Chapter 6 : Academy Entrance Exam (1)

Congenitally visually impaired people sometimes have awkward eye movements or appear out of focus. People often think that’s unnatural.

People who understand the disabled are only a minority in any group.

I’ve already experienced too many whispers around me.

If I expect kindness, I’ll only get hurt.

!!!

So I wore black glasses.

It’s the only daily necessity that survived in the room swept away by the World Boss.

It’s an item I’m quite attached to.

“How is it? Does it suit me?”

[Hmm. Even I, who have no knowledge of the attire of this world, can tell. You really… you really have no sense.]

It’s a disgrace.

I never thought I’d hear that I have no fashion sense from a dog.

“Why? I don’t know if I’m cute or pretty, but when I looked in the mirror last time, I thought I looked pretty good?”

[It’s not a matter of appearance. Don’t you look like a child imitating an adult with a small body? You look like a cursed ghost that only brings bad luck.]

“A ghost! Are you saying I look gloomy? You don’t hold back with a child.”

“Hmm. I admit that. I’d be jealous of my eyes too. They can even see through card packs and scrolls.”

[You must not speak vaguely of what you see with those eyes, nor should you try to show off their power. Hide it thoroughly. If it’s an S-rank hunter or higher, they’ll quickly realize that your eyes are not ordinary.]

I nodded at Achilles’ serious advice.

Honestly, I wouldn’t leave a kid with eyes like this alone either.

It was obvious that if there was someone who coveted my abilities, they would try to get their hands on me somehow.

Kidnapping and exploiting me?

It’s a possible scenario.

There are probably those who want to use my eyes to dig up secrets and create something.

Or, some secret research institute might quietly kidnap me and dissect me without anyone knowing.

‘What is the secret of these eyes?’

‘By what principle do they see everything?’

They might ask such questions and cut my body into pieces to find the answer.

‘Hunters with identification abilities are very rare. I heard it on the radio before. There may be hidden missions or treasures in the tower, and even if you get an item, it’s all unidentified, so it’s worth a lot of money.’

Even though I can see, I still have to keep my eyes closed.

…Until I grow up enough.

“A kid that young came to the academy to become a hunter?”

“Are dogs allowed in the academy?”

But wearing sunglasses couldn’t completely hide the fact that I was visually impaired.

The harness I held tightly (a leather harness designed to allow visually impaired people and guide dogs to communicate each other’s movements and walk safely), and Hayang at the end of the lead line.

And the guide dog tag attached to Hayang’s body.

It’s obvious to anyone that I’m disabled.

The murmur felt from all over.

The gazes poured on me seemed to scan my whole body.

An atmosphere of exclusion is natural.

It was understandable.

This is the Hunter Academy.

A place to train those who will be responsible for the front lines of the world.

Hunters must always win.

Defeat is never allowed.

If a hunter dies or fails a mission in the tower, it doesn’t end with the loss of one life.

It becomes a chain reaction that will destroy the lives of many, and sometimes change the fate of a country.

“I can feel the gazes.”

[You’re already proficient at handling Ideation, noticing other people’s gazes.]

“I’m used to handling senses other than sight.”

I looked around with Ideation.

In this place where cutting-edge technology and the best hunter prospects are gathered, there were no facilities for the disabled.

No.

It wasn’t that there weren’t any, it was as if they weren’t considered from the beginning.

The academy seemed to have assumed that the disabled were completely unrelated to this place.

If I had come here without learning Ideation, I would have been in big trouble.

[Still. Isn’t it too obvious to stare? The people of this world are really strange. As if they’re looking at something to see. If you don’t know how to respect the weak, you can’t be called a hero. Tsk tsk.]

“Awakened people as young as me are probably rare. Even more so if they are visually impaired.”

As befits the country with the most prestigious hunter power in the world, Korea’s academy was world-renowned.

The best in Korea.

No, maybe the best academic background in the world.

It’s a place that anyone who dreams of becoming a hunter wants to go to.

Naturally, there are many foreign students who come to study abroad.

The problem is that I am a child with a small body.

Moreover, the fact that I am visually impaired is very noticeable.

That’s why the attitude of the receptionist is like this.

‘Is this kid playing a prank?’

If I open my eyes, I’m sure that thought would be written on his face.

His tone was full of annoyance.

“You said you registered for the academy entrance exam?”

“Yes.”

“Can I see your ID?”

Sitting with legs crossed and leaning back in a chair.

Even the sound of tapping a finger on the desk.

All of this was ‘insincerity’ itself.

‘I came to register for the exam. Why is your attitude so bad?’

I sighed inwardly and took out my disability registration card.

I’m used to discrimination, so.

I don’t feel anything.

“Excuse me, student. I asked for your ID, not this welfare card?”

“That’s my ID.”

“What? This is your ID? Ah, never mind. I asked for your resident registration card, driver’s license, or a national certificate?”

“I’m still young, so I don’t have those.”

He clicked his tongue as if he didn’t like my answer and said annoyingly.

“Hey, where did this brat come from to play pranks? Are you even awakened?”

Then, as if trying to find fault somehow, he scanned me up and down, and when he found Hayang, he chuckled.

“And what is this dog? Is this a place to bring pets? Kid. This is where the academy entrance exam is. Animals are not allowed. Stop playing around and go back.”

“It’s not just a pet. Look, it has a guide dog tag attached. Don’t you know that it’s illegal to deny entry to guide dogs? You can get a fine if you violate it.”

“What fine? You’re threatening me when you’re just a kid? No, I said no? Anyway, if you haven’t registered for the exam, go back.”

A quarrel broke out, and the surroundings became noisy.

People started murmuring.

Damn it.

It’s like this again.

That’s why visually impaired people don’t go out and stay in their rooms like me.

Just then.

“Wait a minute.”

A confident and clear voice came.

The owner of the voice was a boy who looked like a high school student.

Neat red hair, sparkling eyes, and a boyish spirit.

“Did you register for the exam?”

He came up to me and asked.

A tone with kindness.

I answered awkwardly.

“Uh…. I was told I was registered.”

“If you’re registered, you’re registered. What do you mean you were told? Anyway, you’re saying it’s true?”

“Why is it not allowed when a disability registration card is legally recognized as an ID?”

“That’s…………. This is the first time I’ve received a disability registration card while working here.”

“If you don’t know, shouldn’t you check the name first? If the name is on the list, there’s no problem, and if it’s not, you can additionally verify the identity. There are actually disability welfare laws and anti-discrimination laws, so if you respond like that, you’ll really get administrative action.”

I felt the staff member hesitate.

The boy went one step further.

“Especially in public institutions like the academy, if a complaint is filed for discrimination against the disabled, not only will a fine be imposed, but the person in charge may also be disciplined. So, don’t unreasonably refuse like this, and handle it properly.”

Wow.

Good talker.

He reluctantly tapped on the computer, and after a while, the staff member’s hand stopped.

“The name is? It says Ernian Ludwig on the disability registration card. Is it really you?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

The staff member raised his head, muttering my name as if embarrassed.

“Ernian? Ernian? Wait a minute, this. This is the person registered with the recommendation of Professor Park Hankyeol?!”

His words made the surroundings even more noisy.

“Professor Park Hankyeol?”

“Are you talking about the hunter who was one of the front-line attack members of the tower?”

“Who is that?”

“How can you not know Park Hankyeol when you’re entering the academy? It’s him. S-rank hunter, the Flame of Roar.”

“Huh. Really?”

Even though the name was mentioned only once, the name Park Hankyeol seemed to have the magic to attract everyone’s attention.

The receptionist broke out in a cold sweat and quickly bowed his head.

“I’m, I’m sorry! I was rude. I’ll take care of it right away!”

He hurriedly completed the registration for the entrance exam.

That’s the end of the situation.

I bowed politely to the boy who helped me.

A bow from the bottom of my heart.

Even I can see that she is sharp.

Achilles also is giving complements [Ho. To stand up for the weak. I can feel the presence of a hero!]

“Thank you. You saved me.”

“No, it’s nothing. I have a younger sister just like you.”

He turned around as if it were nothing.

Cool.

Judging from the reaction, he would be curious about me, but he doesn’t care at all.

He just walks away naturally, as if nothing happened.

Who Professor Park Hankyeol is, and why he registered me for the academy, is something even I don’t know.

“Oh, I forgot to ask.”

[What is it?]
↓

“That person, not a man, but a woman.”

[Huh, can you already handle Ideation to that extent?]

“No, no. I just saw it when I slightly opened my eyes inside the sunglasses because the staff was so annoying.”

Well, there are various tastes in the world.

What’s the point of digging into that?

Let’s respect it.

[But what is the first test?]

“It’s a written test.”

[Written? Is it okay not to study?]

I was lost in thought for a moment at that word.

Written test.

Literally, it means a test where you sit at a desk and write the answers.

If so, I have nothing to worry about.

“I’ll just cheat. Well.”