Chapter 76
Chapter 76
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 76
Chapter Title: Countering Golden Claw
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“What? What the hell?”
The spectators shot to their feet.
The feat that Lee Seung-jun was supposed to show had been pulled off by Kang Jae-hyeok instead. The shock was immense.
“That bastard... He did that on purpose?”
When Jae-hyeok had taken down Ha Kyung-su in the first duel evaluation, the ripple effect hadn’t been that big.
‘Kang Jae-hyeok’s good at swordsmanship and spearmanship too.’ Most people had accepted it along those lines.
But today.
Jae-hyeok had unleashed hand-to-hand combat against a fighter.
The intent was blatantly obvious.
“He’s showing off that he’s good at everything? What a show-off.”
“He’s already overwhelmed two A-Class students with their own specialties. If he had that kind of skill and didn’t show it off, he’d be the idiot.”
“It’s not fitting behavior for a noble. Lacks gravitas.”
“Since when did we treat House Kang like nobles and start talking about noble conduct?”
The spectator stands grew increasingly rowdy.
A-Class students reacting sensitively clashed with B-Class students mocking them, turning the atmosphere hostile.
‘That cocky bastard Kang Jae-hyeok...’
A-Class students suffered from the prejudice and jealousy that they’d only made it to A-Class thanks to ‘good parents boosting their levels for admission.’
To quell the absurd conspiracy theories from idiots who thought ‘jjol’ was everything, they had to constantly prove A-Class had the best skills.
But now Ha Kyung-su and even Lee Seung-jun had lost to B-Class Kang Jae-hyeok?
A-Class could face even greater prejudice.
Doubts about A-Class privileges like dorm assignments and advanced training would only grow louder.
“You idiot Lee Seung-jun! Are you even trying?”
A few A-Class students who already despised Lee Seung-jun lost all sense of face and screamed.
“......”
Ha Kyung-su himself stayed silent.
What he’d taught Lee Seung-jun was how to neutralize Jae-hyeok’s swordsmanship and spearmanship.
He didn’t know how to beat Jae-hyeok using hand-to-hand, so he couldn’t criticize him.
There wasn’t even a moment to say anything.
He was confused.
‘How the hell is that possible?’
The physical abilities of humans who awakened stats and became players were superior.
They picked up anything physical easily, and those aspiring to high-rank player status often mastered various martial arts.
But Jae-hyeok had been only level 10 not long ago.
His stats were several times lower than A-Class students.
‘That much I can accept.’
Sure, even with low stats, if he was born with incredible talent, he could pick up any martial art easily.
But in PvP, what mattered most was having skills.
Even if Ha Kyung-su himself had awakened <Stealth>—unrelated to spearmanship—as his first skill, Lee Seung-jun’s first skill was [Golden Claw].
An active skill that activated unconditionally the moment any physical contact occurred, and its power was tremendous.
Even if Lee Seung-jun had struck rashly and Jae-hyeok countered perfectly, Golden Claw’s power should have turned the tables.
Yet it was Lee Seung-jun who ended up smashed into the ground.
‘He let his guard down?’
Ha Kyung-su concluded.
He chalked it up to Lee Seung-jun panicking and failing to activate his skill in time.
Only then did the chaos in his head clear, and the anxiety in his heart subside.
‘Kang Jae-hyeok, don’t get too arrogant just because you beat a scrub.’
Ha Kyung-su snorted and left the scene.
The young boy still hadn’t realized that disparaging Lee Seung-jun only hurt himself.
“......”
Meanwhile, Jang Yeon-ju was stunned.
From her view, Lee Seung-jun hadn’t let his guard down.
She’d clearly seen him deploy Golden Claw the instant his kick was blocked.
‘The skill activated at the perfect timing.’
It was just that Jae-hyeok had read the timing.
By shifting his center of gravity and tilting his upper body, Jae-hyeok dodged Golden Claw and slammed in a throw. The intent was clear.
‘He’s sparred against Golden Claw users dozens of times?’
But even knowing the skill’s motion—could he counter it?
Golden Claw could grab the waist, the nape, or the collar.
The caster always aimed for the ‘optimal path,’ so countering any skill just by reading the activation motion and exploiting a weakness was incredibly hard.
“But why isn’t that guy getting up?”
While Jang Yeon-ju was lost in thought, the spectator stands buzzed.
Lee Seung-jun lay splayed out like a dead frog, not twitching.
Had he really passed out from one throw?
A-Class students were nearly level 30.
And Lee Seung-jun was a fighter.
His stamina stat would be high, giving him superior physical durability.
“He’s faking it because he’s embarrassed.”
“This is a duel evaluation, not a joke. It affects grades—surely not...”
Just then.
The TA who climbed onstage to check Lee Seung-jun’s condition shouted.
“First-year A-Class Lee Seung-jun is combat-incapacitated. The winner of Group 5 duel evaluation is B-Class Kang Jae-hyeok.”
Combat-incapacitated?
Students tilting their heads in confusion soon gasped.
As Lee Seung-jun was loaded onto a stretcher, his leg dangled at an unnatural angle. Beyond a broken leg bone—it looked like his pelvis was shattered.
Blood poured from the back of his head.
“Whoa, insane. I thought his waist folded in half...”
“H-he’s not dead, is he?”
“......”
Non-awakened class students made a fuss, while awakened class students fell into grave silence.
Not from a weapon or skill—just a throw—and a player’s bones were wrecked?
‘Does that mean Kang Jae-hyeok’s strength surpasses Lee Seung-jun’s stamina, or at least matches it?’
Impossible.
Lee Seung-jun had been nearly level 20 at enrollment, while Jae-hyeok was level 10 during re-enrollment review three weeks ago.
For their stats to be comparable was beyond reason.
A-Class lessons progressed far faster than B-Class too.
It was safe to say Jae-hyeok couldn’t have caught up to Lee Seung-jun’s level.
“Ha Kyung-su’s claim about him gorging on elixirs like meals was true? I thought it was bullshit.”
“About ten years ago, House Kang was pretty prominent. Doesn’t seem odd if they stockpiled elixirs. Plus, he got Fairy’s Tears from the Chairman.”
“Real golden spoon.”
“Calling House Kang golden spoons feels a bit... Huh?”
Students whispering and sneaking glances at Jae-hyeok returning to the stands went wide-eyed.
A beautiful girl with sky-blue hair.
Jang Yeon-ju, who’d drawn first-years’ attention for various reasons, approached Jae-hyeok.
Fidgeting her hands clasped in front of her chest like she couldn’t stand still—it didn’t look normal.
“Damn it.”
B-Class students who’d passionately defended Jae-hyeok against A-Class nitpickers cursed in unison.
Even Cha Da-hee’s friends, who’d sided with B-Class, narrowed their eyes.
Then they all sighed together.
Jang Yeon-ju, chattering animatedly at Jae-hyeok with a tense expression, suddenly grabbed his collar and dragged him out of the gym.
“Good-looking guy who’s great at fighting—popular, huh.”
Yoo-jin giggled, pouring oil on the fire.
She knew full well about Jae-hyeok and the Archery Club but teased the kids anyway.
The atmosphere heated up instantly.
Countless students imagined winning their duel evaluations and confessing to second-year hotties, fueling their motivation.
“T-that’s not it...”
Cha Da-hee tried to calm the overheated mood, but it was futile.
The duel evaluations grew fiercer, with injuries piling up.
“Heh heh, this year’s freshmen are quite passionate. Too early to evaluate other aspects, but their enthusiasm is top-tier historically. They’ll go far.”
“Yaksha’s son... Kang Jae-hyeok, was it? Impressive how he countered the skill. Enough to stimulate the others.”
“Flawless technique. Masterful use of the skill’s force against itself.”
Even among the professors—not teachers—Jae-hyeok’s name came up.
Active players dedicated to research and nurturing the next generation.
Holding firm personal philosophies, they had no biases.
They evaluated Jae-hyeok without considering House Kang’s political stance at all.
“O-one person’s waist folded in half...! He must take after Yaksha!”
All but one.
Professor Lee So-young of Mana Studies trembled in fear, unable to escape her prejudice.
***
“When I clashed with the White Tiger beastkin, I missed the chance to use my technique and got injured instead.”
Jang Yeon-ju confessed as she walked, kicking small pebbles with her dress shoes.
“I didn’t even see it as a mistake or feel frustrated. Archery was all that mattered to me. Failures outside of that didn’t faze me. In the end, I rescued Grandpa Song safely too.”
She finally stopped before a small hill and looked up.
A rock stood tall atop the hill, filling her blue eyes.
“I got lucky. Yeah, just luck. If my mistake had led to the worst outcome, I would’ve regretted obsessing only over archery right then.”
Jae-hyeok’s gaze shifted to the rock too.
A narrow, deep scar marked the center.
As if pierced thousands, millions of times by an arrowhead.
“For now, I’m focusing on what I’m good at... No, what I need to be good at. If I keep obsessing only over what I want like now, I’ll end up unable to even do my part properly.”
I finally vaguely understand why Grandpa disapproved of my archery obsession.
It wasn’t just lack of talent.
He was worried about his granddaughter, stubborn but unable to even fend for herself.
I realized it hearing first-years talk about Jae-hyeok excelling in swordsmanship and spearmanship too.
Before chasing dreams, you need qualifications first.
“Sounds good.”
Jae-hyeok nodded.
He knew how brutal and cruel this world was.
So he always assumed failure and death.
But kids his age mostly couldn’t grasp those concepts.
Jang Yeon-ju was the same.
If the White Tiger beastkin had been vicious.
Her mistake wouldn’t have resulted in mere fractures—it would’ve been death.
“You can focus on what you want after building the strength to survive first.”
“......”
Suddenly.
Yeon-ju noticed Jae-hyeok’s world differed from hers.
Survival was a given to her, but to him, it seemed like a task to achieve.
She pulled out a lollipop, popped it in her mouth, and stared straight into his eyes.
“What do you want to do?”
“Revenge.”
Right after sharing that connection.
Jae-hyeok felt honesty was proper in return.
“Kill my enemies and take back everything.”
His father’s health, the family’s honor and wealth, and safety.
His eyes darkened with longing for things that felt impossibly distant now.
“...I see.”
Crunch!
Jang Yeon-ju crushed the candy she’d just peeled.
Bitter and not sweet—she wanted to swallow it fast.
“I’ll remember that.”
She knew.
She’d never forget this day.
How could she forget the day she vowed to set aside archery—even briefly—which she’d thought was her life?
The boy who gave her this day—his dream would be etched in her too.
‘Hooked proper.’
Jang Yeon-ju waved as she left, a chuckle escaping her lips.