Chapter 5
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Sparring Training (1)
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[Team 1]
Elapsed Time: 10 min 23 sec
1/40
[Team 3]
Elapsed Time: 26 min 17 sec
3/40
"I'm... third place?"
The silver-haired, red-eyed girl, Yoo I-seol.
She felt a massive headache from the sheer shock.
There are three martial families in Korea known as the Three Great Martial Houses.
They originated from three heroes who shone during the Red Gate incident, and when their children also became outstanding heroes, they naturally rose to represent Korea's hero clans.
Yoo I-seol, who inherited the blood of the Yoo Family, had never once lost first place in her life.
She inherited the mana of the first hero, Yoo Kang-cheon, granting her glowing red Demon Eyes, along with spearmanship directly taught by her grandfather and father.
Even her grades had never slipped from number one.
But things changed after entering Orbis Academy.
Her entrance ranking was second.
Though still top-tier, it was the first time she'd been dethroned from first, plunging her into deep shock.
'Did I get too complacent?'
She regretted her carelessness.
She'd thought first place was hers no matter how half-heartedly she tried, but that wasn't the case.
Shocked by losing first for the first time, she quickly rationalized it.
It was her own fault for underestimating the aspiring heroes at the same hero-training school.
'Not twice.'
And this time, in practical training.
She gave it her all.
She probably couldn't do better even if she tried again.
Yet the result was third.
Not even second—third.
"..."
Yoo I-seol's expression darkened.
"Hoo..."
But she soon returned to her usual face.
'At least theory and sparring are where I'm the best.'
Yoo I-seol consoled herself that her entrance rank was too high, so she got teamed with lower-ranked kids, landing her only third.
And Yoo I-seol was more confident in PvP than monster hunting.
With her pride-and-joy spearmanship and Demon Eyes that read mana and attack flows, she had no fear of defeat.
Sparring training.
Exactly as it sounds: two students pair up and test their skills against each other.
"Hey."
"?"
"Draw your sword."
Yoo I-seol said as she drew her training spear.
She'd clearly come prepared for battle.
With her personality that wouldn't settle for anything less than first, she seemed pretty pissed about her entrance rank and practical training results.
'But why me...'
I couldn't figure out why she'd pick me over Seo Ji-ho, the top entrance ranker.
In the game, you sparred with the protagonist.
"Sure."
No reason to refuse, so I drew my training sword too.
Tap, tap.
"Got a master?"
Yoo I-seol asked, bouncing her spear off the ground.
"Nope."
"...Hmm."
Thud!
She gripped the rebounding spear with both hands and charged at me.
'Predictable.'
It was the attack I'd expected, so dodging was easy.
Swoosh! Thud!
Yoo I-seol spun her spear once and shifted stance.
Yoo I-seol's signature pose.
In game terms, her skill activation stance.
Snap.
A smile crept onto Yoo I-seol's face.
She probably thought she'd won.
I just dropped my training sword to the floor.
Thud.
The training sword rolled away.
Yoo I-seol furrowed her brow.
"Hey, what the hell?"
Sorry to Yoo I-seol, but this was the proper way.
Just advancing my ranking match plan a bit early.
Use Iaido Technique, and Yoo I-seol becomes Yu/I-seol. Don't use it, and I get beat like a dog.
Iaido Technique was a weapon-activated skill.
What if you activated it without a weapon? Truth is, Iaido builds aren't easy.
Mess up and trigger the skill during training? Straight to jail.
Because Iaido Technique couldn't be controlled in power.
Drawing without mana was fine, but the moment mana infused, it triggered.
But ditching the skill in PvP or rankings tanked efficiency too hard.
That's how this technique was born.
Especially effective against sharp-eyed students like Yoo I-seol.
"Keep going. I don't need a weapon."
"What a fucking retard."
I assumed the Iaido stance.
No weapon.
Hummm.
I gathered mana.
But with no sword, the mana just swirled around me.
I glanced ahead.
Yoo I-seol was charging with her spear.
But for some reason, she looked slow.
'Hmm.'
She'd already entered my domain.
---!
No air-cutting sound this time.
No weapon.
Thud!
Instead, Yoo I-seol collapsed.
Yoo I-seol's red eyes were her 'Demon Eyes.'
They handled basics like seeing mana flows and even gauged opponents' skills.
That's why she was so arrogant.
Finding someone better than her was harder.
In fact, entrance first-place Seo Ji-ho and this guy Lee Han-su in front of her were both inferior.
Lee Han-su especially was way below.
That's why, during the practical exam, Yoo I-seol couldn't help but take interest in Lee Han-su.
How did someone with such meager skill one-shot the artificial monster?
And in this sparring training, she pondered.
'Hm?'
Then Lee Han-su passed before her eyes.
The guy who'd sliced the artificial monster in one hit during practicals and took first in field training.
'Hm... looks totally average no matter how I look.'
Yoo I-seol's eyes glowed red.
"..."
Yoo I-seol finished thinking.
"Whatever."
Then she approached Lee Han-su.
"Hey."
..
Yoo I-seol's Demon Eyes maximized at close range.
Like now, in ultra-close quarters, they peaked.
Yoo I-seol never closed her eyes even with attacks at her nose.
Her amplified Demon Eyes glowed redder, reading every attack.
But now, for the first time, Yoo I-seol felt terror she couldn't dodge.
The man's skill, barely above average, suddenly looked like a top hero's.
'Huh...?'
Her mind went blank white.
Yoo I-seol blinked.
No way her eyes were wrong, but she wanted to deny the scene.
Yoo I-seol knew.
Swinging mana without a weapon was idiotic.
Unless you were a mage wielding raw mana or a martial artist using fist techniques, it was pointless.
Moreover, Lee Han-su's stance wasn't martial arts or spellcasting—it was purely Iaido, drawing from the waist.
Just wasting mana pointlessly.
'Why...'
But Yoo I-seol's eyes denied it.
Because they were superior, seeing more—something ordinary people couldn't.
---!
Lee Han-su finally drew his sword from empty air.
And swung.
No sound, nothing happened.
Of course.
He'd just posed with nothing in hand.
'Wha...? Wha...?'
But Yoo I-seol had no choice but to collapse.
Nothing happened, but her lifelong-trusted eyes warned that not collapsing meant death.
Thud!
"Ah..."
Cold sweat poured from Yoo I-seol's body.
Her red Demon Eyes whispered to her.
[Good job. If you hadn't dodged, you'd be dead.]
"Huff, huff..."
Yoo I-seol's breathing grew ragged.
Her grip loosened, and the training spear rolled limply.
Clang...
Then her legs gave out.
Her head knew.
Nothing had happened.
So why?
"Wha...? Wha... uh... wha?"
Words wouldn't come.
She couldn't comprehend.
After a lifetime seeing others fall, now she was on the other side for the first time?
Her heart pounded.
'What did I do?'
First, doubt.
'Did I... lose?'
Then, reality.
"What're you doing?"
Followed by Lee Han-su's voice.
"You... just now...?"
"What?"
"..."
Whoosh!
Yoo I-seol shot up and bolted away.
"Fuck... fucking hell!"
Yoo I-seol squatted in the bathroom, spewing curses.
"Did I... lose?"
Her head spun.
She could accept losing at monster hunting, but not in her strongest area: PvP.
They hadn't even properly clashed—she just collapsed in fear.
"Arrrghhh!!"
"Hm? Someone there?"
"..."
A voice nearby.
Someone entered the bathroom.
'Arrrghhh!!!'
Yoo I-seol screamed inwardly, clutching her head.
She wanted to turn back time.
Just swinging the spear would've won.
Getting scared of some idiot dropping his weapon right in front of her.
"Hoo..."
Yoo I-seol calmed a bit.
It was a once-in-a-lifetime mistake. No big deal.
She'd obviously take first in theory anyway.
Theory wasn't decided by luck.
..
..
"I'll announce the Monster Studies quiz results."
1st: Lee Han-su
2nd: Yoo I-seol
3rd: Han Ain
...
That day, Yoo I-seol's world crumbled.
[Relationship with Yoo I-seol has changed.]
Bad → Interested
"Oho."
Effects already showing.
I turned off the treadmill and wiped sweat with a towel.
💪 Vitality Stat:+1
Trained all day after classes, and only +1.
"Not easy at all."
I'd just finished showering and was heading to the dorm when someone waited by the training room door.
Obsidian-black hair and eyes.
Arima Kanna.
"V."
Arima Kanna raised one hand in a V-sign at me.
"?"
First time seeing that gesture.