episode_0032

[‘Reenactment of the Battlefield’ is in progress]

“ㅡㅡ___ㅡ____ㅡ!!!”

As the bluish light struck the location where the ‘seed’ was stored, the branches of the cherry blossom tree drooped heavily, accompanied by the now familiar screams. The glowing fireflies, which were spreading their wings wide open, weakly lowered their heads.

The cherry blossom-colored magical particles lingering in the air diminished, causing the once beautiful garden to lose its light. The fully bloomed cherry blossom petals quickly withered away, and the bluish particles swirling around the body dispersed into the air one by one.

[You have defeated the ‘Sacred Cherry Blossom Tree (Lv.50)’]

[Ending the ‘Reenactment of the Battlefield’]

“This must be the thirtieth time.”

With a slight murmur, the space began to crumble. The lifeless cherry blossom garden vanished, and the cherry blossom tree split in half, turning into ashes that scattered into the air.

It was already the thirtieth time I had faced the cherry blossom tree in the ‘Reenactment of the Battlefield.’ Now, even with my eyes closed, I could see its patterns.

Yet, I couldn’t relax. The existence of variables not present in the original work was a frightening presence for me, who had lived relying solely on the original work for five years.

Suddenly, I felt like I was walking out onto the street with my eyes closed. The unpredictable future was terrifying in this way.

The memory of almost dying at the hands of the cherry blossom tree, even though over two weeks had passed since then, continued to haunt me.

“Sigh…”

I let out a light sigh and adjusted my sword.

As an adventurer with over five years of experience, I was a veteran mercenary of sorts. It was a time when I shouldn’t be cutting my hand on a sword.

But as I inserted the sword into its sheath out of habit, I furrowed my brows, feeling a deep cut on my index finger stained with blood. The blood dripped along the sharp edge of the sword, causing a delayed stinging pain.

Perhaps my mind had wandered too far.

After casually applying pressure to my finger to stop the bleeding, I turned around without much thought-

“First, I should go to the infirmary… Hiyah?!”

“Oh my?”

I collided directly with Ellyn, the teacher, accompanied by a faint scent of roses brushing against my nose.

“Uh, ugh…?! Teacher?”

My heart raced, feeling like it was about to drop. I didn’t sense any presence at all. When did the teacher arrive?

Of course, if a Sword Master deliberately hides their presence, there’s no way a first-year academy student like me would notice… But Ellyn, she wouldn’t go to such lengths to hide her presence.

She would probably approach me subtly, leaking her presence little by little, adjusting to the level of the students. That’s the kind of person she is.

So, it’s just that I didn’t notice.

“Uh…”

However, I couldn’t continue with that thought any longer.

Ellyn, the teacher, grabbed my left hand, which had been cut by the sword.

I blushed, trying to suppress the girlish scream that wanted to burst out.

Even holding hands with friends like Yerena or Regina felt awkward for me, who had little resistance to intimacy, so even the distance between Ellyn, the teacher, felt awkward.

For a while, an awkward silence lingered in the empty training ground.

“Sian.”

“Yes, ma’am?!”

It was after she carefully examined her left hand that she spoke, placing a dagger cautiously against my index finger.

“Do you have any worries lately?”

“Worries…?”

“Yes. Worries.”

The gaze of Ellen, the teacher, who asked like that, was slightly different from usual.

Always a mix of laughter and mischief. Not a tender gaze, but a truly serious look that felt somewhat mysterious, with beautiful eyes resembling rubies sparkling.

I wonder if as a swordmaster, you can detect this level of change with just a few signs.

“Ugh, did I give myself away?”

“It’s not common for a skilled swordsman to cut his own hand with his sword. Unless your concentration was broken due to some worries.”

“A skilled swordsman, you say, that’s an exaggeration.”

“That’s how I truly see it. I’m not someone who reaches out to just anyone. I only approach those I really want to nurture, you know?”

Muttering like that to lighten the heavy atmosphere, Ellen, after circling back to the original topic, asked again.

“So, what’s bothering our cute student?”

“Uh, I distinctly remember rejecting the offer back then…”

“I am a teacher of Class A in the 1st year Swordsmanship Department. So, Sian is my student for now. And listening to a student’s worries is also one of the teacher’s duties, you know?”

“Ahaha, sorry for constantly changing the subject…”

Emphasizing the ‘teacher’s duty’ part, Ellen apologized cautiously with an awkward smile. As the teacher said, I was indeed deliberately changing the subject.

It’s true that Ellen, the teacher, has some affection for me, but we’ve only known each other for just three weeks.

If a student who has only known you for three weeks claims that the school will be attacked during midterms, who would believe that?

So, I needed some time to organize my thoughts.

I couldn’t reveal the existence of fake scars. It didn’t seem like anyone would believe it.

Therefore, I needed a suitable excuse. An excuse to inform about the existence of fake scars through a natural conversation.

I was stalling for time because I needed time to come up with that excuse.

“Well, actually… I feel like my growth has stopped recently. Even though I train hard as usual, my skills aren’t improving, and it feels like I’ve hit a wall.”

“Hmm, I see.”

“Huh?!”

Ellen’s gentle touch stroked my head. The affectionate touch I felt for the first time in a long time sent a warm feeling rushing through my cheeks.

“S-teacher…?”

“You don’t need to worry too much. That means your skills are improving. You’re starting to see flaws that you haven’t seen before.”

“Is that so…?”

“Of course. I’ve been there, and my master has been there too. It means you’ve grown enough to see your own flaws, so you don’t need to worry like that.”

“But right now, it feels so suffocating…”

“Yeah. That’s how the highest wall feels. The greater the obstacle, the greater the growth when you overcome it.”

By this point, it seemed like I had half-naturally guided the conversation.

Thinking that way, I slowly brought up the main point.

“So, people are even willing to touch the fake scars of the Dark Sect. They want to overcome that wall even if it means cutting their life force.”

“Fake scars?”

“Yes. I haven’t actually seen them, but they say they exist. When I traveled to the southern jungle region.”

“…Could you tell me more about it?”

She took the bait. Should I go on?

Ellin teacher started to show interest in my story. After all, the topic of fake awakening is not something that can be easily overlooked as an academy teacher.

Moreover, if my expectations are correct, there will be students whose abilities have significantly improved in a short period of time without actually awakening. The teacher must have noticed something strange as well.

“I heard about it only through rumors while traveling as an adventurer. So, if you transplant fake awakenings, it means that, unlike regular awakening holders whose physical abilities increase, they consume their own vitality.”

That should be enough.

A creation of the Dark Cult that boosts physical abilities like awakening holders while depleting the user’s vitality. It’s a combination of words that as an academy teacher, I cannot ignore.

“I see.”

With a hint of suspicion in her expression as she briefly gazed into the air, she suddenly had to leave because something urgent came up.

“Phew…”

Only then could I sit down on the ground. Pretending to be adequate in front of a Swordmaster was never an easy task.

Still, about half of what needed to be done was accomplished. I may not have much authority yet, but with Ellin teacher, it’s a bit different. The existence of fake awakenings has been revealed.

While it may be difficult to immediately punish students without clear evidence, in about two days, I can ask Ellin teacher to help identify some potential fake awakening holders.

“Now, I have to meet Regina.”

The only thing left is to meet Regina.

Regina, who knows the future and has lived in this world, will probably come looking for me. To inform me that a terror attack is about to happen.

“Still, it’s fortunate that things are going well here.”

It’s not like there’s no one to help me like a seed, and it doesn’t seem like we’ve deviated from the ‘original’ yet.

This seems like a pretty good start.

Muttering to myself like that, I slowly got up.