novelraw Chapter 42 : Chapter 42
Chapter 42 : Chapter 42
Chapter 42. Midterm Exams (7)
Apart from my small mutter, the atmosphere of the surroundings was vastly different.
Because beneath the heavy silence, not a single word was being spoken.
However, I fully understood why they were reacting this way.
‘It must be because I left a scratch on Shin Yu-hwan.’
Usually, a sparring match in a Practical Exam did not continue until someone got hurt.
The reason was that the mutual interests of both parties aligned.
It was due to the nuanced reasons that if a Cadet got hurt, they could be branded as useless, and if a Player got hurt, it could hinder their future activities in the industry.
But since I had broken that unwritten rule, how could anyone readily speak up?
It was then, as the deeply settled silence continued without any sign of ending.
"Ha, hahahaha!!"
Someone cluelessly began to laugh out loud in the midst of this silence.
Well... Even if I did not say it, it was obvious that the owner of that laughter was naturally Shin Yu-hwan.
"I didn't expect it to be to this extent, but I genuinely like you, boy! Hahaha!"
Shin Yu-hwan praised me as if the fact that he was injured meant nothing at all.
No, was it really praise?
Was it just my imagination that his words about taking a liking to me somehow sounded unsettling...?
However, I could not just ignore those words, so I gave a small nod and expressed my gratitude.
"I am thankful that you would at least say that."
"I'm not saying this just to flatter you, you know? I don't have the personality to do such things."
"Then I will sincerely thank you as well."
"Hahaha! Conversing with you never gets boring, boy."
Shin Yu-hwan picked up the cut-off piece of clothing that had fallen to the floor and continued speaking.
"Honestly, I never even thought I'd get hurt. It's true that I was holding back, but I pushed you much harder than the skills you possess."
"..."
It certainly looked that way at a glance.
Because fighting Shin Yu-hwan in the sparring match felt like facing a door that would not open no matter how much I knocked.
However, hearing this directly with my own ears was a different feeling.
Even though I already knew, hearing it personally made me feel a bit disgruntled.
"Even so, the fact that you broke through that and landed a successful attack is something worthy of praise. Especially that final strike you unleashed when you left this scratch; it was incredibly good."
That was because it was an attack I unleashed while even using Mach Strike, which was your Talent.
However, I could not just smile at those words.
In other words, it meant that even after using Mach Strike, leaving a mere reddish scratch was all I could manage.
‘It is a difference beyond my imagination.’
Even while using precious points to layer on Talents and swing them, barely pushing away his Spear was the limit.
Furthermore, considering that Shin Yu-hwan's stance was already broken... I must strive, and strive again.
Still, Shin Yu-hwan continuously offered me praise.
"Deflecting attacks while conserving your strength, and preparing a final strike by inducing my carelessness until the very end were all top-tier. Moreover, maintaining your composure continuously during combat was far better than even an active-duty Player."
It was an incredibly lavish showering of praise.
Hearing these words from Shin Yu-hwan made me a bit embarrassed, but I could not help feeling incredibly good.
To receive this much praise from Shin Yu-hwan, of all people—was it a joy great enough to write down in my memoirs someday?
However, my happiness could not last long.
"Boy, but you know this isn't the end here, right?"
"Uh..."
This was genuinely a sequence I had seen many times before.
Like the first time I did a virtual combat, or when I did cooperative training, or when I received guidance from the swordsmanship instructor...
And the words that followed, as expected, did not miss my predictions.
"It's true that you did well enough to injure me, boy, but your shortcomings were also clearly evident."
A lecture following praise.
I wanted to run away from this sequence I had experienced so many times, but I could not.
Because as of right now, I did not even have the strength left to run away.
Just like that, while sitting slumped on the floor of the Sparring Arena, I had no choice but to listen to Shin Yu-hwan's immediate feedback.
And alongside the other spectators, at that.
"First of all, you seem accustomed to fighting the strong, boy. You concentrate incredibly tenaciously when engaging in combat. Of course, this isn't a bad thing."
"Yes..."
"But I can't say it's entirely good either. Your concentration on the battle is excessively high. In an actual combat situation where you don't know what might happen, sometimes that can become poison, you know?"
"I will keep that in mind."
He was right.
Because in reality, after coming here, there had been numerous occasions where I fought guys stronger than me.
Just as he said, if a real melee broke out, it was true that this tendency of mine could become poison.
Because I would be so obsessed with a single opportunity that I would fail to survey the surrounding situation.
It meant that if things went wrong, I could die to an unexpected blind blade.
Perhaps what Shin Yu-hwan was trying to say was that I needed to survey my surroundings instead of just focusing on the person.
"Well, I honestly made it sound like a grand issue, but this is something you only understand through experience. Considering your current position, boy, it's actually ambiguous to even call it a shortcoming."
"You're praising me a bit too much."
"Hahaha! But it's the truth. Even I couldn't draw out my concentration to your level at that age, you know?"
"..."
I had the thought that it was not that he could not draw out his concentration, but rather that he had no need to draw it out, but I did not bother saying it out loud.
Because it was a fact that everyone here probably knew even if I did not say it anyway.
"There's one more thing besides that... but I suppose there's no need to tell you, boy."
"Pardon?"
"Because it's something that won't change just because I say it anyway. Hahaha! Sometimes there are things you have to realize on your own. Boy."
With those words as his finale, Shin Yu-hwan ended his immediate feedback.
After that, he voiced a complaint toward the Host as if talking to himself.
"By the way, it seems the sparring match is over at this point... Do they want me to fight more in this state? Goodness, Glory has become quite heartless while I wasn't looking."
Fortunately, the veteran Host did not seem completely clueless.
Ah! With this, we will conclude the sparring match between Year 1 Cadet Choi Yu-seong, in 899th Place, and Player Shin Yu-hwan!!
But seeing him continuously bring up that 899th Place made him seem a bit clueless after all.
***
After the Opening Ceremony concluded successfully—if one could call it successful—other Cadets' sparring matches continued in various places, but talks regarding the third match kept going.
And among them, the ones who were the most excited were naturally the Cadets acquainted with Choi Yu-seong.
They continued to talk about the earlier sparring match even while moving to eat lunch.
"For a suspicious guy, his skills seem quite good. I didn't know he'd go toe-to-toe to that extent with a Player like Shin Yu-hwan."
"Hmm, that's true. Even the shortcoming pointed out at the end didn't really sound like a shortcoming."
This ordinary conversation taking place here was between Do Gang-ho and Oh Jin-eon.
"Yu-seong really fought well! Come to think of it, he fought totally well in the Gate too! You think so too, Ha-yeon? Right?"
"Choi Yu-seong... The way they conversed, he was unusually close with Player Shin Yu-hwan..."
Seemingly having a conversation with each other, but not actually conversing at all, these two were Ha Eun-ha and Ju Ha-yeon.
"Jin-oh, what did you think? I don't know if I could do it if they told me to do the same. To the point of even injuring him; he was amazing."
"...It wasn't bad, I suppose. However, it would have been impossible if Senior Shin Yu-hwan hadn't held back."
Finally, Kim Su-hyeok, who was as talkative as usual, and Ryu Jin-oh, who seemed to acknowledge it while simultaneously not acknowledging it.
There was a reason why these people, who seemed highly unlikely to ever get along, were all going to eat together.
It was not because of Kim Su-hyeok being nosy or anything like that, but because their mutual interests aligned, even though their individual goals differed.
What allowed those interests to align was the presence of the woman walking at the very front.
"Fufu, it's been a while since I went to eat with juniors like this. It brings back memories of the old days; I like it~."
Cha Yu-na, who was walking with a small smile, finding something amusing.
That was right. The reason Ju Ha-yeon and Ryu Jin-oh, who normally would not have tagged along, were here was precisely because of Cha Yu-na, the Guildmaster of the Horizon Guild.
Of course, one could not know what was on Cha Yu-na's mind or what compelled her to lead the Cadets and move like this, but...
Regardless, she was an existence who was absolutely not outshone even by the statuses of the daughter of a massive conglomerate and the scion of the Ryu Family.
Therefore, Cha Yu-na was someone who could satisfy what the two of them desired.
For Ju Ha-yeon, it offered the value of a connection with the leader of the Horizon Guild, and for Ryu Jin-oh...
"Excuse me. About what you mentioned earlier..."
"You don't need to worry. I'm the type to keep my word, aren't I? If it's that guy Yu-hwan, it's obvious where he'll be. There's a restaurant he went to until he was sick of it back during his Cadet days."
"Ah, thank you."
The reason that he could meet Shin Yu-hwan played a large role.
Of course, there were several other reasons besides that.
"Come to think of it, is your father doing well? I used to see him a lot in the past."
"Ah, he is still in good health."
"I see. Please let him know that I will pay him a visit sometime later."
"Yes. My father will be pleased as well."
One of those reasons was precisely the fact that Cha Yu-na was acquainted with Ryu Jin-oh's father.
Considering Cha Yu-na's social standing and individual martial prowess, it was a truly natural connection.
Anyway, due to such reasons, Ryu Jin-oh had no choice but to adopt a humble attitude rather than his usual demeanor.
No matter how much of a lump of pride he was, it was not as if he could act rudely toward someone who was acquainted with his father, right?
Even though the world was running wild, it was an incredibly natural thing when considering that this was undeniably South Korea, the Eastern Country of Courtesy, where Confucian ideologies were deeply rooted.
After walking for a long time while chatting about this and that, they arrived at a small restaurant located within the Glory campus.
The Cadets who discovered the restaurant had no choice but to be inwardly surprised, even if they did not show it.
‘A Gukbap restaurant?’
Because it was a place they could not have imagined at all for somewhere Cha Yu-na had triumphantly brought them.
However, Cha Yu-na smiled at the Cadets as if asking why they were so surprised.
"This is that jerk's favorite restaurant. It's more delicious than you think, so don't worry."
"...Jerk?"
"Yeah. I mean Shin Yu-hwan. That guy said he was going to eat earlier, so he'll definitely be here."
A jerk, she says; how should they react to that word?
Wouldn't keeping their mouths shut without saying anything be the right choice in a situation like this?
As the Cadets were unknowingly learning about social life in that manner, Cha Yu-na opened her mouth.
"What are you all doing just standing there blankly? You have to always eat your meals at a set time."
With those words as her finale, Cha Yu-na opened the door of the restaurant and went inside.
At that sight, the Cadets behind her also moved quickly to follow.
JINGLE-!
Just like that, with Cha Yu-na leading the way, they trotted into the interior of the restaurant.
Cha Yu-na immediately confirmed the two people who were sitting down and eating, letting out a small laugh.
"Fufu, I knew you would be here."
"Huh? Big Sister, what's this?"
"...Huh?"
Shin Yu-hwan and Choi Yu-seong both stopped their meals and stared at Cha Yu-na with flustered faces.