Chapter 8
Just the two of us in an empty training hall... Overconfidence in my abilities. A condescending tone when I didn't need to talk down to anyone. An arrogance that oozed from my voice. I could pat myself on the back for pulling off enough aggro to make it worthwhile.
But I'd overlooked one crucial fact. I wasn't some dime-a-dozen average guy from Korea right now. I was a stunning beauty that anyone with eyes couldn't deny. What would be cringey aggro from a typical guy A becomes personality when done by a super-genius beauty! Having lived as a man for thirty years, I'd completely glossed over that obvious truth!
"Amazing. How does she dodge every single one without getting hit? It's not just her eyesight—her reflexes must be perfect too."
"She's a veteran with years of real combat experience. Maybe she's really on a whole different level from us."
"It's only natural for a middle school girl to die charging into a gate alone. But the fact that she's survived this long says it all, right?"
Gazes of admiration and envy directed at me. I had no idea how to handle looks I'd never received in my thirty years of life. Why are you all like this? Didn't I just trash-talk you guys a minute ago?
"Um, hey! Could you maybe teach me Sense Qi sometime later? I feel like I'd get really good if I learned from you."
"M-me too! Gather Qi if possible. That thing you showed last time was incredible! Even I could tell just by watching."
"Ah! No cutting in line! I asked first!"
The cadets weren't just staring with envy—they were swarming me, trying to get close and buddy up.
...This is bad. What's bad is that this reaction doesn't feel half bad! It's not me who's amazing—it's Joo Hyowon...
I wasn't born with any special talent, nor was this the result of blood, sweat, and tears. If it were, I'd accept the praise with my head held high! But right now, I was just tinkering with the foundation she'd already built. Knowing that, I didn't want to act superior.
I didn't want to... but damn, it feels good getting stroked like this! No good. At this rate, I'll devolve into a validation monster hooked on headpats. I need to channel Joo Hyowon here and coldly shut it down.
"I-I'm not good at teaching, so no. Different experience just means stack enough and you'll catch up... so just work hard, yeah?"
Joo Hyowon wouldn't say something that lame, idiot! My inner voice screamed. But what can I do? My mental game's not tough enough to ice out kids approaching with such pure goodwill and admiration!
Of course, not everyone saw my act in a positive light.
"What a bitch. 'Experience' my ass—she just broke the rules and went berserk."
"Having a bit of talent doesn't mean she gets to look down on everyone."
"A guy that bad at teamwork will just drag the whole organization down eventually."
They weren't saying it to my face, but there were definitely some grumbling inwardly. Good, good. Don't keep that energy bottled up—spread it around. I'll tank the aggro for you.
"Grrrnununuuut!! Such insolence! But talent surpassing even this Esmeralda... I cannot deny it! But mark my words! In the end, effort will prevail!"
......You do you. Go get 'em.
The life of a popular kid is tough.
Try to do anything minor, and people swarm you. Go for a meal, and it's crawling with them. Break time between classes? They're all over me with questions. Even heading home turns into "Where do you live? Same direction? Let's go together!"
For a born loner like me, it was hard to adjust.
"I scraped by with some excuses this time... but it'll settle down after a while, right?"
At first, curiosity peaks—they think I'm something special. But humans adapt. Soon enough, I'll fade into the background like any other fixture. Just like always.
For now, though, pulling the aggro away from the protagonist isn't a bad thing. As long as I manage his mental state until that incident blows up, at least he'll escape the clutches of humiliation.
"...Speaking of, what’s the protagonist up to now?"
I'd seen Ayumi head home alone while I argued with cadets about directions. No way she'd ditch Yujin, so he must still be at the academy.
"At this stage, Hwa Yujin would be..."
The Hwa Yujin I knew was mostly post-corruption. Abuse stories rush past the pre-fall protagonist phase. But from his monologues and flashbacks, I had a hunch where he'd be. Off I went.
Bingo!
"There he is, in the training room."
The first-year training hall was empty this early in the semester. Just Hwa Yujin wrestling with the equipment alone.
Dodging qi orbs generated by the machine, calibrated to the settings. Same drill as with Instructor Sonya today.
Compared to Sonya's erratic, flashy upper-lower-left-right qi blasts, the machine's patterns were monotonous. Still seemed tough enough for the protagonist.
"They said he trained harder than anyone before blackening... guess it wasn't empty talk."
I'd doubted it since it only came from his inner monologues. But here he was, early in the term, grinding solo. Kinda pitiful.
His unique ability's weird, so he's drilling basics, huh? Right answer, but not 100%. Loneliness rots the brain. I know from experience.
Better intervene before his does. Time to step in.
"Working hard, huh? Making some progress?"
"...What? You spying? Nothing to see here. Scram."
He waved me off like chasing a cat. No chance.
"Who said I came for you? I'm here to train too, so mind your own business."
I fed him a half-lie and fired up the machine next to his. Three minutes, max output.
Qi orbs rushed me way faster than his. But dodging was easy. Instructor's were slower but trickier trajectories. This? I could do blindfolded. And I would.
Watching me nail what he struggled with, Yujin gawked, mouth agape.
I tossed him a light jab. "Hey, you know it's sexual harassment to stare at a girl's body like that, right?"
"W-who's staring?!"
Face flushing crimson, he whipped his head away. Fidgety fingers betrayed his worries, but he clenched a fist and asked,
"How do you really do it? Some secret trick?"
Great attitude—not ashamed to ask about weaknesses. Too bad I had zilch to offer. Not like I knew.
But, "Don't think! Feel!" Bruce Lee's classic. Don't think! Feel!
I didn't grasp the philosophy, but for this lost lamb, I could spout it. Truth is, I'm not thinking now. Just senses wide open, body reacting naturally.
That's the essence of Sense Qi! Gather and Emit? No clue. But sensing? Nailed it.
"...Sorry, doesn't make sense."
Yeah, figured. I'm winging it too. Still, I doubled down.
"Just remember what I said. It'll click in a key moment."
He nodded skeptically. Good boy. Even empty words get meaning eventually. It's Bruce Lee—bound to pay off.
Then a thought flashed.
"You... can't see the qi orbs clearly?"
"I catch blurry shapes. But details? Nah."
Makes sense for weak Sense Qi. To me, they're like glow-in-the-dark volleyballs.
"How about this? I'll gather qi around here. Make 'em pop, right?"
"...Think you can?"
"Easy."
I pulled ambient qi to my palm, excluding the orbs. Visibility spiked. Red dot on colorful paper? Hidden. On white? Obvious. Same principle!
"Better?"
"...Let's try."
Crystal-clear orbs now. He geared up with hope and resolve.
And got pummeled worse.
"Kgh!!"
"H-hey, what happened?"
His performance tanked hard.
"B-body won't move right. I see 'em but can't dodge..."
"Ah..."
Right. Qi here's like air, atoms. Controlling it restricted him. Like dodgeball atop a 5,000-meter peak.
"Reverse it then? Pump the qi density—easier to move, better dodges."
"...Okay, once."
I released control, even bled my own qi in. Space thickened.
Result? He got wrecked even harder.
"Now what's wrong?"
"Can't see... Orbs sped up, reacting to the density."
Got it. ...This is pro-designed training. Can't hack it with a flip. So,
"Gotta grind it out with grit. Fighting!"
"Hah, damn it."