Retire 435

435 Aptitude (3)

A good mage.

I watched Kim Chaemin closely, trying to discern what she meant by those words.

The “good mages” I knew, by the standards of ordinary people, were often those whose personalities could be called questionable.

Think about it.

Who is it that bestows the title of “good mage”?

Let’s suppose a civilian is talking about mages. From a civilian’s perspective, it’s hard to know how a mage truly operates. Naturally, their evaluation of mages is based on appearances.

The more dazzling the spectacle, the more people call someone a great mage.

That is why Park Nogyung, whom Pyunes still longs for so fervently, has been all but forgotten among the public. No matter how much Hunters sing the praises of Park Nogyung’s magic, civilians have no way of knowing its true power.

The reason Kim Chaemin and the mages of her family are often mentioned among people is similar. Of course, in their case, they really are extraordinary mages.

So, then, what does “a good mage” mean to Hunters? What answer would you get if you asked them?

It’s simple.

There’s no such thing as a good mage.

To Hunters, mages can be divided into those who are somewhat like people, and those who are just mages.

If you wanted to be more specific, you could divide them into people, mages you can tolerate, and mages you can’t.

So, where does the phrase “good mage” even come from?

Naturally, it’s a term used among mages themselves. And what does it mean?

Didn’t Kim Chaemin just say it? Talent and aptitude are different things.

Even a great magician might not be considered a good mage by other mages, and a mage whom Hunters find intolerable might, in a mage’s eyes, be a good mage.

I wasn’t sure if Kim Chaemin was aware of this subtle distinction as she spoke, but…

“……”

My eyes met Hope’s.

Hope, who had been quietly inching away from Kim Chaemin, blinked cautiously as our gazes locked.

Even if Kim Chaemin didn’t realize it, Hope surely knew the trap hidden in the phrase “good mage.” Come to think of it, despite his peculiar core, Hope had walked the path of a classic elite Hunter. Raised by Hunter parents, gaining experience in their guild… It was the same environment as Eva Robinson. The only difference was that Hope was more skilled than that little duckling.

Besides, Hope had a mad mage at his side. That was Noah Michel.

“Ah, that’s true. Talent and aptitude are different things,” Hope said.

Gamble, an Awakened but with a mindset closer to a civilian, failed to notice the subtle tension between Hope and me and simply nodded along.

“It’s rare for what you want to do and what you’re good at to be the same thing.”

“Yes. So… Jinwoo will do well. As a mage.”

And yet, I simply couldn’t accept Kim Chaemin’s assessment.

Choi Jinwoo was, among the Academy’s students, the most ordinary—raised in an environment closer to that of a civilian. He hadn’t awakened early and suffered for it, nor did he come from a family of Hunters or mages. He wasn’t from a wealthy family, either. He was just an ordinary boy from a harmonious home, the kind you could find anywhere.

That was partly why I hoped Park Seohyun would be influenced by him. I thought that having an emotionally stable friend nearby might help steady Park Seohyun’s own ups and downs.

So wasn’t this like finding that the handle of the trusty axe you’d relied on had rotted away? What on earth was she talking about?

---

In the end, I spent quite some time talking with Kim Chaemin.

Though she fumbled for words, unsure how to explain, she eventually managed to put it in terms I could understand.

“Jinwoo doesn’t get shaken easily.”

“…He is a calm kid.”

“He looks gentle, so it’s easy to be fooled, but honestly, I think Jinwoo is the most stubborn of all the kids. Not so much ruthless, but… stubborn, you know?”

That was an assessment I had never even considered.

“Not Oh Hyunwook?”

“Hyunwook is surprisingly soft inside.”

Knowing that piglet myself, I found it impossible to agree.

But a piglet is a piglet, and our piglet…

‘I can draw this well now!’

‘Really? Then what about the rune we learned last week?’

‘…I’ll go practice.’

When I remembered how crestfallen he’d looked over runes, maybe she had a point.

Kim Chaemin looked at my face and shook her head.

“I’m not saying Jinwoo will become the kind of mage you’re thinking of.”

“I wasn’t thinking anything strange.”

“What’s a mage to you, Teacher Woo?”

“Generally, someone with a lot of personality issues.”

“I never said that about Jinwoo.”

“No, so please, explain in detail.”

Kim Chaemin sighed again.

She’d hesitated from the very start, so she must have known how her words would sound…

“Jinwoo grew up in a relatively peaceful family, right? If he hadn’t awakened as a mage, he’d never have encountered dungeons or monsters.”

“That’s true.”

“And yet he followed the principal to the Academy. Do you think just any kid could do that? Could you have done it?”

At that, I realized something.

I hadn’t grown up in a typical environment, either. I didn’t go to the Academy because I didn’t want to become a Hunter, but honestly, if my father had told me to go, I would have gone. Not because of pressure, but… well, there was no real downside.

Looking back, it wasn’t so much that I didn’t want to be a Hunter, but that I wanted to test my father—to see if he’d really let me do as I wished.

“I’m not sure…”

I rubbed my neck.

“It’s not impossible.”

“…Oh, come on.”

Kim Chaemin let out an exaggerated sigh. It annoyed me for some reason.

“Most people couldn’t do it. Maybe at first, out of curiosity. But is this school normal? The other kids… well, it’s awkward to say, but some have nowhere else to go, and some have guardians here with them, right?”

More than half the students had nowhere else to go. Only Lee Seungyeon, Soon Sunjin, and Han Eunyoung might be exceptions.

“But Jinwoo doesn’t fit into any of those categories, does he?”

“No…”

“If I were Jinwoo, I’d have quit the school after the pension explosion last winter.”

“……”

“I’d have run away in fear.”

Now that I thought about it… she was right.

It was only because the great magician was there that the children were able to regain their composure so quickly. That incident alone was enough to warrant complaints from any parent.

Maybe it was a blessing that the parent was also the school’s administrator.

And that wasn’t the only attack. Even at the Academy… there had been monsters falling from the sky.

We must have been out of our minds.

“But Jinwoo never wavers.”

“……”

“Once he decides on something, he never changes his mind. Jinwoo has resolved to become a mage. No matter what happens, he’ll become one. He’ll learn magic from Seohyun.”

Kim Chaemin looked me straight in the eye as she spoke.

“That’s why Jinwoo will become a good mage. He can’t be satisfied until he accomplishes what he sets his mind to.”

Her words gave me… quite a bit of insight.

I didn’t think I had misunderstood the children, or Choi Jinwoo.

Choi Jinwoo was still a quiet, gentle student. And as Kim Chaemin said, “good mage” didn’t mean someone with personality issues.

Choi Jinwoo was one of those students whose future I couldn’t predict. Unlike Park Seohyun or Oh Hyunwook, whom I only needed to guide away from the worst possible outcomes. No, in truth, they weren’t so different after all.

Isn’t it a teacher’s job to discern the talent and aptitude of each student and guide them accordingly?

It’s just…

“I don’t care if a mage is good or bad, as long as they’re competent.”

“What?”

Hope stretched with a bored look as she spoke.

“If Sandra comes up with a groundbreaking, genius way to close a dungeon without even going inside, of course that would be best.”

“Huh? Did you call me?”

“No. Keep doing what you’re doing.”

Hope waved her hand lazily at Gamble.

“She couldn’t do it before, right? So we have to be ready in case she can’t do it this time, either.”

“What… Mont-Saint-Michel?”

“Are you planning to charge in head-on? Even our master couldn’t do it, and told us never to go in. If that’s the plan, count me out. I’m not going in.”

Hope spoke in a languid, bored voice.

“As the gentleman from France said, the only viable method is to go straight for the core. And, surprise! This school just happens to have the successor to a convenient magic, thought to be lost, studying right here!”

Her laughter grated on my nerves.

All the more so because I knew she was right.

“You said earlier you had no intention of taking the kid into the dungeon, didn’t you?”

“……”

“Then what’s the point of this school? It’s called a Hunter Academy, isn’t it? It’s a place to train Hunters. What kind of Hunter never enters a dungeon?”

“…Mont-Saint-Michel is different.”

“A dungeon is a dungeon. Just a harder one, that’s all.”

“You just said yourself you wouldn’t go into Mont-Saint-Michel.”

“That’s only if it’s certain death. But if there’s even a sliver of hope? I’ll go in.”

Hope’s eyes flashed. No longer shining gold, they were now an ordinary brown.

She tapped the floor with her restless foot.

“……!”

The one who’d been sitting in the chair was now behind me.

“If I just know the location, I’ll find a way to destroy the core. I’m confident I can do it.”

Hope kicked at the floor again.

As if nothing had happened, she was back in her chair. Gamble, who’d been sitting at the computer, peering at the mana clock, seemed to sense something and looked up at us again.

Hope smiled sweetly at Gamble.

Then, turning to Kim Chaemin and me, she whispered in a voice too low for Gamble to hear.

“In front of a monster, it doesn’t matter if you’re a child or not. Whether you’re a good mage or whatever, all that only matters when the world is still intact.”

With that, Hope let out a loud yawn.

“Meeting’s over, right? I need to finish my drama. Out, both of you.”

I glanced at Hope, then left the lab without a word. Kim Chaemin, flustered, hesitated before following after me.

I walked straight across the campus. It was late afternoon, but at this hour, I knew exactly where the children would be and what they would be doing.

I entered the main building. One unused classroom.

But it wasn’t empty. Two young mages were using it as their study room. I looked through the window in the back door.

Two desks pushed together, two young mages with their heads close.

“Did I get it right?”

“Yeah… But there’s no single answer for this kind of magic. Even if it’s my grandfather’s magic, it might not suit you. Teacher Chaemin said so, too.”

“Teacher Chaemin said she doesn’t use her grandfather’s or father’s magic exactly as it is, either…”

“Right. You tried imitating me when I made a mistake, remember?”

“That wasn’t your grandfather’s magic… It wasn’t even an imitation, I just made the light flare up.”

Park Seohyun tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear as she spoke.

“That’s what matters! That’s the potential of your mana.”

At her firm words, Choi Jinwoo hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

“My light is brighter than before, right?”

“That’s proof you’re doing well.”

Park Seohyun smiled with pride.

Embarrassed by his peer and teacher’s praise, Choi Jinwoo averted his gaze—only to spot Kim Chaemin and me standing at the back door.

A good mage.

When our eyes met, Choi Jinwoo smiled shyly.