Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Mana Shrimp and Perfect Control
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Glancing ahead, Lee Hyunjoo had stopped eating and was staring intently at my tray.
What's up with her?
"Why?"
At my question, Lee Hyunjoo snapped out of it with a flap of her hands. She looked at me with flustered eyes, then shook her head.
"No, it's nothing."
Yeah right. There's clearly something.
"What is it?"
"No, really, it's nothing."
She was denying it so vehemently that I didn't feel like pressing further.
Well, if there's an issue, she'll speak up on her own.
I stopped paying attention to Lee Hyunjoo and focused back on my meal.
As time passed, the food on my tray nearly vanished.
Now it was time for the grand finale: the braised mana shrimp.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say I came here just for this moment.
I picked up the braised mana shrimp from my tray with my chopsticks.
Sweet-scented sauce dripped down in thick drops.
*Oh, this is gonna be delicious.*
Just as I was about to put the braised mana shrimp in my mouth.
Once again, I felt eyes on me from the front.
Lee Hyunjoo was staring fixedly at the braised mana shrimp on my chopsticks. A moment later, our eyes met.
An awkward air hung between us for a brief second.
"...Want it?"
At my words, Lee Hyunjoo's pupils shook violently for an instant. But she immediately waved both hands vigorously in refusal.
"No. No. It's fine. Really."
Unlike her desperately flailing hands, her gaze was fixed on the mana shrimp. For some reason, she looked pitiful.
Come to think of it, Lee Hyunjoo had a setting where she had a strong appetite for food.
"You eat it. Here."
Plop.
I placed the braised shrimp on Lee Hyunjoo's tray.
It was a shame, but if it meant getting closer to a major character, I could spare one shrimp.
Lee Hyunjoo, who had been staring at the shrimp, turned her gaze to me.
"...You."
Emotion welled up in Lee Hyunjoo's eyes as she looked at me.
"You're such a good kid, aren't you?"
[Character 'Lee Hyunjoo' feels moved by you.]
[You acquire 1,000 points as a reward.]
The boring morning theory class finally ended, and main specialty class time arrived. Everyone looked excited at the thought of practical training.
For main specialty class, you move to the training ground corresponding to your specialty.
Since I was in manifestation, I headed to the manifestation magic training ground.
Upon arriving at the training ground, I saw many students already practicing magic. Quite a few unfamiliar faces were among them. They were from Class B and Class C, different from mine. Main specialty classes combined Classes A, B, and C.
"Ah, I've been waiting for this day."
"Me too. I really wanted to learn from Teacher Lee Hee-young."
Lee Hee-young, the 2nd-year manifestation teacher, sat gracefully in her chair. She wore round glasses, and even I, who hated glasses, thought they suited her exceptionally well.
I approached her cautiously.
My goal was to make a good impression early for attitude points.
Of course, earning points was another objective.
"Hello."
At my greeting, she smiled brightly at me.
"Ah, Student Kim Sunwoo?"
She called my name welcomingly, even though it was our first meeting.
She didn't seem to have checked my name tag.
How does she know my name?
Just then, as if reading my mind, Lee Hee-young spoke.
"I remembered you from the ranking evaluation test. You were impressive."
"Oh."
I had definitely stood out then.
As I nodded, Lee Hee-young continued.
"Ah, of course, saying you were impressive is praise separate from your scores, Student Kim Sunwoo."
"Yes?"
Seeing my confusion, Lee Hee-young smiled.
"Hehe. It's nothing. Now, go ahead and practice."
The manifestation magic training ground resembled a straight shooting range lined up in a row.
Lee Hee-young conducted classes by walking along the straight path, giving one-on-one feedback to each student.
"Student, you're focusing too much on control and neglecting the release. Put a bit more power into your mana and fire it off quickly."
"Your manifestation isn't right. It needs to be perfectly balanced, or it veers off oddly. Practice perfect manifestation first."
"Your release is too slow."
"You're slow on release too, student. You can't focus only on control."
As she taught, Lee Hee-young felt frustrated.
All the students had innate mana, but hardly any knew how to use it properly.
That's when her eyes landed on Kim Sunwoo.
- Whoooosh!
A pure white orb of mana shot forward swiftly, emitting light.
It precisely hit the target's head, demonstrating outstanding release and control.
*Huh? Pretty good.*
Lee Hee-young took a deep interest watching Kim Sunwoo's magic.
It was the complete opposite of his performance in the public test two days ago.
Back then, Kim Sunwoo had been so immersed in manifestation that he failed at release and control.
So she thought he had focused only on manifestation training in his daily practice, neglecting the rest.
After all, handling compressed manifestation at his age wasn't ordinary.
But the current Kim Sunwoo acknowledged his mana limits and handled perfect release and control with minimal mana.
It was like he was a different person.
*...Figuring out your own flaws at that age isn't easy.*
- Boom!
Then a massive sound shook the ground from the side.
Turning toward the noise, Yoo Ara was unleashing storm-like massive mana orbs.
Some students gawked with mouths agape at her magic.
Watching Yoo Ara's magic, Lee Hee-young thought.
*She's a real monster.*
Powerful manifestation unbelievable for an 18-year-old student.
And the boldness to fire off those massive manifested orbs without fear.
This stemmed from her innate talent and aptitude that others couldn't match.
But her magic felt somewhat simplistic.
Like a kid with an expensive gun just spraying bullets everywhere?
In contrast, Kim Sunwoo's magic was the polar opposite of Yoo Ara's.
If Yoo Ara's was missiles bombarding everywhere, Kim Sunwoo's was a pistol precisely shooting one by one.
Pistols and missiles differ vastly in destructive power.
But was a pistol always inferior to a missile? Not at all.
Pistols had unique advantages missiles lacked.
And Kim Sunwoo's magic had that special quality like a pistol—polish.
Manifesting the appropriate amount of mana he could handle. Perfect release and control.
The nuanced mana control was so outstanding it was hard to believe this was the student who had shown reinforcement aptitude just a few months ago.
"Student Kim Sunwoo, your control is quite good. No flaws in release or manipulation."
"Ah, thank you for the kind words."
Kim Sunwoo bowed politely. Lee Hee-young smiled at the sight.
*Cute.*
Come to think of it, she'd heard rumors among some teachers recently that Kim Sunwoo was proactive in class and polite.
Seeing him now, she realized it was true.
Who would maliciously spread videos of such a good kid?
*So mean.*
Whoever it was, they must have a lot of inferiority complex.
"Student Kim Sunwoo was reinforcement specialty until last year, right?"
Lee Hee-young casually asked what she'd been curious about.
"...Ah, yes. That's true."
"So you've only seriously started manifestation recently?"
"Uh, um..."
Kim Sunwoo trailed off.
Lee Hee-young watched his eyes, waiting for an answer.
"Yes. Pretty much."
"Hmm... So the mana discharge in the public test."
Mana discharge that occurred during the public test.
It made sense for a reinforcement student, who needed relatively less mana than manifestation.
*And yet he handles manifestation this well already.*
Lee Hee-young fell deep into thought.
Compressed manifestation, polished release and control.
It was hard to believe this was mana control from someone new to manifestation.
*Is this possible with just talent?*
"Alright, main specialty class ends here. Good work, everyone."
At Lee Hee-young's words, all students stopped training. The long afternoon manifestation class concluded.
"Stresses me out less."
"This is what class is about."
"Wanna go rest already."
Students stretched, exchanged goodbyes, or whatever, and hurried out of the training ground.
Yoo Ara, next to me, finished her last spell and started packing.
Guess I should head out too.
As I moved to leave the training ground, Lee Hee-young called me.
"Student Kim Sunwoo?"
"Yes."
"Good work in class. How's your training going lately?"
"Ah, yes. I'm doing it in my spare time."
"What about mana meditation? Do you do it regularly?"
Lee Hee-young smiled at me.
I could guess the intent behind that question.
She'd noticed my mana amount was woefully inadequate compared to my skills.
"Yes, I am."
"You're great in every way, Student Kim Sunwoo, but your mana capacity is seriously lacking, so you should address that first."
As expected of a former A-Rank wizard, she pinpointed my issue accurately.
"Got to keep at it steadily. No shortcuts to building mana."
"Exactly. Steady practice is key. You seem diligent, so I believe in you."
Lee Hee-young looked at me for a moment, then said, "Ah, hold on," and opened a desk drawer behind her.
"Where did I put it?"
What was she looking for?
She rummaged through the drawer, found what she wanted, and stood up.
"Here, take this."
Lee Hee-young held something out to me.
It was a small bracelet with three beige beads intertwined.
"It's an item that helps with mana breathing and maintaining condition. I made it for practice long ago—I'll give it to you."
"Yes?"
Items with special powers cost at least 500,000 won, no matter how cheap.
She made it as a hobby and was giving it to me?
"Uh... Is it okay to accept something like this?"
"Oh, no need to feel burdened. It's just a practice-level item I made myself, so the cost is negligible."
That eased my mind a bit.
No reason to refuse if she's offering.
I quickly took the bracelet before she changed her mind.
Slipping it on my wrist, I felt a subtle surge of vitality in my body.
"Ah, thank you. It feels really effective."
"Nah, you won't notice much change. These are usually for kids without basic mana formation. Your case is special, Student Kim Sunwoo, so it should work for you."
"Yes, I'll make good use of it."
At my words, Lee Hee-young chuckled in satisfaction.
"Alright, class is over, so head out."
6 PM.
All school classes ended. Students bustled to return to the dorms. I was packing to head back too when someone called me.
"Kim Sunwoo."
Turning around, Lee Seojun stood behind me.
What could he want all of a sudden?
I stared blankly at Lee Seojun.
"It's no big deal. Just letting you know since the team's set."
Ah, right.
Tomorrow was dungeon exploration day.
"Did you submit the team roster?"
"Yeah, just did on my way back."
"Yeah? Who'd you pick for the rest?"
"Shin Ji-hyuk, Yoon Ha-young, Jung Jin-tae."
Shin Ji-hyuk, Yoon Ha-young, Jung Jin-tae...
Excluding Yoon Ha-young, who held a somewhat important position in the original story, the names weren't memorable.
Seemed like they weren't major characters.
What criteria did he use?
"I don't remember them well. Who are they again?"
"Hmm. You might not know. They're not standout like you."
Lee Seojun said it teasingly with a grin.
Ignoring that, I asked what I was most curious about.
"But what's their ranking?"
"43rd, 82nd, 122nd."
"What?"
My jaw dropped in disbelief.
Is this for real?
Including me, three low-rankers on the same team.
Even for Lee Seojun, this composition left room to lose to Yoo Ara's team.
"Hey, you sure about this?"
"Yeah, what's the problem?"