episode_0046

The interior of the Tower of Growth is so vast and diverse that one could say it resembles another world without exaggeration.

During the four years affiliated with Siyoram, students can ‘safely’ face various trials within the Tower of Growth.

The initial entrance exam for first-year students is an embarrassing test rather than a trial.

The environment reminiscent of the dinosaur era forests commonly found on the internet. The air is dense, and the trees are thick.

The leaves spread widely on the branches, large enough to make clothes out of them.

…Though not visible to the eye, it’s probably true.

The plan was as follows.

The magical concentration here is incredibly intense, incomparable to the outside world. It cannot even be compared to the dungeon entered last time.

The trees and grass here have grown by absorbing such magic abundantly for 365 days.

The weeds spread throughout this place are medicinal herbs imbued with magic that are difficult to obtain outside.

I intended to collect all the necessary items here. While it might be challenging for others, it’s an easy task for someone with spatial awareness like me.

The positive growth obtained within the tower applies outside as well, and the items acquired here can be taken outside.

I started by wandering around, collecting herbs while also searching for the location of Hidden Phis. If it follows the original, there’s a high chance Hidden Phis is somewhere here.

I planned to sell the herbs outside or use them myself later when I delve into alchemy.

And so, I endured for five days. I planned to hide my presence, avoiding other students and occasionally responding by using magic.

I received praise from those around me for being hard to detect. Furthermore, I had spatial awareness that allowed me to anticipate the approach and traces of others. I thought I could manage to some extent.

The foundation of the plan, spatial awareness, vanished.

After squeezing my body through the crevices between large rocks, I operated spatial awareness absentmindedly.

I felt like I was losing my mind. I truly despised this world.

As much as I wanted to just give up and fall asleep, that was the worst possible choice.

Struggling to muster my will, I did my best to restore my spatial awareness.

It felt like several hours had passed. I couldn’t use my spatial awareness properly, and it remained distorted. I was in a similar situation.

“Sigh…”

Looking around, it seemed impossible to easily regain my spatial awareness.

“…What about food.”

Surviving for five days. Emergency rations were naturally not allowed. I had to procure food and water directly from this forest.

Without spatial awareness now… it was difficult to obtain.

Water could be somehow conjured with magic.

The only way to get food here was to hunt and eat monsters that were edible or chew on tree fruits and roots.

Even if I cautiously searched while hiding, trying to find edible tree fruits, it was hard to determine if they were poisonous or safe to eat.

It was impossible visually. Nor could it be determined by smell or taste. Ultimately, one had to try it once and confirm based on the body’s reaction.

There was no time to sit still.

Carefully, I got up. Clearing the leaves cleverly covering the crevice between rocks, I stealthily made my way outside.

Taking each step cautiously, feeling around the surroundings.

– Thud

“Ouch.”

My head hit the thick branches several times.

– Thump

“Ow, oww…”

My leg nearly tripped over tree roots protruding from the ground about three times.

– Oof

“Ouch.”

While feeling around the trees, I pricked myself dozens of times on sharp edges. Once my spatial awareness recovered, there would likely be multiple marks on my palms.

The only sense left to call upon was hearing. Countless sounds seeped into my ears.

I could hear footsteps. They were my own. Occasionally, I heard footsteps that weren’t mine.

Every time this happened, I would quickly hide in a place where I could barely breathe, and if there was no such place, I would lie flat somewhere, suppressing any movement.

I hid my presence until the sounds faded away. Once they were gone, I cautiously rose and felt around my surroundings.

This pattern repeated several times. Hours spent concealed in rock crevices. Hours searching for something while feeling my way around.

I managed to find some tree fruit (presumed), located a large clearing and a riverbank with flowing water.

I had been testing my spatial perception. No good news came from it.

I’m not sure if this analogy is correct, but the space around me feels oppressively heavy. It was impossible to push it away, preventing me from expanding my range.

“There’s no solution.”

Contemplating as I rolled the fruit I had found in my palm.

I hadn’t determined whether it was poisonous yet. Following what I had heard before, I crushed a fruit slightly and applied it to my wrist.

If a stinging sensation arose, I remembered it as poison. Fortunately, there was no significant reaction even after some time passed.

Carefully, I put a piece of the fruit in my mouth. There was no immediate discomfort. I ate it slowly, savoring each bite.

A significant portion of day one had already slipped away.

“Ugh…”

It was time to make a decision. Continuing like this was futile. For some reason, my spatial perception had become impaired, turning me into a fool without sight.

Continuing to struggle aimlessly held no benefit.

Unable to find herbs or acquire Hiddenthips. Thanks to the enhanced Blessing of Growth, I felt like I was continuously growing just by breathing.

But rather than ruining my progress and ending up in the training room despite having a handicap, it was better to drop out early.

Having returned without any significant achievements, I sat dazed in the crevice of a rock, tapping into my spatial perception, when suddenly, numerous sounds reached my ears.

“…Sounds.”

Cursed with sensory deprivation, I had lost my vision, taste, and smell. More than half of my senses were gone, leaving only hearing and touch.

Since the curse, my hearing and touch had improved. I realized that I could now perceive small sounds that I couldn’t hear before.

The sound of the wind blowing, grass rustling in the wind, branches swaying, water flowing, chirping of small birds…

Struggling to hold onto my crumbling mental state, I absentmindedly perceived the sounds. My significantly improved hearing picked up various noises.

My improved hearing didn’t bother me much. I heard that when you close your eyes, the energy meant for vision spreads to other senses.

I wasn’t sure about the truth of it, but I felt that way.

“…I can hear too well.”

But right now, it seems like I can hear quite a lot.

The sounds entering my ears increased gradually. All sorts of sounds from the forest resonated in my ears.

Could this be the energy meant for spatial perception spreading to other senses?

Come to think of it, it was true. Even in my previous world, my hearing was sharp.

Feeling the gaze through touch. Feeling it through touch instead of intuition was strange, but just like my hearing, I was good at sensing gazes on Earth, and here, I felt them even more keenly.

“Magic.”

I could sense magic too. The surrounding magic was so abundant that detailed distinctions were challenging, but all kinds of magic were transmitted to my skin, sensually.

The vibrant magic imbued in trees, clearly present even in weeds. The flow of magic underground. Magic flowing in the air.

Inherently pure and clear life force-like magic…

Even without spatial perception, I could feel it.

Come to think of it.

At some point, I always sensed magic through spatial perception.

From when? That’s wrong. I always sensed magic through spatial perception.

Even though my eyesight had been poor and blurry since childhood, eventually, I could see.

Cursed and engulfed in complete darkness, the world was terrifying.

Thus, I relied on a hazy perception of space that seemed eerily similar to the murky world, and after my spatial perception normalized, it seemed like I relied on it even more.

Spatial perception was so versatile, which made it even more crucial.

I understood spatial perception in various ways.

The reason I could perceive without opening a book is because I absorb all the information within the range of the space I enter.

Even without opening a book, as long as I exist in that space. Eventually, by perceiving the space as a whole, the contents of the book also come along.

I perceived magic in the same way. Because ultimately, magic also exists above space.

While losing sight, taste, and smell, my hearing and touch subtly improved. I didn’t pay much attention. It seemed like I had been neglecting spatial perception.

I relied on spatial perception. It might be an incorrect statement. Just as people see the world with their eyes, I felt the world through spatial perception instead of eyes.

People rely on sight, and I relied on spatial perception.

But that wasn’t the only thing I had.

Enhanced affinity for magic, all-around talent, heightened physical abilities, and strangely improved hearing and touch…

There must have been many things to use, but I might not have realized that I was overly fixated on spatial perception.

‘…..’

It was a peculiar thought.

I thought I had already failed, and the idea of trying it properly once crossed my mind.

With a deep breath, I momentarily set aside thoughts about spatial perception.

I gathered up the spatial perception that struggled madly to unfold.

As that power spread in all directions, a sensation surged.

– Whoosh

The wind blew. It brushed against my skin through crevices not covered by leaves.

Before the wind entered through the crevices, it first reached my ears. Before the wind touched my skin, I felt it first.

I also sensed magic. Magic accompanied the wind. Magic overflowed in the ground where I sat, in the rocks I leaned on, and in the surrounding vegetation.

I opened up my senses. Most supernaturals open up their senses. They read attacks through enhanced vision, hearing, and touch, and counter with their own attacks.

Until now, I had relied on spatial perception for that. As sight vanished, spatial perception seemed more reliable than hearing and touch.

I perceived the world through sound. I navigated my surroundings through touch. I discerned the form and nature of magic.

Although spatial perception became impaired, the proficiency gained from using it did not disappear.

I mentally sketched a map. In the empty spaces now, I pieced together various information to crudely draw a map.

Suddenly, hunger was forgotten. Thirst would be quenched soon; there were no issues with survival.

Remnants of elixirs coiled somewhere in my body. The lingering energy, not yet fully assimilated, seemed to respond and writhe alongside me.

Continuing, I explored my surroundings with heightened senses and drew a map based on the gathered information.

.

.

.

– Thud

Footsteps.

Through my concentration, that sound echoed.

Only those footsteps distinctly approached. I was currently seated quietly among the rocks. It wasn’t my movement.

Many other movements were also heard. My increasingly acute hearing picked up more sounds than I had imagined.

– Thud, thud, thud

– …Huh? …Where?

Those footsteps… No, now the footsteps are approaching this way. Faint voices could also be heard.

During the last swordsmanship lecture, among the many footsteps, the approach was identical to when Aiden came straight towards me.

‘I’ve been caught.’

I had hidden my presence in my own way. Occasionally, I even resorted to magic while moving around.

But in the end, due to my current situation, I hadn’t properly confirmed how I left traces.

Approaching from over there, there were roughly three sets of movements. Among them, there could be someone with detection abilities or a practitioner skilled in tracking.

Regardless, it seems like I’ve been found out.

Should I run away?

For a moment, that thought crossed my mind, but I immediately shook my head.

It is difficult to escape realistically. Trying to run away with this small advantage is futile; I will be caught before long.

Even if I were to escape, not only them but many others are already targeting me. I don’t know how long I can keep running, and there is nothing to gain from fleeing.

‘……’

There is no need to prepare oneself.

I rose to my feet. I no longer concealed my presence. The movements I could hear around me grew more urgent.

There is no point in fighting here. I moved my steps towards the open field that I remembered.

Unlike before, where I cautiously stumbled, my steps were now quite steady.