## Chapter 15 – 15. Dropping Out
#15. Dropping Out
To cut to the chase, my wizard registration and Magic Tower enrollment went smoothly.
-Congratulations, Wizard Kang Hyun-woo. You can pick up your registration certificate here. We’ve sent information about related benefits and precautions to the contact information you provided, so please check it later.
The wizard registration certificate I received from the clerk felt both light and heavy.
That’s because the benefits I would receive with this palm-sized certificate were not light at all.
The enormous benefits wizards receive are due to the competition between countries to keep these irreplaceable individuals within their borders, and the benefit that appealed to me the most was none other than…
Military. Exemption.
Wow! Is that for real?
Yes, of course. Our Ministry of National Defense will never forcibly conscript you wizards, who are first-class citizens, without your individual consent!
But in other countries, military exemption is something other citizens get too, right?
…
Anyway, with just this, men were exempt from military service. Of course, you could enlist if you wanted. Except for enlisting as an officer, having a sweet time, and then getting promoted on the fast track or discharged, it was similar to regular soldiers.
…Is it really similar? Whatever.
Of course, due to the severely skewed gender ratio among wizards, it wasn’t a very attractive benefit for other wizards.
According to international research organizations, the gender ratio between male and female wizards is roughly 1:24? That’s why the Magic Tower is predominantly female.
The military exemption benefit is probably included because there are still some men among wizards, so they figured there would be someone who would like it.
“Tax cuts, all kinds of subsidies… Automatic first-class upgrade when using domestic airlines? What’s this?”
As I was skimming through the text message sent by the Magic Tower, I wondered if the government had ever taken care of me like this before.
I lost my parents in the war when I was five and grew up in an orphanage ever since.
Due to national financial problems, I didn’t receive proper support even when I was in the orphanage or after I left.
“I guess you only get treated well if you increase your value.”
Of course, I don’t resent the government.
Back then, even people who were having a harder time than me were dying without proper support.
Anyway, let’s drop the depressing old stories here, and the most important thing, enrolling in the Magic Tower, was settled by submitting the application form.
I wanted to take classes at the Magic Tower right away, but…
-Excuse me? Vacation?
-Yes, the second semester starts in about a month, so you can come then.
Good heavens, the Magic Tower, a gathering of wizards who seemed to have no blood or tears, has a vacation!
It would be more believable if the military had a vacation.
Of course, there was no reason for the clerk to lie to me, so I just said okay and left.
With the month of free time that suddenly appeared, I pondered slightly.
What should I do?
The 고민 was short. When I thought about it, there was a lot to do.
First, I needed to drop out of university and then spend the month fully focused on magic training.
According to Iris, it wouldn’t take long for me to reach the 2nd Circle, so the important thing now was to concentrate on training.
Moreover, she added that if I reached the 2nd Circle quickly, it would be easy to reach the 3rd Circle, so it was only natural that a smile didn’t leave my face.
3rd Circle wizard! In small countries, they were treated like quasi-nobility, the upper class among the upper class.
‘Until recently, I was a war orphan, and now I’m a quasi-noble?!’
Bba-bam.
If the title of a novel was like this, it would be criticized.
Anyway, although it didn’t take long, I received the wizard registration certificate, a symbol of the upper class, and my enrollment in the Magic Tower was confirmed, so I could say it was the most fulfilling morning of my life.
-Hehe, then see you when the semester starts?
-…
Except for the matchmaking appointment that was set up because I was tempted by the picture of the red-haired woman, it was a problem-free morning.
‘It’s just looking at faces… it’ll be okay, right?’
I felt a little guilty thinking about Iris, but in the first place, there were hardly any S-class hunters or high-ranking wizards who only had one wife.
It’s just that ordinary people can’t handle the wealth or physical strength, so they live in a monogamous system.
As a prospective 8th Circle Archmage, do I really need to be bound by the common sense of ordinary people?
‘No, I don’t.’
Thump, thump, thump, it was dismissed, so any further 고민 was excessive.
“But what should I do now?”
I thought registering as a wizard and enrolling in the Magic Tower would take up the whole day, but it’s not even 1 PM yet.
Time was floating.
“Should I go drop out of university?”
Next semester, I’ll be going to the Magic Tower to take classes, so there’s no need to keep attending university.
I was originally going to go tomorrow, but I guess I can go now.
I caught a taxi and headed to Korea University, which I was attending and would no longer be attending.
Come to think of it, in the old days, I would have saved money on transportation and taken the bus instead of the subway, let alone a taxi.
I’ve changed a lot.
***
If you ask where the best university in Korea is, ten out of ten people will say Korea University.
Historically, its reputation is high, but it’s probably because the departments related to gates, monsters, and magic stones are considered the best in the country.
The curriculum and the level of professors, which are differentiated from other universities, become the goal of many test takers every year.
I was one of them too.
“I can’t believe I’m coming here to drop out.”
I studied like crazy for three years in high school because I wanted to succeed no matter what, and I got into Korea University. I had nosebleeds a lot, and I stayed up for three days straight.
The place I got into was the Gate Support Department at Korea University.
Although my grades were a little short, so I had to give up the department I originally wanted to apply to, just the fact that I was admitted to Korea University made me laugh like crazy for a week back then.
Without knowing that it was a white elephant.
On the day of the entrance ceremony, when the cold hadn’t completely gone away.
-…Why are there only women?
I thought something was strange from the group chat, but sure enough.
At the entrance ceremony, I realized the reality.
Women here, women there.
The Gate Support Department I entered was an extremely female-dominated department.
In a good way? No, in a really bad way.
Having an extreme number of a specific gender in a department usually meant that the jobs you get after graduating from that department are either jobs that only men do or jobs that only women do in terms of social norms.
With the unusual atmosphere of the department, I started analyzing the department a little late.
The main places of employment for graduates of the Gate Support Department were the Hunter Association, which was considered a quasi-government job socially and was famous for its stable job and pension.
Now, what does a stable job and pension mean here? It’s synonymous with a meager salary~ That’s what I’m saying.
Wow! That’s amazing! A meager salary for a man! Then when do I date, and who’s going to marry me??
That’s right. A relatively small salary was a small risk for women, but it was an undeniable fatal risk for men, who had to bear more economic burden than women in dating and marriage.
That’s why it was a department that men avoided.
So I thought about transferring, but it was only possible after the first semester of freshman year. Due to various other circumstances, I ended up not transferring and staying.
Recently, I’ve been living with the mindset of getting a job at the association and living as a bachelor.
Besides, even if it’s the Gate Support Department, it’s still Korea University, so if I have a degree, I can get a job somewhere else, and it wasn’t really that negative.
Knock-knock-
“Hello, I’m Kang Hyun-woo, who contacted you earlier.”
“Ah, Kang Hyun-woo? You said it was because of the withdrawal application? Would you like to come this way?”
I arrived at the department office with a somewhat nervous heart, and there was still a teaching assistant with dark circles and a few student workers.
“First, fill out the withdrawal application, and then you’ll have an interview with the professor in a bit.”
“…Don’t they usually try to stop you at least once when you say you’re dropping out?”
“Then how about not dropping out and enjoying campus life again?”
“That’s a bit…”
“Right? Dropping out isn’t something you can do with an ordinary heart. You must have your own reasons, so it’s not my place to interfere.”
That was true. Actually, I didn’t really want them to stop me sincerely.
I just wanted to joke around with the teaching assistant I often saw while passing by for the last time.
The teaching assistant has dark circles, but she’s famous in the department for being thoughtful and having a good eye for people.
But why is she a teaching assistant?
Having a good eye for people is different from having a good eye for your own future, I guess.
“I’m done.”
There wasn’t much to write other than personal information.
There was a reason section, so I 고민 about what to write, and it took a little time, but in the end, I just wrote “Magic Tower Enrollment.”
‘Oh, right. They told me to wear my wizard registration certificate around my neck, didn’t they?’
I remembered something I had skimmed over in the text message I read earlier.
It’s not mandatory, but the government recommends that wizards wear their registration certificates around their necks at all times.
I don’t know why, but I guess it’s to prevent crazy situations where thugs harass wizards.
Of course, it’s not because they’re worried about the thugs who will have their limbs broken and be taken to the hospital. If that were the case, there would be plenty of people who are stronger than wizards in one-on-one combat, even among the high-ranking hunters.
They’re probably just begging us to wear the registration certificate because they’re worried that someone might upset our precious wizard.
‘Should I wear it too?’
Honestly, isn’t it a bit too much? I’d rather wear a robe, but wearing the registration certificate is…
What’s the difference between wearing a large company employee ID outside of work?
“Um… Kang Hyun-woo?”
“Yes?”
“That, the reason section might seem like it’s just for show, but other staff members see it too…? Of course, the professor will interview you based on this, so don’t make up too ridiculous lies…”
I realized I had messed up when I saw the teaching assistant’s eyes, which I had never seen before, saying, ‘What kind of crazy person is this?’
Logically, writing only four letters, “Magic Tower Enrollment,” in the reason section was too lacking in context.
Anyone who didn’t know the circumstances would definitely think I was crazy.
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. Sometimes there are people who don’t want to reveal their reason for dropping out. I’ll give you a new piece of paper to rewrite…”
“Here.”
I took out the wizard registration certificate from my pocket and handed it to the teaching assistant.
It’s a brand new one with the Magic Tower and government mark stamped on it.
“…Huh?”
The teaching assistant’s eyes widened as she received the registration certificate.
I thought her eyes were small because of her dark circles and the fact that she often frowned, but they’re actually really big.
“Um… Hyun-woo? Impersonating a wizard is a serious crime punishable by 10 to 15 years in prison…”
A small fireball flared up on my palm, and the eyes of the teaching assistant and the student workers widened.
Who am I?
A 1st Circle wizard and a future 8th Circle Archmage.
Revere me, praise me.
“I went to the Magic Tower this morning to register.”
At the moment of witnessing Kang Hyun-woo’s mini magic demonstration, only one thought suddenly flashed through the minds of everyone in this place except Kang Hyun-woo.
The Gate Support Department is an extremely female-dominated department, so naturally, everyone from the teaching assistant Kim Hye-rin to the student workers were women.
Since ancient times, marriage has been an opportunity to rise in status, and high-ranking hunters are socially recognized as the upper class.
It’s a dangerous job with a high risk as much as the huge income, and hunters who often face life-threatening situations tend to have high sexual desires.
In particular, the time when they come out of the gate and visit the association for settlement is perhaps the peak time, and the female employees working at the association counter at that timing are desperate to seduce those hunters.
Rather than the merit of being a quasi-government employee, seducing one of those high-ranking hunters and aiming for a rise in status was one of the main reasons why women applied to the Gate Department.
What appeared before their eyes was a young person who had just become a wizard, so the competition was relatively weak, a senior, junior, or classmate from the same department.
Of course, the other student workers except Kim Hye-rin didn’t really know Kang Hyun-woo’s face. Even if the classmates knew his name, the seniors and juniors hardly knew Kang Hyun-woo’s face or name.
Kang Hyun-woo tended to not attend department events and always sat in the corner during lectures, so it couldn’t be helped.
Still, the fact that he was in the same department was encouraging.
Name? Who cares if they don’t know it, they can start 고민 about their child’s name from now on.
‘I heard wizards rake in money…’
‘On NewTube, a wizard’s husband said he was worried because he worked overtime all the time and didn’t come home often?’
‘1st Circle… Isn’t it worth trying to get close? He hasn’t properly entered the Magic Tower yet, so there are fewer competitors.’
‘Ugh, I did my makeup carelessly today.’
‘It’s a set, but if I blatantly seduce him from the first day, I’ll look cheap…?’
While each of them had ulterior motives and 고민 countless things, Kang Hyun-woo felt a strange chill.
This feeling of being the only male lion left in a pride of female lions in heat.
He had to get out of here quickly.
“That teaching assistant, is everything done now-“
“Hyun-woo.”
A man’s instinct is to spread his seed to more women, and a woman’s instinct is to give birth and raise children in a more stable and better environment.
There was no reason to criticize women for aiming for hypergamy and meeting men. Success in hypergamy meant that they were women who met the man’s instincts.
I don’t know when she did her makeup, but her lips, which were usually dry and dark, were bright red.
When she let down her hair, which she always tied up roughly, her hair was longer and better than I thought, and a good scent stimulated my nose.
Her voluminous body, which was visible even through her clothes, was also an element that pleased the eyes.
“Do you have time tonight?”
“Uh…”
Kim Hye-rin, the teaching assistant in the Gate Support Department, who was soon to be in her late 20s, was more serious about marriage than anyone else here.
A woman’s value plummets the moment she turns thirty.
The weight of 29 and 30 is on a different level.
Currently 27 years old, she was at an age where she could no longer delay. She was a living witness who had personally experienced that 3 years passed in the blink of an eye.
‘6 years difference… People around me might call me a thief, but it’s not like there are no cases where the wife is older.’
What if I firmly grab him with the charm of an older woman?
It wasn’t a bad idea.
Of course, if you asked if she was interested in him, the answer was no. Rather, she only knew his face and name and had never had a private conversation with him.
You can call me materialistic.
Everyone living in a capitalist world is materialistic.
‘It’s a dangerous day.’
Kang Hyun-woo was sweating at Kim Hye-rin’s passionate gaze.
‘…I think I’m screwed.’
I’m usually oblivious, but I’m not stupid enough to not know what’s going on right now.
Of course, it would be a lie to say it’s not good, the teaching assistant is objectively a voluptuous beauty.
But if it’s a relationship based on marriage, the story changes 180 degrees.
‘Marriage is a bit…’
Pleasure without responsibility is always welcome, but heavy responsibility is a no-go.
It would have to be at least that grandma wizard’s granddaughter.
“That, that’s…”
“There’s a good restaurant that I know, 응응?”
The sight of her subtly pressing her chest against my arm was terrifying.
At that moment, trembling with fear that I might get married.
“Hye-rin, can’t you see he’s having a hard time?”
“P, Professor?”
A light came down to save me.
“Kang Hyun-woo? It’s been a while.”
It was Shin Ye-hwa, the professor in charge of the Gate Support Department.
