The moment I turned the corner of the corridor, I stopped walking and waited.
‘This should be a good place, right?’
The owner of the gaze following me was still creeping along behind me.
And so, the moment the owner of that gaze turned the corner.
Snap!
I immediately drove her against the wall.
“......”
I did not know her name, but I knew her face. Of course, there was no friendship between us.
That female student was about to cry.
“......Wonwoo, why are you doing this?”
At a glance, one might ask if I was not going too far against a classmate, but I had already activated the Heavenly Hound’s special ability.
And so, I was seeing someone else through that female student.
‘That won’t work on me.’
Because she was strangely burdensome, I needed to be this wary.
Still, grabbing her by the collar felt a bit much, so I ended up doing that wall-pinning thing I had only heard about.
‘I should ask what happened to her that day.’
Since I had business with her anyway, I had also played along.
In any case, I did not care even after seeing the female student’s expression, which looked as if the whole world had wronged her, and spoke.
“What are you doing here...... Giselle?”
The female student’s identity was Giselle Arienne, Wagner’s acquaintance with the transformation special ability.
Giselle’s face slowly changed into a sly smile.
“You’re the first one who’s ever recognized me this quickly.”
“So?”
“This is also my first time being pinned to a wall by someone younger than me...... It’s not bad.”
‘......Should I have just grabbed her by the collar?’
“Just in case, you didn’t do anything to that girl, right?”
Because in order for Giselle to transform, there was the condition of making physical contact.
‘Please......’
However, before answering, Giselle loosened the neatly tied necktie halfway and comfortably undid the top button.
“......”
Seriously, the person herself was burdensome. Only then did Giselle speak with an expression that said she could finally live.
“Haah...... Are you crazy? I don’t go that far.”
Giselle, wearing the unmistakable appearance of a student, walked leisurely with her hands clasped behind her back.
“How long has it been since this?”
No, wait. How long since what?
“Did you graduate from the Academy too, Giselle?”
It was certainly unexpected that she was from the Academy.
“I did, right? Though I got kicked out halfway.”
Fortunately, that part was not unexpected.
“What are you looking at me like that for? I didn’t do anything that bad. I just picked up what I could see.”
“People usually call someone like that a thief, don’t they?”
To think she would package theft as a virtuous act like picking up trash fallen on the road.
‘Is this what it means to have your energy drained?’
In any case, whenever I was with Giselle, it felt like my energy was being drained for no reason, so I asked directly.
“It seemed like you were trying to use my special ability back then. What happened?”
Giselle waved her hand and smiled.
“Maybe because you’re young, you’re so impatient. But for free......?”
It had not been for free, but if she was going to be like this, I should point out what position she was in.
“To Instructor Wagner, I’ll say that Giselle not only transformed into a female student, but also......”
“O-Okay! I just have to tell you, don’t I?”
Compared to conversing with Divine Beasts, coaxing one person was not particularly difficult for me.
***
“......That’s the end. I’m leaving now.”
Giselle tried to lift my chin with her index finger, but when I dodged, she stuck out her tongue and left.
Looking at her as she moved away, a needless thought occurred to me.
‘She isn’t someone who goes completely off the rails.’
Giselle had not come to find me thoughtlessly. Moreover, before speaking in earnest, she had released her transformation.
Giselle had formally received a request from Instructor Wagner. Well, though she said she came because she wanted to......
‘What a tiring life.’
Also, from speaking with her, I felt she was not as bad a person as she looked.
I returned to the dormitory and flopped down on the bed however I pleased.
“So that’s what happened.”
Perhaps because she had survived by stealing until now, her explanation was truly vivid.
Giselle answered my question with utmost sincerity.
‘Interesting. What kind of place is it?’
According to Giselle, the moment she resolved to use my special ability, she was trapped in a world of darkness.
-I’m not sure, but should I call it a mindscape?
Giselle, who had judged that world to be somewhere inside me, explained the things she had seen in that world.
She said she had wanted to pet the puppy wrapped in flames, but felt a sense of wrongness and could not approach it.
‘It does look cute.’
When she spoke of the horse-man form, fear was melted into Giselle’s voice, as if the aftertaste still remained.
As for the blue light near the end, she seemed to find it hard even to mention.
In order, they were the Heavenly Hound, Kubanda, and the Thunderbird. Though he had not revealed himself, the final sphere of fire was probably Red Boy.
‘I thought I’d be able to learn more.’
It was somewhat disappointing, but still, seeing myself through another person’s eyes was a rare experience, so I was satisfied.
Then that was settled, but......
“This is what matters.”
Giselle had not come looking for me just to joke around.
-I thought it was simply unpleasant, but it felt similar to the things I saw there.
She had seen something within the Academy that possessed an aura like the Divine Beasts she had seen inside me.
Because I also had a keen sense for lies, I knew it was the truth.
When I asked why she was telling me this, Giselle only spoke vaguely, saying she had learned how precious life was.
‘She’s burdensome.’
But she had told me to come find her at dawn if I made up my mind. So I absolutely planned to go in broad daylight.
‘Let’s go on the weekend. The weekend.’
After all, Giselle had not said she would leave the Academy right away.
***
Friday. Tomorrow was already my first weekend at the Academy.
“Where are you going at this hour...... Ah, you’re a direct disciple? Good luck.”
The Academy was a free place if one had skill, but it could not compare to the freedom of a “direct disciple” selected under an assigned teacher.
“Instructor Wagner......? So the rumor was true. Hurry along. Hurry.”
Moreover, the fact that I was Instructor Wagner’s disciple was no different from having a secret royal inspector’s badge.
Even so, other gazes followed me as well.
“Ahem......”
“That’s him, right? That student named Lee Wonwoo.”
“What exactly is Instructor Wagner thinking? Honestly.”
The number of faculty members looking at me with displeased gazes was not small, just as the instructor had said.
‘Don’t think too deeply about it.’
I had not expected their perception to change right away anyway. After all, I had only just become a direct disciple.
‘They’re going to pierce right through me. They really will.’
Fortunately, the displeased gazes faded all at once the moment I entered the classroom.
Even though he had said it would be practical training last time, Assistant Choi Seoyeon had told Jio and me to come to the classroom.
“He is quite late today.”
Jio opened his mouth beside me in a tone that sounded like he might die of boredom.
“Yeah. The assistant is late too.”
With even the assistant absent, there was no way the instructor would be visible.
Scraaaape!
Jio suddenly rose from his seat and pushed the empty desks and chairs aside at random, creating space.
“I cannot let my heat cool.”
In that state, Jio lay down and began doing push-ups.
“Would you perhaps...... join me?”
I did not want to go along with him.
“Do you still not know that a healthy mind dwells in a healthy body, brother?”
......It was not exactly wrong. Dad, too, had occasionally exercised by uprooting giant trees near the house.
‘Right. It’s better than not doing anything.’
Since no one was watching anyway, I naturally took position beside Jio.
Jio stared for a moment and said,
“Brother...... I ask just in case, but have you never exercised before?”
“I’ve done some running.”
In all seriousness, running was the only exercise I had done.
‘Do I look that awkward?’
There was no mirror, so I could not see my posture, but even I thought I was a little clumsy.
“At last, I may go ahead of you.”
Jio’s tone was not one of looking down on me.
‘He looks like he found prey.’
He simply acted as if he might drag me into the world of muscle at any moment.
“I shall teach you the posture......?”
Thinking that if I listened any longer, he might open a triumphal arch of muscle, I bent my arms.
Since I had never done this before, it was awkward at first, but I moved my body according to my memory of having seen Jio’s posture.
“Hmm...... There is no mistaking that you are my brother.”
It seemed I was doing well. But that was also because Jio had such a large build and no unnecessary movements.
“This will not do. Shall we make a wager, brother?”
Shaaak-!
At that moment, just like last time, a shadow swamp appeared beneath Jio and me.
Jio spoke in an inwardly regretful tone.
“Heaven rejects our contest.”
“Even if we did it, I would’ve won.”
I had no intention of accepting the wager, but I also had no intention of losing.
***
From the shadow swamp came a sudden inversion of up and down. I landed stably on the ground as I had before.
KABOOM!
This time too, Jio spectacularly smashed the ground.
“I simply accept it and endure with my body......!”
The shadow swamp was magic that moved through dimensions, but it had limits.
All I knew was that with one use, it could not leave the training institution.
In any case, the place we had arrived was another peculiar place, even within the Academy, where all sorts of things existed.
Jio looked around and said,
“Oho...... Even I have never heard of this place.”
Since the Academy used an entire island, in one sense, it was only natural.
‘Is it a prison?’
It was a place with an atmosphere like a prison, and in front of it was a thick iron door. Suddenly, my gaze turned beyond the iron door.
‘......Demonic energy?’
The Golden Headband was also clearly reacting, so it was not a misunderstanding or mistake.
Thud!
At that moment, I felt someone put an arm over my and Jio’s shoulders.
‘I missed him again.’
No matter how it happened, the instructor, who did not register in my eyes or mana detection, was fascinating every time.
“So my disciples would not be troubled, I personally brought you here like this. Be grateful to the assistant.”
“Ah, yes.”
Choi Seoyeon raised her voice sharply.
“Bow lower! You’re already being influenced by Instructor!”
The instructor patted our shoulders, then moved ahead and looked at us with his back to the iron door.
“To introduce it briefly, this is my prison. Well, you could also call it a hobby.”
I had heard that there were all sorts of hobbies in the world, but to think a prison could be a hobby.
The instructor continued his explanation.
“Inside are monsters I personally procured. They are fairly interesting, so if you want, I can pass on some know-how.”
A kind of collector......?
If so, it was within the realm of a hobby.
“......Fine if you don’t want it.”
When Jio and I did not give any particular answer, the instructor continued his explanation as if it did not matter.
“Listen carefully. When others are playing with dolls, the fact that mere first-years are training and being educated with real monsters is a precious experience.”
Even those dolls were not ordinary dolls, but monsters manifested with mana by the Academy.
“For reference, use of special abilities and arms is prohibited. Defeat them using only your body and mana. No, you will have to. That is the only exit.”
A mischievous smile suddenly settled around the instructor’s mouth.
“Assistant.”
Shaaak!
At this point, it was becoming difficult to tell up from down.
***
The inside of Wagner’s hobby space beyond the iron door was not that dark.
‘He told us not to use special abilities.’
Still, it was enough to somewhat obstruct my sight.
‘Can this be opened?’
Even at a glance, the iron door’s thickness looked absurd. Because of that, it seemed the assistant’s ability was necessary to enter this place.
“Wait, brother.”
When Jio clenched his fist, the mana gathered around it rippled.
“Hup!”
Jio struck the ground with the hand that held that rippling mana.
Plop-!
Contrary to the violent action, a clear sound rang out strangely, like a falling water droplet.
Suddenly, a flooding golden wave began surging in every direction from his fist.
Even without looking with the Heavenly Hound’s eyes, the precision of the technique came through as it was.
‘So this is the world of muscle?’
I had heard of it before. Unlike their rough appearances, they were said to be more delicate than anyone in order to feel stimulation, or something like that.
‘Two.’
I did not tell Jio, but in truth, I had sensed that much since entering this place.
Even if I could not see them, my ability to sense demonic energy was excellent.
‘It’s better than discouraging him.’
Of course, I also wanted to gain certainty through Jio’s ability.
Jio spoke triumphantly.
“Brother, there are two.”
“Then we can each take one.”
“Do not expect my help.”
With those words as the end, Jio shot out toward the monster he had sensed. I remained where I was for now.
‘With body and mana.’
The truth was, when the instructor dragged me to the infirmary, there was something he had said.
As if engraving it in my mind, I recited the instructor’s words.
“Hold it loosely, yet tightly. Make it fast, yet slow. Strong, yet weak......”
Someone might ask if this nonsense could be called an explanation, but most famous geniuses could not teach anyone.
The reason was simple. Because for them, doing it that way had worked.
So they were instead surprised. I explained this much, but you still do not understand?
However, the instructor, though he seemed careless, was meticulous and thorough. So he was a person with enough ability to explain and teach properly.
For someone like that to have said it that way meant.
‘Right. This is what he was telling me to do.’
It meant it had been an explanation tailored to me.