Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: 1-on-1 Sparring
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At 1 p.m., the A-Class freshmen were lined up in three rows in the sparring arena.
1-on-1 sparring. Or, in other words, interpersonal combat training.
It was a simple class where cadets paired up and fought each other.
"The matchups will be decided randomly on the spot. Personal compatibilities won't be taken into account at all. You can't fight only opponents you're naturally favored against your whole life. Opportunities to safely face unfavorable matchups don't come often, so if you draw one, you should be glad instead."
"Yes, sir!"
As they were freshmen, everyone straightened up with perfect discipline at times like this.
"However, I'll grant the first person to step up a special challenge right. You get to pick your opponent."
Stepping up here to build connections with key figures wouldn't be a bad idea, but I still didn't know how well I'd do in interpersonal combat. Better to quietly get through today's class.
"May I make a nomination?!"
"Go ahead, Lucy."
Lucy stepped briskly up beside the instructor and scanned the students with her eyes. She furrowed her brow as if she couldn't spot who she was looking for, turning her head this way and that—until her gaze met mine.
"I'll nominate Lee Ho-yeon!"
Me?
"Lee Ho-yeon? Why him all of a sudden?"
"But didn't he seem pretty decent in morning class?"
"Professor Im Sol praised him before too."
"Isn't she just confessing? Gonna chew him out publicly for it."
"Whoa, Lucy's surprisingly aggressive."
Confession? What nonsense.
"Both of you, come up to the arena. Bring your own weapons."
Lucy and I were both mages anyway. Grabbing weapons we'd never used would just weigh us down unnecessarily.
I was about to go up empty-handed when I spotted a lightweight shortsword that looked manageable, so I grabbed it and headed to the arena. Might come in handy somehow.
Straight ahead in the circular arena, I felt a piercing gaze.
Lifting my head, I saw Lucy smiling as she glared at me.
The glare itself was cute, but her eyes reflected the gaze of a fierce beast.
With two beautiful people facing off, the clueless crowd below was in an uproar.
Everyone's eyes were fixed on us.
It was something I'd expected. In Victoria Academy, where sparring classes were frequent, I'd figured I'd eventually face Lucy.
Just not this soon.
Lucy was one of the heroines, a ridiculous talent.
Her younger sister Lumi specialized in defensive magic, while her older sister Lucy specialized in offensive magic.
In the late game, her combat prowess was all offense, but her overwhelming firepower incinerating enemies on the battlefield contrasted sharply with her cute appearance—like a beast unleashed.
Of course, at this point, she was still just a strong prospect. But she wasn't someone I, with zero real combat experience, could beat.
'I wanted to build experience against extras first... Sigh.'
★ Heroine Status Window ★ [Lucy] Favorability: 20 Lust: 5 Appetite: 40 Fatigue: 20 After apologizing yesterday, her favorability had jumped from 2 to 20.
I couldn't figure it out. She didn't seem mad, so why challenge me to a spar?
"Ready to apologize?"
Lucy spoke first from across the arena.
"Is apologizing in the sparring arena the trend these days?"
"Truth is, I'm not that mad. I saw your state back then. And yesterday's apology felt sincere."
"Glad you see it that way."
Lucy curled the corner of her mouth slightly.
"But you know, if you're sorry, you pay the price. I'll take the apology after the spar."
She seemed willing to accept the apology, but even so, groping her chest pissed her off, so she wanted some payback?
The arena's mana field prevented physical injuries from attacks.
But to build real combat sense, pain was felt as is. You couldn't fail to perform in real situations just because of pain.
I really didn't want to get hit by magic if possible... It'd hurt like hell.
"Alright, mana field's fine, and you're both ready?"
📜 Sub Quest 📜 [Now Even the Sister!]
Don't let your guard down just because you got close to Lumi!
Lucy won't raise her favorability from a few casual words like her sister. How about overwhelmingly winning the spar and becoming the bad boy?
🎁 Reward: Lucy's favorability slightly increases
I was loosening up for the imminent spar when a quest window suddenly popped up in front of me.
Wait, can you really become a bad boy by overwhelmingly winning a spar? This feels off.
"Lee Ho-yeon! If you're ready, respond!"
"Ah, yes, sir!"
The instructor's shout snapped me back to attention. Well, no penalty for failure apparently, so why not?
I tried some stretches to at least warm up, but it didn't help much.
The shortsword on my belt kept tapping my thigh with every step.
Kind of annoying. Probably won't use it anyway—shouldn't have grabbed it.
"3, 2, 1. Begin!"
Bang!
The barrier between us shattered, and the spar began.
The moment the start signal sounded, I manifested mana.
Lucy used fire-attribute mana. So did I mostly, making our affinities even.
Of course, I could use other attributes too. I'd tried in training, and it came easily.
But showing off multiple now would draw too much attention.
'Too early for excessive spotlight.'
Lucy manifested her mana as fire arrows. Later on, she'd fire hundreds or thousands effortlessly.
Whoosh!
About ten fire arrows shot toward me.
I blocked them with a pre-made wall of fire.
The arrows collided with the wall, lost their momentum, and vanished.
A light probing exchange.
"Not bad? I figured you were aiming for guild clerk since you switched to mage."
"Thanks for the praise."
Our casting speeds were similar in that exchange. The difference? I went all-out to block her arrows.
But Lucy still looked full of spare energy. To her, that was truly just probing.
She was calmer and more skilled than me, lacking experience. With more practice, I'd have used mana orbs to efficiently shoot down the arrows, but I couldn't split and control over ten spells yet.
"Let's end this quick. Lots of people waiting behind us."
Roar!
Dozens of fire arrows floated above Lucy's head.
Can't block this. She was going all-out this time too.
The overwhelming number of arrows. Their majestic sight and the pressure of them heading my way.
For a split second, I thought about taking one and calling it quits, but no—I couldn't just let them hit.
If eating a hit would fix things with Lucy, I'd take a dozen. But one hit plus an apology wouldn't improve relations.
Honestly, maybe the system was right—better to be the bad guy.
Yeah, let's do something.
Thump!
The moment I steeled myself, my heart started pounding faster. My body wouldn't let 'Lee Ho-yeon,' this world's protagonist, sit idle.
Thump!
Blood surged rapidly from deep in my chest, invigorating my whole body.
My innate ability slowly rose: [Combat Sense].
First time using it properly, but I adapted fast.
The surging [Combat Sense] gave my body perfect tension and sharpened my senses.
My mind cleared. [Clear Mentality] erased any thought of giving up and started seeking a way to break the situation.
[Mana Sensitivity] analyzed and comprehended the fire arrows before me as much as possible.
My whole body thrilled with excitement. Felt better than before the spar even started.
'I can win. No, I have to.'
Lee Ho-yeon's talent, [Combat Sense]. In the game, this alone created impossible variables. Combined with perks [Mana Sensitivity] and [Clear Mentality].
The meeting of variables that shouldn't have happened birthed yet another.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Your unique skill awakens. You have acquired the unique skill: [Clairvoyance]. ⚡ Unique Skill: [Clairvoyance] ⚡ ▶ Unique Skill Concentrates mana in the eyes to maximize visual acuity.
Ability to recognize and distinguish mana-infused entities or forms is maximized.
"Clairvoyance...?"
"Giving up already? Thought you had more guts."
Lucy eyed my still stance curiously, shrugged, and launched the fire arrows at me.
As the arrows flew toward me, I activated [Clairvoyance].
Concentrating mana in my eyes brought a faint pain.
"Kgh."
The pain intensified. Unable to bear it, I closed and reopened my eyes.
Bzzz—
At that moment, mana became visible, and recognizing its visualization expanded my field of view.
As if I'd grown extra eyes on either side of my face, my viewing angle widened unnaturally, letting me observe ambient mana at will.
Before panicking at the sudden change, I had to deal with the incoming arrows.
Fire arrows hurtling toward me.
Bzzz—
Staring properly at the spell distorted my vision. I understood the magic's principles and mana structure.
Where it came from, how far its firepower reached, its destructive power—all forced into my mind.
Too late for a magic counter. Had to dodge.
How? The optimal path appeared naturally.
The fire arrows' trajectories became visible.
Swoosh—
About 30 red lines. Fifteen pierced my position; the rest blocked escape routes.
But if you see the path, dodging is easy.
I dashed forward, where the fewest red lines converged.
Most arrows whizzed past. Now just three left.
Quickly manifested mana orbs in both hands to counter two, then twisted my head left to dodge the last.
"Lucky!"
More fire arrows formed above Lucy.
Coming one by one now. Fewer than before, but faster due to focused control.
But it wasn't enough. I could see the paths.
Ducked left to evade, then gathered mana slowly at my toes.
'I see the opening...!'
Another twenty fire arrows. Fewer than first barrage, but gaps narrowed to trap me.
Seemingly seamless, but my eyes saw clearly: a gap slightly wider than my shoulders. Had to slip through.
Exploded mana at my feet for propulsion, diving precisely into the red lines' gap.
Roar!
Lucy widened her eyes at the magical sight, bit her lip, and cast again.
But I evaded each spell with minimal movement and defense, closing in on her.
"Wh-what?!"
As the distance nearly closed, she tried manifesting a barrier to push me back.
But I reached her before she could chant.
Swish.
I pressed the shortsword I'd kept against her throat.
Could've settled with magic up close, but didn't want to attack Lucy directly.
And for overwhelming victory, performance mattered.
Thud.
Lucy's legs gave out, and she collapsed on the spot.
Glancing outside, students stared in shock.
Even the spirited homeroom instructor had wide eyes.
"Instructor, winner declaration please."
"Uh, yeah. Winner: Lee Ho-yeon. Both of you, come down."
Won the spar, but no applause? These guys have no sense as spectators.
Lucy sat stunned, dazed.
⚙ QUEST COMPLETE! ⚙ Lucy's favorability increases by 3. ★ Heroine Status Window ★ [Lucy] Favorability: 28 Lust: 5 Appetite: 40 Fatigue: 20 Favorability up by 3. But why 28? It was definitely 20 before—jumped by 8.
No way she actually fell for the bad boy vibe from crushing the spar, right?
For now, I approached the spacing-out Lucy and offered my hand.
"Lucy, you okay?"
"Hah, tried for revenge and got crushed instead."
"Crushing it myself, but yeah—that was seriously close."
Lucy took my hand, stood, and dusted off her butt.
"Sigh. So, what's with those cool eyes?"
My eyes? What's with them?
I checked my face in the smartwatch's mirror function.
My irises glowed a distinct, soft gold.