empty slot.

===

▷Third Art (3/3)

「Shimurin’s Teachings」

[Calculating rank... High-intermediate]

===

Since I was in the process of learning this Art directly from Shimurin, my guess was that the amount of SP required wouldn’t be as much.

[The original cost is 6,500 SP. However, you’re currently learning this technique from a teacher (Shimurin).]

[The required cost is 3,500 SP. Would you like to save?]

3,500 SP.

It was more than I expected. Fortunately, I had 3,546 SP on me.

Because I’d been earning SP even inside the Gate, the amount was just barely enough.

[Saving Arts.]

[...Your luck activates!]

[Shimurin’s Teachings has increased to high-rank!]

At that moment, knowledge, experience, practice, function, and ideas began to flow into my head and my body.

“...Do you understand? If a typical magician wishes to use magic through the process of ‘assembly’, it will take her at least 10 minutes per spell. But I, with my efficient assembly skill-”

“I think I get it.”

Though Shimurin hadn’t finished speaking, I announced confidently.

“What?”

Shimurin frowned.

“Who do you think you are?”

“Huhu.”

I smiled confidently, and— just like Shimurin’s Teachings explained, I assembled Stigma ‘inside my body’ and released it outward.

Guooo....

Though I had used the same amount of magic power as before, it was much more clear and flawless, vibrating and resonating violently like an earthquake.

Shimurin’s expression stiffened.

“What...?”

“How’s that?”

“...”

Shimurin was speechless.

She couldn’t take her eyes off of my ball of magic power. She was clearly shocked beyond belief.

“I learned something new. Thank you.”

Sincerely grateful, I bowed to Shimurin.

I had never thought to assemble Stigma ‘inside my body’. Shimurin wasn’t called the grand magician for nothing.

Tok tok—

It was then that we heard a knock.

I opened the basement door instead of Shimurin who had frozen up like a statue.

“Who... huh?”

In front of me were familiar faces.

First was Leon Clan’s Harin, who had climbed the mountain range with me, and second was Seraine, the daughter of the Republic’s president.

“Have you been well?”

Harin greeted me first.

From her relaxed smile, I could tell things had gone well for her.

“I have. Are you done with your verification procedure?”

“Yes, it went well. Harin-ssi will be staying here at the Republic,” Seraine answered my question this time.

She showed me an ID card.

[Citizen — Seyeon]

“This is Harin’s new identity.”

“Ah, I see.”

“And this...”

Seraine took out another card.

“...is yours. Your new identity, Hajin-ssi.”

I tilted my head in confusion and looked closely at the ID card.

[Head of Presidential Security Service — Heiji]

“...Heiji?”

“It’s your new name. If you want to stay in the Republic-”

“No, not that.”

Head of Presidential Security Service.

The word ‘head’ confused me. My initial status in this world was an F-rank sharpshooter.

“The head?”

“Yes, that’s your new position. To get things done properly, you need to be in a position of power, don’t you think?”

Seraine looked at my dumbfounded face and smiled.

“Now, please stay here at the Republic. I promise you 10 times, no, 100 times the treatment you received at Arunheim.”

No matter how much I thought about it, her smile looked too much like Yoo Yeonha’s.

**

[Transnational Peace Conference D-25]

The burning afternoon sun was beating down on the backyard of the Priton Mansion.

Jin Sahyuk poured a bucket of cold water on Shin Jonghak who had collapsed after their duel.

“Uhohuh—!”

Shin Jonghak sprang up with a strange scream.

“What the hell is wrong with you? Do you wanna die?”

Despite Shin Jonghak’s threat, Jin Sahyuk just smiled.

“You’re the one who said losers don’t get to complain.”

“...”

Shin Jonghak laid back on the ground without a word, for it was true that he had lost to her.

Jin Sahyuk glanced at Shin Jonghak and asked, “Have you thought about it?”

“...”

A few days ago, Jin Sahyuk proposed a plan to Shin Jonghak. He had yet to answer her.

“...We don’t have much time. Everything will be over in 3 weeks.”

“3 weeks is a long time.”

Jin Sahyuk frowned at Shin Jonghak’s nonchalant answer.

“Loser.”

“Asshole.”

“...Why are you acting so childish?”

Jin Sahyuk’s face distorted into a frown.

It was then.

From the far corner of Priton’s backyard...

“Hey—!”

...the person who was the reason for Shin Jonghak’s childishness appeared.

“Fight me! I got all of my equipment back. You’re so dead!”

It was Chae Nayun, holding a longsword in her hand.