Chapter 66: A Man’s Pride
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 66: A Man’s Pride
“Ahyu, can you do me a favor? I need to get some revenge.”
“Yeah? What is it?”
“Just hug me for a second.”
“Huh?”
As I asked in all seriousness, Ahyu looked flustered, the tips of her ears turning red.
I felt bad asking my friend, who was like a little sister to me, but I hoped she’d just go along with it this one time.
“A man’s pride is on the line.”
“...Heehee, you can’t take it back later.”
Why did she suddenly look so excited?
“So I’m hugging you? For real?”
“Yeah, please.”
She giggled, stretched out her arms, and wrapped them tightly around my waist.
She even buried her face in my chest and looked up at me with a bashful smile.
For a moment, the distinctly feminine softness and sweet scent coming from Ahyu made my head spin.
Now that it was actually happening, I felt pretty embarrassed.
But when I lifted my head, determined to win this battle of pride, I saw Lee Su-ho, his expression completely shattered.
As if he couldn’t even see his girlfriend worrying beside him, he met my eyes, then bit his lip and slowly lowered his head.
I won.
“You idiot. How childish.”
Baeksan scolded me, but a win was a win.
Just then, I felt Ahyu rubbing her face against my chest. I froze and looked down.
“Ahyu, it’s over now, so you can let go.”
“No. You said you wouldn’t take it back.”
“How is this taking it back?”
“It is. I’m going to stay like this all day.”
Stop it. We’re starting to draw stares.
Regretting the impulse that had made me do this just to beat Lee Su-ho, I said to Ahyu.
“Miss Ahyu, what am I to do?”
“‘Lady Ahyu, I will serve you for the rest of my life. P-please, marry me!’ If you say that, I’ll let you off the hook.”
If that was all it took.
“So-ra, let’s get married.”
“Eek!”
Ahyu turned beet red and crumpled to the floor.
I’ll never understand why she always teases me like that only to fall for it herself.
I patted the collapsed Ahyu’s head a couple of times, then walked over to the wall and sat down.
It was still too early for her to challenge me.
“Are you really doing that on purpose?”
Baeksan gave me a look like I was insane, and I just scratched my head.
Well, she started it.
By the time I had taken Ahyu down and we were chatting, the sparring portion of the class had ended for everyone else.
The rest of the session was for feedback from the instructors, and my assigned instructor was none other than Jo Si-a.
“Yo, student Kang Ha-chan. I’m your instructor. Happy to see me?”
“Who’s that?” Ahyu asked, sidling up to me as Jo Si-a approached with her characteristic narrow-eyed smile.
Her eyes looked kind of sharp.
Seeing Ahyu among the students for the first time, Jo Si-a tilted her head.
I decided to introduce them to each other.
“Seo-ho’s girlfriend-wannabe.”
“Aha.”
“Hey, student Kang Ha-chan, are you trying to spread that rumor all over town?”
When Jo Si-a replied with a blush, Ahyu seemed to believe it immediately.
Then, Jo Si-a sidled up to me and asked quietly.
“Um, student Kang Ha-chan, is this person… this?”
She casually held up her pinky finger.
What was that supposed to mean?
“You’re bold. You have that thing going on with Ha Si-ho, and now this girl too. Have I been underestimating you?”
“I think the delusions in your head are running wild again.”
“For someone saying that, you two were hugging just a moment ago. Don’t worry. I’m a very understanding person. I can’t say you won’t get stabbed later, but I’ll keep my mouth shut until then.”
What was there to understand?
She was the one who should be worrying about her own future because of her misunderstanding.
“What are you two whispering about?”
Ahyu asked, lightly pulling my arm to separate me from Jo Si-a. I shrugged as if it were nothing.
“Ahem. Anyway, I was thinking of giving you some feedback and sparring a bit.”
Jo Si-a said, changing the subject.
An S-rank hunter was offering to train me personally, so I had no reason to refuse.
“We’ll have a simple spar, so come at me with everything you’ve got.”
When Jo Si-a said that with a provocative smile, for a moment I considered pulling out Thunderbolt.
But I had no intention of doing something that crazy, so I decided to fight using only my body and 0.1% of my aura.
“Alright, come on.”
While I got into a stance, Jo Si-a didn’t take one at all, so I could see an opening.
It was obviously a deliberate bait, but considering the gap between us, I had no other choice.
So I kicked off the ground and dove toward her.
My goal was to feint a punch, grab her collar, and throw her.
The moment I followed through with my simple feint, Jo Si-a’s eyes flashed.
And in an instant, my body was floating in the air.
Jo Si-a had grabbed the arm I extended, twisted it, and thrown me.
“Ugh.”
With a short cry, my body hit the ground, and I rolled once on the floor from the pain shooting up my back.
“Student Kang Ha-chan, have you ever learned martial arts?”
“Uh, yes, I have.”
“And you learned it recently, right?”
“That’s right, too.”
“I thought so. Your movements are precise, but your application is weak. In a real fight, your openings are obvious. At this rate, I can take you down without using a single ability.”
So that’s how it looks to an expert.
I patted my back as I got up.
It hadn’t even been a month since I started learning proper combat techniques from Baeksan.
In fact, being able to do even this much was a near miracle, so I could easily accept Jo Si-a’s advice.
“Every attack is a kind of flow. You lack connectivity in that flow, student Kang Ha-chan. It feels like you learned each move separately.”
As she spoke, Jo Si-a demonstrated the move she’d just used to throw me.
“I can perform that move from any position. You need to be at least at that level to use it in a real fight.”
“Hmph.”
Just then, Ahyu, who had been watching quietly, snorted.
When Jo Si-a and I looked at her, she gave a light smile.
“Connectivity of flow, huh. Sounds nice.”
Ahyu then walked forward and stood a short distance from Jo Si-a.
“You yourself lack that connectivity, revealing openings, so it seems there are a few problems with you giving advice.”
“...You see openings?”
As if her pride had been wounded, Jo Si-a’s eyebrow twitched.
“I’m in the mood. I’ll teach you a little. It’s a rare opportunity, so learn well.”
Ignoring her, Ahyu gave a sly smile and beckoned with her finger.
Perhaps because Ahyu was dressed as a student, Jo Si-a’s face was filled with disbelief.
To her, it was like a mere student claiming they would teach an instructor.
Feeling like she shouldn’t have to entertain this, she looked back at me. I gave a wry smile and said.
“Give it a try. You probably won’t regret it.”
“Regret it or not, I’m telling you it’s a rare opportunity.”
As Ahyu grumbled, Jo Si-a looked at me, then reluctantly turned back to Ahyu.
“...So I should be the one to attack?”
“Go ahead.”
As Ahyu generously yielded the first move, Jo Si-a let out a dry laugh but still got into a stance.
In that moment, an aura completely different from when she’d shown me an opening began to radiate from her.
A tingling sensation crawled over my skin, making me feel like I was facing a wild beast.
Within that aura, Jo Si-a took a short breath and shot her foot forward.
In that instant, it felt as if her silhouette compressed and then shot forward.
Her leap was so fast I couldn’t even follow it with my eyes, and her hands instantly closed in on Ahyu’s slender body.
“Watch closely. This is what flow is.”
At that moment, Ahyu’s feet began a strange step.
As if stepping on the surface of water, her light legs drew a circle, brushing past Jo Si-a.
Even though Jo Si-a was clearly much faster, Ahyu had easily dodged her.
Realizing this a moment too late, a shocked Jo Si-a immediately kicked off in the opposite direction and shot forward like a bullet.
As if intending to catch Ahyu for real this time, she moved to coil around Ahyu’s body like a snake.
But once again, as Ahyu took another step, Jo Si-a’s arms ended up wrapping around empty air.
This time, it didn’t end there.
Following Ahyu’s light steps, Jo Si-a was unable to escape the flow, stumbling around as if dancing. A moment later, when Ahyu broke the step, Jo Si-a fell flat on her butt.
It seemed she hadn’t used her abilities, but Jo Si-a, the S-rank hunter known as Imugi, hadn’t even managed to graze Ahyu’s clothes.
As Jo Si-a stared blankly at Ahyu, Ahyu, who now exuded the aura of Cheon Hong-ryeon as if from exertion, wore an arrogant smile.
“Wh-who in the world is this person...”
Jo Si-a asked, her speech instantly switching to honorifics. Ahyu placed her hands on her hips, puffed out her chest, and lifted her chin.
“The Strongest Under Heaven, Heavenly Demon Cheon Hong-ryeon. Do you now understand the value of my teachings?”
Ahyu, whose speech pattern had started to change, seemed to realize it and let out a dry cough.
Then, she turned back to me with a triumphant expression.
Watching her, I quietly asked Baeksan.
“Baeksan, what’s the difference between an S-rank returnee and an S-rank hunter?”
“A kid like that one could become equal to an S-rank returnee if she grows, but she’s the type who needs a new rank like SSS-rank. A normal, average S-rank hunter is about on par with or slightly weaker than an A-rank returnee.”
What on earth was an “average” S-rank hunter?
I felt like my common sense was getting more and more warped.
I’m pretty sure the returnee ranks were...
I knew the criteria for returnee ranks because I’d studied them before.
The factor that determines if a returnee gets an A-rank is whether or not they can open a dimensional gate and return on their own.
There are many kinds of returnees, and among them, those B-rank and below are not people who opened a gate themselves, but those who returned through some method that existed in their dimension.
Therefore, the number of returnees drops sharply from A-rank. In the case of S-rank returnees, it’s said that if they decide to hide, even the World Returnee Association might not know they’ve returned.
Like my sister, for example.
Information on my sister was scarce, but the fact that the World Returnee Association couldn’t track her confirmed she was S-rank.
Besides, the fact that she could intervene in the fight with Girasung and get away from Ahyu and Ms. Baek Seol-hyang said it all.
Anyway, Ahyu was an S-rank among such returnees.
It was only natural that Jo Si-a was no match for her.
“Kang Ha-chan, don’t you dare put that Heavenly Demon brat on the same level as a normal S-rank returnee.”
Just then, Baeksan suddenly warned me.
“The Strongest Under Heaven. That title was never broken, not even once, on an Earth overflowing with returnees right up until I regressed.”
Hearing that, I flinched and looked back at the brightly smiling Ahyu.
“On this Earth, at this point in time, there is no one who can win against her in a one-on-one fight.”
So Ahyu was a bigger deal than I thought.
For some reason, I felt like I should refrain from teasing Ahyu from now on.
“Then is she stronger than you, Baeksan?”
“Fuck, what do you take me for? I did beat her in the end. Though it was thanks to a dogshit mix of circumstances.”
Seeing Baeksan look at Ahyu with a fed-up expression, I could really feel Ahyu’s skill level.
The same Baeksan who turned the B-rank returnee Catherine into Pavlov’s incontinent dog couldn’t guarantee a victory against Ahyu.
Meanwhile, Ahyu trotted over to me.
“Ahyu.”
“Wh-what? Did you fall for me because I was so cool?”
“Even if you get mad, don’t hit me.”
“What? When did I ever hit you!”
“Always.”
And then I had to take a hit.
So unfair.