The Heroine Stole My Regression

43 – A Forum of Exchange (1)

For several days, Gaon was on temporary leave.

Retaking the midterm was near impossible, and holding normal classes was out of the question with various facilities destroyed.

My Watch vibrated incessantly. I couldn’t even bring myself to check the notifications.

Interview requests, offers to appear on broadcasts, they poured in like a tidal wave. How did they even get my contact information?

Just thinking about what would happen when it was revealed that I was the one behind Muk Gui made my head throb.

“Ugh, this is a drag.”

I had to make the most of my time.

My ten-year plan had crumbled completely, but I couldn’t just sit idly by.

So, for almost five days, I tackled dungeons as they came. Starting with the easiest ones.

Nothing crucially important. Just things that were good to have ahead of time.

Some of it was for me, some for our ladies.

I shoved everything haphazardly into a corner of the room and opened my notebook.

It was a new plan, revised in fits and starts.

I always preferred writing out my plans to organizing them in my head.

Initially, the foundation of the first plan was simple.

“Everything for Sung Si-woo, by Sung Si-woo, a perfect all-in.”

That was no longer possible.

Since it was impossible, I had to distribute.

First priority, of course, was—

‘Me.’

I had absorbed a fragment and ingested Iano’s elixir.

Most of the good fortune that should have returned to him, was rightfully mine now.

I had to become his substitute.

But the problem was, I couldn’t use all of that fortune.

Some of it just wasn’t compatible with my nature.

This wasn’t something that could be fixed with belated effort.

‘Mana.’

Sung Si-woo was born with an immense natural mana capacity. I had supplemented my own with the elixir, but they were fundamentally different.

Where mine was refined, tempered, Seo Siwoo’s mana simply overflowed.

Therefore, the extraordinary opportunities that would support his vast mana capacity had no chance of going to other supporting characters in the first place.

In the end, those with similar traits to Seo Siwoo—

No matter how outstanding their talent,

No matter how high their potential—

Had to be excluded. All had to be given to him, so there was nothing left to give.

And so, I now needed to find someone who could receive the opportunities that would fall away from me.

A target for a kind of trickle-down effect.

I examined the options I had dismissed.

Among them, the most intensely promising individuals.

Those with large innate mana reserves, but who had been buried because of Seo Siwoo.

And the selection, in truth, didn’t take long.

‘Yoon Chaeha.’

A student attending Kalos Academy, not Gaon Academy.

Someone initially excluded from consideration because her characteristics overlapped with Seo Siwoo’s.

But her specs were undeniable.

Her talent for magic was top-tier, and she possessed the willpower to grow sufficiently on her own.

Someone who, given time, would naturally rise to the upper echelons.

However.

I decided to accelerate her growth.

As one of the new main characters.

Coincidentally, Gaon had also drawn a new card.

During the academy’s temporary closure, they announced a program earlier than expected, under the pretext of supplementing the deficient curriculum.

‘Exchange Program.’

A program usually held around this time of year for first-year students, but exceptionally expedited this year.

A student exchange system between Gaon, the world’s number one academy,

and Kalos, the nation’s second-ranked academy.

After verifying minimal qualifications, students were free to transfer to the opposite academy and attend classes.

The ostensible justification was mutual academic supplementation.

But in reality, it was closer to a marketplace for exchanging talents to suit the tastes of both academies.

Usually, in cold weaponry and close-quarters combat, Gaon holds an overwhelming advantage, but when it comes to specialized magic, Kallos isn’t far behind.

In fact, magic-major students tend to place Kallos as their first choice.

Kallos students with talent in martial arts gradually transfer to Gaon, and vice versa.

It’s a win-win system, absorbing each other’s weaknesses and turning them into strengths.

And there. That’s the crucial part.

In the original story, the powerful asset, Yoon Chae-ha, might transfer over, or she might not.

‘The condition is.’

Sung Si-woo must exceed a certain level of notoriety and achievement points.

But meeting that standard is incredibly difficult.

If he surpasses it, she becomes interested in Sung Si-woo and transfers to Gaon.

Purely out of curiosity, with no room for the development of affection.

However,

If he fails to meet that high level of attention and performance.

She won’t be intrigued and will remain at Kallos until graduation.

Therefore, in the original story, she wasn’t a viable target.

But, Sung Si-woo is dead, and I’ve done all the work.

And that work seems to have attracted quite a bit of attention.

In other words, I just need to observe from now on.

“Will she transfer?”

The probability seems to be around 80%…

I hope she transfers.

I turned my head and looked at the corner of the room.

It was filled with shining jewels.

I smiled.

‘I have so much to give. My friend.’

So come.

*

Kallos Academy, first floor, clubroom.

Sun-kissed blonde hair sparkled even brighter, bathed in the light pouring through the window.

A radiance almost blinding.

Ju Seo-jun, without even realizing it, creased his brow.

But she, quite unlike her radiant hair, kept her gaze fixed solely on the computer screen.

A brief silence.

Finally, she opened her mouth.

“Ju Seo-jun.”

“…Why.”

On the screen, a giant serpent and five spectral duplicates hacking at its neck in unison replayed endlessly.

Without pulling her gaze away, she shifted in her seat.

Leaning back deeply, she stretched out legs encased in stockings, languidly flicking a toe.

Ju Seo-jun didn’t know where to look.

She, however, seemed not to notice, and spoke again.

A finger pointed at the screen.

Her orange eyes flared like suns, vibrant.

“This, can you do it too?”

Her eyes, dismantling and analyzing every spell.

But, no matter how she calculated.

No matter how she dissected it theoretically.

This attack eluded her analysis.

Taken aback by the question, Ju Seo-jun was flustered.

‘Can I do it?’

He watched the video for a moment.

‘This is…’

Instantly dispersing mana with such precision and striking at that perfect moment, that was something even most advanced mages couldn’t accomplish.

But he couldn’t bring himself to say he couldn’t.

“…I need to check the variables first.”

“Mana loss rate mid-flight, control difficulty based on speed changes, and the optimal impact point considering the trajectory….”

“The conclusion?”

She cut him off sharply.

“Huh…?”

“The conclusion.”

She pressed, pinpointing.

“…I don’t think I can do it.”

He finally confessed.

“Hmph…”

For a fleeting moment, Yoon Chae-ha’s lip curled upward.

Her eyes sparkled with playful mischief.

“Me neither, actually.”

Even seeing it with her own eyes, she couldn’t quite grasp it.

Just how much time and effort must have been poured in, to achieve such meticulous control, she couldn’t even begin to imagine.

And the fact that someone like that was the same age as her, well, that was an even harder pill to swallow.

Yoon Chae-ha lightly averted her gaze.

A poster resting on the corner of the desk caught her eye.

‘A Place of Exchange.’

The faculty at Kalos had been promoting it for days now.

Judging by the name alone, it sounded like a simple exchange between students—

But the truth of it was this.

‘If you dislike magic, go to Gaon.’

Within Kalos, there was a peculiar tendency to look down upon warriors.

Formally, they made it appear as if they were granting freedom of choice,

But in reality, it was a policy to push students focused on martial prowess towards Gaon.

Of course, even someone with Yoon Chae-ha’s exceptional magical aptitude received an invitation.

However, upon admission, Kalos had presented her with full scholarship and a connection to the Magic Tower.

The best offer, perfectly tailored for a mage, something Gaon would never provide.

They must have been certain she wouldn’t go to Gaon.

Yoon Chae-ha’s lips tilted upward.

‘Boring.’

For her, the elements that Kalos had offered held no merit whatsoever.

And without even blinking, she stared intently at the poster, a smile playing on her lips.

Joo Seo-joon, who had been with her for fifteen years, felt an instinctive unease.

Whenever she wore that expression, she inevitably made some harebrained decision.

“Hey, don’t tell me you’re….”

It didn’t take long for his unease to solidify into reality.

“No way. I’m going to Gaon.”

She bolted up, snatching the poster.

Joo Seo-jun’s jaw went slack.

Her, ranked 5th in Kalos.

And— himself, ranked 1st.

“What about you?”

She asked, and he sighed.

“…This is insane.”

But the answer was already written in the stars.

Yoon Chae-ha smiled with a radiance like the sun, gazing at the monitor.

Whenever he saw that smile, he could never win.

“Do as you please….”

And so it was, the moment they decided to journey together to Gaon.

*

And at that moment, somewhere beyond reality.

To be precise, in a place severed from the world.

From somewhere, a frigid wind blew.

A deep, darkened space. A silence reigned, as if even time stood still.

A vast hollow.

A man clad in black robes closed his eyes.

As he drew a breath, a somber celestial sphere manifested before him.

Stars swirled, planets traced orbits, forming lines.

An endless stream of meteors, planets scattered without order.

Within that grand flow, a singular, immense light flickered.

A frigid star emitted a chilling, azure glow.

The star, having lost its sun, wandered endlessly, searching for a new one.

And then—

The sun, huddled somewhere in hiding, gazed upon that frigid starlight, utterly captivated.

Carefully, ever so slowly,

it approached the star.

The star, as if awaiting this very moment, welcomed the sun in turn.

The sun, once destined to never rise,

would now boldly follow the star, tracing a brand new orbit.

The man’s lips parted slowly.

“Indeed.”

This was a changed timeline, an altered world line.

The flow that had begun,

would never cease.

-KuuuNG-

The immense stone gates of the hollow space slowly swung open.

From within, demons with bodies stained entirely black crawled forth.

He rose slowly to his feet, the spear gripped in his fist ringing with an eerie sound.

“That’s it.”

The sun journeys with the star.

And that new sun, never ceasing, would surely,

be reborn as a fire demon, to devour them all.