Chapter 6. An Extraordinary Man Despite His Common Talent

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<Royal High Academy>

In this world, until one receives their Talent test, they don’t know their ‘true talent’.

From childhood, one might show aptitude in certain areas, but often this has nothing to do with their actual talent.

That’s why even noble families with high status don’t delve deeply into specific fields when educating their children.

They accumulate mana, consistently engage in basic physical training, and gather various knowledge.
They acquire ‘basic abilities’ across numerous fields.

For the majority, it means they’re not inclined towards any particular area until they become adults.

That’s why the ‘Royal High Academy’, which one can enter after confirming their Talent, was special in itself.

…There’s an enormous difference between learning after knowing your Talent and before.

In short, it meant life begins after confirming your Talent.

And because of that.
Everyone can’t help but feel ‘anxious’ until they become adults and receive their Talent test.

ー They can’t know their future.

The path ahead.
Everything about how to proceed is unclear.

Not knowing your future even though you’ve become an adult and your sense of self is complete.
It would make anyone feel great anxiety and worry.

…

“…Confidence?”

As Chunsung blankly questioned, Grecia calmly looked back at him.

She couldn’t understand his reason for wanting to go to the Academy with such an insignificant Talent. That question was somewhat resolved by his answer.

Then next.
With just a common Spearmanship. How could this man have the ‘confidence’ to make efforts?

How could he try to move forward?

That question still remained.

“I happened to hear what you said in front of the training ground. The words ‘I’ll go with confidence’.”
“…You heard that?”
“It just happened. I ended up hearing it.”

Even as she answered, Grecia felt a bit embarrassed.

She had eavesdropped on someone else’s words without permission. Aware of the man’s gaze looking at her as if in disbelief, she didn’t particularly avoid his eyes.

She needed to know.

How this man could have such confidence and move forward.

He converses with people who have higher Talents than him without hesitation and maintains a calm demeanor.

This ‘attitude’ itself was special.

And it felt like something I needed too.

I already know that ‘monsters’ with something beyond my Talent will enter the Academy.

Notably, Leonhardt, who is rumored to have a Legendary grade Talent.

There were also others among the current students who possessed high Talents.

In front of them, even my Unique Talent would pale in comparison.

I thought there was something to learn from this man.

“But. That’s too abstract a question.”
“I just want to know how you can have confidence, that’s all.”

As I spoke again, the man named Chunsung suddenly let out a hollow laugh.

“So, I’m saying that question itself is too abstract. To begin with, confidence isn’t something that someone can teach you, right?”
“…That’s true, but.”
“It’s not ‘but’, that’s how I feel. If you have high self-esteem, confidence naturally follows.”

The man’s subsequent words were extremely correct.

“Grecia. Let me ask you directly. Do I look nervous dealing with you right now?”

At his confident voice, I blankly shook my head.

This man, Han Chunsung, was the one who had confidently demonstrated himself in front of several examiners in the exam hall.

Even now, facing me, he showed no signs of nervousness or hesitation while watching my reactions.

“…You don’t look like it.”
“Right? I’m not intimidated by you, and we’re just meeting to have a conversation. Apart from the Talents we possess, that’s all I’m thinking.”

As he spoke while looking directly into my eyes, my mind became complicated.

‘Apart from Talents?’
How is that possible?

With a common Talent like Spearmanship, this man appeared calm.
In this world, one’s Talent is essentially everything about them.

Through Talents, one finds their path forward, their way of living.

So the grade of one’s Talent was equivalent to that ‘person’s value’.

This man named Han Chunsung clearly possessed a common Talent.
And that too, a Talent of the lowest grade.

“…”

Amidst my questions, I found myself carefully observing the man.

His peculiar black hair and black eyes. Even his name, Han Chunsung, everything about him was out of place.

Yet, even while making eye contact with me who has a Unique Talent, this man was relaxed.

“Looking at your eyes now, it seems you don’t understand my words at all.”
“To be honest, I don’t get it. Han Chunsung, how you can be so calm dealing with me. How you can put in so much effort with a Talent like Spearmanship…”
“The former might be understandable, but the latter is different from my perspective. Effort is ‘basic’.”

At those words, I blinked blankly.

“Effort is basic?”
“Since you have a Unique Talent, it might be hard for you to understand. Even if someone with a common Talent puts in effort, the efficiency is low and leveling up is slow. When I say effort is basic, it might sound strange to you.”

I nodded blankly at his continued words.
It was as if this man was reading my thoughts.

‘Because even if a common Talent tries hard, it’s meaningless.’
Generally, the higher the Talent grade, the faster the speed of leveling up.
High-grade Talents also learn more detailed and intricate concepts. Conversely, low-grade Talents learn shallower and thinner concepts. Therefore, it meant the growth rate is much slower.

It’s surprising that a man with a common Talent is at the same ‘level 3’ as me, but from now on, that difference will widen even more.

“Grecia. That’s why I said it. For me, effort is basic.”

At the man’s calm response, I let out a small sigh.
Now I understood this man even less than at first.

“But even if you try hard, it’ll only get harder for you from now on. The effort I put in and the effort you put in are ‘completely’ different.”

Although this man just said effort is basic, he and I were different from the starting line.

My starting line is several times ahead of this man’s.

And the speed at which we run afterwards will also be completely different.

Even if I walk, for this man with a common grade Talent, the gap will widen to the point where it can’t be closed, as if I’m running fast.

“…That’s right. As you say, it will certainly be different.”

The man nodded with a slight smile at my words, seeming calm even though he understood what I said.

“Still, that’s not everything.”
“Not… everything?”
“Of course, I’ll be slower compared to you. I might need to put in 4-5 times more effort than you, considering the difference in grades. But it’s still possible if I try hard.”

While acknowledging the big difference, this man was telling me.

ー That it’s possible.

That with effort, narrowing that seemingly impossible gap…

Gulp.

…I found myself swallowing unconsciously and looking at this man again.

‘He’s different.’

He was definitely different from others I had seen.

Someone else would have been discouraged by being common, realized the difference, and given up on entering the Academy early on.

It’s hard to endure seeing higher Talents, brighter talents up close.
So everyone knew.

The difference between them and those they would face later.
And the wall of reality.

Yet this man spoke confidently while saying he knew everything.

If there’s a difference, he’d try to narrow it with even more effort.
Even with a low grade, it’s possible…

Unconsciously, I found myself expecting this man to give me an answer again.

“……”

Looking at the man who had fallen into thought after his last words, I didn’t say anything.

How long had I been waiting for an answer like that?

The man opened his mouth again.

“Of course, I wanted to get a higher grade Talent too. I can’t say I don’t still wish for that. But this is my reality now, isn’t it?”
“Reality…”
“I can’t change the Spearmanship Talent I got now, nor can I get something else even if I want to. ‘Reality’ doesn’t change. So I’ve just accepted it. I’m just doing my best in the current situation.”

The man’s calm demeanor as he continued speaking seemed even more extraordinary to me now than when he was demonstrating his skills in the exam hall.

He was given a low common Talent.

Yet his thoughts and mindset far transcended that common status.

It felt as if he understood so much.

And suddenly. The image of my sister seemed to overlap with this man.

ー Grecia. You’ll gradually understand too. Why you have to choose and why you need to understand. ‘Reality’ is sometimes something you can’t just reject even if you know it.

The times spent with my sister.
My sister who occasionally conveyed words I didn’t understand.

My sister, who would now be on the frontlines, suddenly flickered before my eyes.

My sister had definitely spoken about ‘reality’.

‘This man… understands that?’

Even as I thought this, I couldn’t understand more.

That a man with an insignificant Talent would remind me of what my sister had said to me.

“Well, I might have been a bit long-winded, but anyway, the conclusion is that I don’t deny reality. I just accept myself as I am and work hard. It’s natural that you find it hard to understand as you look at me now. We’re different from each other.”
“…That’s right. You and I are very different.”

As I answered, I thought again.

There’s no way I could be the same as a common Talent.

Even as I thought this to myself, I couldn’t take my eyes off the man named Han Chunsung.

This man seemed to have a secret that I didn’t know.

His appearance, personality, and even his actions and name, everything was not ordinary.

A man whose only low point was his Talent.

Because everything except his Talent was extraordinary, I felt something that clearly distinguished him from others.

ー Specialness.

“But you want to understand me now, right? That’s why you wanted to talk to me.”

At his slightly lighter tone, I nodded.

“That’s right. I wanted to understand you. That’s why I wanted to talk.”
“Then what should we do about this… It seems difficult to explain in words. But there is definitely a way for you to understand me.”

I blinked at his unexpected words.

“There’s a way to understand?”
“There is.”

At the man’s confident response, my heart beat faster.

Thump.

‘There’s a way.’

And it seemed to have a big connection with my sister.

It was as if he was telling me that this man had the key to approach my sister, whom I couldn’t see now.

“Grecia. Are you curious about the method?”

At the man’s strange question, I found myself answering.

“…I’m curious. Tell me.”

So, unlike before, I had to change my attitude towards the man.

Setting aside his Spearmanship Talent. This man had something that I didn’t have.

So. I had to know ‘that’.

“The method is simple.”

However… at the man’s words that immediately followed, I unconsciously tilted my head.

“Simple?”

It didn’t seem simple at all.

This man was talking as if it was too easy.