New Glossary:
The recent significant changes:
Characters
Edna - Flame
The Demonic Black Dragon, Darkest Night of the Thirteenth Month - Thirteenth Onyx Moon
Twelve New Moons - Twelve Divine Moons
Twelfth Moon Bronze - Blue Winter Moon
Eleventh Silver Moon - Silver Autumn Moon
New Moon Flame - Scarlet Summer Moon
Yeonhong Chunsamwol - Pink Spring Moon
Ben - Ban Di-Yeon (Female)
Grace - Hyejin Macaron
- Halsecoden
- Deok Cheol-Gwang
Hong Eulin - Hong Erin
Celestia - Leafanel
New Moon Space: Fawn Prevernal Moon
New Moon Earth: Dusk Soil Moon
Items
Ragnarok - Teripon
Acantha - Edmary Etemiri
Helmer - Suavitera Lapon
Terms
Mana Leakage Syndrome - Mana Leakage Delay/Mana Leakage Disorder
Delta Augmentation Formula - Alchemical Engineering Cross Technique
Skills
Hyper Jump - Power Jump
The absolute invincible Chelven.
---------
At dawn, as the day was about to break, a fleet of thirty airships hovered above Stella Academy.
Although it would normally be impossible for so many airships to take off simultaneously due to air traffic, the sight of the massive vessels as they rose sequentially was still quite a spectacle.
Ban Di-Yeon and Lu Deric led a group of ten first-year cadets. They had to switch airships three times, take two trains, and finally use a warp gate just to reach the Pung Empire.
While major nations and institutions like the Adolevit Kingdom, the Skalven Empire, the Alchemy Castle, and Arcanium were mostly situated on the central continent, the Pung Empire was located in the southern plains.
Given the vastness of the continent, long-distance travel was something one had to get used to.
After almost three or four hours of high-speed travel, they finally arrived in the Pung Empire.
The southern region, the Waning Moon Plains, home to the Pung Empire, was known for its seven major rivers that traversed the continent.
It served as the hub of southern trade and was a place where many races lived together in harmony.
Adventurers, who traveled with the wind and the clouds as their guides, could always rest at the Lotus Inn, which shone under the moonlight.
The beastmens always welcomed wandering merchants, embraced new innovations, while those yearning for freedom and a momentary respite could fish leisurely at Immortal Lake.
The people’s attire alone signified that the Pung Empire was quite different from the nations of the central continent.
People here favored light, breathable clothing, and seeing them, Baek Yu-Seol felt a sense of familiarity after a long time.
‘It's almost like hanbok.’
Baek Yu-Seol muttered as he slowly observed the Pung Empire’s capital, Taeyusan.
While he had frequently visited the Waning Moon Plains for various reasons, this was his first time in the Pung Empire.
The culture felt rather unfamiliar.
"Oh... The architecture here is fascinating."
"It's beautiful."
"It's like the buildings are wearing straw hats."
Contrary to the belief that it would be a plain country founded by travelers, the Pung Empire boasted an impressive and majestic atmosphere, rivaling that of any other nation.
In contrast to the central continent of Aether, which resembled the European-style Earth, the Pung Empire's oriental architectural style was quite unfamiliar to the students of Stella, who were captivated by the scenery.
“Alright. Is everyone here?”
Ban Diyeon lined up the ten students and said.
“We’re not here for a vacation, right? Although it's a shame, because the Pung Empire is a beautiful place with a lot to explore, we have to head straight to our mission site.”
And that site, unexpectedly, was very close.
Ban Diyeon spread a map in midair using telekinesis and pointed her staff to a location in the western alley of the capital, Taeyusan.
“The Persona Gates don’t usually appear in cities. The investigators are still researching why this happened, but the important thing is, this is our mission.”
“There may be students from the Pung Empire here, and some who aren't, but I trust you've all prepared yourselves by studying the local culture?”
When Lu Deric asked, all the students nodded.
Magical warriors were often dispatched to foreign countries due to the nature of their missions, so their certification served almost like a passport in any nation.
Although there were cases where a country might reject someone based on their origin, in most cases, magical warriors were able to travel anywhere.
As a result, they were required to study the history, culture, and even the languages of each nation.
“Most mages, including students from Stella, use 'Camelon,' but the locals don’t.”
Just like how English is the common language on Earth, Aether World also had a universal language and that was Camelon.
Derived from Camelon, the origin of magic, the language became the common tongue among mages because it was the language used by the first-generation mages.
Since all magical systems, including spell words and runes, were based on Camelon, mastering this language was essential for mages.
In other words, a mage must be fluent in at least two languages; their native language and Camelon.
“Does anyone here know the Pung language? It’s possible Pung language could be used inside the Persona Gate, so we need to be cautious in advance.”
Most of the students didn’t raise their hands.
To begin with, unlike most other languages that have similar structures, the Pung language had a rather unfamiliar structure.
However, there were two students who raised their hands—Hong Bi-Yeon and Baek Yu-Seol.
But Baek Yu-Seol only raised his hand partially, which made Ban Di-Yeon tilt her head in curiosity.
"Why are you only raising your hand partially? Do you understand the language but can't speak it?"
"No. That’s not it... I think I know it, but I'm not sure how well I do..."
"Hey. Are you playing word games? You either know it or you don't. Just say it clearly."
Since it did sound like wordplay to others as well, Baek Yu-Seol didn't have much of a response and remained silent.
Ban Di-Yeon then stepped in to mediate.
"It's fine. As long as you can understand it, that should be enough."
"... Alright."
Lu Deric couldn't understand his junior’s cheeky wordplay, but Ban Di-Yeon generously let it slide.
"It would be good for the other students to at least know basic conversational phrases too."
"Yes."
"Before we head out, we’ll make a quick stop at the Pung Empire's Mage Association Branch. You all know the procedure for foreign magical warriors carrying out missions, right? I'll show you how it works, so pay attention."
With that, Ban Di-Yeon led the way, and the students followed. They admired the sights of the capital, Taeyusan, as they walked.
Baek Yu-Seol lagged behind and walked slowly, catching Hong Bi-Yeon’s eye. She slowed her pace deliberately to match his.
"Commoner, do you really know the Pung language?"
She had struggled so much learning the Pung language that it had given her headaches.
Even though she possessed a trait which helped her with memorization, Hong Bi-Yeon, who was usually confident in subjects requiring memory, found it challenging to the point of frustration. So her question said it all.
"Yeah. More or less."
"... I figured."
It would be strange if there was a language unknown to Baek Yu-Seol.
Whoosh...
A gentle breeze blew by, carrying the unique clear and fresh air of the Pung Empire.
Even as she enjoyed the refreshing air that seemed to cleanse her soul, Hong Bi-Yeon couldn’t quite organize her thoughts.
Truthfully, she wasn’t happy with the current situation.
Why couldn’t she complete the mission alone?
She was confident that she could easily handle a Danger Level 3 Persona Gate by herself.
She began to think that it might have been better to apply for a different mission, like monster hunting or dungeon exploration, which allowed for only two members.
Just as she was lost in the desire to get rid of the other members, Baek Yu-Seol rummaged through his pocket, pulled out a chocolate bar, and popped it into his mouth.
“...?”
To her, it seemed like a rather odd action, but for Baek Yu-Seol and the other students, it was nothing out of the ordinary.
Baek Yu-Seol found Hong Bi-Yeon’s wide-eyed stare quite cute. He took out another chocolate bar from his pocket and offered it to her.
“Hey, want one too?”
Then he realized that she probably hadn’t regained her full sense of taste yet.
“If not, never mind.”
Feeling a bit guilty, he was about to put the chocolate back, but before he could, she grabbed it.
“... I’ll eat it.”
“Is that so?”
She glared at the chocolate as if she were trying to pierce it with her gaze.
“What? Is this your first time trying commoner food?”
“I eat chocolate often as a dessert.”
“Well, that must be a really expensive chocolate made from melted cocoa beans. This one’s made from processed cacao.”
Surprisingly, in the world of Aether, the legendary chocolate fruit did exist, but it was so rare that only the wealthy could afford to eat it.
"It doesn’t matter.”
Hong Bi-Yeon then bit into Baek Yu-Seol’s cheap chocolate with all her strength and her eyes widened.
‘... It’s not disgusting.’
Just a week ago, she had tried to eat something sweet, but it had ended in failure.
Instead of sweetness, a nauseating texture had swirled in her mouth. It made her feel sick and her head writhed with discomfort.
But now, things were different.
Though the sweetness was faint, the chocolate melted smoothly on her tongue without any unpleasantness.
One bite, then two.
As Hong Bi-Yeon swallowed the chocolate with her small mouth, Baek Yu-Seol watched her with a surprised expression.
‘Has her sense of taste returned?’
There had been a few players who had tried to restore Hong Bi-Yeon’s sense of taste. While every player had failed to save her life, a very select few succeeded in opening the heart of this so-called villainess and restoring her sense of taste.
As expected from a romance simulation game, one of the conditions to regain her sense of taste was, amusingly enough, falling in love.
Why this condition was necessary to recover the taste she had lost due to flames was a mystery, but the important thing was that she appeared to be regaining it now.
‘Has she fallen in love?’
Baek Yu-Seol stared at her with puzzled eyes.
After finishing the chocolate, Hong Bi-Yeon suddenly coughed in surprise as if she was startled by the intense stare.
“Even if it’s not made from the chocolate fruit, the taste is pretty much the same. The idea that the chocolate fruit tastes better is just a misconception by commoners.”
“Is that so? Have you actually eaten it before?”
“... Yeah. But I spat it all out.”
"It turns out you prefer commoner food like me, huh? Want to grab some pork soup together?"
In an instant, Hong Bi-Yeon’s expression darkened.
Pork soup.
Baek Yu-Seol frequently visited a restaurant on his own that served it, and word had spread among some of the students.
According to those who tried it after following him, the soup was overwhelmingly pungent, had a strong smell of blood, and its appearance was extremely unappetizing.
Unfortunately, the reality was that pork soup was too foreign a dish for the students of Arcanium to accept. Even students with normal taste found it disgusting and complained about its strong smell, so how much worse would it be for Hong Bi-Yeon?
Normally, she would have snapped, asking if he was out of his mind and likely would have scolded him, but for some reason, the words got stuck in her throat and didn’t come out. Instead, she found herself nodding without realizing it.
"Whether commoner or royalty, we all eat the same food. The idea that I only eat gourmet food is a stereotype. I can eat pork soup too."
"Oh... Really?"
Could she really say that after eating the pork soup?
The image of Hong Bi-Yeon sitting in front of the soup with a spoon in hand was amusing, but unfortunately, it appeared that there were no pork soup restaurants in the Pung Empire, which had an oriental atmosphere, so they had to postpone the meal.
After that, Hong Bi-Yeon continued walking alongside Baek Yu-Seol, chatting about trivial matters.
From chocolate and pork soup, they moved on to topics like onions, garlic, spices, truly delicious dishes, cooking as a hobby, and what activities they usually did in their free time.
Baek Yu-Seol even grumbled about how he hated reading magical texts but found history books quite interesting.
Normally, Hong Bi-Yeon detested engaging in meaningless conversation, but when she was talking to Baek Yu-Seol, even the most unconstructive topics seemed to fly by without her realizing it. Then, she came to a realization.
Up until now, Hong Bi-Yeon had thought of Baek Yu-Seol as someone beyond her reach. Someone who had traveled through time countless times, traversing both the past and the future. He felt like an infinitely distant person.
But now she realized that wasn’t the case.
"Commoner, you..."
"Hmm?"
"You're living... A much more ordinary life than I thought."
"Uh... Yeah. Of course."
Baek Yu-Seol thought it was just a random comment and laughed it off as a joke, but to Hong Bi-Yeon, it was far from a joke.
He, too, was just an ordinary boy.
This realization was a light but significant shock to Hong Bi-Yeon.
Could it really be possible for a soul worn down by thousands of deaths and defeats to live an ordinary life?
Perhaps, he had only been yearning for normalcy all along...
"Alright, we’ve arrived. Most of the procedures will be handled by me and the instructor, but you all need to watch and take notes. From the second year on, no one will do it for you."
While Hong Bi-Yeon had been lost in her thoughts, they had apparently reached their destination, and Ban Di-Yeon’s words snapped her out of her reverie.
"Once registration is complete, we’ll head straight into the Persona Gate. Is everyone ready?"
At Ban Di-Yeon and Lu Deric’s question, all the students nodded in agreement.
"Alright. Let’s give it our best shot."
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