## Chapter 133 – 133. Lack of Discipline
#133. Lack of Discipline
Shin Minha’s blank expression shattered at the knife-like rejection.
Her eyes, unable to hide her bewilderment, trembled slightly.
“…Deciding on a major isn’t easy, so it might be difficult to decide right here and now. But this offer would greatly benefit Hyunwoo…”
“I appreciate the offer, but I’m not interested in a professorship. So I have no intention of being a teaching assistant either.”
“…”
Rights and obligations are inseparable.
It’s problematic to think of the Magic Tower’s teaching assistant position like a regular university’s.
“I see.”
Shin Minha, as if she had already sorted things out, leaned back on the sofa and looked at me with a blank face, as if nothing had happened.
“I understand that the teaching assistant position might be burdensome. Then, what do you think about changing your major?”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think that would work either. My main focus is still elemental magic.”
“…Summoning magic is just as strong as elemental magic.”
“That’s true, but I prefer to develop my own personal power. Besides, even if I make a contract with a summoned beast, I’ll focus on it assisting me.”
The Beast Realm is a different dimension from Earth.
The higher species that live there are all monsters comparable to or stronger than A-class boss-level magical beasts.
But the stronger they are, the more pride they have, and the more enormous the price they demand.
Among the beasts I heard about in class today, some demanded a part of the contractor’s body, while others mentally exhausted them.
“…The price can be adjusted to some extent through the contract.”
That’s true.
But if it were up to me, office workers wouldn’t be leaving their salary negotiations with tearful faces every time.
“Of course, I think every magic has its pros and cons. Elemental magic is simply strong, but the magic consumption increases in proportion to its power, and it’s greatly affected by the environment and compatibility.”
One of the reasons Choi Hyena and I struggled in the isolated gate was because it was a snowy area.
“And I’m also learning various martial arts, including swordsmanship. Of course, it might seem uncharacteristic of a magician, but I’m convinced that this contributes to my growth.”
Objectively, I grow more through practical experience than through steadily researching magic.
Having a summoned beast fight for me and watching from the sidelines wouldn’t benefit me.
Of course, it would be comfortable, but if I wanted to live comfortably, I wouldn’t have used a dating app from the moment I became a magician.
“…There are knights among the summoned beasts. They would be good mentors for Hyunwoo.”
“I’m sorry, but I already have a mentor.”
Besides, it’s not like I can pick and choose the summoned beast I want.
Basically, there are three elements for summoning a beast: the summoning magic circle, the summoner, and the offering.
The offering is sometimes called a tribute, and generally, expensive jewels or magic stones are used as tributes. I’ve heard that sometimes favorite items are used as tributes.
Anyway, once you’ve prepared the summoning magic circle and the offering, all that’s left is prayer.
It would be great if you could just select the desired summoned beast from a category and summon it, but if that were the case, summoning magic wouldn’t be a minor field.
Summoned beasts are interested in the shape and structure of the summoning magic circle, feel intrigued by the prepared offering, and make their final choice based on compatibility with the summoner.
In other words, even if you prepare an expensive offering, there’s a very high chance that the desired summoned beast won’t appear.
To put it differently, it’s like a gacha game with no ceiling and a high chance of failure.
Shin Minha probably got Riyal because of her talent.
Humanoid summoned beasts are really rare in the first place.
“I’m sorry for constantly refusing. But I don’t understand why you’re making me this offer.”
The position of teaching assistant to a Magic Tower professor isn’t just any teaching assistant job. It comes with an enormous salary and various benefits.
And although it’s called a teaching assistant, they’re practically treated the same as an assistant professor, so if you work hard for a few years, you could become an associate professor.
Of course, becoming an associate professor requires passing the exams of other professors, but even so, the merit of skipping the difficult process of becoming an assistant professor means that the position of teaching assistant at the Magic Tower is always highly competitive.
“…Hyunwoo.”
Shin Minha, who had been pondering for a while, suddenly got up from her seat and moved to sit next to me.
Her appearance, sticking right next to me and meeting my gaze, gave me a strange sense of déjà vu.
A pleasant scent wafted past my nose.
“Yes?”
“Could you spare me some time?”
We were so close that I didn’t even need to reach out, and I unconsciously swallowed hard.
No matter how pretty Shin Minha is, I should refuse this.
This is poison. A golden apple with deadly poison.
If I bit into it because I was hungry, I would surely become a teaching assistant and live a miserable life of servitude.
With a rare and determined heart, I opened my mouth.
***
“…Ah.”
I finally remembered why I ended up in a gate alone with Professor Shin Minha.
I had tried to refuse, but as a price for not refusing, I was dragged all the way here.
But I had a lot to say too.
Honestly, I thought she would try to win me over with a nice dinner date, but who knew she would suddenly drag me into a gate?
No matter how you look at it, Shin Minha doesn’t have the talent to seduce men, but she has a natural ability to captivate them with her atmosphere.
‘Ha…’
We’re currently inside a D-class gate that appeared near Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, called ‘Whispering Trees.’ The magical beasts that appear are tree giants called Ents.
‘How did she reserve this place?’
Even though Ents are stronger than other D-class magical beasts, the value of the various herbs and plants that can only be harvested here is considerable.
It’s not enough to attract the attention of large guilds, but it must be a place where competition among small and medium-sized guilds is fierce.
After a moment of thought, I found the answer in the emblem of the Gray Magic Tower drawn on her robe.
The association staff probably handed it over because they knew that Shin Minha was a professor at the Magic Tower.
Of course, she would have to fulfill the association’s request once in return, but that would be a worthwhile deal.
“Riyal.”
At Shin Minha’s call, a summoned beast covered in shadows appeared from the void. It was an amazing ability, even after seeing it again.
I was focusing my senses to the best of my ability, but I couldn’t even detect its presence until it got close.
“Eliminate all magical beasts within a 100-meter radius of me.”
Riyal disappeared after receiving the short command. It was a fleeting moment, but it was an incredible speed that I couldn’t even follow.
Before long, the aftermath of the battle was felt everywhere.
“Hyunwoo, let’s rest here for a while.”
“Ah, yes.”
Shin Minha, who sat down on a nearby pile of stones after spreading a handkerchief, took out a thermos from her bag.
“Have some.”
“…”
I had a hunch, and sure enough, it was that mysterious purple liquid she gave me earlier.
Ha, what sins did I commit in my past life that God is giving me such trials?
I couldn’t pretend to drink it like before. Reluctantly, I closed my eyes and took a sip.
Maybe it only looks strange.
‘…It’s better than I thought?’
The moment the drink passed my throat.
Suddenly, my head spun, and my vision blurred.
Thanks to instinctively drawing up my magic power, I was able to avoid collapsing.
‘What, what is it? Is it poison…?’
My head was still throbbing.
For a moment, I wondered if she brought me to the gate to secretly get rid of me because she was upset that I rejected the teaching assistant position.
But seeing Shin Minha refilling her drink for the second time and drinking it without a care, I realized that it was just my imagination.
Her taste was just bizarre.
While Shin Minha’s mind was elsewhere, I secretly poured the drink on the ground. The ground seemed to scream for a moment.
‘…It must be my imagination?’
It must be my imagination. No matter how dizzying the taste, it couldn’t be so bad that even the ground was suffering.
…Could it?
“Hyunwoo.”
“Yes, yes?! I didn’t throw it away!”
“Yes? What are you talking about?”
Seeing Shin Minha tilting her head with a truly clueless expression, I knew what it meant to be caught red-handed.
“…It’s nothing.”
As I coughed and turned my gaze away, I saw Riyal, who had already returned, standing next to her.
It had only been five minutes since it disappeared after receiving the order, but it had already finished everything?
“From now on, we’ll simply collect nearby herbs and Ent sap.”
“What about magic stones?”
“Do we need them?”
After thinking about it, I didn’t really need D-class magic stones. It’s not like I’m so poor that I’m attached to a few coins.
Objectively, the value of Ent sap was higher than Ent magic stones.
The sap that can be obtained from a normal maple tree is usually about 10 to 20 liters.
But the sap that can be obtained from one Ent is only 1 to 2 liters.
It’s good for your health even if you drink it as is, and it’s also used as a material for alchemy after refining, so it’s priced quite high.
“But don’t we have anything to put the sap in?”
“It’s okay. I have this.”
Shin Minha took out a small water bottle from her bag.
“It’s a water bottle with space enchantment. It can hold up to 100 liters of liquid.”
“Oh.”
What’s amazing every time I see something like this is that space magic is a lost magic in Iris’s world, but not on Earth.
As a result, Iris, despite being an 8-circle magician, knew nothing about teleportation magic. Of course, she didn’t know how to use it either.
‘Soon, when I get the Magic Tower library card, I should borrow some books related to space magic and show them to her.’
I already felt excited at the thought of Iris’s bright smile when she received the books.
It wouldn’t be bad to make a list of books to show Iris and borrow them.
As I was thinking about other things while following Shin Minha through the forest,
“Hmm?”
I felt a strange gaze from somewhere.
There was no need to look for it, the culprit was right nearby.
Shin Minha’s summoned beast, Riyal, was staring at me intently.
Its whole body was covered in shadows, but its black eyes, looking at me, were clearly visible.
At that moment, for some reason, I felt a strange hostility.
-Human.
A woman’s voice echoed in my head.
The chilling voice contained clear hostility.
-This is the first and last warning. Don’t approach Minha again.
“…?”
The overly direct tone left me speechless.
‘Are you kidding me?’
It seemed like the summoned beast had left its manners in the Beast Realm.
