Chapter 632: Chapter 622

So, what’s changed?

Swoosh.

Perhaps it’s the time I’ve spent adjusting my appearance in front of the mirror. As someone pretending to be Grandfell, the most critical part for Lee Hoyeol to focus on was the eyes.

jjilis.

To achieve the same intensity, I had to strain my eye muscles to the point of cramping. It makes me wonder, Grandfell, what kind of thoughts occupied your mind that made you look at the world with such a piercing gaze?

‘Here…’

I tilted my head—a move Grandfell would never make—and checked the roots of my hair. I had to make sure none of Lee Hoyeol’s black hair was growing back to reveal itself.

I needed to get used to it.

Even alone, I practiced.

Should I try using Grandfell’s manner of speech?

“Indeed, the pursuit of anomalies…”

I felt like choking on my own words but managed to finish. Well, mixing preservation magic with bleaching agents could be considered a form of anomaly, I suppose.

“This is just rationalizing at this point. Anyway…”

It’s not easy, really.

‘Even this preservation magic is tricky.’

“At least for now, it’s holding.”

If I had Grandfell’s talent, I could have copied it instantly after seeing it once. But since Grandfell left, his abilities didn’t remain with me.

‘Learning this simple spell almost gave me a headache.’

At least I’m grateful. Both Sparta and Akshan would probably kneel before Grandfell’s intense, one-on-one lessons. Whenever I complained, Grandfell would mutter:

-“Every trial and hardship shall one day fortify you.”

At the time, I thought it was just some old man’s ramblings.

But you weren’t wrong, were you, Grandfell? Without your rigorous tutoring, I might have been exposed due to something as minor as my hair roots.

Ttogak.

‘Anyway, I might be a little late…’

I hurried my steps, but the stairs of the Magic Tower were as unforgiving as ever. At least my body was trained enough to ascend swiftly, but I couldn’t help but wonder how ordinary people managed.

Suddenly!

Despite my haste, I arrived at the Amethyst Hall about 20 seconds past the agreed time. As I entered, the senior mages bowed their heads to me.

‘…It’s only 20 seconds.’

Surely no one would be petty enough to notice?

Brushing it off optimistically, I cut straight to the point.

The topic, of course, was:

“It must have been a difficult decision for you. However, I believe you all understand the immense impact of permanently opening the Amethyst Hall.”

As you can see, it was about the permanent opening of Amethyst Hall.

“The Magic Tower’s full power was put to the test during this recent crisis.”

In my absence, the Magic Tower and the players were responsible for defending Seoul from the rampaging evil dragons and demonic forces. Among them, the Magic Tower had focused on handling the dragons.

‘Even watching the videos was intense.’

From spatial magic I had seen repeatedly, to ancient, long-lost spells not even found in the current Magic Tower—the combined forces of the Amethyst Hall’s former seniors made the Tower’s capabilities incomparable to before.

‘There’s no way we can let such a unique asset go to waste.’

The current seniors and the returning seniors.

It wouldn’t be fair to say one group held superior power over the other.

After all, the assessment during the “Regular Academic Meeting” decided the leadership and academic standings.

‘Besides, the Magic Tower is significantly weakened right now.’

Even if Marcelo and the others didn’t realize it, this decision was truly for the Tower’s benefit. Especially since Grandfell—a being perhaps greater than the Tower itself—had disappeared into the Demon World.

I recalled my personal motto.

‘Gather everything you can. No matter how small.’

Back to basics, Hoyeol.

Now that I truly had nothing left, it meant I needed to struggle even harder. That was why I paid extra attention to my appearance today.

I added:

“If anyone has objections, feel free to raise them.”

The permanent opening of Amethyst Hall.

‘Put yourself in their shoes.’

From the seniors’ perspective, this might understandably be an unpleasant decision. Even if the Amethyst Hall seniors weren’t officially reinstated, it could still create tensions.

‘I feel a little guilty.’

At times like this, I couldn’t forget Grandfell’s audacity.

Only by maintaining that boldness could I dismiss any objections decisively.

I braced myself for their responses.

But why was it so quiet?

Marcelo had mentioned the opinions among the seniors were split evenly. Yet now, I couldn’t hear a word of dissent. A strange surge of confidence welled up within me.

‘Maybe I learned better from observing than I thought?’

Did I really manage to embody Grandfell’s audacity through method acting?

There was no time to bask in small victories.

If there were no objections, I had to act quickly to secure “The Post-Cataclysm Bible.”

‘Even if the Magic Tower mages don’t realize it…’

If Amethyst Hall were permanently opened, then the Bible—left completely unsealed by Grandfell—would essentially be exposed to the players.

Just then.

“Excuse me… Chief Lee?”

The voice came from Bellier Yusia, a senior from the Healing School.

‘Right, it would be strange if no one had questions.’

As I turned my attention to her, my thoughts remained fixated on the Bible. Please, stay safe until I can finish my tasks, Bible…!

pindangscans

“Something is definitely off.”

“What now?”

“My beast-like instincts are telling me, Vangrit!”

At Bensch’s words, Vangrit let out a deep sigh.

“Haa… Before we get into this, let me issue a warning, Senior Bensch. Unlike certain people, my achievements as a senior mage are far from flashy. Now that the phantoms of Amethyst Hall have returned, even the slightest negligence in pure mana studies could cost me my senior position at the next Regular Academic Meeting!”

If one were to summarize Vangrit’s unusually long-winded speech, it was simple.

“Please, don’t drag me into this nonsense.”

But expecting Bensch William to grasp such a roundabout way of speaking was pointless. Instead, Vangrit’s words were dismissed with a single, blunt reply.

“Oh, really? Then I guess you’ll have to work even harder, Vangrit! But that’s not the point!”

At this point, Vangrit knew better than to have any expectations.

When it came to Bensch, there was no such thing as a rational exchange of words. Any discussion with him always ended with a curt, dismissive remark.

However—

“Wait… Are you serious?!”

This time, Vangrit couldn’t just brush it off.

He couldn’t ignore it.

Bensch nodded firmly.

“To be precise, Chief Lee was exactly 20 seconds late.”

Ever since Chief Lee returned…

Something had been off.

Bensch continued.

“Do you remember the last day of the Special Conference? When Chief Lee stood on the Crystal Hall podium?”

“…!”

He didn’t need to say it.

Even if Vangrit hadn’t outwardly reacted, the memories were already resurfacing in his mind.

The moments that had felt odd but were too minor to address.

Chief Lee clearing his throat unnecessarily.

His words trailing off strangely.

His once-radiant silver hair looking unusually lifeless.

While Vangrit was lost in thought, Bensch pressed on.

“I am about half sure of my hypothesis.”

“Half sure about what?”

“Even if it wasn’t in his complete form, Baal, the Demon World’s First Throne, did successfully manifest. The cost of that manifestation? We don’t know. We weren’t watching the Demon World ourselves. But it’s safe to assume that the Demon World must have suffered heavy casualties.”

His reasoning wasn’t exactly flawed, so Vangrit nodded slightly.

“But do you really think a being like Baal would just disappear voluntarily? No. As those who witnessed it said—Chief Lee must have paid a price.”

It was like witnessing the sun rise in the west—a series of impossibilities stacking up.

Bensch stroked his chin as he muttered:

“A price so steep that his once-radiant silver hair turned black.”

“Of course, his hair has since returned to its original color… So, I hesitated. But after he was 20 seconds late, I became certain.”

A faint mist formed in Bensch’s eyes.

“Chief Lee is hiding something—desperately so.”

“Hiding… what?”

“The wounds he carries.”

As he spoke, Bensch quickly turned away.

Chief Lee, who never wavered under any circumstance, had been 20 seconds late to a meeting.

To an outsider, it might sound absurd to make such a big deal out of a mere 20-second delay.

But—

“I, Bensch William, cannot put my grief into words.”

His voice was thick with emotion.

Because now, in hindsight, he realized how foolish he had been—throwing himself into battle against evil dragons, unaware of the truth.

With an abrupt seriousness, Bensch composed himself and spoke.

“That’s why, Vangrit, we must act as if we know nothing. Even if Chief Lee is late by tens of minutes—no, even if he is hours late to a meeting—we must remain silent. We must pretend not to notice.”

Even We Must Understand the Burden of His ‘Secrets’

Though it was Senior Bensch’s words—his ever-irritating presence notwithstanding—Vangrit couldn’t help but nod.

“Yes. Let’s do that.”

More importantly, were the other senior mages aware of this?

At the very least, Senior Bellier must have known.

Otherwise, why would she have requested a private meeting with Chief Lee?

Today, Chief Lee had been late for his appointment—

Vangrit murmured under his breath.

“What exactly does she want to talk about?”

“My Apologies, Chief Lee.”

Bellier couldn’t lift her gaze properly.

I really didn’t want to be a burden.

Healing School’s Private Chamber.

The Magic Tower—a structure that defied both physical laws and common sense. Its private chambers were no exception.

Upon opening the small door, an expansive garden filled with medicinal herbs for healing magic came into view.

Chief Lee spoke.

“This has Cleodia’s touch.”

“That’s correct.”

The cultivation methods for elixirs—

Had it not been for Klee’s research, or for Chief Lee, who had supported her work, this Healing School’s garden would never have flourished to this extent.

And more than that—

“Even though I know the situation isn’t what it seems… I couldn’t help but think that, if it’s you, Chief Lee, perhaps you would know something. That’s why I urgently requested a private meeting.”

With those words, Bellier turned her gaze toward a single small tree.

Carefully, she opened her mouth.

Her expression was one of someone prepared to seek forgiveness at any moment.

“As you may have already guessed… this sapling is a World Tree.”

The World Tree, which had taken root in northern Antonium.

After obtaining one of its fallen leaves, Bellier began her research.

At first, it was nothing more than curiosity.

She never imagined that a single leaf could grow into a World Tree.

But then—

“I only planted the leaf into the ground. Immediately after, the Special Conference began, and the anomalous malice ran rampant, preventing me from tending to it in any way. Yet, as you can see… the World Tree grew entirely on its own.”

Could a World Tree really grow this easily?

She knew it shouldn’t.

She knew that Chief Lee would never approve of a request that ignored proper procedures.

And yet, she had no choice but to request a private meeting.

Then, a sudden realization struck her.

‘…Wait. Why did Chief Lee even agree to meet me?’

However, Bellier’s thoughts were quickly interrupted.

Because Chief Lee spoke.

“It’s already that time, huh?”

Unfortunate as it was, Bellier had no idea what he meant.

But then—

“Hiel.”

At that moment—

As if to prove that she truly was his duplicate—

[The ‘Alter Ego of the World Tree’ Reveals Itself to You.]

[The Unique Spirit, ‘Hiel Chrysiad Four-Season Leaf,’ Is No Longer Under Your Control.]

…Even her rebellious phase was starting to show. Really?!