Chapter 5: Lessons Learned
Energy could be felt clearly emanating from the man's hand.
In an instant, a crimson mana sword-energy shot out from his hand.
Without hesitation, I moved my feet.
My target was the upperclassman right in front of me.
I shoved the upperclassman away with all my might.
But as a result, I was unable to move my body.
Well—that's how it would look, at least.
The truth is, I could dodge if I wanted to.
Before I knew it, that crimson sword-energy was flying straight at me.
In the blink of an eye, it would reach me.
"Han Tae-won!"
At that moment, Yoon Se-a's voice rang out from behind.
Instinctively, I tried to turn my head—but.
I couldn't look back.
At the same time as the sensation of something snapping, my body tilted.
Crimson energy, sharp as a blade, cleaved my body completely in two.
Below my waist, there was no feeling at all.
A draining powerlessness I couldn't resist even if I tried swallowed me whole.
In that instant, my vision went pitch black all at once, as if a switch had been flipped off.
And just like that, I met my death.
—or so you might have thought!
You couldn't be more wrong!
Let me explain, for starters.
Every single thing happening right now is fake.
This is also one of the reasons Arion Academy is called the world's greatest academy.
And that reason is its Simulation System—one that is nearly identical to reality.
In other words, this whole situation is a fabricated emergency constructed by the simulation.
That's why there's all this talk about dying and not dying.
If my real life were on the line, I would have fled without looking back.
Anyway, normally when you die, your vision comes right back.
But…….
I counted to 100 in my head, and still—nothing but darkness.
A smile spread across my face without me even trying.
Because it meant what I had been aiming for had succeeded.
This is a simulation.
Meaning.
Either way, it's fake—and that means there are definitely bugs.
I simply exploited one of those bugs.
For starters, the simulation's First Blood wasn't me—it was the ten second-years standing ahead of me.
And on top of that, those second-years weren't even real people to begin with.
To use a gaming analogy.
They were just NPCs.
Meaning.
First Blood had been set to go to an NPC—
But the player died instead.
So a bug occurred.
That's the short version.
There were more details that followed, apparently.
But I don't remember them.
Either way, that's not what matters.
About time.
Suddenly a blue light flashed and my vision and senses came rushing back.
I squinted for a moment, then looked ahead.
In this space of pure darkness, a single entity radiated nothing but blue light.
What stood before me now was—
Arion Academy's prized Simulation System, 99.9% identical to reality.
Its Core.
Honestly speaking…… I thought it was built with insane technology.
"Come to think of it, looking at it now—this thing was slapped together pretty sloppily."
I slowly walked toward the Core—the only source of light in this dark space.
Something emitting a blue glow.
As I reached my hand toward the very foundation of this simulation—
The light suddenly began to recede.
And then in an instant, I was back in the Main Hall.
As if I had been forcibly expelled.
"Huh!"
It's like it's telling me: you're not ready yet!
"Cadet Han Tae-won?"
I turned my head back and a stocky, hulking man approached me.
Kyaah~.
Even in the game I thought he looked big and scary…….
Reality is even scarier, huh?
The name of the man before me was Arnold.
One of the Academy's professors who appeared fairly often in the spotlight.
"……Yes."
…….
The man who had spoken to me furrowed his brow.
Busily checking something on the pad he was holding, he slowly opened his mouth.
"What just happened was a simulation. Arion Academy…… nearly identical to reality…… for training equivalent to live combat……. to instill a sense of vigilance in first-year cadets who have just enrolled……."
Only after a full three-minute speech was over did I calmly nod my head.
"Cadet Han Tae-won. You placed last in this evaluation."
I nodded without saying a word.
I couldn't even begin to count how many hundreds, thousands of times I had heard those words by now.
"Honestly, it was impressive. Throwing yourself forward to save someone else. But that doesn't mean you can throw away your own life. Rushing in to save others when you aren't yet strong enough isn't courage—it's recklessness."
He gestured toward the chairs set up across the Main Hall and said:
"Wait until the other students' simulations are finished."
I sat down in a chair without a word.
Well, I had obtained the Hidden Piece.
Proof of that was the blue marking glowing on my wrist.
It was pretty difficult to describe exactly what kind of marking it was.
Roughly speaking, it held the meaning of a key.
Alright, that's done with.
I glanced back at Arnold.
Professor Arnold and his assistants were holding their pads, diligently checking the actions of the students appearing on the screen one by one.
I pulled my gaze from them and looked at the screen.
Let's see…… just how entertaining this is going to be.
.
.
.
.
Rapita Rosena Medici.
She was confident in her own abilities.
Her family, said to stand shoulder to shoulder with the World's Five Great Noble Families.
She had been chosen as the Young Mistress of the Medici Family at age fifteen.
And so even when she arrived at the Academy, she hadn't worried much.
Except for Yoon Se-a, heir to a great noble family.
She had believed there was no one who could match her.
"……!"
But she realized that belief was completely wrong.
And she was surprised—no, she was furious.
The Bloodlust that man before her was radiating had frozen her body in place.
Only after some time had passed was her body barely beginning to obey her again.
But then—what on earth was that guy already charging forward?
What on earth. Why, why…… is that guy.
"Han Tae-won!!"
When she slowly turned her head, Yoon Se-a had already pushed forward too.
Which meant.
Yoon Se-a was second.
E-rank?
Did that mean she had been beaten by that E-rank?
Anger surged up within her involuntarily.
Of all people—her, the heir of the Medici Family?
She dragged her body that wouldn't listen and slowly pushed forward.
Even as her nails dug into her palms and drew blood, she slowly moved forward.
Her eyes burned fiercely with fighting spirit.
She could not lose.
As the Young Mistress of the Medici Family.
To have let an E-rank make the first move.
Not even Yoon Se-a—but to be beaten by a mere E-rank!
Though, admittedly, she had lost her life to the Villain shortly after.
But that was that—and losing was losing.
She drew her energy even higher and pushed back against the Bloodlust.
And like that, she too advanced step by step toward the Villain.
.
.
.
.
About five minutes must have passed.
The students began to die off, one by one.
When they did, they appeared back in the Main Hall immediately.
Literally popping out of thin air.
"Kyaaaaaaah!"
"Uaaaaaah, save me!"
"Moooom……."
"Kuaaaaaah! Huh?"
All sorts of reactions.
Professors and assistants began swarming the students who had just come out of the simulation.
If I closed my eyes and focused my senses—
I felt like I could even tell where each student would appear.
Like pockets of energy gathering strangely……
"Unexpected."
Suddenly, a voice came from right beside me.
"Kyaaaaaaah!"
They hadn't even registered in my senses?
I looked to the side.
A familiar face came into view.
"Y-you, when did you get here?"
"Just now."
"Ahaha…… I see. But what's…… unexpected?"
"The fact that you rushed forward. I thought you were the scum of the earth."
…….
She said something that could cut right to the heart without even flinching.
I was about to open my mouth to say something—
Her words came faster.
"Ishmael."
"What?"
"Please call me Ishmael."
"Ah, I'm Han Tae-won."
"Yes."
With that, she turned to look at the screen.
I turned to look at the screen too—but somehow……
I had a feeling I'd been played.
Unease crept up on me already.
And on top of that……
My senses had widened, so how had I not noticed her when she was right next to me?
That was the biggest mystery.
Well…… I knew she wasn't ordinary.
She was the kind of supporting character who shows up later—much later—does a bit of work, and then disappears……
I looked at Ishmael's name tag.
[D Ishmael]
Sheesh.
If you're going to lie, at least lie convincingly.
Everyone knows she's B-rank.
No matter how I look at it, she's not D-rank—and here she is wearing a D-rank name tag.
No wait, how is she even pulling that off?
I knew she always went around the Academy hiding her rank—every single time.
But I had never once looked into how she was doing it.
It couldn't have been easy.
Doesn't seem like she's from the White House, either.
Hmm……. what could it be?
Just as my thoughts were beginning to chain one after another—
"Wow! Amazing!"
"She can dodge that attack?"
"Is she really a first-year cadet……?"
The other students' exclamations rang out.
Looking at the screen, Yoon Se-a and several key figures came into view.
Each of them was standing up to the Villain standing at the front of the Main Hall.
Rapita swung a baton-like staff and attacked using musical notes.
A boy with bright blond hair and blue eyes was also holding his own fairly well.
Deflecting sword-energy with his blade by a hair's breadth, defending himself.
And……
Yoon Se-a kept swinging her sword, parrying the Villain's attacks.
"Hmm?"
But…… something felt a little lacking, should I say?
Was she unwell?
It was swordsmanship and technique I had watched countless times—so I knew it.
But it felt like one section was consistently hollow, as if her energy were running short somewhere……
"Oh! What a shame."
"Fought well though……."
One by one, they began to fall.
The last one standing was Yoon Se-a alone.
Dodging or deflecting every crimson sword-energy the Villain launched, she pressed forward.
The Villain's body had not a single scratch on it—clean.
And Yoon Se-a's body bore numerous minor wounds.
After several exchanges of offense and defense like that, the two of them—
Entered a lull.
Soon, Yoon Se-a drew her energy higher and……
Swung her sword in a wide arc.
This too seemed a bit short on energy—the size was small, the form unclear.
The Villain also launched his energy in that same gap.
In that moment, an ice wall rose up and the man's energy struck it.
The Main Hall was instantly filled with steam.
The steam made it difficult to see clearly.
But it seemed to be the same for the Villain—
He soon scattered his energy in all directions to sweep the steam away.
When it cleared, Yoon Se-a's position was revealed—right beside him.
With all her strength, she drove her sword into the man.
Just before her sword reached him—
Clang!
A crimson shield protected the Villain's body.
The Villain smiled a vile smile and reached his hand toward her.
Soon, Yoon Se-a appeared in the Main Hall.
Both knees on the ground, she stared at nothing but the floor.
Her hair covered her face so it was impossible to read her expression.
"Cadet Yoon Se-a."
Bang!
"……!"
Professor Arnold's face crumpled at her action.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
She kept slamming her fists against the floor.
The professor watched her silently.
And she just kept pounding the poor floor of the Main Hall like mad.
Only after both her hands and the floor were completely torn up did she stop.
"Cadet Yoon Se-a."
Only then did she lift her head and look at Professor Arnold.
"You did very well. You achieved the highest score in this evaluation."
He said only that, walked past Yoon Se-a, and stepped up to the Podium.
"The evaluations up to now were all assessments for Class Placement! The Class Placement results will be posted on the Arion System sometime today, so be sure to check. That is all—dismissed!"
The students began to murmur at those words.
"What? Class Placement evaluation? Then…… what happens to the enrollment rankings?"
"No idea!"
Hearing that, I calmly got up and moved my feet.
Yoon Se-a was still sitting slumped on the ground.
I hadn't particularly wanted to get tangled up with her right now, so I tried to quietly ignore her and slip past—
"Han Tae-won……."
She called out to me.
"U-uh?"
"Don't do that again next time……."
What was it she didn't want me to do?
Honestly, it was a bit baffling.
I hadn't done anything particularly wrong, but I felt strangely unsettled.
I was mulling over what to say—
"……Please."
I had a feeling things would get bad if I didn't answer.
"U-uh. Got it."
With that reply, I practically fled out of the Main Hall.
.
.
.
.
Like that, I walked through the Academy corridors on my way back to the dormitory.
"What's your relationship with her?"
"Kyoot!"
The voice from right behind me made me jump in surprise.
"You scared me! What relationship?!"
"I'm asking what your relationship with Yoon Se-a is."
"Hmm…… nothing much?"
"……?"
Ishmael tilted her head as if she couldn't understand.
"Just friends, I guess. More or less."
"Hmm…… is that so?"
"Yeah."
She nodded and began following me.
I had assumed we were just heading in the same direction—
But no matter how long I walked, she kept following.
Just in case, I turned toward the men's bathroom—and she still foll—
"Hey hey! Wait a second! Why are you following me in here?! No wait, why are you following me in the first place?!"
"Well……. it seems like there's a lot I could learn from you?"
My brain, which had been spinning rapidly, ground to a halt.
When it started turning again, the words I blurted out were:
"……Pardon?"