Preparation (2)
Preparation (2)
Baek Ha-na and Lee Na-young's dorm room.
Seated around the table, Baek Ha-na and three others huddled together, wetting their throats with drinks bought from the mart.
"So."
Maria, having sufficiently wet her throat with milk tea, asked Baek Ha-na, who sat across from her nibbling on a biscuit stick.
"Do you feel like going for Top Seat?"
"... Not sure."
Maria was slightly taken aback by Baek Ha-na's ambiguous response.
Just moments before, outside the cafeteria, Ha-na had looked at her with those big, wide eyes, yet now she seemed indifferent, as if she had lost interest.
"Hey, but if Ha-na isn't interested, why do you two keep egging her on?"
Idni, sipping her cherry sparkling—the flavor only a tiny minority actually enjoyed—asked, and Maria narrowed her eyes slightly, answering in a scolding tone.
"If someone shoots you such a provocative look, shouldn't you naturally fire back?"
"...Nah."
Sure, there was a thick hostility there, but as Ha-na herself acknowledged, her fiancé gets beaten up almost every other day. Wouldn't it actually be stranger if she didn't get angry...?
Maria, who thought nothing of the sort, turned her head back toward Baek Ha-na.
"Right, Ha-na? You were interested earlier too."
"Well... assignment exemption definitely sounds tempting."
But after thinking it over, that was about the only appeal.
Even if curfew hours were extended, he wouldn't meet her on weekdays anyway, and Saturday—the one weekend day—was for overnight stays. That meant she'd only really benefit on Sunday, a single day.
The problem was, even then, he would definitely tell her to go back at curfew. Sure, if she acted spoiled he'd indulge her, but she didn't want to give up being held in his arms or sleeping together for that.
Next, personal tutoring.
If not for the vacation condition, that alone would have made Top Seat worth taking for Ha-na. But with that condition attached, it had essentially become pointless.
During vacation, she would obviously return home, and he was always at home. In other words, she could spend time with him even without such a benefit.
It was practically the most useless perk.
And.
"She didn't seem all that strong either."
The biggest reason was that she didn't feel the need to set aside weekend time for training.
The red-haired classmate who had glared at her with hostility in the cafeteria.
Her name was probably Na Ju-hee.
She couldn't be certain without a proper look, but she clearly possessed more mana than Kang Seok-ho. However, having more mana didn't necessarily mean someone was stronger.
She'd experienced that firsthand—too many times to count, embarrassingly enough. Her past spars with Claire, who hadn't even used mana, had left her a complete wreck.
"She's a bit annoying, but for Ha-na, it'd be—waaaaah?!"
Idni, who had been nodding to herself, suddenly shrieked and sprang up from her seat. She then hopped around clutching her left foot.
Maria, sitting beside her, had quietly ground her heel into Idni's instep.
Completely ignoring Idni hopping noisily behind her, Maria spoke to Baek Ha-na.
"Ha-na. You know Awakened are defined more by the power they obtain upon awakening than by effort, right?"
"Yeah."
"And Ha-na, your ability is..."
"Mid-tier, right?"
She'd heard this until she was sick of it while training under Claire.
"Of course, a very tiny minority—people who surpass that through individual effort or innate talent—do exist. Like you, Ha-na."
Her mana control and ability application were enough to surprise even Claire.
Given that, Claire had affirmed that if Ha-na kept growing like this, she'd easily make it into the upper ranks.
"But Na Ju-hee. She's built different."
The Magic Department, prouder than any other department.
A girl who'd made every single classmate bow their heads through sheer skill alone.
"Elementalization."
The utterly absurd ability to transmute her body's composition into one of the four cardinal elements of her choosing. That was the ability Na Ju-hee had awakened.
It demanded exquisitely delicate mana control, but as befitted the child of a Top 10 guild, she was born with not just ability but talent as well.
"Even aside from Elementalization, her fire magic technique is said to be top-notch. And with no proper opponent yet, nobody even knows how long she can maintain it."
"... Really?"
As Baek Ha-na began showing interest again, Nam Seo-hee quickly picked up the thread.
"So, Ha-na."
"......?"
"I heard she'll be using the training room this weekend anyway. So why not go see for yourself and decide?"
"Mmm......"
Baek Ha-na frowned and let out a low groan.
While Baek Ha-na deliberated under her two friends' enthusiastic urging.
"Pff... but even if you beat that Na Ju-hee person, doesn't Top Seat depend on other stuff too? There's more than just practicals."
"......"
"......"
"Wha, what?"
Idni flinched backward under the glare of Maria and Nam Seo-hee, who stared at her as if she were a monster.
Because, just as Idni had pointed out, the real goal of the other two wasn't actually for Baek Ha-na to become Top Seat.
Maria simply disliked Na Ju-hee's hostile stare, and Nam Seo-hee genuinely wanted to use that as an excuse to spend the weekend with Baek Ha-na.
"... You're just gonna hit me then?"
"Want us to?"
"Me too."
As if they'd been waiting, the two spread their palms wide open toward Idni.
"What did I even do? Seriously ridiculous... Hey, Baek Ha-na."
"...Hmm?"
When Baek Ha-na raised her head, Idni let out a small snort and spoke.
"About Top Seat. Putting the perks aside—if you want to stick with the professor during vacation, shouldn't you be fighting desperately to take it?"
"...What do you mean?"
"I mean, think about it. Thanks to the Executor, the professor's lectures were crazy popular, and there are tons of students who couldn't even get in, right?"
"...Right?"
Not just Baek Ha-na, but even Maria and Nam Seo-hee, who had been staring daggers, were now focused on Idni's words.
At that, Idni sat back down in her seat and continued.
"So, what I'm saying is, if I were Top Seat, even just out of curiosity, I'd get personal tutoring from the professor during vacation. And get to see our Executor as a bonus."
Slurrrp.
Idni sucked up the last of her leftover cherry sparkling with a sharp slurp and raised her head. Then, confronted by her friends' deeply peculiar expressions, she furrowed her brow hard.
"What is it this time?"
"No, I was just..."
Maria looked at Baek Ha-na, who wore an expression of profound shock, and gently stroked Idni's thigh.
"... thinking you must've been hurting a lot."
Maria decided inwardly that, if there ever came a time to smack Idni on the back, she'd let it slide at least once.
**
[ Meeting Room 2 ]
"...That is all."
Jaden, having reported on the graduating class's evaluation preparation status, looked up at the dais.
"Proceed accordingly."
"... Yes."
The dais overlooking everyone.
Only when Baek Woo-jin, standing atop it, turned his gaze away could Jaden finally sit down in his seat.
It was an important meeting that all professors except administrative staff were required to attend.
Standing on the dais in place of the chairman who should have led the meeting, Baek Woo-jin spoke.
"If the newly appointed professors have any suggestions to make, speak freely. Do not walk on eggshells."
Retired Awakened who had begun their professorial activities three weeks prior, replacing those who had exploited factional influence to line their own pockets.
Baek Woo-jin had told them not to mind the stares around them, but being former powerhouses from prominent guilds, their connections were excellent, and the existing professors actually treated them even more cautiously.
"We are still adjusting, so it is difficult to voice opinions freely."
"I share the same thought. And tampering with how things have been run so far may instead cause confusion among the students."
Baek Woo-jin nodded at the new professors' remarks.
"Indeed. The third- and fourth-years especially would be sensitive to change."
Especially the fourth-years, for whom this was their final year. With the evaluation only weeks away, having new items added or adjustments made would distress them greatly.
"Then, as there seems to be nothing further, only the first-year supervisors shall remain. The rest may return."
Jaden and Lee Hyeok, having already experienced Baek Woo-jin several times, were the first to rise from their seats and leave the meeting room.
Once the two faction heads moved, the other professors gradually rose from their seats and exited the meeting room swiftly. Before long, only the professors in charge of the first year, including Kang Han-na and Yoon Do-sik, remained in the spacious room.
Everyone except Yoon Do-sik, who was slightly acquainted with Baek Woo-jin, sat rigid with tension, their gazes fixed on the dais.
"I did not ask you to stay to find fault, so there is no need to be tense. That is, unless you are vermin incapable of performing your duties. As of yet, no one here has been lazy; all are doing their jobs."
Gulp...
Some professors who had witnessed Baek Woo-jin during the entrance exam sat even more rigidly upright, reinforcing their posture.
"With a few exceptions, you are likely the busiest in the academy right now, so I will proceed straight to the point."
Baek Woo-jin's bag, placed in the corner of the dais, opened and sheets of crisp white paper flew out, settling into the hands of the remaining professors.
Just as all eyes were about to turn to the paper, Baek Woo-jin continued.
"For the upcoming first-year evaluation, a new event will be added."
Not a solicitation of opinions—a unilateral notification.
Yoon Do-sik discreetly raised his hand.
"Speak."
"Does this apply to us as well?"
The 'us' Yoon Do-sik spoke of meant the non-combat tracks, including the Alchemy Department and smithing.
To that, Baek Woo-jin nodded and replied.
"The method will differ slightly, but there are no exceptions."
"Hmm..."
It was a bit sudden, but since first-years hadn't experienced a proper exam yet, it wouldn't pose a major problem. That was likely why only the first-year professors had been asked to remain.
"The event to be added and the direction of its execution are stated in the distributed materials. Familiarize yourselves thoroughly. It will be posted as a separate notice to the students next week, so you need not worry about that."
Baek Woo-jin extended his hand, and the bag in the corner flew into it.
"That is all."
Stepping down from the dais, Baek Woo-jin left the meeting room, his footsteps silent.
- Whew~!!
- Haa......
The professors, who had been wound tight, let out sighs and slumped back in their chairs.
Listening to the professors' sighs, Yoon Do-sik turned his eyes to the paper in his hand.
"......?"
And having spotted the four bold characters stamped at the very top, he blinked blankly.
"...Have I been researching too long?"
Thinking his blurry eyes might have misread it, he rubbed his eyes a couple of times and looked at the material again.
【 R i f t S t r a t e g y 】
The four characters stamped on the paper, exactly as he'd first seen them.
"This is insane..."
Having confirmed his eyes were still fit for active duty, Yoon Do-sik hurriedly left the meeting room, chasing after the man who had distributed that paper.