Chapter 3
Chapter 3
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Entrance Ceremony (2)
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“Huff...”
Hong Yu-hwa drew in a single, deep, stabilizing breath.
She steadied her breathing and neatly crossed her knees as she sat, immediately beginning to meditate amidst the aftermath of the trial.
Even in that exhausted state, the sight of her was so striking it resembled a perfectly composed frame from a professional photoshoot.
Her opponent had been a truly formidable foe.
The Magma Lizard she faced possessed an incredibly high resistance to fire attributes, making it an exceptionally tricky and disadvantageous enemy for her to combat.
Final Time: 30 minutes.
After roughly thirty minutes of intense, fierce combat, she had finally seized a hard-won victory.
The Magma Lizard ultimately had its thick resistance pierced by the sheer intensity of her "Crimson Flame," finally crumbling into nothing but fine ash.
Hong Yu-hwa shifted her gaze toward the exit.
At this pace, she felt a surge of confidence that she would, at the very least, secure a place within the top three—
The delay was unavoidable, after all.
Unlike the other top candidates, she had chosen the rigorous academic path of pure magic.
In trials of raw speed and endurance like this, these kinds of direct battles were inevitably disadvantageous for her specialized style.
Hong Yu-hwa stepped through the blue portal with elegant, confident strides and exited back into the main auditorium.
The vast hall felt cavernous compared to before. With nearly three thousand people already eliminated and gone, the emptiness made sense—but something about the atmosphere still felt strangely off.
A sudden commotion stirred nearby.
“Hey, what's going on over there?”
“Ah, the young lady has finally arrived.”
The scouts from her family guild were already bustling about, their faces a mix of awe and frantic energy.
[Candidate No. 0005, Hong Yu-hwa, confirmed. Test duration: 00:31:17.]
Hong Yu-hwa Record: 00:31:17. 4th place.
A translucent screen floated before her eyes, displaying the official rankings.
But the result displayed there was utterly incomprehensible to her.
“......4th?”
There was absolutely no way.
There was no way that she, of all people, would be forced to settle for a mere 4th place finish.
Hong Yu-hwa shifted her gaze with a frown toward the massive electronic leaderboard situated right in front of her.
It listed the precise records of those who had somehow managed to clear the trial faster than she had.
1st. Lee Seo-ha:00:01:22
2nd. Kim Seo-hyun:00:11:55
3rd. Erhil Merhen:00:17:12
4th. Hong Yu-hwa:00:31:17
“......”
Hong Yu-hwa's eyes trembled with a mixture of shock and disbelief. The Tower of Trials was known to be perfectly fair.
Thirty years of prestigious history and the profound mysteries of this world's mechanics guaranteed its accuracy.
That made the reality all the harder to believe. Clearing the trial in a mere 1 minute and 22 seconds? And by a student who had only just entered the Korea Hero Academy?
—There are countless people in this world, and countless hidden masters among them. Yu-hwa, always remember that and live with humility.
Her grandfather's stern words suddenly flashed through her mind.
She clenched her eyes shut for a moment, trying to process the gap.
Hong Yu-hwa bit her lip hard and ground her teeth in frustration.
Lee Seo-ha.
She engraved those three syllables deeply into her mind.
‘Wait.’
Suddenly, a memory from right before the entrance exam flashed back to her.
A specific boy had said something that now resonated with an entirely different weight.
—If you awaken to the Crimson Lotus you possess, you can defeat even Kim Seo-hyun.
It hadn't just been some passing flatterer trying to get in her good graces.
No, it had to be nonsense. It was impossible.
There was no logical reason why she wouldn't recognize the limits of her own talent.
Her grandfather wouldn't have missed it, and neither would some total stranger she had just met for the first time.
Hong Yu-hwa turned her body away, her expression hardening as she etched the name Lee Seo-ha into her memory with renewed focus.
“Ughhh.”
Finally lying down on the soft bed, I felt like I was actually alive again.
Was I really that tense during the exam?
My entire body was aching from the phantom pressure of the trial.
‘Man, this place is absolutely insane.’
I took a moment to look around my new accommodations.
It was a massive penthouse suite, well over 160 square meters in size. It came fully furnished with top-of-the-line basics, including enchanted bedding and automatic cleaning machines. And this was my assigned student room?
And it was provided completely free of charge. That part is incredibly important, so I'll say it again.
This is free.
The top student of the entire grade gets the absolute best room, followed by second place, third, fourth, fifth, and so on in descending order of luxury.
The others wouldn't get a penthouse like mine, but they would still have access to top-tier accommodations.
‘There really is nothing ordinary about how this school operates.’
With elite students gathered from every corner of the world, the administration might take this level of luxury for granted, but to me, this treatment was downright abnormal.
Handing over a penthouse suite to a single freshman student just for getting a high score.
Well, it certainly works for me.
“I wonder what I actually got inside.”
Brimming with intense anticipation, I pulled out the jet-black wooden box I had received.
The legendary reward from the Tower of Trials.
‘Will it be a Moon Spirit Pill? A Sun Pill? Or maybe even the Lord of Heaven Pill?’
Inside the black wooden box sat a single, dark medicinal pill—a black dan.
It wasn't any of the three legendary pills I had just mentioned.
But my excitement only grew as I looked at it. It was exactly what I needed at this very moment.
I activated my Appraisal skill.
【Spirit Ability Pill (A-)】
A specialized elixir that awakens a dormant 'Spirit Ability' in the consumer.
: Effectively maximizes the consumer's physical potential through spiritual refinement.
: Awakens the unique power of Nian.
: Warning: The consumer's Magic Power stat is permanently reduced by 30%.
“Jackpot.”
The performance of this item is incredibly solid.
It was an elixir boasting an A-rank, even with the steep penalty of reduced magic power.
Normally, a 30% drop would be a devastating blow to any student, but my magic power is already at 0 right now. A penalty on a zero stat means absolutely nothing to me.
‘I don't have any plans to learn traditional magic anyway.’
I'm starting this journey far too late to be a conventional mage.
For now, topping the entrance exam will keep the usual challengers at bay, but given enough time, my lack of specialized skills will eventually be exposed.
So, I have no intention of taking the standard route.
‘With this Spirit Ability Pill, I can finally start tweaking the grand plan.’
The physical potential boost is a nice touch, but this elixir's true, priceless value lies in awakening the ability known as Nian.
‘It’s time to start growing for real.’
I had raked in a whopping total of 8,000P from this trial.
First up on the list was the foundation of everything: that.
I opened up the multidimensional paid shop interface.
Endless legendary talents and physiques tempted me from the list: Magic Dominator, Sword Heaven, Heavenly Martial Body, and several others.
Every single one of them would be insanely powerful if I could acquire them.
But they were nothing more than pipe dreams for now.
If I dumped all my points there, my immediate growth would stall out completely.
‘I need something that is usable right away, but still has a high potential and growth ceiling.’
And among the massive list, there is one specific talent that even the most seasoned veterans grab as their first priority.
【Dexterity (B+)】
The user's hands become significantly more flexible, and their inherent talents begin to multiply.
: Provides an additional corrective bonus to all physical applications and movements.
The description was deceptively simple.
But it's the one talent that you can squeeze value from during the early game all the way through the late game, across every single field.
Dexterity influences all combat broadly and provides a massive boost to veteran essentials like cooking, alchemy, and blacksmithing.
‘I want to test it out immediately.’
I spotted a set of darts mounted on the wall. I took one and threw it toward the board without much thought.
Thwack!
It flew perfectly straight and nailed the bullseye dead center.
‘Is it already working better than expected?’
I've thrown darts a few times in the past, but I had never achieved results this consistently good before.
Grinning with pure satisfaction, I eyed the jet-black wooden box once more.
‘Time to actually take it.’
After finalizing the purchase of Dexterity, I stripped down and headed into the bathroom. The bathtub was so large it was practically the size of my entire old one-room apartment.
I climbed in, feeling the chill of the air.
I turned on the water and quietly took out the Spirit Ability Pill.
Spirit Ability.
It is a form of spiritual power. If magic is a force that wields material power to shape this world, Spirit Ability is a force that draws purely from mental and spiritual power.
Much later in the story, even Kim Seo-hyun awakens this power to gain an absolute resistance to all supernatural abilities.
‘Come to think of it, that's exactly when his character started seeming a little... feminine.’
An old veteran theory about Kim Seo-hyun being a crossdresser popped into my head. Nah, that’s probably not it.
I popped the black medicinal dan into my mouth.
Crunch.
A strange, sweet-bitter taste instantly filled my mouth. It wasn't too bad for an elixir.
It felt like eating a piece of jelly with zero cola and a bit of lemon to provide that fizzy pop sensation.
I chewed it thoroughly and swallowed. Elixirs in this world always work best when they are chewed into a fine paste.
As the medicine began to sink into my body, a strange sensation coursed through my veins, and my consciousness suddenly blacked out.
“Urghhh!”
My stomach was churning violently. A foul stench reeked everywhere. I scrambled out of the tub as fast as I could and dry-heaved over the tiles.
What the hell was that absolutely godawful smell?
Still dizzy, I peered back into the tub.
A thick, black sludge was floating on the surface of the water where I had been soaking.
Body waste matter.
Spirit Ability Pills work by unlocking a person's hidden potential, forcibly expelling bodily impurities and waste like this. It was creepy to think that all of that had been inside me just moments ago.
I swung my arm wide, testing my range of motion.
The lore said consumers would feel significantly lighter—
Like they were completely reborn—
And damn, it really did feel like a rebirth. My body felt super light overall, agile, and brimming with a new kind of power.
“Whew, I’m looking pretty good.”
Standing before the bathroom mirror, I noticed my skin had paled slightly, giving me a more refined look.
My base looks were already decent, and since I had customized this body to be a peerless handsome man, I thought no further tweaks were needed.
“Status window.”
👤 Name:Lee Seo-ha
◈ Talents
- Appraisal (-), Dexterity (B+)
◈ Techniques
- None
◈ Physique
- Reverse Heaven Body (S-)
Strength had increased by 1, while Agility and Stamina had jumped up by 3 each.
The Mental boost probably came directly from the pill's effects.
After all, Nian is very closely tied to one's mental power.
Dexterity had already hit a solid 5 thanks to my new talent.
‘......But even with fully unlocked potential, it caps out at only 3 or 5?’
That was actually a bit depressing.
If this pill were fed to anyone else in this school, their stats would have jumped to at least 7 or more.
‘Eh, whatever. There are plenty of other ways to get stronger later.’
There was no need to obsess over it now. I shook off the negative thoughts and sat down on the tiled bathroom floor.
I closed my eyes and focused with all my might.
I tried to sense the spirit power that was now rooted deep within my body.
‘Something is definitely there.’
It felt wriggly, almost? A strange, new power was squirmed inside my chest.
It moved exactly according to my will.
It was a mysterious and incredibly fun feeling.
I looked around the room. A small yellow rubber duck toy caught my eye on the shelf.
Move, move.
I poured my Nian into the object, glaring intensely at the duck.
Bloop.
Incredibly, the rubber duck actually floated up into the air.
This was the essence of Spirit Ability. It was the basic force of wielding material things through sheer spiritual power.
It wasn't meant to be used in its raw form like this, of course.
It was weak now, but as I grow, Nian will eventually unleash an unimaginable level of power.
‘I’m dizzy already.’
Total time: 5 seconds.
I had lifted the toy for only 5 seconds, and a wave of vertigo immediately hit me.
I stopped floating the object and breathed slowly to recover.
It was regrettable.
With traditional magic, so much more would be possible, but my lack of magic meant this was my current limit. It sucks that the Reverse Heaven Body blocks the acquisition of magic skills entirely.
[First time using Nian! Reward: 1,500P has been granted.]
[Additionally, your Magic Power stat and Mental stat will now combine into the special stat: Nian .]
[The Magic and Mental stats have been successfully replaced by Nian, effectively amplifying all of your current abilities.]
I read through the detailed explanation on Nian. The more I read, the more my eyes sparkled with renewed hope.
......On second thought, magic doesn't actually seem all that necessary anymore.
All hail the system.