This Is Love's Discipline
An instructor with neither weapon nor armor.
Naturally, the cadets fretted over Cheon Hae-beom's safety.
"He's fighting without any gear."
"Whoa… that's not some new way to commit suicide, is it?"
"Shouldn't someone stop him?"
The better the gear, the higher a hero's performance climbs. Cha Hyun-woo knew that well enough—he had outfitted himself with equipment of considerable quality. Instructor Cheon Hae-beom had not.
The only weapon in his hand was a battered wooden sword. Beyond that, nothing.
"Does he not know who Cha Hyun-woo is?"
"This is gonna be a disaster."
"Tell me about it."
"Still, he's an instructor. He must have something planned."
Amid the noisy crowd, Na Eun-sol watched one figure on the field in silence.
What on earth is he thinking?
Cheon Hae-beom's eccentricity left her full of doubt.
A mana blade. Because a superhuman's primary energy was mana, reliance on a mana blade ran fairly deep. It was only a slight exaggeration to call a mana blade a hero's essential tool.
And yet he had chosen a worn-out wooden sword—and refused even armor?
There's no way he can win.
Losing was the least of it. One wrong move and his life could be at risk.
Cha Hyun-woo was a swordsman built on high physical strength and mana. Every swing of his blade was a critical hit. Taking those strikes bare-bodied was more than a little unreasonable.
What do I do? Should I stop them?
If the spar went ahead like this, Cheon Hae-beom's injury was a foregone conclusion. In the worst case, he could lose a part of his body.
Worry bloomed deep in her chest. Na Eun-sol shook her head hard—a deliberate denial of the thought that she was doing this for Cheon Hae-beom's sake.
Safety comes first, that's all…
Having made up her mind, she stepped forward to mediate between the two of them. Then Cheon Hae-beom's gaze swung around and landed on her.
…!
Under the full weight of that look, Na Eun-sol felt her emotions lurch. His eyes were packed with certainty. The moment she met that stare that told her not to worry, her concerns vanished clean away.
I'll trust him. With that instructor… it might actually be possible.
A single glance was all it took. Na Eun-sol found herself persuaded.
—3… 2…
Shin Na-yul, standing on the field, counted down.
—Wheee!
The whistle blew, and the spar began. At the same instant Cha Hyun-woo charged, and the cadets roared for his ferocity.
That cheer, however, quickly curdled into confusion.
"Why—why is he just standing there?"
Unlike Cha Hyun-woo, who lunged as if in a fit, Cheon Hae-beom stood perfectly still in an upright stance.
Had Hyun-woo's momentum crushed him?
But quiet resolve lived in Cheon Hae-beom's calm eyes, and that gaze was fixed on Cha Hyun-woo alone.
Cha Hyun-woo swung his sword at the motionless instructor.
Once.
Twice.
Again and again.
As time stretched and the count climbed, the motions grew endlessly varied. A vertical cut. A horizontal slash. A thrust to the right. A cut that became a thrust the instant it landed. Sharp, precise swordsmanship. Cha Hyun-woo's strikes, packed with the single-minded will to pierce his opponent, were not soft attacks one could casually slip past.
And yet—what was this?
Cheon Hae-beom weaved through dozens of ferocious assaults, and the watching cadets went slack-jawed at the sight.
Honestly, it was not overwhelmingly impressive. The hairbreadth dodges looked as if pure luck were carrying him—and yet, uncannily, that luck never ran out.
—Whoosh!
Strike after strike, Cha Hyun-woo's blade neither touched nor even grazed Cheon Hae-beom's body.
"Am I seeing this wrong?"
"Wh-what is that?"
Gasps burst from the cadets' mouths.
Of course, a hero whose agility reached S-Class could dodge Cha Hyun-woo's attacks all day. But Cheon Hae-beom's evasion was in a different league entirely. Thread-thin, minimal motion. Not a single wasted movement.
And the most astonishing part—
"Is he doing that on purpose?"
"He dodges right before it hits!"
Cheon Hae-beom seemed to savor the thrill, slipping aside only at the last possible instant. No—calling it a dodge was less accurate than saying body and blade simply bounced apart. His method of evasion was a peculiar art all its own.
"Is he just toying with him?"
"That's so damn cool!"
A suspicion rose in the minds of cadets who did not know the truth. With footwork that sharp, Cheon Hae-beom could have gotten clear far sooner. Yet he kept insisting on those eerie near-misses. How to put it? It looked for all the world as if he were mocking Cha Hyun-woo.
"Holy shit… Instructor is an absolute beast."
"Is that even possible?"
"Haa… how is he dodging? I can't believe it."
Cheon Hae-beom kept succeeding by the barest of margins, and the cadets poured out admiration without pause. Na Eun-sol was among them. Watching from a distance, a strange light flickered in her eyes.
Dad was right.
The stories Na Tae-san, her father, had told her were nothing but fact. Cheon Hae-beom's movement, without a single lie added, belonged in the realm of a true master.
That's the level I've been reaching for…
The height she had stretched toward again and again, only to find it endlessly distant. Without blinking, Na Eun-sol drank in every motion of Cheon Hae-beom's body.
But why is he only dodging?
Had he never intended to attack from the start? Then there was a reason he had come unarmed. Or was there some other scheme?
She was tilting her head at that vague question when—
—CRACK.
A massive impact rang out across the field.
"Wh-what? The wooden sword broke in one hit?"
"What are you going to do barehanded, Instructor?!"
Na Eun-sol's eyes went round. The sudden crisis threw the cadets into chaos.
"Th-the spar is over! Time's up! It's over, it's over!"
—Wheee!
Fortunately, the sparring time had ended. Shin Na-yul crossed her arms into an X and announced the finish.
I just aged ten years.
Na Eun-sol let out a long breath and pressed a hand to her chest. Even Instructor Cheon Hae-beom would be helpless barehanded.
"Cha Hyun-woo! You crazy bastard!"
Lee Ha-na's shout made Na Eun-sol jump. Her thoughts cut short, she followed Lee Ha-na's gaze onto the field.
Cheon Hae-beom had turned his head to look at Shin Na-yul—completely off guard. Behind him, Cha Hyun-woo charged.
Cha Hyun-woo closed in until he was right in front of me. He poured out every last scrap of strength, hammering me with relentless blows.
"Stop, Cha Hyun-woo. It's over."
My voice had no chance of reaching a kid this worked up. Cha Hyun-woo swung his sword like a man possessed.
Shit. Seriously.
My stamina was starting to scrape the bottom, and still my body moved on its own. Cha Hyun-woo's blade traced paths that came so close they almost kissed my skin. My body scrambled desperately, dancing along the edge of life and death.
"Cha Hyun-woo, you lunatic! The spar is over!"
"He's lost it! What about the Instructor?!"
Several cadets, unable to watch any longer, rushed onto the field. And just before they arrived—Cha Hyun-woo's opening bloomed clear in my vision. Obsessed with attacking, he had left himself wide open. He had no choice.
—Shhk.
The instant he raised his sword, Cha Hyun-woo's throat was completely unprotected. I drove my blade toward it at once. The wooden sword, already half-shattered, slid toward his neck.
"That's enough."
It came close—but it did not quite touch. I had tightened my grip midway and stopped it myself.
This is right.
Even if I attacked for real, my strength could never punch through Cha Hyun-woo's durability. So I only made the gesture. A gesture that said, I could kill you, so stop right there. A warning, too. Keep thrashing around and I can hurt you just as easily—so end it here.
Obviously, it was a bluff.
—Gulp.
Cha Hyun-woo's Adam's apple bobbed faintly. Looks like the trick worked. Even a Cha Hyun-woo who had lost all sense of fear could not keep acting up with a weapon at his throat.
"Kh—"
His shoulders dropped, just a little. A far cry from the Cha Hyun-woo of a moment ago. He genuinely seemed to feel his life was in danger. In reality, not even close.
Hoo… ride this feeling.
This was the perfect moment to make him submit. I set a hand on his shoulder and spoke.
"Don't be so frightened. An instructor's first duty is a cadet's safety, is it not?"
"……"
A lecture was a lecture. But I still had to pay him back for what I'd taken.
I kicked the rigid Cha Hyun-woo square in the gut.
—THUD!
Completely defenseless, his body toppled backward.
"That was love's discipline."
Honestly, I'd been hit plenty myself. One kick was fair, right? Who told him to pick a fight?
Part of me wanted to thrash him properly, but I left it there.
"I'll let it slide this once. From now on, don't get cocky."
I said it and held out a hand to the kid on the ground. But Cha Hyun-woo just lay there, unmoving.
What?
I stepped closer and checked his face.
What the hell?
Cha Hyun-woo's eyes had rolled back, and faint convulsions ran through his whole body. Even breathing seemed hard; he kept forcing out rough, ragged breaths. For a second I almost thought he was actually dead.
Ah. That.
I treated the situation as nothing serious and patted his face a few times. The cadets around Cha Hyun-woo all started making a fuss at once.
"H-hey? Cha Hyun-woo, why are you—? Eek!"
"I-Instructor! Hyun-woo fainted!"
"Holy crap, his eyes are rolled back—what do we do?"
Why were they making such a racket?
What good was learning theory until you were sick of it if the moment a real situation hit, your mind went blank?
"It's mana overload. Leave him alone and he'll get up on his own. Don't touch him."
Apparently my explanation did not even reach their ears. The cadets protested in trembling voices.
"Th-this is your fault, Instructor!"
"You said cadet safety came first, and you half-killed the kid…"
"I-is he dead?"
Somehow I had become a murderer.
This is so unfair…