06. Midterm exam (14)

The calendar hanging in our living room has already turned to October.

Autumn has finally arrived. The warm summer sun has faded and the wind has gradually cooled.

It is a difficult season to say that it is getting hot. Now, on the way to school, I see more students wearing winter clothes than summer clothes, and the trees that used to be full of green leaves under the clear sky have changed their clothes to yellow one by one.

A lot happened last summer. It’s only been two months now, but it was a more dense time than I’ve lived in my entire life.

As the seasons change, did I change too? I think I’ve grown a little bit more than before.

I just stopped worrying about how to make a sword that was harder, sharper, cut and pierced better, and started pounding iron while thinking about what and for whom to make a sword.

To be close to perfect even if not perfect, to do one’s best without regret at that moment even if not the strongest.

The fruits of my two months of growth were now clearly visible on this sword.

Midterm exam day. Factual Submission.

I submitted the gunblade to Na Yoo-rim, who is in charge of the application department, just like when I submitted the golden egg last semester.

I didn’t come late after watching the battles and exams like last time, so I had to submit practical work with other students, but even if I say other students, there are only three of them majoring in sword making, including myself.

And Brother Kanghyeon and Kanghyuk’s name starts with ‘ㄱ’, so he submitted his practical work and left the classroom long ago, and now in this classroom, it’s just me and teacher Yurim.

School Yurim looked with interest at the gunblade that was placed on the table with one leg crossed.

“You made this? With Yuna?”

“Yes. To be precise, I was in charge of only the sword part, and Yuna was in charge of material procurement, craftsmanship engraving, and gun parts.”

“Hmm… Okay. Then, shall we take a look?”

The expression on the teacher’s face as she swept the entire sword with her fingertips and pounded it all over looked very serious. She did not rely on her skills, but only her senses, examining the perfection of her sword, focusing all her eyes on her sword as she opened her mouth.

“You know what’s different now compared to the time of the golden egg, right?”

“Yes?”

“At that time, even though I didn’t use the materials provided by the academy, I received extra points because the quality was low, but this time, you used the highest quality materials like scrap metal, didn’t you? It’s only natural that the level rises high since the level is different from the magic content… I can’t give it a high score unless there’s something special about it.”

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Golden eggs made from iron sand scraped from the Han River and made of low-quality scrap iron are B rank. And the grade of the gunblade, which seems to have melted down the alloy steel containing more than 1st grade magic power, is S rank.

Anyway, as a teacher, the teacher seemed to give the former a higher rating.

Sensei Yurim asked with her thin eyebrows twitching.

“Are you confident?”

“… ….”

I didn’t add more katabuta words. He just gestured to check the sword with his right hand.

“Ha. Cheeky. Great… Let’s see.”

School Yurim’s eyes held a subtle magical power. Finally, use the appraisal skill to examine the sword.

Sensei Yurim, who read the tooltip of the gunblade that was invisible to me but already confirmed through analysis, laughed as if it was absurd. And quietly cursed.

“Wow, crazy.”

“… Can I swear in front of students?”

“If it bothers you, pretend you didn’t hear it. This was a pretty benign response… You must have put in quite a bit of effort this time?”

“Rather than using my strength, I made use of my experience. What I have made so far has been helpful.”

“You rarely make anything right all semester, right? What was your experience when you only made one last semester?”

Is being ruined an experience? He just shrugged his shoulders with an awkward smile at Teacher Yurim’s gaze, which seemed to ask back. It was a bit embarrassing to tell about my self-reflection and inner growth here.

As if he understood my intentions, fortunately, Teacher Yurim changed the topic without further questioning.

“You said you made the sword and Yuna made the rest.”

“Yes.”

“That’s not all, is it?”

Write. Did you get caught

Yes. In fact, I’ve done a few more personal projects in my studio over the past few days. Many things will be different from the last Gunblade Yuna saw. First of all, like the golden egg, the magic circuit was synchronized with Yuna’s circuit, and the other parts were also… What this and that

Since I wasn’t making things to sell, I was making things I wanted to make, so without asking Yuna’s permission, I unknowingly messed with her. It’s a work we made together, but I felt a little guilty because it added originality to this extent.

‘I should apologize properly while returning it later….’

[That’s right. If you give it back, do you think you’ll receive it rather frightened? Saying that it came back with a stopper with insane performance.]

I heard the voice of Kertatus giggling in my head. He lived immersed in the Internet for a few days and learned strange terms that I couldn’t understand, making difficult conversations even harder to understand.

I answered Teacher Yurim’s question while pushing the loud voice of Kertatus into the depths of my consciousness. It was because I was worried that if I was overrated too much, Yuna would be disadvantaged in terms of grades like the teammate who buried the group assignment.

“It might be a bit different from the first one I made, but it is certain that Yuna and I made it together.”

“Really? Apart from wondering what Yuna thinks… In fact, the perfection of the sword has nothing to do with Yuna’s grades.”

Huh? Yes?

Looking at my blank expression, I smiled as if I knew what teacher Yurim was thinking.

“Of course not. Unlike you, he’s not a sword major, is he? Even if the perfection of this sword was rubbish, the only part to be considered for Yuna’s performance is magic work. And the craftsmanship is perfect too. I can’t really see it as a student’s work. You must have worked hard since you were little.”

I’m glad then. It would be perfect if Yuna’s grades were evaluated separately and fairly, unlike my results.

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Just as much as I worked hard, Yuna also worked tirelessly while making gunblades. That much, she hoped that her efforts would not be disparaged.

“Honestly, if I hadn’t known that you made golden eggs last semester, I wouldn’t have believed that you, Kim Yi-jin, made this. I don’t know if it was brought from the top floor of the tower… No student level… No, it is hard to believe that it was made outside the tower.”

“Thank you very much.”

“It’s not over-praise, in fact, it’s not even a compliment.”

Huh? Isn’t that a compliment?

In contrast to my puzzled expression, teacher Yurim’s expression became serious again, like when examining a sword.

“Did I tell you last time? Your talent will be coveted in so many places. It was great back then, but it’s even more amazing now, isn’t it?”

“Not that far. There is still a long way to go and a lot to learn-“

“No, that’s great. And not that dangerous. The first time Yuna transferred and saw her going with you, I wondered how Claprot noticed and approached… Looking at this sword, I don’t think I need to worry. I don’t think it was the kind of relationship I thought it would be.”

The teacher said that and firmly instructed me.

“I know it’s not good for teachers to give advice like this and that, but I’ll just say one word. If you’re going to make a sword like this in the future, it’s good to have a good back. It seems that your talent will no longer be covered at the academy level.”

Teacher Yurim, who had said that, sent me out of the classroom as if she had nothing more to say, saying that she would take care of my grades.

I left the classroom without forgetting to pack my gunblade.

–

After submitting the actual product.

I was lost in thought as I walked down the hallway for a while.

“… ….”

A strong back. That must be Yuna.

I don’t intend to make a sword because I belong somewhere, but there might be a place that targets me just because I don’t belong. Teacher Yurim was pointing that out to me.

And Yuna’s existence might be a good breakwater for me, she must have said that with that meaning.

But isn’t that using Yuna to please me?

I didn’t really belong to Klaproth and made a sword, and she only helped me this once.

‘Difficult, difficult.’

What makes life so difficult?

I just want to focus on making swords with ease.

However, it’s really impossible to make a sword by locking yourself in the middle of the mountain….

Chang! Chaeeng!

“Huh?”

The sound of a sharp sword attack suddenly came.

As I was walking around, I passed the main building before I knew it and was walking in front of the gym without realizing it.

Come to think of it, the first year combat and practical training were on the same day. There are only three majors, the support and sword majors, so the exams are over in an instant, so I’m walking outside like this, but there are a lot of people in the combat department, and it takes a long time to do one sparring, so the exams must still be in full swing.

I remembered the contents of the table I saw a few days ago. And the expression of the two people who seemed awkward somewhere.

‘It must have started already.’

I opened the gym door and stepped inside.