One by one, other students came up to beat the Swing record. Those who could apply their unique abilities to the throw did so, and most of them got good scores. Students who couldn't had no choice but to throw with simple arm strength augmented with mana, and their records were, as expected, much lower. It was a clear demonstration of why the quality of a unique ability directly translated to a hunter's strength. Once they started wearing dedicated suits, this gap would only widen.

"Second-year student, Han Yoonjeong!"

Then, it was Yoonjeong's turn. As expected, I could hear quiet whispers.

"Ah, that's Kim Yusin's friend."

"Hasn't she been acting like a real bitch lately?"

Yoonjeong's face flushed slightly as she walked to the starting line, having heard the comments, but she quickly regained her composure. Her Coordinate Tracking ability was completely useless here. It all depended on her physical ability and mana utilization.

"You may begin," said Professor Kim.

"Yes!"

She kicked off the ground, began her wind-up, and with a spirited shout, swung her arm powerfully.

'Whoosh!'

The ball flew with decent force. Her form was good.

"Total record is 231 PHH."

Muffled snickers erupted from the crowd. Right. I had forgotten, but I was always treated like that, too. That's why I hated this class.

Yoonjeong's expression stiffened when she heard the record, but she soon managed a resigned smile. Professor Kim approached to give her feedback.

"Your record has improved a bit. You were too focused on your throwing form, so your mana output wasn't perfect. Try to pay more attention to that."

"Thank you, Professor."

"You can get even better."

Yoonjeong finished her turn and came back, giving me an embarrassed smile.

"Ah, well, I'm always like this."

I fell silent.

I didn't know what to say. Words of comfort? Or encouragement? I knew neither was the right answer, so I just patted her on the shoulder. She smiled and nudged me with her elbow as she walked away.

Although the academy was crushing her spirit, she was a person with a lot of pride. She had refused all the dungeon passes and training ground benefits I had discreetly offered, asking if it wasn't favoritism. She wanted to grow with her own strength, just as she always had.

I wanted to ask why she was being so inflexible while being treated like this, but I stopped myself. Everyone values different things. I couldn't call another person's values foolish by my own standards.

"Alright, next up is Mr. Kim Yusin!"

'Murmur, murmur.'

A stir went through the crowd when my name was called. The timing was bad, my turn coming right after Yoonjeong had hit rock bottom with her score. I discreetly shifted my gaze, and my eyes met hers.

"Hey," she said.

"…What?"

"I'm saying this just in case, but don't you dare make me feel more pathetic, okay?"

It meant, 'Don't hold back. Give it your all.' I nodded with a smile and stepped forward.

"Let's see… Mr. Kim's previous record is 284 PHH."

It wasn't much different from Yoonjeong's. A few underclassmen let out subtle snickers before being shushed by their friends. Professor Kim handed me the ball with a grin.

"You haven't been coming to class much, but I heard you've been going to a lot of dungeons. Think you can aim for a new record this time?"

"I'll do my best."

I took the ball and looked ahead.

-This is exciting, Tower Master. I have just procured the popcorn.

'…Ea's in full-on spectator mode.'

Alright, how should I throw this? This wasn't an exam, just a personal test. I didn't want to overdo it by using something like Copied Magical Position, so I decided to keep it simple.

<Gauntlet>

A blue radiance swirled, and a magic circle unfolded before my chest. That alone was enough to draw everyone's attention. As I pushed my right hand into the circle, mana coiled around my fist, coating it in a blue light. Then, I spread my legs, lowered my upper body, and took a punching stance.

"Haah."

I took a shallow breath and tossed the ball into the air with a simple flick of my wrist. It was just a class, but my concentration was fully engaged. For this moment, at least, all thoughts of the trial that had been binding me completely vanished. The ball rose, then traced a parabola as it came back down. I could calculate its trajectory with perfect precision. I adjusted the angle of my arm, twisted my waist, and as the ball descended, I threw my fist forward with all my might.

'CRACK!'

Blue sparks erupted violently as the ball shot forward like a missile, tearing through the air with a piercing shriek.

"Whoa!"

"Kyaa!"

The shockwave whipped past, rustling the clothes and hair of the students standing behind me.

With a stunned expression, Professor Kim checked the measuring device. "Th-The total is 25,842 PHH! That's a new record!"

"Woooooah!"

"Whoa, that's insane!"

Fierce cheers erupted from all sides as if on cue.

"He made it look effortless, and he still scored that high?"

"He's on another level."

The spectacle of a new record electrified the class. Even those who had scoffed at my old score were now looking at me in a new light.

'Yeah, this feels good.'

As I returned to my spot, requests for high-fives flooded in. I casually slapped their hands and walked over to Yoonjeong.

"Whoo! Not bad!" she said with a wide grin, holding up her palm. I raised my own and gave her a solid high-five.

"Excellent! Next up is first-year student Boin Hwang!" the professor called out.

The class continued, but no one surpassed my record. Even the more skilled students only managed scores in the six-to-seven-thousand range.

"…Haaa."

I heard a sigh beside me. I turned to her. "Careful, or you'll sigh a hole in the floor."

"Be quiet."

It seemed she was bothered by it after all. I couldn't run on the same track as her anymore; I'd come too far for that. Showing any misplaced pity here would only wound her pride. So, all I could do was offer encouragement.

"Do your best."

"Yeah," she replied with a faint smile.

As I was watching the others, the murmuring from the front of the group suddenly grew louder.

"Whoa…"

"For real?"

I followed their gazes. Someone was walking over, drawing everyone's attention. She wore the same simple academy training uniform as the rest of us, but something about her was different. The red-toned hair, the refined gait, the striking features that made you do a double-take. Yoonjeong's jaw dropped.

Of course, I recognized her, too.

"Oh my! The Student Council President!" Professor Kim scurried over.

The girl bowed her head slightly. "I'm also enrolled in your class, Professor. My apologies for being late."

"Ohhoho! Don't apologize. Aren't student council presidents usually exempt from attending classes?"

"Still, I felt it was proper to at least stop by once…"

"Oh my! Well, thank you for the thought."

This was Hong Yeon, the current KHA Student Council President. A prodigy who, upon entering the academy as a first-year, had challenged the fourth-year president to a duel, defeated him by an overwhelming margin, and claimed the top spot for herself.

Ea, who had been watching quietly, spoke in my mind.

-Tower Master. I sense an interesting flow of mana from that young lady.

'You do?'

-Is she formidable?

'Well, yeah.'

To describe her as a simple first-year academy student would be a gross understatement. She was the top prospect in Korea's hunter community, a prodigy blessed by the world, and the younger sister of the Hunter Association President. The moment she awakened as a player, she showed such overwhelming potential that scouts were dispatched not just from Korea's top ten guilds, but from mega-guilds all over the world. I'd heard she was usually busy in dungeons and rarely came to school, so what was she doing here?

It was at that moment I felt her gaze, which had been on the professor, suddenly lock onto me.

'Did I catch Bora's attention-seeking disease or something?' When an idol waves on stage, you can easily find at least ten people in the audience thinking, 'She waved at me!'

I dismissed it as one of those moments and met her gaze nonchalantly. She immediately retracted her eyes and resumed her conversation with the professor.

"We were just doing swing measurements. Would you like to give it a try?" Professor Kim offered her a ball, her eyes sparkling.

Yeon gave an uneasy smile and glanced behind her, only to be met with an explosive roar of cheers.

"Well, just a light one…"

In the end, she took the ball and walked to the starting line.

"Ohohoho! I'm so excited!" Professor Kim, more thrilled than anyone, set up the measuring device. "The current top record is Kim Yusin's 25,842 PHH! How will the Student Council President fare?"

"25,842…" Hearing that, Yeon paused and glanced back again. Unless I was mistaken, she was looking right at me this time, too.

"Professor."

"Yes?"

"Are there any rules? Like a limit on the number of hits?"

"A limit? There's nothing like that. No matter the method, just send the ball far and fast."

She nodded and gripped the ball tightly. I could hear the crowd murmuring.

"What's she going to do?"

"Her specialty is swordsmanship, right? You don't think she's going to hit it with a sword?"

"No way, that's ridiculous."

Contrary to the wild theories people were suggesting, she took a normal throwing stance, holding the ball with both hands. Then she moved. Her leg shot forward as her upper body bent down at an extreme angle. The ball left her hand.

'FWOOOOSH!'

Wreathed in crimson mana, the ball shot forward like an arrow. Professor Kim quickly checked the score. "Twenty thou—"

But Yeon wasn't finished. After throwing the ball, she swiftly drew the sword at her waist with her left hand. The ball was already a distant dot in the sky, but with a single fluid motion, she thrust the blade forward. A crimson sword strike flew like a beam of light.

Far in the distance, a second impact rang out. 'BOOM!'

"Woooah…!"

"Is that even possible?"

Yeon finally lowered her sword and looked at the professor.

"87,507 PHH! A new all-time academy record!"

"WOOOOOOAH!"

A massive roar, incomparable to any before, erupted from the crowd. The male students, in particular, threw their arms wide and screamed like fanatics. Yeon gave a slight bow to everyone, then looked my way again. The corner of her mouth was raised in a subtle smirk.

'Haha. Would you look at that?'

I wasn't being overly sensitive. She was definitely provoking me.

"A spectacular finish! Shall we end today's class here?" The professor declared the session over, and Yeon picked up her sword to leave. The other students looked like they wanted to talk to her, but her cold atmosphere, which seemed to scream 'No,' kept them at bay.

"Yusin." Yoonjeong nudged my arm.

"Hm? Oh, right. Let's go get something to eat."

"She was staring at you for a while."

So she felt it too? I let out a soft sigh. "Not my problem."

"Hmm, do you two know each other?"

"Know her? Of course not. I've been causing some commotion at school lately, so I probably got on the student council's bad side. She seems to glare at everyone."

After listening quietly, she suddenly spun around. "I have lunch plans, so I'm heading out first."

"…You do?"

She ran back and jabbed me in the side. "You were never around, so I made other friends to eat with! Happy now?" Yoonjeong stuck her tongue out, turned, and disappeared into the crowd. She really was unpredictable.

'…Well then.'

Class was over. My eyes fell on one of the swing balls left on the ground. How should I describe it? I felt a tingling sensation. The image of Yeon's swing replayed in my mind. I felt like I could get a hint from it to improve my score.

'Should I give it a try?'

I approached the teaching assistant who was cleaning up and asked if I could borrow a swing ball. He said it was fine as long as I returned it on time. Just as I pocketed a ball and looked up… a chill ran down my spine.

I thought she had left, but Yeon was peeking out from the side of the building, watching me.

* * *

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