Chapter 307: The Carousel (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 307: The Carousel (1)
Their emotions were running high, each in their own way.
Beeeep!
The sound signaling the start of the match blared loudly.
Shin Yu-jeong, who had made it this far by charging in and overwhelming her opponents right from the start, changed her approach for the first time, raising her shield and choosing to observe her opponent's movements first.
‘She’s no pushover.’
Her opponent was none other than Son Seo-yeon.
Watching her as a teammate, one thing became crystal clear.
Her talent and skill were clearly a level above the other team members.
‘Though not as much as my Do-jin, of course.’
She was certain.
If not for the irregular named Kim Do-jin, Son Seo-yeon would have gone down as one of Korea University's greatest talents of all time.
It was infuriating, but she couldn't guarantee a victory.
No, in fact, the probability was practically zero.
So, was she going to give up?
‘Not a chance.’
She would just aim for something different.
Even if she lost, she wouldn't go down without a fight.
Even if she fell, she would make sure to land at least one solid hit.
‘Alright.’
She tightened her grip on the shield in her right hand and calmly collected her thoughts.
‘He said to start by calmly exchanging light blows.’
She moved forward, recalling the words Kim Do-jin had constantly repeated while teaching her.
As if responding to her, Son Seo-yeon walked out at the same time.
The two met in the center of the spacious training ground and swung their swords almost simultaneously.
Claaaang!
Sparks flew from the blunted steel training swords.
Kim Do-jin had said.
‘Observe your opponent carefully.’
He’d told her to meticulously watch her opponent's hand gestures, footwork, and even their expression while lightly trading attacks and defenses.
That’s where you’d find their next move, and the moves after that.
Shin Yu-jeong probed here and there with her sword, putting little force behind it as she watched her opponent's reactions.
‘…What the hell am I supposed to be looking for?’
She frowned slightly.
Her expression was blank, her hand and foot movements so small there was no sign to read. What was there to see?
But Kim Do-jin had anticipated even this and left her with his next words.
-Don't get pissed just because you can't see anything. Keep watching anyway.
She wasn't even sure what difference it would make, but she kept watching.
Because Kim Do-jin had said it.
In the past, maybe not, but the man he was now possessed an ability and trustworthiness she couldn't help but believe in.
Trusting him, Shin Yu-jeong calmly continued her attacks.
But that didn't last long.
Shwaak!
Because Son Seo-yeon, who had been calmly receiving her attacks, began to pick up her speed.
“Tch…!”
The arcs drawn in the air steadily increased.
Trying to follow each and every line was making her dizzy.
What did that bastard say to do in this situation?
‘No matter how dazzling the attacks are, only one line will actually reach me!’
Of course, finding that one line was extremely difficult.
Clang!
‘Found it…!’
She finally managed to find and block it.
The impact that traveled through her shield made her grimace.
‘Just how much strength did she raise with that slender body?’
She couldn't help but be impressed.
After that, moments of choice continued relentlessly.
Endless trajectories.
Amidst them, she had to pick out the real one and counter it, again and again.
Claaaang! Clang!
The more it went on, the more her posture solidified into one form.
A steadfast defense.
In other words, she was getting beaten without finding a single opening to attack.
In a dungeon raid, other dealers would take care of things in the meantime, but this was a tournament.
She had to handle both offense and defense all by herself.
‘Dammit… when should I strike?’
That's why she grew impatient.
She couldn't even get a feel for when, in what direction, or how she should thrust her sword.
“Kuhk…!”
A groan escaped her clenched teeth.
The accumulated impact from her shield now made her hand and wrist ache and throb.
Just then.
Thump!
Her trait belatedly awoke and began to activate.
The name of the trait Shin Yu-jeong received when she became an Awakened Being was ‘Endless Vitality’.
It possessed the ability to increase her recovery rate in proportion to the pain, impact, and wounds accumulated in her body.
The trait's power had finally awakened in response to the impact on her hand and wrist.
“Hoo…!”
Her ragged breathing began to even out.
Just as the heaving of her chest subsided.
“Ik…!”
Gritting her teeth, Shin Yu-jeong powerfully shoved her shield upward before the sword could connect.
Thwack!
A distinctly different sound of impact than before.
At the same time, Son Seo-yeon's sword was pushed back, floating in the air.
Her eyes widened slightly at the unbelievable repulsive force.
‘What just happened…?’
She saw it.
A bluish mana was enveloping her shield.
It was one of the skills said to be essential for any tanker.
‘Bash…!’
Bash.
A skill where one coats their shield with mana to increase its hardness and strike the opponent.
The resulting repulsive force had sent her sword flying.
‘Amazing.’
She was impressed.
Bash was a vital skill for tankers, but learning it was trickier than one might think.
You had to evenly distribute mana over the shield, and to use it not to strike the opponent but to deflect their weapon, you had to master the timing with your body.
‘I heard you have to be at least a B-rank Hunter to use it freely….’
Anyone with a certain amount of talent could learn it.
But coating the shield with mana so vivid it was visible to the naked eye and using it at the right moment was another matter entirely.
“Uwaaah!”
Shin Yu-jeong charged.
Son Seo-yeon's sword and arm had been knocked back, leaving her guard wide open.
If she missed this timing, she wouldn't have a single excuse even if Kim Do-jin cursed her out!
Shin Yu-jeong closed the distance before her opponent's broken posture could recover and thrust her sword.
Fwsh!
She was sure of it.
‘This one will land!’
Even Son Seo-yeon wouldn't be able to do anything about this move.
That's what she thought, for sure.
[Tournament Concluded.]
But why.
[The winner is Aspirant Son Seo-yeon.]
Was the sword that had been knocked away now touching her neck?
“……”
It wasn't that she hadn't seen it.
She had even read the entire trajectory of the sword as it came toward her neck.
And though she'd tried to raise her shield to block it, she couldn't.
‘The sword… it curved as it came in.’
It was literal.
The sword, which had started from a distance, flew in a straight line before suddenly bending its trajectory right in front of her shield, rendering her final line of defense useless as it touched her neck.
‘Fuck….’
Shin Yu-jeong let the hands holding her sword and shield fall limp.
‘She’s fucking strong.’
It was frustrating.
But strangely, she didn't feel bad.
It was a shame she couldn't land that one hit she wanted, but what could she do?
She'd just have to wait for the next time.
Shin Yu-jeong gave a bitter smile and extended her hand to her.
“It was a good match.”
Son Seo-yeon stared at the outstretched hand for a moment before reaching out to take it, smiling pleasantly as she replied.
“You were really amazing, too.”
“Amazing? I couldn't even land a single hit.”
“Ah, no. That's not what I meant…”
Son Seo-yeon immediately grew flustered when she stared back with a serious expression.
Seeing this, Shin Yu-jeong let out a small laugh and reassured her.
“I'm kidding, just kidding.”
“Ah, right… kidding.”
She was visibly relieved.
To change the subject, Shin Yu-jeong asked again.
“What was that sword technique you used at the end? Is that also Hunter Son Si-woo's swordsmanship?”
“Yeah… it is.”
“It was curving all over the place… What's the name of the technique?”
“Th-that's.”
Son Seo-yeon's face suddenly turned red as she started to stutter.
Why is she acting like that? I just asked for the name of a sword skill.
While she was wondering.
“S-Snake Catcher Sword Skill…”
“Ah.”
No wonder she was embarrassed.
Shin Yu-jeong understood immediately.
*
A rather one-sided fight.
But the end was different.
When Yu-jeong used the Bash she'd kept hidden until now to create a perfect opening, cheers erupted.
“Whoa! A Bash right there?!”
“That timing was sick!”
And when Son Seo-yeon used her dad's swordsmanship to perfectly counter it and seize victory.
“……”
“……”
No one could speak.
It was that amazing, that bold.
While everyone was silent, just swallowing nervously, only one female scouter spoke up.
“…I want Son Si-woo's genes.”
She said it in an envious tone, but it sounded strangely lewd and got me a little worked up.
I even thought about giving her some if she was pretty.
“Ah.”
But no can do.
Not my type.
Anyway, moving on.
“…She's pretty good.”
She said she learned my swordsmanship by watching over my shoulder, but I never thought she'd have mastered the Snake Catcher Sword Skill.
“That one's really difficult.”
More than anything, it's a technique that requires a lot of wrist strength.
You have to change the sword's path several times mid-swing.
She still hasn't solved her own puzzle, but this time, she deserves praise.
For thinking of the Snake Catcher Sword Skill out of all the techniques she could have used.
And for boldly choosing offense over defense to cut off her opponent's momentum and seize victory.
“…Though it did scare me a little.”
Of course, the process was chilling.
If that had been a real fight, it would have been like launching a counter without blocking the sword coming at her.
I wonder who that young kid takes after to be able to pull off such a daring move.
“She definitely takes after her mom.”
She has to.
.
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After the tournament marked the end of all the exams, it was time to announce the successful applicants.
The results were as expected.
1. Son Seo-yeon (B-rank)
Seo-yeon was the only one to pass as a B-rank; the rest, while all top-tier, passed as C-ranks.
Na-eun and Elena, too.
They were happy just to have passed with high scores, but there was one person.
“Hey… stop scowling.”
“Ugh, whatever.”
Only Shin Yu-jeong was fuming with her arms crossed.
Well… the reason was obvious, wasn't it?
“I came in second… Dammit, why am I a C-rank?”
She'd passed in second place but was assigned C-rank.
Considering her rank, it was understandable to be disappointed, but it was actually a fair assessment.
Yu-jeong was a bit stronger than others at her level, but it was still a stretch to call her B-rank.
If I had been an examiner, I probably would have made the same call.
Of course, I couldn't say that out loud.
“Hey, it's fine. A C-rank who placed second is basically a C-rank that's almost B-rank, you know? You can just clear some dungeons, rack up points, and you'll get promoted in no time.”
What else could I do?
It was better to coax and soothe her than to hit her with the facts.
My words seemed to comfort her a little.
Then she glanced up at me and asked.
“So in the end, Seo-yeon Sunbae gets to make the wish.”
“I… guess so?”
The promise was to grant the wish of the person with the best score.
“Hoo…”
She let out a deep sigh and shook her head.
I don't know what she's so worried about.
It's not like a wish from Seo-yeon would be anything that outrageous.
Just then, Seo-yeon happened to be nearby, so I asked her directly.
“Seo-yeon Sunbae, so what are you going to use your wish for?”
“Ah… the wish.”
As if she already had something in mind, Seo-yeon opened her mouth right away.
“Then, um… will you go to an amusement park with me…?”
…Huh?