Chapter 113
Chapter 113
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 113
Chapter Title: Episode 38. The Thing Writhing in the Depths (3)
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Inside the video.
Yong Tae-ha of the Yong family, a genius swordsman, draws his blade.
His opponent is Cadet Sophia Borcova.
Yoo Ji-tae was watching footage of their private spar from a week ago.
The gong sounds. Both step forward at the same time. On their first clash, Sophia thrusts her rapier deep, but Yong Tae-ha angles his longsword to deflect it. His follow-up counter is razor-sharp. The longsword arcs overhead toward Sophia's head.
Right up to this point, Yoo Ji-tae could already see the outcome.
Sophia blocks Yong Tae-ha's sword. Her motion is wide. Yong Tae-ha uses the rebound force to spin his blade and target her head from the opposite side. Sophia blocks again. Once more, her motion is exaggerated.
The flow completely shifts to Yong Tae-ha. In terms of 'finesse,' he was two steps ahead of her. His subsequent attacks flow as naturally as water. Sophia, with her exceptional reflexes, manages to fend them off somehow, but her movements are unnecessarily large every time.
Of course, 'large' by superhuman ranker standards. To the cadets, it would look like solid defense. Sophia's skill level was undeniably high.
But if the sword tip wavers even 1cm, the joints stiffen for about 0.03 seconds. Yong Tae-ha exploited that window efficiently. He knew how to accumulate it. Thrust. Slash. Slash. Thrust. Once the rhythm broke, it snowballed uncontrollably. Sophia was pushed back, and back again, relentlessly.
Outcomes varied by regression cycle, but typically, Yong Tae-ha entered the world rankings' double digits within 15 years. Few in the world surpassed his swordsmanship talent.
This match proved it.
The kid was putting on quite the adult performance.
Sophia's rapier pierced toward his abdomen like it was tunneling through. It disrupted Yong Tae-ha's flow by half a beat.
Yoo Ji-tae dodged by adjusting distance. Sophia's rapier, empowered by her blessing 「Refraction」, defied inertia and surged upward. Yong Tae-ha kicked off the ground, bending his body like a bow and tucking his chin, but the rapier still grazed his jaw. A bit of HP shaved off.
This much was forgivable.
But what came next was the highlight. The next time the same situation arose, as the rapier thrust toward his lower abdomen, Yong Tae-ha subtly altered his longsword's angle. Caught between guard and blade, the rapier couldn't leverage Refraction at all.
A tiny adjustment. A massive payoff.
Even for an incomplete body, a regressor had to admit it was solid handling.
And sure enough, the comments below overflowed with cadets' stunned reactions.
Sword spars were endless exchanges of problems. Solve the opponent's easily and efficiently. Pose difficult ones in return.
In that regard, Yong Tae-ha was peerless among his age group.
In the end, Sophia took a couple of solid raps from the training longsword, missed a step, and tumbled out of bounds. Her frustrated curses echoed.
"Ugh, so frustrating, seriously?"
Sophia's real-life voice snapped him out of it. He looked up.
This was the Colosseum prep room.
Team "Yeoreum and the Morons" had skipped classes and gathered since morning for heated debates.
"What kind of C-47 passage is that? I said no."
"Just smash through. Why detour?"
"You idiot, how many times do I have to say it? Brute force won't work!"
Sophia snapped at Yeoreum's nonchalant reply.
"That narrow passage has over 20 FG-type monsters. How do you brute-force that? You a tank? A bulldozer? Charge in relying on strength, and you'll be sucking your thumb for 30 minutes. That what you want?"
"So. Go the long way via A-9 like you say?"
"Yeah. Main road, so if you're nimble, it's way faster."
"Oh. So nimble you're still at 20 minutes? Oh, sis~. That's why you won't do. Everyone knows A-9's cleared. Think no other parties there?"
Bickering ensued.
Opinions and rebuttals flew over the strategy route.
"If you're that hot, at least be smart."
"What's wrong with my face? You don't know my name's top search?"
"Yoo Yeoreum's lackey?"
"Done talking, you?"
Tensions rising.
"...Um."
Kim Ji-in spoke up.
Like a bobcat bristling with venom. As the two pairs of eyes locked on, she averted her gaze but pressed on.
"I think D-19 looks decent too......"
"What?"
Trembling, Kim Ji-in explained her idea.
The bristling bobcats quieted.
"Hm...... Sounds plausible."
"I got A+ in Pathfinder, after all. Operator suits me."
Meanwhile, So Ji-ro scribbled the plan. The chubby boy's sturdy hands lent the document real shape, more polished than the three girls' efforts.
Once sorted among themselves, they presented it to Yoo Ji-tae and Mikhailov.
This was Mikhailov's idea. Let them struggle first instead of helping from the start.
The regressor agreed readily.
"Looks solid. What do you think, Ji-tae?"
Not bad.
"...Good."
Only after his approval did their faces light up.
But no time to celebrate. Next dilemma awaited.
For position-specific drills, Mikhailov volunteered to lead.
Boss fight training fell to Yoo Ji-tae inevitably.
"Underground rift boss goes humanoid and wields gravity blessing. Even if you down it successfully, you're rooted while it flies like a fly. Front fighters need sharp shooters to deal damage."
Front fighters: Yoo Yeoreum and Sophia.
Suddenly aware of their importance, they tensed.
The drill was simple. Yoo Ji-tae manipulated mana to impose 20x gravity across the entire sub-space training room.
Instantly, Kim Ji-in's stance crumbled. A ton on her back—she barely stayed upright. So Ji-ro flopped flat.
Watching Yoo Ji-tae's divine feat from afar, Mikhailov chuckled inwardly. Uniform gravity increase over the whole space without blessings? How finely did he control mana?
'Knew he was a monster, but......'
As he marveled, Yoo Ji-tae approached staggering Kim Ji-in.
"Best Lightning Strike training. Adapt once, get the knack. Second's easier."
"......"
Her words about hating herself if she hindered Yeoreum weren't empty.
Kim Ji-in drooled and teared up, refusing to collapse.
So Ji-ro staggered back up too.
"You, musket. You, bow."
Weapons usually light as feathers now felt mortal. Kim Ji-in ground her teeth, squeezing her shoulders repeatedly.
Failure. The musket weighed like a metal slab with a body chained to it. Lift with one hand?
Whether sensing their plight or not, Yoo Ji-tae said tonelessly.
"Raise your weapons."
So Ji-ro succeeded first. Boyish strength, lighter bow helped.
After 30 grueling minutes, Kim Ji-in finally hoisted the musket, aiming at Yoo Ji-tae.
Then he dispersed the crushing mana.
Kim Ji-in slumped, clutching her gut, then crawled to vomit in the corner.
Alarmed, Mikhailov rushed to pat her back.
Panting, sweat-matted bangs half-covering her eyes, she asked Yoo Ji-tae.
"...Has Yeoreum done harder training?"
No answer.
"Rest. 10 minutes, then again."
"Yeoreum... has she done worse than this?"
Silence.
Realizing silence meant yes, Kim Ji-in blanked out.
Now she saw Yeoreum anew, puffing a cigarette across the sub-space.
"......No wonder we're falling short."
Training continued. By nightfall, So Ji-ro and Kim Ji-in adapted somewhat to 20x gravity. But mentally shredded, they looked 20x more depressed than before.
Yoo Ji-tae watched their gloom and resolved something.
He took them to the commercial district, into a quaint artifact armory.
Luxury artifacts lined like high-end fashion greeted them.
"......?"
"Eh...?"
Confusion overlaid their melancholy.
No decent artifacts, just cadet-issue gear. No guardians or family/guild backing.
"Pick one each."
"Pardon?"
"I'll buy."
"Ehhh!? For real? B-but...!"
The regressor recalled Yeoreum's gloom, and how Bom had lifted it.
Shocked, they waved hands in refusal, but expressions shifted once holding artifacts.
Yoo Ji-tae dropped 85 million won cash that day. They clutched weapons like dreamers, following him.
"Th-thank you......"
Fine when gripping weapons. Fine at checkout. But on the dark alley out, harsh memories hit—Kim Ji-in burst into tears.
Clutching the musket case, she sobbed long. So Ji-ro sniffled, consoling her.
But the regressor replied indifferently.
"Get up. We're busy."
"Y-yes......"
Three days to prep was tight.
Colosseum. Main conference room.
Yoo Ji-tae attended the briefing for mission 「B+ Grade Underground Rift Conquest」 with Mikhailov.
Professor not here yet. About 30 guardians present—mostly top cadets'.
Atmosphere sour.
"Like they're about to eat each other."
Mikhailov summed it up.
Thirty guardians. Few talking. Some glared openly, auras flaring.
Cliquey chatter was the only noise. Rest standoffish.
"What's with them."
"No rumors?"
Mikhailov stroked his mustache, lowering voice.
"Yong family and Erpan Guild clashed big."
"Why."
"Cadet Yong Jin-yong and Erpan's kingpin cadet sparred. Insults flew. Bumped post-spar. Fists, first punch lost big. Guardians grabbing collars now. Lair hit both hard."
"......"
"Credits got 'em feral."
"Why act uninvolved. Heard you collared someone."
"Oh. Knew? Thought not."
RIL recently brawled Japan's Quantum Guild. Quantum cadet 'accidentally' sabotaged RIL's mission. RIL cadet missed deadline, lost points, time, effort.
Not all blades drawn, though.
"Hello. First greet here. Ha Jong-kwon of Ha family."
Some approached Yoo Ji-tae directly.
Guardians of top-but-not-peak cadets.
"Yoo Ji-tae."
"Uh, lately, Yeoreum's combat vids. My kids watch tons."
"Ah, yes."
"Knew she was strong, but now she's leagues ahead. Heard guardian trained personally."
"...Yes."
"Respect. Truly impressive. How in one month...... Ah, right. Pan! Come here."
Ha guardian called a Chinese one.
"Hello. Pan Yong. Your fan."
"Pardon?"
"Too sudden? Means Yoo family fan. Heh."
"......"
"Remember, that notice on Yeoreum's solo training?"
Yes.
"Worried then. Could she grow? Nosy from stranger, but...... proved us wrong spectacularly."
Chinese guardian chuckled heartily.
"Free yet excellent rearing. Any guardian respects that."
Pan clapped.
Yeoreum's rising streak boosted her rep, spreading Yoo Ji-tae's tales naturally.
Now his name in unknown circles, good or bad.
Glances now, unkind. Yeoreum's 25 wins crushed 25 cadets. He noted names, orgs.
"Ah, not this. Introduce contacts?"
Next, Norwegian, Argentine guardians greeted.
Awkward at first, eased by others. Flood of empty praise: admirable, impressive.
Suddenly surrounded.
Yoo Ji-tae felt nothing, said little, nodded through.
"Mind group selfie?"
"Me too."
Middle-aged men shoved watches. No reason refuse. He posed.
"All together?"
Mikhailov roped into group shot.
Middle-aged men chattered, sharing pics noisily.
Regresssor found it absurd.
"......"
Where's the professor.
Time left to mission 「B+ Grade Underground Rift Conquest」.