Scandal
Lucy had named Lee Hoyeon as her sparring partner, but none of the cadets particularly cared about the match itself.
"I'll put fifty thousand won on Lucy ending it in thirty seconds."
"Twenty-five seconds. A hundred thousand."
"Come on, if we all bet like that, it's not even a wager."
Some of them were even betting on how quickly Hoyeon would lose.
"Is Hoyeon really that weak? He's in Class A too."
"He switched from sword to mage less than a month ago."
"Wait, for real? Why?"
"Beats me."
Not many students knew that Hoyeon had taken down the Scrap Iron Giant at difficulty seven during the morning's virtual monster training. Even those who had watched it happen figured he'd just gotten lucky. Nobody had recognized his mana control for what it was.
And so not a single person believed Hoyeon stood a chance against Lucy, one of the first year's brightest prospects.
"Lucy's a one-trick attack pony, but she's strong."
"What's with Lucy today, though? She's not the type to hate anyone."
"Right? Weird. You think she's interested in him?"
The Class A students kept chatting about the upcoming duel.
"I mean, look at that face. Even if you weren't interested, you would be."
"Can't argue with that. Pfft."
"Hey, it's starting. Focus."
"Oh, this should be good."
The cadets who'd claimed they weren't interested snapped to attention the moment the match began. A mana barrier wrapped around the arena, sealing any stray attacks inside so they couldn't leak out.
"Three, two, one. Begin!"
At first it was nothing but a probing exchange, each of them gauging the other's level.
"Ugh, Lucy's going way too easy on him. Playing favorites 'cause he's handsome."
"But he only switched a month ago, right? His mana handling's pretty decent for that."
"A month? Two weeks, tops. And it's nothing special. Why are you hyping it?"
"Yeah? Now that you mention it..."
A few cadets were analyzing the fight with a sharp eye even then, but a first impression, once set, was hard to shake.
As the duel wore on, though, the students' reactions started to flip.
"What? Did you see that?"
"Whoa, he dodged that on pure luck."
At first they thought it was luck.
"Wow, he just happened to jump into the empty spot."
"No, wait. I think he... saw it coming."
"Hold on, I saw it too. His eyes never left the spell."
Even within Class A, there were upper ranks and lower ranks. When Han Su-won and Ha Hyeon-seung — both high scorers on the entrance exam — said as much, the others started to stir.
"No way. His physical stats don't look that great. How would he even see that coming?"
"Yeah, it's just coincidence."
"Huh? Hey, what's with his eye color?"
Someone had noticed the change in Hoyeon's pupils. His irises glowed with a faint golden light, and combined with his already striking looks, the effect was almost otherworldly.
"A skill? I've never heard of a skill that makes your eyes glow."
"Wait, a skill? Damn, those eyes are insanely cool... they look like CGI."
Every student was watching closely enough to realize it: his dodges weren't luck. Every last one of them was deliberate.
"Holy shit."
"Those eyes have to be a unique authority. Like he can see through magic or something."
"Yeah, if it were a regular skill we'd have seen it before. And that ability doesn't even make sense."
Watching Hoyeon's impossible evasive maneuvers continue, the students gradually fell silent.
Most of them, however, were overlooking something: Hoyeon wasn't using any magic in this duel. The only spell he'd cast was a barrier at the very start, to block Lucy's fire arrows. After that, he had poured his mana exclusively into physical enhancement.
The only cadets with the skill to see that far were Nam Da-eun and Elise.
And then the highlight. When Hoyeon pressed a dagger to Lucy's throat at the end, the spectator stands went dead silent.
"Instructor? A winner's ruling, please."
"Ah— right. Winner, Lee Hoyeon. Both of you, step down."
"Insane. Absolutely insane."
"That's definitely a unique authority. He read every single spell."
"I saw him take down the Scrap Iron Giant with fire magic this morning, too."
Once sparring class was over, the classroom buzzed with nothing but talk of Lee Hoyeon. Elise and Nam Da-eun's overwhelming skill had been impressive in their own right, but the star of the hour was Hoyeon. His graceful movement had captivated the cadets, and that handsome face gave him more than enough star power.
"He's already good-looking, and then those eyes start glowing gold. When he put that dagger to Lucy's throat at the end, I thought I was watching a movie."
"I recorded the whole thing. It's going straight on Everyday."
"At that level, doesn't that shake up the first-year top rank?"
"Hey, watch your mouth."
"Huh? Oh—"
Nam Da-eun, sitting in the very back, had heard every word.
"Uh... we weren't talking about you, specifically... sorry..."
"..."
Nam Da-eun didn't so much as glance their way. She just stared at her phone, looking so thoroughly uninterested that the apology felt embarrassing.
And through all of this, the man himself remained unfazed. Hoyeon sat with his chin in his hand, staring blankly at the front of the classroom.
"Go talk to him."
"Those distant, melancholy eyes... what's he thinking about?"
Fuck. What's wrong with my eyes.
This is terrifying.
After the duel, in a classroom roaring with chatter, I had a lot to think about. Thankfully, the golden glow had faded the moment the match ended.
Unique authority this, unique authority that. They're losing their minds.
An authority isn't a standardized spell or mana technique. It's a power that manifests through an individual's own effort and talent. Geniuses typically awaken an authority unique to themselves — that's a unique authority. Most people never awaken one at all.
Lee Hoyeon, being the protagonist, has a pretty solid unique authority.
Receives a bonus to every action judged to be "combat."
The higher the danger of the "combat," the greater the effect.
A combat-type unique authority — a talent that lets him display an innate combat sense and combat instinct in every action related to fighting.
And then there was Insight.
Concentrates mana into the eyes, pushing visual acuity to its absolute limit.
The ability to perceive and distinguish mana-infused beings and forms is maximized.
A unique skill.
A skill unique to the individual. They usually form when an authority mixes with some other skill — and this time, it was a case of an authority mixing with a perk.
The reason I'd been able to pin Lucy down with those absurd evasive maneuvers in the duel was Insight. The perk I'd received, Mana Sensitivity, had interacted with my innate trait and produced a synergistic effect... or so I figured. I never imagined a synergy like that even existed, but if this is the result, then taking the mage route was the right call.
"Damn, that was something."
"Huh? Oh. Uh, thanks."
Kim Young-han had come over to talk. Thinking about it, the guy really had no sense of personal space. Other people wanted to approach me and couldn't quite manage it, but this one — partly because of his personality, and partly because his face didn't lose to mine — just walked right up. Maybe that was where the extra confidence came from.
"Seriously cool. Your eyes were painted gold. I thought I was watching an anime."
"You didn't look half bad yourself."
"Please. Next to your impact, I was nothing. But what was with those gold eyes? Everyone lost their minds over how cool they looked. Is that your unique authority?"
Kim Young-han asked with that signature bright, easy smile of his.
"Trade secret."
It wasn't even a unique authority to begin with, and there was no reason for me to go around explaining what Insight was or what it did. I had no idea what kind of weird shit I might pull later, so it was better to keep the "unique authority" shield in my back pocket.
"Shame. Wanna grab dinner after class? I found this great chicken place."
"Sorry. I've already got plans."
Dinner with a guy? That wasn't just a waste of energy — that was the waste of energy. I shut it down without a second's hesitation. I was too busy chasing girls to sit around eating dinner with a man.
"Let's skip training today."
My condition was terrible. Rest, taken properly, was just as essential to growth as the work itself.
"Yeah. Let's rest. Today's a reward for me."
On that thought, I stepped out of the dorm. Not for training, of course — I was out of snacks in my room, so I figured I'd do a little shopping. A bit of indulgence now and then would only help the body grow.
The shopping district hadn't changed at all since I'd last been here two days ago. I took a pointless stroll through the park and sat on a bench to look at the sky. I still couldn't quite believe this world was inside a game.
After wandering aimlessly for a few dozen minutes, I spotted a café with a wide glass storefront.
Cafe Nakwol.
It was the café where I'd run into Mun Su-rin last time. I peeked inside. She wasn't there.
"Might as well take a look around."
Meeting Mun Su-rin here was what had brought the game's information flooding back. This was a café she was quite fond of. I might end up coming here again, so it couldn't hurt to go in and get a feel for the layout. The supermarket and convenience store weren't closing anytime soon anyway.
Ding-a-ling~
"Welcome!"
Inside were several tables and a staircase leading to a second floor. The cute, cozy interior asserted itself from every corner — the kind of atmosphere girls tended to love.
"One Claire Rose Latte, please."
"Coming right up~"
For the record, I had no idea what a Claire Rose even was. Probably some new plant that had come out of a dungeon.
"One Claire Rose Latte~"
I took the drink and found a seat in a reasonably out-of-the-way corner. It had a faint rose fragrance.
Slurp.
I pulled a long sip through the straw. At first a sweet, delicate rose scent lingered in my mouth. Then it turned cool, like I'd just eaten mint — and then, suddenly, it started getting spicy.
"What even is this flavor?"
If I had to describe it, it was the kind of taste that would jolt you wide awake... but why would anyone drink this?
It was so absurd I picked up the cup and looked at the color. Pale green and white swirled together, and even when I stirred it with the straw the two colors refused to mix. At least it was fun to look at.
Ding-a-ling~
A new customer, apparently. I glanced over.
Mun Su-rin was ordering coffee.
"Khk—!"
What? For real? The timing was this good?
Finished paying, Mun Su-rin looked around for a seat — and our eyes met. Since we'd made eye contact, I gave her a light nod of greeting. She started walking this way.
Huh?