Trial (2)

Most of the skills granted by the Fox of Aquarius weren't anything special.

Skills handed down by Fairy Tale-grade constellations were never going to be impressive. Hell, the constellation probably couldn't bestow that many skills to begin with.

But there was one exception.

A skill called Role Reversal was genuinely dangerous.

A skill that accumulates the damage you've taken and sends it right back.

The power returned was exactly half of every impact absorbed. Not the full amount — half the damage came back, reduced. Even so, that would be more than enough to finish me. He'd probably hold out until the very end, then dump the accumulated shock all at once.

I had two counters for that.

Either end the fight so fast he never got the chance to use it — or dodge the returning impact with my body.

If it hit me, it was over. With a measly D-rank in Stamina, surviving that was out of the question.

Still doable, though.

Both of those counters were perfectly viable, so I wasn't particularly afraid. I forced myself to stay composed, calm — working to find a quiet center. Even in a fight like this, a single moment of panic ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was enough to hand you a loss.

My constellation was watching. I couldn't afford to lose in some pathetic fashion with her eyes on me.

I tightened my grip on the Ilcheongeom.

"Begin the spar!"

Kang—!

The moment the referee's signal rang out, I charged.

Of all my stats, only one could honestly be called superior: Speed.

It had started at D-rank. After three weeks of running myself ragged up and down Seoraksan, it had finally scraped its way up to C not long ago. Stack that with the Ilcheongeom's sole effect — a one-rank Speed boost — and my Speed hit a full B-rank.

Nearly on par with a first-year Class A student. In this place, that was enough to leave everyone else in the dust.

I have to overwhelm him from the start.

I needed to use that speed to crush him early. A blitz — pure and simple. The instant I closed the distance, I swept the Ilcheongeom in a storm of cuts.

The blade trembling at my fingertips felt light as a cloud drifting across the sky. It wasn't heavy, yet it was sharp and fast, moving as if nothing in the world could bind it.

From my hands, the refined sword art known as Gucheon Hyeongeom — the Nine Skies Sage Sword — began to unfold.

Of course, I was only using a single form, and no mana was woven into it.

I have to save the skill version of the sword art for later.

A skill only unleashed its true power when you poured mana into it. And right now my Mana stat was just as abysmal as the rest. Using it as a skill would leave me completely drained. For now, the bare form was enough. The Nine Skies Sage Sword carried profound principles even without the skill activation.

"What kind of sword is that…!!"

Faced with that uncanny bladework, Ha Jeongho swung his sword in a panic. There was no set form to it, no overwhelming force packed into the strikes — just a desperate scramble to block the threat bearing down on him. Still, his Strength was high enough that he managed, barely, to parry every one of my attacks.

My own low Strength was holding me back again.

But in pure speed, I completely outclass him.

So I had to finish this now — while he was still rattled, still failing to adapt to my sword.

Kagagang—!!

The blade whipped even faster than before. By now, most Class C examinees wouldn't have been able to track it at all. Ha Jeongho only managed to keep up because, in the original novel, he was one of the ones who actually passed. He was barely hanging on.

And the sword kept asking him the same silent question: When are you going to use that skill?

He won't know the timing.

Role Reversal could only be used once, no matter what. Activating it meant throwing away his last resort. Whether it would even be enough to finish me — he had no way of knowing. The optimal moment was a mystery to him too. And when that happened, people inevitably fired it off at random.

"Get that damn sword away from me!!"

Exactly like now.

Unable to endure the relentless barrage any longer, Ha Jeongho finally unleashed the skill. His iron sword blazed with a fierce red light. The power packed into that single strike was pure one-hit kill. If it connected, I was done.

And at that sight — I drew up my own mana.

A blue aura of mana coiled around the Ilcheongeom. It wasn't the violent, raging force of that red energy. It was gentle, soft — yet cold, a cool blue current unfurling from my blade.

Kaang—!!

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

I didn't meet that fierce power head-on. I simply let it slide past. No matter how strong a force was, it meant nothing if it never landed. And the Nine Skies Sage Sword was exactly that kind of sword art.

I guided his glowing red blade aside and stepped into his guard. That was it.

Puck—!

"Khuk…!?"

I slammed my body into his, shoving him back, and pressed my sword to his throat. A seamless, flowing combination.

Just like that, the spar was over.

"Spar concluded! The winner is Examinee Number 33, Yoo Jinwoo."

My first trial ended just as quickly as it had begun. And the reward for that first trial—

Damn, that hits different.

It was sweet. Almost too sweet.

The aftermath of the spar was handled quickly. I had won — that was the end of it. With my Academy admission secured, I stepped out of the examination hall.

Not much time had passed. Barely two hours. It was exactly noon — lunchtime.

"Might as well check the skill."

The proper Nine Skies Sage Sword I'd earned by clearing the trial. I opened my skill window right away and pulled up the information.

Because it was a sword-art skill rather than a standard ability, no precise numerical effects were listed. But full use of the Nine Skies Sage Sword — that alone was more than enough. I could now employ every form of the technique.

Proficiency I can raise over time.

Raising it would be grueling, of course. But for now, this was plenty. I had at least reached the level of a proper contractor. My stats were still a problem, but a few useful items came to mind.

I was reviewing the skill and mapping out my next steps when Seong Harim walked up in front of me.

"Are you finished?"

"Yeah, I passed. You passed too, right?"

"Yes! I passed. I got lucky, thankfully."

Lucky, my ass. The recovery-type exam was about how quickly you could heal wounds. She'd probably finished in first place and walked out of there. The gap would have been overwhelming. An Archangel — and Gabriel, specialized in healing at that — possessed recovery power on an entirely different scale.

"Shall we go get something to eat, then?"

"Sure. Nothing left to do anyw—"

"You."

I was thinking we might as well grab lunch now that everything was done and I was starving ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠— when a voice called out from the side.

I turned. A girl stood there. Long black hair falling to her waist, matching dark eyes.

If there was anything notable about her, it was the cold impression she gave — and how pretty she was. There was also something faintly blank about her expression. She was beautiful enough that no one would bat an eye calling her a novel's heroine.

Who is she?

I had no connections in this world, and I'd never seen this student before. There was no reason for her to call out to me. Who was she, and why was she looking for me?

Another window appeared as I was thinking. And when I saw that constellation's name, I couldn't help but flinch.

It was a little different from what I knew — but familiar enough.

The Usurper of Black Flames?

The Usurper of Black Flames. That was the constellation of Lee Shinwoo, the protagonist of Constellation of Black Flames. And this one's name was the Guardian of Black Flames. I'd never heard of it, but the name was far too similar to the Usurper of Black Flames. Claiming there was no connection would have been idiotic.

But I'd never seen anyone like her in the original novel.

I should talk to her first.

I couldn't figure anything out from this alone. At the very least, I needed to learn what connection this girl had to the protagonist, Lee Shinwoo.

Don't tell me… Lee Shinwoo didn't get genderbent, right? Even if that was a transmigration cliché, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it wouldn't go that far. Probably.

"Were you calling me?"

"Were you calling me?"

"Black hair."

"That's me, then."

Her way of speaking was familiar. Identical to Lee Shinwoo's dialogue in the novel. Few words. Cold. Straight out of a fantasy web novel protagonist's mouth. Painfully familiar.

"Spar with me."

And to my surprise, the reason she'd called me over was to challenge me to a spar.

A spar? Why me? Was there any reason for her to seek me out and demand a match? Nothing came to mind.

…But that wasn't the important part right now. What mattered was this girl's name. A name was the best way to figure out her connection to Lee Shinwoo.

"How about giving your name before making a request like that?"

"My name?"

"That's just basic manners, isn't it?"

She let out a quiet hum, seeming to consider it for a moment, then nodded as if she'd accepted the point.

Wow. Even that was identical. At this rate, she really was a female Lee Shinwoo.

"My name is Lee Seah."

Lee Seah. So she wasn't Lee Shinwoo himself. But with this many connections, the second possibility was more than enough: family. Same surname, similar demeanor, nearly identical constellation names — it was the natural conclusion.

"Do you happen to know someone named Lee Shinwoo?"

And the answer that came back was genuinely shocking.

"That's my older brother. How do you know him?"

…Come again?