Martial Arts Competition (1)

Lee Dojin had to feel a sudden surge of fatigue. It’s not even a direct attack, but this kind of attention alone can cause mental damage.

Baek Hwayeon approached Lee Dojin’s side. Baek Hwayeon grabbed the sleeve of Lee Dojin, who was about to move his steps to avoid the place for now.

“Where are you trying to run off to?”

Lee Dojin tilted his head.

“I’m not running off anywhere.”

“W-what happened for them to mention your existence so directly like that? And a rookie idol girl group at that! A man!”

Lee Dojin slowly nodded. Even if he tried to refute, that was rationally correct.

“Yeah, I wonder why they’re doing that.”

It was very puzzling from Lee Dojin’s perspective too. Why on earth were they doing this?

“If you don’t know, who would!”

Lee Dojin had nothing to say even to Baek Hwayeon’s pressing. Someone else appeared beside him.

It was Choi Bit-na.

“Let’s sit down for now. I like Aurora Spark too, the legendary girl group that swept all first place awards with their debut song. Aurora Spark. Oh, I love them so much.”

Choi Bit-na made a gesture indicating how great they were while waving both arms, then sat down. It was a tone and gesture that anyone could tell was soulless.

“What about the pajeon business?”

At Lee Dojin’s question, Choi Bit-na stretched.

“Since it’s the last day, there are fewer people than yesterday. They told me to rest since I worked hard for two days, so I said I would.”

The big man, Park Seonggu, sat next to Lee Dojin.

“Hey, we’ll have to be careful on the way back to the dorm tonight. I’m not joking.”

Park Seonggu meant it as a joke, but it didn’t sound like a joke to Lee Dojin. Because the killing intent Lee Dojin received this time was more genuine than any other.

Lee Dojin suddenly sensed that the gazes full of killing intent towards him had magically disappeared.

Indeed.

It was because those people were coming up on stage.

“”Aurora Spark! Shining─Aurora! Striking─Spark!””

The enthusiastic chanting of male students struck his ears.

Strangely, Choi Bit-na’s face beside Lee Dojin turned bright red.

“Oh, no matter how many times I hear that, I can’t get used to it…”

Anyone would feel embarrassed if their name was shouted so loudly like that.

The woman with long straight hair who seemed to be the leader grabbed the microphone fixed in the center.

“Hello! Thank you for welcoming us! I’m Yoo Hana, the leader of Aurora Spark! It’s an honor to be able to perform for you future heroes who will work for peace in Korea, no, the whole world!”

Once again, thunderous cheers erupted from the audience.

And the performance of the 5-member girl group Aurora Spark began.

It was Aurora, their debut song and signature song.

Graceful choreography unfolded on stage. The main vocalist’s voice filled the academy.

The main vocalist was none other than Lee Serin, who had received Lee Dojin’s autograph.

“Aurora, Aurora, we’re filling our night with light! This moment we’re creating together──!”

Lee Serin’s blue hair seemed to make her great singing ability feel even more refreshing.

Even the tremendous chanting of male and female students couldn’t drown out Lee Serin’s voice.

While Choi Bit-na and Baek Hwayeon were drawn to Aurora Spark’s powerful performance, they kept watching the corners of Lee Dojin’s mouth. They were planning to question him if the corners of his mouth rose above an acceptable level.

They weren’t sure if a robust man in his 20s raising the corners of his mouth while watching female idols was a reason worth questioning, but they were planning to question him anyway.

“As expected, junior. The corners of your mouth don’t exceed the appropriate level of smile. If you had smiled brightly enough to show your neat teeth with the corners of your mouth trembling, those two lasses would have grabbed your collar by now.”

Yeon Simun, who had set her position as a spectator watching youth, chuckled while looking at the three alternately.

“Let’s focus on the performance, senior.”

Unlike Baek Hwayeon who endured Yeon Simun’s sarcasm without response, Choi Bit-na, who felt stung, glared at Yeon Simun and said this.

“Junior Bit-na. You can’t do it with such a half-hearted mindset. No matter what woman comes on to him, ah, I have Bit-na… you have to make him think like that and reject them. Cast a spell of enchantment. Right, junior?”

Yeon Simun lightly stroked Lee Dojin’s thigh, who was clapping.

Baek Hwayeon and Choi Bit-na’s pupils dilated. Urgent words flowed from Baek Hwayeon’s mouth.

“Dojin! Brush off that hand! Brush it off!”

It was a mess.

And in that mess, Aurora Spark’s performance continued for one more song before ending.

“”Thank you! We were Aurora Spark! Iroaz fighting!””

Once again, cheers for Aurora Spark resounded. Lee Serin winked at Lee Dojin sitting on the far left.

The problem was that all the male students sitting within Lee Dojin’s vicinity thought the wink was for them and made a fuss, while Lee Dojin himself didn’t pay much attention to that wink.

Lee Dojin’s phone rang just as he returned to the dormitory with a relieved mind.

It was a vibration.

010-89……

It was a message from an unknown number.

-Hello.

This is Lee Serin from Aurora Spark. That’s right! The Serin who got an autograph from Student Lee Dojin. Thank you for everything today.

Lee Dojin looked at that message closely. How did she get my number? That question didn’t continue deeply. Although they had only met today, considering Lee Serin’s actions so far, it didn’t seem strange that she had found out his number. What should I reply?

-Yes, I enjoyed watching your performance. Good luck.

Lee Dojin sent a very formal reply.

And then his phone turned off as the battery died.

“Oh, it turned off.”

Lee Dojin, who reacted nonchalantly, plugged his phone into the charger and took a meditation posture.

In his arms was a flowerpot, and in its center was Khan, the King of the Great Forest, who had performed well today.

Lee Dojin continued his meditation while stroking Khan.

---

After the three-day festival ended, another week came to a close.

Now, the first semester of Iroaz Academy was about to end. Only one gateway remained, the final martial arts competition.

The martial arts competition is literally a competition of martial arts.

The martial arts competition was both an exam and an event.

Basically, because the martial arts competition is conducted as a ‘final exam’, students of the same grade compete against each other. And when the competition for the same grade ends and the first place is determined, the event begins.

A competition between grade winners that doesn’t affect grades.

It wasn’t that all grade winners, that is, all four people, fought.

First-year students compete with second-year students, and third-year students compete with fourth-year students.

The event match of the martial arts competition produces two winners.

Most of the time, higher grade students win against lower grade students. In the long and short history of Iroaz Academy, very occasionally, variables occurred where lower grade students won against higher grade students.

Because they can enjoy the event in spectator mode, eating popcorn, the moment their own martial arts schedule is finished, academy students become excited at the name of ‘martial arts competition’.

Lee Dojin was one of those students.

Whatever the result, competing against opponents with their own weapons was quite an attractive thing.

He had no intention of quickly becoming a spectator.

Park Cheol-ung, the homeroom instructor of Combat Class 1, entered the classroom.

He looked at each student sitting in their seats one by one, then opened his mouth.

“As you know, the final exam, the martial arts competition, is a long exam that takes place over two weeks.”

As soon as the talk about the martial arts competition came out, exclamations flowed from the students’ mouths.

“From the second year, magic department students also participate in the martial arts competition from the beginning, but in the first year, the combat department and magic department have separate martial arts competitions. And the first place winners from the combat department and magic department compete, and the winner of that earns the right to advance to the event match.”

A blank tournament bracket was displayed on the screen.

“The martial arts competition is in a complete tournament format, so the student who will compete in the first-year martial arts competition final will have fought 9 matches.”

One student raised their hand high.

“When are the opponents decided?”

“Monday.”

Just the topic of the martial arts competition was thrown out, but the bodies of the students who had been slumped from the after-effects of the festival straightened up.

What breathed vitality into their bodies was the spirit of struggle. The intense spirit of struggle that all combat department students inherently possess.

Time flowed mercilessly fast. There were students who couldn’t shake off the lingering excitement of the long festival, but the foundation of Iroaz Academy students was mostly a group whose competitive spirit was not behind others.

They started training to pull up their form in a short time in whatever way they could.

Lee Dojin just trained as he had been doing. Swinging his wooden sword.

He trained in the Reverse Heaven Sword while employing his inner power techniques.

He met with Sword Demon Jung Yong-ha again and engaged in a battle like a life-and-death struggle. Of course, there was still no sign of the outcome changing.

Jung Yong-ha looked at Lee Dojin and raised the corners of his mouth.

“In all my life, I’ve never seen someone with a growth rate as fast as you.”

Lee Dojin’s sword path still felt sloppy, but that sloppiness was clearly gradually decreasing.

Lee Dojin, his whole body soaked in sweat, was listening attentively to Jung Yong-ha’s words in an exhausted state.

“Do you think you’ve understood the Lost Soul Step completely?”

At Jung Yong-ha’s words, Lee Dojin nodded his head greatly.

“Yes, I think I can properly utilize the Lost Soul Step.”

Distorting the shadow with killing intent, and then distorting the entire body to increase the opponent’s confusion. Finally, a footwork technique aimed at taking away life.

Lee Dojin quickly absorbed the swordsmanship and footwork techniques that Jung Yong-ha taught. Jung Yong-ha’s sword and footsteps not only taught how to newly accept them as they were, but also how to change the existing Reverse Heaven Sword and footwork techniques.

Of course, that was something Lee Dojin realized on his own. The Sword Demon’s sword path and footwork gave the clue to that realization.

‘Terrifying talent.’

He thought it was a funny thing to say.

When he heard from his old subordinate, Sword Empress Yoo Seol-ah, that this guy was material to save this world.

How many guys have been called that? And half of those guys called that died. In dungeons. To strong enemies that popped out of gates. And in the Tower.

Sword Demon Jung Yong-ha was well aware of how overflowing with talent he himself was. Currently, there was only one person in this country, Korea, who could respond to his sword without any special countermeasures, just with a battle suit.

When he saw the attacks of monsters, magic beasts, and humans, he could see at a glance how to respond to kill the opponent.

But the existence called ‘Apostle’ in the Tower had attacks in such bizarre forms that the range itself couldn’t be measured with human eyes. That’s why they had to suffer devastating damage leading to annihilation.

So he was in despair. That this world would be swallowed by the Tower. And that no swordsman worthy of becoming his successor had appeared.

But ironically, now that it was certain his life was coming to an end, a martial artist with even greater talent than himself appeared before his eyes.

“Get up, I’ll teach you a somewhat new sword path.”

At the words of teaching something new, Lee Dojin, who had been breathing heavily, raised his head abruptly.

“Yes.”

Anyway, he was a guy properly obsessed with swords. Jung Yong-ha, who grinned, suddenly said something he had just thought of.

“I heard there’s a martial arts competition soon.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Don’t use techniques related to me there. Neither footwork nor sword. There will definitely be someone trying to check, so unnecessarily.”

Lee Dojin understood exactly what he meant. The Sword Demon’s sword was quite unique. Apart from being high-level, it had a strong original character.

If the people coming to the audience seats as advisory members were at the level of the Ten Sovereigns or above, they would notice when he used Sword Demon Jung Yong-ha’s sword and footwork techniques.

Jung Yong-ha thought that there might be people who would notice that Lee Dojin had received martial arts instruction from the Sword Demon and try to harm Lee Dojin.

“I understand.”

“Well, even if you don’t use them, you’ll easily take first place in your grade, won’t you?”

Lee Dojin tilted his head.

“I’m not sure. Shouldn’t we not be certain until we actually fight?”

Lee Dojin wasn’t being humble. He was aware that he was overwhelmingly stronger than other first-year students. But he just thought that you never know what variables might occur.

“Right, that mindset is your strong point.”

“I think I can get first place among first-years too. If not, I won’t be able to go around saying I’m Sword Demon’s disciple later.”

To be able to say that in the future, he had to write a somewhat plausible epic. Lee Dojin’s eyes burned with fighting spirit.

That’s how he steeled his resolve to become the winner.