I Stopped Her Heart
A-Class. Second-year, Class 3, Yoon Seol-ah (A-Class).
Fuck. Is this actually happening?
Getting matched against an A-Class all of a sudden?
Me—the guy who barely scraped out a win against Nam Yeon-woo, the dead last in C-Class—paired up against A-Class?
Is this for real? This is next-level malicious bullshit.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Right then, someone rapped on my desk like they were knocking on a door.
“……?”
When I looked up, there she was.
“Hey. You’re Yoo Ji-min, my opponent for the rank match, right?”
“…….”
A haughty beauty with red hair. My opponent, Yoon Seol-ah, stood right in front of me.
“Who just called my personality garbage?”
One single glare from Yoon Seol-ah shut the entire room up.
“Anyway, Yoo Ji-min! I heard you said something pretty funny. That you’re going to kill every cadet in the academy. Is that true?”
“…….”
Yoon Seol-ah is a transfer student. It happens sometimes—people who trained at outside institutions before transferring in.
“Look, I get that you’ve got a grudge against the cadets. But are you planning to do the same to me? I never did anything to you.”
“…….”
I have no memory of Yoon Seol-ah ever wronging me. Since she only transferred this year, it’s accurate to say we had zero connection whatsoever.
“Well, whatever. I’m looking for someone who can make my heart race! I’m curious whether you’re actually as strong as all that big talk.”
“…….”
“Ahaha! Look at that dumb face! Anyway, see you tomorrow, dummy!”
Yoon Seol-ah said everything she wanted to say and left without waiting for a reply.
A-Class… There’s no way I can win this.
Yoon Seol-ah had been placed in A-Class the moment she transferred. The fact that she earned that spot without even fighting a single rank match proved just how monstrous her talent was.
Of course, when the announcement first dropped there had been plenty of noise about special treatment…
Now that I think about it, there isn’t much info on her at all.
Even among cadets who loved to gossip, almost nothing was said about Yoon Seol-ah’s actual abilities. Most of the chatter was just praise for her looks—how she resembled an idol, how she was a cold cat-faced beauty, that sort of thing.
She never did anything wrong to me…
That part was true. That pretty girl had never bullied me or spread rumors about me.
But I had zero intention of rolling over easily.
If I made a bold public declaration and then got destroyed in the very next match, I’d look pathetic. Sure, there was that.
But the real reason I refused to lose to Yoon Seol-ah was something else entirely.
Because that girl was the woman I had loved more than anyone else.
The woman who gave me nothing but pain and trauma.
And now, the woman I hated more than anyone else.
She was Han Min-young’s closest friend, after all.
The next day, the rank match began.
Since I was scheduled for the first bout, I grabbed my weapon and headed straight for the arena.
Everyone assumed my defeat was obvious. The insults and slander grew even harsher.
Fucking bastards. They’re having the time of their lives.
They must have been dying to harass me again after being quiet the last few days. The moment a powerhouse like Yoon Seol-ah showed up, they latched onto her and started praying for my downfall.
You think I’ll go down that easy?
I didn’t think I could win either. But I had no intention of just helplessly taking the beating.
“Hey! Dummy! Still making that stupid face today?”
Yoon Seol-ah climbed into the arena with a grin. She held a sword in each hand.
Dual blades… So she’s an attacker.
A close-combat attacker. The matchup wasn’t the worst. For someone like me with zero long-range options, it was almost a relief.
“If you talked all that big shit and turn out to be nothing, I’m gonna be seriously disappointed, you know?”
“…….”
This girl really liked to talk.
Yoon Seol-ah had completely unbuttoned her cadet jacket, openly showing the black tank top underneath. A total delinquent look.
…Still, she really is beautiful.
Slender frame with perfect curves. Pale skin and the occasional flash of her underarm.
Damn it. She’s attacking my weakness with pure pheromones.
But I had already learned the hard way through Happiness that getting distracted by looks would only get me killed. No matter how pretty Yoon Seol-ah was, I refused to let my guard down.
“Match begin!”
At the professor’s shout, the fight started.
I charged straight at Yoon Seol-ah.
Since it was close combat either way, and I was confident in my sword skills, I wanted to test myself properly. The practical, combat-focused swordsmanship I learned from the class president had never been used against another swordsman, but it should work against academy cadets. It was designed to counter fundamentals perfectly.
Clang! Clang!
“Ooh~ Dummy! You’ve at least got some power!”
“…….”
Yoon Seol-ah’s face was full of leisure. The moment my attack sequence ended and she prepared to counter—
Now!
I angled my blade exactly as the class president taught me, deflecting her strike, then delivered a blow that should have been impossible to dodge.
Clang!
“Heh? Looks like you’ve seen a few things. Not bad.”
With terrifying reaction speed, Yoon Seol-ah raised one sword and casually blocked my counter. Then—
Slash—
“Ugh…”
Her other blade carved a long diagonal gash across my chest.
Blood began pouring out.
“Fuck!”
I quickly backstepped to create distance. Continuing to trade blows would only hand her the initiative.
But that was when I saw it.
The smile spreading across her lips.
“Dummy! By any chance… do you like getting rained on?”
“……?!”
Crisis Detection has activated.
A current threat has been detected!
Steel Body (Hardening)
BOOOOOOM!!!!!
Rain began falling above my head.
No—dozens of black blades were slamming down.
“Gah!!”
I tried my best to dodge, but still took hits to both shoulders, forearms, and thighs.
The black blades vanished after leaving their wounds, dissolving into mana.
Fuck, what the hell was that? Blades made of mana?
“How was it? Isn’t my Rain of Swords cool? Doesn’t it get your blood pumping? Ahahahaha!”
“Huff… huff…”
I had nearly died. Even after dodging with everything I had, four blades still hit me. Each one was powerful enough to pierce straight through my hardening.
Time to analyze Yoon Seol-ah’s abilities.
Exceptional swordsmanship in close quarters.
Long-range mana blades that rain down the moment distance is created.
And an overwhelming mana pool that lets her spam all of it without showing any fatigue.
Analysis complete.
There’s no way I can win this…
How the hell was I supposed to beat that? Both close and long-range, she completely outclassed me.
“Already done? Want me to declare victory for you?”
“Fuck off!”
“Oh? Too bad, I’m all out of fucks to give!”
I steadied myself and charged again. No matter how impossible winning seemed, I couldn’t give up that easily.
Clang! Clang! Slash!!
The longer the fight dragged on, the more sword wounds covered my body. The moment I tried to create distance, the Rain of Swords poured down, giving me no breathing room. The bleeding grew worse and it became harder to stay conscious.
“Ugh…”
“Hey dummy! How about you just give up? You look pretty messed up already.”
Yoon Seol-ah stood there without a single scratch. I was covered in blood, sliced to pieces. It was utterly miserable. I knew there would be a gap, but I never expected to be this helpless.
Shit… what the hell do I do…
On the outside, Yoon Seol-ah didn’t look strong at all. Thin arms like twigs, a slender idol-like frame that clearly never touched weight training.
Fuck… if I could just drain her mana dry…
Every one of her skills was backed by an enormous mana reserve. The Rain of Swords, her swordsmanship itself—everything was reinforced by mana. Yet no matter how much she spammed, she showed zero signs of fatigue. Her mana would outlast my barrier by a long shot.
Wait… hold on…
A thought suddenly hit me.
How is mana circulated?
The mana gathered in the lower dantian flows throughout the body via mana circuits. And in that process, there is one organ it must pass through.
The heart.
Of course there were ways to bypass it, but efficiency would plummet. It was common knowledge.
Then…?
“Heh? You’ve at least got some guts. You’re not surrendering, right? I’ll end it with this one! Get ready, dummy!!”
“Ugh…”
It was all or nothing. If this didn’t work, I would lose without landing a single meaningful blow.
BOOM!
Yoon Seol-ah kicked off the ground and rushed me.
“Rain down! Rain of Swords!!!”
BOOOOOOOM!!
Blades began raining around her. She leaped high into the air, intending to finish me with a single strike while the Rain of Swords prevented any chance of dodging. A perfect pincer.
I simply kept staring at her, waiting for the perfect timing.
And the instant before she reached me—
Will you use 'Heart Failure Experience' on Yoon Seol-ah?
“Use it.”
Yoon Seol-ah’s heart stops for 2 seconds.
THUD—!
Yoon Seol-ah’s eyes filled with shock. The Rain of Swords surrounding her vanished instantly. Her mana-deprived body began falling from the air.
Success! I only have two seconds. I have to finish this right now!
I poured everything I had into this one strike.
Weak Point Detection
Opponent’s weak points will be displayed for 30 seconds.
Steel Body (Hardening)
I spotted the weak point on her falling body and concentrated every ounce of hardening into my leg. Then I kicked her weak spot—her lower body, right before she hit the ground.
BOOOOOOM!!!!!
“Kyaaak!!!”
THUD!
Yoon Seol-ah crashed to the floor, completely off balance. The two seconds of heart failure had already ended. She tried to get up immediately, but—
Clack—
I already had my sword pressed against her throat.
The taunts and sneers that had poured down on me vanished like a lie. A perfect, breathless silence fell over the massive arena.
Yoon Seol-ah’s previously relaxed eyes began shaking wildly.
And I spoke quietly but clearly, loud enough for everyone to hear.
“I won.”