Chapter 61
“I go by Yeonha. Thanks for aligning with my words a while ago.”
“I was also looking for a partner. I’m Cha Eun-sol.”
The woman who revealed herself as Cha Eun-sol exuded a mysterious aura.
Looking into her green eyes, it felt as if one was standing in a forest filled with lush greenery.
It seemed like facing the immense nature.
“…I feel calm.”
Around Cha Eun-sol, it was quiet and serene, as if disconnected from the world.
Yeonha, standing in her world, found that atmosphere very appealing.
“I didn’t know silence could be this comforting.”
To a stranger, Yeonha, who tended to be reserved, surprisingly did not hold back with Cha Eun-sol.
Even though Cha Eun-sol might not talk much, it was not uncomfortable, and somehow, Yeonha could understand her thoughts.
Cha Eun-sol felt the same way.
“Now it’s your turn, Eun-sol.”
“Yeah.”
“What did you say?”
Although she didn’t show it outwardly, she felt a sense of closeness.
Their shared preference for quietness made conversations flow smoothly without any awkwardness.
“If tomorrow were a holiday, what would you like to do?”
“What about you?”
“…I think I’ll sleep in.”
“Me too. And?”
“I’d like to enjoy the natural scenery…”
“Yeah.”
“I feel like eating something delicious. Yum.”
“You enjoy culinary delights?”
“Yeah. Actually, that’s partly why I came to the academy city.”
“To explore the gourmet scene of the academy city?”
“Yum yum.”
“I know a few great places to eat. Want me to share?”
“Really?”
“My friend also enjoys food adventures and often tags along.”
“Please do. I’ll take note.”
“Then… here’s my number. I’ll contact you after leaving the gate.”
“Yeah. This is my number.”
“There…”
“Hmm?”
“Would you like to have a meal together next time?”
Yeona spoke shyly.
She had mustered up the courage to ask.
Chaeunsol, who had been sipping on his drink, looked at her quietly.
“Yeah, sure.”
After gulping down the food, she nodded.
Yeona’s face brightened.
“Really? Then I’ll look forward to it.”
“Yeah. So, what about you?”
“Me? What are you going to do on your day off?”
“Hmm?”
“Well… maybe watch a drama you haven’t seen in a while? Or read a book.”
“A drama?”
“I enjoy watching dramas.”
“I watch them occasionally too.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. They have those delicious restaurant ads in them.”
“Oh, you mean product placement?”
“Yeah, that. That’s why I watch.”
“It’s interesting how you watch it that way…”
“Shall we pick the next question?”
“Oh, sure. It’s my turn.”
“Hmm?”
“What’s your favorite snack?”
“I like this.”
“Sausage?”
“Yeah, it’s tasty. And nutritious. …Want one?”
“Thank you, I’ll enjoy it.”
“Don’t you have a snack?”
“I have this.”
“Oh, jelly. It’s delicious.”
“I have it whenever I need some sugar. It’s tasty. Here, take one.”
“Enjoy.”
Exchanging sausages and jelly,
Yeona and Chaeunsol wrapped up their conversation warmly.
“I’ll get in touch after leaving the gate.”
“Yeah, I’ll contact you too.”
With Chaeunsol’s signature, Yeona smiled and got up from her seat.
“It feels like a good lover. I hope I can see you at the academy.”
Yeon Haneul wished earnestly.
Fortunately, there was no need to worry.
Since Cha Eun-sol was also wearing a black admission ticket like herself, there would be no chance of failure.
“That person must also be from a prestigious family, right?”
Being an outsider to the news of prestigious families, Yeon Haneul did not know Cha Eun-sol’s identity.
She could only speculate.
Soon, she decided to find someone to receive the remaining signatures from.
That’s when she met Go Eun-bi.
“Haneul! Are you also looking for someone to talk to right now!?”
“Ah, Eunbi.”
“Then, want to join me?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Great! Duel! My turn! Draw!”
“…Do we really have to do it like that?”
“Haneul, are you a dog person or a cat person?”
“Um, Eunbi… It seems like you asked without even looking right now…”
“For your information, I like both!”
Unlike Cha Eun-sol, Go Eun-bi was very lively.
But Yeon Haneul was gradually getting used to her atmosphere.
—
According to the game’s settings and mana theory,
Beings that harbor mana and possess a soul each have a mental world called a Sim Sang (心像) world.
The Sim Sang world is a world where the subconscious, dreams, emotions, desires, and other mental elements of the soul are reflected, and it can be said to be the essence that forms one’s identity.
Among the monsters, there were those who infiltrated that world to launch attacks.
Commonly, monsters classified under the dream demon (夢魔) category, such as succubi and incubi.
“In the 4th practical exam, you will fight them in the Sim Sang world.”
Dealing with them was tricky.
To confront them, one had to first realize they had been drawn into the Sim Sang world, and be aware of the fact that they were under attack by them.
By doing so, one could regain control over the Sim Sang world while pulling them out.
Naturally, they were not idle.
They constantly tried to mesmerize in the Sim Sang world.
“In the game, there were limits to the system, and it wasn’t difficult to be aware of the Sim Sang world and fight them…”
But in this world free from the limits of the system, it was different.
They could infiltrate my Sim Sang world and mesmerize me in various cunning ways.
Since I was a player in a past life, my perspective was completely different.
I had to pull myself together.
“It would be good to find a way to be aware in the subconscious world.”
If they know they’re coming to infiltrate, all we have to do is prepare.
Thinking of a few countermeasures, I looked for Yeon Haneul.
“Great! Duel! My turn! Draw!”
“…Do we really have to do it like that?”
“Is the sky a dog person or a cat person?”
“Hey, Eunbi… It seems like you’re asking without even looking right now…”
“For your information, I like both!”
Yeon Haneul was chatting with Go Eunbi and drawing cards.
It seemed like the question game had started not long ago.
I debated whether to wait for the two of them like this and provide information.
“…Let’s tell them later. For now, I have to go get some signatures.”
It wouldn’t be too late to tell them later.
There was still plenty of time left for the reception.
I decided to wander around the reception hall to find someone to talk to or search for.
[I have confidence as strong as one power! All students who think that, please come up on stage! This mini-game will be breaking steel plates! The student who breaks the most steel plates will receive 3 Gold Coins as a prize!]
Meanwhile, a mini-game was being held on stage.
As time passed, even the students who were showing caution seemed to be enjoying the game comfortably by now.
“They’ll regret it if they get hit in their dreams.”
I didn’t know if it was a clever trick by the evaluators to make them lower their guard.
Students who hadn’t passed yet were already climbing on stage to collect coins as if they had already passed.
“No one can leave me out with their strength!”
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Among them was Yong Haerang.
He had a triumphant look on his face, having a blast at the reception.
“He’ll… well, he’ll manage just fine on his own.”
There was no need to worry about Yong Haerang.
Deciding to pay no attention to him, I started a question game with the students.
As time passed.
[Congratulations on 1st place! The student will receive 3 Gold Coins as a prize…]
“Yay! Thank you!”
By the time Yong Haerang took 1st place, only one signature was left.
I went to meet Yeon Haneul.
“Haneul, have you collected all the signatures?”
“Oh, Gyunwoo. I was just looking for them… I only have one left now.”
“I just need one more too. Want to do it together?”
“Yeah!”
Yeon Haneul also had just one person’s signature left.
We immediately took the empty seats nearby and sat down.
Meanwhile, there was a noticeable distance between her and me, filled with unspoken words.
While I shuffled the cards, she chatted away.
“I started dating a new friend. We seem to have similar tastes and personalities. We agreed to grab a meal together if we both get accepted into the academy.”
“Really? What’s the occasion? You usually keep your distance from new people. Did you really hit it off that well?”
“It’s strange even for me. It’s just… the atmosphere and vibe were really nice.”
“Hmm… is that so?”
As cautious as a rabbit, Yeonha didn’t easily open up, taking a long time to warm up to others.
‘Her standards for judging people are high.’
Even I had to take my time to get close to her.
It was surprising to hear that she opened up from the first meeting.
She seemed like a pretty decent person.
But then.
‘Is she better than me?’
For some reason, I felt like my place in Yeonha’s heart was diminishing.
Of course, I knew it couldn’t be true.
I also knew it was childish.
Yet, I couldn’t help but ask.
I drew a card.
“Was that person a man or a woman?”
“Are you Eunbi? Just flipping cards onto the table without reading them.”
“What are you talking about? I did read the card?”
“So, is that your question?”
“…Since the point of this game is to converse with 10 questions, let’s just move on flexibly.”
“Are you trying to ask me if…”
“So, was it a man or a woman?”
“Why? Curious?”
“Oh, answering a question with a question is cheating.”
“It was a man.”
“What was he like?”
“Lie. It was a woman.”
“Seems like a good person.”
“Yeah, they are. I’ll introduce you next time if the opportunity arises.”
“Sure.”
“Oh, but… she’s really pretty…”
“Why does that matter? You’re beautiful too.”
“….”
“Don’t compare yourself to her just because you’re not lacking in beauty.”
“I didn’t mean it like that… But yeah, thanks.”
Well, there’s no way a man could break through Yeonha’s defenses all at once.
Since we’re not even the same gender, it seemed unnecessary to compete over who could capture her heart more.
I raised the corner of my mouth.
At that moment, Yeonha reached out towards the deck of cards.
“I’ll pick this time.”
“Sure. …Huh?”
“…I saw you playing around with that girl with gray hair earlier, do you know her?”
“Why are you flipping without reading?”
“Let’s be flexible.”
“Is that a question?”
“Yes.”
“If it’s the girl with gray hair… Ah, you’re talking about Nam Yuri.”
“Nam Yuri?”
“She’s from Yeonseong Namga. Why, was there a student who froze the sea yesterday?”
“Oh, the one from the Ten Clans. But what was the conversation about?”
“She’s flipping the cards again… “
“You said let’s be flexible.”
“Okay, since you’re not getting caught, let’s be moderately flexible. We talked about Nam Yuri… We played a question game like this.”
“Like this?”
“Flipping again… How about this?”
“Are we being flexible?”
“This is our first time doing this together.”
“Alright then. So, are we just playing the question game without any emotions?”
“Why are you flipping the card again… “
“Flex-i-bil-i-ty. I’m serious.”
“Oh, okay….”
“Answer the question, quickly.”
“It’s a tough question. Can you play the question game without any emotions?”
“I can.”
“It just… It seemed different each time depending on the question. Somehow, we ended up playing rock-paper-scissors.”
“Rock-paper-scissors?”
“The question was, if we were to play rock-paper-scissors now, what would you choose first?”
“Hmm…. So, it led from just talking to actually doing it?”
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
“No, just thought it was fun.”
“…”
“The atmosphere must’ve been nice.”
“Alright, fifth question. What do you think you’d choose?”
“Scissors.”
“Rock.”
“Rock!”
“Rock.”
“I won, didn’t I?”
“Well, can we finish with rock-paper-scissors? To win, we have to play ‘muk-chi-ppa’….”
“Muk, chi.”
“….”
“Yes, I won.”
“Let’s play again.”
“No, I don’t want to. You’ll keep insisting until you win.”
“I won’t.”
“We don’t have time, let’s do it next time.”
“…Alright then.”
“Let’s move on to the sixth question. Hmm, what should I ask this time?”
“Oh, right. By the way, Nam Yuri mentioned something to me.”
“Oh? What is it?”
“She said the food we had at the hotel had sleeping pills in it.”
“What?”
“So, in my opinion….”
It worked out perfectly.
While playing games with Yeonha, I shared my speculation.
Soon, her eyes narrowed.
“It’s like an exam in a dream….”
“I’m convinced of that.”
“Considering your words, that seems to be the only possibility. Even though we have the highest grade room, it might be very challenging.”
“We should prepare then.”
“To be able to realize it’s a dream?”
“Exactly.”
“How? Is there a good method?”
“There are several methods… marking your body. Marking that this is a dream.”
“So, if we see the mark unconsciously in the dream, we can realize it.”
“Right, give me your hand. I’ll write it. If it’s on your hand, you can easily see it.”
“Then give me your hand. I’ll write it for you.”
“Here.”
Luckily, there was a pen.
At that moment, we reached out our hands to each other and decided to mark them.
“However, even if we realize it, we might not be able to wake up from the dream with this. We have to find a way to solve it ourselves.”
“That’s why I have an idea.”
“Another one?”
“Listen closely.”
“Yes.”
The night sky gives its ears to the rabbit.
I whispered into her ear so others wouldn’t hear.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Mmm…”
“…”
“Sorry. Keep going. I can take it.”
“So, what I’m thinking is…”
“Ah…”
“…”
Every time I whispered, Yeonha flinched.
I couldn’t help it.
I continued speaking regardless of her reaction.