Chapter 82
Chapter 82
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 82
Chapter Title: School Nurse Teacher Appears (4)
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"Then, let the spar begin!"
The moment Kim Jin-hyuk's starting signal rang out, Han Seo-yul charged straight at me.
Thump.
I felt a very faint heartbeat.
It meant Combat Sense was reacting to her, even if just a little.
"Haaah!"
Han Seo-yul moved at a speed befitting the top second-year student, but...
'Clairvoyance.'
She couldn't keep up with my eyes.
I blocked her side slash aimed at my ribs with Cotton Guard, while simultaneously bursting a weak flame right in front of her face.
"Ugh!"
Whoosh!
Han Seo-yul quickly leaped back. It wasn't a bad decision, but a magic circle was already prepared behind her as well.
'Flame Burst.'
"...?!"
Hot flames engulfed Han Seo-yul entirely, and as her body got scorched by the sudden blaze from behind, she channeled mana into her sword and swung wide to extinguish the fire.
I didn't give her any openings and pressed the attack relentlessly.
Fwoosh!
Every time I predicted her movements and shifted direction, I fired flames at her.
Han Seo-yul calmly blocked the flames coming from both front and back, but she gradually started getting pushed back.
Eventually, realizing she couldn't win just by defending, she took a bit of magic damage to force her way through to me.
'She's pretty skilled.'
This level put her among the stronger cadets. Why was someone like this just an extra?
Her sword, aimed at my shoulder, came rushing in with terrifying momentum. I accelerated my body.
Twisting around to dodge the blade, I struck the opening at her side with a force magic spell I'd conjured in an instant.
"Kuh!"
Of course, since Combat Sense hadn't fully activated, she was still far below my level. But my base stats were already higher than a typical cadet's anyway.
Han Seo-yul backflipped away, then used her sword-duplication ability from earlier to hurl four blades at me.
Her full-power sword throw was effortlessly blocked by my Cotton Guard.
Time to wrap this up.
I still had seven more opponents to face. I couldn't afford to waste more time.
Vmmm!
I summoned fire orbs all around.
Dozens of flame spheres, each packed with immense compressed mana.
In just a few seconds, the sparring arena was filled with the magic.
Han Seo-yul let out a sigh.
"Double Casting, right? Ha... My confidence is just plummeting."
She let out a hollow laugh, looking utterly dumbfounded.
"You're too kind, Senior. You're strong yourself."
For an extra, Han Seo-yul was genuinely powerful.
I wondered why someone like her never even appeared in the game.
Of course, the answer was obvious: 'She's a guy.' There was no room for dudes in an adult game.
"Yeah, thanks. I'm done now, Professor. I forfeit."
Han Seo-yul forfeited the moment she saw my fire orbs.
I'd prepared pretty hard to give her some senior respect. What a shame.
"Too bad. Can't use this in the next spar, huh?"
"Like hell you can."
Kim Jin-hyuk shot me a reproachful look at my nonsense.
*
"...Hey. Was that guy always that strong?"
"He was strong... Didn't Kim Ho-jin get wrecked by him too?"
"Yeah, but... Double Casting? Is that even something cadets can learn?"
"No idea."
The cadets watching the top-tier spars were all gaping at Lee Ho-yeon.
Lower-ranked students didn't care about other low-rankers unless it was their turn.
People loved watching scrubs fight for fun, but at a high level, it was different.
Pro leagues beat amateur ones every time.
That's why over a hundred cadets had gathered around the top sparring areas.
"Whoa, dude. He's on his sixth one already."
"He's insanely good... Hey, did you record that?"
"Duh. Uploading Lee Ho-yeon clips to EveryDay gets you at least a hundred recs easy."
"Damn it. I should've filmed too."
The debate over Lee Ho-yeon's skills among the cadets was long gone.
With him swatting down seniors like mosquitoes right in front of them, it was obvious.
Plus, he was blasting massive spells left and right with agile movements, turning the spars into prime entertainment.
But the professors were different.
They'd been showering praise while watching Nam Da-eun and Ellis spar.
"Man, this first-year class is something else."
"Right? Shouldn't we give them a nickname? How about 'The Golden Generation'?"
"Not bad."
"Ellis's mana control is just beautiful."
"Her swordsmanship already seems masterful. Way better than expected."
Then... they fell silent watching Lee Ho-yeon's matches.
"...I'm not seeing things, right?"
A middle-aged man, the longest-serving professor at Victoria Academy, muttered.
"...Every A-Class kid is on another level."
"Another level? That's not the issue."
The female professor shot back incredulously.
"Exactly. Forget the hype—he's the real deal, historic tier."
Some professors had believed Lee Ho-yeon was just academy promo material. Especially the older, long-timers.
They never trusted what they hadn't seen with their own eyes.
And since even academy profs rarely got direct word from the chairman or dean, they'd assumed it was all hype.
They'd never outright trashed him, which was why Kim Jin-hyuk hadn't bothered convincing them.
"The hype theory's dead now... Or it'll blow up even more."
"Videos are already spreading. The second guild scouts see it, he's gone."
One professor was checking EveryDay on his smartwatch.
Lee Ho-yeon's clip was already topping the charts.
"Insane magic circle speed, Double Casting, no gaps between spells... Peak combat mage."
"Definitely has body enhancement skills too. You can see his reaction speed spike."
"Isn't this Awakening level?"
Awakening.
The process where an Ability User breaks their limits and ascends to the next stage.
Whether you Awakened or not determined a hunter's status.
Most active hunters never reached it—it was that rare.
"Obviously. Nothing else explains it."
"The fallout's gonna be huge... Gives me chills."
The professors naturally concluded Lee Ho-yeon had reached that stage.
One male professor sighed and chugged his coffee.
"Beats me. Leave it to Professor Kim Jin-hyuk. He's the homeroom teacher."
"...Yeah."
While they talked, Lee Ho-yeon defeated up to the seventh-ranked second-year.
He'd been switching spells constantly lately, like he was testing his own limits rather than sparring.
He was leagues above the other cadets.
"For midterms... We should prep the top-scorer pamphlet early."
"..."
The professors' view of Lee Ho-yeon had flipped 180 degrees, and now they worried about the storm he'd bring.
"As expected, honey...!"
"Pardon? What was that, Saintess?"
"N-Nothing!"
Baek A-young, who'd been intently watching the spars from among the professors, suddenly bowed her head.
*
As cheers echoed through the arena, a short, stocky guy climbed up.
"Hello, Senior Yoon Hyun-gyu?"
"Y-You... What the hell are you?!"
Yoon Hyun-gyu, shoved into the arena, had lost his sleazy student council smirk and wore a tense expression.
"Since you're known for your massive ego, your junior came to experience your magic firsthand. Looking forward to it."
"You little shit...!"
Yoon Hyun-gyu couldn't hide his fluster at my greeting, his hands trembling.
"You wouldn't forfeit without even fighting a junior who's exhausted after taking down seven seniors, right?"
I grinned and provoked him.
"Who's forfeiting? Come at me!"
The short Yoon Hyun-gyu channeled mana into his body.
A mage, fire attribute like me.
'Reveal other attributes here?'
Lots of eyes on me, perfect stage to show off.
Demonstrating multi-attribute mastery would cause a huge stir.
'Nah. Bigger stage awaits.'
Midterms and the festival.
One of them would give me the shot.
Might as well grab the spotlight at its peak.
Besides, no need to reveal more against someone I could crush with the same attribute.
"Ready? Begin!"
At Kim Jin-hyuk's signal, Yoon Hyun-gyu drew a magic circle.
Fireball. Basic for fire mages—simple, fast, strong.
Bang!
A searing fireball formed, spewing flames.
"Sloppy!"
Five fireballs hurtled toward me.
I blocked them casually with Cotton Guard.
"Too slow, Senior. Fireballs are used like this."
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Two fireballs spawned endlessly around me.
One. Two. Three. Four. Five... Twenty-four in three seconds, overwhelming the arena.
Compared to Yoon Hyun-gyu, who'd taken over five seconds for five.
"Block well. Over too quick and it's no fun."
Boom boom boom!!
I unleashed all twenty-four at Yoon Hyun-gyu.
He realized he couldn't dodge and raised a frontal shield.
Wall of Fire. Fire-attribute shield, highly resistant to fire magic.
Solid choice.
But.
Splat!
My fireballs tore through his shield effortlessly.
"Argh!"
The instant they shredded it, I yanked flame chains from the ground to bind his legs.
Slam! He toppled, fireballs grazing past his head.
"A fire shield pierced by fireballs?!"
"That's the skill gap. Lee Ho-yeon versus that senior."
"Ah... Yeah, he never looked like a fighter. Theory guy?"
Mocking laughter rose from the cadets below.
Yoon Hyun-gyu's face flushed red as he broke free of my chains and jumped up.
"You... I'll never let you off...! Mock me? I'll show you what happens when you cross the Vice President!"
"Sure, sure. Just don't forfeit."
Fuming, Yoon Hyun-gyu blasted magic wildly. I scoffed and dismantled each one.
*
"H-How...?"
"Admit it already, Senior. You're pathetically weak."
"I'm a second-year! No way I lose to a first-year newbie!"
I slowly approached Yoon Hyun-gyu as he denied reality, every spell dismantled.
"Just keep kissing up to the Vice President. Don't get cocky."
"Gah!"
I kicked his shin with mana-wrapped toes, then turned away, leaving him crumpled.
"I forfeit."
"...Using forfeit like that isn't ideal."
Kim Jin-hyuk eyed me disapprovingly.
Guess he meant give it your all in spars.
'Nam Da-eun and Ellis half-assed their forfeits too, Professor...'
Even Kim Jin-hyuk favored pretty girls since he was a guy.
Luckily, I had a solid excuse.
"Professor, too many spars messed up my head. Need to rest in the nurse's office."
"You're in peak condition from what I've seen lately."
"...No, really. Ask Nurse Baek."
"Sigh, Baek A-young isn't that idle to play along with your jokes..."
A clear voice cut off Kim Jin-hyuk, echoing through the hall.
"Cadet Lee Ho-yeon!!! What's wrong?!!"
Baek A-young, who'd been watching from the professors, rushed up to check on me.
"Definitely. You're not looking good. Needs rest. Professor Kim Jin-hyuk."
"...Really? Looked fine to me..."
"Absolutely. Doubting my eyes?"
Baek A-young glared at Kim Jin-hyuk.
[No healer tops Baek A-young. Korean hunters should be grateful she's here.]
Common knowledge among active hunters.
"...Sorry. Take him."
"Ho-yeon. Can you walk? Need support?"
"...Yeah. Please support me."
★ Heroine Status ★ [Baek A-young] Affection: 88 (+0.2) Lust: 80 Appetite: 30 Fatigue: 35 Current State: T-Take him to the nurse's office like this... L-Lock the door...! Those perverted eyes, and no one suspects?
Time to shatter the saintess image and face reality. But Baek A-young's saintly reputation was rock-solid.
"Whoa, checking injuries right after arriving? Insane..."
"That's why she's the Saintess. I'm becoming a fan starting today."
Turning lust-filled gazes into self-sacrificing healer vibes—impressive.
"Everyone's blind."
"Cadet Lee Ho-yeon, wounds could reopen. No talking."
"I wasn't even wounded to begin..."
"Shh!"
"...Fine. Got it."
Baek A-young and I left the hall just like that.