The Third Job (5)
“I can see it on the wall and on the bed.”
“…”
“Can I start with the wall first?”
“Sure, go ahead.”
“Miss Hayan is using the room next door, am I right?”
“Yes, but…”
“She seems to be a little sneaky.”
I began to understand what she must have seen. Since the tutorial’s beginning, I’ve already seen Jung Hayan create walls with her illusion magic.
However, it felt embarrassing to realize that I had not noticed her change an entire wall.
Leaning forward, I placed my hand on the wall and was surprised that it was still solid from my touch.
‘Didn’t she change it?’
I looked towards Hwang Jeong-yeon in confusion. Upon seeing this, she began to explain.
“Only a small hole has been changed, not the entire wall.”
“Oh?”
“If you put your finger in here, you’ll understand what I mean.”
As she beckoned at a particular spot in the wall, I followed her lead and poked my finger through. Embarrassingly enough, it pierced through to the other side.
It was absurd for me not to notice something like this up until now.
“How can I not know…”
“It was created with weak magic power, and since this room itself is already surrounded by magical power, it’s understandable for you not to have noticed. I don’t think Mr. Kiyoung is that sensitive to magical power… Most of all, this hole seems to have just been recently made.”
“Ah, you can tell?”
“Yeah. It looks like it’s been here for less than a month… I don’t know why Miss Hayan dared to do something like this, but… I can guess why.”
“Ah… Yeah.” I tried not to pay heed to Jeong-yeon’s suggestive expression.
Of course, I don’t remember doing anything specific in this room, but I felt uncomfortable as I realized that Jung Hayan had probably seen all of me already.
At times, I even dared to lay on my bed naked. I’m sure everyone would understand.
‘She would only do this because of me.’
I hadn’t expected her to go this far, but it was the one responsible for leading her on, anyway. I had to tolerate all the mishaps that would emerge from it.
Perhaps I should find it fortunate that I had discovered this right away. Who knew what else she might find out through this gimmick of hers?
“In fact, what’s really amazing is this bed.”
“Huh? What about it?”
“It is no exaggeration to say that this is a new revolution in magical science.”
“Ah…”
Seeing her impressed look at someone else’s work made me feel bitter for some reason.
After a few moments of waiting for her to speak, Hwang Jeong-yeon began to explain.
“It’s a fatigue recovery type magic.”
“I see.”
“It’s not just that. In addition to checking Kiyoung’s condition, there are also various kinds of magic present, so many that I cannot explain all of them. From invigorating magic, to magic that boosts vitality… There’s also magic that speeds up brain rotation and blood circulation. In addition to this, there is also a built-in protection-type magic that can protect Mr. Kiyoung when something bad happens. If a large magic falls upon this Guild House, Mr. Kiyoung will probably be unscathed. If you had slept in this bed, you would have stayed in a deep sleep. I don’t think you ever felt tired after waking up the next day. Am I right?”
“Yeah… I think so. I’ve always woken up feeling refreshed.”
“By the way, if you slept in a bed like this, it would be natural for your fatigue to go away. I find that so romantic of her…”
Indeed, I felt my heart warming up to Hayan. I thought there would be some magic, sure, but I didn’t know it would be this kind.
What was embarrassing here was the type of magic Jung Hayan had chosen to cast.
“Then, are you saying that the bed itself has magic? That’s…”
“Yeah. It would be impossible, right? I mean, even if it was, it would be inefficient. Putting magic into objects is something that many people have given up on doing.”
“Yes. Most of those would just be commercialized products. I have personally conducted research about it.”
“That’s why I said this is revolutionary. If the concealment technology of the location tracking magic on Kiyoung is of a thesis level, the magic on this bed has the potential to shake the magic academia and create a new school. A newbie has done what others who have been here for years couldn’t… I personally feel a little intimidated.”
“…”
“Of course, there are no restrictions.”
I didn’t know what to say. No matter how talented Jung Hayan was, she could not have done all this so perfectly.
“This magic only works on you, Mr. Kiyoung.”
“I understand.”
“Yeah. I think that this magic also made use of catalysts. Using a part of Kiyoung’s body as a catalyst, the magic was compressed to the point where the effect is only activated on the individual. The efficiency would be very poor if everyone could activate it. This means that it is a bed exclusively for Kiyoung.”
“I see. Even so…”
“To put it simply, the magic activates because your genetics and the genetic makeup of the catalyst match.”
Her explanation made sense to me.
“However, one has to charge it.”
“Oh?”
“At least once a month, the person who memorized the spell has to put in the magic again. Seeing that this type of magic has been here up until now, it must mean that Miss Hayan has been able to come here for some steamy visits… Ho ho ho…”
“…”
“There is also another thing.”
“Tell me, please.”
“Like I said, this type of magic uses catalysts. Hmm. Could you please turn the mat over? Or there must be a secret space somewhere…”
“Of course, of course.”
If what she said was true, the device should be somewhere within the bed. Not long after, I could see something white stuck inside the mattress.
“Huh. That’s Kiyoung’s teeth, right?”
“Yeah. Probably so.”
“Would you believe me if I told you that Kiyoung’s information stored in that catalyst is the one responsible for keeping the magic?”
“This is definitely something similar…”
“Ah, so you’re knowledgeable on the topic?”
“I wouldn’t say I’m an expert.”
‘This method is certainly similar to alchemy.’
The only thing I was sure of was that this wasn’t a simple type of magic.
Using magic on a specific type of catalyst to ensure that it would only be triggered if the right target was present was on a complex level all by itself.
‘Huh…’
I realized this approach perfectly matched the direction in which I wanted to grow. The idea of mixing different magic with catalysts was just the same as using one’s genetic makeup.
Homunculus research, chimera research, and even magic potion research. This was the best approach I could use.
‘This is great…’
Of course, my method would be different. Unlike Jung Hayan, I would have to approach this with my alchemy magic.
As a user of catalysts and genetically modified formulations, I had more knowledge than she did.
In other words, the method would be the same, but how I was going to study all this would be done differently.
I would have even thought that Jung Hayan had prepared all this in advance.
‘This works.’
I was sure of this now. Here was a result that would have taken me countless failed experiments to achieve. It would be unnatural not to get excited.
“You must be happy, too. Oh my God.”
“Ah… Yes. Honestly, I do feel happy.”
“Ah, but there’s also another amazing feature hidden within this bed.”
“Oh? There’s another one?”
“Yeah. There’s a magic called Reverse.”
“Ah.”
“There’s a built-in debuff that removes all granted buffs.”
“…”
“Except for Kiyoung, it’s probably triggered when you are close to the bed or lying down. Of course, in the case of others, the effect is not so great because the catalyst doesn’t match with the target, but it can still cast a curse. If I sat down, I would have been affected a great deal. It means that if any other woman lay on this bed, she would receive a curse that would lead to her death.”
“So, that’s why you asked me to lift the bed.”
“Yes, so basically, it’s Miss Hayan’s way of saying you shouldn’t bring other women to your bed. That’s so romantic!”
I did not find this romantic at all. Rather, I found it a little scary.
“Is there anything else?”
“No, this is all I can find. If Kiyoung says he is doing research in earnest, the results may be different, but I’m sure that there’s very little information about this sort of magic. Jung Hayan looks like a cute little wizard, but she’s actually more capable than one would think.”
“Thank you.”
Rather than focusing on the bad aspects of this newfound information, I felt grateful to Jung Hayan for showing me which way I should take for my growth. Who knew I would find the answer in my room?
Of course, it didn’t mean that I would ignore everything she had done, but my training took precedence over everything else.
As I looked over my bed once more, the tooth stuck in the corner began to look more lovable than creepy.
‘Wait…’
It had been a while, but a question began to arise in my head.
“I wonder…”
“Yeah?”
“If my position as of this moment is being transmitted to Jung Hayan, does this mean that she also has some part of my body?”
“Yes.”
‘What…’
What other parts of me did Jung Hayan have?
My hair remained the same, and I didn’t remember her ever drawing blood. No, Jung Hayan could not have hurt my body before that.
In the case of normal monsters, the parts used as catalysts were very diverse.
It was not only hair and teeth bundles but also blood and eyeballs that could be used. The heart worked best, and even bones and organs would come a long way.
In the case of certain monsters, saliva and the liquid generated by the body for males were also effective, but it was difficult to guess what the hell Jung Hayan had taken.
I tried not to think about it too much.
‘Surely… Surely she didn’t…’
I was curious about what kind of catalyst she would have taken from me, but there was no way of actually knowing. Still, though, my anxiety went through the roof.
‘It couldn’t be…’