Chapter 8
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Enrollment (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Slash―!!
The sharp sound of a single sword stroke slicing through the air rang out clearly.
A vivid trail followed its path.
The anti-mana metal plate, that ridiculously tough slab said to neutralize Heart Images and mana... it had been split as smoothly as soft tofu.
"......Huh?"
Starting with one student, the thousands of spectators frozen like statues began sighing one after another, as if it were contagious.
And it wasn't just the metal plate that had been sliced.
Rumble―!
The academy's pride and joy, the reinforced stone wall, slid down diagonally as if it had been cut from paper.
In an instant, a breezy vent had formed in the wall of Pantheon Hall.
Due to the user's insufficient Heart Power, Restraint has hit rock bottom.
While the surrounding students' gazes were fixed on the severed wall...
I quickly shoved the cutter knife into my pocket.
A few people who caught sight of it started murmuring.
"Wh-what's that? A dagger?"
"Couldn't see it well......"
"I saw it! A utility cutter knife! I'm telling you!"
"You blind to that wall or what? How's a utility cutter supposed to do that?"
The murmurs swelled like waves.
At the same time, my brain buzzed, and my eyelids grew heavy.
...Blessing backlash.
Terrible timing.
With my Restraint depleted and fatigue setting in, drowsiness came crashing down.
During the Cutter Knife Blessing's activation, weapons other than the cutter knife cannot be equipped.
Caught off guard by the unexpected variable, I'd stupidly held onto the cutter knife too long even after swinging.
'This haze is insanely bad... but I absolutely can't pass out now.'
Too many eyes watching.
I could see Senior Sein on the second floor leaning forward so far the railing might snap.
The moment I passed out, they'd spot the cutter knife bouncing out of my pocket.
Suddenly, my mind conjured up the next sequence of events like a delusion.
'Eh? Not a sword, a cutter knife?'
'Disgusting. Doesn't he have any pride as a swordsman?'
'Kekeke, a stationery swordsman if I've ever seen one.'
'Yeah! Stationery swordsman! Get out of the sacred swordsmanship club!'
'Had high hopes, but they're crushed.'
Uwaaaaaah!
I shook my head to fend off the sleepiness.
'Gotta... hold on somehow!'
Cutter Knife Blessing proficiency has increased.
'...Huh?'
At that moment, the heavy plastic feel in my pocket vanished like a lie.
The reason came in the next explanation.
Invisible Edge function unlocked.
All cutter knives that touch your hand are now unbound by physical form.
"......"
I pulled the cutter knife from my pocket to check.
Whirrr.
The formless blade continuously refracted light, emanating a chilling aura.
A blue Heart Image flickered sharply like an invisible sword hilt.
'...Feels like I've seen something like this before?'
Definitely, that blonde swordswoman who ended every sentence with "master" carried a sword―
"Wh-what?! What's that rippling thing?!"
"...A sword form awakening?"
"It's an Invisible Sword! Insane!"
"Waaaaaah! An invisible swordsman!"
The spectators, thoroughly mistaken, began cheering wildly.
At least the cutter knife didn't get exposed, so it seemed to have passed.
The professor who had been grading snapped out of it and approached me.
"Student Yujin, you're confirmed for Class A."
"Thank you. But you don't need to add the 'pongddai' at the end."
"No idea what you mean. More importantly, when are you withdrawing that?"
"...Pardon?"
The professor pointed at the cross-section of the severed reinforced stone wall.
"No need for firepower like that. Seems like overkill, no?"
"No, I... couldn't control my strength properly."
"We'll make allowances for genius talent, but the damage is too severe. It'll probably be billed 9-to-1... with you footing the 1, of course."
My heart sank for a moment, then settled.
What? Just 9-to-1?
That sounded lenient, so I relaxed―
"One platinum coin."
Hearing the amount the professor murmured, I blanked out a bit.
One platinum coin was ten months' rent on my current mansion.
I'd hoped to snag a full scholarship and do some filial duty, but now it looked like I'd be yanking out the mansion's foundation pillars.
"N-no... isn't that too much? It happened during a student exam—how can you charge that?!"
"I understand how you feel. But that wall... sigh, how do I even explain this."
"Try me! What nonsense excuse―"
"Hard to believe myself, but that wall would withstand even Sword Saint Valerius swinging at it in earnest once. Know what that means?"
"...Ah."
Sudden understanding hit.
From the academy's perspective, it had to look intentional.
If they let this slide, someone could abuse the precedent...
"Just charging you the nominal 10%."
"......Understood for now."
How was I supposed to tell Adel about this?
My mind went blank.
Staggering down from the platform under crashing drowsiness and mounting financial pressure.
"Heh."
A wry chuckle escaped.
Cheers still erupted around me, but my steps toward the exit felt like lead weights.
A prickling gaze from the second-floor railing.
Senior Sein still gripped it, blinking vacantly at me like she'd seen someone who shouldn't exist in reality.
'......Ignore her. Seniors or whatever, not now.'
I flung open the massive doors of Pantheon Hall and bolted outside.
* * *
The moment I got back to the mansion, Adel greeted me with an unusually bright smile.
"Confirmed for Class A—congratulations, Yujin. My judgment was spot on, as expected. Now with the scholarship, we can worry a bit less about the household budget."
The happier Adel's voice sounded, the heavier my chest grew.
"I'm a bit tired, so I'll step out for some air."
"Yujin? What's with that face? Are you feeling ill......?"
Leaving her worried question behind, I hurried out of the house.
I just couldn't get the words out.
All for a scholarship, and I'd blown ten months' rent on an accident—how could I say that?
'Fuck, gotta do manual labor? This world must have loading/unloading gigs.'
In webtoons or novels, unheard-of talent gets showered with support, but this academy was brutally realistic.
As I trudged along the outskirts path...
"You look like you've got worries."
An old man sat perched on the fence like it was his bedroom.
It was Valerius.
"Y-you... bastard......!"
Seeing the culprit behind all this, rage boiled up.
"Heh, don't give me that look. I heard the bill's quite the sum. As your master, I'd gladly cover a debt like that."
"Piss off. Whose fault is all this?"
The old geezer—no, that damn fossil—licked his lips greedily.
"Become my disciple, and I'll pay you one platinum coin a month."
"With strings attached, right? Ptooey!"
Money was obviously the bait.
No way I'd follow his lead.
Types like this thug get bolder if you give in once.
A regretful tongue-click from behind.
"Think you can handle it? A whole platinum coin."
"Not my business whether I can or not."
I left without looking back.
...I'd acted tough, but wandering the streets, jobs for a guy like me were scarce.
High-paying gigs were mostly magic-related specialists; my only option was one.
"Hey, Cheon! Move that lumber!"
"Why so slow! Grab the chisel, Cheon!! Ugh, what a pain of a surname."
Fuck my life.
In the end, until the day before official enrollment, I lied to Adel about special supplementary classes and sneaked to a construction site near the academy.
"Huff, huff...!"
Sweat-soaked, my sleeveless shirt clung tight as I rolled in dust and dirt piles.
Thinking I'd have to sneak this crap for three months even after official enrollment post-classes made me want to puke.
"Heyyy! Safety first today too!"
"Cheon, that slow and you'll make it? Don't wanna work?"
"S-sorry, Foreman!"
For some reason, the Heart Image-less day-laborer uncles moved building materials faster than me.
The power of real muscle was universal across worlds. Awe-inspiring.
"Huh? Sein! Look over there, same age as us... those muscles are sexy as hell, slurp."
"...Huh?"
Then, while working in my sleeveless top, a familiar voice rang out.
"......Yujin?"
Turning my head like a whale, my eyes met Senior Sein's on the road.
"What, Sein? You know him?"
"Yeah. Neighbor's junior."
"......"
Senior Sein had a sky-blue-haired girl with twintails stuck to her side—clearly the bubbly type.
She boasted her own 'presence' that wouldn't pale elsewhere, but against Senior Sein's overwhelming curves, she just looked nicely developed.
Both wore frilly outing dresses.
Probably heading downtown since no classes today.
I faced them in my work sleeveless, but no shame.
'Labor is sacred.'
After some self-hypnosis, I curtly waved at Senior Sein.
"Yo, Senior Sein. Hi."
"...What are you doing here?"
"Working, as you see. You two heading out? Better hurry before you're late. I got leftover materials."
"Hey, Cheon!!!"
"Ugh."
"......"
That foreman asshole again.
I spat it out as flatly as possible and readjusted the log.
But Senior Sein's reaction was odd.
Instead of replying, her violet eyes trembled faintly as she stared, soon filling with indescribable affection.
"Yujin, when do you finish work?"
"Pardon? Why?"
"Oh, uh... wanna grab a meal together? My treat―"
"Ooooh! What's this? The guy finally claiming Sein's royal bosom...!"
"Sh-shut it, Laila!"
"Gack―!"
Senior Sein strangled her friend with both hands, then turned back to me.
Her eyes still held deep misunderstanding and a misty sheen.
"Senior Sein. It's not what you think. I just need a few months' work, really. Don't worry."
"H-hmm... I-I'm not thinking that? Just need someone to eat with......"
"Well, if it's really just food―"
Suddenly.
"Food and boobs too—Guh! Grahk— r-real suffocat... save me, Sein!"
"Die."
"......"
Is she really okay?
Her friend's neck bent 180 degrees...