Chapter 12
Time flies by. In the blink of an eye, two weeks had passed, and I'd learned a ton from Park Serin during that time. Maybe because I absorbed everything she taught me like a sponge. She seemed to like my talent, so she didn't just teach me her swordsmanship—she shared her precious mana cultivation method and even tips on handling sword aura.
Still, there wasn't enough time to learn it all.
Even with Swordsmanship Prodigy letting me grow at an insane rate, her techniques were so advanced that mastering them completely was impossible. Serin-ryu was something she'd created herself, optimized perfectly for her body. Talent alone couldn't overcome all the hurdles.
Though that'll sort itself out as I grow stronger.
If I could just catch up to her stats, things would get interesting.
"Tomorrow's the entrance ceremony, right?"
"Yeah... I'm a little nervous."
The ceremony was right around the corner. I pulled up my status window to see just how much stronger I'd gotten.
Thanks to all the sword training with Park Serin, my stats had shot up enough to finally escape D+ rank and hit C-.
I didn't realize skills were separate from traits...
I'd thought there was no system like skills since nothing showed up, but apparently it was just because I didn't have any. Once I acquired [Serin-ryu], deploying it became a tiny bit easier. The more I trained, the smoother and more precise it got, so the skill seemed to level up with proficiency too.
I was lost in thought, admiring my improved status, when Park Serin grinned and made a suggestion.
"How about one last spar before enrollment?"
"Huh? We already did everything we planned for today."
"Aw, come on, it's the final day—don't be like that."
With that, she suddenly drew her sword.
All our spars were with real blades. My swordsmanship couldn't pierce hers, and even if it did, my strength wasn't enough to hurt her. She always stopped her blade just before it touched me.
Compared to when we first met, I'd grown tremendously, but the gap between us was still this wide.
"Haa..."
No choice—I drew my sword and followed her lead.
Park Serin, excited as ever, bared her teeth in a grin and nodded. Our spars always started like this. No "ready, begin"—the moment I was set, she'd charge.
And the outcome was usually the same.
Thwack!
I got hit by something that wasn't even swordplay and went flying.
"You fell for the kick again!"
"What am I supposed to do when I can't see it...?"
"Dodge by feel! By feel!"
Even with Sixth Sense, I couldn't react—that meant her speed was straight-up ridiculous. And yet here she was, spouting nonsense about dodging on instinct.
"Yeeeah..."
I mumbled half-heartedly and hauled myself up. My side throbbed like hell where she'd nailed me, and I was groaning while rubbing it when Park Serin, already packed to leave, tossed out a casual line and headed off.
"Anyway, that's it for today. See you next time, junior."
I stared blankly at where she'd stood for a moment, then got up and started packing myself.
"We won't see each other for a while after tomorrow's enrollment... and she just leaves like that?"
A little disappointing.
I'll power-level over break and shock her.
Someday, I'd surpass Park Serin.
"Oh crap."
If I didn't hustle back and sleep, I might oversleep the ceremony tomorrow. I grabbed my sword and bolted to my cramped one-room apartment.
*
You know how people who rarely sleep deeply end up in a death-sleep once they finally crash? They won't wake until all that built-up fatigue is gone.
Why bring it up? I overslept.
"Shit, why didn't the alarm go off?!"
20 minutes until the ceremony. I jolted awake, panicked, and dashed to the bathroom. I splashed cold water over myself to shake off the drowsiness, threw on my uniform, and got ready.
The uniform was simple. White dress shirt on top, then a black suit that looked more military than school attire. Tie colors marked the year—ours, the freshmen, was red. A golden star badge gleamed on the right chest. Pants were plain black. (Skirts were black too, with two gold lines at the hem.)
The academy uniform's quirky bit? It was an artifact. Auto-clean, auto-fit for comfort. It molded perfectly to my body, so no chafing no matter how rough I got. Plus temp control, self-repair, low-tier physical resistance, mid-tier elemental resistance—you name it, the magic was endless.
They hand out free gear like this just for enrolling? Academy must be swimming in cash.
"Gonna be late for real."
I snatched my wallet with my student ID and my phone, burst out the door, and sprinted toward the academy.
It wasn't that far—or so I thought. With my training-hardened body, non-stop running should get me there on time. Not close, but doable.
"...Wait, which way is it?"
I had no idea.
I knew the general direction but not the exact route. I'd bolted off blindly anyway...
Should I pull up the map app now?
As I reached for my phone, a redheaded woman rushing somewhere caught my eye. She was wearing the same uniform.
She'd probably overslept too and was hurrying. Her confident strides meant she knew the way.
So...
Follow her!
I stopped to check the map but took off after her instead. True to Astel Academy standards, she was fast—five minutes in, I was gasping.
She really knows the way, right?
Then she slammed to a halt, panting and looking around. Our eyes met, and she jogged over.
"Hey, do you know the way to the academy?"
Nope. No clue.
*
We ended up checking the map, burning mana to sprint, and slipped through the gates just before they closed.
As I caught my breath, the redhead who'd run with me plopped down beside me, huffing too. Her ponytail swayed—bright red hair, clear yellow eyes without a worry in the world.
I knew her. Scarlett Ivansia, one of the first in Hero Become to fall for Dina and one of her staunchest followers.
"Haa... haa... That was brutal. Thanks to you, we didn't miss it. Appreciate it."
"I was just running to not be late myself."
After catching our breath, she stuck out her hand for a shake out of nowhere.
"I'm Scarlett Ivansia! Thanks again for showing me the way."
"Han Siwoo."
We shook. Once we exchanged names, Scarlett started babbling about stuff I hadn't asked.
"Man, I was so hyped for today that I went to bed late, then overslept because of it..."
"Same—I hit the sack late too."
"Really? I wasn't the only one! I didn't see anyone else in uniform on the street, so I thought it was just me. I was freaking out about being late..."
She kept rattling on, and I thought,
She's... so bright. Yeah...
As someone shy who usually waits for others to talk first, she was a bit much. An announcement blared that the ceremony was starting soon, so we followed the crowd to the annex where it was held.
Scarlett had switched to casual talk and wouldn't shut up, so I just nodded along with "Oh yeah?" and "For real?"
Wandering the academy grounds made it sink in—I was really here. It sounded like just a school for Awakeners, but nope. As the nation's top academy, it had dedicated sparring arenas and training grounds as basics. Dorms for students and staff, all the amenities. Basically, it was a full-on academy city.
I couldn't believe I'd gotten lost earlier when this place was so obvious. In Hero Become, they called it Star City. The grand facilities I'd never seen even in my past life stretched out, making me wonder if a guy like me belonged.
By the time we reached Halo Hall for the ceremony, my jaw dropped.
I'd pictured a big gym since it was the "annex."
Bigger than a soccer field maybe...
Scarlett grabbed my shoulder, shaking me wildly in excitement, which made my head spin.
"This is the famous Halo Hall! Way bigger than I heard! Right?!"
"Uh, yeah... Can you stop shaking me? I'm getting dizzy..."
She finally let go with an "Oops!"
"Sorry!"
A seating chart at the entrance showed where freshmen sat. I found my spot by my student ID number, waved bye to Scarlett, and headed inside.
It looked massive from outside—inside, it was even huger.