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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Lord Fourth
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Eternity’s ‘Mana Training Ground’ was famous for being the best-equipped facility in the entire world.
Its grounds, spanning several thousand pyeong, were among the largest in the world, and it was also lined with state-of-the-art facilities to allow cadets to fully concentrate on their mana training.
For that reason, the mana training ground, which would normally be bustling with cadets, was completely deserted and chilly in early February, before the new semester began.
The only people who would be using it were the candidates whose admission was confirmed, but in February, when the winter chill had yet to fade, there couldn’t possibly be anyone training at 6 AM, except for me, wanting to test the Ki I’d awakened the day before…
…But there was one.
*BOOM! BOOM!*
In the mana training zone, there was a cadet relentlessly slicing through the mana orbs that flew at her without pause.
Her kinetic vision was so exceptional that she didn’t miss a single one of the mana orbs, which flew at her five or six at a time. Slightly impressed, I confirmed the cadet’s identity and nodded.
It was Eun Gaye. With her level of swordsmanship, slicing through flying mana orbs would be a piece of cake. Eun Gaye’s swordsmanship, which she had practiced since she was young, was top-notch.
But I knew. That very swordsmanship was the biggest wall holding Eun Gaye back.
The Eun family’s traditional swordsmanship, which emphasized form, was like ill-fitting clothes for the instinct-driven Eun Gaye.
The only reason Eun Gaye was able to reach such a high level was purely because her talent was just that outstanding.
‘But that’s not how you’re supposed to do that…’
The mana orb training was for dodging, not cutting. I know from playing the game; if she does that, she won’t last long.
At first, it seems easy with three or four orbs flying at you, but later on, the number of mana orbs suddenly increases like crazy.
“Ugh!”
Just like that.
With her hands getting tangled up by the mana orbs flying at her like a barrage, Eun Gaye performed a strange bit of physical comedy before falling backward.
“…Makes me want some popcorn.”
It was quite a sight, but since I hadn’t come here to spectate, I put my amusement aside and walked towards the ‘Private Shooting Range’.
[Welcome to the Eternity Shooting Range.]
When I pressed the button at the entrance, a metal door opened with a mechanical sound.
The shooting range was a long, straight, white space with nothing in it.
*Chiiiik—*
After I entered and the door closed, the same mechanical sound rang out.
[Please select a theme.]
▶Urban ▶Mountain ▶Dungeon
“Urban.”
Among the various themes that appeared, I chose the urban setting, which seemed the most comfortable, and the shooting range briefly went dark.
When the lights came back on, I was standing not in a shooting range, but in the middle of Gangnam Station.
“Wow, this is amazing.”
As expected of Eternity. The level of completion of the virtual reality was astonishing. Were the targets going to pop out from between the buildings?
[Beginning 150m shooting. Please set the number of targets.]
“One.”
Since it’s the first time, I should start with a taste test.
[Confirmed. The target will now appear.]
After the mechanical sound, a spider-type demonic beast jumped out from the subway station 150m ahead.
***
It was nothing new, but it was no exaggeration to say that my situation was desperate.
Other than a brief stint in Taekwondo as a child, the only exercise I’d ever done was breathing. I had no magic, let alone the talent or mana to learn it.
To put it bluntly, the reality is that I could be torn apart by a single punch from a regular cadet.
And when I say torn apart, I mean literally torn apart.
These guys could shatter walls with ease; why would my body be any different?
But I wasn’t particularly worried. All the pieces of the puzzle for survival were in place.
*Woooong.*
My outstretched hand began to glow with a white light.
It was not Mana, it was ‘Ki’.
To put it simply, mana is something borrowed from nature, while Ki is the potential inherent in a person from the start.
Therefore, unlike mana, Ki doesn’t require complex calculations or mental concentration.
It’s like how no one needs to concentrate to move their arm.
*Whoosh!*
The rapidly fired Ki destroyed the head of the demonic beast that was erratically moving around 150m away.
“Oh, nice.”
The power was a bit ambiguous, so I’d have to fire a few more times to know for sure, but it wasn’t bad for a first try.
[Beginning 200m shooting. Please set the number of targets.]
“Three.”
[Confirmed. The targets will now appear.]
After the mechanical sound, three demonic beasts emerged from between the city buildings.
Simultaneously, three blasts of Ki shot from my hand in rapid succession.
Without a single miss, the Ki blasts destroyed the demonic beasts’ heads.
This was the result of the talent, ‘Prodigy in the Art of Flying Blades’.
Unless it was something a machine did for me, like a gun, the Prodigy in the Art of Flying Blades was an ability that applied to anything I threw.
For example, ‘control’ and ‘velocity’.
It was all about the movement.
“This is pretty good, isn’t it?”
I was slightly surprised.
The speed was fast, and the accuracy didn’t seem to lag behind. Is this what a talent is?
While I was at it, I increased the target distance to 250m. And each time I succeeded, I increased the number of targets.
Four, five, six…
The targets rose and fell several times.
Finally, when seven targets rose and five were shot down, a Ki blast finally missed.
I couldn’t even shoot at the last remaining target because I ran out of Ki.
[250m Target Hits: 5/7]
“Is this my limit?”
Sensing that my Ki was depleted, I shut down the shooting system.
When I assessed it coolly, the result was ‘the worst’.
By Eternity cadet standards, it was barely at the lowest rank.
In terms of total Ki and physical aspects, I didn’t even reach that level.
But I was sufficiently satisfied.
It was only because I was inexperienced; Ki was not just what I had shown so far.
An energy that I could manipulate at will.
Once I get used to it, I’ll probably be able to freely change its shape and use it like an object.
I hadn’t tried it, but perhaps because it was a part of my body, I could clearly understand its applications.
Well, even so, the capacity was still minuscule, so its significance would mostly be in creating variables, but…
“It doesn’t matter.”
What was important wasn’t the present, but how much I could develop it in the future.
[You have depleted your Ki for the first time. 500 SP is awarded as a reward.]
[Total Ki has increased by 0.03.]
[Proficiency of Prodigy in the Art of Flying Blades Lv1 has increased by 1.2%.]
It’s nice to see the results with my own eyes; it gives me a sense of accomplishment.
As I was leaving the shooting range with a pleased heart, the floor suddenly rumbled with a *Thud!*.
“What was that?”
I stopped in my tracks, puzzled. The epicenter was beyond the bulkhead to my left. Suddenly curious, I headed towards where the sound had come from. And the scene that unfolded before me was absurd.
“…What is she doing?”
In a corner of the training ground, Eun Gaye was putting on a full-fledged physical comedy show.
She would walk unsteadily, stumbling like a child taking its first steps, then hop around, and then lose her balance and fall in a comical way.
The sound that had just shaken the floor was from Eun Gaye falling.
As I stared at this in disbelief, I soon realized the reason.
‘Ah, Gift training.’
Gifts are abilities that are difficult to control without training.
Eun Gaye’s ‘Gravity’ was especially so, and when she drew out a certain level of power, the gravitational pull acting on her body would go haywire.
The ridiculous sight before me was a result of that phenomenon.
It was at that moment. My eyes met with Eun Gaye’s as she was wiping her sweat with a towel.
“……”
“……”
Eun Gaye’s expression hardened. I acted as if nothing was wrong, but inwardly, I was intimidated.
It wasn’t intentional, but I had ended up seeing Eun Gaye’s embarrassing side.
“…Hey, you saw, didn’t you?”
“Saw what?”
In that moment, Eun Gaye glared at me.
“…Just you falling for a second.”
I told her the truth. I thought about denying it, but Eun Gaye’s gaze was too fierce.
“Just me falling?”
“And the stumbling, hopping, and losing your balance.”
“……”
Eun Gaye’s eyes wavered. Then she turned her head away and made an awkward excuse.
“I-I just tripped while walking.”
“…Uh, right.”
“For real.”
My response must have been unsatisfactory, because Eun Gaye emphasized that it was true. Then she whipped her head back to glare at me.
“Anyway, just pretend you didn’t see anything. If you spread rumors, you’re dead.”
Why is she suddenly getting angry?
As I stared at her with a look of disbelief, Eun Gaye fled the training ground as if running away.
Before I forgot, I told her what I had seen earlier.
“Hey, those mana orbs, you’re supposed to dodge them, not cut them.”
For a moment, Eun Gaye’s steps faltered. And then.
*SLAM—!*
The training ground door was shut violently.
***
…A week passed. During that time, I spent my time quite productively.
I had gotten used to synchronizing with Gram, and I had earned a decent amount of SP from various ‘first-time’ achievements, but the biggest accomplishment was undoubtedly the utilization of Ki.
*Swish!*
The Ki that extended from my hand snatched Gram, which was propped against the wall, and returned.
“This is really convenient.”
Being able to manipulate Ki at will drastically reduced the need to move my body.
There were still some clumsy parts, but that would improve with time.
As I left the training ground with a satisfied heart and entered the temporary dormitory lobby, the cadets who recognized me began to whisper.
“Hey, isn’t that him? The ace.”
“Ah! You’re right. The top student. I heard he just walked out the door of the written exam hall, is that true?”
I had only been going back and forth between the training ground and my room, so I had almost no contact with the other cadets.
The only time would be during meals, but since the other cadets were all golden spoons, they didn’t stay in the dorms.
They must have been playing around somewhere nice, and now that the entrance ceremony was only three days away, they were finally starting to show up.
‘But what’s this nonsense about being the top student?’
I had made a scene during the written exam, so it’s understandable that I’d draw some attention. But being the top student was going too far. Can a baseless rumor spread that much?
It was absurd, but I didn’t give it a second thought. After all, I had just barely passed the practical exam.
No matter how good my written exam score was, my practical exam score would likely drag it all down.
Besides, there were so many monsters at Eternity.
There was Cheon Woojin, who was explicitly the protagonist from the start; the son of an association executive who was a natural-born talent; the War Princess whose power was said to have surpassed the student level…
For me to beat all of them and become the top student?
‘It would mean the grader wasn’t in their right mind or the evaluation criteria were messed up.’
So, it was nonsense. I shook my head and left the lobby. When I returned to my room, someone was waiting for me in front of the door.
“Ah, you’re finally here. Cadet Lee Haesol, right?”
It was a beautiful woman with pink hair and a bright smile.
The blue brooch pinned to her chest indicated that she was a member of the student council.
Of course, a cadet who hadn’t officially enrolled yet wouldn’t know this, so I responded like a typical freshman.
“Yes, that’s me. Who are you?”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Erica, a member of the student council.”
When I shook the hand she offered, Erica smiled brightly and said something unexpected.
“Congratulations, Cadet Haesol. You have been admitted to our academy as the top student.”
“Pardon?”
Blinking, wondering what kind of out-of-the-blue nonsense this was, I managed to ask back.
“…I’m the top student?”
“Yes.”
“How? I barely passed the practical exam.”
“The practical exam instructor praised it as an ‘amazing acrobatic display’.”
…All I remember is desperately dodging for my life. That was considered acrobatics?
As I was dumbfounded by the unexpected result, Erica let out a small laugh.
“Hehe, it’s nothing major, but you’ll just need to go up on stage as the freshman representative at the entrance ceremony and read the oath.”
…That is something major.
In any group setting, it’s best to blend into the middle.
If I get a label like class president or top student, I could get into the unfortunate situation of being called around everywhere and used as a class slave.
Without taking the oath script Erica was handing me, I asked.
“What happens if I don’t do this? I have a bit of stage fright.”
“It’s just a request, so if you’re really uncomfortable, you don’t have to do it.”
With a disappointed expression, Erica added.
“However, if you do it, you’ll be rewarded with one entry into the treasury of the Hall of Heroes.”
“I’ll do it. Just leave it to me.”
As I snatched the oath script that was moving away, Erica’s expression brightened. At the same time, she asked with a look of confusion.
“Will you be okay? You just said you had stage fright…”
“Well, I’ll be fine if I take some calming medicine.”
It wasn’t just fine; honestly, it was great.
The treasury of Eternity’s auditorium, the Hall of Heroes, stored the Noble Armaments and magic tools that the student council had collected over the years.
It was a place you could only enter once by contributing to the student council or becoming the top of your year.
Of course, all the useful items had long been taken but…
‘I’m in luck.’
I took the oath script and smiled.
The treasury of the Hall of Heroes.
Sleeping there was a ‘Hidden Piece’ that I could use right away.
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Hi Lord Fourth here!
As always if you find some mistakes or inconsistencies let me know about it on the dedicated channel on discord.
