Vacation was already just around the corner.
Only a few days remained.
Officially, all coursework was finished, and grades were finalized.
All over campus, so students were already packing up and leaving, but most of the first-years remained.
Well, to be honest, vacation didn’t change much.
The dormitories remained open for students who ca from far away.
More importantly, the training facilities here were top-tier—unmatched anywhere else in the country.
So it was only natural that many first-years chose to stay.
And of course, that included .
My current plan was to stay.
I had no intention of leaving.
“Huu…”
Early in the morning, I was running laps along the campus track.
Next to , as always, was Yu Hana.
Throughout the entire sester, unless sothing ca up, we always ran together.
We’d beco like long-ti partners—our rhythm matched perfectly.
While jogging, I naturally tried to organize my plans going forward.
The first goal was clear.
“Bugaram.”
The Association’s reward.
I had to exercise my right to enter the workshop of Bugaram.
What kind of reward I’d receive… even I didn’t know exactly.
His personality was just that eccentric.
But one thing was certain.
Through this opportunity, I would definitely grow stronger.
Having a Fragnt ant I had already t the minimum qualifications.
And the second goal:
Obtaining a Fragnt from one of the key characters.
In fact, the Association’s reward could be considered just a stepping stone toward this second objective.
There were three candidates, but—
The first candidate I had selected was none other than Yu Hana, running right next to , drenched in sweat.
When the run ended, I took a deep breath and looked at her.
Sweat shimred down her forehead, catching the morning light.
Noticing my gaze, she smiled and asked,
“What is it?”
I looked at her for a mont and finally spoke.
“Do you rember what we talked about back then?”
“Hm?”
She tilted her head.
“The trip. The one we were going to take during vacation. There haven’t been any changes to the schedule, right?”
I asked again.
Yu Hana was always busy.
I needed to make sure there wouldn’t be any conflict with her schedule.
Of course, one way or another, I was going to take her—whether by persuasion or dragging her along.
“Ah… that?”
She drew out her words slightly, then carefully confessed to .
“So, about that…”
What is it?
Did sothing happen?
“This vacation… I’m inheriting the title from my father.”
Ah.
Well, shit.
Inheritance.
Inheritance was a traditional ritual of the Yu family.
A formal rite in which the head of the family passes their title to the next in line, the heir.
For several weeks, the current and future heads of the family entered seclusion, completely cutting off outside contact, and engaged in nonstop duels.
Until the heir defeats the current head.
For her, it was an incredibly important event.
Because it was sothing she had to overco by herself.
Usually, this was done around second year…
I nodded silently.
Of course.
Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who had noticed Yu Hana’s absurd growth rate.
Yu Mujin, her father and the current head, must have realized it too.
Yu Hana’s abilities had already far surpassed expectations.
With such a steep growth curve, Yu Mujin likely had no reason to delay further.
“…Sorry. Are you disappointed?”
Yu Hana looked up at cautiously, testing my reaction.
“Huh? No, it’s not that.”
It really wasn’t that.
I was just wondering what to do about the next candidate.
“It’s not that I don’t want to go. Really. Really.”
Yu Hana repeated the sa words several tis like a chant.
She seed determined to emphasize that this wasn’t about not wanting to go with .
I chuckled softly.
“Yeah, I got it.”
Well, even if she didn’t want to go with , I had no intention of letting her off the hook.
If it weren’t for the inheritance ritual, I would’ve taken her by any ans necessary.
And with that, Yu Hana was temporarily off the list.
Now, I had to urgently find the next candidate.
Who should it be?
Kang Arin or Cheon Yeoul.
It was ti to choose one of them.
***
Yu Hana couldn’t get out of bed in her dorm room before school.
Her heart was still pounding wildly.
What do I do… I actually went through with it.
Yu Hana had, after much deliberation, turned down Jeong Haein’s invitation.
But it wasn’t out of personal desire or a false excuse.
It was true—her father really had brought the inheritance ritual forward.
And at that exact mont, when Yu Hana had been drowning in indecision.
The timing was perfect. In the end, she pretended to be reluctant and agreed to it.
For a mont, her heart sank.
But strangely enough, that unease quickly morphed into a sweet thrill.
Her heart was still pounding relentlessly.
With this, she would beco Jeong Haein’s second.
Whether it was a Fragnt, her heart… or maybe even her body.
And oddly enough, that fact didn’t scare her.
It excited her.
A mixture of sweet guilt and electrifying forbidden delight.
Could this really be called a simple post-ga side effect?
No.
Denying it now wouldn’t change
She could feel it in her entire body—her preferences, her values had already begun to collapse.
Tap tap tap.
Yu Hana left a ssage in the group chat.
People who would lose their minds over this news more than anyone else.
[OnE]: I
[OnE]: decided not to go on the trip.
Then she closed the watch.
And as soon as the screen turned off, ssages began flooding in like wildfire.
She could already see how things would play out.
Pretending they just realized.
Pretending they figured it out during training.
Pretending they stumbled upon it by chance.
From now on, they would all desperately try to show Jeong Haein that they were worthy of a Fragnt.
Each in their own way.
Even as the alerts kept pinging nonstop, she just smiled faintly and closed her eyes.
Her heart was still racing like mad.
***
The holy sanctuary I had visited before.
Today, I was allowed entry for the second ti.
I say this all the ti, but honestly, there wasn’t much to do at Gaon.
Train a little.
Annoy Yoon Chaeha with so baduk.
Eat a little.
Annoy Yoon Chaeha again.
So naturally, I was really looking forward to this sanctuary visit.
Good.
It would finally be high-quality training.
My body itched in anticipation.
Just then, a ssage popped up on my watch.
[1000_y]: Should I bring the elixir?
It was Cheon Yeoul.
The elixir everyone received as a reward for finals.
I thought for a mont… but today wasn’t the day.
I didn’t think it was the right timing yet.
[belief_]: Not today.
There would be a more appropriate mont for it.
Oh, right—
[belief_]: Wear sothing proper today.
Last ti, your skin had more exposure than your clothes.
Back then, I had the composure of a stone statue, so it didn’t matter.
But now, it felt like things might be different.
I wasn’t so sure of myself.
[1000_y]: )
Ah.
Cheon Yeoul clearly had other thoughts.
I closed the notification and sighed.
Then I headed toward the sanctuary.
When I arrived at the temple entrance, the atmosphere inside was quite different from the cold morning air.
A gentle warmth and divine energy radiated from within, slowly thawing my body.
As I approached the massive marble doors, I looked around briefly.
But Cheon Yeoul was nowhere in sight.
I quietly asked the priest who was stationed nearby.
“Where is she?”
The priest gave a faint smile and answered.
“She’s already inside.”
So she’d gone ahead.
After a little more waiting, the massive marble door slowly rumbled open.
Boom.
As soon as I entered, the door behind began to close.
Looking straight ahead, in the center of the wide, clear space—
Cheon Yeoul stood quietly.
Today, even inside the sanctuary, she was dressed much more properly than usual.
“You’re here?”
Cheon Yeoul spoke first.
“Yeah.”
We exchanged greetings and moved to our respective spots.
Inside the sanctuary, the air felt oddly heavy, yet calming.
As if it was suppressing any unholy thoughts.
The training soon began.
Training that pushed both body and mind to the limit, until breathing beca difficult and exhaustion took over.
“Ugh…”
After several dozen minutes, every part of my body was screaming.
I had overdone it after so long. I was dead tired.
Eventually, I collapsed to the floor like a ragdoll and raised my head.
Now then…
One of today’s main goals was to observe Cheon Yeoul.
I had to see whether she was in a state where she could accept a Fragnt.
Catching my breath, I cautiously looked her way.
Unlike with Yu Hana, Cheon Yeoul had a clear threshold.
“Dual Tasking.”
Her own unique domain, handling both Holy Arts and Magic simultaneously.
Even just a fragnt of that technique—or even its starting point—would be enough.
Precisely because of that, her turn might need to be delayed.
It was such an incredibly advanced technique.
At the earliest? Maybe second year.
Realistically, it was still too soon.
Just then, Cheon Yeoul exhaled quietly and extended her left hand.
In the silence, a spell circle appeared above her hand.
Pure, clean light.
It was the light of superior Holy Arts.
That’s good.
She had clearly mastered deploying holy spell circles.
That alone was impressive.
But then, Cheon Yeoul raised her right hand.
“…?”
I watched her curiously.
And then—
Crackle-crackle-crackle.
Cold, sharp magical energy shimred in the air.
With a frown on her face, she tried to form a blue magic circle while maintaining the holy one.
“…Huh?”
I unconsciously muttered to myself.
“Dual Tasking…?”
It was clearly Dual Tasking.
Was this even possible?
Cheon Yeoul bit her lip, fully focused.
Her fingertips trembled, and both spell circles shook violently.
CRACKLE-CRACKLE-CRACKLE!!
Finally, sparks flew as both spell circles collapsed at once.
It had failed.
Cheon Yeoul stood still for a mont, then pouted slightly.
“Ugh…”
She shook her hands with a lingering look of frustration in her eyes.
I stared blankly at her before finally speaking.
“What was that just now?”
Only then did she realize I had been watching.
Surprised for a second, she quickly brightened and smiled.
“Ah… that?”
She scratched her head, embarrassed.
“After I wore the tiara last ti, my divine power increased… and then I had a flash of inspiration? So I’ve been experinting lately. It’s still not working well though…”
And then I ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) realized.
Co to think of it—
Kang Arin, Yu Hana, Cheon Yeoul.
Among the three, the one who had received the most support and aid was Cheon Yeoul.
From Iano’s Cross to the Tiara.
She had absorbed high-quality artifacts and all the massive divine power and mana that ca with them.
Maybe I had underestimated her.
As I stood there in a daze, she slowly walked toward .
Her whole body was drenched in sweat from intense focus.
Cheon Yeoul swept her damp hair behind her ear and stepped even closer.
And as she caught her breath, she asked ,
“…Why? Do you have sothing to say to …?”
I quietly looked at her.
It seed the choice for the trip had already been made.
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