It’s no new revelation, but Shio-ram is ridiculously vast.

I remember it being roughly the size of Jeju Island from the original world. I had no real sense of how large Jeju Island was.

But there was a common understanding that using an entire island the size of Jeju for a single educational institution was mind-blowing.

The facilities for superhumans apparently require a lot of land, hence the need for such expansive space.

Thanks to its size, autonomous buses run within Shio-ram at roughly ten-minute intervals at each stop.

Leaving the dormitory, I sat on the bus and peered… sensed the path through the window.

Feeling the space whisking by, I was involuntarily awestruck.

Although I knew from the game that an entire large island was being used, actually experiencing it firsthand brought a different kind of emotion.

It had been ten days and another week since I started living in this other world.

Today was the day of the welcome party for new students.

While I’ve been cooped up in my room grappling with textbooks, other cadets have been steadily completing their dormitory entries.

“Hey, isn’t that him? The, uh, special admission one.”
“It seems so by the looks of it.”
“Doesn’t he feel somewhat different for someone in the perception department?”

The piercing stares and murmurs were evidence of this.

Even tucked away in a corner of the bus, I was noticeable enough to be recognized at a glance. Is walking with my eyes closed really such an attention-grabbing affair?

Upon closer consideration, it did seem like something that would attract attention.

I had known for less than a day, but my name was already quite famous on the student community forums.

That phrase I just heard, ‘special admission.’

It refers to a student who didn’t take the Shio-ram organized exam but was directly contacted by an official and admitted.

Simply put, it doesn’t seem like something that would draw much attention.

There were also students recommended by Shio-ram professors to take the exam and others who had powerful backers and benefited from that to gain admission.

However, if one understands that the ‘official’ mentioned here means someone other than a professor, only one person in fact, then it becomes understandable.

‘Neriel Claidya.’

The founder of Shio-ram.
The owner of The Tower of Growth.
The Silent Sorceress.
A legend in the superhuman world who has lived for over 150 years.

Her incredible feats include quelling top-tier dungeons and shattering dozens of first-class dungeons.

Even a single first-class dungeon could wipe out a city if mishandled, and a top-tier dungeon going awry could threaten the existence of a nation.

Especially the era when the principal was active, it wasn’t a peaceful era like today but rather one of upheaval and chaos.

Considering that dungeons going out of control are rare even in advanced countries today, those achievements are all the more astonishing.

In other words, the principal is a historical figure engraved across dozens of pages of history for having thwarted national-overthrowing and city-destroying dungeons.

Also, being the owner of an educational institution that has produced superhumans who have been at the forefront for almost 100 years.

There’s a talent recommended by such a person. For the first time in nearly a hundred years since Shio-ram was founded.

The very first one.

Even that alone was enough gossip to chew on, but the first subject of such a case is blind and mute? Where else would you find gossip material like this? Even I would be intrigued.

‘When it was just a game, it didn’t matter.’

Special admission status wasn’t really a concern in the game.

Even as the main story unfolded, I never met Principal Neriel in person, and in the game, it was just a matter of interest levels rising and that was it.

But now that it’s become reality, the pressure is no joke.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that literally everyone is looking at me and murmuring. And it’s not just nice things I’m hearing; I’m also catching snippets of slander.

“F*ck. How can a blind person be admitted to Shio-ram?”
“Backed by the principal, what does being blind matter.”
“Wow… is this that disability admission?”

They think their whispering is unheard, but it’s quite clear to my improved hearing…

‘Disability admission…’

I’ve seen the term ‘disability admission’ on the internet. My feelings about it weren’t particularly bad.

Well, even I think ‘disability admission’ fits my case…

I’m resolute to break free from my constraints. I’ve vowed to become stronger for that cause, but honestly, I don’t have confidence that I’ll truly become strong.

To swing a sword and split a car in half, to conjure fire from human hands and burn down a building.

It was nothing more than virtual reality. In the common sense that I knew, such things were impossible.

That common sense shattered about two weeks ago.

My world changed in an instant. Suddenly, I lost my sight and gained the bizarre ability to read space and act accordingly.

I can also sense the mana that exists all around the world. There’s some mana inside my body, too.

It seems possible when I look at it… but the shattered remains of my previous common sense deny it.

‘Is that even possible?’ Even if it’s not impossible, it doesn’t seem possible for me.

[The next stop is The First Banquet Hall.]

How long had I waited, sitting on pins and needles? The bus doors opened at the destination, and students started getting off in droves.

I, too, joined the tail of the crowd and stepped off.

Thanks to the cadets all heading to the banquet hall, I didn’t need to switch on my navigation, just following the crowd was enough.

Entering the banquet hall.

It was bustling with students who had arrived earlier, but the building was spacious enough not to feel uncomfortable.

Checking the time, there was about half an hour left until the start.

As soon as I entered, I avoided the imminent attention and stepped outside the banquet hall, heading to a nearby convenience store to at least quench my thirst.

‘I need to get used to this, too.’

I’ve never received this kind of attention before in my life, so it’s awkward and burdensome beyond measure.

If it were the old days, I would’ve just dropped everything and run away, but given my current situation, I have no choice but to swallow my tears and stay put in Shio-ram.

I sighed deeply and opened the cap of the bottled water I bought from the convenience store, taking a sip.

Under normal circumstances, I would have bought fruit juice, but with my sense of taste being what it is, I felt depressed knowing it would taste like nothing.

I wished I could at least smell the fragrance… but my sense of smell was just as compromised.

At that thought, depression hit again. It feels like negativity is constantly hovering in front of me… oh wait, I can’t even see ahead.

A barrage of negative thoughts. At this rate, I might as well be digging a tunnel straight to the Earth’s core. I shook my head vigorously to shake off the thoughts and exhaled a sigh.

…Negative thinking changes little. I can’t just curse my situation and stop there.

To escape this pit of negativity, I need to act. It’s not the thoughts but the actions that must change.

‘That’s right. I’m already preparing, aren’t I?’

As I reassured myself and was about to head back to the banquet hall, an incident occurred.

“Hey, hey! Watch out…!”

It happened in an instant.

As I was exiting the alley by the convenience store, something that was outside my spatial perception ran towards me at high speed and crashed into me.

“?!”

“Ouch! What the f*ck?”

The water bottle flew through the air, scattering its contents. Caught off guard by the sudden impact, my body tumbled to the ground, and I almost let out a scream without realizing it.

In fact, I did scream when I was hit. Consequently, I’m struggling with the pain now.

“Damn it. Can’t you see in front of you? Move when people tell you to get out of the, way… do… oh, oh, oh oh…”

My throat hurt. I’ve become quite accustomed to the pain from the ‘Curse of Silence,’ but still, pain is pain.

Tears trickled down.

While trying to control the pain caused by the Curse of Silence, I heard a familiar voice from above. It was the character voice I had often heard while playing the game.

I reflexively looked up, and the voice trailed off before ultimately becoming silent. Through my spatial perception, I could see the outline of a woman looking down at me.

I could only determine the silhouette, but from the voice just now, I could guess her identity.

Hong Yeon-Hwa.

A member of one of the top three Korean clans, ‘Gop-Hwa.’
The daughter of Hong Jin-Yeon, the current Lord of Gop-Hwa clan, and granddaughter of the former Lord.

One of the protagonists with the potential to take over as the future Lord of Gop-Hwa clan and stand in line with the world’s strongest characters.

“Uh, I mean, that…”

[I’m sorry.]

Before a suddenly silent Hong Yeon-Hwa could speak again, I hurriedly got up and bowed deeply.

[I am truly sorry for not responding properly due to my slow reflexes, and for causing you discomfort.]

Did I really do something wrong? Wasn’t it the other person who crashed into me?

This thought was tucked away before it could fully raise its head. Arguing about who was at fault here wasn’t a good approach.

There was a feature about Hong Yeon-Hwa that came to mind before even her beautiful appearance, which resembled dancing flames of her unique ability that caused a special mutation.

A fiery personality. In short, hot-tempered. An irritable nature and the creed of repaying both grudges and gratitude tenfold.

Added to that was the vibe coming from Hong Yeon-Hwa.

She was a fireball. The mana took the shape of fire; just looking at it seemed like it could burn me to ashes.

Reacting with “You crazy woman, it was your fault” would certainly not bring about a good response.

In my mind’s eye, I saw myself becoming fuel for the fire.

At least in the game, that’s how it was, and in reality, trying to stand up to her would not end well.

With that judgment, I quickly stood up and tapped my watch.

“No─! Noo! I’m the one who should be sorry! I was moving in a hurry and didn’t see in front of me. I am really sorry.”

?

But the reaction was peculiar.
Instead, it was Hong Yeon-Hwa who was apologizing and bowing to me.

Wouldn’t it have been straight to a combat event if this were the game?

I hesitated for a moment before bowing in return.

“……”
“……”

An awkward silence filled the air.

I was caught off guard by Hong Yeon-Hwa’s unexpected behavior, and Hong Yeon-Hwa… well, I have no idea why she’s like this.

“Uh… you’re that guy, right? The special admission student.”

[Yes, my name is Lee Ha-Yul.]

“I know the name. You’re quite well-known, or… um…”

I’m aware that I’m famous, for better or worse.

I understood why.

The recommendation admissions probably felt the same, but the exam admissions would be displeased with me.

After all, they had been striving and sweating for this, barely managing to get admitted, let alone those who took a simple test for recommendation admissions.

I was admitted without even taking a test. From their perspective, my presence must be unbearably annoying.

I had just experienced their stares on the bus, and even in the original work, the favorability of other cadets towards me was generally low at the beginning.

‘?’

Her trailing words stretched on. Hong Yeon-Hwa’s response was once again peculiar. She seemed unsure what to do, her fingertips trembling slightly.

“Um… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean any harm.”

[It’s okay.]

Really, I can’t figure out why she’s acting this way.

In the midst of the renewed awkwardness, I suddenly remembered the welcome party schedule and hastily checked the time.

Fortunately, there was still time left. The convenience store was right next door, so there was enough time to walk there.

“Just a minute!”

As I was about to turn away, Hong Yeon-Hwa frantically waved her hand.

“Um, should I show you the way? I feel a bit sorry about earlier…”

‘I should decline…’

[Thank you.]

There was no refusal this time either.

* * *

‘Crazy woman.’

Such a damned crazy woman.

Hong Yeon-Hwa cursed herself as she reflected on the recent incident.

Here’s what happened: she overslept a bit and had to rush to prepare before dashing out of the dormitory.

The facilities were fairly decent. Not as good as her home, but still top-notch, allowing her a comfortable sleep.

But oversleeping meant Hong Yeon-Hwa had to hurry.

She didn’t take the bus. It was slower than running, and normally she would have taken it to pass the time.

But with the time crunch, she just ran.

Thinking back now, did she really need to be in such a hurry? It wasn’t necessary. She should have had enough leeway to walk from halfway there.

…Her vision had narrowed, so she failed to notice him. She just thought she was late and intended to run all the way there.

With her thoughts fixated on one side, her vision narrowed, and thanks to that, she failed to notice someone walking out of the alley and crashed into them.

There was a bit of an excuse. The other party’s presence was suspiciously faint. Faint enough that she, a superhuman with enhanced perception, missed it.

Also, before the collision, she had slowed down. It would have been enough that if she had bumped into an ordinary person, they would have staggered a bit and that’s all.

But the person she hit? They tumbled to the ground as if flailing about. And then they choked as if stabbed by a knife.

The overreaction, akin to acting out pain, left her somewhat dumbfounded.

So she quickly lost her temper, and in less than 10 seconds regretted it.

She glanced back. The male cadet, who had grabbed the sleeve of her uniform, was following her ploddingly.

His noticeable feature was his small stature. She was tall, but he was even shorter than her. So delicate-looking that his tumbling made sense.

Moreover, the way he grasped her sleeve with both eyes firmly shut and followed her stirred a strange protective impulse in her.

…The dampness around his eyes pricked her heart. Why were they wet? She didn’t want to imagine, but the answer came unbidden.

And she, who had knocked down a blind boy unable to see in front of him, had blurted out ‘Can’t you see in front of you?’ like a curse from the depths of hell…

‘Damn…’

Hong Yeon-Hwa was always advised by her family elders, including her grandfather and father, to tone down her personality.

Her innate temperament was part of it, and the coddling atmosphere unique to her family also contributed to the formation of her character. Additionally, various experiences had made her impatient and irritable.

Above all, Hong Yeon-Hwa herself hadn’t particularly heeded the advice, which was a significant reason. And this was the result.

Unable to contain her snap of anger, she had caused this commotion.

…She had definitely brushed off her clothes earlier, but it seemed some dust had stuck to them. Reaching out, she flicked off the dust from his shoulder, causing him to flinch.

“Ah, I saw some dust on you.”

[Yes.]

His flinch might have been a reflex, as he nodded and replied via the hologram.

…Naturally, speaking with one’s mouth is much more convenient than tapping the smartwatch to display a hologram response.

But he couldn’t do that. Speak, that is.

‘Should I have kept my mouth shut?’

It’s awkward. It feels strange to start a conversation.

Especially with someone I just met for the first time.

And even more so from the position of the offender who had just committed such a rude act.

She was trying to do some damage control by offering a quick apology and guiding him personally, but she knew this wouldn’t be enough to satisfy.

The damage was already done.

Hong Yeon-Hwa inwardly chastised herself while carefully leading Lee Ha-Yul by the sleeve.