Chapter 47 (1/2)

Archmage (2)

Hibiki, who had disappeared from the room, reappeared a few minutes later.

When she returned, the Awakening Stone I had left on her desk turned gray. It crushed like burnt briquettes and melted in the air without leaving a trace.

Hibiki had Awakened successfully.

“Ah!”

She looked down at her hands as if everything was unfamiliar. Her face was calm, but she couldn’t speak easily.

I knew what that felt like—the feeling of lightness when you just Awakened as a hunter. Refreshing feeling as if all cells had been newly woken up and reborn.

“Congratulations.”

Hibiki’s eyes were slightly shaken.

“Now, about the chances of rampage····.”

“As I said, now that you’ve activated the core, the possibility is close to zero. If you’re still nervous, you can continue to activate the potential Mana.”

In her previous life, Hibiki had almost activated all of 50,000 potential Mana, and she had done it in a short time, too.

Now, it was time to check what I was curious about.

“Do you see the system message?”

“Yes.”

I asked her potential Mana and active Mana that I already knew. Next up…

“What’s your unique skill?”

I waited nervously for the words to fall out of her mouth. Hibiki’s eyes stared into the air and read it along.

“Multiple… Cognition.”

That was the one phrase I was waiting for.

‘It’s a success!’

Amano Hibiki was likely to be called the Archmage in this life, too. I sang of pleasure inwardly.

‘Even if the Awakening method and timing are different, the unique skill will not change!’

When gathering more colleagues in the future, there was no need to worry about their capabilities being different from the future.

‘Just as the potential Mana is set at birth, I can think of unique skills as being attributed to one person. It’s literally a unique ability.‘

I eased my worries. After that, Hibiki was busy reading the system message for a while, and I waited without hurrying her.

“I checked everything.”

I suggested how to nurture her from now on as if I analyzed the information I had heard so far.

“It’s a unique skill that’s optimized to use magic.”

Instead of starting with close-range type Hunter’s basic skills, such as Sword Mastery and Mana Barrier, Hibiki nodded unopposed at my proposal to fill all four now-open slots with magic mastery skills.

Rather than weigh the pros and cons of my words, she must be busy following me with the information in her head.

“The company will pay for the initial training, as stated in the contract.”

I also included an anti-eat-and-run clause in case she suspected it was a fraud if the terms of the contract were too generous, but I didn’t have to worry about such a possibility.

If Hibiki grew up like this, a lot of guilds would continue to offer scout proposals. Still, she wouldn’t even bother with it.

I knew her personality, beyond the fragmentation of her fundamental nature that she currently showed.

‘She will find out after months of training and getting used to the Hunter industry that I’m the one who can make her grow the fastest.’

There was another reason why Hibiki was called the Archmage.

Although it was a tool to slaughter dungeon monsters she hated so much, Hibiki loved magic with all her heart.

Magic was her only interest, work, and hobby in her hands. Whenever she had a chance, she constantly experimented with the Mana in her body, thinking about improving her proficiency in each spell and studying to improve it.

‘Some magic had been modified so much that there was little trace of the system Mana pattern guide.’

Other Hunters tried to learn such modified magic. Still, communication was difficult without seeing each other’s Mana, and I, who could see and remember it perfectly, had limitations in explaining it with words and videos.

Of course, I was using it well after the reincarnation. Most of the magic skills I used now were improved versions of Hibiki’s.

‘I’m going to teach this to Hibiki again.‘

Hibiki would be learning the achievements and heritage of the future herself.

‘And then, she’ll go beyond it.‘

This life had changed from the beginning.

“Do you have any more questions?”

Hibiki looked down at the contract, hesitating for a moment before speaking. “You said we were going to Korea, right?”

“Yes.”

“Here, your name.”

There was the real name I had just written down in the signature column of the contract indicated by my finger.

“This sounds like a Korean name.”

She took turns looking at my Western-looking face and the name of the signature column.

The reason why I approached in disguise was in case she refused and would get into a long argument. However, there was no need to hide anymore.

“It would be quite unpleasant for the Japanese government to Awaken someone and scout them to Korea in this way. That’s why I’m registering you as a Hunter in Korea.”

Beyond the unpleasantness, they would impose sanctions.

“And so, I inevitably disguised myself.”

In fact, there was a greater reason to remove the traces of Seo Jin-wook coming to Japan.

Wubble!

I took off the mask slime I was wearing on my face, revealing not the image of a Hunter who would enter Korea, not the look that I used it in the U.S. The face, used only for today’s camouflage, was removed.

Hibiki’s eyes slightly widened when she saw my bare face beneath it.

“Let me greet you again. I’m Seo Jin-wook. I look forward to working with you.”

“I look forward to working with you, too.”

It must be interesting to see the Mask Slime for the first time. Hibiki, who had been staring at my face for a while, suddenly murmured.

“You’re much….younger than I thought you’d be.”

*

I gave her a few more days to arrange everything around her.

“I’m sorry for the tight schedule. Is it possible in 3 days? You don’t have to terminate the house papers. The company will pay for the rent for the time being.”

“Yes.”

I thought it was a tight schedule, but Hibiki contacted me the next day.

“I’m done fixing up.”

When I came to pick her up, Hibiki was waiting for me with a simple Boston bag, not even a travel carrier.

“Is this all the luggage?”

She nodded quietly.

“Hmm…”

I had revealed that I was a Hunter, I had confirmed that it was a real company in the U.S., and I had solved her problems, but this was a little unexpected.

I then asked with a foolish smile. “It’s fast and simple. Aren’t you nervous? To start a new life by leaving your previous life behind you?”

Besides, she was being led by a foreigner who came by unexpectedly, too. However, Hibiki’s answer was unexpected.

“No, it’s refreshing.”

It was the first expression I heard from her mouth after my reincarnation, although her expression was still cold.

“I’m really relieved.”

“I see.”

Perhaps she had been waiting for an opportunity to leave the past, which was symbolized by anxiety, fear, and guilt.

*