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Chapter 39
Lee Jong-cheol. A magician of the Seoul Guild.
He was Kang Se-hyun’s teacher and a strict proponent of rigorous education principles.
“Has this kid been skipping lessons?”
He believed himself to be a strict, tiger-like teacher. For the sake of the children, one must be stern and uncompromising.
“If he shows up, I’ll give him a serious scolding.”
A visit to a kids’ café?
How could someone go to such a frivolous place during this precious magical training time?
He lingered by the elevator, the shiny bald head reflecting the corridor lights.
[The elevator has arrived.]
The doors opened.
And Eom So-young appeared, cradling Kang Se-hyun in her arms.
The child’s sleeping face was visible.
“You little—”
He wanted to scold him loudly, but he couldn’t.
Se-hyun was too small and cute while asleep.
“C-cute…”
“Huh?”
“Nothing… damn it.”
Even in sleep, his arms and legs twitched. Magical reactions were flickering intermittently.
“Ah, Teacher.”
Most Seoul Guild members simply called Lee Jong-cheol “Teacher” due to his age, which was considerably higher than the others.
“He insisted on coming here, so I brought him along.”
“He looks tired.”
“Indeed. I told him to rest, but he insisted on training.”
Lee Jong-cheol nodded.
She was right. Magical training was a thousand times more important than a kids’ café.
“I told him to rest properly today…”
“No, this kid!”
Lee Jong-cheol shot a piercing look at sleeping Se-hyun.
“Training can wait until tomorrow.”
“Right?”
“So-young, why bring him here? Doesn’t he need to sleep properly at his age?”
Inside, Lee Jong-cheol was screaming silently.
‘Why am I like this? I’m crumbling!’
‘I am a tiger teacher! A principle-focused teacher!’
‘Not a single day should be wasted!’
But his words betrayed his inner turmoil.
“I knew you’d say that, Teacher.”
“….”
“Do you need to pass along a message?”
Lee Jong-cheol looked down at Se-hyun with strict eyes once more.
“Did he enjoy himself today?”
“Yes. He looked really happy.”
Who cares if he’s happy! Study comes first!
“That’s a relief.”
His mouth moved on its own. He was smiling.
His expression was in rebellion; he refused to follow the rules.
The Next Day
Lee Jong-cheol was shocked.
“T-this kid… he really is a genius.”
He had always suspected genius potential.
But he never expected Se-hyun to use ‘Flame Explosion’ like this.
The scarecrow pile turned to ash.
Ordinary Flame Explosion magic couldn’t produce such power.
“This feels like at least +5 enhancement…”
Lee Jong-cheol’s eyes were precise.
Indeed, the magic Se-hyun had used was ‘Flame Explosion +5’.
“Th-that’s…”
In truth, even Se-hyun didn’t fully understand it.
[You have been designated as Lee Chae-ri’s childhood friend.]
[The effect of this rune is applied to the ‘spellbook’.]
[Flame Ball +5 has been confirmed.]
[+5 enhancement is applied to all magic.]
He had only received this notification. That’s all.
From that point on, things escalated.
All magical-ranking members of the Seoul Guild were summoned.
“What is this…?”
“Teacher, you didn’t enhance the spellbook, did you?”
“This power… can only be explained by +5!”
All eyes turned to Kang Se-hyun.
He spoke honestly.
“…It’s thanks to Chae-ri.”
The magicians murmured among themselves.
Within the Seoul Guild, only Eom So-young and Choi Deok-gyu knew of Chae-ri.
Even Lee Jong-cheol didn’t fully know her.
‘Chae-ri… what’s that?’
But he chose not to dwell on it.
This child’s talent was extraordinary. Too extraordinary.
With such special children, danger always follows.
“Teacher, what is Chae-ri?”
“An artifact name?”
“A codename?”
Lee Jong-cheol cleared his throat.
“That’s difficult to reveal. I promised the Lord of Seoul. Chae-ri is a method I use to teach humility.”
“Huh? What does that mean?”
“As you know, I’m a strict teacher.”
Some cleared their throats; others avoided eye contact.
“Yes. I taught this child humility. To credit others rather than oneself. Excellent, Kang Se-hyun.”
“It’s really thanks to Chae-ri…”
“Good! You’ve learned well. Never lose that humility.”
Lee Jong-cheol continued his strict instruction.
“Rest well today!”
“I want to practice magic.”
“Then sleep early! You need to be healthy to train!”
Phew… strict, as always.
Chae-ri’s Dream
Chae-ri dreamed a strange dream.
Davis had turned into a steam locomotive, puffing smoke, and So-young was playing rock-paper-scissors with him.
In the end, Davis won.
Chae-ri found herself sitting in the train car, being dragged somewhere.
Anyway, she arrived at the entrance on Davis’s back.
“Ah!”
“Why, why are you like this, Chae-ri?”
“Davis, I have a favor to ask.”
Davis tensed immediately.
When Chae-ri said ‘favor,’ it carried weight. Even if she asked him to build 100 kids’ cafés, he would do it.
“This.”
Chae-ri pulled a business card from a small crossbody bag resembling Chorok-i.
It was Lee Ji-seok’s business card.
“Please give this to So-young unnie.”
“Understood. I’ll give it to her today.”
“Thank you.”
Phew, one less worry.
Davis was truly the best.
Chae-ri entered her room.
[‘Set the attribute for the Rune of Grade Enhancement?’]
“Yes.”
It was easy to operate.
[Apply this rune to the ‘card’?]
[The rune has been applied to the card.]
The highest-level card currently was the ‘Davis’ card.
Its enhancement level was +11.
[The effect of the rune has been applied to the ‘Phylion Ka Zeppelinstein’ card.]
The Phylion card floated in midair, radiating multicolored light.
The light was so bright that Chae-ri shielded her eyes.
Chorok-i ran around frantically.
[Cooldown ends in 10 minutes! Cooldown ends in 10 minutes!]
The +11 enhancement was applied.
About ten minutes later, Phylion appeared.
“Chae-ri. Why did you invest points in card enhancement for me?!”
“I didn’t invest any.”
“Oh no! How could you use such a precious thing on me? You should’ve used it on Davis!”
Phylion stomped his foot in frustration.
“I don’t go into the tower anyway!”
He could only help in limited ways.
Phylion bit his thumbs, making a clicking sound with his jaw.
Chae-ri felt a little proud.
“Hmph. Phy-cachu. Don’t you know me?”
“What?”
She pointed to her chest.
“L-class child.”
“….”
“The only one in the world.”
“…Sudden backstory reveal?”
“One thousand percent Chae-ri.”
“….”
“And…”
Her nose lifted proudly as she continued.
“11th-level card master.”
“….”
“Chae-ri. Impressive, right?”
Understanding the situation, Phylion’s mouth dropped open.
Not only did she receive a 90th-floor reward, but she also fulfilled hidden conditions to get an even higher-grade reward?
“Progress without balancing considerations, huh? But that’s fine!”
+11 enhancement.
Various processes became much faster.
“Watch closely, Chae-ri. It’s almost complete.”
Phylion jumped up and unfolded an alchemy kit that looked like a playset.
He arranged ingredients with strangely serious hands.
“I’ll show you the continental-level card hero’s skill.”
A potion bottle floated from his fingertips.
“Upgraded Super Special Great Protection Plus!”
A child-only super special great protection potion—upgraded version for tower climbers’ mental protection.
“Th-this is…!”
Chae-ri’s eyes widened.
