Looking at Shin Ha-yul, whose focus had vanished into a blank expression, Leng Smith sneered with a fishy mockery.
"You disabled freak crawling up."
He spat onto the floor.
Even if it was all an act, the fact that he'd offered an apology to such a piece of refuse who didn't even qualify as a proper mage made my irritation boil over.
I even thought about punching him to vent that anger.
But I held back — the spell might break if I did.
"Tch. Anyway, he's someone I won't have to see after Friday…"
Don't bother worrying about it.
Leng Smith gave a short huff and shrugged off his annoyance. Then he moved straight into completing his original objective.
"Shin Ha-yul. Listen carefully."
Leng Smith's specialty: mental-manipulation magic. It had the fatal drawback of needing to touch the target's head or area near the head, but for that reason it was extremely potent. Provided the user didn't try to force something the target unconsciously resisted, it could control a person's mind to a considerable degree.
"From now on, carry this on you at all times."
Leng Smith reached into his cloak and handed something to Shin Ha-yul.
It was an odd-shaped chip.
Shin Ha-yul, still dazed, slowly accepted the chip with a vacant expression.
"Also, you will not harbor any suspicion about carrying this."
"…Yes."
His reply was equally languid.
Leng Smith let out a pleased chuckle at that reaction.
'With this, all preparations are complete.'
All that remained was to execute the operation on Friday.
'I'm already looking forward to watching this trash fall into hell's pit as everyone loathes him.'
A grotesque twist crawled across Leng Smith's lips.
He was just about to release the mind-control spell cast on Shin Ha-yul when something flickered through his thoughts.
'Hold on.'
A very good idea occurred to him.
'This trash actually has a vision magic that doesn't fit his station.'
Vision magic coveted by the whole world — including Kim Kang-in, the Blue Tower Master.
Transformative magic.
'If I steal it and sell it, I could make a decent sum.'
Leng Smith licked his lips with a greedy look.
"Shin Ha-yul. Recite information about your transformative magic."
He was about to probe the secret of Shin Ha-yul's vision magic.
"Ugh…"
Shin Ha-yul grimaced and let out a groan.
"Tch."
Leng Smith clicked his tongue.
'Seems his unconscious desire to keep secrets about his vision magic is strong.'
As I said, Leng Smith's mental-manipulation magic couldn't force someone to do something their unconscious genuinely hated. He could attempt further spells to extract the transformative-magic information, but doing so would likely shatter Shin Ha-yul's mind.
That cannot happen.
If Shin Ha-yul's mind collapsed, the mission would become impossible.
"Lucky bastard…"
There was nothing to be done.
For now, he had to give up on Shin Ha-yul's vision magic.
'I'll let it go for now…'
Leng Smith's smile deepened.
'Friday. After the mission is finished, I'll take it.'
By then, whether Shin Ha-yul's mind was destroyed or not wouldn't matter. Stealing his vision magic after the mission would not be too late.
"Student Shin Ha-yul?"
Leng Smith returned immediately to his usual expressionless face, lifted the mind-control spell, and called to Shin Ha-yul.
"…Y-yes? Huh?"
Focus returned to Shin Ha-yul's previously blurred eyes.
"What are you spacing out for? Not feeling well?"
"Ah, no? No…"
Shin Ha-yul tilted his head, puzzled by the situation, then glanced at the chip in his hand — the strange device Leng Smith had given him — and casually slipped it into his pocket, as if carrying it were the most natural thing in the world.
"All right, work hard today. I'll be going ahead."
Satisfied that the suggestion had taken hold, Leng Smith smiled and turned away.
After Leng Smith left, I headed to school with an expression as calm as usual.
'This situation is interesting.'
I smiled to myself, thinking of the chip tucked in my pocket — an illegal AI chip. An Innovation Leveling chip (IL chip).
It surprised me that Leng Smith belonged to the Black Tower. It surprised me that the Black Tower had reached out to me. But more surprising was why he'd approached me in the first place.
'At first I thought they just wanted my vision magic.'
Transformative magic is exactly the kind of vision magic the Black Tower would covet.
But it turned out their goal wasn't my vision magic.
'Their aim was to frame me as a user of illegally modified AI.'
To spin my sudden growth as the result of an illegal modified AI chip. To destroy my image down to the very edge of the abyss.
If that weren't their objective, there'd be no reason for Leng Smith to make me keep an illegal chip on me.
So why would the Black Tower want to trash my image?
There's only one answer.
'Someone hired the Black Tower to ruin my image.'
There's no gain for the Black Tower in sullying my reputation unless someone commissioned them to do so. They wouldn't bother with such a tedious task on their own.
It's 100% someone's order.
'Then the question is: who hired them?'
No deep thought required.
'Nine times out of ten, it's one of the two older brothers or two older sisters.'
Only four people here would pull such a stunt against me in this situation.
'They want to ruin my image so I'm entirely excluded from the next family head succession.'
So now the key is which of the four is responsible.
'Minji sister is out.'
Second sister Shin Min-ji wouldn't be so aggressive in the competition for the next family head. It's not her style.
'Likely not Min-hyuk brother either.'
Second brother Shin Min-hyuk is active in the succession battle but not bold enough to do something like this.
'So it must be either Ji-han brother or Se-a sister.'
Eldest brother Shin Ji-han or eldest sister Shin Se-ah. They're the most aggressive in the succession fight — the type to do whatever it takes to become the next head.
One of those two was very likely the mastermind.
'Which one, though?'
Given the scale of this operation, Ji-han seems the likeliest. But considering Se-ah's capricious, reckless nature, she's not out of the running either.
'They could even be co-conspirators.'
My head spun with complications.
With the information I had now, I couldn't narrow the suspects further.
'Should I catch Leng Smith and interrogate him?'
I already had solid evidence — the illegal AI chip. Capturing Leng Smith wouldn't be difficult. Interrogating him might reveal who was behind this.
'…No.'
The Black Tower prides itself on quiet, discreet methods.
Even if I caught Leng Smith, the odds of learning anything about the ringleader were slim.
'If I capture him now, it'll just be a scapegoat. That'll leave the mastermind forever unknown.'
That won't do.
'It'd be reckless for me to step in directly.'
If I made a move now, I might attract the Black Tower's attention. That's something I must avoid at all costs. The last thing I needed was open hostility with them.
It was best to stay out of sight as much as possible.
'Then what should I do?'
How could I uncover the culprit and resolve this cleanly without having to act myself?
I pondered the question for a long time, weighing every angle, searching for the best possible approach.
'This should work.'
At last, I reached the conclusion that seemed most effective.
'First, I need to contact the Blue Tower.'
When all my classes ended, I went straight to the Blue Tower.
After about thirty minutes in a taxi, a towering blue structure came into view in the distance.
A Gothic-style building that looked both ancient and elegantly refined.
The outer walls shimmered with the soft glow of Sea Bluelights—marine mana stones that wrapped the tower in a dreamy azure haze.
"Welcome. We've been expecting you."
As I stepped out of the taxi, a woman greeted me.
"It's been a while, Secretary Jung Soo-ah."
"Yes, exactly one year and thirty-three days," she said with a bright smile.
Jung Soo-ah — Kim Kang-in's secretary and his personal disciple.
A 6th-circle mage.
"Please, come inside. The Tower Master is waiting."
"Thank you."
I followed her into the tower.
We passed through the grand lobby and entered the direct elevator to the top floor.
The capsule shot upward at a staggering speed.
Ding—
In just three seconds, we'd passed the 30th floor and arrived at the 50th, the highest level.
As the doors slid open, the interior slowly revealed itself — thick tomes piled everywhere, surrounded by expensive reagents, mana stones, and artifacts.
'Looks exactly the same as a year ago.'
The top floor of the tower.
Kim Kang-in's room was still being used as his private research lab.
The secretary stepped out first and walked toward Kim Kang-in, who was focused on something at his worktable.
"Tower Master, Mr. Shin Ha-yul has arrived."
"Oh? It's that time already?"
With a look of mild regret, Kim Kang-in removed his hand from the mana stone on the table.
"I was just getting to the good part. Tch."
His regret turned to irritation.
He clicked his tongue softly, exhaled sharply, and stood to approach me.
"Haha, apologies. I got caught up in my research and lost track of time."
He tried to appear affable, but his tone and expression were harsher than usual.
"No, I should apologize for coming unannounced."
"..."
His eyebrow twitched — a look that said, So you do know it's rude.
'He's irritable… must've been deep in research when I interrupted.'
The gentlemanly image he'd shown before seemed like a lie.
He was clearly in a foul mood.
A different person altogether.
'But that mana stone he was analyzing…'
A peculiar stone infused with four different hues of light — far more surprising than his mood.
'Why is that here?'
"Then I'll head back to the lobby. Please, enjoy your meeting," Jung Soo-ah said.
"Thanks, Soo-ah. Take a break."
She gave a polite bow, then disappeared into the elevator.
"This way, please."
"Yes."
I followed Kim Kang-in to a relatively tidy table.
He sat first; I took the seat across from him.
"Well, we're both busy, so let's get to the point."
He leaned forward, resting his chin on his clasped hands, eyes cold.
"Something important enough to demand a face-to-face meeting as soon as possible, huh? Let's hear it."
The smile on his face was nothing like his usual kind one — it was heavy, restrained.
"I agreed to this meeting because I've always thought well of you, Ha-yul, but…"
The look in his eyes said it plainly: If this turns out to be nonsense, you won't be forgiven.
'I knew he gets touchy when interrupted mid-research, but this is worse than I expected.'
He was far more irritable than anticipated.
'…Troublesome.'
Needless to say, I was here to prepare for Leng Smith's ploy on Friday.
To resolve this quietly, I needed the Blue Tower's cooperation.
'But Kim Kang-in won't listen in this state.'
With no solid evidence to show, any negotiation would depend entirely on his mood.
'First, I have to ease his irritation.'
Before I could negotiate, I had to lighten his mood.
'Luckily, I've got the perfect topic for that.'
It wouldn't be too hard to win him over.
"Before we get into the main topic, there's something I'd like to say first."
"I told you, we're both busy. Let's skip to the point."
"I don't mind, but are you sure? You'll regret it if we don't."
"Regret? Me?"
"Yes."
I smiled and gestured toward the corner of the room — the spot where he'd been working earlier.
"What I want to talk about is that mana stone you're currently studying…"
The one set on the intricate crafting table for mana research.
I pointed directly at it and smiled faintly.
"It's about the Element Mana Light."
"…How do you know about that stone? I haven't even disclosed its existence, let alone its name."
Kim Kang-in's eyes sharpened — suspicion flashing across them.
"Don't misunderstand. There's no spy in the Blue Tower, and I didn't steal any information."
Even the power of a Magus household couldn't extract intel from the Blue Tower.
"Then how do you know about the Element Mana Light?"
"It's simple."
I pulled a small box from my bag — something I'd brought along to request crafting services from Korea's best artifact artisans at the Blue Tower.
A perfect material I'd obtained by sheer luck during the first trial's page.
"I have one too. An Element Mana Light."
"…!"
The moment I opened the box, Kim Kang-in's eyes widened to their limits.
Beyond shock — utter disbelief.
"Perfectly… refined? How… No, who…?"
I enjoyed his astonished reaction and asked calmly,
"Well, Tower Master — still not interested in hearing what I have to say?"