Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Interception Training
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The dormitory conditions at Tae Academy were excellent, living up to its reputation.
Each room was 25 pyeong, a single for one person.
It was spotlessly clean, as if newly built, and equipped with the latest appliances.
I retrieved the luggage I'd sent ahead by courier and headed out again.
First, I stopped by the department office to submit my major change form, then walked another ten minutes or so before arriving.
No. 3 Comprehensive Training Ground.
It was a place equipped for various tasks, allowing mock exams most similar to the diagnostic evaluation.
Since I'd skipped lunch, the place was spacious and empty.
I chose a room near the entrance and went inside.
It was about the size of a small lecture hall. But appearances were deceiving.
This was a world straight out of a novel, where cutting-edge science blended with unscientific superpowers.
In other words, a single touch made something like this possible.
Starting comprehensive training simulation.
Park Ha-yul, Class A, Year 2.
User information confirmed.
Please state the desired task.
Since it was my first time, I picked something easy.
"Interception type."
Please select the task level.
Naturally, I chose the lowest level.
"Level 1."
Settings complete. Summoning field.
Five targets will be generated.
Rumble rumble rumble.
As soon as the settings finished, a faint vibration accompanied the expansion of space.
The walls receded on all sides, stopping when it reached about half a soccer field in size.
It was the result of large-scale spatial magic.
Weeeeng weeeeng.
The targets resembled saucer-shaped discs, generated about 20 meters ahead.
They drifted lazily through the air like a leisurely stroll.
"Let's take it slow and steady."
I took a deep breath and activated my manifestation.
A familiar, welcoming halo of light scattered at the edge of my vision.
"Which one to try first."
Thanks to Insight, multiple Rank 1 talismans surfaced simultaneously in my mind.
The one I chose was 'Flame Bullet.'
Similar to a 1-circle spell, Fireball, but half again as powerful—a fire talisman technique.
As I extended my hand and recalled the talisman, particles aligned according to my will, forming a geometric pattern.
Tszzt.
First, a circular outline was drawn, then symbols for convergence, purification, fusion, and origin were inscribed at the east, west, south, and north positions.
The basic structure was complete; next came drawing the connecting lines to activate the four axes.
Now, time had to be factored in.
The energy of the Celestial Stems and Earthly Branches never stagnates, always in flux, so absolute laws served as the baseline.
[Remaining time: 1 day, 1 hour, 28 minutes]
According to the unrelenting clock, it was currently the Wei hour.
The eighth hour of the day, from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
"Then..."
Using that as reference, the information in my head rearranged.
The formula calculated the estimated value, instantly imprinting it to form circuits linking the four axes.
Finally, at the center of the talisman, near the core, I inscribed the symbol representing the Fire God, Zhu Wang.
[Manifestation complete.]
[Manifestation accuracy: 75%]
Manifestation accuracy was the match between the mental image and the manifested result.
It wasn't perfectly neat, but the key was speed.
It had taken just over 5 seconds to imprint.
The average for Tae Academy talisman students was about 8-9 seconds, showcasing the sheer cheat-level power of my manifestation and Insight.
I channeled mana into the completed talisman.
A considerable amount drained away, but...
Tszzt.
The talisman emerged in midair like red paint spreading.
A 32-stroke Rank 1 fire talisman technique: Flame Bullet.
Was it because it was my first activation?
"Huh?"
Before I could react, a scorching heat surged, and a crimson fireball shot out.
Whoosh.
The fiercely burning orb spun at high speed, hurtling forward.
Boom boom boom.
It luckily hit, triggering the first explosion, which became the trigger.
Boom boom boom boom.
It expanded its range, exploding two or three more times.
Thanks to Flame Bullet's contagious explosion property, it engulfed the surrounding targets too.
No control needed—they just happened to get hit—but two thoughts crossed my mind.
One was that the power of a Rank 1 talisman exceeded expectations by far.
The other was...
"Isn't this fun?"
That was my honest feeling.
It felt different from manifesting armaments—a unique satisfaction.
There was charm unique to ranged attacks, closing distances in an instant.
Level 1 cleared.
Proceed to Level 2?
I grinned like a kid holding a new game console.
* * *
[Remaining time: 1 day, 1 hour, 34 minutes]
I'd stayed in the training ground for nearly 12 hours.
With my mana, I could cast only three Rank 1 talismans in a row.
Mana recovered with 4-hour intervals, so actual casts numbered just nine.
But had I wasted those precious 12 hours on that alone?
During recovery, I practiced talismans using just particles, without manifesting.
I counted at first, then got lazy and stopped.
Still, it was meaningful time.
Well-imprinted Rank 1 talismans outperformed sloppy Rank 2 ones...
[Manifestation accuracy: 78%]
[Manifestation accuracy: 79%]
[Manifestation accuracy: 80%]
.
.
From that perspective, manifestation completion degree was a highly useful function.
Talismans were superpowers with fixed answers.
Line lengths and thicknesses in the talisman. Angles where lines met. Completion of combined symbols, and so on.
Expressing it all numerically enabled intuitive judgment.
"Guess preparations are sorta done?"
With everything finished, I decided to head back.
If things went as in the original, the diagnostic evaluation tasks would be breakthrough type, higher difficulty than target type.
Speed was key, making it disadvantageous for complex, slow talisman arts—but I wasn't worried.
Nothing beat talismans for exploiting evaluation loopholes.
Top 4 was plenty doable with just three talismans.
* * *
I left the room feeling refreshed.
Since I was the last one, the training corridor was dead empty.
Well, the day before evaluation.
Who else but me would train like a maniac until past midnight?
"Should turn off the lights, right?"
Thinking it manners, I hit every switch I saw on the way to the exit.
Click.
Darkness fell in my wake without fail, and just before stepping out—when a single light bulb illuminated the corridor—that's when it happened.
"Ugh! No, fuck. Which bastard is it?"
A scream and thick curses echoed from the pitch-black area nearby.
What?
Focusing, I saw another maniac in the middle of the corridor, jumping around in rage.
"Hey, you're the culprit, huh? This is straight-up psycho shit."
The maniac locked eyes with me and yelled right away.
Tch, kids these days are so hot-tempered...
"Bit rude for a first meeting. Calm down."
"What?"
"Thought I was the last one. Gotta save unnecessary electricity, right? No need to overreact—"
I sensed something odd in that instant.
Thud thud thud.
Vibrations from the floor, and the distance between us shrank dramatically.
Superhuman class?
"What era do you think this is, bitching about electric bills? You eat magic for breakfast or what?"
No time to respond.
He closed in to my face, jabbing a finger wildly and spraying spit everywhere.
...
But I was speechless, like my breath caught.
Not overwhelmed by his aura, nor shocked speechless.
Just... the face illuminated by moonlight from the window.
The maniac—no, her face—left me briefly stunned, like a system error.
"...You."
I'd known she'd resemble her, but not to this degree.
It was copy-paste level.
So, half hopeful expectation, half unconscious trigger.
I called out without thinking.
"Yoo So-young?"
* * *
Visualizing black letters on a page inevitably involves modeling.
You can't create something from nothing, so skeletons come from empirical knowledge.
Thus, I list people I know.
Especially familiar ones, comparing to characters the author created.
Analyze described sentences, select prototype figures. Refine with details.
The result was now alive and moving before my eyes.
"Yoo So... what?"
...Cheon Seo-yoon.
The spirited, straightforward girl modeled after Yoo So-young as prototype.
One of the three main heroines in [Epic of Salvation], absent today due to a family event overlapping.
But damn, she really looked alike.
Moonlight-pale skin. Mid-length hair with a dark blue sheen, and starry eyes beneath.
Plus, height right at my chin level.
If she weren't in rumpled tracksuit instead of uniform, if not for the long sword slung on her back...
I'd have run over, grabbed her hand, and dragged her off.
"Ugh, so frustrating. Quit stalling and answer me."
"..."
But my mouth wouldn't open.
I'd thought it'd be pure joy seeing her in person.
Imagined finding comfort in lookalikes now and then...
But facing her for real wasn't that simple.
It felt like something stolen.
That face, that speech...
Even the voice similar—my emotions twisted.
Was Cheon Seo-yoon filling Yoo So-young's empty spot? My mind looped such suspicions.
"Sorry. I apologized, so let's leave it here."
My tone came out colder than usual.
"Hey, when did I say apologize? And if you're gonna, do it right. Don't half-ass it with that annoyed attitude—"
"I said let's stop."
"...What?"
"Like you said, it's annoying. So no more wasting time—go our separate ways."
"Hah, unbelievable. Wow..."
I knew I looked petty and childish enough to fluster Cheon Seo-yoon.
I'd drawn her myself, then vented frustration on her.
"What kind of asshole is that? Hey! Stop right there!"
Still, I ignored her and kept walking.
More talk would just worsen things... I needed time to sort my unruly emotions.