Chapter 91
Chapter 91
Chapter 91
[What to Believe (4)]
Euna looked around.
On her left and right, she was surrounded by walls. The walls rose from the floor like a tree, wrinkled like wood, and stretched to the ceiling.
It seemed impossible to climb over them.
Unconditionally. You must be able to read the flow of mana anytime, anywhere, even when youre in an unknown situation.
The first thing you need to do is analyze the flow of mana and analyze the situation youre in.
Euna remembered Seo-youngs words and felt the flow of mana.
She didnt even need to deploy her senses.
Just by looking at the invisible mana with her eyes, she could roughly understand the structure of the maze.
Euna looked back, remembering the layout of the Third Training Ground.
Even if the placement was random, the entrance would be in the direction of her back.
And the exit would be on the other side of the entrance.
Mana would also flow in the direction of the exit.
Euna walked in the direction of the mana flow. Even if there were intersections along the way, she did not hesitate.
Her mana was flowing in the same direction toward the exit.
The same was true when the maze transformed.
Even when the high walls of earth crumbled and new walls rose to make way, the flow of mana didnt change.
Welcome. Youre the first one to reach this point.
As Euna walked along the path, she met an assistant supervisor who was preparing refreshments.
Apparently, the section with the assistant supervisor was unaffected by the changing maze.
Only the soil and walls around him were red.
You must be tired, right? Would you like some water?
Wow, thanks!
Even if he didnt, she was thirsty.
Euna quenched her thirst with the water the assistant supervisor handed her with a wistful expression.
Should I give you a hint?
Even though its an exam?
Of course. The third test is quite difficult, so we allow some hints. We just want to observe how the candidates navigate through the maze.
The assistant proctor made it sound like it was nothing.
Euna nodded absentmindedly as she munched on a sweet.
The entrance and exit are on the same line, so even if you get lost, as long as you walk in the direction you came from, youll end up near the exit.
Okay, thank you!
Oh, Euna.
What?
Dont tell anyone else, will you? The shortcut is that way.
By now, Euna was comfortable enough with the supervisor to call her by name.
She was so comfortable with strangers that she could call them by name.
That meant she had a low level of wariness of others.
It also meant that she was not suspicious of others.
Euna followed the direction pointed out by the supervisor.
What? Theres no mana flow here?
She scratched her head, realizing that the flow she was reading was going in a different direction.
The assistant supervisor wouldnt have lied.
Perhaps the shortcut he mentioned deviated from the flow.
Coincidentally, she discovered a path where the flow of mana continued at a junction, and she smiled contentedly.
She thought that the shortcut the assistant supervisor told her about was probably correct.
After that, Euna listened attentively to the advice of the assistant supervisors they met at the resting points.
They were all telling her the right way.
So she never doubted them.
She didnt realize that in order to tell a lie, you have to plant the truth in between.
She was halfway through the maze.
Huh? No Euna!
Huh? Choi Heeji?
Euna ran into Heeji and the kids shed planned to work with.
Heeji and the others were happy to see her.
Euna was also happy to see them as she was moving through the maze alone.
Thats great. We were taking turns watching the flow of mana.
Taking turns?
Yeah. Even for me, with a lot of mana in my body, it was difficult to keep reading the flow of mana. But Euna, didnt you have any trouble with that?
Heeji asked with a puzzled look.
She was actually proud of the fact that she was learning to control her mana earlier than her children.
It was no wonder, then, that she thought Euna was tired of reading mana flows.
She didnt realize that it was nothing compared to Eunas usual training.
Yeah, now that I think about it, Im a little tired.
Euna decided to fake it. She knew that no one would easily believe that she had been training since she was a child.
So Euna decided that she and the children Heeji had brought would take turns checking her mana flow every minute.
Of course, none of the children actually kept track of the minute.
Heeji also found it difficult to keep track of her mana.
Wow! I see a rest point over there!
Oh, I want something sweet! Sugar!
Guys, lets go!
The kids would cheer every time there was a rest stop. They drank water to quench their thirst, replenished their energy with snacks, and so on.
Hearing hints from the assistant supervisor was a must.
Teacher, teacher, cant you give us a little hint, please? Please~
The girls jumped up and down like puppies, showing their cuteness to the assistant supervisors.
The assistant supervisor smiled helplessly at them.
Ill give you this hint. Where does the sun rise?
On the right path! Thank you!
Heeji took the hint from the assistant supervisor and took the right path when the road split into two.
The other children did the same.
Only Euna, who was still watching the mana flow, shook her head.
Euna! What are you doing?
Thats right, Euna, this way!
Strange.
Eunas mana flow was going to the left.
Another shortcut?
Still, something was wrong.
Euna looked up at the assistant overseer.
Whats wrong? he asked with a friendly smile.
Teacher, the mana flow is pointing to the left.
Yeah? Thats weird. I thought the mana flow was pointing to the right oh, Im not supposed to say this.
The assistant supervisor covered her mouth with her hand.
Euna doubted her eyes.
She stared into the void once more.
The vaguely blue aura wafted like smoke, leading to the path to the left.
Hey, how does it look to you guys?
Why do we need to look at that?
Heeji furrowed her eyebrows and asked in confusion.
The others did the same.
They looked as if they didnt think it was worth the effort to look at the mana.
Dont worry, Euna, you must be mistaken. Ive been learning mana control for a long time, but I still find it difficult to handle it.
Me too.
Me too!
As the children chimed in, Euna couldnt tell them that the mana flow she was seeing was just pointing in a different direction.
In the end, Euna swallowed hard and took the right path.
Lets go in first!
Yeonhwa must be struggling all alone, right?
I hope she fails a bit.
Dont you think shes a bit mean? It seems like shes ignoring us.
With half the distance still remaining, the kids found a common topic to discuss and started speculating about the entrance exam, a topic they could all relate to.
And in the absence of Yeonhwa, they began to gossip about her.
It was not uncommon for girls to gossip about someone.
In the case of Heeji and the other kids, they enjoyed seeing others in difficult situations.
Heeji exaggerated Yeonhwas actions at the training grounds, creating empathy among the kids and attracting attention by fabricating events.
I dont really like this.
Even Euna, during her elementary school days, had seen kids ostracizing others or secretly gossiping about them while pretending to be friendly.
Being friends with everyone, she had seen different sides of the kids up close on more than one occasion.
Each time, Euna did her best to ensure that the kids could get along without any barriers.
There was also a reason why she felt compelled to approach someone who was alone.
She couldnt bear seeing them like that without saying anything.
It was like looking at a Eunha.
Though less so now, Euna remembered the lonely look on Eunhas face whenever he was alone.
So whenever she saw someone alone, she couldnt help but think of Eunhas loneliness and how he used to fight it.
She didnt know if that was why she wanted to reach out to Yeonhwa.
Euna, dont you think so too?
Huh?
Lost in her thoughts, Euna stopped walking quietly alongside Heeji and became aware of the kids gaze. She fumbled with her words.
The kids were looking at her as if to say, Hurry up and speak, the answer is already determined, or You should say something too.
But she didnt want to lie to herself.
Maybe its because shes shy?
Euna, its because youre too nice. Its not like that.
Euna, you shouldnt be too nice, or youll be taken advantage of.
Didnt you see Ryu Yeonhwa ignore you earlier?
Ahaha.
Euna laughed awkwardly.
When children were so persistent, it was difficult for her to respond, no matter how sociable she was.
If Euna had been the leader leading them, she would have tried to change the topic or take control of the conversation. But since Heeji was leading the kids, Euna couldnt take the initiative to redirect the conversation.
I hope the exam ends quickly.
I miss Eunha.
Being with them was becoming more and more painful.
Euna vowed to embrace Eunha and Eunae tightly once they escaped the maze.
Hmm this way. Huh!?
The structure of the maze changed right before their eyes. The path that Heeji was leading them on suddenly turned into a dead end due to the change in the mazes structure.
It was natural for the kids to be confused.
The kids stood at the intersection where the path diverged and glanced at each other.
Ugh, my eyes hurt.
Me too. I cant see well.
Sorry. I feel the same way.
The children, through a combination of embarrassment and fatigue, were unable to see the flow of mana on Heejis behalf.
Hey, everyone
It was when Euna was about to point out the way.
Oh! Look! I see a red wall over there!
The teacher must be there, right?
Ah, Im thirsty! I want to drink water!
The kids cheered as if they had found an oasis in the desert and ran towards the distant red area visible at the intersection.
Its supposed to be the right.
Nevertheless, rest was important.
After taking a break, they could continue on the right path.
Euna walked slowly towards the resting area where the kids had rushed to.
Teacher, could you tell us a little more? Please?
Haha, that would be difficult.
Huh?
The assistant supervisor pointed to the left.
Euna paused.
The children, on the other hand, took the left without question.
Hey, guys, wait! I see a mana flow on the right side of the road.
Euna, the teacher said its on the left. Why do you keep saying that?
Hee-ji, what about you?
Me? Well I can see the flow of mana on the right, but maybe the teachers words are correct. Could the teacher be wrong?
Heeji shrugged.
The other children were in agreement.
Even the assistant proctor chimed in.
The way you see is correct, but if you take a left, you can take a shortcut.
You heard that, everyone! Lets go!
The kids stepped forward on the left path.
Euna hesitated to take a step.
Just a while ago, when she walked along the shortcut that the supervisor had mentioned, she could see a path where the flow of mana was visible.
Since then, the assistant supervisor hadnt been wrong.
After contemplating for a moment, Euna decided to follow the kids and walked along the left path.