Try Holding a Sword
The Na Eun-sol I knew was a born hero of martial combat.
And yet her main weapon was a wand?
"Are you a mage?"
"Huh? Yes. I am."
Ah. I see.
It wasn't that time yet.
In the very early stages of the story, Na Eun-sol was a rear-line support mage — a long-range type. But that hadn't been her choice. It was her father's.
Every role assigned to a hero carried a different degree of danger. Swordsmen, warriors, tanks — those who stood on the front lines, face-to-face with monsters — were the ones most exposed to risk. Their death rates were the highest of any role group. By contrast, archers and mages who supported from the rear had a clear advantage when it came to survival.
Na Tae-san, a doting father to his core, simply could not bear the thought of watching his daughter die. And so he had forced the safest role upon her: long-range mage.
That wasn't the only reason, either.
She does suit being a mage, I'll give her that.
With her superior mana reserves and the flexible way she could wield them, the role fit her reasonably well. But Na Eun-sol possessed a far greater talent than that.
Was it second year? Sometime past the second semester?
Around then, Na Eun-sol watched Cha Hyun-woo's swordsmanship, was struck by something she saw in it, and took up a blade of her own. Beyond the sword, she went on to display outstanding talent across other martial disciplines as well. That was how she left the path of magic and walked the path of combat instead.
"What? Is there a problem?"
I'd been lost in thought too long. Na Eun-sol furrowed her brow and looked at me with open suspicion.
Studying her face, I felt the urge to stick my nose where it didn't belong.
Should I just leave her alone? Not interfere at all?
My mouth itched. I knew it was meddling she hadn't asked for, but I wanted to spit it out clean — tell her the road she was walking was the wrong one, and that she ought to choose another.
...I'm an instructor now. That makes it fine, doesn't it?
Guiding students down better paths was a teacher's duty, after all. And Na Eun-sol was a character I genuinely cared about. I wanted her to shine as soon as possible.
"Na Eun-sol."
"Yes."
"Have you ever considered taking up a sword?"
"......Excuse me?"
Perhaps the offer had been too sudden. Her face curdled like something left out to rot.
Na Eun-sol found the man standing in front of her — Cheon Hae-beom — thoroughly disagreeable.
"Have you ever considered taking up a sword?"
Was it simply the literal meaning of the words? No. Na Eun-sol read something else entirely into Cheon Hae-beom's question.
You have no talent for magic, so go pick up a sword instead.
He had dressed up an insult and delivered it in a roundabout way. Of that she was certain.
Who does he think I am...!
He was looking down on her. Truly looking down on her.
"If not a sword, then some other weapon—"
Cheon Hae-beom, oblivious to how his words were landing, kept adding more. Each one felt like a blade driven into her chest.
It was unfair. Suffocating. But Na Eun-sol did not let it show. She only answered in a voice gone cold.
"I'm not interested."
"There's no need to decide so hastily. Take your ti—"
"No."
Na Eun-sol cut him off with a sharp, irritable snap, then turned on her heel and headed for the measuring device.
"Just start the measurement already."
This instructor didn't know her true ability. He was spouting nonsense. She would show him. She would make him regret it.
With that resolve burning in her chest, Na Eun-sol stepped up onto the measuring platform.
In the awkward silence that followed, the stat measurement began. She carried herself with an easy, unhurried confidence and completed every test in rapid succession. She finished the mana measurement in under a minute, and the sheer speed of it drew gasps from everyone watching.
By mana quality alone — upper tier even among A-Class.
Cheers erupted. And why wouldn't they? An A-Class record — the first since Cha Hyun-woo.
"Well?"
Na Eun-sol allowed herself a small, satisfied smile.
Low murmurs of admiration rose around her. Envious gazes all converged on one person: Na Eun-sol. No matter how many times she felt it, the sensation was always freshly intoxicating.
She flicked a glance sideways, pretending not to look, and checked Cheon Hae-beom's face.
Hmph. I knew it.
He wore an expression of genuine admiration.
Success. He was finally acknowledging her!
Na Eun-sol tried not to show how pleased she was, but a full bloom of a smile had already spread across her face. She planted a hand on her hip and looked thoroughly triumphant.
"Exceptionally high scores for a first-year cadet."
"Right? Heh heh."
High scores. Even in his eyes, her level was impressive.
Yes!
The fact alone left her so buoyant she hummed a tiny snatch of a tune under her breath — soft enough that no one would hear.
"However."
Then the dissonance cut in.
"You would still suit the path of a swordsman far better than that of a mage."
The hall fell silent in an instant. At the same moment, Na Eun-sol's expression hardened to stone.
This is awkward.
I couldn't just stand by and watch a student waste time walking the wrong path. That much was certain. What I didn't have was a clear plan for how to talk her into it.
Stat-wise, her constitution leaned unmistakably toward a mage. There was nothing to pick apart there. Her practical exam ranking was second as well. If I started second-guessing her methods now, it would look like nothing more than spiteful nitpicking.
She's competent in all the wrong ways.
There was a particular rhetorical approach for situations like this. Spout something so baffling that even you barely understand it, and the other person gets pulled in despite themselves. You couldn't go full lie, though. A thread of truth had to be woven in — that made the persuasion stick.
"You would still suit the path of a swordsman far better than that of a mage."
"W-what exactly is the problem......."
She glared at me, looking utterly incredulous. Why are you going this far just to torment me? — that was the protest written all over her face.
Sorry about that.
I had to admit, the scene had unintentionally become one of me bullying Na Eun-sol. Out of nearly fifteen cadets, she alone was being singled out for criticism. Of course she was unhappy.
But bitter medicine was good for the body. If she accepted this one piece of advice, Na Eun-sol was destined to grow far beyond where she stood now.
"That look in your eyes is full of grievances. Fair enough. At present, you are free to dismiss my counsel as empty noise."
I layered the words with a heavy implication: you simply don't understand yet.
"Of course, you are excellent as a mage as well. That is an undeniable fact."
"Ahem.... I know."
The corner of her mouth twitched upward, just slightly.
"But hear me. You are not using the mana dormant within your body in the proper manner. Or more precisely — you cling only to orthodoxy."
Mana had no fixed form. It could transform into anything. Healing, offense, defense — it functioned as a variable in every domain. And so mages fought by creating what were called "elements." That was the orthodox combat method. But it was not the method that suited Na Eun-sol.
"Cadet Na Eun-sol. Your mana need not stop at creating something. It can go further — overlaying itself upon a weapon to amplify its firepower."
"......."
Having seen her future, I knew. The principle of grafting mana onto a weapon was, for Na Eun-sol, the absolute best approach imaginable.
"A-Class Fire-attribute mana. A property particularly well-suited to weapon reinforcement, as it happens."
"I'm sorry, Instructor, but what era is this that you'd suggest something like—"
"Correct. It is an unusual method. But to call it useless is a grave error."
An outdated approach to mana usage, last common a decade ago. In the present day — refined by years of mana research — it was a technique you wouldn't even see. In her eyes right now, I was nothing more and nothing less than a fraud.
I understood her feelings completely.
"Arrogance is the greatest flaw that bars the way to growth. Think flexibly, Cadet Na Eun-sol. What you know is not the only correct answer."
"...You're calling me arrogant?"
That wasn't what I'd said, but she was already twisting it however she liked. Before I could clear up the misunderstanding, she erupted.
"Y-you're the arrogant one, Instructor! What age is this that you'd force some outdated method on me? I can't understand it at all!"
Even I would have found it absurd. She'd devoted her entire life to magic, and some instructor waltzes in and tells her to pick up a sword. If she took it as an insult, that was fair enough.
Unfortunately, I meant every word.
Na Eun-sol was still seething. She seemed convinced I was deliberately humiliating her out of sheer stubbornness.
"Our thoughts simply differ. A matter of perspective."
"It's not a difference! You're the one who's wrong!"
"Think as you please."
"You think whatever you want, too!"
With that, she turned to leave. Letting her go like this left a bitter aftertaste. I spoke to her back.
"Have you ever held a sword? Even once?"
"What?"
"I will stake my word on it. You have not."
Her footsteps stopped cold. I'd struck the mark.
"You are letting talent rot. It has met the wrong master, and so it rots."
"Y-you don't know anything, so stop running your mouth."
"I do know. In certain respects, I can say with confidence that I know you better than you know yourself."
"What? N-no. What kind of nonsense is that!"
How many years have I spent reading this novel?
There was no one alive who knew Na Eun-sol better than I did.
"I will ask you only one thing. Why discard every other option and cling to a single path? Is there some clear reason for it?"
"That's...."
Na Eun-sol's words trailed off. The more bewilderment spread across her face, the harder I pressed.
"Your limits are clearly visible. That is not a sound attitude for a cadet who means to grow. Broaden your view of the world. Correct your gaze."
"......."
"See much. Feel much. Take other things in hand and swing them. Such experiences will never hinder your progress."
Na Eun-sol bit down on her lip. From the small gap between her teeth, a bitter voice escaped.
"Aren't you treating me like too much of a child? I'm doing my bes—"
"Your best? Is that the limit you've set for yourself — that meager a thing? Hah. Have you no hunger for power? Or do you simply not know your place? Either way, I cannot look kindly upon it."
"Ah...."
Frustration had driven harsh words out of me before I could stop them. Spilled water couldn't be gathered back up — and frankly, this kind of rough counsel was exactly what worked on Na Eun-sol.
I took a breath, then forced my lips apart again.
"If you remain as you are, you will march in place forever. You will spend your years in meaningless idleness—"
"Why on earth.... Instructor... why... only me...."
What?
At some point, moisture had gathered at the corners of Na Eun-sol's eyes.
"Why do you only hate me...?"
Her tears caught me completely off guard. So did the words that came with them.
—Whip!
Sensing my gaze, she snapped her head down. She didn't want me to see her cry.
I should stop here. I cleared my throat several times and closed with one last line.
"Ahem. In any case — do not turn away from a road that lies wide open before you."
".......Just wait and see."
A voice soaked through with tears. My chest ached for no good reason.
"You may go."
Na Eun-sol left the training hall without so much as a glance in my direction. Class wasn't even over. She must have been that furious.
Leaving mid-class — as an instructor, I wanted to deliver a sharp word about it, but the atmosphere wasn't one for intervention. I let her go in silence.
....She won't break from something this small.
This was Na Eun-sol, after all. She'd shed tears over a bit of harsh advice from me, but the real her possessed a will of steel. I had no reason to worry.
Today's despair is tomorrow's hope.
The pain of this moment was nothing more than the pain of growth. Only by enduring this trial would Na Eun-sol achieve her complete transformation.
Sorry about all that. Hang in there, though.
I cheered her on, silently, from within.