107. Interpersonal Combat Practical (3)
107. Interpersonal Combat Practical (3)
Whoosh—
A sword grazed past the tip of my nose.
A spear sliced between my arm and my waist.
Right beside my ear, the sound of an arrow made my blood run cold.
Lee Min-young swallowed dryly.
Her heart pounded wildly, and the relentless, storm-like attacks made it impossible for her to keep her wits about her.
[ Shield up, thrust your sword to the right. And duck. ]
"Eeeek—!!"
She let out a pathetic shriek and ducked her head.
Lee Min-young clung to the voice coming through the earpiece like a lifeline and continued her precarious fight.
I glanced sideways at Lee Min-young dodging and made a fed-up expression.
Hong Ji-na was thrashing through the space, swinging any weapon she could get her hands on.
'Looks like a wild boar charging around in a frenzy.'
[ Three steps to the right. Run and don't look back! ]
Boom!
I was barking instructions at her with my mouth, but my head was spinning busily.
Her attack range changed depending on which of the scattered weapons she picked up—short-range, mid-range, long-range.
Whoosh!
As if she hadn't forgotten about us, a spear came flying at me and Kang Do-hee.
CRUNCH—!!
I swung my sword with all my might and deflected the spear aimed at my face.
Sparks flew as I forcefully knocked aside the spear, which was packed with ferocious power.
BANG—!!!
BOOOOM!!
The deflected spear drove deep into the wall behind me.
It was embedded more than halfway in.
If that thing had pierced my body.......
I wouldn't die, since this is a sparring ground imbued with the Chairwoman's Authority, but it still sent a shiver down my spine just imagining the pain.
'......If she'd shown up as an actual enemy, the patterns would've been so vicious you'd wonder if this was even a game.'
The only saving grace was that her attacks were perfectly visible.
Of course, blocking them was a different story.
But even this would have been impossible without Instructor Baek Seol-hee's classes, which were practically indistinguishable from real combat.
I scanned the weapons scattered across the floor.
'Hmm, I've more or less figured out what weapons are lying around....... That doesn't mean a brilliant idea is jumping out at me, though.......'
Unlike when I fought Ryu Jin-ju, I couldn't see any Parrying Points.
And these monstrous attacks weren't just brute force; they were chained together in combos, so I couldn't spot a single opening.
As I kept mulling it over.
I glanced to the side and caught sight of Kang Do-hee running alongside me.
Tap. Tap. Tat-tat. Tat-tat—
Kang Do-hee was twitching her fingers.
She seemed to be gauging the timing to intervene.
'Come to think of it, didn't she go bare-knuckle against Instructor Baek Seol-hee and fight her to a draw?'
It was a spar that had been part of a skill assessment during Basic Training.
Back then, Kang Do-hee had held her own against Instructor Baek Seol-hee.
Of course, I now knew Instructor Baek Seol-hee's true skill, so I understood that she hadn't used her full power back then and had merely adjusted her level for a light test.
'Still, that spar seemed faster than this wild boar instructor's, right......?'
As I stared at her openly like that,
Kang Do-hee's eyebrows twitched as if to say, "What are you looking at?" her face clearly sullen.
I opened my mouth.
"Hey, Kang Do-hee."
"What."
"If it were bare-handed versus bare-handed, could you beat that instructor?"
At my question, she thought for a moment, then nodded.
"......If there were no weapons, I don't know if I could win, but I could land a solid hit on her."
At her plucky answer, I grinned.
"Oh, reeeally?"
"You look like you're cooking up another weird idea."
She narrowed her eyes and said, sounding a bit put off.
"I just thought of a plan. Wanna hear it?"
I whispered the plan I'd formulated into her ear.
A look of sheer absurdity clouded Kang Do-hee's face.
"......And you think that'll work?"
"Yeah, we'll have to try it to find out, but....... Probably?"
And soon, Kang Do-hee gave a short nod.
* * *
Lee Min-young had been desperately dodging under Jin Yu-ha's direction.
But her stamina wasn't infinite, and she wasn't a Tank like Lee Yu-ri, so she eventually let an attack land.
BOOOOM—!!!!!
A heavy iron ball attached to the end of a staff by a chain slammed into her abdomen.
"Urk—!!!!"
Struck in the gut by an iron ball fired at a terrifying speed, she was sent flying several meters and skipped across the sparring ground floor like a flat stone on water.
"......Uuugh... Blargh—!"
Lee Min-young tried to somehow pick herself up, but she retched up blood while still collapsed.
In front of her, Hong Ji-na scratched her chin and trudged over.
Her deeply furrowed brow seemed to represent her displeasure, like something wasn't to her liking.
Contrary to what they must have intended to show her, Jin Yu-ha and Kang Do-hee had stayed far away, merely circling the perimeter without approaching.
The only one who had stood against her was the orange-haired cadet Lee Min-young, wielding a sword and shield.
Of course, dodging her attacks multiple times by throwing her body around despite the overwhelming gap in skill was certainly praiseworthy.
'That sharp eye must belong to that guy.'
Hong Ji-na glanced at the black-haired boy standing far away.
His intention of identifying the types of weapons scattered around to make it difficult for her to switch them out wasn't a bad idea.
And raising a Damage Dealer cadet—who wasn't even a Tank—to this level through instructions alone was also impressive.
Yes, it was a remarkable feat for a mere first-year cadet to hold out against her this long.
"Hm, did I show off a bit too much power against first-years......."
But Hong Ji-na couldn't help feeling a strange sense of disappointment rising within her.
'I was hoping to see something eye-opening.'
Yes, they were just first-years after all.
They hadn't accumulated enough combat experience yet, and it was still too early for their training to bear fruit.
'Still, hiding behind someone and never coming out until the very end is a little....... Disappointing.'
She had long ago grasped the strategy these kids had prepared.
While Lee Min-young drew her attention and dodged up front, Kang Do-hee and Jin Yu-ha were supposed to spot an opening and strike together.
But Lee Min-young had been taken out first, and they hadn't even gotten a chance to step in.
Clank.
Letting out a low sigh, Hong Ji-na raised her mace to finish off Lee Min-young.
And at that moment, as she was bringing the mace down toward the orange-haired girl.
CLANG—!!!!
Jin Yu-ha intervened, batting away the chain connected to the weight with his sword.
"It's time for a player substitution."
BOOM—!!!!
The mace slammed into the floor right next to Lee Min-young.
'......So fast!'
Hong Ji-na's eyes flew wide open at the speed, which far exceeded her expectations.
"Wild boar Instructor."
"......What? Wild boar?"
Hong Ji-na scrunched up her face.
Seeing that, Jin Yu-ha covered his mouth with a look of feigned surprise.
"Oh, oops, my inner thoughts slipped out."
"Ha."
Faced with Jin Yu-ha's audaciously delivered taunt, Hong Ji-na let out a scoff.
"So you mean you've been going easy on me this whole time?"
"Come on, how could we go easy on an instructor? I just meant that no matter what, it's a little unfair for three of us to gang up on one person. That sort of thing."
Jin Yu-ha ran his mouth off nonchalantly.
'So, three-against-one is unfair......? Is he saying they were taking it easy against me?'
Indeed, although Jin Yu-ha had stepped forward, Kang Do-hee behind him still showed no intention of joining.
Grit—
A sharp grinding sound escaped from between Hong Ji-na's teeth.
"Ah. Right, a wheel battle, how nice. You certainly have a mouth on you, worthy of being the Slaughter-Crazed Bitch's disciple."
Swish—
She began to swing the mace she was holding.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh—!!
Centrifugal force quickly built up, and the weight whirled with a chilling sound.
The eyes of Jin Yu-ha, holding his sword, sank low.
"Let's see if your sword is as sharp as your mouth!!!"
Whoooosh—!!!
The mace split the air with a roaring noise.
Jin Yu-ha dodged the attack a beat before it landed.
BOOM—!!!
The mace's weight slammed down, shattering the floor.
Instead of pulling the mace back,
Hong Ji-na simply let go of its handle, yanked out a nearby sword, and swung it at him at the same time.
Whoooosh—!!!
Jin Yu-ha instead closed the distance and charged straight into the sword aimed at him.
He planted his lower body firmly and braced the flat of his blade with his other hand to defend.
He intended to block the attack before the sword could fully build up its destructive power.
CLAAANG—!
As the two swords collided, a clear metallic ring echoed.
"Ghk!"
A groan escaped from Jin Yu-ha's lips as he blocked the sword.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
The swords moved rapidly, like the teeth of a comb.
Blade clashed against blade as their sword strikes were exchanged.
"Ho-oh......?"
Hong Ji-na's eyes flickered and then widened.
His momentum wasn't bad.
From his solidly trained body, a sword wreathed in inner energy shot forth.
Above all else, his sword path was incredibly clean.
'Looks like you really learned properly from the Slaughter-Crazed Woman.'
He was the first cadet who had ever met her sword head-on without dodging.
Wasn't he truly outstanding for a first-year level?
In terms of talent, he was top-class.
It was a prodigious talent, almost unbelievable for a man.
'His qualities are extraordinary....... Now I see why that wench is absolutely dying to have him.'
Hong Ji-na felt her excitement growing greater and greater.
'Then let's see you block this too!'
Now she began to use a variety of weapons.
Clang—!!
She dropped the sword and immediately picked up a spear.
Jin Yu-ha remained in the stance he'd used to block the sword.
Whoosh—!
The spear shot forward with ferocious power, spinning as if it would grind its opponent to dust.
In response, Jin Yu-ha gritted his teeth and twisted his shoulder.
And then his blue sword slid up the spear shaft like a salmon swimming upstream, aiming for her wrist.
"Ha-hat!"
Hong Ji-na burst into laughter, dropped the spear, and snatched her wrist back.
And then came the whip.
Whoosh!
CRACK!!!
With a single lash, a loud boom erupted, and the surrounding weapons scattered into the air.
"......Hrgh!"
Unable to find any way to deal with the whip, Jin Yu-ha threw himself out of the way.
Hong Ji-na felt herself growing more and more engrossed in the fight against this kid.
To think she'd feel this sensation in a fight with a cadet.
"Good!! Very good!!!!"
It was just like reenacting her old battles with the Slaughter-Crazed Woman, wasn't it?
Of course, it might be too much to compare this kid to her right now.
But the chilling killing intent and sword aura that occasionally flashed from him were exactly like hers.
Hup—!
And the moment Jin Yu-ha kicked off the ground and launched his body into the air to charge.
'A mistake. But impressive......!'
Hong Ji-na smiled in satisfaction and reached for her next weapon, a greatsword.......
Her hand groped the empty air.
'......Huh? The greatsword? It was definitely stuck in the ground right here?'
But there was no weapon to grab.
At that moment, the corner of Jin Yu-ha's lips curled upward.
"Sorry, but we've got a party member too."
Swish—
Jin Yu-ha spun around and extended his sword.
"Subspace Tattoo."
"......You put the weapons I was going to use into your subspace!?"
A beat behind, Hong Ji-na hurriedly raised her Mana and lifted her arms to assume a defensive stance.
Whoosh—!
And the moment Jin Yu-ha's Moonlight stretched toward her arm.
BOOM—!!!!
"Urk—!"
Hong Ji-na's eyes shot wide open.
A heavy impact slammed into her stomach, not the arm she'd raised to block.
The attack had lodged itself in a place completely unguarded.
And when she lowered her gaze.
There was the red-haired girl.
Kang Do-hee, with an expressionless face, was extending her fist.
"Kang Do-hee, bite her!"