Chapter 50. The Direction the Heart Points

***

The attention of those around us focused on Grecia and me. No, it was mainly focused on Grecia.

The light of blessing enveloping her entire body was that special.

ㅡ!

Grecia’s form, moving rapidly and continuously, was engaging in high-intensity training reminiscent of real combat.

And that sight itself looked alien to me.

‘What kind of realization could she have had?’

I had been watching her from the beginning, but I couldn’t understand at all.

Grecia must have gained a great insight for such a light of blessing to envelop her, but where could such a catalyst have come from?

In the Groa worldview, it wasn’t uncommon for the light of blessing to manifest when one was deeply immersed in training. But that was just ‘not uncommon’, it didn’t mean the frequency of the light of blessing appearing during training was high.

It was extremely rare.

Moreover, Grecia was at a high level for the early stages of the academy.

ㅡUnique Talent Level 3.

If she were to evolve her Talent like this, she would immediately reach Level 4…

Gulp.

As I swallowed, I felt a chill for a moment.

…This was an even more unbelievable miracle than Leonhardt, who could be called the protagonist of this world, reaching Level 3 in one go.

It meant that Grecia possessed talent beyond even that.

“…How?”
“Are there only monsters like this in A1 Class?”
“If Grecia evolves, won’t it be Talent Level 4…?”

As disbelieving voices came from the students gathered nearby, my mind rather became calm.

The light of blessing was merely a precursor suggesting evolution. It wasn’t a definitive sign of evolution.

Whether Grecia could achieve such unbelievable growth, we still had to wait and see.

ㅡ!
ㅡㅡㅡㅡ!!

As if unaware of the attention focused on her, Grecia continued to leap through space, riding the strong winds that kept surging.

And at that moment.

As one of Grecia’s eyes squinted, I felt deep regret.

“Ah.”
“……”

As the gathered students also let out disappointed exclamations, the gales sweeping through the area gradually subsided.

Grecia’s sword, which had been swinging continuously, also lowered.

As the light of blessing enveloping her entire body faded away, everyone’s expectations ended so futilely.

Thud.

Looking at Grecia standing still without saying anything, I thought it was inevitable.

‘If she had reached Level 4, Grecia would have surpassed Leonhardt.’

Raising the level of one’s Talent was always difficult, regardless of when.

Moreover, it was known that higher-grade Talents increased levels faster compared to lower ones, but.

There was a clear ‘fallacy’ in that statement.

Rather than saying students with higher Talents found it easier to level up, it meant that more students with lower Talents gave up on growth and fell behind.

While it was certainly true that higher Talents grew faster on average compared to lower grades, looking deeper, it was a laughable statement.

It was simply because students with higher Talents strived harder to move forward and put in more effort.

“Han Chunsung.”

As she suddenly called me unconsciously, I calmly met her gaze.

‘She must be disappointed.’

But there was no emotion beyond that.

“How… did I look to you?”
“It was good. I didn’t feel any unnaturalness in how you utilized your Talent or in your movements.”

Although I wasn’t sure if I was in a position to evaluate her, that’s how Grecia appeared to my eyes.

Her movements were natural, and her ability to move quickly riding the strong winds was a power unique to her that other students couldn’t handle.

“No unnaturalness. Is that all?”
“If we go into specifics, there are other impressions too. But Grecia, which part do you want me to elaborate on more?”

As I watched Grecia gradually approaching me, it felt strange.

From my perspective, she seemed to be progressing well on her own.

She appeared to have grasped how to train to properly understand her Talent and evolve it.

Rather, I was curious.

Why was she seeking that answer from me?

“It’s not about any specific part. I want you to tell me everything you felt while watching me.”

But when she spoke so directly, I unconsciously hesitated.

“…”

I was greatly flustered for a moment as the surrounding students gasped in surprise, but I tried to compose myself.

Click.

Grecia now faced me with just one step between us.

“…”

She demands an answer from me with an extremely pure gaze. But I couldn’t understand why she was seeking that answer from me.

We have different types of Talents, so I don’t have much to advise.

Would my advice or impressions even be meaningful?

“Grecia. Even if you say everything… I can’t handle wind. Wouldn’t it be better to ask a student with a similar Talent? That would be much more meaningful.”

In the end, I spoke with practical help rather than my impressions, but.

However, for some reason, Grecia shook her head.

“Han Chunsung. Even something trivial is fine. Your impressions are much more important to me than those of other students.”

As Grecia spoke persistently again, the gazes of the surrounding students watching us felt even more stinging.

Nevertheless, I conveyed my impressions.

“If you insist that much, I’ll only talk about your movements. You handled your wind Talent and imbued that energy into your sword, and you also used wind when moving… Your movements were very natural, but. They seemed a bit monotonous. The way you attacked, flowing like calm water, was very consistent. So it’s easy to predict what kind of attack you’ll make.”

“…Monotonous, so it’s predictable.”

“Yes. Of course, I think that can be an advantage too, if you maintain your offensive steadily without wavering, that can be a strength. But isn’t the essence of wind freedom?”

I answered carefully while reversing one of the principles of spearmanship.

The spear was a weapon that had a greater advantage in consistent and direct offensive rather than emphasizing diverse changes.

The sharp spear tip. The power concentrated on that single point has a strength that no other weapon can match.

It pierces through the opponent, causing fatal damage.

However, ‘wind’ felt completely different from spearmanship.

Wind is inherently free and without any restrictions. This was evident in how Grecia could use wind even without handling a sword.

Then, the wind Talent could contain infinite variations.

Wouldn’t changes suit Grecia better than consistent offensives?

“The essence of wind is freedom…”

Even as I watched Grecia muttering blankly, I didn’t think my words were the correct answer.

I can’t handle wind myself, and I wasn’t sure if my understanding of the characteristics of the power was correct. I just expressed what I felt.

Because that’s what Grecia wanted.

Whoosh-

As a subtle wind suddenly swept around Grecia’s form, our hair naturally fluttered.

The wind was cool and refreshing.

Unlike the fierce and sharp wind that had swept through the entire area just before, it was a wind that made people around feel comfortable.

“Han Chunsung, thank you.”

As Grecia suddenly smiled gently and met my gaze, I unconsciously averted my eyes.

“…I’m glad if it was helpful.”

Grecia’s appearance with her blue hair fluttering in the wind was special.

When purity is imbued with beauty.

I felt again how different she could look.

As I averted my gaze like that, I noticed the surrounding students.

As if not just I felt that way. Many of the students watching the training were staring at Grecia as if entranced.

“…”
“……”

Seeing that, a smile involuntarily escaped my lips.

So, I wasn’t the strange one.

The fact that my heart fluttered for a moment when facing such a radiant Grecia…

It was just natural.

…

At that moment.

Chunsung didn’t notice.

That as he smiled momentarily while averting his gaze from her, Grecia also averted her gaze from him.

***

ㅡ!

A sword imbued with brilliant blue light.

It felt alien, different in nature from mana, and more beautiful.

And Yumia felt disappointment looking at the sword’s owner.

How much disappointment one feels when being together yet not feeling together at all…

“…”

As we took turns watching each other’s training, checking on each other, I felt my mood sink.

Leonhardt’s gaze, focused on training, occasionally turned to one place.

The space where Grecia and Han Chunsung were. And there, Han Chunsung was now swinging his spear.

Having risen to the unbelievable level of Talent Level 4, the spearmanship he displayed seemed threatening even to me.

But more than that.

I didn’t like Leonhardt’s gaze.

“Is it that hard to concentrate?”

I found myself speaking involuntarily.

“Ah… Sorry.”
“You don’t need to apologize for not being able to concentrate. But if you keep losing focus, why don’t you pause training for a while?”

At my words, Leonhardt smiled awkwardly and withdrew his sword.

It felt strange to see his blonde hair sticking to his face, or his student uniform greatly disheveled.

Clearly, Leonhardt was just unable to concentrate on training, but he couldn’t be said to be neglecting it.

…So I found myself saying words I didn’t really mean.

“Leonhardt. Shall I ask again? To train together even now.”

And if he wanted… I could speak on his behalf.
That much was really nothing.

“…No, we can’t do that.”
“Why? You’re so unfocused right now. When we first brought it up, even Han Chunsung was willing to accept us readily, and if it’s just persuading Grecia…”
“Yumia. I’m really fine.”

Leonhardt, who had always listened to my words, suddenly cut me off.

His blue eyes meeting my gaze looked more resolute than ever before.

And in those resolute eyes… I clearly felt that he was greatly shaken.

So a laugh involuntarily escaped me.

“…Is that so? Alright then.”

Even as I answered with a smile, a part of my heart… ached dully.

‘Not yet…’

You’re not there yet.

I thought Leonhardt had completely lost interest in Grecia after last night’s incident, but that wasn’t the case.
I saw the wavering and lingering attachment in his eyes for a moment.

Leonhardt still… hadn’t completely let go of Grecia in his heart.

“Sorry, Yumia. You’re dedicating your precious time to me too.”
“No. It’s okay.”

…Even as I answered, it really was okay.

Although my heart ached, I could endure it.

Because Grecia had absolutely no interest in Leonhardt.

Because I had feelings for him, I could sense what kind of feelings Grecia had now.

ㅡ!
ㅡㅡㅡㅡ!!

The man strongly thrusting a spear enveloped in blue light at one side of the training ground even now.

ㅡHan Chunsung.

I could be certain, from my perspective, of Grecia’s appearance as she kept her eyes on that man even now.

That Grecia’s heart was already directed towards Han Chunsung.