Chapter 7
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Practical Combat Class
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Two days later, Friday.
After heading to the Mana Practice Room early in the morning to stamp my daily training log,
I spent about an hour stabilizing my circle before taking a short break, lost in thought.
"Haa... Should I learn swordsmanship or not...?"
I'd originally planned to trust my control and try picking up a sword despite having zero talent for it.
But pressing a button on a keyboard to use sword skills was a world apart from actually moving my body to learn them. I just couldn't bring myself to grip a blade.
"That said, relying only on magic feels too risky..."
This was the early part of the main story. If I could master a handful of 1-circle spells perfectly, I should be able to clear it without much trouble.
What worried me were the potential variables.
Sophia was already veering off the original path entirely. There was no guarantee the main story wouldn't do the same.
That's why I wanted to prepare as much as possible.
"Haa..."
I leaned against the wall in one corner of the practice room and pulled a water bottle from my inventory.
"Games and reality are different... Can an ordinary guy who's never properly learned any martial arts build a foundation before the first story arc even starts?"
In the game, swordsmanship was just a simple skill set.
When an enemy appeared, you'd click a skill button once, watch the protagonist swing his sword in an animation, and that was it.
No matter how slow your body was or how weak your arms, one click unleashed flashy combos.
But now?
The wooden practice sword I'd thought was light as a toy felt insanely heavy. My arm muscles cramped with every swing, and any overexertion made my whole body scream.
On top of that, the body I'd possessed—Kang Hyun-sol—had swordsmanship talent set to zero by default.
Mana Sensitivity Genius might help with aura training, but that was the extent of it.
"...But thinking about it, it's not a choice—it's a necessity."
The incident from the other day replayed in my mind.
The hallway confrontation with those extra villains.
I'd barely subdued them by unleashing mana. What if I hadn't been able to draw it out, or if my unstable circle had collapsed?
Just imagining it made cold sweat break out.
"Yeah, if I want to survive no matter how tough it gets, I have to do it."
After agonizing over it, I finally decided to learn swordsmanship.
But right after making up my mind, I realized another problem.
"...So who do I learn the basics from?"
There was no way to learn fundamentals here at the academy.
Other theory classes started from the basics because so many students had skipped studying or focused only on training, arriving as total blockheads.
But essentials for direct combat with monsters—like swordsmanship, hand-to-hand, magic, or spirit arts—poor students still picked up at academies or guilds beforehand. The academy didn't teach them separately.
That meant someone without Versatile or Swordsmanship Predator like me had zero ways to build a foundation right now.
"...I'm screwed."
I felt a hollow despair, like I'd looped back to square one, and chugged some water.
After all that agonizing and psyching myself up to push through and learn swordsmanship, reality was there were no teachers.
'Going to some sword dojo or guild academy just for basics in my spare time? Too inefficient.'
Money wasn't the issue—I could scrape it together with part-time gigs or whatever.
The problem was time.
Attending extra classes amid the academy's packed schedule? On top of prepping for the main story? It was pure madness.
I wouldn't even last physically.
"Haa... Guess self-study's my only option."
I let out a hollow laugh and stood up.
Learning swordsmanship solo? That was basically declaring I'd die in a fight.
Might as well ditch it and go all-in on magic.
"I'll think it over some more later."
With that, I decided to attend morning lectures while brainstorming other options and left the Mana Practice Room.
As I passed the Spirit Resonance Room and the Room of Endurance—made for students who just wanted to meditate—I approached the mock battle training hall.
"..."
I'd normally walk right by, but after fighting an F-rank monster, curiosity hit about how pathetic my physical abilities really were.
After a brief hesitation, I cautiously opened the training room door and stepped inside.
And then.
"Ah! Sorry. I didn't know anyone was in here... Wol Ha-yeon?"
There stood one of the sub-heroines, the student known as the Sword of Moonlight: Wol Ha-yeon.
"...?"
The moment she noticed me, she sheathed the twin curved blades she'd been swinging mercilessly and approached.
"...Why are you here?"
Her tone was the same cold, dry one from our first meeting.
No hint of welcome or gladness.
If anything, she looked at me like an unwelcome intruder.
I scratched my nape and apologized.
"Just... thought I'd loosen up a bit before class, didn't know the room was occupied. Sorry."
"I see. But aren't you aiming to be a mage? Don't mages need to prioritize training to cast spells faster and more accurately over mock battles?"
Wol Ha-yeon tilted her head slightly, as if puzzled.
"..."
Well, she had a point.
Mages got protected by other hunters and just had to spam spells quickly and accurately.
But that didn't apply to me, since I was thinking magic swordsman, not plain mage.
"You're not wrong, but I applied to the academy as melee. My mana talent's superior, but I don't want to give up on swordsmanship."
"...I see?"
As I phrased it like I was aiming for magic swordsman, her eyes narrowed slightly.
Her sharp gaze made my whole body tense up for no reason.
"..."
She stared at me with unreadable eyes—neither mocking nor surprised—before slowly speaking.
"...I don't know much about magic, but with your talent, you don't seem to need to dabble in swordsmanship."
"...I know. But thinking about the future, magic alone feels insecure... I want to prepare just in case."
Even as I said it, I felt ridiculous.
Talking about greed for swordsmanship in front of Wol Ha-yeon, who had overwhelming talent despite my own lack of it—it made me feel pathetic.
But surprisingly, she responded with a casual expression, like it was no big deal.
"...I don't get what you're insecure about, but if it bothers you that much, picking up a sword could be one way."
"..."
Her unexpected words made my eyes widen.
The Wol Ha-yeon I knew would've dismissed it with something like 'Don't waste your time.'
I was too stunned to reply.
She turned her back to my dazed self, went to the corner of the training hall, picked up a wooden sword, and returned.
"But if you choose it, don't regret it. Swords aren't a game."
"..."
Her attitude was dead serious—no joke, no casual interest.
'Didn't expect her to take my dilemma this seriously...'
"Here."
She tossed me the wooden sword.
Thud!
I caught it clumsily with both hands.
"If you're serious, show me."
"Show you what?"
"...That you're serious about learning the sword."
Wol Ha-yeon casually assumed a stance and added curtly.
"I'll use a wooden sword too, so let's have a quick spar."
"...You're sparring with me?"
"Yeah. If everything you just said was sincere, throw whatever you've got at me. If I like it, I'll teach you swordsmanship from now on."
"..."
This was real.
Her words and eyes made it bone-deep clear this wasn't a joke.
My throat went dry as I swallowed hard.
Then I nodded slightly.
"...Can't pass up a once-in-a-lifetime chance like this. Sure, let's spar."
'Wol Ha-yeon's a sub-heroine with a capture rate under 5% anyway, so getting involved like this should be fine.'
A fleeting worry about the Book of Restraints crossed my mind, but I brushed it off.
Despite her overwhelming beauty, her insane difficulty kept her in the mid-to-lower ranks of popularity polls.
So many players raged that the most common Wol Ha-yeon complaint was 'If you're gonna make her this hard, just cut her as a sub-heroine.'
Even the protagonist, with everything going for him, only had a 5% success rate...
An nobody like Kang Hyun-sol? Zero percent, no matter how hard I tried. I relaxed and committed to the spar.
"...Ready?"
Wol Ha-yeon had her wooden sword tip aimed at me, poised to strike anytime.
"Yeah, ready. Let's go."
I gripped the hilt tightly with both hands and lowered my stance.
"Alright. Here I come."
"!!!"
Bang!
And just like that, my spar with Wol Ha-yeon began.
20 minutes later.
"Kuh! Urk."
"That's enough. Good work."
The moment I heard Wol Ha-yeon call it, I tossed the wooden sword aside and collapsed to the floor, gasping.
My whole body was drenched in sweat, and my arms felt like lead weights were strapped to them.
"...You held up well."
Wol Ha-yeon sheathed her wooden sword, utterly unfazed and composed.
Seeing her breathe steadily while I was half-dead made me a bit envious.
"Damn... Did I overdo it on day one? Everything aches."
I pressed my hand to the floor, trying to stand.
But my strength gave out, and I wobbled. Seeing that, Wol Ha-yeon impassively offered her hand.
"...Grab on."
"...Thanks."
I took her hand and barely pulled myself up.
Every joint creaked.
"You fought better than I expected. Not bad for your first time holding a sword."
"Haa... That's a compliment, right?"
"Not giving up already puts you ahead of most."
Her short reply felt genuine.
And a bit surprising.
To me, it felt like I'd just been a punching bag the whole time, but apparently she saw something worth evaluating.
"...Overall assessment? You're middling. You couldn't land proper hits, wrist movements were average... How to put it? You seem experienced."
"...Experienced?"
"Yeah. Even just now, it felt like your head was reacting to all my attacks and thinking of counters, but your body couldn't keep up."
"..."
'Whoa, this woman's scary. She figured that out from one spar?'
She was spot on.
I got pummeled, but I'd read every single attack with my eyes.
Of course, only because she was using maybe 10% power... Still, I could react.
My body just didn't obey...
"Anyway... bottom line, I liked it. I'll keep teaching you swordsmanship."
"...For real? Won't your own training schedule get in the way?"
"Teaching's a form of training too. An hour a day is fine."
"...If you insist, then I'll be in your care from now on."
"Sure."
With that, Wol Ha-yeon grabbed her twin curved blades from the corner and glanced back at me as if remembering something.
"You're in Practical Combat today too, right? Let's go together."
"...Mine's morning. Yours too?"
"Yeah. Hurry, or we'll be late."
She headed out of the training room.
I stared at her back for a moment, lost in thought, then hurried after her late.