The 15 Million Won Bet
Ever since learning mana rotation from that weird teacher, Yoo Ara had felt her body growing strangely lighter.
"This is odd."
Not only did her eyes snap open every morning, but the constant fatigue she'd carried on her shoulders like a burden had vanished as if washed away. Was it thanks to the mana rotation? He might've been a pervert of a teacher, but he clearly had real skills.
"Oh, right. Almost forgot."
Yoo Ara spread out several sheets of newspaper on the floor the moment she got out of bed, crossed her legs in a lotus position, and circulated her mana just as she'd been taught. To be precise, it wasn't her circulating it—the lingering energy from that perverted teacher in her body was doing the work.
"Haa, haa."
The heat she'd felt during her first mana rotation stimulated her entire body. A tingling thrill. Caught up in the pleasurable sensation, Yoo Ara's body twitched involuntarily. This was the side effect.
For some reason—maybe because of the special circumstances of that first time—when she closed her eyes and focused on the circulating mana, she felt as if she were naked. The sensation of sitting in a lotus position nude, rotating mana. After about an hour, her whole body was drenched in sweat. Her heart pounded, her skin prickled with an odd itchiness, and by the end of that hour, her lower body was always sopping wet.
It was bizarre. She wasn't usually this sensitive. She'd barely masturbated once a month, if that—completely ignorant and indifferent to sex. But only during mana rotation! Her core throbbed like mad. It felt like the teacher was staring at her naked body, making her blush with embarrassment to the point of insanity. She knew he wasn't there, but she still felt his gaze. No, it was like his fingers were directly caressing every inch of her.
She hated that sensation, yet when the rotation ended, she kept thinking back to it. The silver lining, though...
"Ugh, the smell."
Finishing the mana rotation always brought a pungent stench that stabbed at her nose, cooling her arousal like ice water. She pinched her nostrils shut without thinking. The newspaper she'd laid out beforehand was soaked through with some unidentified fluid.
The teacher had said this was waste built up in her body. His mana burned away her accumulated toxins and rebuilt her physique anew. On weekly test days, that mana would incinerate most of the waste, filling the space with his own mana.
"No way that's true."
As if something that convenient could happen. If a few rotations filled you with mana, every awakener in the world would be brimming with it...
Abundant mana energy is detected.
Mana stat is growing.
Mana: C → B
"Wh-what?"
She witnessed her own growth. She couldn't feel it in her body yet, but the system had never lied—not once.
"My rank went up? From just one mana rotation?"
Was this even possible? Even if she was clueless about mana rotation, she knew the theory. To raise your mana rank, you needed weeks of sustained exposure in a mana-rich environment. Without talent, months wouldn't cut it. And yet, this easily?
"Maybe he really is talented."
A tiny spark of trust in her tutor flickered to life. But it was short-lived.
"Ah, gotta hurry and get ready. Weekly test today."
Today was the day of her bet with the tutor over grades. She coveted that 15 million won he'd wagered, but she had no intention of tanking the test on purpose. What mattered was surviving at this academy.
Yoo Ara rushed her preparations and left her apartment.
Hunter Replica – Estimated Grade: B- ~ B+
Excellent preservation state. Despite its appearance, it offers considerable defense.
"This armor's B-grade. At best, you could call it B+ defensive gear."
"What? Check it again. It can't be B-grade! That guy swore it was at least A+ gear!"
Another complainer showed up today. The type that came once a day. The ones who thought their junk was special and your appraisal was wrong. Scammed somewhere, fed bullshit by some hack appraiser, now convinced with zero evidence.
A pain, but easy to handle.
"Guard! Handle this, please."
"What? 'Handle'? You calling me something to handle?"
Our friendly guards would take care of it.
"Sir, please calm down. Our appraisal accuracy is 99.999%. We offer cross-verification for any potential errors, so if you'll just come this way..."
"Quit bullshitting and appraise it right!"
The yelling hunter got grabbed by the guards. And then...
"Appraise it properly right now!"
The bastard unleashed his power. Mana swirled, slamming the two guards into the wall. Razor-sharp cuts etched across their bodies like blade wounds. Not life-threatening, but first aid was needed.
That'd be the incoming guards' job.
The problem was this guy.
"Hey, appraiser. You'd better appraise it right this time. Or this wind'll slice your throat."
"Is that a threat?"
"Think I'm asking nicely?"
This was bad. Really bad.
"So I'm being threatened with my life right now?"
"You fucking with me?!"
"Then I can use self-defense, right?"
I said it loud enough for everyone to hear.
"What the hell's this prick babbling?"
"What else? Recording evidence."
"What?"
"This is justified self-defense."
I seized his throat in an instant.
"Kek!"
"Looks like wind magic, but it's soundwave-based, right? Gets stronger the louder you yell?"
"H-how...?"
"I see everything."
I'd seen it in that split-second yell—the soundwave blades erupting from his mouth, slashing the guards.
Staying calm in any situation. Seeing everything in a flash. That had to be what Charisma SS did. My guess, anyway.
"Scary stuff, huh? When our guest does this, my hands are shaking."
I smashed his jaw. Guards swarmed in and restrained him.
"You okay?"
"Thought I was gonna die. Take him away."
The troublemaker slunk off pathetically.
"Aigoo, another complainer. What was it this time?"
"The type insisting their item's worth more."
"Drew the annoying one."
The team leader slurped his coffee and eyed me.
"Hey, drinks after work today—you in?"
"Sorry, but on-time quitting's the rule."
And I had an important appointment. To confirm if Yoo Ara was really latent S-grade potential.
One more lesson after the first. Simple content: Inject a bit more mana to boost her rotations. Homework: Sense mana in three days and cast it yourself.
Surprisingly, she sensed it. Couldn't cast yet, but amazing progress.
Not S adaptability for nothing.
Definite talent. Problem was, she didn't know it.
So I injected more mana than planned. Same process: Naked lotus position, me leading the rotation.
Still embarrassed stripping, but no more freakouts. Proper learning effect.
Second lesson ended with just rotations. She seemed unsatisfied, but you don't grow fighting from a chair.
Successfully wrapped the second one. Boost her mana capacity, and the urgent issue's solved. Her practical fails were from weak telekinesis. Max out mana, problem gone.
Simple fix.
Impossible for normals, sure.
"Hope she's doing well."
Hated losing 15 million won for nothing.
"Siu, got a girlfriend?"
"Pardon?"
"Quitting on time and all—doesn't add up without one."
"Girlfriend? Barely managing myself."
"Really? This looks girlfriend-ish..."
I left the team leader clinging to his delusions and headed to the break room.
"Where to?"
"Need to cool my head after that shock. Can't work otherwise."
Time for a break. Head hurts.
Weekly evaluation. A test judging situational awareness in simple simulations and growth via basic ability checks.
For first-years, it was weekly to acclimate them. This one was three weeks before the regular exam—scores often carried over.
And right now, Yoo Ara was...
"It... it really works?"
She stared blankly at the massive rock floating from her outstretched hand.
Thud!
"Record: Telekinesis output at 120P. Purely by numbers, matches A-grade telekinesis."
Scribble scribble.
"Yoo Ara, you've grown a lot."
First praise from her professor.
"Yoo Ara, weekly ability test: A."
"A? You're giving me an A?"
A was top-tier at the academy.
"Would've been S in primary eval. But weekly maxes at A, so take it."
First time in her life for such a score. Felt too good even for weekly.
Unbelievable. She pinched her cheek to check if it was a dream.
"Ow..."
Reality. A on weekly eval.
"By pre-regular exam standards, A output's warranted."
"Thank you!"
"Judgment in sim got B, basics C... Keep it up, you might pass the first regular."
"Y-yes, I will!"
"Good. Maintain that progress. Seen too many flame out on the real test after weekly highs."
Basking in the professor's gentle praise, Yoo Ara smiled after a test for the first time.
"Yoo Ara, weekly evaluation passed!"
Grabbing her report card, the perverted tutor popped into her head.
Come to think of it, never asked his name.
She decided to ask his name first thing when he came for the lesson at her place.