episode_0090

090.

The day of the ranking match had arrived.

The vast stadium seats were filled with a bustling crowd.

Representatives from associations, clans, corporations, and the media were all chattering away. There were many renowned heroes present, the ones you would see in a game character guidebook.

Eunji, the leader of the Gaon Nuri Clan.

Hwadong, the head of the Heukyeong Clan faction.

Baek Namil, the high-ranking swordsman of the Baek family.

Jeong Haewon, the head of the Mirinae Clan under the SL Group.

And Cynthia Gwyn, the third executive of the noon church’s executive team, and many others.

Wow, there are so many of them here. And there are plenty of other spectators quietly waiting for the matches to begin.

With outsiders allowed in, security was extremely tight. Instructors, security guards, and the security team were all on standby.

It seemed like it was all due to the Union Academy attack incident.

The academy staff seemed to be on edge, ready for any unexpected situations.

With numerous clan heirs engaging in direct combat, the interest from the spectators was immense.

This year was being hailed as the golden generation, with an abundance of talent.

The media, online communities, and portal sites were all buzzing with the question of who was the strongest.

Arguments about matchups based on strengths, weaknesses, talents, growth rates, and special abilities were in full swing.

However, there was one public secret.

The strongest among the Union Academy students was not Isiwoon or Kang Daehan, but a certain girl.

That girl’s name was Baek Yurin.

She had boldly defeated Isiwoon, earning the position of the master’s apprentice, making her truly the strongest student.

Of course, that victory over Isiwoon was in the past.

Considering Isiwoon’s growth trajectory, it was possible that he had already caught up by now.

Moreover, Baek Yurin had been relatively inactive lately, keeping silent.

On the other hand, Isiwoon had scored much higher than Baek Yurin in the entrance exam and midterms.

Some people even speculated that Baek Yurin might have been a one-time wonder in the past.

Therefore, people were eager to see what Baek Yurin would show in this ranking match, and who she would face off against.

…Even though there was controversy over her opponent being me.

“Anyway, Baek Yurin is someone you can’t reason with.”

I tried to convince her in the waiting room that I wasn’t Vilante, but she just wouldn’t listen. It seemed like she was just looking forward to fighting me.

Even when I told her that Vilante was dead, she just heard it with one ear and let it go out the other.

She didn’t even pretend to listen to me, really.

“Well, it’s not like she would have believed me even if I told her Vilante was dead.”

After all, Vilante was a top-ranking powerhouse.

It would have been natural to dismiss it as nonsense if someone of that caliber suddenly died.

“Alright, whatever. Since someone like Baek Yurin won’t listen to words anyway.”

Let’s just fight the way she wants, then.

I actually wanted to fight against someone stronger than an active hero for once.

Of course, if it were a real battle, it would have been too dangerous, and I would have run away immediately. But in the ranking match, I was protected by numerous instructors, security personnel, and healers.

It meant that I could engage in a safe duel.

And if Baek Yurin fought me directly, she would definitely realize that I was not Vilante.

I’m quite excited at the thought of whether I’ll be able to defeat Baek Yurin or not, so my words may not be coming across clearly, but I plan to have a chat with her slowly after the fight is over.

Perhaps Baek Yurin’s decisive turning point that led her to become a villain in the game was due to anxiety and inferiority complex?

Baek Yurin, who had defeated numerous geniuses since childhood and made a name for herself as a monster inspector, seemed to have started revealing her true self at some point.

Could it be that she hit a wall?

Frustrated by being blocked by a wall with no way out, Baek Yurin was at a loss.

Not only was she caught by Lee Siwoon, but she was also thoroughly exposed by Soyeon, who was an unexpected opponent.

Having lived her whole life with just a sword, Baek Yurin found herself falling into despair as she was easily defeated by Soyeon, who had awakened her talent, and the more they fought, the wider the gap became.

It was around that time that Yoo Dahee made a move.

It was an obvious move, but in the end, Baek Yurin succumbed to her inferiority complex and fell.

“…If I do well, I might be able to break through the part where Baek Yurin is stuck.”

After thinking deeply about the game settings for a week, I was able to recall some additional settings related to Baek Yurin.

Among them were the problems Baek Yurin was currently facing and possible solutions.

Of course, I may not be able to completely solve Baek Yurin’s problems, but I should be able to provide some clues.

After all, in the IF side story novel, Baek Yurin listened to some advice from Soyeon and worked hard to overcome the wall.

I vaguely remember what Soyeon pointed out and advised in the side story novel.

“In the side story novel, Baek Yurin took the stories related to the sword quite seriously.”

While Baek Yeonghyun could be considered the best in swordsmanship, he thought Baek Yurin was a bit hesitant to wield a sword.

Although she was recognized as a top disciple due to her exceptional talent, she ended up being overly fascinated with the sword.

Baek Yurin was deeply enthralled by the devilry of the sword.

With no resistance to bending something and consumed by a desire and longing for the sword, she was led to her downfall.

“…If I were to face the world-renowned Baek Yurin, how long could I endure?”

Although she had explosively blossomed her talent more than anyone else in her youth, Baek Yurin had aged a lot, but her strength was still genuine.

It’s not certain, but if we think about how she was described in official games, novels, and comics, she might be somewhere between upper-middle and top tier.

Due to lack of experience, her ability to handle situations and tactical aspects might be lacking, but considering her age, she was an unbelievable powerhouse.

Well, compared to Soyeon, Yoo Dahee, and Vizillante, it might be a bit disappointing.

However, it’s never the case that Baek Yurin’s talent is low.

“…Since it’s come to this, let’s give it our all.”

I smiled inwardly.

Regardless, now that I’m going to spar with Baek Yurin, I plan to do my best.

Through the fight with Baek Yurin, I wanted to objectively and subjectively assess where I currently stand.

I also wanted to test how effective the strategy I came up with would be against someone stronger than an active hero.

Honestly, I don’t think I’ll win.

The current Baek Yurin far surpasses the level of an ordinary student.

In the future, she was destined to be caught by the protagonist’s group, but for now, she could be considered the strongest, excluding Soyeon.

It was absurd to think that I could defeat Baek Yurin, who barely managed to win against Lee Siwoon during the midterms by using various tricks.

Furthermore, this time, there was no room for tricks.

Especially since there were so many people watching.

With cameras, judges, security guards, and spectators all watching, it was impossible to pull off any strange tricks. So, they had to rely solely on their skills to compete.

Well, they could probably use a bit of their special abilities, like the Tears of the Moon.

“Phew. I’m a bit nervous.”

“….”

“Jinhyuk, you don’t seem nervous at all? You’re really strong-hearted.”

“….Hmm.”

Soyeon, who was standing beside them, had a awkward expression on her face.

It seemed like competing in front of so many people was burdensome in many ways.

“By the way, Soyeon, your opponent in the competition was Joo Jiyeon, right?”

“Oh, yeah.”

In ranking matches, you could challenge the opponent you wanted to face.

Usually, people would challenge someone slightly weaker or slightly stronger than themselves, but Soyeon had directly challenged Joo Jiyeon, the 12th-ranked member of the Oseong Group, with whom she had a recent dispute.

Joo Jiyeon had accepted the challenge willingly, as it was an opportunity to officially embarrass Soyeon, who had caught the attention of Kang Daehan, whom she secretly admired.

And perhaps, she wanted to crush her thoroughly so that she would never dare to resist again.

Kang Daehan had mentioned that he liked strong women, so if he saw Soyeon being completely defeated by Joo Jiyeon, he might lose interest in her, which was a simple thought.

Since Soyeon’s ranking was much lower than her opponent’s, she might have been a bit hesitant to challenge her, but thanks to Soyeon’s initiative, there seemed to be no hesitation.

“Why did you challenge Joo Jiyeon to a competition?”

“Well, I thought it would be worth a try.”

“Worth a try… Are you mocking me?”

“Why would I do that?”

Perhaps she was not underestimating herself?

Because she was not at that level right now.

“Like I mentioned before, there have been some changes since that incident… I mean, I’ve noticed some changes in my abilities and physical strength.”

I just nodded vaguely.

I had a rough idea of Soyeon’s changes through research, observation, and what she had told me.

Well, even without these things, Soyeon, who had developed her talents, was so strong that it was noted in the guidebook.

Dealing with monsters like her was so challenging that even the setting itself was like, ‘Wow, seriously?’

“Ah… Well, you can roughly tell from your training performance.”

“Training performance… Isn’t that a bit vague? That’s why I wanted to face a strong opponent directly.”

Soyeon smiled brightly.

“How much I’ve changed. And how much I can handle.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. It’s just too hard to feel it through normal training alone.”

Soyeon glanced briefly at Yoo Seolhyun, who was talking to Sunari from a distance.

“I actually thought about challenging Yoo Seolhyun.”

Would she make scary noises all of a sudden?

Were you planning to break Yoo Seolhyun’s mental state?

“But I thought Joo Jiyeon seemed okay.”

“That’s a relief.”

“By the way, Jinhyuk, what happened between you and Baek Yurin? I heard a rumor that she threatened you at the correctional facility not long ago.”

“It was just a minor misunderstanding.”

I’m not sure if it was minor or not.

“Could it be that you’re being harassed by Baek Yurin?”

“Why? Would you help if I were being harassed?”

Hey, in the game, you didn’t even notice when I was being harassed.

“Just kidding.”

Soyeon nodded vigorously.

“I’ll make sure she doesn’t touch you.”

Her eyes, which seemed like they could suck you in, were staring at me intently.

What can I say.

Intense determination and desire could be felt.

“I… I think I’ve become quite a bit stronger than you think.”

– Please enter the stadium from Group F1 to F10.

“Oh, is it my turn?”

“Yeah, go and come back.”

“Should I cheer for her?”

I watched Soyeon’s confident figure as she dashed out.

Whether people like it or not, today’s game featuring Soyeon will capture the attention of many.

Heroes, villains, it doesn’t matter.

Although it has always been said that geniuses like Ishiwoon, Kang Daehan, Yoo Seolhyun, and Baek Yurin were the only ones mentioned, things will be different from now on.

It might be a bit awkward to receive so much attention already, but it’s about time to let people know.

What it truly means to be a genius.