A few more days passed.
The students were in an uproar over one recently announced notice. The highlight of the midterm exams—person-to-person combat.
This was because the selection of opponents was starting today.
Basically, there would be a total of three battles, conducted via a nomination system.
If someone was nominated, a one-on-one duel would be established,
and students who were not nominated or did not nominate others would be randomly assigned opponents. Fairly.
Because of this, I didn’t pay much attention. I had neither anyone to nominate nor anyone who would likely nominate me.
So my immediate task was quite simple: enhancing the stats of the characters.
And preparing for the Demon’s attack.
First, improving the stats—there were two key members to upgrade this time.
Yoo Hana and Cheon Yeoul.
Kang Ah-rin was already sufficiently strong at the moment.
She didn’t need my intervention right now. In fact, meddling unnecessarily might ruin her flow.
Seong Si-woo was still undecided.
I was doing daily swordplay training with Yoo Hana, and her improvement rate was rapidly increasing.
And right now, I was—
“No way! I can’t do it.”
“Hey, just read it slowly, please.”
At 11 PM, I was arguing with Cheon Yeoul in a café. I had already apologized to Yoo Hana.
It all started because after today’s class, I saw her struggling with a problem.
Even after the class ended, she hadn’t left her seat, bending her head and concentrating deeply.
She would normally have disappeared somewhere by now.
Cheon Yeoul had always been like this in the original story too.
She could understand everything else quickly, but she showed a peculiar lack of comprehension when it came to theoretical aspects.
Still, I admired her effort in trying her best. After solving a few problems for her, she started begging me earnestly to help.
And that was why I ended up in the café with her today.
The problem that she was struggling with was designing a low-level Holy Law array.
It was indeed more complex compared to creating other magic circles, as Holy Laws required setting up a separate circuit for divine energy along with mana.
“Look carefully. There are two circuits, so you need two power sources. If you merge them into one, they’ll blend together.”
I explained while drawing a simple diagram on the notebook.
However, Cheon Yeoul just frowned and glared at the problem.
That wouldn’t help, but what could you do.
Then, suddenly, she shouted:
“Aha!”
It seemed like she finally understood.
The problem was that it took two hours for her to get this far.
‘What am I supposed to do…’
After we finished the problem-solving session, Cheon Yeoul let out a deep sigh.
“But why do I have to learn how to draw these arrays when Holy Laws come just by gesturing?”
I looked at her in exasperation.
It’s because you’re a prodigy.
Cheon Yeoul could instinctively or even sensorily wield Holy Laws without needing to design arrays.
However, by designing the circuits, you could control the flow of divine energy more accurately, making the effect much stronger.
That’s why I was teaching her.
“Hey… how do you know all this, Hae-in?”
Cheon Yeoul gazed at me with a meaningful look.
Her eyes slightly narrowed, her gaze halfway raised.
“Did you study Holy Laws too?”
There was a teasing tone in her voice.
For a moment, I hesitated.
‘Because I studied it to teach you.’
I couldn’t possibly say that.
Instead, I reached out with my hand towards her forehead.
-Clack!
“Aah!”
With a bright sound, her head bounced slightly.
“What do you need to know for?”
Cheon Yeoul grabbed her head. Her slightly flushed cheeks and sparkling eyes.
Somehow, her reaction made me want to keep teasing her.
“Let’s hurry up and finish, and go home.”
I carelessly turned the page and skimmed through the questions.
However, I felt a sharp gaze from somewhere.
I looked up instinctively and saw a man panting as he entered the café.
Johan.
He was glaring at us, breathing heavily.
His eyes were filled with displeasure and hostility.
I shifted my gaze slightly to the side.
At the end of the café, by the window seat.
‘Look at that.’
One of Johan’s cronies was sneaking peeks at us.
But he acted casually, pretending to stir his coffee, trying to act cool.
Probably, he tipped Johan off.
Something along the lines of:
‘The Saint is with some random guy late at night.’
Maybe something like that.
“Hm…”
A deep sigh escaped from beside me.
It was Cheon Yeoul.
She took a short breath and leaned even closer to me.
We weren’t face-to-face to begin with. Cheon Yeoul had first come over to my side, sitting side-by-side on the same sofa.
Now we were practically sitting next to each other.
Witnessing this, Johan’s face turned even grimmer, and his breathing became heavier.
“Are you a couple?”
I asked with indifference.
Cheon Yeoul then turned to look at Johan.
Her expression was serious.
No, more than that.
As though someone had tried and failed to swallow spoiled food, or bitten a bug.
And then she firmly replied:
“Are you insane?”
“Then, a stalker?”
“Close enough.”
Cheon Yeoul’s voice was cold.
She stared at Johan as cold as ice. Johan’s face slightly contorted.
“But why can’t he come over and just sits over there?”
“I’ve submitted a restraining order.”
“Ah… really?”
It seems she had already filed a restraining order with the church.
This would have been unthinkable in the past, but perhaps it shows how much Cheon Yeoul’s influence has grown.
The saint and the hero.
Their relationship is a bit complicated.
Since childhood, saints and heroes were educated in a certain way.
‘The hero protects the world, and the saint aids the hero while obeying unconditionally.’
This was the ‘doctrine’ passed down to them for a long time.
However, times have changed.
The church itself is divided into those who wish to maintain the old way and those who desire new transformations.
And Johan still adheres to this outdated thought. He still believes that he is the hero, and the saint belongs to him. A presence that should not leave his side.
I looked at Johan with a cold gaze, glaring at him to death.
He must be displeased that the saint he believes belongs to him is with another man.
In the original story, it would have been Seong Si-woo, but it seems I’ve been targeted now instead.
Johan eventually stood there for a few seconds, suppressing his anger, then turned around and left.
‘If this continues…’
Cheon Yeoul’s obsession will explode sooner, and the choices Johan will make will diversify.
I had a premonition about something.
After finishing the one-on-one tutoring with Cheon Yeoul, I returned to the dormitory.
My index finger was slightly sore. I don’t know how many times I had flicked her head.
‘She probably does it on purpose.’
I sighed and laid down on the bed, beginning to ponder.
There were two immediate tasks I mentioned earlier.
First, the growth of characters.
This was going much smoother than expected.
Then, the second, preparing for the demon attack.
‘I’ve done enough.’
I was in a relatively relaxed state at the moment.
I had already mastered fragments much faster than the original story flow.
It was originally something I would have barely been able to obtain after going through countless hardships in the later part of the story.
Of course, the fact that I absorbed it is a variable, but it’s water under the bridge.
I had handed the White Camellia Sword to Yoo Hana and the Cross to Cheon Yeoul.
Moreover, the upcoming midterms would also involve members of the Vanguisher. Even if the first attack on Gaon happens, the probability of easily defending against it is quite high.
Both preparations and beneficial variables have been handled quite well.
And most importantly—
This attack is just a tutorial.
‘Demonic beings.’
They are not a species with uniform danger. Rather, they vary wildly in threat depending on the individual.
Among those titled “Demon,” many are essentially only grunts.
And the ones attacking Gaon this time also fall into that category.
It’s merely a show to demonstrate that Gaon is not a safe haven.
There won’t be any high-ranking Demon leaders moving this time.
It’s not yet at the stage where they’d launch a full-scale war against the forces stationed in Gaon.
However, they will use the detained “Monsters” to create even more chaos.
And stopping that will essentially be the core of the situation.
I opened the auction on my smartwatch.
The ordered flint, no, the Harpe will arrive tomorrow.
With this, preparation against the monsters is complete.
I turned off the watch and relaxed again.
-Ting!
At that moment, an unfamiliar alarm sound came from the watch.
‘What is this?’
I moved my finger to open the notification window.
And then a hollow laugh escaped me.
“Heh heh.”
[Personal Combat Nomination Alert]
[Rank 2 Johan] -> [Unknown Jung Hae-in]
[Personal Combat Nomination Alert]
[Rank 42 Seong Si-woo] -> [Unknown Jung Hae-in]
Apparently, my assumption that I wouldn’t be nominated was…
Completely wrong.
