novelraw Chapter 13 : Chapter 13
Chapter 13 : Chapter 13
Chapter 13: Special Training (4)
Marvelous reaction speed and persistent combat sense.
The evaluation was sufficient.
Hojin approached Ryu Jinwoo to end the spar.
However, at that moment, Ryu Jinwoo’s form distorted and appeared behind Hojin.
‘Shadow Chase?’
He had perfectly replicated the martial art he himself had just used, right before his eyes.
‘How does he know this technique?’
His surprise was brief; Hojin quickly twisted his body to dodge the sword strike and blocked Ryu Jinwoo’s movements by striking his nerves.
As expected, he was an unpredictable fellow, Hojin thought.
But at that moment, something even more surprising happened.
Ryu Jinwoo, bound with his nerves struck, suddenly moved his body, roughly kicking his chest and breaking free.
It was a precise timing that struck his carelessness.
At Ryu Jinwoo’s appearance after that, Hojin felt a chill run down his spine.
‘This is…….’
A cool gaze dancing over his skin and strangely flickering muscles.
The moment Ryu Jinwoo gripped his sword and took a stance, the image of someone formed like a phantom in Hojin’s vision.
‘Baekseok.’
His stance, his gaze, even the way he held his sword.
Everything reminded him of him.
The moment Ryu Jinwoo’s sword was thrust, Hojin’s instincts awakened.
He was ultimately forced to use a technique he had never thought he would use in a spar with a cadet.
[Silver Wolf: Vicious Fang]
In an instant, a cold energy overwhelmed the space.
As Hojin’s fingertips drew a sharp, straight line, the attacks of the two clashed, and a light exploded.
With the shockwave, a cloud of dust covered the arena.
Before long, a silence fell.
***
The area around the arena was in utter confusion due to the thick cloud of dust that had settled.
“What, what happened?”
“I couldn’t see. I could see them until right before they clashed…….”
The cadets who were watching the spar each voiced their questions and surprise.
The cadets who were watching the spar were bewildered by the sudden explosion and shockwave.
Amidst that, Seol Hayun and Do Haru were quietly watching the center.
“What happened? I felt a really strong magic power just now.”
Do Haru opened her mouth with a tense voice.
“Maybe Instructor Hojin used a spell.”
As Seol Hayun immediately answered, Do Haru looked at her with surprised eyes.
“Hojin used a spell? No way, he was using magic power from the start, wasn't he? It was just particularly strong a moment ago. Wasn't it just a bit stronger than usual?”
A spell was a technique that formalized and outputted magic power with a structured form.
It had a designed flow and a clear mechanism.
“Simply overlaying or wielding magic power is qualitatively different from utilizing a spell. Hojin’s swordsmanship just now was like that. It was unleashed with a special spell embedded in it.”
Although her tone was the same as usual, her words were filled with a firm conviction.
Hojin had used a spell. His own technique.
And that’s why it was strange.
For an instructor to use a spell in a spar with a cadet was, in itself, absurd.
In the first place, it was rare for an instructor to show their own spell.
Spells were strictly for practical combat.
Not only was it a very dangerous technique in itself, but if they were strong enough to be an instructor, there was no reason to use it in the educational stage.
Unless it was a special and urgent situation like the widely reported ‘Zero Academy Ghoul Witch Invasion Incident,’ it was known that instructors rarely used spells.
“So you’re saying Hojin used a spell against Ryu Jinwoo? Does that even make sense?”
“I’m confused too. But there’s no doubt. For some reason, he used a spell.”
Do Haru’s eyes widened, and she opened her mouth.
“If you’re that sure, then it must be true.”
Although she was in a state of fatigue from the aftermath of the previous battle, Do Haru thought that Seol Hayun’s senses couldn't be wrong.
Amazement, instead of doubt, began to fill Do Haru.
The gazes of the two turned to the sparring arena where the dust was slowly settling.
The entire arena was holding its breath, waiting for the result.
Amidst the tense atmosphere.
In the silence where even the spectators’ breathing could be heard, the silhouettes of the two slowly revealed themselves.
A silhouette lying on the floor and another silhouette standing tall in front of it.
The composition was simple yet dramatic.
“No way.”
No way, is the one standing Ryu Jinwoo?
Although they couldn't say it out loud, the fleeting thought that crossed their minds was mostly the same.
But the fleeting thought was nothing more than an ‘as expected.’
Because as the dust cleared, Hojin’s white hair was revealed.
“Ah, as expected. It’s not possible.”
“What do you mean, ‘not possible’? Of course it’s not. Even we couldn’t do it, so how could a guy who hasn't even awakened do it.”
The state of the fallen Ryu Jinwoo was tattered, as if he had come through a storm.
His clothes were torn here and there, revealing his bare skin.
Red wounds were clearly visible on the exposed skin.
He was completely still, as if he had lost consciousness.
Hojin, who had been looking at Ryu Jinwoo with a meaningful expression, looked around and opened his mouth.
“Is the medical team here?”
At this, personnel in white coats went up to the sparring arena a moment later and checked Ryu Jinwoo’s condition.
The medical staff who were always on standby due to the nature of the academy where sparring was frequent.
One of the medical staff who was examining the wounds gasped in surprise.
He approached Hojin and whispered something quietly.
After exchanging a few words with him, Hojin nodded simply, and the medical staff carried Ryu Jinwoo on a stretcher and left the training ground.
Hojin, who had been looking down at his own hand for a moment, quietly put his hands behind his back and turned his gaze to the cadets.
“I believe you all have learned a lot from today’s spar.”
Some cadets flinched at the cold and calm voice.
“Passing the entrance exam is not the end. Rather, this is just the beginning. Today, you have faced your own limits.”
At Hojin’s sharp, glinting gaze, the cadets swallowed dryly.
“The training from now on will not be any easier. Perhaps for some, it will be a time of hell. However, you will certainly become stronger. As a human, and as a hero. I expect you to trust and follow this instructor.”
His words carried a weight that no one could ignore.
Because no one here had been able to even injure him.
If he says jump, they jump.
“Take today as a lesson. This concludes the spar. Everyone, dismiss.”
With those words, Hojin followed in the direction the medical staff had gone.
Arriving at the infirmary, Hojin asked the medical staff.
“Do you know when he might recover?”
“Well. We’ve finished the emergency treatment. This friend was in a considerably overworked state. I think he’ll need to rest for a few days to recover, but…….”
The medical staff trailed off mid-sentence.
Because an unbelievable scene had captured his eyes.
Hojin was wrapping a bandage around himself.
Bright red blood was slowly seeping through the bandage wrapped around his arm.
“Instructor, the blood……?”
“Don’t mind it. More importantly, will Ryu Jinwoo be able to move when he wakes up?”
“Ah, yes.”
“Good. Then tell him to come to the instructor’s office. After his body has sufficiently recovered, at a convenient time.”
The bewildered expression of the medical staff contrasted with Hojin’s blank face.
The medical staff quickly nodded his head.
“Ah, yes. I’ll let him know.”
“Thank you. Well then.”
Leaving behind the bewildered expression of the medical staff, Hojin slowly left the infirmary.
Hojin looked down at his arm once again.
The bandage was stained red with the blood that had seeped out.
‘Baekseok’s disciple……. I’m looking forward to it.’
Power filled his clenched fist.
***
My eyelids trembled slowly.
When I finally opened my eyes, I was met with an unfamiliar ceiling.
The smell of disinfectant brushed past my nose over the soft bed.
‘Where is this……?’
My memory slowly returned.
The spar with Hojin, the moment of the final clash, and the fact that it had hurt like hell.
I checked my body.
Bandages were wrapped around various parts of my body.
Especially my arms, shoulders, and from my chest down to my waist.
‘I was crazy. What was supposed to be a grab-a-skill-and-run, suddenly became serious.’
When the spar first started, my mindset was to get one useful technique and quit.
According to the original plan, I should have shouted my surrender at the point I had obtained [Predator's Gait].
But from a certain point, the urge not to lose began to boil up.
Could it be that my testosterone levels had increased from doing hard training every day?
The wounds and pains I got in return were quite bitter.
It was the moment I sighed and leaned my head on the pillow.
Ddiring-!
[Tactical Manual]
-You have learned the swordsmanship ‘Silver Wolf: Vicious Fang.’
‘This is…….’
It was Hojin’s spell.
I recalled the moment of the final clash.
The blue trajectory that had flashed from Hojin’s hand.
Come to think of it, I think I saw a message at the end.
[Would you like to learn the corresponding skill? Y / N]
[Required SP: 100,000]
[Owned SP: 160,400]
It was an unexpected gain.
Not only that, I hadn't even thought Hojin would use this.
He was the type who hadn't used such a full-fledged spell even while fighting all 40 cadets.
‘In other words, I was hit by this skill.’
Did I almost die for real?
I got goosebumps for a moment.
In any case, when it came to whether to learn it or not, the conclusion was of course set.
I pressed Yes without delay.
[‘Silver Wolf: Vicious Fang’ has been understood.]
-……The type changes to match the learner…….
-‘Silver Wolf: Vicious Fang’ has been changed to ‘Crimson Wolf: Blood Fang.’
The message continued.
Among them, the keyword ‘type change’ caught my eye.
‘Can skills change too? Come to think of it, Hojin used his bare hands.’
Strictly speaking, it was a technique originally used with a dagger, but Hojin had used his hand blade.
On the other hand, the weapon I use is a ‘do,’ which is close to a longsword; if the skill remained as it was, it would be difficult to utilize.
‘Hmm? Come to think of it…….’
When I learned this skill, I wasn't sucked into that familiar dark space.
‘Why?’
I quickly checked the system message.
[Tactical Manual]
[Swordsmanship Spell]
-Crimson Wolf: Blood Fang
-Grade: 3
As expected, there was nothing special.
What could it be. Something that was supposed to happen didn't happen.
I wondered if I should be happy that a troublesome process was omitted, but on the other hand, a sense of anxiety crept in.
‘Don't make me worry for nothing.’
A brief worry brushed past, but I just shook my head.
In any case, whatever happens with the system I have is beyond my control.
For now, I just need to focus on what I've gained, and if something unexpected happens, I can just think about it then.
In the first place, I didn’t even know the reason I was dropped here, but haven’t I made it this far?
With that thought, I scanned the content written below the Tactical Manual.
‘Grade 3…….’
By the game system standard of Grade 1 to 9, it’s quite a high grade.
Its power would be less than a Special Grade, but the recoil would also be less.
I don't have resources like mana.
Instead, a recoil comes every time I use a skill.
For example, if I use a Special Grade skill like ‘Hundred Night Yaksha,’ a wave of pain washes over my entire body, and for more than an hour after, I can’t even move my body properly.
If it’s a Grade 3, even if it’s an advanced technique, wouldn't the recoil converge to a level where I can use it two or three times?
‘Let’s check that out gradually.’
Should I go to the training ground to test the skill?
Just as I was thinking that.
Chwa-reureuk-!
With a familiar noise, that unpleasant fellow appeared again.
[Kihihihit! Hihi! Hihik! Kkihihihi!]
A leather book with a hideous mouth and tongue.
The fellow began to spin in the air, licking the area around its mouth with its tongue.
Laughing its head off, as if something was so funny.
“Ha, you again.”
That detestable face.
I thought I would see it less once I entered the academy.
What a load of bull, I seem to be seeing it more often.
Just as my head was shaking on its own.
[U-geuk- U-geuk-]
The fellow suddenly started to make a strange sound.
It sounded like a baby smacking its lips on something.
“Wait, don’t tell me.”
[U-uk- Uk- U-we-ee-eee-ek!]
The fellow opened its mouth wide and forcefully vomited something.
“Agh! You do all sorts of things. So disgusting.”
Tuk-
A square object, covered in a slimy green mucus, fell to the floor.
“…….”
I was speechless for a long while at the absurd sight.
After all the crazy things it had done, was it now going to vomit too?
As if nothing had happened, the fellow closed its mouth and returned to the form of a normal book.
I let out a hollow laugh and picked up the object from the floor.
The mucus on the surface vanished and evaporated like smoke.
“……This is a relief. I don’t have to wipe it.”
What was left was a thin booklet with something written on it.
“School supplies?”
[Learner-Customized Education Project]
[School Supply Special Sale!]
[Purchase school supplies with cheap SP!]
[Note: This item only applies to registered learners. If used by a non-learner, the effect will not activate.]
- Fatigue Recovery Potion (5,000SP): Wounds and fatigue are all gone! Temporarily grants the user ‘Medium’ level healing power!
- Sweat-Soaked Gym Uniform (17,000SP): Essential for endurance training! Reduces stamina consumption by 30% when worn. But be warned, it may emit a foul odor!
- Low-Cost Randoseru (50,000SP): Freely store a certain weight of items! Can be freely summoned and upgraded using SP!
A booklet with various products and descriptions, along with the words ‘Special Sale.’
Was this what it vomited for?
‘The Fatigue Recovery Potion seems useful right now.’
[Would you like to purchase the Fatigue Recovery Potion? (5,000SP)]
[Y / N]
As I thought about it, a message confirming my purchase intent arrived immediately.
I thought it might be a bit expensive, but it was worth testing its effectiveness.
I pressed Yes.
Chwa-reureuk-!
The Tactical Manual began to open again.
The mouth and tongue reappeared.
[Kkihik! Kkihihit! Kkihihihihi! It’s coming! Coming! Coooming!]
“……Wait, no?”
The fellow laughed like crazy by itself, then moved its tongue ravenously.
[U-geuk- U-geuk- U-u-u-uk-!]
It started to make ‘that sound’ again.
A moment later, wal-kak- the fellow vomited the object.
In my hand was a hard glass bottle, along with a sticky green mucus.
“……You son of a X.”
The slimy, unpleasant feeling from the mucus.
I squeezed my eyes shut.