3. My Secret
Morning classes ended and lunchtime arrived.
In an ordinary school of the past, students would have headed to the cafeteria, anticipating what side dishes or soup would be served today, but now it was different.
What was provided was solely a tube and a capsule, each containing concentrated essential nutrients.
Even considering that lower-class families had to get by with one capsule and water per meal, the academies that provided tubes could be said to be in a better situation.
‘Can you choose the flavor of this too?’
Han Seol was slightly surprised.
It was his first time eating from a tube as well.
Unlike capsules that you put in your mouth and swallow, tubes that you squeeze out could have their flavors selected.
Han Seol chose a strawberry-flavored tube and a capsule, put the capsule in his mouth, squeezed the tube into his mouth instead of water, and swallowed it together with the capsule.
With that, lunch was over.
As supplies and food were so precious, ordinary meals were a luxury that only those with money could enjoy.
Because of that, many of the students attending this academy and their families had never eaten a “cooked meal” in their entire lives.
After this simple lunchtime ended, the afternoon training session arrived.
For Han Seol, it must have been the time he had been waiting for.
However…
“Teacher, I have a headache, so I’ll rest in the infirmary for a bit.”
Surprisingly, Han Seol, who seemed to have been waiting for training time more than anyone else, was the first to use the excuse of a headache and headed to the infirmary.
“If you’re sick, you should rest.”
For a training instructor who already lacked motivation, there was no reason to stop a student who voluntarily left.
It was because for him, rather than the student’s future, it didn’t matter as long as he passed the time and fulfilled his quota.
Han Seol, who glanced at the students who had to learn from such an instructor with a slightly pitying gaze, went straight to the infirmary.
“What did you come for?”
“I have a bit of a headache. I’ll rest for a moment and then go.”
Han Seol chose the darkest bed with the least sunlight there, put on the eye mask he had prepared in advance, and fell into a blissful slumber.
And so, Han Seol’s afternoon passed with a long nap.
-Ding dong dang dong.
As the bell signaling the end of the afternoon training schedule rang, the students packed their bags and belongings and headed to the dormitory.
Han Seol also woke up around then, washed his face, and headed to the dormitory.
As the finances were not sufficient, while the number of students overflowed, the situation of the dormitory was also not very good.
The rooms, reminiscent of old military barracks, were divided into upper and lower floors, and about forty students had to sleep together in one room.
Of course, the dormitories for males and females were separate, but the situation was the same for both, so it couldn’t be said that one side was better.
“Ah, move over a bit!”
“What are you saying, you pig bastard. Why are you blaming me for you being fat?”
“Ah, fuck! This bastard farted!”
“Aaargh!”
After making a fuss like that, even when roll call was done on time, the exhausted students fell asleep as if they had never been noisy.
And this quiet midnight when all the students were asleep was the very time Han Seol had been waiting for.
“I have business and came to see the instructor. I want to do voluntary night training.”
Han Seol, who quietly got up from among the sleeping children and found the on-duty instructor, requested his business to the on-duty instructor.
“Voluntary night training? A first-year? My, what an unusual fellow…”
Voluntary night training was most commonly requested by third-years about to graduate, and there were quite a few promising second-years who did it as well…
But first-years rarely applied.
It was because afternoon training was already hard, and many were physically exhausted from not yet adapting to group life.
“If you want to do it, you should. First, write your name in that ledger and go.”
Since he wasn’t teaching it himself anyway, the on-duty instructor just pointed to the ledger with his finger and turned his gaze back to the TV.
Han Seol wrote his name, year, and class in the ledger and went outside.
The gym was out of the question for now.
It was because the third-years were already occupying it, so using it was possible, but it was noisy.
‘That’s why I have a place I checked out in advance.’
Han Seol had looked around the academy appropriately during breaks and found a suitable place.
The location was near the storage behind the academy building.
It was a fairly large open space for one person to use, and it was far from the gym, so no one passed by at this hour.
Above all…
‘The concentration of mana is very slightly higher than other places. This should be called unexpected luck.’
Han Seol attached the magic circles he had drawn on paper in advance during class to various places according to the directions.
The magic circles he drew were ones that drew the surrounding mana and concentrated it in one space, which matched very well with the characteristics of this space, where the mana was slightly higher than other places.
‘I often used this method to gather mana in my previous life too.’
To become stronger, he utilized all available means.
It was no exception even if those means were the teachings of the emperor and empress who were like mortal enemies.
They were not opponents he could win against by upholding his pride.
The magic circles reacted to the mana in the air and activated.
However, because it was underground, it was murky, and the amount was extremely minute, but the minimum basic conditions were met.
“Phew…”
In the space where mana was concentrated, Han Seol, who took deep breaths, began to move his body.
The tip of Han Seol’s training sword sharply pierced the air, and his body naturally moved like flowing water.
Han Seol had been secretly training his body steadily since he started walking.
His level was different from his peers who were learning how to use their bodies only now.
Bang! Swoosh! Ssasak…!
Soon, sweat flowed from his forehead, heat surged through his whole body, and his clothes were soaked with sweat.
Nevertheless, Han Seol’s breathing did not falter at all, and surprisingly, with each breath, the concentrated mana continuously entered and exited his body.
This was an extraordinary feat that couldn’t be explained in words.
The mana breathing technique was originally a very difficult breathing technique even for skilled mages, even when they lay still and focused their minds calmly.
In contrast, Han Seol’s current movements were so intense that even someone without knowledge of swordsmanship would be stunned.
It was a situation where it was impossible to do the mana breathing technique.
Naturally, this was entirely thanks to his experience from his previous life.
At first, he also trained the mana breathing technique and swordsmanship separately, but as he went through real battles, the boundary between the two gradually collapsed.
Especially for him, who had lived a life so intense that he had to simultaneously recover mana and fight, skills like the current one were essential for survival.
Concentrating on swinging his sword like that without realizing the passage of time, the day began to brighten before he knew it.
‘It’s already this late?’
The day brightening meant that the artificial lighting embedded in the underground ceiling was slowly turning on.
The ceiling was designed to resemble the sky as much as possible, but the sense of alienation was unavoidable.
“Phew…”
With a deep breath, Han Seol settled the heat raging inside his body, removed the papers containing the magic circles, and headed to the dormitory.
It was because he had to wash up and attend morning classes.
* * *
Han Seol’s life rhythm was generally as described above.
He studied hard in morning classes, but it was not studying the subjects, but reviewing and reciting the magic he had learned in his previous life.
From the beginning, the teachers’ words didn’t even enter Han Seol’s ears.
He boldly skipped the unnecessary afternoon training sessions.
Rather than learning from unmotivated teachers, it was better to sleep during that time.
After recharging his energy like that, at night, he alone trained the swordsmanship of his previous life and gathered mana.
At first, he felt nothing in his dantian, but after half a year, he began to feel mana the size of a bean.
However, as they say, a needle in a haystack?
Han Seol soon faced a series of events where his name became widely known.
The first of those was the midterm exam.
‘Midterm exam?’
“It’s already been half a year since you enrolled. It’s still far too short a time to demand you to be worth your salt, but I believe you can at least show your potential. Since whether you stay at the academy or go back home will be determined by this test, face it with the resolve to die. Understood!”
“Yes!”
Han Seol heard it for the first time, but the other students answered loudly as if they already knew.
Come to think of it, judging by the fighting spirit emanating from their bodies, their resolve seemed different from other times.
“Hey.”
“Huh? Me?”
“What’s the midterm exam?”
Han Seol’s seatmate was surprised that he spoke to him for the first time in half a year, but first informed him about what he was curious about.
“Ju-, midterms are literally academic tests. In the case of our Cheongsol Academy, you can score 0 on subjects and it’s fine as long as you take supplementary lessons, but if you fail the practical test, you get expelled immediately. But, didn’t the instructor tell us this?”
“I was sleeping.”
“Ah, is that so…?”
“So what do we have to do for that practical test?”
“Before that, let me ask you one thing.”
Han Seol’s seatmate stared at him with a serious expression.
Han Seol also expected it to be an unusual question judging by his expression.
Perhaps he would ask the reason why he left the dormitory alone every night…
‘For now, I’ll have to make something up…’
“When will we do our self-introductions?”
“…I’m Han Seol.”
“Nice to meet you! So your name is Han Seol. That’s quite an “expensive” name. I never imagined that I would hear my seatmate’s name after half a year, of all people. Ah, I’m Yoo Jun-sang. My friends call me Jin-sang more often though.”
Although Han Seol had an inkling as to why they called him that, he focused on the conversation for now since he had information to obtain.
“So what were we talking about earlier?”
“You asked about the content of the practical test.”
“Ah, the practical test! The practical is divided into three parts: first, a 1:1 individual mock battle between students. Then, a 3:3 group mock battle where students form temporary parties. Lastly, there’s a 1:1 evaluation match between a student and a teacher. If you pass two or more events, you pass. Conversely, if you fail two or more events, you fail. As the instructor said, if you fail, you have to pack your bags.”
‘Nothing special.’
Han Seol’s interest in the midterm test vanished in an instant.
As long as he safely passed the 1:1 individual mock battle and evaluation match, even if he failed the group mock battle, there was no risk of expulsion.
‘There’s no way I can’t keep up with the level of these greenhorns…’
Just as Han Seol was about to bury his head in his desk and fall asleep again with well-founded confidence, it was that moment.
“Ah, right! I forgot to mention this. The top 3 in the test rankings for each year can receive a ‘D-grade skill book’ from the school. I heard 1st place gets three books, 2nd place gets two, and 3rd place gets one. Well, I definitely won’t be able to, haha!”
“…”
It seemed that Han Seol couldn’t take this midterm test lightly.
