Midterm Evaluation (3)
Midterm Evaluation (3)
The written exam ended without much trouble.
The difficulty was a notch above the study guides and past problems, so I stumbled through a few questions, but not so badly that my score cratered into the abyss.
Just... adequate, I think?
Leaving good or bad aside, the parts I'd actually studied, I managed to get through without too much difficulty.
Put simply: the parts I hadn't studied yet, I couldn't solve. The parts I had studied, I solved.
At this level, I've definitely dodged the absolute bottom, right? Enough to let a tiny sliver of hope bloom.
And so, the second day of written exams concluded.
Starting on day three, the practical exams began, divided by major.
Combat, Magic, Support, and Crafting.
The practicals are conducted by major groupings.
Since I'm a special admission cadet, I don't have a major or a formal year, but I was assigned to the Combat Major practical—it's what I'm learning under my master.
That said, the Combat Major practical has a bit of a white-elephant feel to it.
Starting the very next day, the direct one-on-one matches—the tournament—kicks off, so the weight naturally shifts that way.
In practice, most cadets pour a huge portion of their stamina into the tournament, and the professors tend to be understanding about it.
Given that atmosphere, the topic for the Combat Major practical was dungeon raiding.
Multiple cadets are dropped into a single Grade 4 Dungeon, and from the moment they enter, they're scored on how quickly they reach the designated location.
The dungeon's internal environment, its built-in traps, the types and numbers of monsters that appear—everything varies.
Also, since all the cadets entering the same dungeon are heading for one location, they frequently run into each other.
How they handle those encounters while reaching the destination also factors into the evaluation.
I imagine just bulldozing through every trap and monster in a straight line with brute force is technically permitted... but it probably wouldn't earn a good score.
The intent behind the question is likely... testing survivability and judgment when stranded alone in a dungeon, right?
A memory from Sipnaha surfaced, leaving me with a slightly strange feeling.
Anyway, the practical exam proceeded.
The schedule for the practical ran from day three through the morning of day four.
I can't speak for the other majors, but for the Combat Major practical where we were thrown into a dungeon, you just had to arrive within the allotted day and a half—a time limit of roughly 36 hours.
And.
"...Cadet Lee Ha-yul. Arrival: 21 minutes, 13 seconds."
I reached the destination at high speed and received a near-perfect score.
To put it bluntly, it was an easy victory.
Judging by the teaching assistant's expression when I arrived at the destination, my record must have been impressive. The reaction was sheer astonishment, but... I'd half-expected this outcome from the moment I heard the briefing on the practical's contents.
There was a reason for that: I had no reason to wander around lost in there.
In most dungeon explorations, the part that causes the most trouble isn't combat or anything like that—it's the search itself.
Even for the lowest-graded Grade 4 Dungeon, the interior is spacious to the point of excess.
Of course, if the cadets, being superhumans, set their minds to crossing it, they could clear it in a relatively short time—but considering the danger contained within a dungeon, that would be madness.
But I was capable of that madness.
Because I could observe every single trap inside that dungeon, down to the last detail. Literally all of them.
The Authority of Observation.
I'm not utilizing it properly yet—my proficiency is still so lacking—but even so, this is the authority granted by the Tower of Observation. No matter how you look at it, it's not at the level of failing to capture or analyze one Grade 4 Dungeon.
The presence and type of traps.
The species and numbers of monsters, their strengths and weaknesses.
The dungeon's internal environment, and the measurement of the shortest yet safest route to the destination.
And, controlling variables through continuous re-measurement.
I finished all of it within three minutes of entering the dungeon.
After that, everything went like clockwork.
I simply kicked off the ground and headed for my destination, following the route I'd drawn on the mental map in my head.
Along the way, I didn't encounter a single trap or monster. Not the slightest threat.
Since I'd moved only along a path where I'd encounter none of that from the start.
"Hoo..."
So, barely thirty minutes after the practical began, I was able to breathe the outside air.
It felt like I'd just gone for a short stroll.
I gulped down a mouthful of water and mentally reviewed the remaining schedule.
'Now all that's left is the tournament.'
Right now is the morning of day three. The tournament preliminaries kick off starting from the afternoon of day four.
The tournament is, of course, the most important event.
So I should use the remaining time to prepare for it.
I have more free time than the others. I need to make good use of it.
And I have an assistant who's more reliable than anyone else.
Once I'd finished organizing my thoughts, I tapped on my hologram.
[Contact: Master]
▶Me: Master, I just finished the practical
▶Me: Would it be alright if I came by now?
▶Me: (Puppy emoticon looking up with moist eyes)
A reply arrived shortly after.
.
.
.
In the Tower of Growth.
To replace my forsaken sight and broken spatial perception, I'd honed my remaining senses to razor sharpness—a method I'd mobilized for survival.
I catch every nearby presence through touch and hearing. From that data, I draw a map inside my mind. I kept fighting while constantly updating that drawn map as I went.
If I had to label it, it's a method similar to echolocation.
Thinking about it now, the thought crossed my mind that this might be an ability worthy of classification as a Unique Ability in its own right.
Looking back, among the Innate Talents I recently became aware of, I think there was something small but similar... Maybe its level is still too faint, so it isn't counted at the Unique Ability rank?
Anyway.
The echolocation I'd manifested through my senses had effectively been pushed to the back burner after my spatial perception was restored, and later when I became conscious of the Authorities of Observation and Space.
It wasn't that it was useless, but I couldn't deny it was inferior in many respects compared to spatial perception... the Authority of Observation.
Still, if you asked whether it was completely useless, I'd firmly shake my head.
Hadn't I already landed myself in serious trouble once by relying too heavily on spatial perception?
If I'd been even a little slower in heightening my senses, I'd have failed to mount any proper response and would've been eliminated under the cadets' concentrated fire.
And that was during an exam conducted inside the Tower of Growth.
What if it had been a real battle?
I wouldn't have just been eliminated—I'd clearly have been brutally killed. An absurdly hollow death compared to the struggle I'd put up while staggering through everything before.
And there's no guarantee such a catastrophe won't happen again.
I realized that my half-baked spatial perception was the Authority of Observation and Space.
Now, I can sneer at nearly any pressure applied to it and overcome it—and even apply pressure back against an opponent.
It's only a hunch, but now I should be able to unfold a wide, precise observation range even inside the Tower of Growth without being overwhelmed.
But no one knows when even such an Authority might break down.
That's only natural, because the Authorities of Observation and Space are not my Innate Talents—they are Authorities granted from external sources.
They aren't entirely my own power. They're the power of separate entities that exist outside.
Honestly, aren't they powers that could be confiscated at any moment?
From the moment I became conscious of the Authorities and recalled the worst-case scenario of confiscation, I felt the need to invest in abilities like echolocation to some meaningful degree.
- Squish, squish...
'Auuugh...'
As a consequence of that conclusion, I was currently having both cheeks held and kneaded by my master.
Echolocation... that is, sensory training.
The sparring match with Aiden was a fairly symbolic event for me.
That spar at the start of the semester—my victory had been one barely secured through a combination of multiple strokes of luck and flukes.
If Aiden hadn't underestimated me and had gone all-out from the start. Or if even one of those lucky breaks had fallen apart—it would have been a loss.
Since then, I'd never sparred with Aiden separately.
So, what about now?
It might be overconfidence, but I could sort of predict the outcome.
Still, you never truly know until you try. Even Aiden himself probably had the same thoughts as me right before he lost.
The spar with Aiden carried a strong sense of being, literally, an 'evaluation.'
The me from the start of the semester versus the me who has grown through various incidents up to now.
An evaluation of the gap that formed in between.
Even just to know that precisely, this current training was absolutely necessary.
[Happy]
...It's training.
* * *
The sensation transmitted through her palms couldn't have been more rapturous.
Atra suppressed a strange impulse, carefully drawing her hands together toward the center.
Squuuish... Lee Ha-yul's cheek flesh was pushed inward by her palms. Naturally, the lips positioned in the center were pushed outward by the gathered cheeks.
The lips, emphasized that way, had their moistness highlighted by the sunshine pouring down from above.
At least through the sensation that occasionally grazed her fingertips, she could sense a fragment of that moistness.
'......'
This time, she scooped up a handful of his cheeks.
The poked-out lips retracted, and the world's chewiest cheek flesh filled her hand.
Soft and warm cheeks, like touching a baby's fair skin.
A fragrant body scent that simply refused to grow familiar no matter how much time they spent together...
Suppressing an impulse that suddenly welled up, she released his cheeks.
Then rubbed them with her palms again, pressed down firmly... scooped up a handful... squished and played with them...
Even during the times she'd tended to Lee Ha-yul in the treatment room, she'd never kneaded his cheeks so openly like this.
No matter how you looked at it, it was a scene that appeared to be simply toying with his cheeks.
Although the repetition might cause a bit of pain, Lee Ha-yul simply smiled softly instead, pushing his cheeks deeper into Atra's hand as if coaxing her touch to continue.
He was the spitting image of a puppy nuzzling its head against its owner's hand.
...This act was part of the sensory-heightening training that Lee Ha-yul himself insisted on doing; it wasn't something forced by Atra.
Atra, who had barely managed to tear her gaze away from the lovely face that stole everyone's attention, observed the necklace hanging around Lee Ha-yul's neck.
- Clatter... clatter...
[Happy]
[I like this]
[Warm]
[Soft]
[Sense of satisfaction]
[Warmth]
[Affection]
[Being cared for]
[Being protected]
The voice spilling from the necklace that clattered endlessly, as if it were broken.
Normally, the moment he realized it was doing that, he'd flush bright red and immediately turn it off, but now, as if he had no room to care about it, he left the necklace alone, simply surrendering his body to Atra's hand.
Seeing that, Atra was freshly reminded of how much Lee Ha-yul's attitude had changed lately.
It wasn't simply a matter of him becoming more prone to acting spoiled; it was a fundamental shift in his demeanor somewhere.
Before, he had a somewhat stiff way of speaking—'Thank you,' 'Is that so?,' 'I am grateful,' 'Understood,' and so on—and whenever they made contact, he would flinch and maintain a certain distance, clearly showing signs of being tense...
But now, he says things like 'Thanks,' 'Really?,' 'Thank you,' 'Yep,' 'I like you, Master,' 'May I come see you?,' 'Please pet me,' and so on... his manner of speech had softened in an odd way.
Not only that, but even while his cheeks were being touched so openly like this, not only did he offer them up docilely without a trace of worry or suspicion, he was even at the point of pushing his face forward from his side.
And it wasn't just during training situations like now; Lee Ha-yul reacted similarly even when touched out of the blue.
A strange reaction, where he'd tilt his head to express confusion, yet still carefully present his cheek...
It was a thought she shouldn't have as a master, but his submissive attitude made it seem as though even if a more private area were touched, he'd only startle in surprise without putting up any resistance...
[I like Master]
[Touch me more]
[I like your hand]
"Ehem..."
Atra coughed to shake off the absurd thoughts that couldn't even be brushed aside as a joke.
Still, what can I do... he says it's training.
Besides, she had just confirmed that Lee Ha-yul's senses were genuinely sharpening.
She knew the training was yielding results.
Furthermore, having accepted what her disciple personally requested and then backing out would be the last thing a master should ever do.
Muttering excuses internally to nobody in particular, Atra scooped up a generous handful of Lee Ha-yul's cheeks.
* * *
[Player Correction System: Affection]
Lee Ha-yul → Atra Clyde
●●●●●●●●○○(82▷83/100)
｢Master｣ ｢Expectation｣ ｢Stability｣ ｢Craving affection｣
[Conditions to lift the ｢Curse of Silence｣ have not been met]
[Conditions to lift the ｢Curse of Solitude｣ have not been met]
...
[Player Correction System: Measurement]
▶Title
｢Special Admission Cadet｣
｢Young Hero of Sipnaha｣
...
｢Tower Master of ?? (?)｣
｢Tower Master of ?? (?)｣
...
｢Spoiled Brat｣
...
｢Puppy｣
▶Stats
...
▶Unique Abilities
｢All-Rounder｣
｢Mana Affinity｣
...
▶Authority
｢Authority of Observation｣
｢Authority of Space｣
...