Chapter 13
Chapter 13
“Why are you avoiding me?”
The next day, Adela finally caught up with me.
I tried dodging her a few more times, but she caught me right in the act. Eventually, I was dragged to the café next to the first-floor lobby of Ardel Academy.
At that point, I realized that avoiding her would only make things look even stranger, so I let myself be dragged along—trying to play it cool.
“Why, why, why? Why did you call me here?”
Correction. I don’t think I was as cool as I thought.
Feeling more than a little flustered, I blinked rapidly, trying to read Adela’s expression.
Now that I knew she was Adela, everything about her made me cautious.
Suddenly, the words she had said came back to me.
“Why do you ask for their names? Do you have some kind of system? Like, this one’s for beating up, and this one isn’t?”
The more I thought about it, the more I realized I really was a coward.
I wasn’t like this in Korea.
It didn’t matter if they were seniors—I’d stand up to them.
But here, if you mess with the wrong person, you could actually die.
As I rationalized my behavior, I clasped my hands together respectfully.
“Why did you call me here?”
“…You really do seem sick.”
Adela frowned and sighed.
Why are you sighing?
If you’d just left me alone, we both could have been more comfortable.
I genuinely couldn’t understand why she’d go out of her way to find me.
“Oh.”
Now I get it. She must not have any friends either.
There’s no other reason she’d go to such lengths for someone she’s barely spoken to.
Adela pressed her hand to her forehead and stared at me.
“You’ve been disappearing during breaks, so I started to worry that something might be wrong.”
“Uh-huh.”
“I think I know what it is.”
No way.
Have you already figured out that you’re going to bury me alive?
“You’re scared of losing and embarrassing yourself, right?”
She completely missed the mark.
It was clear her thoughts were heading in a very wrong direction.
With a serious expression, Adela interlaced her fingers and continued.
“You made the bet, but then you started worrying that you might actually lose, right?”
“….”
“You said you’d bark like a dog if you lost, but as a noble, there’s no way you could do that.”
Forget nobility—no self-respecting human could do that.
Anyway,
That wasn’t why.
“You’re going to lose the opening exam.”
“Ugh.”
The sudden truth bomb left me dazed. A little warning would’ve been nice.
That’s harsh, really.
I hadn’t even been thinking about the opening exam because I was too preoccupied with the thought of getting buried alive, but her words hit me hard.
Even if that wasn’t my reason, I doubt Adela would believe me now.
Her theory was pretty convincing, after all.
A noble on the brink of losing and having to bark in front of commoners. The opening exam was impossible to win, so let’s just run away and avoid the embarrassment.
It all made sense.
Adela bit her lower lip, loading up another truth bomb.
“If you’re weak, you should at least be smart.”
“….”
“But you’re not even smart.”
Cough.
The barrage of blunt remarks forced me to take a sip of water to calm myself.
“That’s not true.”
I protested out of sheer indignation.
I’m not actually stupid.
My intelligence had increased as my original stats synced up with Han Siha’s.
Magic Power: 45
Stamina: 10
Intelligence: 30
Senses: 15
Charm: 12
Alignment: Neutral Good
Sure, my stamina took a bit of a hit, but my intelligence was definitely high enough to be useful in most situations.
But there was no point in trying to explain that to Adela. All I wanted was to live quietly and avoid trouble.
If that wasn’t possible, then I’d at least try to distance myself naturally.
Even having this kind of conversation—it was just part of everyday life, yet it made me nervous.
“You don’t need to worry about it. Anyway, this is…”
“But actually…”
Adela cut me off.
“I want you to teach me taming….”
What?
“In return, I might be able to help you a bit….”
The taming thing was just an excuse.
If this short-haired girl really was Adela from Slakadami, then she should already be skilled enough to control a Hellhound after that brief battle.
A week is more than enough time for someone like Adela to master basic taming for an exam.
So, the real meaning must be in the latter part of what she said.
Which is why I didn’t understand.
“Do you want me to help you beat Creek?”
Why would you, of all people, offer to help me?
* * *
In the underground beginner training hall at Ardel Academy.
Located on the opposite side of the practical training ground, this place was divided into various systematically organized areas, including a basic stamina room and a magic power training room.
Adela led Han Siha to the magic power training room.
‘Why am I even doing this?’
Even as she walked, her mind was a whirl of confusion.
After clearing the distorted dungeon last time, Adela’s taming skills had improved significantly.
Since then, she had cleared the slime dungeon several times with her Hellhound, confirming her progress.
Adela quickly picked up the short advice Han Siha had given her.
She might not be able to tame a dragon, but she could certainly tame monsters at the level of a Hellhound—in just a week, no less.
So, there was no reason for her to help Han Siha.
It was a relationship where she had nothing to gain but plenty to give.
On top of that, Han Siha was quite arrogant.
He was stubborn and grumbled throughout his first year, and even recently…
‘Hey, commoner.’
Adela had heard the words he provocatively threw at Creek.
She couldn’t help but momentarily lose her composure when she heard it.
It wasn’t that she was disappointed in Han Siha’s behavior.
Outside of Ardel Academy, it was perfectly normal for nobles to look down on commoners. But she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of regret, recalling the moments when she had let her guard down around him.
For nobles, the lives of commoners were worth less than ants.
Adela knew that all too well.
No matter how foolish, incompetent, or weak Han Siha was with magic, he was still a noble.
But then…
Fabian Den Edwin, who used his royal status to boss around the classroom.
‘I thought rank didn’t matter inside the academy?’
Han Siha’s crazy courage in standing up to someone like that.
…It was exhilarating.
He seemed like a madman, but still.
‘I’ll just say I’m helping him because it was fun.’
He had no hesitation in flipping off a royal.
Yet when it came to barking like a dog in a bet with a commoner, he was so scared that he ran away. It was kind of cute, the way he seemed so nervous.
So, her curiosity was piqued, that’s all.
Adela couldn’t help but smile a little to herself.
But as soon as she realized it, Adela quickly dropped her smile. At that moment, Han Siha returned with a serious expression, gripping his practice staff tightly.
Is he really that serious about training, even though he looks like that…?
“Which one do you think is more stylish?”
“…Just pick one!”
No matter how much nobles live and die by their appearance.
‘Hah, what a crazy guy.’
Adela suddenly felt a twinge in the back of her neck.
* * *
There were only two days left until the opening exam.
Adela, who initially thought she’d just give a few pointers and leave, surprisingly stuck around in the training hall. Because of that, I was dragged there too, forced to train.
“Han Siha, your magic is completely unrefined. It feels like it’s bursting out haphazardly, without any control. I’m not expecting you to master it completely, but at the very least, you need to be aware of the direction and amount of your magic.”
As Adela pointed out, the amount of magic I had exceeded that of most people. In terms of raw magic power, I even had more than Adela.
It was that abundance of magic that had gotten me into Ardel Academy in the first place.
The first step was to refine that massive amount of magic so it could be used, instead of just dissipating into the air.
Adela began teaching me from there.
“Try using Arrow. Just like you did in the practice hall.”
Whoosh.
A magic arrow shot toward the target. It missed the mark by a long shot.
When I fought the giant slime, I had maximized the output of my magic and hit it with full force, but if my opponent had been a more agile monster, it would have been a completely ineffective attack.
“See, Han Siha? Any ordinary person wouldn’t get hit by that.”
Even a goblin, instead of a dumb slime, would have easily dodged that.
“Focus more. Draw the path you want your magic to follow.”
That was as far as the kindness went.
Then came the Spartan training.
“Again.”
“Not that, try again.”
I repeated the process of aiming my magic at the target hundreds of times until my magic reserves were completely drained and I was exhausted.
The wooden target quickly became tattered. The catch was, I ended up far more worn out than it did.
“Ugh… ugh…”
In Slakadami, it seemed like they just went, ‘Whoosh! Magic fired!’ and that was it, so I really thought it was that easy. Maybe it was because the story featured such monsters.
Refining magic and actually aiming it required an incredible amount of concentration and brought with it a draining, all-consuming pain that left my body aching as if I’d just gone through a brutal fight.
“It’s because you used up your magic too quickly in a short amount of time.”
“So should I… rest?”
“No, you should push through it.”
This sounded suspiciously like something I’d hear at the gym.
“From the top. One more time.”
Trembling.
“Ah… Adela…”
“Hmm?”
“I have a favor to ask.”
“I won’t grant it, but go ahead.”
“Please… spare me…”
After feeling like I died a couple more times, I finally managed to control the direction of my magic after about half a day.
And by the next day, I could somewhat control the amount of magic as well.
“Hya!”
That evening.
With a burst of inexplicable energy, I gripped the trembling staff and looked up.
A wooden target stood five meters away. Only after I had accurately pierced it ten times did the final training session come to an end.
“I’m alive.”
I mumbled with a sense of satisfaction.
Just then, Adela called out to me.
“Follow me.”
Huh?
“We’re going to have a practice duel.”
* * *
The duel was just a simple match, but I still gripped my staff, ready to follow Adela’s instructions.
In the spacious training hall, with its red ring like a boxing ring, Adela nodded her head.
“Go first.”
The only condition for the duel was that we could only use magic.
Adela had conceded the first move.
Whoosh.
Blue magic wrapped around my staff.
After all the grueling training I’d endured, I had a decent grasp of how to control the amount of magic I used.
Fwoosh.
The first attack shot out from the tip of my staff.
Adela dodged it effortlessly. The direction was accurate, but the output was far too weak to pose any real threat.
Fwoosh.
Fwoosh.
I launched four or five more attacks, but Adela calmly waited them out.
I hadn’t realized it in the dungeon, but her quick judgment and ability to read my attacks were impressive. I couldn’t land a single hit.
Even the few attacks I thought were well-aimed missed the mark.
Of course, that didn’t mean Adela wasn’t attacking at all.
She moved lightly, almost floating. Her movements were on a completely different level from my clumsy ones.
Magic swirled at the tip of her staff.
Whoosh.
The magic brushed past my legs.
The second shot grazed the back of my neck. It felt a little chilly, but I managed to dodge it.
But before I could prepare my next attack, the third shot came, and I had no choice but to let it hit my shoulder.
Smack.
“Ouch.”
But something felt off.
It shouldn’t have been this week.
My body was still slow, and it only grazed me, but even so, the output itself was far too weak. She was definitely holding back, likely out of concern for hitting me too hard.
Some restraint is fine, but…
I brushed off my shoulder and tilted my head.
It felt less impactful than getting bumped into on the street. I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Don’t hold back. You’re the one teaching me, aren’t you?”
“Oh… okay.”
She could treat me like dirt during training, but now that she’s supposed to be hitting me, she hesitates. Adela seemed a bit flustered, rolling her eyes.
It wasn’t a conscious action.
Her expression said it all.
She was wondering, can I really… hit him?
It’s kind of funny, thinking she’s fine with being tough on me but can’t bring herself to actually strike me.
It’s an instinctive fear.
A fear of touching a noble.
Whatever the reason, without her giving it her all, there was no way this duel would be meaningful. It would just be like a child’s play fight.
In the original story, I knew she was overly cautious because of her status, but seeing it in person made me feel guilty.
She talks so freely, but her actions don’t match.
I understood what Adela was worried about, but I wanted her to be a bit more comfortable around me.
Honestly, I’m not even a noble.
I shrugged and added,
“I’m serious. I don’t mind.”
“For real?”
“Yeah, for real.”
Adela, the earth mage.
Even if it’s just at half power, I wanted to see an attack that lived up to her reputation.
I’d have to grit my teeth to dodge something like that.
“If you go all out… I’ll probably die.”
“True.”
“But at half power? I’ll survive, even if it hits me.”
Adela hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
Well, it’s not like getting hit is going to knock me out. It’s just a basic magic attack, not something enhanced by earth magic.
“I’m really… going to do it.”
Adela even gave me a friendly warning as she mapped out her movement.
At this point, she might as well spoon-feed me. No matter how much she underestimates me, this is a bit over the top….
Before I could even finish that thought.
Huh?
“Ugh!”
I was flung out of the training hall.