Chapter 41 : Promotion Match (4)

[Ugh, hmm. So, the Fuyuno Tsubaki cadet should use the staircase on the side of the arena to come up to the exclusive winner’s seating area.]

“Ah, yes…”

In the unexpected outcome of the match that shocked everyone, Fuyuno Tsubaki followed the guidance and climbed the stairs.

“Fuyuno… I heard rumors that one of our classmates is from the Fuyuno family, but I didn’t think it was true.”

“But I heard that the cadet had no talent and was abandoned by the Fuyuno family…”

As she climbed the stairs, Fuyuno Tsubaki overheard the voices of the Jincheon cadets sitting in the audience.

“I heard that rumor too… But does that mean they have no talent? They overwhelmingly defeated Han Yujin without a scratch.”

“Right. Even if they’re from the Fuyuno family, they wouldn’t just abandon a monster like that for lacking talent.”

“Whether it’s a baseless rumor or one that’s been intentionally spread… it’s certain that a storm is going to hit Daecheon. A monster like that suddenly appeared.”

“Sigh, right. My rank is going to drop even further.”

Fuyuno Tsubaki’s shoulders, which had always been slumped, slowly began to rise as she overheard words she had never heard before.

The cadets’ words weren’t accurate, but still, she felt good.

‘What Woobin said, that this would be the last time I act like a coward… it was true.’

The fact that the Jincheon cadets were calling her a monster was proof that what Yang Woobin had said to her was the truth.

“Hehe…”

Just being trusted more than she trusted herself was already a huge source of strength, but now that that trust had turned into reality, Fuyuno Tsubaki couldn’t help but smile from the overwhelming emotions.

‘How is Woobin so amazing? How did he know my strength, the power I didn’t even know I had?’

As she began to think about Yang Woobin, the murmuring of the crowd around her faded away.

‘I thought he was incredible when I first saw him, but the more time passes, the more amazing he seems.’

Fuyuno Tsubaki kept thinking only about Yang Woobin as she climbed the stairs.

‘When we first met, he saved my life from a demon, and during our second meeting, he saved me from bullying. Not only that, but he even made that rare elixir for me and awakened a strength in me I didn’t even know I had.’

She felt a sense of complete fulfillment in her heart, filled to the brim with all the things she had received from him.

‘I want to see him again soon.’

When she arrived at the exclusive winner’s seating area, she found herself missing Yang Woobin, even though it had been less than 10 minutes since they had parted in the underground area.

“If it’s Woobin, he’ll finish quickly and come up right away.”

With a heart full of unwavering certainty and not a hint of worry, she hoped for the next match to begin and for Yang Woobin to quickly finish his game and join her here.

‘I should sit in Woobin’s spot and warm it up for him.’

※

“F, f*ck…”

In the waiting room below the arena, Choi Ingyu, the 100th cadet from Jincheon, muttered with a mix of irritation.

He had watched on the monitor as Han Yujin, the genius among geniuses whom he couldn’t even dare look up to, lost without leaving a single scratch on the opponent.

“If the information is right, then the person who’ll fight me is supposed to be stronger than that monster from the Fuyuno family…”

Ranked 100th out of 100, Choi Ingyu from the Jincheon was a person with ambiguous talent, straddling the line between genius and ordinary.

When looking at the entire year’s cadets, he was in the top 10 percent in terms of skill, but within his own Jincheon class, he was the bottom rank.

This irony was his reality.

As someone who was bound to be chosen for the promotion challenge from the lower class cadets, he had developed the habit of listening closely to the rumors from the lower class.

Even though he was always caught up in the incidents and accidents that erupted daily in the Jincheon, he never missed a single day without gathering information about what was happening in the lower class.

After listening to the rumors from the lower class for a month, a strange rumor started to circulate.

It was a rumor that a man, who suddenly appeared, had beaten up the powerful figures of the lower class and taken control of the class in a single day.

When Choi Ingyu first heard that rumor, he was quite shocked.

This was because, in a society of superhumans, men were naturally weaker than women, and he, being a man, keenly felt the inherent difference.

Therefore, the rumor about a man, not a woman, taking control of the lower class intrigued him.

At that time, it was just curiosity.

However, when he heard the rumor that the man had joined the infamous Baekryong and was now under his control, his curiosity turned into fear and wariness.

From that day onward, Choi Ingyu focused his information network on that man.

In reality, focusing on the information network only meant that he had three lower-class cadets, who were trying to make connections with Jincheon, help him out, but as he concentrated on one person, the information started to become more detailed.

And as the information became more concrete, Choi Ingyu could not help but feel despair.

“How can I possibly defeat someone who’s controlling such a monster, a person who rejected being forcibly assigned to Jincheon by Principal Go Yeoryeong, and is now rising up through the promotion challenge with his own lackey…”

The cadet who was selected as the opponent in the promotion challenge would lose one rank if defeated.

If another Jincheon cadet lost, their rank would just drop by one, but for Choi Ingyu, ranked 100th, this was a serious matter.

Because the Jinchuan class had exactly 100 members.

If he lost, he would drop to 101st place and be demoted to the lower class, leaving him with no way out.

“Shit…”

But just because there was no way out, it didn’t mean that new strength would suddenly appear, so all Choi Ingyu could do was curse and resent his own weakness and the malice of the man who had chosen him, Yang Woobin.

“Choi Ingyu cadet, it’s time to enter the arena.”

Meanwhile, the cleanup of the arena, which had been ruined by Han Yujin’s “Needle Eyes,” was complete, and it was time for him to go up.

“Eh, what?”

Choi Ingyu heard the staff’s instructions clearly but, wanting to delay it even a little, he asked again.

“It’s time to go up. You were selected for the promotion challenge, so you need to go and fight.”

“Ah, yes. Right.”

But this method of delaying things wouldn’t work for long, and after the staff gave a final response, he slumped his shoulders and lowered his head as he made his way toward the elevator.

Each step he took felt small and slow, but since the distance wasn’t far, he arrived at the elevator quickly.

“Good luck.”

Clunk.

The staff member, being from the Jincheon, was much more polite than they had been with Fuyuno Tsubaki, but to Choi Ingyu, such politeness was not appreciated in the slightest.

He felt like a pig being led to the slaughterhouse as he entrusted his body to the rising elevator.

“F*ck…”

The elevator ascended with a creaking sound—clunk!

It took 30 seconds for the elevator to go from the underground level to the arena, a short time, but to Choi Ingyu, those 30 seconds felt shorter than any other.

Clunk!

Five seconds after arriving, the steel door, which he had hoped wouldn’t open, did just that.

[The promotion challenge begins!]

Immediately afterward, the announcer’s voice, which Choi Ingyu had never wanted to hear, resonated throughout the entire arena.

“Hahhh…”

In the end, facing the dreadful reality, Choi Ingyu let out a sigh and stepped out of the steel bars.

As soon as he stepped out of the bars, his vision cleared, and he could feel the eyes of countless people on him, but his gaze was fixed solely on the front.

A man with golden, shimmering blonde hair, tanned skin, and well-toned muscles.

Choi Ingyu’s gaze was fixed on his opponent, the person he feared the most—Yang Woobin.

‘He looks like he’s incredibly good at fighting… look at that body. How do those muscles look like works of art?’

Even from a distance, the intense, rough aura of someone skilled in combat made Choi Ingyu tighten his grip on the shield he was holding.

Moments later, Yang Woobin, who was on the opposite side, smirked and opened his mouth, which had been shut until now.

“Hey, you. Judging by your expression, you seem pretty scared. Sorry, but even if you’re scared like that, I won’t go easy on you.”

His words were far too crude for someone from a prestigious family.

With his blonde hair and tanned skin, he had the look of a thug, and his speech fit that image perfectly.

Choi Ingyu’s hand, holding the shield, trembled in fear.

Not only did his appearance scream thug, but his inner nature was just as vile, which made Choi Ingyu terrified of getting beaten.

And now, with him openly declaring that he wouldn’t hold back, Choi Ingyu’s fear grew exponentially.

“Because this is the promotion challenge, and it’s such a perfect stage to make my name known!”

Swoosh—!

Yang Woobin, declaring his intent to make his name known, drew two swords from his waist with impressive flair.

“He’s using dual swords…? This wasn’t in the information…”

According to the intel Choi Ingyu had gathered, Yang Woobin had never used weapons before.

When he took control of the lower class, during the entry test to Baekryong, and in his training, he had always fought barehanded.

So, Choi Ingyu had thought of him as a martial artist who relied only on his body.

“This crazy… has he been hiding his strength all this time…?”

So when Yang Woobin grabbed two swords, the despair that had already been huge doubled in size.

Not only was he someone Choi Ingyu couldn’t defeat, now he was wielding swords—there was nothing left for Choi Ingyu to do but hide behind his shield in fear and despair.

“Aah— I never thought I’d use them in a place like this! Alright, everyone here! Watch closely! And don’t tell anyone!! This is the one-and-only, undefeated sword technique passed down only to the heirs of my proud family, the Great Yang family! The Solar True Martial Sword Technique!!!”

No matter whether Choi Ingyu hid behind his shield or not, Yang Woobin, with his crude tone fitting his appearance, loudly proclaimed his sword technique before immediately kicking off the ground and charging toward his opponent.

With two swords glowing red in his hands, his figure rushing forward was like a demon, and Choi Ingyu could only focus on defending.

Kaaang—!!!

Just like that, Yang Woobin’s terrifying sword strike, charging like a demon, collided with his shield.

“…Hm?”

Seeing that his shield didn’t budge an inch, Choi Ingyu raised a question mark above his head.

“This guy! To block my Great Yang family’s undefeated Solar True Martial Sword so easily! You know how to fight, huh?!”

And in Yang Woobin’s words, Choi Ingyu raised another question mark in his mind.

‘What’s going on? Why is he so weak?’

Yang Woobin’s ultimate move, the Solar True Martial Sword, was so weak that it didn’t even make the shield budge.

‘Wait, could it be… the Yang family… are they actually really weak now?’

Choi Ingyu’s internal evaluation of the Yang family dropped drastically at that moment.