Loophole
"Ugh."
Mo Ye-ji staunched her nosebleed as she entered her assigned dorm room. The smartwatch was already synced, so there were no tedious security procedures.
She pinched the bridge of her nose. The heat in her nostrils faded as the bleeding stopped. Glaring at nothing in particular, she muttered under her breath.
"Definitely..."
Her Talent was Silent Prophecy. A special ability that let her read a target's future in proportion to how long she held her breath. The more targets, or the stronger they were than her, the longer she had to hold it. In severe cases, she might glimpse only a flash of the future.
But for some reason, Imir's future was invisible. Not even a flash.
"...Not this time either."
She had no interest in him. Her life left no room for fixating on some worthless guy. Mo Ye-ji's attention was on Choi Ji-seong, not him. Choi Ji-seong mattered far more.
"......"
And she could see Choi Ji-seong's future. About three seconds when she pushed her breath-holding to the limit.
But that other man's future? Nothing. Not even the fleeting glimpse she got from the instructors. Just... blank.
Like that day. Like... that woman.
"Why? How?"
Mo Ye-ji stripped off her jacket and flopped onto the bed. The crusted blood in her nostrils was gruesome. Damp, fishy, hot-smelling.
She'd retracted her ability right away on the stairs, avoiding a blackout. But in the sparring arena? No such luck. The vision hit, her breath cut out, and consciousness burned away.
Just like that day.
"...First time since then."
That gruesome bloody stench. Damp, fishy, musty.
The air had reeked of it that day too. Her twelfth birthday. The day her hero dreams etched into her soul like a brand, her Talent awakening.
The day... her mom, dad, and little brother's heads flew through the air like volleyballs before splatting on the ground.
"......"
Facing the woman who drew a vicious blade on her, Mo Ye-ji had instinctively unleashed her newborn Talent. But that woman's future wouldn't read.
Just like with Imir today.
"......"
Ironically, the woman had muttered some incomprehensible words before vanishing, leaving only Mo Ye-ji alive. Like wind shifting without reason or purpose.
And the ordinary girl there that day had died. Only a gloomy vengeful ghost survived.
"Why... why couldn't I see that guy's future?"
Even academy instructors could glimpse a flash if they held their breath long enough.
But why? Why couldn't she see his future?
Why the hell not?
"Mm."
Was it just the limit of her Talent? Or her imagination? What connected that woman and Imir? Was he linked to her somehow?
"Agh... no clue."
Her mind spun in confused loops from the repeated thoughts.
> Message received.
Her synced smartwatch buzzed.
"...Ah, this sucker."
Yoo Seong-won. A middling guy. And one who liked her. He'd messaged the second he confirmed her sync status.
Ignoring him just brought more.
Annoying, but she had to reply. Mo Ye-ji scribbled a half-assed response.
Plenty of guys had shown interest before. Yoo Seong-won was just one of many. The difference? He had a bit more utility.
But the life she had ahead wasn't for ordinary girls. To walk the doomed path straight and true, she needed raw power. Especially from someone strong and brimming with justice, like Choi Ji-seong...
"...But Choi Ji-seong hasn't messaged."
The shady spot behind the academy dorms. Dim and deserted, rarely visited.
But right now, four cadets huddled there.
"Ugh, cold as balls. What's with today's weather?"
Cadet rank 9, Park Jeong-pal's gripe got a nod from rank 11 Pyo Hang-woo.
"Right? Hey, Seong-won. You not cold?"
Yoo Seong-won was glued to his smartwatch.
"Nah."
Ha Yeon-si side-eyed him as Park Jeong-pal eyed her face.
"You cold too, Yeon-si?"
"Eh, yeah. A bit."
"All the good spots had people. If it weren't for the seniors, I'd have jumped 'em right there. Sucks it's the first day..."
Ha Yeon-si snorted at his bravado.
"Don't do anything stupid. We're probationary heroes now. Starting pointless fights won't end with a slap on the wrist."
"Haha, yeah."
Park Jeong-pal scratched his head, trying to lighten the mood.
"Anyway. Remember that ape from earlier?"
"...Ape?"
Pyo Hang-woo corrected quick.
"Not ape—primitive."
"Primitive" was slang for Martial Artists. In this era of advanced mana-tech, kids looked down on those who fought bare-handed without weapons.
"Right, primitive. But that prick went toe-to-toe with Choi Ji-seong. How?"
"Ji-seong went easy. He's nice like that. I'm more curious how a rank 280 even got matched with him."
Ha Yeon-si, half-listening, nodded.
"Yeah. Definitely weird. Ji-seong's opponent should've been Cheol-woo."
Park Jeong-pal muttered.
"Guess even the academy can't escape corruption."
"What? You buying the kids' rumors? That he pulled strings with Choi Ji-seong for score adjustments?"
"Not buying, but it's fishy."
"Weird Talent, maybe. Or late-bloomer who reported it over break."
"Could be. Cadets hide abilities from each other, so who knows..."
A rustle from the opposite building's corner. Park Jeong-pal turned to see Choi Ji-seong and Han Cheol-woo approaching.
"Speak of the devil."
Park Jeong-pal waved.
"Yo, Ji-seong."
Choi Ji-seong spotted them and waved back.
"Oh, hey. Everyone's here. What's up?"
"You go easy in that spar?"
"Spar?"
"The training match. With the ape... er, primitive."
"Ah, Imir."
"Imir?"
"That's his name."
"Fuck, weird-ass name. Anyway, you went easy, right?"
Choi Ji-seong smiled honestly.
"Nah. Didn't."
The kids read it differently.
"Totally went easy."
"Classic Choi Ji-seong."
"Too damn nice."
"...For real, I didn't."
Choi Ji-seong spoke clearly, but no one listened. They knew his personality too well.
> Message received.
"What the—."
Yoo Seong-won griped, his chat with Mo Ye-ji interrupted. The message popped up.
Class Assignment Notice
Score Distribution Announcement
Class assignments and freshman score sheets.
> Cadet ID confirmed.
> New cadet: Imir.
I scanned my ID via smartwatch and entered the training ground. The first-year exclusive one next to the main academy building.
First day of enrollment—maybe that's why it was nearly empty.
"...Weirder if it was crowded."
I veered to a spot with zero people.
The comprehensive body-strike training room inside the training ground. Body-strike drills were notoriously unpopular among basics. Mindless repetition of blocking and punching.
"Lemme see... should be around here."
Digging through old memories, I headed to a corner room.
True to its neglect by cadets, the recorded scores were mostly pathetic.
"...Found it."
I scanned the rooms and stepped inside.
A cramped 5-pyeong space. Activating the training system popped out a custom dummy that attacked.
Higher stages added dummy arms, ramping up the threat.
I dodged what I could, smashed what I couldn't, pushing through.
About 40 minutes of sweating later.
Strength +0.1
Health +0.1
Intelligence +0.1
……
Stats up. Not super satisfying, but that wasn't the point.
Blasting through stage 10 in one go, I checked my Contribution window during the break.
Training Ground Score: #3 Achieved!
Reward: 300 Points
"Yes!"
Hard to top training ground scoreboards normally. Too many monster cadets.
But hit an unpopular room? Easy exploit.
A loophole, basically.
Right after, I restarted the system.
A while later, I snagged 2nd and 1st too.
Training Ground Score: #2 Achieved!
Reward: 500 Points
Training Ground Score: #1 Achieved!
Reward: 1,000 Points
"Whew."
Got cocky and nearly blew it. Took about two hours; strength tapped out at the end, almost resetting the score.
...Time to head back?
Wiping sweat, I cracked the door.
Ting. Thunk.
Odd noise. Turned to see the culprit in the next room over.
Black straight hair half-hiding soulful eyes. And absurdly massive tits.
Tits alone told me who.
"...Woo Yu-na."
She was training here too? Unlike me, she traded shots with the dummy using training bow and arrows.
Looked like she'd fled here to dodge stares. Yeah, those huge mounds drew eyes inevitably.
I ogled the seismic show a good while when my smartwatch buzzed.
> Message received.
That instant, Woo Yu-na glared at me. Sharp senses, like a proper archer.
"Ahem."
I ignored her sour look and checked the watch.
"Oh."
As expected—same class as the protagonists.