I pondered how to approach this offensive-defense sparring match.
Of course, I had already replenished the mana I had used up in the previous magic training.
The problem was that I naturally had a low mana capacity.
If I used too much mana in this attack, I might not have enough left for the defense round.
That was something I absolutely had to avoid.
Because when the roles switched, Park Inhwan would definitely attack me with full force.
“Hmm…”
How should I go about this?
From what I remembered, Park Inhwan’s primary defensive technique was a magical barrier that created waves of mana around him to block attacks.
Of course, if I used Heart of the Great Nature, I was confident I could break through his barrier effortlessly.
But it felt like a waste to use it in a mere sparring session like this.
Besides, if the story got twisted, who knew what kind of unexpected situation might arise?
‘Should I focus on reinforcement-type magic that consumes less mana?’
Park Inhwan stared at Kim Sunwoo.
Kim Sunwoo was casually stretching, warming up his body.
It was hard to believe that someone ranked 150th was about to face the 5th-ranked student with such ease.
‘Cocky bastard.’
Lately, this guy had been standing out in various ways, but Park Inhwan was confident.
He had seen Sunwoo’s battle against the Green Giant during the last midterm exam.
Sunwoo’s magic itself wasn’t particularly strong.
He was sure that his magical abilities were superior.
It was just that Sunwoo had an weird combat sense and awareness that had allowed him to defeat the Green Giant more easily.
“Everyone seems ready. I’ll begin the countdown. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1—Start!”
At Jang Ancheol’s shout, Park Inhwan immediately gathered his mana.
He had already observed Kim Sunwoo’s combat style in the past.
Unlike a typical manifestation-type mage, he aggressively charged forward.
Then, after disorienting his opponent with bizarre movements, he would unleash his magic at a critical spot.
That was how Kim Sunwoo fought.
“Hup!”
Just as expected, Kim Sunwoo enhanced his body with mana and dashed forward at high speed.
However, Park Inhwan also had reinforcement-type magic as a secondary specialty.
If he enhanced his body the same way and didn’t give up any distance, Sunwoo would have no other options.
He just needed to hold out for a minute until the role switched, and then, under the pretense of an accident, he could beat the hell out of Sunwoo.
“Huh?”
But Sunwoo was closing in much faster than expected.
Park Inhwan had already known from the reinforcement-type running test that Sunwoo was fast, but right now, he was moving at an entirely different level.
“Ugh!”
In the blink of an eye, Sunwoo was right in front of him.
Panicking, Park Inhwan hurriedly released his mana and deployed a magic barrier.
Paang!
A circular blue barrier spread widely around him.
At the same time, Sunwoo was forcefully repelled outward.
“Kh…”
Park Inhwan bit his lip. That had been close. If he had been even a moment slower, Sunwoo would have landed a clean hit.
“…What kind of manifestation-type mage fights like that?”
Anyone would think he was a reinforcement-type mage instead.
How could his main specialty be manifestation magic? That was ridiculous.
No, more importantly, Sunwoo’s movements were faster than most high-ranking reinforcement-type students.
It made no sense for someone with that level of ability to specialize in manifestation magic.
“Heh.”
Then, Sunwoo smirked.
‘…What the hell?’
A chill ran down Park Inhwan’s spine.
He didn’t know why, but he had felt this exact sensation before.
It was during last year’s second semester midterm sparring match against Lee Seo-jun.
He had felt the same fear back then.
‘Am I seriously getting scared… of this guy?’
Park Inhwan clenched his fists.
His opponent was ranked 150th—the lowest in the school.
He, the 5th-ranked student, couldn’t believe he had just felt fear against such a weakling.
‘Focus.’
Sunwoo was nothing special.
Sure, for someone ranked 150th, he was quite skilled.
But even taking that into account, his magical ability itself wasn’t anything remarkable.
Someone like him wasn’t an opponent worth getting tense over.
He just needed to keep blocking a few more attacks until the minute passed.
Then, once the roles switched, he could beat Sunwoo to a pulp.
“Come at me.”
At Park Inhwan’s words, Sunwoo kicked off the ground and charged forward again.
“Hup!”
There was no point in dodging. He just had to deploy his barrier again to block Sunwoo’s approach.
Paang!
Once more, a blue barrier spread wide.
But Sunwoo, as if expecting it, twisted his body and retreated mid-movement.
Since he had blocked the first approach, Park Inhwan immediately dispelled the barrier.
Maintaining it consumed a significant amount of mana.
Especially against someone charging in with mana-infused physical strength.
He just needed to wait for Sunwoo’s next attack and—
At that moment, a blinding flash of light filled his vision.
“Aaagh!”
Before he even realized what had happened, intense pain shot through his shoulder.
Park Inhwan clutched his shoulder and staggered back, gritting his teeth against the sudden agony.
“Grrk…!”
What the hell just happened?
Before he could process it, another bright flash flickered before his eyes.
Instinctively, he activated his barrier again.
Boom!
His barrier trembled violently. He had barely managed to block the follow-up attack.
And then—Sunwoo’s attacks stopped.
“Kh…!”
Park Inhwan deactivated the barrier once more.
The mana consumption was too much to sustain it.
As soon as the barrier disappeared, Sunwoo dashed toward him with incredible speed.
Panicking, Park Inhwan tried to put up his barrier again, but—
He was too slow.
Thud!
Sunwoo’s mana-infused fist slammed into Park Inhwan’s stomach.
“Guhhh!”
Park Inhwan’s body lifted slightly off the ground before rolling across the floor.
He clutched his abdomen, coughing up blood as pain surged through his chest.
“Urgh…!”
Then he heard rapid footsteps approaching again.
A surge of fear gripped him.
Was Sunwoo going to keep beating him up?
But the attack never came.
Looking up, he saw Jang Ancheol standing between them, not Sunwoo.
“Stop! The match is over!”
[You have achieved the achievement ‘Someone’s Natural Enemy.’]
[You have received 3,000 points as a reward.]
[Character ‘Park Inhwan’ feels deep humiliation because of you.]
[You have received 1,000 points as a reward.]
Park Inhwan was immediately taken to the infirmary.
Originally, the match should have continued with me switching to defense, but due to his injury, it was cut short.
“Luckily, it doesn’t seem to be a serious wound.”
Jang Ancheol sighed in relief.
“And Kim Sunwoo, good job.”
“…Yes.”
For a moment, I worried that I’d get scolded for injuring Park Inhwan, but since it wasn’t a severe injury, it was overlooked.
“Wow, Sunwoo, I noticed this during the last test too, but your magic itself isn’t that special… yet your combat sense is incredible.”
“Right? But doesn’t he seem like a completely different person compared to last year?”
When I returned to my seat, I overheard students whispering while sneaking glances at me.
“Is Kim Sunwoo stronger than Park Inhwan?”
“You idiot. Park Inhwan was only defending. In a real fight, he’d destroy Sunwoo.”
“Oh… is that so?”
Students were talking about me.
I heard them saying that if we fought seriously, I would lose to Park Inhwan, but I didn’t pay much attention to it.
Because, honestly, no one knows how it would turn out.
Of course, if I used the Heart of Mother Nature, the story would be different.
As I sat still, I felt a strong gaze from somewhere.
Lee Seo-jun and Yoo Ara were looking at me with curious expressions.
“Alright, let’s continue the class! Lee Seo-jun, come forward!”
That evening.
I was training magic with Yoon Hayoung at the training ground.
“Sunwoo, your movements during the sparring session with Park Inhwan were incredible. You were much faster than when you sparred with me.”
Yoon Hayoung spoke as she shot floating ice arrows at the target.
“Since even Park Inhwan couldn’t properly counter you, it was only natural that I lost to you. Hmm, as expected!”
“Hey, focus. No chatting.”
At my words, Yoon Hayoung pouted.
“…I’ve been doing this for two hours. I’m getting tired.”
“Ssshh!”
“…Ugh, fine.”
She pouted again but obediently activated her magic.
Ten translucent ice arrows floated above her hand and then shot toward the target, shattering it with a loud explosion.
“Wow…”
Seeing her magic improve daily, I couldn’t help but be impressed.
At this rate, she might reach the top 20 within a year.
“Oh yeah, Hayoung, are you free next weekend?”
“The weekend?”
“Yeah.”
“…Why?”
“There’s a place I want to take you to.”
She blinked.
“I do have time…”
“Great, then keep your schedule open. I found a really good place.”
A dungeon perfect for training the power of demon slaying, that is.
Yoon Hayoung looked a bit surprised.
“…A good place?”
“Yeah.”
“Wait, just the two of us?”
“Of course.”
[Character ‘Yoon Ha-young’ feels flustered toward you.]
[Reward: 500 points obtained.]
Huh? Why is she suddenly flustered?
I glanced at her and noticed her pupils trembling.
Then, after a moment of hesitation, she opened her mouth.
“…Sunwoo, I just wanted to check something.”
“What?”
“This has been on my mind for a while.”
“Ugh, just say it already.”
“You being nice to me…”
She trailed off.
The air changed.
It almost felt… sweet?
I wasn’t particularly fond of this kind of atmosphere.
“Do you have feelings for me?”
“…What?”
“I mean, if that’s the case, I’m not really sure how to respond. I’m not good at this kind of thing… Of course, I know you’re a great guy, but…”
Yoon Hayoung started rambling.
I stared at her with a blank expression.
What is she even saying?
As I kept looking at her, she couldn’t meet my gaze and lowered her head.
“That’s not it.”
“…Huh?”
She looked up at me, her face full of confusion.
So I repeated myself.
“That’s not it.”
“Not it?”
“I don’t have any special feelings for you. And I won’t in the future either.”
“…Wait, why does that feel insulting?”
She narrowed her eyes.
That sweet atmosphere from earlier?
Gone without a trace.
“There’s nothing to be upset about. I’m just not interested in relationships.”
“Then what’s with the ‘good place’ and going together, just the two of us?”
“I found a dungeon that’s perfect for your training.”
Her small mouth fell slightly open.
[Character ‘Yoon Hayoung’ feels embarrassed toward you.]
[Reward: 500 points obtained.]
“Oh… that’s what you meant…”
She let out a sigh of relief.
Then, she muttered,
“Good. I was worried for nothing.”
[‘Second Denial’ achievement unlocked.]
[Reward: 2,000 points obtained.]
“…”
So that sweet atmosphere really was just my imagination.
Anyway, I got an unexpected achievement and earned 2,000 points.
But ‘Second Denial’…
Why does that name feel so annoying?
After training, I was lying on my dorm bed, rolling around.
Then, I suddenly heard a notification from my phone on the desk.
[You asked me to find someone named Jo Seong-hoon, right? I found him.]
It was a message from Han Se-yeon.
So she already found Jo Seong-hoon.
In just a day—much faster than expected.
[Thank you for your effort. Where is Jo Seong-hoon?]
[Are you free tomorrow? I’d like to talk in person.]
She wants to meet in person?
[Before that, do you have his exact location?]
[Yes, and I also know where he’ll be on Sunday.]
“Well, that’s all that matters.”
[Alright. When are you available?]
[How about 7 PM?]
As a student, my weekends were pretty open.
[Sure, that works.]
[Great! I’ll reserve a nice restaurant. We’ve never had a meal together, after all.]
[A restaurant booked by someone from the Han family? I should be excited, right?]
[Of course! I’ll show you what heavenly flavours taste like.]
“Pfft.”
I could feel her confidence through the message.
Rich people really do have a different level of leisure.
“Hmmm…”
I put my phone down and lay back on the bed, thinking about the next couple of days.
“…This weekend is going to be busy.”
Saturday, I had to meet Han Se-yeon.
Sunday, I had to deal with Jo Seong-hoon.
Saturday might seem easy, but planning how to handle Jo Seong-hoon meant I wouldn’t have much free time.
“Jo Seong-hoon…”
If I successfully take care of him, how will the story unfold?
Next Wednesday, a terrorist attack is scheduled to happen.
It might not seem like a big deal, but it plays an important role in strengthening relationships between certain characters.
Yoo Ara and Lee Seo-jun.
That event is key in turning their awkward relationship into a true friendship.
“Ugh, if only the special extracurricular activity hadn’t been canceled…”
The future is getting more and more unpredictable.
Leave a Reply