Chapter 2320 – 2320. Savior Of The Academy
Thud.
I landed on my back. I didn’t even bother with a breakfall. My current body isn’t so weak that a fall from a mere 4-5 meters would do anything. I could probably fall from 10 meters without any protection and be fine.
“A-are you okay?”
Nam Gung Hwa-yeon approached, flustered. I could feel her panic as she looked at me, sprawled on the ground. She reached out a hand as I tried to get up. I took her hand and stood.
“I’m fine. My body’s pretty sturdy. You don’t need to worry. It’s my fault for putting my hand on a senior’s shoulder so carelessly.”
“No, I overreacted. I usually would have sensed you coming… I was just too lost in thought.”
I brushed the dirt off my back and asked her,
“Still, your reaction was good. Did you do judo?”
“I learned various martial arts from my parents since I was young. Judo was one of them.”
“You looked like you were troubled earlier. Do you want to talk about it?”
“…It’s a personal matter. I can’t ask you for such a favor, someone who’s not involved.”
“There are things you can say to someone who’s not involved. I won’t tell anyone else, so don’t worry. I’m really good at keeping secrets.”
“It’s okay. I appreciate you offering to listen.”
Nam Gung Hwa-yeon said with a slight smile. It was a clear rejection. Nam Gung Hwa-yeon wasn’t the type of woman who could be swayed with a few words.
‘The problem is my favorability. If my favorability was higher, she would have come to me when she had a problem.’
Fortunately, I had the ability to see the status window. I could infer what her problem was through Nam Gung Hwa-yeon’s stats.
『Name: Nam Gung Hwa-yeon
Strength: B+ Stamina: B- Agility: B Durability: B+ Mana: C+
Trait: Warrior(S)
Skills: Ghost Blade(S-), Shrinking Earth(A+), Wind Blade(B)
Favorability: 38』
‘Her stats have improved overall.’
It was proof that she had been training hard. Even in the original story, it was difficult to have this level of stats at this point.
‘Especially Ghost Blade(鬼刀) at S- rank. I know what event happened to Nam Gung Hwa-yeon.’
In the original game, each playable character had an awakening event. After experiencing the event, they would learn new skills or techniques and become significantly stronger.
The activation conditions for this awakening event were different for each playable character. In Nam Gung Hwa-yeon’s case, it was the Ghost Blade(鬼刀) reaching S- rank.
Nam Gung Hwa-yeon was currently experiencing her awakening event. Judging by her worries, it was definitely the early stage of the event.
“I’ll be going now. There isn’t much time left until dinner, so be careful not to be late.”
“You’ve been having restless dreams lately because of the Ghost Blade, right?”
Nam Gung Hwa-yeon, who was leaving, stopped and turned to look at me. Her eyes shook violently, as if I had hit a nerve.
“How did you…?!”
Of course, I knew through the original story. I also knew other minor details. Nam Gung Hwa-yeon was a playable character, so there was a lot of information available.
I pointed to my eye with my index finger. When I activated the Spirit Eye, it glowed gold.
“Ghosts and spirits have some similarities.”
“I-I see.”
I see, my foot. They’re nothing alike. It was just that Nam Gung Hwa-yeon was ignorant about spirits and ghosts, so she fell for it.
“I think I can help you with your problem… Would you like to talk about it?”
After some deliberation, Nam Gung Hwa-yeon approached.
We sat side by side on a bench. We each held a drink we had gotten from a nearby vending machine.
“I have been having old dreams through the ghost residing in my sword. Dreams of battles where warriors fought and killed each other in this land in the past. Through these dreams, I was able to gain experience by fighting in real combat and grow stronger quickly.”
“From your perspective, it could be called a lucky encounter. Isn’t it a good thing?”
“I used to have these dreams once or twice a month. It was fine then. But recently, I’ve been having warrior dreams every day for the past week. I know it’s a dream, but when I wake up, my bed is soaked in cold sweat, and my body is exhausted, making it hard to go about my daily life.”
“And it’s hard to fall asleep at night because of the dreams, right?”
“……”
Nam Gung Hwa-yeon nodded.
“Can you tell me exactly what happens in the dream?”
“I become a warrior on the battlefield and fight against enemies. Even though I know it’s a dream, I can’t help but fight. If I give up and die, it will burden my comrades… But no matter how hard I try, the result is always the same. The number of enemies is too great, and my side eventually loses. I also die, and the dream ends.”
“Hmm. There are two ways to solve this: the direct approach and the indirect approach.”
“I’m listening.”
“The direct approach is to win in the dream. You don’t have to kill all the enemies in the dream. It’s enough to find the enemy commander and fight and win against them.”
“That doesn’t seem easy. What’s the other way?”
“It’s to eliminate the cause of the problem. In this case, it’s the Ghost Blade. That is, to get rid of the sword you’re carrying.”
“That’s not possible. The Ghost Blade skill I have only works when I use the Ghost Blade. It’s also difficult to find a new Ghost Blade.”
If she used a normal sword instead of the Ghost Blade, Nam Gung Hwa-yeon’s combat power would drop significantly.
“Then we’ll have to go with the direct approach.”
“…Is there no other way but to fight until I defeat the enemy commander?”
“You won’t be able to use mana or abilities in the dream, so… your pure swordsmanship will be important. I’ll help you.”
“I can’t do that. It would take up too much of your time. The midterm exams are just around the corner.”
“Let’s do this. I’m confident in my practical skills, but not so much in my written exams. Please help me with the written exams.”
Nam Gung Hwa-yeon was the top student in the second year. She was a superhuman who had never lost first place since she entered the academy. It wasn’t for nothing that she was the head of the disciplinary committee.
Nam Gung Hwa-yeon shook her head at my suggestion.
“Even so, I don’t think it’s right to take up your time because of my personal problem. And… it’s a bit awkward to say this, but I don’t know if even you can help me. Aren’t you a spiritist?”
Logically, that would be the case.
My rumors had already spread throughout the academy, but few people knew the details of my abilities. I was also more famous as a spiritist, and from Nam Gung Hwa-yeon’s perspective, I was just a first-year student.
“Senior, I’m a spiritist, but… who do you think taught me martial arts?”
“……”
She flinched. Nam Gung Hwa-yeon’s body stiffened. I could feel her fighting spirit.
For Nam Gung Hwa-yeon, Seong Ha-ri was not just a respected hero. When she was young, her family was saved thanks to Seong Ha-ri. Although Seong Ha-ri herself didn’t remember it… it was an event that had a great impact on Nam Gung Hwa-yeon’s life.
“Shall we spar once? No mana, just pure swordsmanship. Honestly, I don’t think I’ll lose.”
『Nam Gung Hwa-yeon’s Favorability: 35』
Nam Gung Hwa-yeon’s favorability dropped. My provocation had worked perfectly.
“…Okay. A spar once won’t be bad.”
• • •
Nam Gung Hwa-yeon held her wooden sword in a middle stance and glared at Seong Yu-jin.
Seong Yu-jin’s posture for the spar was sloppy. His legs were uneven, he held the wooden sword in one hand, and it was casually resting on his shoulder.
She knew. Seong Yu-jin was openly trying to provoke her. The purpose was to disrupt her composure.
She knew, so there was no reason to fall for it. But seeing that relaxed face made her blood boil.
He lived with Seong Ha-ri and received martial arts instruction from her because he was Seong Ha-ri’s son. It was only natural. He was Seong Ha-ri’s son, after all. Nam Gung Hwa-yeon envied that naturalness.
‘…These are useless thoughts. I need to focus on the spar.’
For her own sake, and for the sake of her opponent, she had to focus on the spar.
Nam Gung Hwa-yeon took a breath and approached Seong Yu-jin, stepping forward. The distance closed in an instant, and her wooden sword slashed through the air, aiming for Seong Yu-jin’s shoulder.
As if he had known it was coming, Seong Yu-jin turned his body and easily dodged. Nam Gung Hwa-yeon didn’t waver. The spar had only just begun.
As time passed, Nam Gung Hwa-yeon’s composure disappeared. None of her attacks landed on Seong Yu-jin. Most of them were dodged, and the attacks she thought were her best were easily blocked.
On the other hand, Seong Yu-jin’s attacks? Each one was a surprise attack. Attacks that would have hit her if she had been even a little slow to react.
Seong Yu-jin’s face was calm as he attacked. He wasn’t even going all out.
Nam Gung Hwa-yeon gritted her teeth and swung her wooden sword.
Clack! Clack! Clack!
Wooden sword clashed against wooden sword. Her sweat flew through the air and fell to the ground.
Nam Gung Hwa-yeon felt her sword losing its sharpness and becoming dull. At this rate, she was just swinging a club, not a sword.
Claaack!
After pushing back Seong Yu-jin’s wooden sword once, she stepped back to catch her breath. Then, she rushed back at Seong Yu-jin.
‘Not with strength, but with technique…!’
Wooden swords crossed. As if she had been waiting for it, Nam Gung Hwa-yeon twisted her wrist. The wooden sword rotated, shaking off Seong Yu-jin’s wooden sword. Or, it should have shaken it off.
‘Why is it still stuck? Huh?’
Seong Yu-jin lifted his wooden sword. As if glued together, her wooden sword was lifted along with it. It wasn’t that she had taken the strength out of her wooden sword. Rather, she was giving it more strength. But the wooden sword wouldn’t move as she wanted.
Flustered, Nam Gung Hwa-yeon stepped back. Seong Yu-jin didn’t let her get away and stuck close. The wooden swords that had been stuck together separated. But Nam Gung Hwa-yeon, whose posture was broken, couldn’t counterattack.
Clack! Clack! Claaack!
She could only try to block Seong Yu-jin’s relentless attacks.
Thwack!
The wooden sword hit her thigh. Nam Gung Hwa-yeon had no time to feel the pain, she had to block the enemy’s attacks.
Even in the midst of the chaos, she sensed the outcome.
‘I can’t win.’
Both physically and technically. Her opponent was overwhelmingly superior.
‘But even if it’s just one counterattack…!’
It was the moment she tried to counterattack, even if it was forced. She felt an overwhelming killing intent from Seong Yu-jin. Flustered, Nam Gung Hwa-yeon lost her footing and sat down on the ground.
Seong Yu-jin raised his wooden sword. The immense killing intent emanating from him. Nam Gung Hwa-yeon stared at him, dumbfounded. There was a monster.
A monster stained with blood and death.
She had experienced a brutal battlefield where blood and guts flew in her dreams? It was nothing compared to what was in front of her. That was death and destruction.
“Ah, I got carried away. …Senior?”
Seong Yu-jin’s killing intent disappeared. The monster had turned back into a person. Nam Gung Hwa-yeon felt all the tension leave her body.
Drip.
A warm liquid flowed out of her crotch and spread in all directions.
“…Hiccup!”
She had relaxed too much.
Having shown such a disgraceful sight to her junior, she thought, her face flushed.
‘…I, I want to pass out.’
It was a wish that wouldn’t come true.
