Chapter 55: Heart-Pounding First Ranking Tournament (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 55: Heart-Pounding First Ranking Tournament (1)
Slurp.
The cherry ade in Lee Yu-na’s glass vanished through the straw.
Judging by the fact that the drink she reordered wasn’t chamomile tea, she didn’t seem to be in a particularly foul mood at the moment.
The pink-haired girl, who looked beautiful even while sipping a drink, possessed an appearance so charming that many readers mistook her for the main heroine. Her position as the protagonist’s childhood friend—practically a cheat code—only reinforced that belief for most.
In fact, since the other heroines were dropping like flies, everyone was even more convinced.
Except for me, the only one who had seen the novel’s Setting Book. Shit.
“I don’t like beating around the bush, so I’ll ask you straight out.”
Her bright smile was beautiful, but her eyes, devoid of any warmth, were chillingly cold.
“Is there any chance that Kang Na-hyun, the woman who came as an inspector, might show interest in our Lilac?”
“Why are you asking me that…?”
“Because you’re her younger brother. You must know more than the others. Like her ideal type, or at least her minor preferences.”
Well, you see… I’m not actually her brother, so I wouldn’t know.
In the original work, they were only shown fighting, but that was after she became a villain. If anything, she was Cheon Yu-hak’s first love, so wouldn’t she be his heroine…?
But I couldn’t exactly blurt that out.
“Usually, normal brothers don’t care about their sister’s taste in men.”
“…Hmm, is that so?”
Ah, damn it, did I give the wrong answer? Should I have bowed my head and said, ‘I will strictly warn my sister not to even lay a finger on what is yours’?
“I suppose you’re right. A brother who knows everything about his sister’s tastes would be a bit off-putting anyway.”
Fortunately, it seemed she wasn’t planning to destroy me just yet.
Slurp.
The cherry ade, its color faded as the ice melted, decreased a bit more.
She really is pretty. How can someone look so good just drinking a beverage?
— Get a grip.
‘Ah, thank you.’
— No, those with insufficient discipline wouldn’t even be able to endure it like you. It is a sinister energy.
I had let my guard down for just a moment, and I was nearly consumed by her talent.
If Sun Wukong hadn’t spoken to me, Lee Yu-na would probably be looking at me with extremely displeased eyes right now.
I thought I was being careful enough since I knew about her talent, but I guess it wasn’t enough.
“…What is it?”
“It just looks a bit watery.”
She stirred the cherry ade, which had turned somewhat transparent from the melted ice, with her straw.
“Ah, it is. Anyway, so you’re saying you don’t even have general information? Then that’s fine.”
Charm. It was her innate talent. Its rank was B, but its danger level was no less than A-rank.
It was an ability closely related to her bloodline, but the problem was that she couldn’t control it herself.
Even against her will, she had captivated others since childhood, which led to her developing a deep distrust of people.
She got a bit better after meeting Lilac, but her wounds hadn’t fully healed—the usual kind of backstory.
It was also the kind of setting that made countless readers believe without a doubt that she was the main heroine.
— Yu-na, I think I’ve finally fallen for someone…!
That is, until that bastard Lilac pulled a sudden drift that shattered the mental state of both Lee Yu-na and the readers.
No, fine. It’s not like it’s your fault, Lilac.
In the grand scheme of things, it’s my friend’s fault for writing it, and in the smaller scheme, it’s Lee Yu-na’s fault for constantly gaslighting you since childhood because she didn’t want to lose you.
Because she was wary of anyone approaching the handsome and kind Lilac, Lee Yu-na often said things to him that were almost like hypnotic suggestions.
— The girls who are nice to you don’t do it because they like you; they’re just being polite.
The setting says she deeply regrets it later, but regardless, Lilac ends up falling for a character who appears out of nowhere instead of the familiar Lee Yu-na, and as a result, Lee Yu-na turns dark.
And the scale of this “turning dark” was so massive that she became the main villain of that entire episode.
What a total train wreck of a novel.
Who the hell wrote this?
Ah, my friend.
As I thought that, my mouth began to move naturally.
I had a brief moment of existential dread wondering why I had to clean up the mess he made, but I guess that’s just the life of a transmigrator.
“Lilac suits you better than my sister. My sister is quite a bit older than him, too.”
No, that’s a lie. That bastard actually has a thing for older women.
“…Does it look that way?”
“Besides, I don’t think my sister is into younger guys anyway.”
Considering she rejected Cheon Yu-hak, it wasn’t a total lie.
“That’s a relief.”
Yeah, I’ll help you, so please, just win him over before Lilac falls into a belated first love. And if possible, don’t become a villain. Okay?
Whether she knew my heart or not, Lee Yu-na was smiling with a look of satisfaction.
* * *
Now, wait a moment.
There’s something I need to clarify.
Perhaps some of you are thinking this:
‘Wait, this guy has reinforcements, traits, the Ruyi Jingu Bang, and he even took down a super strong villain to get an artifact. Isn’t he stronger than Lilac or Cheon Yu-hak now?’
The answer is no.
Even taking all of that into account, I am still weaker than Lilac or Cheon Yu-hak.
You might ask what I’m talking about when I beat a powerful villain single-handedly.
That was a matter of compatibility between talents, and also because I thoroughly exploited his weaknesses.
To put it simply, the time he is strongest is from noon to about 4 PM. Since the time when shadows are darkest and light is strongest is when his primary means of attack, the Black Shadow, becomes most powerful.
Similarly, the reason I fought him indoors was that the artifact he used to control gusts of wind was at its weakest there.
I thoroughly weakened his artifacts like that, but above all, the biggest reason I could beat him was that he was weak.
Excluding his abilities and artifacts, his physical strength was quite pathetic, not just compared to elves but even among human superhumans.
He was the type of villain who relied solely on his innate abilities and didn’t bother training.
He was infinitely weak himself, but he had built a fortress that made it nearly impossible to target his actual body.
Seriously, no matter how much I thought about it, the guy didn’t have a single shred of charm.
Anyway, the reason he took all my blind attacks—which a normal villain or hero would have dodged—was for that very reason.
Why am I suddenly saying all this?
“So-hyun, if you hold the knife like that, it’ll put too much strain on your wrist.”
“Right. Blocking an opponent’s weapon with a knife is suicide in the first place. You have to parry it well or dodge.”
Because just as I was about to rest, Lilac and Kang Ha-ni dragged me out to exercise.
“I’ll swing slowly, so this time, don’t try to block it by force. Try to let it slide off.”
And these geniuses, thinking that because they can do it, everyone else can too, had been making me do parrying drills for a while now.
“Did I do something wrong to you guys? If so, won’t you let me apologize?”
“Haha, don’t joke around even if it’s hard. Let’s do a bit more. We have the Ranking Tournament coming up soon.”
“Exactly. Who knows? If you train with us, you might get a better score than you expect.”
Ah, come to think of it, it’s already that season?
In the original work, it was an event that was barely mentioned due to all sorts of accidents, so I had forgotten.
Leilan Academy has a lot of events.
Most of them couldn’t proceed in the original story, but as long as the Academy returns to normal, they’ll all proceed as intended now.
The Ranking Tournament is exactly what it sounds like. As in other novels, it’s an event held once during the semester and once at the end where all students determine their ranks through duels.
And it’s also the first opportunity to earn points through an official event.
Well, for someone like me whose basic abilities are lacking, it’s an event without much significance, but it’s true that the thought of being ranked makes me a bit excited.
Kids this age especially love that kind of thing, so they’re probably even more hyped.
“Alright, here I come.”
Fine, let’s get serious for a bit.
As I stared straight ahead with resolve, the sword came toward me, indeed a bit slower than before.
The downward strike, which had been like a bolt of lightning, was now slow enough to see, but it was still difficult for my body to keep up.
“Gah…!”
And in the end, because I was a beat late, I had to cry out at the weight pressing down on the knife.
“Ah, that was close.”
“Guys, wouldn’t it be better if you just ignored me and trained among yourselves? I think I’m a lost cause.”
“Hmm, not necessarily. You’re actually doing quite well.”
…In what way? Is this guy teabagging me right now?
“Don’t look at me like that. I mean it.”
“Right. Actually, you’re already perfect at one of the most important things in a fight~”
Ha-ni chimed in, but honestly, I had no idea what they were talking about.
“At least you don’t get scared and look away while fighting. Keeping your eyes fixed on the attack and reacting until the very end—that’s something even active heroes find difficult.”
“Well, you’re still slow as molasses, so your reaction is late, though.”
Ah, well. True, that’s not something you can train without the experience of being hit often.
I got used to it at the orphanage, but the other kids probably lack that kind of experience.
“So let’s hang in there a bit more, So-hyun.”
Lilac ruthlessly raised his sword again.
…Wait? I have to keep going?
“Don’t worry. I’ll stick with you until you succeed.”
That’s right. This guy was this kind of person.
A hot-blooded believer in grit and perseverance who made everyone around him burn with passion.
I told you this kind of character isn’t popular these days, you bastard.
“Here I come…!”
“Don’t come…!”
After about six more tries, I was finally able to parry Lilac’s frontal attack.
* * *
“Hahaha! Hey, So-hyun, seriously, what’s with ‘Don’t come…!’? Lilac is something else, too. He says let’s take breaks with a smile, but he’s totally Spartan.”
“Shut up. You could’ve at least stopped him. If I knew he’d make me do it until I succeeded, I would’ve run away.”
“And could you have even run away?”
…Probably not. He likely would’ve chased me down anyway.
Violence born of pure goodwill was, surprisingly, a real thing.
“…Ugh, I really wanted to rest. What’s with this Ranking Tournament anyway? Lilac’s going to take first place and Cheon Yu-hak will take second anyway.”
“…What?”
I said it as if it were an obvious fact, but for some reason, Kang Ha-ni reacted sensitively.
“Hey, you don’t know that. Have you ever seen me fight?”
Yeah, I’ve seen it a hell of a lot. It was in text, but there probably aren’t many people who’ve seen it as much as I have.
“No?”
“Then how can you be so sure they’ll win?”
It seemed our Ha-ni was offended.
Yeah, but this is the truth, Ha-ni. You can’t beat Cheon Yu-hak, let alone Lilac.
In the first-year Ranking Tournament, you can’t choose your opponent; you fight a total of five times.
Based on information analyzed by the professors, they arrange one opponent weaker than you, three at a similar level, and one stronger opponent. However, since a few at the very top don’t have “stronger” opponents, a professor conducts a preliminary duel with them.
In the original work, Kang Ha-ni lost to both Lilac and Cheon Yu-hak, who were at a similar level—the top tier.
Of course, she had the penalty of not being able to use her secret sword techniques, but in the original, she herself felt that she couldn’t guarantee a win even if she went all out, so this was solid information.
Furthermore, Lilac had gained a hint of a higher realm through his experience with reinforcement, and Cheon Yu-hak had become stronger after obtaining the Thunder Dragon Spear.
It was hard to think that Kang Ha-ni had any chance of victory.
“…So, you think I’m inferior to them?”
Ah, did I fail to control my expression?
“Ha! Okay, then what are you going to do if I win? Want to make a bet?”
“Why do I have to stake my future on the Lilac and Cheon families…?”
“Then will you do it yourself?”
“Is, uh, ‘not doing it’ an option…?”
“I’m joking. You can’t even pick your opponent in the first Ranking Tournament, so how would I fight you? Anyway, look forward to it. I’ll show you how I beat them both and take the top spot.”
“It’ll be tough.”
“You really…!”
While I was having a pleasant conversation with Ha-ni, my smartphone suddenly buzzed.
It wasn’t a call but a text, something I had half-forgotten after sending.
[This is Chamsarang Agriculture, an environmental protection group. We have clearly confirmed the circumstances of food waste through the photos you sent. We promise to take measures shortly to ensure that the farmer’s sweat and the earth’s essence are not wasted. We thank you for your strong sense of civic duty.]
The inquiry I had sent during the Kim Ga-eul incident had finally received a response.
I told you before, didn’t I?
You shouldn’t leave leftovers. Throwing food on the ground is unspeakable.
Why? Because one of the top two or three craziest lunatics in this world will come to punish you. He usually comes a bit later, but… well, what’s the worst that could happen?
“Hey, are you listening to me? I said I’m going to beat them all!”
“Sure, sure. If you win against everyone, I’ll grant you one wish, so please, just don’t get hurt.”
Since I answered half-heartedly, Ha-ni began to glare at me fiercely, seemingly pouting.
“…Just you wait. When I win, I’m going to make you do something really embarrassing, so don’t you dare take it back.”
“Yeah, you can’t win.”
“You really…!”