After the lecture ended, Jaesang Lee and Haeryeong Shin decided to spend some time at the café in front of the dormitory. There was no reason for them to follow Seoah Jo all the way to her dorm.

“Why… did you answer that question?” Haeryeong asked seriously, not having taken a sip of her coffee yet, as they waited for Seoah.

“The answer you gave earlier… it’s knowledge that doesn’t exist in this era.”

“That’s right,” Jaesang replied, having answered a question about the fantasy-themed mana stone engraving that he was expected to dodge. He had prefaced it by saying it was just his hypothesis, but still.

“The direction of the dream could change, you know,” Haeryeong said, her concern simple. What if the events unfolded beyond their memory’s scope before they found the dream’s core? They might remain trapped in this dream indefinitely.

“Did you have something in mind?” she asked, not because of the situation itself, but because Jaesang always seemed to have a plan, even when he appeared spontaneous. She was curious about the ‘why.’

“Something in mind?” Jaesang took a long sip of his coffee and laughed cheerfully. “It was just a whim.”

“…What?” Haeryeong was taken aback. What was with that innocent smile as if it was the most natural thing in the world?

“A whim?”

“Yeah.”

Trapped in a dream theme, they had just begun to grasp the memory that formed the backdrop. Haeryeong’s presence had already skewed the memory’s direction significantly. And yet, changing the memory was just a ‘whim’?

If it had been anyone other than Jaesang, Haeryeong might have gotten angry at this point. But because it was Jaesang, she remained calm. Even his whims seemed to have a reason.

“Then, what’s the reason for that whim?” she asked.

Jaesang took another sip of his coffee before answering. “It’s a kind of variable.”

“A variable?”

“Yeah.”

Haeryeong still looked puzzled. “I’d like to explain, but it’s not easy,” Jaesang said, unable to reveal his true identity. ‘If I said I was the reincarnation of Min Haejun, would she even believe me?’ Probably not, he thought.

Unlike Haeryeong, Jaesang had lived through the events of this era. He knew the people and the stories they were heading towards. Because he knew, he could create variables and alter the story’s flow to his liking. But explaining all this would require revealing he was Min Haejun. Without that premise, no explanation would be convincing.

“I see,” Haeryeong said, appearing to ponder something. She clearly wasn’t satisfied with the answer, as her anxious expression and the way she stirred her straw suggested.

Jaesang expected her to press further, but instead, she smiled. “It’s hard to explain, but you have your reasons, right? Okay, I’ll trust you.”

“Huh? You’re not going to ask more?”

“You said it’s hard to explain. That’s enough for me.”

Haeryeong’s easy acceptance left Jaesang more flustered than he expected. “Is that really okay? You don’t need to press me?”

“Was I supposed to? Should I press you then?” Haeryeong’s smile turned slightly menacing, causing Jaesang to shake his head vigorously.

She chuckled. “Why are you so vehemently denying it? When have I ever pressed you?”

“Um… during the first class?”

“T-that was a mistake! I misunderstood you, really. Are you going to keep bringing that up?”

Seeing her uncharacteristically flustered, Jaesang couldn’t help but laugh. “Anyway, not now! I trust you completely.”

They had only known each other for two months, but in that short time, Haeryeong’s trust in Jaesang had grown rapidly, becoming stronger and more solid with each passing day.

“Alright. If you say so, it must be true. That variable is necessary for us to get out of here, right?” Haeryeong asked.

Jaesang nodded. “If my guess is right… yes. Following the original dream won’t lead us to the dream’s core.”

Both Jaesang and Haeryeong knew that this vague explanation couldn’t truly clarify the variable. But Haeryeong seemed to no longer need a reason.

‘There’s no way he’d do anything to harm me.’

The situation, initially puzzling and bewildering, was once again put to rest by Jaesang’s expression. He was filled with certainty, as if he knew his actions would lead to something good.

‘He must have a plan,’ Haeryeong thought, finally stopping her straw twirling and taking a sip of her coffee.

“Alright. I’ll trust you, just like always.”

The cold coffee was refreshing, clearing away her lingering doubts.

***

Back in her dorm room, Seoah Jo flopped onto her bed. If her roommate were there, she’d probably scold her for not showering first, but luckily, she was off at class.

“Ugh, why is it so hot already?” she groaned. It was only April, yet the heat was unbearable. She was always sensitive to heat, but the weather lately was just too much.

‘Is this because of that?’ she wondered, thinking of the dimensional portal that had suddenly opened next to Eunsung University. The temperature inside was said to be high, so maybe the recent heat was due to the portal.

“Another dimension, huh,” she mused. Even though magic had been discovered some time ago, there was still so much unknown in the world. Dimensional portals were one of those mysteries—a gateway to somewhere other than Earth. No one knew why or how they formed. While some scholars sought to understand the reasons and methods, most people were more interested in the benefits they could gain from them.

Yes, benefits.

“They said there are lots of mana stones, right?”

Currently, places where mana stones could be mined were limited—deep in the ocean or far underground. Mana stones were concentrated in places more difficult to access than any natural resource.

“It’d be great if it’s true,” Seoah thought, intrigued by the prospect of a portal filled with mana stones. Unlike others, her interest wasn’t driven by economic gain or academic curiosity.

“If there are enough mana stones, I could finally decipher this book!”

The sealed magic book her father had left her was said to contain an incredible gift, but Seoah hadn’t even come close to unlocking it. All she knew was that the magic in the book was strikingly similar to fantasy-themed magic, but she couldn’t uncover more. The reason was simple: money. Researching the book required mana stones, and they were prohibitively expensive.

‘Ugh… I can’t take on more part-time jobs.’

Her interest in the portal with abundant mana stones was inevitable.

“Hmm. It’d be nice to join the exploration team.”

Fortunately, an opportunity had come her way. Eunsung University was allowed to participate in the portal exploration. She had only applied so far, but if she got in?

‘…Maybe I could snag a few mana stones? They said there are lots!’

Giggling, she lifted the magic book towards the ceiling.

“…Hmm.”

All her attempts to decipher the book had ended in failure, only resulting in wasted mana stones. But she couldn’t give up. This book was the last gift from her father, who was no longer in this world.

Seoah hugged the magic book to her chest. Of course, the book had no warmth, but the emotions it stirred weren’t just in her imagination.

“Ugh. So cheesy. Ugh…!”

But she quickly got up, rubbing her arms as if to shake off the goosebumps. Cutting off the rising sentiment, her face was once again filled with a lively smile.

“Seriously. What did you hide in here, Dad?”

To hide it so well… she vowed to give him a piece of her mind when they met again, scolding the air for making her spend all her allowance on mana stones.

“Ugh. How am I supposed to solve this?”

She knew vaguely that the book contained fantasy-themed magic, and that was the problem. Normally, you couldn’t inscribe fantasy themes into a magic book, so how had her father done it?

‘If only I knew that… maybe I could reverse-engineer it.’

That’s why she had taken every class related to fantasy themes.

“Oh, speaking of which?”

Seoah suddenly remembered the lecture earlier. In Jaesang’s class, he had said something in response to her question.

– This is just a hypothesis, but when inscribing fantasy-themed magic, the important thing might not be the amount of mana. Perhaps-

“-it’s because multiple lines need to act simultaneously, making it seem like a lot of mana is required.”

In the final moment of her recollection, both the Jaesang in her mind and Seoah herself spoke the same words.

“That’s right. I couldn’t inscribe multiple lines simultaneously on a mana stone…”

Seoah looked down at the magic book again.

“…Should I try it just once?”

Conducting a magic experiment in her dorm room was something that would make her roommate have a fit, but…

‘Well, she should’ve been here if she cared~’

Grinning, she pulled a small mana stone from her pocket. It was of average quality and only about the size of her index finger, but buying it had required a significant decision on her part.

Spending over 200,000 won was no small amount for a college student.

“Alright, let’s do this!”

Could it be that the inspiration came from Jaesang Lee’s words?

Seoah Jo placed the mana stone on her desk with a sense of anticipation.

‘If I sell this now, it should fetch around 300,000 won, right?’

The price of mana stones was notoriously volatile, and for a moment, she was tempted.

“…Come on, Seoah! Get a grip!”

She shook her head, dispelling the distracting thoughts.

The mana stone sat on the desk.

She prepared the tools needed to meticulously draw the magic circle.

Holding her breath to avoid any distractions, she carefully traced each line of the circle.

Seoah adjusted the lengths of the three main lines of the magic circle to ensure mana could flow into them simultaneously.

“Phew… Is it done?”

It took her over five minutes to draw just thirteen lines.

Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she picked up the mana stone.

The magic circle was quite satisfactory.

“Alright, maybe this time it’ll really work!”

She placed the mana stone on the magic book and channeled her mana into it.

As she had designed, the mana flowed into the three main lines of the magic circle simultaneously.

“Wow…!”

The magic circle glowed brilliantly.

It had never shone like this before.

‘Could I really be succeeding?’

Her heart began to race.

If she could engrave the illusion theme magic onto the mana stone…

She might even be able to reverse-engineer and understand her father’s magic!

“Is it really happening?!”

With her heart pounding, she focused all her attention on the mana stone.

But then…

– Fizz…

The mana that had filled the magic circle slowly seeped away.

It was a familiar scene of failure, one she had witnessed dozens of times.

“…Wow!”

Yet, Seoah’s expression wasn’t gloomy.

In fact, she looked even more hopeful than before.

Her eyes, fixed on the mana stone, were filled with hope.

“This time, I was so close!”

Success and failure.

The world divides the results of challenges into these two categories.

But not Seoah.

To her, failure had stages.

And the stage she had just experienced?

It was undoubtedly brushing against success!

“Ha, just one more try…! Just one more time, and I might get it!”

Her hands frantically searched her pockets and drawers, but there were no more mana stones to be found.

“Tch. Of course, there aren’t any.”

Even as she clicked her tongue, her face remained bright.

With just one more mana stone…

She could finally decipher the magic book.

“Ah, all this effort has made it even hotter.”

Seoah sat on her bed and turned on the ceiling air conditioner.

But no matter how long she waited, only warm air blew out.

“Ugh, stupid university! How can they turn off the cooling?”

Frustrated, Seoah turned off the air conditioner and tossed the remote onto the bed.

Or at least, she tried to.

Her aim was off, and the remote fell behind the bed.

“Seriously! Don’t do this to me, remote!”

She reached out, but her hand couldn’t reach the remote behind the bed.

Her roommate would surely have something to say about this.

Seoah stood up to find something long to retrieve it.

And at that moment…

Her phone rang.

“Who could it be at this hour?”

Seoah picked up her phone and checked the number.

It was a familiar one.

The department office…

“Oh…!”

They had said they’d notify her about the dimensional portal exploration results!

She hurriedly answered the call.

And moments later…

“Really?!”

The annoyance vanished from her face.

Hanging up, she stretched her arms to the sky and shouted.

“Eunseong University! The best university!”

Who cares if they don’t turn on the air conditioning?

They had accepted her for the exploration.

“This isn’t the time to be sitting around. I need to get ready!”

Excited, Seoah dashed out the door.

***

“Who were you calling?”

As Jaesang Lee ended the call, Haeryeong Shin asked.

“Seoah Jo. I asked them to include her in the exploration.”

“…Isn’t that favoritism?”

“No, even in the original timeline, she got in without my help. As an alternate, though.”

“Hmm. Oh, there she is.”

Just as Haeryeong said, Seoah was running out of the dormitory.

She looked like a carefree child.

“Should we follow her, sir?”

“Yes.”

Jaesang stood up and watched Seoah as she ran off into the distance.

His eyes held a hint of sadness.

Seeing her so happy brought back memories.

‘She was that happy, huh.’

He hadn’t witnessed it himself, so maybe she hadn’t acted exactly like this.

But somehow, he felt that Seoah would have been just like this.

Thrilled to be accepted for the dimensional portal exploration, she would have run to tell her friends.

And that thought pained him deeply.

The dimensional portal exploration.

There…

‘Seoah becomes a victim of demonic transformation.’

Jaesang had failed to protect her.