TRPM 23

CHAPTER 23

Yeon Mirae came to school as usual.

No—perhaps “as usual” wasn’t the right way to put it.

Normally, she would walk with her head lowered, avoiding others’ gazes, quietly going about her school day.

…Just like two days ago, when other kids openly mocked and insulted me.

If Yeon Mirae had been just another ordinary student with poor grades, perhaps no one would have bullied her.
Even if she had Awakened but couldn’t use aura, people might have simply pitied her, and that would have been the end of it.

But Yeon Mirae was a genius.
In every area other than aura, she displayed near-perfect ability.

That was why other students, who fell behind in rank, grew jealous of her.
That jealousy turned into open ostracism.

And it wasn’t just the students—the teachers ignored it as well.

Thinking that, Yeon Mirae clenched her teeth.

What good were excellent grades and being a model student?
Once she graduated, her future was bleak, so the teachers never helped her.
After all, nurturing her wouldn’t bring them any prestige.

But… now they can’t be obstacles in my way anymore.

In fact, they would become stepping stones for her reputation to rise endlessly.

With that thought, she walked proudly.

“…Who’s that?”
“She’s pretty. Since when did we have a girl like that in our school?”

Yeon Mirae had always been a beauty, but after her transformation, any blemishes disappeared, leaving her with clear, flawless skin.
On top of that, she walked with confidence, making her aura completely different from before.

Because of that, students who were arriving around the same time didn’t recognize her.
They simply thought a beautiful girl they had never seen before was attending their school.

“……”

Yeon Mirae could feel their gazes.
Unlike before—when their eyes carried disgust, contempt, and jealousy—today, what she sensed was longing, admiration, and lust.

The lustful stares were unpleasant, but for now, she decided to ignore them and headed to her classroom.

Creak.

Some students had arrived early.
Not everyone was there yet, which was a strange sight for Mirae.

She usually tried to avoid contact with others, so she always came just before the bell rang, arriving barely on time.
Because of that, she was used to seeing every seat already filled, unless someone was late.

Seeing a classroom with empty seats was unfamiliar.

…It doesn’t matter who’s here and who isn’t.

Right.
Her classmates were all either bullies or bystanders.
There was no need to assign any more meaning to them.

Thinking so, Yeon Mirae went to her seat and sat down.

“…Huh?”
“What the…?”

The other kids sensed something strange.

If a girl they didn’t know had walked in, they might have assumed she came to see someone in the class.
But the way she confidently entered and sat at a desk felt far too out of place.

“…Wait… huh?”
“Hold on, is that… Yeon Mirae?”

A few of them finally realized who she was.
Her aura had completely changed, but her facial features were still recognizable.

“……”
“……”

And yet, no one approached her.

Was it because they hated her?
Because they despised her?
Because they were jealous?

No.

What is this feeling…?
That’s really Yeon Mirae, right?

The truth was, most of her classmates had never even spoken with her properly.
And now, with her aura changed so drastically, none of them dared to try.

Her presence didn’t invite conversation.

More importantly…

“……”
“……”
“……”

The aura Yeon Mirae was unconsciously releasing overwhelmed the entire class.
That was the biggest reason why no one dared to approach her carelessly.

“…Tch… Yeon Mirae, of all people…”
“That half-baked loser…”

Of course, not everyone was pleased with this.
Some of them—those who had encountered Mirae at the marketplace two days ago and been humiliated—were especially bitter.

They were convinced the mysterious person who had disgraced them was connected to Mirae.
And with good reason: everyone who had been dragged toward the restroom that day were the same ones who had mocked her earlier.
It was harder to believe it wasn’t connected to her.

Of course, there’s no way that half-wit who can’t even use aura did it herself.

Yesterday, they had skipped school to recover from the lingering shock of that incident.
Today, they had planned to confront her right away.

But the moment they faced her unusual aura, they couldn’t even bring themselves to speak up.
Having always considered Mirae beneath them, they were humiliated at the thought of being the ones to hesitate.

“…Damn it, maybe we’ve got no choice. Hey, don’t we have a sparring class today?”
“Yeah, but… what are you planning?”

Honestly… even if all of us ganged up, we couldn’t win.

“Shut up. We don’t have to fight her ourselves.”

One of them muttered as he sent a message to someone.
A request—for today’s instructor to “teach Mirae a lesson.”

“…No way…”
“Come on, there’s no way Mirae can beat an instructor if she can’t use aura. Besides, this instructor’s backed by our guild. He has to listen to me.”

With a nasty grin, he was convinced that after today’s sparring class, Mirae’s strange aura would disappear, and everything would return to normal.

And…

“……”

Every word of their plan reached Mirae’s ears.

The instructor, huh…

She thought of the instructors at the school.
In her mind, she ran through training simulations to see whether she could beat them.

A few hours later.

The long-awaited sparring class finally began.

“You’ve all done this plenty of times before. Just go up in pairs to the sparring ground.”

Today’s instructor explained.
He was considered the strongest among the high school’s instructors.

Of course, “the strongest” didn’t mean he was an exceptionally powerful Awakened.
He was a veteran, but even among veterans, his skill was below average.

Truly talented people don’t teach at high schools like this. They work at academies that focus on combat training.

Still, for high schoolers, he was someone they couldn’t hope to match.

He swept his gaze across Mirae’s class.

“Odd number, huh.”

Since there was an odd number of students, one person would naturally be left without a partner.

And that person was always Mirae.

Despite not being able to use aura, she was skilled enough to overwhelm her classmates.
No one wanted to be paired against her and lose miserably.
And since she had no friends, no one volunteered either.

So Mirae always ended up without a partner.

Knowing this, the instructor spoke.

“Yeon Mirae. You’ll spar with me. Any objections?”
“No. None.”
“?”

Her immediate reply made him raise an eyebrow, but only for a moment.
As long as she didn’t object, it was easier for him.

Besides, he had already been asked to “teach her a lesson.”
One way or another, he needed to make sure she fought him.

Remembering that, the instructor added:

“…Ah, and today during class, people from the Association, guild scouts, and even the broadcasting station will visit the sparring grounds. They’re not here for you, but for the third-years who spar after this class. So don’t be nervous—but keep the noise down.”

One student’s eyes lit up.
The same boy who had asked the instructor to deal with Mirae.

This could be the perfect chance.
He sent a subtle signal to the instructor, who quietly nodded back.

Yes—humiliate her in front of all those important visitors.

Well… even if I disgrace Mirae, she won’t actually lose evaluation points. After all, it’s natural for a student to lose against an instructor.

A student losing to an instructor wasn’t just expected—it was normal.
So Mirae’s evaluation wouldn’t drop, no matter how badly she lost.

No, they said “teach her a lesson,” so her evaluation doesn’t matter anyway.

He could pretend to go easy on her, so her score stayed high, while still humiliating her.

It was a clever plan.
The instructor began to think about how best to embarrass her.

She’s a girl… maybe I should just rip her clothes a bit.

With such thoughts, he carried on with the sparring session.

The class itself was unimpressive.
With instructors of below-average skill, what could they really teach?
At best, they could keep the students from injuring each other too badly.

In truth, high school sparring classes were less about real training and more about letting students grow accustomed to the act of sparring itself—and the pain that came with it.

Because of that, unless exceptionally skilled students were involved, there was little worth watching.
And in Mirae’s class, she was the only one of exceptional skill.

So the instructor spent most of the time just idly supervising.

Eventually, guests began to arrive—just as he had announced earlier.

“Next, Yeon Mirae, come forward.”

Without hesitation, the instructor called her up.
And without hesitation, Mirae stepped into the ring.

Not only the instructor and the student who had bribed him—Mirae, too, had been waiting for this moment.

After this match, everyone’s evaluation of me will change forever.