episode_0026

My heart was pounding. It sounded as if it were beating loudly right next to my ear. When I absentmindedly placed my hand on my chest, the sound grew even stronger.

Aiden alternated between staring at the handle of the sword and the exposed blade, still in a state of disbelief.

He couldn’t understand why he had lost. But I understood. From his perspective, it was a fight he couldn’t lose.

Even I thought so. Originally, this was a fight I was supposed to lose. In terms of specs, in terms of sheer skill, it was a fight I was supposed to lose.

If Aiden had gone all out from the beginning… No, there was no need to go that far.

Without using strength or energy, just relying on pure physical ability and skill, I would have continued to be at a disadvantage and eventually lost.

Strength and energy. I lack the magical power to use both properly. Even in the recent duel, that was evident. Just manifesting energy for a moment had consumed a considerable amount of magical power.

Know yourself, know your enemy, and you will never be endangered.

One of the phrases from Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War,” if I recall correctly.

In this duel, Aiden didn’t know me.

He didn’t know what kind of training I had received from Professor Artra, how much I had grown, how far my spatial perception could reach, how far I could move, whether I could use strength and energy.

Of course, I didn’t know either.

I didn’t know Aiden’s physical level. Whether he had innate abilities, what type they were, how powerful they were, whether he had mastered strength and energy, I didn’t know.

But there was a difference.

I had some knowledge of the original work, and I could gauge Aiden’s level.

I knew how Aiden was looking at me. I predicted that he wouldn’t use innate abilities, strength, or energy, and I was right.

So, I hid myself, let my guard down, and in one moment, revealed myself and overwhelmed him.

As a result, I won. Due to Aiden’s carelessness and letting his guard down, he surrendered an inevitable victory due to a momentary mistake.

If I fight again, I will definitely lose. If I fight a hundred times in my current state, I will probably lose a hundred times.

There was that much of a skill gap between me and Aidan.

But this time, I won.

It went as planned. What I expected came true, and I won. It would have been okay to lose, but I still won.

So, I felt a little good. Still, because I’m human, is winning better than losing?

Aidan, who still seemed shocked, was left behind, and I expanded my spatial perception back to normal. Only then did I see the survivors lurking around the training ground.

They had similar expressions to Aidan. What should I say, a foolish expression? A shocked expression?

I also saw Baek Ah Rin, whose eyes sparkled as if surprised. That person… is a bit intimidating.

I also saw Hong Yeon-hwa. I almost burst out laughing for a moment.

Her beautiful red eyes blinked. Her mouth was so wide open that I worried a fly might get in.

That’s how shocked she looked.

It’s a delightful feeling.

I used to be annoyed when I repeatedly told them that they didn’t need to keep wandering around and taking care of me, that I could see well in all directions thanks to my unique ability, and they didn’t pay attention, but to see them like this…

Until just now, I had suppressed my emotions and felt cold, but now my heart feels light.

The corners of my mouth turned up. A mischievous smile crept onto my lips.

“hee hee.”

Maybe because I was in a good mood, I did something I wouldn’t normally do.

I raised one hand toward Hong Yeon-hwa. I spread my index and middle fingers wide and folded the remaining fingers.

‘V.’

I couldn’t speak, so I conveyed it with my mouth. It’s difficult to communicate like this, but if she’s a superhuman like Hong Yeon-hwa, she might understand even from my mouth shape.

Hong Yeon-hwa’s reaction changed.

Her mouth opened wider. Her lips trembled, and her cheeks turned red.

…Why is she like that?

.

.

.

After “Basic Practical Swordsmanship” ended, I had a decent lunch.

Today, Hong Yeon-hwa said she had something else to do, so I had my meal alone with a nutrition bar.

It’s simple and provides enough nutrition. If the portion is insufficient, you can increase the quantity. If there’s a lack of nutrients, you can take other supplements.

Hong Yeon-hwa suggested having lunch together and took me to a restaurant. I eat, even though it’s uncomfortable because I can’t taste anything. But still, I eat diligently because I’m eating with others.

I still haven’t talked about my sense of taste. I really don’t know how to solve this problem.

Do I really need to say? I feel like if I just swallow it like a white lie, the problem will be solved.

…No, the truth is, it was just uncomfortable to say. I know Hong Yeon-hwa isn’t that kind of person, but I was afraid she would be disappointed in me for deceiving her all this time.

Moreover, strictly speaking, this is not a disability, it’s a curse.

The curse of sensory deprivation. If only this were lifted, everything would be resolved. For the sake of my happy life, someday, I will break the spell of sensory deprivation.

Rather than awkwardly saying that I can taste now, wouldn’t it be better to have kept it hidden from the beginning?

I solved lunch by walking to the old-fashioned cafeteria.

“……”

Arriving at the old-fashioned cafeteria, full of nutrition bars, I met Professor Atra who had arrived early.

My gaze shifted between the nutrition bar in my hand and the wrapper sticking out of the bag.

“Make sure to eat properly. Can a superhuman who uses their body solve their meal so carelessly?”

[Yes]

And I received a scolding.

I received a scolding and advice from Professor Atra, who furrowed his eyebrows. If such ingredients go into making your body, how will your body be made? When you eat, make sure to eat these things too.

After the scolding, there was quite reasonable advice as well.

Professor Atra’s training is mostly done in this manner.

Professor Atra’s method was harsh and difficult. Due to his brusque attitude, he was the type of person who was easy to dislike.

But I didn’t particularly dislike Professor Atra.

His attitude aside, he didn’t teach me carelessly. He was rough, but he was sincerely committed to education.

There was some unpleasant feeling, but it wasn’t significant, and it wasn’t directed only at me.

I had doubts about being hit under the pretext of recovery training with bad feelings, but I actually feel my body’s recovery ability increasing.

– Kka-gak…!

Today’s weapon was a long sword (長刀).

The previous sword I used had blades on both sides, but now it only has one blade and is relatively long. I swung the sword. Holding the handle, I exerted force to move it. The blade is drawn out long. Before the line ends, another line is drawn.

Kka-gak! The long sword leaves a long mark on the ground as it rises. An accelerated movement with a weakly manifested strong body technique.

– Kka-aang!

My hand bounced roughly. The long sword stuck deeply into the ground as it spun around. Suddenly, a rough wooden long sword was pointed at my neck.

“Your attacks are clumsy compared to your defense. That’s been a consistent criticism. You’re steadily improving, but keep paying attention.”

I nodded to Professor Artra, who casually spoke. I bowed my head, feeling embarrassed, as Professor Artra retrieved the wooden long sword.

Once again, I was completely defeated today. While the frequency of being hit has decreased as my skill has improved, fatigue remains because I have to move my body more than before.

“It was noisy; a special admission student broke a combat major student’s sword.”

As I absentmindedly regulated my breathing, Professor Artra, who glanced over, casually said.

When I pricked up my ears, Professor Artra continued speaking.

“So? Do you have any thoughts?”

I felt a gaze fixed on me. It seemed to mean “Think and speak before I do.”

I pondered for a moment.

“I’ve grasped the feeling now.”

It’s still inadequate, but I’ve managed to keep up with the combat major student.

It’s amazing.

Jack-of-all-trades. A unique ability in the versatile category.

I haven’t used the Jack-of-all-trades (八方美人) directly, but I have used a similar versatile unique ability.

Therefore, I know the drawbacks of the versatile category well.

The advantage is the correction and growth of proficiency in various fields.

The drawback is that the limits of various fields are ambiguous.

Even if you can handle various weapons such as swords, spears, knives, axes, and maces, ultimately, you lose out if you invest in just one of them.

While many versatile abilities disperse proficiency across several fields, the unique ability of a single skill set establishes its singularity and ultimately deviates from common laws to achieve expanded capabilities.

That’s why they called the Eight Directions Master an average unique ability. The reason for insisting on the Eight Directions Master is that it has two additional unique abilities: spatial perception and affinity for magical power.

If I could only bring one, I would never have brought the Eight Directions Master.

After the competition, I learned about Aiden’s unique ability.

Swordsmanship… in other words, the unique ability of the swordsmanship skill set.

It’s strange. It’s definitely strange that a sword held by the unique ability of the swordsmanship skill set, which was trained with the Eight Directions Master, defeated a sword.

Even the proficiency is overwhelmingly higher over there. The time it took to grasp the sword is also like that.

There was luck involved. But even considering that, it was strange. Because I had already caught up to Aiden’s every move.

“Synergy.”

Spatial perception, affinity for magical power, Eight Directions Master.

Three unique abilities coexisting and positively influencing each other.

There’s no other reason. Luck is a big factor, but if it hadn’t grown all the way to the tip of the toe thanks to synergy, luck would have lost its meaning.

[I won because I was lucky, but our fundamentals were different from the start. If we fight again, I’ll definitely lose.]

“I see. I won by repeatedly pricking at the opponent’s carelessness. The strategy was excellent. It was fine to dig into the opponent’s vulnerability.”

Praise came unexpectedly. Even though it’s attributed to luck, the fact that I won seems to be a pleasing part.

I glanced at Professor Atra with spatial perception.

It’s his usual indifferent expression. It’s the image that comes to mind when you think of Professor Atra now. But there was a moment just now when emotions wriggled beneath the expression.

The part about carelessness.

“But today’s result ultimately arose from carelessness. If the opponent hadn’t been careless, this result wouldn’t have been possible.”

It hasn’t been long since I met Professor Atra, but if you spend a considerable amount of time together every day, conversation inevitably comes up.

However, because Professor Atra maintains a thoroughly instructive attitude, topics related to warmth and combat with superhumans mostly come up.

Professor Atla was extremely disgusted with complacency. If I were to lose in a match later due to complacency, Professor Atla might personally kill me.

A few hours ago, I received feedback from the match against Aiden.

I talked about the development of the match with Aiden and heard an evaluation of it. Shortly before that, there was also an evaluation and criticism of the match with Professor Atla himself.

Time flew by. Before I knew it, it was time for the major lecture to end.

“It’s time. That’s it for today.”

Professor Atla, checking the time, declared the end of the lecture. Then, he put a water bottle near his head and silently looked at me.

It was Professor Atla’s own consideration. It means if there is something you want to say as a last word before finishing, say it.

I shook my head, saying I had nothing to say, but just in case, I tapped on my smartwatch.

[Next Monday and Tuesday, we have dungeon strategy practice. So, I won’t be available those days.]

“…Okay.”

It was a subtle difference, but Professor Atla’s expression changed.

Professor Atla really hates the topic of dungeons. He didn’t explicitly show it to me, but it’s something he figured out on his own.

I said it just in case. There is no lecture scheduled, but he is a professor by name. He probably knows the schedule to some extent.

After conveying that, I relaxed again. I planned to take a short break and then head to the library.

“…?”

I was quietly adjusting my magic power and zoning out. But strangely, Professor Atla, who should have left earlier, was standing still in his place.

Thinking something was off, when I checked through spatial perception, I could clearly see Professor Atla, lost in thought.

“Professor?”

“…It’s nothing.”

When I asked in confusion, Professor Atla glanced briefly in this direction and then turned around and disappeared from the range of spatial perception.

Why is he acting like that all of a sudden?

I tried to figure it out for a moment, but there was no way to know. I shook my head and got up from my seat. It was time to sneak into the library to look for magical books.

The next day. Time for the major lecture.

“Take these.”

Professor Atla effortlessly handed me dozens of books, an amount that could easily be considered excessive. They were all books related to dungeons.

In the other luggage, there were all sorts of magical tools. Upon closer inspection, most of them were magical tools used in dungeons.

“I will conduct a lecture on dungeons today and tomorrow.”