novelraw Chapter 41 : Chapter 41
Chapter 41 : Chapter 41
Chapter 41. Midterm Exams (6)
‘Ugh!’
A single, fierce clash.
It was merely one exchange, but it was enough to make me feel the difference in class between Shin Yu-hwan and me.
‘To think the difference is this vast.’
I had not clashed against him with raw, unassisted strength.
I was in a state where I had paid points to use a Talent.
Of course, I did not blindly pour in all my points without considering the aftermath.
However, even taking that into account, an insurmountable wall was clearly visible.
‘They said that the difference of a single rank becomes insane as Physical Abilities increase, and this must be what they meant.’
It meant that while an F+ Rank and a D- Rank might not seem very different, it was no exaggeration to say that the gap between an A+ Rank and an S- Rank was like heaven and earth.
It had not resonated much when I only heard about it, but I felt it with certainty once I clashed with him directly.
‘I cannot help it. I have no choice but to avoid clashing head-on as much as possible.’
It seemed that despite telling myself not to do so after experiencing Waryong's Dungeon, I had unknowingly become arrogant.
Of course, if I were to draw upon my points and even the Penalty without thinking about the future, a way might open up, but...
‘This is just a sparring match, after all.’
No matter how thrilling this sparring match was for me, I must not forget reality.
Therefore, I gripped my Sword tighter, reminding myself of the combat style that suited me.
"Boy! Is that all you have? If this is it, I am disappointed!"
Watching me, Shin Yu-hwan swung his Black Spear fiercely with a deliberately regretful voice.
I wanted to retort, but words were ultimately worthless here.
This was a place where skill and action proved everything over a single word.
Because it was such a place, I did not argue back. With my teeth clenched, I simply twisted my body and my Sword violently to deflect Shin Yu-hwan's Black Spear as it thrust toward my chest.
CLAAANG-!!
A loud frictional screech echoed as iron scraped past iron.
I succeeded in deflecting the Black Spear, but my expression remained grim.
Even though I had definitely deflected it, a tremendous shock was transmitted through my arm.
‘This is driving me crazy, truly.’
I could tell by looking at my opponent's face.
Whether he had put everything into this strike or if it was just a light, casual blow.
Shin Yu-hwan's face, reflected before my eyes, definitely belonged to the latter.
‘But this is the only method I have right now.’
I must absolutely not use Im Seong-cheol's Blue Flame or Shin Yu-hwan's Black Spear, which were Talents that anyone could recognize at a glance.
Furthermore, if I were to immediately use Do Gang-ho's Physical Enhancement or Mach Strike right now, I would have no answers left for later.
Revealing all my cards from the beginning would only leave a helpless defeat waiting for me in the end.
Therefore, the only way given to me to defeat Shin Yu-hwan was a single path.
‘I have to endure and hold out, and then risk it all on a single attack when an opening appears.’
Now, whether I could withstand him until then would be the key to this sparring match.
Honestly, I did not know if Shin Yu-hwan would ever show an opening, but what could I do? This was where I currently stood.
‘So let us grit our teeth and hold on.’
With that thought, I deflected the Spear Shin Yu-hwan thrust at me once again, putting strong force into my right hand.
I resolved deep in my heart that I would absolutely seize that one chance.
***
Now, with the sparring match in full swing, surprisingly noisy voices erupted from the spectator seats.
"Did they say he was in 899th Place? He fights better than I expected, doesn't he?"
"It is obvious that Shin Yu-hwan is just matching his level."
The topic of conversation was, as expected, the sparring match between Shin Yu-hwan and Choi Yu-seong.
Many Scouts were discussing Choi Yu-seong's abilities.
And there was a woman watching them and scoffing.
‘To think those guys call themselves Scouts. They are idiots who do not even know how to properly watch a sparring match.’
Her name was Cha Yu-na.
She was the leader of the Horizon Guild and a Player ranked all the way in the S-Rank.
‘Then again, there is no way Shin Yu-hwan would take an interest in some random nobody.’
She looked at the Scouts with cold eyes before turning her gaze back to the Sparring Arena.
She kept her eyes fixed not on Shin Yu-hwan, who was swinging his Spear with a smile, but on Choi Yu-seong, who was standing against him.
"...His ability to endure is truly top-tier."
She carefully observed every single movement Choi Yu-seong made.
How much strength he consumed to deflect an attack, whether his movements anticipated the transition from one action to the next, and so on.
While others were evaluating the present, she was solely evaluating his potential.
The assessment Cha Yu-na made after watching without taking her eyes off him was simpler than expected.
"He is not bad."
It was a sentence that was hard to consider a compliment.
However, it was a different story when considering that these words came from the mouth of the leader of the Horizon Guild, the undisputed number one guild.
After all, someone had to be at Shin Yu-hwan's level for the word 'amazing' to come out of her mouth.
Because of that, the evaluation Choi Yu-seong just received was a statement valuable enough to be used on a resume later.
"Even if he is holding back, there are almost no Cadets who could push that guy to such lengths."
It was certainly true that Shin Yu-hwan was continuing the sparring match with consideration for Choi Yu-seong.
To begin with, if Shin Yu-hwan, known as the terror of Villains, did not hold back, what Cadet could possibly withstand him?
However, she, who knew Shin Yu-hwan well, could say with certainty.
That while it was true Shin Yu-hwan was holding back, he was absolutely not lowering himself to match the level of the Cadet in front of him.
The fact was that he was continuing a fierce assault that would cause any ordinary Cadet to collapse without lasting even a few seconds.
Could a normal Cadet even hold out against someone vastly superior to them?
In the first place, they were Cadets because they could not do such things.
"When I think about the bet, I want to smack him a few times, but since he showed me something this good, I suppose I should tolerate it."
To shamelessly make a bet while pretending to know nothing, when he himself was the sparring opponent.
She still shuddered with annoyance just thinking about it, but had she not discovered a potential she might have otherwise missed thanks to him?
It was then, as Cha Yu-na thought this and chewed over a few curses aimed at Shin Yu-hwan internally.
"It seems that guy is still the same, without having changed at all,"
A deep, heavy bass voice came from behind her.
When she turned her head at the voice, Im Seong-cheol offered a greeting while looking at Cha Yu-na.
"It has been a while."
"Oh my? It really has been a long time. Im Seong-cheol... I suppose I should call you Instructor, right?"
"I would appreciate it if you addressed me as such."
Im Seong-cheol nodded at Cha Yu-na's greeting and naturally started a conversation while looking at the Sparring Arena.
"How is he? From the perspective of the Guildmaster of the Horizon Guild?"
"Well, I think he is a decent kid. Although he is still an unripe fruit."
"Is that so."
To Im Seong-cheol, who replied in that manner, Cha Yu-na asked in an intrigued voice.
"By the way, I did not expect Instructor Im Seong-cheol to strike up a conversation over something like this. You must have taken a liking to that child named Choi Yu-seong?"
"As an Instructor, it is only my wish for a Cadet to receive a good evaluation. However..."
"However?"
"...Because Cadet Choi Yu-seong is similar to that guy over there, my gaze seems to be drawn to him a bit more."
Im Seong-cheol said while looking at Shin Yu-hwan, who was excitedly engaging in combat up on the Sparring Arena.
At that, Cha Yu-na let out a small laugh as if she found it amusing.
When Im Seong-cheol made a face showing he did not understand why she was acting like that, Cha Yu-na told him the reason in a pleasant voice.
"That guy over there said the exact same thing. He said they seemed very similar."
"...Is that so."
"As expected, it seems you and Yu-hwan understand each other well, do you not?"
"It is merely a thing of the past."
Im Seong-cheol spoke in a firm voice, as if he did not desire any further conversation.
Cha Yu-na must have noticed Im Seong-cheol's thoughts, as she did not speak any further.
She only muttered softly to herself.
"But as expected, there are differences between you and Yu-hwan, Instructor. The desired result is the same, but the process of advancing toward it is the exact opposite..."
"..."
With that as the end, the conversation between the two of them did not continue any further.
They just silently stared at the Sparring Arena where the fierce battle was taking place.
***
CLANG! CLAAANG! SCHWIIING-!!
My solitary, fierce struggle of deflecting, deflecting, and deflecting again continued.
How much time had passed?
It certainly could not have been long, but in my perceived time, it was a sequence of moments that would not be an understatement to call an eternity.
"Boy, your ability to deflect is astounding. But you cannot win like that, can you?"
In contrast to me, Shin Yu-hwan continued to push me back without shedding a single drop of sweat.
It felt as if an adult was playing with a child.
It was an incredibly bleak situation, but my inner thoughts were the exact opposite of this scenario.
‘Good. If it continues like this, it will not take long.’
Shin Yu-hwan was completely fine physically, but I could feel it in his attacks.
The fact that the offensive strikes he was launching were gradually becoming rushed.
Even if he did not rush, I would be the one to collapse in the end, but Shin Yu-hwan was currently desiring something.
‘He wants a more thrilling and heart-pounding battle.’
If he continued to take the offensive hastily like that, even someone like Shin Yu-hwan was bound to expose a small opening.
I had used that point to drag out a sluggish battle of attrition, even knowing that I was at a greater disadvantage.
It was a tactic I could only execute because I thoroughly saw through Shin Yu-hwan's personality and understood his psychology.
Therefore, I focused and deflected Shin Yu-hwan's offensive a few more times after that.
"Boy! It is no fun if you do it like this!"
Finally, the golden opportunity I had been desperately hoping for arrived.
Unlike before, Shin Yu-hwan simply thrust an ignorant, straightforward stab.
At that thrust, I pushed all the concentration I could draw upon to its absolute maximum.
Then, I immediately used a Talent to manifest Do Gang-ho's Physical Enhancement.
‘Now!’
At the attack thrusting straight forward in a line, I tilted my head slightly to the right and aligned my Sword against the lower part of his Spear.
Following that, I used the power of Physical Enhancement to lift the Spear with my Sword and slightly alter its trajectory.
With that, Shin Yu-hwan's Black Spear brushed past the top of my right shoulder.
I could feel that Shin Yu-hwan, who had never been pushed back in strength until now, was getting flustered.
‘Not yet.’
Until now, I had merely avoided the attack.
My turn was not over yet.
I immediately pulled my Sword out from under the spear shaft and naturally launched a diagonal attack toward Shin Yu-hwan's chest.
However, I could be certain.
That Shin Yu-hwan would unconditionally evade this attack.
"This is a truly fierce attack!"
As expected, Shin Yu-hwan immediately twisted his body and dodged my attack.
However, there was also something different from my expectations.
In the midst of that, Shin Yu-hwan did not just pull his body away; he also put force into his Spear and pressed down on my shoulder.
It felt as though a massive steel rebar had fallen onto my shoulder.
"Urgh!"
I succeeded in holding out so that my stance would not collapse, but there was nothing I could do to stop a groan from leaking out.
To think this level of pressure was coming from him pressing down with just one hand; I starkly felt why Shin Yu-hwan was called a monster by Villains.
‘Still, it is not bad.’
Whatever the case, I had endured it, and thanks to that, I could maintain my posture without it collapsing.
The meaning behind that was singular: I could execute a counterattack following a counterattack.
And a strike 'with all my might' that I had planned out in advance, at that.
‘I have to land... at least one hit on him...!’
He was a hero I admired, but I must not just chase after him.
Because he was someone I would have to protect someday.
Thus, I firmly endured the pain that felt as if my bones were being crushed, and I concentrated my mind on my right hand.
SHING-
The Sword that had remained suspended in the air since the diagonal slash had failed.
I immediately relaxed the strength in the hand holding that Sword slightly.
Devoid of strength, the Sword promptly dropped its tip downward.
GRIP!
However, it was not an action intended to drop the Sword.
As I applied force once more, the Sword with its dropped tip now faced Shin Yu-hwan.
Ultimately, the Sword that had been held in a standard grip was now held in a reverse grip.
"Hmm?"
Shin Yu-hwan's gaze was stolen by my Sword.
It seemed he had likely anticipated what I was going to do.
However, he should not have shifted his gaze to the Sword.
DASH!
It was a body with unremarkable abilities, but it was currently clad in a Talent.
I immediately rammed my body recklessly toward Shin Yu-hwan, and as a result, Shin Yu-hwan was pushed back slightly.
‘Now.’
Shin Yu-hwan's stance was broken, even if only by a fraction.
It had finally arrived.
The chance of a lifetime I had waited for while enduring everything.
I attacked Shin Yu-hwan, whose stance had broken, by slashing downward with the Sword held in a reverse grip.
However, considering who the opponent was, Shin Yu-hwan was momentarily flustered but immediately responded by lifting his Spear from the bottom up.
‘However.’
However, Shin Yu-hwan would not know.
What my Talent was, and what Talent I was going to use right now.
‘Mach Strike.’
It was a last resort that I had never used even once in any crisis up until now.
A decisive strike I had saved specifically for this exact situation.
Of course, points would be consumed, but I did not care much. I would be able to supply myself with points again through this sparring match anyway.
Just like that, my Sword, manifesting Mach Strike, clashed with Shin Yu-hwan's Spear.
CLAAAANG-!!
A power struggle began, emitting a frictional noise loud enough to cause ringing in my ears.
However, my Sword was aiming from top to bottom, while Shin Yu-hwan's Spear was aiming from bottom to top.
One could figure out which side would carry more force with just a little thought.
Of course, Shin Yu-hwan's strength was greater, but I had also used Mach Strike in preparation for that.
CLAAANG-!!
Like that, little by little, my Sword pushed forward against Shin Yu-hwan's Spear as if guaranteeing victory.
THUD-!
In the end, after laying down the Spear that had been like a ferocious beast, it swept past Shin Yu-hwan's chest.
SLASH-!
I succeeded in creating a very, very slight scratch on Shin Yu-hwan's chest.
TEAR.
At best, it was just enough to cut his outer clothing and leave a slightly reddish wound.
However, was the opponent not my hero?
Because of that, even in my exhausted state, I was able to smile and express my satisfaction.
"Haaah... It finally reached you."
Such was my very quiet mutter.