𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟗𝟓
𝕒ᴡ𝔢𝐛𝘴ᴛ𝚘ʀ𝐢𝚎ṡ.ᴄȯ̇ṁ
The weekend had passed, and now it was back to weekdays.
As the aftermath of the comprehensive exam was gradually subsiding, the academy students received a new piece of news.
“We’re going on a field trip soon.”
“Oh yeah, I heard that too. Apparently, we’ll be staying at Do-hwa-won for a week.”
“Do-hwa-won? Isn’t that the place famous for its training grounds?”
This event essentially marked the beginning of Chapter 3 of the story.
Since it was an episode that existed in the original work, I was somewhat familiar with the content.
「. . .𝙄’𝙢 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙮 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙖 𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙣-𝙩𝙮𝙥𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙠𝙖𝙞 𝙨𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩.」
A series of mysterious incidents kept occurring at Do-hwa-won, a spiritual hotspot, due to a cold-hearted yokai that had taken root there. Eventually, the protagonist, Yoo Ha-on, and her party got caught up in the incidents.
Although both the first and second years headed to the same location, the first years’ dorms were closer to the yokai’s hideout, so the incidents would probably unfold around them.
「𝙄𝙩 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙢 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙢𝙖𝙟𝙤𝙧 𝙙𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧, 𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙨𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨. . . . . . .」
However, it was impossible to predict what would happen if the added Hell Difficulty was thrown into the mix.
In the end, we had to make sure to stay on high alert.
“Is everyone here? Then let’s go.”
It was a mass movement with all classes from both the first and second years participating.
After riding the bus arranged by the academy and arriving at Do-hwa-won, we followed the directions to our assigned dorms and immediately unpacked.
“What the heck, it’s the same room again. Who’s the other person?”
“It’s me. Let’s get along for the week.”
“It’s Adrian. Well, it’s just our usual group.”
Jung Han-sol, Adrian, and me.
The three of us left our belongings in the room and decided to spend our free time before the scheduled dinner as we pleased.
As we opened the door, we saw a muscular man with his eyes closed, sitting cross-legged on the veranda of the room right across from us.
It was Hwang Ji-hak.
“. . .Meditating?”
“Leave him be. He’s always like that wherever he goes. He says he needs to harmonize with nature and become familiar with the spiritual power in the atmosphere or something like that.”
Now that I thought about it, there was indeed such a setting. It was quite an eye-catching sight to witness firsthand.
Click.
Thinking it was a good opportunity, I went outside the dorm and found a suitable spot to repeatedly cast the detection spell after gathering my focus.
However, as I had expected, nothing was caught by the spell.
「𝙎𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙣𝙤 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙢𝙮 𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙨, 𝙝𝙪𝙝.」
After all, it was a high-ranking yokai whose unique skill was a concealment spell. It would be stranger if it got caught by a detection spell cast by someone like me.
After roughly getting a feel of the surrounding terrain, I returned to the dorm before it got too late and met up with my group.
“You’re here. Nothing special today. I guess it’s just a special lecture by the on-site instructor.”
As was often the case with field trips, the first day passed by without much happening.
Then, from the next day onward, the full-scale training utilizing the traits of the spiritual hotspot began.
“It’s easy. Just keep this flower from wilting for as long as possible. The passing requirement is one hour.”
These were flowers that had already been cut from their stems. However, since this place was overflowing with spiritual power, it was possible to maintain their vitality using only the ability to handle spiritual power.
“This isn’t working.”
“Ah, you burst it because you were concentrating too hard.”
“Is there a separate reward if we succeed within today?”
In response to one of the students’ questions, the homeroom teacher in charge, Baek Ji-eun, replied with an indifferent expression.
“Those who pass will get a break.”
“. . . . . . .”
And so, the seemingly endless ordeal began.
But to be honest, I already knew the trick, so I passed in exactly one hour and got some free time.
“Hey, give us a tip!”
“Instead of just pushing spiritual power into it, try to make it feel alive, like you’re literally trying to revive it.”
I left only those words behind and left the training ground without hesitation. I wanted to gather information in advance to prepare for what might happen in the future, if possible.
The first place I checked after securing some free time was near the first years’ dorms, where a number of strange incidents would occur.
There were a few students there who seemed to have passed the same training, and among them were Cheong Juhwa and Han Seo-ah.
“It looks like you succeeded on your first try.”
“Oppa, was your flower petal maintenance the same?”
As I chatted with the two of them about various things, I parted ways with them and followed the perimeter of the first years’ dorms, selecting places that could be used as passageways by the yokai.
However, to be honest, there were so many that it didn’t seem to matter.
「Guess there’s no way to prevent its activities.」
I checked just in case, but honestly, even I thought that was too much to ask.
In the end, it would mean that we had to strike when it made its move.
「𝙎𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙄 𝙗𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙬 𝙅𝙤𝙝𝙖𝙣’𝙨 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧?」
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