109. Interpersonal Combat Practical (5)
109. Interpersonal Combat Practical (5)
'......I lost?'
Instructor Hong Ji-na stared blankly into the air.
Her eyes shook mercilessly, as if denying reality.
'I...... lost?'
She didn't feel humiliation or defeat.
That was because she still hadn't accepted that she'd lost.
'......How on earth?'
Excuses like "it was three against one" or "I let my guard down" wouldn't fly.
She was the one who had told them all three to come at her at once in the first place, and even if those three had fought tenaciously, she shouldn't have lost.
The skill she'd built and the time she'd invested all this while weren't walls that three first-year cadets could overcome.
'That's right, it shouldn't have been possible. It shouldn't have happened....... But.......'
She had lost.
Defeat.
The shocking word engraved itself above her head.
Hong Ji-na's gaze shifted toward the three cadets who had handed her that defeat.
First, the orange-haired cadet, Lee Min-young.
Her tenacity was admirable.
Although her skill was lacking compared to the other two,
the sheer grit she showed—throwing her body into the fray like dust on the wind, forcibly keeping the fight going according to her orders—was praiseworthy.
Next, Hong Ji-na's gaze turned to the red-haired cadet biting her lip in chagrin.
Kang Do-hee.
Her skill was astonishing.
No, "astonishing" was an insufficient appraisal.
The sharp teeth bared in the decisive moment, after hiding them all along, were threatening even to an instructor like herself.
On top of that overwhelming offensive power: speed, fighting spirit, instinct, intuition.
A natural genius, born with every element a Damage Dealer on the front lines needs, lacking nothing.
With time, she would clearly leap far past the likes of herself.
Kang Do-hee had shown potential and skill that made her certain the cadet would become a Hunter who would uphold Korea.
And lastly,
Hong Ji-na's thick neck creaked as she turned toward the sparring ground.
Amid the countless weapons embedded in the floor.
Click.
A black-haired boy was sheathing his sword with an impassive face.
Jin Yu-ha.
A male cadet admitted through the Male Quota System.
'......He completely hid himself outside my field of awareness.'
It was absurd.
Fine, let's accept that he's talented with a sword—the guy that Slaughter-Crazed Woman is so obsessed with.
And sure, let's accept that he has the eye to seize a weapon first—the guy that Instructor Park Jin-soo, known as the theoretical genius, acknowledged as having a better mind than his own.
But, at that age, in front of her, an S-Rank Hunter, he erased his presence and gathered his killing intent?
She hadn't even noticed the moment he drew his sword and swung it.
It was fortunate this was a sparring ground where the Chairwoman's Authority protected lives; if it hadn't been.......
Shiver—
"Ha......."
A hollow laugh escaped her lips.
"Baek Seol-hee, just what kind of monster are you raising......."
She spoke, recalling the blunt-faced woman who wasn't here.
* * *
Eyes popped wide open as if they would jump right out.
The cadets' mouths were gaping so wide a fly could have flown in.
Even more remarkably, every single face wore an identical expression.
"Uh......."
"Crazy?"
"No, c-can this even happen......?"
"An instructor lost to cadets......?"
Dazed murmuring leaked out.
"No, it's Hong Ji-na, though......."
As if even saying it herself didn't feel real, the female cadet who spoke covered her mouth with her hand.
Fundamentally, cadets who entered Velvet Academy had it drummed into their ears how mighty the instructors who trained them were.
No, they didn't just hear it.
It was no exaggeration to call the instructors of Velvet Academy living legends.
They were the ones who rebuilt Korea when it had been brought to the brink of annihilation after the gates appeared.
The achievements they had built were beyond description, and they were essentially called heroes.
And among them was the name of Hong Ji-na.
Battle Maniac (戰鬪狂) or Weapon Master (Weapon Master) Hong Ji-na.
Overwhelming martial prowess capable of handling every type of weapon.
Valor that never falters in any dangerous situation.
Monsters and Demonized Humans trembled and pissed themselves at the mere mention of her name, and the number of gates she had closed alone was already in the triple digits.
When she first appeared during the 「Interpersonal Combat Practical」 lecture.
The cadets managed to suppress their clamoring, but they couldn't hide their eyes sparkling with admiration.
"Well, they ganged up on her......."
"Maybe she went easy on them?"
A few cadets offered some excuse or another, but their voices merely echoed into a void.
They carried no meaning.
Because they had seen it.
That overwhelming scene: her pouring out all manner of weapons like a rainstorm, alternating between the armaments strewn on the floor.
Could anyone present here have lasted even a few exchanges in front of that?
The cadets silently shook their heads to themselves.
And yet, that Hong Ji-na.......
Three cadets hadn't just combined their strength to take her on—they had straight-up beaten her.
This was a shock of a completely different order than when Jin Yu-ha had sent Kang Do-hee flying.
"......Anyone here understand what happened at the end?"
"......."
"......."
"......."
No one spoke.
That wasn't because they hadn't seen it.
On the contrary, they couldn't find words precisely because they had seen it clearly.
Amid the rough brawl between Kang Do-hee and Hong Ji-na,
Jin Yu-ha had approached, drawn his sword, and cut her.
But what made it shocking was that until the moment he stood alone in the center of the sparring ground, no one had been able to focus on him.
Haven't we all had the experience of seeing something clearly in our sight, yet it fades into the background, only to vividly surface in our minds later on?
That was exactly what Jin Yu-ha's sword had been.
The assembled cadets rubbed their prickling arms at the goosebumps rising on their skin.
"......What the hell is he, that's terrifying......."
* * *
"Ah, I'm beat."
I blinked against the oncoming fatigue, tilting my neck with a crack each way.
Had I ever channeled my concentration this hard before?
I didn't think it had been like this even when I clashed with Instructor Baek Seol-hee, exchanging swords.
It had been a mysterious experience.
The surroundings grew quiet, and as even the sounds of my breath and heartbeat fell silent, my sword thrust out.
A feeling as if only the sword in my grip and the single instant of thrusting it existed.
It felt like I had been briefly intoxicated by the sword itself.
'......How did I do that?'
A single strike made possible by the perfect meshing of gaps, skill, and focus—those three gears.
I clenched and unclenched my fist, trying to recall the sensation from moments before, but it didn't come easy.
'That was definitely the best sword I've ever drawn, though.......'
Hmm.
'But in the end, even after going that far, I still failed.'
Some might scold me, saying isn't it a full-bellied complaint when I beat the instructor and achieved my first goal? But I couldn't be satisfied.
Well, of course not.
I turned my head and looked at a certain girl grinding her teeth in frustration.
'In the end, I couldn't protect Kang Do-hee.'
Of course, someone might say it's fine because this place isn't a space where death leads to actual death.
But if I thought about this being actual combat, my stomach dropped.
Even if we won a battle against a monster or Demonized Human stronger than us, could we truly call it a victory if a party member died in the process?
'Absolutely not.'
This wasn't a game where you lost and then reappeared fresh and lively after one turn.
'So, I've gotta get stronger.'
I steeled my resolve.
"Kang Poppy!"
"......What, Yellow Dog."
As if the new nickname suited her perfectly, she scowled and glared at me.
"It's nothing."
I smirked.
"Oh, right. Tell Shin Se-hee I can't make it to the next class today."
"......What?"
"Just because. I'm about to pass out, you know."
Through my blurring vision, I saw Kang Do-hee run toward me with a flustered look, and then I let my consciousness slip away into blackness.
.
.
.
"Cadet Jin Yu-ha."
The instructor for the 「Understanding Party Roles, Formations, and Organization」 class, Park Jin-soo, called attendance with a cold face.
Venom dripped from the voice calling Jin Yu-ha's name.
'Hah, I brought the assignment I researched all night. Let's see if that arrogant nonsense about it being easy will still come out of his mouth after seeing this. Let's wait and see.'
"......."
But even after his name was called, no answer came.
Park Jin-soo scanned the cadets and furrowed his brow.
"......Is Cadet Jin Yu-ha not present?"
At that, a female cadet with long, straight hair raised her hand.
'Shin Se-hee?'
"What is it?"
"Well....... It seems Cadet Jin Yu-ha is unable to attend class today."
"Unable to attend?"
For an instant, displeasure surged up within Park Jin-soo, but he gave a nod as if to tell her to explain a bit more.
At that, Shin Se-hee hesitantly opened her mouth.
"Well, it seems, during the previous class, Interpersonal Combat Practical, he had a sparring match with Instructor Hong Ji-na......."
"A cadet, with an instructor?"
"Yes, and so he passed out from the after-effects......."
Ha.
Park Jin-soo quietly closed his eyes.
The effort he'd been grinding himself to dust with to deal with Jin Yu-ha vanished in an instant.
'Instructor Hong Ji-na, doing something so pointless......!'
He bit his lip, burning with rage toward Hong Ji-na.
Thus, Park Jin-soo's feelings toward Hong Ji-na grew a little more distant.