Ch 218
Became a swordsmanship instructor at the academy
Chapter 218
"Seong Eunseo is really enviable, it's a complete free win."
"Right. If he's a first-year, there aren't many spells he can use."
"The opponent was Ji-sung, right? That's really pitiful."
"Everyone, don't be like that. The match hasn't even started yet."
"You can tell whether it's shit or bean paste without having to taste it."
"Jinsu, even when you make analogies, they're so disgusting..."
"Well, it's not wrong though. Should we bet on how many minutes our Eunseo will finish it in?"
"What do you mean minutes? It'll be fortunate if he lasts 30 seconds."
"Hey, but still, they're fellow student council members and he's a junior, so she'll probably go easy for about a minute. How embarrassing would it be if he falls without even making a single attack?"
It's a bit embarrassing that they're praising me so much, but honestly, I don't think I'll lose either.
"Huh? Eunseo, isn't it your turn now?"
"Do well and come back."
"Go a bit easy on him. He's still a fellow student council member and a junior."
Just like during the MT last time, Jinsu seems to be somewhat friendly with that bastard Lee Ji-sung.
He's a guy I don't like, so I don't want to go easy on him, but since he's still a junior, should I at least let him have the first attack?
Like the other kids said, it would be too humiliating if he falls without even getting to attack once.
"I'll be back."
I greeted the kids and went up to the arena.
"Both of you, come to the center."
Following the referee's instruction, we came to the center, and Lee Ji-sung looked at me with a smirk.
"Now, I'll explain the rules."
"Excuse me, we all heard the basic rules at school, so can't we just skip it? That senior over there is also last year's winner, so she should know the rules."
"What?"
"Let's hurry up."
What is this guy doing?
Of course, I know all the rules too.
But still, being rude to the referee like this is something I could never imagine.
"If Student Eunseo is okay with it."
"I don't mind."
"Alright. Then to summarize, make sure to follow the stop signal. If I call a stop but you continue moving or harm your opponent, you'll be disqualified without exception, so be careful."
"Yes."
"I got it, so let's just start quickly."
The teacher from 2nd Hunter School who's refereeing frowns at Lee Ji-sung's attitude.
It's so embarrassing that this kind of guy is a student from our 1st Hunter School and my junior.
"Then everyone, to your positions."
We returned to the starting points from the center.
TWEET!
I charged at the same time as the whistle signaling the start.
I was going to be considerate and let him attack at least once, but seeing his arrogant attitude made that thought completely disappear.
TING!
I was thinking of blowing off one of his arms and ending it quickly, but a milky white barrier barely appeared and deflected my attack.
"Even if you're fast, there's no way with such a pathetic sword."
He speaks with an unpleasant smile, getting cocky just because he blocked one attack.
A first-year level barrier should break with a normal attack, but he seems to have more magic than he looks.
I drew up internal energy from my dantian and flowed it into my sword, causing blue energy to start rippling.
"Sword Aura."
"To create it so quickly."
I swung thinking I'd cut through both the barrier and his arm at once.
TING!
He deflected the Sword Aura?
I thought I would have dealt some damage at least, but there isn't even a small crack visible on the barrier.
Was I being too greedy?
This time I focused solely on the barrier and swung my sword again, but the result was the same.
"I told you earlier. There's no way with such a pathetic sword."
I wondered if it might not be a regular barrier but some other high-grade magic, but no matter how I look at it, it's the barrier I've seen and faced frequently.
While I was confused, a Fire Burst began forming above the guy's head.
Stupid bastard.
I naturally thought the barrier would disappear and tried to swing my sword again, but surprisingly, the barrier didn't disappear.
He's using Double Casting?
What kind of ridiculous skill for a first-year?
I've faced many magicians through last year's tournament, but there wasn't a single magician who used Double Casting.
The completed Fire Ball soon flew toward me, but I struck it with my sword and split it apart.
It looked like an ordinary Fire Ball on the outside, but something felt a bit heavier and I felt considerable strong resistance.
If I hadn't imbued my sword with Sword Aura, there would have definitely been damage.
"Here comes another one."
Along with the guy's words, countless fire orbs are forming around the barrier.
I tried to dodge as much as possible, but this time there were too many to avoid them all, so I had to strike down some of them.
BANG! BANG!
It wasn't my imagination.
Definitely heavier and stronger resistance compared to other spells.
Among all the people I've faced so far, there's only one person whose magic gave this kind of feeling.
Only Senior Se-jin.
It feels exactly the same as the Fire Balls that Senior Se-jin occasionally threw during the sparring we had while preparing for last year's tournament, when she said she'd mix in some magic too.
But how on earth?
There's no way Senior Se-jin would teach someone like this.
"Are you tired already? That's a bit disappointing."
"Don't babble as you please."
I swung my sword toward the guy's barrier once more, but the result was the same.
I swung this hard but not even a crack appeared? What the hell is this?
Even the barrier created by A-rank magicians surrounding the arena right now would have taken sufficient damage, but this guy has much more magic than an A-rank Hunter?
"I told you it's useless, didn't I? With such a lousy sword."
Along with his words, magic flew at me again, so I stepped back a bit to maintain distance and dodged.
Everyone, including the teachers, is watching, and my heart is getting increasingly anxious.
***
"That Lee Ji-sung bastard is holding up better than expected."
"Right. How many times has he blocked sword energy now?"
"Did that bastard have that much magic?"
Everyone seems surprised by Lee Ji-sung's unexpected good performance.
I was a bit surprised too.
Just how many years' worth of wild ginseng did that bastard eat?
I guess that bastard bought the wild ginseng that was on the news last time?
Definitely.
It's true that magic manifested through internal energy is stronger than magic implemented with magic, but he can't keep defending against sword energy like that.
It requires tremendous internal energy, and one or two 100-year-old wild ginseng roots wouldn't even come close.
When the two first got matched up, I thought everything was doomed, but looking at it now, the advantage has tilted toward Lee Ji-sung.
"Isn't it a bit cowardly to just defend like that?"
"What's cowardly about it? Barriers are also proper magic. He's attacking too."
"It's just small-time magic like Fire Ball though. If it goes on like this, the match will drag on forever."
"Right. That's not skill, it's just enduring with the amount of magic."
Minhee and Cha Min-woo, who were next to me, got into an argument.
That Lee Ji-sung bastard used his head well.
Even if he increased his internal energy with wild ginseng, he can't narrow the skill gap.
Originally, the physical strength, dynamic vision, and reaction speed of magic class students and swordsmanship class students are incomparable.
But if he can block all attacks with barriers like that, such things become meaningless.
Of course, normally you couldn't fight like that because the defending side consumes much more internal energy, but the difference in internal energy between those two must be enormous.
While Eunseo's skill is outstanding and excellent compared to her peers, the amount of her internal energy isn't that much.
Moreover, I didn't feed Eunseo wild ginseng like I did with Se-jin...
Nearly 20 minutes have passed since the sparring began.
Eunseo is still dodging and intercepting the magic that occasionally flies over and continues swinging her sword imbued with sword energy toward the barrier, but honestly, her speed has slowed compared to the beginning.
The color of her sword energy is also gradually fading.
On the other hand, Lee Ji-sung's barrier remains solid.
Though it's just Fire Ball, he's still freely using magic too.
Eventually, just over 30 minutes in, Eunseo collapsed.
She wasn't hit by magic; she just collapsed while maintaining distance.
"Stop! Match stopped! Winner: 1st Hunter School 1st Year Magic Class Lee Ji-sung."
"Eunseo!"
Not only the medical staff waiting near the arena, but also Eunsu and other friends rush out.
I immediately approached Eunseo too.
Looking at her condition up close, it seems like magic exhaustion occurred from forcibly using up her magic.
I'm worried too, but she'll be fine after resting a bit.
The stability of the Xiaotian Qigong that Eunseo learned is much more stable than our Xiantian Sect's mental cultivation method, though less efficient.
The magicians also rushed over immediately to check her condition.
I was very worried at first, but contrary to my concerns, everything worked out well.
But my mood is definitely not good.
No, it's quite terrible.
Throughout the match, Lee Ji-sung provoked Eunseo.
His voice wasn't that loud, so other people couldn't hear it, but I could.
Of course, trash talk during duels isn't uncommon.
I've done trash talk during duels many times too. But that bastard...
Eunseo regained consciousness.
"Student Seong Eunseo, are you okay?"
She nodded and our eyes met.
Suddenly she bowed her head deeply again.
Then she said she wanted to be alone and quickly left.
"She must be pretty embarrassed about getting wrecked by me."
Lee Ji-sung, who appeared beside me at some point, giggles and makes sarcastic remarks.
"Hey, what kind of way is that to talk?"
Minhee, who was next to us, frowns and speaks.
"What, did I say something wrong? Last year's tournament winner acting all high and mighty, then failing to land a single successful attack and getting eliminated in the first preliminary round. Well, I would have run away too if I were her."
Is this bastard really crazy?
"This bastard!"
Before I could step forward, Eunsu, who was next to me, couldn't hold back and grabbed his collar.
"Don't you dare talk like that. What do you mean our Eunseo was acting high and mighty? Our Eunseo has never done that, not even once!"
"Kek, what are you doing right now? Let go of this while I'm being nice."
"Apologize for talking like that right now. It wasn't even a proper duel, you were cowardly... Ugh!"
Lee Ji-sung's barrier appeared and Eunsu was pushed away.
"Why should I? And cowardly? Is it cowardly for a magician to use magic?"
"This bastard!"
"Eunsu, don't."
"Hey there, what are you doing?"
It's a complete mess.
But the kids nearby stopped them and even a teacher approached, so the situation was quickly resolved.
The situation was resolved, but my heart wasn't.
If Eunsu hadn't stepped forward first, I would have.
I definitely cheered for Lee Ji-sung, but I never thought the guy would mock Eunseo like this.
He usually cares a lot about his reputation around others.
But this has crossed the line by far.
I knew his character wasn't great originally, but looking at his recent actions and attitude toward me, I thought he wasn't such a bad guy.
Still, he's the protagonist, so I really didn't know he'd be this much of a scumbag...
Even though Eunsu and the seniors are glaring at him, he doesn't care at all and is bragging to other first-year students, acting all high and mighty.
...My fists are trembling.
I want to rush over right now and make him shut his mouth.
But right now, it seems right to take care of Eunseo first rather than that bastard.
I came out of the auditorium and spread my Absolute Domain to find Eunseo.
Unlike other students, because she learned Wudang Sect's mental cultivation method, I found her quickly and immediately quickened my pace.
Following the energy, I arrived at the parking lot.
I could sense Eunseo's presence inside the bus we took when coming to 2nd Hunter School, but I couldn't take a step.
Because I could hear Eunseo's sobbing.
I naturally thought she'd be disappointed, but I really never thought it would progress like this...
What the hell did I do?
Thinking about it again, it's all excuses and I'm an idiot.
When Luciel said she would only live in her own world, I told Luciel to trust me and follow me because I would handle everything.
I spoke so well, but being afraid of the original story getting twisted, I inflicted ridiculous wounds on Eunseo, who cherishes and loves me as much as Luciel does.
I didn't execute the plan I had in mind, but if I had taught Eunseo the secret techniques I learned from Zhang Sambong, the outcome of the match would have been different.
No, even if I had just obtained wild ginseng and fed it to her like I did with Se-jin...
The story is already twisted. What's the big deal about it getting twisted a little more...
Though I didn't tell Eunseo this, I confidently said I'd handle everything, but my actions were completely opposite...
I walked toward the bus.
I know I have no face to show Eunseo, but I can't just stay here blaming myself and regretting.
When I entered the bus, just as the presence I felt indicated, there was no driver and I could see Eunseo sitting alone in a corner.
When I came in, she hastily wiped her eyes trying to pretend she was fine, and seeing her made my heart feel like it was tearing apart.
"Tea... Teacher."
"Don't say anything."
I approached and hugged Eunseo.
Spilled water can't be scooped back up, but from that, you can at least learn the lesson to be careful next time.
I'm thinking of never spilling water again.
Originally, the life I thought about and resolved to live when I first came to this world wasn't like this.
The original story? Go eat shit.
Original story or whatever, my happiness and the happiness of the people I like, the people I cherish and love, comes first.