The Academy’s Deceased Ate It All

"Hey, uncle."

Ahn Do-hun, who'd sat in silence beside Choi Hyun-woo long after his story had ended, finally answered his phone.

"I'm gonna be a bit late. What? No, I told you, it's important. Aw, come on, I got it… I know, no. Listen, uncle. If you're that worked up about it, come over here yourself."

He held the phone away from his ear as if the booming voice on the other end was too much to bear.

Then he hung up just like that and stuffed the phone carelessly back into his pocket.

He clicked his tongue once for no particular reason, glanced over at Choi Hyun-woo, and quietly opened his mouth.

"So, what you're saying is this?"

Ahn Do-hun spoke in that distinctive tone of his — the one that sounded like he was diagnosing and sizing someone up.

"You suddenly realized out of nowhere that you've been harboring an inferiority complex toward Yu Ji-hyeok. So now you're not sure you can keep on with him like before. Above all, you hate yourself for carrying around something this ugly, and you can't even bring yourself to look your master, Han Su-yeong, or your friends in the eye…."

"What, are you going through puberty or something?"

"…What?"

"Hey, this is the first time you've ever said any of this to me, right? And the reason you picked me is because I used to be dead set on tearing Yu Ji-hyeok apart. That it? So you figured, hey, same boat, might as well ask him for advice. That's not what this is."

Pinned dead-on by Ahn Do-hun, Choi Hyun-woo shut his mouth.

He nodded with an expression that said he'd known all along.

"Honestly, this kind of mushy stuff isn't really my thing… ugh, damn it."

Ahn Do-hun muttered a small curse and roughly rubbed the back of his neck with his palm.

"Look, it's different for everyone, and there's no set answer. And I'm not about to feed you the kind of thing the teachers would say — channel it into healthy competition, negative feelings are bad and the right mindset will set you free… that kind of crap. So take what I say with a grain of salt."

Choi Hyun-woo nodded along.

Whatever else he said, Ahn Do-hun was clearly worried about him and genuinely trying to help in his own way.

"I just accepted all of it."

"…Accepted?"

"Yeah. The inferiority complex thing, and not just toward Yu Ji-hyeok either. The envy, the jealousy, how I figured everyone around me must see me, the way I'd been acting all that time… well, anyway. All of it."

For some reason, Ahn Do-hun looked unburdened as he said it.

"The heir of Iwon, the country's top conglomerate. Nephew of Ahn Ju-hyeok, one of the Ten Powerhouses and a hero… well, there's more, but those labels stick to me wherever I go. So yeah, there was a time when I thought carrying that name was a weight on my back, that I wanted to show people the real me underneath all of it."

Ahn Do-hun's face twisted oddly, like even saying it out loud embarrassed him.

"…So that's why you acted like that at first? Watching the way you talked and carried yourself, I thought you were some crown prince out of a drama or a manga."

"Hey, shut your mouth while I'm still asking nicely… you really want to mouth off to the guy who's trying to help you right now?"

At Choi Hyun-woo's jab, Ahn Do-hun muttered under his breath.

"But then at some point your field of vision just opens up. Your head clears, your insides feel like you just downed a glass of cold water. And the voices and presences around you get so loud you can't even settle down — except somehow that state feels more peaceful…."

"…."

At his words, Choi Hyun-woo found himself going silent.

He'd experienced what Ahn Do-hun was describing once, just once, in the past.

And to this day, he hadn't been able to cross that threshold again.

He couldn't begin to figure out what the problem was.

"And then at some point, the conclusion just came to me."

Ahn Do-hun snorted as he muttered.

"Fuck it. Bark all you want. I'll do whatever the hell I want. What I do is none of your goddamn business."

Saying that, Ahn Do-hun shrugged like, well, what're you gonna do.

"…Yeah, so it got a little easier. Just letting a little of the tension out of my shoulders — you wouldn't believe how much easier that made things."

"Ugh."

Watching Ahn Do-hun let out a satisfied chuckle, Choi Hyun-woo muttered with complete sincerity.

"This is unbearably cringey. I'm not joking, I think I'm gonna throw up. Were you always like this?"

"You little shit, I swear to god…."

His face twisted into a nasty scowl, Ahn Do-hun bit off the curse halfway and stood up from his seat.

He brushed off his clothes with a few light pats and looked down at him.

"So? Feeling a little better?"

"I don't know."

Choi Hyun-woo shook his head slightly.

"But I think I feel a little better than I did before."

"Good enough."

Ahn Do-hun's reply was gruff, but his expression betrayed quiet relief.

"Anyway… try talking to other people too, not just me. There's no guarantee that what worked for me'll work for you."

"No."

Choi Hyun-woo's reply was firm.

"My master, Su-yeong, Ji-hyeok… Ivan, Yu-na, Ye-seul — there's no one I can talk to about this right now."

He added quietly:

"Especially not Su-yeong or Ji-hyeok."

"…Well, suit yourself."

Ahn Do-hun nodded as if to say he got it.

"I really do have to head out now. My uncle and some others are waiting."

"Yeah, thanks… ah, Do-hun. Hold on!"

"Huh?"

Choi Hyun-woo pulled something from his pocket as if he'd nearly forgotten.

It was the ring Yu Ji-hyeok had handed him.

Ahn Do-hun could be a target too, but Yu Ji-hyeok wasn't close enough with him to give it directly.

So he'd asked if Choi Hyun-woo, who was close with him, could pass it along.

Choi Hyun-woo stared at the ring for a moment, then tossed it to Ahn Do-hun.

"What's this? A ring?"

"Keep it on."

"What is it?"

"A charm."

That was all Choi Hyun-woo would say.

Ahn Do-hun glanced back and forth between the ring and Choi Hyun-woo with a wary, uneasy expression for a moment, then sighed and slipped it onto his finger.

"…If anyone else had pulled this, I'd have beaten the crap out of them right here."

Saying that, he looked at Choi Hyun-woo one last time, his expression lingering like he had more to say.

"Anyway… you really should talk to someone else. Even just having a regular conversation is enough. That's how I got through it. With my uncle, and Lau—!"

Ahn Do-hun cut himself off mid-word and let out a loud cough.

His face went bright red in an instant, and he cleared his throat awkwardly. Ahem, ahem.

"I'm out."

"Yeah."

Choi Hyun-woo nodded.

"Thanks for listening. And for the pep talk."

"Knock it off."

Ahn Do-hun snorted back at him.

"If you spiral over crap like this, where am I supposed to find another sparring partner? You're the only one left who can give me a proper fight."

"You can spar with Ji-hyeok."

"…Me and him aren't that close, asshole."

With that, Ahn Do-hun quickened his steps and walked off.

He really hadn't been kidding about being short on time.

"…."

And once even Ahn Do-hun had disappeared and he was left alone, Choi Hyun-woo sighed several times over.

He sat there blankly, mulling something over, then eventually nodded to himself.

He pulled out his phone and carefully moved his finger.

But at one point his finger came to a stop and stayed there, frozen in place.

He just stared at the name Yu Ji-hyeok displayed on the screen.

For a long, long time.

"Oh my goodness…."

A woman who'd been hiding her presence pressed both hands over her mouth and let out a sob-like groan. Watching Ahn Do-hun and Choi Hyun-woo with bright, shining eyes, she murmured softly:

"He's really grown up so much…."

Laura Hartmann, dressed in casual clothes with a baseball cap pulled stubbornly low over her eyes, murmured as if deeply moved. The brat who'd once charged at her demanding she train him was now encouraging a friend in despair.

Looking at the way the boy she could call her disciple had grown, she felt a swell of emotion she couldn't quite put into words.

"…."

Beside her, Ahn Ju-hyeok glared at the back of her head with obvious displeasure and gave a small shake of his own.

The fact that the logo stitched onto her baseball cap matched exactly the logo of the baseball team his nephew had been following religiously these days only deepened the furrow between his brows. Doing the math in his head on the age gap between his one and only nephew and her, he sighed uncomfortably and turned his head away.

"He's late, so I figured something must've come up."

It was the kind of dilemma anyone might have at that age.

He'd gone through it himself, and so had Laura beside him, and so had every one of the Ten Powerhouses including Lee Myung-jun.

And only those who could find their own answer — without getting buried under all that doubt and hesitation — could move forward without losing their way. Contrary to what Ahn Do-hun had said, it wasn't something anyone else could do for you. They could help, sure, but you had to find it on your own strength.

And in Ahn Ju-hyeok's eyes, that Choi Hyun-woo boy already knew this.

That was why he wasn't particularly worried.

But then….

"…I'd say the other one looks more on edge than he does."

He muttered quietly, watching the figure observing the two from another spot.

Red hair.

The impression had been strong enough that he hadn't forgotten her.

Han Su-yeong, hadn't it been?

Like them, she had been hiding her presence and listening in on the two boys' conversation.

Unlike Laura, who was thrilled at Ahn Do-hun's growth, and himself, who saw it as just part of life and something the boy had to work out on his own, her expression looked extremely grim.

…Right, she was practically family with that Choi Hyun-woo kid, wasn't she?

That much made sense.

He'd only caught glimpses of them while serving as Yu Ji-hyeok's personal physician, but those two had seemed remarkably close — bonded in a way that went beyond ordinary friendship.

So of course she'd worry, finding out someone like that had been carrying something like this alone.

"Ah, he's moving!"

When Ahn Do-hun got up from his seat, Laura whispered in a small voice and jabbed Ahn Ju-hyeok in the side. Ahn Ju-hyeok nodded to show he got it.

"…."

He glanced at Han Su-yeong with something tugging at the back of his mind.

He'd assumed she'd rush over to Choi Hyun-woo the moment Ahn Do-hun was gone, but to his surprise, she simply stayed put.

Her wait continued even as Choi Hyun-woo pulled out his phone and agonized over what to do.

"Hey, Ahn Ju-hyeok…! If we get caught, are you gonna take the blame?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming. And what crime have we committed, exactly?"

Ahn Ju-hyeok muttered under his breath.

"…Though you'll probably commit one before long."

"…? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Forget it. Nothing."

Ahn Ju-hyeok waved her off with a lazy hand.

And as he turned to follow Laura away from the spot, he glanced back at Han Su-yeong one more time, tilting his head slightly.

Given the nature of his ability, he never forgot the properties or characteristics of mana he'd come into contact with even once.

So he couldn't help being curious about the mana leaking from Han Su-yeong even at that distance.

…What the hell is that?

The scent of mana with every property mixed together.

And one sharp, intense scent that flashed and vanished in an instant.

He could swear on his life that it was not a dragon's, not a spirit's, not the World Tree's, not undead, not a monster's, not a human's mana.

Not even — and this was saying something — the kind of mana he'd felt from a Seven Calamity he'd once faced.

A trace of mana that he literally couldn't get a read on.

That was what had rippled out from Han Su-yeong for the briefest of moments.

"…What?"

At the sound that suddenly reached his ears, Yu Ji-hyeok found the word slipping out before he could stop it.

Along with a clear, otherworldly chime, a notification window appeared before his eyes.

[! A portion of 'Han Su-yeong's awakening condition has been fulfilled. (1/3) !]

[! Notice: Achievement values for awakening conditions are displayed with decimal points dropped, but all are applied. Please be aware. !]

[! Qualification for 'Nameless Book' has been updated. !]

[! Information regarding 'Han Su-yeong' has been updated. !]

Seeing this, Yu Ji-hyeok immediately reached for his phone.

He wanted to ask her if something had happened.

But someone had beaten him to it.

It was none other than Choi Hyun-woo.

There's something I want to talk about.

That was all the message said.

And as time passed, the day arrived when the festival known as the Recital began.

An unexpected visitor came to see Yu Ji-hyeok.

That person was none other than Nam Hyun-hwa.

She was carrying two swords.

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