episode_0021

“All right, that should be enough warming up. Now let’s see what you’ve got for real.”

“Well, I was giving it my all from the start…”

“At least I hope you can surprise me like last time.”

With those words, Professor Rose brushed off his right shoulder once and began to focus his energy inward.

Swoosh-

“Crack, isn’t it a bit too intense right from the start?”

“Well, intense… Listen up, everyone. Do you know what happens to someone facing a high-ranking demon for the first time?”

While some onlookers had encountered demons before, they seemed unsure as if they didn’t know about facing a high-ranking demon. It was understandable since encounters with high-ranking demons were rare for those who lived ordinary lives. Yes, for those who lived ordinary lives.

“It is said that about 70% of those who encounter a high-ranking demon faint, some lose control of their bodily functions without restraint, and about 20% drown.”

“Drown? But there have been no documented cases of high-ranking demons observed underwater so far…”

“No, there haven’t been any. I can’t guarantee there won’t be in the future, but at least, not yet.”

“So, how does it happen…?”

“It’s not a mistake in speech, nor did I misinterpret. It’s because the residual magic emitted by high-ranking demons is so powerful that it infiltrates those who haven’t wrapped their bodies in mana.”

“In places where blood vessels are densely packed inside the body, blood vessels burst in the seven orifices, blood flows back, lungs tear causing blood to rise. You feel as if something is slowly being locked away in your body as a liquid, reaching your throat, suffocating due to blood rising to the point of drowning.”

“… ”

“Does this still seem too intense to you?”

“I don’t think so.”

A sensation akin to hitting one’s head hard washed over me. It seemed like even I wasn’t fully prepared to fight yet.

“I’ll say it again. Come at me properly, with full force.”

“Yes. Understood.”

Though I called it full force, I had no family secret swordsmanship or hidden ultimate moves. All I had honed were horizontal cuts, vertical cuts, and thrusts.

Taking a deep breath and focusing on my sword, the world seemed to slow down.

From memory, I tried to grasp a sensation I had felt once in the family training ground and once at a birthday celebration. It was a feeling of slicing through the air, cutting through everything beyond.

“Your gaze has changed. Are you seeking enlightenment somewhere? If so, it would be courteous of me to do the same.”

“Everyone, watch closely. The shining star in times of crisis.”

“A star…!”

It sounded like someone was speaking nearby, but the message didn’t seem to reach my brain through my ears.

My hand felt hot. No, cold. It was contradictory, like holding burning ice.

“Flanca Style, Form 4. Paper Glass.”

The strike the professor unleashed in an instant seemed unified, but as it approached, it seemed to fragment into numerous strikes aiming to overwhelm me. It seemed like the only way to avoid them was to flee, but the professor who delivered the strike seemed to be expecting something from me.

Not wanting to lose the sensation I had just grasped, I decided to meet his expectations. As the distance between us narrowed step by step, dozens, hundreds of strikes were about to rain down, fragmenting.

I tightened my grip on the twisted hilt. When the sensation reached the sword, my whole arm became warm.

“Horizontal Slash!”

Unbelievably, for a moment, the air split open, revealing what lay beyond like the flesh of a fruit. A black light that absorbed even light itself shattered countless strikes, sucking them in before sealing back up.

“Ha, haha… So this is it. This is it…!!”

“As expected, you…”

I was trying my best to keep the sense I had lost, no, almost lost, with a sense of excitement in my hands. But suddenly, the world was tilting. The last sensation before my head hit the ground, my consciousness faded.

“If you keep flying and falling like that, it’s no different from a glass cannon. But I liked it! Somehow inject the instinct to fly offensively into your body.”

“Just now…?”

“Rather than that, what did you just do!? Earlier, you said you were all foam in front of the captain.”

“You too! You said you’d take the top spot by fighting!”

“Haha. You’ve grown more than last time. Kidney Youngsik.”

“He’s my best friend!”

“He was just a friend earlier, wasn’t he? Has his evaluation gone up?”

“Isn’t it cool? How proud!”

“Alright, everyone quiet down. Training ends here. Someone please take the captain to the infirmary.”

The looks of the Diamond Class students towards Kidney were somewhat, no, significantly different from before. Previously filled with distrust and suspicion, now they looked at him as if seeing a monster.

“I’ll do it.”

“Throw him down gently, and if he wakes up, make sure he returns to class with you. The rest of us will move together.”

The girl who used to chase stars also looked at Kidney with slightly different eyes than before. To her, this boy was undoubtedly something like a black hole preventing the birth of a new constellation. However, as if to prove the girl wrong, the boy was shining on his own.

This kind of person was a first in the girl’s short life. Not relying on the afterglow of other stars, not shining brightly from the beginning but gradually radiating light. Feeling a bit annoyed by the thought that the boy kept stealing her attention, she poked the boy’s cheek repeatedly and took him to the infirmary.

“Ugh, teacher. I didn’t want to fight. They hit first because they kept bothering the kids at the orphanage…”

“Teacher…? Orphanage?”

Was he talking about his family story? Not someone you could easily hit and walk away from. The girl, with doubts in her mind, tossed the boy onto the bed.

“Good night.”

***

“Oh no, I’m late!”

“If you’re late, that would be a huge disaster, considering the sun is already at its zenith.”

A woman with a compassionate smile and a large heart proportionate to it. Although she couldn’t completely cover her body, judging by the gown and surrounding equipment, she seemed to be a school nurse.

“Mamang…”

“Oh dear. Unfortunately, there’s no milk yet.”

The teacher looked worriedly, placing one hand on her cheek. With her strawberry-blonde hair and mature features, if she had been a school nurse in a past life, students would have flocked to her during breaks without fail.

“Do I need to request supplies for milk? Starting with milk for the first guest…”

“No, I’m fine now. Thank you for taking care of me.”

As she said that and tried to get up from the bed to return to class, the woman suddenly grabbed her.

“Wait, if you get up like that, it’s dangerous! Let’s do a check-up to make sure you’re okay!”

“Wait, I understand. Please step back!”

“Pervert.”

“Hey, when did you show up! Help me out if you see me!”

“Creep.”

***

“You’re really fine. Even though you recover quickly, this is quite impressive.”

“I’m fine. Thank you for treating me.”

“Well, isn’t that what I’m supposed to do? Here, something special for the first guest!”

The school nurse took out a coin-shaped chocolate from the inside pocket of her gown and handed it to her. The chocolate still carried the warmth of the nurse and was slightly melted.

“I envy you!”

“Huh? Anyway, I have a feeling students will come here often. I’ve stamped a mark for potential regulars! Of course, it’s best if they don’t come at all!”

Lastly, she cast a healing spell on herself with a magic circle matching her hair color and returned to her place.

“Thank you!”

“Okay. See you next time~”

Leaving the health room behind, as the warmth of the received chocolate faded away, I continued to touch it sadly, and the girl next to me looked at me and said,

“Is it good?”

“Coup, what do you mean by good?”

“It means receiving recognition from Professor Rose. He gives a sword.”

Thinking it was about chocolate, I tried to change the subject, but fortunately, it wasn’t that kind of question.

“Of course, that’s good too. It looks like an expensive sword. Actually, that’s not important. What’s important is that I have definitely grown more than before.”

Suddenly, I remembered what the head teacher used to always say during my orphanage days.

“Better now than before. And a better future than now.”

“…So that’s what you meant.”

The girl still didn’t quite understand, but nodded slightly as if she understood a little, and opened the back door of the van.

“You came just in time. I was about to talk about dormitory matters. Please take a seat.”

“Hey, how was the health room? Is the facility good?”

“Rather than the facility, the academy welfare is outstanding…”

“Oh, really?”

“I plan to go there more often in the future…”

“Weirdo. Isn’t it good to be careful?”

As David and I were talking like that, we started to focus on the professor’s explanation. From what he said, it seemed that the dormitories were classified not by class but by the color series of brooches. For example, colors like ochre, red, and yellow belonged to Doh- dong. And colors like blue, purple, and navy belonged to Triadong. The remaining colors belonged to Quotedong.

However, as I listened, one question arose.

“Um, Professor, I have a question.”

“Speak.”

“In the colors you explained, white was missing. Where does it belong?”

“White, huh. Yes, white belongs to…”

Professor Rose smiled as if amused and bid farewell with a smile that seemed to suggest looking forward.

“There is no separate category for white. You’ll find out when you get there. Don’t be too scared.”

“What, is it a haunted house?”