Evaluation Spar (3)

The community forums of Lee World Academy once saw a post that perfectly captured the collective trauma of every new player.

In the main scenario, Garein was the very first opponent you had to face in a sparring match. His absurdly high defense, stamina that made you question whether it actually decreased at all, and those heavy, bone-rattling punches… If you wanted to breeze through the early story, you needed a high score in this evaluation spar. Just thinking about the suffering that lay ahead made the term “newbie guillotine” feel like the perfect description for him.

It was the same peaceful era as always—countless newbies trembling in fear of the newbie guillotine known as Garein, crying out in despair. Then, one shocking post appeared that promised to save them all.

Everyone’s been making such a fuss, calling him the newbie guillotine or whatever, so I’m posting this. You guys keep calling him Muscle Bro, Iron Fortress, Professor Charisma? Truth is, he’s actually ridiculously easy to beat. Especially during the evaluation spar—Garein is so simple-minded that he’s easy to handle. I’ll explain everything from the beginning, so listen carefully and aim for the highest score.

First…

“Skip the five minutes of preparation time before combat.”

The game gave you five minutes of prep time, and we decided not to use any of it. We’d skip immediately. That way, Garein would assume his opponent was overconfident in their own skill, and his first pattern would lock into a single fixed sequence.

Right from the start—

Whoosh.

“A charging skill that instantly inflicts a groggy state on enemies with lower stamina than himself.”

It was the same attack he’d used on Rohardt at the very beginning. Then came the follow-up punch aimed straight at the solar plexus. Because it was a short, snapping strike, you could easily dodge it by retreating a good distance.

Once you dodged the charge and the punch, you’d notice Garein’s flank was wide open. But you must never attack there.

“That’s a deliberate trap.”

If you attacked, your strike would be blocked by his rock-hard attribute defense, and a counterattack would come flying in. While I was thinking about the next pattern instead of attacking, a sudden roar from the Heavenly Demon rang out.

Attack? But then my attack would get blocked and a counter would hit me. There was no way the Heavenly Demon didn’t know that. So why was she telling me to attack?

The power of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art… It strengthened one’s own energy. It kept the body in peak condition. And finally… it granted absolute dominance over the opponent’s power…?

No way…!!

“My power will overwhelm Garein’s energy!”

Damn it. I can’t believe I momentarily forgot about the power of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.

Just as Hoya said, the opening I’d just seen had vanished the moment I stepped back. Still, there were plenty of chances left.

If I combined the effects of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art with Garein’s strategy guide, I might be able to take him down much faster than my original plan.

At Hoya’s whisper, I nodded. She was referring to the technique I’d learned from her—an application of Ghostly Qi.

“This will be my first time using it in reality, huh?”

I drew up the Ghostly Qi settled within my body.

Fwoosh.

Silver flames of Ghostly Qi rose up, and I first attempted basic physical reinforcement. It was the pure Ghostly Qi reinforcement that yokai used. Thanks to repeated practice, I completed the reinforcement without any side effects.

“And on top of that…”

Fwoosh.

Moving on from physical reinforcement to the next stage, a silver fox silhouette briefly appeared behind me. Starting from the back of my right hand—where Hoya’s mark was—new tattoo-like patterns spread all the way to my elbow. If the original mark had been shaped like a fox’s head, this new one looked as if it were trying to embrace the moon. The nine tails encircling it especially gave off a faint, elegant glow.

Thud.

“The color is different from last time, but it’s the same type of power.”

Leaving the two spirits’ bickering behind, Garein stepped forward with a heavy stomp, spreading mana across his entire body. His face was unusually serious.

“Zeon. That power of yours is incredibly wicked and dangerous.”

“Huh?”

“I don’t know where you obtained it, but I strongly advise against using it. It is an evil that humans must never wield. The more you use it, the more your mind will deteriorate until you become a monster that has shed its humanity.”

At Garein’s sudden words, I tilted my head. What? Did Garein know about Ghostly Qi? In the main scenario, he didn’t appear in the parts involving yokai, so I thought it would be fine. Besides, very few people even knew about Ghostly Qi.

Hoya suddenly burst out screaming as if she couldn’t hold it in any longer.

Hoya’s desperate denial rang out. But only I could hear her. No matter how much she yelled, it didn’t reach Garein.

“It may be fine for now. You’re probably drawn to a power stronger than mana, thinking you can use as much as you want. But that’s only temporary.”

“Zeon, I’m saying this for your own good. Abandon that power.”

The Heavenly Demon was actually trying to soothe Hoya. But the anger in Hoya’s voice was unmistakable—she was truly furious at Garein’s statement.

“Umm…”

Come to think of it, back at the Soul Training Grounds the Heavenly Demon had also spoken dismissively about Ghostly Qi, which had made Hoya lose it and charge at her. Knowing that, the Heavenly Demon couldn’t firmly stop her either.

“Professor. I think you’re misunderstanding something. This power isn’t that dangerous.”

“As expected, words won’t reach you. But don’t worry. I have no desire to watch my student walk toward destruction.”

This was bad. He wasn’t listening at all. Garein’s eyes burned with fighting spirit as he finally took a proper stance for the first time.

Creak.

“That stance…!”

It was a pattern that normally didn’t appear in the evaluation spar?! It was the full-power stance he only used in serious battles after the main scenario. Of course, since he had no weapon and the mana flowing from his body wasn’t any different from before, it wasn’t truly his full strength. Still…

“This is dangerous.”

My plan had gone awry. In that case, I probably shouldn’t have used Ghostly Qi at all. Ugh, I never should have learned it.

Boom!

After silently complaining about Ghostly Qi for a moment, I saw Garein charging forward at high speed. At the same time as the Heavenly Demon and Hoya’s shouts, I circulated the Heavenly Demon Divine Art further, wrapping both arms in energy and crossing them to block the impact point.

“Ugh, that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠really resonates.”

I frowned at the vibration running through my arms where his fist had landed. Even after reinforcing my body with Ghostly Qi and adding the Heavenly Demon Divine Art on top, it still felt like this. Still, there was no serious injury, so a few shakes would fix the numbness.

Garein’s eyes widened slightly in surprise at the black current swirling around my body. Then he immediately threw another punch, aiming for a combo.

Whoosh. Thud.

“Kgh!”

“So that was an attack meant to make me dodge on purpose.”

The moment I dodged, a follow-up attack came flying as if it had been waiting for me. I managed to avoid the first one, but the next strike unfortunately landed cleanly. As I retreated to create distance, I noticed one of the tails in the tattoo wrapped around my arm shining especially brightly.

“That attack plus the previous one… one tail… no, not even half of one.”

Just as she said, I would rather he stopped holding back and hit me with a full-powered strike. Otherwise, this was going to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠take far too long. If you asked why, the answer was the one skill I was using.

If this had been a normal evaluation spar, one or two tails would have been enough to end the fight. Unfortunately, the current Garein was on a completely different level.

Sigh… I really shouldn’t have learned Ghostly Qi.