âInstructor Carly,â Han said, getting up from the floor and wiping the sweat off his brow. âThank you so much. Youâve really helped me a lot.â
âYouâre welcome. Donât worry about cleaning up. Go get some rest, Cadet.â
âOkay. I will see you around.â
He left after bowing slightly. She looked at his back for a moment.
ââŠâŠâ Cadet Han Seongâs entire back was covered with wounds. Although the magical engineering item was helping his body regenerate, that wasnât enough for him to heal completely.
She had used a potion on him maybe half an hour ago because she could not bear to see him remain in that condition while training, but there were still some wounds that did not improve significantly. Also, in just the last half hour, new wounds appeared on his body.
Although some wounds had recovered superficially, fatigue kept building up in his body. However, Cadet Han Seong would not stop his training.
It would be more accurate to call their training session a one-sided fight. Only Cadet Han Seong fell to the floor miserably every single time. But he was persistent.
âPlease, letâs do it again.
âIâm sorry. One more time.
âItâs okay. Thank you for fighting this way.
Cadet Han Seongâs voice still echoed in her ears.
Thud She let out a small sigh as the door closed.
Although she felt a little sorry for him, she also had other mysterious emotions swirling within her.
She couldnât identify them. She herself questioned why she was helping Cadet Han Seong so much.
But now she was sure of only one thing.
I can see why he fought to a draw in yesterdayâs sparring against Leonhard. Cadet Han Seong had obtained an incredible result in the fight against the best cadet in this yearâs entrance exam, against all odds. Posted only on NovelUtopia
She herself couldnât understand it when she heard it. It did not make sense for a cadet with a common-grade attribute to be tied with a cadet with a Legendary-grade attribute. But now she could understand it today, after she had shared time with him.
It all came down to: Unbreakable will.
Cadet Han Seongâs will could not be described otherwise. Even if it were to break, he would immediately stand up to fight it.
ââŠâŠâ She initially felt sorry because she thought she had overreacted at the beginning of the fight. Her eagerness to test him combined with recklessness had caused Cadet Han Seong great frustration at the start.
She shouldnât have shown so much power to a cadet the first time â especially a C-class cadet. But she had done so because he had said a phrase.
âThe Only Way To Move Forward Is To Face Reality These words were important to her because they had changed her life a forever ago. Hearing them again had triggered something inside her.
Carly then had decided to bring Cadet Han Seong to her private training camp, which she normally would not have done with anyone else. It was there that she could test his will â a safe, secure spot, accessible to no one else. She hoped to see if he could continue to move forward despite the adversity she would display. She wanted to know if the cadet could really prove with actions what he had said.
He had done just that. It took a little encouragement from her, sure, but he had refused to stay down the entire session. Who else would choose to do that? She slowly lowered her head.
ââŠâŠâ Thatâs when she saw the earrings in her hand, the warmth interrupting her thoughts. They were warm because Cadet Han Seong had worn them recently. She wanted him to wear them all the time⊠but she couldnât, because she couldnât say that the magical engineering items were entirely her property.
She carefully tightened her palm, safely enclosing the earrings.
âI didnât expect this to happen today,â she said aloud, smiling foolishly. How could she not have foreseen this? To think this came through because she had made a decision that first day.
Discrimination was normalized at the Academy. One could discriminate based on a cadetâs scores, background, attributes, talents, and other factors. It wasnât even hidden. Even instructors had their favorite cadets. They would appreciate cadets with good attributes more, as if they were precious stones. The downside is that the more common cadets were left behind, and usually ended up dropping out.
Now she had such a cadet â Han Seong. A singular name. However, a common-grade cadet. More important â he had strength of character. His values were aligned with her values. He even backed up his words with actions.
âIts because of these reasons that I canât help but show a preference toward Cadet Han Seong in the future,â she said aloud, calmly. It completed her thought process and solidified her position â because he was the reason she had wanted to take and teach the C1 class.
As she prepared to leave, the warmth that lingered in the earrings she held in her hand only strengthened her resolve.