21st Century Archmage

“The Golden Lane was originally built as lodgings for the guards and gatekeepers of the Prague Castle. As metalworkers and alchemists came to live there during the 16th century with the development of commerce, it was formally named theGolden Lane, just as it is now! Now, lets have everyone go in and freely look around! You have one hour! Be sure to gather here again within the time limit!” shouted the guide at the distracted kids.

‘Hehehe, where else can I experience such extravagance? A man has to swim with the big fish after all. Uhahahaha!

Just two months after beating the competition and entering Daehan High School, the school known as Koreas most prestigious institution, I boarded an airplane for the first time in my life.

Though my father was a well-off fund manager and my mother was a music professor, the two of them were immensely stingy. They never failed to go on trips around the world for a month or two every year, but they were extremely cruel to their precious, precious, one and only son. During my stormy period of adolescence, when I asked them why they treated me like someone theyd picked up off the street, my parents very simply laughed at my resistance and trampled over my rage.

‘Males must be raised with a strong hand in order to survive — such was my fathers ridiculous opinion.

My mother backed him up, saying,All the expenses youre using right now are the blood and sweat of your father and mother. Do you want to become a thankless child who carelessly wastes that blood and sweat?

It wasnt a safari wilderness simulation game or anything, yet my parents raised their only child with such severity.

After that, I saw that there was no one in the world who I could trust, and spent every single day studying until my nose would start bleeding.

And then, the school I had chosen, Daehan High School. It was the high school that the president of the Daehan Group, the biggest business in Korea and among the top in the world, was the director. From the moment you entered to your graduation, all the expenses and pocket money you needed for school life were provided by the Daehan Group.

Therefore, it was said to be harder to be accepted into than Seoul University, but I was able to get into such a school. And as a benefit of that, I was currently able to enjoy a paradise-like 10 days 11 nights school excursion in eastern Europe.

“Hyuk, lets go sightsee. Hehe.”

While I was preoccupied with my thoughts, Joong Hyun, a guy who looked as friendly as your next door neighbor, dragged me along with his plump rump behind him.

“Okay. Huhuhu.”

No matter how miserly my parents were, this was their one and only sons school excursion. I was generous enough to at least buy them a souvenir or two.

‘Alchemists? Did they really live here?

Upon entering the Golden Lane I saw charming buildings and various worthwhile handicrafts, through the windows. Perhaps it was because the ancestors of this place had been gold metalworkers and alchemists, the myriad kinds of ornaments I saw were more than enough to catch my attention.

“Wow, pretty!”

“Looks like its made of gold.”

“Hoho, it would suit me perfectly well if I wore it.”

The clear female voices I heard while sightseeing this and that with Joong Hyun.

Seo Ye-rin.

The representative of Daehan High Schools first years, she was the embodiment of beauty. With a height of 167 cm (55″), long black hair, big eyes, and milky, porcelain skin. She was a goddess with a graceful disposition, a rare item any guy would want to call their own.

Today as well, she was blooming like an exceptionally brilliant, elegant lily among the chattering weeds. Her long black hair was neatly held back with a plain-looking blue headband, her smile was more beautiful than the moonlight in May.

She was looking at a hairpin through a small window with some friends. Her ebony eyes, which matched her distinctively pale white skin, were shining.

“Is there something good? Hehe.”

More friendly with the girls than the male students due to his cheeky nature, Joong Hyun thoughtlessly dragged me straight into the girls.

And then. In that moment, the girls turned their heads and I happened to meet eyes with Ye-rin. Seeing me, a gentle smile came onto Seo Ye-rin lips.

‘Whoa? Is she smiling right now while looking at me?

I was a person who had graduated from the brutal wilderness hell that baby lions experienced, right at the age when kids graduated from elementary school and began yearning for manhood. Having set aside women in order to get accepted into Daehan High School, this school was truly my dream school.

Contrary to the idea that people who studied well were physically unattractive, the school had some rather charming women.

The saying that accomplished children rose from humble families was entirely a thing of the past. These days, with the waters so dirtied from pollution, you could only raise an accomplished child by maintaining a high quality environment. A world that was truly heartless and specialized. That was how the world where such high caliber children were raised was maintained.

“Wow! So pretty!”

Having squeezed in between the girls, Joong Hyun was looking at the platinum hairpin, which was embedded with many blue jewels.

“Its well made.”

The hairpin was so exquisite and vintage that my mothers collection of jewel hairpins couldnt even compare. Shaped like a long shell, the hairpin was enough to make even a guy like me desire it.

“Whoa!”

However, I exclaimed at the logical price tag.$10,000… oh my god! The hairpin was worth a fortune of ten thousand dollars. I couldnt close my gaping mouth.

“Its pretty, right, Hyuk?”

When I was gaping like that and being surprised, I heard what must surely be an auditory hallucination at my ear. A womans voice that was like the tinkling of a mystical silver bell was affectionately speaking my name.

“Huh?”