NoveLight ™
"Ah, sigh..."
Sitting beside me, Elia let out an unusually deep sigh.
She then completely collapsed onto the table, her warm-looking yellow hair spilling out, and her ample chest pressing against the tabletop as she sighed again, something quite unlike her.
An expression full of fatigue.
It was a rare sight from Elia, who was always so positive.
As I took a sip of the overpriced cocoa, I listened to the various conversations around us.
In a café filled with the soft glow of the setting sun streaming through the windows, a somber atmosphere echoed throughout as complaints piled up.
"It's just so hard..."
Elia continued to sigh heavily, not seeming to mind how her chest was pressing into the table as she complained.
"Yeah, the exam was definitely tough overall. I barely managed to finish it in time," Baek Ahrin replied, sitting across the table, sipping her coffee.
Even Baek Ahrin, who secured the top spot in the entrance exam, admitted it was difficult.
...But according to the original storyline, Baek Ahrin would still keep her top position this time with perfect scores in both written and practical exams.
"Overall? The whole thing was insane! Some of those questions were just impossible."
"That’s just because you didn’t study properly, Yeonhwa... Never mind."
"What? What’s with that? You almost say it, then you just trail off?"
Hong Yeonhwa, who was seated beside her, also had her head down on the table.
It was right after the first day of the midterms.
We had all gathered at this café to check the tournament preliminary list, which would be posted soon.
"Basic Magic, Spell Interpretation, Dungeon Dynamics, Dungeon Strategy... Not a single one was easy..."
Hong Yeonhwa grumbled, rubbing her head against the table.
I nodded silently in agreement with her complaints.
The infamy of Shio-ram Academy’s evaluations was widespread.
With such a high standard of education, it was always tough to keep up with the regular lectures, and the periodic evaluations were extremely challenging.
The midterm written exams were particularly notorious.
Practical exams, although tough, were manageable with talent and a lifetime of dedication. But the written exams? Those were brutal.
No multiple-choice questions.
Most were essay-type, requiring elaborate procedures for the answers.
With such tight timing, hesitating even a little would mean running out of time for the later questions.
You had to jot down answers as soon as you thought of them, barely making it within the time limit.
The grading also took quite some time, they said.
Despite the many administrative staff... no, the numerous “slaves,” as well as assistants and even magic to aid the process, it still took time. And if you added the correction period, the grading would take even longer.
Apparently, even the professors had no time to dry their hair during midterms.
Professor Liana was no exception. She had mentioned her fatigue to Elia and me while teaching us Spirit Magic, as she also had to handle public lectures and prepare for midterms.
And we weren’t even done with the written exams yet.
Though we had completed more than half of today’s written exams, there were still more subjects left to tackle.
And...
"This time was particularly tough..."
This midterm’s difficulty was especially high.
Since my discharge from the infirmary, I had been desperately catching up, steadily working through study guides and past exams. I could feel the heightened difficulty.
It felt like everything had been raised by a level.
"I heard they raised the difficulty based on this year’s first-year level."
"Huh?"
"You know how Shio-ram tailors its exams to each year’s level? They say this year’s first-years are exceptional, so they raised the exam standards accordingly."
"That's just great. As if my head didn’t hurt enough already..."
Hong Yeonhwa sighed loudly and rubbed her head back against the table after Baek Ahrin’s response.
Hong Yeonhwa was the type to abandon the written and lean towards the practical exams.
She was smart, but she just didn’t bother using her brain if she didn’t have to.
Despite all her complaints about bombing the exam, her scores would likely be quite high when she finally saw them.
If her written scores were really that low, she wouldn’t be holding the second rank.
One might even think of her as a deceiver as she groaned with her head on the table, shaking it from side to side.
Her ruby-red hair was disheveled with each shake.
But it seemed she didn’t care about her hair at all.
On the other side, Elia, who had been resting her head as well, was now tapping away at her smartwatch. Meanwhile, Baek Ahrin was focused on something on hers too.
"......"
But I did care.
Observing through the power of perception, my fingers started twitching.
Her disheveled hair bothered me. It was just a bit... untidy.
Sure, Hong Yeonhwa’s hair looked beautiful even in disarray, but it would look better if it were neater... The tangled mess just seemed a little unsettling.
After a moment’s hesitation, I reached out and began tidying up her hair.
The soft texture wrapping around my fingers was surprising.
Was this what noblewomen’s hair, well cared for with fragrant oils, felt like?
I could feel the softness even more keenly as I gently smoothed it down, given that I’d heightened my senses more than usual.
But now that I thought about it, Hong Yeonhwa was practically noble herself.
Was she perhaps taking care of her hair in some way?
Given her personality, I couldn’t imagine she’d bother with the hassle...
"......!"
Hong Yeonhwa’s shoulders suddenly shuddered as she rubbed her cheek against the table. Her body began to tremble slightly, almost like a small quake, and she glanced up.
Her red eyes, glistening with moisture, looked at me. The confusion in those eyes made me realize I’d been caught off guard.
[Ah.] [Sorry if that was uncomfortable.]
"No! No, not at all. It didn’t bother me at all."
Just as I was about to apologize and pull my hand back, Hong Yeonhwa, with wide blinking eyes, shook her head vigorously, still resting her cheek on the table.
Feeling a bit more at ease, I continued straightening out her hair.
[It’s so soft.]
"...Th-thank you."
Hong Yeonhwa sat up, rubbing her fingers along her now neatly arranged hair.
Seeing her with her hair tidier than usual, I felt a small sense of satisfaction.
It would have been even better if I’d had my portable comb to tidy it up, but taking that out felt a bit much.
"....."
"?"
There was a peculiar glint in her red eyes, something different from the previous confusion.
What was it? It felt like she was restraining some sort of impulse.
As I tilted my head in curiosity, an image of a beast about to pounce on its prey flashed in my mind.
I couldn’t understand why such an image had come to me.
Ding
Ding, ding, ding!
Just then, notifications rang out from the smartwatches of all the cadets in the café.
"Ah, looks like they’ve posted the assignments."
Elia, who had been half-asleep, suddenly shot up straight.
As she did, her chest, which had been pressing down on the table, returned to its original shape, creating a sight almost like a biological wonder.
Not only Elia but also Baek Ahrin and Hong Yeonhwa started tapping on their smartwatches to check the tournament preliminary brackets.
The hologram projector I carried around my neck also chimed with an alert.
As I fiddled with the projector, the hologram appeared.
'I wonder who I’m matched with...'
Though there were practical evaluations scheduled for the third and fourth days, based on the advance notices, I should be able to pass without too much trouble.
Of course, I wasn’t letting my guard down, but I did want to focus my energy on the tournament.
Especially since the tournament schedule was so tight.
On the fourth afternoon, the preliminaries would take place to immediately determine the finalists.
On the fifth day, with only brief intermissions, it would proceed non-stop to decide the winner by the end of the day.
It was an intense schedule. The short breaks meant that investing too much energy in one match could jeopardize the next.
But the cadets had no objections. This tournament structure had been a tradition since Shio-ram’s founding.
In real combat, it’s rare to get rest when you want, for as long as you want.
After all, there’s no reason for monsters, enemies, or environments to accommodate one’s convenience.
Reflecting that, the tournament limited rest between matches to emphasize stamina management... or so they explained.
‘If I get an easy opponent, the match might be simple, but I wouldn’t gain much from it...’
Honestly, I don’t expect to win, but I hope to rank as high as possible.
The finals are broadcasted to the outside world.
With the power of adjustment, the match would be transmitted across the internet for everyone to see.
There would also be representatives from various factions and clans watching in person.
There’s a slight pressure in that.
I worry about what it would be like if I advanced to the finals and lost disgracefully.
Of course, I don’t have much pride, nor do I care that much about my reputation...
What concerns me is my mentor.
She accepted me as her student despite her past wounds from losing a disciple.
Since that day, she’s been training me with great dedication.
If her student were to lose in an embarrassing way, it would hardly bring her joy.
It’s not about my pride or reputation, but my mentor’s feelings that I worry about.
So, I have no intention of settling for a mediocre result.
I’ll advance to the finals. And there, I’ll show a performance that won’t disappoint her.
With that resolve, I opened the match bracket file as it finished loading.
[Tournament Preliminary Bracket (Group 32)]
⑴ Emily Ramos │ Daria Rostanova ⑵ Ha Yeonjae │ Haruka Fujiwara ...
⑹ Lee Hayul │ Aiden Reynolds
‘Hmm...’
After seeing my first opponent, I let out a small sigh.
Aiden Reynolds.
He was someone I frequently crossed paths with.
He’d sparred with me when I was a novice in swordsmanship.
We were also in the same team during dungeon practice, and as part of the same spring cohort, we took common classes together.
I didn’t hold any grudges. He hadn’t challenged me with any ill intentions during our duel.
He’d even broken the ice during the dungeon practice.
I bore no ill will toward him.
[Revenge?]
...I held no ill will.
I only remembered how his apology for some trivial matter during dungeon practice had left me feeling a bit conflicted.
...
In a certain café.
Aiden, who had been reeling from the shock of bombing the first day of the written exam, shivered upon seeing his opponent for the tournament.
[Tournament Preliminary Bracket (Group 32)] ... ⑹ Lee Hayul │ Aiden Reynolds ...
Lee Hayul.
Upon seeing that name, Aiden’s eyes wavered, and the coffee cup in his hand trembled.
"Seems the matchups are out. Who’s your opponent?"
Attila, carrying a slice of cake from the counter, approached and glanced at Aiden’s bracket.
He noticed the name Lee Hayul.
And right beside it, the name “Aiden Reynolds.”
"......"
Attila, with his sharp, cat-like eyes, blinked.
He opened his mouth to say something, paused to collect his thoughts, and then spoke.
"Good luck."
After some thought, he realized that was all he could really say.
Tq