After their greetings, Yoo Ho-sung’s class began right away.
Because intensive lessons to induce Awakening had started a few days prior, Yoo Ho-sung’s class was especially serious.
“Good! Don’t stop there. Put all your willpower into that one strike—imagine you’re betting everything on it, and hit your target!”
“Haaah!”
Crack.
Han Se-ah, drenched in sweat, struck the sparring mannequin hard with her wooden sword.
She must have used quite a bit of force; the mannequin’s chest caved in deeply.
“Huff… huff…”
Han Se-ah kept glaring at the mannequin she’d just struck, not relaxing her stance.
“How did that feel?”
As Yoo Ho-sung approached and asked, Han Se-ah shook her head with a dispirited expression.
“I didn’t feel… anything.”
“As I thought, this method is tough. It seems we’ll need to try actual combat.”
“Actual… combat?”
Han Se-ah tensed up at the word “actual combat.”
“You can’t imbue your sword with will on your own, so maybe a sense of crisis in actual combat will force your will to emerge.”
Yoo Ho-sung found it truly strange.
In theory, Han Se-ah had picked up everything necessary for mystical Awakening in no time.
But when it came time to actually awaken, she acted like a total novice who knew nothing.
It was as if she was rejecting the Awakening herself—her will faded away, and she repeated meaningless attacks.
“Are you sure about this? Miss Se-ah seems to be having a hard time.”
Lee Chae-ha asked worriedly, but Yoo Ho-sung replied that it would be fine, and stepped up right in front of Han Se-ah.
“Think of me as your enemy and set your will ablaze, determined to defeat me with everything you’ve got.”
“Yes.”
Han Se-ah gripped her sword tightly again and glared fiercely at Yoo Ho-sung.
She hypnotized herself, telling herself that Yoo Ho-sung was the worst villain imaginable. Then, using the movements she’d learned from him, she charged and started swinging her sword.
Han Se-ah’s movements were very sharp, as if she’d been training intensely for quite some time.
Her footwork was like a professional boxer’s as she closed the distance, channeling the power of her waist into her arms and sword to strike her target.
But Yoo Ho-sung blocked every single one of Han Se-ah’s attacks with his bamboo sword with ease.
“More! Is this all the will you have to awaken?”
Yoo Ho-sung barked, trying to infuse Han Se-ah’s will with strength.
“Take this!”
Emboldened, Han Se-ah attacked even more fiercely.
Her sword sliced through the air with a sharp swish, striking quickly at Yoo Ho-sung’s whole body.
But Yoo Ho-sung’s movements were ghostly.
He slid away smoothly, evading every attack.
“Aren’t you frustrated? You have everything, yet you’re here struggling because you can’t do what everyone else can—Awaken. How can you ever lead a group like this?”
Yoo Ho-sung’s provocations intensified, and Han Se-ah’s face flushed bright red with anger.
“I can do it. I can Awaken too, no matter what!”
She shouted, swinging her sword down with all her might.
This attack was clearly different from the ones before.
Whoooosh.
Even the sound of the sword cleaving the air was heavy.
Yoo Ho-sung seemed to recognize this was the moment, so he didn’t dodge; instead, he met her sword with his own.
The moment Han Se-ah’s sword and Yoo Ho-sung’s bamboo sword collided in midair—
CRACK!
A powerful impact sounded, and the wooden sword flew up into the sky.
Unable to withstand the shock, Han Se-ah fell on her backside, staring blankly at her empty hands.
“Haa… another failure.”
Yoo Ho-sung sighed deeply before he realized it.
He had thought, this time, it would finally work.
Han Se-ah’s concentration and will were at their peak, and the power in her attack was considerable.
But in the final moment, something made Han Se-ah hesitate.
That hesitation was self-doubt.
Can I really do this? Is Awakening truly possible for me?
The moment those doubts arose, the will she’d put into her sword vanished like a mirage.
“Han Se-ah. If you don’t believe in yourself, Awakening is impossible.”
Yoo Ho-sung couldn’t understand why Han Se-ah, who should know this better than anyone, kept making the same mistake.
“I know… but… my heart just keeps wavering, what am I supposed to do?”
Han Se-ah hung her head, looking like she was about to cry.
“Do you want mystical Awakening for its own sake, or do you want it so your grandfather will approve your career in the entertainment industry?”
Yoo Ho-sung asked why Han Se-ah was so desperate to Awaken her mystical power.
“I… I love standing before the public and showing them my talent. Just like the elders of the family say, in those moments, I don’t feel like the weakling who can’t do anything. But my grandfather thinks differently. He yelled at me, saying how could the successor to a group, the future head of the Saint Han Family, want to become a clown who only makes people laugh on stage. He said that because of me, the family’s honor was being tarnished, and that at this rate, I’d never be able to assert the dignity of a leader among my relatives.”
Han Se-ah spoke, her expression tinged with sadness, as if recalling old memories.
“My grandfather made a promise to me. If I Awakened, he wouldn’t interfere in anything I did anymore. If I could just Awaken and control mystical power, he said there’d be no need to worry about the family’s future anymore.”
“So in the end, Awakening is more your grandfather’s wish than your own?”
Yoo Ho-sung thought that was the root of the problem.
If someone else’s will was stronger than your own, Awakening mystical power was all but impossible.
But Han Se-ah shook her head.
“No. Awakening is definitely my own wish. Maybe at first, my grandfather’s will was stronger, but not anymore. I… I don’t want to die a pointless, helpless death at someone else’s hands, like my parents did!”
Fire blazed again in Han Se-ah’s eyes.
Yoo Ho-sung saw the strength of her will shining clearly, but still couldn’t understand why her Awakening wasn’t happening.
At that moment, Kim Seo-jun, who had been silently watching, stepped forward.
“May I have a bout with Miss Se-ah?”
“You?”
Yoo Ho-sung looked at Kim Seo-jun.
Originally, he’d brought Kim Seo-jun, runner-up of the Academy Competition, thinking his presence would stoke Han Se-ah’s drive to Awaken.
But he thought it was too soon for Kim Seo-jun to personally induce someone else’s Awakening.
“Will you trust me?”
Kim Seo-jun spoke calmly, brimming with confidence.
Yoo Ho-sung clearly recognized that confidence.
“Then I’ll leave it to you.”
Yoo Ho-sung stepped aside, handing over the bamboo sword. Kim Seo-jun stood before Han Se-ah.
Still sitting on the floor, Han Se-ah hesitated but stood up as Kim Seo-jun approached.
“That… is it important?”
Kim Seo-jun’s gaze had been fixed on Han Se-ah’s neck for a while.
Around her neck was a plain necklace—a thin chain holding a pendant about the size of a thumbnail.
“It’s my mother’s keepsake.”
Everyone knew that Han Se-ah’s parents had died in a tragic incident.
“Your grandfather took good care of you, then?”
“No… not really. My uncle on my mother’s side gave it to me when I was six.”
“Your uncle… are you close?”
Kim Seo-jun kept asking unrelated questions, making no move to induce Awakening.
Lee Chae-ha voiced her dissatisfaction.
“Mr. Yoo Ho-sung, what is that student doing? Is he going to waste time chatting about irrelevant things?”
“Please trust and wait, Miss Lee Chae-ha.”
Yoo Ho-sung smiled gently, asking for patience. Lee Chae-ha blushed slightly.
“Well, if you say so…”
As Lee Chae-ha backed down, Yoo Ho-sung thanked her and turned his attention back to Kim Seo-jun and Han Se-ah.
‘Why is Kim Seo-jun so interested in that necklace?’
Yoo Ho-sung knew well what necklace Han Se-ah wore.
He’d told her to take it off during training since she never removed it, but she’d refused, saying it was a keepsake from her parents.
Still, it was just an ordinary necklace, not an artifact, so Kim Seo-jun’s interest in it gave him an odd feeling.
‘There must be a reason.’
Thinking so, Yoo Ho-sung kept his eyes on Kim Seo-jun and Han Se-ah.
“I’m not very close to my mother’s side. I only see them once or twice a year at most.”
Han Se-ah, sensing something off, replied with a slightly stiff expression.
“Is there anyone on your mother’s side who’s strong enough to covet your position?”
“Huh? Why would you ask that…?”
It was an odd question, so Han Se-ah hesitated to answer.
“Why, you ask?”
Kim Seo-jun tightened his grip slightly on the bamboo sword. Then, in a flash—
CRACK!
The bamboo sword struck out like lightning, grazing the necklace. The chain snapped and fell to the floor.
“What are you doing?!”
Han Se-ah shouted, hurriedly picking up the fallen necklace.
“That keepsake is useless for Awakening. Get rid of it.”
“What are you doing? How dare you call it ‘that keepsake’!”
Fury blazed in Han Se-ah’s eyes.
“While you cling to the past and make no progress, those who covet your family are at your doorstep—and you’re too clueless to notice. It’s pathetic.”
“Shut up!”
Han Se-ah finally snapped.
Grinding her teeth, she snatched up the wooden sword and charged Kim Seo-jun, delivering a powerful blow.
Whoosh!
It was stronger than any attack before.
Kim Seo-jun sidestepped easily, dodging with a half-step.
“Thought the world was easy, huh? Everyone fawning over you, pampering you, making you think you’re the best, that you can do anything?”
“Shut your mouth!”
Kim Seo-jun kept provoking Han Se-ah, and her attacks grew only fiercer.
“Idol? Celebrity? While you were laughing and enjoying yourself on stage, did you ever think about your grandfather, worrying himself sick as he watched over you?”
“…!”
Han Se-ah was speechless at that.
But her face was twisted in anger.
No one had ever criticized her so harshly before.
Even Yoo Ho-sung had only tried to provoke her, never hurling such sharp criticism.
“If your grandfather wasn’t there, could you protect your family? You, who can’t even Awaken, do you think you could stand in the way of the wolves trying to tear your family apart?”
“I will… I will Awaken, no matter what!”
Han Se-ah gripped her sword with both hands and charged forward, swinging fiercely at Kim Seo-jun.
Whoaaaang!
The sound of space splitting was heavy and fierce.
Kim Seo-jun curled one corner of his mouth into a grin as he saw the attack.
“That’s it.”
A strike filled with pure fighting spirit.
A force that made your body shudder rose from Han Se-ah.
This time, Kim Seo-jun didn’t dodge; he raised his bamboo sword and blocked her head-on.
The moment the wooden sword and bamboo sword clashed in midair—
KWAANG!
A shockwave burst forth, sending someone staggering back three steps.
Surprisingly, the one pushed back was Kim Seo-jun.
Psssssshhh…
White smoke rose from the bamboo sword where it was struck.
Lowering his sword, Kim Seo-jun stared at Han Se-ah, who still held her cutting stance.
Her body was wreathed in golden energy.
Fwoooosh. Fwoooosh.
The golden light engulfing Han Se-ah blazed up fiercely, like a raging inferno.
Kim Seo-jun, using both Invincible Spirit and Insight, observed Han Se-ah carefully.
His eyes glowed a vivid golden color, but no one noticed.
Everyone’s attention was on Han Se-ah.
*****
[201/Unique]
*****
Kim Seo-jun was deeply astonished inside.
He’d predicted that, once the necklace suppressing Han Se-ah’s Awakening was removed, she would Awaken easily.
But for her to manifest a magical power rating of 201 the moment she Awakened—
And her rank was Unique.
Elite, then Special, then Rare, and then came Unique. This was a truly extraordinary Awakening.
Most notably, Han Se-ah’s magical origin was a super-magic that radiated golden light.
‘Did I just create a monster?’
Han Se-ah’s Awakening was monstrous in every sense.
Maybe her uncle had made her wear that dreadful item because he feared she’d achieve such a tremendous Awakening.
Kim Seo-jun wondered what kind of mystical power Han Se-ah had Awakened.
At that moment, a thin vertical line appeared down Han Se-ah’s forehead as she froze in a cutting stance.
The center of the three-centimeter line split open, forming a diamond shape.
Even more astonishing, an eyeball appeared inside the diamond shape.
An eye on her forehead.
The pupil darted about, scanning the surroundings quickly.
‘Is that Se-ah’s mystery?’
Kim Seo-jun immediately recognized that the eye was the result of her mystical Awakening.
Moments later, the diamond-shaped eye closed and vanished cleanly from her forehead.
Thud.
At the same time, Han Se-ah collapsed to the floor.
“Se-ah!”
Lee Chae-ha rushed over and supported Han Se-ah.
Meanwhile, Kim Seo-jun walked over to where the broken necklace lay on the ground.
‘To give something like this to a child… How vicious can people be?’
Kim Seo-jun examined the hidden information on the necklace with only his Insight, and let out a deep sigh.
*****
[Pendant of Curse]
-A hidden artifact completely concealed from external scans.
-Constantly disturbs the wearer’s willpower.
-Forces the wearer to obsess over the past.
-Suppresses the wearer’s talent.