Chapter 43
Chapter 43
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: The First Smile I've Seen
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After calming Glacia down and continuing the conversation for a bit, I finally understood why she had said such strange things.
“So, in short... you want to reach Trait Level 4? Is that it?”
“Simply put, yes. Han Cheon-seong, just as you reached Level 4, I want to reach Trait Level 4 as well. And I also want to understand you better."
Facing Glacia, who was finally making sense, I slowly nodded my head.
Competitiveness. No, it was more like a desire for self-improvement that shone fiercely in Glacia. She looked like she had been pushing herself too hard lately.
Even now, her appearance suggested she had been training so hard that she was a mess, desperately struggling to reach Level 4.
When she mentioned being utterly crushed in a sparring match with Leonhardt, a laugh escaped me without my realizing it.
She looked at me, saying how frustrating it was, but in my eyes, it was an obvious outcome.
‘...Well, of course.’
Leonhardt is the protagonist of this world. And from the very beginning, he was practically a 'complete package'.
Trait, talent, personality, looks—there was nothing about him to find fault with.
Even if his naive, kind nature caused some crises in the early stages, by the mid-to-late story, he gains a cool-headedness that completely eliminates any chance of him being deceived.
‘Come to think of it, maybe that's thanks to Yumia being by his side.’
Yumia would support him well, so there was no need to worry about trash like con artists latching onto him.
He truly is the protagonist of this world, and despite his insane growth rate, he shone with a powerful light from the start, overwhelming everyone around him.
A being who shines so brightly that everyone can't help but look. Can't help but pay attention...
The very definition of overpowered. That was Leonhardt.
For most people, it would be difficult to even continue sparring with him...
“...”
My thoughts came to a halt.
With the thought that Leonhardt was the protagonist, I naturally centered my thinking around him. But then I remembered—I had achieved a draw in my match against him.
It was a result born from a combination of factors, like the compatibility between spearmanship and swordsmanship that transcended Trait grades, and the difference in our Trait levels. But regardless, the fact that I had managed a draw with him was 'truth' and 'reality'.
...And that might have held more significance than I thought.
“Han Cheon-seong, I'm not asking you to tell me the same kind of enlightenment you gained. Just stay by my side. I'll try to understand you, and I'll see for myself how you became so strong. I'll learn from watching you, how you've reached a state of mental completion.”
Hearing Glacia's earnest voice, a dry laugh escaped me.
“A state of completion…?”
Muttering one of the words Glacia had said, I turned my head and met her eyes without thinking.
“...”
Her brilliantly shining blue eyes were staring straight at me.
As if asking me to accept her words as they were. I could feel the intense desire in them... I could feel her sincerity.
There seemed to be no falsehood in her words or actions.
An absolute competitiveness and a strong will to look forward and advance.
‘So this is why Glacia becomes a named character.’
Although Glacia's role in the novel was small because she wasn't involved with Leonhardt, just meeting her gaze made me realize why a named character who always ranked at the top was who she was.
More than anything, she had a desire for self-improvement. An absolute will to move forward, no matter what.
But that, in turn, made me smile.
‘To think she'd call me a complete package...’
Really. Those words were enough to make me feel... strange.
I considered myself quite good at 'self-assessment'.
That hadn't changed much from my original reality to this world of Groa.
That's why I tend to think about the path I must take and how to act on it.
I always thought I'd never fallen behind others.
Because I knew objectively what I needed to do to get ahead, to advance further.
And right now, I was truly... nothing.
It was only the beginning of the academy.
While the average student was struggling at Trait Level 2, I had simply distinguished myself early on.
Of course, reaching Trait Level 4 on the entrance ceremony day was a huge evolution and a growth rate that defied common sense. But that would naturally be caught up to in about a year.
Therefore, I had no room for complacency.
I had to push harder, run faster, and keep moving forward, whether by breaking the obstacles in my path or overcoming them.
The potential held by Legendary, Unique, and Rare Traits. I knew just how much possibility they held with each level's evolution.
So, I had to surge ahead with all my might before they caught up.
When others take one step forward.
I will take two steps. No, three steps, looking ahead as I advance.
Only then can I stay ahead of them.
“Han Cheon-seong. Did I... say something strange?”
When I remained silent for a moment, Glacia asked cautiously as if she found it odd, and I slowly shook my head.
If I voiced my current thoughts, it would sound like I was being deceptive to Glacia. So, I kept them to myself and said something else.
“No, it's not strange. Glacia, that's certainly a good mindset to have. And you managed to remember what I said exactly.”
“...Of course. It hasn't even been a week.”
Her words about needing to be with me to understand me. It was just a passing comment at the time, but Glacia had attached great meaning to it.
So I found myself in a bit of a dilemma about what to do now.
Meeting four days a week was clearly impossible. I knew why she wanted to be with me now, but what couldn't be done, couldn't be done.
“Instead, since tomorrow is Friday... let's meet on Friday and Sunday this week. We'll stick to twice a week for now and think about increasing it later.”
Since the entrance ceremony was on a Tuesday, the Tuesday and Sunday we had originally agreed upon became awkward. But it seemed best to try meeting twice like this first and then reconsider.
“Friday and Sunday….”
I let out a small laugh at her disappointed expression, but I also found it strangely fascinating.
So much had changed between us in just a few days that I wondered if this was the same Glacia who had treated me so casually on the day we first spoke.
—A Unique grade, Level 3 Trait.
She was in a position to act that way. Even now, Glacia was likely one of the top students in Class A.
Even though I had reached Level 3 with a Common Trait, a Unique Level 3 was on a completely different level qualitatively.
I, at Level 4, couldn't even defeat Leonhardt, who was a Legendary Level 3. That's how strong he was.
That's how big of a difference the Trait's grade makes.
Organizing my thoughts, I decided it was time to end this conversation.
“Glacia, it's getting late. If you have one question, you can ask. Let's wrap things up with that.”
We had already been talking for well over an hour.
The time was already approaching 10 PM.
...Honestly, I was a bit tired.
“One question?”
“Yes. One. You can ask anything. Whether it's about enlightenment or something else, I'll answer whatever I can.”
The enlightenment I gained in the early stages wasn't actually that valuable.
There was no harm in telling anyone. If it made Glacia think more favorably of me, that would be enough.
“Hmm…”
At my words, Glacia seemed to be thinking very hard.
As if she believed I held the key to reaching Trait Level 4.
“Then, Han Cheon-seong. I'll ask one thing about your match with Leonhardt.”
“Alright. What do you want to ask?”
“After the match was over. What did you feel when you looked at Leonhardt?”
I froze for a moment at her question.
...I thought she would ask what kind of enlightenment I'd had, but she threw a very peculiar question at me.
What did I feel during the match with him? I paused, hesitating to answer immediately.
So many things came to mind.
But the answer was already decided. A single answer was enough.
“He's strong.”
“...Strong?”
“Yes. Leonhardt is stronger than me. That's what I thought. To be honest, I felt like I had pretty much lost the match. That's why I could acknowledge how strong he was. And also, the fact that I needed to try harder.”
My true thought was that he was the protagonist of this world, but phrasing it as 'strong' seemed fitting.
Even I, at Trait Level 4, couldn't beat him at Trait Level 3.
That was the objective difference in our power.
I learned a lot from that match. I sparred with the person who would one day become the strongest in this world, and from that match, I gained confidence.
The great confidence that I could advance with the spear in my hand.
“......”
Seeing Glacia lost in thought at my words, I gently rose to my feet.
Our dormitories were in different directions.
So, parting ways here seemed like a good idea.
“Well, I'll be going then.”
*Step.*
*Step.*
I had only taken a few steps after saying that.
“Wait.”
The firm voice made me stop in my tracks.
When I turned my head, Glacia was quickly approaching me.
Then she took something out from her clothes and held it out to me, and my eyes widened involuntarily.
“This is payment for answering my question.”
As she spoke, she extended her hand, and in it was a brilliantly shining coin.
A single coin, glowing with a golden light.
It was a gold coin. Unbelievably, it was gold.
“You're giving me a gold coin for one question?”
Instead of taking it right away, I found myself asking first.
No matter how you looked at it, the payment was too much for a question. I had just described my feelings about the match; it wasn't an epiphany or anything special.
It was something I would have answered easily even if she had asked casually. Nothing more than that.
“It's fine. I gained something more valuable. Here, take it.”
She even took my hand and placed the gold coin in it herself. As I accepted it, I felt strange.
‘Just...’
How much money does Glacia have on her?
To just hand over a gold coin for such a simple answer. The academy only gave Class C students 20 silver a month.
That alone was enough to live on without any trouble.
...But in this moment, I had just received the equivalent of five months' allowance.
“Well, I'll be going. Han Cheon-seong, thank you for being with me today.”
As she passed me with a faint smile, I found myself staring after her as if mesmerized.
‘The first time.’
For Glacia to smile like that...
It was definitely the first time.
***
*Click.*
Back in her dormitory, Glacia quickly shed her clothes, which were practically in tatters.
From the long hours of training, her clothes were covered in all sorts of impurities.
*Rustle, rustle.*
With the sound of rustling fabric, her pure white, naked form was revealed, and she headed straight for the washroom.
*Fwoosh—!*
As soon as she activated the magic stone, a warm stream of water poured down.
*Sshhhhhhaaaaaa—*
Standing under the stream, Glacia slowly closed her eyes.
After blankly surrendering her body to the water for a moment, she suddenly spoke.
“Acknowledge the opponent's strength.”
A clue to evolution. It felt like she had obtained the most important piece.
Instead of focusing only on myself and pouring my energy into training, I must face my opponent and acknowledge their strength.
Han Cheon-seong gave me that realization with just a single word.
A smile appeared on her face as she swept her hair back.
It might have seemed like an obvious statement, but to her, it didn't feel obvious at all.
Of course, in a match, she had focused on defeating her opponent. When she lost to Leonhardt, her mind went blank.
—A wall.
That she couldn't surpass him with her Trait or talent. The feeling was so strong that nothing else even came to mind.
What she had felt during her match with Leonhardt was truly a pathetic thought.
But Han Cheon-seong's answer was different from the start.
He was the only one to record a draw against Leonhardt, and instead of dwelling on winning or losing, he faced his opponent's strength head-on.
...And he intends to move forward.
“How is that even possible…."
She muttered blankly, once again amazed.
It was hard to believe he could have such thoughts even after a match where he had poured his all into it.
Just how mentally complete did one have to be to think that way? The more she thought about it, the more astounded she was by Han Cheon-seong.
"Friday."
Then she remembered that she would be able to see him again tomorrow.
As she slowly washed herself, a laugh escaped her lips.
It was a smile she hadn't even been aware of herself.