The weekend passed in the blink of an eye. I hadn’t even caught up to half of my reading, and time flowed like water.

While I was somewhat anxious about the practical exams in the midterms, thinking about it now, the written exams were equally daunting.

The fact that the written exam weight was low didn’t provide any comfort.

I was already weak in written exams, and now that I had fallen behind this much… the future looked grim.

I sighed deeply as I opened the wardrobe.

I took out my cadet uniform for the first time in a while.

‘Hmm…’

I examined my body with the power of observation. Besides the droopy left sleeve, there was nothing unusual.

Wearing the cleanly designed cadet uniform, devoid of unnecessary decorations, felt oddly strange.

It felt like it had been a long time, yet also like just yesterday… an ambiguous feeling.

When heading to Shipnaha, I wore one of my few casual clothes, and for the few weeks in the healing room, I wore patient clothes.

Time had indeed been long, but most of it had been urgent and chaotic, making my sense of time feel sluggish.

Simultaneously, the tension that had been tightly wound was gradually loosening.

Ever since leaving Shio-ram, I had been on edge.

The traumatic experience right after leaving Shio-ram in the 7th round contributed to my anxiety.

In Shipnaha, I indeed faced a life-threatening situation. I nearly ended up in a grave there.

In the healing room… I felt strangely uneasy and irritable whenever Professor Atra wasn’t around. I just felt repulsed by the healing room itself.

My nose twitched involuntarily, and I felt nauseous. I simply hated being there.

[Repulsion]

[Hate]

[Smell of alcohol?]

It triggered unpleasant memories.

As I dwelled on these thoughts, the necklace started spouting my thoughts without restraint. I hadn’t tried to control it, and it didn’t fail to live up to its reputation.

But didn’t it say it wouldn’t reveal deep-seated thoughts? The smell of alcohol… wouldn’t my trauma be part of my deep-seated consciousness?

‘Tsk.’

Bad memories surfaced for no reason. After straightening my clothes, I glanced at my face.

…Even from my own perspective, I didn’t look good. The shadows under my eyes seemed darker, and my face overall looked worn out.

It was because I hadn’t been sleeping well.

Even lying in bed, I couldn’t fall asleep. More precisely, I felt sleepy but couldn’t fall asleep.

My consciousness just wouldn’t settle. An inexplicable sense of unease kept me awake.

I had similar symptoms at the beginning of the semester. The world around me had changed, and with everything being uncertain, I couldn’t sleep well.

So, I maintained the habit of exhausting myself to the point of passing out… but now, even though my mind was tired, I couldn’t pass out.

And I was too afraid of Professor Atra’s stern warnings to physically exhaust myself…

I didn’t know why I couldn’t sleep even though there was no place safer than here.

I just felt empty and…

[Lonely]

[Professor]

[Hug me, e-bebebebeb]

‘Oh, damn it.’

Startled by the unabashed words, I gripped the necklace tightly.

A shameless and indecent comment almost slipped out.

Even thinking such things privately made me want to die of embarrassment, and if someone else heard it… I wouldn’t have the courage to lift my head and face the world…

My fingers trembled. An impulse rose in my mind.

[Destroy]

…I suppressed the impulse. Destroying the gift given by Elia and her family would make me a wretch.

I brushed the feathers of the Wings of Heaven draped over my shoulder and left the dormitory.

Shio-ram… I couldn’t even be bothered to count how many weeks it had been.

Two weeks remained until the midterm evaluations.

.

.

.

As announced in the group chat, most of this week’s common lectures were packed with spirit-related lectures taught by Professor Liana.

Hence, instead of heading to Ipchun Hall in the morning, I went to the pre-announced Second Nature Park.

It didn’t take long to arrive.

After leaving the dormitory and taking an autonomous bus, I was dropped off at the entrance of the Second Nature Park.

Despite being called a park, it wasn’t a facility for relaxation.

The facility was a strict training ground set up for the cadets.

And as the name “Nature” suggests, although it was a facility, it preserved a lot of natural scenery.

‘Oh…’

After getting off the bus, I expanded my observation range significantly. This time, it surpassed my previous maximum range. Fortunately, it didn’t strain my head much.

[Headache]

[Nosebleed]

[Retinal hemorrhage]

Just the usual level of headache.

‘This is working well.’

I practiced using the power during the weekend.

Observation and space. Powers I didn’t know why they were with me.

Although I had built some proficiency with spatial perception, separating what I had forcibly merged caused some stuttering.

The spatial power was particularly challenging.

Maybe because I had been using spatial perception as a form of observation rather than perceiving space itself.

Fortunately, the observation power had less stuttering. Even just using it similarly to spatial perception had that effect.

‘…Observation power’

The power granted by the Tower of Observation.

The Tower of Observation is evaluated as one of the pillars supporting the current world order.

Thanks to the forewarning of disasters like the Forbidden Regions, dungeons, and villains, many lives are saved even now.

Such forewarning is possible because of the Observatory established by the Tower Master of the Tower of Observation.

24/7, 365 days. Without a moment’s gap, the Tower of Observation surveys the entire world.

Of course, due to practical limitations, most of the observation is focused on the Forbidden Regions and potential dungeon outbreaks.

Thus, it couldn’t actively address domestic crimes.

The help it provided was indirect, like supporting magical tools with a small portion of the observation power.

However, even if indirect, without it, the arrest rate for villains committing crimes using unique abilities would be abysmal.

‘Hmm…’

The entire park’s appearance came into view within my observation range.

There were few artificial traces. There was little evidence of human touch, like pruning.

The only trace was a path leading to the lake.

At the center of the nature park was a large lake, its water exceptionally clear, without the slightest murkiness.

Although it wasn’t dawn, it was still early enough that a faint mist lingered, creating a unique atmosphere.

The surroundings were also clean, making it not feel awkward. It seemed like I could roll around, and there wouldn’t be a speck of dust.

At the entrance was a path paved with tightly packed stones. It was one of the few visible artificial traces.

Walking along the path leading to the lake, the presence of people grew closer.

Despite leaving early, there were those who arrived before me.

They were my fellow Ipchun class cadets. Professor Liana had not yet arrived.

As I drew closer, a few cadets who sensed my presence turned their heads.

Their eyes widened. They tapped the cadets beside them, who also turned their heads and similarly widened their eyes.

Gazes fixed on me. Different from before… quite intense gazes made me shiver slightly.

“……”

“……”

I gulped.

The feeling was as if they were looking at something incredible… yet also at a pitiable person…

Those awkward gazes were hard to bear.

Perhaps the only fortunate thing was that no one approached to talk.

Hong Yeon-hwa and Elia had not arrived yet either.

Neither had Atila, Aidan, nor Nam Yeon-jung… those with whom I had some familiarity.

In short, there was no one to talk to.

I glanced around cautiously and found a spot to sit a bit away from the others.

The grass was lush, so despite being on the ground, it wasn’t as hard as expected. It wasn’t too cold either, so sitting wasn’t uncomfortable.

I thought of spreading out the Wings of Heaven and lying down, but I remained seated, conscious of the gazes fixated on me.

– Whoosh

A breeze swept past my body. The wind was quite chilly.

Had I been sitting there for a while?

As more cadets arrived, a chilly presence approached me quietly.

“Hayul, you came out early?”

A familiar voice and presence. More than anything, the cold aura that couldn’t be mistaken.

“It’s been a while since your hospital visit!”

Contrary to the chilly aura, Baek Ahrin greeted me with a bright smile.

Her warm, soft smile lightened the surroundings, but knowing the original story, I remained on guard.

‘But…’

I hesitated and bowed my head in return.

I also remembered Baek Ahrin’s considerate actions.

Even during common lecture hours, she had always been considerate. She had greatly helped me in the Tower of Growth. After that, I knew she had shown various kinds of consideration.

Thus, I didn’t feel an absolute aversion toward her.

She had never harmed me, and had always shown care, so rejecting her without reason seemed wrong.

However, I couldn’t trust her unconditionally. If the original story was accurate, who knew when I might be betrayed.

Although I had some theories about her background, nothing was certain.

So, I remained cautious. I was unusually mindful of controlling the necklace.

If my mouth… or the necklace slipped up here, it would be a catastrophe like the 11th round.

[Hello]

[Baek Ahrin]

[Nice to meet you]

The Necklace of Confession activated. The thoughts I murmured inside were expressed in a stern voice.

“Oh.”

Baek Ahrin’s eyes widened. Her gaze, full of wonder, landed on the necklace around my neck.

A glimmer of interest appeared in her eyes. She seemed to realize that it wasn’t just any magical tool but an artifact.

“Is it an artifact? Does it express thoughts as sound?”

[Yes]

“Ah. This type is rare…”

I nodded inwardly at her words.

The Necklace of Confession had a peculiar function among various artifacts.

Peculiar, but not superior.

In the original work, the Necklace of Confession wasn’t used much.

Even using it for interrogation was tricky since the wearer could control it, filtering out information, and it could overload and break after changing owners a few times due to its engraving function.

In such cases, using magic to pry open someone’s mind was faster and more reliable.

‘But is Baek Ahrin really that intrigued?’

Being from the Changhae family, she must have seen all sorts of artifacts.

Considering the top-tier artifacts the family head would wear and those activated in the main house, the Necklace of Confession should seem ordinary.

[Thank you for visiting me. The gift… I enjoyed it]

Baek Ahrin had brought high-quality candy as a hospital visit gift. After seeing Hong Yeon-hwa giving me candy, she also chose candy.

Of course, while both were candy, they were different types.

Hong Yeon-hwa mostly gave me sweet, apple-flavored fruit candy, while Baek Ahrin gave me traditional sweets called okchundang, made by mixing rice flour and taffy.

They looked colorful and delicious.

At least on the outside.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it! If you want more, just let me know anytime.”

As I pondered that.

Baek Ahrin, who had exchanged a few words with me and the necklace, sat down beside me.

She pulled her outstretched legs together and hugged them with her arms.

Baek Ahrin continued the conversation as if everything was fine.

‘Hmm…’

It was a normal, common posture.

– Squeeze…

But now, such a normal posture felt quite uncomfortable.

Because as she pulled her legs to her chest, her chest naturally got squeezed.

I didn’t particularly pay attention to it… but Baek Ahrin’s chest was incredibly large.

Since Baek Ahrin was quite tall, her proportions seemed fine, but even to someone like me with no related knowledge, her chest was exceptionally large.

As her chest got squeezed, I felt suffocated.

It was just a thought. I tried to avoid such thoughts as much as possible.

Ever since acquiring what I thought was the spatial perception power, I had been extra cautious.

Since manifesting Gop-hwa through unconscious synchronization, strange impulses kept arising, making me even more careful.

The observation power had an outstanding ability to gather information.

Thus, peculiar information occasionally seeped in.

I especially paid attention not to misuse that information.

I did the same this time. I controlled the observation power. I disregarded unnecessary information.

A bit of information came in, and I promptly dismissed any improper thoughts that arose from it.

As always.

[Huge chest]

Except this time, as I focused on the observation power, my control over the necklace slipped slightly.

[Huh?]

“Hmm?”

‘What?’

What did I just say?

No, what did the necklace just spout?

My brain froze. The monotonous voice that echoed in my ears wasn’t properly processed.

But one thing was certain, it was an extremely rude and impolite comment.

After a fleeting moment, my mouth fell open. The color drained from my face.

Baek Ahrin blinked.

She blinked a few times, her eyes widened as if she had heard something unexpected.

And then.

– Hehe

Her eyes curved into crescent moons, and the corners of her mouth lifted. A playful smile spread across her face. It was as if she had found something to tease.

“My chest is quite big. Why? Do you want to touch it?”

She laughed softly while poking my cheek.

Frozen stiff, I flinched and frantically shook my head.

End of Chapter