Hidden Card
The bell signaling the end of second period echoed from afar. Since interpersonal training began in third period, the first two classes had been entirely devoted to reviewing safety protocols and theory. Unlike other classes, every student in Class A—including me now!—had demonstrated Spirit Lord Transformation ability during the entrance exam, so the related theory instruction wrapped up quickly. While Spirit Descent was often dismissed despite being foundational, Spirit Lord Transformation had always been emphasized to the point of excess.
"Assemble at Training Ground 2 after the break. This is your first interpersonal combat training, so prepare thoroughly."
The moment Jang Han-nam left the classroom, students began gathering and moving out in groups.
"What're you doing? Let's go."
U Hyo-chung tilted his head curiously at me and Mun Hee-jeong, who hadn't budged from our seats.
"...Yeah."
I stood first, and Mun Hee-jeong furtively glanced around before peeling her butt off the chair. We hadn't exchanged a single proper conversation without eye contact, but the fact that she'd eat with us suggested her prejudices against me and U Hyo-chung might have eased a bit.
Mun Hee-jeong followed silently behind us without a sound as U Hyo-chung and I led the way. The stares from students of other classes we passed on the way to the training ground weren't friendly. The combo of a blond tanned delinquent and a massive afro dude drew the wrong kind of attention, and the zero-presence hoodie girl mincing along behind stood out in stark contrast by association.
"Hah. It's not like I do this 'cause I like it."
"Come to think of it, didn't the teacher say you should shave your head...?"
When I asked, U Hyo-chung awkwardly straightened his hair with an afro comb—the kind with teeth sticking straight up.
"Taking care of this hair is a condition of my Genealogy Oath. He let it slide once I explained."
Grandpa said guys gotta rock the afro, U Hyo-chung added, and an ancestor spirit slipped out from his Soul Thread Bracelet, arms crossed and nodding. The man in the trench coat looked late forties. Scale him up 1.5 times bulkier and rougher, and you'd get the picture of a classic human weapon.
Isn't that your grandpa? Why's he so young-looking?
Gemma asked, and U Hyo-chung's grandfather scratched the back of his head bashfully.
"Ancestor spirits manifest in the form most deeply etched in people's memories."
Oh... But he can hear me, huh?
"We're both ancestor spirits."
As I answered, U Jeong-guk—U Hyo-chung's grandfather—moved his lips in sync, and Gemma's face lit up in surprise. She apparently hadn't known that contracted ancestor spirits could chat freely unless they were unaffiliated wandering souls. Fascinated, Gemma greeted every passing ancestor spirit she spotted.
"Don't get too chummy. That old man's a former Interpol consultant."
Why tell me now!
U Hyo-chung whispered it while Gemma was distracted by a passing girl student, and her reaction was priceless. Not much she could do since he'd died before she was born, but U Jeong-guk had been obsessed with catching Gemma's dad, Xavier Belmont. Even dead, who knows what he'd do if he learned Gemma was his successor.
"Training Ground 2... this the place?"
Our destination was a massive dome-shaped building about five minutes from Training Ground 3, which mimicked a market district from our previous Spirit Descent session. Inside stretched a dense tropical rainforest. The other Class A students clustered in the plaza near the entrance, chatting away. They glanced at us once before turning back to their giggling huddles.
I hated to admit it, but Group 7—my group—was already treated like outsiders in Class A. With three of us sporting flashy, standout looks, everyone assumed Jang Han-nam had dumped all the problem kids together and viewed us through colored lenses.
No sign of the twerp yet?
Gemma said, scanning for Shin Sua.
"Probably doing image training. She gets touchy before a spar."
What? You two know each other that well?
"Not really..."
I trailed off. I'd unconsciously spilled info only someone close to Shin Sua would know.
Hmm.
Thankfully, Gemma didn't seem suspicious. Probably because she'd peeked at memory fragments in my mental world last time—either nothing surprised her anymore, or she'd given up trying to understand and just accepted it. If knowing Shin Sua well was the metric, she'd clocked more hours watching her through the screen—3500 or so—than I had.
Glancing to the corner, I spotted Gong In-myeong tinkering with his skateboard, the medium for his Spirit Lord Transformation. The back was covered in dense hanja. Excerpts from the Ong Ya chapter of the Analects, if I recalled. That was the flavor text for his gear when I picked him as protagonist to progress the story. He and Shin Sua had known each other since childhood thanks to their parents' connections. Balls-of-steel friends with zero romance vibes. They knew each other inside out, but in the game, they'd never developed into anything more.
"Hm?"
As I mulled that over, someone peering our way over Gong In-myeong's shoulder caught my eye. Tall for a girl, with wavy long brown hair parted 9:1. Seol Romi.
"Why's she..."
She's not looking at you. Ease up on the self-consciousness.
Gemma's jab had me turning, where Mun Hee-jeong—who usually hunched like a turtle—was holding her head straight up for once. Seol Romi and Mun Hee-jeong were staring at each other.
...Yeah, they'd been tangled up since way back too.
Mun Hee-jeong endured Seol Romi's gaze for a moment before weakly dropping her head.
She looks tough, but not bully-tough. That Mun Hee-jeong kid—she's a pushover?
"Where'd you pick up that kinda talk?"
I ignored Gemma's snap judgment on Seol Romi and Mun Hee-jeong, waiting for class to start. Shin Sua arrived soon after, followed immediately by Jang Han-nam. Trailing him were the teachers, led by Jeong Da-un. Not just observers—these were experts here to analyze the specially managed Class A students' Spirit Lord Transformation abilities and offer tailored advice. Baek Je-in stood at the rear with emergency medical supplies, just in case.
I gave a small smile and wave, but the school nurse pretended not to see. Expected that reaction—precisely why I'd done it. The goal was to make her feel guilty for suspecting me.
"We've covered safety rules and explanations plenty in first and second period, so we'll skip. The top three entrants get naming rights; the rest are random draw for sparring partners."
Jang Han-nam herded us to the training ground center like time was gold.
"Put these on."
He opened a crate of teaching materials, revealing dozens of small hand mirrors with straps. Artificial relics linked to the training ground's barrier, nullifying one fatal wound each. Useless outside the dome, but a literal lifeline in unpredictable spars. We meticulously checked for cracks before strapping them to our wrists—not too hidden, since they also guided drone cameras.
"For realistic training, the entire dome is your combat area. Time limit: eight minutes. First, confirm the top entrants' picks."
"Alphabetical order," Jang Han-nam added, eyes on Gong In-myeong.
"...I forfeit my naming right."
Gong In-myeong's declaration rippled murmurs through the students. The watching teachers reacted the same. They'd been hyped for a top guy vs. top girl showdown, and now it fizzled. But not even three seconds later, expectations were met.
"Gong In-myeong, you're up."
Seol Romi shattered her managed calm, baring her hostility.
"I'll pick Kim Taeyang."
And Shin Sua followed suit.
* * *
To cut to the chase, everyone's wish to watch a proper duel between the top entrants was dashed in a disappointing fashion. Gong In-myeong activated Spirit Lord Transformation but went full defense, blocking or dodging Seol Romi's attacks until he forfeited. At least my nagging worked—he filled the full time limit to avoid point deductions before tapping out, which only made it more infuriating.
"...Can't accept this."
Refusing the result, Seol Romi kept her Spirit Lord Transformation active and approached the sprawled Gong In-myeong.
-Fwoosh!
Half-transparent axe blades sprouted from her high-top sneaker heels, blazing with three flames of samadhi. Her Spirit Lord Transformation channeled Wonhyo's power through shoes laced with deer antler—a bladeless axe haft. To others, Gong In-myeong had collapsed from spirit power depletion without a solid counter. But Seol Romi and I knew he'd thrown it on purpose.
"That's enough."
As Seol Romi opened her mouth, Jang Han-nam intervened, pulling them apart.
"Next. Shin Sua vs. Kim Taeyang."
I hopped off the elevator from the fourth-floor stands, where I'd been stretching.
"Brother, fighting!"
U Hyo-chung's cheer rang out. Embarrassing—shut it, honestly.
"Classic Shin Sua. Gonna lay down the law from the start."
"Won't let the delinquent show off."
"Thought Goryeo Group was shady, but Sua seems righteous."
Would've preferred the ones demonizing me as evil incarnate to zip it too.
Right. Just don't lose?
I nodded to Gemma and faced Shin Sua in the central clearing. She held a brush in one hand and a mini folding screen in the other.
Spirit Lord Transformation drew ancestor spirit power through relics or heirlooms. The older and more connected the item, the stronger the manifestation. Shin Sua's chaebol-heiress gear and Gemma's swordstick weren't even comparable in history. But hey, gotta test it to know.
"Don't like you."
"Feeling's mutual—not my type."
-Bang!
A light trash talk later, Jang Han-nam's signal pistol cracked through the jungle.
"Spirit Lord Transformation."
Shin Sua moved first.
-Tssst!
She tossed the mini screen into the air, overlaying it with a massive translucent one conjured from Shin Yun-bok's ancestor power.
"Playground Brawl at the Brothel."
Red energy erupted from Shin Yun-bok's genre painting of drunken men fighting outside a brothel.
-Shwaaah!
I triggered Spirit Descent to evade, but couldn't escape the fog closing from all sides.
-Thud.
The moment the red aura wrapped Shin Sua and me, my head fogged like I was drunk.
What a gross ability...!
Gemma, under Spirit Descent too, griped in annoyance.
"Focus. Incoming!"
Before I finished, Shin Sua swung her giant brush at my crown like a hammer.
"Sloppy."
Blatant sneer.
What're you doing? Block it!
"Ngh!"
I hastily raised my staff to parry. Shin Sua wielded the ancestor-powered brush like a spear. Spirit Lord Transformation could hold it off, but no way I'd reveal my hand early. Only another Spirit Lord Transformation could match a relic infused with ancestor power. For now, I slid the brush sideways to keep my staff from snapping.
"Think you'll slip away?!"
Shin Sua pressed relentlessly with deceptive strength from her slender frame. Playground Brawl at the Brothel boosted the user's Spirit Descent-enhanced body to the next level while debuffing the foe with drunkenness, throwing off their balance. Ping.
I endured the dizziness onslaught, desperately trying to widen the gap from the screen. Escape its radius, and the drunken haze would lift.
Won't last three minutes like this!
"Then Plan B."
I waited for Shin Sua's emotions to peak and push her too far.
-Whoosh!
Finally, the whiff I'd been praying for.
"Now!"
Activated Gemma's trait, Master Thief's Footwork.
-Tat-tat!
Back tuck to break the screen's influence, then full sprint away.
"What kinda guy...?"
Glancing back, Shin Sua stood frozen in disbelief.
"Don't you dare stop!"
Her belated yell chased me.
"Nah."
Genevieve Belmont's Escape
Remaining Duration: 30 minutes
I smirked at the message floating before me. Why else would the Belmont duo be century's greatest thieves? They were never caught—not once.
"Initiative's mine now."
All that was left: dodge moderately to burn the clock until impatience and rage drove Shin Sua into the woods for an ambush. My window? The final ten seconds. No time for her counter.
-Shing.
The blade drawn from my staff sang a clear tone. The screen wouldn't save Shin Sua.