## Chapter 33 – 33. Blind Date
#33. Blind Date
Worldwide, all children aged 10 are required to undergo a mana examination.
The mana examination measures innate magical power. If the examination results exceed a certain threshold, the child gains the option to enter the Magic Tower’s training institute.
Naturally, very few would decline entry to the institute. If their child became a mage, they could receive corporate sponsorship and potentially reverse their fortunes. For ordinary families, it was a more desperate hope than winning the lottery.
Of course, even wealthy families weren’t much different.
Even if their child didn’t become a mage, making connections at the institute with those who might become mages could provide various business advantages later on. Sending their children to the institute was simply the obvious thing to do.
However, of all the children who entered the institute with high hopes, only about 30% could actually enter the Magic Tower.
Furthermore, even those who managed to enter the Magic Tower could be expelled at any time if deemed unsuitable by their supervising professor.
The time it takes for a child in the Magic Tower to establish a mana circle is typically around 8 to 9 years, and approximately 40% manage to do so within that timeframe.
About 30% establish their mana circle later in life, while 29% are deemed unsuitable and expelled from the Magic Tower.
Among the exceptionally talented children who were filtered and refined, there was a unique 1% who shone particularly brightly.
They established their mana circles at a pace far exceeding others and would become mages representing the nation in the future. These were the so-called geniuses.
And in the Gray Magic Tower, there was a prodigious genius who had reached the 3rd Circle at the young age of 21.
“Hello?”
It was Choi Hye-na of the Seongbuk Choi clan, one of the three major magical families representing South Korea.
-Hello? My granddaughter?
“…What’s the matter?”
Choi Hye-na’s mood soured upon hearing from her grandmother.
-Oh, my. This grandma just wanted to hear her granddaughter’s voice, but you’re asking for the purpose right away? Isn’t that a bit much?
“Then you’ve heard my voice, so you’re satisfied, right? I’m hanging up.”
-Ah, ah!! Wait a moment!!
Just as she thought.
Her grandmother wasn’t one to call without a purpose.
The problem was that she always brought up troublesome and annoying matters.
Last time, she brought up marriage proposals from other magical families.
‘I’m busy with magic research, what’s with marriage?’
Having reached the 3rd Circle at the young age of 21, Choi Hye-na had a grand ambition.
Someday, she would surpass the Gray Magic Tower Master, who was called the next generation Archmage, and reach the supreme realm of the 8th Circle.
To achieve that, she couldn’t stop her magic research for even a moment, and marriage was nothing but a waste of time.
-How about going on a blind date?
“Haa…”
Just as she expected.
Why is it that nothing ever deviates from her expectations?
“Grandma, I’ve told you before, I have no intention of getting married…”
-Don’t be surprised when I tell you this? He’s the same age as you and already at the 2nd Circle.
Thud, Choi Hye-na dropped her phone.
“…I’m just meeting him for looks.”
With a subtle expression that mixed suspicion and interest, Choi Hye-na picked up her phone.
***
Beep beep beep!! Beep beep beep!!
Inside the cramped studio apartment, a loud and annoying alarm blared.
“Ugh… so damn loud…”
It was the moment he regretted setting the alarm before going to bed.
Why did he set an alarm when he had no plans?
Kang Hyun-woo rubbed his swollen eyes and struggled to get up.
The familiar screen appeared before his eyes.
[Matching has ended]
[Affinity change]
[Cheon Yeo-hwa 0♡ → 87♡]
[Affinity Level change]
[Cheon Yeo-hwa Lv.0 → Lv.2]
[Calculating…]
[500 Love Coins have been awarded]
[Remaining Coins: 1,700 Coins]
[Name: Cheon Yeo-hwa
Age: 20 years old
Race: Human
Affiliation: AXZ-174
Occupation: Second Princess of the Demonic Cult
Disposition: Cold, Cruel, Calculating, Pure Love (New!)]
[Time remaining until rematching: 122:49:45]
“…Has this been up all day since yesterday?”
Yesterday afternoon, after spending a frantic dawn with Cheon Yeo-hwa, he had returned home as soon as the matching time ended.
As soon as he got home, he had fallen asleep as if he had fainted from the backlash of the two-day mountain trek and the five consecutive ejaculations he had had all night.
“Roughly… did I sleep for about 20 hours?”
He really slept a lot.
But he felt refreshed as much as he slept.
“This time, she gave me 500 coins.”
She gave him more than he thought.
However, the store hadn’t been reset, so there was nothing to use them on.
“Should I save them for now? Something might come up later.”
He roughly cleared the screen and headed to the bathroom.
He had no plans, but he had a place to go.
After washing up, he caught a taxi.
“Please take me to the Gray Magic Tower.”
He realized something while meeting Iris and Cheon Yeo-hwa.
He was too weak.
He could become a mage, which he had always dreamed of, and he had reached the 2nd Circle, but he couldn’t even beat the gatekeeper on the first floor of the underground dungeon.
Moreover, Cheon Yeo-hwa, who hadn’t completely detoxified, was several times stronger than him.
‘To get Iris out of there, I need to become much stronger than I am now.’
He also had to become stronger to protect her from the assassins targeting Cheon Yeo-hwa.
His immediate goal was the 3rd Circle.
To do that, he needed to meet Choi Young-ok again, whom he had met last time.
He hadn’t even had a proper lesson during his reunion with Iris last time. Besides, there were still five days left until the rematch.
There was a whole month left until the Magic Tower entrance.
To reach the 3rd Circle, he needed to accumulate more knowledge. To do that, he needed the help of a mage stronger than him.
‘I thought she was an unusual grandma, but to think she’s Choi Young-ok of the Seongbuk Choi clan.’
Seongbuk Choi clan.
One of the three major magical families in South Korea, known for producing many excellent elementalists, characterized by their red hair.
The reason why people in Korea avoid red hair as much as possible was because of that.
As far as he knew, there was only one person who was a grandmother with a granddaughter from the Seongbuk Choi clan.
‘The Pyromancer.’
He had seen an article on the community about a genius who had reached the 6th Circle at the relatively young age of sixty.
Huh? You might say that sixty is old, but Choi Young-ok’s appearance was at most in her mid-40s.
Besides, the denser the mana, the longer the lifespan, so her lifespan as a 6th Circle mage would be twice that of an ordinary person.
‘Considering that there are mages who can’t even reach the 3rd Circle until they die, that’s amazing.’
It was a bit strange that such a person was trying to connect him with her granddaughter, but as he was aiming for the 3rd Circle, there was no one better than her.
“We have arrived.”
The Gray Magic Tower, which he had arrived at after a long time, was still crowded with people.
While he was waiting in the lobby on the first floor, he saw a familiar face in the distance.
“Son-in-law!”
“…”
The gaze of the people in the lobby on the first floor was focused on the 6th Circle mage who suddenly appeared.
‘…Is that grandma crazy?’
Many of the people who come to the Magic Tower on business are business people, but sometimes there are reporters and people in the hunter industry.
In front of those people, the Pyromancer of the Seongbuk Choi clan is looking for her granddaughter’s husband?
It was natural for people’s attention to turn from Choi Young-ok to him.
As dozens of pairs of eyes turned to him in an instant, a faint smile appeared on Choi Young-ok’s lips.
‘…I should have worn a mask and a hat.’
That old hag, she definitely wants to spread the rumor in front of people that I’m her granddaughter’s husband.
Considering the circumstances, it was right to think so, but even so, was there a reason for the Seongbuk Choi clan to go that far against a guy like him?
How many men with better conditions than him would bother?
He was a little uneasy, but he smiled and approached Choi Young-ok.
“I’m sorry for not contacting you.”
“It’s okay. It’s common for mages to not be able to contact anyone for a month when they’re concentrating. Not to mention when they’re improving their skills.”
She said that, but Choi Young-ok was looking at Kang Hyun-woo with amazement.
She wondered if he really was at the 2nd Circle, and his mana was quite stable compared to when she met him last time.
‘Unless he’s been in a real battle, it would be hard to do that.’
Choi Young-ok smiled.
She seemed to have a good eye for her granddaughter’s husband.
“Anyway, I didn’t expect our son-in-law to contact me first, but would you like to go up to my workshop first?”
***
The place he arrived at following Choi Young-ok was her workshop located on the 54th floor above ground.
He could once again realize Choi Young-ok’s position in the Magic Tower with the enormous scale that used the entire floor.
‘…It’s cleaner than I thought.’
He thought that a mage’s workshop would be a mess with magic materials and papers, but it looked like an ordinary office except for the machines of unknown use that were everywhere.
“This is also a reception room. The main workshop is upstairs?”
“…Yes?”
“I’m using the entire 54th and 55th floors.”
He couldn’t help but be surprised at Choi Young-ok’s words that she was using two floors as a private workshop in the Magic Tower in the prime location of Seoul as if it was nothing.
‘I’m so jealous… I’m looking into loans because I don’t have enough money for a deposit.’
If he was a mage now, he would get a huge loan, but he couldn’t dare to compare it to the building price of the Gray Magic Tower and the wealth of the Seongbuk Choi clan.
“Ah, of course, our son-in-law doesn’t have to worry about anything? We’ll support you as much as you want with your own workshop.”
“Oh.”
The son-in-law of a prestigious family… maybe it’s much better than I thought?
Even if the granddaughter’s photo he saw last time wasn’t so heavily photoshopped that even her parents wouldn’t recognize her, he would welcome it.
It’s just that the topic of marriage is a bit heavy.
“Anyway, what brings our son-in-law here today?”
He bowed his head to Choi Young-ok, who was sipping her black tea.
“First of all, I would like to thank you for last time.”
“Hmm? Ah.”
The news article he saw while taking the taxi showed the back of Assemblyman Jeon Jin-muk being hit with rotten eggs by citizens and the people from Jeon Hye-sung’s maternal family attending the prosecutor’s office.
“It was nothing, so you don’t have to worry about it.”
Choi Young-ok waved her hand as if it was nothing, but honestly, there’s no way that blowing away a member of the National Assembly and a family that boasted a powerful force in one area at the same time could be nothing.
“And families don’t bow their heads for such trivial things.”
“…But does that granddaughter of yours know that I’m going on a blind date with her?”
Honestly, that’s the most suspicious thing.
Is the eldest daughter of a family with wealth comparable to a chaebol and a great lineage called a magical family happy to go on a blind date with me, a war orphan?
How can there be so little probability…?
“…She knows.”
She only knows, but somehow it didn’t seem like she had ever said she would go on a blind date.
Why can he imagine a future where he’ll get water splashed in his face when he goes on a blind date?
He just hopes it’s just his own delusion.
“Ahem, ahem. So, did you come here today to thank me for what happened the other day?”
“Ah, that’s also part of it, but I have one more request.”
“A request?”
The only magic he can use now, apart from basic common magic, is elemental magic that deals with fire and lightning.
Lightning is powerful, but it has the disadvantage of being difficult to handle.
On the other hand, fire is not as powerful as lightning, but it boasts superior firepower compared to other elements and has the advantage of being useful in various situations.
“Can you teach me magic?”
If he could handle the fire element more skillfully and use more magic, he felt like he could see the path to the 3rd Circle.
