Episode 54: Preparation (1)
In one corner of the dormitory room, I opened my eyes, got dressed, and stepped outside for my morning exercise.
The once-chilly air had softened. A faint warmth seeped through the cool breeze.
It was truly spring.
I stretched my body slowly and headed toward the walking trail. In the distance, Yu Hana was running toward me.
It was a good thing I had warmed up while walking. Just as she was about to reach me, I started running.
And a few minutes later—
“Haa…”
We stopped, gasping for breath.
“That’s a new record.”
Yu Hana stepped closer and held out her watch. A subtle scent, warm and soft from sweat, brushed past me. The heat radiating from her skin carried a deep, oddly lingering fragrance.
Instinctively, my breath hitched for a moment. My gaze, fixed on the watch, wavered slightly.
Unaware, Yu Hana smiled brightly and pointed at the screen.
“Look! I’ve definitely gotten faster, right?”
I let out a short breath and turned my eyes away.
“Yeah.”
This was one of the reasons I enjoyed morning workouts. If I kept at it, I would always improve.
After catching our breath for a moment, we started walking slowly.
When we reached a fork in the path, we naturally stopped.
“See you later.”
“Yeah.”
Yu Hana waved lightly and headed in the opposite direction. I watched her retreating figure for a moment before turning back toward the dormitory.
After returning to my room, I took a shower. The hot water cascaded down my skin, momentarily clearing my mind.
Stepping out of the bathroom, I roughly towel-dried my hair and changed into fresh clothes.
As a habit, I checked myself in the mirror, adjusting my outfit before glancing at my watch.
A familiar routine. A familiar morning.
The start of yet another ordinary day—so normal it was hard to believe what had happened just yesterday.
However, in the mirror, my fingertips were trembling slightly.
I unconsciously clenched and unclenched my fist.
Feeling the distinct sensation in my fingertips, I exhaled softly.
“Hoo…”
Only then did the trembling subside.
Acting as if nothing was wrong, I opened the door and stepped out of the dormitory.
On the Way to Class
I had missed a few lectures over the past few days, but all for valid reasons. There was no risk of being marked absent.
I entered the classroom through the back door and quietly made my way to my usual seat in the corner.
As I settled in to wait for class, the front door opened, and someone walked in.
It was Yohan.
I hadn’t seen him since I beat him up in our last sparring session. It had been a while.
‘He looks fine.’
At least on the surface.
I still wasn’t sure why I had lost control back then—something had snapped in me.
His gaze lingered on me for a moment.
Then, as if in a hurry, he turned away and headed toward his group.
I also shifted my focus elsewhere, staring at the ceiling in thought.
Three weeks until the demonic humans attack.
About a month until the exchange competition.
In the end, I had to prepare for both events at the same time.
Of course, the first one was far more critical.
Inside the academy, I needed to focus on Yoon Chae-ha’s growth and prepare for the exchange competition.
Outside, I had to prepare for the demonic human attack.
If I gave my best effort both inside and out, things might work out to some extent.
Just as I reached the end of my thoughts, Instructor Do Han-seong entered the classroom.
“…Ah.”
As soon as he walked in, groans of frustration rippled through the students.
‘What’s going on?’
Did he assign homework last time?
Confused, I looked toward the front.
Do Han-seong smirked and glanced at the digital clock on the left wall of the lecture hall.
The time read exactly 9:00 AM.
After confirming the time, he spoke with a leisurely expression.
“Everyone, please check the Gaon database.”
The groans from the students grew even louder.
“As announced in last class, today is the midterm written exam results day.”
Ah, so that’s what it was.
The practical exam would be combined with the final for evaluation, but the written exam was graded separately.
I also turned on my watch to check my grades.
Gaon was ruthless—it ranked students in order of their scores.
And those rankings were visible to everyone.
I didn’t even need to scroll.
My name was easy to find near the top.
[1st] Kang Arin
[2nd] Jung Haein
⋯
[6th] Yohan
⋯
[10th] Ha Sion
⋯
[18th] Yu Hana
⋯
[27th] Cheon Yeoul
As students hurriedly turned on their watches, the instructor spoke in a relaxed tone.
“It seems my students are quite the scholars. Three of you made it into the top ten.”
All eyes in the room turned toward the three mentioned.
But I was distracted by something else.
“What?”
It wasn’t the rankings of Kang Arin, myself, Ha Sion, or Yu Hana that surprised me.
It was Cheon Yeoul.
‘27th place?’
The fact that she was ranked so high… Honestly, it was hard to believe.
Instinctively, I turned to look for her.
Sitting far away, Cheon Yeoul met my gaze and flashed a V-sign with her fingers.
She wiggled them playfully as if asking, ‘Didn’t I do well?’
I let out a small chuckle and gave her a slight nod.
I had given her private tutoring sessions, but I hadn’t expected her to achieve a good score.
If it had been that easy, she wouldn’t have struggled in the first place.
I opened the detailed score report.
Overall, my own scores were higher than expected, though not quite top-tier.
Cheon Yeoul’s highest marks were in spellcraft, the subject that dealt with arcane formulas.
That one subject alone had compensated for her weaker areas.
And that was the subject I had personally taught her.
“Impressive.”
I glanced at Cheon Yeoul again.
Noticing my gaze, she smiled with her eyes.
Lately, she had been making impressive strides.
She had also jumped at the opportunity to take on the Paladin request.
And now, it seemed she had studied incredibly hard on her own.
A 27th-place ranking wasn’t something that came without effort.
I could see the traces of her hard work.
The lecture hall was filled with the groans of students reacting to their rankings.
“Everyone, there’s no need to be too discouraged,” Instructor Do Han-seong said smoothly, his usual dry expression unchanged.
“There are still ten more exams left. You’ll have plenty of chances to make up for it.”
“…….”
That was meant to be encouraging,
But to the students, hearing that they had to go through this at least ten more times was anything but good news.
I glanced at the clock.
9:05 AM.
With the grade announcements over, it was time to get to the real lesson.
– Tap.
The instructor tapped the desk.
“Now then, let’s begin today’s class.”
The students’ groans showed no signs of stopping.
Lunch was over.
It had been an unusually peaceful day.
At least on the outside.
Inside my head, a war was raging.
I stood in the hallway, staring at the club recruitment posters on the wall.
This was probably the last week for recruitment.
Technically, the deadline had already passed, but it had been extended for the Kalos students who had transferred in as part of the exchange program.
I kept telling myself I needed to join a club, but I had procrastinated until now.
‘Which one should I choose…?’
The poster was filled with the names of various clubs.
Some of them were familiar.
Frontier.
I had already turned them down once. Not an option.
Yohan was probably in that club anyway.
This time, I needed to find a club to join with Yoon Chae-ha.
I took a moment to think about my options.
First option: The Magic Research Society.
“Yeah, no…”
It takes two hands to clap.
It’s not that I disliked magic.
If anything, I liked it.
But did I like it enough to want to ‘research’ it?
Absolutely not.
Yoon Chae-ha was probably the same.
She enjoyed magic for its intuitive fun, not for studying theory.
Neither of us would last long there.
Rejected.
Second option: The Archery Club.
Not bad.
It would definitely help develop focus, an essential skill for mages.
And since I already knew how to use a bow, it wasn’t a bad fit.
But…
Sion would definitely nag me about it.
‘If you’re joining the archery club, shouldn’t you take me too? Why are you going alone?’
I could already hear the endless complaints.
Also, I wasn’t sure if Yoon Chae-ha would be interested in it.
On hold.
Third option: The Board Game Club.
[Lexium]
Board games in this world were different from the ones we knew.
Sure, there were the usual ones like chess and Monopoly, but—
There were also gadget-based games where opening a device could summon a dungeon that players had to clear.
A kind of "Instant dungeon”.
Normally, it was too expensive to experience such games freely.
But this was Gaon.
The school’s club funding would cover it.
Yoon Chae-ha would definitely be interested.
Plus, games like Field Chess and Instant Dungeons would help develop spatial awareness, a key trait for mages.
If I played it right and triggered her competitive spirit,
This could turn into a valuable growth opportunity.
“This is it.”
I checked the contact info on the poster and sent a message.
[Jung Haein]: Hello, I’m Jung Haein, a first-year student. I’m interested in joining the club.
Are there two spots available?
One for me.
The other for Yoon Chae-ha.
The possibility that she wouldn’t follow me didn’t even exist.
She had crossed an entire academy just out of curiosity.
There was no way she’d ignore this.
That’s how it was in the original story too.
I turned off my watch.
That was one more thing off my to-do list.
There were too many upcoming events to deal with.
It was exhausting, but once I got through this, things would be quiet until finals.
At least, on the surface.
That’s why getting through this hurdle was the most important thing right now.
I exhaled and looked up at the ceiling.
I should be able to get through this.
But no matter how much I tried to forget,
The lingering scenes of trials haunted my mind like an engraved scar.
The Aldebaran Trial was over, but I was still facing my own.
And then—
[『Unwavering Clarity 』 awakens your spirit!]
The storm in my thoughts calmed.
My blurred vision became sharp again.
I took a deep breath and steadied myself.
“Haa…”
I would get through this.
No—
I had to.