Freshman Welcome Party (2)
Freshman Welcome Party (2)
My Spatial Perception's range had expanded suddenly. Over the ten days I'd struggled with the ability, it had grown before, but only centimeter by centimeter—nothing close to this sudden leap.
Before I could dwell on it, the Vice Headmaster made the first move.
She stepped onto the stage and swept her gaze across the hall. Everyone who met her eyes tensed and stiffened in unison.
"Some two hundred years ago, this world was in an age of chaos. Dungeons and towers erupted from the land in every direction, and unchecked monsters gathered in hordes to lay waste to their surroundings."
Even without a microphone or similar device, her cool voice carried clearly to every corner of the building.
I set my thoughts aside for a moment and listened to the Vice Headmaster's address.
"It was an era where human death was a trivial matter. A person beside you could become a cold corpse because they couldn't get a single piece of bread. The lover you whispered sweet nothings to the night before could become a monster's meal. It was a common sight in that world."
Two hundred years ago.
Monsters that had only existed in legends tore through the fabric of fiction and appeared, while the martial power of an individual human began to exceed the bounds of common sense.
Even a century later, the chaos had not subsided.
Monsters, dungeons, towers.
Unique abilities, mana, awakenings.
As if to match the threats springing up across the globe, humanity was granted the power of mana and unique abilities—but it wasn't enough to bring peace.
A world brimming with chaos and despair needed a hero to quell it and usher in an era of peace.
"The Cradle (搖籃)."
The Vice Headmaster murmured the word as if to herself, yet it burrowed deep into my ears.
"Lady Neriel, who conquered the Tower of Growth and obtained a Tower Master's authority, established an educational institution on an artificial island centered around the tower."
The Tower of Space.
The Tower of Harmonization.
The Tower of Observation.
The Tower of Growth.
Four great towers rose skyward, heedless of the heavens.
Unlike ordinary dungeons that spawned monsters, these towers simply guarded their ground, accepting challengers while maintaining a lofty detachment.
Neriel was the first person ever to conquer one of the four towers that currently sustain the world.
Even before her conquest, she traveled the globe saving countless lives.
And even the authority she gained by conquering the tower—she dedicated it to raising heroes.
In an era saturated with chaos and despair, she wished that heroes would at least be born from this place.
She poured that power not into herself, but into fostering heroes, which is why the Headmaster is acclaimed as a great figure.
As if in answer to her lifelong efforts—saving people across the world and devoting the tower's power to that purpose—talented individuals flocked from every corner of the globe, became heroes, and began to stand against the world's threats.
"Siyoram (始搖籃). We named it so with the hope that the legendary trajectories the heroes would draw would begin here—from this Cradle of Beginnings."
Eventually, around forty years ago. That is, roughly the time when Hong Yeon-hwa and Baek A-rin's grandparents were still active.
Through the efforts of the heroes who poured out of Siyoram, the last remaining special-grade dungeon was finally cleared, and the world declared an end to the age of chaos.
In short, a lore dump.
"......"
I scanned the hall with my spatial perception and saw that many cadets looked visibly moved, emotion welling within them.
Some were even trembling, struggling to hold back tears...
Most people around me seemed immersed and moved, but I couldn't quite relate.
Partly because I'm an otherworlder who's only been in this world for ten days at most, and partly because I'd already heard these lines countless times in the game.
On top of that, my strange position as a special admission cadet made me self-conscious.
Most of the people here must have clawed their way in through blood and sweat, but I'd basically waltzed in for free, and... yeah.
"...Therefore, while we all hope that you who have entered Siyoram will one day be reborn as the heroes who will brighten the future, please know that we will spare no support to that end."
Finishing her speech, the Vice Headmaster gave a bitter smile at the cadets' impassioned reactions.
"It seems I've gotten a bit too serious for a welcome party. I'll wrap up with a quick announcement. The official academic schedule will begin the day after tomorrow. So tonight, I hope you enjoy yourselves, shake off your fatigue, and prepare for the training ahead."
The Vice Headmaster glanced around the hall once more.
Then, her gaze halted in one spot.
Even though my eyes were closed, I could tell that her attention was directed this way.
"...Well then."
The Vice Headmaster clapped her hands together, and in the blink of an eye, she vanished.
"Is that spatial movement? I couldn't grasp a thing, no matter how hard I stared."
"There wasn't even a ripple of mana. How in the world does she cast it...?"
"Eh, it's not like any of us can even attempt to touch space without a related unique ability anyway."
Spatial-type abilities are so notoriously difficult to handle that their reputation precedes them.
The darkened chandeliers blazed back to life, illuminating the hall. The waiting orchestra began to play.
A gentle current of music flowed through the banquet hall.
The cadets finally let out a collective sigh, immediately buzzing with chatter about what had just happened.
The main topic of conversation was, predictably, the Vice Headmaster's mode of travel—the one she had demonstrated twice, when she appeared and when she disappeared.
'Spatial Movement.'
I knew it from my game knowledge. Spatial Movement: the Vice Headmaster's signature technique.
A technique that calculates the coordinates of a starting point and a destination, connects space, and transports the target.
It's different from a Gate Terminal. A gate merely borrows power from the Tower of Space, but the Vice Headmaster's Spatial Movement is an ability cast by an individual.
Furthermore, while a gate has fixed start and end points and incurs high maintenance fees—
the Vice Headmaster's Spatial Movement can freely alter both points and can be cast at any time.
Even in the original story, the Vice Headmaster was the only character who could use Spatial Movement so casually.
'Hm...'
Before long, the sound of the invited orchestra's music reached me. The welcome party had truly begun.
But my attention was elsewhere.
When the Vice Headmaster first appeared, my spatial perception had expanded on its own and rippled like the surface of a pond when a stone is thrown in.
Just now, when the Vice Headmaster disappeared,
my spatial perception had swayed far more violently. If the first ripple was like a pebble dropping into water, this time it felt like a massive boulder plunging in.
Spatial Movement, and the spatial perception that observed it.
The expansion of my range. A strange resonance.
A corner of my mind prickled. An infuriating sensation, like I was on the verge of grasping something—a flash of insight that kept flickering just out of reach.
A little more... if I could observe it just a few more times, I felt I'd obtain something—
"Hi there! You're Lee Ha-yul, right? If you're not here with anyone, want to hang out with us?"
"?"
The thought cut off. I raised my head at the voice. While I'd been zoning out, several cadets had gathered around me.
'Ah.'
The Freshman Welcome Party.
A tradition that continues so that, before proper training begins, students can shake off the last of their tension and fatigue and build camaraderie among fellow cadets.
Which meant I, the current hot topic, was someone who attracted both positive and negative attention.
My inner social recluse broke out in a cold sweat.
At the same time, I remembered Hong Yeon-hwa's offer. To stay with her. If she'd been by my side, maybe people wouldn't have approached so easily.
'...Should I have taken her up on it?'
As always, the regret came too late.
* * *
The Freshman Welcome Party proceeded in textbook fashion. The Vice Headmaster, on stage, signaled the beginning by wishing everyone a year full of blessings and hoping it would mark the birth of heroes.
What followed was a fairly ordinary party.
Cadets in their formal Siyoram uniforms or suitably neat attire clustered together with their acquaintances and chatted.
Some were milling about, trying to make friends with the opposite sex.
Hong Yeon-hwa and Baek A-rin fell into the former category. They were with a small group of their usual friends, chatting idly, occasionally dipping into more serious topics, and having a few drinks...
"So, how did you end up tangled with Lee Ha-yul?"
The topic that broke the ice was a single remark from Shin Seo-yul.
Shin Seo-yul, with her swaying brown bob. Alongside Baek A-rin, she was playing the role of mood-maker in this small gathering.
"...It's nothing. We just ran into each other, that's all."
"Your reaction's a bit weird for just that, isn't it? You were handling him like a piece of fine art. Our household's chief steward doesn't even handle artwork that carefully."
"Could it be love at first sight or something? He really is ridiculously good-looking."
"You crazy bitch."
The topic of Lee Ha-yul, the special admission cadet. A spark of interest lit in the eyes of her nearby friends.
"Honestly, he's more on the cute side than just good-looking. Like some kind of doll. After seeing nothing but hulking muscle-monsters, it's like my eyes have been opened."
"I'll grant that. He's got that 'must protect' vibe."
The ones who'd spoken so far turned their gleaming gazes toward her.
Like lion cubs that had gone hungry for days, all sorts of insinuations flew at her. As Hong Yeon-hwa refuted each one, Baek A-rin, who had been quietly sipping her drink beside her, tilted her head with an enigmatic smile.
"So, what kind of trouble did you cause?"
"What nonsense are you spouting now?"
"Just a moment ago, there was dirt and dust on Lee Ha-yul's clothes."
"Urk...!"
"Ah, I saw it too. When I looked closely, there was a little bit."
Hong Yeon-hwa shrank back.
That girl notices the most useless details, and she spotted that too. I even cleaned him off with mana.
'Snake of a woman.'
There she goes again.
This girl, who was sly to her core, pounces the moment anything catches her eye.
If she hadn't been curious, she would've just let it pass.
Hong Yeon-hwa narrowed her eyes and glared at Baek A-rin.
"...We bumped into each other on the way here. So what? You got a problem?"
"A problem? Why would you say that? I was just~ wondering if you'd done something rude~"
"Tch..."
She had. She'd done something incredibly rude. She'd knocked over a blind person and then, not satisfied with that, had picked a fight with him by snapping, 'Can't you see where you're going?'...
"Our Yeon-hwa might be a bit rough around the edges in speech and action, but she's not a bad person, right? I was just asking, just in case~"
"Your tone says otherwise. You're enjoying this like crazy, aren't you? Huh?"
"How could you say that? I'm just expressing my concern for a friend."
Baek A-rin deflected the accusation with a beaming smile, while their friends stifled their laughter.
Hong Yeon-hwa ground her teeth inwardly.
"So? What was he like?"
"...What do you mean, what was he like? How would I know from just a few minutes?"
What was he like. Who she meant was obvious.
Lee Ha-yul. The hot topic, the very first special admission cadet.
Hong Yeon-hwa replayed the memory.
The incident that had occurred on the way here. How he'd bowed his head without hesitation and apologized, even though I was clearly the one at fault.
How he'd grabbed my sleeve and brought me here.
How, just moments ago, he'd obediently followed my words, even the ones that must have hurt him.
The way he ducked his head and followed.
The way he flinched when my hand got close.
"......"
Her eyes narrowed.
It wasn't her place to say, as the one who'd caused the trouble, but it hadn't seemed like a normal reaction.
During her external activities as a family representative in secondary academy, she had seen people like that before, in her own way.
Even though this generation is said to enjoy peace after the end of chaos was declared decades ago, it wasn't purely a peaceful existence.
Where there is light, there is shadow. Where there is peace, there are still places of chaos.
A space full of chaos. Africa, which was devoured by the demon realm and became a monster's paradise, was like that.
And even outside such massive disaster zones, there were many people exposed to darkness even in nearby societies.
Those most easily exposed to that darkness are the powerless and the weak.
Like a child.
"...I was in the wrong, so I'm just being nice to him."
She didn't feel good about it. If she'd just controlled her hotheaded temper, none of this would have happened.
Seeing Lee Ha-yul's attitude, she worried—what if he was just putting on a brave face while being hurt inside?
Whether or not her complicated feelings had shown on her face, Baek A-rin erased her smile and nodded slowly.
"You're right. There really are a lot of hostile eyes."
"Yeah. People are trying to hush it up, but that's mostly what they're talking about."
"And there are the ones who act like they aren't looking, but they've got their eyes fixed weird."
Hostile eyes. Even now, there were guys hovering around Lee Ha-yul, who was sitting in the corner passing the time.
Some approached out of simple interest and curiosity, but others were slinking around with dark thoughts like jealousy and resentment.
That's exactly why she'd suggested staying together. Yet he'd refused firmly, in his own way.
"To be honest, I'm a little bit curious too."
"About what?"
"Whoa, look at her reaction. You'd think he was her boyfriend."
When Hong Yeon-hwa whipped her head around to glare, Baek A-rin raised both hands and stepped back.
"Still, he's the first. The very first. A special admission cadet personally selected by the Master of the Cradle. That's never happened before, right?"
As Baek A-rin said, the part that was constantly emphasized was that he was 'the first'.
"I know it's awkward to say this, but you and I are both considered top-tier in potential alone. And there have been countless talented people before us."
The current 121st Cohort, including Hong Yeon-hwa and Baek A-rin, is called a golden generation, packed with talents that are frequently described as the greatest in history.
The current second years, the 120th Cohort, included the Taesan heir.
Most of the heroes who quelled the chaos and ushered in an era of peace were Siyoram graduates.
And how many Siyoram alumni are currently active superhumans?
"You think there hasn't been a talented cadet for nearly a hundred years? No, there have been an incredible number."
Each year's incoming class averages around 400 to 500 students.
Over the century-plus that Siyoram has existed, its graduates number nearly in the tens of thousands.
All of them are superhumans who proudly consider themselves geniuses.
But the Master of the Cradle had ignored even them, as if finding them lacking, until finally casting her gaze for the first time on someone.
"Everyone's curious. Just how much talent does he have to catch the Headmaster's eye like that? But when you actually see him... I still can't tell~ That's how it is."
"But it hasn't even started yet."
"Haha, that's true. Making a snap judgment based on how he looks now would be idiotic. But still, I sort of expected him to just—bang! Make an impression at first glance."
"Bang, my ass."
Hong Yeon-hwa silently agreed with Baek A-rin's opinion. She herself was curious to know exactly to what extent his talent warranted a special admission.
'...Still, this feels a bit off.'
Hong Yeon-hwa looked toward Lee Ha-yul with mixed feelings. If any of those slinking bastards were still hanging around, she was ready to smack a few heads, but they had all vanished at some point.
Lee Ha-yul was sitting in the corner, nodding off as he fought a losing battle with drowsiness.
Watching him like that struck her as oddly pitiable.
Hong Yeon-hwa was also receiving her own share of reports from her family. As the next heir, the information flowing in was not insignificant.
Among it was information about Lee Ha-yul.
An orphanage background. The director of the orphanage had stated that his family and home had been completely destroyed in a fire, and that from the time he'd been transferred to the facility afterwards, he'd had a visual impairment and a very frail body.
Though his physical condition was poor, the orphanage's circumstances hadn't been comfortable enough to afford treatment, and even attending a basic educational institution had been difficult for him.
On top of that, it hadn't even been a month since his unique ability had manifested.
One month after her own ability manifested, Hong Yeon-hwa had been far too busy just trying to control her unique ability—harmonization and everything else be damned.
'Is it really okay to bring him here and just leave him like this?'
They snatch up a kid who's been struggling to survive, blind and mute, just because he manifested an ability—and then what?
I don't see any measures being taken for him.
Are they just planning to toss him aside and expect him to grow on his own?
'I don't like it.'
Unaware of the shift in her own thoughts, Hong Yeon-hwa's focus had already drifted from talent and potential to worry.
And Baek A-rin was watching her with an unreadable expression.