No Cutting in Line
"What?"
"I don't do anything more with people who've already lost to me."
It was a statement that might as well have been open contempt for the defeated. The moment Velos Velon heard it, he seriously wondered if he'd misheard. A commoner talking back to me?
In Skeria, such a thing was unimaginable. Experiencing it repeatedly at Mirinae Academy left his mind reeling. Normally, when the crown prince of an empire deigned to speak to a commoner, the proper response was overwhelming gratitude followed by a deep bow. Yet here was this lowborn saying things like...
"What? You suck at it anyway?"
It was the first time in his life he'd heard someone dismiss him with such crude language. He, who had been called a genius everywhere he went, revered as the new star who would illuminate Skeria. To be treated like this.
"Hah! Just because you won once by sheer luck, you've grown arrogant, you commoner! This is exactly what happens when unprepared fools gain undeserved fame! That kind of attitude..."
Velos Velon tried to seize the moment to lecture Lee Seokhyun on etiquette and proper behavior, hoping to restore the dignity of the nobility. He already found it intolerable that a commoner like Woo Dohyun held the top rank among first-years. The idea of someone like this running wild was completely unacceptable.
Everyone must feel the same way. I just said it to his face.
Velos believed he'd delivered a perfectly reasonable and relatable rebuke. But...
"Velos, does that mean you're out? I really want to do this."
"Yeah, get out of the way. We're all attending the same academy, what's with this commoner nonsense... Why are you Skeria kids like this anyway?"
The other students were taking the exact opposite stance. Woo Dohyun was practically itching for a proper rematch, and Mi Juran already knew Lee Seokhyun's true strength after the Ungbak incident.
He's definitely way stronger than us.
The whole reason they'd come to the academy was to grow stronger. With a perfect stepping stone standing right in front of them, a few harsh words were hardly a problem. If anything, they were worried Seokhyun might get annoyed by Velos's attitude and leave the training grounds.
"Seokhyun, just so you know, I was the first one to ask you for a spar. So I should go first, right?"
"Then me next."
"Me too! Me too!"
"Me too!"
Even after being rejected once, the line of students eager to spar showed no signs of shrinking. Velos grew flustered. A sense of crisis washed over him—the fear of missing out on this golden opportunity to spar with the final survivor of the first class. The dread of falling behind everyone else began to consume him.
"Wait, if you guys want it that badly, shouldn't you show some sincerity?"
What? He'll actually do it?
The moment Lee Seokhyun said he'd spar if they showed proper sincerity, Velos's mind snapped back into focus. The kids who kept begging even after being called trash, and Seokhyun who was actually responding to their pleas. It was a situation he'd never even considered, so processing it took a moment.
"If you need anything, I'll do whatever it takes. It won't compare to what you can offer, but I can teach you a unique perspective on the sword."
"Me too! Me too! If you ever come to Mudanard later, I promise royal treatment! I swear!"
There it was again. Led by Woo Dohyun and Mi Juran, the group quickly formed around Lee Seokhyun, each naturally offering him tributes. Feeling like an unstoppable waterfall was rushing toward him, Velos made his decision.
"It seems you're all mistaken. I'm second."
Sparring with Lee Seokhyun. No matter how strong his pride, even Velos Velon couldn't resist something so tempting.
What the hell? They're willing to do all that just for one spar?
Even after being insulted and called trash, they still begged to fight. When he asked for something in return, they immediately offered it and urged him to hurry up and spar. No matter how strong their drive for improvement was, this was starting to get scary.
Was it always like this?
If he'd entered the academy route more often while playing as Lee Seokhyun, he would have known the students' personalities inside and out. But because he rarely took this path, the finer details were lacking.
Still, if I actually spar, my real skills will be exposed immediately.
In a normal spar, it would quickly become obvious that he couldn't use his main skills. That could put him at a disadvantage in future story events. He could try pretending his main skill was from the Spider title, but that was only a temporary fix.
Besides, since it's a growth-type title, it can't even be called a main skill yet.
The growth-type title Spider was indeed overpowered, but it naturally came with balance adjustments. It boasted incredible potential in the late game, but in the early stages—especially with only the first leg unlocked—it was barely above low-grade among sub-skills. Expecting it to dramatically sharpen his senses and give him multi-angle vision was asking too much.
That was why these sparring love calls felt even more burdensome. As he pondered how to navigate this situation, a thought struck him.
Oh, right. That could work.
He'd found the perfect solution.
"Alright, I understand how you all feel. Let's spar. I'll do it, but I want to do it unarmed."
"Unarmed?"
"Yeah. No skills, and if you use weapons, they have to be practice ones. Those are my conditions."
"Why?"
The students reacted sharply the moment they realized this wasn't the direction they wanted. We've already gone this far. How can he keep playing hard to get? That seemed to be the general sentiment.
"You all lost to me even when you could use all your skills at full strength. Didn't you learn anything from that? Woo Dohyun, right before you collapsed from exhaustion at the end, what do you think you had left?"
"...Unarmed?"
"Exactly. When you couldn't even hold a sword anymore, you closed your eyes and gave up, right? That's not how it should be. It's because your stamina is lacking and you've been neglecting physical training."
It was only natural to get tired after fighting all day, but the key was to gloss over that part and keep talking. If someone else had said this, the students would have analyzed it from every angle and eventually realized it was nonsense. But...
I'm different.
Since these words came from the final survivor of the first class, they carried immense credibility. After all, he'd won the whole thing without using any skills, so he'd already proven it himself.
"That's why all of you need to train through unarmed sparring to prepare for situations where you can't use anything. Got it? The whole reason you want to spar is to grow stronger, right? Then you should naturally follow my method."
Because I'm the final survivor.
He left that last part unsaid. The students were already looking at him with sparkling eyes, completely convinced. They lined up without needing any further persuasion.
"I'll head into the sparring arena first and wait. Come in one by one when it's your turn."
With those words, I entered the arena ahead of them. It was amusing to watch the kids, once again completely taken in by my skillful agitation and fabrication, stop what they were doing and obediently form a line.
This is actually pretty fun.
It was a small, simple pleasure.
Gainard finished his daily duties and immediately headed to the training grounds. As expected, the place was filled with students training diligently.
This never changes.
Even though he'd deliberately given them time to rest, they were still training with fierce determination. While he worried they might overdo it, he couldn't shake the thought that this was exactly the kind of spirit the academy should foster.
Identifying one's weaknesses, receiving feedback, and finding ways to improve—that was the true value of education, wasn't it?
I should give them some guidance...
Just as Gainard was about to offer feedback to the commendable students who'd come to train, he witnessed a bizarre scene.
They're standing in a line?
He hadn't noticed from afar, but up close it was clear. The students were all lined up, waiting to enter the sparring arena. Since Mirinae Academy had over a hundred sparring arenas, there was rarely any need to wait unless something unusual was happening. The fact that they were queuing up meant something special was going on.
When he looked closer, he understood why.
Hah, I can hardly believe it.
That long line had formed solely for the chance to spar with Lee Seokhyun. Not a single student was there as a joke—every one of them wore a serious expression as they waited their turn. Judging by the students groaning in pain nearby, he seemed to have already faced more than ten opponents.
And yet Lee Seokhyun showed no signs of fatigue as he continued taking them on.
He's completely toying with them.
Outside the arena, the line was deadly serious. Inside, however, a strange sense of ease prevailed. No matter how earnestly they attacked, they all fell into Lee Seokhyun's pace.
"You can't approach like that. Didn't you see what happened with the last guy? When I move to the left, you should move left too and maintain distance by circling around, understand?"
Don't just walk into someone else's range when you're completely unprepared. Lee Seokhyun casually dispensed the kind of feedback a professor would give while thoroughly dismantling the students. Even when they held weapons and had the advantage of reach, he closed the distance in an instant. When they charged like wild boars, he evaded like a seasoned matador.
He never steps more than three paces outside his range.
The students in the arena might not have noticed, but Gainard, watching from above, could see it clearly. No matter how desperately they struggled, Lee Seokhyun calmly maintained his zone. It was like watching the ultimate master of efficient movement.
The most surprising part was that he was doing all of this instinctively, without anyone teaching him. And he was only a first-year who had just entered Mirinae Academy.
"Are you insane? Who swings a sword like that? You're just like Woo Dohyun. The moment the distance closes, you need to be ready to drop your sword. What are you going to do if I break your fingers like this?"
"Aaaah! Aaaah! Let go! Let go! I surrender! I surrender!"
Woo Dohyun, who had been resting in the corner, immediately started massaging his own fingers and lowered his head again after seeing what was happening inside the arena. It seemed he'd fallen for the exact same technique. Gainard couldn't help but laugh at the sight.
"Pfft."
"...?"
Maybe he'd laughed too loudly despite trying to hold it in. In an instant, every student in the arena turned to look at him. Since the damage was already done, Gainard decided he might as well step forward.
"Your attitude toward training is excellent. However, I can see several areas that need improvement."
This was the perfect chance to guide and instruct Lee Seokhyun during the spar, using it as an opportunity to recruit him into the path of the sword. Gainard imagined a bright future as he moved toward the front of the line.
"Professor Gainard, um... I'm sorry, but you'll have to get in line."
The words came from Velos Velon, who had been pushed to the very back after being rejected once. Gainard froze. The other students were simply too intimidated to say anything, but their eyes held a tiny spark of resentment at what looked like blatant cutting in line.
"..."
Step. Step. Step. Step.
After confirming their reactions, Gainard nodded and obediently took his place at the end of the line.
A bizarre scene unfolded: a professor lining up to spar with a first-year student.