193. Hell Training (3)
193. Hell Training (3)
Shing—
A dark-colored sword slid from Baek Seol-hee's waist.
The tip of the blade turned toward Kang Do-hee.
"Nothing but a brat throwing her weight around."
Kang Do-hee ground her teeth.
"Take away that one special skill, and you're a nobody."
Im Ga-eul's face turned pale blue, and she hiccuped.
"A stationary archer with no fundamentals, can't even shoot while moving."
Sofia kept her mouth shut and bowed her head.
"You... I don't even need to say it, do I?"
When it came to Lee Yu-ri, she simply skipped past her as if there was nothing to say.
But then, the last one.
"How long since you joined?"
"Two days."
Ichika replied to Baek Seol-hee, holding up two fingers.
"The only one worth sparing... and she joined only two days ago..."
Only one person passed Baek Seol-hee's standards: Ichika.
Even Kang Do-hee, praised by the world as the Fighting Dog, failed to meet her expectations.
"I truly cannot fathom why my disciple wastes his time on lacking fools such as you."
A cold, sinking silence filled the air.
Baek Seol-hee looked at the hostile glares directed at her, then
"Ha."
let out a short, dismissive laugh.
It was obvious what they were thinking.
Receiving the world's praise for their achievements, being treated like heroes, and being hailed as rookies everywhere, they must have thought they were something.
But in Baek Seol-hee's eyes, they were nothing more than frogs in a well.
"Right, you won't want to accept it."
She wasn't the type to explain herself in words at times like these.
Because she was the type who believed a single experience, a single lesson, was more helpful than a hundred words.
"Operator."
She called out to Shin Se-hee, who was sitting behind them, in a rigid voice.
"Yes?"
"Turn off the life-support device from now."
"Ah, yes. Underst—What!? Th-The life-support device!?"
Shin Se-hee answered her unconsciously at first, then flinched in surprise and asked again.
What is the life-support device?
It was a magic circle that Chairwoman Rina—said to be unmatched in magic—had spent a long time installing.
It was a device, almost a symbol of Velvet Academy, that allowed the academy's extremely dangerous training to function as training.
Because there was no risk of losing their lives, the cadets of Velvet Academy could actively engage in training without fearing death,
and that in turn created a gap in ability that other countries' academies could not catch up to.
And yet, she was telling her to turn off that life-support device?
"B-But..."
"I do not repeat myself."
Baek Seol-hee ordered once more in a firm voice.
Shin Se-hee hesitated for a moment, but eventually bit her lip and decided to obey.
Because the deal was made on the condition that she would fully comply with her orders regarding training.
Wheeeeeeeng─
As Shin Se-hee manipulated the training ground's system, a sharp sound rang out, and the Mana that had densely filled the space drained away.
"There's no need to make that face. None of you have even earned the right yet."
Baek Seol-hee spoke to the party members whose faces had hardened with tension.
And among them, one person wore a complicated expression.
"Jin Yu-ha, step forward."
She called her disciple.
* * *
At my Master's call, I stepped forward alone.
She pointed the drawn sword at me.
"From now on, we will begin a one-on-one sparring match."
"...A one-on-one sparring match?"
"Yes, just like we usually do."
I couldn't hide my troubled expression at those words.
'I knew she would be strict, but I didn't know she would run a group training session like this...'
The 'as usual' sparring my Master spoke of.
Meaning, I attack her with all my might, using any means and methods without holding back.
And my Master counters it.
A simple sparring match with that as its sole rule.
No matter how much I modeled Utopia's training after my Master's curriculum, this was one thing I couldn't replicate.
Because I couldn't do it like my Master.
Hence, I was worried first and foremost.
'...Will they really be able to accept this after seeing it?'
Perhaps reading my expression, my Master wore a subtle expression.
"Hmm, Disciple."
"Yes?"
"You seem to regard your party members as suckling infants you must look after."
"S-Suckling infants?"
My Master nodded calmly.
"Yes, aren't they your comrades?"
"They are my comrades."
"Is that so. Then it's even more strange. If they're comrades, you should at least be able to entrust your life to them. How long do you intend to keep playing their protector?"
My Master spoke in a stern voice, but I had something to say too.
'Hmm... In time, they're going to become much stronger than someone like me anyway.'
I had obtained various traits and a top-tier swordsmanship talent through the resources given at the start of my transmigration.
My mental and physical completion had also been achieved immediately that day.
Plus the Star Promotion event from killing a Demon, and even Moonlight (月光)—a legendary-grade weapon coveted even by the Sword Emperor.
Honestly, it was only because of all these benefits that I could briefly gain an edge over them.
But there was no way I could tell her such a story.
"Disciple. I did not take you as my disciple because of your talent."
"...Oh? You didn't?"
It was the first time I had seen her, who always remained silent and sparing with words, speak at such length.
Feeling a bit unfamiliar, I listened to her attentively.
"If I were to look solely at talent, the ones you've gathered... Fine, I admit it. They are monsters."
As expected, there was no way my Master wouldn't know that.
"But if things stay as they are, they will die far sooner than you."
"Wh-What does that...!"
"Figuring that out is not your job. It is solely the job of those ones."
Baek Seol-hee glanced at the Utopia Party members.
"If they don't understand even after seeing this... then seriously consider letting them go before your people get caught up in your battlefield and die."
When my Master went that far, I changed my attitude a bit.
'...I don't know exactly what it is, but there must be a reason my Master is saying this much.'
Yes, it's Instructor Baek Seol-hee.
The one who increased my stats exponentially through training alone.
My reliable Master who always has my back.
She must clearly see something that I cannot.
So, to confirm what she intended,
I will do my best in this very moment.
"Then, here I come."
I tightened my grip on the hilt and launched myself at my Master.
* * *
Baaaang─!
With a sound of tearing through air, Jin Yu-ha's form vanished from the spot.
Baek Seol-hee's sword silently extended toward Jin Yu-ha's nape without a shred of hesitation.
Clang─!
Jin Yu-ha then tilted his sword to briefly deflect the attack and immediately aimed for her wrist.
Clang!
Baek Seol-hee then retracted her thrust sword and defended her wrist with the pommel of the hilt.
SWISH—! SWISH—!
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
The blue sword and the dark-colored sword twisted and collided in rapid succession.
The sounds of searching for openings and slicing through space were sharp.
Watching this, Lee Yu-ri's eyes widened, and she was at a loss for words.
As for Jin Yu-ha's skill, it was something she always saw whenever he trained, so it wasn't exactly novel.
But.
'It's different...'
It was different.
Lee Yu-ri was seized by a sense of fear, as if she was witnessing something incomprehensible.
'How...'
Shiver─
Goosebumps broke out on her arms, prickling up one by one.
'How can they possibly fight like this...?'
This was a sparring match without the life-support device.
Meaning, they were not doing safety-guaranteed training.
Fine, let's say that's acceptable.
Let's somehow understand it as a slightly extreme method of training, close to real combat.
But if that's the case, isn't it common sense that they should exchange pre-memorized sword strikes at a moderate level, avoiding actually harming each other?
However, in these two's sparring, such common sense did not exist whatsoever.
A sticky, relentless killing intent to somehow end the opponent's life.
Like mortal enemies, they cruelly and mercilessly aimed only for each other's blind spots.
Jin Yu-ha desperately tried to kill Baek Seol-hee, and Baek Seol-hee likewise did not go easy on him.
Every moment was a hair's breadth from disaster—a continuous sequence of life-or-death choices.
A brutally merciless battle where a single wrong choice immediately led to death.
Could this really be called a sparring match between a master and their disciple?
Flinch—
Lee Yu-ri had already grabbed and let go of her shield's handle countless times.
The hand holding the handle was drenched in sweat.
It was because every sense was intuitively warning her of Jin Yu-ha's danger, and accordingly, the thought kept arising that she had to barge in right now and protect Jin Yu-ha.
But the reason she couldn't was precisely because of the expression currently on Jin Yu-ha's face.
'What on earth is that expression...'
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
The swords curved and collided even more fiercely, sending sparks flying everywhere.
Amidst all of it, Jin Yu-ha's cold, expressionless face didn't even blink once.
Those dark eyes, searching for the nape of the neck, were exactly like his master's.
'Jin Yu-ha, this crazy bastard... he's been doing it every day... as a routine...?'
The pupils of every Utopia member shook violently, Lee Yu-ri included, as if struck by an earthquake.