Liana had heard the word “talent” so many times in her life that she was sick of it.
When she was born, her capacity for innate magic far surpassed that of others by dozens of times. Her affinity for magic was remarkable, making it easy for her to handle it.
Naturally, her manipulation abilities improved as well. Even though she was still a child and had not yet manifested her unique ability, everyone believed without a doubt that she would become an extraordinary superhuman.
The manifestation of a unique ability.
So rare that it could almost be counted on one hand if more accurately compared to a metaphor. The expectations directed toward her soared higher than the sky.
And so, swept up by the atmosphere, she somehow became a hero, and somehow found herself fighting on the African front.
She had choices, of course. She thought saving people was better than just sitting around. Plus, she was making a ton of money, so she figured she could retire and live well later on, etc…
Anyway, she had been living the hero life for quite a while now, and even throughout that process, she had heard the word “talent” countless times.
Whenever someone did something impressive, it was always because of their talent.
Innate talent for magic, talent for spells, talent for martial arts, unique abilities…
Talent, talent, talent.
She had heard it so many times. Talents popped up in every field, and whenever she looked around, the place was filled with talented people.
For a moment, memories flooded back. From what felt like a distant past to a more recent memory, it felt just like yesterday.
The sky was still a brilliant blue today. It was a different sky from that of the African front.
Liana stared blankly at the sky before turning her head.
In the grass, not far away, she saw a boy curled up, breathing evenly like a shrimp.
“Pfft.”
A laugh escaped her. He looked rather cute. With his appearance alone, everything he did seemed cute.
Was it the downside of looks-based superiority? Or was it the gentle nature of Lee Ha-yul’s personality that made him charming?
Either way, watching him made her want to pet his head.
He occasionally shivered, which made her realize that he seemed to feel the cold a lot.
Thinking of that, Liana pulled out the outerwear she had brought and draped it over him.
As soon as the coat was placed over him like a blanket, he let out a satisfied sound and pulled himself into a tighter ball.
He had completely burrowed into the coat now.
Liana stifled a laugh, almost about to burst.
After a while, holding back her laughter, she gradually calmed down. She was still trying to soothe her racing heart while she recalled the earlier scene.
The magic crystal used as a tool for developing basic magical manipulation.
There were three steps in total.
Step one was touching the magic crystal.
Step two was breaking down the resistance of the magic contact and creating a hole to extract the magic.
Step three was absorbing the extracted magic with dominion.
For Lee Ha-yul, this process was particularly challenging as he was just starting to learn about magic.
Before even these three steps, he had to be aware of his magic and know how to manipulate it.
The crystal was a medium. While it’s hard to identify characteristics with just one, showing two different crystals side by side would reveal the differences.
In other words,
Lee Ha-yul had to be aware of his magic, manipulate it, bring it out externally, touch the magic of the crystal, create a hole in the crystal, and then draw in the scattered magic to make it his.
At this point, Liana thought Lee Ha-yul might have talent for magic.
Special admissions. A student whose status was unprecedented until now.
For decades, outside activities were entirely cut off except for messages communicated through the vice president.
There were conspiracy theories floating around that she might have been dead, as she had hidden away for many years.
Amidst all this, the vice president brought the announcement of selecting a special admissions student.
Thinking back to the chaos of that time, she still shook her head in disbelief.
After various occurrences, here Lee Ha-yul was sleeping soundly in front of Liana.
She was shocked when she learned the situation.
Putting aside the process or reasons, since the president had personally chosen him, she believed he must have talent.
In fact, she heard from Atra that he had a peculiar talent.
– A peculiar talent? Neither outstanding nor meager talent, exactly what does that mean?
– Just what it says. I couldn’t grasp it properly myself. He learns quickly, but… something feels off.
– Huh.
According to Atra’s evaluation, something was unusual about the talent…
Whatever it meant, if he had talent in martial arts, she thought he might have talent in this area too.
This was her process of verifying it, and if he did have talent, she planned to teach him herself.
So, Liana thought she would watch Lee Ha-yul struggle with the crystal for a bit. After all, to solve a problem, you first need to identify what the issue is.
And so, when Lee Ha-yul held the crystal and concentrated,
In an instant, he devoured the crystal until it shriveled up. It was as if a famished beggar had possessed him, greedily absorbing it all.
It was astounding. Lee Ha-yul had gone through nearly five steps in one go, manipulating and being aware of everything.
If it had stopped there, Liana would have surely praised Lee Ha-yul’s talent. She would have sighed in relief and thought about how to teach him moving forward.
Yet, while he touched the magic, created the hole to extract it, and absorbed the magic that came out,
It was remarkable, but not entirely unprecedented. Liana herself had done the same. Lee Ha-yul was simply faster, yet it was not impossible.
However, there was something distinguishing between Liana and Lee Ha-yul.
The amount absorbed. Liana barely managed to gather just over half, while Lee Ha-yul took almost all of it. He was exponentially faster and took in double.
But that wasn’t all. Liana started to feel something was strange after that.
She casually glanced around and noticed the grass beneath her seemed oddly lifeless.
Was it just her feeling? But comparing it with the grass a distance away, the difference was clear.
Above all, when observing the magic, the surrounding magic density had evidently lightened.
The area of influence wasn’t very wide. At most, it was about a radius of two meters.
What was important was that he absorbed not just the crystal’s magic but the surrounding area’s magic as well.
And even more critically, the current situation raised an alarming question.
Liana raised her right hand. Where Lee Ha-yul had been holding the crystal, the part where she had placed her hand for a signal.
Amazingly, incredibly,
Lee Ha-yul had absorbed Liana’s magic as well.
Of course, it was possible because she had placed her magic externally and hadn’t resisted.
If she had tried to resist, Lee Ha-yul wouldn’t have been able to breach her magic at all.
…But was that really the case?
As that thought crossed her mind, she couldn’t shake off the nagging thought lingering at the back of her mind.
Atra had said it was a strange talent. That it felt something different from ordinary talent.
And Liana felt the same way. Though it seemed to belong to a different category, she also judged Lee Ha-yul’s talent as strange.
What should she call this…
Liana’s gaze swept over Lee Ha-yul, the colorless crystal, the surrounding plants, and finally her own right arm.
Could this analogy be fitting?
It felt like he had a different access right. Something different from typical magical affinity.
Now she understood why Atra insisted it took time to grasp. It was definitely unlike anything ordinary.
With a smirk, Liana reached out, and her fingers brushed through his soft hair.
It was an addictive sensation.
*
Shin Seo-yul was early in the morning.
There was no particular reason. He simply enjoyed the fresh morning air. It was cool without being too cold, giving a refreshing feel. The sunlight didn’t scorch too fiercely; it was a gentle warmth.
So sometimes he would go for a jog in the early dawn.
Dressed comfortably, he would throw a slightly damp sports towel around his neck and take off for a brief run.
As he embraced the cool morning air while jogging at a decent pace, it felt exhilarating.
After blowing off his stress in that way, it was pure bliss to munch on snacks he brought from the dorm at a nearby spot.
Just having finished jogging, the taste of cold, sweet coffee pouring into his slightly warmed body was an indescribable joy.
“……”
His hand holding the 8,500 won (tax included) coffee was shaking. He had no disorder in his hands. She was a healthy girl who had never suffered from any ailments.
But her hands trembled. Her face felt cold. It was partly due to the chill of the morning air, but also because she was just feeling somewhat eerie.
The park wrapped in the morning ambiance. A scenic walking path spread between the green trees drew his gaze, leading him there.
And he saw it.
Lee Ha-yul curled up in the grass near the lake, sleeping.
“How cute.”
That was the first impression she felt. His appearance was undeniably cute, wasn’t it?
His lines were delicate and soft. Staring at his face, she felt envious because he looked prettier than herself, and a second look revealed how handsome he was, leaving her speechless.
All the prejudices against special admissions faded a little, and surely his looks contributed to that.
He truly looked like a fairy.
Last time, Hong Yeon-hwa had playfully referred to Lee Ha-yul as a fairy.
Perhaps she had realized her slip of the tongue and frozen up in embarrassment.
After that, her friends teased her about being enchanted by a fairy, and she got hit a few times as a result.
Back then, it was all just laughter, but now she couldn’t help but agree with the idea of him looking like a fairy.
But! However!
What was important was not that part.
Nearby the misty lakeside at dawn, with Lee Ha-yul resting… there was a woman sitting gracefully beside him.
Shin Seo-yul couldn’t help but admire her beauty.
Her green, lively eyes stood out among the vibrant colors of this place.
Liana Velus.
The professor of Ipchun Class.
She was a professor Shin Seo-yul, an honor student, had no previous acquaintance with. The extent of their interaction was just a few casual greetings when she visited Hong Yeon-hwa and Baek Ahrin.
Therefore, he knew nothing of the situation over there.
Why were they both together on this weekend dawn?
Why was Lee Ha-yul so comfortable beside her, sleeping… No, he was even tucked under her coat? It clearly didn’t look like it was his…
Why was Professor Liana gently stroking Lee Ha-yul’s head?
What could be the circumstances? It was certain that Shin Seo-yul didn’t know if any such circumstances existed or not.
At that moment, Liana turned her head. Their eyes met. With wide eyes, Liana let out a small chuckle and raised her index finger to her lips.
– Shhh.
Shin Seo-yul’s shoulders twitched at the voice that seemed to penetrate into his ears.
It was a form of telepathy that conveyed intentions directly through magic.
Though it wasn’t a unique ability of the support team’s electromancer-type, it was a technique often used by quite capable superhumans.
“……”
Shin Seo-yul fell silent for a moment before nodding his head. Liana smiled as though satisfied.
Turning away, Shin Seo-yul exited the park. He didn’t stop walking until that oddly piercing gaze vanished.
As he scanned his surroundings, he realized the time had shifted from early dawn to morning. People were beginning to stir.
Stopping mid-step, Shin Seo-yul squinted, recalling a friend.
Although her fiery and foul personality could be a hassle, once you got close, her good sides showed through; she responded amusingly to teasing, initially serving as a punching bag, the red-haired friend.
The girl who didn’t bother to repress her personality in front of her parents suddenly turned into a shy maiden when Lee Ha-yul was around; it felt absurd.
There was the time she awkwardly asked what kind of candy he liked…
Hong Yeon-hwa’s gaze toward Lee Ha-yul…
And the earlier scene. Lee Ha-yul lying on the grass, fast asleep, and Professor Liana kindly draping her coat over him while stroking his head…
After amassing various information throughout his life, he came to one audacious conclusion.
A drama played out in his head.
“Whoa…”
Shin Seo-yul shook his head, trembling at the shocking conclusion he had arrived at.
“Yikes… his company seems formidable.”
No matter how much she was his friend, this time, the opponent was a strong one.
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