Chapter 82

Several days had passed since the announcement of the midterm exam results.

Right after the Academy’s official student ranking event ended, the relationships between students began to change little by little.

That guy, I heard scouts from both Militech and Purity Service came to him yesterday.

What? They haven’t come to me yet. It hasn’t even been that long since the exam results came out.

Didn’t you know? Scouts usually get the results before we do. Then they quietly approach the ones they think are worth picking up.

Damn it. No wonder that bastard’s been acting all high and mighty and keeping his distance since yesterday. What a jerk.

He’s actually on the later side. This week’s basically the deadline. If you don’t get contacted by then, you’re out of luck for this round.

Damn it.

Up until the first semester’s midterm exams, most students were unaffiliated.

Living together in the general dorms with the same status, we naturally formed friendships regardless of background.

But right after the midterms.

As corporate scouts moved quickly to recruit talents, the students’ social status began to be determined naturally.

Those who received offers from the very top megacorps like the Stingray Corporation or Militech became royalty.

Those who received offers from mid-to-upper-tier megacorps like Roman Corporation or Purity Service became nobles.

The rest, who got offers from somewhat influential but relatively smaller megacorps, were commoners.

Students’ status began to be divided naturally according to the market capitalization and ranking of the company that scouted them.

They gave him an offer but not me…?!

I can’t believe Stingray contacted me! My life’s set! Once I start working at Stingray Tower after graduation, everyone will look up to me.

What if I don’t make it this time? My family’s already drowning in debt!

I did get an offer from a smaller place, but should I just sign the contract quickly? No, with grades like mine, I’m sure a bigger place will contact me. I should wait a bit longer.

There’s still a chance. I have to pull something off for the next finals.

For now, since it was right after the exams, the change in relationships wasn’t that obvious.

But once scholarship students started moving to their special dorms, the class system would truly take root.

It was just a hairline crack for now, but as time passed, that gap would widen.

Students who, until yesterday, laughed together in small groups over shared hobbies and tastes would gradually grow distant.

Of course, they wouldn’t cut ties all at once. They’d still treat each other normally for a while, given the bonds they’d built.

What? You got a scout offer yesterday too? Man, congratulations! Get in first and then pull me up with you.

Of course. After everything you’ve done for me, you think I’d ignore you?

They would ignore them.

At first, they’d offer advice and share information out of goodwill.

But as time went by, that relationship would change.

One side would slowly show a sense of superiority, while the other would suppress feelings of inferiority.

A harmless joke that would’ve been shrugged off before could leave a deep scar, eventually leading to conflict.

Oh, right. I heard James got contacted by the DR Group. And his girlfriend got an offer from Rain & Cloud.

Aren’t those two on bad terms, like Stingray and Militech? That’s basically a real-life Romeo and Juliet.

You think they’ll break up?

They would break up.

Some companies strictly forbid interaction with students from rival corporations.

It didn’t matter how close the relationship had been — even lovers.

Senior employees and colleagues from the same company would drive a wedge between them, and swept up by the atmosphere, they’d unconsciously grow hostile toward each other.

That’s just how human relationships work.

Even if they claimed otherwise, the position they wore and the clothes they donned would change their way of thinking and speaking.

Those small changes would eventually become a tidal wave, turning them into different kinds of people from who they once were.

I was thinking about that when it happened.

“Iri Elisbell.”

“Yes.”

“Answer me. Why is the ‘Mental Recovery Program’ important after combat with a Arcane?”

I’d been daydreaming for a moment, but the instructor instantly noticed I wasn’t paying attention and threw me a question.

In the past, I would’ve flusteredly looked around for help, but this was something I knew.

Thanks to the midterm exam prep, I’d actually started to find studying somewhat interesting.

“Because of mana.”

“Be more precise.”

A testing gaze.

Iri calmly organized the information in her head before answering.

The Mental Recovery Program might sound grand, but it was essentially psychiatric and psychological counseling.

Of course, it wasn’t done with a human counselor — it was a psychological stabilization process where you responded to preset questions from a program.

So why did Adaptees who fought monsters need counseling to stabilize their minds?

There was only one answer.

“Strictly speaking, there are two reasons. One is to preemptively treat PTSD that soldiers might suffer after fighting monsters. The other is to prevent mental contamination caused by mana.”

“Continue.”

“First, the supernatural phenomena caused by mana negatively affect soldiers’ mental health. Hallucinations, auditory hallucinations, loss of balance, and nightmares are examples.”

Iri continued speaking.

“Mana abnormally stimulates brain cells, damages receptors in the brain, and disrupts the electrical signal system itself. The program exists to prevent such mental contamination.”

“Excellent.”

The instructor gave a brief compliment.

“As Iri Elisbell said, combat against a Arcane is fundamentally different from fighting humans. If you look at this graph, you’ll see the likelihood of PTSD after fighting monsters is significantly higher. That’s because of mana’s influence.”

A hologram floated up in front of the instructor.

Pointing to the graph, he continued his explanation.

“The main causes are experiencing supernatural phenomena triggered by mana, and cellular mutation. Simply put, the experience of fighting monsters leaves worse memories, and the mana they emit directly affects brain cells.”

With a snap of his fingers, the hologram changed to another image — a microscopic photo of brain cells.

“These are the brain cells of a normal human, and these are from someone damaged by mana. Mana disrupts the genetic sequence of humans like radiation, causing mutations.”

That was why Adaptees were needed in battles against monsters.

Nanomachines could artificially restore the genetic sequence damaged by mana and help cells function normally.

“Even though we haven’t covered it yet, you already knew it well, Elisbell. That was an excellent, concise explanation.”

“...Th-thank you.”

“Mhm.”

The instructor nodded with a satisfied look.

Iri, feeling strangely embarrassed, turned her gaze away, and the instructor calmly resumed the lecture.

‘That’s a bit embarrassing.’

Lately, things like this had been happening more often.

At the start of the semester, most people looked at Iri with displeasure, sizing her up cautiously.

She thought it was because of the “Polen” label attached to her, and she had met their eyes with defiance in return.

But as time passed, their attitude gradually softened, and lately they sometimes even showed this kind of friendly reaction.

‘It’s probably because of my midterm grades. Being a Stingray scholarship student must have played a part too.’

That was what Iri thought.

But that was only half right.

It wasn’t just because of her grades — it was because her attitude toward classes had begun to change little by little compared to the start of the semester.

A student who, until not long ago, kept a sharp edge and showed no real interest in class content suddenly began actively engaging in lessons and training?

And that same student even produced decent results in the Academy’s very first official exam?

From an educator’s perspective, it was an admirable change, and it was only natural for the instructors and professors to treat her differently in response.

Of course, Iri didn’t know the details behind it.

She just focused on class.

If she didn’t bury herself in something, “those people” would once again get smug and act triumphant.

‘Sigh. Here we go again.’

Iri sensed the criticizing gazes directed at her and sighed inwardly.

At a diagonal behind her, a group of classmates was glaring at her.

New messages: 23

??: Don’t show off so much.

??: You smell. Do you even bathe?

??: Whose citizenship did you kill to steal?

??: ㅗㅗㅗㅗㅗㅗㅗㅗ

……

‘So it’s started again.’

Dozens of messages suddenly flooded in all at once.

The sender was unknown, but she didn’t need to play detective to figure out who it was.

‘Don’t they ever get tired of this?’

What’s bothering them today, I wonder.

Ah — was it because the instructor praised me just now?

To think they’d be jealous that I took the teacher’s praise they thought they deserved… at twenty years old, and they still play such childish games.

Since it wasn’t worth responding to, Iri ignored them cleanly.

Really, she had only blown up at them a few times in the past, and with nothing new in their repertoire, it was exhausting to respond every time.

And more than anything…

‘This isn’t something I should be wasting my attention on.’

Iri recalled a recent memory.

A memory of Aaron.

The sight of him single-handedly trampling dozens of heavily armed Adaptee soldiers without breaking a sweat.

Tzzzt—.

When she pictured that scene, her body shivered involuntarily, as if a current had run through her.

It was hard to define exactly what that feeling was, but if she had to choose the closest word, it would be “awe.”

Even though it felt wrong to say that — considering how many people had died right there — she couldn’t deny that feeling.

‘…He was different from me.’

She unconsciously overlapped his figure with her own.

The overwhelming gap in ability was so great it even made her laugh helplessly.

And at the same time, she remembered the advice he’d given her last time.

– When someone sees the overwhelming something you have, they’ll start paying attention to your mouth.

Just as he said.

For example, Aaron’s usual tone was so confident it could almost come across as arrogant.

But instead of feeling “annoying,” his demeanor felt “impressive” — probably because of the position and power he held.

‘…I want to be like that too.’

Of course, she didn’t think she could completely catch up to him.

But if she could at least be beside him, not following from far behind, but close enough to reach out and touch him… how great would that be…

“Hoo…”

Iri let out a small sigh.

Steeling her thoughts, she deleted the noisy messenger app entirely.

Then she refocused on the lesson.

She didn’t know exactly how to catch up to him.

But she knew what she had to do right now.

Focus on the current lessons and training.

She wanted to become stronger.

She had to become stronger.

Right after class ended, Iri stood up for her next lesson.

Since she had no close friends, there was no need to wait for anyone to finish packing.

‘The next class should be…’

While checking her schedule on the app and walking down the hall, she noticed a group of students subtly following behind her.

“…”

When she quickened her pace, their footsteps quickened too.

Soon, they naturally surrounded her and blocked her path.

She ignored them and tried to squeeze through, but a large-built young man stopped her.

Iri glared at the student who reached out his hand and asked,

“Donovan. Do you need something from me?”

The young man’s name was Donovan von Delay.

A Militech scholarship student, and a Gunner-type Adaptee who had faced Iri in a [Showcase] at the start of the semester.

It had been quiet for a while since the [Showcase]… so why suddenly start this again today?

Iri let out a sigh inwardly and spoke.

“Could you move out of the way?”

“I have something to say.”

“I don’t.”

“Just listen. I’m not here to fight.”

“…?”

His tone wasn’t as sharp as she expected.

So he didn’t come to pick a fight?

Then why did they all crowd around like this, acting so threatening?

While she was weighing various possibilities in her head—

“What exactly do you want?”

“Lately, you… uh…”

He was just about to continue when—

“St-stop it! What do you all think you’re doing?!”

Suddenly, someone shouted from behind.

A moment later, she came running down the hallway, squeezed her way through the human wall surrounding Iri, and swiftly planted herself between Iri and Donovan.

“Who are you?”

“Stop harassing her already!”

“I asked who you are. What’s your relationship with that Polen?”

It wasn’t the first time Iri had seen this girl… though it wasn’t exactly someone familiar either.

They were in the same class, so she had seen her face a few times.

She couldn’t remember the name, though… what was it again…

While Iri was trying to recall her name, the girl’s face suddenly turned bright red, and she shouted—

“W-we’re dating!?”

…

…

…What?

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