The weekend flew by in a blink. I could barely catch up with the class notes, and time slipped away like water.
I was a bit uneasy about the practical exam coming up, but looking back, I was equally worried about the written part.
Just because the written exam had a lower weight didn’t mean I could relax.
On top of that, I struggled with the writing just as much as the practicals. And now that I had fallen behind… the future looked grim.
Sighing heavily, I opened my closet.
After a long while, I put on my student uniform.
“Hmm…”
I examined my body using the power of observation. Aside from my saggy left sleeve, I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary.
Without unnecessary decorations and dressed in a sleekly designed student uniform, I felt a strange sensation.
It felt like both a long time and just yesterday since I last wore it… a feeling of ambiguity.
When heading to Shifnaha, I left wearing one of my few civilian outfits, and during the weeks in the healing facility, I was dressed in patient clothes.
Though time felt long, most of it was hectic and surreal, making my perception of time seem slow.
At the same time, the tension that had been tightening around me began to ease little by little.
Since leaving Shio-ram, I had been on edge.
The anxiety stemmed from the unfair experiences I had right after exiting Shio-ram.
In fact, I had nearly died at Shifnaha from an unfair encounter. I could have easily ended up dead there.
In the healing facility… strangely enough, I felt uneasy and irritated when Professor Atra wasn’t around. I just felt a general aversion to that healing place.
My nose felt twitchy, and my thoughts became jumbled. I just hated being there.
[Aversion]
[Dislike]
[Alcohol smell?]
It stirred up some unpleasant memories.
While I was having those thoughts, the necklace spat out its thoughts uncontrollably. I hadn’t tried to control it, but, of course, it was doing its thing.
But wait, if it’s not supposed to express deep consciousness, isn’t that alcohol smell… part of deep consciousness related to trauma?
“Tsk.”
It made me recall bad memories for no good reason. After straightening my clothes, I glanced at my reflection.
…Even I could tell my complexion wasn’t great. There were noticeable dark shadows under my eyes, and my face was overall fatigued.
It was because I hadn’t slept well.
Even lying down on my bed, sleep wouldn’t come. Well, technically, I felt drowsy, but I couldn’t fall asleep at all.
My consciousness just wouldn’t settle. An inexplicable sense of anxiety pushed my sleep away.
I had experienced symptoms like that at the start of the semester. The world around me was changing, filled with uncertainty, making it hard to sleep.
So, I stuck to the policy of forcing myself to roll around until I fainted… but even now, despite feeling tired, I couldn’t faint.
That said, I was afraid to roll around too much because of Professor Atra’s sternness…
There probably wasn’t a safer place in the world than here, but I didn’t understand why I was feeling this anxious and unable to sleep.
It was just… empty…
[Lonely]
[Professor]
[Want to cuddle]
“Dammit!”
Startled by the unfiltered words spilling out, I seized the necklace tightly.
A shameful and absurd word almost slipped out.
Even just thinking it made me want to die of embarrassment. If someone else heard it… I wouldn’t be able to hold my head up high…
My fingers trembled. A single impulse surged in my mind.
[Destruction]
…I suppressed the impulse. If I broke the reward that Elia and my family had given me, I’d be worse than a beast.
I shook off the sky’s feathers draped across my shoulders and left the dorm.
Shio-ram… I couldn’t even remember how many weeks it had been.
There were still two weeks left until the mid-term evaluation.
…
As notified in the group chat, most of the public classes this week were filled with lectures related to spirits taught by Professor Riana.
Therefore, instead of Ipchun Class, I headed to the Second Natural Park as pre-briefed.
It didn’t take long to arrive.
After leaving the dorm and taking the self-driving bus, I was delivered right to the entrance of the Second Natural Park.
Despite its name, the natural park is not a recreational facility for relaxation.
The facility is a proper training ground prepared for students.
Moreover, as the name “natural” implies, it is a region where many natural sights have been preserved.
“Oh…”
After getting off the bus, I broadly expanded my observation range. I surpassed my previous maximum range without difficulty. Thankfully, it didn’t cause too much strain on my head.
[Headache]
[Nosebleed]
[Retinal hemorrhage]
Just the usual level of headache.
“This works well.”
During the weekend, I practiced handling my powers.
Observation and space. Why do I possess these powers I can’t fully comprehend?
Though I’d built up some proficiency in spatial perception, trying to tear apart what I had forcibly shoved together resulted in awkwardness here and there.
The spatial powers seemed to have a stronger feeling of that awkwardness.
Honestly, I had approached spatial perception as an observational feeling, not as a cognitive sensation of space.
Fortunately, my powers of observation were less stammering. Just realizing it allowed me to operate it in a way similar to spatial perception.
“…Powers of observation.”
The powers granted by the Tower of Observation.
The Tower of Observation is one of the towers considered vital to maintaining the current world order.
Thanks to the premonitions received about accidents caused by mazes, dungeons, villains, and so on, many lives are still saved.
The reason such predictions are possible is the existence of the observatory established by the Tower Master of Observation.
They are observing the entire world 24/7, without any gaps.
Of course, due to realistic limitations, most of the observations are focused on the occurrences of maze and dungeon breaches.
Because of that, they aren’t very proactive regarding crime in the inner areas.
The assistance is only indirect, providing magic tools with a small portion of the powers of observation.
However, even though it’s indirect, without this, the arrest rate of villains committing crimes while utilizing unique abilities would have plummeted.
“Hmm…”
Through my observational range, I clearly saw the park’s layout.
There were very few artificial traces among them. Human intervention, like pruning, was minimal.
The only sign of humans was a path leading near the lake.
In the center of the natural park was a large lake, its waters clear without a single murky hue.
Moreover, it was early enough in the day that a little mist was present, giving it a unique atmosphere.
The surrounding area looked equally clean, so it didn’t feel awkward. I felt like I could roll around without kicking up a speck of dust.
At the entrance, there was a path paved with stones tightly fitted together. This was almost the only artificial trace visible here.
As I walked along the path leading to the lake, I felt the presence of someone nearby growing closer.
Despite leaving early, there were others who had arrived before me.
They were fellow students from Ipchun Class. Professor Riana hadn’t arrived yet.
As I approached, some of them turned their heads, sensing my presence.
Their eyes widened. Soon they nudged the students next to them, who then turned their heads, eyes equally wide.
Gazes poured over me. In a way that felt different from before… I shivered under their rather dense stares.
“……”
“……”
I swallowed hard.
It felt like I was being looked at like something incredible… yet also pitiful…
It was hard to endure that awkward gaze.
The good news was that they didn’t attempt to speak to me.
Hong Yeon-hwa and Elia hadn’t arrived yet either.
Neither had Atilla or Aiden… nor Nam Yeon-jung, who I had a bit of a rapport with.
In other words, I had no one to talk to.
I scanned the area a bit and chose a slightly detached spot to sit down.
The grass was quite lush, so the ground wasn’t as hard as I expected. It wasn’t unbearably cold either, making it comfortable enough to sit.
While I wanted to lie down on the sky’s feathers, I remained seated, conscious of the gazes fixated on me.
– Whooooosh
A breeze swept by, cool against my skin.
I sat there for a little while.
As more students began to arrive, a chilling presence approached me lightly.
“Hayul, you came out early, huh?”
A familiar voice and presence, undeniably unmistakable coolness.
“Long time no see since the hospital visit!”
In contrast, Baek Ahrin greeted me with a bright smile.
Her smile was so bright and soft that it almost lit up the surroundings, but armed with the knowledge from the original story, I didn’t let my guard down.
‘But…’
I hesitantly lowered my head to meet hers.
I remembered Baek Ahrin’s considerate actions toward me in the past.
Even when we met during public class, she had always been kind to me. During my time at the Tower of Growth, she had helped me significantly. As I continued to interact with her, I recognized the care she had shown me.
Thus, I didn’t invariably feel aversion.
After all, she hadn’t harmed me and consistently acted with kindness, so it would seem unreasonable to fully reject her.
However, I didn’t entirely trust her either. If the knowledge from the original story held true, when would I get blindsided?
I’d done a bit of deduction regarding the backstory, but it wasn’t precise.
Still, I remained on alert. I was overly conscious of my control over the necklace.
If I mismanaged my mouth… if I let the necklace run amok, it could lead to something disastrous like what happened in the 11th round.
[Hello]
[Baek Ahrin]
[Nice to meet you]
The confession necklace activated. The words I murmured were projected out in a stiff voice.
“Oh.”
Baek Ahrin’s eyes widened. Her surprised gaze turned to the necklace hanging around my neck.
An intrigued glint appeared in her eyes. It seemed she recognized it as an artifact rather than a simple magic tool.
“An artifact, huh? Is the effect verbal expression?”
[Yes]
“Aha. This kind is rare…”
I nodded internally at her remark.
Among the various artifacts, the confession necklace had a pretty unusual function.
Unusual, not superior.
In the original work, the confession necklace wasn’t used much.
Even if I tried to use it for interrogation, the wearer could control it, filtering the information, and due to its engraving feature, after changing owners a few times, it would break from overload.
It was much faster and surer to use magic to open someone’s mind instead.
‘But is Baek Ahrin really that interested?’
Coming from the Changhae Clan, she must have seen all kinds of artifacts.
Especially if I think about the top-tier artifacts the head of the clan wears or the activated artifacts in the main house, the confession necklace should feel pretty ordinary.
[Thanks for coming to the hospital. I couldn’t… thank you enough for the gift… I enjoyed it.]
The high-end candy Baek Ahrin had brought as a hospital gift was delightful. Seeing Hong Yeon-hwa giving me candy made her choose candy as well.
Of course, while both were candies, they differed in type.
While Hong Yeon-hwa’s had primarily sweet apple flavors, Baek Ahrin had brought the traditional candy called Okchuntang, made from a mixture of rice flour and syrup.
It looked colorful and appeared delicious on the outside.
“I’m glad to hear you enjoyed it! If you’d like more, just let me know anytime.”
While having those thoughts…
After exchanging a few words with me through the necklace, Baek Ahrin plopped down beside me.
Then she drew her extended legs in with both arms and hugged them.
Baek Ahrin seemed perfectly at ease, steering the conversation.
‘Hmm…’
An ordinary and common position.
– Grrr…
But at that moment, that ordinary position felt extremely uncomfortable.
Her legs were drawn to her chest, which naturally squished Baek Ahrin’s chest.
I was trying not to mind, but… Baek Ahrin’s chest was quite ample.
Thanks to Baek Ahrin being so tall, it looked proportionate to me; even without knowledge of the subject, I thought her chest looked ridiculously large.
Having that chest squished against me made it hard for me to breathe properly.
And that was just a thought. I tried hard to push away such thoughts.
Ever since I gained powers I thought of as spatial perception, I was extra careful.
Ever since manifesting Gop-hwa due to unconscious homogenization, I had been constantly facing strange impulses, making me even more cautious.
The powers of observation were exceptionallygood at collecting information.
Thus, I was particularly mindful to prevent the bizarre information flowing in from being misused.
It was the same this time. I was controlling my powers of observation, ensuring useless information didn’t slip through.
A little information trickled in, and the ridiculous thoughts arising from it were swiftly cast aside.
As always.
[Her chest is huge]
For a moment, I was focused on controlling my powers of observation. Had it not been for the necklace, which lost control slightly…
[Huh?]
“Hmm?”
‘?’
What did I just say?
No, what did the necklace just blurt out?
My brain froze. The impassive voice in my ear wasn’t properly processing the meaning.
But one thing was for sure, it was an immensely rude and inappropriate remark.
After a brief moment, my mouth fell open. My face drained of color.
Baek Ahrin blinked.
Her eyes widened as though she had heard something unexpected, blinked several times.
And then, instantly…
– Hehe
Her eyes curved into crescent moons, and the corners of her mouth turned up. A mischievous smile adorned her face, as if she had found something to tease me with.
“Yes, my chest is indeed a bit large. Why? Want to touch it?”
She grinned and poked my cheek playfully.
Caught off guard, I panicked and shook my head desperately.
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