Trash Game
"Kheheheheh."
The demon looked much like a wraith. This was a place where wraiths gathered, and the demon was a being that stockpiled its power here.
Wraiths were, as a rule, troublesome creatures. Mana attacks worked on them, but only a fraction of the damage ever got through. Physical attacks didn't work at all, so any student who hadn't yet awakened their mana would be in serious trouble the moment they crossed one.
And this was a demon, no less — a creature that traded away a measure of its intelligence for a boost to every stat it had.
Even so, I didn't feel particularly tense. 'If it had been any other demon, maybe I would have been.' Right now, there wasn't a shred of tension in me.
The Starlight Mana Seo Gayeon carried. The Defying Heaven Qi I possessed. Both boasted an extreme affinity against a creature like a wraith. It had no physical body, so mundane attacks simply passed through it — but against peculiar forces like Starlight Mana or Defying Heaven Qi, it was vulnerable to an extreme degree.
"Kieeeeeeek!"
The demon shrieked and lunged.
"Ugh!" Seo Gayeon staggered for an instant — the thing had unleashed a pulse that assailed the mind. But I was fine. Defying Heaven Qi was shielding my body.
I channeled Defying Heaven Qi into my blade. The moment I moved to swing, the wraith froze and stared at the Heukcheon Demonic Sword.
"So it still has its wits about it. And it's quick, too."
'No kidding.' I answered the Heukcheon Demonic Sword through intent. Intent. I focused — and the wraith's movements began to come into sharp relief.
I gripped the sword. Black Flash Sword Art. A style whose only virtue was speed. And yet I'd grown rather fond of it.
Striking with Defying Heaven Qi. That act alone was enough to land a critical blow on the creature.
'But I can't rely on that.' This world wasn't so convenient. You couldn't afford to lean on easy answers — anything you didn't know, you took head-on. This was a world where you only got to see the ending if you kept moving.
"Whew." I breathed. Then I moved.
The wraith moved in answer to mine. Its arm swept wide, a violet trail arcing toward my face.
Footwork. I moved with a step I hadn't yet perfected, but it carried me without trouble.
Black God Martial Arts. A method of moving the body better. The Black Core corrected my movements, and Defying Heaven Qi flowed smoothly through me.
Shff. The Heukcheon Demonic Sword cleaved through the wraith's arm.
"Kghaaak!" The thing moved. Claws sprouted long from its other hand and went for my arm. Half a step — evasion.
Watching it like this, I could finally see it: the creature's movements were full of waste. 'I think I'm starting to get the hang of this.'
Fighting my own battles had taught me something. I lacked a great deal compared to my opponents. I had to dodge by the barest margin and cram in as much offense as I could. At the same time, I couldn't afford to take a single hit — one mistake could be fatal.
'What a trash game.'
The Heukcheon Demonic Sword watched Lee Seoha. Against the wraith, he moved only as much as he had to, whittling away at its strength bit by bit — yet the Defying Heaven Qi magnified each of those strikes into a grievous wound.
'Absurd.'
Lee Seoha's talent for the martial arts was prodigy-grade. When she had first begun teaching him, the Heukcheon Demonic Sword had found that a shame. But once the battle began and the longer it wore on, his growth was anything but ordinary.
The wraith bared its teeth and attacked. He evaded with the barest movement. Its claws sheared the hair from his temple and drew a thin line across his cheek.
Even so, Lee Seoha was smiling.
A disadvantageous fight — one he had driven himself into on purpose. Movements unaccustomed to combat were steadily turning into movements that had learned it. It was a kind of madness. An ordinary person could never push themselves that far. Even someone who had devoted their whole life to the blade wouldn't drive themselves to the brink like that.
Yet Lee Seoha did it without hesitation, as if it were the only right answer. That was why the Heukcheon Demonic Sword feared him — and why she couldn't help but anticipate what he would become.
She was still thinking that when Lee Seoha drove the Heukcheon Demonic Sword through the wraith's chest.
'Not bad,' Lee Seoha thought. Black God Martial Arts was settling in now — about time he set the Black Flash Sword Art aside and started learning a different sword art.
Fssshhh. The wraith's body crumbled to ash and scattered into the air.
Tink. A gem radiating a deep violet glow dropped to the ground.
...So the act of slaying demons added stats, huh. 'Maybe I should start hunting as many of them as I can.'
Saaaah. The Black Core accepted the newly grown Defying Heaven Qi. Feeling it swell a little larger, I picked up the violet gem.
Appraise.
[Amethyst Steeped in Grudges (B+)]
An amethyst formed from malevolent spirits bound together by their lingering resentment.
Holds high value in magical scholarship.
: Crafted into an accessory — grants the wearer a bonus to mana.
: Crafted into a weapon — inflicts a curse on the target when a strike lands.
: Crafted into armor — inflicts a curse on any foe who strikes the wearer.
: Consumed — Spirit −3, Mana +5.
High grade. I'd taken it down easily enough, but then, this wasn't a creature that fell that easily under normal circumstances. And since it had uses in any number of fields, the high rating made sense too.
'But this gem's true value lies elsewhere.' Lee Seoha slipped it into his subspace.
"Th-that's incredible, Seoha." Seo Gayeon spoke in an awed voice. But looking closer, she was trembling all over — proof of just how far she'd pushed herself.
"Yeah. You did well too." With that, Lee Seoha handed her a vitality potion.
"B-but are you sure you can just give me this?"
"It was handed out to be used freely, so it's fine. Besides, what can I do when they say it's for the academy's most promising talents?"
"P-promising?" Seo Gayeon pointed at herself. Lee Seoha nodded.
"You're a rising star. No — 'rising star' doesn't even cover it. Elemental mana, and Starlight Mana on top of that, the most lethal power there is to demons."
At this rate, he might just have to hand her the top seat, he added with a smile.
Seo Gayeon was bewildered. He was always like this with her — showing boundless kindness without a second thought. Even her own family had never believed in her like this.
"What matters from today is holding on to that feeling you had when your mana bloomed."
"...Yeah. Thank you so much for today."
Whatever. If you're that grateful, pay me back someday.
I will. Anything.
Seo Gayeon broke into a wide smile as she looked at Lee Seoha.
I returned to the academy with Seo Gayeon. Lying on my bed, I turned on my phone to find a pile of KakaoTalk messages waiting. 'Quite a lot here.' More than I'd expected, so I started going through them.
...I absolutely had to take that bet.
The one who needed to brace herself seemed to be someone else.
A meal, huh. I'd have to have her treat me to something cheap like gimbap.
The near-letter-length message left me breathless. Even I could tell that answering it with a one-liner would be wrong.
Once I'd cleared my messages, I gave my hands a quick wash. I wanted to rest. I wanted to rest with violent intensity. But I had to keep moving, even a little. I sighed and got up.
I headed outside for the training grounds, got in the elevator, and pressed 1.
Ding. Before long, the elevator stopped. Floor 98.
When the doors opened, Erciel appeared in a swirl of still-damp hair.
"Oh, there you are. I heard you went somewhere with Seo Gayeon." Erciel said, the corner of her mouth curling up.
"Yeah. Went to see her and came straight back."
"Really? Where did you two go?"
"Secret. So, you heading out to train?"
"Yes. The mana of night suits me quite well, so I usually train after dark."
When I deflected, Erciel's gaze chased after me — eyes shaped like stars, glittering gold.
"You... do know about it, right?"
"Know what?"
"...Hmm, never mind. More importantly, midterms start soon."
"They do."
Quite a bit of time had passed. Midterms were two weeks away, and because of that, the instructors were keeping busy.
"There's a rumor going around that they're making this year's midterms a big deal."
"Deserved, though. It's not like any of us are ordinary."
"My, my. Is that confidence I hear?"
"Could be."
And I thought that was a good thing. Because this time around, the demons would be pulling something during the midterms. They would force their way into the exam and prey on the students. It wouldn't become a major incident — only a handful of demons showed up during exam period. Even demons had a line they wouldn't cross; not even hell itself would storm the academy and butcher every last student inside.
"Anyway, I'm off to train."
"Cold, so cold. Work hard, okay?" Erciel waved and walked away.
I headed for the training grounds.