The Fire Punch of the Academy
"Ta-da! Today in class, we’re going to have some sparring matches!"
Prayer? My foot. Nietzsche, you were right—God is dead. Like an idiot, I’d completely forgotten that the sparring event was a staple in the novel. The reason for the sparring was simple: the enemies a hero had to face weren't just monsters, but criminals as well. To deal with criminals who used superpowers, it was only natural to gain combat experience against actual people.
However, in this school, there was a student who would get arrested for public indecency if she used her abilities. ......What am I supposed to do, seriously?
"For the first match, hmm, let's go with Siwoo and Sylvia! Both of you, put on the protective gear in front of you!"
At Eve’s call, the two stepped out into the open space designated for sparring. It was the very same duel described in the novel. Sylvia pulled a small wand from her robes, and Yoon Siwoo drew the white, glowing sword I’d seen before from thin air.
"No holding back, right?"
"That’s exactly what I wanted."
As the two took their combat stances, Eve snapped her fingers, and a holographic number '3' appeared between them.
"Looks like you're ready, so let's get started! Three, two, one, start!"
With Eve’s voice, the numbers ticked down like a game screen, and the moment the word 'Start!' appeared, the duel began. Sylvia immediately launched small spheres of light at Yoon Siwoo. If you had to categorize it, Sylvia used spirit arts, a form of magic. When fighting a swordsman who used melee weapons like Yoon Siwoo, the most important things were maintaining distance and buying time to chant spells.
What Sylvia fired were explosive attacks; if he dodged, she could gain distance, and if he blocked, she would buy enough time to cast another spell. To anyone else, it would be a valid dilemma where she held the advantage regardless of the opponent's choice. Yoon Siwoo’s response to seeing that was to charge straight forward.
Seeing this, Sylvia must have assumed he would be delayed while blocking the attack, so she began chanting for her next spell.
"Ugh, what?!"
That was until she saw Yoon Siwoo slice through the incoming light spheres. The name of that sword, which he had also used to defeat the monster created by hallucination magic, was the Holy Sword of Humility. It had all sorts of lore attached to it, but its ability was simple: it could cut through and dissipate anything made of magic or mana. Simple, yet a terrifying ability for mages like Sylvia.
Sylvia, who had been criticized by Eve just yesterday for her inability to handle unexpected situations, seemed shaken for a moment, but she regained her composure and finished her chant. Instead of attacking Yoon Siwoo directly, she fired the spell at the ground, creating an explosion to obscure his vision, then leaped backward as far as she could to chant a more powerful spell.
"Alf, Ad, Ast-"
But before she could even finish, Yoon Siwoo’s sword, having burst through the smoke, was already pointed at her neck.
"The winner of the duel is Siwoo! Siwoo was amazing, but Sylvia’s response was also excellent. It’s not easy to correct a flaw in such a short time, but you did great!"
Eve’s voice announced the result. Sylvia, who had been stiff-faced, let out a small laugh and said to Yoon Siwoo,
"To cut through magic and dissipate it... you really are an absurd person."
As she said that, Sylvia didn't look frustrated by the fact that her magic had been perfectly neutralized; instead, she was blushing and smiling, as if she had fallen for him all over again. She’s probably thinking, 'If he's the man I've fallen for, he should at least be able to do this much.'
Anyway, seeing it in person was far more intense than reading it in the novel. The other students seemed to be in awe of the high-level fight, and the atmosphere was heating up. Just as I was calming my racing heart from their duel, I heard Eve’s voice.
"Next up, Mei and Evande!"
Right now?! Coming immediately after the duel between Sylvia and Yoon Siwoo, it was obvious I’d be compared to them. Thinking I was screwed, I put on the protective gear with trembling hands. My opponent, the class representative, seemed to think the same; even though she tried to hide it, her eyes were wavering as she looked at me. Class rep, you have it rough too...
I was stretching, thinking I’d need to move vigorously, when the class rep, who had been glaring at me after drawing her sword, spoke in a voice that sounded like she was suppressing a great deal of anger.
"...Are you treating me like a fool? Draw your weapon, now."
Weapon? I looked around at her words, and all the other students had swords, spears, or at least some kind of auxiliary equipment, even those who used magic-like abilities like Sylvia. What, am I the only one empty-handed?
From the class rep's perspective, it was understandable. There’s a saying: "Three times the sword." It means to beat someone with a sword while empty-handed, you need at least three times the skill. But what could I do? The only weapon I’d ever handled was a K-2 rifle. It’s so unfair—I’m confident I could shoot well if I had a gun!
"...I don't have a weapon."
"...Fine. So you're going to ignore me until the end? Don't expect me to go easy on you just because you're unarmed. Be prepared."
I told her out of frustration, but the class rep just hardened her face and replied. Her gaze was as cold as the sword she pointed at me. Damn sword-supremacy. Filled with patriotic spirit, I took the stance of the only martial art I knew. Ah—this is the 'sparring stance.' The basic stance of Korea’s unique martial art, 'Taekwondo.'
Back in elementary school, I’d been dragged by my parents to a Taekwondo academy until I got my black belt. I recalled the grueling training I’d endured there.
-Aaaargh! I’m gonna die!! I’m losing my mind!!
-Just hold on a bit longer. Even if it hurts, if you keep stretching your legs like this, they’ll eventually open up.
-Kieeeeeek!!! I’m losing my mind!!!!
When I came to my senses, I realized my body was on fire. Having survived that torture-like training, I wasn't just a simple Taekwondo 2nd dan. I am now... The Goryeo Master.
"Looks like you're ready, so let's start!"
Eve’s voice rang out, and the numbers floating between me and the class rep ticked down.
3, 2, 1, Start!
I kept my body tense, and the moment the numbers turned into text, I stepped forward with my right foot, then twisted and rotated my body to the left. The class rep's sword grazed my back, missing me by a hair's breadth. I saw her eyes widen in surprise at the unexpected evasion. From the very beginning, everything had gone exactly as I planned.
Neither of us knew the other's abilities. But I had deliberately set myself on fire to imprint the fact that I was a fire-type esper onto the class rep. Usually, fire-users relied on long-range attacks unless they were rare cases like me, and since the class rep had a sword, she would have wanted to close the distance quickly rather than be attacked from afar. Plus, the class rep was a foolishly rigid and honest kid. That’s why I was certain: the first attack would definitely be a short-range thrust!
It was a thrust that must have been an all-or-nothing strike. Taking advantage of the massive opening created by her miss, I unleashed my masterpiece: a spinning back kick, putting all the rotational force from my twisted body into it. It should have landed.
Then, with a thud, I realized something from the strange sensation in my leg. I'm screwed!!
Feeling that cold sensation, I quickly bent the leg supporting me, laid my body on the floor, and performed a back roll, springing back up. A few strands of my hair drifted through the air, cut off a moment too late. I almost died, getting sliced in half by the counterattack. Well, I was wearing protective gear, so that wouldn't have happened.
Anyway, to make this Goryeo Master perform a Narye-dragon kick... she’s got some skill! As I thought that and lifted my head, the class rep was looking at me with a subtle expression. She stood still for a moment, then tapped the spot where my back kick had landed with her fist, as if knocking on a door. A sound echoed, like hitting a hollow wall.
There was something invisible there.
"It’s a barrier made by compressing air. My ability allows me to manipulate air, albeit simply. If I didn't have this, I would have been hit by that attack, but... that level of attack won't break my barrier."
The look in the class rep's eyes as she explained her ability was a little different from before. The murderous glare had softened a bit. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and pointed her sword at me again.
"Then, here I come."
At the tingling sensation, I tilted my head to the left, and the sword grazed my ear. The class rep's attacks were fast yet quiet. Looking closely, her clothes barely fluttered; she was probably using her ability to reduce air resistance. The fortunate thing was that my dynamic vision was better than I thought, enough not to miss her attacks, and my reflexes and body were fast enough to dodge the main strikes.
But I couldn't just keep dodging. No matter how much I dodged, I couldn't avoid everything perfectly, so I kept getting scratched, and if the wounds increased, the sparring would be stopped. I could have just forfeited, but a stubborn pride kept my mouth shut.
If I could burn, could I break through that barrier? But to do that, I had to find a way to coat only my hands in flames. While dodging the class rep's whirlwind of attacks, I kept thinking. Perhaps because I’d been moving my body so intensely, my senses were sharper than usual, and I felt something. There were parts of my body that felt particularly hot. Maybe these were the parts where the flames were flowing out.
If so, I had failed yesterday because my method was wrong. Maybe the answer wasn't to make flames appear only where I wanted, but to block the flames from appearing where I didn't want them.
I focused intently on the places where the flames were flowing out. Like turning off the valves of a gas stove, one by one, I shut them down. The flames that had been wrapping around my head died down. Then, the flames on my chest, stomach, and legs went out in order. Since I already knew how to grow the flames, I gathered my anger.
The world I’d been dropped into without knowing why was too harsh for me. My gender had changed, I had no money, and I was in a place where I had to learn how to fight to survive. That’s why I hated this world.
With the anger toward the world, flames roared fiercely from both my hands. At that ferocious momentum, the flow of her relentless attacks was slightly interrupted. For me, that was enough. In that slight gap, I took one step forward, and that was already within range for a fist, not a sword. Then, there was only one thing to do.
Fire Punch.
With a bursting flame and the sound of something shattering—
"The winner is Evande!"
-Ooooooh!!!!
Cheers erupted for the winner. That moment was when I went from a human firefly to a Fire Punch.
...Thinking back, it seems my brain had gone a little haywire from the heat of my first fight.