The Stalker's Victory Declaration
I won.
My bold victory declaration.
Yoon Seol-ah's face filled with disbelief.
And the cadets in the auditorium, frozen in complete silence.
Please, just admit it already….
Even though I had my sword pointed at her throat, this was basically a bluff. The damage I'd taken so far left my arms and legs shaking so badly it was hard to even stay on my feet.
The heart-failure experience had already worn off, and Yoon Seol-ah had probably already circulated her magic power to shake off that low kick I'd landed. If she refused to accept my victory, knocked my blade aside, and counterattacked, I would lose without question. My entire body was covered in blood and I'd been running on fumes for a while now—any more fighting was impossible.
Please admit defeat… please….
Yoon Seol-ah kept staring into my eyes with an unreadable expression. Just maintaining a poker face felt like it might kill me.
Finally she bit down hard on her lower lip.
Then spoke quietly.
“I… lost….”
Yoon Seol-ah's admission of defeat cut through the suffocating silence.
The winner is Class 2's Yoo Ji-min!!
Nice!!!
Fuck!!!! I won!!!!!!!!
Joy surged through me. An impossible comeback in a match that should have been unwinnable. This was the exact kind of situation that triggered an explosive dopamine rush. If I could, I would've broken into an Oompa Loompa dance right there, but—
“Good work, Yoon Seol-ah.”
I left behind one cool line and turned to leave. Forcing down the grin that kept trying to crawl across my face was fucking exhausting.
Hehehe. Beating an A-Class cadet? This is huge. You pathetic cadet bastards! Watching you run your mouths then suddenly shut the hell up is incredibly satisfying! I need to get healed fast and brag to Nam Yeon-woo!!
So I didn't see it.
What kind of face she was making behind my back right now.
Or how fiercely her eyes were burning.
At that moment, I had no idea.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The next day.
On my way to the academy.
Yesterday's win was mostly luck.
Honestly, it might as well have been a loss. Throughout the entire fight, all I did was get my ass handed to me. None of my attacks reached Yoon Seol-ah, and every chance to counter was shut down completely.
The result was victory, but looking at it objectively, it was basically a total defeat. Without the heart-failure experience, I never would have won.
The real problem is what comes next….
Process aside, I had beaten Yoon Seol-ah of A-Class. Easy opponents were definitely off the table from now on.
Still, there weren't many A-Class cadets. That meant the next match would likely pit me against at least B-Class or higher.
After the way I fought yesterday, even a B-Class cadet would destroy me….
I knew there would be a gap between us, but I hadn't realized just how overwhelming it was. On top of that, A- and B-Class focused heavily on real combat, so promotions and demotions happened frequently—meaning the students moved around a lot. In other words, the B-Class monsters might be just as terrifying as Yoon Seol-ah.
This won't work. I need a plan.
I desperately needed new skills. My magic power reserves had to increase dramatically too.
Only one answer, then.
Let's hit the manpower office tomorrow.
My weekend date with Ha-eun was set for Sunday, so Saturday was free.
Originally I'd planned to buy clothes and get a down-perm at the salon the day before to prepare. But no matter how I looked at it, I didn't have time to relax.
I needed to clear D-rank gates, collect souls, spin the gacha, and farm as many magic stones as possible to get even a little stronger.
With my thoughts organized, I was about to step through the academy gates when—
Huh? What's that girl doing over there?
A female cadet with flaming red hair in the distance. Her eyes burned like she wanted to devour someone alive. Her uniform top was undone and she kept glancing around, clearly searching for someone.
Fuck… That's Yoon Seol-ah…?
I knew it instantly.
That bitch was hunting me down to settle the score.
No good… Without the heart-failure experience, if she starts something now I'm completely screwed.
Even with the experience, there was no guarantee it would work a second time. She'd felt it herself yesterday and might have prepared a countermeasure. Besides, a private fight outside of an official match would be a total loss. Disciplinary action was the least of my worries—the real problem was that the academy wouldn't heal me if I got injured.
There was zero chance I'd walk away fine after fighting that monster. I'd be half-dead and barely clinging to life. Even if I went to a hospital, they couldn't heal me as fast as the S-rank healer stationed here.
That would mean missing tomorrow's trip to the manpower office. I had to avoid that at all costs.
Heh heh heh. If she doesn't see me, problem solved.
Yeah, I'm not fighting~ You're a noob, remember? Time to play the meta.
After being bullied and ostracized for so long, I'd become a master at avoiding people's eyes. Dodging one red-haired cat was child's play.
I slipped past Yoon Seol-ah's line of sight and secretly entered the classroom.
Today I'm running away as much as possible. A veteran like me has plenty of tricks.
I executed a desperate evasion plan.
Every break, I sprinted to the bathroom, locked the door, and stayed there until the bell. Then I'd time my exit perfectly and slip back into class.
My ultimate secret technique—never encounter anyone.
Eventually it was lunchtime.
I was heading to a perfect hiding spot on the fifth floor that only I knew about.
When I glanced out the window, I saw Ha-eun talking with someone.
That someone had—
What the hell? Red hair?!
It was Yoon Seol-ah, the one who'd been searching for me.
Ha-eun seemed to be talking with her for a long time.
Just as Yoon Seol-ah started to turn around, as if sensing my gaze—
“Gasp!”
I ducked out of sight instantly.
Fuck… What is going on…?
Why was Ha-eun talking to that bitch?
Why had she been called out separately during lunch?
A thought hit me.
It's because of me….
Because I kept running away, Yoon Seol-ah had gone after Ha-eun, the person closest to me.
I didn't think she'd actually use violence against Ha-eun. Her tone was rude, but she didn't seem like a complete psychopath.
Then what on earth were they talking about…?
Right at that moment, my phone buzzed with a notification.
A message arrived—
What…?
Ever since the day we kissed, Ha-eun had never eaten lunch with anyone but me. She always stayed by my side during lunch.
That had been my only hope for surviving this shitty academy.
Could Yoon Seol-ah have threatened her?
No way. It had to be a coincidence, right?
But then—
“Hey! Idiot!”
A voice called out on the fifth floor where no one should have been.
Startled, I turned around. There stood Yoon Seol-ah with her arms crossed, leaning casually as she smirked at me.
She jerked her chin—follow me.
This… fucking bitch….
Was losing to someone like me that big of a blow to her pride? Was she pissed that the rumors calling her all hype or saying she got special treatment had only gotten louder because of me?
Whatever. It didn't matter.
You touched someone you should never have touched.
I had waited a very long time.
And now I finally understood.
The one person who never misunderstood me. The incredibly precious person who saw me exactly as I was. The only person who always smiled when she looked at me.
Ha-eun was more precious to me than anything else in this world.
Yet you dare try to separate us?
Try to steal the one happiness I've finally managed to grasp?
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
My heart began pounding like crazy. My vision slowly darkened.
“Haa… Haaah…”
My breathing grew ragged. It became hard to breathe. But at the same time—
Grind. Grind.
My teeth clenched so hard they creaked.
It was obvious that if I fought her now I would lose. I didn't have the heart-failure experience or even my sword.
Even so, I couldn't run away.
I will never forgive this. Never!! You fucking bitch!!!
I'd get my ass beaten?
I didn't care.
Dogfights were my specialty anyway. I'd drag her into a dirty, ugly brawl.
It doesn't matter if I can't win. I will never give up.
Even if it costs my life, I'll rip every last piece of clothing off you and leave you completely naked!
You shitty fucking bitch!!!
I followed Yoon Seol-ah up to the rooftop.
The rooftop garden was completely empty—everyone had gone to eat lunch.
There, Yoon Seol-ah and I faced each other.
“…….”
Her usual bright, smiling face was gone, replaced by a hardened expression. I glared at her without saying a word.
I clenched my fists tight.
Ready to charge at her the second I needed to.
Right then, Yoon Seol-ah spoke.
“Hey. Idiot!”
“…….”
She called me an idiot?
Then you'd be the girl who lost to this idiot. Starting today you'd be the woman who ends up naked in front of that same idiot.
Immense rage boiled up inside me.
I was about to unleash a torrent of curses.
And then she continued.
“Let's date! Starting today, it's day one. Got it?”
“Yeah! You fucking b—.”
Huh?
What did she just say…?