066. Personal Combat Class (3)
066. Personal Combat Class (3)
Kang Do-hee folded her arms and watched Jin Yu-ha's sparring match, her eyes sinking into calm focus.
'Jin Yu-ha really did get used to the sword fast.'
Unlike before, when his reliance on skills seemed quite high, he now appeared to be trying to wield his own sword.
Among the party members who were all praise, Kang Do-hee was nearly the only one who evaluated him coldly.
Being in the same Damage Dealer role and possessing exceptional combat sense, she could view his skills more objectively.
'But... his growth rate is way too fast.'
Of course, this was because Jin Yu-ha had a Swordsmanship Specialization rank of S, but Kang Do-hee had no way of knowing that.
'Jin Yu-ha definitely said he first picked up a sword during his spar with Instructor Baek Seol-hee. And he also said that was his first time using his body like that.'
Honestly, comparing his basic training days to now, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a complete metamorphosis.
She had never seen anyone grow stronger this fast.
No, she did know exactly one.
And that was none other than 'Kang Do-hee,' herself.
Now she knew too.
How Jin Yu-ha, in a man's body, could become so strong.
She couldn't help but know.
Because Jin Yu-ha and she were cut from the same cloth.
Just as he lost his parents to a monster attack,
Kang Do-hee had also lost her parents to monsters back when the Gate Incident first erupted in Korea.
The hatred for the monsters that stole her life. That must be what drives Jin Yu-ha so compulsively, just like it did her.
What was the reason she sprinted into a gate as soon as she awakened her Status Window?
It was because she couldn't see anything else, with the thought that she could finally catch monsters with her own hands.
Revenge against the monsters that took her parents.
Because she couldn't think of anything else.
But, at the same time, he was different from her.
Before she was completely swallowed by hatred, she met someone she could call a benefactor and a pillar of support in that first gate.
Parandis Guild Leader Choi Hye-seo.
But for Jin Yu-ha?
There was no one.
What if she hadn't had such a pillar of support?
It didn't even need to be said;
she would certainly have been walking the same path Jin Yu-ha was on now.
A ruined life after losing his parents to monsters.
It must have lit an unextinguishable hatred inside Jin Yu-ha.
Because of that, he never learned how to invest in himself or even find a hobby,
and his sense of taste ended up completely ruined.
He obsessively looked after the people around him and prioritized their safety.
He wanted to form precious relationships, but even his methods for doing so were painfully clumsy.
She suddenly recalled what he had said before, when she saw that video of Jin Yu-ha (she still rewatched it from time to time).
— It's only natural to save a party member when they're in danger.
Back then, watching it had made her think of Choi Hye-seo, but now the meaning felt completely different.
'He must be thinking of the parents he couldn't save before.'
Just look at him now.
He had started swinging his own sword now, but even that felt precariously dangerous.
Even if he'd gotten strong quickly, he hadn't held a sword for long, so he still wasn't that threatening yet.
But Kang Do-hee could feel it instinctively.
The terrible killing intent each and every Sword Path was ultimately aimed toward.
'There's an intent to completely kill the opponent in it.'
Then Kang Do-hee studied Jin Yu-ha's face.
And unconsciously bit her lip.
Expressionless.
A dreadful lack of expression, as if indifference itself had been transplanted onto his face.
This was a sword that would take a life like a routine task, then immediately seek the next prey.
Maybe this was Jin Yu-ha's true face.
A strange guy who always makes absurd jokes that don't even elicit a hollow laugh,
and cooks dishes with a deranged palate while looking at you with genuine anticipation.
All of that must be a defense mechanism to hide this coldly burning hatred.
'But it can be changed.'
Hadn't she herself been changed through the Parandis Guild leader?
Stopping Jin Yu-ha from wielding such a brutal sword would be counterproductive.
Let him keep the sword as it is,
but it should be possible to add one more intense emotion to revive his humanity.
A fighting spirit.
A positive emotion similar to hatred, yet capable of becoming a source of vitality.
Kang Do-hee herself had overcome it that way.
She herself was already living proof that it worked.
'Sigh... I feel damn bad for trashing your cooking without knowing any of this, but I still can't bring myself to stumble through an apology or say anything sappy.'
In the end, she decided to help Jin Yu-ha in the only way she could.
'Really, what a high-maintenance party leader.'
Kang Do-hee let out a short laugh and approached him.
* * *
Thwack─!
"Agh! S-Stop it!!!!"
While I was busy delivering knuckle raps to Lee Min-young.
"Yellow Dog."
"Huh?"
"Fight me."
Kang Do-hee walked up and said.
"What...? You want a spar? You and me?"
"Yeah."
I looked at her with bewildered eyes.
'Kang Do-hee wants to fight me?'
Honestly, there was no real reason for Kang Do-hee and me to fight in this class.
We were both A-Rank, so swapping ranks was meaningless, and we might get exhausted after fighting and lose to other cadets.
Even if she could reclaim her rank later, for Fighting Dog to lose to a regular cadet would pose a significant risk to her reputation.
'Hmm... And I'd lose, wouldn't I...?'
Since it was still early in the semester, the gap between 4-Star and 5-Star was too wide to overcome.
And there was no way Kang Do-hee didn't know that.
So I couldn't help but worry a bit.
I mean, I don't have a particular hobby of jumping into fights I'm obviously going to lose.
No matter how many simulations I ran in my head, only the image of me losing came out.
Whether in group fights or duels,
she's a completely broken cheat character like a full hexagon.
The real deal, on a different level.
The Velvetsra Breathing Rights dog.
'If only I could at least use skills... Wait, she uses Berserk too, doesn't she?'
If I had a Mana limit like before, maybe I'd stand a chance. But there's no such restriction now.
Think about it honestly.
Even if Baek Seol-hee wasn't serious,
how absurdly insane is it for a newly enrolled cadet to go bare-fisted with an Instructor and fight to a draw?
'I guess I should just decline here...'
Just as I was about to turn down the spar with her,
Kang Do-hee abruptly tilted her head up and wore a disdainful expression.
"Hey. Scared?"
"...What?"
"I said, are you scared?"
In that instant, my face twisted.
'Wow, for real? You're saying that here?'
That forbidden word, which was bound to grate on any gamer—any man—popped out of her mouth.
And my pride, freshly provoked.
Her gaze, looking down on me like she was looking down on trash.
All of this felt familiar.
A sting like salt being rubbed into a wound that hasn't even scabbed over.
'Right, you're the one who dissed my cooking...?'
You even sent me basic cooking recipes in a DM, smugly rubbing it in with some teabagging.
If a man runs away after hearing that, honestly, he should just cut his balls off.
'Kang Do-hee's weakness, her weakness...'
I bit my lip firmly.
As I was deep in thought, a single idea flashed through my mind.
'Oh, right. Come to think of it. Hasn't Kang Do-hee still not learned how to deal with that?'
Honestly, it feels a bit like relying on luck, which is a bit iffy, but if I play my cards right, maybe I can win...?
And if I win and then never fight her again, doesn't that mean I win for life?
It's a childish thought, but so what.
Teabagging must be repaid with teabagging.
I glared at Kang Do-hee and said.
"Hey. Kang Do-hee, you'd better not regret this."
"Regret? Are you talking about what I did after eating your food?"
She snorted and threw my provocation right back at me.
"...!"
'You are so dead. Kang Do-hee.'
And so, the second match of the day was decided: a spar between Kang Do-hee and me.
*
"Let me warn you. It'll be quite different from last time. I'm not wearing a Mana Restraint Bangle now."
Kang Do-hee stretched her arms up high as she spoke.
"Wouldn't want to be scared of a dog that can't even use Berserk."
I fired back without backing down.
"Dog? I've never left anyone alive who called me that."
"I'll walk out perfectly healthy. I'll even go donate blood outside."
"Ha. Your trash talk is just as pathetically unfunny as your pineapple kimchi stew."
Grind─
Just then, Instructor Hong Ji-na, who had been watching the war of nerves between us, spoke up.
"Skills are prohibited. And if either of you declares surrender, it will be treated as a loss immediately."
She glared at me as she said that.
Seemed she took a bit of a dislike to me for continuing to beat up Lee Min-young after she declared surrender.
"Ah, yes, understood."
I bowed my head to her in agreement.
It'd be a problem if she didn't stop me in the middle anyway.
"Then, match start!"
With the Instructor's starting shout.
Hah—!
Kang Do-hee and I kicked off the ground and lunged toward each other.