I Entered an Academy in a Ruined Game

Chapter 65 : Hwang Ji-su (2)

Regardless of what situation might be unfolding outside the capsule regarding them.

The fight between Su-hyeon and Ji-su sparked flames from the very beginning.

"Hwaaaaap!"

Overwhelming volumes of ice bullets surrounded Su-hyeon from all directions and were fired indiscriminately.

Bang-bang-bang-bang-bang!

Su-hyeon demonstrated overwhelming defensive capability, not getting a single piece of clothing wet or frozen in the downpour through his sword, shield, and solid evasion.

"Insane."

Seeing Su-hyeon playing like an immortal in the midst of the bombardment she had intentionally unleashed, Ji-su gave a hollow laugh.

"Hey, this is annoying enough to be irritating, you know?"

"Aren't you pushing too hard from the start?"

"Ah, well. I get stronger when I'm a bit pissed off."

Weeeng.

Avoiding four streams of massive ice lances, and slicing through rising ice pillars with sword energy.

Crash!

After leaping over the creeping cold air like fog using footings created in midair, Su-hyeon suddenly created a position at the same eye level as Ji-su in the air.

"That ability is really troublesome. You're doing things Yu-jin can't."

"On the other hand, I can't push forward cutting everything down with sword energy like Yu-jin."

"That's funny. You could if you wanted to."

Ji-su smirked.

"I've been wondering about something."

"What is it?"

"Did you hide your strength during the entrance ceremony?"

"Hmm."

At that time, he didn't even have the physical ability to use "Liberation," and.

Both his body and mana had a long way to go.

"I didn't particularly hide my strength."

That was Su-hyeon's answer.

"I see."

If that was the case, then his current form represented development that had occurred in this short period of time?

'Some flowers crouch for a long time before blooming all at once when they meet rain. Is Jeong Su-hyeon that kind of person?'

Ji-su, trying hard to comprehend, spread both arms.

"We're not done yet!"

A massive wave made of cold energy engulfed Su-hyeon.

'This, I can't dodge.'

But it was clear that even Su-hyeon would be in danger the moment he was engulfed.

He stepped on a shield in midair and charged toward the ice wall, becoming like a javelin as he pierced through the wave.

Crash!

Ji-su wouldn't leave Su-hyeon's form alone as he emerged, carving through the ice wave.

"Just freeze!"

Crackle-crackle.

Around Su-hyeon, who was already partially covered in frost, Ji-su's attack amplified all at once the cold energy emitted by the ice wave, forming a massive ice sphere in the area.

'She's gotten much sharper. Has she already created this much improvement after the afternoon's fight!'

Ji-su's fierce offensive, complemented by watching and improving upon Yu-jin's breakthrough methods.

If considering hours earlier, it would clearly have been Su-hyeon who would be overwhelmed.

'She maintains her reason coolly even when provoked, and easily modifies her actions based on feedback. A genius is a genius.'

Su-hyeon wrapped his entire body with a Mana Shield.

Woong.

Thanks to this, he could barely isolate himself from the cold energy, but.

'I can't hold out for long.'

The frigid cold trying to invade his shield made his body tremble terribly.

"Hmph!"

Something like Yu-jin's true stance was still beyond his capability, but.

Instead, Su-hyeon deliberately destabilized his Mana Shield while injecting a large amount of mana, creating a similar release effect that allowed him to escape from the ice prison.

'She was already preparing a follow-up attack. Her ability to maintain pressure is truly amazing.'

Su-hyeon smiled as he watched Ji-su gathering strength for her next big attack.

'She's making this quite fun.'

However, the weakness was that Ji-su's additional attack timing was delayed because Su-hyeon's escape had happened too quickly.

Woong.

Five small platforms were created where Su-hyeon's vision reached, and.

Bang-bang-bang-bang-bang!

With explosive leg strength as a foundation, Su-hyeon maneuvered in a zigzag pattern, disrupting Ji-su's attack coordinates and instantly getting behind her.

"Tsk!"

Blue sword energy rippled on Su-hyeon's hwando as he cut down the rising ice wall.

"Hwang Ji-su, you've allowed me to approach again!"

Though Su-hyeon's body had been partially infiltrated by cold energy in several places to get this far, it wasn't a problem for exchanging attacks, and.

Clang-clang-clang!

Having reflected on her fight with Yu-jin, Ji-su had created a massive round shield of ice on her left arm and blocked Su-hyeon's sword.

'Good choice.'

One-handed shield and one-handed sword.

It was a choice made to focus on defense in a fight against an opponent with whom equal exchanges were impossible.

But.

'A shield isn't a cure-all.'

When Su-hyeon swung his hwando toward her face, Ji-su naturally raised her shield to block it, and.

"!?"

Using the blocked line of sight, Su-hyeon tripped Ji-su's legs and knocked her down.

"Tch!"

However, Ji-su barely blocked the descending blade with her shield, raised an ice pillar to push Su-hyeon back, then rolled and got to her feet.

Swoosh!

Su-hyeon's sword strikes pierced the upper, middle, and lower sections almost simultaneously.

Clang-clang!

Ji-su successfully blocked the middle and lower attacks with her shield and avoided the upper one by tilting her shoulder.

But once within Su-hyeon's range, it was impossible even for Ji-su, whose close combat sense was also top-tier, to regain her composure.

"Ugh!"

The attack Su-hyeon chose next was to forcibly grab the shield down with his left hand covered in a Mana Shield, then immediately trip her inner leg and bring her down.

Thud!

For Ji-su, who had smoothly fallen to the floor as if possessed, the best countermeasure she could take was.

Crackle!

To wrap cold energy around her body and imprison herself in ice.

'His mind games are really incredible. Was Yu-jin facing this kind of pressure every time?'

In terms of strength and speed alone, he didn't seem particularly superior to Yu-jin, but.

Su-hyeon's style of evading and receiving all her attacks while setting up traps at every moment to force choices was something Ji-su had never experienced before.

'Having faced this, my fighting must have seemed monotonous to Yu-jin.'

After catching her breath and organizing her thoughts, Ji-su shattered the ice and fired ice fragments like a shotgun, but.

"Oh come on."

Su-hyeon showed the magic of passing through the barrage of fragments by fluttering like a leaf, utilizing footwork and upper body movement.

"Anyone watching would think you're Instructor Kang Jun-man."

Ji-su laughed dryly.

"Your dynamic vision is no joke."

"Not just that, but it is one of my weapons, that's true."

"It's annoying that you don't just use a sword like Yu-jin."

"That's my style, if you could call it that."

Since this wasn't a fight to the death anyway.

Ji-su sighed and said to Su-hyeon.

"We would have fought anyway even with kind words, did you really need to agitate me?"

"You seem to act impulsively at important moments."

Su-hyeon answered.

"However, when that impulse stems from carelessness driven by the desire to win, that impulse invariably becomes a trigger for bad results."

"!"

"But you didn't let your guard down against me, and you conducted the fight according to reason, remembering my warning that your 'temperament is like fire.'"

Ji-su finally understood Su-hyeon's intention.

"If that hadn't been the case, the match might have already been decided. With my defeat."

"Perhaps."

Ji-su nodded with a slight smile.

'You're more sensitive than I thought, Jeong Su-hyeon.'

She felt she could understand why her friend Seung-yeon showed goodwill toward Su-hyeon.

"I won't be obsessed with winning or losing now."

Having temporarily set aside victory as her primary goal, Ji-su instead wanted to display as much as possible.

That is.

This time, she chose the attack option of directly grabbing and freezing, which had failed against Yu-jin.

"Hwaap!"

Ji-su's eyes flashed as she successfully induced Su-hyeon to duck his head with an ice lance drawn from mid-air after closing the distance by protecting herself with ice spikes.

'Good, he's caught!'

In response to Ji-su's move—lowering her stance and momentarily eliminating attack options by covering herself with an ice shield—Su-hyeon chose to circle to the side and create distance, and.

'I knew it!'

The white hand of Ji-su, who had been waiting for precisely that moment and had "placed her hand" along Su-hyeon's path, grabbed his arm and immediately began freezing.

"Hmm!"

Even Su-hyeon couldn't avoid an attack launched with foresight, and he frowned at the cold energy that pierced through his Mana Shield and instantly reached his bones.

'Her firepower is impressive. It wouldn't be strange to become frozen meat in the blink of an eye.'

But.

Su-hyeon didn't allow that to happen.

Bwack!

"Urgh!"

Before she could freeze him, a body blow starting from the shoulder struck hard.

The strike, with a Mana Shield covering his shoulder and the full weight of his body behind it as he pushed off the ground, successfully inflicted significant damage to Ji-su and sent her flying.

'Danger!'

Even in that moment, Ji-su instinctively made the surface behind her into smooth ice, safely sliding to dissipate the impact.

'So that's how she uses her ability too.'

It was such sensible ability usage that even Su-hyeon was newly impressed.

"Ah, that really hurts."

Ji-su got up with a groan.

"Is this what they call the Iron Mountain Strike?"

"Well, it's not exactly a technique deserving such a grand name."

Su-hyeon shrugged.

"Let's continue then."

❀⋆｡°✿☆❀✿°｡⋆❀

After that.

Against me, who had no ranged attacks like flying slashes, Ji-su unleashed her specialty of ranged firepower in complex and sophisticated ways.

Thanks to this, the entire map was on the verge of becoming a winter wonderland with Ji-su's ice.

It was cold enough that my body would get chilled just standing still from the cold air emitted by the ice.

"Haa. Haa."

Ji-su, who had drawn out all her mana and concentration, stuck out her tongue at me, who was still standing without any significant damage.

"What's with your stamina?"

The attacking Ji-su and the defending me.

It was obvious which side's stamina would wear out faster, yet surprisingly, my side hadn't even disturbed its breathing, which seemed unbelievable to her.

"You're big with lots of muscle. And even with all that sprinting, your speed doesn't drop."

"Because my energy level is different."

That was also what the training was for.

"Stamina is quality. No matter how excellent your technique is, it's useless if your stamina hits bottom."

"Hmm."

Ji-su nodded.

"Then I guess I'll have to settle this now."

Those words were quite meaningful, and.

'Could it be?'

Feeling the movement of mana through my ki sense, I immediately understood her intention.

Crackle-crackle-crackle!

The ice covering the entire map.

Ji-su's mana was intervening with the cold air rising between them, creating essentially one massive chunk of ice.

'Once trapped in this, escape by oneself would be impossible!'

The merit of being able to control the distance of the fight, as I had mentioned earlier.

And the mind game of pushing a hard-to-catch opponent into a trap.

The fact that all this was development shown in just one day surprised me a little.

Therefore.

'Liberation.'

I had no choice but to use Liberation, which I had no intention of using, to escape this massive area attack at maximum speed.

'This is unexpected.'

Separate from my surprise.

I approached Ji-su, who was looking at me with desolate eyes after pouring out all her strength, and put the match to an end by pointing my sword at her neck.

"I didn't expect you could escape from there."

Ji-su said dejectedly.

"Is it because you saved enough stamina to use that doping technique?"

"I suppose you could say that."

I said.

"I didn't intend to use the doping technique against you. Your fighting clearly exceeded my expectations."

"Hmph. Unnecessary kindness. What's important is that I still lost. Twice today."

Ji-su spoke with a hurt pride, yet somehow transcendently.

"Anyway, thank you."

"Don't mention it."

[You have won the sparring match with Hwang Ji-su!]

[Great achievement! You've achieved a comfortable victory against a top-tier cadet!]

[Achievement points 250 awarded!]

"Next time."

Knocking away the sword pointed at her neck, Ji-su said.

"Next time I won't be defeated so helplessly."

"Is that so?"

"So, join me again next time."

At those words.

I think I smiled a little while shrugging my shoulders.

"I don't see why not."