novelraw Chapter 181 : Additional Selection (2)
Chapter 181 : Additional Selection (2)
Both Su-hyeon and Han Soyul were skilled strikers proficient in kicks, but there was a big difference in how they actually utilized their kicks.
First, Han Soyul was the type who preferred high-risk, high-return attacks targeting the mid and high sections.
She used large, flashy, and powerful attacks frequently, offsetting potential disadvantages like slowness and openings with agile and elastic physical abilities.
Her kicks were so powerful that even targeting the midsection could easily break a few of her opponent's ribs.
Moreover, if an opponent lowered their guard after struggling to withstand midsection attacks, her high kick that came like a ghost would be an instant kill if it landed properly.
'Plus, thanks to her innate leg power and elasticity, she's used to fighting while perfectly maintaining her distance.'
Su-hyeon thought.
'In short, she's quite intelligent too.'
Among the female cadets in Class 1, she had the second-best close combat ability right after Kwon Seung-yeon.
In comparison.
Su-hyeon's kick utilization was centered around stable operation focusing on mid and low sections, wearing down the opponent's mobility and durability, and using setup combinations with punches to catch the opponent off guard.
'Then occasionally finishing with a perfectly timed high kick to floor the opponent.'
In other words, the kicks of the two could be said to center around middle-high and middle-low utilization, respectively.
Thwack!
Han Soyul's expression grimaced as she blocked Su-hyeon's outside low kick with her rock-like thigh.
'Ouch, that really hurts!'
Speed, timing, distance control, power.
It was such a good kick that just receiving it once was enough to gauge his level.
Swoosh!
Han Soyul stepped forward and delivered a side kick, and Su-hyeon easily received the attack over his cover, returning an inside low kick to her supporting leg.
Thwack!
'Urgh!'
The calf kick with a low trajectory targeting below her knee that followed made Han Soyul retreat.
"Whew."
'This is really annoying. Should I bind his feet first?'
Low kicks were particularly troublesome because they came at such a low trajectory that they couldn't even be blocked with a guard.
'This is the most effective strategy against Han Soyul.'
Su-hyeon thought.
The frightening aspect of low kicks is that while they are fast and low-risk, taking several of them rapidly decreases mobility and accumulates damage.
'Once she starts limping, it's over.'
Anxiety appeared on Han Soyul's face as she noticed Su-hyeon's strategy.
'This won't work. Those aren't kicks I can afford to take carelessly.'
Tap, tap-tap.
Han Soyul created a long distance where their kicks couldn't even reach each other and began using in-and-out steps.
Swoosh!
Su-hyeon and Han Soyul, who had been engaged in a battle of wits with nimble footwork and feints, simultaneously closed the distance toward each other.
Thwack! Thump!
Their front kicks crossed simultaneously, pounding each other's guards.
"Kuk!"
Naturally, the one who flew further back was Han Soyul with her lighter body, but.
'She's fast.'
Su-hyeon's expression wasn't particularly bright either.
"That would have hurt quite a bit if taken without a guard."
Su-hyeon said while massaging his tingling forearm.
"I'm not particularly happy to hear that from someone with so much leisure that they fight bare-handed without a sword or Mana Shield."
"Don't be so sarcastic. I'm doing my best in my own way."
Swoosh!
Han Soyul extended her leg once more and delivered a front kick, but Su-hyeon easily parried the kick with his superhuman dynamic vision.
'Tch!'
Han Soyul, who clicked her tongue softly, this time threw a roundhouse kick with the opposite leg.
'The defense is lax.'
Su-hyeon caught Han Soyul's kick, then struck her unstable supporting leg with a low kick, knocking her down.
Thud!
Han Soyul, who had fallen on her buttocks, immediately raised herself with a back handspring.
'Here he comes!'
Han Soyul reflexively lowered her center of gravity, anticipating a low kick.
'It was a feint!'
Thwack!
Su-hyeon, who had disrupted her posture with a feint, threw a rear straight that pounded Han Soyul's guard, and.
Thump!
After striking her temple with a lead hook, he immediately retreated and delivered an outside low kick, efficiently accumulating damage to her lower section as well.
It was a picture-perfect two-hook-low combination.
'That really hurts.'
Han Soyul gritted her teeth.
Having been hit once, it was only natural to want to return the favor.
Tap-tap!
Han Soyul immediately executed a surprise jumping spinning kick targeting Su-hyeon's face.
Swoosh!
Despite the surprise attack that caught him off guard, Su-hyeon ducked low and escaped sideways, avoiding the kick.
'That would have been damaging if it had hit.'
But if it didn't hit, it only created an opportunity for a counterattack.
Thwack! Thwaaack!
Su-hyeon persistently struck Han Soyul's lower body as her posture collapsed from the big attack.
"Oh come on! Take it easy!"
Han Soyul exploded, unable to endure anymore.
"What's wrong?"
"You've been using almost only kicks! If you're not looking down on me, fight properly!"
"Hmm."
Su-hyeon nodded with a somewhat surprised expression.
'That would be more disadvantageous for her. Is not being disrespected more important than gaining practical advantage?'
In a situation where the goal was to get a good evaluation and go on the internship, it wasn't the best attitude.
'But her spirit is good.'
Su-hyeon nodded and approached Han Soyul with an upright stance.
"Then as you wish."
"Yes, use punches, kicks, whatever you want!"
Swoosh!
Han Soyul's left roundhouse kick targeted Su-hyeon's side without any setup.
Thwack!
Su-hyeon blocked it with his rear hand guard and immediately closed the distance, using a lead jab followed by a high kick combination to pound Han Soyul's guard, making her tied-up hair come loose.
"Kuk!"
Barely avoiding a direct hit, Han Soyul had no time to calm her nerves.
Su-hyeon immediately followed with a one-two straight combination followed by a lead hook and calf kick combination.
Thwack!
As Han Soyul's body staggered from the pain in her calf, this time came a middle kick without setup.
Thump!
With each blow she blocked, Han Soyul bit down hard on her molars as her body seemed to reverberate.
'Urgh, this really hurts!'
Yet Han Soyul's stubbornness showed no signs of breaking.
Thwack!
Even while unstable, Han Soyul counterattacked by pretending to throw a middle kick but transitioning to a Brazilian kick targeting Su-hyeon's upper body, grazing his temple.
'Tch!'
Just as Han Soyul was trying to quickly retreat and create distance after seeing Su-hyeon's kicking motion.
'It's not a kick?'
Su-hyeon approached instantly with a step, grabbed Han Soyul's back of the neck and waist simultaneously, swept her leg, and threw her to the floor.
Crash!
"Urgh!"
Having allowed both a brilliant combination and a throw, Han Soyul felt her vision spin as she lay on the floor, taking short breaths in a desperate attempt to recover.
"You can forfeit if you want..."
Before Su-hyeon could finish speaking, Han Soyul rose with a back roll.
"Continue!"
"Hmm."
But determination alone can't change the tide of battle.
Su-hyeon closed the distance once more and struck a low kick, binding Han Soyul's legs.
'Damn, if I keep taking hits, my legs will give out.'
As Han Soyul's body momentarily stiffened out of necessity, Su-hyeon's sharp rear straight broke through her guard.
Thwack! Thump!
A left body blow followed by a rear hook pounded Han Soyul in succession.
'My back?'
Just as she realized her back was exposed, Su-hyeon's spinning kick struck Han Soyul's awkward guard, creating a second knockdown.
Thud!
"Haaaaah."
Su-hyeon looked down at Han Soyul, who had fallen on her buttocks.
"Want to continue?"
"Don't underestimate me. I'll keep coming at you until I'm completely knocked down."
"If that's the case."
Su-hyeon nodded.
"Yaaaah!"
Han Soyul shouted and attacked Su-hyeon with a side kick, roundhouse kick, and axe kick in succession.
Swoosh-swoosh-swoosh!
But Su-hyeon easily avoided all those attacks and counterattacked with a spinning kick targeting the same midsection.
'Hmm?'
Han Soyul, who avoided the kick with a quick backstep, pretended to throw a low kick but approached by spinning a full turn, returning an identical spinning kick targeting Su-hyeon's upper body.
'Oh no!'
Thump!
Even amid this, Su-hyeon managed to block the direct hit by utilizing his dynamic vision.
However.
'It makes even my bones vibrate.'
As one of the most powerful techniques among kicks, with the transcendent leg power of a were-impala added, the damage was substantial enough to almost break through his guard.
'Impressive.'
Su-hyeon inwardly admired Han Soyul who had finally succeeded in landing a major attack through persistent pressure.
'The scary thing about Han Soyul is that while favoring roundhouse kicks, she can target the upper body at any time like that.'
But that was as far as it went.
Han Soyul, who couldn't land a clean hit on Su-hyeon even with her last move using all her strength, gave a hollow laugh.
"You inhuman guy."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
Just as Su-hyeon was about to take his stance again.
"I surrender! I lost!"
Han Soyul raised both hands and forfeited, saying she had done all she could.
"...?"
"What. Got a problem with that?"
Su-hyeon asked Han Soyul with a bewildered face.
"If this is how it's going to be, why did you struggle so tenaciously?"
"No matter what, I had to land at least one hit."
Han Soyul giggled.
❀⋆｡°✿☆❀✿°｡⋆❀
[Next, Hwang Ji-su and Park Chang-jun, connect.]
"Yes."
"Understood!"
Compared to the rather lengthy fight between Su-hyeon and Han Soyul.
The fight between these two ended in a very short time.
"Yaaaaap!"
Park Chang-jun used his characteristic "Mana Tank" to fire an overwhelming volume of mana bullets at Hwang Ji-su in a preemptive attack.
"Hmph."
Crack-crack-crack-crack!
The blizzard created from Hwang Ji-su's fingertips froze the mana bullets as they met, making them drop.
Crash-crash-crash!
The mana bullets that managed to penetrate the blizzard merely exploded against an ice wall that had already been created.
'Tch!'
Park Chang-jun, who clicked his tongue, used fly magic to soar into the air.
"Oh my?"
A gleam appeared in Hwang Ji-su's eyes as she saw this.
"You learned a new one. Not bad."
If he had been just a little slower, he would have been targeted by the ice lance Hwang Ji-su created.
"It's too early to be surprised!"
Woong.
As Park Chang-jun brought his hands together in front of him, a large mana sphere formed in the air.
"What's that? An energy blast?"
"Tch, think whatever you want!"
Woooooong!
The energy blast fired with maximum output flew toward Hwang Ji-su.
"Interesting."
Kyaaaooo!
The ice dragon created by Hwang Ji-su flew toward the mana blast, opening its jaws.
Crash!
The energy blast, which seemed to be evenly matched for a few seconds, gradually began to be pushed back.
"That's impossible!"
The ice dragon, which swallowed the mana blast whole, pounced on Park Chang-jun, turning him into an ice statue.
[...Match over! Hwang Ji-su's victory!]
"Wow..."
The cadets who watched the overwhelming match stuck out their tongues.
"Park Chang-jun is no match even in a direct fight?"
"I guess her mana capacity has increased a lot."
"Well. Getting and consuming elixirs is nothing for Ji-su if she wants to."
"These guys are really scary."
"I suddenly want to go home."
❀⋆｡°✿☆❀✿°｡⋆❀
"The cadets have made considerable growth overall during the break."
"That's right."
The watching Instructors were satisfied.
"But the most noticeable ones are still the top 5."
"Yes. Their growth is remarkably pronounced, isn't it? It feels like the gap with the existing cadets has widened even further."
"Jeong Su-hyeon seems to be adjusting his pace, showing consideration so that his opponents can display their skills."
"He really is a ridiculous guy."
But there was laughter in the Instructors' grumbling.
"Not just rushing ahead in competition, but raising the overall level. It's absurd that a cadet is having the kind of mindset that Instructors would have."
"Yes. Thanks to him, Han Soyul also received a high score."
However.
"The most interesting fights are yet to come."
"Yes."
"Choi Min-a, Kim A-yun, Kwon Seung-yeon, Nam Tae-hoon. Those guys should be able to put up much better fights."
"Personally, I'm most curious about the match between Jeong Su-hyeon and Nam Tae-hoon."
"Hmm. Is that so?"
"That Nam Tae-hoon always seems like he's hiding something and not revealing it."
Instructor Oh Chang-seong said.
"If his opponent is Jeong Su-hyeon, we might finally get to see his true skills."