10. A Tower Built with Effort Is Not My Tower
10. A Tower Built with Effort Is Not My Tower
10. A Tower Built with Effort Is Not My Tower
All Creation (森羅萬象).
In simple terms: the truth of all things.
A Unique Ability that declares a domain, granting dominance over objects and phenomena within it.
That was one of the reasons Yu Ha-yeon became an S-rank Hero.
"Why isn't he moving?"
The students farther away from me had grown restless.
They had.
After all, Kim Gi-ok couldn't move a muscle thanks to the control Yu Ha-yeon imposed the instant the match began.
That took me back to right after she first awakened her ability.
I'd been her favorite toy in those days.
Just remembering it made my head spin.
While I was stuck in a hospital bed, how exactly had she planned to play doctor by rendering me utterly immobile?
Even now, it makes absolutely no sense to me.
As I sorted through those tangled memories, the match was already nearly over.
"He's right there! Why aren't you swinging? Do something!"
Shout all you want. As if he can move.
He's probably dying of frustration inside.
'Why won't I move...!?' Just like that.
The domain Yu Ha-yeon declared allowed her to do anything she wished within the limits of her magic power.
Because she held dominion over every object and phenomenon, within her chosen domain, everything was possible.
"Yu Ha-yeon's Magic Power stat was around 8, wasn't it?"
With that level, well...
He could probably be kept still for about three hours.
She wasn't called a Rising Star and a future S-rank for nothing.
Even among Rising Stars, she was considered a monster.
That same Yu Ha-yeon was now approaching Kim Gi-ok with a stately gait.
Click. Clack.
The sound of her shoes echoed across the arena.
Two people were present, but only one moved. Could you even call this a match?
Yu Ha-yeon stopped at the exact distance where her sword would reach.
"Sorry. Someone's watching. I don't want to get teased."
After glancing at his wrist, Yu Ha-yeon swung her sword in a great arc with both hands.
Swish!
A barrier of magic power flared out the instant her attack connected.
It signaled that the match was decided.
"Oh..."
So that's the barrier.
Did one swing really carry enough force to pierce through it?
From what I remembered, her Strength stat was also quite high.
In the end, the victor was Yu Ha-yeon.
Kim Gi-ok was the loser, his match ending without him managing to do a single thing.
Looks like I'm not the one getting expelled.
More than feeling good because Yu Ha-yeon won, I felt good because someone put on an even worse performance than I did.
Really.
It was true.
Once the match ended, Kang Su-ho began giving feedback to the students.
"Yu Ha-yeon. That ability of yours is certainly outstanding and formidable."
"Of course it is."
"...Quite blunt, aren't you. However, continue refining your swordsmanship. That wasn't formidable in the slightest."
"Hehe..."
He wasn't wrong.
Even to my inexperienced eyes, Yu Ha-yeon had simply lashed out with a full-powered swing.
A blade swung with raw force, containing no technique whatsoever.
That was young Yu Ha-yeon's fatal flaw.
"And Kim Gi-ok. Just... consider yourself unlucky."
Who could you blame for running into a natural disaster?
Kim Gi-ok's matchup had ended up as the worst possible outcome.
Purely because he was unlucky.
Kang Su-ho continued calling out names, and the students' sparring matches carried on.
Maybe the rain would cancel the sparring session.
The sky was absurdly clear.
Time was slowly tightening its grip around my throat.
***
"Next. Number 5, Na Yu-na. Number 38, Han Si-jun."
...Guess the rain really isn't coming.
I should've held a rain ritual the night before.
Truly unfortunate weather.
"Why don't you just use that pistol on your own head? Go bang and end it immediately."
"If you're here to pick a fight, leave. I'm not in the mood."
I really am annoyed that it had to be Na Yu-na.
Does she have some kind of disease that kills her if she doesn't provoke me at least once a day?
Yu Ha-yeon was giggling beside me, enjoying my misery.
"Maybe you really would be better off. She's famous, you know."
"I know."
"Y-you do? So you do take some interest in girls..."
"What are you on about."
Na Yu-na.
Even I had heard that name before.
Granddaughter of the chairman of NAVI, the world-famous corporation.
She was notorious in V. AGE as well, a character I knew all too well.
'Money, power, strength. What use are any of them? Nothing remains for me.'
How could I ever forget?
The infamously troublesome Na Yu-na route.
Na Yu-na's route was a struggle even for a veteran player like me, packed with branching points.
As an ally, she was dependable; as a villain, she was hell itself.
And the odds of her becoming a villain were disgustingly high.
If my goal was to clear the world of V. AGE, I had to prevent her corruption at all costs.
To stop Na Yu-na from corrupting without entering her route.
That was far easier said than done.
'Haa...'
Contemplating the future bearing down on me,
I sighed and descended into the arena.
"Hey, Han Si-jun!"
"If you're just going to tease me, I'm going down."
"That's not it..."
I paused and waited, but Yu Ha-yeon's voice didn't follow.
What did she want to say that she was dragging it out like this?
But I didn't have the time to stand around waiting.
"The teacher's calling. I'm goi—"
"F-fight carefully, okay! I won't let you get away with it if you get hurt...!!"
When I glanced back, Yu Ha-yeon's face was tinted bright red.
The color stood out starkly against her usual pale skin.
"Are you worried about me?"
"Wh-who's worried...! Don't flatter yourself...! I just wouldn't be able to face your parents...!?"
Yeah. Sure.
Whatever you say.
I answered Yu Ha-yeon with a grin before turning toward the arena.
"...Did something good happen, Han Si-jun? Why are you smiling like that?"
"Ah. No, sir."
Nothing, really. The laugh just slipped out.
My childhood friend was just a little bit cute today.
Just the tiniest bit.
***
That smile of mine didn't last long.
"Both of you, this is a match and an evaluation. Leave any petty feelings aside. Do you understand?"
"Yes, we understand." "Yes."
Most students supposedly held grudges for a long time when they were dissatisfied with a sparring result.
Can't even accept a loss like men.
You have to acknowledge what's fair, cleanly.
I wasn't saying this because I was definitely going to lose.
I meant it.
"Move to your designated positions."
At Kang Su-ho's instruction, we both started toward our respective ends of the arena.
"Hey. You."
"...Me?"
Why was she talking to me?
Na Yu-na was the type who showed zero reaction to things that didn't interest her.
The generally taciturn Na Yu-na.
I was curious what she had to say.
"That. Do you know how to use it?"
"Ah, this?"
The reason she stopped me was the pistol in my hand.
The model was a Desert Eagle.
Though it might be called something different in this world.
It was a modified version, manufactured for academy cadets.
"Of course I know how to use it."
I had the experience of being honorably discharged as a Sergeant from the Republic of Korea Army.
Granted, I never used a pistol in the military, but a gun's a gun.
Compared to swinging a sword, marksmanship was a field where I at least had some confidence.
"Really...? Strange... that wasn't in the files..."
Had she actually investigated me?
She investigated me, of all people—someone who's nothing more than Yu Ha-yeon's childhood friend?
Singling me out specifically was absurd.
She'd probably looked into the entire class.
Since the NAVI Family doted on Na Yu-na excessively,
I could only guess it was to classify anyone who might be a threat to her.
With nothing more to say, Na Yu-na turned to return to her spot.
"Wait. I have something to say, too."
"Just state your business."
Na Yu-na, her hair the yellow of a swallowtail butterfly, stared at me with an apathetic expression.
Alright. First of all.
"When you were little, did you like building with blocks? I did."
"...I said state your business."
What on earth was I going on about?
Uninteresting.
That was clearly how she felt.
"It was back in kindergarten, I think? During playtime, I loved stacking blocks. I could see what I built, and other people could see it too. It was fun, right? Seeing the result of everything I'd stacked up."
"Hmm. And so?"
"Higher and higher. The taller it got, the more the other kids' eyes were fixed on my block tower. Then, out of nowhere, some kid apparently didn't like my tower, so she kicked it and smashed it to pieces. Something I'd worked so hard to build."
For the record, the one who smashed it was Yu Ha-yeon.
Where would a kid that age even learn a dropkick?
Anyway.
"I burst into tears right then and there. It was embarrassing, but I was sad that my effort collapsed in an instant. After I cried my eyes out, the kid who broke it came back and rebuilt it for me. Exactly like the tower that had been there."
"Enough. Stop there. I can't listen any longer."
"But when someone else builds it for you, it's no fun at all, is it?"
What about you, Na Yu-na?
I posed her a small question.
To a girl who only ever listened to others, reduced to a mere cog in a machine called a corporation.
"..."
Expressionless, Na Yu-na returned to her spot without giving any answer.
Na Yu-na wasn't originally such a stoic person.
Once, she'd had a personality as free and bright as a butterfly.
But from the moment she was born, she'd been caged without ever being allowed to fly.
Her own world was shattered, and under the oppression of others, she was forced to build a new one.
Once even that crumbled, nothing would remain for her.
"Well, I think she got the message. Good enough."
Walking to my own position, I watched Na Yu-na retreat.
Her shoulders seemed to have lost their rigid composure.
***
'What do you know.'
Na Yu-na's emotions were in turmoil, a rare occurrence for her.
A man who spoke as if he knew everything about her.
His name was Han Si-jun.
A scrawny body and clearly poor health.
A guy coasting on his looks.
He'd only entered the academy by luck, and yet he now stood there lecturing me—someone who'd undergone every form of elite training.
'I know myself best.'
Who are you to stand before me and talk like that?
His life and mine had walked completely different paths.
A child of a prestigious elite family versus a child from a normal household.
And yet you speak as if you understand my life?
Before the match began.
Na Yu-na drew her spear and made up her mind.
She'd hit him hard enough to break through that magic barrier.
She'd make him pay for running his mouth carelessly.
So that he'd never dare act superior in front of her again.
But then, why.
Why did the tower he talked about keep surfacing in her mind?
Na Yu-na forcibly wiped the recurring thought from her head.
'I am Na Yu-na, granddaughter of the NAVI Family. Such actions are unfitting for the one who will inherit the family business.'
Yet, without her realizing it.
The tower that had been built was already shaking.
Pushed by a weak, slowly approaching breeze.