Unlike before, Rohan began pushing through the game with ease.
There was no need to waste energy now that the bridge between him and Clara had been built more solidly than expected.
By giving up on his clumsy playstyle and properly enjoying the game, Rohan found himself much more at ease.
[Clara: This part normally requires a bit of practice at minimum specs! Just try running two skill cycles during the first wave and surviving until the dodge tank holds up! ( ◜𖥦◝ )]
Cute.
Whenever he hit a roadblock or had questions about the game’s settings, Rohan asked Clara for help and began speeding through the areas.
It wasn’t long before he understood why Clara had been so insistent on sharing the story with him.
…It really is fun.
Once he started a chapter, it was hard to stop because he couldn’t help but want to know what happened next.
It took a lot of patience to stop in the middle of a chapter.
He used his time efficiently: a short playthrough while taking a break from studying, a short playthrough after finishing his workout, or a short playthrough during meals in the Academy cafeteria.
As Rohan tore through the stages like a dam breaking, Clara was astonished.
Thanks to this, he also learned how to actually play the game.
And when he admitted that he was genuinely enjoying it, Clara beamed with delight.
Every step felt like meaningful progress.
At this rate, perhaps the day would come when Clara who had remained a mystery in Abyss City would finally share something about her own present life.
Someday, she’ll have to ask me for help.
Rohan was still carrying the tangled remnants of his complicated thoughts.
He stepped through the main gate of Orion Academy and slipped his phone into his pocket as he headed toward Class 1.
Creak!
He opened the door and walked into the classroom.
Rohan greeted the friends he had gotten to know over the past few days and took a seat next to Gilbert.
“Rohan! A strong and powerful morning to you!”
“Yeah, same to y—”
Rohan stopped mid-sentence.
Gilbert’s voice, which was usually so booming it felt like it could shake walls, lacked its usual force.
He stopped organizing his bag and turned his head to the side.
To his shock, Gilbert’s face was pale and gaunt. The usual energy that made him seem larger was nowhere to be seen.
“Hey, hey! What’s with your face? You look like you’ve been wrecked!”
“It’s just an honorable badge of resistance against the unfair orders of the gorilla… Nothing happened.”
“?”
The “gorilla” Gilbert was referring to was definitely his sister.
Rohan had heard that his older sister had graduated from Orion Academy, landed a job in Academy City, and Gilbert was now under surveillance.
“I was just flapping my wings in an attempt to reclaim my freedom as a member of the Carniette family.”
“Doesn’t look like it ended well, though.”
“There’s meaning in trying.”
Considering Gilbert’s past tales of barely surviving dangerous situations out of sheer curiosity and his occasional eccentric antics,
Rohan thought there might be a reasonable explanation for his current state.
“The fact is, it’s a look I saw often back when we were at the flight school. It’s even listed under Controversies and Incidents number nine.”
Dick Wikitree who had just arrived set his bag down to announce his presence.
“You’re here.”
“Yeah, I’m here.”
Rohan exchanged a brief greeting with him,
Gilbert crossed his arms and continued his brief reminiscence as if something came to mind from Dick’s words.
“Ah, of course, I haven’t forgotten the past. Nor will I forget this humiliating time. I’ll devote myself to training to one day defeat the gorilla.”
“That’s the same line he repeated endlessly back at flight school. It’s still a goal he hasn’t achieved.”
“Gah—! It is the indomitable spirit of gold while advancing without surrender that matters! Why focus only on the results?”
In the brief moments he spent chatting with Dick, Gilbert seemed to regain some energy, and as usual, his booming voice began to fill the room again.
Rohan felt a sense of ease in their familiar banter as he prepared for class.
A short while later, Joo-yeon entered the room to start the morning roll call.
“I’ll begin calling attendance.”
Joo-yeon’s voice called out names one by one.
No students were absent today.
“Any student who is ill or has something to report?”
By now, an unspoken rule had developed in Class 1.
If no one raised their hand within a few seconds, the entire class would answer in unison.
“””””None!””””
“If anyone has a problem they’re uncomfortable mentioning here, visit me during break or leave a message.”
Joo-yeon scribbled something into her logbook with a pen.
“Pause.”
After noting there were no announcements, she clicked her heels as she left the classroom. With that, the students naturally began to prepare for the lesson.
···
···
“There was a section I told you to memorize yesterday. We’ll quickly review that and move on.”
With a swift movement of her hand, Joo-yeon wrote two problems on the board.
“Yesterday, I explained that the dimensional rift that spawns monsters and the black monolith have different areas of effect depending on their size. Use the formula to determine the minimum area affected by the negative effect. I also explained in detail how the terrain and materials can cause variations in this range.
The moment her explanation ended, her sharp red eyes locked onto her targets.
“Rohan and Noah Frozenheart, come up and solve one each. Rohan, handle the dimensional rift, and Noah Frozenheart, solve the monolith problem.”
“…….”
“Ah!”
Noah let out an audible gasp and her tail stiffened, while Rohan swallowed hard.
It seemed the aftermath of their random answers during the placement test was still haunting them.
Rohan stood up from his seat and cast a glance toward Ichinose, who had been teaching him.
By chance, or perhaps not, their eyes met.
Fighting.
Ichinose carefully mouthed the word while clenching her fist in encouragement.
With such heartfelt encouragement from her, there was no way he could disgrace the face of his teacher in theory, Ichinose.
He strode forward with determination.
“Noah Frozenheart, hurry up and come solve the problem, too.”
“Y-Yes!”
At Joo-yeon’s command, Noah moved to stand next to Rohan.
Scratch, scratch.
Rohan moved his pen across the board.
Though it felt like his head might burst, he somehow managed to produce an answer.
Whether it was correct or not, there was a distinct sense of satisfaction in arriving at a conclusion, which was different from the satisfaction of training his body.
“Rohan, have you solved everything?”
“Yes.”
As Rohan stepped back, Joo-yeon quickly scanned the formula.
“You got it right up to the middle. The final application of the formula is lacking… You stepped right into the trap too easily. The fastest way to improve is to practice similar problems and get used to the patterns.”
“I understand.”
Receiving her critique revealed where he had gone wrong. Regret bubbled up as he wondered how he had missed it.
“Still, I can see you put in effort. Well done.”
Joo-yeon placed a hand on Rohan’s shoulder in acknowledgment before shifting her attention to Noah Frozenheart.
“Uhh…”
Noah hadn’t even started yet.
She was obviously confused and unable to understand the problem.
How long had the girl with the White Tiger bloodline stood there, twitching her tail and ears as she stared at the problem?
Finally, she looked at Joo-yeon and admitted honestly,
“I don’t know!”
Joo-yeon showed no signs of surprise as if she had expected the response.
She wasn’t angry, nor did she appear troubled. Instead, she simply seemed to be considering the best way to teach.
“Noah Frozenheart.”
“Yes!”
Joo-yeon lowered her hand from Rohan’s shoulder.
She approached Noah, gently pushed back her bangs which were a mixture of white and black hair, and patted her head.
Noah blinked in confusion, and Joo-yeon raised her voice so everyone could hear.
“When you graduate from Orion Academy and step into a real battle, you’ll face countless situations that can’t be fully explained in words.”
“…….”
“One of the situations that drastically lowers survival rates is internal conflict.”
Unexpectedly, it wasn’t a direct lecture on the necessity of theory.
It wasn’t a lecture but a form of persuasion.
“There are times, even when lives are at stake, when cooperation breaks down because of poor relationships or lingering grudges. On another level, arguments can go on endlessly and plans can fall apart simply because people refuse to acknowledge each other’s abilities.”
Noah’s round ears perked up, making it obvious she was listening intently.
Joo-yeon met the girl’s eyes and asked,
“Noah Frozenheart, in a moment where a single decision determines life or death, could you obey the orders of someone weaker in battle?”
The girl shook her head firmly as if to say she absolutely couldn’t.
Joo-yeon had expected this.
Perhaps it was because she was the daughter of the Snow Tiger Emperor, but her stubbornness in this matter was not surprising.
“Learning theory is something similar to that.”
“Huh?”
At Noah’s voice of confusion, Joo-yeon continued speaking calmly.
“There are those in the world who believe brute strength is the ultimate power, while others see knowledge as the true measure of strength. Some, on the other hand, prioritize wealth or social influence.”
“…….”
“Conversely, there are people who refuse to obey the orders of someone who can’t grasp the situation.”
A basic understanding of theory is the minimum requirement for sitting at the negotiation table on the battlefield.
Only after meeting that condition can other factors be considered.
“Since we’re on the topic of group conflict, there’s one more thing I should tell you. Do you remember asking why we don’t hold sparring sessions between students?”
“Yes, I do!”
“The students here are full of confidence and brimming with youthful energy. Some may not take the results of a sparring match well, and others might let their emotions get hurt during a clash of strength. This isn’t something limited to students; it happens just as often among professionals.”
Joo-yeon explained that they needed to grow mentally more mature before such sparring could become a part of their curriculum.
However, Noah pouted her lips and looked visibly disappointed.
She revealed the values and thoughts she had developed while living in Tigrova.
“I think… winning and losing are pure matters. If you lose, that’s the end of it, and if you win, that’s the end of it too…”
Joo-yeon seemed to see a glimpse of someone else in Noah’s words.
With a faint smile, she gently pinched Noah’s cheek.
“It’s great to accept the results and find purity in the battle itself. It would be wonderful if everyone thought like you, Noah, but the reality isn’t so simple.”
“…….”
“In the end, this leads to the very situation I mentioned earlier. When people can’t work together because they don’t get along or because they can’t let go of past grudges.”
It meant that mental preparation through repeated education was necessary before students could engage in sparring.
“That’s why we don’t have sparring yet and why theory is necessary. Do you understand?”
“Yes…”
Noah nodded heavily as if she somehow understood this part.
Joo-yeon found the sight both admirable and relatable.
She herself had experienced a time when she was bursting with energy and itching to let it out, and she was well aware that the same fiery nature was even stronger in active beastfolk.
Her thoughts grew complex.
Am I being too old-fashioned in my methods…? Instructor Carrot said they’re already sparring.
Although she felt regret over the disruption to her lesson plan, she once again realized that students who grew up in vastly different countries, with intense individuality and diverse values, couldn’t all be taught in the same way.
“Very well. Since Noah Frozenheart has fully understood and accepted this instructor’s boring lecture, we’ll have a simple sparring session in this afternoon’s class. I’ll take on Class 1 myself and point out any issues.”
“!!!”
Noah’s drooping tail shot straight up and wagged vigorously.
Her deep blue eyes sparkled like a predator’s, full of anticipation.
Even the students who had been sitting and merely observing were now highly interested.
It felt like more than just a simple lesson. It felt like an incredible opportunity.
Amid this atmosphere, Joo-yeon drew everyone’s attention and spoke.
“Before we start the sparring, I’ll set one condition though as your instructor.”
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