The Beginning (1)
The Beginning (1)
I hadn't been able to sleep properly for a while, but yesterday I finally sank into a deep sleep.
Katsuki Yusei, sent flying by Hong Yeon-hwa, crashed straight into me and I blacked out. When I came to, I fell asleep again under her watchful gaze.
One thing led to another, and the next day I woke up.
My head felt clearer than it had in a long time. Feeling refreshed, as though every impurity had been washed away, I picked up some daily necessities and returned to the dormitory.
Then I carved out time to test my Spatial Perception.
I settled comfortably in the middle of the living room. When I expanded my Spatial Perception to its maximum, it easily covered four or five floors both above and below.
...I spent a while marveling at the expanded view, until privacy concerns struck and I hurriedly pulled my perception back.
'It's gotten quite a bit better.'
The changes to my Spatial Perception boiled down to two major points.
First, I could now expand its range to a diameter of roughly a hundred meters. During the welcome party, it had been about thirty, hadn't it? In just a few days, the range had grown significantly.
It was a welcome result. Even without eyes, this probably gave me an advantage over most people.
The second—and most significant—change was in my field of vision.
Before, my vision would have been best compared to night-vision goggles or radar. The world appeared black, with only the faint green outlines of objects visible—a strange way to see.
It had been adequate for tracking simple movements, but reading people's expressions or viewing holograms had always been a struggle.
Now, however, my Spatial Perception resembled something closer to normal vision. I could see colors, and light and shadow were clearly distinguishable.
It wasn't quite like that feeling I'd had on the first day... the all-piercing vision of a god. Still, I was more than grateful for this much.
But the improvement came at a cost.
If I left my Spatial Perception switched to the (Color) mode, the intensity of my headaches would spike. It definitely seemed to consume more resources than the (Radar) mode.
I wasn't too worried about that. I'd gradually gotten used to Spatial Perception (Radar), so if I kept using (Color), I'd get accustomed to it too.
'Spatial Perception.'
One of the three unique abilities I'd gained by taking on the first... well, the three constraints.
Its effect: to read the information of space directly, without relying on any physical sensory organs attached to the body.
I hadn't yet tested it in a real battle or proper training, but just from watching the friendly sparring matches, I could feel what an incredible ability it was.
There are no blind spots. The angle of view and the point of view don't matter—it reads space itself. Everything is perceived simultaneously.
The problem is, isn't it a little... flawed in some respects?
All-Rounder. It was working well. I could already feel subtle differences in my physical movements in everyday life.
Mana Affinity. No issues there either. I could feel the mana moving within my Spatial Perception range perfectly. If I put my mind to it, I felt I could try something with it, but I left it alone for now. I planned to attempt it once I received proper guidance.
Spatial Perception... The moment I received it on the first day, I nearly died.
'This is damn unfair.'
Even now, thinking back to that moment, a surge of indignation would rear its head inside me.
I mean, this was one of the abilities I got in exchange for my eyes, nose, mouth, lifespan, and voice. And I nearly died from overload the instant I received it. That's just a joke in outrageously poor taste.
Why did I come to this world? I don't know. Who sent me? I don't know that either. What exactly is the point of this world? I have absolutely no idea.
I just plan to lift these constraints and try to survive. I have no intention of figuring out or uncovering any so-called secrets of the world.
One thing was for certain: whatever gave me these abilities seemed to have done so in a completely haphazard, slapdash manner.
Otherwise, there's no explanation for how I nearly died.
As I lamented my situation and fine-tuned my Spatial Perception, scenes from the past caught by my perception began surfacing vividly in my mind.
...Especially when I recalled the incident in the infirmary, my face would flush hot from time to time. My actions back then were just too embarrassing.
Waking up from a nightmare and finding it hard to breathe. Then Hong Yeon-hwa holding me tightly and stroking my hair.
Even up to that point it was maddening enough, but maybe I had completely lost my mind, because I ended up hugging her tightly myself...
What's more, I hadn't realized it at the time, but when I replayed the memory, I had buried my face, nuzzled against her, and committed unspeakably... disgraceful acts.
And after that, when Hong Yeon-hwa apologized, saying she was sorry, I'd spouted nonsense with shameless confidence, asking things like, 'Why are you apologizing?' or 'Given your social standing, you don't really need to apologize, do you?'...
Then I was refuted with perfectly sound logic, my cheek was prodded, and I was petted...
'Ugh.'
Either way, that day had given me an absurd amount of humiliating history.
Whenever I recalled that memory while handling Spatial Perception, it was bad enough to make me roll around on the floor. By now I'd built up a bit of a tolerance and could bear it by just gritting my teeth.
I could make the excuse that I'd been under unimaginable stress these past few days and wasn't in my right mind... but the fact that it remained a shameful history didn't change.
At any rate, the changes in my Spatial Perception were advantages I should welcome with both hands raised high.
When my Spatial Perception had broken down from the very first day, I'd thought, to put it bluntly, that I was screwed, so it was fantastic that it recovered much faster than expected.
Previously I had relied on the 'Read Aloud' function to hear its information as audio, but now, thanks to Spatial Perception operating with a normal field of vision, I could view holograms too.
▶Hong Yeon-hwa: Did you get back safely? (Yesterday 10:28)
▶Hong Yeon-hwa: The class assignments and academic schedule go up at 12, so check them. (Yesterday 10:29)
▶Hong Yeon-hwa: There's nothing scheduled for today, so make sure you rest up. (Yesterday 10:29)
▶Hong Yeon-hwa: You remember what I told you yesterday, right? If anything difficult comes up, contact me anytime. (Yesterday 10:33)
'She's, she's so kind...'
Looking at the messages Hong Yeon-hwa had sent since yesterday, I felt a strange, ambivalent emotion. More precisely, should I call it bewilderment?
No matter how many times I reminded myself of what I'd seen, I couldn't get the original story's depiction of Hong Yeon-hwa's personality out of my head.
A fiery temper. A mad dog who bites without looking back once she snaps. An action-first type whose limbs move faster than her brain.
In addition, after getting seriously burned once during the 11th Iteration, my mental image of Hong Yeon-hwa had solidified in that state.
So the contrast was even sharper. To me, Hong Yeon-hwa had been nothing more than someone you'd draw blood from if you messed with her.
But in the messages... the Hong Yeon-hwa in reality was different.
Sure, at first she shoved me to the ground and asked if I couldn't see where I was going, and she threw a sparring opponent at me and knocked me unconscious.
After that, however, she offered a sincere apology, and told me several times that she would definitely compensate me.
When I had trouble breathing, she rushed to me and held me tight, offering help.
It didn't feel like empty words. Her apology was drenched in genuine remorse, and she kept asking if there was anything I needed.
By this point I had to admit it. My perception of Hong Yeon-hwa had been nothing more than a foolish prejudice.
I had essentially been treating people like NPCs just because I'd stepped into a game-like world.
Even though I knew perfectly well this was reality whenever I went outside and looked around.
Guilt crept in over having treated a perfectly decent person as though her personality were a complete wreck.
It was no different from the type of person who judges and badmouths others based solely on rumors.
I needed to fix my mindset. Keeping the original story's setting in mind was fine, but blindly trusting it would lead to mistakes like this one.
With that resolution concluded, I stood in front of the mirror to at least get into the right mindset, even though my eyes couldn't see.
I'd worn my Siyoram Formal Uniform as neatly as possible. Its design was the sort of uniform you'd only see on the internet.
Overall it had a clean feel, free of excessive ornamentation.
It was comfortable too. I'd expected it to be a hassle, but several convenience enchantments were built into it, making it immensely easy to wear.
When I rubbed it with my fingertips, it was as soft as a blanket and had excellent elasticity, stretching out smoothly.
Time passed, and today was the day the first lecture began.
'Hooo...'
The first day of lectures.
If I had an outgoing personality, my heart would be pounding with anticipation of meeting new friends. With an introverted one, my heart would be pounding at the thought of facing strangers.
I belonged to the latter. The pounding in my chest was proof enough.
Just in case, I checked my outfit once more before heading out.
I took the elevator down to the first-floor lobby. The current time was 6:30. The lecture started at 8. Perhaps because I'd come out early, there were only a few people in the lobby.
At most, a handful of cadets who had come down for an early breakfast were visible.
I made do with a few simple nutrition bars for breakfast.
I stepped outside the dormitory and got on the bus. The driver's seat was still empty, which never ceased to feel awkward.
Seeing the colorful hues flicker rapidly through my Spatial Perception lifted my mood.
Recovering color was the first sign that I'd actually made progress since coming to this world.
The dormitory was close to the academic zone, so it didn't take long to arrive.
I soon found myself standing before the classroom door.
[ Ipchun Room (立春室) ]
The division of grades and classes at Siyoram followed the structure of the twenty-four solar terms.
The first year was composed of six classes representing spring:
Ipchun, Usu, Gyeongchip, Chunbun, Cheongmyeong, and Gogu.
The upper grades followed the same pattern. They were divided into summer, autumn, and winter in order.
Since the intake of new students averaged around four to five hundred, each class held about eighty people.
Ipchun could roughly be thought of as Class 1 of the first year.
It was a familiar class. It was the class that contained a significant number of the main cast, and where various minor incidents and accidents occurred.
The start of spring, the first of the four seasons. Considering it is where the story of the main cast begins, it was a fitting yet subtly symbolic name.
After taking a deep breath, I carefully opened the door.
The interior was a tiered lecture hall, the kind commonly seen in universities. Given the hour, there weren't many people yet.
The few who were there were busy with their own tasks and didn't spare me a glance.
I briefly scanned the surroundings with my Spatial Perception, then planted myself in the very last row, at the far edge seat.
A prime spot—farthest from the door with a window right beside me.
As the early bird catches the worm, if you want a prime spot, you need to arrive equally early.
Also, there'd been a small worry in the back of my mind: what if I arrived late?
There was still time before the lecture started. I pulled up the online lecture I'd been watching yesterday on my smartwatch and continued it.
As time passed, cadets began filling the lecture hall one by one. The bustling noise was proof of that.
- Poke.
"?"
I was doing my best to ignore the gazes within the clamor and stay absorbed in my online lecture when a young woman who had crept up behind me tapped my shoulder.
When I turned my head, press—a finger poked my cheek.
"It's been a while, Ha-yul."
The one poking my cheek was a female cadet in the Siyoram Formal Uniform. She looked at the cheek indented by her finger and her eyes curved gently.
She had long, straight hair in a shade of yellow reminiscent of baby chick fluff. Her overall impression was so soft that the smile she wore felt completely natural.
'Who is it?'
Acting so familiar was the kind of gesture you'd do with someone fairly close. But I had no memory of building such a close relationship in this world.
I tilted my head.
The young woman covered her mouth with her hand as if in shock.
"Don't tell me you've forgotten me...? After only a few days!"
'A few days?'
I'd only been in my dormitory for a few days.
Just as I was about to tilt my head the other way, a strange sense of dissonance struck me as I perceived the woman.
Her voice sounded familiar.
Also, I wasn't sure about her coloring, but her figure was something I'd seen somewhere...
'Hello? Do you need any help?'
Ah.
[Miss Ellia?]
I quickly projected a hologram as the memory surfaced.
I'd never seen Ellia's overall coloring before, so recognition had been delayed.
But she seemed a little miffed that I hadn't recognized her immediately and had tilted my head.
"Yes. I'm Ellia. I helped Ha-yul, and was nearly forgotten after just a few days."
[My apologies. I was slow to figure it out.]
"Hehe, I'm obviously joking. Just a little prank. Did you get inside safely back then?"
[I got in safely, thanks to you.]
Fortunately, she waved her hand, saying it was just a joke, then put on a playful expression.
"But I couldn't help playing the prank. Ha-yul's reactions are way too entertaining."
[Reactions?]
"Yes, your reactions. Your expression gets so incredibly flustered, and you don't know what to do. It's so... hehe."
Finding whatever it was so funny, she covered her mouth and giggled.
It was true I'd been at a loss for how to respond, but I didn't think it was quite that bad.
Whether I thought that or not...
Ellia, who had been chatting away at her usual rapid pace, let out an exclamation.
"Oh, look at the time already."
It was almost time for the lecture to start. Ellia, who had also checked the time, waved her hand.
"Well then, let's be friendly classmates!"
Finishing her words, Ellia hummed a tune and headed toward the front seats. Some cadets who appeared to be her friends had saved a spot for her there.
Seeing them giggle and joke together shortly after, she seemed to have gotten chummy with them in that short span of time.
I'd guessed from her talkativeness and the glimpses of consideration mixed in, but she really did seem highly sociable.
- Scrape.
When it was about time to start, I turned off the online lecture. Around then, the back door opened.
The person who entered was Hong Yeon-hwa. She was wearing her trademark red jumper instead of the overcoat that came with the Siyoram Formal Uniform.
'Hong Yeon-hwa is in Ipchun Class too, huh.'
Ipchun, Ipha, Ipchu, and Ipdong.
Classes that could be thought of as Class 1 for each year from first to fourth. Classes with the character 'Beginning (立)' had a high probability of including the main cast.
Katsuki Yusei, who had served as a baseball during the welcome party, and Baek A-rin were also in Ipchun Class.
Baek A-rin had given me a short greeting a little earlier and then sat in the front. Hong Yeon-hwa would likely take the seat next to Baek A-rin.
Hong Yeon-hwa and Baek A-rin had been inseparable, close childhood friends since they were young, so they were usually a set.
As I expected, Hong Yeon-hwa headed... no, she didn't head to the front where Baek A-rin was seated.
After a brief, sideways glance at Baek A-rin, she trudged straight toward me.
- Thud.
She placed the bag she'd been carrying on one shoulder onto the desk and looked my way.
My Spatial Perception caught her swallowing shallowly. She was clearly tense.
"Hey...? Did you rest well yesterday?"
"?"
A question mark floated above my head.