The Calm Before the Storm
Unlike other characters, the Saint was practically essential in the early stages. The reason was simple: her healing could still reach allies even while she was busy pummeling demons. When the only way to restore health mid-battle was potions, her support carried overwhelming weight.
Of course, even without that, you needed her if you wanted the hidden ending in the Fallen Sword Princess episode. In that case she wasn’t strictly mandatory—other characters could subdue her—but the difficulty would skyrocket.
The main episodes of Final Academy didn’t always feature demons or demonic energy. So the only real moments to utilize her were when demonic energy actually appeared, like in the Fallen Sword Princess arc.
She wasn’t just a one-trick healer, either. When facing enemies wrapped in demonic energy, her martial prowess sat firmly in a higher tier than most characters. Sure, most of her helpers were first-years while she was one of the few second-years, but her combat ability wasn’t so weak that it could be dismissed as mere seniority.
When I stood at the 3rd Tier and Cheon Yu-ha had only just reached the 2nd, Elesia was already 4th Tier—pounding on the door of the 5th. Considering most students graduated from this academy at the 3rd or 4th Tier, her growth rate was absurd.
That was why, even if I might catch up someday, at this early point Elesia was unconditionally stronger than the player. The guides didn’t tell you to recruit her immediately for nothing.
However.
That kind of casual bomb she dropped, and the personality behind it, was exactly why it was hard to accept her as a companion. Some people might call it bold—confessing so confidently to a total stranger—but to me she just looked insane.
Even in the game her reactions split sharply depending on your early choices. If you looked physically weak, Elesia would throw a punch without warning to test you. Pass, and you could build a relationship and raise her affinity. Fail, and that was it. No further connection was possible.
That was why the timing of meeting Elesia mattered. You had to encounter her at a point where you could pass her test if you wanted her as an ally in the subjugation battles.
‘The standard in early playthroughs is to visit her during the second semester of first year or around the start of second year.’
That was only when you couldn’t purchase any special traits yet. Having already reached the 3rd Tier with plenty of room to climb higher, I was bound to pass her test.
And once I did, she would naturally confess. Or do something equivalent. Either way, the fact that she clearly displayed interest didn’t change.
My answer to that was, of course—
I had no intention of dating anyone yet. Not until I erased this damned trait.
“Is that so? Then what brings you here?”
Elesia moved on to the next topic as if she had expected the refusal. Around her, second-year classmates wore expressions that clearly said, there she goes again, that crazy bitch.
I glanced once at the students surrounding her, then slowly opened my mouth.
“I heard so many rumors about a second-year who can handle Holy Power. I was curious. I’ve never actually seen anyone who can use it before. And they say your combat ability is no joke either…”
“Enough chatter. Get to the point.”
Elesia cut off my rambling in a single breath. She clenched her fist and began rewrapping the half-loosened bandages on her hand, as if she already understood exactly what my words implied.
I let out a small chuckle and walked toward the sparring area where she had been training. She finished binding her hands and watched me climb up in silence. Her gaze burned with heat, clearly waiting for me to speak.
“Then, simply put—let’s have a spar.”
The moment those words left my mouth, the heat in her eyes exploded. She leapt onto the platform in a single bound.
“Ji-hoon! Referee!”
“...That crazy bitch is for real.”
A student who had been frowning at her shout reluctantly stepped onto the platform. He ignored whether Elesia was ready or not and looked at me with genuine worry.
“You sure you’re okay? I’m only saying this because we’re in the same year, but she’s actually insane. She won’t kill you in a spar, but she might break a bone or two.”
“It’s fine. That sort of thing can happen during sparring.”
“Sigh… Yeah. Looking at you, you’re not exactly normal either.”
What did I ever do to him!
“The spar ends the moment one side becomes unable to fight or declares surrender. No striking vital points. You both know the rules, right?”
Elesia and I nodded at the same time. Ji-hoon stared at us with an exhausted expression before stepping down from the platform.
“I heard you use a sword?”
After Ji-hoon descended, Elesia asked the question. The only time I had used a sword in front of anyone was during my spar with Tana in the training hall, so she must have seen it then.
“I can use pretty much anything.”
“Pretty much anything? Don’t tell me you can use spears and axes too?”
“I can.”
“What a crazy bastard.”
Elesia burst out laughing. Being called crazy by the Saint of all people left a bad taste in my mouth.
Still, she wasn’t wrong. The Heavenly Martial Body trait wasn’t limited to swords alone. One of its greatest strengths was the ability to freely switch weapons according to the situation and the opponent.
Of course, specializing in only one would create a gap in proficiency.
“Plain sparring would be boring, so how about we make a bet?”
“What are the conditions?”
“Hmm… I feel a little bad about injuring a promising junior, so…”
Elesia’s lips curved upward. She raised a single finger.
“Just one clean hit. Whoever lands a proper strike first wins.”
At her suggestion I lifted the corners of my mouth, pretending to think. That was exactly the bet I had been waiting for.
“If I lose, I’ll grant you one request. Including the dating thing you mentioned earlier—everything.”
“How interesting. If that’s your condition, I should match it, right?”
Honestly, every action I had taken so far had deviated from the game’s intended route. It was inevitable. I could gain benefits faster than in the game and had to protect my own body. On top of that, the cursed trait made sticking to the standard strategy incredibly difficult.
But the strategy for the Saint before me—Elesia—was remarkably simple.
Build a connection through sparring. Use that connection to tackle subjugation battles and other episodes together, raising her affinity. Among characters who could be obtained simply by possessing sufficient strength early on, she had one of the easiest routes.
Conversely, the charm was that there were no other ways to win her over except the most standard play.
I slowly raised my fist. From this point on, game strategies and optimal routes no longer mattered.
I had to trust only my fists, my legs, and my eyes.
“Then let’s see what this junior can do.”
Ji-hoon, who had somehow ended up acting as referee thanks to Elesia’s half-request, swallowed hard as he watched the two of them.
The fact that Elesia hadn’t immediately charged the moment the spar began and was instead exchanging words suggested she had proposed another bet. He concluded that Elesia for suggesting it to a freshman, the freshman for accepting, and Sungjin for actually stepping into the ring were all equally insane.
That was why he kept his eyes wide open.
Elesia’s martial arts were famous. The mere fact that they weren’t overshadowed by her Holy Power proved they were far from weak.
But he had never seen Sungjin’s hand-to-hand combat.
The spar against the second-ranked student in the training hall had been impressive, but that was with a sword. There was no guarantee his unarmed skills were on the same level.
‘Is this the usual arrogance?’
Freshman top rank. After surpassing every genius and even breaking the record, it was only natural that second-years wouldn’t be satisfied. In the early days, freshmen often made such reckless challenges.
“This time the opponent is a bit too much, though.”
If that arrogance had stayed within the first-year circle it would have been fine. But he had come all the way to the second-years and picked Elesia of all people.
Ji-hoon felt that while Sungjin was crazy, he was also a little pitiful.
Of course, that thought was shattered in a single exchange. One move was all it took.
A mana-infused kick flew toward Elesia’s shoulder. She lightly shifted to dodge it, then threw a punch into the opening. Sungjin, as if he had predicted it, spun 180 degrees in mid-air, evading the strike while simultaneously aiming a kick at her head.
Thud.
Elesia’s eyes widened as she raised her arm to block the foot.
It was a simple exchange of offense and defense. It might have looked ordinary, yet an incredible amount of judgment and psychological warfare had been packed into that single moment.
More than that—could a swordsman even move like that with kicks?
While Ji-hoon wrestled with his doubts, the spar continued. Elesia, who had been chatting casually earlier, now kept her mouth shut and focused entirely on the fight.
The exchanges went on. Ten clashes. Twenty. Fifty.
The spar continued without pause.
The longer it lasted, the more certain Ji-hoon became.
Regardless of who won the bet, Elesia had already lost in every way that mattered. The fact that she couldn’t quickly finish off a junior was already a massive blow to her pride.
On top of that—
‘He’s improving more and more?’
Sungjin’s martial arts were gaining depth. The fists that had been extraordinary from the first strike were becoming even sharper, more precise.
Just like when he had fought Tana in the training hall.
The rate of growth might be different, but he was clearly evolving.
Elesia had noticed it too. The corners of her mouth rose.
Stealing techniques was irrelevant. What mattered was that they had been fighting for this long and her opponent was still completely fine.
His stamina still seemed quite lacking, but…
‘I can’t ask for everything at once!’
Stamina and endurance were things she could help with personally. Unlike talent, physical stats could be improved through effort.
After continuing the exchange a while longer, Elesia created distance.
The spar had gone on too long. If it continued like this, Sungjin’s stamina would run out and she would win by default. She didn’t want that kind of victory. A win after a fierce battle was sweet, but a win handed to her by a junior’s exhaustion was not.
Instead, she wanted something else.
“You block well.”
“……”
“Let’s see if you can block this too. If you manage it, I’ll count it as your win.”
Sungjin gave a small nod. He was probably using every ounce of strength just to stay standing.
After receiving his consent, Elesia slowly gathered power throughout her body. Between the blue mana, threads of golden energy began to mix in.
It was the Holy Power she could wield.
She pushed her body to its limits with mana, then healed the resulting damage with Holy Power. The physique she had forged by repeating that cycle.
‘I don’t usually use it, but…’
To test a junior’s true skill, this much was necessary. If he got injured, it would simply mean his ability was lacking—he would feel ashamed himself.
Elesia clenched her fist and took a stance.
Then, without any flourish or warning, she threw a perfectly straight punch.
A simple strike. The wind pressure it generated. Pure destructive power backed by a reinforced body and refined technique—her sincere, full-powered attack.
“He blocked it. Fuck.”
Her proud junior had blocked it. Though he looked like he might collapse at any second, he had clearly blocked it.
It was Sungjin’s victory.