After-Party (2)
After-Party (2)
Within the Siyoram grounds, there were many buildings collectively called "banquet halls."
True to the name, a banquet hall is a facility built for eating, drinking, and enjoying oneself. Given that purpose, they were primarily venues for entertainment.
We had arrived at the Third Banquet Hall.
It had the antique, manor-like exterior of a grand mansion you might find deep in a mountain forest, far from human footsteps.
The thickets growing lushly over the walls didn't look messy; they were clearly tended, adding to the antique impression.
Inside the walls, a verdant green garden and a fountain spraying soft, multicolored water illuminated the darkening surroundings.
'The facilities are nice...'
I Harmonized my spatial perception. The banquet hall came into view within an appropriately expanded range. Its sheer size made me click my tongue.
It was smaller overall than the First Banquet Hall, where the Freshman Welcome Party had been held.
That was because the First Banquet Hall was used for major formal events. As such, it had been built with special care.
The Freshman Welcome Party was one such case, and later events drawing large numbers of outsiders were also often held at the First Banquet Hall.
The other banquet halls were facilities opened for cadet use upon request after review.
Of course, that didn't mean the facilities here were lackluster. From my perspective, both were outrageously high-class.
I had seen the First Banquet Hall back when my spatial perception was only radar, so I never knew its full exterior, but it probably had a similar atmosphere to this.
We crossed the garden and entered through the wide-open main entrance.
The interior was completely open.
A few cadets bustled about on a large stage set against one wall, and tables piled high with food and drinks were scattered everywhere.
I'd heard from the chatroom roughly how the after-party would go.
Nothing special. Just eat good food, drink, and have fun.
You sit with your close friends at a table and eat and drink.
You gather with people you want to get close to and eat and drink...
Occasionally, as an event, you go on stage and show off some kind of individual talent while eating and drinking and having fun...
Just imagining it was a schedule that already felt exhausting.
'Quite a few people here.'
Even though I had arrived early, the inside was already quite bustling.
There were quite a few people who had shown up in advance and were chatting with those around them. Their attire was casual, as previously announced.
There were hardly any people in cadet uniforms like me; most were in light civilian clothes.
As I surveyed my surroundings with spatial perception, the lively chatter reached my ears. But no other unnecessary noise was audible.
I touched my ear with my hand, checking its condition.
'Do I still need to refine this more?'
I hadn't abandoned my physical senses even after restoring my spatial perception.
I could close off my hearing and touch if I wanted to. Without going to extremes, I could lower them to a level similar to an ordinary person's.
But I didn't.
I still couldn't get over the sharp sting at the back of my head from the actual hit I took when I entered the Tower.
If I hadn't come up with a solution in time, I would have ended the trial unable to do anything.
And I could lament "this trial is screwed" like that because it was inside the Tower; if it had been real combat, it would've been a catastrophe where my life could have ended right there.
To prevent that, I need to analyze why my spatial perception malfunctioned and be able to resist it.
Furthermore, I felt the need to take out insurance so that even if it does malfunction again, I won't be completely neutralized.
It's only been a day since my spatial perception was restored, but I've been steadily Harmonizing my senses all the while.
Through my sharpened hearing and touch, I can now screen and accept information quite well.
Amplified senses for the necessary information, and completely filtering out the unnecessary.
This is the result of applying the technique I learned with spatial perception.
The Lee Ha-yul who flinched at a breath touching his ear and flipped like a fish at the slightest touch is gone now.
If I'm put in the same situation again... uh... I'll probably endure it.
"Hey, when's the next tower entry?"
"This bastard's totally drunk on the kick. Wake up, it's at least two or three months out."
"I broke through the mid-low-grade strength threshold yesterday."
"Whoa, crazy gorilla, you broke through that already... But you still got wrecked in the tower, right?"
"Fuck..."
Listening to the conversation around me, I realized most of it was about the tower entry.
Since this gathering was an after-party for the tower entry in the first place, the topic of conversation was practically predetermined.
Some people were conversing with almost friendly familiarity.
It seemed many had grown closer compared to the Freshman Welcome Party.
Among them, the pair that seemed notably friendly were two male cadets chatting near the entrance.
One was a cadet with thick bones and a large frame, the other had a lean, muscular build.
"No, if only I hadn't gotten instantly eliminated on the first day..."
"That's your own karma. That's why you don't pick a fight with the Special Admission Cadet on the first day..."
...was what he was... saying?
The cadet who had been agreeing with a somewhat pitiful tone suddenly slowed his speech. His words cut off abruptly at the end.
For a moment, his blinking eyes fixated on one direction. It was where I was standing. His complexion turned pale.
The Special Admission Cadet... The cadet who had supposedly picked a fight with me also turned his head, saw me, and his shoulders twitched in a flinch.
An awkward silence settled between us.
I'd had a feeling this would happen and tried to just walk past, but we ended up facing each other like this.
The two of them were silent for a moment, then carefully opened their mouths.
"...Hello?"
"Ah, hello."
Faced with their incredibly awkward greeting, I hid my own bitter feelings and lowered my head.
I examined the two with my spatial perception. They weren't familiar faces. Both were cadets from different classes.
'So it's those people.'
But that doesn't mean I'd never met them.
I was uncertain at first, but after a moment of thought, the memory came back.
If my memory served, I met these two right around the time I was being chased down in the Tower of Growth.
I met the large one on the first day.
He came charging with a giant shield and a blunt weapon, so I slashed his ankle with a subtly manifested mana strike, stole his blunt weapon, and crushed his head.
The lean cadet was the next day.
Him keeping me in check with that spear was no easy matter.
So I resolved myself, closed the distance, and drove my elbow down into his solar plexus, collapsing it. Unfortunately, I couldn't eliminate him.
...No wonder it's awkward.
Their evasive attitude made sense. No matter that it was a trial inside the Tower, after that kind of experience, you couldn't exactly greet me with a bright smile.
After finishing the greeting, I moved my feet. The two of them, likely uncomfortable themselves, stepped aside quietly to let me pass.
Walking along like that, memories of the Tower surfaced one by one.
The memory of it being too much trouble to subdue him cleanly, so I just blasted his face with mana strikes and cut him up haphazardly.
The memory of being unable to retrieve my weapon, so I gouged out his eyes and tore his throat with my bare hands.
And various other memories...
I'd been pushed into a corner in many ways back then and hadn't paid it any mind, but now that I thought about it, it was a bit much.
Should I say I was too violent? Of course, I don't regret struggling with every means at my disposal, but still...
I subtly gauged the looks of those around me. I could feel the gazes gathering from the vicinity.
They had started to stick to me little by little from the moment I entered, and by now, quite a lot of eyes were on me.
Being the center of attention was normal, but the emotions behind those stares felt different...
Even while feeling that, I maintained a blank expression outwardly.
On the day of the Freshman Welcome Party, my body had automatically shrunk in on itself, but not this time. That was an immense improvement.
Of course, I still felt the same urge to just flee immediately, but being able to reach this point was something.
The moment I headed for a table in a secluded corner, a cool gaze swept across my face.
It was a sensation like someone rubbing ice against my face. I gave a slight flinch.
"Oh? Ha-yul?"
A gaze I had grown familiar with recently. As if to confirm it, a distinctive presence hit my ears.
The owner of the presence was Baek A-rin.
She had been busily preparing something on the stage and, upon seeing me, her eyes grew wide. A reaction as if wondering why I was here.
She said something to the nearby cadets and then trotted over to me.
"Are you feeling alright? You should have rested well over the weekend..."
Her blue eyes blinked as she revealed a fairly worried expression. Her gaze checked over various parts of my body.
She was probably worried because she had directly witnessed my Space Perforation Blood right after I exited the Tower. She and Ellia were the first ones who poured healing into me, after all.
As I tapped my smartwatch for the first time in a while, a hologram rose up. Looking at the hologram floating in the air, I felt completely at ease.
It must be even more convenient once I get the Confession Necklace.
[I'm fine. When I woke up, I felt completely better.]
Even the professor who examined me had said it wasn't serious, just slight bleeding.
I myself had only felt a momentary dizziness, and I had been able to quickly recover from the burden on my spatial perception.
"That's a relief, but if you feel anything strange, you have to tell me right away, okay?"
[I'll be careful. I'll just stay quietly for a bit and then go.]
Seeing all the alcohol stacked up nearby, I could easily imagine the cadets going at it until late into the night.
Guzzling alcohol and partying until dawn... just thinking about it makes me nauseous.
I'm not crazy, so I had absolutely no intention of following them that far; I planned to just duck in briefly now that it was starting and slip out naturally.
As I was thinking that, Baek A-rin made a strange expression.
"Quietly...? Hmm..."
"?"
"No, it's nothing."
Why is she reacting like that?
When I tilted my head in question, Baek A-rin just dodged the answer and continued to wear a strange expression.
Looking closely with my spatial perception, I could sense the corners of her lips twitching.
"Oh dear, it's already time... I'll go finish preparing. See you in a bit?"
Before I could ask again why, Baek A-rin turned around. The sky-blue hair tied back into a single ponytail swayed lightly as she walked away.
'What was that?'
What was that expression just now?
Something feels ominous.
.
.
.
The reason for the expression Baek A-rin had made was something I would realize not long after.
"No, but what is your skin... would it be alright if I asked for the esteemed name of the cosmetics you use, senior?"
'?'
"If you like board games, want to come hang out at our table? Some of us from the Ipchun Class are gathered there..."
'?'
"Recruiting participants for real-time drinking games! If you like to drink, come on over this way. We're short on people, so you're welcome anytime!"
'Hell no.'
For whatever reason, the positive attention had increased.
The interest flooding in from all sides made my head spin.