Mock Battle (Mid)
"I'll find a way! You two cover my gap!"
At my shout, the two of them followed my lead without a word of protest. The problem wasn't the monsters' relentless assault—it was endless, sure—but their attacks weren't all that powerful. As long as we held the defensive line, we could manage fine without me for a bit. Especially with Kiru's shield proving so effective. It completely blocked my body from view, so no attacks came my way at all.
In trade, Kiru got zero protection herself, drawing all the fire. But "Ahahaha!" she didn't even flinch, tanking the monsters' blows with her body.
I figured as much, but seeing it for real... the disconnect is wild.
...Not the time to dwell on that.
I focused on Sense Qi. My usual low-level scan wasn't cutting it. I pulled in every ounce of mental energy I'd been using for Gather Qi and poured it into grasping this gate's qi flows.
In the end, everything in this world boils down to qi currents. With sharp enough Sense Qi, you could read almost any situation.
And the muscle memory etched into my body didn't disappoint.
"There. The thing forcing the scattered qi to clump back together."
Scattered qi doesn't just reassemble on its own without some trigger. It's like expecting a severed arm to reattach just because you hold it to the stump. So there had to be some medium causing it—and my Sense Qi pinpointed it in seconds.
"Where?!"
"Way over there. Maybe 20 meters?"
Yujin's groan rang in my ears. Twenty meters. Close enough in theory, but piercing that nonstop monster rush? Felt impossibly far. And none of us had ranged weapons, right?
That's what he's thinking. Looks like Yujin needs remedial lessons. Stick to the basics, I said. The basics.
I used my body's qi as a seed and expelled it outward. Emit Qi. No ranged weapon needed; this covered it just fine.
Sense Qi. Gather Qi. Emit Qi. The three core laws of qi manipulation. Master these, and you'd score at least 50 points by design—even for first-years.
Of course, for rookies on their first go, staying calm and basic in a pinch like this was tough.
"Hup!"
I fired a burst of qi at the spot I'd sensed. The solid impact rippled through my skin, accompanied by a sharp crack! The monsters' wave of attacks halted instantly.
"Grraaaaaah!!"
Instead, they started writhing together like they were trying to form some massive meatball out of themselves. Screeching, they tangled into one. Any faint sense of self was obliterated, reborn as a new entity. Yujin stared at the grotesque sight, dumbfounded, and muttered:
"They're... fusing?"
"Something like that."
If they could regenerate no matter what, a swarm rush made sense. But without that? Split up, they'd just get picked off. Better to merge into one concentrated force.
Flip that around, and...
"Take that thing down now, and it's a perfect score."
"...Think we can?"
"Of course we can, you idiot!"
By canon, this was a tough matchup for average first-years. Perfect scores went to the super lucky or total OP outliers way beyond year-one level. A 50 was basically passing.
But here? We had two OPs. Me, obviously. And Kiru, packing power far above first-year even now.
Not that she could unleash 100% of it, given her circumstances. But mid-tier monsters like that? No reason we couldn't smoke 'em.
"Alright, Kiru. You with the shield, lead the charge. It'll come at us the second it forms. Tank it for us."
"Mmm~"
But then this girl tilted her head and started yapping nonsense.
"Y'know, now that I think about it. Didn't you say your Unique Ability handles light and darkness at the same time, Hyowon?"
"...And?"
"I wanna see it! Show me once!"
Suddenly!?
"No, I mean, it could really help. Light and dark—yin and yang, right? Gotta be an insane power~ That's what I figured. So show us now. You can do it, yeah?"
What the hell? Focus on the fight. This is basic-skills training, not show-off time for advanced tricks.
I snapped at her to concentrate, jerking my chin. She wasn't wrong, technically. If I could unleash my Unique Ability, that blob was toast in one shot.
If I could.
I haven't learned it yet. How the hell am I supposed to use it?
The original Joo Hyowon probably could. But me? No clue. Unique Ability manifestation falls under Emit Qi, but it's advanced beyond basic qi projection. If arithmetic's plain qi orbs, this is solving equations.
I could probably force it... but why risk it when we could win without?
"Huuung~ You two are so picky. One of you could show your true colors, y'know."
"I'm already showing mine. Focus."
The enemy had fully formed by now. A black, rippling fox-like shape radiating mid-boss vibes from some manga. Design-tool fodder, sure.
No prior huddle needed—we fell into formation naturally. Kiru up front with shield as tank. Me in the middle with katana as DPS. Yujin rear with his extended stake for poking and chip damage.
And our unspoken plan hit dead-on.
"Kyeng!!"
The monster's strikes bounced harmlessly off Kiru's shield, dealing zero real damage. My blade slipped perfectly into the gaps it opened for attacks. Even the occasional tricky shot Kiru couldn't block? Yujin cut them down flawlessly. Minimizing our damage.
Three people each pulling their perfect weight? More than enough for this thing. Our clean trio combo proved it.
After that flashy fusion show, the monster couldn't land a single solid hit.
Easy.
Ahh, the power of a cheaty possessor.
Honestly, this was basically my first real fight, so I'd worried I'd freeze up. All the power in the world means squat if you panic in combat.
But facing a monster charging to kill? My brain flooded with adrenaline, wiping fear and igniting pure battle lust instead.
There. Enemy's there. Kill the bastard. Fight! Fight! Fight!
The possessor's mind had overwritten Joo Hyowon's, but her brain chemistry remembered her killer instinct. And I rode that high gladly.
I could see the monster's qi thinning as my blade carved it. A few more hits, and it'd crumble.
Time for the finisher. I gripped tight with both hands.
End it!
...Or so I thought. In a flash, like some resurrection, its qi surged back full force.
"Huh?"
I registered it—just as its forepaw slammed my side.
※ The two instructors sensed the anomaly inside their created gate right away.
"...Feel that, Sonya? Something changed in there."
"...The mock target just powered up way beyond normal. Shouldn't happen."
It was designed for first-years to barely squeak by. But now? Felt like second-year level—hell for them. Like it was getting external qi feed.
And the cause was probably...
"What now? Dismantle the gate?"
"Yeah."
Decision was swift. Test premise broken—no point dragging it out. Pushing for "fairness" and someone getting hurt bad? Bigger headache.
"...Just, if Vivian's prized pupil was only this good, a bit disappointing—"
"Hold up, Media. You feel that too?"
"...Oh my~ Tough cookie, huh? Eating a clean hit wide open like that..."
And standing right back up without a scratch.
※ "Aghhh..."
My guts were vibrating. Never took a side-hit like this—not even in school beatings.
Painful, yeah. But nowhere near debilitating. The lingering ache got shoved aside by the adrenaline torrent from my brain soon enough.
Reflexes saved my ass.
Right as the attack connected, I'd sucked in the monster's qi with Gather Qi to reinforce my side's guard. Weakened its blow, boosted my defense—downgraded lethal to "just hurts."
Pros don't react—they reflex. Nailed it.
Kiru, that bitch's doing.
Throwing a curveball this early in the prologue arc pissed me off, sure. But I knew she was like that from the start—no betrayal sting. Just lit a fire under me.
Confirmed: even ambush hits are manageable damage-wise.
So no need to hold back, right? Come at me, you fucker.