Even Today, the Ranker Dreams of Retirement

“Unni, do you want to try taking my class instead?”

Seoyun, who had been carefully gauging the situation, asked quietly with an excited face.

“Huh?”

As Habin turned her head, Seoyun burst out speaking as if she had been waiting for this moment.

“I mainly take spirit magic classes… But, but they’re fun! The spirits the professor brings along are cute too…”

[Spirits?! Did you say spirits?!]

Ahezar shouted excitedly. Habin asked,

“Seoyun, were you in the spirit mage class?”

‘I haven’t seen her summon spirits until now.’

“Yes!”

Seoyun nodded brightly.

“My rank is low, so I can’t summon real spirits yet, but I can manipulate elements.”

After speaking, Seoyun placed her hand on a nearby water glass. Soon after, steam began to rise from the water, and it started to boil.

A basic skill that allows you to adjust the state of elements.

“Since I’m F-rank and my skill level is low, I mostly use it to heat water or light candles, but it improves with practice. Now that my skill proficiency has increased, I can even… light a campfire if I set my mind to it.”

“Wow, that’s amazing!”

Habin’s eyes sparkled. The ability to heat water had countless applications. You could have warm coffee, cooked cup noodles, and 3-minute curry anywhere, anytime!

Coveting that skill, Hyun Habin looked for her own skills.

“Do I have any skills for heating water?”

She had used magic to freeze water before, so she thought there might be a spell to heat it as well. Habin opened her skill window.

‘Skills related to the fire attribute… Let’s see…’

Meteor, Fire Hurricane, Magma Field…

‘Any of these would kill everything in the area.’

[You’d destroy Seoul just trying to heat water!]

A skill tree that couldn’t even light a single candle!

There might be something similar if she looked further, but seeing the scroll bar on the skill window, the number of skills was no joke, so she felt too lazy to search right now.

Habin closed her eyes with a disinterested expression.

“Sigh… Let’s just use a lighter. I can heat water with a kettle, right?”

“Oh, unni! Our school prohibits bringing lighters. And we can only use the communal kettles in the dormitory.”

Seoyun quickly interjected.

“What? Skills that light fires like lighters are allowed, but bringing lighters isn’t?”

“School rules are like that… But unni, if you ever need fire, just tell me! I’ll do it for you! Heating water too!”

Seoyun said with a proud expression.

“Hmm, actually, this tea has gone cold.”

“I’ll heat it for you!”

Seoyun quickly extended her hand towards Habin’s tumbler and used her skill.

Whoosh-

Watching the steam rise from the tea in an instant, Habin’s eyes sparkled.

“Oh, you’re just like a real magician!”

“I’m a spirit mage! But Elemental skills are common among magic-type classes too, so we often take classes together. It’s the foundation for all elemental magic!”

Seoyun explained excitedly.

‘Come to think of it, Seoyun always attended every class diligently.’

Seoyun would review the day’s studies as soon as she returned to the dormitory every day. She seemed to have a thorough grasp of theory and basics. Habin asked,

“But can I take spirit magic classes? I don’t have any spirit-related skills.”

“Oh! That’s right. You said you were in the magic swordsman class, didn’t you?”

Seoyun nodded suddenly.

“Th-then let’s go to another basic magic class.”

Seoyun quickly changed her words. Ahezar made a whining sound.

[What?! So we can’t see spirits?]

‘Ah, why is Kim Jaljal so fixated on spirits now?’

[Spirits! I want to see spirits! It’s been so long since I’ve seen spirits! This world doesn’t have spirits…!]

Ugh.

Habin shook her head.

At this rate, it was obvious that Ahezar would keep whining about it.

‘And I don’t want to start magic classes right away either.’

She had just learned how to control her strength in swordsmanship, but magic was a bit tricky. It hadn’t been long since she obtained the Demon God’s magic, so she wasn’t confident in her control yet. Last time, she had almost frozen the entire kitchen just trying to make a single ice cube.

‘But since I’m a complete novice in spirit magic, I’ll just say I’m auditing and have fun.’

Having made her decision, Habin spoke.

“Why not try it once? It’s the correction period now, so we can change it if needed, right?”

“Huh?! Are you really taking it with me?”

Seoyun stood up with a surprised expression. She hurriedly gathered her book bag and textbooks. Seoyun had quite a few textbooks.

Basics of Spirit Magic, The Path of Magic, Dungeon Practicum…

“What textbook do you use, unni?”

“Me?”

Habin turned her head. Habin’s dormitory desk was full of Apple series devices for watching dramas well and various snacks.

There were only two books on the shelf.

‘The Path of Magic (Intermediate)’

‘The Path of Swordsmanship (Intermediate)’

These were the basic textbooks that magic swordsman class students typically had. They were essential materials for basic magic and swordsmanship classes.

In truth, even these were bought by Hyun Siwoo. They were the basic textbooks he had purchased and packed for her when buying school supplies.

But Hyun Habin hadn’t signed up for magic or swordsmanship classes, so there was no use for them. Hyun Siwoo probably never expected that Hyun Habin wouldn’t even sign up for the mandatory basic classes.

“I only have these textbooks.”

“Oh… Then, um…”

After some consideration, Yeo Seoyun added,

“Unni, want to go to our school library?”

◆◇◆◇◆

Ullim International Magic School’s campus library.

While it was called a campus library, Ullim International High’s library was a separate building next to the main school building, boasting facilities large enough to rival most public libraries.

“They say our school library has the largest collection of Hunter and magic-related books in the Mapo-gu and Seodaemun-gu areas. I heard that even nearby graduate schools for magic research often request access.”

It seemed quite famous in the surrounding area.

“Nearby Seyeon University, Hongik University, Ewha Womans University, and Sogang University often apply for access here. So we can sometimes see their graduate students!”

Just then, on their way to the library, they saw a group of people walking with haggard expressions. Holding iced americanos and sporting heavy dark circles under their eyes, they looked like they had pulled an all-nighter.

“Professor…”

“I hate the professor…”

“Professor, please let me graduate…”

“Graduation! Graduation!”

One graduate student who had been chanting “graduation” started off boldly but their voice gradually faded as if their energy was depleted. Suddenly, that graduate student looked around with wide eyes.

“D-did the professor hear me badmouthing him earlier?”

“Nah, don’t worry! Professors don’t come here. Only graduate students come to access and copy materials.”

“They make their graduate student slaves do this work, why would they come here themselves? Don’t worry!”

“Phew. That’s a relief.”

“You’ve been drinking only coffee, so you seem too on edge. How about chipping in to buy a potion?”

As they grumbled among themselves, they brightened up upon seeing Habin and Seoyun approaching.

“Wow, high school students!”

“Ah, those were the days!”

It was a dull exclamation, as if their souls had left their bodies. One graduate student with a gentle smile waved at Habin and Seoyun.

“Kids, are you planning to go to college after graduation?”

“Huh?”

Seoyun, momentarily flustered, seemed to come to her senses and answered a beat late.

“Yes! If I can go to college, I plan to!”

“That’s right, good thinking! College is full of dreams and hope… But…”

The graduate student sighed deeply and added in a low voice,

“Don’t go to graduate school, sweetie.”

“…?”

“S…T…A…Y…”

Another graduate student nearby whispered,

“Remember this advice. There are many paths in life besides graduate school…”

“S…T…A…Y…”

The graduate students waved goodbye with wistful expressions as they walked away.

“W-what was that?”

Seoyun hesitantly opened the library door, looking bewildered.

◆◇◆◇◆

“For now, since you don’t have books, we can borrow some from the library temporarily.”

Ullim International High’s library had a considerably high ceiling. From the first floor to the fourth floor, everything was open to the ceiling, with bookshelves lining the edges of each floor in a balcony-like structure.

‘I’ve seen this structure somewhere before. It looks similar to the George… something library in America?’

Habin looked around quickly. Unlike the other floors packed with bookshelves, the first floor hall had long tables and chairs where anyone could sit and read comfortably. In the corners, there were study rooms, lounges, and multimedia rooms, which many students seemed to be using.

But the most surprising thing was…

“Everyone’s talking loudly.”

Students were chatting casually here and there. There were even tables where groups were playing board games, laughing out loud and hitting each other openly.

“Ah, it’s okay to make noise here!”

Seoyun nodded.

“Students who want quiet can borrow defense items to use.”

Seoyun pointed to the side. Amidst the lively library atmosphere, there were students studying quietly. On their tables were lamps emitting a soft light.

[Item – ‘Excuse me, could you please be quiet? Your breathing is bothering me’ Lamp]

Blocks surrounding sounds. If you want silence, turn on this lamp anytime!

※Made exclusively for Ullim International High School library. Penalty points for taking it outside!

“Oh? That’s pretty neat.”

Thanks to that item, it seemed the perfect environment had been created where students who wanted to study quietly could focus, and those who wanted to discuss could do so.

“Unni, the information desk is over there!”

The desk was responsible for finding books, lending, and return services. Habin took a closer look at the clean and luxurious interior that could be mistaken for a hotel concierge desk at first glance. Just then, a large paper attached to one wall caught her eye.

“Oh?”

Habin paused and read the text on the paper. A popularity ranking for book checkouts at a Hunter high school.

“I wonder what book is ranked first in checkouts?”

At Habin’s muttering, Seoyun also looked at the paper. They read the title of the book ranked first simultaneously.

1. The Academy’s EX-Rank Genius With Special Traits Remembers His Past Life as a 9th Circle Archmage Sword Saint.

“That’s ranked first!”

“Surprisingly, it’s not a Hunter story in first place?”

Hunter stories were ranked from second place. The second-place book happened to be a novel used as supplementary material in the “Hunter Web Novel Research” class, so it had many checkouts.

“Why is that one first?”

Seoyun tilted her head. At that moment, a third person’s voice cut in between them.

“Perhaps because the academy story resonates with our current school situation, so there are many relatable parts.”

The person who spoke was a male student pulling a cart full of books. His school uniform jacket had a ‘Library Committee’ badge on it. After pushing the cart to the side, he turned towards the desk and asked,

“What book did you come to find?”