Chapter 52
Chapter 52
This is Too Advanced
****
“You can let go now.”
“Okay.”
*Click.*
The button clicked as Han-na released her grip.
But the bomb didn’t explode.
Thanks to the combined efforts of the Capital Guard and the academy's alchemy professors, the detonator had been deactivated.
Only after about 30 minutes of tension did Han-na finally regain her freedom, flexing her hand as she clenched and unclenched her fingers to relax her stiff muscles.
Tae-jin approached her and asked,
“Are you alright?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. It was nothing.”
“Thank you. You saved me from a tricky situation.”
“It was the least I could do.”
With a hint of shyness, Han-na replied to Tae-jin’s gratitude.
She awkwardly grasped her wrist, fidgeting as she rotated her hand.
Then, as if suddenly recalling something, she asked.
“But how did you know? That he was a villain?”
“Ah, I happened to see him using his monster ability a while ago.”
“…I see.”
Tae-jin smoothly sidestepped the question, and Han-na nodded a few times, seemingly without suspicion.
It didn’t really matter to her.
She was just happy to have been of help.
She had been disappointed that she couldn’t participate in the Arachne villain incident.
If she hadn’t sent her chauffeur back and followed Tae-jin then, she could have shared the credit for subduing the villain.
That’s why she envied Mi-jin, who had stood on the podium with Tae-jin and received commendations and praise.
She envied Mi-jin, basking in the spotlight for subduing the villain alongside Tae-jin.
She regretted not being there.
She should have come up with an excuse, dismissed her chauffeur, and followed Tae-jin.
And as she followed Tae-jin around, she found a strange sort of… enjoyment(?) in it.
She now understood why Tae-jin had persistently stalked her.
She also understood why people were so enthusiastic about celebrities’ and streamers’ daily vlogs.
Tae-jin was a ‘trouble magnet.’
Wherever he went, incidents occurred; he got involved in things like sparring matches with Do-han, and sometimes, he even exhibited suspicious behavior.
He would occasionally vanish from the academy and then reappear without explanation. She didn’t know the reason yet, but Tae-jin was certainly an interesting subject to observe.
It was like watching TV.
Of course, being the cameraman and running around herself could be tiring at times, and it wasn’t always exciting
Anyway, now that the roles were reversed, she finally understood why Tae-jin's perspective was so unique.
Han Tae-jin had become a star cadet.
So, today, she pretended to be heading home but doubled back and followed him.
She had a vague expectation of witnessing another incident.
And….
Her expectations were met.
Tae-jin had gotten involved with a villain.
His daily life was truly a series of thrilling events.
How could someone get caught up in so many incidents?
Her own daily life was just a monotonous repetition of training, studying, exercising, and classes.
As the daughter of Korea's top guild, she was always forced to live a predictable, uneventful life.
She couldn’t even enjoy a casual drink outside like others.
Her life consisted of forcing smiles at boring social gatherings.
The real raid she participated in thanks to Tae-jin a while ago was one of the most exhilarating experiences of her life.
That’s why subduing the villain with Tae-jin just now was quite exciting.
And for some reason, she felt like she had finally participated in his colorful daily life, which she had only observed from afar until now.
It was quite a novel feeling.
And also a strangely… pleasant one.
Han-na glanced at Tae-jin.
“By the way, your dagger skills are pretty impressive. I saw you slice through that Octopus’s tentacle in one go.”
“Ah, I’ve been practicing hard lately.”
Tae-jin’s dagger skills were improving day by day.
It was thanks to the [Weapon Mastery] trait he had acquired during the real raid.
His current proficiency level with [Daggers] was at level 10.
Considering that his proficiency level with [Bow], his main weapon, was 30, it was quite a high level.
His proficiency with other weapons like [Sword], [Blunt Weapon], and [Staff] was still close to 0.
Of course, since he had the dagger, which had high compatibility with the bow, there was no need for him to learn other weapons.
This time, Tae-jin spoke to Han-na.
“By the way, didn’t you say you were going home?”
“Ah…”
Han-na was slightly flustered.
But having been raised in high society, she possessed tact and social skills as second nature.
“I forgot something.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Well, I’ll be going then.”
With a curt goodbye, Han-na left.
Since it was a low-rank villain, the Capital Guard only took a brief statement.
There was no need to wait for the Monster Management Bureau to arrive.
“Shall we go too?”
“Yes, Master.”
So, Tae-jin and Renia left the Capital Guard officers, who were still cleaning up the scene, and exited the campus.
Now that villain hunting was a viable option, there was somewhere he needed to go.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“So, you’re asking me what’s the most essential skill when fighting villains?”
“Yes, Master.”
He showed up at Na-yeon’s mansion with Renia and posed the question without hesitation.
He asked her to teach him the most useful skill for fighting villains, who were full of surprises.
Even though she wasn't a Holder, Park Na-yeon had plenty of experience fighting villains.
During her active days, she had been a target of Illusion.
He asked, brimming with anticipation, but...
“I’ll teach you Sprint, so you can run away.”
His dear Master only responded with a playful tease.
“Seriously.”
“Why? Watching you get beaten up by that Arachne villain was quite entertaining. Pfft.”
“Are you hoping your beloved disciple dies?”
“I don’t want you to die, that’s why I’m offering to teach you Sprint. You need to be able to run away to survive, don’t you?”
“Seriously.”
Park Na-yeon chuckled, amused by his annoyance.
The dignified and aloof jaguar-like woman at the academy always transformed into a playful cat whenever they were at her mansion.
A mischievous cat who enjoyed teasing her owner.
“So, you’re saying you can’t bestow a wonderful skill upon your disciple who just came back from slicing and dicing the Octopus villain who tried to blow up the Alchemy Department’s research lab?”
“And if it weren’t for Cadet Han-na, you would have been in quite a predicament, wouldn’t you?”
“…You knew?”
“I have connections in the Capital Guard. But are you really expecting praise for capturing a mere E-rank villain?"
“No, I’m expecting a skill.”
Seemingly pleased with his shameless reply, Park Na-yeon smiled and turned around, saying,
“Fine. I’ll be generous and teach you an advanced skill. Follow me.”
‘Yes!’
He cheered internally and followed Park Na-yeon with a light step.
They arrived at the training grounds.
At his Master's instruction, he slung his bow on his back and gripped his dagger.
“As you know, most villain encounters involve close-range combat.”
“Yes.”
Both Octopus and Arachne were close-range fighters.
The Octopus’s tentacles only reached 3-4 meters, and Arachne’s main attacks, aside from its venomous stingers and webs, were with its legs.
“Daggers or swords are good for close-range combat. They allow for a wider variety of attacks in close quarters compared to weapons with wider arcs and simpler patterns like blunt weapons.”
“Yes.”
Park Na-yeon lowered her training dagger and assumed a low stance.
She lowered her chin and shot him a sharp glare.
Her posture alone felt suffocating.
“And in close-range combat, it’s advantageous to get behind your opponent.”
“Huh?”
Park Na-yeon’s black bob swayed as mana surged around her. Her teaching method was the same as in the original story.
She would demonstrate first, then tell him to imitate her without any explanation, and finally point out his mistakes.
So, he watched her intently, trying not to miss even the slightest change in her breathing.
But…
“Lightning Blade Arts.”
Even though he was staring right at her, she vanished as if she had never been there.
It took him a full second to register that she was gone.
And…
“Done.”
The moment he realized she had vanished, Park Na-yeon's voice came from behind him, and a dagger was pressed against his neck.
A menacing mana emanated from the dagger.
[Lightning Blade Arts.]
It was a skill he had heard of and was familiar with.
It could be considered the dagger version of Iaijutsu.
A technique that allowed the user to move behind the opponent at blinding speed, almost like teleportation, and attack.
To achieve that soundless speed, one needed an immense amount of mana, powerful leg muscles, and a robust physique to withstand the friction and inertia generated by the velocity.
She had just demonstrated a skill that required at least A-rank abilities.
And the reason he knew this skill so well? The principles and training methods of the Lightning Blade Arts were described in detail in the original story.
And the reason Lightning Blade Arts appeared in the original story.
It was, of course, because the original protagonist, Choi Do-han, was supposed to learn it.
In the later half of the story, which was the last part he’d read, Park Na-yeon taught the Lightning Blade Arts to Choi Do-han
But by the later half of the story, following the Illusion terror attack, Choi Do-han had experienced rapid growth thanks to the hidden information [Level Up as a Harem!] and had become capable of mastering the Lightning Blade Arts.
Maybe this skill was revealed at that point because it had an important role in the later parts of the story.
The description of the skill alone spanned three paragraphs in the original novel.
And according to the author, Choi Do-han was at least A-rank at that point.
Therefore,
“…Master.”
It felt like he had yawned once while the professor was writing down multiplication tables, only to find the blackboard filled with calculus and simultaneous linear equations.
“What? Is there a problem?”
“….”
No, it’s just… this is too advanced.
He asked her to teach him a simple equation, but she pulled out a calculus textbook instead.