episode_0018

When Art started training, it was notified that there is no favoritism in special admissions.

He said there is no systematic method and that he will conduct training in a form close to actual combat. He added that it would be so difficult that tears would fall out, and told them to follow him with determination.

There is a little bit of a lie mixed in.

There is no favoritism in special admissions. It’s a lie. In fact, it leans a little towards disfavor.

Teaching someone.

And not just an ordinary lecture, but the fact that one teaches someone personally, 1-on-1, brought up extremely unpleasant memories for Art.

Memories she didn’t want to recall anymore. But occasionally, inevitably, memories that come to mind.

If someone else had made this proposal, she would have cursed and lashed out, telling them to go to hell. And if they had persisted, she would have punched them in the face.

But the one who made the proposal was none other than the owner of the cradle. Someone who had done her several favors and knew her circumstances.

Even so, when such a proposal was made, she reluctantly accepted, thinking that there must be some reason behind it.

However, questions remained. Is he an individual that the principal would bring in personally? Does he have enough value?

Also, personal emotions were mixed in, leaning her perception of 1-on-1 education towards disfavor.

There is no systematic teaching. This is true. Of course, Art has her own way of doing things systematically.

No matter how shitty it is, you still have to keep up appearances to some extent.

On the first day, they assessed basic physical abilities and determination through running. It’s not impossible to measure in different ways, but it’s not the job of a newly awakened superhuman to expect anything special now.

“Minimum.”

Physical ability is a failure among failures. Even considering that he has just become a superhuman, it’s weak. Even at the lowest level, it’s at the level of barely being able to do chin-ups.

Determination… It’s quite there. There’s a certain amount of spirit. But does it really stand out uniquely? No, it doesn’t.

His unique ability is in the detection category.

Basic abilities that allow normal daily life even as a blind person. Accurate measurements were not made, but based on what Iryul heard, it can be inferred that even among detection, it is peculiar and top-tier.

On the second day, they were made to run again. This was to confirm how much they had grown through the protection of growth.

Normally, expecting results in just one night is insane. It is extremely rare for a person to grow in just one day. Even if someone becomes a genius overnight, it’s similar.

However, with the protection of growth, it is not impossible. The place where growth beyond the standard is possible is Siyolam from the start. Young geniuses don’t hope to enter Siyolam desperately for no reason.

“Appropriate.”

Compared to other students, the growth rate is high. However, it is natural to be higher than others and above average.

The multiplier received as a special admission should naturally be higher than others.

Next, they were given a sword and tested briefly.

“Hmm.”

Artra maintained a sharp gaze, but did not fabricate nonexistent facts or deny reality.

This part was a talent in its own right.

When they first held the sword and launched a surprise attack, surprisingly, they responded well after anticipating it in advance.

After that, without saying anything, their growth was noticeable at every moment.

The trajectory of the sword became sharper, and their posture holding it changed quite stably.

At first, there were many awkward parts as if imitating others, but over time, it changed as if internalizing their own skills.

But it’s mediocre. They have talent. If they do well, they can compete with those who possess unique abilities in swordsmanship. They may even possess unique abilities in technical fields, not just detection fields.

So?

There are countless unique abilities in swordsmanship. Among the countless individuals who have reached the end after having talent and sweating, Siyolam is the place.

Of course, it’s not about having mediocre talent.

But if you attach the label “special admission”… Why bother?

If it were regular admission, it would have been acceptable.

If it were recommended admission, it would have been quite good…

The label of special admission is too prominent.

Weak physique, adequate mental strength, superior detection ability, fairly fast-growing swordsmanship.

All of these are unsuitable for unprecedented special admission.

The promising youths who shone in the golden age so far and the potential shown by the current Ihayul have a significant difference.

Of course, it’s only been two days. There might be a special talent in a place other than the sword. It’s too urgent to make a judgment yet.

Therefore, the next day, he handed him a spear.

Yi Hayul took the spear and made a troubled expression. It was a face that seemed to question whether this was right, while stroking the spear.

It makes sense. Even if it’s just for a day, he would have adapted to the sword, so immediately changing weapons.

Just as there is a proverb “Dig one well, not two,” focusing on one thing when time and ability are limited is also effective.

But Artla’s thoughts were a bit different. It’s efficient to dig only one well… That’s true.

However, shouldn’t we refer to how to dig other wells and what results come from it?

Is it reasonable to not know how to use a spear just because you hold a sword?

Even if you don’t wield a spear, you should know how to deal with one.

Artla, who was in charge of Yi Hayul’s combat specialization class, at least thought so.

The reason for handing Yi Hayul a different weapon was to find talent by handling various weapons and to induce learning by using various weapons directly.

At least that’s how Artla thought and trained, and with the support of his talent and hard work, he became a top-tier hero in the “individual combat” category.

“Well then, here I go.”

Looking at Yi Hayul, who firmly grasped the spear, Artla stabbed the spear with a brief warning.

– Clang!

The spear was immediately deflected.

“Hmm?”

A slight sense of unease. Artla retrieved the slightly shaking spear and thrust again.

Three stabs connecting the forehead, throat, and heart.

Yesterday, Yi Hayul, who had been holding a sword, excellently blocked the surprise attack. He fairly repelled the attack that was expected to be allowed.

But his subsequent response was inexperienced. The connection between movements was unskilled, making it easy to cut off. He could even block the movement before it unfolded.

That was yesterday’s Yi Hayul.

– Swish! Clang! Clank!

He responds. The spear blocks the three stabs. Artla’s eyes widened.

The combination is inevitably rough. At least it was a much improved combination compared to yesterday. He retrieves the spear to confirm.

Followed by a slash.

The spear is specialized for stabbing, but its unique length makes it also formidable for slashing and sweeping.

– Huh!

The attack cut through the air. Lee Hayul avoided it by stepping back a few paces without directly countering, then struck the ground with his spear.

“Hmm.”

He transitioned from a missed slash to a stab. An instant change in the attack. The tip of the spear split the wind. It was a straightforward stab.

Thwack! The spear that was cutting through the air was met by another spear. Atra continued to press forward without retreating and once again teased with the spear. This time, Lee Hayul did not step back and instead countered.

Spear clashed with spear. Stabbing against each other, blocking slashes, and the clash of spears as they struggled.

“This guy…”

What is he doing?

As the spears crossed each other, Atra’s expression showed curiosity.

Yesterday’s Lee Hayul. He handled the sword well. It was considered inexperienced, but for a first attempt, he handled it well.

Today’s Lee Hayul. He handled the spear well. Inexperienced? From Atra’s perspective, he was still inexperienced. However, he had clearly improved from yesterday.

Yesterday, he trained with a sword. But today, he is using a spear. And yet, he has grown.

And.

– Thwack! Clang!

He is still growing. His growth rate is inevitably steep. It is even faster compared to yesterday.

To confirm, he raised the level. Physical abilities are the same, but he increased the density of his skills.

Lee Hayul, who had been confidently countering, furrowed his brow. Confronting head-on seemed difficult, so he shifted to a stance to avoid a direct confrontation.

His two legs moved like flowing water on the ground. The instability of his legs that had been pointed out had improved. Thanks to this, his upper body, which had some spare energy, defended against attacks and occasionally counterattacked.

It seems that rather than attacking, he focuses on defense and counterattacks. It fits. Without using any other moves, he directly defended himself.

The spear blocking the neck guard shook precariously. As a result, the defense formed by the spear also swayed as if it would break.

But he held the final line. He still did not allow strikes like yesterday.

And above all, his physical condition is different from yesterday… No, that wasn’t it.

It was a strange situation.

Art opened his eyes narrowly. He still couldn’t make an accurate judgment. There was insufficient basis for making a judgment. To do that, he needed to concentrate more.

To set the direction for the future, a bit more…

– Prepare yourself, Master! The moment I catch up, I’ll repay everything I’ve received so far!

‘……’

It’s an unpleasant memory. It came back to him again.

He raised the attack.

After about a hundred exchanges, the defense was breached.

* * *

The spear flies around frantically. Trying to perceive spatial awareness and respond as much as possible, but before handling it all, another, another! Attack comes flying.

‘Aaaah…!’

Yesterday he was told to use a sword, today they’re telling him to use a spear. No, from last night until this morning, he kept simulating with a sword, and now they tell him to use a spear.

It didn’t make sense, but for now, he picked up the spear. It must have been meaningful since it was said by a skilled person.

Fortunately, perhaps because the category is the same as combat, he could handle the spear quite well. By reducing sleep and running simulations, at first, he didn’t get hit once and was able to respond to everything.

He contemplated spatial awareness through yesterday’s training and what happened this morning.

He saw the flames blazing. It wasn’t the first time he had seen flames. But there had never been such turbulent flames like today, and he had never seen them as vividly as today.

Spatial awareness.

On the first day, he almost died from too much overwhelming information, and after that, the radar spatial awareness he experienced was lacking in information.

His current spatial awareness is monochrome… meaning, a version that can recognize colors, with performance no different from that of an ordinary person’s eyes.

But he thought about it here.

The radar spatial awareness lacked information. Because it couldn’t recognize colors, daily life was uncomfortable. But did it not recognize movement? No, it recognized it well.

He asked himself. Is color really important during battle? It would depend on the type of battle.

But it wasn’t necessary in yesterday’s training when he was fighting with a sword.

There are limits to the information that spatial awareness can perceive. More precisely, there are limits to what I can perceive.

On the first day, there was too much information, and my brain couldn’t handle it, causing an overload.

Radar spatial awareness and color spatial awareness.

In Dalian, what spatial perception is more efficient in distinguishing simple movements?

– Kkagak…! Chaeng! Chaejaeng!

The answer is towards the radar. At least, Artla’s movements are better felt than yesterday.

A world of black and green. It’s a world that’s so unpleasant to see that it makes your teeth chatter, but this side is more suitable for combat than color.

Skill in handling spatial perception has also increased quite a bit, so even radar spatial perception can easily distinguish the degree of attention.

If the palm used to feel flat in the past, now even the back of the hand is felt.

Thanks to that, I feel and respond to more things than yesterday.

Also, the simulations I ran until yesterday while sleeping have had a significant impact as well.

In fact, there is a large portion of the reason why I ran simulations to death because it hurts too much.

On days like this, when it rains for several days and you get hit like dust, you might really feel like dying.

Pain must accompany growth. I’ve heard that saying somewhere.

But there’s also this saying.

Rather than growth accompanied by pain, growth without pain is even better.

It’s a simple story. I didn’t want to be beaten with a club.

I was used to being beaten since I was young, but just because I’m used to it doesn’t mean I want to keep experiencing it.

With that in mind…!

– Chaejaeng! Ttak! Jjeong! Ttak!

“Here, here.”

“Kkeuk! Kkaegwik!”

Changdae, who broke through the defense, struck the shoulders and thighs. Gritting my teeth at the pain that surged up my spine, I bit down hard.

“It’s the same thing…!”

I’ve grown since yesterday…!

I definitely blocked well at first, but at some point, Professor Artla, who raised the level, tore through the defense in an instant and cast a spell.

Raising the level suddenly without any warning.

– Ttak!

“Your counterattack is sloppy, giving the opponent many opportunities to attack. Thanks to that, the attacks that tap into your defense are getting stronger, aren’t they?”

– Chaejaeng! Peok!

“Move your legs well. Swinging the spear is done with your arms, but ultimately your body moves through your legs.”

– Peok!

“Don’t think of actions as separate, link them together. One move affects subsequent actions.”

However, simply grumbling leads to appropriate discipline right after the spell.

If there’s no more than just forcing it, I might try to rebel a little bit, but it’s useless to rebel when I see an effort to teach something.

A few hours later.

It was me who sprawled on the ground again today.

Professor Artra, who seemed to be pondering something, approached me, stroking the messy window.

“You’ve definitely grown since yesterday. It’s unexpected growth.”

But that didn’t get me out of the rut. Even sacrificing almost all my sleep and hard-earned normal vision.

After exchanging a few words, Professor Artra turned his back and left the training ground. My mind was so blank that I couldn’t remember what I had just heard.

“…?”

Something’s strange.

After thinking for a while, I let out a quiet sigh.

“W… Water…?”

Usually, he would finish and give me water, but why not today…?

I’m so thirsty…