Clubs (2)
Time passed, and a week later I found myself still under Seo Jia’s one-on-one private tutoring, steadily honing my skills.
My sword paths and footwork, which had never possessed any real structure, were reborn on an entirely different level.
In the process I also discovered just how formidable a martial artist Seo Jia truly was.
Even I, who currently believed that the original protagonist Seong Hyeon would win against almost anyone barring some major variable, found her nearly impossible to defeat.
Whatever the case, being able to rely on Seo Jia’s help would become a tremendous asset for me.
After all, she seemed to hold a considerable amount of goodwill toward me.
The academy had reopened as well.
Part of the reason was that Kim Gabyul and I had caught the culprit so quickly, and the rest was that academy staff and outside personnel had finished restoring every damaged and contaminated building.
Which meant, of course, that I had to start attending classes again.
Today, as usual, the classroom was noisy.
“What are you gonna do if I just blast you away with wind? How are you even gonna dodge that?”
“Still faster than you, who can only use trash-tier magic, don’t you think?”
“This bastard’s lost it. Fine, then try me. Oh wait—does a martial artist getting wrecked by a mage count as total humiliation? If you’re scared you can just back out.”
“You’re crossing the line. All right, bring it! Today I’m gonna show you the difference in our levels. I’m not the same guy I used to be.”
A golden-haired boy and a sky-blue-haired girl were locked in a verbal brawl.
The golden-haired boy’s appearance was distinctive.
Tanned skin and blond hair, huh.
Something about him was trying to surface in my memory.
Their argument escalated until, first thing in the morning, the two of them were raising a ruckus about holding a spar.
Apparently more than a week without attending the academy had left them overflowing with energy.
Lee Gil-young walked in midway and I thought the situation might settle down—
—only for him to declare it looked fun, clear the desks, and volunteer as referee.
What kind of teacher is this?
Instead of stopping the fight he was actively egging them on.
Then Lee Gil-young, sensing my gaze, winked at me.
[What an interesting human.]
“…”
I was left speechless.
“Hey, why are those two fighting?”
Lee Yeonsul, who had walked in right in the middle of the sparring chaos, asked.
It had been a while since I’d seen her; she must have gathered plenty of monster materials, because her face was bright and full of energy.
“Haha, I only caught the middle of it myself, so I’m not entirely sure. Miss Gabyul would know better, wouldn’t she?”
At those words Lee Yeonsul turned toward Kim Gabyul.
“From what I overheard, they’ve known each other since middle school, but their relationship doesn’t seem great.”
Kim Gabyul answered while watching the two prepare for the spar.
“Sometimes it’s easier to talk freely with people you’re close to…”
Lee Yeonsul murmured as if she understood.
Strange—Kim Gabyul had said their relationship was poor, yet Lee Yeonsul somehow concluded they were close.
Lee Gil-young finished moving every desk and student against the walls, then stood the two combatants in the center of the makeshift arena.
From his coat he produced a pair of anklets and fastened one to each of them.
“If the barrier on these anklets drops below ten percent, you lose. Spar purely to test skill. Time limit is five minutes. Lee Ye-rin, Hwang Ju-hyeon—are you both ready?”
The sky-blue-haired girl with the ponytail and the golden-haired boy both nodded.
“Then begin.”
Once he confirmed every other student was pressed against the walls, Lee Gil-young started the match.
The moment it began, the golden-haired boy—Hwang Ju-hyeon—charged.
His mana was the same gold as his hair; it coiled around his fists and legs until his limbs seemed to shine with golden light. The sight was rather impressive.
Lee Ye-rin refused to be outdone and immediately cast her magic.
A fierce gale rose from the floor, swirling around her and cutting off Hwang Ju-hyeon’s approach. His face twisted in clear displeasure.
Even as he darted left and right trying to close the distance past the wind, Lee Ye-rin simply rode her wind magic, flying this way and that to keep him at bay.
“What are you even gonna do like this?!”
She layered mental attacks on top of everything else, leaving Hwang Ju-hyeon completely rattled.
“Wind Cutter! Wind Cutter! Wind Cutter! You can’t do anything, can you?”
“Argh! Just shut your mouth already!”
Finally pushed past his limit by her constant taunting and barrage of Wind Cutters, Hwang Ju-hyeon flooded his entire body with mana and lunged at her.
Lee Ye-rin dodged the charge the same way as before, throwing up wind barriers and gales to keep him in check.
But against someone burning mana like a madman, those measures meant nothing.
Every time a gale or barrier rose in his path he smashed it apart with fists and kicks, steadily closing the gap.
His mana drained away in great chunks with every exchange, yet he paid the waste no mind whatsoever.
He moved as if the only thing that mattered was landing a single punch on Lee Ye-rin’s body—everything else would take care of itself.
Their game of tag continued for quite a while.
Lee Ye-rin fled while harassing him with magic; Hwang Ju-hyeon pursued, destroying every obstacle in his way.
She dodged his attacks by the narrowest of margins. If the classroom had been even a little smaller, he probably would have caught her already.
The tense, entertaining match soon had the watching students cheering.
“Go, Hwang Ju-hyeon!”
“Lee Ye-rin, win this!”
About one minute remained.
Four full minutes wasted on tag—Hwang Ju-hyeon’s insides must have been burning.
Even so, the constant exchanges had dropped both of their barrier batteries to around fifty percent.
If things ended now, whoever had more battery left would take the win.
Hwang Ju-hyeon’s mana was nearly spent; only the faintest gold light still clung to his legs.
Lee Ye-rin had also stopped flinging checks at random and was carefully watching for openings.
Then her behavior changed. Whether to conserve mana or for some other reason, she descended from the air to the floor.
Hwang Ju-hyeon did not miss the moment.
He conjured a sudden burst of flame right in front of her face to blind her and charged.
With her vision blocked, Lee Ye-rin chose not to dodge. Instead she gathered mana into her fist and crouched low.
Rather than running blindly she was preparing a counter.
I felt a flicker of admiration for her composure.
Unfortunately for her, Hwang Ju-hyeon, now close enough, had already read the crouch.
Against an opponent whose center of gravity was low, he chose the perfect technique.
A soccer kick.
Every last scrap of mana concentrated into his leg until it blazed with brilliant gold light.
The instant he thrust his foot forward for the finishing blow, Lee Ye-rin sprang upward.
Her uppercut, launched while taking the soccer kick head-on, slammed cleanly into his jaw and sent him flying backward.
The barrier anklets made the painless exchange possible.
As Hwang Ju-hyeon’s anklet flashed red, Lee Gil-young called the match.
“Nice! I won! How’s it feel getting punched out by a mage?”
Lee Ye-rin sat on the floor, laughing as she raised her arm in triumph.
“What are you talking about? I won!”
Hwang Ju-hyeon walked over and offered her a hand.
She took it, stood, and looked at Lee Gil-young.
“I won, right?”
“The spar is a draw. Check your anklet.”
Lee Ye-rin scratched her head as she looked down.
Her anklet was glowing red as well—the signal that the battery had dropped below ten percent.
“Both of you hit ten percent at the same time, so it’s a draw.”
With the spar over, everyone began moving the desks back into place.
“What was that martial art you used at the end? Don’t tell me you’ve actually been better at martial arts than anyone this whole time.”
“Hey, you used magic too!”
Even while rearranging desks the two of them kept bickering.
At that level, maybe Lee Ye-rin was right and they actually got along pretty well.
“Which club are you joining?”
During break, Lee Yeonsul asked me.
“A club… I haven’t really thought about it yet.”
Come to think of it, right after the spar that morning Lee Gil-young had said:
“Club applications open starting today. You’re free to found your own, but you’ll need a supervising teacher and a minimum of three members. If you have questions, come find me in the faculty office later. That’s all. Dismissed.”
Yes, that was how he had put it before walking out.
Truly an unchangingly eccentric man.
Right—clubs. Where should I go?
Which club had the original protagonist joined?
I remembered it was the swordsmanship club.
Lee Jiwoo had followed the protagonist there.
Kim Gabyul… I wasn’t sure.
She probably never appeared in those scenes.
Most likely she ended up somewhere like the divine magic club.
The president of that club had been Kang Ha-seung, if I recalled correctly.
A holy mage contracted to the archangel Camael.
Which club should I pick?
A magic club didn’t sound bad either.
I was already studying black magic, after all.
Learning a lot of useful spells would definitely help down the line.
Or I could just follow the protagonist into the swordsmanship club.
I tried picturing myself as a member.
Sparring with Seong Hyeon every single day while watching Lee Jiwoo and Seong Hyeon coo over each other.
Just imagining it made me hate the idea.
Swordsmanship club—pass.
“What about you, Miss Yeonsul?”
“Me? Obviously the alchemy club. There’s a ton of stuff I want to try.”
“That’s impressive.”
“Gabyul, what about you?”
Kim Gabyul, who had been twirling a strand of hair, glanced at me before answering.
“I haven’t decided either. Do we have to pick soon?”
“Dunno? As long as we apply within the month it should be fine, right?”
Lee Yeonsul scratched her head and sighed.
“Lee Gil-young’s morning and evening assemblies finish so fast that it’s nice, but sometimes he really goes too far. How are we supposed to know the deadline if he never tells us?”
She had a point.