Chapter 1398 – 1398. Savior Of The Academy
Having figured out the practical exam for the final, I immediately went to the training room with Lee Si-eun.
Lee Si-eun’s ranking upon entering the academy was 34th.
It was clear that if she did nothing, she wouldn’t make it into the top 10 of the grade. And she wouldn’t be able to go to Japan with me.
‘The assistant instructor position is still ongoing, so she can’t fail. I also need someone to take care of me in Japan.’
I scanned Lee Si-eun’s body, clad in training gear, from top to bottom.
“Why, why are you looking at me like that?”
Lee Si-eun was flustered. Yet, she didn’t try to cover herself.
Long blue hair, eyes as blue as the sky. Skin as white as snow, and a voluptuous chest. A slender waist and well-developed hips.
“Si-eun, now that I look at you, it seems your chest has gotten bigger?”
“As expected of Yujin. You noticed right away. Actually, recently, my bra has been feeling tight.”
“Growing to a G-cup? Nice.”
“I’m glad you like it.”
“There’s no reason for me to dislike it. The bigger the chest and butt, the better.”
If I had my way, I’d strip Lee Si-eun right here and check her growth. But that can wait, so for now, let’s focus on the original purpose: training.
“1-on-1 sparring. Si-eun, your opponent will be… at least a student within the top 50.”
“I’m honestly not confident in sparring. What if I lose?”
“It’s okay to lose. But you can’t lose in a ridiculous way. The content of the sparring is more important than the win or loss. Don’t forget that this sparring is for grading purposes. The teachers will be evaluating your sparring.”
Though I said that, winning is much better. After all, combat is ultimately about winning. If she wins, she’ll get extra points.
“There will be a total of 3 1-on-1 spars. If you want to get into the top 10… you need to secure at least 2 wins.”
“Can I really do it?”
“If you don’t get into the top 10… you won’t be able to see me all summer vacation. Is that okay?”
“T-that’s not okay. I’ll work hard. Yujin, help me. I want to go to Japan with you too.”
Lee Si-eun was burning with motivation. Her eyes were blazing. She seemed to have made up her mind.
It was a relief that she was so motivated. The presence or absence of motivation makes a huge difference.
‘As a reward, I’ll have to spank her butt later.’
Lee Si-eun and I created some distance between us and faced each other. I casually grabbed a spear, and Lee Si-eun held a dagger in each hand. Lee Si-eun uses a total of four daggers. The other two were equipped on her thighs.
Weapons aren’t that important. Lee Si-eun’s fighting style doesn’t mainly involve daggers.
『Name: Lee Si-eun
Strength: D- Stamina: D+ Agility: D- Durability: D- Mana: B
Trait: Energy Force (S)
Skills: Energy Drain (B+), Energy Ball (C+)
Affection: 95
Psychology: I must go to Japan with Yujin. In Japan, Yujin and I will….』
I checked Lee Si-eun’s information.
Stat-wise, except for her B-grade mana, she wasn’t that good. The top students in the grade have at least C-grade physical abilities.
‘But Lee Si-eun has an S-grade skill. A trait that allows her to directly manipulate energy. If she handles this well, getting into the top 10 will be a piece of cake.’
Lee Si-eun opened her mouth with a nervous expression.
“Shall we start?”
“Start.”
Bang!
An energy explosion occurred right in front of me. Having sensed the flow of mana beforehand, I easily dodged the energy explosion by taking a step back.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh.
Energy balls formed around Lee Si-eun. Literally, balls of energy. In other words, balls of mana.
Lee Si-eun pointed her finger at me. Six energy balls flew towards me.
‘Her control and speed of the energy balls are excellent. She also knows how to surround with energy balls….’
But it wasn’t enough to keep up with my movements. She can’t get into the top 10 with just this.
I infused mana into my spear and swung it. The spear cut through the energy balls. The split energy balls exploded, but I had already moved out of the blast radius and was dealing with other energy balls.
After cutting down all the energy balls, I arrived in front of Lee Si-eun. The tip of my spear was aimed at her neck.
“…I lost.”
“Why do you think you lost?”
“Yujin, you were too fast. I couldn’t keep up with your speed. I also lost track of your movements several times.”
“You know the problem. What do you need to do to win?”
“Shouldn’t I… get faster too?”
She said in a hesitant voice. She had better physical abilities than the average person, but she didn’t know how to use them. She didn’t have much talent for moving her body directly. Being around me and Seong Hari made her realize her shortcomings even more.
“That’s right. If you’re slow, you need to get faster. How will you get faster?”
“Uh… by moving my body?”
“Si-eun. You don’t have talent for moving your body. Instead, you have an exceptional talent for manipulating mana. Think of mages. They aren’t good at using their bodies either. But they fight well against physical ability users.”
“Isn’t that because they use magic?”
“It’s not magic, it’s using mana. They accelerate their consciousness using mana to fight. Physical ability users also use mana to fight… so in the end, aren’t they similar?”
“…Specifically, how? Should I enhance my body with mana?”
“Well, the method is different for everyone. You need to find the optimal method that suits you.”
Lee Si-eun has talent, so it won’t be difficult.
All I have to do is continue training and teach her the tricks of combat.
“Okay, let’s go for round 2.”
Training resumed.
We went past the 2nd and 3rd rounds, reaching a total of 14 rounds.
Lee Si-eun slumped down first. On the other hand, I was fine. Unlike her, who had been using mana lavishly, I moved lightly, feeling like I was taking a stroll.
“…Can I really do well?”
“It’s okay. You’re getting stronger.”
It wasn’t empty praise to encourage Lee Si-eun. She was really growing noticeably.
“The problem is that your way of using energy is too simplistic. You keep using only energy balls. Why do you only use energy balls?”
“Energy balls are the easiest.”
“You shouldn’t try to find the easy way.”
I taught her how to use energy.
Lee Si-eun’s Energy Force (S) is a trait that requires creativity. This is because gravity, firepower, telekinesis, etc., are all included in Energy Force.
“Let’s start by practicing manipulating gravity. There’s no power as good as gravity for dealing with physical ability users.”
“Ah, okay. I understand.”
And what I focused on was the Energy Drain (B+) that Lee Si-eun possessed. In my opinion, this skill was the truly terrifying ability.
“Si-eun. How do you usually use Energy Drain?”
“Huh? I don’t use Energy Drain.”
“…You don’t use it? Why?”
“Well, there’s no need to steal other people’s energy?”
“……”
I couldn’t argue with that.
Energy Drain is basically a skill that steals energy from the opponent. It was difficult to utilize. Lee Si-eun didn’t train often either. In the first place, Lee Si-eun entered the academy without wanting to become a hero. The only reason was to be with me.
“Si-eun, watch carefully.”
I spread my palm.
Crackling.
Lightning danced on my palm. The shining, branch-like lightning never escaped my palm.
“Yujin’s lightning… it’s always so pretty.”
“You can do it too.”
“Me…?”
“Lightning is also energy. It’ll be hard to do it normally. But if you get the hang of it, it’s possible.”
“…How do I do it?”
“Absorb my lightning with Energy Drain.”
“Won’t I get electrocuted?”
“Lightning is energy. Electricity. It’s a commonly used energy in this era.”
“That’s true… I’ll try it.”
Lee Si-eun said with a nervous face. She stared intently at the lightning on my palm, focusing her concentration.
The reaction came immediately.
The lightning began to waver from my control.
‘I didn’t expect her to shake my control so quickly.’
If I wanted to, I could strengthen my control over the lightning. But I didn’t. This was practice for Lee Si-eun.
Crackling.
The lightning escaped my palm. It was sucked into Lee Si-eun’s palm and absorbed. Lee Si-eun opened her mouth. Her eyes became hazy.
“…Si-eun?”
I was momentarily flustered by her unusual reaction.
‘She’s had an epiphany.’
A sudden epiphany.
It was something far removed from me, but the students here at the academy would have experienced at least one such epiphany, no matter how small.
『Name: Lee Si-eun
Strength: D- Stamina: D+ Agility: D- Durability: D- Mana: B
Trait: Energy Force (S)
Skills: Energy Drain (A), Energy Ball (B)
Affection: 95
Psychology: …….』
There was a change in Lee Si-eun’s skills as she processed her epiphany. The ranks of Energy Drain and Energy Ball had increased. But Lee Si-eun’s epiphany wasn’t over yet.
『Name: Lee Si-eun
Strength: D- Stamina: D+ Agility: D- Durability: D- Mana: B
Trait: Energy Force (S),
Skills: Energy Drain (A+), Energy Ball (B), Reversion (C)
Affection: 95
Psychology: …….』
Energy Drain went up another level, and a new skill appeared.
Reversion (C).
As soon as I saw the name, I let out a hollow laugh.
In the original story, Reversion was a top-tier skill belonging to the 1st tier. It was a blessing for a mage, and not bad for warriors or archers either.
‘It’s perfect for Lee Si-eun, who directly manipulates energy.’
I quietly watched Lee Si-eun. I noticed that the flow of mana emanating from her had changed.
Ten minutes later, Lee Si-eun regained her senses.
“Yujin. Just now, I….”
“Congratulations on your epiphany. How does it feel?”
“…It’s like my mind is full. And it feels like I can do something new.”
“Try it. You can do it, right?”
I spread my palm.
Crackling.
I created lightning again.
Lee Si-eun focused her mind and used Reversion.
The lightning on my palm flickered and disappeared, returning to mana.
That was one of Reversion’s abilities. It returns processed mana to its unprocessed state. In other words, Lee Si-eun had become a natural enemy of mages.
