With a villainous grin, Russ showed great interest in my skill development, so ever since that day, I've spent my personal training time with Russ. When I asked the kids not to come into my personal training room until the end-of-month evaluation, they readily agreed. Everyone was busy with their personal training, after all.
"I wonder if Sihyun has some ace up his sleeve?"
Of course, Haeun would occasionally ask such questions, showing interest, but if I ignored her, that was the end of it. Kang Haewoon, who hated getting hurt, was also busy rolling his head to avoid getting hit during sparring.
During this time, Sihyun became quite adept at causing wounds on the palm of his hand with his own hands. It wasn't his first time trying, and he had tried it once before when he encountered a land spider, so he could draw his sword without hesitation. Every time, Russ's expression seemed reluctant, but it was unavoidable. It's easier for the caster to apply the skill to themselves than to others.
"Ugh...."
Grimacing at the deeper-than-usual wound, I groaned and checked my palm. Fresh blood oozed out. Despite exerting effort to move mana and shaking the staff, the skill that had been missing for days suddenly went "Poof! Bang!" and worked! It was inexplicable.
Staring at my hand, which felt painful, I sighed as there was no change despite my intense gaze. When I tried using a regular healing skill, the wound disappeared cleanly.
"It seems like it's not working. Is it because of a contradiction? I heal while the opponent gets hurt?"
"It's been less than a week since you started, kiddo. Did you think creating a new skill would be that easy? It's like comparing running on rails with making a new skill from scratch. You'll have to work harder."
Speaking like a strict instructor, Russ calmly handed me the knife again, urging me to try once more. It felt ironic; he used to snatch it away whenever he could, and now he was giving it back to me. Once again, I drew a line across my palm. Initially, I hesitated a bit, but now I was so used to it that it didn't evoke much of a reaction.
"While treating the wound, think about transferring mana to a scarecrow."
Focusing on the sensation as I listened to the advice, I felt mana move as I stared at my pierced hand, then suddenly, I opened my eyes.
With a bright light, my hand healed.
...And only my hand healed.
"It didn't work."
Casually acknowledging the familiar failure, I received another urging gesture to try again. Contemplating whether I should just go crazy and draw a line from Russ's face in my imagination, I ended up just grasping the knife again.
"Maybe the wound is too big, or perhaps just lightly prick the tip of your finger with the tip of the knife. Just enough to make a few drops of blood."
This time, a slightly different advice came back. Following his words, I stabbed the tip of my index finger with the knife blade upright, aiming at the wound again, but ended up just healing the wound as before.
Maybe I should just give up and call it quits.
To those unaware of the situation, it might have seemed quite crazy, seeing me injuring and healing myself alone. Mentally mumbling, I measured my remaining mana. Neglecting meals and doing this, by the time it passed 8 p.m., my mana had dropped to less than half. Russ seemed to notice and grabbed my wrist.
"Stop and take a break for a moment."
"There's still a little over 40% left."
"It's better not to overdo it; there's no harm in being cautious."
"We haven't spent much time together."
"Why, do you prefer my company?"
"It's not that, but this is quite a crazy thing to do."
"I'm dependable, aren't I?"
"... "
It was like saying that when you're doing something crazy and there's a real lunatic next to you, you feel less crazy. Russ seemed to enjoy it like someone who received praise. Since it was in Korean, he only understood half. As he patted my back with a smile, Sihyun kept quiet. Sometimes, ignorance was bliss.
Finally having some break time, I stretched my legs when someone smartly knocked on my training room door. Tension crept back into my relaxed body for a moment. Surprised, I looked between Russ and the door, urging, "Teleport, teleport!" in a hushed tone. If anyone found out that my sparring partner for the upcoming evaluation was here, it could raise doubts about fairness.
Of course, Russ, who didn't shed blood or tears during evaluations, had no intention of going easy on me during sparring just because of this. He advised me to continue sparring preparation whenever I had the chance, but that was something only Russ and I knew. Not wanting anyone else to overhear, he raised an eyebrow, then gently brushed my forehead with his hand and disappeared. Relieved, I walked forward and opened the door.
"Haru?"
Surprised to see him when I opened the door, I hadn't expected it to be Seowoo or Hamin.
"What's up?"
"You seem like you haven't eaten dinner..."
"Oh, I've been busy."
"Since you didn't eat yesterday, I thought I'd bring you this... Sorry if I'm disturbing you."
Haru, who was hesitating, handed me the sandwich he was holding. It was a sandwich from the cafeteria. He had come to bring it since I hadn't come to the dining hall. Just as he was about to politely greet me and express his gratitude, I called his name.
As I called his name in surprise, Haru grabbed the hem of my shirt, lowered his head as if concentrating on something, then sniffed like he was smelling something. His brow furrowed.
"The smell of blood..."
"Oh, really?"
Haru, who had a keen sense of smell compared to others, had bled during today's training session. So when he suddenly sniffed and asked if he smelled blood, his slow-motion red pupils could be seen narrowing. He slowly raised his head, and as his gaze wandered, it eventually settled on me. It seemed like he was worried, and just as I was about to reassure him, he spoke.
"And... a different smell."
"Yes?"
"You smell like men's cologne."
"...."
Taken aback by his blunt words, I bit my lip. Feeling like I had been caught red-handed, I curled my toes in embarrassment at the atmosphere that felt like being caught in the act of something illicit. As I was about to reassure him that I was fine, the boy who had suddenly sighed leaned closer to me, his forehead brushing against my shoulder as he murmured.
"...Don't spray it because it's weird."
"...Does it not suit me?"
"Mm."
Sihyun felt sorry for Russ, the owner of the perfume, with his blunt response. He wasn't someone who paid much attention to scents, but seeing Haru, whose nose was sensitive to this extent, disgusted made Sihyun feel uncomfortable.
Thinking about suggesting a change of perfume the next time they met, Sihyun gently stroked Haru, who was leaning on him. Now, whenever Haru leaned on him, Sihyun automatically responded by stroking him.
After enjoying his touch for a moment, Haru exhaled lazily, lifted his head, gave a slight smile, offered words of encouragement, then turned away. The sandwich was firmly held in my hand. Closing the door and leaving, Sihyun noticed that Haru's shoulders seemed more tense than usual. He blinked his eyes.
Did he suspect something?
It didn't seem like it...
If he had, Haru wouldn't have just left like that. Wondering if Haru might suspect something, Sihyun watched as Haru left with the sandwich. Taking a bite of it, and still holding the knife, he tried to cut again. Even though he glared menacingly at the hand from which blood dripped, nothing changed.
As the time for roll call approached and Sihyun failed to succeed with his skill, he frowned.
He felt a surge of resentment.
Wasn't it too much even after all this? Thinking that it was too much to not succeed even like this, Sihyun, who was muttering complaints internally, finally sneaked out of the dormitory for the first time that night after roll call ended. It was particularly scary to come down from the bed and open the door because it was the room where combat Awakeners gathered, but after persuading them, he even made them accomplices.
Remembering how his roommates had hidden their pillows under his blanket, Sihyun opened the door to the training room.
With fewer students training in the early morning in the second semester, he no longer received pairing notifications even when using skills late at night. Grateful for that fact, he once again held the knife and extended his hand.
Before the possession, Sihyun, who had the temperament of a night owl, spent the night in a tearful fight with the knife.
***
"...."
Thanks to about three hours of sleep, his mouth kept yawning incessantly. As a result, Sihyun's eyelashes became moist, and after yawning once more, he pressed his eyes with his hand to try to shake off sleepiness. Hamin, who was beside him, asked if he hadn't slept, and Sihyun roughly nodded his head. Although they had gathered in the auditorium according to the guidance for evaluation day, the principal, who would formally address them to announce the start of the end-of-month evaluation, had not yet appeared.
Wondering when it would start, Sihyun rubbed his sleepy eyes. Noticing Hamin's unfamiliar gesture, Hamin grabbed Sihyun's head and shook it forcefully toward his shoulder.
"I'll wake you up when it starts, so just sleep."
Why did he sneak out in the middle of the night anyway?
Feeling like he was being lectured by his mother, Sihyun scowled, but then relaxed his body due to drowsiness. With a sigh of frustration, he tried to give in to sleep, and soon his consciousness began to fade. It seemed like he could hear the rapid beating of his heart as he drifted off.
When the surroundings became noisy and he opened his eyes, he saw Russ standing on the platform, dressed in a dignified suit, even though it was a sparring day.
"...That lunatic."
Even with his eyes half-closed, he murmured with sincerity. While it seemed like he had made an effort to dress properly, to those who were going to spar with them, it seemed like they were being underestimated.
"That guy is really insane."
Hearing Hamin's murmur above his head, Sihyun blinked his sleepy eyes and silently agreed.
Understand, he's a bit crazy like that.
But the small defense stayed unspoken.
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