A Broken Sword and a Full Familia
Maybe she hadn't expected me to swing the shotgun, because Choi Yeon took the hit squarely and her body launched into the air.
But she twisted mid-flight, kicked off the ceiling to minimize the impact with bent knees, and charged straight at me.
"What kind of cat are you?"
Those aerial maneuvers were beyond anything I could imagine. It was a feat only someone as incredibly light and flexible as her could pull off.
I aimed the shotgun at her to brace for the incoming counterattack.
—Stop.
Ji Suhyun's voice echoed from the speakers, and I felt the sensation of the training field's spells lifting from my body.
Why had Ji Suhyun called off the spar? It wasn't hard to guess.
"Ah."
Choi Yeon let out a sigh, staring at her sword—its blade now completely gone.
Not only had she blocked Billy the Kid's Shotgun at close range, but after all those reckless maneuvers to throw me off, her sword had shattered into pieces.
"You okay with that sword breaking? Looked like a pretty good one."
"...Yeah. Grandpa said it was his old one, but I guess it's just too worn out and weak."
No, it didn't seem like it broke just from age. My hunch was right—the fragments of the shattered blade were nowhere to be seen, so whatever defensive enchantment was on it must have given out completely.
"Won't your grandpa chew you out for breaking his sword?"
"Yeah... a little nagging, maybe?"
So she would get in trouble.
"Sorry, but that's it for today. Can't keep sparring if we're just gonna wreck each other, right?"
"...We haven't settled the win yet."
"Haven't we? Swordswoman with a broken sword loses. Isn't that right?"
The training room door opened, and Ji Suhyun walked in.
"Look at this mess. This a freshman sparring ground or a war zone?"
The interior was pockmarked and crumbling from Choi Yeon's sword scars and my bullet holes everywhere. One button press would restore it all, but yeah, it looked pretty brutal.
"By the rules, the one whose weapon breaks first loses—Choi Yeon. Not happy with the result? Grab another sword and we can pick it up."
Popcorn dust clung to her lips. She'd clearly enjoyed the show.
But Choi Yeon shook her head.
"No. I don't think I'd get a real decisive win with some sword I grab in a hurry."
"Fair enough. I agree. Who'd expect that kinda power from such an antique gun?"
Ji Suhyun eyed the Billy the Kid's Shotgun still in my hand and shuddered.
"Ugh, as ugly as it looks. Shells that shred right through defenses... Alright, everyone out. Time to fix this place up."
We left the training room with her. Sea-a, grinning brightly, held out a tablet PC to Choi Yeon.
"Here, sign here and initial there, please."
"...Huh?"
Choi Yeon blinked in confusion at the tablet thrust into her hands. Sea-a beamed.
"Familia membership application. You heard the instructor, right? By the rules, you lost. So, welcome aboard!"
Jinwoo muttered in disbelief.
"Why do you look the happiest about it? You two were always buddies?"
"Duh. Only girl in a club full of guys? Better than hanging with meatheads like you by a hundred—no, a thousand times!"
"What? M-meat—what?!"
"—Anyway, Choi Yeon. Sign here too. Perfect~ Let's get along great from now on!"
Sea-a ignored the nonsense perfectly, finishing her business while Jinwoo howled. Youngje clamped a hand over his mouth amid the chaos.
"Eugene."
Choi Yeon, apparently done signing, approached me and called my name.
"Next time, once the sword made from the materials you gave me is ready. We'll fight again then."
...So she wasn't letting it go after all.
"Eh, maybe, depending on the situation. But will that even work?"
"Huh? Work for what?"
"You'll be in the club anyway. We can spar whenever you want."
"...Ah!"
Her face lit up like she'd never considered it.
"Then it's a promise. Absolutely."
"Sure, sure."
No harm in a casual spar. With Choi Yeon joining Familia, her growth meant our club's strength grew too.
"Of course, if I'm busy, might be tough."
"Oh..."
"Kidding."
Business was about to ramp up anyway, so I'd focus on that over spars for a bit.
"Welcome to the club, Choi Yeon."
I'll raise you up good—er, guide you well.
In the end, adding Choi Yeon filled our Bronze club's max roster of 5 members.
Sub-organizations keep growing steadily, and the member limit is maxed out. All that's left is promoting to Silver club.
Our performance scores alone make Silver a lock, but to cover bases, I even tapped Yuri Rodmang for backup if anything goes wrong. We've done everything we can for now.
From here, we just hunt down any jackals eyeing us.
"Boss. Boss?"
"Hm?"
"Didn't you hear? First period's Practical PE—head outside."
"Oh, right."
Time to focus on school life too.
First period was Practical PE, measuring physical fitness and abilities or boosting athletic performance. All first-years participated.
Changed into academy gym clothes and headed out. Other classes in gym uniforms dotted the field.
"PE first thing in the morning? Kids look miserable."
"Midterms are close. Instructors probably wanna gauge abilities beforehand."
The academy actually used this data to match opponents and assign scores, so it was more important than it seemed.
We strolled across the field. Under the shaded awning—unlike other classes baking in the sun—our class was warming up.
Choi Kang-hyeon still out today, huh.
He's late... It's been three weeks since Busan's "Young Ham" dragged him off. At this point, maybe he died in training.
Or the opposite.
"No, hold it longer!"
"My muscles are ripping! Ripping! Aaagh!!"
In the corner, Jinwoo was up to his usual weirdness, with Sea-a scolding him pitifully. Others paired off to help with stretches.
Amid it all.
"Urgh... Uuurrgh...!"
One girl stretched solo using only her abilities: Mari Nate, sitting with legs and arms extended, her golem pressing her back.
I snuck up and pressed gently.
"H-Hey, don't press so hard... Eek?! E-Eugene?!"
"Why stretch alone?"
"B-Because this way's easier... Ow! It hurts! Hurts!"
"Sorry."
I'd pressed lightly, but it hurt her plenty. She groaned, rising as I pulled away.
"Seriously, I'm a 'Puppet Master' who fights with summons. Why measure my fitness?"
"Better than a useless Puppet Master. One who dodges around is stronger."
"Th-That's prejudice! If my puppets protect me, why run?!"
True enough.
She'd graduate to earn the moniker "Immovable Army" Puppet Master.
But better physicals might've made it "Swift Army."
"Even if you can use abilities in the test, real combat's unpredictable. Build basics."
"...If you say so, I'll try."
Since she's in our class, I'll keep an eye on her—no worries. I've raised Puppet Masters before.
Plus, for the second-semester "Class 2 Ranking Battle," she needs to power up.
Our class stretches in the shade while others sweat—small edges like this fuel their rivals' fire.
—Focus.
—Freshmen done warming up, gather at the podium. Execute.
The voice from the field podium speakers belonged to Bear Grizzly, our recent Survival instructor.
Kids gathered one by one. Once all first-years assembled, he nodded and grabbed the mic.
—As announced, today's physical fitness test. Four metrics: Power, Energy (Mana & Aura), Speed, Defense.
—Go to each instructor's station. Execute!
"Execute!"
The infamous PESD test from the community—hellish measurements pushing characters to their limits, demanding insane player grit.
Now in reality, it was just my raw power, no mental strain.
Optimal order: Aura, Defense, Power, Speed. I headed straight to the E-station for mana and aura.
A long line already, sparkling auras and mana ahead.
But.
"That trash aura? Pfft, tsk tsk."
"Mana control's decent, but output's lacking. Next!"
"Huh? Get lost!"
A familiar voice from the testing area. Among people I knew, only one talked like that.
"...Elder?"
Why was the old man here?