Yoon Ha-min already possessed power comparable to a hero.
Of course, in terms of experience and skill, he might still be considered inexperienced, but in terms of raw power—at a level that could surpass even some heroes—he had made that abundantly clear to everyone gathered here in the open space near the Wall.
It was a bit disappointing that my turn would come last after Yoon Ha-min, but since I'd already experienced this feeling before, it wouldn't sting quite as much. I tried to calm myself with that thought.
Stay composed. I'm only being compared to him because I'm right after him—I'm similar to the others. No, if I'm being honest, their attacks at least made contact, so we're not really similar.
"Next is Miss Kanna!"
Kalua, excited after watching Yoon Ha-min, called my name enthusiastically.
From Kalua's perspective, this must be an unexpected windfall—a promising talent voluntarily coming to a place like this.
I carefully stepped forward at his call. The first dummy, designed to match the skin hardness of a dog-type monster, appeared before me.
Though made of soil, it was fascinating how it could replicate the monster's tough skin. Realizing just how strong these creatures were sent a chill down my spine.
I placed my hand close to the dummy Eileen had created.
There was no requirement to shoot from a certain distance like in school exams. It was fortunate that I could place my hand directly on it and discharge electricity.
The school wanted evaluation, while the agency wanted practical combat ability—naturally, the testing methods would differ.
I opened my senses to fully receive mana.
Then I drew up my magical power, intending to expend only as much as I could without depleting my mana or collapsing.
A tingling sensation rose in my hand. I urged it on, applying more force.
Since this would be reflected in my evaluation and appear on my report card, I was determined to give it my all.
And at that moment—
BZZZZT!
A current that seemed to devour my hand discharged in an instant. Purple sparks exploded from my hand and vanished with a flash.
When I came to my senses, I winced at the pain in my right hand.
"Ugh..."
I grabbed my right hand with my left and clenched my teeth, trying to endure the pain.
Just like when I had tried to discharge electricity while holding the totem in my fist and ended up hurting myself, it seemed I had injured my hand again.
A hot, burning sensation remained so intense it left me numb.
As my body began to tilt forward, I suddenly stopped in mid-air.
Thanks to Yoon Ha-min, who had wrapped his arm around my waist before my head hit the ground.
"Huff..."
"...Are you okay?"
Yoon Ha-min helped me stand and tried to look at the right hand I was clutching.
I barely managed to smooth my furrowed expression and hid my right hand from view.
Despite my efforts, there were too many onlookers, and Kalua approached from behind with a puzzled look.
"Just a moment, Miss Kanna, there seems to be a problem with your right hand..."
"No, no, it's fine."
I waved my hand dismissively. But my opponent was a hero, and I couldn't fool those eyes.
Kalua gave instructions to Eileen standing nearby, who immediately approached and extended her hand to me.
"Give me your hand, please."
"..."
Unable to resist the silent pressure from the two heroes, I finally extended my trembling hand.
"Open your fist, please."
"...Yes."
I turned my tightly clenched fist halfway and opened it wide to reveal my palm. There was my reddened palm, looking as if it had been fried by electricity.
Due to the high-voltage current, the skin was burned black as if holes had formed, and between those holes, pink flesh that looked ready to bleed was exposed.
Seeing the wound made it feel even more painful, and my hand trembled uncontrollably. Upon seeing this, Eileen's eyes widened, and she immediately took me inside.
Eileen took out the first aid kit kept in the agency and treated my hand, finally wrapping it tightly with bandages.
It was the same bandage I had struggled to remove before, and having it wrapped around my hand again felt utterly disheartening.
"Miss Kanna."
"Yes?"
"You seem to have trouble controlling your ability, don't you?"
My heart sank at those words.
Since the evaluation was part of my test score, I groaned involuntarily, worried that any strange comments might cause my grades to plummet.
"Usually it doesn't come out that strongly, but I tried my best and that's what happened."
"Ah, so your ability doesn't normally manifest that way, and it was due to less control?"
"Yes."
"I see. Even so, you need to be careful in the future."
Eileen said this as she finished securing the end of the bandage.
Abilities weren't omnipotent. To avoid injury, one had to regulate the discharge carefully to prevent self-harm at the moment of activation.
In my case, I hadn't controlled it precisely because I thought I'd only generate a current close to static electricity even if I tried my hardest, which resulted in significant damage.
From a third-party perspective, it would simply look like careless handling.
But I had so much to say. It felt unfair.
Abilities don't suddenly grow.
In this world, probably no one except Yoon Ha-min had suddenly received power. Even then, it was already refined power—just because Yoon Ha-min had obtained it didn't mean his power had been artificially boosted.
So for me, this was something completely unimaginable.
A power that was originally tiny couldn't develop like this overnight.
That's why I was perplexed, unable to cope, and still feeling wronged.
Whether Eileen understood my feelings or not, she put the emergency kit back in its original drawer. Then she looked at me and offered some advice.
"Next time, don't stop at what you think is your limit. Try to control even the power you might potentially have. There can be variations depending on the amount of mana."
"...I understand."
That's not it.
Eileen was saying this because she had never seen my total mana capacity or how I use magic, but Yoon Ha-min knew. He knew that such sudden growth itself was more suspicious.
With an uneasy feeling inside, I walked out groaning, and Yoon Ha-min approached me, apparently taking a break.
"Kanna, are you okay?"
"Oh, y-yeah."
"Your right hand is injured again. But, more importantly..."
Yoon Ha-min looked around, and after confirming no one was within earshot, he continued.
"...Did your ability suddenly increase? Otherwise, the user's hand wouldn't get burned like that."
"I think so."
I nodded at his words.
There was nothing to hide. I needed to be honest and use our two heads to figure out why this had happened.
The first hypothesis that came to mind was that the Mysterious Person had implanted something in my body, causing my response to mana to increase.
"Could it be since I was taken by the Mysterious Person?"
Since I hadn't taken any tests since then, there was no way to confirm, so I thought that might be correct.
But I couldn't stop at the first hypothesis, and naturally thought of a second one. It was the totem.
My body constitution had changed to some extent, that was true.
The Mysterious Person had become able to find me, and my body had become responsive to the totem. But I hadn't felt my magical power suddenly becoming stronger...
Yoon Ha-min's expression slightly crumpled. I carefully suggested to him:
"Maybe it's because I absorbed the totem yesterday."
"No way."
Yoon Ha-min tried to dismiss my words, but his serious expression already betrayed his psychological state.
After hesitating repeatedly, I clutched my bandaged hand tightly. Instead of soft, white skin, I felt the rough, thick texture of the bandage.
I became anxious.
I couldn't gauge what was happening to my body anymore.
The first hypothesis might be preferable, but either way, the fact that I was becoming more infused with the Mysterious Person's mana remained unchanged, so I couldn't shake off my anxiety.
Yoon Ha-min suddenly turned his head.
Perhaps thinking it was time to gather since the emergency treatment was over, or feeling pressed for time, he told me:
"...It'll be okay. As long as we keep the Wall from collapsing. I'll take care of the next totem that appears."
"Thank you."
When someone tells me to relax like that, how could I keep whining about being scared?
I smiled slightly at his words and responded. But despite my answer, Yoon Ha-min's expression didn't improve.
It seemed to be because I had injured my hand, if nothing else.
Since we lived together, I thought his worry would lessen if I healed quickly. So I clenched my hand and hoped for a speedy recovery.
I wanted his attention to be directed toward his goal rather than focused on me.
While it was certainly nice that he protected me, helped me, and thought of me, I wasn't trying to take Orca's place or block his path, so I strongly wished to keep some distance.
Since I couldn't choose to completely distance myself—I might go crazy first—I'd settle for keeping a moderate distance.