Chapter 28

Chapter 28: Seo Dayun (2)

Seo Dayun had stepped into the corridor and easily found the water fountain.

She gulped down water through her parched throat.

Glug, glug─

"Ahh, I'm alive......"

A brief rest eased her muscle pain.

The hardest part of running on the treadmill─the professor insisted it wasn't one─wasn't being out of breath or controlling mana. It was her legs hurting.

Never having exercised much, Seo Dayun decided she should reflect on that a little.

A Hero who fought monsters in dungeons needed a healthy body.

"Let's do this, me."

She wanted to rest more, but doing so might leave her behind forever.

She didn't want to stay helpless like this.

After steeling herself, she turned to go back.

That's when a group walking from the opposite end of the corridor spotted her and blocked her path.

"Hey, you're a freshman, right?"

From left to right: red, yellow, and green hair. All boys.

Their tie colors marked them as third-years.

For Seo Dayun, who barely spoke to classmates, seniors were overwhelming. But she couldn't just ignore them.

She answered in a voice that seemed to shrink into itself.

"Yes. I'm a first-year......"

"See? I told you she's a first-year."

"Hah! Freshmen nowadays have some nerve."

She couldn't follow the flow of the conversation.

While Seo Dayun fumbled, the seniors conferred briefly.

Apparently reaching a consensus, the red-haired one spoke for the group.

"Hey, freshmen aren't supposed to come here."

"I-I didn't know......"

Seo Dayun's mind went blank.

She'd never heard that before.

The professor was the one who'd brought her here.

But the seniors had no reason to lie. Maybe the professor had made a mistake......

"Count yourself lucky you ran into us. Anyone else would've chewed you out. Since it's your first time and you didn't know, we'll look the other way. Just don't come back. Got it?"

"Um, wait......"

She couldn't just leave.

The professor was waiting inside.

If she didn't go back, what would the professor think? He'd probably think she was a coward who ran because training was hard.

She didn't want that.

Seo Dayun squeezed out every ounce of courage.

"I-I can't leave."

"What?"

The third-years' expressions turned menacing.

If any other freshman had set foot in the Central Mage Tower, fists would've flown first.

Letting her go nicely was already special treatment, and she dared refuse?

This was a challenge to a senior's authority.

The red-haired one scolded her angrily.

"Listen here, freshman. What you're doing right now is challenging a senior's authority. You get that? You want to make your academy life hell?"

"......"

"Freshmen are not allowed in the Central Mage Tower. So leave. Now."

Seo Dayun thought.

Senior's authority? Why bring that up?

Mentioning it like that actually sounded like there was no academic rule against it.

"Th-That means there's no actual rule against me being here, right?"

"Haah?"

The red-haired one growled, but was inwardly flustered.

Invoking the rules was a valid argument.

He had no good rebuttal.

Seeing him falter, the yellow-haired one stepped in.

"Hey, freshman. How long have you even been enrolled to be citing rules? Give me a break. Juniors listen to seniors, and seniors guide juniors─that's the rule. What 'rules' are you talking about?"

The yellow-haired one used authority to intimidate, and Seo Dayun shrank.

But the professor's disappointment scared her more than the senior in front of her.

What would Seri do in this situation?

Seo Dayun said what came to mind.

"Seniors are supposed to guide juniors well? A senior who throws their weight around and kicks out juniors─how is that 'guiding' anyone?"

"Wh-What? I can't believe this......"

The yellow-haired one's face reddened at Seo Dayun's words.

The green-haired one, who'd been silently watching from behind, stepped forward.

"This bitch is a lost cause. Treating a senior like a friend. Do we look like your friends?"

CRASH─!

The green-haired one kicked the wall next to Seo Dayun.

She'd barely mustered courage, but violence sent her mind completely blank.

"No...... that's......"

"Think seniors are pushovers?"

"Eek!"

A hand swung toward her and she covered her face with both arms.

Pain was bad.

Getting hurt was scary.

The third-years laughed at her.

"Hey, hey. She's about to cry. Go easy."

"No. This kind needs a beating to learn. Who does she think she is, glaring at a senior?"

Ah, pathetic.

Why was it always like this?

Try to act like Seri? Impossible.

I'm not Seri─how am I supposed to act like her?

The seniors kept yapping in front of her.

Every taunt and jeer tore at her heart.

She hated it.

She hated those people, but she hated herself even more.

How could someone like me ever change? Just do what you're told, apologize when scolded, take the hit when hit, just...... just......

She hated it so much the tears were about to burst.

"You. What's all this commotion?"

Then, from behind her, a familiar voice.

It was clearly laced with anger.

And yet, to Seo Dayun, it sounded gentle.

The kind of voice a fairy-tale prince might have.

"N-No, we were just......"

The third-years exchanged glances.

The person before them was a professor.

To a professor, several upperclassmen ganging up on a younger student naturally looked like bullying.

The third-years decided they needed to clear up this misunderstanding fast.

The red-haired one spoke to Cha Eunwoo on their behalf.

"We were educating an underclassman."

"Educating how?"

"She disrespected her seniors. So, to establish proper hierarchy......"

"Enough."

There's a saying that facing an overwhelmingly powerful being numbs your entire body.

Veteran Heroes experienced it often, but for students, it was rare. The third-years were no exception.

An overwhelming presence they'd never felt before.

Facing it, their hands and feet trembled.

"She's not that kind of person."

The voice carried a conviction so heavy it seemed misplaced for a freshman.

There was no logic to it.

It made absolutely no sense.

And yet no one dared say otherwise.

"Explain exactly what happened."

"Um, well......"

The third-years hemmed and hawed, glancing at each other, and eventually fell silent.

Cha Eunwoo spoke in their place.

"You didn't like that a first-year set foot in the Central Mage Tower. Am I right?"

"......Yes."

Bull's-eye.

The third-years felt stripped bare before Cha Eunwoo. Any lie would be seen through instantly.

Cha Eunwoo sneered.

"There won't be a next time. Leave."

"Y-Yes!"

They fled in unison.

Cha Eunwoo muttered to himself.

This alone probably wasn't enough to bring to the disciplinary committee.

When his gaze fell on her, Seo Dayun hung her head.

"I'm sorry......"

Stupid. She'd gotten cocky for nothing and caused the professor trouble.

She should've just left when the seniors told her to.

Being seen as a quitter would've been better.

Of course apologizing with her head down was what suited her best.

Seo Dayun could never become like An Seri in a hundred years.

What am I even apologizing for?

For causing trouble with the seniors?

For running into them when she'd only gone to get water?

For asking the professor to make her stronger?

Or...... for someone like her getting involved with the professor at all?

Ah─I hate this.

"Do you think you have something to be sorry for?"

Cha Eunwoo neither scolded nor forgave.

He simply said, with dispassion:

"Next time, don't be someone who has to apologize."

"Huh? O-Okay......"

Not "don't do things you'd be sorry for," but "don't be a person who has to apologize." What did that even mean?

Seo Dayun just nodded.

Cha Eunwoo let out a sigh, then said:

"You said you wanted to get stronger."

"Yes."

"What do you think being strong means? If you top the academy, or become an S-rank Hero, or lead the greatest guild in Korea─does that make you strong?"

"Th-That's......"

Seo Dayun couldn't answer and stammered.

She'd never thought about it that way.

She'd simply wanted to be someone who could help her teammates.

Still, she squeezed out a response.

"Wouldn't it......?"

"That's an illusion. Even if you became the number-one-ranked Hero in Korea, if you trembled before punks like those, you'd remain weak forever. Power isn't what matters. A strong heart is what makes a truly strong person."

"A strong...... heart?"

"Yes. Heart. Remember this: if you want to be strong, no matter who you face, never lose in your heart. That's when you truly lose."

Seo Dayun felt as if she'd been struck by a hammer.

The professor was right.

If it were Seri, would she have cowered and apologized before seniors stronger than her?

Never.

She would never have bent.

That's it.

An Seri wasn't strong because she'd been born into a good family, had great grades, spoke articulately, had a kind personality, or was pretty.

An Seri was strong because her heart was strong.

Conversely, Seo Dayun was weak because she bowed to everyone and gave up easily.

That was why she was weak.

Even if Seo Dayun had been born as the child of a mega-guild master, topped the entrance exam, been brilliant, been beautiful─she'd still have been weak.

Your heart must be strong.

Those words embedded themselves deep in Seo Dayun's mind.

"Yes."

Cha Eunwoo smiled faintly.

Now she had eyes worth looking at.

Nothing would change overnight.

Resolutions fading within three days─that was human nature, no matter how grand the resolve.

Still, it was better than doing nothing.

If she reverted to a coward every three days, she'd just renew her resolve then.

Step by step.

One foot at a time.

If she kept walking forward, someday Seo Dayun would become a Hero stronger than anyone.

***

After resolving the small incident, I finished teaching Seo Dayun the beginner routine.

Veterans always stressed how important having a training partner was for magic practice.

I didn't like the muscle-bound professors latching onto me, but I'd benefited a great deal.

So I kept watching over Seo Dayun's training too.

In doing so, I understood why those people did what they did.

Teaching a newbie was more fun than I'd expected.

"Your posture's a mess. Raise your hips more."

"P-Professor...... I can't...... I can't......"

"Why not? Like this. Like this."

"Hnngh!"

When I grabbed her back from behind and pushed, Seo Dayun let out a dramatic yelp.

How little had she moved in her life for her body to be this stiff?

A girl's body shouldn't be this inflexible.

"Now, a little more. More."

When I pushed harder, I heard something from her back.

CRACK!

Seo Dayun couldn't hold back and screamed.

"KYAAH! Professor, I think my bones are broken! I'm dying!"

"Hold still. This is just your body getting bet─"

SNAP! CRACKLE!

POP! CRACK!

CRASH─!

......Those were bone sounds, right?

The more I did it, the less sure I was myself.

Was this actually good?

Screw it, I don't know.

Let's just do it and think later. This was a fantasy game world─it'd work out somehow.

I took my hands off and stepped on her back with my foot, putting my full weight on it.

Only Seo Dayun's pitiful screams echoed.

After the final set, I let her go.

Seo Dayun's voice came out limp.

"Urrgh, ow ow ow ow owww......"

She still had the energy for wordplay, so she could handle more.

Should I teach her another exercise today while I was at it?

"Break's over. On your feet."

"I-I'm really dying! Wait, Professor......"

"Today I'll teach you something fun. It's called the Pan Course."

Seo Dayun's jaw dropped when she saw the Pan Course's majestic form.

A long flat board with a rack. A long bar sat atop the rack, and plates were stacked on either side of the floor.

"That's...... just a bench press, isn't it?"

"It's a Pan Course."

"If I could just rest a bit......"

I dragged Seo Dayun over and laid her down on the Pan Course.

Then instructed her to grip the─not dumbbells─bar with both hands.

"Let me show you the basic form. Arm width should be......"

"Professor Cha, might I have a word?"

An uninvited guest appeared at the worst possible time.

I turned around to see the same traffic-light trio from earlier, plus one unfamiliar man.

The man had a dapper mustache and an annoyingly pompous air about him.

"Who are you?"

The mustache addressed me informally with perfect ease.

Probably a fellow professor.

The vibe told me he definitely wasn't here to apologize for his students' rudeness. The traffic-light trio must have called him for backup.

"We haven't met, have we? I'm Jeon Taejin, a professor in the Magical Research Department."

An unexpected name.

Magical Research Department, Jeon Taejin.

I hadn't known the traffic-light trio was connected to this man─what a cursed coincidence.

This man was my TA Lee Yeeun's former Advisor.