Ch.27What Exactly Are You? – 2

Meanwhile, Soohyun Kim, who had parted ways with Hana Kang, was unusually angry.

To others, it might look like she was just staring rather than being angry.

Nevertheless, Soohyun Kim was standing next to Seojin Baek, seething with rage.

And the reason was…

“Let’s begin. Examiner Seojin Baek. Silver rank examination.”

“You seem confident, student Yuhyun Jung.”

Yuhyun Jung. The student council vice president. And the person who had sparred with Seojin Baek yesterday.

‘Someone who said such terrible things to the examiner. And someone who hurt him.’

A small flame flickered in Soohyun Kim’s eyes.

But neither Seojin Baek nor Yuhyun Jung noticed it.

“I hope you won’t take this lightly considering what happened yesterday.”

“If I think about yesterday, I can’t help but take it lightly, can I?”

“If it weren’t for the student council president, I could have done much more.”

“If it weren’t for the student council president, I could have beaten you much more.”

Like a civil servant dealing with a malicious complainant, Seojin Baek verbally thrashed Yuhyun Jung.

Biting his lip, Yuhyun Jung realized he couldn’t match Seojin Baek in words.

He still thought Seojin was inferior to him, that hadn’t changed.

However, he now knew he shouldn’t let his guard down.

Even a mouse can bite a cat. A lion must give its all even when hunting a rabbit.

‘Yesterday won’t repeat itself. Today I’ll definitely crush him.’

And soon your life will be crushed too.

Smiling inwardly, Yuhyun Jung glanced at Soohyun Kim.

‘Minseong Kang’s granddaughter.’

From Yuhyun Jung’s perspective, she was an extremely awkward person to deal with.

By lineage alone, he could treat her as nothing but ‘trash.’

Yet in terms of skill, she was even worse than Seojin Baek standing there.

He couldn’t dismiss her because there was an unmanageable giant behind her.

And bowing his head like Hana Kang would wound his pride because she was too weak.

‘I don’t know why she’s staring at me from over there…’

What mattered now was crushing that damn bastard.

He would avenge yesterday’s humiliation. He would shed his Bronze rank in just one day.

“Shall we begin then?”

As soon as Seojin Baek said that, Yuhyun Jung leaped to create distance.

Yesterday’s first-strike victory must have left quite an impression.

“Yesterday I felt pressured because it was a sparring match, but today I feel more at ease since it’s an examination.”

But Seojin Baek just stood still, exuding confidence.

Yesterday he had struck Yuhyun’s face directly at the start.

Today he was acting as if he was clearly superior.

Grr—

Grinding his teeth, Yuhyun Jung unconsciously wanted to charge in.

He wanted to stomp on that smug face right away.

“…Huff.”

But he soon composed himself and took a deep breath.

Gold rank. It wasn’t something you could get just by having slightly stronger abilities.

‘He’s not coming at me.’

He had expected Yuhyun to charge in after such provocation.

Still, he had been Gold rank until yesterday, so he was living up to his rank.

Clicking his tongue inwardly, Seojin Baek also began preparing for battle.

What Seojin Baek prepared wasn’t a sword or anything else, but a shield.

Gripping the dagger in his hand, Yuhyun Jung looked at his opponent and thought.

‘That guy, he’s from the detection and measurement class in the Support Class, right?’

At first, he thought Seojin was from the Weaponry Class or Martial Arts Class.

He had shown similar combat styles during examinations.

He used swords, and sometimes subdued students with martial arts.

But that was a misunderstanding. Thinking about it, Support Class users could also use weapons and martial arts.

The difference is that they don’t possess any special trump cards like the others.

Naturally, they would be at a disadvantage compared to pure Weaponry Class and Martial Arts Class users.

For this reason, Support Class users most often used shields.

After all, Support Class was the ability user type furthest from combat.

It made sense to just hold out until allied support arrived.

The shield Seojin Baek was holding was just large enough to cover his torso.

Though not large, it could easily block thrown daggers.

It seemed he had prepared it after recalling yesterday’s sparring match.

‘Does he want me to get caught like yesterday?’

If dagger throws were blocked, he would have to engage in close combat.

Then, just like yesterday, Seojin would try to catch him and end the match.

That’s what Yuhyun Jung thought Seojin Baek was aiming for.

‘Not a chance. You’ll regret bringing that shield.’

Yuhyun Jung had also learned something from yesterday’s sparring.

This wasn’t about ambushing and taking down an opponent like in anti-villain combat.

In a real situation, he would prepare as lightly and stealthily as possible, striking with a decisive blow.

That’s what assassination was about. That was his greatest strength.

But not now. He couldn’t use that strength.

And there was no need to try to use it.

If he couldn’t ambush, he could simply abandon that approach.

Swoosh—!

Seojin Baek’s expression stiffened slightly.

The sound of something cutting through the air was different from yesterday.

Heavier, sharper, and above all, larger.

Whoosh—!

Thunk—!

What Yuhyun Jung threw wasn’t an ordinary dagger.

It was larger and heavier than what he usually used.

Not at all suitable for ambushes.

Rather, it would be quite cumbersome. Hard to throw, hard to wield.

Being larger, it was also relatively easier for the opponent to block or deflect.

Whoosh— Thunk—!

That was exactly what Yuhyun Jung was aiming for.

These larger and heavier daggers kept embedding themselves in the shield.

Naturally, the shield’s weight increased. It had to be a burden.

Trying to pull them out would be difficult as they were deeply embedded.

Above all, what were the chances the opponent would just stand there watching?

‘Keep blocking. After doing this two more times, will you still be able to hold it?’

This wasn’t an ambush for a real battle. It was purely designed to take someone down.

Therefore, he didn’t need to be bound by his usual tactics.

Twirling the dagger in his hand, Yuhyun Jung waited.

If Seojin lowered the shield, a dagger would fly at him. If he kept holding it, it would become harder to handle.

But if he abandoned the shield, he would lose his advantage.

‘How does it feel to be caught off guard, you idiot?’

He probably didn’t expect this from an assassination-type dagger user like himself.

This is why he couldn’t reach Silver rank. He was too focused on one thing.

He probably only thought about countering assassination with the shield.

He never considered that the counter could become his weakness.

Yuhyun Jung continued circling around Seojin Baek.

More than ten daggers were already embedded in the shield.

Whenever Seojin tried to move the shield or touch the embedded daggers, Yuhyun would feint throwing another dagger.

He kept forcing his opponent to waste unnecessary energy.

‘He’s not engaging. He’s just dragging this out.’

With a keen gaze, he continued monitoring Seojin Baek for changes.

After several minutes, Yuhyun Jung finally spotted an opportunity.

Despite trying to appear unfazed, had Seojin reached his limit?

The arm holding the shield trembled slightly for a moment.

Even though each dagger didn’t weigh much, he was carrying many of them.

And since Yuhyun had deliberately chosen the largest ones, it must have had an effect.

Yuhyun Jung debated whether to move in for the kill now.

It could be a trick. He needed to observe more.

One defeat yesterday was enough. Today, he absolutely couldn’t lose.

He would wait for the perfect moment and then take down the examiner…

“Hup!”

As Yuhyun Jung’s eyes gleamed, Seojin Baek suddenly planted the shield in the ground.

Perhaps deciding he could no longer hold it, Seojin had put the shield down.

As a result, Seojin Baek’s reaction was significantly delayed.

And Yuhyun Jung, without a moment’s hesitation, charged in.

Seojin Baek didn’t have time to respond.

Yuhyun had attacked during the moment when Seojin was putting down the shield or moving it to his back.

Even if he tried to defend, Yuhyun was already within striking distance…

Grin—

‘…Ah.’

Yuhyun Jung could see it.

Seojin Baek, now close to him, was smiling.

And Seojin Baek’s arm, which had been trembling just moments ago,

was now swinging powerfully as if it had never been weak.

The shield, which he had seemed about to put down or strap to his back,

Whoosh—!

Was flying toward him with a chilling sound.

‘It was a feint, you idiot.’

Seojin Baek thought as he brought the shield down on Yuhyun Jung’s shoulder.

Even though he had broken ribs on the first day, there had been no major issues.

At the Superpower Academy, injuries big and small were common.

It was unavoidable. It was normal. It would be even more serious after graduation.

‘So, a fractured shoulder should be fine, right?’

Seojin Baek hadn’t forgotten the grudge from the insult.

Crack—

“Argh!”

That was it. Yuhyun Jung clutched his shoulder and fell to his knees.

His arm wouldn’t respond. Waves of pain washed over him.

He almost broke down and wailed, pride be damned.

“Student Yuhyun Jung. Are you alright?”

Seojin Baek approached and asked such a question.

He looked like someone concerned for a student, but his gaze was clearly mocking.

That’s when Yuhyun Jung realized.

Just now, Seojin could have aimed for his neck or head instead of his shoulder.

If this had been a real battle, it wouldn’t have ended with just this injury.

“If it’s hard to move, I can help you to the infirmary.”

“I don’t need it!”

Roughly getting to his feet, Yuhyun Jung gritted his teeth and turned away.

He was furious. To be defeated by such a person again.

He barely restrained himself from drawing a dagger and slitting Seojin’s throat.

“Silver rank examination, failed. Student Yuhyun Jung.”

“…”

“Try harder. Bronze.”

Seojin Baek poured oil on the fire, as if he knew exactly what Yuhyun Jung was thinking.

Grr—

Grinding his teeth, Yuhyun Jung turned and left the examination hall.

‘Go ahead and laugh, you bastard. In two days, no, by tomorrow, your downfall will be confirmed.’

He had received news that preparations were complete. It was remarkably fast, as specially requested.

The big picture was framed around ‘civil servant sexual harassment,’ he was told.

They had already prepared the players and would set the trap after confirmation.

Soon that arrogant orphan would be crying out his innocence until he collapsed from exhaustion.

‘I’ll show you the world isn’t so easy, you orphan bastard.’

With a sinister smile, Yuhyun Jung clutched his shoulder and headed to the infirmary.

*

And then nothing happened.