episode_0145

“Sparring? With you… and me?”

Soyeon tilted her head from side to side, looking a bit puzzled.

Above her head, question marks seemed to float around.

She just looked at me with a slightly puzzled expression.

It was understandable that Soyeon couldn’t quite grasp the idea of challenging me to a sparring match, given her current status as a powerhouse compared to the hero trainee, Naburang.

As a growth-type Munchkin, Soyeon already possessed the strength to take down a High Ranker like Suraphachen Mayongtaek.

After all, didn’t she defeat Suraphachen, who was at the level of a High Ranker?

Moreover, she had single-handedly destroyed several organizations in a short period of a few months.

She surpassed me in strength, abilities, experience, and more.

Perhaps if someone like me were to face off against Soyeon in a sparring match, they wouldn’t even be able to withstand a single blow?

Ah, of course.

That would have been the case with the old me.

But now, I am a bit different.

Because I have awakened a useful supernatural ability.

An ability that could pose a threat to anyone, depending on how it is used.

“The loser must follow the winner’s words with respect, right? No complaints?”

I had confidence in myself.

If it came down to it, I believed I could hold my own for a certain amount of time, if not defeat her.

Because I knew Soyeon better than anyone else.

Her habits, strengths, weaknesses, and more.

As a playable character and the protagonist, I had memorized almost everything about Soyeon’s character setting.

Moreover, we had been childhood friends for over ten years in real life.

So, I knew more about Soyeon than was necessary.

Of course, Soyeon probably knew a lot about me as well, but she hadn’t analyzed and investigated me as thoroughly as I had.

Therefore, in terms of information, I had the upper hand.

Oh, and not too long ago, I had thoroughly analyzed the data of Soyeon’s sparring match with Cynthia.

So, I could confidently say that I could hold out for about 10 minutes.

“…Follow the winner’s words with respect?”

“Huh?”

Soyeon muttered to herself.

She blinked her eyes rapidly, and for a moment, her cheeks flushed red as if she had some strange thought.

The heat quickly dissipated from her soft and smooth skin, almost in an instant.

Soyeon then gently glanced at me, swallowing dryly and fidgeting with her fingers.

Wait, why is she acting like this all of a sudden?

“Soyeon?”

“Oh, huh? Y-yes, I’m listening!”

When I called out to her with a puzzled expression, Soyeon snapped out of her reverie with a startled “Oh!” and shook her head as if to shake off unnecessary thoughts.

Let’s just ignore whatever she was thinking about.

“So, are we going to make a bet or not?”

“Uh, um…”

Soyeon fidgeted with the hem of her shirt.

“It’s not a big deal for me… Are you sure about this?”

“Sure about what?”

“To be honest, isn’t it a bit unfair to you? If it’s a one-on-one match, it would be difficult for you to beat me no matter what you do.”

“Wow, look at that confidence.”

It was a valid point, but saying it so bluntly might hurt a guy’s confidence, you know?

“Soyeon. The reason you were able to single-handedly destroy numerous organizations was largely due to the artifacts I possessed.”

Thanks to Soyeon being able to enhance the power of the artifacts multiple times, she could utilize my artifacts to bring down many organizations.

Honestly, who could have brought down Soyeon, the guardian artifact, Aegis, and the blackened Soyeon, which were meant for defense?

If it wasn’t for a serious attack, wouldn’t there be a single scratch on her body?

“And the reason you were able to bring down Mayongtaek is probably because you knew all about Mayongtaek. Abilities, weaknesses, vital points, and so on. Isn’t that right?”

No matter how much Soyeon has grown, the reason she was able to bring down the veteran powerhouse Mayongtaek without suffering major injuries was because she knew the strategy in advance.

If she didn’t have information about Mayongtaek, it could have been quite dangerous.

“But now, you’ve already returned the artifacts to me, and you don’t even know the extent of my power, right?”

“……”

“You were hiding the ability to bring down people like Lee Siwoon, without even knowing it.”

“……”

“But aren’t you a bit too confident, Soyeon?”

“……Hmm.”

I sense a bit of hesitation.

If I didn’t have confidence in myself, I wouldn’t have suggested such a bet.

So as Soyeon, she must be thinking, ‘Is she really that confident?’ or ‘Is she hiding more than I think?’

“It’s not me who’s confident, it’s someone like you, Jinhyuk.”

Soyeon let out a light sigh.

“To be honest, I was a bit hesitant to spar with you because I thought I might hurt you, but if you insist, I can’t refuse.”

She looks at me as if she’s made up her mind.

“Alright, let’s do it, the bet.”

“Hmm.”

“Let’s agree that the winner’s words will be heard by the loser.”

“Huh? I never said anything like that……”

For some reason, Soyeon’s eyes seem to light up a bit?

“Don’t go back on your word if you lose later, okay?”

“Isn’t it you? Can’t you say it in one go?”

As I chuckle and retort, Soyeon gives me a slightly smiling look as if to say, “Who are you to talk?”

“Okay, Jinhyuk. I’ll go now.”

“Huh? Already?”

She’s quite fast today.

Normally, she would have lingered by my side until late at night.

“I want to go back and stretch my body.”

“Oh, okay.”

She seems full of enthusiasm.

Why is she trying to loosen up her body when facing someone like me? It’s scary.

“Anyway, Soyeon. I’ll let you know the date of the spar tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

Soyeon walks away, holding onto the doorknob.

“Oh, right. Soyeon.”

“What?”

“If you win in the spar……”

I start to tease her gently, but then burst into laughter and throw out a joke.

In the past, I used to make these kinds of silly jokes often.

“Don’t make strange requests?”

If it were the old Soyeon, she would have retorted, “What are you talking about? You only have such thoughts because you’re a man, Jinhyuk.”

But the current Soyeon.

“……”

“Soyeon?”

She just remains silent.

Without saying a word, she puts her hand on the doorknob, then glances back at me, her cheeks slightly flushed… huh?

Soyeon subtly avoids my gaze.

And then, she hurriedly opens the door.

“Wait, So-Soyeon?”

“I-I’m leaving! See you later!”

“Hey, wait, you.”

She rushes out of the room as if fleeing.

I blink my eyes in confusion.

No, Soyeon wouldn’t really make a strange request, would she?

This is an unexpected scenario…

“Phew, I really can’t lose.”

I have no intention of losing anyway.

I can endure for about 10 minutes.

But, wait a minute.

Do I really need to win this?

Maybe losing wouldn’t be so bad either?

“No, what nonsense. Let’s not think like that, Jinhyuk.”

I let out a deep sigh, my mind filled with fanciful thoughts that didn’t amount to much.

A showdown with Soyeon.

I must win, no doubt about it, I must.

***

“Hmm? Soyeon and a match… I’m looking forward to this.”

On the day of the promised showdown, in the morning.

Yuseolhyun was smiling brightly with curiosity written all over her face.

It must be quite a spectacle for her.

Since Yuseolhyun sponsored the showdown location, I quietly listened to her words.

“I wonder who will win between the two of them.”

She seemed quite curious, probably because she mistakenly thought I was Vittilante.

“What do you think?”

“Me? Well…”

Yuseolhyun smiled mischievously, pretending to ponder.

And then…

“Soyeon will probably win, don’t you think?”

“….”

Predicting Soyeon’s victory, as expected.

If I were Yuseolhyun, I would have probably favored Soyeon a bit more.

Soyeon has shown various things so far, but I haven’t really shown my true abilities.

“She has really gotten stronger. I saw her fight with Cynthia, and I didn’t expect her to be that good.”

“Hmm.”

“No matter how much you’re Vittilante, it must be tough, right? I’ve heard your rumors, but compared to Soyeon… it’s not even close, right?”

“Well, yeah. Vittilante occasionally took down small organizations, but mainly targeted individual villains who operated independently. Compared to Soyeon, it’s a bit lacking.”

“I’m not sure how skilled you are, but it’s probably difficult to win against the current Soyeon.”

“You don’t have to win, just hold out for 10 minutes.”

I shrugged my shoulders.

“Jinhyuk. I don’t know how much you’re hiding your skills, but you’re probably at least high-ranking, right? Even if I give you the benefit of the doubt, maybe close to a junior high-ranker?”

“….”

At my age, close to a junior high-ranker… Yuseolhyun was exaggerating enough to be taken as a joke by others.

Well, Vittilante’s skills are at best close to high-ranking.

But if I’ve been growing steadily, maybe I’m at least at a junior high-ranker level?

Thinking like that, Yuseolhyun’s words seemed quite accurate.

“Anyway, do your best, Jinhyuk.”

“Okay.”

I nodded slightly and entered the showdown room.

Inside, Soyeon and Isiwoon were waiting.

“Are you here?”

Soyeon was warming up, spinning a practice sword around.

“Jinhyuk, are you ready? Shall we start?”

“Sure, no need to drag it out. Let’s finish quickly.”

I grabbed a practice sword and bow, heading up to the showdown stage.

“You two will be the judges.”

“Okay.”

“Sure.”

Yuseolhyun and Isiwoon replied.

The reason I called them for this showdown was simple.

The more people who see my abilities, the better for me to properly utilize my psychic powers in the future.

“Huh? Soyeon, why are you putting the sword away?”

Seeing Soyeon put the sword back in its sheath between rounds, I voiced my confusion, and she chuckled and scratched her cheek.

“You could get hurt if I’m not careful.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“Don’t worry. I won’t change my mind later.”

Soyeon took a hand-to-hand combat stance.

“And I don’t think I’ll need it anyway. Oh, does saying that make me seem a bit arrogant?”

“You’ve already said it, so what’s the point.”

I finally turned my gaze towards Yuseolhyun and Isiwoon.

It was time to start the match.

“Alright, then both of them are ready.”

I also took a posture like Soyeon.

“3, 2, 1…… Start!”

With the sound of the start of the sparring, I quickly activated my supernatural ability targeting Yoo Seolhyun instead of Soyeon.

And……

“Sorry, Jinhuk.”

Soyeon disappeared in front of my eyes with a whoosh.

If it had been me just now, I would have reached my close range using a spell at a speed that was impossible to catch up with.

It was much faster than the spell used by Lee Siwoon.

Dare I say it reminded me of Lee Daehee’s Hyunhwan?

If the person in front of Soyeon right now was someone like Lee Siwoon, Kang Daehan, or Yoo Seolhyun, I would never have been able to catch up with her speed.

“It’s going to sting a little.”

Soyeon, who was standing behind me all of a sudden.

Soyeon swung her hand towards my neck.

But I…

“Hmm. You move like this after all.”

“…Huh?”

With a snap, I lightly blocked Soyeon’s hand strike.

“What, for someone who was so confident, you’re not that impressive, Soyeon?”

I raised the corner of my mouth provocatively.

Alright, this should be enough.

It’s not impossible to deal with.

Thanks, Yoo Seolhyun.

For consistently evaluating me highly.