Chapter 29

She stuck out her tongue slightly and said.

“Heh. The truth is… there was no present. Never was.”

Huh?

“What? What if I had won?”

“Then I was going to give you something random I picked up before… but you know what? I never thought you’d win anyway.”

What a strange thing to say.

“I have Simulation, you know?”

“Exactly.”

“Are you saying… you knew I wouldn’t include the galloping horse as a condition?”

“Galloping horse…? Oh, you think that’s why you lost? No. You would have lost even if you included the horse.”

“What are you talking about?”

As the question marks in my eyes grew larger, she laughed and slapped me on the back.

“Hahaha! Look here!”

Yuria pulled out a 10-Light mana coin.

“The truth is, you didn’t lose because of the horse’s vibration.”

Ting!

She tossed the coin high into the air. The rapidly spinning coin.

“Heads? Tails?”

She asked.

[Simulation]

In the pitch-black darkness, Yuria tossed the coin and I shouted.

‘Tails!’

Clack!

Yuria caught the coin and shook it, saying.

‘Ta-da~ It’s heads~’

[Simulation End]

My vision cleared again.

“Heads!”

I answered confidently.

I ran the simulation properly this time. Now there was no horse to ride, so I just needed to include Yuria and the coin as conditions—nothing difficult about that. But…

Clack! After catching the falling coin, she opened her palm and teasingly said.

“Ta-da~ It’s tails~”

?? What’s going on?

“W-wait a minute! One more time!”

Ting~

Clack!

Ting~

Clack!

No matter how many times we tried, it was the same.

I couldn’t predict the coin. Could it be because I was stating the result before the coin fell? That shouldn’t create this much error, but… just in case!

[Simulation]

This time I tried speaking after she caught the coin.

‘Heads!’

She opens her palm.

‘Oh no? It’s tails?’

[Simulation End]

“This time I’ve got it! Tails!”

But when she opens her palm…

“Oh no? It’s heads?”

Wrong again.

Everything was exactly like the simulation except for the coin she revealed in her palm.

“Ah~ Mana User’s not all that great~”

Finding this amusing, she was thoroughly enjoying teasing me.

What could it be? Why was my simulation failing?

After pondering for a while, I noticed something strange.

A fact so obvious I couldn’t believe I hadn’t realized it sooner.

‘Heads!’

‘Ta-da~ It’s tails~’

‘Tails!’

‘Hehe~ It’s heads?’

Now that I think about it, I’ve never once correctly predicted her coin tosses, not in reality nor in simulation.

How is this possible?

There must be some trick!

[Simulation]

This time I observed much more carefully.

Using a Mana User’s enhanced vision, I watched the coin land in her palm.

Clack!

It definitely landed tails side up. I could stake my Mana User’s eyes and everything on this.

‘Tails!’

But she opens her palm and says.

‘What? It’s heads?’

…This cheater!

It definitely landed tails side up. But she somehow switched it instantly. But how?

‘Rewind.’

I rewound and watched again. The coin lands tails side up. But when she opens her palm… it’s heads. So this time I deliberately said heads. And then she showed me tails.

‘This is ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous.’

She was clearly using some trick, but the problem was that I couldn’t figure out how or when she switched it, even with a Mana User’s enhanced vision.

Could it be her hand speed? Is that even possible? Hand techniques so advanced that even a Mana User couldn’t detect them?

‘Rewind.’

I rewound again. The coin spun and fell. Could I really discover her secret this way?

‘I wish I could see this in slow motion…’

In frustration, I muttered those words.

Woong-

Something amazing happened. The coin began to rotate very slowly, falling toward Yuria’s palm. I could see her fist subtly twitching. A movement so minute that even a Mana User’s eyes couldn’t detect it normally.

‘Slow motion actually works?’

This function didn’t work before… but for some reason, it works now. Even as I was bewildered, I zoomed in on her hand. Zoom actually worked. I even tried X-ray vision. That worked too. Inside her fist, I could see the coin slowly flipping over.

She was blatantly flipping the coin.

…What a cheater!

I returned time to normal speed.

‘What? It’s heads?’

Shamelessly lying Yuria.

I said.

‘That’s cheating!’

‘Oh? Caught me?’

Unbelievable.

I asked Yuria a few more questions before ending the simulation.

[Simulation End]

“…”

Back in reality, I silently glared at her.

“Huh? Why? Heads, tails?”

She said mockingly.

I asked her point-blank.

“Can you see it?”

Looking slightly surprised at first, Yuria soon smiled brightly and nodded.

“Yep. I have good eyes, you know.”

Then she added, exactly like in the simulation.

“Plus, I’m pretty good with my hands.”

Definitely NOT just “pretty good.”

She clenched the coin, opened her palm, clenched it again, and reopened it. Each time she revealed her palm, the coin had flipped from heads to tails or vice versa. The problem was that even with a Mana User’s eyes, I couldn’t detect the movement.

So…

It wasn’t just “good” eyes and “good” hand skills… this was completely insane.

She could see which side a rapidly spinning coin would land on with her peripheral vision.

And her hand skills were so absurd that she could either catch it with the opposite side up or flip it while clenched in her fist.

Fine. Let’s say, for argument’s sake, that this isn’t difficult.

But the problem is that I, a Mana User, couldn’t spot her trick at a glance. That’s truly remarkable.

Now I understood why Yuria was such an exceptional archer.

While I was still stunned, Yuria leaned in and asked.

“So how did you figure it out?”

“…Simulation. I saw it with my own eyes and even heard it directly. When I asked in there, you kindly answered.”

“Wow~ That works too? That’s cheating. Total cheating.”

As she joked around, I snapped at her.

“Is that what’s important here? The bet is void! You cheated! Give me my present!”

Yuria stuck out her tongue.

“It’s the one who gets fooled who’s at fault, right? You should be thanking me for teaching you a major flaw in your Simulation.”

“That’s not a flaw! It’s cheating!”

“Really? Don’t you see? Even if you use Simulation to predict an opponent’s movements, if they’re sufficiently dexterous, it might not matter.”

I shouted back.

“I already know that!”

Isn’t that why, even after repeating the same simulation many times, I couldn’t defeat the orc? But the coin toss wasn’t a dexterity competition… it was just plain cheating!

“Ah~ You already knew? Hehe, then think of it as a review~”

Yuria smiled annoyingly.

+ – + – +

So… this all comes down to insufficient practice.

First I got excited all by myself, then felt cheated all by myself, completely played in Yuria’s hands—hardly maintaining my dignity as a Mana User.

Well… I’m not even sure if I can still call myself a Mana User.

Shaking my head as I walked away, I suddenly chuckled to myself.

“Ah, that was fun.”

Today was satisfying.

I ate well, had good conversations, bickered with Yuria—releasing all the tension that had built up inside me.

I didn’t dwell on everything that had happened to me.

The stress on my mind and body was so great that I didn’t feel like doing anything.

But now I’ve finished dinner, and it’s time to meet with Teacher Sena.

So,

Time to move forward again.

“Oh, you’re here?”

Inside the tent, it was as hot as a sauna.

Teacher Sena sat in an armchair right next to a blazing campfire, wrapped in a blanket.

“Aren’t you hot?”

When I asked, Teacher Sena replied bitterly.

“Yeah. It’s a bit cold.”

Even a child would find it hot at this temperature, yet Teacher Sena, a Mana User, was feeling cold… her condition was definitely not normal.

Teacher Sena briefly extended her hand from under the blanket to point at the chair opposite her. After I sat down, she quickly tucked her hand back inside the blanket.

It bothered me, but I pretended not to notice.

“So. So… how does it feel to be a mage?”

Teacher Sena came straight to the point.

I nervously swallowed.

“Did I… really become a mage?”

Too many strange things had happened.

According to my memory, the harpy was struck by my arrow and blown away. But… I can hardly believe it myself. Maybe it was a side effect of running too many simulations; my memories were jumbled, chaotic, untrustworthy.

If someone told me it was all a dream and Teacher Sena had actually gone berserk to drive away the harpy, I would have believed them.

But she says I’m a mage.

I had my suspicions. But really, I’ve become a mage? How?

“I don’t even know how to create a Circle.”

When I objected, Teacher Sena looked bewildered.

“Circle? What are you talking about?”

What? Is she joking? I frowned and asked again.

“You said I became a mage, right?”

Her brow furrowed too.

“What are you talking about? Stop your nonsense and explain. When did you learn Ki-blood magic? There aren’t any mages around here who could teach you that… Wait, is this some secret knowledge passed down in your family? You are from the East, after all.”

“…You’re talking about ancient history. I don’t know exactly when, but our family probably left the East hundreds of years ago.”

“…Then what? How did you use Ki-blood magic?”

“I used Ki-blood magic?”

We stared at each other stupidly.

“Ah… Jun-woo… you really give me a headache every time…”

Teacher Sena buried her forehead in the blanket and writhed.

What, what is this? This feeling like I’ve done something terribly wrong when I haven’t done anything?

After suffering for a while, Teacher Sena peeked out and said.

“Words won’t work. Go.”

“Go where…?”

“Simulation! Go run a simulation against the orc. That should give you some idea.”

That sounds like a good idea.

[Simulation]

The world darkened, and

Grrrr…

I faced the orc again after a long time.

Its black body over 2 meters tall. The orc still had an impressive presence, but…

Maybe it was because we just dealt with the Night and Storm Calamity harpy yesterday?

Somehow it looked cute.

Gruk?

Before it could charge, I charged first. Its adorable jaw that tilted in confusion,

Whack!

I sent it flying with a satisfying blow as the fight began.

Ah, a thousand years of stress just flew away.