The Ultimate Provocation
After spitting out those words, Han Min-ha trembled like a leaf in the wind, avoiding Song Do-yun’s gaze entirely. There was a reason she had said something she would never have imagined uttering under normal circumstances. It was all part of Professor Kyo’s plan. Before the spar began, she was to provoke Song Do-yun’s emotions and shatter her mentality. When someone who couldn’t even reach the tip of her toes suddenly bared her fangs and charged, it would throw her off balance. Confusion would give way to rage, and rage inevitably led to mistakes. No matter how powerful Han Min-ha’s aura was, Song Do-yun held the clear advantage in manipulation. She had to force those mistakes if she wanted any chance of fighting on equal terms.
Here, Han Min-ha had to win. Victory would let her crush Song Do-yun so thoroughly the girl would never raise her head again. But defeat would make recovery far harder for Han Min-ha herself. She had already come this far, gritting her teeth through the humiliation of calling someone a “lezzie.” She was already at her limit. If her momentum broke here with a loss, it would all be over. So she had to win—and to do that, she had to keep hammering Song Do-yun’s mind.
“Even if you do that… do you really think anything will happen with Hee-won…?”
“Hey.”
“No matter what… you can’t. Hee-won… she, she l-l-likes… girls with big chests…”
Han Min-ha steadied her trembling body and forced the words out.
“Not a flat olive like you on a cutting board…!”
For a split second, Song Do-yun unconsciously glanced down at her own chest. Unlike Han Min-ha’s overwhelming presence that showed even through the training suit, her own was…
“Can you feel… the difference in power?”
Song Do-yun kept her composure as best she could and answered coldly.
“The difference in power is something you’ll feel after you’re out there on your knees beneath my feet.”
“Even if I lose to you… nothing will change.”
Han Min-ha barely managed to meet Song Do-yun’s eyes.
“Did you know…?”
Song Do-yun said nothing, simply staring down at her with icy contempt. Han Min-ha scraped together every ounce of courage she had left and delivered the final blow.
“Hee-won’s lower hair is black.”
Song Do-yun’s pupils shook violently. She stared at Han Min-ha in silence before finally opening her mouth.
“Stop with the dirty tricks.”
“If you don’t believe me… should I show you the photo I took on my phone?”
Sparks of aura like embers burst from Song Do-yun’s eyes.
“Wet and clinging to her groin like seaweed, glistening with that sour—”
Song Do-yun seized Han Min-ha’s collar in a crushing grip.
“Shut up! Shut your mouth!”
She shook her violently, as if ready to rip her throat out at any moment. While being tossed back and forth, Han Min-ha thought to herself: Success. Professor Kyo Suhyeon’s strategy had worked perfectly.
The professor had added:
Of course, Professor. If Hee-won ever found out, neither of us would be able to handle the consequences.
Still, how could someone as dignified as him so casually tell her to lie about doing such things with a fellow student under his guidance? How could he say such embarrassing things without batting an eye? The professor was a good man, but sometimes he was truly terrifying. Was it because of his Mental Barrier?
But… being grabbed by the collar by an upper-class ace still hurt quite a bit.
“Let… go…”
“There’s no way Hee-won would ever do that with trash like you…! What kind of trick is this? Ah, I get it. You’re doing it on purpose, aren’t you? To make me slip up. Right?”
Even while her collar was being gripped, Han Min-ha stubbornly shot back.
“If that’s what you want to believe… keuk… fine. It doesn’t change anything anyway!”
Han Min-ha suddenly wrapped her aura around herself and knocked Song Do-yun’s arm away. The moment her grip was broken, Song Do-yun glared at her, body shaking with rage.
Bullshit… don’t give me that bullshit… There’s no way Hee-won would do anything with a pathetic piece of seaweed that looks like it crawled out of the water… She literally cheered for me today. She told me to do well in the spar, to never lose. That losing to a lower-class student would be so embarrassing I should just die. That I shouldn’t go easy just because we share the same advisor…! She told me to make an example of her so no lower-class student would ever dare challenge an upper-class one again! And she even smiled at me while saying it!
“Hee-won… smiled at me…”
“She smiles like that even when she’s in my arms sucking like a baby.”
Every single word from Han Min-ha landed like a fist wrapped in aura, mercilessly pounding Song Do-yun’s mentality. Hair. Olive. Sour. Seaweed. Phone cam. Baby. Before the spar had even begun, Song Do-yun’s mind was reeling from the barrage.
Her reason kept screaming that it was all lies. But she couldn’t shake the image of Yoo Hee-won lying beneath Han Min-ha. At the same time, she felt a sickening disgust at the tickling heat between her own thighs.
That thing… I have to kill her… Only by killing her can I save Hee-won… I have to kill her…
The snake coiled in Song Do-yun’s heart flicked its tongue and raised its head.
Will the summoned contestants please proceed to the arena immediately!
The microphone from outside urged them on as time dragged. Song Do-yun turned, her ominous navy-blue aura flickering, and walked out of the waiting room.
Once Song Do-yun disappeared ahead of her, Han Min-ha finally let out the breath she had been holding. She leaned against the wall, her entire body drenched in nervous sweat, legs threatening to give out. No. This is just the beginning. The real fight starts now. Revenge against Song Do-yun for humiliating her, and the chance to rise to the upper class. Only then could she live up to Professor Kyo’s and Hee-won’s expectations. And… her mom and dad, who had asked the professor to take care of her. She would become S-class, just like they wanted…!
She had to win here. She had to.
Han Min-ha pushed off the wall and followed Song Do-yun out to the arena. As if she would know whether Hee-won’s lower hair was black or blonde.
They were a little late, but Han Min-ha and Song Do-yun soon emerged onto the arena floor. Seeing Song Do-yun radiating savage aura and the front of Han Min-ha’s suit somewhat crumpled, it looked like she had successfully torn into the other girl’s mentality. I had been worried whether she could actually say those things when the time came, but she had done well. As expected, the NTR button was an eternal trigger.
“Professor. Look at Song Do-yun’s aura color. How can it be that dark?”
Jin Se-yeong nudged my elbow.
“I’ve seen all the new students’ auras this year, but this is the first time I’ve seen one this dark.”
“Aura color doesn’t necessarily reflect personality or ability, but it is certainly very dark.”
Song Do-yun’s navy-blue aura writhed as if alive. At first glance, it looked almost sinister. It was an unpleasant comparison, but… it felt like watching a fallen hero.
Han Min-ha and Song Do-yun faced each other from opposite ends of the arena. Han Min-ha adjusted the prescription goggles she wore instead of her usual glasses, securing them firmly.
“Han Min-ha, fighting!!”
Bae Ye-bin, sitting in the front row of the stands, cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted. Beside her, the upper-class supervisor Kim-Yi Bit-na sat with her arms crossed, watching Han Min-ha with an arrogant expression. She clearly believed Song Do-yun would win before it even started.
“This seems a bit strange…?”
One of the headhunters seated behind the evaluation platform tilted his head.
“Is this even a proper spar? The difference in level is too big, isn’t it?”
“I agree. She probably challenged on purpose to try to advance to the upper class.”
“Still, this is…”
Professor Yu Hyeon-ju took the microphone and explained the sparring rules once more. Then the bell signaling the start of the match rang out.
“Waaaaah!!”
The already heated crowd erupted in cheers. The broadcasting drones all took flight at once. Overwhelmed by the tremendous reaction, Han Min-ha flinched and looked around nervously.
Stay sharp, Han Min-ha. Think of this as your first and last chance. Fight like your life depends on it.
If she couldn’t advance to the upper class, she would have to waste the rest of this semester stuck in the lower class. Use Song Do-yun as a stepping stone and rise!
Han Min-ha, who had made eye contact with me, gave a firm nod and began gathering her aura. The purple aura that so closely resembled her father’s danced around her, condensing into a solid sphere.
“What is she doing? Is she condensing her aura?”
“I’m not sure. What could she be thinking?”
The professors exchanged puzzled opinions.
That was Han Min-ha’s strategy for today. Gather every last drop of aura, compress it, and massively increase its weight. Song Do-yun’s psychokinesis operated through aura, and such techniques could be blocked by aura. Since Han Min-ha’s aura was exceptionally heavy, Song Do-yun would never be able to harm her with psychokinesis alone. She would be forced to use normal long-range or close-combat attacks, which would give the advantage to Han Min-ha, whose aura was stronger.
But what if Song Do-yun’s ability wasn’t psychokinesis?
Even then, there was still a way. Academy student spars were dogfights, and dogfights always produced dirty tricks. For the past several weeks, Han Min-ha had received Secreto-style special training from me. Secreto’s methods were underhanded. Han Min-ha could win.
As she pulled in every bit of aura she possessed, Han Min-ha gradually felt her body growing heavier. It wasn’t that her actual mass had increased—aura was only partially bound by physical laws, after all. But she could clearly sense the added weight of her aura.
Song Do-yun simply stood on the opposite side, her dark aura flickering. If Han Min-ha ignored the psychokinesis and charged straight in, she had more than enough chance of victory. Let’s do this!
Recalling the flight class, she manipulated her aura and shot forward. Thanks to the special training over the past weeks, she succeeded in flight far more easily than before. Flying at extremely low altitude, nearly skimming the ground, she rushed toward Song Do-yun.
At that moment, it looked like Song Do-yun’s arm moved—and suddenly Han Min-ha felt the world flip upside down. She rolled across the floor several times before scrambling back to her feet.
What the…?!
It felt as if something invisible and incredibly powerful had struck her directly. She attempted another attack, only to be sent spinning through the air and slammed into the ground again.
Just what… is this ability…? If it were psychokinesis, my aura should have blocked it…?!
Song Do-yun began walking forward slowly, wearing the cruelest, most horrifying smile imaginable.
“I’ll carve out those tits you’re so proud of.”
Her voice was so cold and eerie it made Han Min-ha’s skin crawl. Lying on the ground, barely pushing herself up, Han Min-ha looked toward the evaluation seats. There, Professor Kyo Suhyeon was staring straight at her.
Professor…! What should I do…?
Then she noticed Professor Kyo making a strange hand gesture. With an expressionless face, he held his hand upright like a blade and slowly tilted his palm at an angle.
After watching Han Min-ha roll across the floor several times, I thought to myself: So Song Do-yun’s ability wasn’t psychokinesis after all. I had mistaken it because it operated on a similar principle. Still, there was a way. In fact, this might appeal to the headhunters even more than a simple, brute-force aura charge.
Of course… only if Han Min-ha could understand my intention.