Liana had grown weary of hearing the word “talent” throughout her life.

When she was born.

Her innate mana capacity effortlessly surpassed that of others by tens of times. Her affinity for mana was excellent, making it easy for her to control it.

Her manipulation abilities naturally improved. Although she was still too young to have awakened her unique ability, no one doubted she would become an outstanding superhuman.

The awakening of unique abilities.

An elemental-type unique ability so rare that it was truly exceptional, like counting on one’s fingers. That was the period when expectations for her skyrocketed.

And just like that, swept up by the atmosphere, she somehow became a hero, and before she knew it, she was fighting on the African front lines.

There were her own choices involved. Thoughts like it was better to save people than do nothing, and later, after earning a lot of money, she could retire comfortably…

Regardless, having lived the hero life for quite some time, she incessantly encountered the praise of her talent.

Those with a bit of renown were invariably talented beings.

Innate talents for mana, magic, martial arts, and unique abilities…

Talent, talent, talent.

She had heard it countless times. Talent sprung up in every sector imaginable, and all around her, talented people were as common as dirt.

For a moment, memories from a seemingly distant past to the not-so-distant past flashed by.

The sky was still blue today. It was different from that over the African front lines.

Liana turned away from gazing vacantly at the sky.

In the grass not far enough to measure a difference in strides.

The boy who had swapped his initial upright posture for a curled-up position, now emitting even breaths in sleep, was in sight.

“Pfft.”

A chuckle escaped her lips. The scene was endearing. He already had a cute appearance, so every little thing he did seemed adorable.

Was this the consequence of appearance supremacy? Or was it the charm of Lee Hayul’s placid nature?

Whichever the case, watching him inspired a desire to stroke his head.

Occasionally, his body twitched. Now that she thought about it, Lee Hayul seemed particularly sensitive to cold.

Liana, just in case, took out the outerwear she had brought and laid it over Lee Hayul.

The moment the coat was draped over him like a blanket, he seemed content and curled up even more, emitting a purring sound.

He had now completely burrowed into the coat.

Trying not to laugh at the scene, Liana held her breath. She almost burst out laughing.

Having held in laughter for a while, she gradually calmed down. Stifling her still pounding heart, Liana recalled the scene from a moment ago.

The crystal orb processed from mana stone. A tool frequently used for cultivating basic mana manipulation skills.

There were three steps in the process.

The first stage was making contact with the mana in the crystal orb.

Breaking through the resistance of the said mana to carve a hole and extract it was the second stage.

Absorbing the extracted mana was the third stage.

For Lee Hayul, who was at the initial stage of mana introduction, the process was even more challenging.

Before those three stages, one had to be aware of their own mana and know how to operate it.

The crystal orb served as a medium for that. Barely noticeable alone, but with two placed side by side, their characteristics became more apparent.

Thus.

Lee Hayul had to be aware of his own mana, operate it, draw it out to contact the mana in the crystal orb, punch through with operation, then collect and make his own the scattering mana.

Here, Liana judged that Lee Hayul had to have talent related to mana.

He was a special admissions student. There had been no precedent for a student of his status to be admitted.

The headmaster, who, excluding the messages conveyed through the vice headmaster for decades prior, had entirely cut off external activities.

With conspiracy theories claiming she might actually be dead, she had concealed herself somewhere in The Tower of Growth for many years.

In the midst of this, the vice headmaster relayed her message.

They had selected a special admissions student.

Thinking back to the commotion at the time, even now she shook her head in disbelief.

After various events, the person who entered The Tower of Growth and now slept soundly before Liana’s eyes was Lee Hayul.

She too was quite shocked when she learned of the situation.

Putting aside the process and the cause, the headmaster herself had personally chosen him, so she believed he must have talent.

Indeed, from what she heard from Atra, he possessed a subtle talent.

– ‘Subtle talent?’ Not outstanding, nor insignificant, what exactly does that mean?

– As said. Even I couldn’t quite grasp it. He learns quickly, but… something is odd.

– Eh?

According to Atra’s assessment. An odd talent…

Although she was unsure of its meaning, since he was said to have talent in martial arts, maybe he had talent in this area as well.

She had planned to confirm this and to personally guide him if he did have the talent.

Therefore, Liana had intended to watch Lee Hayul struggle with the crystal orb just once. She needed to know what the issue was if she were to point anything out.

And then Lee Hayul, focusing on the crystal orb.

In an instant, he had wrung the crystal orb dry, greedily absorbing every last bit. It was like a starving beggar devouring food after days of fasting.

It was a remarkable event. The original three stages – in Lee Hayul’s case, nearly five with self-awareness and manipulation, were all completed at once.

If that had been all, Liana would have simply marveled at Lee Hayul’s talent. She would have been relieved thinking he had talent and would have pondered how to teach him.

Making contact with the mana, piercing through, extracting it, and absorbing the released mana.

Astonishing, yet not unprecedented. Liana herself had done so. Though Lee Hayul was much quicker, it wasn’t inconceivable.

However, there was a difference between Liana and Lee Hayul.

The amount absorbed. Liana had barely managed half? Lee Hayul had taken almost all of it. He was overwhelmingly fast, and he had taken twice as much.

And that was not all. The reason Liana felt not only admiration but also strangeness was what happened next.

Liana glanced around subtly. The grass on the ground seemed faintly deprived of vitality.

It might be her imagination, but when she closely compared it to the grass further away, there was a discernible difference.

Above all, when looking closely at the mana, it was clear that the concentration of mana in the vicinity had significantly thinned.

The area of influence wasn’t large. At most a radius of 2 meters.

What was crucial was that beyond the mana of the crystal orb, the ambient mana of the surrounding space was also absorbed.

And even more crucially.

In the current situation, the most serious question.

Liana raised her right hand. The spot where she had placed her hand on Lee Hayul while he was holding the crystal orb, to give a signal.

Astoundingly, unbelievably.

Lee Hayul had absorbed Liana’s mana as well.

Of course, it was possible because she had mana wrapped around her exterior, and because she did not resist.

If she had wanted to resist, Lee Hayul wouldn’t have been able to breach her mana at all.

…Would he really not have been able to?

While thinking this, Liana couldn’t dismiss the small, lurking doubt in her mind.

Atra said it. An odd talent. Something intrinsically different from normal talents.

Liana felt it too. Although in a different category, she also judged Lee Hayul’s talent as alien.

What to make of it…

Liana’s gaze swept over Lee Hayul, the colorless crystal orb, the vegetation around, and her own right arm.

Could the analogy be this?

It was as though his access permissions were different. Something about his mana affinity seemed different from the norm.

She understood why Atra, even with her insistence, took time to pinpoint it. It was indeed distinctive.

Liana chuckled and reached out her hand. She touched the soft locks of hair.

It was an addicting sensation.

* * *

Shin Seo-yul is an early riser in the mornings.

There was no particular reason. She liked the uniqueness of the morning air. It was cool but not too cold, and the sensation refreshed her inside. She enjoyed the soft warmth of the sun, not overly hot.

So occasionally, when she woke up early in the morning, she would go jogging.

Dressed in comfortable gear with a sports towel lightly soaked in water around her neck, she’d enjoy a brief sprint.

Running, enveloped in the morning air with a suitable tempo, gave her a liberating feeling as though her chest was clearing up.

Afterwards, indulging in snacks brought from the dorm while sitting somewhere nearby was bliss itself.

Just having finished jogging, the taste of cool, sweet coffee poured into a body that’s starting to heat up is an indescribable joy.

“……”

The hand holding the 8,500 won (including sales tax) coffee trembled slightly. She didn’t suffer from Parkinson’s. She was a healthy girl who was not prone to minor ailments.

Yet her hand shook. Her face turned cold. It wasn’t just due to the chilling dawn air but also because she felt a sense of chilliness.

The park around dawn was imbued with an atmosphere that cut sharply through the greenery. Her gaze was drawn towards the scenic walking paths among the trees which added immense charm to the park.

And then she saw it.

Lee Hayul was curled up, fast asleep on the grass near the lake.

Cute.

This was her first impression. Wasn’t his appearance designed to emphasize cuteness?

The features were delicate and smooth. Seeing his face, ridiculous as it was, he seemed prettier than her at times, and upon looking again, handsomely ridiculous.

The critique that he was a golden parachute or a biased special case was being swept away, no doubt partly because of that appearance.

Truly, there was no need for another fairy.

Once, Hong Yeon-hwa had compared Lee Hayul to a fairy in passing.

Whether it was a slip of the tongue or not, she realized her mistake immediately afterwards, leading to a moment where her expression turned to stone.

Afterwards, a memory sticks where she and her friends were teased for being charmed by a ‘fairy’ and got hit a few times in return.

Back then, they all laughed uproariously, but seeing Lee Hayul now made the ‘fairy’ comment resonate in agreement.

But! However!

That’s not the important part.

Near the lake, covered in the dawn’s mist with Lee Hayul lying there… and the woman seated so primly beside him.

Shin Seo-yul had to admire the beauty of the woman even in her own eyes.

In this vibrant place, her green eyes were exceptionally captivating.

Liana Velus.

The professor in charge of the entering class.

As a member of the elite class, Shin Seo-yul had no direct acquaintance with her. At most, she had met her a few times when visiting Hong Yeon-hwa or Baek Ahrin.

Therefore, she was oblivious to their situation.

Why were they together this early weekend dawn?

Why was Lee Hayul so comfortably asleep beside her… even covered with a coat? It clearly didn’t seem to belong to Lee Hayul…

Why Liana was stroking Lee Hayul’s head was also an enigma.

Was there some situation? One thing was clear: Shin Seo-yul, as herself, neither knew if there was a situation nor if there was supposed to be one.

In that moment, Liana turned her head. Their eyes met. For a second, Liana widened her eyes then let out a tiny laugh, lifting her index finger to her lips.

– Shh

Shin Seo-yul’s shoulders jerked at the voice that seemed to permeate her ears.

It was telepathy, communicating directly with the other party through mana.

Not exactly an ability from the backup team with psychic-type unique abilities, but a technique sometimes used by rather skilled superhumans.

“……”

Shin Seo-yul remained silent for a brief moment, then nodded her head. Liana appeared content with the response, a smile playing on her lips.

Shin Seo-yul turned her back and left the park, not stopping her steps until that peculiar gaze vanished.

Without realizing it, what was once early dawn had given way to morning. People were starting to become active.

Shin Seo-yul stopped walking and furrowed her brows, thinking of her friend.

The friend with a fiery temper yet showed good aspects once acquainted, the red-haired friend who played the role of a punching bag, always giving enjoyable reactions when teased.

The girl who never diminished her temperament even in front of her parents yet acted coy in front of Lee Hayul as if she were a sheltered maid.

There was an incident where the friend made a mistake, and the boy asked whether she liked candy…

The way Hong Yeon-hwa’s eyes looked at Lee Hayul…

And now, the scene from moments ago. Liana, covering him with her coat and caressing his head while he lay asleep in the park…

After collating various pieces of information accumulated over her lifetime, Shin Seo-yul daringly predicted one conclusion.

A full-length drama unfolded in her head.

“Oh…”

Shin Seo-yul shivered at the shocking conclusion she reached and shook her head.

“Yikes… that’s a tough opponent.”

Regardless of being her friend, this time Hong Yeon-hwa’s opponent was a formidable one.