The Best Way to Unleash My Talent
Simon's thoughts drifted as he gazed at the blue flower field surrounding him, pondering the question posed by Bahil.
"Professor."
"Yes?"
"Is there any feedback you could give me on the curse I just wrote?"
"Oh."
Bahil smiled.
"It's good to see you not getting carried away by your achievements and instead reflecting on yourself calmly. Very well. If I must say, your curse needs a bit more emotion."
"Ah, like when giving commands to the undead?"
For a moment, Simon wondered if he had imagined the coldness that flashed across Bahil's face.
Blinking in surprise, he saw Bahil's gentle smile return.
"Yes, it's similar. Emotion is a very important element in dark magic as a whole."
Bahil lowered his hand from Simon's shoulder.
"Please do not forget what I mentioned earlier."
With a snap of his fingers, the lively chatter of the surrounding students became clear again.
Bahil lightly patted Simon's head before turning to walk away.
"Professor Bahil!" Dick raised his hand eagerly.
Bahil stopped and asked, "What is it?"
"Can I get some help too? It's not easy to bloom..."
"Waiting for luck and expecting to be spoon-fed is the mindset of lowly amateurs. Keep trying repeatedly."
"Ah... Yes."
Dick lowered his hand awkwardly, and Mei Lin next to him snickered softly.
Simon, momentarily lost in thought, focused his eyes and brought his hands together. 'Alright.
This time, I'll do it on my own...!' Before the class ended, Simon was able to perfectly master the 'Curse of Transference.'
The next class was Hong Peng's martial arts lesson.
As usual, they headed towards a destination, clinging to the hippo.
Today, Hong Peng had chosen a clearing in a bamboo forest where a cool breeze blew.
After warming up with hard running as always, Hong Peng began teaching the students basic techniques like stances and kicks.
Everyone spread out generously, throwing punches filled with dark energy or extending their legs.
The teaching assistants moved around, correcting the students' postures and sharing tips on channeling dark energy.
"And here!" Clap! Clap!
"Put more power into it here!"
Simon, who was also in position, felt his face flush red.
Hong Peng was patting Simon's thigh with her palm.
"Position your arms here! When you extend your leg, the opposite arm becomes the axis! Engage your core! Engage your core!"
"Yes, yes!" It was quite a struggle for Simon.
While it was normal for a professor to guide a student by touching their body, it was not easy for a spirited teenage boy to remain composed when a beauty like Hong Peng was so close.
"Simon! Are you still not putting strength into your toes?"
"I'm sorry!" Afraid of being hit again, Simon quickly adjusted his stance.
Seeing that he had finally reached a somewhat acceptable position, Hong Peng crossed her arms and nodded.
"Good. Prepare to rotate."
Simon's legs moved.
His left foot stepped forward.
"Channel the dark energy."
As the dark energy flowed towards his waist, his body began to rotate.
His heel naturally lifted, and his waist and body twisted into an ideal position.
Then, his folded right leg extended.
Whoooosh!
His leg swept through the air, leaving a long, dark trail like paint.
It was truly a picturesque kick.
"Good!" Hong Peng clapped her hands and smiled brightly.
Despite sweating profusely, Simon bowed his head in gratitude.
"You managed the rotation, but you ruined four basic stances. Your gaze was off, you didn't engage your core properly, and your heel needs to rotate more. Also, the timing of the dark energy release during the strike was too fast."
"...... I'm sorry. I will pay more attention."
"Hmm! Still, Simon, you're doing well enough. Keep practicing!" Hong Peng patted Simon's shoulder and moved on to help other students.
A short break was given.
"Ugh."
Dick, sprawled on the grass, opened his eyes lazily.
"Kami."
"Yes? Dick."
"Don't you think the professors have been favoring Simon a bit too much lately, both in curse studies and other classes?"
The girl sitting quietly next to him covered her mouth and laughed.
"Isn't that a bit much to call it favoritism?"
"Ugh... Anyway, it's a bit strange."
"Oh, you loser."
Mei Lin, dressed in gym clothes, approached with a click of her tongue.
Today, she had tied her usually flowing sky-blue hair back with a string.
"Are you still calling yourself a keygen? Instead of being jealous of others, try to catch the professor's eye yourself."
Dick chuckled.
"Jealous? I was just raising a question. And aren't you in no position to say that? You confidently released a curse and climbed the hill during martial arts class, Mei Lin."
Mei Lin's face flushed red.
"Ah! Stop bringing that up already!"
"Well, I'm going to milk it until it's dry! And have you even spoken to Professor Hong Peng during this class? You're definitely on her radar."
"Before you worry about your own head getting caught in the crossfire?"
As Mei Lin lifted her foot in a threatening manner, Dick rolled on the grass, laughing as he escaped.
"Anyway."
She sighed deeply and turned her head sharply to look at Simon.
"Hey."
"What?"
"Teach me a bit."
Simon looked at her with a puzzled expression.
Mei Lin cleared her throat, her face turning red.
"You do well in martial arts. Since Professor Hong Peng isn't here, I was hoping you could at least check my stance."
So that was it.
Simon smiled without answering, and a flustered Mei Lin quickly added, "You know I'm facing a Cyclops during the performance evaluation, right? If you help me, my movements will improve, and our performance evaluation score will..."
"Don't worry, I'll just tell you without you having to say that."
Simon stood in front of her with a kind smile.
"Get into position."
"......"
Mei Lin seemed embarrassed and cleared her throat again, muttering a barely audible "thank you."
She then awkwardly took a kicking stance.
Simon squatted down to examine her body from top to bottom.
"It's a mess."
"I-I know!" Mei Lin shouted in protest.
Simon extended his finger.
"First of all, you're too stiff. Your lack of confidence shows just by looking at your stance. Relax your body a bit and try to take the stance as naturally as possible again."
She nodded and stood more comfortably.
The stiffness began to fade a little.
"Put your left foot a bit further back, and lightly clench your fists to bring them forward... No, that's your right foot. The foot opposite the hand you eat with is your left foot."
"I-I know, you fool! I got confused because I was nervous!" She argued back but quickly changed her stance.
"Gather the dark energy in your waist and wait. Yes, that's right. And put strength into the balls of your feet and rotate."
"Like this?"
"No, no. I'm not saying to spin like a top; you need to twist using your core strength. And when you rotate, the dark energy should be behind your thigh..."
"Here?"
As she placed her hand on her leg, Simon shook his head.
"A bit higher."
"Here?"
"No, that's too far out. Just a little lower."
"Is this right?"
"That's just your knee."
"Ugh! It's not like I'm bare-legged; I'm in gym clothes! Just touch it!"
She shouted, but in her anger, her voice was too loud.
"Touch- touch- touch-" Mei Lin's voice echoed like an echo across the hill.
"......"
"......"
Antennae were raised everywhere.
The girls, who were crazy about romance, began to murmur.
Even Kami Barej covered her mouth demurely.
Mei Lin waved her arms frantically, her face flushed.
"No, no! That's not it! I meant to help with the stance! The stance!"
But the truth no longer mattered.
Watching the rumors spread quickly among the girls, Mei Lin wore a dazed expression.
Then, in a panic, she turned to Simon.
"W-what do we do? Say something!"
"I don't know. Besides, you told me to touch, so I'm touching."
Simon stepped closer and placed his hand precisely on Mei Lin's gym clothes.
"Gather the dark energy here."
Then he grabbed her ankle.
"Move it over while turning your body."
'You crazy fool! Is this the time for this!' Her face turned as red as it could get, and her lips trembled as Simon spoke softly.
"Just do as I say."
"W-what?"
"Getting all excited is counterproductive. You need to show them it's a misunderstanding to clear it up."
With a nonchalant expression, Simon stood up and corrected her stance by holding her arms and shoulders.
Mei Lin nodded in a daze and adjusted her posture.
Students who had come to watch, having heard the rumors, witnessed the scene.
"He really is correcting her stance."
"I told you Mei Lin was a bit peculiar."
"Simon is so kind~"
Finally, after finishing the stance correction, Mei Lin turned her body and kicked her leg up into the air.
Her leg, filled with strength, floated up before losing balance and landing her bottom on the grass.
Hahaha! Laughter erupted from the onlookers.
Simon chuckled and placed his hands on his hips.
"You still have a long way to go, but you did well."
"...... Ah, yes."
At that moment, nearby girls watching called out to Simon, asking him to teach them how to kick as well.
Simon smiled kindly and began correcting their stances.
'...
What on earth is this guy?' Mei Lin bit her lip slightly.
As time passed, the martial arts class came to an end.
The students, exhausted and sprawled out, were met with a teleportation magic circle prepared by the keygen side once again.
"Mei Lin! I heard the rumors!" Dick appeared, chuckling as he supported his head.
Mei Lin, who had been talking with Kami Barej, shot him a glare.
"Hey, don't do that. Seriously."
"No, I'm talking about my friend. If a conversation about 'touching' and 'stance' happened between a guy and a girl, what would..."
"Stop it!!"
Mei Lin pulled out her bag from the spatial pocket and began to hit Dick.
As Dick tried to escape, he fell onto the grass, screaming, while Simon and Kami Barej laughed out loud.
"Ah! Ah! Don't just stand there, stop her!"
"Let's go, Kami."
"Yes!"
The two turned their backs on Dick and hurried to line up at the teleportation magic circle.
"By the way, Kami, do you remember what the next class is?"
"Oh! I remember. It's summoning studies."
Upon hearing that, Simon drew a smile at the corners of his mouth. 'Finally!'