Ch.25Not on Purpose – 4

Just like yesterday’s assessment, I asked Hyunwoo Lee the same question again.

What would he do as a Weaponry Class user if he couldn’t wield his sword?

Would he collapse helplessly like other Weaponry Class users, getting knocked around?

Even if he didn’t realize it yesterday, by now Hyunwoo should have noticed.

That I was deliberately targeting his sword.

He’s not just someone who works hard. His combat instinct is exceptional.

He grasps the flow of battle and his opponent’s intentions in an instant.

With protagonist buffs plus both talent and effort, he’s truly formidable.

Now Hyunwoo has time to read my intentions, judge, and make his decision…

Whoosh—!

‘Is he insane?’

I never imagined he would respond like this.

When I kept interfering with his sword strikes, he turned it around by throwing the sword at me.

That’s not a small dagger like what Yuhyun Jung used.

It’s a weapon that could easily slice off someone’s arm or leg with a single swing.

Anyone would be terrified when something like that comes flying at high speed.

“Ugh!”

I barely dodged the sword when I saw Hyunwoo charging at me.

I thought he was going for a body blow or some other strike like before.

Until he suddenly lowered his body and came in from below.

‘A takedown? He’s a grappler?’

Hyunwoo’s dual class was Weaponry and Martial Arts. And in his martial arts scenes, most were strikes.

So I naturally expected him to use in-fighting or out-fighting techniques.

“Arghh!!”

Hyunwoo grabbed my leg and started pushing aggressively.

If I fell now, he’d definitely take a mount position.

For a moment, my mind went blank.

What should I do? Can I escape? I can’t lose like this.

‘No, no. Don’t panic. Focus on one thing.’

How to overcome this situation. Once my thoughts centered on that, my mind finally cleared.

“Hup!”

I lunged forward before Hyunwoo could complete the takedown.

He clearly hasn’t practiced this long. Otherwise, there’s no way I could have escaped like this.

It was an unexpected irregular attack, but not critically threatening.

“Ah… I almost had it.”

Hyunwoo bit his lip, clearly disappointed.

This must have been his secret trump card for this assessment.

When I targeted the weakness of Weaponry Class, he turned it against me.

That guy didn’t just throw his sword as an attack.

By throwing away the weapon essential to a Weaponry Class user, he confused his opponent.

Even though Hyunwoo’s skill level wasn’t quite there yet, leaving an opening…

Later on, he would undoubtedly execute his plan before I could even react.

“Is that all you had planned?”

“Of course not. There’s more. Be careful, Examiner.”

I just smiled at Hyunwoo’s words. It’s obvious he’s bluffing now.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t be rolling his eyes around, thinking about retrieving his sword.

I stepped forward and stepped on the sword, indicating he had no chance.

“Ah.”

Hyunwoo realized his hand had been exposed.

Now, what decision will he make? Will he surrender obediently like other students?

Or…

“Yahhh!!”

That’s right. That’s the Hyunwoo I know. That’s what makes him the protagonist.

I’ve seen all of Hyunwoo’s cards. There’s nothing left. I just need to block.

After dodging his boldly charging fist, I lightly uppercut his chin.

Being as gentle as possible to just subdue him without causing injury.

Whoosh—

“Ugh.”

Despite my restraint, the impact must have been significant, as Hyunwoo staggers and falls.

It shouldn’t be this close already. The protagonist really is something else.

“Hyunwoo? Are you okay?”

“Yes, yes. I’m just a bit dazed, so don’t worry.”

I realized anew how dangerous an uppercut can be.

Even with such a light hit, someone like Hyunwoo got knocked down.

“Wow, seriously… Examiner. How did you escape that takedown just now?”

“I lunged forward just as you were about to complete the takedown. You still had some openings due to inexperience, which made it possible.”

“Ah, I see. One day of practice definitely isn’t enough. There’s a limit to what you can learn from YouTube videos…”

Are you insane? You tried to learn a takedown in just one day?

And that one day of practice was just watching YouTube videos?

But what’s even more shocking is that he almost succeeded.

Probably against someone of equal skill—no, even a Silver would have been taken down.

I’m certain that without my special ability, he would have mounted me.

‘What a monster.’

Someone who was swinging a sword suddenly throws it, switches to striking combat, and then

at the critical moment, transforms into a grappler to break the opponent’s core.

Other superpower users would probably be horrified if they heard this.

Clap, clap, clap—

“Impressive. Both of you, truly impressive.”

At the sudden voice, Hyunwoo looks around saying, “What?”

Instead of looking around like him, I simply waved lightly.

“Welcome, Hana Kang. Or should I call you Student Council President?”

“Call me whichever you prefer. I don’t mind.”

Hana Kang steps forward and glances at Hyunwoo.

It’s clearly an assessing gaze, examining him thoroughly from head to toe.

“…Junior. What’s your name?”

“Huh? Oh, I’m Hyunwoo Lee.”

“Hyunwoo. Nice to meet you. I’m Hana Kang, third year.”

When Hana extends her hand, Hyunwoo hesitantly shakes it.

‘Come to think of it, wasn’t Hana Kang the DPS position in Hyunwoo’s party in the original work?’

She’s a top-tier talent among Magic Class users.

I heard she has exceptional talent particularly with ice attributes.

“That assessment just now was very impressive. I never expected a Weaponry Class user to use their sword as a decoy.”

Hana seems quite fascinated by that attack method.

While everyone else tries desperately not to lose their weapon,

Hyunwoo used that expectation against me to create confusion and an opening.

It was both absurd and refreshingly innovative.

“You’re a promising junior. Keep working hard. The more people like you we have, the faster monsters will decrease and villains will disappear.”

Hana wraps up her conversation with Hyunwoo.

I understand what she means. She wants him to leave so she can talk to me.

Fortunately, Hyunwoo isn’t completely oblivious.

“Well then, I’ll be going now. Examiner, I’ll challenge you again tomorrow.”

That works for me. It’s good for Hyunwoo too.

I’d like to tell him we could do it again right now.

But there are strict rules for Academy assessments.

Only one assessment per day is allowed, for the sake of both students and examiners.

Breaking that rule would immediately result in a warning. And I’d get chewed out.

They’d say: Don’t take regulations lightly. If everyone broke the rules, what’s the point of being a civil servant?

“You should be nervous, Examiner! Tomorrow won’t be so easy!”

Hyunwoo shouts as he disappears beyond the main building.

He might still be called a Bronze-level try-hard now, but he’ll grow tremendously soon.

Even without my Bittersweet Triumph ability, that person is destined for greatness.

“Ahem.”

Hana Kang shifts my attention to herself with a slight smile.

“You’ve had a tough time, Examiner. Dealing with a junior like that.”

“Indeed. I think I was more surprised than during yesterday’s match.”

I subtly brought up the Student Council Vice President, Yuhyun Jung.

But Hana showed no particular reaction.

Rather, she seemed to agree, suggesting she doesn’t have positive feelings toward Yuhyun Jung.

“I apologize if my sudden visit startled you. Actually, I arrived earlier, but you were conducting the assessment so passionately that I couldn’t interrupt.”

After saying this, Hana clears her throat lightly.

It seemed she was about to get to the main reason for her visit.

“You know, right? The Vice President, Yuhyun Jung. As I said yesterday, he’s been demoted to Bronze.”

“I heard. I trusted the Student Council President, and you proved worthy of that trust.”

“Thank you. Though that’s not what I came to hear.”

Hana glances at me cautiously before continuing.

“Will you be alright?”

“What do you mean?”

“About Yuhyun Jung. I heard the condition was that he can only escape Bronze rank through assessments conducted by you, Examiner Seojin Baek.”

“Can’t the Vice President just ignore that and take assessments from someone else?”

Hana shakes her head at my response.

“It’s the opposite. He’ll try everything to get assessed by you. And he’ll definitely try to win and thoroughly humiliate you.”

“You seem certain.”

“Yes. We’re in the same year and both on the student council, but I know he’s not a good person.”

That’s a relief. I was worried Hana might take Yuhyun Jung’s side.

As expected, people who join the protagonist’s party all have good reasons.

“How much do you know about Yuhyun Jung?”

“That he’s the Vice President. Weaponry Class. Currently Bronze. Third year. That’s about it.”

“That person is also the third grandson of the honorary chairman of Jinhan Group.”

Hmm, that’s a bit troublesome. He has powerful backing.

Jinhan Group is considered a decent mid-sized corporation.

“Because of that, he has not just strong pride but a distorted value system. You could call it Supremacist ideology.”

I wondered if Hana also had The Third Eye.

She understood Yuhyun Jung too accurately.

“And this Yuhyun Jung lost to you, Examiner. To someone he dismissed and looked down on. He’ll try to avenge that humiliation at all costs. So he’ll definitely seek assessment from you.”

“That’s good. That’s why I set that condition in the first place.”

“Are you… confident?”

Hana asks in a cautious voice.

When I remain silent, she hastily adds:

“Please don’t misunderstand. I’m not underestimating you. I just…”

“I know you’re concerned. No need to be so flustered.”

“Ah… ahem. Anyway, while Yuhyun Jung’s character is poor, his skills are real. In your first match, he was probably careless and took it lightly, but next time will be different. He’ll be vicious.”

Well, no matter how vicious he gets, he can’t be as vicious as The Elder.

I just nodded a few times to indicate there was no need to worry.

“Um, Examiner.”

After a moment of silence at my response, Hana gives me a strange look. Why is she suddenly like this?

“Are you really… not some kind of special agent?”

I’m just a dispatched junior civil servant, I tell you.