After finishing my indoor workout, I stepped outside.
Under the bridge where vehicles pass, there’s a long walking path for pedestrians.
Since it was a route hardly anyone used, I often trained there.
I tightened my shoelaces and prepared for a 100-meter dash.
Patpatpat-!
I controlled all my muscles with my aura.
By replicating the Actinen A gene, I maximized the strength my muscles could exert in an instant.
With one leap, I soared three times my height, racing to the finish line.
Beep-!
My heart pounded like it was about to burst.
I forced myself to keep moving rather than sitting down right away, circling around the finish line.
After calming down a bit, I placed my hands on my knees, gasped for breath, and said,
“Haah! Haah! 5.97 seconds! Hup! Hwaah!”
– Wowㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
– Insaneㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
– At that speed, hitting something would definitely smash a human into bits
– 60 km/h without even using magic ㄷㄷ
– Is this even possible?
– Na-me’s flexibility is crazy, look at how widely she spreads her legs ㅎㄷㄷ
[‘Na-me S2 Della’ donated 5,000 won!]
– How many seconds would it take without using aura?
“Ugh… I haven’t practiced 100m running without using aura. The reason is that when there’s a difference in scale, everything from posture to muscle movement changes in detail… Instead, I did plyometric exercises like squat jumps and lunge hops to enhance speed and agility.”
Without aura, maybe 16 seconds? Honestly, even 16 seconds might be hard with this body right now.
And running faster than this in real matches wouldn’t make much sense.
If I simply wanted to increase speed, I could always use magic or external manifestations, so I usually didn’t do sprint training often.
My body became a pile of mush for a few minutes, leaving my mind in a daze.
The viewers were deeply engaged in a serious discussion about Love Kim, who had lost in the Japan-Korea match days ago.
Although the managers swiftly cut off the occasional boundary-crossing chats, the sheer number of people meant the discussions flowed continuously.
“Didn’t Love Kim only lose once in the evaluation match this year? Aah, 4 wins and 1 loss… She did well. But why is everyone so angry? Hmm?”
All sorts of reasons surfaced.
Some argued that the first four competitors were completely unbeatable, and that at least in the Japan-Korea match, they should have tested their full strength, while others claimed Narita Hiroyuki was rated lower than Emika.
“Still, it was just a practice match. Even if you think you gave it your all in a practice match, it might not actually be 100%. Everyone who took the KGSAT to meet college entrance requirements was risking their lives, right? But in a situation where a terrorist is pointing a gun behind your back saying they’ll kill you if you don’t meet the requirements, you can’t be that sincere.”
In magic battles, the performance gap between practice and actual matches is inevitably larger compared to sports like soccer or baseball.
After all, it’s a sport that puts the brain and body to the test, so you can’t overlook mental strength.
[‘eeechinnoma’ donated 5,000 won!]
– So if the two of them went back to the 1940s and said if they lose this match, our country can’t gain independence, does that mean they’d definitely win?
“Hah… Then it might be too much pressure to fight, right? For now, please just cheer a lot. Honestly, now that the national team has been decided, mindless cheering is just poison. Are you going to go fight in our place?”
– Hahaㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
– What can you all do, cast spells!
– We really can only cheerㅋㅋㅋㅋ
– Ah, refreshing~~
– Yeah, this is the right vibeㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
– If we win anyway, these opinions will come flooding in like ghosts.
[‘loveevol’ donated 30,000 won!]
– Love Kim doesn’t need to analyze Narita Sect. Since they’re in opposite brackets, there’s no chance they’ll meet unless they both make it to the finals.
“Your comment is spot on. That’s why I haven’t watched a single match that Narita has been in, other than the evaluation match. Eep, since I’ve rested for so long, shall we go train again? I’ll do interval training for about 30 minutes before wrapping up the stream.”
I stood up from the floor and began to bounce lightly in place.
Wearing the weighted vest I had packed in my bag, I started jogging lightly.
Even though the sun had set, it felt muggy enough that I thought I wouldn’t be able to sleep without air conditioning tonight.
– ???
– Aren’t Narita and Na-me in the same Group I?
– Hey, Na-me…?
– Love Kim might be irrelevant, but you should have done a detailed analysis!!!
– Oh, come on! It must be a joke…
– ㄷㄷㄷㄷ
– If they’re in the same group, please watch!
– No wayㅋㅋㅋ Haha, seriously, NoName is driving me nuts.
*
In the early morning as the dawn broke.
I usually wasn’t one to eat well, but today was different.
“When you go to France, you’ll miss Korean food a lot. Make sure to eat plenty while you can.”
Professor Cheon kindly placed a steaming bowl of marinated bulgogi on top of the rice.
“I heard there’s a Korean chef at the hotel too.”
“Haha, but can it really compare to what I make?”
“Of course, Dad’s cooking is way tastier. Then if I ask you to pack me a lunch, will you always make it for me?”
“If Na-me asks, then of course I have to. I should probably bring some gochujang sauce or something in advance.”
“When are you and Saetbyeol coming by flight?”
“Let’s see. It’s at 8 PM tonight.”
“Hehehe, I can’t wait for our trip to France!”
At that moment, Cheon Saetbyeol, who was still struggling to keep her eyes open, finally spoke up.
“If you don’t respond to my calls, I’ll send you back to Korea.”
“Uuugh! But do you really need me for your errands? Can’t you just let the manager handle everything?”
“Dad, we’re just going the two of us. Saetbyeol will be home watching over the house.”
“Ah, pulling back and forth is cheating!”
Apart from Cheon Saetbyeol and Lee Bo-reum, quite a few people were also planning to gather in France.
Yuna’s family decided they would attend every match I was in, from the preliminary tournament to the finals.
Academy friends who successfully convinced their families were also posting ticket confirmation shots in our group chat.
“How did that friend who helped you with sparring decide to join us?”
“No, So-wool can only come to the finals due to her college schedule.”
I received a lot of help from Ban So-wool.
When looking only at the aura heart level, she far surpassed the national exchange tournament level, so she easily noticed the physical weaknesses I had.
After brushing my teeth, I returned to my room and changed into semi-formal attire.
At the entrance of the apartment complex, a 45-seat large bus was waiting just for me.
“Hello, NoName Wizard!”
“Wow! So cool… No, it’s amazing!”
I greeted several coaches who got off the bus.
A familiar drone camera fluttered by.
“Hello! Thank you for your hard work this early in the morning. Is this for a documentary? Hello, hello.”
I waved cheerily at it and asked, “Yes, yes. It’ll be titled ‘Tour de France’ and will cover the team’s behind-the-scenes story, training processes, interviews, and more. Did you face any inconveniences coming out this morning, NoName player?”
“The weather is really hot. After taking a warm shower, my body feels all heated up.”
“Haha, I turned on the air conditioning in the bus! You should get on quickly.”
As soon as I climbed up the stairs, the cold air caressed my cheeks.
I felt like I could finally breathe as it became easier.
I sat reasonably near the front while the documentary PD settled down in the aisle.
We exchanged simple greetings and filmed diligently until we reached Incheon Airport.
“Didn’t you have any difficulties or inconveniences training alone?”
“I spent most of my time focused on physical training, so I didn’t encounter any major issues. My dad and Ban So-wool helped me train even at the cost of their own time.”
“Among the 64 participants this year, NoName Wizard seems to be the most shrouded in mystery. Since you haven’t even fought a single evaluation match, do you think this will eventually be an advantage?”
“Hmm, it’s not like I’ve hidden anything intentionally. I’ve been doing occasional public training via live streams too. Since I think everyone’s true abilities will be revealed in the group preliminary matches, it’s better to check skills through evaluation matches. However, in my case, I chose private training because I needed to increase my weight class.”
“Oh, did you watch the evaluation match between Love Kim and Narita Hiroyuki last week?”
“I did watch it live, but… I don’t think it was a match that carried much significance. I know Love Unni’s skills well enough to say that she will definitely achieve good results in the national exchange tournament.”
“Thank you so much for the interview! Would you like a lollipop?”
“Oh, how did you know I like candy…? I can’t eat stuff like this at home. You have to keep it a secret from my dad.”
Chomp chomp-
I scrubbed the candy against the inside of my cheeks.
Even if I ate all the candy, some sweetness would remain in my mouth.
Mmm, it’s sweet.
The start of the day felt refreshing.
*
As soon as I got off at the airport, countless people unleashed their flashes.
While moving under the staff’s guidance, I also cheered and signed autographs for the fans.
In the distance, Love Kim was welcoming me.
Maybe it’s because she’s tall, but she really looks good in a suit; I’m so jealous…
“Na-meeeeee!”
“Love Unni, have you been doing well?”
“Uweeeeng, it was hard.”
“Isn’t it normal to be hard?”
“A heartless girl…”
“Remember, spars can be cold.”
We exchanged a few brief words before entering the mixed zone.
William Robinson, the GM, made a representative speech, and we conveyed that we prepared diligently, asking for everyone’s support.
The coach skillfully deflected all the journalists’ questions regarding the Japan-Korea evaluation match.
Instead of spending the remaining time answering reporters, we had time to meet with our fans.
We took commemorative photos with parents who brought their one-year-old babies.
“Can I hold him for a bit?”
“Of course! Right here!”
As I swung him up into the air, he turned to look at my face with wide eyes.
“Hee hee.”
He dropped the pacifier he was chewing and gave a big smile.
“Hey, hey hey, is my face funny? You’re so cute.”
“Hahaha, our baby knows how to recognize pretty people. Remember that Royul got to be held by NoName!”
I handed the baby back to the parents, who looked a little regretful.
On the other hand, there were passionate fans holding a banner measuring 10×10 meters.
In the mist, a girl holding a sword appeared.
“That picture is taken from your opening ceremony video, huh? You really look amazing in it…”
Just then, she looked like a celestial being living on Hallasan, enjoying the moment.
Flap-
“…?”
Suddenly, a man flipped the banner over.
To my surprise, there was a photo of me making a cute face during behind-the-scenes filming of an idol music video firmly plastered on it.
The fluttering noise instantly drew the attention of everyone at the airport.
“Ah…!”
I covered my face with both hands and lowered my head deeply.
Then I hurriedly grabbed Love Kim’s hand and led her quickly to the departure hall.
She didn’t let go of her phone while being dragged along.
Click click-
“Don’t take pictures, Unni. What are you doing…!”
“Why? Aren’t you cute, Na-me? Hehe.”
“Can we just go already…?”
“Can’t I show off cuteness like that too? That’ll motivate me to fight.”
“I’ll do it on the plane later…”
“Okay, promise!”
Today, it’d be better for my mental health to avoid the internet communities.
Until the very end, such petty attacks kept coming, and it looked like I had to prepare my mind hard for the national exchange tournament.
Climbing onto the plane, my steps felt heavy.
*
“Na-me, memorize a spell to make the lemonade delicious.”
“Due to aviation safety laws, magic is prohibited, Love Unni.”
“What if it’s magic that doesn’t require mana?”
“Eh, does that exist? Now I’m curious.”
Love Kim grinned ominously.
And once I realized what it was, I stared in horror, my hands trembling.
“Uuugh… O… Oishiku nare, oishiku nare, ughhh… Muumum…!”
After that, I completely used up my energy and sank into sleep as if I had fainted.
