The notice for the first assessment of the second semester arrived in the morning, one more day passed.
[End-of-Month Evaluation Notice]
1st Year, 2nd Semester, 1st End-of-Month Evaluation
Theme: Duel
Details: Engage in a duel with Triple Awakener 'Russ' showcasing your abilities. (If you are a non-combat Awakener, it will be converted to a regular duel.)
Type: 1:1 Duel / Individual Battle
Date: September 27th, 1st period to 8th period (Free time if evaluation ends early)
Kang Sihyun, who checked the guidance sent through pairing, frowned at the words written in detail. 'Ability' duel? Didn't that imply Russ would also be using abilities? Then enduring for even a minute, let alone ten seconds, would have been futile.
Expecting the evaluation to end after just the first period since the start of the end-of-month assessments, Sihyun glanced at the teacher enthusiastically explaining the already familiar curriculum for 1st-year high school students.
Before being possessed, his part-time job was tutoring 1st-year high school students. Since it was all stuff he already knew, he just wanted to do some personal training.
Contemplating if being ranked first in the whole school had any special privileges, he watched as the kids in front of him collapsed like dominoes, banging their heads on their desks. Among the falling students, only Yoo Seowoo remained steadfast.
Perhaps due to their diagonal positioning, he could see Yoo Seowoo's face from his spot. He stole a glance at him, wearing glasses only when studying and holding a pen. The scene was the same in the adjacent row, where everyone had collapsed as well.
In the diagonal line, he could at least see his face. Sihyun raised his head to the scene where the only awake students among the eight students were him and Yoo Seowoo. It felt even more pronounced now that it was the end-of-month evaluation season.
Kids who had begun gathering in their training rooms started retreating to their rooms like zombies right before roll call, having trained individually until their mana depleted. Meanwhile, Hamin and Down, insisting they would train even in the morning, thoroughly drained Haewoon of her energy, receiving a buff for increased recovery speed before leaving.
Watching students devoid of mana and exhausted from draining it day and night, sleeping during class, Sihyun's expression turned serious. Normally, he would have been among them, but following Russ's advice, he had been training moderately since yesterday, leaving some mana and returning to his room. Consequently, it was his turn to arrive at the room first.
And next was always Yoo Seowoo.
Sihyun murmured inwardly as he glanced at the top student jotting down notes in his notebook. He wasn't particularly the type to strive hard for evaluations or exams. Just putting in moderate effort and receiving decent grades. There were several troublemakers even in Class B who outdid those in Class A, making him sometimes feel that the world was unfair.
"Am I not any different...?"
Tilting his head, he chuckled briefly. It was because he felt they would make a decent pair if he became partners with Yoo Seowoo.
Though he had chuckled softly enough not to be heard, Yoo Seowoo turned his head, seemingly catching the sound, and looked at Sihyun. Meeting his gaze, Sihyun blinked, and Yoo Seowoo's lips curved up.
'What are you thinking?'
He conveyed the message with his lips, waiting for a response while staying still. Sihyun glanced at the teacher standing in front of the blackboard. If the teacher, who seemed preoccupied with writing, were to turn around and witness this scene, he would be shocked. Six out of eight were sleeping, and one was probably daydreaming. Imagining himself as the teacher for a moment, Sihyun opened his mouth.
'Look ahead.'
Delivering the message in the same lip motion, Yoo Seowoo, who seemed not to have understood, blinked, then smiled. His gaze returned to face forward. Sihyun turned his head and looked out the window.
Five days remained until the end-of-month evaluation.
The sky, transitioning from summer to autumn, remained clear as ever.
...
Today, as expected, Russ would arrive late, and Kang Sihyun anticipated he wouldn't sweat much during training. So, after deliberately showering first, he headed to the training room. Just in case, Sihyun had spread the word during class that no one should come to the training room freely today. Opening the door, he found the room empty, as expected, as no one had shown up since two days ago when he had been waiting there obediently.
The deserted training room felt unfamiliar. Breathing out, he felt like he was adapting to a room where someone had been training. It made him wonder how those being trained felt.
Gazing at the various weapons scattered in the spacious room, he picked up a staff. Thoughts of unexpected reversal skills he hadn't tried before came to mind.
How could he use it?
A technique that swapped the body conditions of oneself and the opponent. Considering its effectiveness, it wouldn't consume much mana, he thought, blinking as he picked up a dagger. If he wanted to try something, he'd need some injuries first. So, he pressed the dagger against his palm.
"I think I was told to be careful a few days ago. Was the kid I knew actually a goldfish?"
"…!"
The pupils dilated silently as a man appeared before him. Indeed, Sihyun felt like his heart was about to drop to the floor with maximum surprise. Holding onto his composure, he scrutinized the man who had teleported in, frowning.
"Could you please give me a heads-up next time?"
"Hand over the dagger."
He kept asking for things all the time.
While grumbling internally, he meekly returned the dagger, feeling a slight prick. Russ, receiving a sword slightly larger than his palm, inspected the blade before sighing.
"So, what were you planning to do with this? Self-harm?"
"No."
"Then?"
"I just wanted to practice a skill."
"A healing skill?"
"Yes."
"Then use it on a dummy. Why put a knife to your own body?"
Russ's gaze shifted to the side where a human-shaped dummy made of wood and metal stood alongside the dummies made for training. It was a training apparatus that vividly reproduced the skin, internal organs, and realism of a living being. Sihyun, who was following it according to the Healing Association's support provided by the Awakener's Association, shook his head.
"That won't be helpful."
"What skill were you planning to practice?"
"Something like a reversal skill that returns the received damage. I thought I could use it as a counter."
"Was there such a skill among the healing skills?"
Russ looked puzzled. When Sihyun mentioned that he hadn't seen it among the healers he had met, he stroked his chin, looking thoughtful. Sihyun took another look at the man in front of him. He was currently ranked first among existing Awakeners. If so, he might know something about creating skills.
"Just because it's not listed in the skill catalog doesn't mean you can't use it."
Carefully opening his mouth, Russ's hand, which had been stroking his chin, moved downward. With an intrigued gaze, he moved to where there was a chair and sat down. Having witnessed Sihyun not wasting teleportation on unnecessary things, Sihyun swallowed his breath, feeling as though Russ was urging him to continue talking.
It was Russ, after all.
Though he was crazy, he was open-minded, so Sihyun didn't think he would dismiss his opinion as nonsense.
"When you apply it creatively, it can become an entirely different skill. As long as you stick to the essence. For example, if you adhere strictly to creating a shield that can block physical impact, you can use it as an alternative to a flying skill by using the shield as a foothold."
"Did you start those strange applications recently?"
"Me?"
"About the shield application. When I saw a healer floating in the air, I wondered if they had received a flying buff, but when I asked, they said it was an application. I asked who taught them, and they said they received information in Korea. Was that you?"
"...No. I made the shield, but I didn't provide the information."
Sihyun replied with a bewildered expression. He remembered being asked by the teacher during the placement exam, after he had shown it to Yoo Seowoo for the first time. He had said they had come up with the application together, but now he realized that his application had become a school-wide application without revealing his name.
It seemed like he had just shamelessly absorbed someone else's application.
Exhaling a sigh, unsure whether to trust or distrust this school, Russ, shaking his head, tapped Sihyun's shoulder.
"Be dirty and deadly or become famous."
"...How?"
"Or become friends with a famous person and get known together. For that reason, come with me on an IRS field trip."
"I don't want to."
Where did he come up with these schemes?
Eager to share the joy of adulthood with Kang Sihyun, who had blinked hesitantly, Sihyun let out a long sigh. It wasn't like his application was particularly remarkable, and he didn't want to claim credit for it now. What mattered was not that his application had been sold to another country, but rather the potential for new skills.
"Anyway, what I mean is, if you stick to the essence of healing that treats like the shield did, couldn't you accomplish something else not on the skill list? After all, initially, skills were just things that someone accomplished and were added to the list."
The first Awakeners awakened without the aid of an awakening device, so it was highly likely that the skills they learned through awakening were skills they had used without an awakening device. If they awakened without an awakening device, learned skills, and used them, then wouldn't it be possible for the skills I conceived to be entirely possible? Watching Russ's reaction, Sihyun glanced at him. His lips were dry on his expressionless face.
Did I think wrong?
When that doubt arose, he raised the corners of his mouth. Whack! A solid arm hung around his neck. In an instant, Sihyun, feeling drowsy, tapped the thick arm as if surrendering.
"Ugh, neck, big. My neck's feeling heavy."
"Where did you learn such things? You're too good for Korea. Hey, kid, don't you feel cramped here with me? Let's go grab some foreign food."
"Who taught you such Korean?"
"Why bother with that? That's not important right now."
"What is important then?"
"What's important is that you, at the age of 17, discovered the fact that only a few S-rankers knew, even before taking the Awakener ranking test."
If I take you abroad, will a war break out after all?
As he loosened his grip and happily ruffled his hair, the man looked at him with a pleased expression. It was a look that would make anyone think he was the one who raised him.
"You're right. If you stick to the essence of the class, you can learn things not on the skill list. After all, the skill itself is one of the abilities it possesses. For example, if only the definition of moving something is fulfilled..."
Rising from his seat, he lifted the sword beside him and slashed the abdomen of the human-shaped dummy. As the organs inside began to spill out, he flicked his fingers. The dreadful innards disappeared. Instead, the dummy was filled with straw.
Surprised, Sihyun blinked, and Russ, smiling as if satisfied with the reaction, gestured with the tip of the sword over Sihyun's shoulder. Turning around, Sihyun found himself looking at fake organs that were now perched on the chair where the straw had been.
"Even this is possible."
"Can you do it to a person?"
"Some? It won't work if the opponent is too strong or weighs a certain amount. Besides, the effect is minimal compared to the mana consumed. You'll need to improve your proficiency to make it useful."
Nodding at the succinct explanation, he lowered the sword he had been holding to the ground with a flourish and placed his hand on Sihyun's head.
"So, kid."
"Yes?"
"That skill you mentioned might actually be possible."
It was rare for the person ranked first among Awakeners to agree with his opinion. It was good news.
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