I’ll Retire After Saving the World - Chapter 13
———
Chapter 13 – The Witch Park Seohyun (2)
Runes were the domain of magicians.
Only magicians could draw runes, so it was natural.
However, even magicians had long neglected runes. Anything that could be done with runes could be done with magic, and it was simpler to use magic.
Drawing a rune required concentrating mana into one’s fingertips to create a path for the magic to follow… I’m not a magician, so I don’t know the details. In any case, the effort put into runes was not worth the results. Besides, they could be easily erased.
However, the advent of the magical barrier rune brought new attention to runes. The impact was significant enough to overshadow the previous disadvantages. There was now a reason to use runes despite their drawbacks.
Then, magic pens were created. This ushered in an era where even non-magicians could draw runes. Naturally, the value of runes increased even more.
Modern dungeon strategies are divided into before and after the rediscovery of runes.
This is the content covered in the first lecture of the Hunter Academy’s mandatory course, “Introduction to Runes” for first-year students.
“So.”
I looked at the two magicians sitting in the storeroom-turned-classroom.
Choi Jinwoo, who was sitting up straight and brimming with enthusiasm, and Park Seohyun, who was chewing the end of a pencil and muttering incomprehensible words.
Honestly, I wasn’t sure if Park Seohyun was even in a state to hear me, let alone attend class.
I turned my gaze to the back of the classroom.
“Why did you stop talking? Just ignore me and keep going.”
When our eyes met, Hong Seokyoung waved his hand and laughed.
“We’ll stay quiet too!”
Next to him were the remaining students, here to attend a rune class they wouldn’t use. Time was abundant. The only face I recognized twenty years later was Oh Hyunwook. Even Oh Hyunwook was unfamiliar, no longer a pig buried in fat but a skinny student. Time indeed…
I wished at least one more among them had the talent of Oh Hyunwook or Park Seohyun.
I looked at the two magicians who were supposed to attend this class.
Let’s start by assessing their levels.
“Let’s see how skilled you are first.”
“Our skill level?”
“No need to be nervous. You can draw runes, right?”
Choi Jinwoo blinked and answered in a baffled voice.
“We drew runes in Myeongdong.”
Crack.
At the same time, there was an ominous sound from Park Seohyun.
“Huh…”
Park Seohyun lowered her head.
Her shoulders shook, and after a while, she raised her head. A broken pencil fell from her mouth.
“……”
“……”
Even though magicians are much sturdier than civilians, I still asked.
“Is there a problem?”
“……”
“You’re Park Seohyun, right?”
Park Seohyun answered after a long pause.
“……I’m fine.”
Her voice was so small that I would have missed it if I hadn’t been listening closely.
She didn’t look fine at all.
I wondered if I was the only one who thought Park Seohyun’s state was unusual and looked around.
Choi Jinwoo glanced sideways at the pencil-chewing sound but didn’t seem overly concerned.
Hong Seokyoung’s nonchalance was typical of him, but shouldn’t the others find it odd? One of their peers had suddenly turned into this mess overnight?
Maybe this was normal, and I was the odd one.
That’s why mental evaluations are essential when getting a hunter license. Skills are important, but mental issues can’t be ignored.
Every year, some students at Hunter Academy couldn’t withstand this atmosphere and dropped out. In a way, those who couldn’t endure this couldn’t possibly handle dungeon expeditions.
I don’t know.
I gave up thinking and drew a rune on the board. It was the magical barrier rune used in Myeongdong.
“You’ve drawn this many times, right?”
“Huh?”
“Since escaping from Myeongdong, haven’t you drawn it at least once?”
This rune?
Choi Jinwoo hesitated, glancing at me, and answered.
“I’ve drawn it.”
“You must have practiced a lot.”
He probably thought I would scold them for using it without permission. I didn’t care.
“I taught you to use it. Feel free to use it.”
“…Really?”
“Yes. So hurry up and draw it. I want to see how well you do.”
* * *
Hong Seokyoung narrowed his eyes.
“No, you got that part wrong again.”
“I thought runes would still activate with this margin of error…”
“It will activate.”
Woo Hwijae took the rune that Choi Jinwoo had drawn and stuck it on his own forehead. Then, realizing his mistake, he removed it and placed the paper on Choi Jinwoo’s forehead instead.
“Activate it.”
With a mana suppressor on his ankle, Woo Hwijae couldn’t activate the rune himself.
Only Hong Seokyoung knew this detail. Choi Jinwoo, without any suspicion, obediently activated the rune. The magical energy that had been floating around the young magician disappeared.
It was a scene he had seen many times. He didn’t know how many times he had confirmed it with the kids. Yet every time, it was always surprising. A rune that could hide magical energy?
How many dungeons deemed unconquerable could be tackled with this rune? Just off the top of his head, he could think of at least a dozen. Including overseas dungeons, there would be even more.
This was why he had pushed to bring the kid in for a demonstration, despite opposition. If he knew other runes besides the magic barrier rune, it would be helpful.
“Let’s assume you’re tackling a dungeon.”
Woo Hwijae began to explain leisurely. He had quite the knack for teaching. Had he taught someone before?
“In what situations do you think this rune would be useful?”
Hong Seokyoung stroked his chin.
* * *
“In what situations do you think this rune would be useful?”
“Uh… when escaping from monsters?”
Since they had used it that way in Myeongdong, the answer was predictable.
“And?”
“And? Um… when sneaking up for an ambush?”
I nodded.
“Have you ever been inside a dungeon?”
“Huh? Uh, no… I awakened last year. I got my hunter license this year.”
“Really?”
What was Choi Jinwoo’s shield casting time again? 4.2 seconds?
Considering he had been a magician for less than a year, he was more than decent; he was excellent.
Choi Jinwoo’s answer wasn’t wrong. The magic barrier rune was typically used for such purposes.
But some dungeons had exceptionally nasty quirks. They were filled with old-fashioned traps or required specific conditions to open paths.
Such dungeons often claimed more hunters than those that were outright dangerous.
If he hadn’t experienced dungeon raids yet… he might enter a nearby dungeon soon.
I glanced at Hong Seokyoung. When it came to dungeon raid theories, I was better. The problem was how much I could teach them…
“This time, you only needed to run. There were no issues even when you were leading, right?”
“Yeah… there weren’t many monsters.”
Of course, there shouldn’t be any since I had cleared them all out.
“But if an actual battle breaks out, would that be possible?”
“Uh…”
“Why haven’t runes been used much until now?”
“…Because magic is more convenient?”
“Why is magic more convenient?”
It might have been a tough question for Choi Jinwoo, who had only recently awakened.
I looked at Park Seohyun.
“……”
Crunch.
The broken pencil disappeared back into Park Seohyun’s mouth.
…Should I ask her? Would she answer?
I took a chance. Hong Seokyoung had dismissed her state as a change in style. Maybe that was true. Teenage girls often went through phases like that.
“Uh, Park Seohyun?”
“…………Yes?”
“Why haven’t runes been used much until now?”
“……”
Park Seohyun mumbled, moving her mouth. I waited for a moment.
Ptooey.
Thud.
A piece of pencil fell from her mouth.
Why does she keep… Is that really a style? It’s more like she’s lost her mind.
“Because… they can be easily erased…”
“That’s right. Runes can be easily erased.”
That was one of the main reasons runes hadn’t been used much.
I picked up a piece of broken pencil from Park Seohyun’s desk.
No need to use magic. Just rubbing it with your hand or drawing a line with a pencil can easily ruin it. In dungeons where ambient magic often interferes, runes certainly wouldn’t last.
“That’s why it’s important to draw runes accurately.”
“Drawing them accurately doesn’t increase their durability, though…”
“Of course not.”
The kind French archmagician who developed the magic barrier rune had improved these shortcomings of runes.
Viva la France!
“Let me say upfront that I’m not a magician. I don’t know the principles, so don’t ask.”
To preemptively block any questions.
“On top of a precisely drawn rune…”
I drew another rune over the magic barrier rune on the board.
It wasn’t just one rune. At least five runes were combined: sustain, correction, waterproof, amplify… what was the last one? Ah, resonance.
The effect is simple. It helps prevent the rune from being easily erased.
The geometric patterns intertwine, creating a design so complex that it’s hard to recognize the original magic barrier rune.
“By overlaying this, it won’t be easily erased.”
Choi Jinwoo’s eyes wandered, following the rune, until they finally lost focus.
“Do you think you can draw it?”
“Uh… um, teacher…?”
Park Seohyun put down the pencil she had been chewing on and called me carefully.
“What is it?”
“Why… why didn’t you teach us this?”
“What?”
Park Seohyun closed her open mouth. Sensing she wanted to ask something, I waited, but she only bit her lip.
It was only after a long pause that Park Seohyun spoke again.
“In Myeongdong….”
Oh.
Hmm.
Could it be?
As I struggled to find words, a thought flashed through my mind. Park Seohyun suddenly shuddered and shook her head.
“No, never mind… I drew the rune wrong in the first place… even if I knew, it wouldn’t have helped….”
“…….”
“Sorry for interrupting….”
Mumbling quietly, Park Seohyun picked up the pencil rolling on her desk and bit it again. Seriously, what’s with the pencil… never mind.
“Um, Park Seohyun?”
I called out to her.
“…Yes?”
So, this girl….
“…Teacher?”
No way.
Could it be?
“Uh, um… no, never mind. I’ll continue explaining. Where was I?”
“You were saying that runes need to be drawn accurately.”
“Right, Jinwoo. Since this is also a combination of runes, if there’s any mistake in the initial rune, it won’t activate properly. Even a small mistake means no effect at all. So, you must always draw them accurately.”
“It’s a combination of runes? How does that work?”
“I can’t distinguish them. But the person who made it said so, so just memorize it as a whole.”
I kept running my hand through my hair to hide my embarrassment.
…Is it true? Is that really why?
So, does that mean Park Seohyun is in this state because of what happened in Myeongdong?
Twenty years later, I could understand if it was because of the friends she lost during the Myeongdong incident. I expected that. But now?
Now, is it because the rune she drew for Lee Seungyeon failed to work?
“It looks too complicated….”
“You need to practice.”
So…
“…Teacher!”
Are you saying it’s my fault?
No, no, no, even if her mental state is fragile, this is too much. She might be shocked, but everything turned out fine, didn’t it? No one died?
Isn’t that good enough?
Park Seohyun and Choi Jinwoo began to follow the rune I had drawn. It’s such a complex rune that it can’t be mastered after just a few tries like the magic barrier rune.
However, Park Seohyun handed me her paper. The rune was pressed hard with a pencil.
For someone drawing an unfamiliar rune for the first time, the completion level was high.
“…Did I get it right? Did I draw it correctly? It will activate, right?”
Park Seohyun asked, looking at me with a desperate expression.
————