Chapter 36: Anyway, once the revenge is over, I was going to kill myself

The Hellfire I launched instantly shattered Chang Seok-hyun’s spell and struck his body.

-BOOM-!

The air was filled with the smell of burning flesh.

“Tsk. Why did you have to provoke me?”

I muttered, and Chang Seok-hyun stumbled forward, swaying.

“My… my spell is a high-level spell too… how could…”

The guy looked at me with disbelief, half-conscious and barely holding on. I answered his question.

“Are you really asking because you don’t know the reason? Isn’t it obvious? If an amateur like you could wield a spell as powerful as mine, wouldn’t that be the real problem?”

“Even if we cast the same spell, the power of yours and mine is completely different. Do you know why? It’s because we’re on different levels. The way we manage mana, how we wield it, and the total amount of mana we use—there are dozens more factors I could mention, but this should be enough for you to understand.”

[Gravity]

-CRASH-!

I slammed his upright body down into the ground.

“You might put on a brave front even after getting beaten up, but if you’ve thrown the first punch, you should at least apologize properly, shouldn’t you? Since you seem unwilling to apologize, I’ll make you do it by force.”

I increased the gravity on him bit by bit, pressing his body flat against the ground.

“Now that’s a position I like. Don’t mess around. I was seriously considering killing you, but since my first batch of potential disciples is watching, I should show some mercy. Consider yourself lucky.”

-Whoosh-

I released the gravity spell, and he gasped for breath.

“Ugh… Ughhh…”

“Stop pretending like you’re about to die. Why’d you act tough when you lack the skill?”

“You… stop mocking me… My cousin will definitely take revenge for this…”

[Lightning Storm]

-BZZZT-

The bolt of lightning struck Chang Seok-hyun instantly, knocking him out before he could even scream.

“A worm who only knows how to rely on others. Live your life as trash.”

I said one last thing to the unconscious guy before moving back to where the other disciples were standing.

There, about a hundred candidates were watching me with various expressions.

‘Hmm…’

Some were clearly afraid of me, some looked at me with admiration, and others wore cold, indifferent expressions as if they had no emotions.

‘I like those eyes… Dead, like fish eyes. Seems like there’s a story behind them.’

I pointed at one girl who was looking at me with those dead eyes and spoke.

“You, come forward.”

-Step, step, step-

The girl walked forward without saying a word.

-Whoosh-

As I observed her closely, I noticed she possessed a considerable amount of mana.

‘She’s currently at B-rank, but with my SSS-rank buff, and if I teach her how to utilize external mana and guide her through Circle Break, she could quickly grow into one of the top A-rank magicians.’

I questioned the girl.

“What’s your name, and why did you apply to be my disciple?”

“My name is Park Hye-yeon. The reason I applied is for revenge. There’s someone I need to take revenge on. But I’m not strong enough. That’s why I’m here. I heard you’re strong.”

The girl looked at me with empty, emotionless eyes.

• [S] Scan: Ability to discern whether the person’s words are true or false.
• Scan Result: It’s the truth.

‘Hmm… She doesn’t seem to be lying.’

‘She looks about 20 years old. Apart from the fact that she’s speaking informally, I like her motive, and she has great potential for growth.’

I spoke to Park Hye-yeon.

“You’ve passed. Please move to the back.”

I continued to ask the remaining hundred candidates simple questions to sort through the potential disciples.

The ones who had no particular motivation and simply wanted to grow stronger aimlessly, or those who were weak-willed, were filtered out from the start.

‘They align almost perfectly with the ideal group I wanted.’

Out of over 30,000 applicants, I chose only four, including Park Hye-yeon. In other words, among 30,000 people, only four matched the type of talent I sought.

However, this was a sufficient number.

‘Including Kang Eun-byul, the daughter of the Hunter Association’s chairman, that makes a total of five.’

I spoke to the remaining candidates standing before me.

“Congratulations. You are the elite group chosen as my disciples from tens of thousands of people. I will do my utmost to teach you, and your abilities will grow exponentially in a short period.”

“There is no cost. However, there is one condition you must agree to. You must lend me your power five times when I request it. This will be enforced through a contract, and if you’re not comfortable with this condition or the idea of lending your power, you may choose not to become my disciple.”

Naturally, no one chose to leave.

‘Good. Even though they all have strong motivations, I was worried that if anyone left, it would be a hassle to find new members.’

The reason I wanted to recruit disciples was to destroy the Mage Tower, which operates as a collective, and to crush petty swordsmen like Baal.

It’s too much for me alone, but with the best talents filtered from tens of thousands, four disciples with fierce motivations, and the connections of Kang Eun-byul, the Hunter Association chairman’s daughter, it’s more than possible.

‘Although Kang Eun-byul’s growth potential is relatively lower than these others, the advantage of her being the Hunter Association chairman’s daughter is enormous.’

I was a bit worried because she tended to avoid criminal actions, but considering I saved her father’s life, she’d surely lend me her power if given a justifiable reason.

‘I just took them in as disciples, so I should at least know their personal information.’

I addressed the four disciples standing before me.

“Please introduce yourselves briefly, one by one.”

They each spoke in turn.

“My name is Seo Chan-woo. As you can see, I’m a male A-rank mage. I’ve been active as a Hunter so far, but I’ve withdrawn from all affiliations to become your disciple.”

“My name is Lim Se-a. I’m a B-rank mage and have been studying alone without any affiliation.”

“My name is Min Da-yun. My rank is A, and I used to belong to a guild, but I withdrew to apply as your disciple.”

“My name is Park Hye-yeon. I’m a B-rank mage and have not been affiliated with any group until now.”

I spoke to my disciples.

“Now that we’ve finished the introductions, I’ll speak informally from now on for convenience. Is that okay?”

All the disciples nodded. Suddenly, I became curious and asked Park Hye-yeon a question.

“Park Hye-yeon, I’m not trying to be sarcastic, but do you always speak informally to everyone?”

She nodded and replied.

“I only use formal speech with people I truly trust. The only ones I spoke formally to were my parents.”

The evaluation showed she was telling the truth.

“I see. I hope the other disciples won’t feel uncomfortable with her way of speaking. It doesn’t seem like she’s lying.”

I mentioned this out of concern for any potential conflict, but the disciples seemed indifferent, as if they didn’t care at all. It was as if they were all broken in some way.

‘It’s understandable. They all have someone they seek revenge on.’

During our earlier conversation, they each mentioned that they had someone they needed to take revenge on and were determined to grow stronger, no matter what.

When the word ‘revenge’ left their lips, their eyes seemed to turn bloodshot.

‘It’s not surprising. This is a world of survival of the fittest. From childhood to adulthood, it would be strange to live without ever facing any injustices. Those with moderate strength or innate talent, especially without connections, face blatant hostility.’

I spoke frankly to my disciples.

“You all have a desire to become stronger, right? And the source of that desire is revenge.”

“I’m not so naive as to help you for free. So, remember that, as I mentioned earlier, you must lend me your power five times. I’ll confirm it again when we sign the contract. If you change your mind, let me know.”

“And there’s one more thing I need to tell you. I possess a growth-support buff that allows rapid improvement in a short time. If I link you to my skill, it will grant you incredible growth, far beyond your imagination. However, there’s one downside: once I remove the link, it becomes a severe debuff. The choice is yours. Will you use my skill?”

Without any hesitation, Park Hye-yeon stepped forward.

I addressed her, who had moved swiftly.

“Is it really okay? I haven’t even explained in detail what the debuff is or how severe it could be.”

She spoke with her usual empty eyes.

“It doesn’t matter. As long as I can grow stronger quickly, I don’t care what the debuff is.”

“After all, once I’ve taken my revenge, I planned to die anyway.”