The Spear's Pressure
Inside the running van, Kang Jia sighed. "Haa..." A voice came from above. "Do we really have to go?"
"Yeah. Shit, haa..." Jihee asked. What choice did we have? We had to go, damn it. Finding Fenrir was already a nightmare, and now they were throwing high-risk monsters at us on top of that. After crawling through sewers, now what? Go to the Academy?
"But Sojeong, what are we even supposed to do there? The level's so low, a little demonstration and they'll probably all collapse." Jia asked.
What were we supposed to do? "We'll do a bit of combat practice first, and if that doesn't work out, we'll just teach some theory and leave... Haa, I don't even know anymore."
"Right, right, I don't know either. The assignment came way too suddenly. Shit, they could've at least given us time to prepare!" Jia chimed in, crossing her legs irritably and folding her arms. Her long white hair swayed.
"No helping it. That's how things are." Ryu Seojeong spoke up, head lowered as she filed her nails.
"Whether it's the higher-ups or the principal, they just can't handle the public opinion, so they're sending us as substitutes." Ryu Seojeong let out a small sigh. "Since the knights aren't doing their jobs, they want us to teach a bit and turn the public opinion around... Haa."
"That's right, Seojeong." Yeonhwa joined in. "The public opinion's already gone to hell anyway."
The atmosphere grew slightly heavy.
"Haa, enough, enough! The higher-ups said we could do whatever we want!" Jia cut in, quickly lightening the mood. "Let's just beat them up and teach them with our bodies!" Jia grinned brightly.
The Special Force had arrived. Hearts pounded uncontrollably. All the Academy students gathered in the auditorium, looking up at Han Sojeong standing on the platform.
"I think you all know why we're here today," Han Sojeong began.
"We've come from far away to show you what a real knight is."
Han Sojeong cleared her throat briefly. "Today, we'll be conducting combat practice. First, we'll assess your abilities and provide solutions accordingly. Make sure to follow along without missing anything."
"And..." She ended her short speech and looked down at the students below. My heart pounded painfully. The goal was right in front of me. The position I had to enter someday, no matter what. I looked at Han Sojeong. Even if her personality was similar to Han Yerin's, her skill was undeniably world-class. A true monster.
A moment later, Kang Jia, who had been standing behind, glanced at me. Her sharp eyes met mine. Even though I instinctively tried to turn my head, my neck felt stiff. Cold sweat ran down my forehead.
"Hehe." Kang Jia approached. What the fuck? What was this? My entire body was crushed under Kang Jia's unique presence. I desperately tried to look around, but everyone's faces were pale. Some had already collapsed, foaming at the mouth and rolling on the auditorium floor.
"Hmm..." As if what came before had been a joke, the range of her presence suddenly expanded. My body felt heavy. I desperately tried to keep my collapsing body upright with both legs. I couldn't breathe, my legs trembled, and my teeth felt like they might shatter from clenching too hard.
Yet somehow, I moved my body little by little. I couldn't fall. Han Yerin beside me grabbed my sleeve tightly.
"Hnn, ugh..." Han Yerin endured the presence with wide eyes. She took my hand. I almost shook it off but stopped. If I shook her off, she'd definitely cause a scene later. I moved my neck and arms to somehow relax. My body loosened slightly. My neck moved to some extent. But taking a step forward was impossible. Intense fear struck my heart. This was insane. Desperately trying to move, I raised my arm and slapped my leg.
"Hnnng...!" My foot moved ever so slightly.
"Oh?" Kang Jia looked this way and smiled. I forced a smile back. My heart raced like mad, as if I might die right there.
"Can you move?" Kang Jia approached and tapped my cheek. It felt like a cat crouching before a tiger. Fuck. My chest hurt so much I couldn't breathe properly.
"Heh." Kang Jia moved away. The pressure gradually faded. Cold sweat poured endlessly from my head. Thud— collapse. Thud— collapse. Collapse, collapse, collapse. I rolled my eyes to look around. The vast majority of students had collapsed, unable to withstand the presence.
This was... fuck, what the hell...
"Hoo!" When Kang Jia exhaled shortly, the presence that had filled the auditorium vanished in an instant.
"Hah, hah! Cough, hnn, haa...!" I gasped for the breath I'd been holding. For a moment, I grabbed my legs that had almost given out. Barely supporting myself, I looked around. The people still standing... including me, only thirteen.
Tap tap— The sound of a microphone being tapped echoed.
"Ahem. Now, everyone except those standing will just take theory class instead. Keep that in mind." Han Sojeong looked around.
"What you just felt was the basic pressure emitted by ordinary high-risk monsters."
"I believe you should at least pass this 'basic' level. Otherwise, there's no point in taking combat practice." Han Sojeong coughed briefly. "Right? Knights are supposed to hunt monsters. If you can't do anything in front of a monster and just collapse, can you call that a knight? No, absolutely not. That's just a regular person."
"So, those 'regular people' who collapsed are judged to have no value in receiving education, and will take theory class instead. Only the promising candidates who stood their ground here—those who will become real knights—will receive combat practice instruction."
"Any objections?" Han Sojeong looked around. "None. Then—"
"Congratulations to the thirteen cadets who passed the screening."
Han Sojeong bowed her head briefly, then looked up with a smile. "Let's continue."
"Haa..." Sitting at the edge of the auditorium, I sighed. That brief presence had completely overwhelmed me. So that was the pressure of a high-risk monster? I'd only heard about it, but experiencing it was on a completely different level. Dozens, hundreds of times stronger than the low-risk and mid-low-risk monsters I'd encountered before. My head spun. If high-risk was this bad, what about super high-risk...
"I-It was scaryyy..." Han Seolah sat beside me. Looking around, the collapsed students were being woken up and moved in groups. They said combat practice would start as soon as everyone was moved, so we were just sitting in the corner of the auditorium, resting idly.
"You okay?"
"Mm..." Seolah nodded. "Taeho, are you okayyy? You were shaking a lot..."
"Was I shaking that much?"
"Mm... Still, I was a bit surpriseddd..."
"Huh?" Seolah smiled slightly. "You moveddd..." Our eyes met. "Everyone else collapsed... and just trembled, but only Taeho moveddd..."
"Hmm..." Was that impressive? Fuck, I didn't know. Right now, I was just shocked. If high-risk monsters were like this, how would I endure in front of Fenrir... The path ahead felt bleak. A sigh escaped me.
From afar, Han Yerin approached. "Ugh..." When Seolah glared at her, Yerin lowered her head and quickly fled. Whew. Reliable! She felt like a talisman warding off evil spirits.
"Thanks."
"Hnn, th-that's not trueee..." Seolah blushed, fidgeting her legs, and leaned against my shoulder. Looking at Han Yerin in the distance, she was biting her thumbnail. Then Yerin approached again. But when she saw Seolah forming a magic circle, she quickly fled.
Seolah... You're really the best! Overwhelmed with emotion, I patted her head. It felt slightly fluffy.
"Hnn, you really hate Han Yerin, don't youuu..." I nodded. Seolah met my eyes. "Then, do you like meee...?"
What? Did she like me? "Of course."
Strong, cool, cute, and keeps Han Yerin away. Who wouldn't like her when she had nothing but good points?
"Hehe." Seolah hummed briefly. "Really, the best friend..."
The best friend I'd ever had, of course. The humming stopped.
"Hmm... Yeah..." Seolah's head lifted from my shoulder. "The best... among friends?" Seolah looked at me and smiled slightly. Of course! "The best."
"Mm... Yeah... Then what about Arin...? Last time you said Arin was the besttt..."
"Lee Arin?"
"Mm... Do you like me more than Arin?"
This wasn't even worth thinking about. "Yeah." I nodded immediately.
"Right... You haven't been hanging out with Arin latelyyy... Did something happen?"
Something happen? Nothing much, just having wind sex. Fuck. "Nothing happened."
"Reeeally? Hmm... It seems like something happeneddd..."
"Nothing happened."
"Mm, I seeee... Anyway, you like me more than Arin, right?"
Of course. "Yeah."
"...As a friendtt."
"Right."
"...Hmm. For now, I get ittt." Seolah spoke in a crawling voice. "Oh, it seems like it's almost overrr..."
After sitting like that for a few minutes, Seolah poked my arm. In an instant, people had left, and now only thirteen students, including me, remained in the auditorium. Han Sojeong stepped back onto the platform. She tapped the microphone to draw attention.
"Everyone else has left... Only Jia and Yeonhwa remain." Han Sojeong, Kang Jia, and Yeonhwa left the auditorium. "Now, everyone gather in front of the platform."
I stood up and looked down at Seolah. "Let's go now." I held out my hand to Seolah. She hesitated, then nodded and took it. It was slightly warm. It was worth staying by her side all day. We felt closer. I let go. The two of us slowly walked toward the platform.
"Right, everyone's gathered." Han Sojeong looked down. Thirteen students in the wide auditorium. With everyone gone, it felt empty, almost desolate.
"From now on, the combat practice will be conducted in teams of three, each facing one Special Force member."
What? "The draw will be random, and Kang Jia over there will be your opponent, so keep that in mind. Also—" Han Sojeong looked at Han Seolah beside me. "Cadet Han Seolah will face Yeonhwa here separately. Everyone else will face Kang Jia."
Wait. Weren't they supposed to teach us something? Just fight like that?
"Ah, sorry. You don't have to fight. Rather than fighting... it'll be more about 'enduring.'"
"Draw from this lottery box to form teams with the consecutively drawn people. Lastly, any questions?" Silence. "None." Han Sojeong nodded. "Then let's draw."
Swallowing nervously, I realized I couldn't be on the same team as Han Seolah anyway. So what I wanted right now was just one thing—not being teamed with Han Yerin.
Han Sojeong's hand moved around inside the box. "Kim Taeho." Please. "And..." "Lee Arin." I sighed in relief. "Hoo..." "And—" "Han Yerin." Fuck.
"Don't be too nervous. Hehe." Kang Jia looked our way. She was in her pure state, without any magic circles or supernatural powers. Yet steam rose from above her head from uncontrollable power. The Spear of the Special Force. The dealer of the Special Force. The center of "attack" that came to mind when thinking of the Special Force.
"I'll keep it simple and just use standing strikes." Her bright yellow eyes looked at me. An extreme state of tension. What? Just standing strikes? That was basically saying she'd kill us. Kang Jia was the world's best at bare-handed attacks. I'd seen it dozens, hundreds of times in videos and text. Someone who could tear apart monsters between high-risk and super high-risk with just one hand—doubted if she was even human. Fuck.
I quickly formed a magic circle in my hand and created a spear. I cast every support magic I could think of onto my body. Beside me, Lee Arin hurriedly created ice dragons, and dozens of yetis rose from all directions. Han Yerin gathered wind above her head to form a spear, lightning wrapped around both hands.
"Haa..." "Hoo..." "Hiss..." Blood boiled throughout my body.
"Ready?" Kang Jia raised her fist. After exchanging glances for a moment, the supervisor raised their hand. "Begin!" In a flash, right before my eyes, Kang Jia disappeared.