Tower of Growth (4)
Tower of Growth (4)
While the first-year cadets undergo their trials inside the Tower, their supervising professors don't simply idle about.
They had already gathered in one place, monitoring the cadets' trials through holograms and preparing for any unforeseen situations.
Of course, given that this was inside a Tower, the chance of anything actually happening was slim, but it was a matter of procedure.
Also, although they would receive the data later, observing the cadets' trials in real time like this allowed them to score evaluations in advance.
Among the numerous holograms displayed in the center, a considerable number showed a similar location.
A special admission cadet characterized by outstanding looks and perpetually closed eyes. Also, a cadet with a massive bounty of 1,000 points hanging over his head.
In other words, the cadet who had become everyone's target.
The circumstances made it so. No one knew the Headmaster's intentions, but by the Headmaster's will, a large number of points had been placed on the special admission cadet.
The professors in charge of the first years honestly didn't have high expectations for Lee Ha-yul.
In a situation where the vast majority of cadets were targeting him, they didn't think he would accomplish anything.
That was the common-sense expectation.
"Oh..."
Kim Su-yeon, who had initially questioned the disadvantage placed on the special admission cadet, let out an exclamation with pursed lips.
"He's practically flying around."
Other professors nearby wore different expressions but felt similar emotions.
Inside the large hologram, Lee Ha-yul flicked his hand, and the empty air rippled as four or five azure arrows materialized.
The azure arrows traced their trajectories as they shot out. Projectiles flying at Lee Ha-yul were shot down one after another by the azure arrows.
"Mana Arrows... The difficulty is low, but his casting speed is absurdly fast. And at that speed, without incantation."
"His manipulation is excellent as well. Every projectile is moving exactly as intended."
The standard for magic is self-suggestion through incantation. You can bypass that cumbersome procedure by directly manipulating mana to cast, but doing so weakens the output compared to incantation.
Yet Lee Ha-yul on the screen was doing everything without incantation, displaying output greater than the standard even at an absurdly fast speed.
"It's not just magic."
Albert, the supervising professor of Gogu Class, muttered.
Two cadets approached Lee Ha-yul, who had swept aside the projectiles. They were combat-major cadets, one wielding a spear, the other a sword.
One against two. Naturally, the side receiving the coordinated attack was at a disadvantage.
"...The magic is one thing, but his martial skill is even more astonishing."
The three figures tangled together. Legs and weapons scraped the ground. After a brief exchange, one figure was violently ejected.
It was the cadet who had held the spear. His arm hung limp, and the spear he had been holding just moments ago was nowhere to be seen.
Clutching the spear firmly, Lee Ha-yul moved his legs. His upper body followed, and the spear traced countless paths.
The cadet with the sword was pushed back helplessly. Crimson light clusters burst from all over his body.
Just as the spear blade was about to pierce his throat, an attack from a cadet who appeared out of nowhere forced Lee Ha-yul to break off and widen the distance.
"He's seasoned. He's already very accustomed to combat."
No one had thought Lee Ha-yul would do anything particularly remarkable. The very word 'remarkable' had seemed out of place.
He was a young superhuman who had only just begun to grow, and expecting a standout performance was an overly greedy thought.
Day two of the Tower entry.
Lee Ha-yul, who had been pursued since the middle of day one, still hadn't been eliminated.
On the contrary.
"Combat major basics three, proficient three, advanced two. Support major basics one, proficient two. Craft major proficient one, magic major proficient one? Whoa."
A total score of roughly 600 points.
Far from being eliminated, he had achieved the remarkable feat of knocking out over ten cadets himself.
More than a simple windfall, against the many who rushed at him.
"Hasn't he already made more than his own bounty? Wow~ With 600, he could have already snagged a decent artifact."
Kim Su-yeon whistled as she checked the cumulative score.
600 points. A score hard to earn even after five days of constant effort. That amount was already more than sufficient, verging on excessive.
"Both magic and martial arts. Both are incredible?"
"To reach that level in just one month... The Headmaster was right."
"Was the high point allocation meant to induce a trial? Should I call that deep trust or..."
All conversation around the room centered on Lee Ha-yul. It was only natural. Everyone had just watched him break through a siege of several cadets and flee successfully, demonstrating his skill.
Furthermore, they couldn't help but marvel at how his abilities grew rapidly with each repeated engagement.
Everyone felt shock, admiration, and anticipation for Lee Ha-yul's future.
'Huh?'
Amidst that.
'Why is he fighting so well?'
Liana Bellus blinked, swallowing her questions.
Strictly speaking, Liana hadn't been very involved in Lee Ha-yul's education.
She had helped him start on mana and assisted a little in adapting to it, and she'd helped him begin learning magic and taught him a bit more.
That was all. Even the help with starting out was merely helping him build his foundation a little faster and more safely.
She hadn't taught him to build the skill to fly around so effortlessly like that.
The person who taught him was someone else.
Liana turned her head. It was the figure present here despite not being a supervising professor for the first years.
Atra Clyde. She stood with her arms crossed as always, staring intently at the hologram.
"What exactly did you teach him?"
"What do you mean? I didn't teach him anything in particular."
"Even looking at that?"
Liana pointed at the hologram with a dumbfounded look. Atra glanced at the hologram and shook her head.
"I truly didn't teach him much. He just learned it on his own, as he pleased."
There was no lie in her words. But even if Atra had taught diligently, acquiring and embodying those lessons depended on the student's own qualities and will.
This was the second time she had attempted anything like teaching. She had already confirmed she had no particular talent for it.
If someone grew under her instruction, it was because the person receiving the teaching was exceptional.
Lee Ha-yul had extremely exceptional qualities, and he was a diligent child whose class attitude improved over time.
That was why he had grown like that, and why he was still growing now.
His behavior at the very beginning had been a little puzzling.
When she realized something was wrong with his detection ability, a pang of regret had struck her.
And though his movements were jerkier than before, seeing him clearly seem to have resolved the issue brought only a small sense of pride.
Atra's long-winded explanation came to an end. Liana thought for a moment, then blurted out.
"So, you're saying your Ha-yul is just amazing?"
"...Why does your summary sound like that?"
The corner of Atra's mouth twitched.
"You know your mouth twitches every time Ha-yul gets praised? You're blatantly pleased."
"Rubbish. I never did such a thing."
"Rubbish, sure. Your mouth corners ascend like you're the one being praised."
Atra turned her head as if she felt no further need to respond.
That she would not give affection... Not give, my foot.
Considering how she went half out of her mind when Ha-yul threw up last time, and looking at the state of her now, she already gave plenty a while ago.
Shaking her head in disbelief, Liana turned back to the hologram.
A boss entity was set to appear on day three. From then on, attention would be somewhat diverted from Lee Ha-yul.
Though for now, he had succeeded in running away, his sustained injuries were severe. If left like that, he'd be eliminated soon...
'Can he endure...?'
* * *
'This is a decent result, isn't it.'
I thought to myself as I leaned against the cave wall.
I had desperately broken through the cadets' encirclement and fled. Somehow, I managed to shake off the pursuit afterward and hide my body in a suitable cave.
The first floor of the Tower, the space allocated to the first years right now, was disgustingly vast. There were easily hundreds of caves like this one.
'Huu...'
The cold energy permeating the wall transmitted through my back. My body flinched at the chill piercing through my skin.
While the abnormal amplification of my tactile sense had its benefits, it also had the side effect of making even these unpleasant sensations far more detailed.
If I had my way, I'd immediately pull my body away, but the need to rest was more desperate.
'It's strange.'
It was strange. And awkward.
The information through my ears, the sensations from my tactile sense, reading the flow of the wind and movements, the map drawn by resonating with mana—all were awkward sensations I couldn't perceive visually.
Of course, it was merely awkward. And I was getting used to it rapidly.
Part of it was thanks to the overlapping Blessings of Growth, but it wasn't like I had no familiar parts to rely on.
'Spatial Perception.'
Strictly speaking, what I had been doing was an imitation of Spatial Perception. Right now, Spatial Perception was closed. Therefore, the information that came through it had vanished.
The map was dyed black. It was like closing my eyes. So I gathered information through hearing, touch, and mana to draw the map.
It was incomplete. There were many empty spaces, and the vast majority of it was imprecise. Still, it was somewhat similar to Spatial Perception.
Truthfully, Spatial Perception gave me a lot of useless information. Even after filtering it somewhat, there was inevitably too much.
It was recognizing information by observing space as a whole. No matter how much I filtered, the information was bound to be excessive.
The information I was bringing in now was all useful. In fact, in the area of combat, I had reached a comparable level now.
Even so, Spatial Perception was still more convenient and superior.
'Hmm...'
I moved my hand. My shoulder ached, and various parts of my body refused to obey commands. My entire body was like that. I was wounded all over, so it was actually strange I was even alive.
If I had fully accepted this pain... I wasn't confident I could keep my mind together.
As expected, I hate fighting, and I hate getting hurt.
Even now, the pain was only a slight sting, and I hated even that.
'It's no good.'
I carefully swept my hand over various parts of my body. Faintly manifested healing magic seeped in.
It had little effect. I hadn't learned healing magic properly. Healing magic inherently shows good efficiency only when paired with a healing-type unique ability.
There were many wounds. Though the pain was just a sting, my consciousness was slowly fading. It was probably due to blood loss. I had shed too much blood (light clusters).
'I held out pretty well.'
Today was day two. Based on the information I'd picked up, it was estimated to be the evening of day two.
Since I'd been chased since day one, I had been enduring and fleeing from the cadets' pursuit for nearly a full day.
Honestly, I want to shower myself with endless praise.
Of course, it wasn't all achieved through my own skill. As the pursuit continued, more and more cadets who noticed my presence gathered, but not all of them targeted me with a single purpose.
Since they kept each other in check, various openings became visible to me.
If they hadn't been wary of each other and just one team alone had rushed at me, I might not have been able to escape.
Even considering that, I had done far better than I imagined.
I had eliminated about ten or so? While being amazed, I honestly felt a little regret.
My imitation of Spatial Perception using senses and mana. It had many shortcomings in various ways, so I let many cadets I could have caught get away.
If Spatial Perception had been intact, I could have done more.
'How greedy.'
Suddenly thinking that, I let out an internal laugh. Moments ago I was saying it was beyond expectations, and after just a bit of success, my greed grew.
Anyway, it was a decent result.
Even though I hadn't obtained any hidden pieces and hadn't harvested a single herb, I still earned points. Also, my skill had grown significantly in many ways.
'If it was going to be like this, I should've just fought until the end instead of running.'
Something like survival instinct made me just run, but thinking back, maybe I would have gained a little more if I had just charged in and gotten eliminated.
Regretting it was pointless since it was already in the past. I shook off the regret and reviewed my plan.
For the rest, I'd adapt inside the Tower's personal training rooms. Would Spatial Perception return there?
If it does, I'll harmonize it with my currently amplified senses. If it doesn't, I'll just get more used to this state.
Once I leave the Tower... I should slowly prepare to go out. It was about time to go look for the real hidden piece.
Just a little more endurance, and I'd return to normal from this mute-and-silent state. While the hologram caused no major problems right now, speaking with my mouth was still more comfortable.
- Step
That was when I heard footsteps.
It was a presence approaching this cave. Judging by the simple stride length, it was female. Judging by the rhythmic tapping sound, it felt like a spear or a staff.
The total amount of mana was massive. A mage?
'Wow.'
A hollow laugh escaped me.
No, seriously, they found me? After how much I ran? The fact that they so easily found me after I desperately fled was absurd.
Even if it was a coincidence, it was equally ridiculous. Out of all these numerous caves—actually caves that are so cramped they barely qualify as a cave—to have someone specifically come in here...
Either way, my luck was terribly rotten.
They entered the opening. The flow of the wind transmitting into the burrow changed. Through it, I roughly measured their physique.
Height was similar to mine. Small frame. Seems correct that it's a woman.
Her heart was beating rapidly. She was tense. So it wasn't a coincidence, but pursuit?
A chaotic jumble of information. While sensing the approaching presence, an odd question popped into my mind.
If I voluntarily get eliminated now, what happens to my points? Obviously, the points wouldn't go to me.
Then would they go to those who cornered me like this? Divided among them? Or to the one who lands the final blow?
Probably to the one who lands the final blow. Thinking so made me laugh.
If that cadet coincidentally found me and eliminated me, wouldn't all those who worked so hard to corner me have struggled for nothing?
It serves them right.
Honestly, the rules aren't flawed at all, and there's nothing wrong with them logically, but...
It was just that I, having suffered somewhat, was feeling spiteful. Maybe because my head was hazy, all sorts of thoughts popped up.
I raised my body. It didn't move properly, but shouldn't I at least put up some resistance?
I raised both arms as if they might drop and took a stance. I roused my mana, which was now slow to recover, and prepared for a fight.
The presence entered my range. Since I barely had any mana left and it was a waste to use it, I would close in and strike first... Mana? Something about its nature felt familiar?
"Ha-yul?"
A familiar voice. Unknowingly, the strength drained from my fist.
Just like that time, it was a meeting where I couldn't properly see ahead.
Ellia Srade. She had entered the cramped burrow, and without knowing the danger, she strode right up to me and caressed my cheek.
I had no particular thought about that action. Having my cheek touched was a familiar action by now. My only thought was, isn't this dangerous in this situation?
What I hadn't expected was being stroked in a situation where my tactile sense was monstrously amplified.
'H-heek...!'
An utterly bizarre scream erupted internally.