Valerie wrote an experiment log on Lee Cheol while working on her translation project.
***
Day 1 of the Experiment.
Ah, right, I called it an experiment. It's really just training.
Valerie grinned as she typed on her keyboard.
The "experiment" was just a side thing. This was more like... yeah, an inspection. A test combined with training. It was definitely not an experiment to satisfy her own curiosity.
After all, she was simply carrying out what Lee Cheol had asked for — nothing more, nothing less.
Of course, it would be a waste to throw away the data she was compiling, so she'd save it in a file anyway.
***
Day 1 of Training.
For starters, I'll monitor the optic nerve response, brain waves, and fMRI scans periodically... I might need to install a CT machine. I may have to examine his body in greater detail.
...
With this, it's been confirmed that he can perceive simple, one-dimensional mana circuits with little difficulty through his Mystic Eye.
Spells up to the 6th rank caused him some pain, but by the 7th rank, he could read them without much trouble.
I have no idea what kind of training he went through to be able to control such a complex Mystic Eye at such a young age.
***
During the day, Valerie continued her translation work, while Lee Cheol carried on with his training in the lab next door.
She checked on him from time to time while she worked.
Even with magic and machines monitoring him thoroughly, brainwaves could only tell her so much — understanding his mental and spiritual state was never going to be perfect.
And so, Valerie kept writing in her log.
***
Day 3 of Training.
I tested for the possibility of X-ray Vision by hiding mana formulas behind steel plates.
The result? Not X-ray Vision.
If anything, it seems like he reads the energy of objects.
But these were just ordinary pencils — neither living matter nor artifacts imbued with special power.
I have no idea how or what he's reading.
In fact, this seems closer to the Sixth Sense that martial artists cultivate.
Next, I tested with moving targets — familiars and some simple lab animals.
He showed signs of predicting their blood flow and muscle movements in advance.
I wondered if it was some sort of martial artist's insight, but I could detect the brainwave patterns of the Mystic Eye in use.
There's a possibility it functions like Precognition.
But this kid can't keep his Mystic Eye open for more than two hours.
If only his brain and eyes had higher durability...
More experiments! No — more training!
***
Day 8 of the Experiment.
His rate of progress is terrifying. I secretly raised the difficulty level drastically, and he still caught up.
Even I wasn't this fast.
His recovery ability is monstrous.
It's almost as if his body was built for the Mystic Eye. Even his brain activity is unusual. Should I have bought that CT machine after all?
At this rate, I might have to take him apart to find out...
...
It's not Precognition.
It's closer to Analytic Vision.
But unlike my own Mystic Eye, which reads the thoughts lingering in objects or discerns their structure, his ability isn't like that.
I initially thought it was a type of "Mana Vision" since he seemed to be reading some kind of energy — but that's not accurate either.
Lee Cheol's Mystic Eye doesn't see multiple things at once.
It's just that what he does see is on an unimaginably high dimensional level.
It feels like it's about time I gave this thing a name. If I had to describe it...
Valerie paused mid-sentence.
She felt that the moment she wrote it down or said it out loud, it would become fixed — boxed into a definition.
CLACK.
Just then, the lab door opened, and Lee Cheol walked out.
"Huh? What's up?"
Valerie hurriedly hit Alt+Tab to minimize her screen.
"…"
Ugh, can't he just pretend not to notice? Look at those eyes.
Sharp little brat.
He was already narrowing his eyes at her suspiciously, clearly having noticed her actions.
"The machine suddenly stopped, so I came out. The alarm was ringing pretty loudly — didn't you hear it?"
"An alarm?"
Valerie tilted her head and checked the panel connected to the inner lab.
It's done?
All the prepared training stages had been completed, and the machine had stopped automatically.
But already?
He had been progressing quickly from the start, but she had thought it would take at least two more days.
Lee Cheol, now standing next to her and reading the panel, nodded.
"Looks like it's over."
He shuddered, as if recalling a nightmare.
"What the — how did you read all that?"
No matter how good her Korean was, her native language was still French — and of course, the labels on the panel were written in French.
"I can handle everyday conversation. I can read and write a little, too. Direct descendants of the Sungmu family are required to master the major national languages."
Valerie's face flushed bright red.
"Y-You! Why didn't you tell me?!"
"You never asked. Besides, I'm not fluent enough for free conversation."
Valerie blinked her large eyes, rifling through her memories.
"Th-Then… don't tell me…"
"I've overheard some of your muttering and swearing now and then, but you don't need to worry too much about that."
Valerie ground her teeth.
That damn brat.
"Hey! That aside, why the hell are you taking so long? I thought you'd be done two days ago! You've been slacking off, haven't you?!"
Caught up in her embarrassment, Valerie ended up shouting without thinking.
"..."
Lee Cheol gave her a suspicious look.
But soon, he let out a deep sigh and shook his head.
"I think the daily repetition wore me out more than I realized. Without proper rest, my mana circuit was starting to overheat as well. My concentration slipped a bit over the past few days — though of course, you noticed right away."
"Uh? Ah… well, obviously! Anyone would notice if your growth rate suddenly drops. Ha… ha…"
Lee Cheol nodded.
"Then… may I go rest in my room for a while?"
"Yeah! Go ahead! Hurry!"
"Thank you."
Lee Cheol left the lab.
Valerie, left alone, swallowed dryly.
What? Lost focus? Mana circuit overheating?
"...Maybe I should've pushed him a little harder."
A dangerous glint flickered in Valerie's eyes.
But she quickly pushed the thought aside and turned to check the day's data.
Little by little, the true nature of Lee Cheol's Mystic Eye was coming into focus.
***
On the day the training ended, for the first time, Valerie led me not to the lab, but to the training grounds.
"That's the end of the first stage of your training."
"Is that so?"
It had been painful — but it was a valuable experience.
It also made me realize that traditional training methods weren't the only right way.
Some types of training became far more efficient when supported by modern equipment and systematic approaches.
My control over the Mystic Eye has gotten much smoother. I don't even need to focus that hard anymore to keep it under control.
I pressed my eyelids with my fingers.
Even though I had improved my Mystic Eye control a lot at Cheonwisan, back in Gyeongju, I'd barely been able to manage it at all.
Even after coming to the workshop, if I didn't stay constantly on guard, the Mystic Eye would open on its own.
But since starting this training, I'd begun controlling it as naturally as breathing.
The duration I could maintain it had increased considerably. I'd also gotten better at filtering what I wanted to see from what I didn't.
I still had a long way to go, but at least it wasn't opening on its own and causing me pain anymore.
"Honestly, I'd love to keep training you in the lab…"
Valerie took out a cigarette, placed it between her lips, and lit it with a snap of her fingers.
"But you're not a scholar. What you need is practical application. That's why I figured it's time for some real combat training."
"I'm fine with that. Though I do wonder if I've been of any help with your research. I did say I'd assist however I could."
"Huh? Ah, oh, no — you've been more than helpful."
Valerie feigned indifference while recalling the mountain of experimental data stored on her hard drive.
Lee Cheol probably didn't realize it, but she'd already gathered a staggering amount of data.
His Mystic Eye had so many irregularities that she'd been able to obtain extremely valuable information.
Once I finish the first draft of the paper… heh, it's going to set the academic world on fire. Who in the world has ever written a dissertation on Mystic Eyes?
It would be a paper that only she could write.
Her mentor would be absolutely stunned.
She had originally come to Korea to study the structure and process of Eastern sorcery — but she'd stumbled upon an unexpected jackpot.
That's when Lee Cheol spoke up.
"By the way, have you considered quitting smoking? It's bad for your health."
"It doesn't matter. I burn away all the toxins with mana anyway. And if my body gets a little messed up, I'll just down a potion."
There were heavy smokers, and then there was this woman.
Potions cost a fortune, and she was casually smoking like she could drink them like water.
I decided not to interfere.
"Then… shall I use the Mystic Eye the same way as last time?"
"Wait a second."
Valerie activated her mana.
From where she stood, mana spread out like a spiderweb, covering the entire training ground.
"I've reinforced the magic formulas in the training area. It'll be much more complex than before. Go ahead and activate your Mystic Eye. Ah, but wait — you should stop doing that routine of closing and opening your eyes first."
"You mean it's an unnecessary habit."
"Yeah. Even small habits can become ingrained if repeated too often. That might help with control now, but it could backfire later. What if you need to use the Mystic Eye, but you physically can't close your eyes?"
I nodded.
Removing unnecessary habits was something I fully agreed with.
Vmmm.
Keeping my eyes open, I focused mana into them.
Without the crutch of closing and reopening them, it took me a bit longer to activate the Mystic Eye — but soon enough, it opened naturally.
Throb!
A faint headache pricked at my temple.
I furrowed my brow without thinking — but that was all.
Just a few days ago, the pain had been sharp enough that I needed time to adjust. But now, even though the training chamber's magic had been reinforced, all I felt was a slight headache.
"Good. Are you seeing it clearly?"
"...Yes. I can see it well."
I couldn't help but be impressed.
The flow of diverse magical energy intertwined in intricate patterns, spreading throughout the entire workshop.
It felt like I was looking at the magic circuit of a living being — or perhaps staring at a piece of art crafted entirely from mana.
Even within that complex flow, there was order. And within that order, there was freedom.
Valerie de Bell...
I didn't know much about magic — but to construct a workshop of this caliber, and to further strengthen such a complicated structure with just a brief injection of mana... she was terrifying.
"What's wrong?"
"It's nothing."
"Hm... well, okay."
Valerie hadn't activated her Mystic Eye.
She looked at me and spoke.
"Now we're going to train you to control your Mystic Eye in a real combat situation. Be careful not to lose the thing I stuck to your head — it'll help you read the mana flow."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Do exactly as I told you. No bad habits. No weird tricks with your Mystic Eye."
"How are we training, exactly?"
"Well... what else would it be? It's Mystic Eye training. That means it's obvious!"
FWOOOSH!
In an instant, a massive fireball roared to life above Valerie's head.
It burned bright orange — so bright that even without using my Mystic Eye, my eyes stung just from looking at it.
"...Why the hell did that just appear?"
A bad feeling crept up my spine.
"Mystic Eye training is simple, isn't it? Watch carefully. Dodge well. That's it. Now try dodging this! Hahahahahaha!"
BOOOOOOM!
The fireball surged straight toward me.
The heat it gave off made the very air tremble.
"Shit!"
I immediately drew Mujin.
But then Valerie shouted—
"Ah-ah! No weapons allowed!"
Shouldn't she have told me that beforehand?!
Gritting my teeth, I gathered mana and stared straight at the fireball.
An overwhelming surge of magical power.
If I got hit — I'd be roasted alive.
This crazy scientist...!
Using my Mystic Eye, I read the flow of mana, analyzed the situation, and pinpointed the safest escape route.
I rolled hard to the side, narrowly dodging.
I avoided it.
If this had been right after I arrived at the workshop, I wouldn't have been able to dodge.
My Mystic Eye had grown stronger.
No — more accurately, I had grown stronger in wielding it.
"Huh? We're not done yet."
"...!"
The fireball, which should've smashed into the ground, suddenly twisted midair and came flying back toward me.
"Heehee."
Valerie let out a bizarre laugh, twirling the ivory pipe she held between her teeth.
That pipe was her wand — her own unique casting tool.
As she moved it, the fireball split apart, shot forward, or morphed into different shapes.
"Keep dodging while you listen."
Valerie exhaled a puff of smoke.
"Now that I know the true nature of your Mystic Eye... I'll explain it to you."
A faint smile curled at the corner of Valerie's lips.
[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : https://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]