The first day of the dormitory training camp, the training hall on the hotel rooftop was constantly packed from dawn.
“Hoo…”
A sigh from Name pierced through the silent atmosphere.
The elementary school students looked at Name’s face illuminated by the moonlight with a mix of fear and curiosity.
Name handed each of them a slate and emphasized, “Your older sister has to memorize the rotational motion circuit formulas by tomorrow. It might be too much to understand the concept of moment of inertia yet, so just memorize the magic circle shapes as they are.”
“By… by tomorrow?”
“Yep. Whether you did it properly or not will be checked by the 4th-grade upperclassmen. You know what will happen if you don’t bring it by tomorrow?”
“What will happen…?”
“Your school life will become very, very, extremely uncomfortable. Even if you greet the upperclassmen first, they’ll absolutely ignore you, and even if they serve delicious sausage stir-fried vegetables at lunchtime, you’ll only get one tiny piece of sausage. No wait, you might just get broccoli without any sausage.”
“Scary, isn’t it?” Name huffed out smugly.
“Yikes! I’ll do it!”
“Good. Then thank you for your hard work. Could you bring the 2nd graders over now? They should be in rooms 711, 713, and 715.”
After an hour-long class, the 3rd graders barely managed to escape from the scene of brutal interrogation.
In the academy, the presence of upperclassmen is absolute.
Due to the characteristic of progressing through the same foundation’s academy consecutively, students have to coexist for years until they graduate from the high school, so maintaining good relationships is very important.
Consequently, once Name firmly established her authority as a 6th grader, everything progressed smoothly.
The 6th graders would scold the 5th graders, and the 5th graders would then pester the 4th graders below them.
Now, the kids at the very bottom of the food chain had just received the baton.
“Why on earth did we have to wake up so early?”
“It’s amazing that there’s a training hall on the rooftop. So what special training are we doing today?”
Ji Hye and Shin Si Hoo chimed in.
Unlike Yuna, who usually sleeps little, the other kids were rubbing their heavy eyelids one after the other.
“It’s only 5 o’clock. What’s going on? We were suddenly surprised when the 3rd graders came to our room!”
Especially, Iharu shook Name’s shoulders back and forth, asking her the reason for waking them in the dim dawn.
“The main instructor is very disappointed with you all.”
Name muttered half-asleep.
“What… what do you mean…?”
“Are you sleep-talking?”
“Everyone sit up properly. Begin.”
“Begin…!”
Under the strict influence of her father, Ji Hye instinctively crouched down on the floor.
“From now on, you’re all going to expel all the aura within you.”
Yuna tilted her head at the unexpected order.
“How?”
“Why are you asking me? Whether you do push-ups or jump rope, it’s your body, so you should know how to do it on your own. There’s no time, so I’ll give you five minutes, go!”
Name perched on a chair in a corner, closed her eyes, and quietly crossed her arms while counting backward from 300.
“By the way, the last person to empty out will get electric acupuncture to wake them up.”
[Static Invocation: Electrostatic Induction]
Sizzle-!
Small sparks erupted around Name.
“Hey, you can’t be serious… right…?”
“Hmm?”
When Name opened her eyes, everyone flinched.
“Ouch!”
With a jolt, Shin Si Hoo jumped in place and shook his hand. A yellow mana light flickered brightly.
“Does this still seem like a joke? Guys, time is still passing. It would be best to hurry up, don’t you think?”
Everyone clamped their mouths shut and stared blankly at each other.
Meanwhile, the magic circle that Name was casting grew larger.
‘If that hits me, it’s going to be a big deal…!’
After tasting the earlier static attack, Shin Si Hoo hastily lay flat on the floor in a plank position.
Surrounded by aura, his body quickly felt heavy.
By stimulating the aura heart in the most inefficient way, the aura burst out in chunks.
In a competitive manner, the other kids also started doing handstands or push-ups.
Name peeked with one eye open and, seeing the kids dripping with sweat, smiled with satisfaction.
“If you have aura left in your body, it’ll waste your internal aura whenever you cast magic. But if you completely empty out like this, it will be easier to figure out what ‘real’ magic you can effectively use. In other words, it means you can cast magic using even just a tiny bit of mana.”
“I-I’m so tired!”
“Once you’re all emptied out, each of you take out a magic you’re confident in and cast it on this slate right here. Today, we’ll filter out two spells each for the upcoming competition. Iharu, you have the most left right now. Do you want to feel the shock?”
“Ah! This is the first time I’ve heard of such training! Isn’t this totally spider training?”
“More like Spartan training, you fool Iharu…!”
“Hey, Han Gyeol Kim, I wasn’t asking you! Bleh-”
Name aimed for effective training rather than efficient training.
‘Even if I expose all the weaknesses of my opponent, the kids still tend to fight in the way they find comfortable.’
Once a habit is ingrained in a body, it doesn’t just disappear easily.
‘I really want to flip everything upside down and teach from the very beginning…’
The students from earlier also had many clumsy movements.
Though Name felt a strong urge to point it out, she refrained.
That would only lead to endless suffering for both the instructor and the student.
[It’s nothing special. I just hated my teacher. Sometimes, I felt hatred. I often thought that the only way to end these painful days was to kill my teacher. But ultimately, nothing changed. Even if I took a step closer to you, you moved so much farther away. That’s the really trivial and foolish reason I left my teacher.]
Name leaned her head and pressed her temples to fight off sleep.
If it weren’t for her, the hero Klaus wouldn’t have existed.
But now, suddenly, a question arose.
Did Klaus genuinely want to be a hero?
[I am going to step back from this parallel line between teacher and student. Then someday, won’t we be able to face each other and smile, not behind you, but in front? Until that day comes, I will live my life repenting to you.]
“Don’t be so dramatic…”
“…?”
Name’s head drooped down to the floor.
Soon, soft, rhythmic breathing filled the air.
The kids watching quietly put their fingers to their lips, as if they had all made a prior agreement, and wore mischievous smiles.
“Shh…!”
* * *
“Hello everyone, this is caster Kim Jae Seong. We’re now just five days away from the opening ceremony of the Seoul region Academy Championship! Currently, we’re at Altear Academy in Yongsan, Seoul. From the hotel over there, we can hear the sounds of students cheering, and it’s really exciting! The enthusiasm is overflowing! Today, KBS is the broadcasting company, so we’ll deliver fun interviews with both academies, too. Im Sae Bin, please say a word.”
“Dream together! Just like this year’s motto from Altear Foundation, I’m both nervous and excited about meeting the students who will be stepping onto this dreamy stage. Since I’ve been following the Academy Championship for the past five years, I’m really looking forward to what great matches will unfold this year.”
“We’ve just received news that all rehearsal preparations at the academy have been completed. We will introduce the resolve of the academy principals and representatives from the organizing committee, and then return with interviews from the participants soon!”
Wednesdays were the day for Seviron and Altear Academy students to gather and watch rehearsal matches.
In the early days of the championship’s inception, it was actually conducted just for ‘rehearsal’, but now it was a crucial day treated as part of the tournament to establish initial dominance.
Unlike the academy championship held with 5 participants per grade, in rehearsals, representatives from each grade confront each other one-on-one under simplified rules.
Though the actual competition was still a long way off, viewers couldn’t contain their anxious hearts.
While dull commercials ran, they each logged into their communities to share recent updates.
[Nona Name can’t participate due to being under 120 cm — LOL]
– Is that real?
└ Yeah, I heard there’s such a clause in all the academies.
– That’s ridiculous, LOL.
└ Without Nona Name, there’s no reason to watch…
└ I have no reason to live now, T___T.
└ Just die already.
[My little sister goes to Altear Academy, and she said she saw Nona Name in the training hall?]
– As it turns out, it was a high-level bluff, LOL.
– A disaster is about to descend…
– Is it possible to participate normally after having aura heart surgery for less than 4 months?
└ Aura heart isn’t a heart. If the surgery ends well, they’re just like a normal person.
└ But their stomach is still the same. Honestly, it’s a bit risky.
[Experts say Altear is favored this year; does Seviron really have no chances…?]
– They always lose well, LOL. They’re just a luxury supporting cast.
– The elementary matches aren’t even fun; just turn it into a cute contest.
└ No, that’s not true; the pitiful battles are more fun originally.
└ If those kids grow up in five years, they wouldn’t even be able to say a word if they met on the street, LOL.
└ For real, they’re like internet warriors, LOL.
– Fact: Nona Name schooled a harasser she encountered on the street.
└ Really? When?
└ I remember it! That TikToker, LOL. This is famous, LOL.
Students who had competed once tended to participate again the next year, so three matches drew the most attention.
First, the match of the 2nd-year high school students, which had the highest viewership rate.
Participants in it had a high probability of competing in the national competition held the following April, so viewers could gauge their skills in advance.
Second was the match of the 1st-year middle school students.
This was a time when many elementary school students transitioned and the students with outstanding skills, rather than their parents’ wealth, gathered in middle school.
The level of magic was neither high enough to be beyond average understanding nor was the competition itself boring, so many actually preferred middle school matches over high school ones.
Lastly, the match of the 2nd-year elementary students.
There was no grand reason; they were simply cute.
[How many kids do you think will cry? Can’t wait, LOL.]
– The viewership is usually higher after the matches end than during them, LOL.
– So cute T____T.
– Am I a terrible person for looking forward to Name crying?
└ Yeah, you are terrible, but I understand your feelings, LOL.
– Is it possible to make Nona Name cry by dropping 10 royal strawberry cream crepes on the street in front of her?
└ You’ll get absolutely beaten up for that.
– Honest opinion: Honestly, I think Name is stronger than me.
└ Is there an 8-year-old who throws the first punch when a street fight breaks out?
└ Why is this even real? LOL.
[That student council president or whoever should be quickly dismissed, and let’s see Nona Name already!]
– Shin Jin Ho was the MVP of last year’s Academy Championship, but this is too much~.
└ Why haven’t I heard of him up until now?
└ He was eliminated in the round of 16 of the national sports event. If you didn’t pay attention, you wouldn’t know normally.
– An MVP from the championship got eliminated in the round of 16? The national competition must be legendary…
– I can’t wait to see Ban So Wol again, T___T.
└ It’s funny how someone born in ’32 is calling her big sister, LOL.
└ Wow, people were born in the ’30s, huh?
└ Name is born in ’43, though!
└ Oh my…!
– Shin Jin Ho is the younger brother of Shin Yeon Ho, who was Ban So Wol’s opponent in the quarter-finals.
└ Elite family, whoa!
During the Academy rehearsal broadcast, Shin Jin Ho’s interview was playing live.
“Many viewers have left questions in real-time. Isn’t there someone very famous at Seviron Academy?”
Upon the reporter’s question, Shin Jin Ho smiled.
He seemed to have already anticipated it.
“You’re talking about Name from elementary school, right?”
“Yes! Everyone is really curious whether the No Name, that is, Nona Name will participate in this competition!”
“Shall I guide you directly to her?”
“Uh?”
“She’s probably in our waiting room right now. Follow me.”
“Yes, yes! Thank you so much!”
Shin Jin Ho, already captivating female fans, was readily receiving applause from male fans as well.
– Wow, LOL.
– It’s getting exciting~
– Hilarious, LOL.
– Nona Name’s participation is officially confirmed, LOL. The Altear kids are all doomed, LOL.
The underground hotel and the comprehensive training hall were connected by a long corridor.
As they walked down the hallway adorned with a chrysanthemum-shaped chandelier, they soon encountered the opposing, dimly lit cement walls contrasted to the hotel’s ambiance.
Click—
Shin Jin Ho passed by the elementary participants’ waiting room and opened the door to the middle school waiting room.
It was such a natural occurrence that neither the reporters nor anyone else noticed what was going on.
“Hey? Where’d she go? Hello, guys.”
““Hello, Student Council President!””
In this room, only a few middle school children were playing in front of the mirror.
“Do you know where Name is?”
“Name? She’s right there!”
Following the direction the kids pointed, both the gaze of the student council president and the camera behind him followed.
“Where?”
At the place the kids pointed, there was no one there.
“Over there.”
“Where is ‘over there’? In the closet?”
When Shin Jin Ho asked again, the kids nodded cheerily.
The little closet that seemed like just hanging four or five coats was tightly locked with an external padlock.
“Is there really someone named Name inside?”
“Yes.”
It was the moment when the once-impassable poker face of Shin Jin Ho cracked.
He slowly turned to face the reporter, who also, in surprise, stammered out:
“Is this… is it not a case of school bullying…?”
– Emergency! Broadcasting accident! Emergency! Broadcasting accident! Emergency! Broadcasting accident! Emergency! Broadcasting accident!
– Stop school bullying!
– Someone went inside there?
– Hurry and open it…!
– No way, the target is Nona Name, could it really be… LOL!
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