I Entered an Academy in a Ruined Game

Chapter 22 : Boxing Match (2)

'Damn it!'

Park Chang-jun, repeatedly humiliated by Su-hyeon, spat out curses.

"Disrespectful bastard!"

"You're not one to talk."

Everyone nodded at Su-hyeon's nonchalant retort.

'That's true.'

"Huuk!"

Park Chang-jun took a harsh breath and tried to throw a left body blow while closing the distance.

But Su-hyeon wasn't going to get hit by a punch thrown without setup.

Baak!

Park Chang-jun's head jerked as he was struck by Su-hyeon's front hand hook while approaching.

'Fuck.'

Getting countered right in the face at the exact moment he tried to enter made his head fuzzy.

'Where did this bastard properly learn boxing?'

Even with his self-centered mindset, Park Chang-jun could sense that Su-hyeon's skills were extraordinary after being dominated like this.

'Anyway, the stomach is dangerous. Just a few hits and it's over.'

Having taken significant damage, Park Chang-jun's guard lowered to protect his abdomen.

'My stamina is already depleted too.'

The weight of the gloves, the fatigue of constantly maintaining tension while stepping and throwing punches.

That's why in boxing, even after just one round, non-experts become completely exhausted.

"Hook!"

Park Chang-jun's linear straight targeted Su-hyeon.

Su-hyeon easily avoided the attack and delivered another body blow.

Baak!

But Park Chang-jun, not wanting to fall victim to the same attack a third time, tensed his abdomen and endured the punch.

'Oh?'

Smirking at how consciously defensive he'd become, Su-hyeon knocked on Park Chang-jun's abdomen again with a weighted power jab.

'Damn it!'

The moment his guard dropped lower, Su-hyeon's right hook landed like a rock.

Buhk!

Immediately after, Su-hyeon narrowly avoided a hook that came like a spasm with a slipping motion, then landed a short uppercut on the exposed chin.

'Damn it.'

Su-hyeon slipped out diagonally to the right, deflecting even the pursuing straight, and calmly widened the distance.

"Shit!"

Park Chang-jun, who had only taken losses in every exchange, threw wild swinging hooks as if hoping to land just one hit.

'He's excited.'

But Su-hyeon wouldn't fall to such sloppy punches.

Baak!

Su-hyeon landed a right uppercut to the chin after weaving to slip the attack.

'Being conscious of hitting hard only makes you slower.'

Telephone punches trying to overpower with strength were merely prey for sharp counter punches.

"He's completely toying with him."

Some cadets were almost feeling sympathy for Park Chang-jun as he was being brutally beaten.

'Let's finish this soon.'

Su-hyeon, who had been operating with mobility focused on evasion and defense, changed strategies and began to move inside.

"Hook!"

One-two jab, jab-jab-body.

Park Chang-jun could only guard against Su-hyeon's attacks, which persistently pounded the body while extending combination punches.

'Damn it!'

The fist he swung to somehow shake Su-hyeon off cut through the air again.

'No!'

Seeing Su-hyeon's stance about to throw a left body, Park Chang-jun hurriedly lowered his guard.

And that was Su-hyeon's trap.

Buhk!

Su-hyeon's fist changed trajectory and struck upward on Park Chang-jun's chin.

A picture-perfect left uppercut created with flexible shoulder mobility and weight shifting.

That attack finally drove Park Chang-jun's consciousness far away.

Splash!

Park Chang-jun stretched backward and slumped against the ropes.

"Is he knocked out?"

"Not yet... finished......"

Park Chang-jun, with his consciousness nearly gone, tried to get up using the rebound from the ropes while mumbling incoherently.

Thud!

But his legs gave out and he collapsed to the ground, kneeling as if bowing.

"......8, 9, 10. Match over."

Instructor Oh Chang-seong, after counting to ten, declared the match ended.

"Waaaa!"

"Jeong Su-hyeon is so damn good!"

"Fucking cool!"

The cadets cheered at the picture-perfect finish.

"G-good match. Ahem."

Oh Chang-seong, clearing his throat, spoke to Su-hyeon, whose boxing had shown an unexpectedly high level of refinement.

"Your boxing skills are very good. Where did you learn?"

'I learned from a game.'

Unable to say that, Su-hyeon gave a vague answer.

"......I just like watching boxing matches."

"......Oh, really?"

'That must be a lie.'

He wasn't some boxing genius of the century.

Guessing that Su-hyeon probably had circumstances he couldn't talk about, Oh Chang-seong changed the subject.

"Hmm. As you all saw, though Park Chang-jun had also learned some boxing, today he ended up being one-sidedly beaten by Jeong Su-hyeon, who has a much higher skill level."

"That's right."

'Damn, the kid's really good at boxing.'

Though he was impressive during the entrance exam, Oh Chang-seong hadn't expected him to show such orthodox boxing skills. He stumbled through the lesson.

"But was there that much difference in their build or strength? Probably not. It's the same with fights against Ma-in. Innate strength and courage? Relying only on such things to face them is reckless. Humans use weapons and wisdom to defeat beasts."

"Understood!"

"Now, someone take Park Chang-jun to the infirmary. Tell him to get some good sleep and rest."

"I'll take him, sir!"

Kim Ho-su volunteered.

"Hmm. Don't play hooky, come straight back."

"Yes, sir!"

Watching Park Chang-jun being carried away on Kim Ho-su's back, Oh Chang-seong said.

"As the sparring progressed, Park Chang-jun lost his composure and swung telephone punches, hoping to land just one hit. But as you can see, such punches won't hit an opponent."

He clicked his tongue.

"Telephone punches. A common mistake made by beginners unfamiliar with fighting. Trying to hit hard mindlessly makes movements larger and slower. They might hurt if they land, but they're easy to dodge, and even with a guard up, they don't do much damage."

Therefore.

"This is what I want to emphasize most. First, develop the habit of not using telephone punches. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say I've earned my keep this semester just by teaching that."

Looking at the nodding cadets, he scratched his chin.

"Or is that a bit of an exaggeration?"

'It is a bit,' Su-hyeon thought to himself.

"Can anyone point out what was lacking in Park Chang-jun's fighting?"

Hong In-hyeon raised his hand.

"He didn't use clinches. If he was going to get hit and stagger while in close, he should have at least used clinches to buy time."[ TN: In boxing, a clinch is when both fighters wrap their arms around each other at close range, usually to stop the opponent from punching or to catch a brief rest. ]

"That's right. In boxing, that's also a valid strategy."

"Jeong Su-hyeon just let him endure, but if he had pursued at those moments, it would have ended much sooner. Basically, his understanding of boxing wasn't high."

Oh Chang-seong nodded at Hong In-hyeon's feedback, who had the most boxing experience among Class 1 cadets.

"That's also a good point."

'Says the guy who hates clinches.'

Su-hyeon inwardly laughed.

'In actual combat, there's no referee to separate you when clinching.'

Therefore, Oh Chang-seong's teaching style was to have students develop clinch attack techniques in the Muay Thai or wrestling style for ultra-close situations in actual combat.

"So, do you now feel the need to learn boxing?"

"Yes, sir!"

Oh Chang-seong cackled at the non-practitioner group whose eyes were shining.

"You'll regret those words."

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"Huk! Haack!"

"Save... me."

"Huuk!"

The cadets probably wanted to learn cool attack techniques and combinations.

But Oh Chang-seong, insisting on starting with the basics, worked the cadets to the bone with hellish jump rope sessions, footwork classes, and endless sandbag hitting.

On the other side, Hwang Ji-su and Kwon Seung-yeon from the practitioner group were sparring.

'Hwang Ji-su has also received proper training. Her fundamentals are solid.'

Given her family background.

She seemed to have been tutored by top-tier trainers.

However.

It was difficult to match Kwon Seung-yeon, who had unparalleled close combat ability among the female cadets in Class 1.

"Tch!"

Nevertheless, Oh Chang-seong was satisfied with Hwang Ji-su's attitude of not backing down an inch despite the disadvantage.

'Even though she's clearly at a disadvantage, she doesn't care. No complaints either. A kid like that has great potential for growth.'

Considering that she already had characteristics and abilities ranked among the top in her year, she was definitely a cadet with a bright future.

Meanwhile.

'I still can't gauge Jeong Su-hyeon.'

He had been increasingly interested in Su-hyeon since Instructor Kim Cheol-han evaluated him as "a candidate likely to become the strongest by graduation."

'He has an extremely unique fighting style.'

Basically, he operated the fight like an out-boxer with offensive power and aggressiveness.

'His striking method is close to a counter puncher. He fed very sharp counters at precise timing.'

To throw good counter punches, one first needs excellent evasion skills.

'In that sense, it wouldn't be wrong to call him a mover.'

The proficiency of his footwork, various evasion techniques, and defensive skills was truly mature.

'So what does that mean? An out-boxer skilled at moving, who knocks out opponents with sharp and accurate counters? Damn cool.'

This was absolutely not a level one could reach just by watching some boxing videos.

'The Samcheok incident, what happened to this kid after that?'

Oh Chang-seong's eyes were serious as he gazed at Su-hyeon's back.

Of course.

From Su-hyeon's perspective, it was a style naturally developed after playing hundreds of rounds out of boredom, and those techniques were taught by Oh Chang-seong himself.

"Stop! Match over!"

Hwang Ji-su and Kwon Seung-yeon, who had finished the two three-minute rounds, came down from the corner.

"Kwon Seung-yeon wins by decision. The effective hit ratio difference was almost double. Any objections?"

The main factor was the huge spec difference in basic agility and athletic ability.

"No."

Hwang Ji-su, whose face was swollen here and there, nodded calmly while removing her gloves.

"Are you okay?"

To Kwon Seung-yeon's concerned question, Hwang Ji-su waved her hand dismissively.

"Don't worry about it. This is nothing."

"Still, you've gotten much stronger than when we fought two years ago."

Hwang Ji-su laughed at Kwon Seung-yeon's words recalling their middle school days.

"Of course."

"Both of you did well. So who's going to spar next?"

At Oh Chang-seong's question, Hong In-hyeon stepped forward.

"I'll do it."

"Okay. Feel free to designate your opponent."

"Can it be anyone?"

"Of course."

At those words, Hong In-hyeon smiled with satisfaction.

"I want to fight Jeong Su-hyeon."

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"Are you sure? Your stamina must have dropped."

I simply answered Oh Chang-seong's question.

"It doesn't matter."

Earlier was just a warm-up at best.

"Ah, to be young."

Oh Chang-seong smacked his lips and gestured.

"Both sides to the corner."

Hong In-hyeon's upper body gave the impression of being firm and elastic rather than slim.

'As expected.'

Typically, wind-type awakened tend to be long-range dealers.

But Hong In-hyeon was an all-around fighter who utilized his combat sense to fight at various ranges.

Moreover, among the male cadets in Class 1, Hong In-hyeon had the most boxing experience.

His boxing skills, combining natural sense and long training periods, were truly top-notch.

'He's the final boss in this stage.'

Before becoming a veteran player, I too had been thoroughly beaten and laid out by Hong In-hyeon more than once.

'He has excellent fundamentals, good mobility, and very high aggressiveness.'

His individual punches weren't particularly strong, but he was the type of boxer who would finish you once he got you on the ropes.

'This will be a good match.'

"Fight!"

Hong In-hyeon approached, stepping lightly and cheerfully.

'Light and fast.'

The difference in level from Park Chang-jun was evident from the footwork stage.

Swish!

Jab followed by body hook, then front hand hook while slipping away.

I took the damage with my guard raised high against his irregular attacks.

'Fast.'

Even without activating Eye Power, his speed and course exceeded my expectations.

"Hook!"

Then jab-jab-two, one-two straights in succession.

And then circling to the left while throwing jab, front hand hook, body straight.

Pa-ba-ba-ba-bak!

Punches extended with various tempos and patterns, and I spread the distance widely with in-and-out steps, focusing on defense with guards and blocking.

'Hard to dodge everything.'

His punches rode his steps and rhythm, and his courses were good too.

'Indeed, his fundamentals are solid.'

Boxing is basically a sport where you need to keep your hands busy and throw various attacks.

'My style is to read the timing and counter from there.'

But for my style to work, it was essential to first gain an advantage in the front hand fight and step fight, and disrupt the rhythm with evasion and defense.

'Very interesting.'

This kind of hand game was why I loved this mini-game.

"Exploration is good, but aren't you being too cautious?"

At Hong In-hyeon's question, I smiled slightly and said.

"Let's go until round 2."

Of course, that's until you're knocked down.