Chapter 101
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 101
Chapter Title: Dream (1)
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Wednesday.
The fallout from Australia had mostly subsided.
The cadets had recovered their spirits after two days of self-studyessentially, free time.
The instructors, who had been pulled in every direction, had finished their tasks and returned to their normal duties.
Alright, I will now announce the first-year rankings.
Today was the day the rankings were updated.
They should have been announced on Thursday, right after our return from Australia.
But our return was postponed due to the Sabangsin incident, and the direct fallout from it caused several delays.
As a hologram appeared above the lectern, the cadets in the lower ranks checked their phones.
The rankings displayed on the hologram started from first place. It would take a while to get to the lower ranks, so they were checking the announcement updated on the website.
Of course, I just watched the hologram.
I took first place in this exam. I'd be in the upper ranks, so why bother checking separately?
[1st - Ha Siyeon]
[2nd - Shin Jia]
First, as expected, their rankings had swapped.
Cadet Shin Jia was unable to participate in the exam due to injury and thus received an average score. It's unfortunate, but rules are rules. Try harder next time.
Yes, sir.
Jia pretended to answer calmly. The corner of her eye was twitching minutely. She couldn't completely hide her irritation.
Cadet Ha Siyeon has risen from 4th to 1st place in two months. Congratulations.
Thank you.
Ha Siyeon beamed.
Kim Cheoljin. Congratulations. You're 9th.
Whoa! Thank you!
Kim Cheoljin had been through a lot with me during the survival exam, but he managed to survive until the end.
Though part of that was because I kept him alive to torment him longer.
In any case, he seemed to have gathered a decent number of points before that. A rise in rank was to be expected.
As I was nodding to myself, Instructor Pi Jinho's gaze landed on me. I could feel a strange heat in his eyes as he looked at me.
Everyone, a round of applause.
He suddenly started clapping.
*Clap, clap, clap*
At the instructor's words, the other cadets began to clap as well.
Their expressions showed they had no idea what was going on.
I never dreamed that someone could climb from 498th place to here in just two months.
Pride, admiration.
Such emotions flickered in Instructor Pi Jinho's eyes.
It was like a master rejoicing in his disciple's growth. Yes, that was exactly it.
Kang Seoyul. You are 14th.
[14th - Kang Seoyul]
At that moment, gasps erupted from all around.
Whoa!
That's insane.
He's almost in the single digits.
Gazes fell on me from all directions.
Jealousy, shock, envy, respect.
I could feel a torrent of emotions.
It's not a bad feeling.
Since the academy's founding, Cadet Kang Seoyul is the first to have climbed the ranks at such a speed. It is that rare and incredible of an achievement.
The murmurs grew louder.
Kang Seoyul's physical abilities have been improving lately. It was only a matter of time before his rank went up.
His technique was already better than the top-ranked first-year. Once his physical stats caught up, it was game over.
The continuous praise made my shoulders straighten involuntarily.
At this rate, isn't he going to be selected as a member for the national competition during summer break?
Absolutely. Look at his momentum.
I smiled.
My goal was within reach.
* * *
That night.
Instructor Pi Jinho called for me, and I headed to a private training room.
Good evening, sir.
Welcome.
As I entered the private training room, I saw Instructor Pi Jinho warming up. Beads of sweat dotted his forehead.
Was he doing an evening workout?
Hoo.
After finishing his workout, Instructor Pi Jinho wiped the sweat from his face with a towel and approached me.
You seem to be in good condition.
Yes, sir. I feel great.
Did you warm up?
Yes, sir. I did some light stretching.
I always stretch at this time. After stretching, I do my evening training with Jia and Siyeon. It's my routine.
Today, I had to skip the evening training because Instructor Pi Jinho called for me.
Cheonbyeon?
I have it with me.
I held out the carrier case in my hand.
He had specifically told me to bring it.
I usually keep it safe in the 'Artisan's Makeshift Forge,' but I couldn't show him that, so I brought it in a case.
Then we can start right away.
Sir?
Instructor Pi Jinho smirked.
Disable training mode. Change to sparring mode. Terrain: flat ground.
[Changing to sparring mode.]
For a moment, I couldn't believe my ears.
Did he just say sparring?
While I was still bewildered, Instructor Pi Jinho picked up his sword, which had been placed to the side.
It wasn't a training longsword, but a real weapon.
This is a mid-term check. Come at me.
Instructor Pi Jinho gripped his sword.
In that instant, a fierce aura erupted from him.
It felt as if an intangible will to strike me down was physically pressing on my body.
*Gulp.*
I swallowed dryly.
Instructor Pi Jinho.
He was known as the strongest instructor in the academy.
His estimated rank was S-rank.
That would place him within the top 50 of the world's superhuman rankings.
This is thrilling.
Such a powerful individual was showing hostility towards me. A thrilling shiver ran through my entire body.
I took out Cheonbyeon.
This was a good opportunity.
A golden opportunity to see how well I could fight without using an Ancient Relic.
I look forward to learning from you.
I gave a small bow and got into my stance.
Come. I'll only be defending.
Aren't you underestimating me a little?
You'll know whether I am or not once we fight.
Yes. You're right.
I cloaked my sword in aura.
Here I come.
I kicked off the ground at the same time.
Boost!
I activated my physical enhancement and swung my sword.
*Chiiing!*
My sword slid right along the instructor's blade.
It was a perfect parry.
I changed Cheonbyeon into the form of a dagger. Instructor Pi Jinho's eyes sharpened at the sudden change.
In that moment, the Path of the Wind opened.
The exclusive domain of elven assassins, which predicted and analyzed an opponent's movements to present the optimal path.
It was the trait that was my bread and butter.
What?
But no red trajectory appeared before my eyes.
The Path of the Wind failed to present a path.
It was as if the Path of the Wind was telling me:
No matter what you do, you cannot break through the being before you.
No matter what you do, you cannot block the being before you.
How could this be
Just as I was reeling in shock.
How long do you plan to stand there dazed? In a real fight, your head would have been lopped off three times by now.
Kh!
Instructor Pi Jinho's words snapped me back to my senses.
I stabbed my dagger into the first opening I saw.
*Clang!*
Instructor Pi Jinho deflected the dagger as if it were nothing.
From that position, I changed the weapon's form again.
The form of a scythe. Changing to a curved blade from this position would extend the blade's reach to Instructor Pi Jinho's arm.
Hmm.
But it was useless.
As if he knew everything, Instructor Pi Jinho ducked faster than Cheonbyeon could change.
That makes six times you would have died.
My scythe didn't even graze the instructor's hair.
This time, a whip.
I pretended to swing the scythe while changing its form into a whip.
Ten times.
Useless.
With just two steps, my whip was rendered ineffective.
Next was a spear.
I unleashed an attack using Spiral Spear combined with Boost.
I expected him to dodge this too.
Kang Seoyul. You're not the only one who can rotate their aura.
But my expectation was completely wrong.
*Kigigiging!*
What is this?
Instructor Pi Jinho didn't dodge my spear; he met it head-on.
My spear, which had clashed with his sword
*Paang!*
crashed to the ground with a tremendous roar.
The overwhelming torrent of power completely shattered my balance.
Twenty times. That's how many times your head would have flown through the air if this were a real battle.
Instructor Pi Jinho looked down at me.
A thrust imbued with the principles of rotation is certainly threatening. But to an opponent who understands that principle, it's just good prey.
What did you do?
Instructor Pi Jinho smirked and extended his sword forward.
I matched the rotation and speed of my sword's aura to that of your spear's. But with far greater magic power.
Ah
I see.
So that's why my spear was slammed to the ground.
I had been overpowered in the clash of auras, and the direction of the force had been redirected.
Is that all you've got?
Instructor Pi Jinho asked with the same expression.
Not yet.
I gritted my teeth. Quickly retreating, I changed Cheonbyeon into the form of a bow.
At the same time, I drew the bowstring.
*Hwiiing!*
My ultimate move that took down the Beast Master. I unleashed an arrow of certain kill, utilizing all four of my traits, including the Arrow of Wind.
*Fwoosh*
Instructor Pi Jinho's eyes widened.
Flames no. Is that wind attribute?
It must have been the first time he'd seen me use the wind attribute.
It was only natural for him to be surprised.
And it would be difficult to perfectly counter a technique he'd never seen before.
But that was just my wishful thinking.
Impressive. A triple attribute user, were you?
!
Instructor Pi Jinho, who had appeared before me in an instant, swung his sword.
*Clang!*
The next moment, the bow in my hand was twisted in a completely different direction.
When holding a bow, your grip should be neither too strong nor too weak.
Ugh!
The impact forced me to release the bowstring.
That's why a light impact like this can often throw off your trajectory. Remember that.
My eyes widened as I watched the Spiral Arrow, fired in an incomplete state, fly through the empty air.
* * *
That night.
Lying in bed, I recalled my spar with Instructor Pi Jinho.
I didn't think I'd be so utterly helpless.
I had been quite confident.
Even if my stats were similar to a D-rank superhuman, I thought my actual combat ability was at least B-rank, maybe even A-rank.
The traits I possessed were that special, and the weapon Cheonbyeon was the best for allowing me to utilize those traits to their fullest.
No matter how strong Instructor Pi Jinho was, I thought I could at least land a significant blow.
That's what I thought.
Haaah
But that was just my arrogance.
I was a frog in a well.
Your technique is excellent. Because you possess Master of Arms.
I replayed Instructor Pi Jinho's words from after the spar.
But it's not unique. The world is full of superhumans with that level of skill.
Master of Arms is an excellent trait. The best trait, even, allowing for free manipulation of aura and drastically increasing weapon proficiency.
But that was all.
Once you get to A-rank or higher, most superhumans can handle aura with a degree of freedom, and their weapon proficiency is near its maximum.
Of course, when it comes to the dagger or bow, your technique might be a step above.
However, the 'dagger' and 'bow', which were supported not just by Master of Arms but by other racial traits, were exceptions.
But even if your technique is one step ahead, your physical specs put you ten steps behind.
Instructor Pi Jinho had said.
When you fight against real superhumans, not cadets or monsters, your technique loses its specialness.
There's a saying, 'the soft can overcome the hard'.
I had endured the Beast Master's superior physical abilities with my technique.
It wasn't that difficult to dodge and block his attacks, which were no better than an amateur's, just charging straight ahead.
Fire attribute. An attribute that excels in destructive power. But it's meaningless if you can't hit your target. The same goes for the wind attribute.
A combat style specialized in countering? That's just a shallow method to cover for your lack of physical ability.
Instructor Pi Jinho's words were scathing.
Right now, you may be special among the cadets, but not in the world of professionals.
That's what he was saying.
Don't get arrogant. I felt it during the small Baekho incident at the airport. Kang Seoyul. You're getting carried away.
My declaration that I would handle the small Baekho alone must have looked like arrogance from Instructor Pi Jinho's perspective. Well, taking everything else out of the equation, he was right.
But there's no need to be too down about it. You're still young. There's plenty of room to grow stronger. If you grow steadily, the day will come when you can handle someone like me with one hand.
Carrot and stick.
Instructor Pi Jinho's guidance was perfect.
If you just keep raising your stats, building proficiency in your traits, and then use your bonus points when you reach your limit... your only weakness, the disparity in physical specs, will disappear.
If I had a system, that would have been the perfect carrot.
But I have no trait proficiency, no bonus points.
So, to me, Instructor Pi Jinho's words sounded like this:
I'm barely hanging on now, but as time passes and other cadets build their proficiency and use their bonus points, I'll fall behind again, won't I?
To me, the instructor's words weren't a carrot and a stick, but a stick and another stick.
He's not wrong.
Of course, I have the Ancient Relics.
A power on a different level from other superhumans. A power strong enough to handle the Vermilion Bird on my own, even in its incomplete state.
But that's just an insurance policy.
There's no guarantee I'll always have an Ancient Relic on hand, and a one-minute duration is far too short.
Sigh.
In the end, the only answer is to get stronger.
That doesn't mean my course of action changes.
Continue training to raise my physical abilities, collect Ancient Relics, and fully assimilate my remaining racial traits.
That's all I can do.
No, that's not all.
Lying in bed, I tried to concentrate magic power in my palm.
*Ching*
An incomplete barrier, showing no signs of improvement, formed.
I also need to find a way to use magic.
An ancient magic system not based on the System.
Finding that was my top priority.
* * *
After Kang Seoyul left, Pi Jinho remained alone in the training room.
Haha.
He sat in a chair, a gentle smile on his face.
A prodigy is a prodigy, after all.
He couldn't help but laugh as he recalled his spar with Kang Seoyul.
He had intended to knock Kang Seoyul's arrogance down a peg, but he was surprised by how well the kid fought.
He was beyond anything he had imagined.
His use of Cheonbyeon was quite masterful, and his movements were clean and efficient.
To think he was a triple attribute user.
That final arrow was the finishing touch.
An intangible arrow using the synergy of fire and wind attributes.
Even though the technique seemed incomplete, the power it held was beyond imagination.
If he had taken that arrow head-on, even Pi Jinho wouldn't have escaped unscathed.
If people knew that a first-year cadet had learned such a monstrous technique on his own, they would all fall over in shock.
He had every right to be arrogant.
And yet, Kang Seoyul wasn't arrogant.
No, it would be more accurate to say that even if he was, he quickly came to his senses.
The way he had bowed his head deeply, as if in profound reflection, was impressive.
A hardworking genius who constantly reflects and improves.
A genius who was close to perfection.
That was how Pi Jinho saw Kang Seoyul.
Pi Jinho let out a small laugh and stood up from his seat.
Now, what should I do about this?
Pi Jinho turned and looked at one of the walls.
It was the wall that Kang Seoyul's incomplete arrow had flown into and struck.
I can't believe he broke it.
The solid wall of the instructor's training room, forged from high-strength magic-infused metal, was shattered to pieces.
It would cost quite a bit to repair this.
And an instructor's salary was quite modest.
Can't be helped.
Pi Jinho took out his phone, took a picture of the scene, and sent a message to Meiden.
[Photo attached]
[Fix this. Please.]
The reply came immediately.
[Did you get shot in the head? Who do you think you're ordering around?]
Hmm.
He had expected this level of defiance.
[Video attached]
[Please.]
This should do it.
He attached a video of Meiden's embarrassing moment from 15 years ago and, with a satisfied smile, switched his phone to silent mode.
[Hey u fukxning basterd. R u even humn!]
A flood of messages filled with Meiden's curses and insults poured into his silenced phone.