Chapter 925 – 925. Savior Of The Academy
After school today, I headed to the training room for the first time in a while.
There isn’t a single student at the academy who doesn’t use the training room. It’s a great place to meet and form connections with other academy students.
In particular, Ryu Hana, a playable character and the top student in the academy’s first year, uses it almost every day. If you visit the training room while playing as another playable character, you have a high chance of meeting Ryu Hana.
As I entered the training room lobby, the gazes of everyone inside turned to me at once. Whether it was instinct or something else, it seemed they sensed my presence.
Some looked at me with interest, while others whispered quietly among themselves. Focusing my hearing, I could hear their voices.
“Is that Sung Yujin from Class 1?”
“I heard he’s a rare spirit user?”
“Rumor has it he’s stronger than the top student of the first year.”
“His family isn’t ordinary either. You know the Jinryeong family, right?”
It seems they’re discussing me since it’s been a while since I’ve been here. There are even some second and third-year students among them. A few approached me and asked questions. I answered them, even though it was annoying. There were too many eyes watching for me to act according to my nature.
“You’re Sung Yujin, the fifth-ranked entrant, right? I’m Lee Minju, 66th in Class 2. Would you like to train together if you’re free?”
She was a cute-looking girl with short hair. The blue stripe on her sleeve indicated she was a first-year like me.
“Sorry. My schedule is set for today… How about we do it next time? Could you give me your phone number?”
I treated everyone who approached me kindly.
‘It’s better to keep my reputation good.’
I walked down the training room hallway. Ignoring the empty training rooms, I continued down the hall. Ryu Hana mainly used three specific training rooms. Unless all of those rooms were full, she wouldn’t use any other room.
‘The problem is that I can’t check inside the training rooms… but that inconvenience doesn’t apply to me.’
Hacking!
To use a training room, you need a student ID. This means that who uses which training room is recorded electronically.
‘In the modern world, there’s no ability as useful as hacking. …Found it.’
I kept walking back and forth in the hallway near the training room Ryu Hana was using. Some people who passed by looked at me strangely before leaving. I didn’t care.
After about 15 minutes, the door to the training room opened. Long, light purple hair reaching her waist and dark blue eyes. It was Ryu Hana.
She looked neat in her workout clothes. She smelled of shampoo, as if she had used the shower room inside the training room.
“Hi.”
Ryu Hana nodded in response to my greeting.
“Yeah. Hi.”
Ryu Hana is usually aloof, but she doesn’t ignore people who talk to her, like Choi Dayeon.
“You’re not just passing by today?”
Until now, I had only exchanged brief greetings with Ryu Hana when we met. There was no particular reason. I just wanted to make Ryu Hana, who wanted to spar with me, eager. The value of something increases when it’s not easily obtained.
The effect was excellent. As proof, Ryu Hana’s eyes were burning fiercely.
“Can you spar with me?”
“I can today… but are you sure? You just finished training. You must be tired, so we can do it next time.”
“I’m fine. Come inside.”
I followed Ryu Hana into the training room. Just like last time, she made sure to lock the door so no one could open it.
Ryu Hana, holding training swords in each hand, asked me.
“What’s your weapon?”
“Sword.”
I also took a training sword. She nodded without objection. She seemed satisfied. She knew that I was originally a swordsman.
“I’m going all out. So you should too.”
“That’s going to be difficult.”
Ryu Hana’s eyebrows twitched.
“…Why? Am I not enough?”
“You’re not. You know my skills. Honestly, I don’t gain much from this spar. It’s not like my skills will improve by fighting someone weaker than me.”
“……”
She couldn’t argue. Because it was the truth. There were at least three walls between her and me right now. Ryu Hana also vaguely felt it. No matter how much she fought in her current state, she couldn’t beat me.
“…You’re right. This spar is unilaterally beneficial to me. You have nothing to gain. …Is there anything you want?”
Ryu Hana doesn’t like being indebted. And North Diamond is a clan comparable to a large corporation. If I asked for 100 million, 100 million would be deposited into my account.
“I don’t need money. Instead, if I win the spar, I want you to do me a favor.”
“…I can’t grant unreasonable requests.”
“It’s not an unreasonable request. You know the inter-class competition is just around the corner, right?”
“……If it’s an unfair request, I refuse.”
She’s in Class 4, and I’m in Class 1. Whether we like it or not, we’ll face each other in the inter-class competition.
“Just listen. In the inter-class competition, I’m going to directly interfere and disrupt your class. I can take down your entire class just by talking.”
“That’s…”
“You’re not going to say it’s impossible, are you?”
“……”
At this point, the freshmen are just fledglings. The top-ranked entrants are somewhat comparable to current heroes, but the rest are not worth mentioning.
“You want to get good grades, right? But Class 1’s victory is guaranteed. Why? Because I’m here.”
Even though I spoke arrogantly, she couldn’t deny it. Because it was the truth.
“…Still, I can’t tolerate unfair actions.”
Nam Gung Hwayeon, the head of the disciplinary committee, would have loved to hear that. In the game, Ryu Hana actually got along well with Nam Gung Hwayeon.
“My condition is that you and I will be absent when the inter-class competition starts.”
Even so, Class 1’s winning rate is excessively high. Class 1 has Kim Chunwoo, who is ranked second, and Choi Dayeon, who is ranked third. It would be difficult to deal with them without Ryu Hana. However, the winning rate is higher than if I were to participate.
“…I don’t understand. What’s your intention?”
“It’s an intention for you and me. It’s not confirmed, but… an assassin has infiltrated the academy.”
Ryu Hana wasn’t surprised. She didn’t panic and listened to me calmly. The existence of an assassin was familiar to her.
“Shouldn’t you tell the staff or teachers?”
“That teacher or staff member might be the assassin. I also said it’s not confirmed. The assassin’s identity might not even be real.”
“Are you saying we should catch the assassin together?”
“The closest targets of the assassin are you and me.”
“Choi Dayeon is in your class too.”
“Choi Dayeon has a bodyguard.”
She fell into thought. And as I expected, she answered.
“……Okay. I’ll do as you ask. You must have a plan. Oh, this is separate from the spar. Ask for something else. The assassin is likely to target me.”
“Why do you think so?”
“It’s always been like that.”
“Hmm. Then… how about we get dinner after this?”
“……Is that all you want?”
She widened her eyes as if surprised. Of course, this was all part of my plan. I would spar with her more than once a week, and if I won the spar, I would ask for a reward. I wouldn’t do something crazy like asking for sex. It wouldn’t work. The goal was to build a friendship and get her used to granting my requests.
“If you don’t want to, then forget it.”
I turned around without any hesitation. It was Ryu Hana who became urgent.
“Ah, okay. I’ll treat you to dinner. So please spar with me!”
“I’m looking forward to what kind of dinner it will be.”
I turned around. Before fighting, I checked her status window.
『Name: Ryu Hana
Strength: D+ Stamina: D+ Agility: C+ Durability: E Mana: B-
Trait: Sword Maiden (SS)
Skills: Sword Unification (A), Song of the Sword (A), Spirit Sword (C).
Affection: 16』
Compared to when I saw it last time, her stamina and durability stats had increased. The rest was the same.
“Let’s start.”
She said. She and I raised our swords at the same time. Mana surged from Ryu Hana. She strengthened her whole body with mana and increased her concentration through Sword Unification (A). Her sword glowed faintly like moonlight, as if she had activated Spirit Sword (C).
It was different from sword aura. And in some ways, it was more dangerous than sword aura. If it was Spirit Sword (C), it could ignore the barrier in this training room and inflict a direct fatal blow on me.
‘She’s serious.’
It was expected. Not surprising.
A bluish sword aura rose from the sword in my hand. Sword aura could counter Spirit Sword.
“……”
Ryu Hana became cautious after seeing the sword aura. When I chuckled, she rushed at me. Her movements themselves were clean. The problem was that the difference in stats made all her movements visible to me.
‘Not only the difference in stats, but also the difference in experience.’
Clang!
Sword and twin swords collided. I put strength into my arm. I used the ‘power of the perfect body’ that I had learned in reality before coming to this world. Ryu Hana couldn’t withstand my strength and flew backward. She bounced her waist in mid-air and landed on the ground before running again.
‘This time it’s the right.’
I blocked it. She didn’t fly as far as before, as if she had prepared for the impact.
‘Upper. Rear. Lower left.’
I blocked everything because I could see everything. I just blocked her sword for three minutes without moving.
“Haa, haa… haa.”
Ryu Hana’s rough breathing was sexy. Clear beads of sweat ran down her well-defined nose.
‘Should I use that after a long time?’
I took a step forward. Ryu Hana was startled by the sudden step and became wary.
Yeongcheon Style (影天流) – Blue Stream (碧溪).
Ryu Hana’s eyes were fixed on me, but soon they wavered and drifted away. It meant that Blue Stream had worked properly.
The twin swords were raised and then swung. It was too fast. The twin swords didn’t even graze my clothes. Before the flustered Ryu Hana could react, I passed by her side and swung my sword.
“Ugh…?!”
Even though she was protected by her workout clothes and the training room’s barrier, the pain was still there. She sat down on the floor for a moment before getting up.
“…I lost. I didn’t expect such a difference. You’ve become stronger than during the entrance exam.”
She looked at me with complicated eyes. The eyes of someone looking at a genius. It was a bit awkward to say anything. The reason I felt stronger was probably because of the ‘Heavenly Eye’ skill. Even if Heavenly Eye wasn’t activated, it enhanced my senses.
“……How can you get stronger so fast?”
Ryu Hana asked.
“All I can say is that training is the answer. More importantly, you’ll treat me to dinner as promised, right?”
“I don’t break promises.”
She and I washed up in the shower room and left the training room. Although we washed up, nothing suggestive happened. We weren’t at that stage yet.
I followed Ryu Hana. Dinner. It was too late to go out, so I roughly thought she would buy me food at the cafeteria. That was the norm.
‘……I underestimated Ryu Hana too much.’
Ryu Hana invited me to her dorm. Of course, she followed the proper procedures. I was only allowed to stay in the dorm for two hours.
‘They usually don’t let you in this easily… is it because it’s Ryu Hana?’
I sat in the living room and listened to the cooking sounds coming from the kitchen. Judging by the sounds, she was skilled. It meant she had above-average cooking skills.
“It’s done.”
I sat at the table. There were quite a few decent dishes laid out on the table. Five side dishes, including seaweed soup and kimchi. First, I took a spoonful of seaweed soup and put it in my mouth.
“How is it? It’s not bad, right?”
“Yeah. It’s good. I didn’t know you were such a good cook.”
I gave her a little lip service. In fact, it tasted ordinary to my refined palate. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t exceptionally delicious either.
“It’s been a while since I cooked, so I was a little worried… I’m glad it was good.”
After finishing dinner, Ryu Hana stopped me as I was about to leave.
“Wait. When will you spar with me next?”
“I don’t know. You need time until the next spar, too.”
“…I want you to spar with me next week at the latest. I want to see how much stronger I’ve become.”
“Next Wednesday is fine. Instead, if I win then… let’s play a game together. Is that okay?”
“A game…? Okay.”
Ryu Hana frowned for a moment as if she was puzzled, then nodded. I said goodbye to her and went outside. Someday, I would confidently come to this woman’s dorm and devour her completely.
