episode_0076

The academy’s infirmary where patients are urgently transported.

As a place where hunters who make a living by getting injured gather, it was a room where groans were frequently heard.

Among them, inside the fancy VIP room, a peculiar voice echoed, saying, “Yong-ee-it!”

One could say it was fortunate.

Perhaps the VIP room lived up to its name.

There were even noise-canceling artifacts installed.

The source of the sound was none other than Juna-yong.

After shouting, she took a deep breath and exhaled.

Her head, which had been boiling like a pot, cooled down, allowing her to calmly assess the situation.

“Yong-hoo…”

First, she checked her body’s condition.

Although she felt sore all over, fortunately, there were no fatal injuries.

Except for a few scratches, there was no need for any special treatment other than Linga.

Juna-yong spaced out for about a minute.

Soon, she successfully grasped the situation completely.

“…Ha.”

She clenched her hair.

So that’s how it is.

“…I lost.”

And to lose in such a humiliating way…

She fainted in fear.

“Yong-ee…”

Juna-yong stomped her feet for a while.

She was furious.

Too furious.

So furious that tears welled up in her eyes without her even realizing it.

“Sigh…”

Tears rolled down Juna-yong’s cheeks.

Then, she quickly wiped them away in surprise.

At the age of 21, she didn’t want anyone to see her acting like a child.

And…

Being angry is one thing…

But one must acknowledge what needs to be acknowledged.

“Think rationally, Juna-yong.”

She closed her eyes and replayed the match in her mind.

Going back to the situation when it was 3 against 1.

Think.

Assuming Yuseiha didn’t use her ice tactics.

In a situation where she was clearly at a disadvantage, could she have won against three opponents at once?

“…Impossible.”

Definitely against one.

Maybe she could have handled two.

But three was impossible.

Seolbing, Moon Bora.

If she hadn’t used proper attack skills, focusing solely on defense, it wouldn’t have been easy.

Perhaps targeting the long casting time characteristic of the Magician class could have worked.

But with others watching, it would have been difficult.

Next, Maha.

A small, cute, and lovely girl who appeared to be a mere cat-like creature.

But Juna-yong knew how strong her shield was and how powerful her fangs were, making it hard to believe she was a Guardian.

Although she hadn’t seen it directly, she heard that she also possessed the Provocation skill.

Even if it only lasted for a short time, successfully holding someone in place for 0.5 to 1 second could be fatal.

Lastly…

“…Yuseiha.”

She knew.

She was prepared.

Her formidable opponent.

He was strong enough that her efforts were not in vain.

“Just because he’s a man, doesn’t mean it’s easy.”

She wasn’t ignorant enough to not know about the online posts claiming that because Yuseiha was a man, the outcome was obvious.

Of course, after the incident, such comments had mostly disappeared, but they still popped up occasionally.

She vividly remembered how shocked she was when she first read them…

Perhaps after this match, such comments would no longer surface.

“…Ha, he really was amazing.”

Juna-yong still vividly remembered.

Yuseiha, the most handsome man she had ever seen in her life.

The way he wielded his black sword, as beautiful and powerful as his appearance.

Especially his unique swordsmanship, which he displayed in order to buy time by deflecting her punches.

Like a snake?

Or a flowing stream of water?

It was difficult to describe the special movement, as he smoothly redirected his attack towards a straight line, minimizing the damage.

Even in Joonayong’s eyes, it was undoubtedly a beautiful sight.

But what caught her attention was something more fundamental.

It was his ‘genius’.

Joonayong was resentful but acknowledged it.

‘…He’s more…’

That he was a greater genius than her.

She had never been surpassed by talent anywhere she went.

A natural-born 5★, a rarity of less than 500 in the world.

Just that alone practically proved his talent.

In reality, he showed remarkable growth.

‘But…’

What Yooseha showed was something that surpassed that ‘talent’.

‘It’s almost at the level of evolution.’

The more he faced crisis, the more he shone.

He navigated the optimal path in the worst situations he faced, drawing out the best course of action to match the blackest of his attacks.

The fact that he managed to withstand his own strike, endure it, and create a chance for a comeback was evidence of that.

“……”

Thud-!

Caught in melancholy, Joonayong slapped her own cheek hard.

It was wiser to train herself rather than envy others.

As she was organizing her thoughts, there was a knock on the door and a voice saying, “Come in!”

The two women who entered were familiar to Joonayong as well.

They were her teammates, Ryudarae and Hwang Kippeum.

“…Nayong?”

“Joonayong?”

“……Oh.”

Joonayong, who was about to greet them, suddenly hesitated.

Come to think of it…

She had done a terrible thing to these two.

‘Because of me.’

Because of her, the two of them couldn’t show any significant performance and had to retire in embarrassment.

If only they had followed the plan…

Perhaps the outcome would have been different.

“……”

Joonayong bowed deeply in apology.

She pondered on what to say.

Click-!

“…Huh?”

But her dilemma disappeared as she saw the two embracing her.

“Da…Darae? Kippeum?”

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Uh, well, that…”

“I’m sorry.”

“Huh?”

An unexpected apology.

Ryudarae and Hwang Kippeum looked at each other with slightly sad faces.

“Sorry for making you fight alone…”

“Sorry for holding you back. If we had held on a little longer…”

“Oh, no!”

It was actually her fault.

She had been so focused on Yooseha that she had rushed ahead without properly assessing the situation.

Why were these two apologizing?

“I’m the one who should be sorry…”

“It’s okay. The match isn’t over yet.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t you remember? The most important thing is the 4th week dungeon conquest, not the sparring.”

Oh, right.

She had forgotten.

Winning or losing the sparring was just a way to divide the players.

The real important thing was to conquer and close the designated given by the government in the 4th week.

“We must win this time!”

“That’s right! The final victory is ours!”

Joonayong, who was surprised by their words, closed her mouth and nodded with a smile.

But…

“Hey, Darae? Why have you been smiling so much since earlier?”

“Hehe…”

Ryudarae had been smiling subtly since their first meeting.

Hwang Kippeum looked at her as if to say, ‘What a mischievous one…’

What’s going on? What is it?

“I envy Nayong…?”

“…Huh?”

Ryudarae, who made a suspicious remark, stuttered and showed the screen of her phone.

Looking at it, Joonayong’s face turned red in an instant.

There was a picture of her, unconscious and being lifted into Princess Yooseha’s arms.

Joonayong’s mouth fell open in shock at the unexpected sight.

A small scream of ‘Yong-ee…’ escaped her lips as she felt lost.

“The forums are going crazy! , calculating everything and fainting on purpose in Yooseha’s arms-”

“-Don’t be ridiculous! Don’t do such a stupid thing!”

“Really~? Actually, I didn’t faint on purpose to act all weak and helpless…-”

“-No!!!”

Ryudarae teased Juna-yong, who was pretending to be weak and helpless.

Hwang Ki-ppeum laughed awkwardly as if to stop the two of them.

The voices of the three women filled the hospital room with chatter.

*

And a little further away at the entrance, three people were watching the scene.

“Thankfully, it looks like there’s no serious injury.”

“Mew… Sehaya. Juna-yong seems okay.”

“Yeah, looks like it.”

Yoo Se-ha and her group came to visit after finishing their treatment.

Among them, Yoo Se-ha, holding a bouquet of flowers, looked at Juna-yong, who was blushing and acting weak, and chuckled.

It seemed like there was no need to comfort her.

* * *

Two days later.

Me, and Juna-yong.

Here, each of our team members quickly recovered from their injuries and gathered.

“…I wish we could just relax without any worries.”

In reality, this training process was just the warm-up phase leading up to the 4th week.

In other words, we couldn’t relax until we reached the and ‘Closure’.

If we didn’t complete the mission within the government’s designated timeframe, it would be troublesome.

On the day when all the training was over and we officially enrolled.

I promised myself to have a small celebration with the kids.

Of course, it wasn’t like there was no healing at all.

-Mew, mew.

-Squishy, squishy, snuggle!

-Mew, mew. Huzzmew.

-Hahaha.

Our little Mew.

Since her injuries were minor, she recovered the fastest.

And during the remaining time, I took care of her by her side.

I would gently pull and touch her cheeks like before.

She didn’t resist as much as before, but she still blushed.

Just savoring this moment was enough healing and happiness.

‘Healing time with your favorite character sitting on your lap and pulling their cheeks?’

Ah, I can’t resist.

Well, Moon Bora looked at me pitifully…

If I cared about that look, I wouldn’t have become a coach in the first place.

Anyway, after all the preparations were done, we gathered at ‘Gwanaksan’ field.

Normally, it would be impossible to reach there.

But within the barrier limits, we could activate the and arrive in less than 30 minutes.

The academy covered the gate usage fee as a bonus.

‘Indeed, a fantasy world.’

Throwing away the laws of physics, teleportation was a basic option.

“Kukuku, everyone pay attention.”

At that moment, when I was lost in various thoughts.

A voice cut through my thoughts.

Paeng Jin-a.

Apart from the cape symbolizing her as an academy professor, she was wearing proper hunter gear, capturing everyone’s attention.

“Congratulations to the winning and runner-up teams. Now, the final training and the reason for this process. The government has left us with the right in front of us.”

Paeng Jin-a pointed behind her. A fairly large gate was swirling in green.

Today, we had to proceed with the closure process for the dungeon.

“Here, your two teams will compete for the final victory. The result of the match is just additional points. The runner-up team should aim for a comeback, and the winning team should do their best to maintain their ranking. But more importantly, don’t forget everyone’s safety.”

Paeng Jin-a also added, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll be waiting outside in case of any unforeseen events.’

“Alright. Now, enter one by one.”

The eagerly awaited place to decorate the end of all training.

“The subjugation, closure operation begins.”