The Top Ranker's Challenge
Today's class ran from third period through fourth: mock sparring.
It was the kind of lesson where you could put an annoying classmate in their place and show off everything you had — for most people, at least.
Not for me.
For me, it was nothing but a headache. I had to fill out every single sparring record in meticulous detail. Dereliction of duty wasn't an option. All I could do was hope the whole thing wrapped up without incident.
"Is everyone here?"
"Everyone except Han Cho-ah."
"…Leave her be. She's only hurting herself by not showing up."
The next time I ran into that girl, she was getting at least five demerits. Skipping class was still skipping class.
"This won't count toward your grades, but I expect every one of you to take it seriously. The analysis from these spars will be reflected in the provisional rankings."
Provisional or not, rankings were rankings. The students clearly cared about seeing their names plastered across a giant ranking board.
I cleared my throat over the noise. The room fell quiet, and I continued.
"Each spar lasts three minutes. Your opponents have been assigned through simulation for balanced matchups, so I don't want to hear any complaints. First bout… Cha Hyun-woo and Ju Ji-hoon. Both of you, step forward."
A big match right out of the gate. With Cha Hyun-woo involved, how could it be anything else?
Though the balance is completely off.
I didn't even need to watch. Cha Hyun-woo would crush him. The reason was simple: no matter how hard Ju Ji-hoon flailed, he was an extra. Cha Hyun-woo was the protagonist who'd entered as the top-ranked freshman.
The two of them faced off. Ju Ji-hoon already looked defeated, shoulders slumped with the certainty of loss. Cha Hyun-woo, on the other hand, wore an expression of pure dissatisfaction. It was a free win — so why did he look so sour?
"You look displeased. Something wrong with your opponent?"
"I do have a complaint — but you've got the wrong target."
"…What are you talking about?"
"I have no issue with my sparring partner or the format. None of that."
Wait. Don't tell me—
"My problem is with the evaluator."
…Of course it was.
The arrow was pointed straight at me. This was following the novel's plot beat for beat.
If I hadn't become Class A's instructor, a hero named Beast Gu Seung-jun would have taken the post. After the Main incident shattered his trust in instructors, Cha Hyun-woo would have spent the class in a foul mood, poisoning the atmosphere.
"I don't believe there's anything to learn from someone weaker than me."
Just like this.
Gu Seung-jun, taking offense at the attitude, would spar him one-on-one and win — but not without eating a few solid hits himself. Factor those in, and you could argue Cha Hyun-woo had the better of the exchange. His personality would keep warping further, and that would balloon into a massive problem for the story.
Tsk… At least Gu Seung-jun managed to win. Me, on the other hand…
I glanced sideways at the students. Their eyes were wide with shock.
"Hey, Cha Hyun-woo! Have you lost your mind?"
While everyone else held their breath, Na Eun-sol was the one screeching.
"What? Someone weaker than you? There's a limit to how full of yourself you can—"
Why was she the one making a scene?
I looked at her with genuine surprise. Sensing my gaze, Na Eun-sol twisted her face into an awkward grimace and whipped her head away.
Tsundere to the core.
So what now?
If I backed down here, Cha Hyun-woo's opinion of me would hit rock bottom. He wouldn't give my advice so much as a second thought. That couldn't happen. His trust was indispensable if I wanted a good ending.
A way to knock that pride down a peg. I couldn't be certain, but I did have one option.
Sylph's Blessing.
The mid-story boss monster, the Griffin. A creature that could casually handle three or four S-Class heroes — its skills would be formidable. Of course, that alone wouldn't be enough to handle Cha Hyun-woo. Unlike me, stuck with a single A-Class skill, he was overflowing with them. One skill wouldn't even let me scrape by.
But there was no need to panic.
That skill from the mid-tier random box.
The one that gave Cha Hyun-woo so much trouble in the original story. With that and Sylph's Blessing together, my odds looked solid. To put it bluntly, my chance of losing converged on zero.
"I see. So you're saying you have no need for evaluation from anyone weaker than yourself?"
"Isn't that obvious? In my eyes, Instructor, you're nothing more than a has-been."
"A has-been… A familiar turn of phrase. You think I've done nothing but loaf around for the past ten years?"
"If that's how you feel…"
I'd expected a few scoldings would make him tuck his tail. Instead, he floored the accelerator.
"I'll break you."
"Cadet Cha Hyun-woo. Do you truly believe you can defeat me?"
"I'm certain of it. The fact that you know my name means you're not completely ignorant of my skill."
I stared him down without a word. He didn't flinch — he met my gaze head-on. For a moment I wanted nothing more than to plant a fist in his face, but a teacher couldn't do that. Not unless it was through a legitimate spar.
In a way, this was a trial laid before me. Cheon Hae-beom, dogged by rumors of being a washed-up has-been. To scrub that stain clean, I had to prove myself.
I probably can't beat Cha Hyun-woo.
But I wouldn't lose, either — and that was fine. In a spar, victory depended on how you looked at it. If things played out the way I envisioned, the students' consensus would tip toward my win.
"Cadet Cha Hyun-woo."
I spoke with solemn gravity.
"I will not entertain further argument. Get on the field. Now."
Banking an entire match on a single skill. Some might call that reckless beyond reason. Sparring against the Cha Hyun-woo, of all people — it was practically suicide.
But I was doing this precisely because the opponent was Cha Hyun-woo.
A pure mana specialist.
The current Cha Hyun-woo was a one-trick pony. Every school had students like that — the foolish ones who poured everything into a single subject and neglected the rest. He was exactly that type.
His stats from the earlier measurement: Strength B. Agility C. Mana A.
Na Eun-sol also possessed A-Class mana, but that didn't mean their overall capabilities were the same. Even within the same rank, gaps existed. Convert Na Eun-sol's mana to a number and you'd get around eighty. Cha Hyun-woo sat at ninety — an A-Class brushing right up against S-Class.
No wonder he came in as top rank.
But it wasn't without problems. Lopsided stats were a critical weakness for any superhuman. That was exactly why I'd warned Shin Na-yul during the stat measurement. And Cha Hyun-woo's imbalance was far more severe than hers. A gap that wide couldn't be closed easily.
And of all things, his mana is too high — that's the real problem.
Mana was like a rabid dog. The leash that kept it in check was every other stat. Cha Hyun-woo right now was a rabid dog wearing a collar three sizes too loose.
"Cadet Cha Hyun-woo. Do you know what your problem is?"
"…I don't have one. Maybe you should take a look at yourself first, Instructor."
Judging by that tone, he'd spent every waking hour pumping mana and neglecting every other form of training. No need to check — it was written all over him.
"In this spar, I will teach you."
"Talk is cheap."
High strength and mana made Cha Hyun-woo ideal for heavy, crushing attacks. Useful for monster subjugation, maybe — but this was a person-to-person duel. In close combat, his abilities and mine were natural counters, which doubled the success rate of my plan.
Trust it.
Cha Hyun-woo would never catch me. If it had been Na Eun-sol instead, my reputation would have been shredded on the spot — her wide-area skills were impossible to dodge.
"Um, Instructor… do I really have to do this?"
Shin Na-yul, standing between us, asked quietly. She'd been assigned as referee for this spar — because I'd ordered her to.
"You said you knew all the sparring regulations, did you not?"
"Yes. I know them."
"Then you will do it."
"But the other kids know them too…"
I'd put her there so she could learn by watching the spar up close. A shame she couldn't appreciate the thought. Still, I spoke with the full weight of an instructor's authority, no room for withdrawal.
"Do as you're told. I will not say it twice."
"That's scary…"
"In exchange, I'll give you bonus points."
"…!"
Shin Na-yul's miserable expression lit up in an instant. Watching the color flood back into her face, I nearly let out a hollow laugh. She really was easy to handle.
"I trust you'll handle it well."
"Yes! Leave it to me!"
I'd already given her a heads-up, so she wouldn't referee unfairly.
Meanwhile, Cha Hyun-woo had taken up a mana blade and strode boldly onto the field, fully strapped into student protective gear. He looked genuinely serious.
"I won't go easy just because you're the instructor."
Cute little provocation.
I ignored it and was about to step onto the field when Shin Na-yul's voice caught me by the ankle.
"Instructor, where are you going? You need a weapon. Should I bring you a mana blade?"
A weapon.
Hmm. Even if I picked one up, my strength wasn't remotely enough to punch through that gear and Cha Hyun-woo's durability. And me holding a mana blade would be pearls before swine — I had no mana to channel through it anyway.
"No need. Bring me any wooden sword."
"Huh? A wooden sword? Wouldn't a real blade be better?"
"We have to account for the risk of injury."
My provocation landed. The look Cha Hyun-woo fixed on me grew even darker.
I ignored the students' muttering and took the wooden sword Shin Na-yul handed me, then stepped onto the field.
"Instructor, your protective gear—"
"That won't be necessary either."
Gear wouldn't stop Cha Hyun-woo's attacks from punching through anyway. Better to stay unencumbered — bare-bodied, no weight restrictions.
Cha Hyun-woo squared up across from me. Seeing me completely unarmed, he exploded.
"Is this a joke? Looking down on a student is one thing, but this—"
This was my best option. If it looked like mockery, that was unfortunate.
"Take the spar seriously. Isn't that what you taught us, Instructor? So what's with the rotten wooden stick and no gear? What the hell are you doing?"
He barked at me again. I mulled over how to respond, then finally opened my mouth.
"An instructor's foremost duty is the safety of his students. You could get hurt — why would I take up a dangerous weapon?"
"Hah. You're severely underestimating me."
Cha Hyun-woo turned on his heel and walked back to his position.
I drew a deep breath and ran through my mental checklist one more time.
It's fine if I don't win.
I had no intention of winning in the first place. All I needed was to leave a mark — one that wouldn't scrub off easily.