The Patriarch's Appraisal
News that Arian Liberin, princess of the Liberin Kingdom, had been kidnapped only to be rescued by Seo Moon-jin, heir to the Yucheon Group, spread rapidly. Seo Moon-kang-hyuk watched the broadcast in real time, his expression intrigued.
"So the heir of Yucheon Group saved the Liberin princess."
Photos of Seo Moon-jin and Arian Liberin appeared across countless articles from every major outlet. Studying his son's face on screen, Seo Moon-kang-hyuk recalled the results of his recent investigation.
"After being cast out, that boy lived with nothing but venom in his heart."
Even after digging, they had failed to trace Seo Moon-jin's exact whereabouts. It was as though someone had deliberately erased every trail, ensuring no information leaked. Few people even remembered the boy from seventeen years ago. The only concrete detail they uncovered was that he had been adopted somewhere after years of hardship. Yet now, as the heir of Yucheon Group, Seo Moon-jin was shrouded in an impenetrable veil of secrecy. The very fact that so much information had been hidden only strengthened Seo Moon-kang-hyuk's suspicion that this heir was none other than his biological son.
'If that boy inherits the Seo family...'
And if he took Arian Liberin as his woman, the Seo bloodline would grow even stronger. Should the queen of the Liberin Kingdom bear his child, the Seo family's blood would flow through the royal line as well. Their influence would sink deep roots into the Liberin Kingdom itself.
"That boy Hyun has accomplished nothing worth mentioning."
In contrast, Seo Moon-min-hye's actions had caught his attention.
"She's far more calculating than I thought. I assumed she was simply using her feminine charms, but it seems she has already chosen the side she believes will win."
If Seo Moon-jin emerged victorious, Seo Moon-hyun would naturally be expelled. In that case, abandoning the family now and aligning with the overwhelmingly powerful Seo Moon-jin would be the wiser choice. Seo Moon-kang-hyuk was convinced that Seo Moon-min-hye had made exactly that calculation.
"Losers are simply left behind."
Only someone with both the venom and the strength to cut down every obstacle could inherit the great Seo family. The defeated had no place; they would be discarded. That was the natural order of things.
After the first lecture ended, the next class—practical training—turned out to be student-versus-student sparring, according to the notice on their phones. With so many students, the matches were spread across multiple training grounds. The National Hero Academy's training facilities were divided into four large arenas, each assigned two hundred and fifty students. Protected by multiple layers of barriers to contain any stray damage, the students would fight one-on-one against opponents chosen by the instructors.
I had been placed in Arena A, home to the top two hundred and fifty students. Naturally, Arian Liberin, Yee Eun-chae, Yoo Eun-chae, Seo Moon-hyun, and Lee Se-na were all there as well.
"Some of you may be wondering why we're holding sparring matches so suddenly. However, after yesterday's villain attack, we decided it would be best to give you real experience facing opponents. You need to learn how to resist when you encounter villains in the flesh, not inside virtual reality. Compete with one another directly and accumulate that experience!"
Twenty instructors oversaw the session. The man at the front had the fiercest, roughest appearance of them all. Even compared to the examination committee chairman from the entrance exam, his presence felt superior; he was clearly one of the highest-ranking instructors.
"Seo Moon-jin, you're a special case. Given your level, even most active heroes would struggle. Adjust your strength accordingly."
"Understood."
That extra instruction was added solely for me, the current top-ranked student.
The format was straightforward: the first fifty students would spar for ten minutes each. If a match ended early, those participants received additional rest time before the next group of fifty took their turn. With only twenty instructors available, simultaneous matches across the entire arena were impossible.
Opponents had generally been assigned according to skill, but my match was unusual—two opponents at once.
"Oh my, to think I'll be sparring against Lord Chun. How delightful."
Arian Liberin gripped her rapier and smiled brightly. Behind her stood Lee Se-na. As a healer, Lee Se-na could not participate in direct one-on-one combat, so she had been assigned the role of supporting Arian from the rear. All supporter-type ability users followed the same arrangement. Thanks to this, the instructors had three fewer matches to manage.
"Hmm. Not 'Chun,' but 'you,' I see."
Yee Eun-chae's opponent had been set as Seo Moon-hyun. Her expression was far from pleased. Originally, she had maintained a neutral relationship with him—neither close nor hostile. To be precise, she had felt almost no interest in him at all. Since I, her closest and first friend, clearly disliked Seo Moon-hyun, she had simply kept her distance, assuming there must be a reason. Seo Moon-hyun, however, had deluded himself into believing Yee Eun-chae was his friend. This situation suited me just fine.
"Please take care of me, Eun-chae."
Seo Moon-hyun spoke to her in a friendly tone, but Yee Eun-chae answered coldly—completely unlike the warm manner she used with me. Especially after witnessing his behavior toward Arian Liberin the previous day, her opinion of him had clearly plummeted.
"Do your best, Seo Moon-hyun."
"Seo Moon-hyun? Just call me Hyun, like always."
"……."
Yee Eun-chae silently raised her sword. Seo Moon-hyun looked at her with a disappointed expression.
"You're really quite cold, Eun-chae."
Even so, she gave no reply and simply pointed her blade at him. Seo Moon-hyun's attitude remained relaxed. The reason was simple: he was stronger than her.
"Miss Eun-chae seems to be weighing on your mind?"
Arian Liberin asked while leveling her rapier at me.
"He does. Seo Moon-hyun looks like he's up to something shady again."
I took my stance with the sword in hand.
"It really is irritating."
Arian Liberin nodded, recalling yesterday's events. Lee Se-na, standing behind her, looked visibly flustered. As Seo Moon-hyun's childhood friend, she clearly found it uncomfortable to hear us criticize him so openly.
"Did Hyun... make some kind of mistake?"
Lee Se-na asked Arian cautiously. Without turning around, Arian kept her eyes fixed on me and simply nodded.
"Yes. Yesterday was extremely unpleasant. I don't even want to talk about it. More importantly, focus on Lord Chun now. We're about to begin!"
With those words, Arian charged forward, rapier flashing. A thrust infused with light-attribute power shot toward me. I blocked it easily. She followed up with a rapid series of thrusts, attacking fiercely, but I parried every strike and countered at my leisure. Just as my blade was about to reach her, however, a defensive barrier flared to life around her. Lee Se-na had provided timely support.
'She's improved enough to cast barriers of this quality.'
Yesterday's shock had forced her to grow. Even after nearly being overwhelmed, she hadn't broken—she had taken another step forward. While recovery was a healer's greatest strength, their next most valuable asset was the variety of support abilities they could provide: defensive barriers, temporary boosts to allies' attack power and speed, and similar effects. Though she might appear lacking compared to the other heroines who possessed direct combat power, there was a reason she was one of the main heroines.
'Seo Moon-hyun, that bastard...'
While facing Arian, I also kept a discreet eye on Yee Eun-chae and Seo Moon-hyun. In the original story, Seo Moon-hyun had never behaved this way. Back then, despite his stubbornness, he had been portrayed as a righteous protagonist who refused to compromise or abandon the straight path—at least through the early and middle sections. Even I, as a reader, had believed that. But that dissonance had begun to surface as the Seo family's misdeeds came to light, and it exploded once the original Seo Moon-jin's incident and that trash Kang Mi-hyun appeared. By then, however, the heroines who had already fallen for him remained blind to his true nature until the very end. According to the original, Yee Eun-chae should have been on very friendly terms with Seo Moon-hyun right now. Yet the current Yee Eun-chae was already showing clear signs of dislike.
"Hah!"
Watching her being pushed back head-on by Seo Moon-hyun, I hoped today's defeat would serve as motivation. I would make her stronger with my own hands.
"My victory."
Overwhelmed in both magical power and pure swordsmanship, Yee Eun-chae found Seo Moon-hyun's blade at her throat. He smiled and declared his win. The watching instructor nodded.
"Victory goes to Seo Moon-hyun."
"...Yes."
Yee Eun-chae accepted her loss without argument, though frustration burned inside her. She had been completely dominated. As expected of the protagonist, Seo Moon-hyun's ridiculous talent continued to grow stronger even now. Without some special event, the gap between them would only widen further.
'Still, he's not as strong as he was at this point in the original.'
He had only grown a little without crossing any major threshold. Even so, that was already overwhelming for the current Yee Eun-chae. Observing this, I extended my hand in front of Arian's face.
"It's over, Arian."
"Yes. I lost."
She lowered her rapier, looking disappointed.
"As expected, without receiving training from Lord Chun, there are still many shortcomings."
It wasn't only Yee Eun-chae who had felt her own inadequacy during this sparring. Arian had come to the same realization. Even Yoo Eun-chae, who had faced a relatively easy opponent and won without difficulty, would likely feel the same.