novelraw Chapter 16 : Chapter 16
Chapter 16 : Chapter 16
Chapter 16: Hojin's Technique
As the turns passed, Do Haru entered the cage and said in a low voice.
“I will summon a Fluffy Rabbit.”
“Ms. Do Haru? A Fluffy Rabbit, are you sure about that?”
“Yes. Please trust me.”
At Do Haru's declaration, the audience seats stirred once.
“A Fl-Fluffy Rabbit?”
“Is she sane?”
Do Haru firmly ignored the gathering gazes.
Ddidik- ddik-
Instructor Miyu, with a serious face, operated the device and opened her mouth.
“Then, I will begin the summoning. Ms. Do Haru, please stand in your position.”
“Yes.”
[Summoning Fluffy Rabbit.]
The AI’s cold voice filled the hall.
Everyone held their breath and watched the scene.
Blue lines began to intersect inside the cage.
Then, with a crackling sound, an intense spark began to create a being.
Gradually, the summoned target revealed itself.
In the tense moment, Do Haru took a deep breath and composed herself.
“Pii-.”
The Fluffy Rabbit appeared.
White fur as fluffy as wool, pink ears, and a small horn sprouting from its forehead.
It looked up at Do Haru with round, doll-like eyes.
To put it simply, it was cute.
But despite that, the tension in the hall did not subside at all.
The confrontation between Do Haru and the Fluffy Rabbit continued for a long while.
“Hi-yap!”
Ppeong-!
Suddenly, Do Haru’s foot flew out.
The Fluffy Rabbit’s body floated in the air and was slammed into the wall.
A barrage of kicks continued.
Unrelenting kicks, as if kicking a soccer ball, continued.
“Pii-!”
Bouncing around inside the cage, a mournful cry echoed.
“Kugh! I can’t watch.”
“How cruel. How can she do that to a cute Fluffy Rabbit……”
“Fluffy, you can do it!”
The kids in the audience seats began to cheer for the Fluffy Rabbit.
But the world is a place of survival of the fittest.
Despite puffing up its body and making cute noises to cheer itself on, the Fluffy Rabbit was ultimately bound to lose.
“Pi…… pii…….”
The Fluffy Rabbit, lying on its back, fainted.
The match was settled like that.
“Hoo-.”
Do Haru made a ‘V’ sign for victory towards the audience seats.
“Booo-! You’re cruel!”
“Apologize to Fluffy!”
However, what came back to her was not cheers, but boos.
***
“My ability isn't meant to be used like this.”
Do Haru grumbled upon returning to the audience seats.
Not that it would erase her history of brutally knocking out a Fluffy Rabbit.
“Weren't you aiming for a high rank? The Fluffy Rabbit is D-rank.”
“Haru is a support-type ability user, so she'll get extra points in other areas.”
“So that's how it was.”
“Huhu- that's right.”
At my question, Seol Hayun explained on her behalf, and Do Haru triumphantly made a V-sign.
Are you saying she’s a ‘golden spoon’ of abilities?
As a Non-Awakened, one side of my ribs felt a twinge.
“Alright, next, Cadet Sonic Park and Cadet Ryu Jinwoo, please be on standby! You will enter when it’s your turn.”
Just then, Instructor Miyu called my name.
I moved from the audience seats to the waiting seats.
While thinking that if it wasn't for my goal, I would have just summoned a monster like a Fluffy Rabbit like Do Haru and gotten a free pass.
Just as I reached the waiting seats, a cynical voice was heard.
“Look who it is. It's been a while, huh?”
A voice came.
But was there anyone who would be seeing me for the first time in a while?
When I turned around, an unexpected person was standing there.
“……Who are you?”
I don’t know who it is.
So very unexpected.
“Yeah, it’s me…… huh? You don’t know?”
“Do I know you?”
“Wait, just a minute.”
The boy with a name tag that read ‘Sonic Park’ began to fumble and take something out.
A headband and mask of a somehow familiar design.
“Ah, Number 461?”
“Yes! You finally recognize me! No, that's not it. Right! You stupid bastard!”
When I recognized him, he shouted triumphantly.
Number 461, the guy who had aimed for my cards during the entrance exam and then got hit in the back of the head by a Minotaur and fainted.
“I fell for your strange trick last time, but it’ll be different from now on. Got it?”
I thought he had been eliminated from the test, but he somehow managed to pass.
Facing him, I said.
“What are you trying to do?”
Because he had slyly placed a sheathed dagger near my neck.
He casually withdrew the dagger that had stopped just before touching my skin.
It was a swift hand movement.
He was probably conscious of the instructor’s eyes.
“I'm the type to return a grudge at least threefold.”
“……So, you want to fight now?”
I knew he was a psycho from the entrance exam, but he’s more of a psycho than I imagined.
I slowly placed my hand on my sword.
“Of course not. Fights between cadets are forbidden except in spars or special situations, right? I abide by the rules.”
Sonic Park immediately put the dagger back in his clothes and shrugged, talking glibly.
“I'm just saying, how about a bet?”
“A bet?”
“Yeah, it's a rank test, right? The one who achieves a higher rank wins. What would be a good reward. Right, the winner gets to order the other around. How about it?”
“No.”
Of course not.
In the first place, I had no intention of aiming for A-rank.
Moreover, this guy, despite his delinquent attitude, seemed to be quite skilled.
The speed with which he had cornered me during the entrance exam, and the fact that he was here after fainting without being eliminated.
So there was no reason to agree to a bet with nothing to gain.
“Really? I actually thought you’d say that. But it doesn't matter.”
“What?”
“I didn’t bring it up hoping for your consent in the first place. The bet has already started. If I win, I'll make your school life a living hell. Aren’t you excited?”
Sonic Park gave a sinister smile.
I think I’ve been bitten by a madman.
“Cadet Sonic Park, we will now begin the test.”
Instructor Miyu’s voice was heard.
“Watch carefully. Who you messed with.”
A cold gaze and a cool voice, the will to return the humiliation he had received was felt without reservation.
A chill ran down my spine as if frost had fallen.
***
[‘Predator Wombat’ has been defeated.]
A voice announcing the end of the test flowed out.
“Great! Cadet Sonic Park, you have successfully defeated an A-rank monster! It will have a good influence on your rank evaluation. Probably…… yes, good work! Cadet Ryu Jinwoo, please wait in front of the door!”
Instructor Miyu shouted cheerfully.
The heavy door of the test site opened, and Sonic Park revealed himself.
“Huhu-.”
As soon as he saw me, the guy gave a vile smile.
Against the ‘Predator Wombat,’ which had the ability to freely control its tough leather and weight, the guy had shown an incredible performance.
To summarize his performance, it was truly spectacular. Unceasing footwork and a relentless barrage of stabs and slashes.
He had constantly harassed the Predator Wombat at a speed it just couldn't keep up with.
However, there was one problem.
He had been doing that for a full 15 minutes.
“Did you…… see? This…… heok- is my true…… heu-u…… true self……. Heok- heo-.”
The guy said with difficulty, his legs trembling.
“Heuk- you too, try…… an A-rank monster…… heok- go and catch one……. Hehe- eu-eo-.”
To continue about the test, in the end, the Predator Wombat, which had been excessively stimulated by Sonic Park clinging to it like a mosquito, rampaged around and collapsed after hitting its head on a special wall.
He hadn't even caught it himself.
However, Sonic Park didn't seem to care much.
‘As expected, he’s a madman.’
Just as I was shaking my head.
“Cadet Ryu Jinwoo! Please enter immediately!”
My turn had come.
From behind me, I could hear a voice struggling to say, ‘go ahead and struggle, you idiot.’
“Cadet Ryu Jinwoo, when you’re ready, please tell us the monster you want to summon!”
Sonic Park’s provocation was not entirely meaningless.
It’s not like I wouldn’t get angry when someone picks a fight.
But let’s be calm.
There was no need to be swayed by Sonic Park’s provocation.
“I will summon a Cotras.”
The Cotras is a subspecies of the high-level monster ‘Cockatrice.’
It had a grotesque form with a mix of reptilian and avian characteristics.
“You’ve chosen a B-rank. Great! Then, I will begin the summoning!”
I could hear the sound of the device being operated.
Sparks flew, and a form was quickly created.
[Summoning Cotras.]
“Of all things to pick…… heok- a B-rank? That's so like you! You coward!”
Sonic Park’s ridicule was heard from behind.
It was really, disgustingly annoying.
Gradually, a giant chicken head revealed itself in front of me.
The snake on its tail was busily flicking its tongue.
“The battle will begin immediately! Don’t let your guard down!”
Instructor Miyu shouted sharply.
Kki-o-o-o-ok-!
The moment it came into the world, the thing roared.
As a subspecies of the Cockatrice, its cry is very loud and powerful.
I heard that if you listen to that sound for a certain period of time, you lose your hearing.
The thing that had let out a roar instantly flew up and rushed at me.
Pi-sit-
Its claws grazed my cheek.
A tingling sensation brushed past.
It must be the effect of the poison on its feet.
I quickly wiped the wound.
The thing, staying in the air by flapping its wings, relentlessly thrust both its feet.
The poison on its claws scattered green droplets in the air and flew around.
‘Dangerous.’
If it hit my eyes, I would be instantly combat-ineffective.
I covered my eyes with my arm and kicked off the ground to escape its attack range.
Kya-a-ak-!
But the moment I threw my body behind the creature, the giant snake on its tail flashed its sharp fangs and rushed at me.
“Ugh!”
I momentarily twisted my waist and tilted my body to the side, and a grating ‘jjijik’ sound echoed in my ears.
A cool breeze brushed past the opening revealed as the side of my clothes was torn.
The snake opened its mouth wide as if in disappointment.
The sight of poison dripping down was creepy.
Even after that, the creatures pushed forward with an unstoppable momentum.
But I need these thrilling moments.
In order to accurately grasp the enemy’s movements.
From a certain point, I began to see its attack pattern.
Tearing with its claws, piercing with its beak, and creating a gust of wind with its wings.
And in between, the surprise attacks of the tail snake rushing in.
‘I see the rhythm.’
In response, my body also began to ride the flow.
[Evasion Instinct] and my movements were in proper harmony.
The creature and I were in sync, as if dancing a waltz.
In an instant, the creature’s momentum began to change.
Pudeudeuk-
As its wings spread, a large shadow was cast.
The Cotras soared into the air and then descended vertically.
Its developed front claws were extended straight like spears.
Jjeok-!
As I rolled forward, the ground behind where I had just been standing cracked, and debris flew out.
And it was this moment.
A blind attack always creates an opening.
The creature’s posture had crumbled.
It had lost its balance for a moment due to the aftermath of the steep descent.
What remained was how to exploit the revealed opening.
In an instant, an image flashed through my mind.
A movement I had witnessed myself. That flow.
‘Hojin’s technique.’
In an instant, as if sinking deep below the surface of water, all sounds became faint.
Only the sound of my heart was full.
I raise my sword horizontally.
My body moves on its own.
A feeling as if I have become someone other than myself.
The moment I stepped forward, everything connected into one.
The will of my hand, the trajectory of my sword, and the essence of the technique.
[Crimson Wolf: Blood Fang]
A sword as sharp as a wolf’s fang cut through the air.
Like a single streak of light cutting through the darkness, the blade headed for the Cotras’s abdomen.
Without any sound, it pierced through the Cotras.
Perfect silence.
Perfect stillness.
How much time had passed like that?
“…….”
The Cotras, pierced by the sword, looked perfectly fine, as if nothing had happened.
Its lively eyes were still fixed on me.
“Hey Cotras! What are you doing! Kill that bastard right now!”
Sonic Park’s voice was heard, breaking the silence.
Is he some kind of monster trainer?
The Cotras just continued to stare at me.
We made eye contact for a moment like that.
Ddu-uk dduk-
Dark red blood began to flow from the Cotras’s mouth.
Before long, its body collapsed.
[Cotras has been defeated.]
The AI’s cold voice echoed inside the summoning device.
The hall was quiet for a while.
It was Instructor Miyu who broke the silence.
“Amazing.”
Her intense gaze was fixed on me.
“You perfectly pierced the monster’s weak point and completely blocked the flow of magi inside it. The data shows that the monster died instantly the moment you stabbed it once.”
Words of amazement continued.
“Did you know the weak point in advance? To strike that point so accurately.”
Behind me, I could see Sonic Park’s surprised face.
I almost laughed at the sight of him rolling his eyes, his eyes wide as if he couldn’t believe the result.
To be honest, I don’t know either.
How I did it.
Because I just used the skill.
I don’t know what kind of effect my sword had, but one thing is certain: I’ve learned a terrifying technique.
‘……That Hojin guy. He used this on me?’
It suddenly came to mind.
The reason I learned this was because Hojin had used it on me.
Could it be that I almost died?
A cold sweat ran down my back.
With my hair standing on end, I looked at the fallen Cotras.