episode_0307

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An absolute evaluation where meeting the standards of current professional heroes is enough.

A relative evaluation through sparring between Transcenders of similar levels within the same category.

Naturally, I was assigned to the relative evaluation side.

After all, compared to an absolute evaluation under a teacher’s supervision, the side where you have to defeat your opponent carried a much higher risk of injury.

But unexpectedly, not a single student was seriously injured enough to require my immediate attention.

Mostly just scratches, minor burns, or sprained wrists and ankles—superficial wounds at best.

The worst cases were limited to intense magical exchanges between magic-type students.

I had assumed that since they were sparring at similar levels, there would be frequent instances of someone getting seriously hurt before a clear winner was decided.

But in most cases, when one side gained a slight edge and the imbalance persisted, the teachers would intervene to end it.

The recent influx of injured students was likely the result of overexerting themselves against mismatched opponents during practice.

I expected to be swamped with work, but I never thought I’d have this little to do.

If anything, it’s the complete opposite of what I anticipated—so much so that I’m almost bored.

“That’s enough. Both of you, stop there.”

“Huff… Huff…”

In the infirmary tucked away in a corner of the sparring building,

another match ended while I was merely nodding along to a conversation with another teacher, having long run out of things to say.

Leaning back in my chair, I glanced outside, where two male students lay sprawled on the sparring floor, gasping for breath.

Though they used unsharpened practice swords, they were effectively blunt weapons, now discarded on the ground.

All I heard were the clashing of weapons—no cries of pain—so they probably weren’t hurt.

As the dull routine continued, I silently sipped from a paper cup of coffee,

stealing a glance at the clock, wondering how many more hours of this I had to endure.

Then, the teacher waiting alongside me spoke up.

“Um, Teacher Seo.”

From what little she had shared—no, volunteered—about herself: currently 27 years old, single, living alone, alcohol tolerance of half a bottle.

Unlike me, she was an ordinary school nurse who had passed the national exam and was now working here.

Pushing up her characteristically large, round-framed glasses with the back of her hand, she continued.

“Y-You’re watching really intently… the students’ sparring, I mean.”

“Ah, no particular reason. It’s just my first time seeing something like this up close.”

Truthfully, I rarely had the chance to observe such things.

Even before being sent back ten years, my main job was treating injured members in the hideout.

Finishing my explanation, I turned my head the other way just as the next pair of students was called.

“Yoo Si-woo, Shin Seo-jun.”

“Ah, the name of that good-looking kid.”

“…”

A familiar name was mixed in there.

“Any issues with your equipment?”

“”No.””

“Don’t just answer—both of you, come here.”

Unlike some drama scene, there were no fangirls shrieking at their every move.

Amid heavy silence, the equipment check concluded, and the two took their positions.

One adjusted jet-black gauntlets, pulling them snugly.

The other, perhaps nervous, fidgeted with his uniform shirt collar and tie.

As I took another sip of coffee while watching them, the teacher’s voice reached me from outside my field of vision.

“…”

No—more accurately, the beginning of her words were drowned out.

By another sound.

—Crunch

Come to think of it, was he a summoner?

A shadow stretched, blocking the light. Following the sound of stone fragments coalescing in midair, my gaze lifted until rocky, textured eyes met mine at the edge of my vision.

A golem, if I had to guess.

Disproportionately short lower body compared to its massive torso, arms, and fists.

Eyes devoid of any life, shaped only to mimic an animal’s form.

And finally, the spear in its grip.

As I slowly traced the exaggeratedly long shaft—easily over 10 meters—something happened.

Contrary to the unconscious assumption that its size would make it slow, one of its hands moved terrifyingly fast, driving the spear downward.

“Eek…!”

“…”

Thud.

The floor trembled. Dust scattered like pollen as my vision was filled with the golem’s fist.

I instinctively frowned and waved my hand to clear the dust.

…Sure, the opposing student was near me,

but there were other directions too.

Did it really need to show off like this?

“…”

Just as I thought it might’ve been deliberate—

The ivory fist, now coated in dust, began to crumble.

The particles dissolved into white and yellow light, crystallizing before vanishing as if never there.

All that remained was the heavily dented sparring floor,

lingering dust,

the opponent who couldn’t react in time,

and—

“…Can you heal floors like that too, Teacher Seo?”

“……”

“S-Sorry… That was a bad joke…”

Only the teacher’s dry advice to the defeated student—”Would you freeze up like that in a real fight?”—lingered in the air.

Yoo Si-woo had already disappeared.

A rain of blue light fell.

Close enough to reach out and touch.

Shattering beautifully like petals upon hitting the ground.

A rain of blue light, woven from ice.

“That kid’s really a first-year?”

“…Must be.”

“Even among third-years, I’ve never seen one like her…”

“……”

As the raindrops materializing in midair touched a male student’s body, they instantly bloomed into exquisite flowers.

Tiny seeds of frost unfurling into full blossoms—so flawless they could truly be called flowers.

But those beautiful petals withered under the force of dazzling flames.

Mixing red and blue on a palette would make violet, but what unfolded before my eyes refused to blend even slightly.

Neither yielding nor fading.

Where crimson flames raced, new frost flowers bloomed.

Where frost hardened, new flames surged.

Here, as if leaving only their own colors behind.

Erasing the other’s presence.

“That boy’s at a bit of a disadvantage. He’s strong too, though.”

“…Yeah.”

The male student’s body became encased in pale blue frost flowers.

Curses spilled from his lips as flames erupted.

Once,

twice,

thrice.

Repeatedly melting the frozen ground, he charged forward.

At the very least, that seemed like the right call.

If he could make her share the frost’s effect, the situation might improve.

But where he arrived was—

“Ah, lost. Damn it.”

“…”

Snap.

A transparent ice trap—a fish weir.

The moment the boy was caught inside, the blue raindrops and frost flowers scattered across the sparring floor vanished.

Though the trap filled with desperate white flames, the match had already lost all meaning.

Well, not that my opinion as an outsider—or the nurse beside me—mattered much.

“That girl’s going to get tons of offers from magic-focused organizations, isn’t she? The boy was impressive too, keeping up like that, but fire that doesn’t burn the user is tricky to handle…”

The rain had completely stopped.

Nodding, I stared blankly at Lee Ji-yoon in the distance.

And just then, she happened to glance my way, locking eyes with me.

The distance made it hard to praise her properly.

Congratulating her on the win was the same.

Ah, right. Maybe I could sneak a thumbs-up when the teacher isn’t looking?

Given Ji-yoon’s personality, she’d probably find it embarrassing.

No, more than embarrassed, she might tell me not to do something so cringe.

…As I was lost in thought—

“…”

Suddenly, Ji-yoon approached the supervising teacher, whispering something.

After a few nods, she sighed in relief and walked toward me.

Not alone.

With the dark-skinned boy she’d just sparred with.

Up close, his face looked vaguely familiar.

Probably one of the male heroes who’d become famous later.

“Hello, Teacher.”

“…Hello.”

As always, Ji-yoon bowed slightly at the waist—no casual speech here.

The boy had a blunt, stoic demeanor, the type I didn’t recall seeing in the infirmary—meaning he was likely quite strong.

Acknowledging their greetings, I offered an awkward smile… and moved my seat first.

I’d pushed my chair far from the desk while watching the matches outside.

“This student probably came for frostbite treatment. And you? What brings you here?”

“…Overexerted myself. Just need to lie down for a bit.”

“I see.”

While I returned to my seat, the nurse took over the questioning, stepping aside to avoid being in the way.

If I’d been absent, it’d be different, but with me right here, she didn’t have much else to do.

At first, I worried she might resent me for stealing her job, but thankfully, she said she was enjoying peak work-life balance thanks to me…

…A brief thought.

Offering the remaining chair to the boy, I took his outstretched arm and began treatment.

“……”

But the real focus was, of course, Ji-yoon.

Beneath her slightly lowered head, my gaze cautiously traced the edge of her heel.

Soon, the rattling of curtains reached my ears.

The sound of shoes being removed. The creak of a bed as someone climbed on.

The rustling of blankets being spread—each sound reached me in turn.

Pretending to catch my breath, I lifted my head to look around.

The infirmary door, left wide open for hours.

The boy who’d soon leave.

And the nurse who showed no intention of leaving.

If she wasn’t planning to leave, maybe I could make her.

But it wasn’t that simple.

Especially not for more than 30 minutes.

…Well, too bad, but nothing I could do.

A short while later, having finished treating the boy, I slipped on my usual mask and sent him off.

Then, as I moved back to my spot to watch outside…

…Right then.

My smartphone buzzed lightly in my white coat pocket.

“……”

Naturally—or so I thought,

but perhaps awkwardly so—

I pulled out my phone and unlocked it.

A few short messages and one photo awaited.

[Lee Ji-yoon] – Exam period. – Over now.

There she was, lying on a pure white bed,

…clothing caught between her lips,

hooks undone, baring her chest—

A smirking photo of Lee Ji-yoon.