Episode 82. The Nurse Appears (4)

“Alright, let the spar begin!”

As soon as Professor Kim Jin-hyuk’s starting signal rang out, Han Seoyul charged at me.

Thump.

I felt a faint heartbeat.

It meant he was an opponent whose combat senses reacted, albeit slightly.

“Hyaaaah!”

Han Seoyul was fast, as expected of the 2nd year’s top rank… but.

‘Eye of Insight.’

He couldn’t keep up with my eyes.

I blocked his sideways slash aimed at my flank with ‘Cotton Guard’, and simultaneously burst a weak flame right in front of Han Seoyul’s eyes.

“Gah!”

Fwoosh!

Han Seoyul quickly jumped back. It wasn’t a bad judgment, but a magic circle was already prepared behind him.

‘Ignite.’

“…?!”

A searing flame swallowed Han Seoyul whole. Suddenly scorched by the fire that appeared from behind, Han Seoyul channeled magic into his sword and slashed fiercely, extinguishing the flames.

I didn’t give him an opening and pressed the attack.

Fwaaah-!

I shot flames every time I predicted Han Seoyul’s movements and changed direction.

Han Seoyul calmly defended against the fire magic assaulting him from front and back, but he started getting pushed back.

Finally, perhaps judging that just defending wouldn’t cut it, he allowed a bit of magic onto his body and forcefully broke through my front.

‘His skills are pretty decent?’

‘He’s quite strong among the cadets, so why is he an extra?’

The sword aimed at my shoulder lunged with terrifying momentum, and I accelerated my body.

Twisting my body to dodge the sword, I struck the opening on his flank with force magic conjured in an instant.

“Kuh!”

Of course, seeing that his combat senses weren’t fully activated means he’s far below my level, but my base stats are currently higher than most cadets anyway.

Han Seoyul retreated backward with a backflip, then used the sword-copying ability he showed earlier to throw four swords.

And his full-power sword throw was helplessly blocked by my ‘Cotton Guard’.

Time to wrap this up.

I still have 7 more people to face, so I can’t afford to waste more time.

Vwoom!

I summoned spheres of flame all around.

Dozens of fireballs, each containing immense compressed magic.

The training ground was filled with magic in just a few seconds, and Han Seoyul sighed.

“Double Casting, right? Haa… this is really killing my self-esteem.”

Han Seoyul let out a disbelieving chuckle.

“You flatter me, Sunbae-nim. You’re strong too, Sunbae-nim.”

Han Seoyul was genuinely strong for an extra.

It was enough to make me wonder why someone like him never even showed his face in the game.

Of course, the answer is probably ‘because he’s male’. Where’s the space for men in a H-game?

“Yeah, thanks a bunch. I’m done too. Professor. I forfeit.”

Han Seoyul forfeited the moment he saw my fireballs.

Still, I put in some effort trying to treat him with respect as a senior. What a waste.

“This is a waste… can I use it again in the next match?”

“Do you think so?”

Professor Kim Jin-hyuk chided me for my nonsense.

*

“… Hey. Was he always this strong?”

“He was strong… he crushed Kim Hojin too.”

“No, I mean… Double Casting, right? Is that even a skill a cadet can learn?”

“I don’t know.”

The cadets watching the top-ranked spars were all staring at Lee Hoyeon with their mouths agape.

Even the lower-ranked students weren’t interested in the lower ranks if it wasn’t their turn.

They say watching weaklings fight is the most fun, but it’s different when it’s high-level.

Pro leagues are more fun than amateur ones, after all.

That’s why over a hundred cadets had gathered around the top-ranked sparring area.

“Whoa, hey. He’s on his sixth opponent already.”

“He’s f*ing good… Huh? Did you record it?”

“Of course, you idiot. Uploading videos related to Lee Hoyeon on EveryDay gets at least 100 recommendations.”

“Ah, f*. I gotta record it too.”

For the cadets, the debate about Lee Hoyeon’s skills had already vanished.

Seeing him swatting seniors like mosquitoes right before their eyes, how could they not know?

Plus, he was blasting incredible magic and moving fast, so they watched the spar like they were enjoying a show.

But the professors were different.

The professors had showered Nam Daeun and Alice with praise when watching their spar.

“Wow, this year’s first-years are really something else.”

“Right? Shouldn’t we give the first-years a name? How about the ‘Golden Generation’?”

“Not bad~.”

“Alice-yang, your mana control is so beautiful.”

“Her swordsmanship seems to have reached a high level already? She’s much more talented than expected.”

And then… they fell silent watching Lee Hoyeon’s spar.

“…I’m not seeing things wrong right now, am I?”

The middle-aged man who had served the longest as a professor at Victoria Academy muttered.

“…The A-Class members are all incredibly fierce, aren’t they.”

“Fierce? That’s not the problem.”

“I know, right. Forget ‘all hype’, he’s genuinely a once-in-a-lifetime talent.”

Some professors had believed Lee Hoyeon was just academy PR.

This was especially true for the older, long-serving professors.

People who never believed anything they hadn’t seen with their own eyes.

Furthermore, even professors at the academy weren’t in positions to receive direct reports on such matters from the chairman or dean, so they naturally assumed he was just academy advertising.

Since they had never openly criticized Lee Hoyeon, it was also one reason why Kim Jin-hyuk hadn’t bothered trying to convince them.

“The ‘all hype’ theory seems completely gone now… or rather, won’t it just get louder?”

“The videos are already spreading. It’s over the moment guild scouts see them. Well.”

One professor was checking EveryDay on his smartwatch.

Lee Hoyeon’s video was already at the top.

“Impossible speed in casting magic circles, Double Casting, and virtually no gap between spells… He’s the ultimate boss of combat mages.”

“He definitely has physical enhancement skills too. You can see moments where his reaction speed spikes.”

“At this point, isn’t it an Awakening?”

Awakening.

It’s the process where an ability user surpasses their limits and moves to the next stage.

Whether or not one achieves this Awakening changes how a Hunter is treated.

It’s a realm so difficult to reach that most active Hunters haven’t attained the level of Awakening.

“Obviously. It can’t be explained otherwise, right?”

“The repercussions will be truly immense… it makes my skin crawl.”

The professors, naturally, concluded that Lee Hoyeon had reached that stage.

One male professor sighed and downed his coffee.

“I don’t know anymore. Let’s leave it all to Professor Kim Jin-hyuk. He’s the homeroom teacher.”

“…Right.”

While the professors were talking, up to the 7th ranked 2nd-year student had been defeated by Lee Hoyeon.

He kept using different magic spells from earlier, making it seem less like a spar and more like he was testing his own limits.

His level was entirely different from the other cadets.

“For this mid-term exam… we could probably start making the pamphlets for 1st place now.”

“…”

The professors’ perception of Lee Hoyeon shifted 180 degrees, and they worried about the storm Lee Hoyeon would bring.

“As expected, my dear…!”

“Huh? Saintess-nim, what did you say?”

“Ah. It’s nothing!”

Baek Ahyoung intently watched the training ground before lowering her head deeply.

*

A small, shorty climbed onto the roaring training ground.

“Hello, Sunbae-nim Yoon Hyunkyu?”

“Who, who… what are you?!”

Pushed onto the training ground, Yoon Hyunkyu spoke with a face full of tension, having hidden the sly smile he wore in the student council meeting room.

“Since you have such strong pride, I, your junior, came to personally experience just how great your magic skills are. Please go easy on me.”

“You… you f*ing bastard…!”

Yoon Hyunkyu couldn’t hide his shock at my greeting and trembled his hands.

“Surely you’re not going to forfeit without even fighting against a junior who’s exhausted his stamina and mana after taking down 7 people, are you?”

I provoked Yoon Hyunkyu with a smirk.

“Who said I’m forfeiting? Bring it on!”

The shorty Yoon Hyunkyu channeled magic into his body.

A mage, and furthermore, the same fire attribute as me.

‘Should I reveal my other attributes here?’

There are many spectators, and it’s not a bad stage to reveal my power.

If I show that I can handle other elemental magic too, it’ll cause a huge stir.

‘No. There’s a bigger stage.’

The mid-term exams and the festival.

Surely, one of those opportunities will come.

If I’m going to receive the spotlight, it’s best to get the biggest one possible.

Besides, there’s no need to reveal my strength against an opponent I can easily defeat even with the same attribute.

“If you’re ready, let’s begin!”

Simultaneously with Professor Kim Jin-hyuk’s starting signal, Yoon Hyunkyu drew a magic circle.

Fireball. A simple, yet fast and strong basic spell for fire mages.

Paaahk!

A sphere of flame, spewing hot flames, was created and shot out.

“Are you being careless?!”

Five fireballs flew towards me.

I lightly blocked them with Cotton Guard.

“Sunbae-nim, you’re too slow. This is how you use Fireball.”

Fwoosh-

Fwoosh-

Two fireballs were constantly generated around my body.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five… A total of 24 fireballs covered the training ground in 3 seconds.

It was a speed incomparable to Yoon Hyunkyu, who took over 5 seconds to create 5 fireballs.

“You better defend well. It’s no fun if it ends in one go.”

Kwagwagang!!

I unleashed all 24 fireballs at Yoon Hyunkyu at once.

Yoon Hyunkyu realized there was nowhere to dodge and put up a shield directly in front.

Wall of Fire. It’s a shield made of fire attribute, so naturally, it’s a magic highly resistant to fire.

The judgment was sound.

But.

Paaahk-!

My fireballs easily tore through Yoon Hyunkyu’s shield.

“Aargh!”

As the fireballs tore through the shield, I simultaneously pulled out flame chains from the floor and yanked Yoon Hyunkyu’s feet.

With a Thump!, the fallen Yoon Hyunkyu had fireballs narrowly miss his head.

“How can a fire attribute shield be pierced by fireballs?”

“It just shows how vast the skill gap is between Lee Hoyeon and that Sunbae.”

“Ah… well, he doesn’t look like much of a fighter. Is he an academic type?”

The cadets’ jeers and laughter could be heard from below the training ground.

Yoon Hyunkyu, his face red, broke free from my flame chains and scrambled to his feet.

“You, you… I won’t let this go…! Are you playing with me? I’ll show you what happens when you cross the Vice President!”

“Yeah, yeah. Just don’t forfeit.”

Yoon Hyunkyu, furious, started firing spells, and I began dismantling his magic one by one with a scoff.

*

“How… how…”

“Just admit it already, Sunbae. You’re damn weak.”

“I-I’m a 2nd-year! There’s no way I should lose to a 1st-year freshman!”

With all his magic spells countered, I slowly approached Yoon Hyunkyu, who was denying reality.

“Just go live licking the Vice President’s ass. Stop messing around.”

“Kyak!”

I kicked his shin with my mana-infused toes and turned my back, leaving the collapsed Yoon Hyunkyu behind.

“I forfeit.”

“…Using forfeit like that isn’t advisable.”

Professor Kim Jin-hyuk looked at me with a displeased expression.

It seems like his vibe is ‘give your best effort in spars’.

‘You let Nam Daeun and Alice forfeit easily earlier too, Professor…’

Is Professor Kim Jin-hyuk biased towards pretty girls because he’s a man?

Fortunately, I had a good excuse.

“Professor. I sparred too much and my head hurts. I think I need to go rest in the nurse’s office.”

“You look like you’re in the best condition I’ve seen you in recently.”

“…No, I’m not. You can ask the school nurse.”

“Haa, Ms. Baek Ahyoung isn’t free enough to play along with your pranks…”

Cutting off Kim Jin-hyuk’s voice, a clear voice echoed through the auditorium.

“Cadet Lee Hoyeon!! Is something wrong??!!”

Baek Ahyoung, who had been watching the spar among the professors from somewhere, quickly came up to the training ground and started assessing my condition.

“Indeed. His condition doesn’t seem good. He needs rest, Professor Kim Jin-hyuk.”

“…Really? He looked fine to me…”

“I’m sure of it. Are you doubting my eyes?”

Baek Ahyoung glared at Kim Jin-hyuk.

[There is no healer superior to Baek Ahyoung, and Korean Hunters should be grateful that the Saintess is in Korea.]

“… My apologies. Let’s get him out of here quickly.”

“Cadet Hoyeon. Can you walk on your own? Should I help you?”

“…Yes. Please support me. Then.”

★ Heroine Status Window

[Baek Ahyoung]

• [ Affection: 88 ] (+0.2)

• [ Lust: 80 ]

• [ Appetite: 30 ]

• [ Fatigue: 35 ]

Current State: T-take me to the nurse’s office like this… and l-lock the door…!

Are they all blind to these perverted eyes and don’t suspect anything?

Everyone needs to break through the Saintess image and face reality, but Baek Ahyoung’s established image as a Saintess was truly solid.

“Wow, checking on the injured right after arriving is insane…”

“That’s why she’s called a Saintess. I’m going to become a fan starting today too.”

Even eyes full of desire are being perceived as someone dedicating themselves to healing; she’s truly amazing.

“Everyone is blind.”

“Cadet Lee Hoyeon. You shouldn’t talk, as your wounds might open.”

“I wasn’t even wounded in the first place…”

“Shh!”

“…Yes, yes. I understand.”

Baek Ahyoung and I then left the auditorium.