Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: It's Scary.
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#31
It's scary.
A demon covered head to toe in blood was baring his pearly white teeth in a grin directed right at them.
The three who had grown up comfortably like potted plants in a greenhouse had no choice but to find Seo Woo-jin's appearance terrifying.
*You want me to spar with that?*
She wasn't afraid of fighting.
She had slain countless monsters and even sparred with knights before.
But compared to what Seo Woo-jin and Ailin had just done, that was nothing more than child's play.
Lee Ji-ah even wondered if those two were sworn enemies.
How else could they attack each other with such murderous intent?
She had foolishly imagined a spar would be like a taekwondo match.
One wrong move, and her head would be lopped right off.
Lee Ji-ah wasn't the only one feeling that way.
Yoo Hong-seol and Kim Da-hye were also pale-faced and fidgeting restlessly.
They seemed terrified that they might be next.
". . . Aren't you going to do it?"
Seo Woo-jin asked casually.
At that, Lee Ji-ah's hand shot up.
It was an instinctive reaction.
She was definitely scared. She didn't want to do it.
She didn't want to get slashed by a sword for no reason or see more blood.
Even so, Lee Ji-ah kept her hand raised.
Her heart was pounding for some inexplicable reason.
*Am I crazy?*
She wanted to have a real go at it.
It would hurt and be scary, but she wanted to experience it just once.
"Me! I'll go first!"
Seo Woo-jin's eyes turned to Lee Ji-ah.
He had seemed like such a friendly uncle before, but now her shoulders shrank back involuntarily.
"Alright, come here."
Seo Woo-jin nodded with a smile.
*Surely he won't kill me, right?*
She swallowed hard and stepped into the center of the training ground.
* * *
*Unexpected.*
Honestly, Seo Woo-jin hadn't expected much.
From what Yoo Hong-seol had said earlier, he could tell just how cushy their growth had been.
"What if you get hurt?"
Was that something heroes on the verge of war with the Demon King should say?
The Descent War would be far more brutal than the subjugations in Massive Guardian—beyond comparison.
It was a war to prevent the end of the world, after all. Naturally.
Hearing such weak words in that context was a bit absurd.
He had only asked out of courtesy, but Lee Ji-ah stepped up.
Just looking at her stiff expression and movements told him how frightened she was.
*Relax a little.*
Her arms and legs were flailing like she was facing a drill sergeant at boot camp.
Still, the fact that she stepped forward despite that made her both admirable and pitiable.
Lee Ji-ah's job was "Fist Master."
An A-rank job at that, and level 26.
She was undoubtedly in the top ranks among the heroes.
With a slight thrill, Seo Woo-jin asked the girl who had approached him.
"Your gear?"
"Oh, I left it at the inn. I was planning to go sightseeing. I didn't know it'd turn into this suddenly, so I didn't bring it. Should we do it next time? That might be better, right?"
Now that they were about to start, her fear seemed to bubble over, and she began rambling.
*Impressive.*
Even in a situation like this, Lee Ji-ah's mouth never stopped.
"Hmm, then how about a pure hand-to-hand spar?"
"Huh? Is that okay? You're a 'Sword Soldier,' aren't you?"
"Of course. I've trained my hand-to-hand pretty diligently too."
Lee Ji-ah's face brightened at Seo Woo-jin's response.
She figured without a sword, there was little chance of serious injury.
Plus, in a simple fistfight, she had the edge for sure.
She was a Fist Master, after all.
"No skills or mana. That cool?"
"Yes! Totally cool!"
Lee Ji-ah was thrilled.
"Then Ailin, just in case, prepare some potions."
"Got it."
As Ailin stepped aside, Seo Woo-jin immediately assumed his stance.
"You can come at me first."
Since Lee Ji-ah wasn't used to this kind of sparring, he yielded the first move.
"Then I won't hold back!"
Thud—!
Lee Ji-ah stomped the ground.
Dust piled up on the training ground billowed in a white cloud as her fist rocketed toward Seo Woo-jin's face in an instant.
"Hup!"
He twisted his head aside.
The speed was faster than expected; he was a tad late, but he dodged just in time.
*Whoa!*
A-rank was still A-rank.
Even without skills or mana, her physical prowess alone could crush most knights.
Whoosh—!
Seo Woo-jin spun around as the belated shockwave hit.
*Still...*
This was manageable.
As he reached out with his hand, he targeted Lee Ji-ah's knee with his leg.
"Urk!"
Startled, Lee Ji-ah tried to pull back, but her retreat was already blocked.
Before she could think of a counter, Seo Woo-jin's hand seized her throat.
And...
Bam—!
"Argh!"
Lee Ji-ah's head slammed into the ground.
He had pulled his strength as much as possible, but it was still a solid impact.
Proof of that: she was rolling around clutching the back of her head.
"It hurts! It hurts! Waaah!"
She was in so much pain that tears welled up in her eyes.
*Hoo—*
He had known she wouldn't be much of a match.
The level gap was huge, but more than that, she had zero experience in real fights like this.
Naturally, her situational judgment and responses were amateurish.
Meanwhile, Seo Woo-jin had rolled through hell for a year.
Stabbed by blades multiple times a day, bones broken by fists and feet.
There was no way he'd lose after that infernal training.
But the gap was too wide.
*She's sixteen levels higher than me.*
At this rate, he worried if she'd survive the war.
"Y-You okay?"
Seo Woo-jin belatedly checked on Lee Ji-ah.
Of course, there were no major injuries to her body.
He had gone easy, and her physique far exceeded human limits.
She was just shocked and startled now; the pain probably wasn't that bad.
Seo Woo-jin comforted the teary-eyed Lee Ji-ah.
To continue sparring, he'd have to hold back even more.
"Uwaaang...."
Sniffling snot, Lee Ji-ah stood up.
"Again."
"Huh?"
"Again!"
A faint but fierce glint burned in her eyes.
Seo Woo-jin smiled.
* * *
Bam—!
"Again!"
Baaam—!
"Again!"
Booom—!
"Ag... urk."
How many times had he humored her?
Since he was holding back a lot, she lasted longer than the first time.
She even started landing some sharp strikes.
But properly countering Seo Woo-jin was still beyond her.
After rolling on the ground nearly ten times, Lee Ji-ah finally gave up on retrying.
She realized no matter how hard she tried, there was no answer right now.
"Next time, rematch! With gear!"
The fierce glint in Lee Ji-ah's eyes grew stronger.
He felt a twinge of guilt for tainting her innocent gaze like that, but this was good for her too.
Sparring with him like this would boost her survival odds in the war.
On the flip side, it made him a bit uneasy.
*Am I digging my own grave?*
Was he raising someone who might become an enemy?
Maybe he should stop now?
Those thoughts crossed his mind.
But leaving a kid like her to her own devices didn't sit right either.
Excluding Massive Guardian folks, she was the first to approach him warmly.
"Yeah, yeah. Tomorrow then."
"No running away!"
Most people would give up.
Like Yoo Hong-seol and Kim Da-hye, who were keeping their distance out of sheer fear.
But Lee Ji-ah was the opposite.
Somehow, it made her admirable.
"You two aren't doing it?"
He still had plenty of energy left.
He had gone hard with Ailin earlier, but this was nothing compared to Massive Guardian training.
He wanted to sweat a bit more...
"I-I'm next time!"
"Me too!"
As if hearing Seo Woo-jin, they shook their heads vigorously.
"Alright. Suit yourselves."
A bit disappointing.
He had wanted to see how Yoo Hong-seol and Kim Da-hye fought.
But he couldn't force them.
"Wait. Let me apply some potion."
Lee Ji-ah's head and arms were covered in minor scrapes.
Wounds from repeatedly rolling on the ground.
"Ugh, I've never been hurt this bad before! Seriously, mister, you're a demon!"
Lee Ji-ah grumbled.
"You can say that after looking at me?"
Seo Woo-jin chuckled and pointed to himself.
The bleeding had mostly stopped, but he was still drenched in blood.
A stranger might mistake him for a dump truck accident victim.
"Th-That..."
She suddenly remembered pummeling that very Seo Woo-jin with fierce punches just moments ago.
"You okay? You look like it hurts a lot...."
Only then did she ask with a worried expression.
"It's nothing. You get worse injuries all the time in training."
"Woo-jin."
As he helped Lee Ji-ah up and dusted her off, Ailin approached with potions.
"Already applied yours?"
Her flushed face suggested she had done it herself first.
As expected, Ailin nodded.
"Want to apply some to Ji-ah?"
It felt awkward for him to do it personally.
Better if another woman handled it.
And...
"Ah? Aah? Aaaah!"
Lee Ji-ah thrashed as Massive Guardian's special trauma potion was applied.
"Oh, right. That stuff stings."
Like Albochil concentrated tenfold, maybe?
The pain was worse than getting hit by Seo Woo-jin; she couldn't get a grip on herself.
*Still, the effect is insane.*
A miracle potion that turned a week's pain into ten seconds.
Ailin deftly applied it to the writhing Lee Ji-ah.
"I-I almost died...."
Lee Ji-ah wiped her tears, sniffling.
*She didn't cry that hard earlier.*
It really must hurt.
"Want to apply some to me?"
He couldn't reach some spots himself.
"Me! I'll do it!"
Before Ailin could step in, Lee Ji-ah snatched the potion.
Seo Woo-jin read the intent in her eyes.
*That's... the look of vengeance!*
She clearly planned to repay the pain from today while applying it to him.
Seo Woo-jin chuckled.
It hurt, but he could endure it now.
After a year, he was too used to it for dramatics.
He had slathered that stuff all over daily.
As Seo Woo-jin took off his shirt, Lee Ji-ah approached with a sly grin.
"Finally, time for reve—"
Her body froze mid-cheer as she tried to apply it.
Seo Woo-jin's body was anything but normal.
One, two, three.
Countless sword scars covered his upper body.
It looked like shattered pottery forcibly glued back together.
It was unbelievable that a human could survive in such a state.