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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: Man-to-Man Combat Training (2)
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I took a small, deep breath.
My mind settled like a tranquil lake.
And I recalled her sword.
'Instructor Baek Seol-hui's sword is serene.'
I wasn't talking about the sound of her blade whistling or ringing.
Of course, those sounds were equally serene, but I instinctively knew that came from a difference in mastery.
'How should I put it...? It's like every unnecessary flourish has been stripped from her movements themselves?'
Her gaze, her breathing, the flow of her mana, the tip of her foot, a single finger.
A beauty of restraint, where not a single gesture or movement was wasted when she swung her sword.
Baek Seol-hui's sword exuded a kind of obsessive meticulousness.
I clumsily imitated the sword style I had experienced from Baek Seol-hui that day, lowering my gaze.
*
*Crash—!*
"Ugh—!"
Lee Minyoung grunted as she was pushed back by Jin Yuha's sword.
There was something she absolutely could not tolerate.
An unrighteous path, deviating from the righteous way.
And Jin Yuha was an unrighteous path to her.
Unlike the specially admitted students who proved their skill through achievements and received due treatment,
Jin Yuha had gotten in through the male quota system.
From the moment she first heard rumors about him, Lee Minyoung felt a deep sense of displeasure.
He had used his looks as a weapon, clinging to Shin Se-hee and Kang Do-hui to win the group sparring match.
And it didn't end there; even after the basic training period, he continued his vulgar behavior, playing both sides.
Recently, there were even rumors that he had taken Yu-ri.
'Lewd...! This flower snake! How dare he extend his wicked grasp even to Lady Yu-ri!'
Yu-ri had been Lee Minyoung's opponent in the group sparring.
At that time, the conviction and fighting spirit Yu-ri had shown. And her utterly dependable presence, trusted by her comrades.
She was someone who perfectly aligned with Lee Minyoung's ideals.
After seeing Yu-ri, Lee Minyoung, though a woman herself, became a fervent admirer of Yu-ri.
Thus, fueled by the resentment of losing Yu-ri, she had already been sharpening her blade against Jin Yuha.
Was this fate?
She ended up in the same class as Jin Yuha.
Man-to-Man Combat Training.
But this wicked man crossed the line once more here.
To think he'd get an A grade, when he was just a fox borrowing a tiger's might from the specially admitted students.
As someone who pursued the righteous path, this was an absolutely unacceptable act!
At that moment, Jin Yuha was downgraded from an opponent she *must* defeat to one she *absolutely cannot* lose to.
'So I was going to expose his true nature in the first spar, but...!'
From the moment his sword struck her shield, her face inevitably hardened.
The impact, far stronger than expected, had shaken her entire body.
'Ha, even so, he's not entirely unskilled! Now I'll get serious...!'
Lee Minyoung internally adjusted her assessment of Jin Yuha upwards and gripped her mace again.
And as the sparring continued, she became more earnest.
Conversely, Jin Yuha seemed to lose interest in her.
"Urgh...!"
Lee Minyoung gritted her teeth, charging at the expressionless Jin Yuha.
"Try blocking this too if you can!"
*Whoosh—!*
Mana, squeezed out, enveloped her mace, and the mace descended towards Jin Yuha's head.
And at that moment.
*Swish—*
The sword's trajectory moved too fast for the eye to follow, gently landing on the shaft of the mace.
'Don't make me laugh...!'
Lee Minyoung further compressed mana into the mace's head, pressing down.
The mace glowed a deep orange, like her hair color.
In contrast, Jin Yuha's sword was wrapped in only a thin layer of blue mana, appearing almost untouched.
"Da-dangerous!!"
"Even if they don't die!"
"That's going to leave trauma, isn't it!?"
Only Kang Dohui watched his sword with a silent gaze,
but all the other students watching squeezed their eyes shut, imagining Jin Yuha's terrible future.
But Jin Yuha's sword didn't meet the force head-on; it slid, pushing past the mace's head.
Then, to her dismay, the mace's center of gravity shifted sideways, striking only the innocent training ground floor.
*CRAAAASH—!!*
A deafening roar erupted.
For a moment, Lee Minyoung couldn't hide her surprise, but she quickly composed herself and thrust her shield towards Jin Yuha.
However.
*Slash—!*
*Wham—!*
The sword struck the side of her shield with a short, sharp blow.
Lee Minyoung's shield, thrust towards Jin Yuha, again failed to achieve its purpose, striking only air.
And in that fleeting moment.
Jin Yuha's sword, leaving behind a blue, butterfly-like afterimage, pierced into her opening.
Lee Minyoung hastily rolled sideways, dodging the blade. But she couldn't perfectly nullify the previous attack.
*Pssh!*
"Ugh!"
Her side ripped, and blood oozed out.
*Thwack!*
Then Jin Yuha lunged forward again.
He lowered his body, aimed at her ankle, and swung his sword horizontally.
*Slash—!*
She tried to defend by pressing her shield to the ground.
*CRAAASH—!*
But she hadn't managed to properly brace herself, so she couldn't withstand the impact and was thrown sideways.
She rolled ungracefully on the ground, then finally managed to get to her feet, supporting herself with her mace.
*Gasp—*
*Gasp—*
Lee Minyoung caught her breath, staring at him with eyes that seemed to see a monster.
Her pupils trembled as if an earthquake had struck.
'W-what in the world just happened...?'
She couldn't collect herself.
Even if it was unexpected, she was now fighting him with all her might.
But Jin Yuha was dealing with her so lightly, as if toying with her.
Even when she swung her mace with full power, her attacks couldn't even graze his clothes.
Jin Yuha's sword, which had approached unnoticed, flew in serenely, leaving swift afterimages.
'Ah...'
Despair settled in her eyes.
And his sword stopped right in front of her neck.
"..."
A sharp, stinging pain.
A single drop of blood trickled from her neck.
*Glance*
She looked down at the sword stopped beneath her neck.
She forced her lips apart, though they seemed stuck.
To utter words she couldn't have imagined when she first sparred with him.
A deep sense of defeat slowly welled up within her.
"I, I... lost..."
At that.
Jin Yuha's brows furrowed.
"Why are you ending it by yourself?"
"...Huh?"
"I'm not accepting your surrender."
Lee Minyoung looked up at him with a bewildered expression.
"It's not over yet."
Suddenly, Jin Yuha's sword moved again, descending over her head.
'...Ah, even if I don't die, to do this to an opponent who surrendered...!'
*Thwack—!*
"Ke-heheung—!?"
Suddenly, a pain on top of her head.
A surprised sound burst from her lips.
"W-what are you doing—!"
Lee Minyoung glared at him, her eyes wide.
And this time, she could see it.
Jin Yuha's expressionless face as he brought his sword down.
*Thwack—!*
The sword he swung bent limberly sideways, striking her forehead with a satisfying thwack.
"Ow!"
*Thwack—!*
"Kyaaah!"
*Thwack—!*
"Why, why...!!!"
Lee Minyoung looked up at him, her eyes filled with indignation.
"I've got a bit of a grudge against you, you see. Hmm, it'll be a while before I feel better. Let's have a few more knuckle-raps."
Jin Yuha calmly declared he'd hit her, saying something she couldn't understand.
Lee Minyoung's pupils shook uncontrollably.
* * *
*Slap—!*
"It, it stings—!"
*Thwack—!*
"Guh-ack!"
*Thwack—!*
"St-stop!"
The training ground was eerily quiet.
Only the sound of a sword striking its opponent with a satisfying thwack and screams could be heard.
Initially, the students had expressions of shock at Jin Yuha's skill.
Their eyes were slowly changing.
*Gulp—*
A female student swallowed.
'S-somehow... I feel a bit strange...?'
'Hmm, when such a beautiful man hits you mercilessly with an expressionless face...'
'Is that a reward?'
'...Should I ask for a spar next time?'
While the sexual orientation of some female students shifted in a worrying direction,
Instructor Hong Jina, who was trying her best to maintain a composed expression, was profusely sweating bullets internally.
'What in the world did that crazy bitch teach this kid...!? '
Of course, it was still clumsy and unrefined, looking like an ordinary sword at first glance.
But from the sword he wielded, the scent of the Slaughtering Demoness wafted out from time to time.
'She taught him the Demon-Slaying Sword right after he just enrolled...?'
It was a sword style that was utterly brutal because it was meant to fight demonic beings, a purely practical, killing sword compressed to the extreme.
It was a sword style said to be passed down only to those chosen few among the Demon-Slaying Squad members who had succeeded in killing their human emotions.
'And what kind of guy is he, doing it just because he's told to!'
Instructor Hong Jina, who was obsessed with all kinds of martial arts, knew just how incredible it was that he could even imitate that sword, which was notoriously difficult to learn.
'There won't be anyone here who can fight him... No, that's not a sword you should spar against for long in the first place!'
There was a risk of indelible psychological trauma for the students if they were defeated by the Demon-Slaying Sword.
It was then.
"Instructor."
Instructor Hong Jina turned her head.
There stood a student with a hair tie in her mouth, roughly tying up her red hair.
It was Kang Dohui.
"I want to spar with Jin Yuha."