Tempest | Alchemy Of Souls [Seo Yul]

Chapter 12: Heart Over Mind

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Over the days, Na Ra watched alongside the rest as Jang Uk falls and fails, the golden frogs that lay untouched finding new homes in the arms of the victors, and the empty pillows increased. It worried her. Although Jang Uk is a talented man and the child of who she believes has to be Jang Gang, she knows he still has no match for the mages who trained for years. He only just started weeks ago after all.

She was quite late to discover Mu Deok's plan, the bet. She was late to be informed of Jang Uk's confession and Mu Deok's blunt rejection causing tension between the two, and Jang Uk began to laze around as a form of rebellion towards his master. Mu Deok claimed she had no choice but to make a bet with the crown prince. The prize was the jade egg the two cherished.

"How was Jang Uk?" Na Ra glares through Cha Beom and his friends sitting across from where she stood.

"Jang Uk? It was a cakewalk to beat him," His friend exclaims. "Are you ready for your match?"

Cha Beom beams with pride. "Of course. At the very end, I will use Hyeongong to fight him."

She narrows her eyes on him. Because Mu Deok was a servant, she could not go wherever she wanted. She was instructed to clean somewhere else and so Na Ra had to walk into the library, now with a book in hand pretending to be curious about the book she had randomly picked out of a shelf.

Cha Beom, he is a mage from the Cha family who is known to use Hyeongong. She bits her lip. He had been watching Jang Uk all along. He is a coward who has only stepped up after seeing him lose several times. She scoffed at him.

Seo Yul walks up behind her, voicing out her thoughts. "Uk might be able to beat him," he says as she faces him. "Hyeongong is a spell that may look fancy on the outside. But it will be useless if the user lacks the skills. Beom may look intimidating at first glance, but that could just be a front."

As expected, Seo Yul can see through others, he has always been the observant one. She nods her head in agreement. "I have faith in your friend," She says. "It is usually those who brag the most that get humbled in the end. I will surely laugh at him when he loses against Jang Uk. He was telling others about how easy it would be to beat Uk.

"He is just worried," He says. "Uk has improved greatly in the past several days. He is scared that Uk will beat him."

"He should be."

At that, Dang Gu runs over to them, calling their names. "Did you hear? There is a commotion in the capital."

"What happened?" The two ask.

"Master Kang from Daegangtongun succumbed to his illness. But rumor has it that some assassins attacked him last night." He informed them. "My uncle and Master Heo rushed over to his funeral."

He shivered, "What if more assassins like Nak Su have appeared?"

Na Ra frowns at the mention of the name and looks down. It would be impossible for Nak Su to move in that body. She already had trouble fighting one last time, The Dan Ju already has many assassins by his side; What was his goal?

He who stood next to her kept a watchful eye on her, examining her reaction; She too is confused, she knows nothing of the matter. When she looks up and meets his gaze, he looks away slowly not bothering to hide that he was watching her. There was no point, she would have caught him even if he quickly pretended he was not.

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"I have my suspicions regarding Master Kang's death," Master Park Jin says. "Master Kang was powerful with a great mastery of spells. But he was already suffering from a fatal illness. There was no need for anyone to send the assassins."