## Chapter 28 – (12)
The practical training was originally conducted as a duel with an examiner or a battle between examinees, but this time it was decided to be a battle between examinees.
The reason was that there were many examinees remaining.
The battle would proceed while wearing special protective gear.
It was said to be state-of-the-art armor that measured the damage received.
The simple rule was that you lost when the accumulated damage to the armor exceeded a certain level or the armor was destroyed.
Equipment was free, except for firearms.
The reason firearms were excluded was simple.
In Korea, even heroes couldn’t use firearms.
The reason was that if firearms were used in the city, many citizens could get caught up in the battle.
However, according to stories on the internet, the prevailing opinion was that the sword manufacturers were lobbying behind the scenes to prevent it at all costs.
It was the exact opposite situation from foreign countries.
Because of this, many ability users related to firearms went abroad.
I took out the equipment I had prepared.
It was an expandable baton that police officers would use.
No matter what, I couldn’t participate in the hero exam with a weapon made by a villain, so the equipment I could choose was limited.
Of course, I could buy weapons made by the hero side if I wanted to, but the price was so unreasonably expensive that I didn’t want to buy them.
I had enough money, but knuckles or gloves that could be bought for a few hundred thousand won on the black market were being sold for ten times the price, so I lost all desire to buy them.
So, I chose this expandable baton that was being sold for self-defense.
Most of it was made of iron, so even though it was light, it was a weapon with considerable power.
It felt like a baseball bat would smash, but this was a blunt weapon that felt like it would tear.
When I took out the expandable baton in the waiting room, I felt several gazes flying towards me.
Many eyes were focused on me because I had won first place in the previous test.
The weapon, an expandable baton, was unexpected, and everyone had strange expressions.
It wasn’t very threatening, but it wasn’t a weapon that could be ignored either.
I looked around and saw that many people had quite plausible weapons.
It was like a weapon museum.
Gloves, knuckles, swords, spears, staffs, bows, even gasoline cans.
What kind of threats do villains operating in this world face that they do villainous things?
I became afraid.
Kangseok didn’t bring a weapon.
Instead, he was talking to someone who looked like a staff member, as if consulting about something.
He smiled and nodded, as if the story had gone well.
“Start.”
“Uwaaa!”
“Dieee!”
The test started, and one by one, they started fighting.
The examinees who were fighting shouted.
No matter how I thought about it, it wasn’t the kind of thing a hero would say.
In the waiting room, we could watch the scenes on a fairly large TV.
I heard that watching fights was so much fun, and I think I know why.
Even though they were wearing protective gear, the sight of them wielding weapons at each other with all their might was eerie and captivating.
However, it felt a little weaker than I thought.
What should I say.
It didn’t feel like a fight between heroes.
They were just hitting each other and wielding weapons, and there weren’t many fights where they were properly using their abilities.
“Why is he taking those hits?”
“Did he use too much of his ability in the second round?”
“…I guess so.”
And then I think I knew why.
Everyone seemed to be having a hard time recovering from the aftereffects of the second round.
Because of that, they only used their abilities when it was really important, even while competing, and that was the result.
Beepㅡ
When a certain amount of damage was dealt, a whistle sounded, and the match was decided.
“Next, Seonghan-nim and Dowoon-nim, please follow me.”
My name was called, so I followed the man who was helping with the progress.
The male examinee called Dowoon also walked with me, looking back and forth between me and my expandable baton.
“Tsk… Are you kidding me?”
Then he looked at my expandable baton and smirked.
I didn’t react to the obvious provocation.
Because I’ll be able to beat him up soon anyway.
***
The result was instantaneous.
I fought with three examinees, including Dowoon, and I was able to win with just one or two hits with the expandable baton.
I could have finished them all in one hit, but I deliberately gave Dowoon and a few guys who ignored the expandable baton two hits each.
The armor didn’t absorb all the shock.
The examinees who fought me could no longer ignore the expandable baton.
Whether it was a twist of fate, or whether they were deliberately placed far apart considering that they were 1st and 2nd place.
In the end, only the test between Kangseok and me remained.
When it was just the two of us in the waiting room, where quite a few people had gathered, a suffocating silence flowed.
Even the scouts who occasionally came to the waiting room to preemptively scout talent didn’t come in at this moment.
It must be because they knew this suffocating atmosphere.
If they came in when there were only two people and scouted only one side, the atmosphere would really turn cold.
However, there were also people who didn’t care about that atmosphere.
Creak.
The sound of the door opening was heard, and two people came in.
It was Minji and Gaeun.
As soon as the two came in, the tense atmosphere in the waiting room instantly became brighter.
That atmosphere didn’t last long.
“Hey, are you nervous?”
Minji approached me and kicked my shin with her foot.
“Not really.”
“…What a bluff.”
It didn’t hurt.
I could see Kangseok’s expression hardening as he watched.
He was biting his lip tightly, suppressing his anger.
Choi Gaeun didn’t approach easily because Minji and I were together, but she was standing near us.
If Minji hadn’t been there, she would have talked to me.
I could feel that the look in her eyes was much gentler.
Kangseok, unable to bear that fact, left the waiting room.
“…”
Choi Gaeun glanced at the waiting room door, but didn’t react any further.
“Weren’t you two close?”
“…Were we?”
I pointed to Kangseok, who had left, and asked Gaeun.
Minji also looked at Choi Gaeun as if she was wondering at my words.
From Minji’s point of view, who didn’t know Choi Gaeun’s wall, it would have seemed like Choi Gaeun, who had been talking to Kangseok until recently, was suddenly distancing herself.
“Oh? Ah… Just… well…”
Choi Gaeun didn’t react much.
She just looked at me and blushed.
I guess great power comes with great responsibility.
Choi Gaeun’s wall was also not normal.
“I’ll prepare for the next match.”
“Win.”
“…Do well.”
I left for the stadium with Minji and Gaeun seeing me off.
For some reason, Minji kicked my butt lightly. Just in case, I checked the wall, but there was no wall related to hitting.
Is hitting me all the time just an expression of affection?
…And why did Choi Gaeun start using honorifics?
—
On the stadium, Kangseok was already ready and sending me fierce eyes.
His face was scary, as expected of a villain.
But if I had to pick, Kim Scorpion’s impression was several times more terrifying.
I held the expandable baton in my hand and said to Kangseok.
“You should use your ability in advance.”
“…What ability.”
In fact, Kangseok hadn’t properly shown his ability yet.
The opponents were exhausted from the second test, so there was no situation where he could properly use it, and he seemed to be holding back a little because he was wary of me.
So, I urged him.
It was meaningless to beat Kangseok without using his ability.
“You have to make a weapon.”
“…”
As soon as I said that, something like black liquid flowed from Kangseok’s hand and formed a long axe-like shape.
Kangseok’s ability was to create weapons and freely handle the weapons he created.
Except for the fact that he creates them, it was an ability similar to weapon mastery.
“I will defeat you and take back Minji.”
“Take back, you weren’t even in a relationship.”
If I had to pick, it was a bad relationship.
It was the relationship between a villain and a hero.
And to be honestㅡ
“Minji won’t go to you even if I lose, will she?”
Maybe Choi Gaeun.
Minji didn’t really have a wall about strong men.
She did have a wall about perverts and exposure.
Even that had recently changed, and my name was clearly written on the wall.
“You son of a bitch!”
Whether the provocation worked, he rushed at me with an axe.
I blocked it with the expandable baton, but the weight of the axe was much heavier than the expandable baton, so I almost dropped the baton for a moment.
I had only used weapon mastery, but it felt different to be on the receiving end.
How can he swing that big axe so fast?
I thought he was a lumberjack.
“Uwaaa!”
Kangseok, full of anger, continuously struck me with the axe.
Each time, I blocked his axe with the expandable baton and looked for an opportunity.
And I aimed for when he raised the axe high for a big hit and struck his wrist.
“Keuk!”
Kangseok dropped the axe, and I picked it up.
“Hmph. I can make as many weapons as I want…”
Kangseok didn’t care and created the axe again.
It was as expected.
I picked up the axe, but Kangseok couldn’t get rid of the weapon he made, he just created a new axe.
I threw the expandable baton on the floor.
And I grabbed the axe with both hands and lifted it.
“…What are you…”
We were finally equal.
We were facing each other with the same weapon.
“Huh.”
Kangseok laughed as if he was dumbfounded.
He seemed confident that he would win thanks to his skill in handling weapons.
On the other hand, I was also laughing.
Because I believe in the power of weapon mastery level 3.
We rushed at each other with axes without anyone saying who would go first.
My axe flashed once and cleanly shattered Kangseok’s axe.
It was an overwhelming difference in speed.
I aimed for the side of the axe and swung it accurately, and that was the result.
“How…”
Beepㅡ
The whistle sounded.
My axe didn’t stop and broke Kangseok’s armor.
