Chapter 87: Exchange Match (10)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 87: Exchange Match (10)
Yu Mujin.
One of the most powerful individuals in the world.
He was one of the few who could rightfully claim that title.
Earning the acknowledgment of someone like that felt good.
It also served as a benchmark to gauge my own standing.
I was rewatching the Exchange Match footage uploaded to Gaon’s database.
Analysis must always be the top priority.
Memories are easily swayed by the emotions of the moment, but a recording holds only the facts.
First, my own team.
Yoon Chae-ha.
Overall, she was excellent.
Her innate combat sense allowed her to maintain a perfect position without needing any specific instructions.
Her final barrier was particularly impressive. Outstanding.
She spread it thin while maintaining its density, incinerating all the specters without a single leak.
It was a masterfully executed defensive barrier.
“She’s good, very good…”
But if there was a problem, it was a single one.
I could tell she was far too conscious of me.
I’d been looking after her a lot lately—in class, at the training ground, and even just outside of school.
It felt like she had recently come to accept me as a true teacher, a mentor.
Her face clearly said, Aren’t I doing well?
She didn’t even try to hide it.
It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, since it was unlikely we’d ever become distant.
Still, I was a little worried about the future.
As long as it doesn’t develop into dependency, it should be fine.
And next…
Yu Hana.
Swish!
“Wow…”
It was breathtaking, even watching it again.
A One Flash so fast the camera couldn’t even keep up.
Before the smoke had cleared, before the specters could regenerate.
Aiming for that precise moment, she beheaded the unicorn in a single strike.
And the flower petals that bloomed in its wake.
A slash all her own, completely unconcerned with anyone’s gaze.
In many ways, she was a stark contrast to Chae-ha.
But that wasn’t a matter of who was better or worse.
It was simply a difference in disposition.
In the end, both were strong, and both were on the same team.
That concluded the analysis of my team.
I had only rewatched it to see if I’d missed anything.
As expected, I hadn’t.
Now it was time to look at the other teams.
[2nd Place: Team Yohan]
They may have been second place, but the time difference was only a few seconds.
In other words, if we had been just a little slower, we would have been the ones in second.
That meant their team had a key player of that caliber.
I pressed the play button on the video.
“…”
I needed to see who had performed so well.
In a broader sense, this review was also an extension of my care for Yoon Chae-ha.
Because the one responsible was probably Joo Seo-jun.
The video played out as I expected.
Joo Seo-jun held nearly all the decision-making power, from practical judgments and engagement timing to coordinating positions.
And the final part.
[Mythical Beast. Hornless Unicorn.]
The moment I saw how he dealt with it, I couldn’t help but let out a sigh.
“Well… I’ll be damned.”
I understood.
The reason he was able to handle the Hornless Unicorn so easily.
“…She might lose.”
I was serious.
The thought that Yoon Chae-ha could actually lose crossed my mind.
*
Today was the second day of the individual matches in the Exchange Match.
The first battle ended anticlimactically, just as I’d predicted.
A mid-tier swordsman from Gaon was no match for Yoon Chae-ha.
She secured a clean victory without a single scratch.
And now, it was the next day.
I called Yoon Chae-ha out early in the morning.
[belief_]: Hana, I have to cancel our workout this morning…
[OnE]: Why??
[belief_]: Mentor-mentee stuff…
My apologies to Yu Hana. Today’s workout was canceled.
She must have been pouting; she didn’t reply.
I arrived at the training ground first, sat on a mat on the floor, and waited quietly.
After a period of silence, I heard the sound of someone approaching from a distance.
“What mentor-mentee stuff? You haven’t called me lately… and this early in the morning?”
It was Yoon Chae-ha.
She was dressed in training clothes that fit her as if they were tailored for her, her hair tied back in a half-ponytail.
I had told her to wear something comfortable since we’d be sparring.
Her tone was blunt, but her steps were light, and a strange sense of anticipation tinged the end of her words.
This kind of hurts.
Today, I probably wouldn’t be able to meet those expectations of hers.
“Shall we start right away?”
“Well… fine.”
Yoon Chae-ha answered with a slight nod.
Her words were indifferent, but her eyes were faintly glazed with anticipation.
I slowly rose to my feet.
Yoon Chae-ha and the Hornless Unicorn.
Broadly speaking, their magic was similar.
You could describe it as an area-control type.
The unicorn spreads intangible beings called specters over a wide area to obstruct vision and dominate the battlefield.
Yoon Chae-ha unleashes wide-area flame magic, filling the battlefield with fire.
They both restrict the enemy’s movement on a stage of their own making, allowing them to land decisive attacks from within that framework.
That’s why I said the two were similar.
It was a method Yoon Chae-ha had constructed herself.
However, according to the video I watched yesterday…
The strategy Joo Seo-jun employed was the perfect antithesis, a complete counter to those kinds of magic.
Single-Point Breakthrough.
Fundamentally, magic has a concept called ‘Reverse Calculation.’
It’s the act of deconstructing and tracing back the flow of mana.
And he had overlaid that Reverse Calculation onto his magic itself, then thrust it straight forward.
I had wondered how he’d taken down the unicorn so easily.
It seemed Joo Seo-jun had spent a great deal of time thinking, training, and repeating his practice, all to defeat Yoon Chae-ha.
Honestly, I was impressed.
Therefore, I intended to give Yoon Chae-ha a vaccination of sorts.
I had analyzed it intensely throughout the early morning.
Even if it was called Reverse Calculation, it wasn’t some grand technique.
In the end, mana, as long as it comes from a human, has similar properties.
What Joo Seo-jun had cloaked himself in was a simple Reverse Calculation for that basic mana.
The Reverse Calculation was the nail.
And his power output was the hammer that drove it from behind.
With that combination, he could shatter any defense or formation at a single point.
That was his strategy.
“Chae-ha.”
“Yeah?”
“Hit me with the strongest attack you’ve got.”
“At you?”
Yoon Chae-ha frowned.
“That seems a little dangerous…”
“It’s fine, just do it.”
I casually shook my hands.
“Don’t hold back. As strong as you can.”
At those words, the look in Yoon Chae-ha’s eyes shifted slightly.
“…Alright.”
A red flame flickered in her pupils.
Her hair flew in the wind, and the air around her began to distort as if it were burning.
“—”
A brief cast.
Immediately after, dozens of massive spears of flame tore through the sky, blanketing the training ground.
This must be her full power.
I bent one knee slightly and held my spear in a reverse grip.
Then, I overlaid the flow of Reverse Calculation magic onto the tip of my spear.
“—!”
At the same moment, Yoon Chae-ha’s flame spears rained down like a torrential storm.
I aimed for the shallowest point among them, the weakest gap.
In an instant, I kicked off the ground.
My angle of approach was head-on.
CRASH!
With a single explosive roar, I shattered one of the dozens of spears and broke through the gap.
Yoon Chae-ha’s eyes widened.
Her mouth fell slightly open.
I charged straight toward her.
Thwip.
I held the spear in a reverse grip and stopped it right before her forehead.
Just like that.
Tap.
With the tip of the spear, I lightly tapped her forehead.
“Again.”
I turned away after that single word.
Yoon Chae-ha stared at me with a dazed expression, momentarily speechless.
*
I broke through her magic the same way, over and over again.
Dozens of times.
No matter what magic she cast.
Whether she filled the space or the sky, I tore through the gaps and advanced.
“Again.”
Again, and again.
To be honest, I was a little worried.
Yoon Chae-ha was a girl with a lot of pride.
She was proud of her magic, of course, and always brimming with confidence.
That’s why I was worried Joo Seo-jun would completely shatter that pride. I had approached this as a sort of vaccination…
But it felt like I was hitting her even harder.
I was slightly worried she might lose heart or fall into despair.
“Let’s stop here.”
At my declaration, Yoon Chae-ha collapsed to the ground.
Crap.
As I thought, I had pushed her too hard.
I rushed over to check on her.
“Are you okay? I’m sorry, I think I was too harsh…”
But.
“……”
She didn’t answer.
“Hah, haah…”
Yoon Chae-ha’s shoulders heaved.
Her lips were parted as she gasped for breath, her cheeks flushed and hot.
A drop of sweat that had formed on her forehead fell past her chin.
Her eyes.
They were trembling faintly, but there was no anger or frustration in them.
Instead, they were clearer and more focused than I had ever seen them.
“One more time.”
She took a long, deep breath.
And again.
“No. Let’s keep going until my match today.”
The corners of her mouth slowly lifted.
A faint tremor ran through her breath, but a distinct emotion was blooming within it.
“No. Let’s just do this forever. This… feels so good.”
Her voice.
Melted into her slightly trembling breaths were pleasure and desire.
“Jung Hae-in.”
She slowly lifted her head.
Her hair stuck to her cheek, her eyes moist.
All of it, combined with her competitive spirit, created a strangely captivating sight.
“I’m so glad… that you’re my mentor.”
I was wrong.
Yoon Chae-ha doesn’t break.
On the contrary, like quenching steel, the more she’s tempered, the hotter and harder she becomes.
Her eyes held a rekindled fighting spirit.
“Do it harder. Shatter me.”
She was genuinely enjoying this fight.
“I think… that would feel even better.”
The corners of her lips lifted slowly, but unmistakably.
