novelraw Chapter 28 : Cockatrice (3)
Chapter 28 : Cockatrice (3)
Chang! Chahchahchang!
The two's feet busily stepped to create the most advantageous distance and angle.
Shwook!
Su-hyeon attempted to exploit an opening with a precarious evasion reminiscent of boxing's slipping move to avoid a diagonal cut, but.
Cheeng!
Lee Yu-jin handled her sword like her own body and deflected the thrust.
'Good.'
Su-hyeon nodded as he widened the distance and stepped back.
'Su-hyeon's counterattacks are too sharp. If I attack thoughtlessly, I might end up in trouble?'
Tension was evident on Lee Yu-jin's face.
The tactic Su-hyeon was employing now was similar to when he was boxing—close to feeding counters by targeting the gaps immediately after the opponent's attack.
'His eyes are really good. He quickly grasps the quality of the attack and aims for my openings concisely while evading, receiving, or deflecting.'
Attacks naturally reveal major weaknesses when blocked or missed.
That's what Su-hyeon was targeting.
'In fighting game terms, it's similar to a delay catch feeling.'
With Eye Power activated, Lee Yu-jin's speed and sword path couldn't surpass Su-hyeon's eyes.
'Create openings through continued offense and defense.'
Lee Yu-jin's conclusion was drawn similarly to Su-hyeon's.
"Heup!"
Kaang!
The two's swords met in front of each other's chests.
'Ugh.'
As Su-hyeon pushed forward with bull-like strength, Lee Yu-jin tried to deflect by changing the direction of the force.
'Got her.'
Su-hyeon used subtle footwork outside of Lee Yu-jin's field of vision to trip her and break her balance.
"Cheek!"
Receiving a heavy attack in that state, Lee Yu-jin barely withstood it and was pushed back.
'I thought she would fall.'
'As expected of Su-hyeon. Amazing.'
The two simultaneously sent admiring looks.
'Despite not having properly trained in swordsmanship, he somehow creates my openings and wedges in.'
But Lee Yu-jin's admiration was much greater than Su-hyeon's.
That tenacity and aggressiveness Su-hyeon showed.
Natural physical ability and sense sufficient to override a lack of technique.
'So there are swordsmen of this type too.'
She seemed to understand why her grandfather had emphasized actual combat to her so much.
"I'm coming again."
"Okay."
Chang! Chahchahchang!
The two's exchange of offense and defense continued without pause.
"Ah!"
While focusing on counterattacking after defense, Su-hyeon attempted counters after disrupting Lee Yu-jin's center of gravity using subtle footwork and hand movements.
'It's becoming more and more precise.'
Chang!
Su-hyeon, after clashing swords, pretended to withdraw without hesitation, then cut horizontally at the exposed abdomen.
Book!
Lee Yu-jin barely avoided it, but the tip of the sword grazed her suit.
'In actual combat, at least a laceration.'
She felt a chill run down her spine.
It wouldn't have severed organs, but skin would have been cut.
'His hand game is really incredible?'
Su-hyeon had knocked down Park Chang-jun and Hong In-hyeon with superior hand game in boxing too.
But she hadn't expected him to challenge her like this in hand game while holding a sword.
'Moreover, the various jujutsu techniques he employs in close combat situations are definitely not at a beginner's level.'
Lee Yu-jin, biting her lip tightly, recalled her grandfather's words.
[In a duel between swordsmen, if you can skillfully use jujutsu techniques to break your opponent's center, you can defeat even an opponent a level stronger than you.]
Yet now, rather than herself, Su-hyeon was more actively utilizing jujutsu techniques.
'Shameful.'
But in reality, it was also true that she had lost her usual pace in the face of Su-hyeon, who demonstrated impenetrable defense against most attacks.
'Think. What should I do?'
Su-hyeon wasn't one to allow such leisure for thought.
Tatak.
Su-hyeon momentarily closed the distance and struck down with his sword.
Kagagak.
Lee Yu-jin twisted her wrist to drive Su-hyeon's sword down, then immediately thrust at his chest.
It was a perfectly executed attack at a timing impossible to avoid.
But.
'Goodness!'
In that fleeting moment, Su-hyeon turned sideways, letting the sword tip brush past him, and instead came to cut at Lee Yu-jin's ankle.
'Danger!'
She reflexively lifted one leg to avoid the sword strike, but.
'Ah!'
That was Su-hyeon's aim.
He tried to trip Lee Yu-jin's other leg, which had become unstable with one leg raised.
'No!'
Before that could happen, Lee Yu-jin quickly jumped with her standing foot, kicked Su-hyeon's chest as if pushing him away, and escaped with a back roll.
Puhk!
Even then, Su-hyeon avoided a direct hit by inserting his arm and stepped back two paces.
"......."
"......!"
Both of them had surprised expressions at each other's responses.
'This is an unexpected movement?'
The Lee Yu-jin he knew would have found it difficult to show such improvisation at this stage.
Su-hyeon could feel himself being surprised for the first time today.
'Success.'
Meanwhile, Lee Yu-jin, who had been constantly imagining Su-hyeon's movements in her mind and visualizing a flexibility unbound by form, was feeling a small thrill at the fact that her attempt had worked for the first time.
'Has she grown within this short sparring?'
Su-hyeon smiled slightly, thinking she's not a five-star named character for nothing.
"Heup!"
Lee Yu-jin charged again and exchanged blows with Su-hyeon.
Chang! Kagagak!
The two clashed the base of their swords, focusing on the timing of strength and jujutsu techniques.
More precisely, Su-hyeon induced this situation.
'There's a technique I learned to use at times like this.'
Among the martial arts taught at EFAC, there was Aikido, a martial art from the Hapki Yusul series considered a mysterious martial art.
'From the beginning, martial arts originated with the purpose of being used while holding weapons.'
Inevitably, Aikido techniques included many that could be used in close combat situations like this, with swords clashing.
'Just like this.'
"Hup!"
Su-hyeon shifted his center of gravity after deeply stepping with his left foot.
Then, using the entire body's strength, he swung horizontally as if cutting, putting weight on the sword tip.
'What?'
With just that, Lee Yu-jin completely lost her balance and fell helplessly.
'It went in perfectly.'
Almost simultaneously with Su-hyeon's satisfied smile.
Baak!
Lee Yu-jin's sword hit his shoulder.
"Kuk!"
She had used the falling force in reverse, completing a one-handed cut while spinning once.
'This was. An unavoidable attack. It was definitely an attack outside my expected range, outside my consciousness.'
"Lee Yu-jin, you're amazing, aren't you?"
Su-hyeon smiled.
'It was certainly a rough attack without proper power. But in actual combat, the blade would have eaten into my shoulder and collarbone.
If I had really pushed myself, I might have somehow been able to avoid it.
But Su-hyeon didn't want to create that much of a gap with Lee Yu-jin.
"My loss."
Therefore, Su-hyeon readily admitted his defeat.
"In actual combat, I would have lost."
"Haa. No."
Lee Yu-jin shook her head.
'The final counterattack was just me desperately struggling while being completely overwhelmed. The quality of the attacks was far superior on Su-hyeon's side.'
"As expected, Su-hyeon is amazing."
"You're overpraising me."
"It's not overpraise. I was truly impressed."
More than that, Lee Yu-jin's current interest wasn't about winning or losing.
"......By the way, Su-hyeon, wasn't that technique just now Aikido?"
Sword God Lee Un-hak had incorporated techniques from Japanese old-school martial arts like longsword fencing and Aikido into his sword system to cope with close combat between swordsmen.
Lee Yu-jin had sharply recognized its unique method of subduing with damage that wouldn't be fatal to the attacked opponent, compared to other old-school martial arts.
"......."
After a moment of silence, Su-hyeon answered nonchalantly.
"I learned a bit by observation."
"......By observation?"
Lee Yu-jin felt a bit nauseous and closed her mouth.
"Anyway, today's sparring was only possible to this extent because you didn't use your ability."
Su-hyeon said, massaging his shoulder, which still had a considerable impact.
"If it were actual combat where you properly utilized your ability, I wouldn't have had much chance."
So.
Su-hyeon continued.
"Next time, let's properly fight in simulation using characteristics too."
"Alright."
Lee Yu-jin nodded but said somewhat poutingly.
"But I think by then, Su-hyeon will have found another method."
"Haha."
Su-hyeon neither confirmed nor denied and instead extended his hand.
"Thank you."
Lee Yu-jin took his hand and stood up.
'Such intense calluses.'
Su-hyeon thought.
Effort shows in exactly these kinds of details.
"It's a bit rough, isn't it?"
Lee Yu-jin asked with a slightly embarrassed face.
"It's a swordsman's medal."
Su-hyeon simply answered.
"......Yes."
Lee Yu-jin's head lowered unnecessarily.
"Ah, but I'm curious about something."
"What is it?"
"Will Su-hyeon also use a two-handed sword?"
"No. I'm thinking of using a one-handed sword. More precisely, should I say a one-and-a-half-handed sword that can also be used with two hands."
"Really?"
"I'm considering tactics that utilize both long-range and close combat."
"Hmm. I see."
Lee Yu-jin's expression became concerned.
"Basically, in weapon-versus-weapon combat, one-handed swords have a fatal disadvantage. Withstanding attacks delivered with two hands using just one hand is harder than you might think."
"That's right."
Diverse attacks utilizing a long handle, overwhelming output and destructive power, rapid acceleration, and surprisingly comparable attack speed.
Traditionally, the biggest advantage of a one-handed sword over a two-handed sword wasn't in performance but in portability.
"Nevertheless, the greatest advantage of a one-handed sword is that you can freely use your other hand."
Moreover, with my strength increasing every day, I could show output equal to or greater than the opponent's two-handed sword.
"I'm thinking of focusing more on distance control by utilizing thrusting in addition to cutting."
Thrusting was not only the fastest attack but also a good method to easily neutralize an opponent without killing them, as long as you didn't target vital points.
"Hmm."
After deeply thinking about Su-hyeon's words, Lee Yu-jin said.
"That makes sense. But even such a concept will hit a limit if you can't manifest sword energy."
"That's right. There are many Ma-in who use swords as weapons too."
'Like that rusty sword-using bastard.'
"It's a shame I can't help you with that part."
"No need to think that way."
Manifesting sword energy is absolutely not an easy domain.
'Attempting to manifest sword energy at my current estimated grade of D to D+ is greedy.'
The total amount of mana accumulated in the body wasn't great, and the blood vessels through which mana flows were also in a turbid state.
Lee Yu-jin was only able to produce excellent sword energy at this age because she had a purified mana body refined from taking good elixirs and mana stone extract injections since childhood, combined with what she learned while being drilled by her Sword God grandfather.
Properly manifesting sword energy at this age was itself a difficult task.
'No problem.'
That method was intact in Su-hyeon's mind.
First, the blood vessels needed to be cleanly opened.
'After that, I'll need to borrow that person's hand.'
That person would be the most necessary mentor for the current Su-hyeon.
❀⋆｡°✿☆❀✿°｡⋆❀
"This concludes the roll call. Everyone may go to sleep."
After the pre-sleep roll call ended.
After quietly waiting for an hour, I quietly got up when everyone seemed to be asleep.
'No time to sleep.'
I sighed inwardly.
Though I couldn't complain since it was a task I took on myself, it was true that my body was tired, regardless of willpower.
'But the sooner the better for these things.'
Now I had to escape from the academy to keep my promise with Lim Eun-seo.
'Cockatrices are easiest to catch at night.'
Anyway, it would be impossible to attempt during the day when everyone was awake.
'I'll be tired tomorrow.'
I quietly opened a third-floor window that seemed barely large enough for one person to pass through.
Before jumping down, I looked back.
"Zzz......"
Nam Tae-hoon, asleep and breathing evenly.
'I know you're not sleeping.'
But it didn't matter.
Nam Tae-hoon was probably still just observing me without actively seeking to find out or investigate.
'Don't worry and just sleep.'
I quietly landed on the ground, walking vertically down the wall.
'Made sure to bring the mask.'
Catching demonic beasts without a specialized mask is extremely dangerous.
'Once inhaled, magical energy accumulates in the body like radiation.'
The structure is such that one becomes a Ma-in when the threshold is exceeded at some point.
Therefore, one should avoid contact as much as possible from the beginning.
Especially for me as an EFAC cadet, if magical energy accumulated in my body while doing this, I could even be expelled.
'That's why Lim Eun-seo hesitated.'
But conversely, because of that, I was also able to persuade Lim Eun-seo to give me a mask she had stashed away.
'Not everyone can use it.'
The filter components that block magical energy are so rare that quantities must be limited.
Ma-in are beings with much higher magical energy infectivity than demonic beasts.
Therefore, the state only opens mask purchase rights to Execution Force members and a small number of high-ranking Hunters.
'She secretly stashed materials and made it herself, but handed it over completely.'
Having received such a precious mask as an advance payment, I had to promise not to mention Lim Eun-seo's name even if problems arose.
'It's more than worth it.'
Hunting a cockatrice and gaining Lim Eun-seo's goodwill?
That wasn't all.
'Hidden piece.'
There were several unknown hidden pieces in the mountains surrounding the academy.
'Getting just one would be huge.'
With an excited feeling, I quietly climbed over the dormitory wall.
'Now, let's start by finding a hole to go through.'