Since some time ago, there has been a noticeable increase in freshmen entering the Department of Philosophy at Korea University who are also members of the weightlifting club.
And not just any newcomers—these are seasoned veterans with several years of experience under their belts.
There are many causes to describe this phenomenon, but there’s one core event.
[32341 Regular student at Korea University, Philosophy Department, and a successful entry ^^]
In the regular admissions process, where 50% is based on academic scores and 50% on practical interviews, an average grade of 2.6 has snagged a spot.
Seven years ago, a post that created a storm in a community was featured on mainstream news, inevitably attracting the interest of many parents and private education professionals.
Kim, a student at a regular high school—not even an academy—had a physique that was shocking.
Standing at 1.96 meters tall and weighing 115 kg.
He was so muscular that it made one wonder if he should be entering the Department of Physical Education instead of Philosophy. This hulking figure became firmly etched in people’s minds.
– The interview criteria for the Philosophy Department changed.
– It reflected the latest trends in philosophy.
In the West, Nietzsche’s theories, which emphasize the physical body, have been brought to the forefront, and proponents of physical training have become common.
As the situation spiraled out of control, the individual in question eventually clarified.
He said that the admissions officers must have highly valued his efforts in saving lives during the arson bridge bombing incident in high school.
Kim, who had been featured on news two or three times back then, was a famous figure who shattered the prejudice that anyone dealing with aura would be frail.
To win favor with the government and to emphasize practical knowledge, Kim’s admission became a matter of course.
His community post was simply an attempt to garner attention.
However, this clarification didn’t spread widely.
Let alone the professors of Korea University’s Philosophy Department, who didn’t feel the need to change their newly formed criteria.
After all, before reaching their senior year, students must build their bodies for graduation exams, so having ready-made students enroll is like icing on the cake.
Admission experts’ guesses turned into reality, and this incident significantly contributed to shaping the current wild Philosophy Department.
“I noticed so many guys here, and turns out all of them are from the weightlifting club.”
“Not all, but most of them.”
Now that the symbolic logic class has ended, I glanced sideways at the line of male students trailing behind me and asked.
The symbolic logic subject is offered only in the second semester.
Ban So-wool expressed her desire to take it in the summer session, and the male students from the Philosophy Department promptly submitted a course proposal to help her out.
The goddess of Philosophy, the hope of the weightlifting club.
Ban So-wool’s popularity, receiving enormous love calls from both sides, exceeded imagination.
“Na-me, is this sister really strong? Have you heard of the powerlifting total?”
“Isn’t that weight training?”
“Oh, yes! The three lifts—squat, bench press, and deadlift—are combined to be called the powerlifting total.”
Despite its name, Korea University’s weightlifting club is more of a bodybuilding and fitness club rather than just lifting weights.
Having not yet completed my mission of getting numbers, I moved with them towards the weightlifting club’s gym.
“Our So-wool can lift a total of 360 without using aura. That’s an insane level compared to her own body weight!”
One of the boys excitedly explained So-wool’s achievements as if they were his own.
“Na-me is still young, so she probably isn’t interested in that yet.”
“Early education is essential!”
“Na-me, let’s ignore what that oppa said.”
Suddenly, we reached steep stairs.
I tightened my grip to ensure Ban So-wool wouldn’t lose her footing.
Yet, that concern might have been excessive.
She was naturally deploying her aura to properly survey her feet.
“Handling aura quite naturally, aren’t you?”
“Yeah? Ah, I just picked it up naturally as I lived.”
“The fatigue must be severe though.”
Some people mistakenly think that if one can handle aura well, even the blind can see.
This is a misunderstanding; while deploying aura, a significant penalty is imposed.
It’s like trying to memorize pie’s digits while holding your breath underwater.
As you forcibly allocate aura to your sensory organs, cognitive limits arise, and prolonged use puts a heavy strain on the aura heart.
“By the way, what was that about arm wrestling you mentioned earlier?”
She halted just before entering the gym.
Ban So-wool turned her head firmly towards me. Her usually serene face twisted subtly.
“It was heavy.”
She said in a subdued voice.
“…?”
“Do you seriously believe a human can lift a mountain?”
*
BANG-!
The 140kg deadlift barbell hit the ground with a cheerful sound.
“Wow, 345!”
“Huff… Not going well today.”
“If you push yourself too hard, you might get injured, so let’s call it a day.”
“We can’t let So-wool get even more famous after becoming this well-known!”
Na-me’s recording of a promotional video for Korea University caught Ban So-wool in action.
As the members tidied up the weights, she plopped down beside Na-me, wiping her sweat.
“Thank you for your hard work, unni. Here’s a towel.”
“Hmm. Thanks, I’ll use it well.”
Na-me busied herself checking whether the video had recorded properly, pressing the camera button with her small hand.
“Have you tried any of the gym equipment here, Na-me?”
“I can’t even lift a 10 kg empty bar.”
“Hehe, that’s totally fine. At your age, it’s better to refrain from overly strenuous exercise.”
“So-wool unni, do you know Shin Yeon-ho?”
“Shin Yeon-ho…? Who’s that?”
“Do you not know?”
Na-me’s expression hardened.
I thought they at least knew each other, but it seemed Ban So-wool didn’t even remember him.
“They said you faced them in the Round of 8 at the National Martial Arts Tournament.”
“Round of 8… Round of 8… Oh! That sounds familiar. Na-me, can you play the video on V-tube?”
“Uh, sure? Huh?”
Ban So-wool has severe visual impairment.
She can hardly see anything but still asks to play a video?
“I can remember the scenes just by hearing the sounds.”
“Oh, okay.”
Na-me, almost caught in a bias, quickly searched for the fourth match of the Round of 8 of the National Martial Arts Tournament held in 2049.
[Who could have foreseen! The two dark horses of the 2nd year of high school meet on a narrow bridge! Shin Yeon-ho from Altair Academy in Seoul! And Ban So-wool from Aspen Academy in Busan! No matter who wins, this match will be remembered as a legend!]
“The commentary is so hyped up even now. I guess they were really worn out since we were the final match.”
The nervous seventeen-year-olds stood facing each other in the arena, illuminated by bright moonlight.
“Since the previous matches took so long, there wasn’t even time to greet each other. They probably started right away?”
Ban So-wool was the one who instantly frustrated the person known as the greatest genius at Altair Academy, Shin Yeon-ho.
Even while starting with the major penalty of being visually impaired, she crushed the Round of 8 and Round of 4 and achieved the remarkable feat of reaching the finals as a 2nd-year high school student after eight years.
It goes without saying that she was the first ever among the visually impaired.
Naturally, every achievement she has is always tagged with ‘the first.’
“Looking back now, I think it was actually tougher against Yeon-ho than in the Round of 4. This person had such good stamina that I wasn’t disadvantaged even in a long battle.”
Ban So-wool used an aura infused with ‘weight.’
This arose from her being a late-onset visually impaired person.
In middle school, one day after washing her face, she suddenly lost sight in her right eye.
At first, she thought someone had poisoned the tap water.
But the hospital declared it to be a rare genetic disease caused by mutation, and shudderingly predicted the same fate for her remaining eye.
It was a harsh punishment for a teenage girl to accept.
Even with modern science helping her manage life at home, stepping outside meant frequently bumping into others and falling over.
A storm had hit her previously calm life.
Realizing that crying alone wouldn’t change anything, Ban So-wool decided to change.
A deeply rooted tree doesn’t sway even in a typhoon.
A heavy rock holds its ground for thousands of years.
“If I stand firm starting with ‘me,’ the world will make way.”
Ban So-wool continuously contemplated questions that were hard for a middle schooler to think about.
“Don’t demand that the things happening in the world occur as you wish; rather, wish for things to happen just as they actually do.”
Unmoved heart.
The philosophies of Mencius and Zeno became the very foundation of Ban So-wool.
Aura is like a three-year-old child, always raising endless questions of “Why?”
– Why do you think a heavy rock will last forever? What if rain or snow erodes it? Do you still prefer heavy things?
– How should we compare things without weight? Is love heavier than hatred?
When one is fully prepared to answer every question, the aura unleashes superhuman strength.
[Ban So-wool! Ban So-wool! After a fierce struggle, she pushes back Shin Yeon-ho! It seems to be due to the self-propulsion magic of the 2nd circle! Is this her first magic use? Just as I mention this, it vanished from the screen! Above Yeon-ho! Right above!]
Heavy does not simply mean slow or dull.
Isn’t it true that the Moon and Earth orbit at speeds unimaginable?
‘Weight’ is ‘inertia.’
Therefore, if one is heading straight towards ‘principle’ and ‘justice,’ the mystery of ‘weight’ is maximized.
The participants thought that if she wasn’t stepping on the ground, she wouldn’t be able to deploy aura, but Ban So-wool directly contradicted that.
She jumped much higher than the floating Shin Yeon-ho and executed a half twist.
Even in an environment imbued with heavy aura, she could move faster than anyone.
The aura converging at her heel struck Shin Yeon-ho squarely in the back.
In the blink of an eye, a huge impression was made on the floor of the arena, and a cloud of dust rose up.
As the barrier fell below 1%, Shin Yeon-ho fainted without being able to absorb the impact.
[Ban So-wool! Ban So-wool! Ban So-wool did it! She made it happen! The final ember of Aspen Academy still burns brightly!]
Despite a slightly biased commentary in favor of Ban So-wool, Na-me nodded in acknowledgment.
Up to that point, the audience had all cheered for her to see how far she could go.
“It must feel frustrating to have reached the finals and lost.”
“It’s okay. In truth, it wouldn’t have been surprising if I fell at any point since the preliminaries.”
In dueling, a match can turn upside down with just a moment’s judgement.
Ban So-wool had been battling throughout with her own philosophy in mind.
Though she lost in the finals, the philosophy of heaviness remained intact.
Ultimately, it was because of her inadequacies in every aspect.
However, when Na-me entered the classroom, and by chance the aura that Ban So-wool had deployed brushed against her,
For the first time, she felt her philosophy was shaken.
‘It’s infinitely light, yet also infinitely heavy.’
The two concepts cannot coexist.
There can be moderation, but not confusion.
It was hard to explain in words, but the best I could do to express it with language was barely this much.
“How about an arm wrestling match like we talked about earlier? Let’s use our aura too.”
Just as Na-me suggested, Ban So-wool’s face lit up.
She wanted to look a little closer.
To discern the nature of that aura.
“If I win, will you tell me your number?”
“I can tell you my number right now. Would that be okay?”
“I won’t be using it. I’ll be giving it to Yeon-ho.”
“Why to him?”
Na-me skipped answering and lay face down on the floor.
Not on the desk. Meaning she was planning to go all out.
Ban So-wool smiled.
She too tied her long hair into a ponytail with the tips.
“Alright. Let’s see what Na-me’s capable of.”
Ban So-wool’s long arms were pumped up from the earlier weightlifting session.
‘Just aim to gauge her skill and let her win appropriately.’
The soft, small hand met the rough, calloused hand.
Using aura, Ban So-wool had previously claimed victories even against the head of the weightlifting club.
When exerting unidirectional strength, her aura demonstrates its highest efficiency.
No sooner had the murky gray energy seeped up than Na-me’s golden aura sparkled like stars.
“Wow! You can already handle your aura this well?”
This isn’t just pure talent, is it?
It feels so vibrant that warmth seems to radiate from it.
Ban So-wool revealed her astonishment, her dull gray eyes wide in surprise.
WHOOSH-!
The arms of the two girls trembled slightly.
The shockwave generated from their strong wills ruffled their hair a little.
Ban So-wool couldn’t help but admire Na-me’s strength, which was much more powerful than she’d anticipated.
‘This power isn’t just about skill… Could it be that she’s already at a stage of building her worldview?’
It’s said that children with high mana sensitivity also exhibit elevated mental age.
However, even that should only be a year or two of difference; anything more than that is simply unfathomable.
Na-me fought with all her might, trying to overpower her.
Someone like that was actually right in front of her.
THUD-!
Finally, Ban So-wool’s hand touched the ground first.
“I lost…! Seriously amazing, how did you manage this aura—”
“Let’s do it again.”
Right as Ban So-wool was about to heap praise, Na-me interrupted her decisively with a fierce voice.
“I let you win…”
“–And this time, use your left hand. Don’t go easy.”
“Got it. I’ll accept your suggestion.”
What a competitive child she is.
Even in defeat, Na-me refusing to yield was commendable and above all, adorable.
SHHH-!
The gray aura spiraled like a soaring dragon and enveloped Ban So-wool’s entire left arm.
“Try to catch me.”
Normally, an untrained human wouldn’t be able to break through an aura barrier.
This was why Ban So-wool wasn’t going all out.
Otherwise, they’d never even get to arm wrestling.
THUMP-!
‘What is this?’
Soft skin was felt once more.
“What… How…?”
The size and feeling were exactly the same as before; the sense experienced from the fingertips extended throughout her palm.
“If you take it easy, it’d be disastrous, unni. I could actually get hurt this time.”
“You.”
“Just go for it.”
Na-me’s aura was supposed to be golden, right?
Aura colors can be discerned just by feeling.
At this moment, Ban So-wool felt that Na-me’s aura was a dark red, almost as if soaked in blood.
CRACKLE-!
“Is this… strong energy?”
Their auras generated a repulsive force against each other.
As she struggled to maintain it, little sparks crackled around their hands.
“I’ll start in three seconds.”
Ban So-wool counted silently.
Three.
Na-me’s and her captured hands felt heavier.
That familiar heaviness she sensed when they first met.
Two.
Now Ban So-wool’s hand began to feel like it was being pushed down.
Na-me’s aura began to form a shape against Ban So-wool’s.
The dark red energy simmered and sprouted dozens of large and small mouths.
One.
The sharp transformation of Na-me’s aura likely represented the teeth inside those mouths.
Viscous teeth clashed and shredded through the gray aura surrounding Ban So-wool.
Even though Ban So-wool tried to keep the formation going by feeding aura into it, the rate at which Na-me absorbed was much quicker.
Then suddenly, without any warning, Ban So-wool felt a surge of hunger.
“What the hell!”
WHOOSH-!
A mist-like haze erupted like smoke.
In an instant, mountainous strength pressed down upon her arms.
Ban So-wool’s wrist veins stood out prominently.
It felt like she wasn’t merely arm wrestling, but pushing against a concrete wall.
As she inflated her muscles to the limit, she expanded her aura to closely observe Na-me’s face.
“…!”
[Hunger: Erichiton]
At that moment, a girl who had never smiled showed a look of ecstasy,
While drooling transparent saliva, she watched on lovingly.
“You’re going to get eaten like that.”
