Vanguard vs. Striker
"Wow, so cool!"
"Man, the gap in our strength is just too wide. I don't even know if this'll count as practice. Ain't that right?"
"Please don't come near me."
"Why do you always gotta be like that to me?"
The rest of the team, excluding the Vanguard and Striker groups, stepped back to the edges of the training ground. Somehow, I ended up standing right in the middle, snagging the absolute best spot to watch.
Oh, yeah.
In front of Yeon-hwa, the Striker team lined up, led by Seong-hyeon and I-hwa. The other four positioned themselves behind the two A-ranks.
It made sense, since Strikers made up the largest portion of the Nova Team.
I'd heard that not only were most awakened abilities easily categorized under the Striker position, but it was also by far the most popular role.
"Don't look down on us, Kim Seong-hyeon!"
"Oh my, I'm shaking in my boots. If it isn't our blockhead Eun-seol! Your name is so pretty, but you look like a rugged old boulder."
"...Brace yourself. Having trained under Hunter Kang Yong-su, we are not the same as before!"
Eun-seol—who had a solid, heavy build, short, thick ash-gray hair, and earthy brown eyes—slammed his massive shield onto the ground with a heavy thud as he shouted.
Watching the way Seong-hyeon spoke... it was easy to see how he bought himself so much trouble. He was a troublemaker through and through.
That's definitely why I-hwa hates him so much. Yep, yep.
"Who do you think is going to win, Shiro?"
While the two groups locked eyes in a tense standoff, Se-eun gently stroked my hair and asked. I thought about it for a moment before answering.
"Well... wouldn't the Striker group win? They have two A-rank hunters... and they have the most people."
Much as I hated to admit it because of Seong-hyeon's attitude, the Striker group was definitely the strongest out of all the teams.
Putting aside the fact that they had two A-ranks, the Striker position itself was practically synonymous with being the main damage dealers.
"Mhm! Keep a close eye on them, then. It's going to be a much more interesting spar than you think."
"Okay!"
Se-eun said with a smile. If she was that confident, Grandfather Yong-su must have given them some incredible training, right?
"Who do you think will win, Jeolmi?"
— Hoot...
— Squeak!
— Hoo, hoot?!
Jeolmi pondered for a moment, then, perhaps wanting to support Grandfather Yong-su, reluctantly pointed its wing toward the Vanguard team.
I was just starting to find it endearing how loyal it was when—
Smack! Hwindungi slapped Jeolmi's beak with its tail, wearing a look that clearly said, Stop talking nonsense. I suppose since Hwindungi was still practically a newborn, it hadn't formed a bond with Grandfather yet...
Jeolmi looked at me with an incredibly wronged expression, but...
— Hoo, hoot?!
I quickly looked away.
Sorry, but Hwindungi scares me a little too.
I knew it. Losing my focus at the very end of the summoning was a mistake.
"It's starting!"
In the meantime, the match began, and I locked my focus onto the field. Don't be sad, Jeolmi. I'll buy you something delicious later.
Vanguards and Strikers, Backcodes and Seekers. There was a natural rivalry between the corresponding positions.
Strikers usually clashed head-on with Vanguards, while Seekers darted around looking for weaknesses in the Backcode. That was the basic formula of hunter sparring.
"We won't lose this time!"
Because of this, even in Academy spars, the relationship between Vanguards and Strikers was akin to a fierce rivalry.
This was especially true for Kim Seong-hyeon and Go Eun-seol, who were the same age.
"Stop flapping your gums and show me what you've got this time!"
"You got it! Bring it on!"
Go Eun-seol was the closest to A-rank among all the Vanguard cadets. The general consensus was that he had the talent to easily reach A-rank once he started working as a professional hunter.
However, standing next to a genius like Kim Seong-hyeon, who had leaped over that wall with ridiculous ease, his light couldn't help but feel a bit dimmed.
"Take this!"
Astrape (B-rank)
It was Kim Seong-hyeon's signature skill.
The lightning spear wielded by Zeus, the king of Olympus. The name was no exaggeration—intense lightning coiled around Seong-hyeon's spear, crashing down with a deafening roar of thunder.
Craaaack! But Go Eun-seol was quick to deploy his own skill in response.
His class was Cragsman (B-rank), a class that manipulated rock faces and earth mana.
Bedrock (A-rank)
Under the effect of his skill, Bedrock, the ground beneath his feet solidified, anchoring him as if he had become one with the earth itself.
His shield, crafted from Gate-harvested granite, collided with Seong-hyeon's spear. A high-pitched, metallic screech echoed across the training ground.
"Huh...!"
Seong-hyeon couldn't help but marvel.
Lightning was naturally weak against earth. Yet, the reason he had always won until now was the sheer, overwhelming difference in raw power. Normally, an attack of this caliber would have at least rattled the shield, even if it didn't pierce it in one go.
But this time was different.
"How's that for a shield?!"
Go Eun-seol's shield didn't budge an inch.
Solidity. The core virtue that Kang Yong-su emphasized above all else for a Vanguard. That mindset had taken deep root in the students of the Vanguard group.
"Whoa! That's amazing!"
It was fascinating! I had enjoyed watching others train before, but watching an actual spar felt completely different.
It felt like watching an action cartoon.
With Seong-hyeon and Eun-seol's clash serving as the opening act, the spar began in earnest.
There were four members in the Vanguard group.
Ryu Da-in, a Bellows-Keeper (C-rank).
Oh Tae-jun, a Tide-Weaver (C-rank).
Im Ha-neul, a Pyromancer (B-rank).
And Eun-seol, their de facto leader.
Coincidentally, they all have element-related classes, just like Grandfather Yong-su!
Because of this, the four Vanguards stood back-to-back, chaining their skills together in a dazzling display of teamwork.
Eun-seol raised walls of earth, Da-in rooted himself to the ground to disrupt the battlefield with various plants, and Ha-neul swept over it all with roaring flames.
Finally, Tae-jun whipped the water around violently, creating a massive explosion of steam.
Is the Vanguard group actually going to win?
Seeing so much elemental mana flying around made my heart race. Bombe... was too lazy to care and was fast asleep, but Jeolmi and Hwindungi watched the spar with keen interest.
"Ah... they can't win that."
The Vanguard group had put up an incredible fight. Honestly, considering the clear gap in raw power, the fact that they had held out this long was impressive in its own right.
But...
"Stop slacking off and help me out already! Please! I'm begging you!"
"You should say, 'Please help me, Lady I-hwa.'"
"Please! You crazy girl!"
"Hmph...!"
The moment I-hwa drew her sword with a dissatisfied pout, the tide of battle shifted instantly. It wasn't that the other Striker cadets were weak.
But while Seong-hyeon was the one driving the battle forward, it was I-hwa who brought it to a swift end.
Flower petals fluttered through the air.
Deep blue petals filled the empty space, creating the illusion of standing in a field of flowers in full bloom.
...They're all made of mana, just like Master's!
The petals didn't possess any physical force of their own. They were merely 'footholds.'
*Swish-sh-sh!*
Footholds for I-hwa to step on as she moved with speed that defied human limits.
"You underhanded...!"
"What's underhanded about it?! Our I-hwa is a Striker too!"
"Ugh..."
*Hiss...* I-hwa unleashed a flurry of sword strikes before sliding to a halt, her boots scraping against the floor. Wisps of smoke rose from the soles of her shoes due to the friction.
While she let out a long, ragged breath, Seong-hyeon and the other Strikers moved in to finish off the Vanguards.
The Vanguards, already heavily damaged by the sword strikes, collapsed helplessly. Just like that, the spar was over.
"Haha, the Strikers win. Still, you all did a fine job."
Grandfather Yong-su patted the Vanguard students on the back as he declared the end of the match.
Despite their defeat, the atmosphere wasn't gloomy. Since they had always been overwhelmingly defeated in the past, the fact that they had put up such a close fight this time felt like a victory in itself.
"Ah... the Striker group won after all."
"What's that, kiddo? Sounds like you wanted us to lose."
"Ah, unni...! N-no, it's not like that."
Honestly, rooting for the underdog was a time-honored tradition, so I had been cheering for the Vanguards. When I let that slip, Yeon-hwa, who was stepping back after watching, gave me a sharp look.
"I thought about breaking a leg of each of our members before the match for Hunter Yong-su's sake... but I suppose he would have hated that even more, wouldn't he?"
"Uh... yes, definitely."
What on earth goes through this unni's head?
"Did you see that, kiddo? That's your oppa's real skill right there."
"We wouldn't have won if it weren't for me."
"No way. I could've easily won even if I was by myself, y'know?"
"Useless."
"What did you say?!"
I could only scratch my cheek and offer an awkward smile.
"Showing such an embarrassing sight in front of a child. Did you enjoy watching?"
As they bickered, Eun-seol approached me while applying a bandage to his cheek. He really felt like a diligent, upright young man.
"Yes! It was so cool!"
"...Well, that certainly makes me feel good."
Eun-seol turned his head away, his lips twitching in embarrassment. As expected, no one could handle my compliments.
A cute little girl's destructive power is truly the greatest in the world.
"Oh, the next spar is starting."
Meanwhile, the Backcode and Seeker groups stepped forward.
"This one should be pretty close."
"What are you talking about? Lee Woo-rin is in the Backcode group, y'know."
"I-hwa isn't wrong. Backcodes and Seekers are essentially the prey and the hunters."
I tilted my head up at Eun-seol's words and asked.
"The prey and the hunters?"
"Yeah. Usually, the commanders and healers are in the Backcode, right? So when we do team spars, the Seekers' job is to neutralize the Backcode. Think of it as a battle between medics and assassins."
Ah, that made sense.
Since Seekers had a rogue-like vibe to them, it was only natural they'd play that role.
Of course, in actual combat, they'd be raiding Gate bosses, so this theory was mostly applicable to player-versus-player scenarios.
Still, in this grand era of hunter entertainment with international tournaments like Nova, it was highly interesting.
"But it's still going to be close?"
"Well... you'll see. Woo-rin tends to underestimate himself sometimes, but..."
Eun-seol cleared his throat and looked ahead.
"Out of the current A-ranks, Woo-rin was the very first to show his true talent."