episode_0005

It’s sudden, but the size of Siyolam is incredibly vast.

I remember that its size was originally similar to Jeju Island in the real world. I didn’t have a good sense of how big Jeju Island really is.

But there is common knowledge that it’s being used as an educational institution for an island of that size.

Facilities for awakeners take up so much land that such a vast size is necessary.

Thanks to this size, self-driving buses operate inside Siyolam at approximately 10-minute intervals at each bus stop.

Leaving the dorm and sitting in the bus seat, staring out the window… sensing the path.

As I feel the swiftly passing space, I involuntarily become overwhelmed.

I knew from the game that they were using an entire large island, but experiencing it firsthand feels different.

It’s been about ten days since I started living in this other world, or maybe just a week.

Today is the day of the freshman welcome ceremony.

While I’m holed up in my room with my major book, other students are quickly completing their dorm check-ins.

“Hey, is that him? The special admission.”

“It seems like it.”

“There’s something different about him compared to the others, isn’t there?”

The glances and whispers quickly catch my attention.

Even though I’m huddled in the corner of the bus, people recognize me right away. Is it really that eye-catching to walk around with your eyes closed?

Upon careful consideration, it seems like there might be something eye-catching about me.

I’ve only found out about it today, but it seems my name is quite well-known in the student community.

The term “special admission” I just heard.

It’s not a student who took the exam administered by Siyolam and got in, nor is it a student who got in thanks to a professor’s recommendation or strong backing.

But when you understand that the “related party” here refers to only one person, it makes sense.

“Neriel Clydia.”

The entity that established Siyolam.

Owner of the Tower of Growth.

The Silent Mage.

A legend of the transcendent realm who has lived for over 150 years.

Putting powerful dungeons to sleep and destroying dozens of first-grade dungeons—an unbelievable achievement.

If a level 1 dungeon goes wrong, it could destroy a city, and if a special-grade dungeon goes wrong, it could threaten the existence of a country.

Especially during the time when the chief was active, it was not a time of peace like now, but a time of turmoil and chaos.

Considering that dungeons running rampant is a rare occurrence in advanced countries nowadays, these achievements should be even more admired.

In other words, the chief is an individual engraved in the history books for preventing dozens of nation-toppling and city-destroying dungeons.

Also, he is the owner of an educational institution that has produced extraordinary individuals who have been active on the front lines for almost 100 years.

Such an individual has recommended a talent. For the first time in nearly a hundred years since Siyoram was founded.

Just this alone is enough gossip to chew on, but the fact that the first target is a blind and deaf person? Where else can you find such gossip? Even I am interested in this topic.

“When it comes to games, it’s not something to worry about.”

Being admitted as a special case was not something to worry about in the game.

Even while progressing through the main story, there was no occasion to meet Chief Nerielle in person, and it was just something that raised interest within the game and ended.

But facing reality is no joke.

It’s not an exaggeration; nine out of ten times, people are whispering about me. Moreover, not only good things are being said, but also rumors.

“Damn. How did a blind person get into Siyoram?”

“So what if the chief is blind?”

“Wow… Is this the disabled quota?”

They may be whispering among themselves as if I can’t hear, but in my greatly improved ears, I can hear them very well…

“A disabled quota…”

I saw the term “disabled quota” on the internet. It didn’t make me feel particularly bad.

Even I think the disabled quota is fitting…

I vowed to break through the constraints. However, honestly, I wasn’t confident that I would truly become stronger.

Swinging a sword once to split a car, flames rising from a person’s hand, and burning down an entire building.

It was nothing but virtual, not reality. According to common sense that I know, such things were impossible.

That common sense was shattered a month ago.

The world I live in changed in an instant. Suddenly, I can make snowflakes fly and manipulate space.

I can also sense the existence of magic scattered all over the world. There’s a bit of magic inside me too.

It seems like that’s all it takes… but the shattered remnants of previous common sense now deny that.

Is that even possible? I don’t think it’s possible.

[ The next stop is the 1st Assembly Hall. ]

How long have I been waiting on this thorny seat? The bus arrived at its destination, and people started pouring out.

I followed the crowd, sticking to the tail end.

Thanks to the identical destination, I didn’t need to turn on my navigation; following the crowd was enough.

Inside the assembly hall.

People who had arrived early were chattering away. But perhaps due to the building’s spaciousness, it wasn’t uncomfortable.

Checking the time, there were about 30 minutes left until the start.

As soon as I entered, avoiding the attention that was about to pour down, I stepped outside the assembly hall. I headed to a nearby convenience store for a drink or something to eat.

“I have to get used to this too.”

I’ve never received this kind of attention in my life, so it feels awkward and burdensome.

Normally, I would have just put it down and run away, but given my situation, I had to hold back tears and sit on the bench.

Taking a deep breath, I opened a bottle of water from the convenience store and took a sip.

Normally, I would have bought some fruit juice, but my tongue felt strange, and even after drinking, the tastelessness made me feel gloomy.

I want to smell something… but my sense of smell is the same.

Thinking about it makes me even more depressed. A continuous stream of negative thoughts… no, I can’t see ahead.

A series of negative thoughts. If I keep this up, I’ll dig myself into a hole. I shook my head to clear my mind and took a deep breath.

…There’s not much that changes by thinking negatively. It shouldn’t just end with cursing my situation.

I need to act to get out of this negative hole. I need to move from thinking to action.

“Yeah. I’m preparing right now.”

He was walking towards the banquet hall, telling himself to be confident.

“Hey, hey! Watch out…!”

It was a momentary moment.

As I was leaving the alley where the convenience store was located, something rushed at me from outside my spatial awareness and collided with me at a high speed.

“?!”

“Ouch! What the…?”

The water bottle flew through the air, scattering its contents. My body, unable to overcome the shock for a moment, almost let out a scream as it rolled on the ground without my knowledge.

In fact, I had already lost when I was hit. Thanks to that, I am now writhing in pain.

“Surprise. Hey, aren’t you looking where you’re going? People usually move aside, but… you… you, you…”

My throat hurt. The pain of being torn apart was quite familiar, but pain is pain.

Tears welled up.

Amidst the pain caused by the curse of silence, a familiar voice was heard from above. It was a character voice I often heard while playing games.

Instinctively, as I lifted my head, the end of the speech slurred and the voice was concealed as usual. The outline visible through spatial awareness. A woman was looking down at me.

Although only the outline was recognizable, I could infer her identity from the voice I just heard.

Hong Yeon-hwa.

Affiliated with “Geomhwa,” one of Korea’s three major clans.

She is the daughter of Hong Jin-yeon, the current leader of the Geomhwa Clan, and the granddaughter of the former leader.

A precious child who will later become the leader of the Geomhwa Clan, possessing latent potential to be one of the world’s strongest figures.

“Oh, no, I…”

[I’m sorry.]

Before Hong Yeon-hwa, who suddenly fell silent, could speak again, I hastily got up and bowed deeply.

[I was slow to react due to my dull body, I’m truly sorry for causing discomfort.]

Did I really do something wrong? Wasn’t it the one who collided from over there at fault?

I dismissed this thought before even raising my head properly. It’s not a good way to determine right or wrong here.

There was a characteristic that came to mind before the unique appearance that caused a special mutation, resembling flames dancing.

Fiery temperament. In other words, choleric. A temperamental nature, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.

Along with that, I felt Hong Yeon-hwa’s momentum.

It’s just a lump of fire. The magic takes the form of fire, so it feels like it will burn just by looking at it.

Even if you react with “You crazy bitch, you did it wrong,” it won’t bring a good response in return.

The image of myself being scolded flashed through my mind.

At least in the game, that was the case, and even in reality, blaming you for your mistake won’t make you look good.

Urgently, I got up and tapped on the watch.

“No! No! What’s there to be sorry about! Oh, I should be the one to apologize. I couldn’t see ahead because I was moving in a hurry. I’m really sorry.”

?

But the reaction is strange.

Instead of apologizing from over there, isn’t she bowing her head?

If it were a game, it wouldn’t have been strange to transition directly to a battle event.

I hesitated for a moment and then bowed my head towards her.

“……”

“……”

An awkward atmosphere lingered.

I didn’t understand Hong Yeon-hwa’s unexpected attitude, and… I don’t know why she’s like that.

“Um… You’re the one, right? The special admissions student.”

[Yes, my name is Yi Ha-yul.]

“I know your name. You’re quite famous, well… um…”

Whether it’s in a good way or a bad way, I also know.

I get it.

Not only the recommended admission side, but I probably won’t sit well with the test admission side.

They must have been sweating and working hard since before, barely getting into school, and now even getting into the recommended admission after taking a simple test.

I just came in without giving a damn about the test. From their point of view, I must be unbearable.

I’ve just experienced stares on the bus, and even in the original work, the initial impressions of other students were generally low.

‘?’

The end of the following words stretched out. For some reason, Hong Yeon-hwa’s reaction is strange again. She seems to be trembling as if not knowing what to do.

“Um… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything bad.”

[It’s okay.]

I really don’t know why she’s like that.

Amidst the continuing awkward atmosphere, the welcoming party schedule came to mind, so I quickly checked the time.

Fortunately, there was still time. The convenience store was right next door, so I would have plenty of time to walk there immediately.

“Wait a minute!”

As I was about to turn around, Hong Yeon-hwa urgently waved her hand.

“Should I guide you? I’m sorry about earlier…”

“I’ll pass…”

[Thank you.]

Similarly, there was no refusal.

* * *

“Crazy woman.”

What a damn crazy woman.

Hong Yeon-hwa cursed herself a moment ago while reflecting on the situation.

The sequence of events went like this. She overslept a bit, hastily prepared, and then rushed out of the dormitory.

The facilities were decent. Not as good as home, but good enough to get some sleep.

But because she overslept, Hong Yeon-hwa had to rush.

She didn’t take the bus. It was slower than running, but under normal circumstances, she might have taken it to kill time.

However, due to time constraints, she just ran.

Looking back now, was it really necessary to be in such a hurry? Probably not. From the middle, there was enough room to walk without the need to rush.

…Her vision narrowed, so she didn’t notice him. She just thought she was late and kept running until she arrived.

As her thoughts focused on one thing, her vision narrowed, and as a result, she didn’t notice the person walking out of the alley and bumped into him.

There’s a slight excuse for this. His presence was so faint that it was suspicious. Even for someone with heightened senses like her, his presence was faint.

And she definitely slowed down before the collision. If it had been an ordinary person, they would have stumbled a bit.

But the person she collided with rolled on the ground as if stabbed by a knife, making a racket.

It was almost as if he was faking it, it was so excessive.

Regrettably, she rashly revealed her nature, and within 10 seconds, regretted it.

She glanced back. A man was clinging to her sleeve and following behind.

If there was a characteristic, it was that he was small in stature. She was tall, but he was even smaller. Given his delicate appearance, it made sense that he had collapsed just now.

In addition, his tightly closed eyes and holding onto her sleeve as he followed her stirred a strange protective instinct.

The moisture in her eyes stabbed deeply at her heart. She didn’t want to imagine why there was moisture there, but the answer came to mind involuntarily.

And she, just now, pushed a boy who couldn’t see in front of him, stimulating her protective instinct, causing him to fall to the ground, and then she cursed him out without looking ahead…

“Damn it…”

Hong Yeon-hwa had always been advised by her grandfather and father, as well as other family elders, to calm down her temperament.

There were innate aspects to her temperament, and the atmosphere of the family also contributed to the formation of her personality. Going through various experiences made her impatient and irritable.

Perhaps the fact that Hong Yeon-hwa herself did not pay much attention was a major reason for this. This is the result.

She couldn’t hold back her anger for a moment and let it out.

…Even though she had clearly shaken off the dust earlier, it seemed like there was still some on her clothes. When she reached out and flicked it off, she flinched.

“Oh, there’s still some dust on it.”

[Yes]

Whether the flinch was a reflexive reaction or not, she nodded her head and responded with a hologram.

…Of course, speaking orally is much more convenient than tapping the smartwatch to produce a holographic response.

But she couldn’t help it. Speaking.

“Should I have kept my mouth shut like this?”

It’s awkward. What’s the point of saying anything?

It’s not someone she usually gets along with, and they just met.

Especially from the perspective of the perpetrator who committed such a dog-like rudeness, it’s even more so to say something.

To make amends even a little, she offered an apology in a formal manner and guided them personally, but of course, this would not be satisfying.

She had already caused an accident.

Hong Yeon-hwa chewed herself out inwardly as she cautiously led Im Ha-yul by the sleeve.