A Familiar Presence
'Did I somehow manage to get through it?' My first archery class. While shooting, I had done my best to suppress my presence. Thanks to that, my accuracy was absolutely abysmal.
'Still, it's better than raising suspicion on the very first day.' From here on, I planned to gradually integrate my abilities, like the Wind Authority, just enough to avoid drawing unwanted attention. The coming year felt strangely long, yet I knew it would pass in the blink of an eye. If I just put in the effort, I could get through it quietly.
'Yes, quietly is the way to go.' I lifted my spoon and watched the cadets chatting in the distance. Cliques had already formed all over the cafeteria. This wasn't just a phenomenon in the Magic Faculty, where students from the same Magic Towers naturally gravitated toward one another.
Just as magic had its Magic Towers, Hailyen was home to several martial arts academies. I had bypassed them entirely—partly because of Libero's guidance, and partly because I had to learn archery in such a rush—but most of the Martial Arts Faculty consisted of kids who had trained at those institutions. That was why they were already so tight-knit from day one.
'Well, aren't I the lonely one.' Of course, I wasn't the only solitary figure. A few others caught my eye, including Wilhelm, who was eating by himself some distance away. Then again, having traveled alone for so long, I was thoroughly accustomed to eating by myself, so it didn't really bother me.
'Besides, the food is actually pretty good.' I figured this would easily rate four stars on my personal "Al-chelin Guide." Being a metropolis, Hailyen's culinary scene seemed highly developed. For context, a one-star rating went to the Innkeeper Uncle's cooking, two stars to my own, three stars to the restaurants in Vasilium, and a five-star rating was reserved exclusively for the dishes prepared by Mr. Weiss.
I was busy shoveling food into my mouth when a shadow suddenly fell over my table. I looked up. Standing there was a girl with short black hair.
'Elsie?' It was indeed Elsie. She had grown taller, and she seemed to be using Optical Modification to disguise her appearance. Since it was originally her skill, that made sense. But she couldn't fool me. Or rather, it wasn't so much that she couldn't fool me, but that she somehow still felt remarkably like the girl I remembered.
Holding her tray, she sat down directly across from me. Come to think of it, since she had trained privately under Gwen, she was also one of the cadets who didn't belong to any established clique. Even so, I couldn't understand why she had chosen to sit in front of me of all people.
'Are there no other seats?' Not really. In that case, it was best to treat this as a mere coincidence. If it wasn't, that would be a bit of a problem. I decided to ignore her and continue eating. Or at least, I tried to...
'She's making it really hard to ignore her.' Elsie hadn't even picked up her utensils; she was just staring at me intently. What on earth was her deal? Eventually, I stopped eating, looked up, and addressed her.
"Is there something you'd like to say?" At that, Elsie finally spoke. "What is your name?"
"Sung Yu-rang." "Sung Yu-rang? Yu-rang... Yu-rang..." She repeated my alias several times under her breath before speaking. "It's just... you somehow remind me of someone I used to know."
For the record, my original face and my current face looked absolutely nothing alike. So what on earth made her think we were similar? I needed to find out. It might be crucial for keeping my identity hidden from Ryutmila as well.
"What about me is similar?" "I'm not sure. I can't quite put my finger on it. Perhaps... your aura?" An aura. Well, since we were indeed the exact same person, that made sense. I would have to think of a way to drastically alter my demeanor. Still, if it was just a vague aura, that was a relief. It wasn't concrete proof of anything. Just as I was thinking that, she spoke again.
"Tell me, Sung Yu-rang, are you also a good liar?" "Excuse me?" "No, rather than being good at it... do you lie often? The person I knew was like that."
What was she trying to get at? For some reason, my conscience pricked, but I did my best to play dumb.
"He promised me we would meet again soon. I suppose that was a lie as well, wasn't it?"
Technically, I had kept that promise. Though she didn't know it, we were meeting right now. But of course, I couldn't tell her that.
"What do you think?" I offered an awkward smile and replied, "Whoever he is, he sounds like a terrible person. But I'm sure he's trying his best to keep his promise. He probably just has his reasons."
At my words, Elsie smiled. It was a smile that made my heart ache. "I knew it. Actually, I was thinking the same thing."
Seemingly relieved, she finally picked up her spoon. She scooped up some risotto and took a bite. "It's delicious. Though not quite as good as the meal I had on that rainy day."
I couldn't bear to look at her smile any longer. Her face kept overlapping with the expression she wore on the day I left her. In the end, I stood up, leaving my plate half-finished. "I have some things to attend to, so I'll take my leave." Hanging around Elsie was dangerous in more ways than one. I needed to keep my distance, even if I had to do it intentionally.
After lunch, the afternoon session was Tactics class. Much like archery, it wasn't a full-fledged lecture but rather an orientation covering the syllabus and the formation of temporary teams. The key difference from archery class was that it wasn't limited to just the archery students.
Tactics class was structured by assigning two archery students, two spear-wielding students, and four magic students to each Swordsmanship class. Within each of these combined classes, they would be further split into two teams, each consisting of four swordsmen, one archer, one spearman, and two mages. The main objective of today's session was to finalize these team assignments, which meant the entire student body had gathered in one place.
I had felt this during the opening ceremony as well, but sixty-four students—supposedly an elite, select few—was still a considerable crowd. Unlike the ceremony, everyone was carrying their weapons for class today, making the space feel even tighter. Most of the gathered cadets wore tense expressions.
'Well, this team assignment is incredibly important, after all.' Tactics was the most critical subject in the entire curriculum. Since the Hero Academy placed immense value on cooperation among cadets, the vast majority of their evaluations were based on their performance within these tactical teams.
Although these initial teams would constantly shift based on subsequent evaluations, finding a good group from the start often meant staying together for the long haul. Furthermore, having been in the same team even once during academy days made it much easier to recruit those comrades into one's party after graduation. They would already know each other's strengths and weaknesses inside out—provided, of course, they held each other in high regard.
'For now, I just need to pull my own weight.' Doing that as an archer rather than a swordsman was easier said than done. Still, it wasn't an impossible task. Soon, the instructors began calling out the team assignments one by one.
The process involved assigning students from the Spear, Archery, and Magic faculties to the already established Swordsmanship classes, which would later be split into two teams. First, the spearmen were assigned, followed by the archers. Frankly, I didn't care which class I ended up in—with one single exception.
Swordsmanship Class 4, where Elsie was. Originally, I thought it wouldn't matter even if I got placed there, but our lunchtime conversation had made one thing abundantly clear: we absolutely could not be on the same team. Before long, the two archers for Swordsmanship Class 1 were called, and the announcements for Swordsmanship Class 2 began.
"Cadet Wilhelm Rosemond, Swordsmanship Class 2." At the call of his name, Wilhelm walked over to join the students of Class 2. A moment later, my own name was called. "Cadet Sung Yu-rang, Swordsmanship Class 2."
What a relief. At a glance, the roster for Swordsmanship Class 2 didn't look bad at all. While it lacked the sheer star power of Class 1—which got first pick almost every year—it was a highly balanced and solid lineup.
'Come to think of it, isn't Setia the instructor for Swordsmanship Class 2?' One might assume that the classes were filled with the strongest cadets starting from the instructor with the highest priority, but that wasn't how it worked. For starters, "strength" was a highly subjective metric, and each instructor had vastly different preferences.
Sigrid of Swordsmanship Class 1 focused on raw potential and generally well-rounded, strong cadets. Setia of Swordsmanship Class 2 selected cadets strategically, prioritizing academy evaluations above all else. Huff of Swordsmanship Class 3 favored students from prestigious noble families and influential bloodlines over actual skill. Finally, there was Freira of Swordsmanship Class 4, whose selection criteria remained an absolute mystery.
If one only cared about evaluation scores, Setia's Swordsmanship Class 2 was actually an excellent place to be. Of course, since these were temporary teams, our placements could easily change depending on our future performance.
'Wait...' My gaze locked onto one particular student among the Class 2 crowd. 'She was in Class 2?' A girl with long black hair and a cold, piercing gaze. She was also the original owner of the third Stigma I had inherited.
'Yoo Seora.' I walked over to the Class 2 group and took my place next to Wilhelm. Immediately, I felt the appraising gazes of the other Class 2 students sweeping over me. At the same time, I caught sight of Elsie glaring at me from a distance. 'Well, at least I'm not in her class.' I decided to look on the bright side.