Ch.54Haven’t I Seen You Before? – 3

Taking a deep breath, I look at Minseong Kang.

That person is someone trying to surpass me. I am the one who must stop him.

With that thought, my ability began to manifest not long after.

– The Third Eye is activating.

◎ Sole Arbiter

: Ability is activating.

: This is an opponent who has not received promotion from Seojin Baek.

: Recognizing as assessment target.

However, compared to when I blocked The Elder’s path or when I fought that villain recently.

It felt somewhat more precarious than those times.

Can’t be helped. This is far removed from my duties as a gatekeeper.

It’s just a kind of shortcut to somehow fill in the experience portion.

‘Preparations are complete, let me take the initiative.’

For the beginning, I chose the method Hyunwoo Lee frequently uses.

Putting strong force into my lower body, gripping the handle firmly, I focus on a single point and move in.

My best choice is to start with the finest thrust possible.

Since my opponent is stronger than me anyway, I don’t need to worry about possibly hurting them.

My target is Minseong Kang’s shoulder. I aim only for that spot.

The chest or stomach could deliver fatal wounds, but that makes them easier to block.

Rather than that, it’s much better to claim one part at a time starting from the extremities.

Of course, given who my opponent is, I didn’t expect much, but…

‘…fuck.’

Still, isn’t this a bit too overwhelming?

Clang—!

I couldn’t properly see it. I should say I missed it.

It seemed like Minseong Kang lightly moved his foot, and suddenly he was right in front of me.

Then with one light swing of his sword, my hard-earned initiative crumbled helplessly.

I realized my mistake. I knew Minseong Kang was impressive, but not to this extent.

“Hup!”

I mustn’t panic. I recall the mistakes made by students I’ve supervised.

When their moves are blocked, they get startled, their movements become uncoordinated, and they lose their rhythm.

In contrast, Hyunwoo Lee was different. When blocked, he immediately prepared his next move.

If that was blocked too, he would instantly think of something else and execute it.

I’ve flinched at that several times. An opponent who doesn’t panic is that much more troublesome.

They say there’s no one more frightening than someone who finds their own answers.

“Hmm!”

Instead of retreating, I close the distance further, causing Minseong Kang to let out an exclamation.

From his perspective, he probably thought my movement was the correct answer.

‘That’s a relief.’

Yes, it’s truly a relief. The fact that I wasn’t wrong means Hyunwoo Lee wasn’t wrong either.

I thrust. I slash. I step back once and strike upward. Then, I strike downward.

I must never waver. I must never panic.

Until the moment of defeat, I don’t think that I’m losing.

‘I can catch him. I can catch him. This is an opponent I can block.’

I repeated this to myself several times as I tried to create an opening in Minseong Kang’s defense.

Even the tiniest, most momentary gap would be enough. Create it, make him waver, and that’s sufficient.

I can progress from there. Once I’ve made contact once, making contact again isn’t difficult.

Just a little more, just a little more. Just a tiny bit more, and I feel like I’ll see something.

The moment I thought that, I actually saw a gap in Minseong Kang’s movements.

I didn’t think long. My body, my instincts, led me to precisely target that point.

Woong—!

At that moment, I suddenly felt my body float, followed by an intense impact that shook my entire body.

A stinging pain spread across my back. It was extremely difficult to breathe for a moment.

When I finally came to my senses, I realized I was sprawled out on the floor.

It seems that gap I saw was a trap deliberately shown by Minseong Kang.

“Arbiter! Arbiter! Are, are you okay?”

“Ah, yes. I’m fine. I just fell backward. Don’t worry, Soohyun.”

Honestly, I’m not completely fine. My back is throbbing, and I’ll probably suffer for about a day.

But if I said that honestly, I don’t know how Soohyun Kim would react, so I’ll pass.

As I get up, Minseong Kang, who has put away his sword, approaches.

“Are you alright? I tried to be as gentle as possible. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. And if you apologize, it makes me more embarrassed, Chairman.”

In a duel with a superpowered individual, this is getting off lightly.

Even at the Academy, people get cut, split open, and bleed.

If it ends with just a sore back, I should actually welcome it.

And it’s not like I gained nothing. It’s still blurry, but I captured something.

Especially Minseong Kang’s sword at the last moment, which deflected my attack while utilizing all of my force.

Being able to perceive that, however uncertainly, was the greatest gain.

‘The problem is…’

– You have failed at guarding the gate.

The part I’ve been worrying about all this time.

When I’m neutralized while my ability is active.

What kind of penalty I receive, and what consequences it brings.

Whether this duel is worth enduring this penalty.

Whether the benefit I can gain is greater than that—this was most important.

– This assessment was conducted outside the Academy.

– The physical damage received is extremely minimal.

– The mental damage received is extremely minimal.

– Considering the above, the penalty gauge will increase.

A strange gauge bar appeared below my ability window.

Then part of that bar began to turn black.

‘About… 10 percent, I guess.’

Fortunately, it doesn’t seem to be a problem just because I was defeated.

If this had been at the Academy, and Yuhyun Jung had completely destroyed me, soul and all.

I guarantee the penalty gauge bar would have shot through the roof.

– When the penalty gauge reaches its maximum, part of your ability may be reset.

– With accumulated penalties, the entire ability may be lost.

In other words, they give and take away. What a terrible thing.

The most unfair and dirty thing in the world is taking back what was given.

I breathed a sigh of relief for now. At least I’m not receiving an immediate penalty.

However, at the same time, I confirmed that even duels like this fill the penalty gauge.

At this rate, I’ll have to grit my teeth every time I activate my ability.

Well, all the gatekeepers I’ve met also did that through gritted teeth.

Thinking about it, I now fully understand this ability and this situation.

“Grandfather!”

“Ugh. So, Soohyun?”

“You went too far! The Arbiter almost got hurt!”

“So, Soohyun. This old man really was being gentle.”

“That was being gentle?! You’re too much! If this happens, what about me who invited the Arbiter! If the Arbiter thinks badly of this…”

No, Soohyun. Really, no. I’m fine.

I didn’t receive a heavy penalty, and I actually captured Minseong Kang’s movements.

Even with slight damage, this was definitely worth it.

“Soohyun. I was prepared for this much. It’s okay. Stop being disrespectful to your grandfather.”

“But…”

When I gently cautioned her, Soohyun Kim covered her mouth with her hand, gasping.

That was quite cute, so I patted her head, making her grin happily.

“Anyway, thank you again for the lesson, Chairman.”

“Hmm.”

“Chairman?”

“Ah. Anyway, good job. You’ve had to put up with this old man’s whims. Go wash up and change your clothes. We’ll have your clothes laundered and sent to your home.”

Laundry service from the Kang family. Now this is something to look forward to.

*

The dinner table of the three.

As requested by Minseong Kang, a truly splendid feast was laid out on the table.

Seeing the sight, Seojin Baek let out an “Ugh” in amazement, making Soohyun Kim burst into laughter.

She said it was so strange to see someone who had never been surprised suddenly be surprised.

“Arbiter. Try this too.”

“And this. The chef here is really amazing.”

“This is made with very rare ingredients, and grandfather only serves it when precious guests come…”

As Soohyun Kim chattered away without stopping, Minseong Kang stared at her blankly.

When was the last time his granddaughter had such a bright expression, had so many conversations?

It’s hazy. It was so long ago that it feels unfamiliar.

‘That kid. She can smile like that too.’

After smiling along with Soohyun Kim, Minseong Kang turned his gaze to Seojin Baek.

‘A curious young man. Impressive, yet at the same time so curious and strange.’

At first, he simply thought it was a case of late-blooming superpowers.

There are people like that. Even Soohyun Kim had only just begun to display her abilities.

But right after the duel, Minseong Kang thought that might not be all.

It might not just be that he got on track later than others.

‘He showed it just once, but in the last moment, he tried to apply the principle of the gentle breeze.’

When Seojin Baek first came in with a thrust, Minseong Kang was inwardly impressed.

One of the mistakes rookies make is showing an obvious sword path from the start.

Thinking they can deliver a fatal blow, they aim for vital points.

But that only works when your opponent is inferior to you.

A person’s vital points are called vital for a reason, and they’re mostly located on the inside.

And the inside is, naturally, designed to be easily defended from the outside.

Those who wield weapons without understanding this simple principle will lose.

One must know which part to target by observing the situation and the opponent.

‘From that perspective, targeting the shoulder first was quite sharp.’

So Minseong Kang directly countered that attack with his own technique.

It was a kind of reward for the benefactor who had saved his granddaughter.

The gentle breeze, a swordsmanship that causes the greatest disturbance to the opponent with the lightest single movement.

Except for his children, grandchildren, and longtime comrades,

he had never shown it this slowly and easily to anyone.

But when Minseong Kang was finishing with the rustling breeze at the end,

Seojin Baek tried, albeit imperfectly, to use the gentle breeze technique.

Of course, it was too brief, and since the rustling breeze had already been initiated, he couldn’t succeed.

But Minseong Kang clearly saw it. Seojin Baek’s application ability and absorption level.

“Thank you very much for dinner tonight, Chairman.”

“Grandfather, I’ll escort the Arbiter home and come back. Is that okay?”

After the meal ended, Seojin Baek returned to his home.

As Soohyun Kim also left the house briefly, Minseong Kang headed to his study.

And quietly picked up the phone to call someone.

[…What now.]

A gruff voice came through the receiver.

It was the current Academy Principal, Minseong Kang’s colleague, and former hero, Hakjun Ma.

“Hakjun. Are you busy?”

[Don’t ask the obvious. And if you’re going to make another strange request, hang up right now.]

“When have I ever called just to make requests? That’s hurtful.”

[You’ve been calling only about that for the past few months, that’s the problem.]

Hakjun Ma let out a light sigh and continued in a somewhat calmer voice.

[So. What brings you to call at this hour?]

“A little while ago, that young man Seojin Baek came to our house and left.”

[…Arbiter Seojin Baek? Why?]

“Our granddaughter invited him to dinner.”

[He saved Soohyun twice, so that makes sense. But why bring this up suddenly? Ah, are you worried that a civil servant visiting your house might cause problems?]

To Hakjun Ma’s question, Minseong Kang replied that wasn’t it.

[Then what is it?]

“Looking at that arbiter, I suddenly remembered someone.”

[Who did you remember? Ah, if you say your past self, I’m hanging up immediately.]

At that, Minseong Kang burst into laughter.

But that laughter didn’t last long.

“Hakjun. Do you remember that man?”

[Who?]

“Sujin. Sujin Hyun’s fiancé.”