I Entered an Academy in a Ruined Game

Chapter 34 : Public Training Exercise (4)

"A-annoying."

The Ma-in, having confirmed that his attacks weren't working despite multiple attempts, changed directions.

"Oh Min-seon! He's coming your way!"

Ssswaaack!

In an instant, the Ma-in quickly closed the distance within his whip's range and brought it down towards Oh Min-seon.

'Damn, that's disgustingly long!'

Jeremy McGarr inwardly cursed while tightly gripping his spear shaft.

The whip, clearly over 10 meters long at a glance, seemed to have some mechanism inside that allowed it to freely extend to an even greater length according to the user's will.

KWAAANG!

With a destructive sound that was hard to believe came from a whip colliding with a spear, Jeremy McGarr's body was pushed backward.

"Bastard!"

The mana, physical strength, and quality of attack were too different.

'How did that guy withstand this?'

Just from crossing weapons once, Jeremy McGarr felt a clear difference in ability, and was actually more surprised at Su-hyeon than at the Ma-in.

"Dodge!"

"Shit!"

Fortunately, Oh Min-seon's defensive capabilities were incomparably higher than Kim A-yun's.

Although the thick asphalt walls would be destroyed after a hit or two, they adequately protected Jeremy McGarr, making it easier for him to protect Oh Min-seon.

"Pa-pathetic."

The One-Armed Trainer, who dodged Kim A-yun's lightning strike from the rear with an explosive leap, rained down his whip from midair.

"Damn It!"

"This is more like bombing!"

When the two couldn't endure anymore and retreated, the Ma-in immediately kicked off the asphalt and rushed towards Su-hyeon.

Ssswaaaaaack!

Indiscriminate whip bombardment flying from all directions.

'This is a pattern that needs to be avoided by escaping.'

"Get on my back!"

"O-okay!"

With Kim A-yun quickly wrapped around his neck and waist like a backpack, Su-hyeon shouted again.

"Oh Min-seon, please! Pattern C!"

"Okay!"

As promised, Oh Min-seon caused asphalt hills to rise all around.

Su-hyeon wrapped mana around his legs and jumped with explosive leaping power.

KWANG! KWAAANG!

Su-hyeon jumped high, stepping on the asphalt hills in a zigzag pattern to avoid the whip that was chasing him.

"Uwaaaaah!"

Kim A-yun, frightened by the height, pressed tightly against Su-hyeon's back.

"S-stupid fool."

Just as the Ma-in sneered at him and prepared to attack.

"Nam Tae-hoon!"

Finally, Nam Tae-hoon moved.

"Okay!"

Nam Tae-hoon's attack emerged from behind a shadow.

That ambush, which penetrated the gaps in the whip far too easily, perfectly caught the Ma-in off guard.

'What the hell?!'

The One-Armed Trainer twisted his body flexibly like slime to avoid the dagger, and even managed to deliver a kick from an impossible position.

PUCK!

Despite not having much force behind it, the attack was enough to break Nam Tae-hoon's guard in one go.

"Dodge!"

Nam Tae-hoon, who quickly hid in the shadows to escape, rubbed his wrist.

'Ow. I think this might have fractured the bone a bit.'

Although it was a simulation battle in avatar state.

The pain that made even his brain tingle gave him a sense of defeat.

'That bastard.'

Su-hyeon secretly clicked his tongue while watching Nam Tae-hoon.

'So he won't show any more power than this?'

If he hadn't hidden his strength, he could have easily avoided the counterattack just now.

'Well, that was within my calculations anyway. That's enough.'

Instead, Su-hyeon ordered another powerful attack against the Ma-in, who was now alone as Nam Tae-hoon retreated.

"Fire!"

"Got it!"

CRACKLE!

Kim A-yun gathered her power and struck with a powerful stream of lightning.

But.

In that split second, the Ma-in extended his whip to wrap around a distant streetlight, pulling himself away to dodge the lightning.

"Ahhh!"

Kim A-yun exclaimed.

"He dodges even at that timing."

"That's impossible."

"Hmm."

Su-hyeon spoke with deepened eyes.

"By the way, I think you can get down now."

"Oh, right."

Kim A-yun obediently climbed down from my back.

"Sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry about."

Sorry was also Kim A-yun's habit.

❀⋆｡°✿☆❀✿°｡⋆❀

"Wow. These kids are pretty good, huh?"

Lim Eun-seo, who was lying on a folding bed in the corner of the workshop watching the public class broadcast, exclaimed in admiration.

"The One-Armed Trainer is an incredibly strong boss, and they're fighting that well against him?"

Offensive power utilizing a flexible body and mobility using overflowing elasticity.

The One-Armed Trainer, who drove the cadets back even while surrounded by taking advantage of these strengths, was indeed a formidable enemy worthy of a B-rank or higher.

"Once they reach B-rank, Ma-in become disgustingly tricky."

Although there was the risk of being dominated by murderous impulses.

Since the combat instincts they had built up didn't disappear, they often showed very tactical behavior.

'That's the biggest difference from demonic beasts.'

The way Su-hyeon and his teammates faced such an opponent made Lim Eun-seo think they were quite impressive.

'Well, it's already nonsensical that a freshly enrolled cadet would suddenly catch a Cockatrice.'

Lim Eun-seo's eyes narrowed.

"Even now."

To an untrained eye, it might not look impressive.

But Su-hyeon's skill in perfectly covering Kim A-yun behind him while blocking whips flying at invisible speeds was truly extraordinary.

It was clearly different from Jeremy McGarr on the other side, who was struggling to barely block, dodge, or get knocked back by the attacks.

'And he's not even manifesting sword energy.'

Lim Eun-seo's discernment wasn't limited just to objects.

'This kid Su-hyeon, the more I look at him, the more different he seems.'

Lim Eun-seo's eyes sparkled.

'Maybe.......'

While she was lost in thought, the Ma-in tried to change the tide with an aggressive offense.

"What?!"

The whip that had wrapped around Jeremy McGarr's spear shaft instantly coiled around his ankle, and as the Ma-in swung his arm, Jeremy's body suddenly rose into the air.

"Whoa, amazing."

It was Nam Tae-hoon, appearing through a shadow, who caught Jeremy McGarr as he was about to be slammed into the ground.

"Argh!"

"My back!"

But such was the power of the swing that the two crashed hard onto the ground with their backs and couldn't easily get up.

"This looks dangerous?"

But right at that moment.

"Oh?"

At the same time as thick asphalt walls wrapped around them, a lightning bolt twice as large as before struck down on the Ma-in's head.

KWAANG!

"That's awesome!"

It was a lightning bolt so large and intense that even Lim Eun-seo, who was watching, was impressed.

"...Whoa."

The shocking scene came right after.

"What is that."

The afterimage of the whip wielded by the One-Armed Trainer blocked above him like a shield.

As the whip moved back and forth, the lightning scattered and instantly evaporated without a trace.

"Are you kidding me!"

Even Lim Eun-seo had to sit up straight at that scene.

"What the hell? He blocks even lightning?"

Lim Eun-seo, who had heard he was strong but never imagined such a feat was possible, clicked her tongue.

"Making freshmen fight that is a bit harsh, isn't it?"

Everyone knew EFAC's curriculum was rigorous.

But this seemed excessive.

'Will Jeong Su-hyeon be okay?'

-What's with this Ma-in? He's really strong

-He's strong but it's also ridiculous lol deflecting lightning with a whip? lolololol

-I feel sorry for the kids lolololol

-That shadow kid penetrates right inside the whip's range to attack, but he just dodges it;

-If close combat doesn't work against someone using a whip, there's no answer

-Was there such a Ma-in in this class?

-Yes there was. Probably the strongest of them all?

-Really? I thought so

-I faced that Ma-in during last year's public class and retired without doing anything ㅠ

-You too? I got done in the year before that

-Senior...

-But dodging lightning and even that shadow kid's ambush seems a bit excessive

-The weakness of a whip is such ultra-close combat, and the key is not allowing approaches within its radius. If he just eats up attacks even when they get inside, there's no answer.

-That team is fighting pretty well, but the opponent gives no openings.

All the spectators clicked their tongues at the excessive difficulty.

"Is it even possible to win against that?"

At least to Lim Eun-seo's eyes, she couldn't see a way.

-How are the other teams doing?

-Seo Jun-seong and Hwang Ji-su's teams are doing okay.

-Lee Yu-jin's group seems a bit tangled because one member is trolling

-Hong In-hyeon's team has the team leader carrying, but they can't deliver the finishing blow

-Kim Ho-su's team looks a bit dangerous to me.

-But this year's kids are said to be high-level, and they're doing pretty well overall?

-Right. Even if only one or two teams succeed, they should be praised

-Has any team ever beaten the One-Armed Trainer?

-Not last year

-Not in our time either

-At that level, isn't that a failure in difficulty adjustment?

-Well, they don't necessarily have to win.

"Hmm."

Lim Eun-seo, who had been reading the comments, turned her gaze to the screen.

'For someone in that situation, that guy's expression is too composed.'

Lim Eun-seo, staring at Su-hyeon's face, tilted her head.

Is it just a poker face?

Or does he have something up his sleeve?

Somehow, she didn't feel like it was the former.

❀⋆｡°✿☆❀✿°｡⋆❀

'First, we need time to recover damage.'

A situation where it becomes very disadvantageous if even one person is removed from combat.

Right now, I was the only one who could buy that time.

"Kim A-yun, hide for a while. Oh Min-seon will come to get you."

"W-what are you going to do?"

"Buy some time."

Kim A-yun hesitated and said.

"Isn't that reckless?"

"It's fine. You gather as much power as possible in the meantime."

"But..."

Knowing what Kim A-yun was worried about, I spoke decisively.

"You know. This is just a simulation, and we've prepared ways to protect teammates from your ability. There's no need to worry about anyone getting hurt."

"......!"

Perhaps I scratched where it itched.

A hint of determination appeared on Kim A-yun's face.

"Alright."

"I believe in you."

"...Yeah!"

A difficult and hard-to-handle ability user, with a personality not suited for fighting.

But Kim A-yun's destructive power is valuable enough to offset all that and more.

'It means I don't even need to be on the front line.'

That was also the most satisfying part.

"Oh Min-seon, buy me 20 seconds!"

"Okay!"

Oh Min-seon raised asphalt like a tsunami to engulf the One-Armed Trainer.

"Aren't you pushing it? Your mana must be getting low."

At my words, Oh Min-seon sighed.

"Whew, honestly, it's getting tough."

"Just hang in there a little more. I'll buy us some time."

Now that Kim A-yun behind me was gone, buying time was no problem for me.

"I'm at my limit now!"

I immediately answered Oh Min-seon's scream.

"That's enough, take the others and gather together!"

"Sorry! I'm counting on you!"

"Pa-pathetic creatures."

The One-Armed Trainer, having broken through the asphalt piles, immediately whipped the air upon seeing me approach from behind.

'Eye Power activated.'

Keeeeing!

The effect of Eye Power, which seemed to become a little clearer with each repetition, intuitively transmitted all those movements to my brain.

I dodged the whip by lightly bending my upper body.

Seeeing!

The air torn by the whip brushed past my hair.

"R-rat-like bastard."

I dodged his whip barrage a few more times, and when he changed tactics to try and wrap around my ankle, I deflected the tip of the whip with my shield.

KWANG!

As I kicked off the ground and rushed in, the instantly recovered whip blocked my path with irregular movements following an exquisite wrist snap.

'He's noticed that I can read his moves.'

Indeed, an immediate and effective response.

BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG!

I deflected the whip with my shield and sword, relying on my dynamic vision and reflexes.

Ssswack!

I stepped back at his offensive that seemed to say he wouldn't allow any further approach.

'This is enough.'

While I focused on the spacing battle, the others would be recovering their damage.

"Nam Tae-hoon. Still far off?"

"Ah, busted."

Probably.

Nam Tae-hoon must have momentarily materialized shadows to reduce damage.

"Join us soon."

"But that Ma-in is really strong. Our attacks aren't even making a dent."

"No problem."

We haven't even dealt proper damage yet, but.

'I'm adapting to his speed and power.'

"By the way, Su-hyeon."

Nam Tae-hoon said.

"The most unbelievable thing right now is you."

"?"

"How on earth are you fighting him head-on?"

"Hmm."

I had nothing else to say.

"It's too early to be surprised."