Chapter 39
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Academy's Summer Vacation (8)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The moment our weapons clashed, one thing became crystal clear.
This guy was stronger than I thought.
I'd used Insight to read its trajectory and blocked the club with my sword, but I couldn't disperse the force properly.
Instead of trying to withstand the intense shock in my arms, I decided to let it flow, pulling back while relaxing my grip.
My wrist twisted a bit, but at least I avoided getting smashed by that club.
"Kekekekekeke!!!"
The goblins around us were getting wiped out by Roina and Na-eun, but this hobgoblin was grinning at me.
It was getting annoying.
I fell back a little, then raised my sword again and pointed it at him.
The hobgoblin slung its club over its shoulder, took a big step forward, and swung the club down vertically.
Composure activated, time slowed to a crawl, and in that moment, I felt a strange sense of familiarity.
Not that I was used to getting hit by it—it was that it was aiming straight for my head, just like before.
It reminded me of when I was in Lee Sian's body, using superior physical abilities to smash zombie heads with a baseball bat.
Of course, I was far better looking than this hideous orange-skinned hobgoblin.
Using Insight, I precisely calculated the club's reach and stepped back just enough for it to graze past me.
Whoosh! Boom!
The club sliced through the air and slammed into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dirt.
And in that instant, from within the dust, an orange fist came flying at my face.
Composure kicked in late, but in that split second, I couldn't move my body freely.
Was this where my physical limitations caught up?
Smack!
I took the orange fist right to the forehead.
Thanks to the armor's shock absorption, it was just enough to make me stagger a bit.
Equipment really was crucial.
I stepped back to loosen my neck from the strain, and that's when the hobgoblin swung its club at the opening.
Using Composure and Insight, I deflected the club with my sword and moved in close...
Thud!
I got nailed by its left fist again and was sent flying back.
Again! Damn it!
I couldn't use Composure and Insight as smoothly in Lee Sian's body as I could in my own.
The hobgoblin flexed its fist, staring at me oddly, seemingly surprised I wasn't more hurt. I hadn't realized how good my gear was either.
Up until I'd actually felt its performance, I'd thought I'd been ripped off.
"Kekekekeke!!!"
"You damn bastard."
After taking two hits, it seemed to think I was an easy mark, sneering at me.
I took a deep breath and let it out.
Still fine.
This overconfidence was actually my chance.
The hobgoblin swung its club horizontally in a wide arc.
From left to right, freeing up its left hand—the one that had landed those two hits on me.
No way to dodge, so I retreated quickly, but it used the momentum to thrust its left fist forward.
In that moment, I pulled my right foot back and thrust my sword at the incoming fist.
Squelch!
I'd aimed between its fingers with Composure and Insight, but I couldn't match the rotational force in its fist, and it got blocked by the finger bones.
The hobgoblin didn't seem to think it was much damage and immediately swung the club from its right side horizontally.
We were too close.
Dodging a swing like that at this range was impossible.
Time to trust the armor's performance one more time.
Thwack!!!
I crossed my arms to block the club, but it still sent me flying farther back.
Was the shock reduction effect wearing off...?
It hurt more than the punches, which made sense, but this time I actually felt real pain.
Not defective—had I exceeded its limit already?
"Yoo Sian!"
Roina and Na-eun shouted as I steadied myself.
"I got this! Stay back!"
Nothing broken yet.
This level of shock was just good seasoning to wake my head up.
I gripped my sword tightly with both hands and aimed it at the hobgoblin again.
"Let's keep going, you punk."
"Kekekeke!!!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
It slammed the ground three times with its club, then leaped high and brought it down.
Too big a motion. I dodged where the attack landed and slashed at the hobgoblin's head.
Kaboom! Thud!
Its strike cratered the ground like a pile driver, but my sword on its head—naturally, its skull was tougher than a goblin's.
A shallow hit, and I immediately retreated.
Green blood trickled from the shallow gash on the hobgoblin's head.
"Kekekekeke!!!"
"You enjoying this?"
Thanks to the Blessing of Language, the Status Window was starting to distinguish its laughter, but it wasn't knowledge I wanted—I wished I could erase it from my head.
I should've gone for the neck instead of the head.
Bleeding from the neck would've drained its stamina better, I thought fleetingly.
With a twinge of regret, I readied my sword again.
It recovered its club and swung wide from left to right once more.
Using the spin to thrust its left fist again.
This time, instead of stabbing, I opted to slice shallowly across the skin.
Shrrrk!
A layer of the hobgoblin's skin peeled off.
Green blood poured from the exposed arm.
"Kreeee...!"
Its reaction changed—proper damage this time. The constant grinner scowled at me.
'Even uglier now.'
Suddenly, the hobgoblin started slamming its club into the ground like a maniac.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
"What the hell is it doing now?"
I watched blankly as cracks formed in the middle of the club.
Crack.
It held the now-bisected club in both hands.
Grip in the bleeding left hand, upper part in the right.
Shorter range than the full club, but it still outclassed me physically.
The dual short weapons would be harder to predict with their overwhelming swings, making it tougher to fight, but the raw power behind them was reduced—so I figured it'd actually be okay for me.
Unlike back when I was like Lee Sian, using Indomitable Will to spam Insight endlessly, I couldn't do that now. But if I stayed calm and read its attack paths...
Clang!
I knocked aside the shortened club, and the next attack came right away.
Clang!
I could react.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
With the power dialed down and speed up, I could actually handle it.
No easy openings for my counters amid the rapid strikes, but the overwhelming force that I couldn't deflect at all was gone—and that was good for me.
I tried using Insight occasionally to spot gaps, but up close, it felt hopeless.
The moment I finally glimpsed an opening in its barrage, I leaped back and drew my pistol with my left hand.
I hadn't wanted to use it, but at this rate, I'd take too much stamina damage.
In the slowed time of Composure, I aimed at the hobgoblin's left eye.
Bang!
Splat.
Precise shot with Composure—its eyeball burst.
"Kekaka aaaah!!!"
'Yeah. Guns are the best.'
Unable to use my main skills at this age, this firepower was a godsend.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
I kept firing at the screaming hobgoblin.
Green blood spurted from the holes in its body as it glared at me murderously with its remaining eye.
"Kekek kekekeke!!!"
"What? Something like, 'Not embarrassing for a warrior'? Nah, I was just saving money."
Bang! Clang!
I aimed for the empty left socket again, but it blocked with the metal-reinforced club remnant.
Stunned by its reaction speed, it staggered toward me.
I holstered the pistol and gripped my sword with both hands.
"Kekekeke!!!"
Last desperate charge? It rushed in with both short clubs raised high, full of openings, and I slipped inside to stab deep into its heart.
Despite its beast-hide armor, my 200,000-gold sword pierced easily.
"Kuh."
But the hobgoblin... laughed.
"Huh?"
BOOM!!!
"Guh...!"
A massive impact hit my back.
This crazy hobgoblin, with its heart pierced?! Still mustering one final attack?
"Urgh..."
Blood poured from my mouth.
End like this?
"Kuhuk... Hurts..."
I collapsed onto the hobgoblin...
*
My back throbbed as I woke up.
I'd collapsed in the dungeon, but I opened my eyes somewhere else.
"Where...?"
"Sian, you're awake?"
A blue, refreshing, warm voice.
"Seo-yeon?"
"Yeah. Na-eun messaged for a healer right away, and I was in the dorms, so I came straight over."
Right. I wasn't alone in the dungeon.
Thanks to Counselor Lee Da-young's advice to bring someone, I was glad.
Engrave this: if you stab the heart, prepare for a moment of superhuman strength.
"Thanks to you, my body's feeling pretty good. Appreciate it."
"Yeah."
Nothing much to say.
I was clearly the weak link for us to split up, yet here I was showing this side again.
My body wasn't fully recovered, so I couldn't leave yet.
As we sat in awkward silence, Seo-yeon spoke cautiously.
"It's not because of me... right? Not because we broke up?"
She and Na-eun, my close friend, must've talked while I was out, so she knew I wasn't the same weakling from before.
Stronger because we broke up? No, I didn't think so.
Just lucky to meet the principal at the lake.
"Nah, it's not that."
"Then... let's go back to how it was. I can't live without you... Can't sleep, feels like dying... Sorry. Sian."
What? She was the one who suggested breaking up first?
"Wait, were you serious when you said 'let's break up for a bit'?"
"Yeah. Thing is, a friend of mine who knows guys pretty well said your lack of growth was because you never lacked anything. Even with a girlfriend like me and being in growth-focused Q Class, you came to Global Academy without any deficiencies, so you couldn't grow... I thought if it really was because of our breakup, I wouldn't know what to do... Sob... I don't want to really break up... Sniff..."
She explained about deprivation and growth carefully, then started crying.
We'd dated two and a half years, but this was the first time she'd confessed her fault first and burst into tears.
Did this mean I'd taken control of our relationship?