episode_0114

Audience seats at Stadium 1.

Among them, Atra, who sat in the special seat where the professor and other officials were located, stared intently at the hologram that appeared in front of him.

▶Lee Ha-yul: Okay (5 weeks ago)

…

▶Lee Ha-yul: Yes, I will have a nice trip (4 weeks ago)

…

▶Lee Ha-yul: I will do well in the finals! (Just before)

▶Lee Ha-yul: (Emoji of a dog standing on both feet and saluting) (just now)

In the hologram, the text history with Lee Ha-yul was revealed.

A text message that had just arrived a few minutes ago and a text message from the past spread out over it.

He snapped his fingers. I looked through the past details, and then looked at the latest details again.

The tone of speech changed from top to bottom, and the change was clearly felt not through voice but through text.

If I had to evaluate it, the stiff tone of voice loosened and became softer.

Atra burst out laughing. It’s not a bad feeling. Rather, it was a change that was extremely pleasing.

Compared to the past, when I felt a sense of distance despite my appearance, I was satisfied with my charming and foolish attitude, like now, when I pretended to be different.

It’s not that I have a bad attitude when it comes to training. He was a lovely student who did his best at every moment, trying to learn something more and enlighten himself.

What teacher wouldn’t be happy to have a student like that? Probably not, except for those who have their heads turned.

As I was thinking about this and sighing, a person leaned back into the empty seat next to Atra.

“Oh my… I’m dying…”

Atra glanced at the voice that was pickled with fatigue.

Long black hair that grew past his waist, and green eyes with slightly open eyelids.

A vast amount of magical power that can be felt as a presence even without looking at its appearance.

It was Lyana Bellus.

“Didn’t you say you couldn’t attend because you were busy?”

He is a person who is in the midst of a mid-term evaluation.

He is a professor who teaches elemental arts, a character with very few characters.

Even just that, I would have been overwhelmed with all kinds of work, and since I was in charge of writing and evaluating midterm evaluations the year I became a professor, I am being pushed around by a tidal wave of all kinds of work.

Isn’t that why you’re whining about not being able to drink the alcohol you love so much?

Among the people Atra knows, there is no drunkard like Liana. I must be very stressed because I haven’t been able to drink alcohol for a few days or weeks.

“That’s not why I don’t drink.”

“?”

Liana shook her head.

Atra turned her head and looked at Lyana.

There was a question in his eyes as to why he sent me a text message every few days whining about how much he missed drinking.

Liana, who interpreted him, shook her head again.

“It’s not because of the midterm evaluation, but because of Cadet Lee Ha-yul, I can’t drink.”

Atra paused at the sudden mention of the name and nodded.

“…Why is that?”

“Why? You saw it then. Just smelling the scent of cleanly processed alcohol can get you excited.”

Atra frowned.

at that time. The day when I, who had not learned anything from the tragedy of the past, was greatly shocked…

I understand.

Atra himself was so shocked that he couldn’t even touch a cigarette from then on.

It was such a shock to Atra, who at the time took the stance that she would not give affection.

If that happens now…

If Ha-yul Lee faces Atra and makes a disgusted face…

‘Wow…’

Just imagining it made my head dizzy. My heart froze and felt like it was going to break into pieces.

This time, Atra might faint with him…

The reason for giving up drinking for a while… is understandable.

There are some puzzling parts. Or a little displeased? There are also parts.

Atra said, glancing sideways at Liana, who was complaining of fatigue and stretching her hands to the sky.

“…If you’re going to be that stressed out, wouldn’t it be better to just drink it?”

“If you drink it, you will be hated by Cadet Lee Ha-yul, so you can’t do it.”

“Just drink and be hated.”

“You speak so easily… Ah.”

Liana clicked her tongue and let out an exclamation as if something suddenly occurred to her.

“I plan to teach cadet Lee Ha-yul intensively in elemental arts during the spare time between midterm evaluation and vacation… What do you think, teacher?”

“Spirit…”

Atra let out a strange sigh. I heard long ago that Lee Ha-yul has spirit affinity.

That is not to say that it is at an average level, but that it has an abnormal affinity for almost all attributes.

This is the declaration of Liana, one of the few who has achieved great success through elemental magic. If you have that level of quality, it’s definitely better to bloom.

What kind of mediocre qualities does Lee Ha-yul have? He is a child with natural talents that can be learned and used in combination with martial arts or magic.

Learning is 100% right. Although Atra is not an elementalist, he has worked on the front lines with elementalists and has directly dealt with them, so he can guess how helpful elemental magic will be.

It is right to learn.

I’m sure that’s the case…

“…Better learn.”

Why do I feel something disapproving in a corner of my heart?

[The first match of the tournament finals will begin shortly.]

[Cadet Lee Ha-yul and Baek A-rin. Cadets from both sides are requested to enter the stage.]

As Atra was making a mysterious expression, the announcement rang again.

The two men corrected their posture and looked away.

Everyone who sat in the special room said the same thing. Among those sitting here, there was no one who was not looking forward to this game.

The same was true for the audience seats below.

Cadets and their families looking at their classmates and juniors.

Industry officials looking to get a glimpse of Sprout’s potential to lead future generations.

To the center stage. To be precise, attention was focused on the aisles on both sides of the stage.

* * *

After waiting for a while, I walked down the aisle following the broadcast.

The passageway with soft lights on the ceiling felt particularly dark in contrast to the light shining in the space connected to the stage.

My feet stepped on the border between light and darkness.

Let’s cross the border drawn on the floor.

– Wow!

A murmur similar to cheers filled my ears.

It’s a reaction I’ve never experienced before in the preliminaries. I naturally stretched out my legs, which almost froze for a moment, in response to a reaction that exceeded my expectations.

Even while crossing the stage, the noise shaking the building was still there.

There is no need to use the power of observation. Even if you only use part of your senses, you can’t help but feel it.

As a result of the wind hitting my entire body, countless gazes are drawn as if they were tangible.

The noise in my ears was so loud that I could hear tinnitus if I didn’t control my hearing, and the vibrations transmitted through the floor were reminiscent of numerous aftershocks.

A lot of people are interested. Among them, there were classmates like me and senior cadets whom I had not yet met face-to-face.

I also saw Aiden and Attila, whom I was a little familiar with… and Elia.

Elia was talking to strangers on both sides…

On Elia’s lap, the stoic child she had met in Sifnaha was sitting calmly.

I heard that he was safe, but I felt a little relieved to see that he actually looked healthy and had no injuries.

Seeing that the people sitting on either side appear to be middle-aged men and women, it is assumed that they are the family that Elia was talking about.

In addition, there were people who appeared to be affiliated with the association, others who looked like scouts for private clans, and others whose eyes were burning to write even one simple line of article.

Those countless gazes still feel burdensome and intimidating.

If it had been at the beginning of the semester, I would have felt my heart sinking.

Of course, I’ve gotten used to it now and didn’t think much of it.

The place where discomfort and tension used to be was once occupied by the calm just before battle.

Emotions don’t help much in battle. It may be helpful in manifesting unique abilities, but not in the battle itself.

– trudge

As I was adjusting my emotions to see if anything, the presence I had been feeling from the beginning came stridingly onto the stage.

An entry-level long spear held lightly in one hand and hanging down.

Blue hair tied back and a face with a gentle smile.

Heir to the Changhae family. It was Baek Arin, a first-year student at Poetry Yoram.

When she appeared, cheers rang out again.

Baek A-rin seemed not to be nervous as the noise started again and she just smiled and waved her hand towards the audience.

The place where Baek Arin stopped was in the center of the stage.

Baek Arin and I stood facing each other with a reasonable distance between us.

[The first match of the tournament finals, the countdown begins.]

[60, 59, 58…]

57─! 56─! 55─!

As the inorganic voice rang out with diffusion magic, the crowd followed him and began to count down loudly.

“Mr. Hayul.”

Really, really, around the time I was doing the final inspection. Baek A-rin, who was also checking the condition on the other side, suddenly opened her mouth.

“Aren’t you bored just sparring like this?”

“?”

I tilted my head to see what he was saying. The confession necklace is not worn.

At my reaction, Baek A-rin smiled and continued.

“Well, let’s make a simple bet to increase our desire to win.”

‘Increasing the desire to win…’

I’m too bored to just fight, so let’s make a bet. It wasn’t anything strange.

It was common for friends to compete with each other and place bets on who would win or lose.

Baek A-rin was still smiling brightly. I couldn’t detect a single hint of malice on his face, which was so positive and gentle.

‘Apparition, the power of observation.’

The power of observation was used in detail.

Observation.

Observe and measure phenomena, states, trends, and changes.

Narrow the scope and increase the density of digging into information.

Observed Baek Arin. I observed the smiling face of the statue.

…beyond the ‘mask’ that covers the face.

I looked at the real expressionless face, where it was difficult to find even a single trace of emotion.

‘……’

Usually, the expression that a person wears a mask is not used positively.

It was a term commonly used to refer to a schemer who hides his true intentions and lies on the outside.

My perception of Baek Arin was that he was a schemer.

He had the intelligence and wisdom to do so. He had a way to outwit his enemies without expending much effort, and he also had the ability to draw the future based on the current situation.

The attitude with which Baek A-rin treated me… was like acting with a mask on.

However, it also seemed like there was some sincerity in it.

Strangely enough, it seemed like lies and truth coexisted in his actions of showing convenience to me and asking me to become friends.

That really confused people.

A moment’s thought. Before I knew it, the countdown had gone below 30.

-Nod

I nodded. Then Baek Arin smiled brightly as if the surroundings became brighter.

“If we were to say it was a bet in a duel like this, the topic would be there, right? How about a simple wish ticket?”

-Nod

“Mmmmm! Very good!”

I nodded again. The countdown went down to 10.

9─! 8─!

Fu-huu… I let out a full breath and got ready.

7─!

We prepared our posture so that we could act as soon as the countdown started.

6─!

“I will tell you my wish in advance.”

5─!

‘suddenly?’

4─!

In the meantime, Baek A-rin, who was also adjusting her posture, blurted out something.

3─!

“If I win…”

2─!

Baek A-rin, who had been talking for a while, raised the corners of her mouth and said.

1─!

“I’ll take Hayul’s day.”

‘?’

[Evaluation begins!]

Meaningful smile and tone.

The audience shouts imitating the inorganic voice that announces the beginning.

A strong stream of water shot right in front of your nose.

‘…!’

I turned my head. Quad deuk! A stream of water flew into the space where his face had been just moments before and landed on the wall behind him.

Baek A-rin waved her hand. The stream of water stirred once and then was drawn freely like a whip.

He kicked the ground accordingly. A stream of water passed by my body just a hair away, hitting the bare floor and walls.

Kwakagagak! The barrier coating the wall was chipped away by the strong water pressure. Magical power and magic scattered as particles. And the traces of chips carved into the wall.

It was a wall that I thought would be difficult to engrave with any amount of force.

“Hehe, I’ve received word from you… so of course I’ll go with all my might!”

I was dumbfounded and raised my magic power.

Baek A-rin laughed ahaha at my sight and raised the spear, holding it firmly with both hands.

The spear blade points downward and the arm naturally falls into the ground.

Sigh! The tip of the spear split the ground like it was splitting tofu. Part of the window sill was dug into the floor to the point where it was swallowed.

– Rumble…

Suddenly, water droplets formed on the exposed window. Tiny water droplets came down the spear and seeped into the ground along the spear blade.

and.

– Boom!

A handful of bright blue water gushes out from the ground where the spear blade was stuck. The time it took for a puddle of water to form under Baek Arin’s feet was only a moment.

A small puddle.

But I could feel the blatant energy dampening my skin.

A blatant release of water energy. Also, it is unique in that it rapidly inflates momentum…

‘no.’

It’s a pretty familiar motion. Thanks to this, I was able to find out what technology it was. So I couldn’t help but be even more shocked.

-Qurrr!

The puddle exploded. A vast amount of water burst out from the ground where the spear blade was dug, as if a waterfall was gushing in reverse.

From droplet to puddle.

Again, a tsunami that comically swallows up a few people in a puddle.

Unique ability Changhae (滄海).

Expansion ability.

‘Tsunami.’

The ground under my feet was immersed in a dark shadow.

And then, a blue tidal wave swept in, swallowing up the shadows.

* * *

[Player Correction System: Favorability]

Lee Ha-yul → Baek A-rin

●●●●●○○○○○(56▷57/100)

｢Favor｣ ｢Doubt｣ ｢Confusion｣ ｢Guess｣ ｢Deadly｣