The Thrill of Victory
Humans are ordinarily drawn by instinct toward the things they love.
As long as one is born human, it is nearly impossible to defy those instincts.
I decided to exploit that fact by stimulating Cheon Seo-hui’s instincts.
By offering her an experience so thrilling that nothing else could compare.
Namely…
The thrill of victory.
“From now on, think of me as Lee Sin-a.”
Having recommended a spar against Lee Sin-a, I took on her role myself so we could run a mock match.
After all, nothing trained a person more effectively than crossing blades for real.
“…You’re a man, Teacher.”
“What, want me to put on a wig?”
She snorted softly, then quietly gripped her sword and prepared to spar. I picked up a one-handed blade in turn and called to mind the way Lee Sin-a handled a sword.
I wasn’t merely playing a part; I intended to reproduce Sin-a’s swordsmanship as faithfully as possible so the training would feel as close to the real thing as we could get.
She moved like this, didn’t she?
Surprise flickered across Cheon Seo-hui’s face as she watched me with sudden seriousness.
“I’m coming first. Block however you can.”
“!”
I closed the distance in long strides, mimicking Lee Sin-a’s sword forms. Startled for only a moment, Seo-hui steadied her grip and advanced to meet me the same way.
When she had used a one-handed sword she had only been able to parry; now she had the composure to step in with me. That alone said plenty.
Impressive.
I immediately pictured the next move Sin-a would have made.
What would Lee Sin-a do here?
She favored a reckless, overwhelming style that crushed an opponent under pure pressure. Rather than baiting mistakes and striking openings, she preferred to meet force head-on and display the gap in raw power.
“Hup—!”
Right on cue, Seo-hui used the longer reach of her two-handed sword to launch the first attack. She had measured the distance with surgical precision, stripping almost every risk from the exchange—a completely one-sided strike.
Proof that she remembered exactly what I had taught her.
I don’t know whose student she is, but damn is she sharp.
I swallowed a quiet swell of pride, closed another step, and snapped her attack aside.
Clang—!
Blocked, Seo-hui tried to ease back and set up her next cut—
“Opening.”
Using the flexibility unique to a one-handed blade, I stepped in again and went straight for her left wrist.
“!”
It was a line she could not physically dodge; she had no choice but to catch it on her sword.
Clang—!
I kept tightening the distance, locking down the initiative, and relentlessly hunted every gap she left.
“Opening. Here too. Another one.”
Clang! Clang! Clang! She was reduced to frantic, scrambling defense.
“Kh….”
Driven onto the back foot, Seo-hui fixed me with a defiant glare and watched for any chance to counter. The real Lee Sin-a would have given something away by now without realizing it.
I was not Lee Sin-a.
“We’re done, right?”
“…….”
When the tip of my blade finally settled at her throat, Seo-hui lowered her sword with a resentful look and shot me a sidelong glance.
“…You said you were Lee Sin-a.”
Meaning: why didn’t you act like her?
“Then it wouldn’t be training.”
A spar only worked when you faced someone stronger than yourself. I sheathed the practice blade and began walking her through a detailed review of the exchange.
“When an opponent presses you like that, either open the distance completely, or…”
Midway through—
“…I have a question.”
“What is it?”
Seo-hui, who had been listening in silence, asked quietly.
“What if I can’t win tomorrow?”
The question caught me off guard.
“Why? You think you can’t?”
“…Just curious.”
“Well…”
I met her steady gaze for a moment, then answered without hesitation.
“Then you win the next one, right? Winning tomorrow would be better, of course.”
“…….”
She stared at me in silence for a long while, then simply said she wanted to go again and lifted her sword without prompting.
Is it just me?
She looked a little more driven than before.
The next day.
Seo-hui arrived at the Academy as usual.
“Why is she still here?”
“Right? Guess she finally decided to stop chasing guys.”
The hostile stares, led by Lee Sin-a, had not gone away. If anything, the earlier body-slam incident had only made public opinion worse.
“…….”
Seo-hui paid the whispers around her no mind at all. She simply regarded her classmates with quiet contempt and shoved earbuds into her ears.
Childish.
Class began.
“It’s well known that many unreported dungeons still exist even in our country…”
After the dull theory lecture came Han Dohyeon’s practical swordsmanship period.
At last, the hour of revenge had arrived.
“All right. Pair up and get ready to spar.”
“Yes, sir!”
Sitting alone in the corner, Seo-hui rose and happened to lock eyes with Dohyeon. He gave a small nod, as if to lend her courage—an unspoken cheer.
“…….”
She clenched her fist and, for the first time, walked out herself to find a sparring partner.
She had known from the start whom she would challenge.
“Ah, who should I go with today?”
“Wanna spar with me?”
“No way. You’re too weak.”
“Tch…”
Seo-hui approached Lee Sin-a, who was chatting idly with her friends.
“Huh?”
“What’s her deal?”
They stared at the sudden approach with open suspicion.
“Hey. Lee Sin-a.”
She looked straight at the girl standing at the center of the group and spoke without a trace of hesitation.
“You and me. Again.”
A short, clean declaration of war.
“Whoa… she’s actually crazy.”
“Is she for real?”
“After that stunt she pulled, and she still has the nerve…”
“Hey, Sin-a. You just gonna take that?”
Sin-a’s friends pretended indifference while carefully stoking her temper, clearly eager for the show.
“Crazy bitch.”
Of course Sin-a was never going to stay quiet.
“You got your ass handed to you once and you still haven’t learned? Fine. Let’s go, you psycho bitch.”
The rematch was set. Both girls collected their gear and took positions opposite each other…
…What’s with this bitch?
Sin-a felt a faint unease at the subtle shift in Seo-hui’s presence. An unreadable sense of wrongness radiated from her.
Did she switch swords?
Sin-a had no trouble noticing that Seo-hui had prepared an entirely new style. Until yesterday she had used a one-handed blade; the change was mildly surprising.
Idiot bitch.
That was all it amounted to.
You think changing swords is enough to beat me?
Lee Sin-a already stood on the verge of escaping Class 13. She had posted decent scores on the first-semester exams; one solid performance in the second semester would be enough to leave the bottom class behind.
To someone like her, Cheon Seo-hui—who had been fighting for last place even inside the last-place class—was not even worth taking seriously. Still nursing a deep grudge from the earlier incident, Sin-a resolved to grind her underfoot for real and drew her sword.
You’re so fucking dead.
…Or so she had believed.
Clang—! Clang—!
The spar began. Matching blades in a pattern that felt familiar at first, Sin-a soon sensed something was off.
Why… why isn’t she giving ground?
Nothing major had changed. The opponent had simply switched from one-handed to two-handed. Everything else looked the same.
And yet…
Clang—!
Seo-hui was turning every attack aside with almost leisurely ease.
Clang—!
She left not a single opening.
Clang—!
If anything, the one pressing the attack—Sin-a herself—was the one growing impatient.
“Tch…!”
Sin-a told herself the girl would tire eventually and kept the pressure on.
Let’s see how long you can hold out…!
In that instant—
“…Opening.”
Seo-hui, who had been steadily retreating, suddenly planted her front foot and thrust her blade straight forward.
“!?”
Caught off-guard by the unexpected timing, Sin-a hastily swung to block.
Ah—if I do that…
In a single breath the initiative was stolen. She had no choice but to fall back and prepare for the next exchange…
What?
For some reason Seo-hui, having seized the opening, made no move at all. She even relaxed her stance and lowered her sword, making it plain she had no intention of pressing the attack.
A thin, mocking smile curved her lips.
“You—you fucking bitch…!”
The smile snapped something inside Sin-a. She charged in wild, sword raised high.
“Who the hell do you think you are, laughing at me!?”
But an attack stripped of composure posed no threat to Seo-hui whatsoever.
Clang—! Clang—!
If anything, she grew even more relaxed, either slipping aside or catching the blows with casual precision.
As if she were simply absorbing the tantrum of an angry child.
Clang—!
By now even Sin-a could no longer deny the truth.
She was being completely dominated by Cheon Seo-hui.
“You’re full of openings.”
“What the fuck are you saying, you piece-of-shit bitch…!”
The crushing certainty that no matter how hard she swung she could not win. The humiliation of having her guard deliberately lowered while she was toyed with. The shame of suffering it in front of the entire class.
I’m losing? To Cheon Seo-hui?
Unable to accept the reality, Sin-a ground her teeth, forgot the sparring rules entirely, and poured mana into her blade as she swung at Seo-hui.
“!”
Startled by the sudden outburst, Seo-hui hastily drew up her own mana to block—
Boom——!!!
Someone stepped between them.
“Lee Sin-a.”
It was Han Dohyeon.
“What exactly do you think you’re doing?”
“T-Teacher!”
Flustered by his appearance, Sin-a hurriedly drained the mana from the sword he had seized.
“Mana use during sparring is strictly forbidden.”
“Th-that’s… she started it first…!”
“Whatever the reason, it does not justify using mana.”
“…!!!”
Sin-a’s mouth opened and closed soundlessly as her protests died.
“Put your gear away and sit on the platform until class ends.”
In the end she was ejected from training for the violation.
“Th-this can’t be…”
It was a complete defeat.
After every class had finished, I summoned Cheon Seo-hui to the training hall as usual.
She appeared looking happier than she had in days. I didn’t need to ask why.
“Beating Lee Sin-a feels that good?”
“Yes.”
For once Seo-hui made no effort to hide her delight; she savored the victory openly. Personally I wasn’t sure it was worth quite that much celebration, but—
A win is a win.
I let her enjoy it to the fullest.
“You did well today. Looked even better than when you sparred with me.”
Stacking praise at moments like this was the classic way to advance a conquest.
“So. What are you going to do now?”
“?”
After heaping on the compliments for a while, I casually steered the conversation and asked her the real question.
“The reflection period ends tomorrow.”
The most important matter of all.
“…….”
Seo-hui closed her mouth and simply looked at me for a long moment. Then she turned the question back on me without warning.
“…Teacher, what do you want me to do?”
This was a new pattern. Had something shifted inside her these past few days?
“Me? Well… I’d rather you didn’t drop out.”
“…….”
She stared at me with an unreadable expression for what felt like forever.
And then—
“Then I won’t.”
“…Huh?”
“You said not to. Drop out.”
At last she gave me the answer I had wanted to hear.
“…Really? You’re really not going to?”
“Yes.”
I stood there dazed for a second, then recovered and poured out praise all over again.
“Hey, that was a really good decision! I’ve been through it—it’s not easy at all, you know? God, you have no idea how long I’ve been on edge waiting to hear those words…”
Strictly speaking only part of it was praise; most of it was pure relief and rambling complaint.
Seo-hui simply watched me in silence.
“…….”
A faint, almost unreadable smile resting at the corner of her mouth.