I Became the Academy's Disabled Student

The corpse twitched. Thanks to the preservation process, the body wasn't damaged, but the lifeless corpse began moving on its own.

For a while, the body jerked like a fish out of water, then it stood up, defying nature, and stood on its two legs.

Chirp, chirp—now even the creature was chirping as it flapped its wings and climbed onto Lee Hayul's shoulder.

The art of necromancy deals with the flesh and souls of the dead.

“It looks like a sparrow. Is this an 8th-tier necromancy?”

[Yes, it's an 8th-tier. It’s also the easiest to control with necromancy.]

“Even so, it’s still impressive. You’ve only been learning for a few days.”

Chirp, chirp—The monster, shaking its head vigorously, glanced around, really looking like a live sparrow. Hong Yeonhwa quickly reached out and touched its feathers.

“Hm... It’s cold.”

Hong Yeonhwa scrunched her face as she rubbed the stiff feathers.

While it acted like it was alive, it didn’t have the body heat that most living creatures do. There was also no heartbeat to hear, not even a faint pulse. It was, quite literally, a moving corpse.

Thankfully, its appearance was intact, so it didn’t cause too much discomfort. If it had been a rotting, decayed body, I honestly wouldn't have felt as comfortable.

[How does it look?]

Lee Hayul tilted his head and asked.

“No problems. The synchronization is seamless, and the necromancy is working well.”

Lee Jiyeon took a moment to inspect the spirit’s condition.

The most basic and efficient way to handle a necromantic spirit is to inject it into a corpse, using it as a puppet body.

Operating a spirit on its own has extremely limited physical interaction, and using just the corpse usually results in a one-time use like a corpse explosion.

So, the best method is to insert the spirit into the empty body and control it as a soldier at will.

The spirit inhabiting the corpse... no problems. There’s no loss during the process of the spirit merging with the corpse.

The corpse didn’t sustain any damage during the process.

The operation is really clean—no waste, efficient, and quick.

‘...When was I able to control it like that?’

Lee Jiyeon reminisced with some hesitation.

I immediately sensed the vitality, and it took me several days to learn to manipulate my own life force.

Expanding the sensing to the outside and learning to control it, then diving into necromancy... it took me quite a while to handle it that skillfully.

‘Ugh...’

I tapped the calculator in my mind and sighed in frustration.

Some might consider this complaint of mine to be the whining of a pampered pig, throwing mud... but evaluations are always relative, aren’t they?

Seeing this brilliant prodigy in front of me, I couldn’t help but feel small.

Nothing in this world is easy, but necromancy is an incredibly difficult skill to master.

Most necromancers rely on their unique abilities.

It’s extremely rare to find someone who learns necromancy without a special ability.

In other words, necromancers usually possess a unique ability related to necromancy.

I had seen some necromancers with such abilities in China, and Lee Jiyeon’s Taesan ability was the same.

And now, Lee Hayul was the same, handling both.

“...”

Lee Hayul had asked for a lesson on Taesan during our mentoring.

There was nothing strange about it.

Taesan is a very rare unique ability.

It’s rare to meet someone who has manifested Taesan during mentoring, so it’s natural that most would request to study its application.

Lee Hayul, knowing this, likely planned to secretly learn how to operate Taesan from me.

But what Lee Hayul didn’t expect was... I had heard from the family that he had manifested Taesan.

Then, Lee Jiyeon received an order directly from the head of the Taesan family.

After receiving this instruction, Lee Jiyeon had been diligently demonstrating how to operate Taesan to Lee Hayul.

‘...What should I do about this?’

Lee Jiyeon felt a sharp headache and sighed inwardly.

After witnessing Lee Hayul’s vitality draining, she started to think he had indeed manifested it.

Though she hadn’t seen a direct manifestation yet... seeing his ability to control vitality and necromancy so adeptly in such a short time made her even more certain that Taesan had indeed been manifested.

Thinking about it, the surname is the same: “Lee.” While I would need to ask him for the meaning, this seemed like a hint, didn't it...?

Of course, doubts remain.

Why can he sense and manipulate vitality, yet his own vitality is depleting?

Why doesn’t he feel any discomfort when Lee Jiyeon fills his vitality?

If he manifested Taesan, why doesn’t his magic nature align with what it should be...?

How is he handling both Taesan and Guhwa...?

‘...This is so complicated...’

I couldn’t help but let out another deep sigh.

If the fact that Lee Hayul had manifested both Taesan and Guhwa ever became known... I couldn’t even imagine the chaos it would cause.

Would the Guhwa family even know he manifested Taesan?

Or perhaps they know and are already trying to seize it from him?

Either way, it would make things much more complicated.

From the family’s perspective, they would want to accept a child who manifested their unique ability.

The same goes for Taesan.

Though the families exchange abilities frequently, the case of someone changing their family registry is quite different.

‘Taesan and Guhwa...’

With yet another sigh, Lee Jiyeon stared at Lee Hayul, her thoughts tangled.

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Baek Arin had many thoughts of her own.

At first, she was too focused on Lee Hayul’s Guhwa to think about anything else. But, as time passed, she noticed Lee Hayul managing Guhwa on his own, giving her a little more space.

‘Guhwa and Changae...’

The simultaneous manifestation of Guhwa and Changae.

In her understanding, it was an impossible occurrence, but she didn’t dismiss it outright. After all, logic can always be broken.

He had manifested Changae, yet his magical nature was different? Perhaps for Lee Hayul, that was possible.

What really mattered was that he had manifested both Changae and Guhwa.

Lee Hayul was a unique existence.

Not just anyone could manifest both powers.

He was the only one capable of understanding the ice of Changae and igniting Guhwa.

And, she realized, he was the only person who had demonstrated the realistic possibility of handling both.

For that reason, Baek Arin desperately needed his help.

She glanced over at Lee Hayul, who was focused on his necromancy training.

She still couldn’t quite believe it. That wild dog was now looking at Lee Hayul with such calm eyes.

It seemed they hadn't acted on anything major yet, but it was clear that their relationship was more than just friendly.

‘What a pity.’

This content is taken from fгeewebnovёl.com.

Baek Arin suddenly felt regret.

She should have made her move earlier in the semester to get closer to him.

Especially before Hong Yeonhwa did.

If she had done that... she wouldn’t feel this strange unease right now.

Baek Arin fiddled with her hands.

It was still stiff and cold, but she could still remember the warmth from when it had melted. The brief warmth that had spread in that moment.

It was just a surface feeling for now, but one day, she hoped the fire that could melt her heart would reach her.

‘...’

Baek Arin glanced at Lee Hayul with complicated eyes.

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Meanwhile, Hong Yeonhwa caught a glimpse of the complicated and wistful gazes exchanged by Lee Jiyeon and Baek Arin.

She furrowed her brows slightly.

In that brief moment, their tone had turned cold, and the way they referred to her as "that girl" wasn’t lost on her, but she didn’t mind much.

They used to be close, and she had acted recklessly enough in the past to be treated like that.

Why were they acting like this now? Hugging the kid without asking, treating it as a harmless act? Using Lee Hayul’s natural trust to exploit him like that... It could be considered harassment, something that could be reported.

The reason Hong Yeonhwa didn’t strike them immediately was because she understood their personalities, and Lee Hayul had blocked her path with his flapping arms.

Especially, Baek Arin’s recent behavior bothered her. She felt like punching her out of frustration... but doing so would only make Lee Hayul sad.

‘Tch.’

Hong Yeonhwa clicked her tongue, her gaze shifting back to Lee Hayul.

Lee Hayul was focusing, controlling the spirits around him, and as his hands formed seals, the spirits began moving in perfect unison.

‘The trial is almost over, huh? It’s taking a while...’

Even though the trial still stirred up unpleasant memories and emotional turmoil inside him, Lee Hayul looked fine on the outside.

He occasionally furrowed his brow, and beads of sweat would form, but otherwise, nothing too abnormal.

...Of course, when night came, the atmosphere and sleepiness made him a bit more clingy, which Hong Yeonhwa didn’t mind.

Anyway, soon the trial of Guhwa would end. When that happened, Guhwa would show its true power.

By the way, in their family, the trial of Guhwa was considered a sort of coming-of-age ritual.

The first trial was treated with even more significance, and the elders of the family had already prepared congratulatory gifts.

As she watched, it seemed like the family was more excited about Lee Hayul’s Guhwa manifestation than even Hong Yeonhwa was.

‘A gift, huh...’

As the thought passed through her mind, Hong Yeonhwa suddenly remembered the red scarf Lee Hayul had given her as a gift.

The first gift from Lee Hayul. She had kept it in a safe, preserved after treating it specially since the weather wasn’t quite right.

‘...I have to repay him for this...’

Hong Yeonhwa began thinking.

What kind of gift would make him happy? What should she give him?

She’d been mulling over this ever since, but she still couldn’t figure out what would be best.

‘Well, if I’m going to give something, it’s probably better at his coming-of-age ceremony, right? It’ll be more memorable if I give it to him on that day...’

As she considered the gift, Hong Yeonhwa suddenly recalled something she had said in the past.

“......”

Hong Yeonhwa blinked in surprise, glancing down at her chest.

The memory of her words made her feel strangely drawn to them.

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That night.

Under the shimmering light of the moon, I awoke suddenly from my sleep.

I felt soft sensations on either side. One was warm, the other cool.

It was Hong Yeonhwa and Baek Arin.

The memories of before I fell asleep returned.

Since the evening, Guhwa’s flare-ups had intensified, but I had managed to hold back and fall asleep nestled between them.

‘What is this...?’

When the recollection ended, I furrowed my brow.

Instead of burying my hands in soft flesh, I gently traced my chest with Sky Wings.

I felt a strange heaviness inside.

It wasn’t just a feeling of fullness, but more like something was bubbling inside, as if flames were rising, heating me from within.

‘When will this trial end...’

The sleepiness washed over me again, and I shook my head before burying my face back into the soft embrace.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of flames crackling in my ear.

It felt like something was gathering at my chest, an odd sensation.

[Unique Ability "?" is...] ... ... [Unique Ability "Guhwa" has manifested.]