Chapter 54

“Ah-reum, hey there! You’re early today, huh?”

“Ahhh, yeah! Hey.”

At the Academy, Eun-byeol greeted Ah-reum with a cheerful wave.

She was heading to the lecture hall for her mandatory Hunter Magic Studies course.

After settling into a decent seat up front…

Ah-reum hesitated before speaking up.

“Umm…Eun-byeol…”

“Hm? What’s up?”

“Would you…would you like to skip the dungeon crawl today?”

“Ohhh, I was thinking the same thing! Though, what brought this on? You’re the one suggesting it?”

Eun-byeol readily agreed, having planned to do so from the start.

As she asked casually, Ah-reum blushed faintly in response.

“I just wanted to try harder…”

“Hmm.”

Eun-byeol squinted slightly as she looked at her friend.

Whatever wind had blown through Ah-reum, it wasn’t a bad change.

Timid Ah-reum hated going into dungeons.

Whenever she tried dragging her along to gain experience, Ah-reum would always run off to the back.

Even though both of them were meant to stay toward the rear during dungeon runs…

With Ah-reum disappearing so far away, Eun-byeol couldn’t help but worry.

And now, her friend was volunteering to go!

It was something the old Ah-reum wouldn’t have even imagined doing.

“Something must’ve happened, huh?”

Eun-byeol smiled prettily and said,

“Let’s head out after class. I should text Jae-woo ahead of time.”

“Yeah!”

Ah-reum nodded brightly, her face lighting up like a blooming flower.

After fully concentrating on the lecture…

The two women met up with Jae-woo in front of the reserved E-rank Dungeon.

There, Eun-byeol discovered another surprising sight.

“Uh…so, how exactly does one…exercise?”

“Huh? Exercise?”

“Mm-hmm…since it’s my first time, I don’t know where to start…”

Ah-reum was actually asking Jae-woo about exercising!

“Is today some kind of alternate universe?”

Eun-byeol rubbed her eyes and glanced skyward involuntarily.

Not that it would reveal anything, but still…

Ah-reum’s changes didn’t stop there.

Once inside the dungeon and combat began…

Instead of retreating far away, she stayed put in a reasonable position.

Leaning forward slightly then stopping…

Her tiptoes twitching as if trying to step forward only to pull back again…

It was an unbelievable scene unfolding right before her eyes.

“What on earth happened in the past few days…?”

Though she should’ve been focusing on Jae-woo, Eun-byeol kept glancing at Ah-reum.

Shaking her head sharply to clear her thoughts…

Once they finished clearing the dungeon…

The three exchanged casual chatter before parting ways.

Returning home, Eun-byeol bumped into her older brother Ye Do-hyeong near the entrance.

“Where you headed?”

“For a shoot. There’s some extra filming for a ramen ad.”

“Oh, that one.”

“I’ll come straight home after wrapping up.”

“Alrighty.”

Eun-byeol replied lightly since she hadn’t asked out of any particular curiosity.

Do-hyeong shrugged nonchalantly before continuing on his way.

Entering the house…

She spotted a box of instant noodles in the kitchen.

“Ew, what’s so great about these spicy ones?”

Frowning deeply, she retreated to her room.

* * *

“Like this…and…”

Vigorously twirling her pen, she scribbled various things onto several sheets of paper.

One by one, the magical incantations took shape.

“Huff!”

She momentarily lifted her head from the table to stretch her neck and shoulders.

Out of the corner of her eye, Momobin’s broadcast continued silently on the TV.

Almost done, might as well finish this and watch more.

Looking back at the papers…

The traces of the new magic she was creating came into view.

It needed a name. What should it be called?

Scoville Burn?

Tip of the Tongue Flame?

No, the goal isn’t fire or flames, but rather tongue pain.

Is there a better name? Hmm…

Hell in Your Mouth.

Burning Tongue Agony.

Ah, Burning Tongue Agony! That could work.

It’s been a while since developing new magic felt so invigorating.

Who’d have thought I’d create something so impractical?

Which makes it all the more fun somehow?

The magic itself is pretty basic, similar to low-tier debuffs, so it won’t take long to complete.

But the person on the receiving end won’t find it insignificant.

Because it’ll perfectly recreate the sensation my tongue endured…heh heh…

“Big sister! What are you working on?”

Si-yoon popped in while taking a break from her own work.

“I’m developing a new spell.”

“Dev…developing a new one?”

Her eyes widened in surprise.

Then Si-yoon’s eyes sparkled as she asked excitedly,

“What kind of spell is it?”

“One that makes your tongue feel the pain equivalent to 20,000 Scoville units.”

“Ewwww…”

Si-yoon’s face contorted in shock as if already experiencing the spell.

“Why would you make something like that…?”

“To give those bratty Heroes a taste of their own medicine.”

“A-aah…”

She nodded dumbly, hesitated briefly, then stepped back saying,

“I-I’ll be going now!”

“Good job.”

Watching Si-yoon retreat to her room…

Back to the papers on the table.

Though I mentioned 20,000 Scoville units as a reference…

It depends on how serious I am.

If I push it, the pain could exceed that easily.

You’d better not show up in front of me, you assassin scum.

“Hehehe…”

Realizing I was wiggling my toes unconsciously from excitement, I dove back into my work.

* * *

Back in her room, Si-yoon let out a small sigh.

I never expected big sister to be planning something so terrifying.

Creating new magic on top of using mysterious forces…

Just how far does big sister’s limits extend?

No, that’s not the important question.

Ever since seeing objects float around like it’s nothing…

Big sister’s limits became irrelevant.

“Would she really use it on me…?”

N-no way. Big sister wouldn’t do that. Absolutely not.

…Still, I should be careful playing pranks from now on.

If I accidentally cross the line or get into an argument…

That spell could end up on my tongue…

“Yikes…”

Just imagining it made Si-yoon scrunch up her face in fear.

Looking at her monitor…

A game requiring memory and deduction skills played onscreen.

A grid-based game where you uncover squares while avoiding hidden mines.

It was a 3D version inspired by a famous game.

“Originally, I was going to challenge big sister with this…”

Remembering how she got teased in platformers for her physical abilities…

I wanted to see how she’d do with brain teasers.

“She’d probably ace it anyway…”

Judging too quickly would’ve been a mistake.

Si-yoon exhaled deeply.

Right then…

“Aha!”

A brilliant idea struck her.

“Our big sister is a professor, after all.”

Before the Great Cataclysm, she was studying to be a teacher.

Meaning teaching others is literally her specialty.

“How about I ask her about gaming strategies?”

She’s already admitted to enjoying games occasionally.

So it wouldn’t be weird at all.

Picking one of the games she failed at before…

Learning tips…

Then showing off on stream!

“Hehehe…”

Imagining the astonished reactions of her viewers made Si-yoon grin widely.

While I need to plan the timing between learning and streaming carefully…

It definitely seems like a good approach.

“Wonder what swag I have left in my room…”

Sitting down to restart her stream, Si-yoon happily daydreamed.

* * *

The next evening…

Si-hyun and Si-yoon prepared to head out.

Yesterday, Ji-a finally contacted them after finishing her busy schedule.

Saying she finally had some breathing room…

They decided to meet up for a nice meal.

After dinner, they agreed to continue with drinks.

An excited Ji-a confidently declared,

“I’ll introduce you to my secret wine bar!”

Hearing her voice clearly in her mind, Si-hyun chuckled softly.

“AH!”

“Hm? What’s wrong?”

As they left the house and walked toward public transportation…

Suddenly, Si-yoon shouted loudly.

Frantically searching through her shoulder bag…

Patting her pockets…

“I think I left my phone at home…we’re still close by, so I’ll run back quick!”

“Ah, okay.”

Watching her sister retrace her steps…

Si-hyun pulled out her smartphone from her pocket to check the time.

“Plenty of time.”

Nodding lightly, she looked around.

Spotting a nearby convenience store, she decided to enter.

Figuring she could kill some time browsing for fresh snacks.

Selecting a few items and storing them subtly in her magic storage…

Having spent money, she confidently claimed a chair in the corner.

Sending a message to her sister about her location…

She surfed the web to pass the time.

“Hmm…?”

[Breaking News: S-rank Swordmaster Yu Byeong-jun goes missing in A-rank Dungeon.]

[“Still investigating!” Guild forming rescue team.]