Ether Combat Technique (2)
Within the wide grassy field, two students stood facing each other inside a square marked by crisp white lines. Outside the boundary, students sat clustered together, the air between them thick with anticipation, excitement, and a faint undercurrent of tension.
“Wow… who do you think will win? Both of them looked absolutely insane yesterday.”
“It has to be Hwang A-yoon. You don’t know what her ability is? She’s from a marquis family, too.”
“Idiot, we’re not allowed to use supernatural abilities anyway—what does that matter? Didn’t you see Kim Yeon swinging that sword like a madwoman? I’m putting my money on her.”
Even though I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, the whispered conversations kept brushing past my ears. I turned to Narae, who was sitting practically glued to my side, and asked the clearly exhausted-looking girl a question.
“Narae, who do you think is going to win?”
“Umm… well…”
Narae tilted her head in an adorable little motion before answering.
“Whoever loses… is probably going to be in a really bad mood afterward.”
“…She has a point.”
Even someone as oblivious as me could more or less figure out what was going on at this point. Kim Yeon, the loyal guard of the princess, versus Hwang A-yoon, who was always hovering around Wi Ha-yeon. This match might as well be the opening skirmish for tomorrow’s class representative election.
The spar itself had begun innocently enough—our teacher simply wanted to demonstrate Jeongmu Fist—but the moment Hwang A-yoon stepped forward and Kim Yeon answered the challenge, it was obvious that political motives had slipped into the equation. I still didn’t have a dog in this fight, but I wasn’t sure how much longer I’d be allowed to keep living in such blissful ignorance.
“All right, before we begin…”
The teacher’s voice pulled me out of my complicated thoughts.
“By mutual agreement, this spar will continue until a clear victor emerges. However, excessive use of ether or causing more harm than necessary will result in an immediate stop and disciplinary action. You both understand?”
“Yes, ma’am!”
“Ohoho, of course.”
The teacher, standing between Kim Yeon and Hwang A-yoon like a referee, looked oddly delighted. I’d expected her to shut down the idea of a real fight between students, but she’d accepted the proposal without hesitation. …Did she actually want to watch her students duel? Well, it would be entertaining. If I were in her position, I might have done the same.
“I’ll count to three. Ready…? Three, two, one!”
The moment the teacher’s raised hand sliced through the air and she quickly stepped back, the spar began.
The two girls who had been glaring at each other assumed identical stances almost simultaneously—one foot shifted half a step forward, both hands raised loosely, centers of gravity lowered. At the same time, a faint glow of ether spread across their bodies.
It wasn’t the explosive, concentrated aura our teacher had shown earlier. Instead, the ether flowed gently across their entire bodies like brushstrokes—concise, without a single opening.
“Everyone watching carefully? This is the foundation.”
The teacher had somehow made her way back to the spectators and was now commentating like a sports caster.
“The core of Jeongmu Fist is efficiency. Using the minimum amount of ether for real combat. A basic stance that can transition instantly between offense and defense, ether spread evenly across the whole body, and practical movements that favor simplicity over flashiness. All of these principles are directly tied to the mindset an ability user must have when entering a Dimensional Erosion.”
Her clear voice rang out just as the stalemate between the two fighters finally broke.
“Haa!”
With a sharp shout, Kim Yeon moved first. A light tap of her foot against the ground sent her body surging forward. In just three strides she closed a distance that would have taken far longer at a normal pace and threw a fast punch toward Hwang A-yoon.
Hwang A-yoon didn’t panic. She crossed both arms into a defensive posture. The instant fist met forearm, the ether that had been flowing evenly across their bodies instantly concentrated into those points and erupted with raw force.
Boom—!
The sound was far louder than simple flesh striking flesh. A massive shockwave rolled outward.
“Whoa…”
This was straight out of a superhero movie. Watching these beautiful girls unleash action scenes I never imagined I’d see in real life, an involuntary sigh of admiration slipped from my open mouth.
“See that? Another key feature of Jeongmu Fist is the ability to concentrate the ether flowing across the body into a specific point at a specific moment. It’s far more efficient than keeping it focused constantly, right?”
The teacher kept explaining, but honestly, I was too absorbed in the fight in front of me to focus on her lecture.
After that first exchange, their back-and-forth grew fiercer with every passing second. After several rapid blows that sent booming echoes across the field, the two suddenly sprang apart as if by mutual agreement.
“Hoo… You’re quite skilled.”
“…As are you.”
After the brief exchange of pleasantries, Kim Yeon’s foot tapped the ground again. Her trajectory, which had seemed perfectly straight, suddenly bent sharply right before reaching Hwang A-yoon, aiming for her flank. A short, fast, unadorned movement—completely unexpected.
Yet despite appearing a step behind, Hwang A-yoon’s hand was already there, deflecting the punch. It didn’t feel like she had blocked it so much as redirected the force. At the same time, her shoulders and waist rotated smoothly, and at the end of that rotation—
“Kgh!”
Thud—!
A dull impact rang out. Kim Yeon couldn’t completely dodge the counter and staggered from the force. In that same posture, she slammed her foot into the ground.
Thump—!
Her center of gravity stabilized instantly. The disrupted flow of ether realigned itself in a single breath. Then—
“Haa—!”
With a short exhale, the ether flowing through her entire body contracted into a single point.
“…Here I come.”
With that low murmur, Kim Yeon shot forward again. Her fist drew a straight line, accelerating faster and faster. The air tore apart with a scream as the punch flew straight at Hwang A-yoon’s face.
Hwang A-yoon reflexively raised both arms to block. She succeeded, but this time it was different.
“This is…”
Right before impact, the ether concentrated in Kim Yeon’s fist compressed once more and exploded in two distinct bursts.
KWAAAANG—!
A thunderous roar unlike anything we’d heard before erupted. A cloud of dust billowed upward like a stage curtain before the final act, completely obscuring the view.
“What happened?! What’s going on?”
The students buzzed with excitement, staring intently through the dust. After a brief, heavy silence with no further sounds of movement, the cloud finally parted left and right… revealing Hwang A-yoon on one knee and Kim Yeon standing tall before her.
“Ugh…”
Hwang A-yoon could no longer maintain her ether flow. She pressed one hand against the ground, barely holding her posture.
“Hoo…”
Kim Yeon’s ether reserves had clearly diminished compared to the start, but she still looked like she had enough strength left to continue fighting.
“All right! That’s enough!”
The teacher, who had been watching with bated breath alongside the students, dashed forward like a bullet. She stepped between the two girls, observed them for a moment, then raised Kim Yeon’s hand high.
“Both of you showed textbook examples of Jeongmu Fist—it was incredibly educational for the rest of the class. Especially A-yoon’s redirection technique and Yeon’s double burst strike; those movements were so perfect they could be put in a textbook! Excellent work, both of you. Excellent!”
While the teacher beamed with joy, the expressions on the two combatants were far from smiling. The loser made no effort to hide her frustration, while the winner maintained a simple, matter-of-fact attitude that said she had simply done what was expected of her.
“Everyone, let’s give these two hardworking students a round of applause!”
“Waaaaah!”
As the thunderous applause and cheers washed over the field, I quietly revised my evaluation of Kim Yeon. I’d thought she seemed a bit airheaded when she spoke, but now I saw her in a whole new light. Of course, my personal reevaluation wasn’t going to change anything in the real world.
I found myself curious about the people who had likely played a part in orchestrating this match. I subtly turned my head, first observing the princess.
“Wow… As expected, Yeon really is impressive…”
“…Hehe.”
It might have been the first time I’d seen the princess smile. Her usual dignified expression was beautiful, but a beauty smiling like that was truly captivating. Though she wasn’t openly showing it, she couldn’t quite hide her delight. For the first time, she looked like a girl her actual age.
On the other hand, Wi Ha-yeon…
“Hmm… She lost, milady.”
“…I see.”
While No Chae-a shrugged as if it couldn’t be helped, Wi Ha-yeon stood beside her with that same mysterious smile on her face. Really, that young lady’s thoughts were impossible to read.
“All right, that concludes today’s class!”
After the spar ended, the teacher patted both Kim Yeon and Hwang A-yoon on the shoulder and sent them back to their seats before addressing the class again.
“Starting next class, we’ll be combining physical training with Jeongmu Fist practice. Your grade in this subject will be directly tied to how proficiently you can use it, so make sure to review what you saw today and strive for excellent results! And especially the students in the support classes—if you think combat has nothing to do with you and slack off on your training, don’t be surprised when you fail to advance.”
I jerked my head up at those last words. Oh. I’d been watching the whole thing like it was just an entertaining action movie. But that training… I was going to have to do it too?
…Is that even possible for me?