034. Sparring (4)
034. Sparring (4)
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang—!
The sound of a shield being struck filled the training ground, and attacks poured down toward Lee Yu-ri.
"...W-why! Why do I keep looking over there!"
"Why the hell are my attacks—!"
Against the Taunt skill that forcibly pulled their attacks, the opponents couldn't resist and were helplessly drawn in.
"What kind of bullshit Tank is this!"
Even as the enemy Damage Dealer cried out in shock, she thrust her sword at Lee Yu-ri with full force. The idea being, if the attacks were being pulled in anyway, she might as well take down the Tank quickly.
But with an expressionless face, Lee Yu-ri dodged the blade by simply pulling her body back half a step.
Jin Yu-ha's sword can't even be compared to this.
The sword she had witnessed when he faced off against the Blood Goblin was deeply etched into her mind.
The moment the blade was drawn from his hip, a single streak of light flashed before her eyes. The Boss Monster died, its head severed before it even realized it had been cut.
Could I have blocked that sword back then?
Honestly, she had her doubts. Lee Yu-ri drove herself deeper into the enemy formation.
Swish—!
Swish—!
Swish! Swish!
Crash—!
The enemy composition was three Damage Dealers, one Special, and one Healer—an extremely offense-heavy team.
Swords, a two-handed axe, and a staff came crashing down. And from a distance, the Special-type Alchemist hurled bombs.
But none of those attacks managed to deal meaningful damage to Lee Yu-ri. She was shouldering every single attack all by herself.
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
The Damage Dealer on Lee Yu-ri's side, who had been lying in wait, thrust out a long spear and took them down one by one. Just like that, they were teleported out of the training ground in order.
"Woo-hoo—! Captain! You were really insane today!"
The Damage Dealer on Lee Yu-ri's side, who had just been skewering opponents with her spear. She spoke with a voice that, for some reason, gave Lee Yu-ri a sense of déjà vu.
Her way of talking kinda resembles Go Yoon-seo.
She was a Damage Dealer Lee Yu-ri had brought in on Jin Yu-ha's recommendation—a better version of Go Yoon-seo, you could say. And it wasn't just her; the others had clearly demonstrated solid skills too. She felt bad saying this about Go Yoon-seo and Choi So-yeon, but the difference in feel compared to when they'd operated in Camela Forest was enormous.
"...Because next week, there's someone I'll have to face for real."
Since the woman had a strangely familiar vibe, Lee Yu-ri spoke a little more casually.
She'd wondered if they might end up sparring against Jin Yu-ha's party today, but that hadn't happened. A complicated, subtle feeling—partly a little regretful, and partly relieved that she could prepare properly before facing him.
At that, Fake Yoon-seo put on a mischievous grin.
"Aha! That face genius!? Our captain's dear husband!"
"...Hey, you!"
"It's alrea~dy famous, you know? Showing up at the dorms in the middle of the night. I don't need Cheonhwa or anyone else, it was always you from the start—. And then, against the backdrop of the moonlit night, a kii—mmph!!!"
"Captain. Sorry, I'll shut this one up."
The short-haired Support standing behind her clamped a hand over Fake Yoon-seo's mouth.
"...But Captain. There's a weird rumor going around, did you hear?"
"...A rumor?"
"Yeah. Apparently, the winner of this Group Sparring has already been decided—and it's them."
"Because of Cheonhwa and Fighting Dog? But they're wearing Mana Restraint Bangles."
"Word is those are basically meaningless. And the bigger issue is... the rumor that they're deliberately trying to prop up the Male Quota System."
"What...? Tell me more."
When Lee Yu-ri asked in surprise, the Support nodded and replied.
"Since they have Cheonhwa and Fighting Dog, the win was theirs from the start anyway—and once those two neutralize the opposition, Jin Yu-ha steps in to land the Last Hit... That's the gist. The rumor is that they're trying to hype up this whole Male Quota System they just introduced."
Lee Yu-ri let out a scoff at the absurd gossip.
"Bullshit. We'll all see for ourselves at the Public Sparring next week anyway."
"Captain, but is that guy really that strong?"
Fake Yoon-seo asked with a puzzled look.
"Yeah. On the same level as Cheonhwa or Fighting Dog. Or higher."
Lee Yu-ri nodded with a serious face.
"Honestly, I can't believe it."
"Why would a guy like that come in through the Male Quota System...."
That's because of me. The words rose all the way to her throat, but Lee Yu-ri swallowed them back down.
"A-anyway! You absolutely cannot let your guard down. The one to watch out for most on that team isn't Cheonhwa or Fighting Dog—it's Jin Yu-ha. Just this once, I'd really like you all to follow my lead one hundred percent."
That was how Lee Yu-ri cautioned her party members.
"Okay."
"Got it."
"We're trusting you completely, Captain."
"Right. Our reliable Gukbap Captain, after all."
Once again, Lee Yu-ri had earned herself the nickname Gukbap even here.
* * *
"Agh—!"
"Dammit!!! We were so focused on Cheonhwa and Fighting Dog, we let our guard down!"
The second match ended, and the third followed. Both played out exactly like the first.
The strategy: while they were distracted by Shin Se-hee and Kang Do-hee, I handled the rest. It was the most reliable and fastest method, so there was no real need to adopt any other strategy.
Honestly, that first archer we ran into was better than these guys.
"Goddammit—!"
A male cadet sent flying out of the training ground by Kang Do-hee's kick.
A familiar face. The square-jawed bastard who'd picked a fight with me before and got the absolute shit beaten out of him.
Wait, that asshole was a Healer...?
Despite his build, the guy's role was Healer. Flat on the ground, he glared up at us with his face full of resentment.
"Cheonhwa!!!"
"Hm?"
At the sudden call of her name, Shin Se-hee tilted her head with an innocent expression.
"...You mustn't let yourself be swayed by a cowardly scoundrel like that, who does nothing but backstab! And that bastard...!"
The guy was shouting like a loyal subject offering counsel to his king. He seemed to be trying to warn Shin Se-hee about me, in whatever way he could....
"Ahaha!"
His words were cut off by Shin Se-hee's sudden burst of laughter.
"A cowardly scoundrel who does nothing but backstab? Who exactly are you referring to? Surely, you don't mean our party leader?"
As she spoke, Shin Se-hee turned her head and looked at me with eyes glistening as if dripping with honey.
...I thought she'd quieted down a bit after that drunken mess yesterday. She's already recovered?
I stared at her, thoroughly fed up.
"Then who else but that bastard—."
"Excuse me. Cadet Byun Ik-soo."
"Hah—! M-my name...!"
The moment his name came out of Shin Se-hee's mouth, the square-jawed bastard's eyes went wide.
"I couldn't help but know it. You see, Cadet... you've been stalking me for a year now, haven't you?"
With a bright smile, Shin Se-hee dropped an unexpected bombshell.
"!"
Square-jaw's eyes flew open wide enough to tear.
"It's not as if I didn't know and just sat there quietly. Cadet."
The temperature of her voice gradually turned ice-cold.
"I simply left you alone because you had ab-so-lutely no value whatsoever."
Shin Se-hee suddenly linked her arm through mine and rested her head against my shoulder.
"So. A person like you has no right to say things like that to me. Following me around for an entire year, snapping pictures. It's utterly disgusting."
At that, square-jaw stared at us as if his soul had drained right out of his body. Cold glances from his own team bored into him.
"In contrast, our party leader—. He's handsome, strong, clever, and oh, the way he makes a woman's heart ache... I cling to him like this and he won't even spare me a single glance...."
Shin Se-hee reached a hand toward my face.
"That's enough. Shin Se-hee."
I caught her hand and disentangled myself from her arm. At that, she let out a light laugh and withdrew her hand from me.
"Why? It's all true, isn't it?"
"Did you change your strategy?"
"Yep. Everything's already been laid bare anyway. So since it's come to this, I decided to just be honest. I want to get into your party no matter what, Jin Yu-ha."
She said it with a soft laugh. When Shin Se-hee came at me this directly, so unlike her usual self, it was actually more troublesome.
Flinch—
Beside me, Kang Do-hee, who had been watching the scene, trembled.
Just like that, the defeated opponents bit their lips and turned their backs on us as they left, and Baek Seol-hee approached.
"You've all worked hard in today's Group Sparring."
"Instructor Baek."
Seeing that she seemed about to wrap up the training, I stepped forward and spoke to her.
"Hm?"
I thought about Lee Yu-ri.
Shin Se-hee had always been utterly helpless against Lee Yu-ri. The two quota students did use their skills diligently, but their roles remained extremely marginal.
In the end, the only ones who could face Lee Yu-ri in next week's match were Kang Do-hee, whose strength had been reduced, and me. Simple math: 5 against 2.
Normally, I would've been confident. Even with her Mana restricted, Kang Do-hee was still Kang Do-hee.
But the restrictions are a lot tighter than I expected.
Whether it was to avoid controversy, the Mana restrictions I'd confirmed today had gotten far more severe than during training.
If Gukbap lets her guard down like the opponents we met today, it might be fine.
As if.
The look in her eyes at the end was brimming with pure determination to beat us no matter what. She'd pay ample attention not just to Kang Do-hee and Shin Se-hee, but to me as well.
If she focused on marking me while her party members attacked... We wouldn't lose, but I couldn't say for sure we'd win either.
I had to show a decent performance in front of Gukbap as party leader if she was ever going to have real faith in me. But at this rate, the best we could manage was a draw.
Tch. This is what I get for recommending useful people to her.
I clicked my tongue inwardly.
So I asked Baek Seol-hee.
"I'd like to ask for your advice regarding next week's sparring."
*
When Jin Yu-ha and Baek Seol-hee began discussing things between themselves.
"Tch. So he really is worried about that woman after all."
Shin Se-hee clicked her tongue as if displeased.
"...That woman?"
Kang Do-hee, who under normal circumstances would never have spoken to Shin Se-hee first, reacted. At that, Shin Se-hee turned her head with a slightly surprised look, then soon wore a deep smile.
"Kang Do-hee. You're waiting too, aren't you? Wondering when Jin Yu-ha will finally make you the party offer."
"No, I—first I have to apologize...."
"What, for treating Jin Yu-ha like crap before? And after you apologize—then what? If there's no party offer, will you really be fine with it?"
At that, Kang Do-hee pressed her lips tightly shut.
"I know everything. The way you look at someone with such desperate longing—who wouldn't notice."
Shin Se-hee let out a scoff. Then she spoke in a deflated voice. Having already made a complete spectacle of herself the day before and been hit hard by the post-bender reality check, Shin Se-hee had become quite honest.
"Well, unlike me, you probably will get the party offer. Jin Yu-ha did say from the start that he wanted to get close to you."
"Is that so."
Kang Do-hee felt a swell of proud satisfaction rise in her chest at those words.
"But you know what, Kang Do-hee. In the end, you're only second."
"...Second?"
"Yep. There's one woman Jin Yu-ha cherishes very, very dearly. He said she's his first-ever party member."
"First...."
Clench—
Kang Do-hee bit her lip without realizing it. Watching her, Shin Se-hee spoke in a hesitant tone.
"...So. Kang Do-hee. What do you say we join forces, just this once? I really, really want that spot beside Jin Yu-ha too...."