The Conjurer of the Academy

Chapter 8

“Hm-hm.”

I looked at myself awkwardly in the mirror. Even though I should be getting used to my changed face and physique by now…

‘Clothes really do make the man.’

The student council provided free tuxedo rentals for students without party attire.

The result was the current reflection in the mirror. Seol Ha-baek’s tall stature and slim build made the tuxedo fit perfectly.

“How do I look, Yomi? Does it suit me?”

[Hmph, you look like you’re dressed for a funeral in that all-black outfit.]

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Adjusting the position of my tie, I left the changing room.

‘Finally, the first event.’

The Freshman Welcome Party.

It’s an annual event where students from the first-year freshmen to the second-year seniors at Babel gather to build camaraderie.

The venue for the welcome party is the main auditorium located at the center of the Babel campus. Attendance is mandatory, but what you do inside is entirely up to the player.

You could finish the welcome party without speaking to anyone if you wanted, or you could take the opportunity to network with characters who will appear later.

Each character provides information relevant to various future episodes in the game, as well as details for leveling up your character.

Of course, some information is just mundane dialogue or character backstory. Such information was considered ‘landmines’ in-game strategy guides and thus generally avoided.

So the key is to extract as much useful information as possible within the limited time of the welcome party.

‘But that’s only for newbies.’

For someone like me who knows all the welcome party events for each character, it’s a different story.

Wasting time re-confirming already known information would be inefficient.

For a seasoned player of RollHun like me, the standard for ‘efficiency’ naturally shifts.

So, the most efficient way to get the most out of this welcome party…

‘Gather information from characters I’ve never talked to before.’

Unlike the game, where the characters you could converse with were predetermined, this was reality.

Whoever I choose to talk to is entirely up to me. Therefore, it’s more efficient to approach characters I couldn’t converse with in the original storyline.

‘The flow is on my side.’

In the distance, I could see students flocking towards the auditorium.

Through the wide-open auditorium doors, bright lights and the aroma of delicious food wafted out. It was already bustling inside, filled with students.

Members of the student council in uniforms were overseeing the potentially chaotic scene.

‘Come to think of it…’

One of the main characters who couldn’t be talked to during the welcome party. My eyes fell on the person standing at the center among the student council members.

“If there are any freshmen causing trouble or seniors overly pressuring freshmen to join clubs, bring them to the student council room immediately.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

With three stripes on her chest, long dark green hair cascading to her waist, and a distinctive tear mole under her right eye, she was the epitome of beauty.

Her firmly closed lips and unwavering eyes radiated an unshakeable charisma.

‘Head of the Disciplinary Committee, Seo Geum-bi.’

Being the Head of the Disciplinary Committee of Babel meant having the capability to control delinquent superhuman adolescents.

As of now, Seo Geum-bi’s combat prowess is considered to surpass even Han Yu-seong and Cheon Tae-seong.

‘I should try talking to her if I get the chance.’

Seo Geum-bi was one of the characters who couldn’t be conversed with during the welcome party in the original storyline. Even now, surrounded by student council members, it seemed difficult to strike up a conversation with her.

Still, finding a candidate to talk to was quite a bit of good news.

‘Let’s go.’

Through the gap in the auditorium doors, a dazzling light burst forth.

* * *

Multi-colored chandeliers hung from the ceiling, and sophisticated classical music played from speakers mounted on the walls.

The tables were laden with dishes you would expect in a high-end restaurant, like lobster and steak, which waiters continuously refilled at regular intervals.

Male students in tuxedos and female students in dresses sipped their drinks from wine glasses while engaging in conversation.

‘This is more a ball than a freshmen welcome party.’

I decided not to ponder how the auditorium had transformed into something out of a comic book. In a place overflowing with exceptional Awakeners like Babel, something like this was a piece of cake.

“Ah, life.”

Unlike the bold entrance I made into the welcome party, I was now sipping a drink in the corner for a good reason.

I realized a fact that I hadn’t noticed while playing RollHun.

“Hey, Yu-seong, what are your hobbies?”

“Hobbies? Well, I mostly just go to the gym when I’ve got free time.”

“Re-really? I sometimes go weight training too. Could you maybe teach me sometime?”

“Oh, I’d love to have a workout buddy!”

“Oh, Yu-seong, me too!”

“Teach me too!”

To my left were girls flocking around Han Yu-seong, sweet-talking him.

“Tae-seong, you’ve got to try this. It’s really good.”

“Could you pair up with me for the mock dungeon next time? It must be hard to find a healer.”

“…Just get lost, all of you.”

On the other side, Cheon Tae-seong was harshly rebuffing the girls surrounding him.

Despite my reluctance, I had to acknowledge one commonality between the two.

‘Damn looks-based society.’

Both of them were ridiculously handsome, even from a man’s perspective. It made sense why the heroines in the story would approach Han Yu-seong even when he did nothing.

Ultimately, whether it made logical sense or not, it was natural for people to flock to good-looking individuals.

Even if I wanted to approach someone specific, most of the attention was focused on the main characters.

‘On the other hand, extras like me…’

At the corner table, other students who didn’t quite fit in at the party were also sipping their drinks.

[Hey, this great yokai desires that thick piece of meat over there in the center.]

Yomi pointed its tail towards the steak placed in the center of the hall. Whether Yomi had any real awareness or not, drool was already dripping from its mouth.

“How are you planning to eat that when you don’t have a physical form, Yomi?”

[I’m in a state where my spirit is merged with yours. I can feel almost everything you experience with your senses.]

“What is that supposed to mean? Are you a stalker?”

A shiver ran down my spine.

That means that in this space, the one who understood me most was this little white fluffball.

“Sigh, my fate really is something.”

What choice do I have?

If Yomi wants it that badly, I’ll have to eat it. Besides, I’m feeling hungry myself.

I picked up a plate from the table and was about to head to the center hall to get a steak when,

“Hi there, nice to meet you!”

A female student in a reddish-brown dress suddenly approached me and stood right next to me.

She wasn’t in uniform, so I couldn’t tell if she was a freshman or an upperclassman. I quickly tried to match her face to my memories.

Brown hair, thick eyebrows like caterpillars. A mischievous smile and cheeks flushed red, a girl with a playful impression.

‘No way.’

There was no mistaking these distinctive features.

The Occult Club president, Jin So-yul.

Even though she’s called president, she’s the only member. Jin So-yul’s curiosity-driven club exists solely for Jin So-yul.

The problem was that the efficiency of the club-related quests activated upon joining a club was the worst when it came to the Occult Club.

Even if you completed all the related quests, the only reward was the most neglected stat in RollHun: ‘Luck.’

Naturally, Jin So-yul and the Occult Club were scorned by players…

“You’re a freshman, right?”

“Oh, yes.”

Jin So-yul was a second-year student. I stopped my steps toward the steak to talk with her.

Yomi shot me a mischievous glare, but I ignored it.

“My name is Jin So-yul. I’m a second-year student at Babel. What’s your name?”

“I’m Seol Ha-baek.”

In response to Jin So-yul’s greeting, I activated Spirit Sight. There was no particular reason, aside from getting used to seeing people’s spirits with it.

Whoosh

As soon as I activated Spirit Sight, a blue flame blazed around Jin So-yul’s body.

‘What is this? The size of that spirit…’

I was surprised by the sheer size and intensity of her spirit. It was much larger and more powerful than anyone I had seen at the welcome party so far.

[She’s got quite the strong spirit.]

A strong spirit.

Usually, people use that phrase to describe someone with a strong and stubborn personality.

But in shamanistic terms, it refers to someone who is sensitive to entities like souls and spirits. Yomi’s use of ‘strong spirit’ referred to this meaning.

“But isn’t it usually people with weak spirits who see ghosts and stuff? Shouldn’t it be the opposite if her spirit is strong?”

[Even if it’s too strong, it can overflow from the vessel.]

Yomi shrugged its tiny shoulders at my whispered question.

“Sorry to say this to you out of the blue when we just met—”

Jin So-yul slowly approached.

She began to look me up and down, inspecting various parts of my body.

“Ha-baek, you’ve got a tremendous spiritual aura about you.”

“Pardon?”

“And you have a really good impression. How should I put it? It feels like there might be an ancestral spirit on your shoulder, but then again, maybe not..”

Could she actually see Yomi on my shoulder? Since Yomi mentioned Jin So-yul’s strong spirit, maybe she indeed saw what I saw.

“So anyway, if you’re interested, how about joining our Occult Club—?”

“There she is! Unlawful club solicitation!”

Suddenly, a shout came from my right, and student council members came running from a distance.

Clearly, this wasn’t Jin So-yul’s first time using this tactic, as several freshmen were pointing at her, indicating her solicitation efforts.

“Ugh, damn it! I haven’t even had a bite of steak yet!”

Jin So-yul’s shoulder slumped like a rollercoaster before she grabbed my shoulder with a wide smile.

“The doors of the Occult Club are always open. But for now, I’m busy!”

With that, Jin So-yul disappeared in a flash, and the student council members hurriedly chased after her.

I stood there for a moment, staring blankly at the spot where Jin So-yul had vanished.

‘She’s a real troublemaker.’

It seemed she targeted freshmen who were alone to solicit for her club, which explains why she couldn’t approach people like Han Yu-seong or Cheon Tae-seong.

‘Still, the size of that spirit…’

Jin So-yul left behind a lot of questions.

It was a new discovery. Although she wasn’t certain, she seemed to have noticed Yomi’s presence, and her spirit’s size was quite substantial as well.

‘But whether joining the Occult Club offers any benefits…’

As I pondered memories related to clubs, a familiar face approached from a distance.

“Sigh, I apologize.”

For a moment, I wondered if she was really talking to me and looked around.

“We should have taken action before such a student could disturb the atmosphere. That’s the student council’s failure.”

A slightly formal tone. In a welcome party where all the other girls wore dresses, Seo Geum-bi, in her school uniform, stood out even more.

“Are you alright? Did she make any strange demands?”

“No, nothing like that.”

I inadvertently ended up establishing contact with Seo Geum-bi. It seemed she was handling the aftermath of Jin So-yul’s actions.

As I pondered what to say,

“Head of the Disciplinary Committee, don’t you enjoy the welcome party?”

“How did you know I’m the Head of the Disciplinary Committee?”

“You’re famous.”

Seo Geum-bi shrugged as if it were no big deal.

“I’m a third-year, so I can’t attend the freshmen welcome party according to the rules. Likewise, even if student council members meet the grade requirement, they can’t participate.”

“But doesn’t that mean the second-year student council members have to sacrifice?”

Looking around, Seo Geum-bi added quietly.

“It’s our role in the student council to create an environment where all students can learn and enjoy themselves freely. This can’t be called a sacrifice.”

Seo Geum-bi’s spirit flickered faintly.

Her gaze was set somewhere far off.

“By the way, have you heard any strange sounds near the garden, on the second floor of the adjacent building?”

“The garden next to the buildings? Isn’t that the second-year building?”

“Yes, it is, but…”

Seo Geum-bi’s brow furrowed as if reminded of a lingering trouble.

“Recently, some students have reported hearing a girl crying in the second-floor boys’ restroom and then suddenly fainting.”

In the story, Seo Geum-bi was a character you couldn’t converse with at the welcome party. Sharing this information was something new I couldn’t have obtained from the original storyline.

The second-year building. Come to think of it, the old man’s spirit earlier seemed to point in that direction too.

“I haven’t had any reason to go to the second-year area yet. Sorry.”

Realizing it was inappropriate to ask a freshman such a question, Seo Geum-bi put a hand to her forehead.

“Right, a freshman wouldn’t have a reason to go up to the second-floor corridor. That was a foolish question. Anyway, welcome to Babel.”

“Ah.”

I took Seo Geum-bi’s outstretched hand and shook it gently up and down.

“Please enjoy yourself and feel free to approach us if you have any issues.”

“Thank you for your concern.”

Seo Geum-bi nodded slightly and headed towards the group of students gathered distantly.

Even after Seo Geum-bi disappeared, I stayed in place, replaying our conversation in my mind.

‘Second-year building, second-floor boys’ restroom. Could it be…’

There was something that came to mind.

But I couldn’t check it out immediately. Gathering information would have to wait for a bit.

‘For now, there’s something else I need to do.’

I turned in the direction Seo Geum-bi had been looking earlier.

In the distance, a girl was sipping her drink alone for different reasons than mine. The woman in the provocatively backless red dress was beautiful, yet like a poisonous flower, no one dared to approach her.

“Shin Seo-ha.”

I quietly approached the girl.

[Hey, I said I want meat! Juicy, beefy meat!!]

I decided to postpone the steak for a bit longer.