Chapter 10: Korin Lork (2)
4iZEWhen I first came into this world, I was very desperate.u5z
uJ8tA body that was barely at the level of a knight and a weak mind – without any compensations, I learned how to fight in order to protect myself.OP9uiO6
qLHThe reason I chose a spear was because it was the easiest to learn.CLzI
xbqACI had nothing to believe in except for Park Sihu, the player, and the things I knew about the future…POsMRRu
ODTvECdBut when I had to confront all the monsters and geniuses of the main scenario, I was frightened.plH1jx
bIFNSo what if the protagonist was next to me?W2M
yD4nOcSo what if I knew about the future?ZSgk
7zL3BThose were completely meaningless. To survive through the main story where spells and swords came flying at my face at every waking moment, the things I had were nowhere near enough.opOlgCE
MAG7My three years were seriously one hell of a hard time.7xLKUaS
Kj3cEven though my master tried to teach me using wise words like ‘Look at the forest, and not the trees,’ but following that wasn’t easy when my life was constantly on the line.pIi
PcswT6The tricks I learned to survive became a habit, and that habit became permanent over time.QtS
d5lCEMaster’s consistent philosophical advice sounded like nothing but empty words but I had a rough gist now.WmqzE
MCWQReK『 Strength and the nature of an ability is not what we need to reach the heart of dao. Your talents are not that simple. It is greatly different and— 』e9NxmGz
8N8I didn’t have a strong body, nor did I have an enormous amount of mana or aura.DKLP
atQMuI had no unprecedented specialty either.ji9
vL8WgIncompetent and weak.tk9k4
lumcAn ungifted man who could not seek a simple increment in power through numbers.uZvOT4y
xVR3YnE“Huu…”mZpsX
cDFThe spear in my two hands was warm. After being swung a few times, it was heated up from the friction and dripping beads of sweat.PAcGRk7
YSVmK55I had seen countless geniuses, and was now the enemy of astounding powerhouses.7DViQ6k
oBxIn order to overcome it without the overpowered traits of a player, the only option left was for me to become stronger as the only one who knew about the future.SQx
eit– Vuuinng!x0axn
VLHvHZThe elemental body was not something I could keep up with for now. My fastest stab was slower than its movement, and therefore, what was needed was an analysis instead of my strength.EeYD
Ne7LAnalyze.tpV9nL
yiHAnalyze myself and analyze the enemy.Vy078
fFPvyDo not overly rely on the body.7Tx
LpADJcRemember the distance and calculate the trajectory.G1O784
IBRcContemplate every method possible to make it reach the enemy.ddT2
i3xrdVRather than speed, the reason why elemental bodies were difficult to hit was because of its ability to identify the vibrations in the air and its flying skills that let it avoid attacks in the best way possible.N1qhM
xCJHAttack from the right and it will dodge to the left. Although it might sound obvious, an elemental body could make that happen 100% of the time and was therefore impossible to hit unless one was way faster than it.TyhT2t
6nYThat was why being able to destroy an elemental body meant one had the strength to overpower an elemental body. However, was that really the only method to defeat an elemental body?ArX
x03A spear was a simple weapon.cdK
oZomhStab, swing, retaliate, spin, throw.PoIF
6tAu5R5Ominous Snakez0e
kLlNTiger’s GustKgX
YXUTrap and StaboEmcL2O
ZjoeSpinning HeavenLlh
0JJPsBVCrumbling MountainbqE
bmyCThose were the five basic ways of the spear. Out of the dozens of derivative attacks, I looked for the most suitable one.Avw
1Gj6One that could allow me to ignore the lack of my stats;U4A3
gRKxeSecrets of Ominous Snake – Distorted MarchE5deK
9TjE3V****1xSlU
XixRLeaving behind the boy who stayed stubborn until the end, Marie headed to the academy cafeteria with her colleagues.xYL
wMUBh“Did you see him? The guy that was floundering his arms trying to keep up to the elemental body?”iqnvb
icT5“Ahh~. You mean the freshman, right?”Q8Beg2
8g4G“How long did it take for you? It took less than an hour for me.”GIC
H299d“Me? I did it in 2 hours!”Ni9UMM
TFGIY3“Bullshit. Didn’t it take more than 6 hours or something?”KsifZkQ
omJ“No?!”tcG0
UCoHxThe freshman at the training room was eye-catching in both good and bad ways to the seniors. He became a bad-mouthing topic for them on their way to the cafeteria.4Zzuf
72Bwk“Pretty sure Marie did it in an instant last year, right?”nYCIi2H
OHxVT“Nn? N, nn.”uYML
PL70“Dude, you can’t even compare that to Marie. She got hers in less than a minute.”NYHQP
ppO8fR“I once saw Marie dropping 10 in an instant in the training room.”PJS
BSzV“A genius is just in a whole different league, I guess.”MYj63E
WtOJ45Marie Dunareff.CgCN5I
Bujfv1She was the strongest mage among the 2nd year students, and was one of the few Grade 1 students of the Academy. Her status was incomparable to that of other students.puSd
XeoAjZ9“But that boy called Korin was trying really hard!”EfFG0Mb
SUJ1F“He was.”qvzlU
pVKMarie gave a bright smile hearing the acknowledgement of his effort from her peer. She was about to explain Korin’s incredible tenacity but…Yov
HVtZ“It’s just bravado though.”lUXFo
4OgHdH“Yeah. He’s just trying to be cool.”DYhU
9WLU“Probably because everyone was hailing him for being a knight from his youth.”mU4XTJ
3YDBm“…”Bjg
IjwHgSV“There is no way a Grade 5 can even hit that. He probably won’t land a hit until his graduation.”boZnmO
81L55Q2“He’s Grade 5. At best, he would be at Grade 4 by his graduation.”BmuW6O
fUhcZZThey all said the same thing, that he was just stubbornly attempting the impossible.3LRd
FOd5XDk“But… isn’t it amazing? He might really succeed with all his hard work.”KrKwr7
A6W“Marie. You’re saying that because you’re a genius. It’s normal for average people to be unable to do that. People need to know how to be modest and give up.”FKI43Jz
Y6fk0“What if you break your own body by pushing yourself like that? It’s best to not even try doing the impossible.”qXdQ
KYpThey sounded cold-hearted but Marie could tell where they were coming from. Unable to come up with words to refute their arguments, Marie pouted and pursed her lips.Imz
e80rqw“If he began at Grade 5, there’s pretty much zero hope for him. Instead of having false hope, he should instead look for a workplace for post-graduation.”06GuJuK
zXwQWas that really the case? She deeply pondered to herself while walking after her friends.qFmU
47N1Marie was a so-called genius. Her inborn sensitivity to mana was amplified after entering Merkarva Academy – she passed a Grade Promotion Test in just one semester.k9A7S4
yFVLgOIn her bright and sunny world, there had been no despair and frustration.jwQFd
XXlWHard work? The girl was already a hard worker. As a daughter of an agricultural family, and as the oldest child out of 3 sons and 4 daughters, Marie was definitely not a lazy girl.W8T
lL5Z1She was gifted and also had hard work. Without being content with Grade 1, she was urged by her desire for improvement and various experiences to seek perfection.xmvD
xFvPThat was why the girl, who was praised as a genius, thought to herself.2AzsI
hH5Siq‘If I failed as much as that boy…’BBf1grp
4pgsGfKWould I be able to stay diligent without falling to despair?aBpyUi
883xEven if she were to sweat like a storm and be unable to deal with a mere elemental body, would she still be able to stand back up on her shivering legs?IK7nzk
HiK9qIt was a future that was difficult to imagine for the girl who had always been distant from the word ‘desperation’.V4s5Yb
z4Kp****5UR5l
pCJ“Good night, Marie!”S5VibL
zux“Marie. We have an orientation tomorrow, right? See you then!”QBWx
LbAu“The lime juice you gave me last time was amazing!”FKWHdp
ETyXvGnAfter the meal, Marie fully enjoyed the relaxed air of the start of semester and energetically waved her hands to bid farewell. She had to separate from her friends because her dormitory was in the central streets.8DGD7O
aL4NShe was walking down the central streets which had all sorts of restaurants, stores and entertainment facilities when she suddenly thought of the training room boy.0ncM
996N“I wonder if he’s still doing it.”ZbQNq9
4yYqzlMThe sky was already turning dark and it was about time for magic carriages to stop doing rounds around the city. Soon, it would be the curfew so he should have gone back already.KncL
LFBYN18Marie was unconsciously under the impression that there was no way Korin would have succeeded and packed up already, because hitting an elemental body was too challenging a task for a Grade 5 freshman.mh126lV
vHku‘He didn’t look like he would give up though…’xGQlgoG
Q9v6ZJIt was on the way to the dormitory so… she decided to drop by.V3R
12QhY“Ms. Marie?”EpU7
ZsZ6“Ah, umm… I lost something.”GE0
VXVp“Really? Lost property is over there…”z4woLt7
PGIV“No no no! It was in a corner so you probably didn’t see it!”VDZ
s2A0jeWhile pretending to head to the training room she used, Marie stole a glance at the room Korin was in.ahmHAmn
gxtdRqD– Paang!CWtK2
NsuQzQKThe sound clearly reverberating across the corridor made Marie doubt her ears.nmtHUI0
bir2q‘Is he still doing it?’FZGXkW6
4EDJDIt had already been a few hours since she had left with her friends… How was he still doing it?gSGE
OPKWMarie walked towards his room and immediately saw the elemental body racing towards the boy.37lo
sfo– Shiiiik!TcXA
idh3He threw a sharp stab intending on piercing through the elemental body. Seeing how it was a lot faster than before, Marie doubted her eyes.kL1Fk2
EcU9SwkDefeating an elemental body was possible for most people as long as they had enough tenacity and hard work. What was necessary was a moment of concentration, and a fundamental level of analysis for the movement and speed of the elemental body.J3Rd
pISy– Shsheeet!ourWIp
T8gzSzu– Shiiiieeek!Vqp
iiwL4PHowever, that was something which was only applied to the ‘average’ people. There were actually quite a lot of people that were below average. Even some of the Grade 4s were below average let alone a Grade 5… And Korin Lork who had initially received Grade 6 was a lot below average.VyslbpF
CUH8– Swish!OwQi6
pX4A4TBThe elemental body easily dodged the second stab. Even though he should be tired, Korin delivered the third stab.Iqz9TI0
4ZCJsrL– Shieeekk!!!LAgmPf
sizO91xDue to having no eyes, the elemental body relied on the air, vibrations and the ripples to avoid the incoming attacks with a little margin. Because of that, there was something the elemental body couldn’t tell, which Marie could.6W3j
D3HI“Huh?”dUXGYLS
q6GEMarie doubted her eyes. Those three stabs – because she had a dynamic vision which was even better than most knights, she noticed the intention behind them.0V2Omd0
H46｢Secrets of Ominous Snake – Distorted March｣omy
oTkeYdShe realized that the three stabs at the elemental body were in fact not trying to pierce through it in the first place.OT57n
gW6g‘A prison of spears?’xXNZ
grKBwThe ripples formed by those three stabs which the elemental body dodged with a tiny margin became a prison that blocked the escape paths of the elemental body. The aftermath and the rippling air remained even after the retrieval of the spear and stopped the elemental body from escaping to those places.6ZB
gjHrHZIt literally was a prison of spears.LQDb
tS2aThe three stabs which looked like a miss were in fact thoroughly planned attacks that tried to push the elemental body into a corner.as4rV
6WlYA prison that the elemental body could not escape from due to being an existence that relied on the ripples of the air instead of its vision.mGi
1Be‘A fourth stab? No, it’s too late!’8Eeo
fMXKThree stabs appeared to be his limit. He was late at withdrawing the spear, and by the time he tried to stab again, the elemental body slightly shifted itself away from the trajectory of the spear.8k6RJC
Itmlf5CBut this time, it wasn’t a stab. The spear curved as he swung it horizontally.bC4Esf6
muGBy using the rotational force of his shoulders and his waist, he accelerated the spear and added slight footwork into the mix to create an exceptionally rapid attack.rmMvzc
4lhWithout letting it escape, he tried to slash the wings off but…Pvbr
Pt6WVThanks to her superhuman sight, Marie saw the elemental body folding its wings right before coming into contact with the spearhead.Jrj6
zNkB‘It folded its wings! That’s unfair!’c2u7
EXWvXThe spearhead slashed through the thin air as the elemental body reopened its wings, seemingly in contempt.WbZTK8V
RG43VhIt appeared to be condescendingly sending him the message, ‘Good try, but not quite…’xHm97o
4op8Unlike the derisive elemental body, Marie was in awe at the improvement of her junior as she tightened her fists. She wanted to cheer for him. Her perception was that diligent people deserved joy and applause.cId3
mZIgbULike how she unknowingly cheered for the turtle in a race against a hare which she saw back when she was young… Marie cheered for Korin.Y85Ynh
sL0f3“You can do it!”MtbAd
rpNEg7The elemental body fluttered its wings thousands of times in a split second and tried to escape, which meant it would soon be out of Korin’s range.6p4FuvO
ZgW“Ah…”anXk
8uQLmHA sigh left her mouth. She did not see a future where he could land a hit on the elemental body after it resumed its flight.rhceYv
PYUnlBKIt was too late. The spear that was swung for the umpteenth time was still too late.fS6kXwC
f9ZF4XjKorin was evidently using everything in his arsenal. He had used every bit of power left in his body to imprison the elemental body.anHbx
2dcHe must have been confident that his horizontal swing would seal the deal. His feelings caused by that confidence backfiring on him due to a failure was not something she, as an unfailing genius, could imagine.woFtH
6LwbXGWas she supposed to console him? Maybe she should have brought some potatoes?Gnx0r
LqZxLet’s go tell him it was great; tell him he was awesome. Let’s praise him for his hard work, and encourage him that it will work out next time.Z2HDNGl
wmIYfIt was right when she was thinking that.g8zxOTz
tWV7– ??!o1jf
XSDhf0xIn an instant, the spear bounced up at an unbelievable speed.rs7Nw43
elqThe explosive jump of the spear was like a jumping grasshopper – it was a trick caused by his foot kicking on the shaft of the spear.mSpD
Mo5Q9KThat traveled slightly faster than the elemental body which was just about to pick up speed.KYu0y
AIh8l– Slam!TuoOt3
8PGC5cThe body was shattered as its fragments came raining down, and Marie then saw a dumbfounded wind elemental vacantly staring at its shattered body.I41eHf
4UvyprW“…”UimSb
BntEELeShe was speechless and after a while, a wide smile appeared on her lips.1Nq
oqNdp“That’s great. He actually did it.”Wa11iu
T2CnFnLike what she did on the day she saw the turtle beating the hare, Marie gazed at the diligent turtle with a bright smile.5pChUl
VCSOne of the common senses in her mind had been cracked.k6im
COk7UWords like strong and remarkable… were too commonplace to suit him. An honest impression that could be expressed in one word left her mouth.P6QAz
bomd“Awesome.”tbIyj9
YJWThe boy would not need any consolation or consideration. Without a word, Marie turned around and headed to her dormitory.ISl9vj
1Vka4Qe****fGttieT
YJSVe“Distorted March, Tiger’s Gust, Spinning Heaven.”slvZdu9
dJU3zAI picked up the shattered fragments of the elemental body. Following the contract, the elemental inside this egg would have already returned to the empty Spirit Realm.cTx
wGi‘Wasn’t expecting to pull off a skill that I couldn’t even use in the previous iteration…’k1f
Uie0kpEven though it wasn’t the true Void, I caught a glimpse into the ‘Domain’.FRY
O8Wm1qI‘Can I reach it this time? The heart of dao?’17DL9
FzLXKVuThe spearmanship granted by my master in the previous iteration – even though I wasn’t able to fully master it back then, it might be possible this time.77sI
5jeRlpG‘I could go immediately but… that would be too suspicious.’JFqIG
bRS3uIn fact, the only reason I was able to meet her was because of Park Sihu’s introduction. Right now, I had nothing with me that could pull the attention of my master.Yn3d
fgAMcLooking back, I remembered that she used to give a fairly harsh evaluation for Park Sihu.AoHST
Bbsk『That guy is no good. He has zero guts. My regret is that I was too late in taking you in.』KTr8MY
AxwHer eyes for people were accurate thanks to all the years she lived but… that was something I didn’t pay attention to back then.Yn45
iL0WnThis must be why you should always listen to your elders.CikUnDZ
IpZUe– Crack…!zD4kvRW
UqWI was heading to the front desk to return the spear, but the shaft suddenly crumbled and fell on the floor.7kQA50
6YzThis damn practice spear had terrible durability. I had used just a tiny bit of aura in fear that my body wouldn’t be able to handle it and yet the spear ended up breaking.HhyL
r7Mmtz‘I guess what I need first and foremost to fight properly is a good physique.’QSdjql
Z2qThere was only one thing I could rely on to increase my physical strength without relying on the elixirs of Park.XDpVr
d466PDPrecept. The clause that I will not disregard the misfortune of the good.HFrLM
SioMWhile heading to the dormitory, I gazed at the Merkarva Great Library which stayed bright through the darkness of the night.W8T
kzT1A****sY70
Ihs3MSNext morning, freshmen were actually granted free time.wEWY
EhvgBThe first day was designed to break the spirits of the new students and leave a strong impression of this place, whereas the second day was for students to be guided throughout the systems of the academy and the nearby facilities by the professors and senior students.du90TXQ
6w9x“Helloo~ Junior!”MZyDLv
Nh0fPMarie was energetic today as well and welcomed the freshmen including me without showing any signs of exhaustion.Znl6JAC
vsk63oFor some reason, I felt like she wasn’t here in the freshmen orientation last time, but that might be just due to my bad memories. It was already 3 years ago, and it was natural for her to have a lot of free time as a senior high-achieving student with plenty of free credits.d0e
EugQW0YIt wasn’t strange for one of the top high-achievers of the 2nd year students, Marie, to help out with the newcomers.0jPs
hSqhAfter a short orientation in the morning, the afternoon was a full-on free time. The freshmen formed groups and were given the time to get to know each other.ulKSl
cXpOWxLSome bravely looked for people to have lunch with, while some made friends from the same Grade under a sense of kinship.Z8d83m
LtsBJaeger, a Grade 3 Knight, grouped up with people similar to him as expected while the Grade 5 Mage Lark… was left out as I thought.OHPos
20Ek“…”8svb5n
1VxL2rUnable to socialize with others, he headed to the cafeteria by himself. Actually, it was the same for most of the other Grade 5 students.y4kK
lpneScorn and contempt for the under-achieving students who had been assigned Grade 5 in the first grading test was already prevalent across the freshmen.QwUUTTH
n7pwT“Lark… Lark Buhgman.”AOiAzBP
3wuoyJwI knew of his inferiority complex.YKmP
UXFHiSeeing Park Sihu who started off as Grade 5 just like himself growing at an exponential speed, he had been engulfed by his inferiority complex and had even done things he shouldn’t have done.mGa
Jartx7FChasing after him, I threw my arm around his drooping shoulders.sLieFnB
F6d0“Hello friend.”FotwGMG
wA6Kad“Uh?”smQ
U77dizLark was startled by my sudden approach and rolled his eyes around.6pG
bjix“Do you have some time?”W5U
WYF“Uh? Huh? No… I’m going to the dormitory…”gJI
q2C“Your specialty is ‘Memorize’ right?”jEr
R5Y4pC“…?!”Elg
DsYLlHe became cautious of me in a fluster. There was nothing to gain for me by instigating his wariness.I0KCq
UAZLxy“I heard Professor Ronan talking to himself. That spell book – I heard you stored a lot of spells inside.”ZWFuHOH
BYkstY“…Ah.”Ucgh2S
wBEX5I felt his vigilance drop by a little, but he soon became dejected.xrdc9Q
H4G4‘Memorize’ was a specialty that was quite commonly seen across the Magic Department.Bbhm
NdrYIt was an auxiliary system that saved the diagrams of a spell to skip past the complicated procedures and allow a fast enchantment of spells. Easier put, it was a cheat sheet.iibiX7d
4wYtjIt was a specialty you could buy in the game at a Grade 3 store.QQDyT
iUUELark had saved all sorts of spells into his spell book. That was something I knew because I saw the densely written list of spells in his spell book in Park Sihu’s trophy storehouse.Y7t
6pbu0IHe was a hard worker – an intellectual nerd.Z0839K
PtClKN“Looks like you couldn’t properly use it in the grading test.”Fm4xIf6
YvCriABut saving all sorts of spells and using them was a whole different issue. As a substandard mage with a low Mana Rank, it was hard to make something amazing happen no matter how proficient you were in theory.apu
szX5Iil“……What do you want?”yPN
zvgoEVmIt looked like Lark also knew that himself, and he furiously growled in response but he was just a puppy in front of a beast.TZro
yJDwxbI whispered into his ears in a soft voice so that no-one else could hear it.sP9V
yp26mI“Buddy. Shall we have a meal together? And talk about a ‘Grimoire’ while we are at it.”OCVU1L
2iK“…!!”HOPI
vYjFThe word ‘Grimoire’ made him widen his eyes in shock.7bkZ
oqQwA‘This hyung will feed you something good. But in return…’5yGd
YvpBGLPlease let a spirit possess you for me.bSPbJJ
MdnAnd let’s help a Unique Grade demonic spirit go to heaven while we are at it.8mz
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