I Became the Only Non-mage in the Academy

Chapter 79: Electronic Witch (3)

Electronic Witch.

She was a very famous figure, but for a very bad reputation.

Born with the rare talent of a spirit mage, she was unable to contract with any spirit of any attribute.

Her talent was extremely poor. She couldn’t contract with spirits of any derived attributes, let alone the four major elements.

However, her self-proclaimed master continued to help her to the end.

Was it her master’s effort? She finally contracted with a spirit.

It was the spirit of electronics that roamed the electronic world.

Having begun to handle the spirit of electronics, she performed incredibly unbelievable feats.

She effortlessly breached the security of a nation that numerous hackers had failed to penetrate and gathered all kinds of information from around the world.

Her physical power was utterly insignificant, but in the electronic world, she was as powerful as an almighty god.

But perhaps because of that,

Many forces started targeting her. Forces of good, neutral, and even villains began to aim for her.

In the midst of this, her master, who had greatly helped her in contracting the spirit of electronics, was killed.

Having experienced this, she vowed revenge, choosing to assimilate with the spirit.

Assimilation with a spirit is an extremely dangerous choice. One can lose themselves and become part of nature itself, as spirits are nature.

However, she managed not to lose herself against the slim odds and became a witch roaming the electronic world.

And she started to look for a way to avenge her master, putting her own revenge aside.

Even her connection with The Overlord, and The Overlord’s cooperation with her for information, was because she sought The Overlord’s power.

“……”

The Electronic Witch closed her eyes.

“It makes sense. No, it has to.”

Her eyes, sparking with blue electricity, looked at me.

“You really were a being that just dropped from the sky. In the electronic world, there was no information about you. Only your ID and student ID existed.”

I remembered the first day.

Staring blankly at the place where only my ID and student card lay.

“I’m sorry to say, but I investigated your background. There were all sorts of nonsensical rumors at school. Like how you killed a monster at the very end of the intermediate level with one blow, or that the last in the class ranking rose to the middle rank overnight because of you. Even students who would have been top in other years were wary of you.”

“……”

“If you can foresee the future, everything fits. You, who have been quietly growing your power, have started an incredible performance from this Korean Hero School. As if you’re handling what heroes are supposed to do all by yourself.”

I was just trying to monopolize the rewards.

“That’s what it was. I know because I’ve been through the Tower of Trials too. That’s something a new student can’t complete in less than five minutes.”

“……”

“I believe it. You really are a seer of the future.”

The Electronic Witch said that and looked at me.

“Then, the alchemy you taught?”

“It was me.”

I felt some shame.

After all, I had learned all that from the game.

“So you have knowledge in alchemy too.”

“Well, sort of. I can make most things. Like a homunculus, even the Philosopher’s Stone.”

But things like that required a tremendous budget. And a lot of time.

A homunculus, much easier to make than the Philosopher’s Stone, would cost about 100 billion won for just a prototype, and its proportional combat power wasn’t that great.

A proper combat type could handle an intermediate level but would cost a staggering 5 trillion won.

‘But there’s meaning in the cultivation of the flesh itself.’

My words lit up the eyes of the Electronic Witch.

“That’s what you’re talking about.”

“If you provide the money and materials, I can create a body for you. While you operate in the electronic world.”

“……”

Of course, it would be a one-time use.

Even with all my effort, creating a homunculus would take a week.

However, with the Electronic Witch’s cooperation, I could afford that week.

I extended my hand forward.

“I know who killed your master, and I will help you avenge them. I will also create a body for you in this world. In return, can you cooperate with me?”

“…It’s an offer I can’t refuse. And it comes from someone who can see the future.”

The Electronic Witch, with a faint smile, took my hand.

---

Having formed an alliance with the Electronic Witch,

I began to search for Lab Escape.

“Do you want Lab Escape?”

“Yes. I need to recruit them as well.”

I checked for any messages or chats from Lab Escape under my ID, Veritas.

There was one message.

And it was lengthy.

[Hello, Mr. Veritas. I am Lab Escape, whom you once helped. Have you been well?]

The message started like this and continued with extensive content.

“Wow, this one’s no slouch either.”

“Exactly.”

In short, they were expressing gratitude for the help I had provided and wanted to repay the favor.

‘This will make arranging a meeting easier.’

I sent a message to Lab Escape, requesting a meeting.

Ding.

The response was immediate.

[Can we meet now? If you tell me your location, I’ll come right away!]

I sent my location. Shortly after, a woman with greenish hair appeared.

‘…?’

The avatar of Lab Escape had changed. I was taken aback; she typically used a pretty boy avatar due to her fondness for young-looking males.

“Um, are you, by any chance, Mr. Veritas?”

“Yes.”

I replied with ‘ㅇ’ in the message to confirm my identity.

“It really is you.”

“Yes. But let’s get to the point.”

“Before we start, we should move to a more private location, where no one can overhear us.”

Suddenly, the Electronic Witch materialized out of nowhere and clapped her hands.

Clap.

Instantly, the space around us shifted, and we were in a different room.

“This place is safe. No entity can eavesdrop on our conversation here.”

The Electronic Witch stated it as if it were obvious.

Naturally. She was the closest to an omnipotent being in this world.

“Uh, ugh! Th-the Electronic Witch…”

“She and I are cooperating. But first, let’s sit down and talk?”

“Yes, yes.”

Lab Escape sat down, extremely tense, like a private encountering a four-star general.

‘Well, considering the context, it might not be surprising.’

Most of the alchemy community praised me.

That would be fine, but some members had even created a religion to worship me.

Every word from Veritas was seen as truth, and it was believed that I would lead them.

“I sent you a message because I saw talent in you.”

“T-talent?”

Lab Escape was startled.

“Do I, do I have talent?”

“Yes. Your skill in creating recipes and the way you’re currently tuning magic to refine materials clearly show you have exceptional talent.”

I hadn’t seen Lab Escape tune magic.

But I knew she had grown to be one of the most outstanding figures in the Alchemy Guild.

I knew she was the best at tuning magic among all alchemists.

“That’s why I want to invest in you.”

“Are you, are you, are you, you, saying you’ll take me, me as your disciple?!”

Lab Escape spoke, almost hyperventilating.

It felt a bit like the image was shattered.

No, it was already shattered due to her being a shotacon.

“……Yes.”

“I, I am very lacking…”

Lab Escape started to say something but stopped and looked at me. With tears welling up and a determined expression, she spoke to me.

“If Mr. Veritas says so, I must not be lacking. Should I perform a bow of allegiance?”

“……That’s not necessary. If you hit a snag, contact me here. I’ll teach you.”

“Yes, yes! Understood!”

Lab Escape said, bowing her head deeply. More than a ninety-degree angle. A little more and her head would touch the ground.

I was dumbfounded but then noticed the emblem on her chest.

“……What’s that?”

“Ah, you recognized it. It’s an emblem modeled after Mr. Veritas’ mask. It’s also the new symbol of the Alchemy Guild.”

The Electronic Witch sent a sneaky message.

“That’s a special emblem only available to fan club members in the Alchemy Guild. But that design is only given to those in the first digit of the fan club membership.”

The Electronic Witch said with a faint laugh.

“She’s one of your most fervent devotees.”

‘It seems so.’

I was incredulous, but I still taught Lab Escape various things.

---

I went outside.josei

Fortunately, nothing had happened.

When I opened my phone, several files had been stored on it.

-First, I quickly prepared the materials you need. And let me know if you need ingredients. I’ll get you anything.

I looked at the materials the Electronic Witch had given me.

‘Not bad.’

Most of what I knew were the ‘big’ things.

I hadn’t known the small things or had glossed over them, but these materials filled in those gaps.

I skimmed the materials and mentioned a few ingredients that were difficult to obtain by my standards.

-…All difficult materials. I’ll get them within a week.

The Electronic Witch said before disappearing somewhere.

I took my phone and headed straight to the company.

I had rented a place but didn’t have a training ground yet.

I entered the company with my work card and headed to the training ground. It was empty, probably because of the Tak Yoon-il incident.

After completing my training and taking a shower, I left the company.

The sky was navy-colored.

On my way home, I watched it.

From a distance, I saw Kim Seo-hyun.

“Are you leaving now?”

“Yeah. Your wounds… they seem okay.”

“I just overused my internal energy. You and Woon-hyuk were the ones who got seriously hurt.”

I wasn’t as badly injured as I had thought.

Park Woon-hyuk was a case where he had sacrificed himself to create an opportunity for me to attack.

‘…Should I send more elixirs?’

I knew I should visit the school soon to gather more ingredients for the elixirs.

“But aren’t you curious?”

“About what?”

Kim Seo-hyun gazed at me thoughtfully.

Suddenly, it hit me.

Before the final showdown with Tak Yoon-il, Kim Seo-hyun had hinted at something.

Without much fuss, he had mentioned his willingness to share his secret with me.

“The secret?”

“Yes.”

“Well, it’s a secret, after all. You’ll tell me when the time is right.”

Even if I hadn’t known that Kim Seo-hyun was a woman,

I would have reacted the same way.

A secret remained a secret because someone chose to keep it hidden.

‘That secret is probably about her being a woman.’

Judging from Tak Yoon-il’s way of speaking and the reactions of others, it seemed that her being a woman was a closely guarded secret.

…Why does gender matter so much?

I pondered over Kim Seo-hyun’s abilities and background, but I found no justification for why her gender needed to be concealed.

Especially since there was no skill with such a gender-related penalty.

“Is that… so?”

“Yeah, it’s not as if you’re a Mine or something.”

“Right.”

Instead, Kim Seo-hyun had stood alone during humanity’s darkest hour, relentlessly slaying alien foes.

She closed her eyes in despair in a world reduced to ruins.

That marked the end for anyone experiencing Epic World for the first time.

“The truth is, I’m a woman.”

“……Ah, I see.”

I feigned surprise.

“……I wasn’t expecting such an overly shocked reaction, but that’s too bland.”

“Well, it was unexpected.”

“It was?”

Kim Seo-hyun’s voice quivered.

Maybe she believed her disguise was flawless.

“It’s hard to imagine someone as attractive as you being a guy.”

“Uh…?”

“If I weren’t careful, I might have developed feelings for you.”

I clapped Kim Seo-hyun on the shoulder.

“Let’s hurry. We don’t want to start any odd rumors.”

Despite my suggestion, Kim Seo-hyun remained frozen, her face awash with color as she stared at me.