episode_0266

Although he was hit in the head from the start, the blade did not split his head.

The match wasn’t over yet. So no matter who his opponent was, Aiden didn’t give up and kept swinging his sword.

A sword that wraps around sharp energy and slashes and cuts through the air.

Even by my own judgment, it is a much more advanced trajectory than in the past.

If the opponent had been Aiden when he entered school, the gap would have been so great that he wouldn’t have been able to block the sword and would have split the sword apart.

Despite his rather rough appearance, Aiden was the type of person who spared no effort. He never slacked off in his work during his time at the Academy, and he never slacked off after entering the Cradle of the Academy.

I don’t know why I was admitted to Siyoram… and why I was admitted by recommendation, but I thought it was just fate and enjoyed the blessings of growth.

Thanks to this, Aiden has grown at a rapid pace compared to the average cadet, and has now settled into a position slightly above the middle ranks.

– Kaang!

But it breaks through without a hitch.

The tip of the spear slid through the gap between the sword strikes he swung with his teeth clenched.

How many times have I been hit by that bizarre trajectory? I pulled back my sword in terror, but the tip of the spear had already pierced my shin.

The thick layer of steel that had been wrapped around the spearhead blocked the tip, but it was not enough to completely relieve the impact.

Boom! The shock that pierced his chest made him gasp. The shattered air flew. Aiden gritted his teeth.

‘Oh, shit… Respond… ‘

In that fleeting moment when his breathing stopped, Aiden’s shaken vision caught sight of a spinning window.

– Bang!

“겍!”

Immediately after, the impact lifted my lower jaw. My body, which had been hit by the spear, floated up. My head fell back and I could see the clean ceiling.

‘ah?’

Something long suddenly rose up through the gap in the clean ceiling. It was the window from just now.

A long shadow fell over Aiden’s dazed face.

– Bang!

“Oh my!”

The spear swung down sharply and struck his face. Aiden let out a scream and fell face first to the ground.

“Ugh… ”

Aiden’s head became blurry from the continuous attacks. However, as he tried to get up, a spear blade swiped past his head.

Swish! The blade dug into the ground. Aiden’s body shivered at the coolness hitting the back of his neck.

At the same time, a warning sound rang out from the ceiling.

[Time elapses, game ends]

[Winner, Ipchunban Lee Ha-yul]

[Thank you for your effort]

“… Oh.”

Aiden groaned and slumped down at the sound of the guidance digging into his ears.

When I realized it was over, my whole body ached. I was really getting hit here and there during the fight, so my whole body ached…

[Thank you for your hard work]

Lee Ha-yul, who was standing next to Aiden, extended his hand. Aiden turned his head from where he was resting his head on the floor and glanced at Lee Ha-yul.

… He’s perfectly fine. His collar isn’t even disheveled, and his pure white skin isn’t a scratch. It’s only natural since he hadn’t even been touched during the fight.

Throughout the entire sparring, Aiden was unable to land a single effective strike, let alone inflict a single wound on Lee Ha-yul.

‘Oh my…’

Aiden’s expression became complicated.

‘I tried my best but I couldn’t even brush past you. How the hell can I not even brush past your collar?’

All the swords he swings are blocked. Even with his eyes closed, he dodges by a hair’s breadth, and before he can swing an attack that seems like it will reach him, the spear that extends outwards is knocked away.

If you try to attack the weak point of the spear by digging inside, it will slightly retreat and strike repeatedly, and no matter how you approach, you will be quickly struck back.

Later, when he was swatting away the bundles of arrogantly scattered bullets like a baseball, I was really dumbfounded and opened my mouth. Then, Lee Ha-yool kindly raised his chin and closed his mouth…

‘Oh my.’

Besides, it hasn’t even been a year since that person became a superhuman, while this person received early education from elementary school.

But my heart aches at being shaken off like this.

“Thank you.”

I grabbed Lee Ha-yool’s hand and got up, clearing my mind.

“Hey, head… Isn’t that a broken jaw?”

Aiden, standing, felt his aching body here and there. When he lifted his clothes, he saw signs of bruising on his skin.

More than anything, my head and jaw hurt… I hit my jaw and raised it like a combo attack 3 times…

Lee Ha-yul shrugged his shoulders at the sight of Aiden holding his chin.

[Don’t worry, I didn’t detect any cracks]

“… You can sense the body? What about the resistance… No, how well can you do it?”

Aiden was taken aback by the news that his body had been precisely detected without his knowledge, but he soon stopped asking questions, thinking that he would soon be able to handle it.

To begin with, he didn’t have any plausible knowledge about his sensing abilities, and even if he had, it didn’t seem like it would be of much use to Lee Ha-yul.

“What is that, the spear that was waving during the sparring… Is that an expansion ability?”

Instead, he asked another question. The spear technique that Aiden had been using throughout the sparring.

There were many different types, as if dozens of unmanned weapons were contained in one body, but the one that was particularly memorable was the spear that drew an extraordinary trajectory.

[Yes, it’s an expansion ability that I learned last time I entered the tower]

At that answer, Aiden suddenly remembered the memory of the last tournament.

The ability to expand, which was achieved through painstaking efforts, was copied the moment it was used… What on earth is talent? A shocking memory that instantly solved the trivial question…

If you think about it, it wouldn’t be strange if Lee Ha-yul had the ability to expand several technology lines.

[Aiden-nim’s swordsmanship is as classic as a textbook. If you get the form right, you can get great power, but it’s hard to respond to unconventional attacks. Like the spearmanship I just showed.]

“Ah.”

Aiden let out a gasp. He was clearly helpless against the attacks that were always penetrating his openings, and he was repeatedly hit and rolled around on the ground.

If this were a real battle, these attacks would have ended at that point rather than rolling on the ground.

“I’ve heard this pointed out by professors before, but it’s definitely a fatal weakness.”

[Yes, so I think Aiden, how about developing the ability to deal with digging into the basics…]

“Thank you. I’ve been thinking about it for a while, but I definitely need to fix it soon.”

There’s more to fix…

Lee Ha-yool bit his lip as he watched Aiden sigh deeply. Thinking about it, it seemed like he had only been spouting off his shortcomings.

He stroked the window and quietly took out a compliment.

[Still, you can do standard swordsmanship at least average in any situation. Also, compared to the last tournament, you’ve grown a lot.]

“Compared to you, honestly, it seems like I’m walking at a turtle’s pace… ”

[Um… isn’t it a bit strange to compare us…?]

“… Yeah, I guess so.”

At first, I felt like I was unlucky, but then I thought to myself that it wasn’t wrong.

Aiden looked at Lee Ha-yul with renewed eyes.

Aside from the fact that he was the one who just beat her up, he looked very round and harmless.

But in reality, it is a lump of potential that the towering stock of growth has declared. It is truly the next generation leader, whose future reach is unknown.

There are many people who want to become even a little bit closer to Lee Ha-yul…

“Ah.”

[?]

A forgotten thought suddenly came to mind. Aiden opened his mouth with an exclamation.

“Are you free on the day of your birthday?”

[What time is it? Why time?]

“Aside from the official schedule of the birthday party, the cadets also get together and play. The first-year male cadets are going to sit down and have a drink, so I asked if you wanted to come.”

[alcohol…]

Lee Ha-yul kept his mouth shut. Even now, it was a word that made him suddenly feel uncomfortable. Suddenly, the smell of the past filled his nasal passages, making his head spin.

… That smell was soon washed away by the faint scent of milk that lingered on his body. Lee Ha-yool glanced at his body and shrugged.

[I don’t think it would work on the first day or the last day. And I don’t like places where I have to stay for too long…]

“There are a lot of kids who come in the middle and play for a bit and then leave, so it’ll be okay, right? And the schedule starts from the evening of the 4th day.”

[Then, I’ll think about it. But there’s a high chance that I won’t go.]

“Yeah, the schedule is already set, so if you feel like it, you can come and hang out for a bit.”

[Yes, thank you for telling me.]

* * *

During the combat training, the loser moves to a different seat.

After repeating this exercise 3 times, the evaluation ends.

Because of that, the grace period passed, and Aiden left the training ground on his own two feet.

Although there were no particular injuries, my body, which was tired, recovered immediately after leaving the room.

‘Drinking parties… Honestly, I’m not attracted to them.’

I remained in the first training ground, still caressing the spear in my hand, lost in my thoughts.

‘It’s not mandatory, so you can just ignore it, but I think it would be good to show your face at least once…’

To be honest, many of the plans I made when I first came to this world went wrong.

In particular, the plans that belong to the subquests have almost all been passed over.

I tried to get to know the faces of many promising prospects, but in reality, I only met a few of them.

I still feel uncomfortable with drinking, but it’s not to the extent that I run away and start a fight like I used to.

That change was largely influenced by the drinking party we had at the mansion last time.

Although I didn’t drink alcohol myself, my memories of that time are definitely happy memories of being with someone special.

That memory covers up the bad memories, so now alcohol isn’t that scary.

‘Even if someone causes a ruckus at a drinking party, I can control them.’

Above all, I have changed from the past. Instead of just getting hit, I can now beat up and subdue my opponents.

– Wheein…

While I was pondering for a moment, the next opponent entered the training ground. I, who had already been observing from afar, grabbed the spear I was caressing.

It’s already the last match. I have to finish it quickly and go back.

‘?’

And I felt uncomfortable.

“… It’s the Gokwooban, League or Crisis.”

The person who entered slightly bowed his head.

A sturdy… no, it would be more correct to say a rugged male cadet.

The appearance and name of this character are not particularly emphasized in the original work.

‘Who is it?’

I think I’ve met him somewhere. But even though I think he’s someone I’ve met before, I can’t remember his appearance or name.

‘… manifestation?’

Crackle! A book opened in my head. A book of memories that organized the scattered memories of the past. I searched for memories similar to that cadet.

This would have been a task that would have taken some time and caused a headache, but thanks to the power of knowledge, it was accomplished very quickly and without a headache.

‘ah.’

And I found out the identity of my opponent.

– Tsk

A tongue-clicking sound I once heard.

At the freshman orientation, there was a cadet who hit me on the shoulder and disappeared without even apologizing.

At that time, spatial perception was not able to determine it right away by measuring only the external dimensions.

‘…hmm.’

[Ipchun class, this is Lee Ha-yul]

After exchanging brief greetings, I touched the window. The other person didn’t really make any small talk.

‘Hmm… ‘

[The second semester midterm evaluation, the third match of the combat major practical test will begin, countdown. 10…]

As I was doing that, a start notification started ringing from the ceiling.

[3… 2… 1… ]

[Game starts]

The match began. However, the opposing cadet did not rush in right away, but raised his weapon as if on guard.

The weapon was the commonly mentioned halberd.

‘Huhhh… ‘

I thought about it for a moment, then gently caressed the window.

– Swish…

The blade melted and seeped into the spearhead. The spearhead, without the blade, soon turned into a stick.

Thump thump! I nodded as I bounced the stick on the floor.

and.

[plural]

– Bang!

“Ugh!?”

He hit the shoulder of the cadet who was tense. The cadet with a sturdy build staggered as if he was about to fall over like someone else that day.

Soon, the sound of drums beating one after another rang out inside the training hall.

.

.

.

“… Junior, did something good happen?”

After a while.

After finishing the practical exam, Lee Ji-yeon, whom I happened to meet, asked me with a strange expression.

He tilted his head and sipped the warm milk in the cup with a straw.

[Do you see it?]

“Yes, well… it looks refreshing.”

[Hmm… Something similar happened]

Actually, it was a grudge I had forgotten about, but I felt quite relieved when I finally resolved it.

He shrugged and took another sip of the straw.

* * *

[Player Compensation System: Favorability]

Lee Ha-yul → Aiden Reynolds

●●●●●○○○○○(44▷50/100)

“Friendship” “Fool” “Hard worker”

…

Lee Ha-yul → League or Crisis

●○○○○○○○○○(19/100)

“Dislike” “Indifference” “Shoulder Bread”