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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 33
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"Instructor Kali, thank you so much for today. It was truly a great help."
"It's fine. Cadet Han Cheon-seong… you must be quite exhausted. Go back and get some rest."
"…Yes, thank you. I'll take my leave then."
Cheon-seong gave a small bow, then turned to leave. Kali watched his retreating back for a moment.
"..."
Cadet Han Cheon-seong's entire body was covered in wounds.
Even with the power of magitech items to regenerate his body, they couldn't heal everything.
Though I couldn't bear to watch and personally used potions midway through, the wounds etched onto Cadet Han Cheon-seong's body still showed no signs of healing.
Of course, new wounds kept appearing as soon as they healed, so there was no way they could mend.
And even if they healed externally, the wounds would accumulate in his body, leaving behind lingering fatigue. Yet… Cadet Han Cheon-seong never stopped his training.
No, it wasn't even training, but merely a one-sided sparring match.
Cadet Han Cheon-seong simply took hits, rolled, stumbled, dropped his spear, and lay miserably prone on the ground.
He must have fallen dozens of times, at least.
Yet, Cadet Han Cheon-seong didn't stop.
—Please, I request another sparring session.
—My apologies, but I ask for it once more.
—It's fine. You don't need to go easy on me. I'd be grateful if you continued to spar as you are now.
Cadet Han Cheon-seong's voice, persistently requesting another sparring session in such a resolute tone… it seemed to echo endlessly in my ears.
Click.
The door clicked shut, and Cadet Han Cheon-seong was completely gone. Involuntarily, I let out a small sigh.
"Hmph…"
While feeling a sense of apology towards Cadet Han Cheon-seong, a whirlwind of other subtle emotions seemed to surge within me.
What this feeling was, honestly, I couldn't quite tell.
And why I had extended such immense favor to Cadet Han Cheon-seong…
Though I had some inkling, it was too significant a favor to attribute it solely to that.
And now, at least one thing, I seemed to understand.
"I completely understand now why yesterday's sparring session ended in a draw."
In his sparring session with Cadet Leonhardt, this year's top-ranked entrance exam student, Cadet Han Cheon-seong had achieved the unbelievable result of a draw. No matter how many times I heard it, it remained incomprehensible.
Because Cadet Han Cheon-seong's trait was Common. For a Legendary-trait cadet and a Common-trait cadet to end in a draw was, by all common sense, an incomprehensible outcome.
But today, having spent time with him like this, I had come to fully understand the reason.
—Indomitable.
Cadet Han Cheon-seong possessed an unyielding will, one that could be described as indomitable above all else.
Moreover, that will never broke. No, even if it did, he would immediately rise again and try to confront me.
"..."
Even as I thought about it… it was truly astounding.
Even at the start of the sparring, I felt deeply apologetic for having gone too far. I had inflicted a far greater sense of frustration on Cadet Han Cheon-seong than I had intended.
I shouldn't have displayed such overwhelming power to a cadet right from the start. And for a C-class cadet, it was practically a taboo. But I had done it.
Because one particular phrase had served as its foundation.
—Because only by confronting reality can you move forward.
That single phrase Cadet Han Cheon-seong had suddenly uttered in the dining hall.
That was an incredibly important phrase to me. A phrase that had utterly transformed my life.
That's why I stopped Cadet Han Cheon-seong and personally showed him to a private training room, a place I would never have revealed to most cadets.
And I put Cadet Han Cheon-seong's will to the test, exactly as it was.
How strong his will truly was, and if he could genuinely move forward. I needed to know if the cadet could translate his words into action, exactly as he'd spoken them.
And this was the result.
Slowly, I lowered my gaze.
"…"
Then, a pair of ruby-encrusted earrings resting in my hand came into view.
Just a moment ago, Cadet Han Cheon-seong had been wearing them, so even their faint warmth still lingered.
If I had my way, I would have let Cadet Han Cheon-seong continue wearing them… but as these magitech items weren't solely my personal property, I couldn't allow that.
Gently.
Carefully gripping the earrings, I nodded.
"…I hadn't expected my mind to be made up like this on the very first day."
A faint smile touched my lips, even as foolish words slipped out.
My mind had been made up in just a single day.
Discrimination was rampant within the academy. Countless forms of it existed, based fundamentally on a cadet's grades, background, trait rank, individual talent, and so on.
And various forms of discrimination also existed among the cadets taught by instructors. Instructors naturally tended to favor and cherish cadets with brilliant traits and talents, like shining raw gems.
And… now, I had found such a cadet.
—Han Cheon-seong.
An unusual name. A Common-grade cadet.
But what did that matter?
He aligned perfectly with my values… and the cadet had directly shown me his everything.
His worth and talent. And even his future potential. And even definitive proof of 'that phrase' I cared about most…
"I'll probably end up showing favoritism towards Cadet Han Cheon-seong from now on. But that can't be helped."
Even as I uttered the words lightly, my heart felt light.
If I were to trace it back, my decision to take on the C1 class was, in a way, also because of a cadet named Han Cheon-seong. So, this thought felt perfectly natural.
Click. Clack.
Even as I slowly prepared to return, the faint warmth lingering on the earrings in my hand…
Strangely, it made her feel good.
***
Click.
As Cheon-seong entered his private dorm room, he swayed for a moment.
Thud.
He barely managed to brace himself against the adjacent wall, halting his stumble.
"…I seriously feel like I'm going to die."
Even as he spoke, he genuinely had no strength left in his body.
As he stood there, leaning against the wall, a foolish laugh suddenly escaped him.
"Reality is harsh, you know."
He had truly realized that today, and what he gained from it was immeasurable.
It wasn't as if his trait level had evolved, making him suddenly stronger, like what happened after yesterday's sparring session with Leonhardt.
But rather, he felt as though he had gained something even greater.
Because his mindset itself had changed.
For him, that was what mattered most right now.
Even before he entered the academy, he had constantly repeated self-hypnotizing phrases like, 'It's okay to lose,' 'It's okay to break.'
Until it became a complete habit.
And after he coincidentally formed a connection with Glesia, he became even more conscious of it.
He tried to force himself to be confident, to eliminate any hesitation in his actions. Because if he remained indecisive, he would truly be nothing.
He himself knew that.
To survive in the academy with Common-grade spear mastery, he needed his own unique identity.
And the unique identity he could forge was his will.
To absolutely refine his will and differentiate himself from others solely through it.
In a word, it was 'indomitable will.'
At the very least, he had to be confident in his actions, capable of overcoming everything.
To do that, his will had to remain unbroken. He had endlessly deceived himself.
And now…
He… no longer had to deceive himself.
Sliding.
As he slid down and collapsed, still leaning against the wall…
His mind felt nothing but refreshed.
If yesterday, he had felt incredibly good due to the sense of accomplishment that his spear mastery trait had reached Level 4, now his heart felt simply at peace.
The feeling of having let go of everything.
Gazing at the dimly lit interior, he unknowingly opened his mouth.
"Accepting reality like this… my mind truly feels at ease."
As he did, the sparring session from moments ago seemed to flicker before his eyes.
The sparring session with Kali had lasted for several hours.
During that time, he couldn't accurately count how many times the sparring session with Kali had been renewed.
Instead, he seemed to know one thing.
He wondered if, from Kali's perspective, his relentless persistence had been terribly annoying.
Even for her, who valued effort so highly, there likely hadn't been any cadets who pushed her so stubbornly as he had.
"Heh…"
Looking back at his actions, he burst into laughter again, feeling truly foolish, but he had not a single regret about them.
Even if Kali came to dislike him starting tomorrow, he felt purely good right now.
Because only by collapsing, falling, and breaking countless times today could he truly accept himself.
If the session had ended ambiguously after just the first sparring match, he truly would have become nothing.
'Probably.'
Only in words.
Only in his mind.
That he had to accept reality and move forward. Wouldn't he have merely been thinking that?
If a miraculous result like yesterday's sparring session with Leonhardt hadn't happened, it was strangely predictable that he would have slowly crumbled.
Because genuinely feeling that way and forcibly enduring while deceiving himself were entirely different.
Gently, he ran a hand through his hair and nodded.
"Good."
He was simply too satisfied with this situation.
This foolish self of his, who had been thoroughly broken, collapsed, and fallen… he truly, truly liked it.
Because now he could possess true confidence.
Because he had gained the confidence that it would be okay even if he broke and fell in the future.
Even if he lost, he would probably be able to smile.
Therefore, he could move forward. He could grow more.
He felt such conviction today.
And he also realized something else.
—The limits of spear mastery.
Even that he himself had been defining the limits of his own trait.
"Status Window."
He gently opened his mouth and focused his gaze on the air.
The transparent light that immediately appeared beautifully illuminated his vision.
*
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Name: Han Cheon-seong
Gender: Male (20)
Title: None
Height · Weight: 178cm · 67kg
Current Continental Influence: 207
*Stats.
[Strength 13]
[Agility 21]
[Stamina 20]
[Magic 10]
[Luck 5]
*Owned Traits [1]
[Spear Mastery Lv.4]
*Skills [0]
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*
The status window itself hadn't changed all that much. Nevertheless, the slightly increased stats were noticeable.
Specifically, Strength and Stamina had each increased by 1.
Other than that, there appeared to be no other changes.
However.
He knew this wasn't the end.
"..."
His gaze was particularly drawn to the Spear Mastery trait.
Why spear mastery only existed at the Common rank. He now felt he had finally understood that reason today.
"It's all up to me."
That clue.
He clearly saw it.
Even though it was clearly Common.
Earlier than Rare, Unique, and Legendary traits…
The clear possibility of generating 'Skills.'