I Entered an Academy in a Ruined Game

Chapter 128 : Final Exams (4)

In Group E, Hong In-hyeon took an aggressive stance from the start, with an attitude suggesting he would attack all 11 remaining contestants.

"All of you get lost! If you don't want to die, just leave the arena on your own!"

"Aaaargh! That crazy bastard!"

Wind cutter, air shells, whirlwinds, and even area attacks utilizing turbulence.

The second-year students watching from the stands burst into laughter at Hong In-hyeon's momentum as he blew away half the contestants with savage attacks from the beginning.

"Wow, his temper is no joke."

"Hong In-hyeon was famous since childhood in our region."

"It shows."

"Look at the wrinkles between his eyebrows. How much must he frown all the time?"

Meanwhile, in Group G, when Kim A-yun surrounded herself with hamsters and sparrows created from lightning and then took down two Class 3 cadets with a lightning lance in one breath, admiration erupted from the stands.

"Wow, is she that rumored dark horse?"

"Wasn't it said she couldn't control it? She handles it extremely well."

"But why sparrows?"

"Who knows. Cute is all that matters."

In contrast, Group F, unlike other groups, formed a systematic formation to surround Choi Mina.

"We'll support you, so don't worry!"

Seeing the strange confidence appearing on the faces of Class 2 cadets approaching under the support of Class 3 cadets, Choi Mina sighed lightly.

"I guess I've been underestimated a bit too."

Where that gentle sigh like a breeze had passed, Choi Mina stood with a cold expression.

"Come and try."

"Hmm."

Nam Tae-hoon, who flitted between shadows and eliminated opponents one by one with his dagger, and Kwon Seung-yeon, who steadily subdued opponents one by one with fast mobile warfare.

Instructor Kim Cheol-han nodded with a satisfied face as he watched the two cadets fight.

"They're doing well."

"As expected of Class 1. Their improvisation in real situations is definitely different."

Instructor Kim Cheol-han crossed his arms and responded to Instructor Seok Hong-jae's words.

"Yes. However, Park Chang-jun is in a bit of danger."

"At this rate, there might even be an upset in Group J."

"Kang Geon-woo is doing well now, but he's also slightly at risk. I suppose it's a condition where close combat type cadets could be at a disadvantage."

Instructor Seok Hong-jae laughed as if his words were an exaggeration.

"Looking at Jeong Su-hyeon, that doesn't seem to be entirely true."

❀⋆｡°✿☆❀✿°｡⋆❀

"Look up!"

"He's flying in the air!"

Su-hyeon was masterfully evading attacks directed at him by stepping on Mana Shields he created in the air, using the battlefield three-dimensionally.

"Damn it!"

The Class 2 cadet who fired a fireball clicked his tongue.

Whoosh!

"Just get hit already!"

As his fireballs consistently missed despite firing them until his hands grew hot, he finally began indiscriminate shooting.

'Got it!'

Just when it seemed he had finally caught Su-hyeon.

'Now!'

Su-hyeon avoided even the critical fireball by leaning his upper body backward at the last moment, as if doing the limbo.

"Gwaak!"

A Class 3 cadet who was preparing to pounce on Su-hyeon from behind was hit by the suddenly appearing fireball and flew out of the arena.

"Healer team, move in!"

The healers on standby quickly approached to extinguish the fire and heal the injured area.

"It's fortunate he was wearing armor, otherwise he could have been severely burned."

"We'll evacuate him immediately."

"Okay."

An argument broke out between Class 3 and Class 2 cadets who witnessed this scene.

"Hey man, what if you hit someone on your side!"

"I didn't do it, he dodged it!"

"This is like a marketplace."

Meanwhile, Su-hyeon ran across the air, kicked another person away, and then.

"Aak!"

He delivered a sharp calf kick (a low kick targeting the calf) to the lower body of a werewolf trying to overpower him with size, causing him to collapse on the spot.

Leaving the werewolf clutching his calf behind, Su-hyeon crossed the arena again in search of his next prey.

"That guy's too quick!"

"We can't catch him."

The Group A cadets rapidly lost confidence as Su-hyeon's elusive movements retired four people in the blink of an eye.

"I knew this would happen."

Kim Ho-su, who held the second-highest rank in Group A after Su-hyeon, shook his head.

"Did they really think they could lynch him by rushing in without a plan?"

You know nothing about Jeong Su-hyeon.

Kim Ho-su muttered as he took a step back.

"What's with you, aren't you going to fight with us?"

"I'll remain neutral, so you all do your best."

"Crazy bastard!"

Swish!

Regardless of what they said, Kim Ho-su retreated to the opposite side of the arena using his specialty, ultra-acceleration.

"You can't catch me anyway. Who knows, maybe there's a way if you catch the most dangerous one first and then surround me together later?"

"Tch."

The Class 2 cadet who had been cooling his hand on his ear after it had heated up from firing fireballs said.

"Let's surround and catch Jeong Su-hyeon first. If we corner him, we have a chance."

"Ohh."

Su-hyeon raised his eyebrows with interest.

"I'm curious if that's really true."

"What?"

After walking to the edge of the arena himself, Su-hyeon turned to face the four cadets and said.

"Is this good enough? Come and try."

"What are you thinking, backing yourself into a corner?"

"Well, I want to show you that what you think is a winning strategy is actually not the answer."

"Crazy bastard!"

Kim Ho-su quietly agreed with the Class 2 cadet's words.

'Man, he's disgustingly good at provocation.'

His skill at calmly goading others was extraordinary.

'Can't refuse to engage now either.'

But the problem was that there must be a reason he was acting this way.

'If they take the bait and come at him, that's when he'll execute whatever he's prepared.'

Just as Kim Ho-su thought.

"Acting so arrogant!"

"Take this!"

Two of the four cadets simultaneously rushed at Su-hyeon, launching attacks targeting his upper and lower body.

Whack!

Su-hyeon first kicked away the cadet aiming for his lower body with a deep push kick, and then.

Thwack!

While blocking the werewolf's wrist with his forearm as it swung its claws, he struck its right ribs with the hilt of his sword.

"Kuhk!"

In the moment the werewolf's body stiffened from the pain that felt like a cracked bone.

Su-hyeon slipped out sideways and delivered a high roundhouse kick to the back of the werewolf's head, sending him right out of the arena.

"This bastard!"

'I see, so that was his plan.'

Kim Ho-su expressed admiration as he realized Su-hyeon's tactics.

'Cliff-edge tactics.'

A so-called active desperate situation where, as just happened, the attacker could be thrown out of bounds—would that be the right description?

"He's utilizing the out-of-bounds rule like that."

Kim Ho-su sighed, unsure whether to call it good imagination or good sense.

'This will end quickly.'

In reality.

Kim Ho-su realistically didn't expect much from cadets clumsily challenging someone of Su-hyeon's caliber.

'If there had been even a slight chance, I would have taken the initiative to unite them.'

But he knew better than anyone, having observed Su-hyeon, that there wasn't.

'If that's the case, it would be better to fight one-on-one and have a satisfying battle.'

Kim Ho-su had made a judgment considering what practical benefit he should pursue through this exam.

"Clever bastard."

Instructor Kim Cheol-han snorted, guessing his inner thoughts.

'Well, let's see what kind of fight you'll put up against Jeong Su-hyeon.'

❀⋆｡°✿☆❀✿°｡⋆❀

Kim Ho-su.

A speed star who awakened the characteristic 'Ultra-Acceleration.'

'Ultra-Acceleration is quite an outstanding characteristic.'

Due to his ability to instantly generate explosive speed without any preliminary movement, a moment's carelessness could lead to severe injury.

However.

'Linear acceleration is just prey to me.'

To me, who had overcome even the speed of 'Swiftness' Chu Jinhong, the speed that Kim Ho-su currently possessed was, strictly speaking, merely an inferior version.

'But that doesn't mean he's an opponent to take lightly.'

Tap, tap tap.

As Kim Ho-su approached, stepping forward and backward like a fencing swordsman with his rapier held forward, I also maintained a firm middle stance.

'Kim Ho-su's characteristic and the rapier have quite good compatibility.'

His rapier, which pierced a single point instantly using ultra-acceleration, was truly worthy of being called a needle.

'Above all, what makes it tricky is that it's specialized for distance fighting.'

Kim Ho-su's sword style involved stepping forward and backward without side steps, then suddenly thrusting in.

Moreover, unlike the small sword series used in fencing, the rapier was a surprisingly substantial and sturdy sword.

'Eye Power activated.'

Keeeeeng!

Reading the timing of Kim Ho-su's thrust with Eye Power as he spotted an opening and lunged in, I lightly swung my sword tip to deflect the thrust.

But.

Swish swish swish!

As if that was nothing, an immediate succession of three thrusts created afterimages as they flew toward my vital points.

'Fierce.'

Clang clang!

I blocked two, but the last one, initially aimed at my shoulder joint, flexibly curved its trajectory like a whip and targeted my abdomen.

'Danger!'

I barely blocked the thrust with my left forearm, covered with a shield.

"Tch."

Kim Ho-su, pulling back his sword tip before I could grab it, accelerated backward as well, retreating with impressive speed.

"Wow, I can't believe that was blocked."

Kim Ho-su clicked his tongue as his critical attack missed.

"Still, it was a good attempt."

"Then what does that make you, who blocked it?"

Kim Ho-su adjusted the distance again, stepping forward and backward.

'He's killing the disadvantages of the acceleration characteristic while maximizing its advantages.'

Kim Ho-su was definitely quite an intelligent character.

Moreover, force equals acceleration times mass.

Kim Ho-su's thrusts, with their tremendous acceleration, inevitably carried substantial power.

But.

"The rapier thrusting style is at a disadvantage against me, who's closer to sword & buckler. You should know that, right?"

"Just because I know doesn't mean I can suddenly change my style. I have to fight with what I'm good at."

"A good answer to a foolish question."

I smiled and changed from my usual stance, creating a posture where my right hand holding the sword and my right foot faced forward.

If someone were to view the two of us from the side, we would probably look like decalcomania.

"What are you trying to do now?"

Kim Ho-su's eyebrow twitched.

"I've become interested in that style."

Kim Ho-su grinned.

"Jeong Su-hyeon."

"Speak."

"Sometimes you look... like someone who gets a thrill from defeating opponents by countering with their exact same tactics."

"That's definitely one of my bad habits."

I didn't deny it.

'Try being stagnant like me, you bastard.'

"Yes. That's your tactic. Provocation that forces people to fall for it even when they know better."

"You're perceptive."

"What's more infuriating is that I know it's provocation, but I don't have any particular way to counter it."

"It's not like you'd stop just because I told you to."

"Haha."

Kim Ho-su looked at me with eyes filled with cold anger and said.

"Then I have no choice but to shatter that arrogance."

"That's the spirit."

Clang clang clang! Kaang!

Seeing his thrusts consistently deflected by Su-hyeon's parrying after precise distance fighting, Kim Ho-su exhaled the air that had filled his lungs.

"Phuuu!"

'This bastard, can he see all my attacks?'

Beyond just having good reflexes, he also showed signs of reading moves in advance and responding accordingly.

'Well, he did overcome that Ma-in Chu Jinhong, so my speed might look like a fly's to him.'

In that case, there was only one option.

'Pierce with the maximum speed that even I can't control.'

A strategy of all or nothing—setting up a situation that requires a simple thrust, then executing a fatal maximum speed thrust.

That was the best approach currently available to Kim Ho-su, and.

'He'll decide the match soon.'

Su-hyeon had even this option in mind.

Tap, tap.

The moment a low thrust came in, mixed with feinting motions that seemed like he might or might not come in.

'Here it comes!'

Su-hyeon, having discerned Kim Ho-su's strategy by observing his expression, footwork, and shoulder movement, ignored the low thrust and leaned back greatly.

Swoosh!

A thrust piercing through the air flew toward Su-hyeon's chest.

'Fast!'

It was a thrust so fast that even with Eye Power, reflexes might not keep up if not prepared in advance, but.

Shwik!

Because Su-hyeon had dodged preemptively, he was able to minimize the damage by getting stabbed only in the shoulder.

'Got hit.'

Su-hyeon frowned at the unfamiliar pain but struck Kim Ho-su's thigh with the back of his sword, knocking him down as his balance was completely broken from executing his critical thrust.

Whack!

"Ah, damn it."

Kim Ho-su, who laughed despondently, collapsed to the ground as if hit by a taser gun.

"That was a good thrust."

Su-hyeon said.

'It just didn't reach me.'

[Group A is decided! The main tournament qualifier is Jeong Su-hyeon!]

❀⋆｡°✿☆❀✿°｡⋆❀

After the preliminaries ended, Kim Ho-su approached Su-hyeon and asked.

"Could you see that attack?"

"No way. If I could, I wouldn't have been hit."

Su-hyeon shook his head.

"I had already read your pattern and strategy. I knew that attack would come eventually."

"Huuh."

"And then I read the signal keenly and dodged one step ahead. Yet I still got hit in the shoulder. It was faster than I expected."

'Of course, if I had turned on Tachypsychia Mode, I could have perfectly avoided even that.'

Su-hyeon preferred a path where he could exert combat power continuously without overloading.

"In that case, well, it's my complete defeat."

Kim Ho-su smiled and patted Su-hyeon's shoulder.

"Since it's come to this, go all the way to the championship."

[The main tournament qualifier from Group B has been determined to be Seo Jun-seong!]

Looking at Seo Jun-seong, who had finally sent even Kang Geon-woo flying out of bounds, Su-hyeon grinned.

"Of course."