Chapter 81
Chapter 81
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: Final Evaluation (2)
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Right after being teleported into the forest as the final evaluation began, Ryu Jia immediately kicked off the ground and leaped upward.
BOOM-!!!
Exploding the ground beneath her feet, she shot into the sky and spun once to survey her surroundings.
All she could see was an endlessly vast forest and a large lake far in the distance—no mountains, caves, or cliffs in sight.
"This final evaluation's taking place in a forest on flat land. They'll spot the signal easily and come running."
Gauging the lay of the land, Ryu Jia surrendered to gravity and landed back on the earth before heading straight for the nearest tree.
"Hmm, perfect size and length."
Whoosh- CRASH-!
Swinging her hand blade horizontally at a massive oak as thick as a drum barrel, she cleaved through it like tofu, sending it toppling over.
She repeated the process with a few more nearby oaks, slicing them clean, then stacked the logs in three neat layers like a grid.
"Perfect. Now just light it up...!"
Ryu Jia swung the crimson energy cloaking her right hand at the woodpile.
SCRREEECH-! WHOOSH!
The friction sparked flames on the twigs clinging to the logs, which quickly spread to the thick trunks.
A massive campfire built from oak logs was complete.
Gazing at the towering flames and thick smoke rising into the sky, Ryu Jia nodded in satisfaction.
"Good. Even from the farthest spot, they'll see this."
She sat beside the enormous campfire—visible from anywhere in the forest—and murmured quietly.
"Can't wait to see him."
※
"Damn it...!"
The moment spatial transfer dropped her into the forest, Jin Se-jeong was seething with rage.
It stemmed from witnessing Yang Woo-bin—the one who'd teared up seeing her humiliating defeat just a month ago, cherishing her so deeply—finally succumb to total corruption.
"...Why did I make such a stupid choice?"
The fury Jin Se-jeong felt now wasn't aimed at Ryu Jia, but at herself.
She despised the version of herself who'd clung to hope that Yang Woo-bin could hold out for at least a month.
She regretted leaving without a word, even to him, to keep information from leaking to Ryu Jia.
She loathed her reckless decision that left the fragile boy utterly alone in an instant.
"It's my fault. Woo-bin turning out like that... all twisted... it's all because of me."
Recalling Yang Woo-bin's words from moments before the transfer, Jin Se-jeong felt her legs might give out any second.
"Telling me not to lay a hand on Ryu Jia. Even calling her 'our' Ryu Jia...!"
His words and actions suggested he cherished Ryu Jia more than her or Fuyuno Tsubaki.
Having known him for so long, Jin Se-jeong could tell his feelings were utterly sincere.
Yang Woo-bin truly valued Ryu Jia. Even knowing that she and Fuyuno Tsubaki had endured grueling training for a month to save him from her, he still wanted to protect her.
Protecting the monstrous woman who'd sexually harassed, assaulted, and even raped him—a fragile man like himself.
Valuing that vile villainess over his childhood friend and her lackey, Fuyuno Tsubaki.
The past month of training—sweating and bleeding daily alongside a woman she despised, without even seeing the boy she loved—felt utterly wasted.
"...I can't forgive that."
Yet amid the crashing waves of despair, Jin Se-jeong gritted her teeth, tensed her legs, and fueled her resolve with the pent-up emotions in her chest.
"It's all you, Ryu Jia. You're the problem. Without you, Woo-bin wouldn't cry, wouldn't get angry, wouldn't value you over me."
That buried emotion was vengeance—a thirst for revenge against Ryu Jia, the root of all this chaos. It surged through her body like potent fuel.
GRRRRR... WHOOSH!!!!
Just as Jin Se-jeong reignited her vendetta against Ryu Jia, a sound like trees shattering nearby echoed through the air.
Suddenly, massive flames erupted and thick black smoke billowed from that direction.
In this survival-focused final evaluation, only one cadet in all of Dabcheon would pull a stunt this attention-grabbing.
"She's there!"
Convinced Ryu Jia was at the source of the fire and smoke, Jin Se-jeong mana-reinforced her body and dashed forward with Dabcheon's mightiest leg strength.
※
"Sniff, sob."
The instant spatial transfer landed her in the forest, Fuyuno Tsubaki was overcome with sorrow.
A month ago, the always kind, gentle, warm Yang Woo-bin had glared at her with sharp eyes and a voice thick with fury—facing it head-on had shattered her.
"I'd never heard him sound like that... He'd never yelled at me like that before...!"
His rage terrified her so much that she wanted to abandon everything—the gritted-teeth, blood-and-sweat progress she'd barely built over the past month to take down Ryu Jia.
"Sniff, hic! B-but... even if it's scary, even if Woo-bin told me not to... I can't just sit still."
But something scared Fuyuno Tsubaki even more than Yang Woo-bin's anger.
"If I do nothing... I'll lose Woo-bin forever."
Losing Yang Woo-bin entirely.
His sharp command to shut up, his real fury in snarling "You wanna die?"—they terrified her enough to drop to her knees and beg forgiveness. But losing him forever was far worse.
"I can't let that happen. No way. Woo-bin... I have to save him. That's what this past month was for."
Swallowing her fear, Fuyuno Tsubaki fixed her gaze on her sole purpose—saving Yang Woo-bin—and forced her frozen legs to move again.
GRRRR-! CRUNCH!
Immediately after, a sound like trees shattering rang out from very close by, followed soon by massive flames and smoke rising from that spot.
"Over there...!"
Certain only Ryu Jia would make such a flashy move in a survival test, Fuyuno Tsubaki recalled her month's training and headed toward the fire and smoke.
※
"He's late...!"
After lighting the campfire and waiting beside it for about two minutes, Ryu Jia started feeling bored.
She considered searching for Yang Woo-bin's signal, but figured he'd spot her massive blaze and come faster than she could find his.
And why not? Her campfire was huge, brilliant, and impossible to miss.
"Sigh, maybe take a nap. With the rookie's personality, he'll wake me up if I'm asleep—not a bad idea."
Desperate to see Yang Woo-bin, her patience worn thin after just two minutes, Ryu Jia seriously contemplated the absurd notion of napping beside a lit campfire during a survival exam.
Anyone else doing that would be begging for elimination, but she was Ryu Jia—and only two cadets in all of Dabcheon could pierce her crimson energy.
A light nap posed no risk to her.
"Yeah, let's do it. The campfire's nice and toasty... perfect."
Just as she decided to bask in the campfire's warm, drowsy heat and catch some shut-eye—scouting for a comfy spot to lie down—
KA-BOOM-!!!
A blue flash streaked through the oak forest in a straight line, slamming into Ryu Jia.
"Guhk!?"
CRASH! BOOM!
Even reflexively cloaking herself in crimson energy, the blue flash pierced through and struck her hard.
Among the Jin Family's secret sword arts, Azure Dragon Twelve Swords—the first poured every ounce of power into a forward charge, piercing and shattering all obstacles.
Jin Se-jeong's Azure Dragon First Advance had breached even Ryu Jia's crimson energy.
"Urk... ngh... what the hell?"
Rolling backward through the wreckage of her carefully built campfire, Ryu Jia waved her hand to clear the smoke and flames for visibility.
CRACKLE-!
"Huh?"
But her arm froze stuck to the ground, unable to move. The roaring campfire flames and thick black smoke vanished in an instant, entombed in ice.
A chill that devoured the sky-high flames and smoke, halting even Ryu Jia's actions.
The Extreme Yin Body's cold could freeze even crimson energy.
The sneak attack had landed a heavy blow on Dabcheon's top cadet, Ryu Jia, and frozen her limbs to boot. Her two attackers stared her down, unleashing their pent-up emotions.
"Ryu Jia!!! I'm not letting this slide!! Woo-bin called me 'Jin Se-jeong,' not 'kid'!!!"
"S-sob! It was the first time Woo-bin looked at me with such scary eyes and said 'You wanna die?' in that voice! I won't forgive you!!!"
Seeing Jin Se-jeong and Fuyuno Tsubaki—fuming despite starting the fight by ambushing and freezing her—Ryu Jia couldn't help but chuckle.
They were powerhouses who could pierce her crimson energy and hurt her.
Battles with equals were what the eternally lonely Ryu Jia had always craved.
She surged her crimson energy, shattering the ice binding her limbs, and rose to her feet.
CRUNCH! SHATTER!
"Fine, I never turn down a fight that comes to... me."
She opened her mouth leisurely, ready to accept the bold challenge from her two juniors like a proper senior.
Throb-!
But pain from her cracked ribs—hit dead-on by Jin Se-jeong's Azure Dragon First Advance—cut her words short.
"..."
Then, yesterday's promise with Yang Woo-bin flashed in her mind: a perfect fight at their absolute best.
"You little... fucking brats...!"
Unable to keep that promise, Ryu Jia unleashed her fury at the two raging at her.
The battle had begun.