'Harmony' Academy.
This institution was renowned not only within Korea but also globally, ranking among the top two academies in the world in terms of both its caliber and scale.
As expected of such a prestigious academy, the number of applications it received was astronomical.
Fortunately, the number of incoming freshmen they accepted was also substantial, rivaling that of a university, at one thousand!
However, this year, they received a staggering one hundred thousand applications!!
The human resources department was swamped!!!
In that sense, Choi Yeon-woo was a rather unique case.
There was a young lady from the Ice Palace, a secluded sect rarely seen even in the Murim, once known as the world of martial arts.
There was also the young master of a large corporation, said to be unrivaled among his peers.
And there was a boy from the continent of Alkeion, the young lion of the Kingdom of Arbeloa.
And why even mention the others? There was even the younger sister of Kim Hyun-soo, the Star Breaker, who he himself claimed to be "a cut above" him.
These were talents that could stand out anywhere. Of course, not every student was exceptional just because they were outstanding...
Nevertheless, the average level of Harmony Academy this year was abnormally high.
That's why Yeon-woo, who had trained to the point where he could barely pass without magical power a year or two ago, failed. Of course, there was a separate reason why the admission cutoff had risen so sharply.
The faculty.
Among the faces representing the academy, the Star Breaker, Kim Hyun-soo, was on the faculty. There were some fairness concerns due to his sister's admission, but it was overlooked because the person in question was Kim Hyun-soo, a man of integrity.
There was also Myriad Sword, a swordsman from the continent of Alkeion who had received the name of a star.
And there was a man from the Murim dimension, known as the 'Fist King'.
In other words, there were three monsters who could hold their own in any world.
There were countless people willing to pay a fortune for a single word of instruction or a sliver of enlightenment from them, and these individuals were now professors.
It was only natural that people would flock to Harmony Academy.
Of course, there was also one naive youngster who had just awakened to magic and was completely oblivious to such thoughts.
Choi Yeon-woo, the person in question, was fiddling with his smartphone, thinking that things would work out somehow.
Beep-.
He pressed and held the number 1, and the default ringtone quietly rang out.
- ...Hello? Yeon-woo? How did it go?
Claire's voice came through, sounding even more nervous than Yeon-woo himself. Yeon-woo chuckled but didn't say anything. Then, she jumped to conclusions and spoke urgently.
- Did you fail? It's, it's okay, Yeon-woo! Even if you're not a Hunter, you have your handsome face! Take the bus and come back quickly! I'll make something delicious, so don't cry. Okay?
Did Claire want to be an actress from this point on? Her reaction wasn't like this before, so what changed? Come to think of it, in his past life, he just silently took the bus back to the orphanage.
"...No, it's not like that, Sister. I passed. They have a dormitory, so I decided to stay there. They said it's free. I don't think I'll be coming back there for a while."
- You have to come back during vacation.
"Ah, yes..."
Claire spoke in a serious voice, and Yeon-woo apologized cautiously. He couldn't argue with her since she was right.
- But to pass... how did Yeon-woo, who didn't even know the M of magic, manage to...
"What? You knew I didn't have magic?"
- I'm an elf, Yeon-woo. And a former adventurer. Did you think I wouldn't know? I was hoping you'd come back after experiencing some of life's bitterness.
Yeon-woo could only smile wryly at her words.
Did she know from his past life that he wouldn't pass?
It was shocking. Did she just tactfully not mention it in his past life?
But it made sense. She was always the type to say, "Why don't you try it first?" rather than interfering with a child's choices.
- Still, I'm glad. That Yeon-woo didn't get hurt. Since you passed, do your best. Of course, taking care of your health is a given. Okay?
"I know. I'm fifteen, what are you so worried about..."
- I'm worried because you're fifteen. Okay, call me if you have any worries or make any friends.
"Yes, take care until we meet again. I'll come back with a bunch of gifts then."
And so, the call ended. As expected of a nun, talking to her brought peace of mind.
A spacious single room, incomparable in size to the orphanage. Yeon-woo sat on the soft bed in the dormitory.
The most important thing now was, of course, magic. Yeon-woo looked up at Shar, who had settled on top of his head.
He'd heard a lot about people having bird nests in their hair, but he was probably the first to have a dragon nest.
Since Shar was invisible to others anyway, Yeon-woo was the only one who cared.
Yeon-woo spoke to the embodiment of responsibility without pleasure, which he had involuntarily taken on. He had given it some thought, but he couldn't find an answer just by thinking about it in his head.
"Shar, do you happen to know how to use magic?"
[……Hmm.]
Shar let out a thoughtful groan, and Yeon-woo couldn't help but feel flustered.
[No, I don't know how not to use magic.]
"Crazy."
But it made sense. Dragons were a magical race. It was impossible for a race that was magic itself to not know how to handle magic.
No matter how talented or exceptional a human genius was, they could never surpass an ordinary dragon in the field of magic. They were simply creatures created that way from the beginning.
In short, there were no tips to offer a natural dropout like Yeon-woo. Shar spoke to the discouraged Yeon-woo.
[But I'll try something. Can you relax a bit?]
"...Like this?"
Yeon-woo pondered for a moment. When she said to relax, she probably didn't mean for him to lie down like a corpse.
After considering the method for a bit, Yeon-woo sat down and relaxed all the muscles in his body as if meditating. He had practiced this quite a bit, as intentionally relaxing the body was surprisingly important in combat.
[Good. I'll try to move magic the dragon way, so can you focus on your body?]
At those words, Yeon-woo closed his eyes and focused his consciousness inward. His consciousness slowly sank...
Then, he felt the warm energy he had felt from Kim Hyun-soo's fingertips residing near his heart. He felt it wriggling like blood and moving near his blood vessels...
"?"
[It feels something like this. Do you understand? Should I do it again?]
Shar, who seemed to want to be praised, wiggled her egg on top of his head. Was this what it meant to become a doting father? Her excited voice and gestures felt incredibly cute... but that aside.
"That's amazing, Shar... Thanks to you, I think I understand, but why is the magic gathered in my heart?"
