Open Wide – Debuff Incoming
“I’ll kill you!!!”
If a fishing hook I tossed carelessly snagged someone’s heart, would they freak out like this?
Ok Myeongjin, gripping his spear, let out a guttural roar and leaped forward.
It’s not an act.
If that expression and body language were fake, it’d be more reasonable to just fall for it.
Rohan raised his longsword to block the downward thrust.
Kaang—!!!
The mana-infused weapons clashed with a metallic screech.
The Iron Turtles below rumbled in response to the thunderous noise, letting out guttural gurgle-gurgle cries.
“Didn’t you say earlier you weren’t gonna kill me?”
“Shut up!”
“Shit happens in life. No need to throw a tantrum.”
“Graaaah!!! I’ll skewer that trap of yours!!!”
Taking Rohan’s consolation as mockery, Ok Myeongjin looked ready to steam from his ears.
The mana in his spear grew wilder, riding the waves of his rage.
Pang!
The disrupted mana repelled itself violently.
Ok Myeongjin used a prone Iron Turtle as a springboard to land back at his original spot.
Rohan quickly steadied his unbalanced stance and gripped his sword tight.
“Rohan. Let me help.”
Ichinose took a step forward.
But Rohan had already decided. He refused without hesitation.
“I’m good. Just hang back.”
“Ok Myeongjin’s from a prominent martial family. He probably has some special skill.”
“Yeah, probably.”
“...You know subduing him cleanly is harder than killing him, right? We should team up here.”
“Oh? You already read my play?”
“It’s because the instructors said not to kill other cadets. I can feel your intent.”
If Ichinose jumped in, the power balance would tip in an instant, and the fight would end.
Even so.
Rohan asked her to stay out.
“Let me act on my own just this once.”
“...”
Whether Ichinose had experienced it or not, human relationships could be as savage as wild beasts at times.
There are moments when pure physical strength determines the pecking order.
People who live by force can’t afford to miss those instants.
Even if I win, it might get annoying later, but if I don’t establish dominance right now... this guy’ll be a real pain in the ass.
He’d seen Ok Myeongjin’s type too many times.
He had him pegged. That’s why he could roughly see the future.
Even considering academy life after the practical exam.
Or if they crossed paths again on this island.
To gain the upper hand over a guy like this, he needed to set the hierarchy now and leash him while he was at it.
“In return, I’ll make it up to you somehow. Deal?”
“...I don’t need any makeup conditions. Just don’t get hurt.”
Rohan smirked, eyes locked forward.
On the opposite side, having overheard Rohan and Ichinose’s exchange, a contrasting tension hung in the air.
“Hey. Butt in, and you’re dead.”
“O-okay!”
Ok Myeongjin nailed down that he’d handle it solo, no partner help.
He even shed his outer coat, gripping his spear like he’d bend it in half.
“Huuu...”
He somehow reined in his explosive fury.
Still, the look in his eyes at Rohan hadn’t changed—a feral glare that wanted to chew him to the bone.
Rohan hopped lightly down to the Iron Turtles’ habitat.
Ok Myeongjin shouldered his spear and landed too.
—Guooooh!
Rohan and Ok Myeongjin stepped onto the shells of Iron Turtles poking their heads out and crawling forward.
They closed in, stepping across the sharp shells like stepping stones.
Rohan smiled to rile Ok Myeongjin up, but.
His eyes stayed fixed on the spear, his mind racing nonstop.
Can’t let my guard down.
No matter how hot-headed, he was still from a Samhwa Nation elite family.
That earlier strike alone screamed professional combat training.
Boong! Whoooong! Boong!
Ok Myeongjin’s spear whipped around his body in fierce rotations.
As Ichinose said, less thrusting, more centrifugal smashes.
His first attack was a downward chop, not a stab.
If that wasn’t standard issue but his personal weapon.
He’d probably wield something like a guandao or naginata.
“Kaaak!!!”
Spear shaft swung with a battle cry.
On the rocking Iron Turtle, Rohan swung his sword like a baseball bat.
—Ziiing! The flat deflected the spear.
Ok Myeongjin absorbed the rebound, spinning his body.
They traded fierce blows.
Chaeng! Ziiing! Kang!
Unpredictable footing demanding constant attention.
Rohan used his broad blade to parry, closely observing trajectories and movements.
Roughly a dozen exchanges.
A pattern emerged.
His spearwork’s systematic and solid. Only issue... the user’s still green.
Maybe frustration from not overwhelming early, against expectations.
The more they clashed, the clearer his impatience showed in spear tip and face.
Tiiing!
The shaft blocked more cleanly than ever. Like he’d anticipated it.
Rohan and Ok Myeongjin both felt the stark contrast—Rohan’s satisfaction, his dismay.
“Missed dinner last night? That spear’s looking pretty limp.”
“You’re just scrambling to block...! All talk!”
Veins bulged on Ok Myeongjin’s forehead.
Rohan chuckled at the transparently exposed emotion.
Straightforward bastard.
Ok Myeongjin kicked off the Iron Turtle, hopping back to create distance, then dropped to the ground.
A range his spear couldn’t reach without throwing.
Yet he channeled mana. Wrapping his body in a different motion than before.
Skill?
High likelihood.
Close the gap or observe? Either choice had pros and cons.
Rohan tensed his thighs, ready to spring, eyes locked on his foe.
“Uoooooh!!!”
An over-the-top shout.
Ok Myeongjin’s body ballooned, donning ancient Eastern-style armor straight out of a historical drama.
Even his spear shimmered translucent, shaping into a guandao form.
Grandson of some Iron Eagle general, huh.
Suits him—must be the bloodline.
Rohan decided to close in, kicking off the shell.
The now over-2m giant Ok Myeongjin raised his spear high.
Exposing waist and legs wide—clear confidence in his durability.
“Kuhahaha!!! Die!!!”
“Crazy bastard. Instructors said no killing cadets.”
Spear plummeting like a guillotine.
Rohan gripped his sword two-handed. The blade glowed red-hot with Scorching Blade.
Heat warped the air as he swung.
One Sword – Flame Cut
The moment Rohan’s longsword met the spear.
Ok Myeongjin’s spear, capable of cleaving a man in two, spun skyward.
“!!!”
His helmet revealed a crystal-clear look of shock.
Rohan pressed the advantage, closing on the now empty-handed Ok Myeongjin and spreading mana.
Weakness Infliction.
[Imparts a physical attribute weakness to the target.]
“W-what did you do?!”
Startled by the eerie sensation, he weaponized his armored body.
His fist was pot-lid huge, but outside spearwork, he was a total amateur—no real threat.
“Gonna chip a tooth. Bite down hard.”
Rohan laid his sword flat and smashed the helmet.
Diiiing!
A perfect bell-like vibration.
“Kugh!”
Ok Myeongjin’s pupils dilated, consciousness slipping, legs wobbling.
[Imparts a debuff to the target.]
“!”
A first-time alert. But questions and surprise lasted a split second.
That’s it!
The function from his transcendence.
Definite. Perfect chance.
Attacking a target with inflicted weakness has a low chance to apply a debuff. Debuffs share levels with Weakness Infliction.
Various debuffs flashed in Rohan’s mind like a menu.
He picked the perfect one.
Blindness.
The effect hit immediately.
“M-my eyes...!?”
Shock snapped his hazy mind alert.
Ok Myeongjin clawed at his face in terror.
Rohan couldn’t hold back the laughter at the confirmed success.
“What’re you doing mid-fight?”
He reversed his grip and pommel-thrust Ok Myeongjin’s gut.
The strike pierced the solid armor for a perfect hit.
“Kahak—!”
The giant’s legs buckled; he clutched his belly and dropped to his knees.
“...”
One swing here would sever his head clean.
But he held back.
Rohan drove his sword into the ground, fixing it firm.
No need to upset Juyeon.
“Stings, huh?”
He clenched his empty fist into a hard knot and cut the air.
Then spun Ok Myeongjin’s jaw with a crisp hook.
“Gehk!”
As heavy impact blurred his senses.
Ok Myeongjin felt his vision clear, freed from true terror.
And looked ahead. Forced to see.
The collapsing giant took in the sight of the lovely girl standing atop him.
“I-Ichinose... ma’am...!”
He mustered his last strength amid fading consciousness for that cry.
But Ichinose’s gaze didn’t spare him a glance.
Her rarely open eyes, fixed on Rohan for so long.
Shone with unmistakable awe.