Ch 94-99 - Online Story Read Mode

Chapter 94 Baek Yoorin and the Ranking Battle (8)

The students watching the match from the waiting room were buzzing with surprise.

Some exclaimed, "Wow, I didn't even see Baek Yoorin move!" ﬁlled with admiration.

It was no wonder. The moment the match began, Baek Yoorin had dashed forward like a ﬂash of light, bringing her sword right in front of Lee Jinhyuk's eyes. It was lightning- fast, a movement that could only be described as a ﬂash strike.

As expected from the granddaughter of the greatest swordsman in the peninsula.

She had been quiet ever since entering Union Academy, without any remarkable accomplishments. Some had even thought her reputation was just hype, but clearly, that wasn't the case.

Perhaps today, they would ﬁnally get to see Baek Yoorin's true power in action, and many of the students observed with excited eyes, anticipating what was to come.

However, not everyone was enjoying the match.

One person in particular was watching with growing anxiety. That person was none other than Jin Soyeon.

'What… What is this girl? What's going to happen to Jinhyuk…'

Jin Soyeon anxiously glanced back and forth between the monitor showing Lee Jinhyuk and Baek Yoorin.

Baek Yoorin seemed even stronger than she had anticipated.

Jin Soyeon had heard rumors about her, so she knew a bit about her strength, but she hadn't expected Baek Yoorin to be capable of such a movement technique.

What if Lee Jinhyuk got seriously hurt during the match? A knot of worry began growing deep within her chest.

It wasn't uncommon for people's bones to break or internal organs to rupture during duels.

And Baek Yoorin didn't seem like the type to go easy on Lee Jinhyuk.

Just looking at her gaze, it was clear that Baek Yoorin intended to ﬁght seriously.

Come to think of it, hadn't Baek Yoorin even confronted Lee Jinhyuk aggressively at the academy grounds not too long ago, scattering killing intent?

It was no secret that Baek Yoorin harbored some bad feelings toward Lee Jinhyuk.

Could she be using this ranking match as an excuse to take out her anger on him?

What if, just maybe, she intentionally hurt him? If that happened… she wouldn't let it slide.

Never.

'What… why is she so fast?' Fast.

Even faster than I'd expected.

I couldn't see Baek Yoorin's movements at all.

No, I literally couldn't track them with my eyes. Not with my current level of perception.

'Shrink Technique… Is that what this movement is?'

It's a movement technique that folds the space between the ground.

In terms of the world's established rules, it's classiﬁed as a form of spatial manipulation. It's known as a top-tier movement technique and comes with quite a notorious reputation. It's an extremely high-diﬃculty skill.

'I didn't expect her to use the Shrink Technique from the start.'

Even for Baek Yoorin, the Shrink Technique is a burdensome skill to use.

That's because it consumes a signiﬁcant amount of magic power each time it's used, and it puts a lot of strain on the ankles and knees.

In the game, this was depicted by draining a massive chunk of HP and MP.

In reality, it would be a skill that consumes both physical stamina and magical energy.

Knowing that, I hadn't expected her to use the Shrink Technique right from the beginning.

Because I hadn't anticipated it, I couldn't react properly. If I had combat instincts, I might've been able to respond,

but my sense of combat was far from good. I couldn't react, much less defend myself.

Really, what a useless body I've got.

'I was in real danger. If I had messed up, I would've lost the match immediately.'

Barely managing to calm my panicked thoughts, I gripped my sword tightly, pretending to remain composed.

If Baek Yoorin had fully committed to stabbing me, what would've happened?

I didn't even need to think about it.

I would've likely suffered the most humiliating defeat in the shortest period in ranking match history.

But for some reason, Baek Yoorin had chosen not to strike and had retreated instead.

Even though it had been the perfect opportunity.

She had gone to the trouble of using the Shrink Technique, a taxing but reliable skill, to close the distance, only to pull back without launching a real attack.

Why?

Judging by her eyes, it didn't seem like she was going easy on me.

Baek Yoorin was still silently observing me with a watchful gaze.

Her look wasn't like a predator eyeing its prey. It felt… how should I put it?

It felt like she was being cautious.

As if she was trying to ﬁgure out whether I was prey or a fellow predator.

'Is she being more cautious than I expected?'

She had gone through the trouble of using the Shrink Technique to get close, but then she didn't attack—perhaps because I had shown too many openings.

Maybe she thought I was pretending to leave myself open? A trap, perhaps?

Since I hadn't reacted at all, she might have found my lack of response suspicious.

A normal trainee would have at least shown some reaction, even if they couldn't properly defend against it.

'It seems like she's uncertain, keeping a close eye on me because she's wondering if I could be that man from two years ago.'

Two years ago.

Baek Yoorin had been defeated by a man.

A total disaster that left her utterly crushed.

For a genius like Baek Yoorin, who had never lost a single match against her peers, that must have been a deeply humiliating experience.

She had always been undefeated but had suddenly been beaten by some unknown boy her age; she must have felt emotions she couldn't even describe.

It seemed that past, unforgettable humiliation had heightened her caution.

'Should I try to take advantage of Baek Yoorin's caution?' If I fought her head-on, I wouldn't stand a chance.

Of course, it was a fact that I was going to lose to Baek Yoorin, but still, I didn't want to wave the white ﬂag so easily.

I wanted to use this ﬁght against Baek Yoorin as a test to see how well I could hold my own against a villain.

And Baek Yoorin was more than enough to test myself against.

In fact, she might be *too* strong.

'If this were a real battle, I'd be able to use various tools and equipment to create variables.'

I could have set up explosive and binding mines, used ﬂash grenades to obscure her vision, released nerve gas, deployed a wide-area sonic weapon for undodgeable attacks, or pressured her with powerful specialty arrows.

I could have created countless variables using all sorts of methods.

But with so many people watching this ranking match, I couldn't just start pulling tricks like that.

Still, it was ﬁne.

In fact, there was more meaning in ﬁghting using only skill, strategy, and tactics without relying on strange items.

It was intriguing to see how far I could go against someone like Baek Yoorin using only my skills and tactics, without any fancy items.

"...."

We stood there, gripping our swords tightly, silently staring at each other.

A strange silence ﬁlled the arena.

I could faintly hear the murmurs of the audience in the distance.

I've heard that when masters ﬁght, they don't rush in but instead wait for the right moment to strike, ending the ﬁght in a single instant.

I quietly stared at Baek Yoorin.

She didn't blink even once as her eyes carefully scanned my body, searching for any openings.

However.

"...Too many openings."

She said I had too many openings.

"...Are you doing this on purpose, as a trap?"

I had been trying my best to take a stance from the *Baek Sword Style*, but…

"...Baek Sword Style, that's my family's swordsmanship. Using it so poorly… Are you trying to provoke me?"

Uh, no.

It's the most famous swordsmanship in Korea, so I've been practicing it for a while now.

But provocation? That's not what I'm trying to do.

It seemed that to the eyes of a genius swordsman like her, my stance looked downright awful.

But it couldn't be helped. I wasn't a swordsman.

The reason I wasn't using a bow was because practice arrows weren't capable of breaking through a *Protective Force Field*.

If I had special arrows or the Giant Crow Bow for Large Monsters, I could deﬁnitely deal some damage to Baek Yoorin, but I couldn't use those in this match.

And here I was, a mere archer, having to ﬁght with a sword. What a situation.

"...Well, whatever."

Baek Yoorin seemed to steel herself, and her grip on her sword tightened.

"...If you won't come to me, I'll come to you."

"...."

She's coming.

Baek Yoorin slowly pivoted on her right foot and stepped forward with her left.

Her sword raised at an angle as she began to gather magic slowly but surely.

Engaging her directly would be suicidal.

I needed to guide her into an attack that I could defend against.

After analyzing her footage over the past week, I had discovered a few of her habits and tendencies.

When faced with certain situations, Baek Yoorin had a high likelihood of responding with certain techniques.

I had spent the last week memorizing those tendencies… Ah.

'She's coming.'

Hey, give me a second to think!

'Whoosh.'

In an instant.

Before I could even blink, Baek Yoorin's ﬁgure blurred as she leaped toward me.

This time, it wasn't the Shrink Technique. It was Cloud Step.

It was one of the footwork techniques from the Baek Sword Style.

Lee Siwoon frequently used this technique as well.

It wasn't as fast as the Shrink Technique, but it was still hard to follow with my current level of perception.

However, it didn't matter if I couldn't perfectly follow her movements.

Unlike before, I had seen her stance this time.

If I could see her stance, I could roughly predict what technique she would use.

Based on her distance and her use of Cloud Step in that stance, there was a high probability that she would use that technique.

If my prediction was correct, I should be able to block at least one strike.

"Ugh!"

*Clang!*

Before I knew it, she was right in front of me, thrusting her sword.

A thrust.

Thanks to my preparations, I was able to block her attack with the shield in my left hand.

To Baek Yoorin, it may have been just a probing strike, but to me, it felt like a deadly blow.

If I hadn't studied Baek Yoorin's techniques and watched her footage, I might not have been able to block this.

"As expected… you blocked it?"

Baek Yoorin murmured softly, as if somewhat pleased that her ﬁrst strike had been blocked, and immediately prepared to swing her sword again.

Her sword movements ﬂowed like water. But I had a plan.

From the numerous videos I had watched, I knew that when Baek Yoorin's surprise thrust failed, she often followed up with certain predictable patterns.

By watching the position of her left foot, her right shoulder, the height of her chest, the placement of her right foot, the angle of her waist, and her grip on the sword, I could predict up to 19 different possible responses.

…Of course, memorizing all those motions was impossible.

Even if I could memorize them, recalling them and reacting to them in real-time was practically impossible.

But I had managed to memorize a few of her most frequent patterns.

Even someone like Baek Yoorin, a genius, had habits and tendencies.

In short, she was most likely to use the techniques she was most familiar with.

'She's slightly stepping forward with her left foot, pulling her right arm back, lowering her chest and waist a little… an upper diagonal slash?'

Could my prediction be correct? It better be.

What if she used a different technique?

I'd say I had about a 70% chance of being right. 'Well, it's all or nothing!'

Without thinking any further, I quickly raised my shield. I didn't have the luxury of thinking any longer.

I had to move before Baek Yoorin swung her sword.

My body wasn't fast enough to react to Baek Yoorin's movements in real-time.

In simpler terms, when dodging a bullet, you don't wait to see the bullet and then move; you anticipate it and get out of the way before it's ﬁred.

You have to predict it. Well, uh. Predicting…

Damn it. Easier said than done, right?

No matter how much I had analyzed and memorized her patterns, if Baek Yoorin suddenly decided to change her mind and use an unexpected attack, I'd be screwed.

"!"

"Kgh."

Suddenly, Baek Yoorin's sword slashed diagonally across my shield. Oh, oh! I was right, damn it!

Her magic-infused blade radiated ﬁerce heat, scorching the surface of my shield.

Thankfully, the training sword and shield had safety features, or the shield might have been cut clean in half if this were a real battle.

'Alright, now!'

As I deﬂected Baek Yoorin's sword, I immediately closed the distance.

I blocked her diagonal slash and swung my one-handed sword in a counterattack.

If it had been any other trainee, they wouldn't have been able to dodge it.

"...."

But as expected, my sword didn't reach her.

Baek Yoorin dodged it with the nimble grace of a ﬂying squirrel, leaping backward effortlessly.

Even though I had anticipated her move and launched a counter, it didn't work.

When I fought Yoo Dahee, I had at least managed to graze her hand…

'Well, Yoo Dahee had been caught off guard back then.'

And she had trusted her *Protective Force Field*, so she hadn't bothered dodging.

But Baek Yoorin was different.

Baek Yoorin was keeping her guard up against me to some extent.

"…You predicted it? My movements?"

She murmured softly, somewhat surprised.

"…It doesn't seem like you reacted by seeing it. You responded before I even swung my sword… That's a bit surprising."

Baek Yoorin infused her sword with dense magic. "Your stance is full of openings, your movements are

sluggish, and your swordsmanship is terrible, so I wasn't sure at ﬁrst… You seem weak, but… you're not as weak as you appear… Is it all an act, or is this the real you…?"

Wait, is that Sword qi?

"Are you… really that man I'm thinking of?"

"Hey, how many times do I have to tell you I'm not him?" "Words can lie… but I can't be sure. That's why…"

Baek Yoorin's lips curled into a slight smile. "Let's cross swords… because swords don't lie." What a crazy thing to say.

Yeah. Baek Yoorin was deﬁnitely crazy. A sword-obsessed maniac.

Chapter 95 Baek Yoorin and the Ranking Battle (9)

"...."

In Baek Yoorin's expressionless, ashen eyes, a faint desire was slowly rising.

It was as if everything up to this point had simply been a warm-up. Now, with a signiﬁcant amount of magic power concentrated around her blade, she silently stared at me.

The bluish magic shimmered like a heatwave, scattering a dim light. It was extremely intimidating.

That was Sword qi —Sword qi.

I doubted if there were any other trainees in the academy who could use Sword qi.

Even Lee Siwoon, who was known to be one of the best, could barely wield it if at all. But here was Baek Yoorin, using

Sword qi against someone like me.

Baek Yoorin, seriously? Isn't Sword qi a bit much for a spar between students?

The murmuring from the spectators reached my ears.

It seemed they were quite startled that someone like Baek Yoorin, just a ﬁrst-year academy student, could use Sword qi.

Even many swordsmen of intermediate rank or higher were unable to use it.

That was how diﬃcult the technique was.

While Sword qi and the Sword qi required different proﬁciencies, so it was hard to say which was more diﬃcult, generally speaking, Sword qi was considered a step above.

As expected, she truly was a genius among geniuses, unlike someone like me.

Even if I trained using normal methods for the rest of my life, I wasn't sure if I'd ever be able to wield Sword qi.

Of course, if I used some artifact or trick, I could probably manage it.

But purely in terms of skill, Baek Yoorin was undoubtedly the best. Even in the original game, she was considered the strongest among ﬁrst-year academy students.

Well, from the second year onward, she gets clobbered by the main character's group, but still…

"Baek Yoorin." "Hmm?"

I called out to Baek Yoorin as casually as I could. She looked at me, slightly puzzled.

There was no other choice. Since Baek Yoorin had decided to use Sword qi, I had to take a gamble and push for a one-shot duel.

"Let's settle this with one hit, with our strongest techniques. What do you think?"

"...?"

The longer this dragged on, the worse it would be for me.

Even after a brief exchange, my left hand was already acting up.

Not only was it bruised, with a nasty blue mark, but I could feel a sharp, almost electric pain running through the bone and muscle as if they had been damaged.

Judging from my left arm's condition, I needed to end this quickly.

'According to the character setting, Baek Yoorin's base physical abilities aren't exceptionally high.'

Baek Yoorin was a typical agility-type character.

Her specialty was outmaneuvering her opponent with quick, precise movements.

That meant her base physical stats were higher than mine but not overwhelmingly so.

Of course, if she enhanced her body with magic, that was a different story.

"Not conﬁdent?" "...."

"Well, if you don't want to, forget it."

"...."

I deliberately tried to poke at Baek Yoorin's pride. I had to make sure she accepted my proposal.

Anyone else might have thought, 'What's he scheming?' and rejected it, but knowing Baek Yoorin's personality, there was a high likelihood that she wouldn't refuse.

After all, to Baek Yoorin, this wasn't the kind of suggestion she could just turn down.

To refuse a challenge based on using your strongest techniques was practically the same as tucking your tail between your legs and running away.

With Baek Yoorin's abnormal pride and conﬁdence in her swordsmanship, there was no way she would refuse.

Of course, she was also quite wary of me.

Since she suspected I might be that man from her past.

But if you think about it, that's exactly why she wouldn't back down.

She had to show it, after all.

She had to prove how much she had changed since that humiliating defeat.

"…Conﬁdent, are we?"

Baek Yoorin muttered with interest, then slowly nodded. "Alright… A one-hit duel… Sounds fun."

"Phew."

At least I had gotten her to agree to the conditions.

To land a blow on that monstrous Baek Yoorin, I needed to gamble everything on this single clash.

Since we had agreed to settle it with our strongest techniques, I could roughly predict what move Baek Yoorin would use.

In a situation like this, it made sense to use your most powerful skill.

And I already knew most of Baek Yoorin's techniques.

Of course, I didn't know all of them, but I was well-versed in the ones that could be considered her ﬁnishing moves.

Among those, which technique would she use?

The one she was most likely to use was *Baek Sword Style (Revised): White Fang*.

A high-speed thrust.

That's because *White Fang* was a technique she had developed over a long time speciﬁcally to defeat that man from her past.

Moreover, this sword technique had never been revealed to the public.

Other techniques had been shown in matches, duels, and tournaments, so there were some ways to counter them, but

*White Fang* was different.

It had never been used in an oﬃcial setting. It was a hidden trump card.

One of the techniques that would later become recognized as Baek Yoorin's most powerful ﬁnishing move.

But I knew about *White Fang*, the technique Baek Yoorin had kept hidden so carefully.

Since it was one of her signature techniques, the character settings in the game had covered it in great detail.

I knew the unique preparatory movement, the principles, the method, and the ﬂow of magic used in *White Fang*, at least in general.

Of course, I didn't remember the ﬁner details. And even if I did, I didn't have the conﬁdence to block it.

Just knowing about it in advance didn't mean it was a technique I could block.

If I had the abilities and talent of someone like Lee Siwoon, I might have been able to counter it… but unfortunately, I wasn't him.

Even if I had a basic understanding of *White Fang*, there was no way I could counter it.

In fact, I probably wouldn't even be able to block or dodge it.

It was like predicting a meteorite would fall, but being powerless to stop it.

'Well, no matter.'

I can't block it, and I can't dodge it? Then, all I have to do is… get hit. 'Yeah, getting hit will do.'

From the start, I hadn't planned to block or dodge Baek Yoorin's attack.

I was working under the assumption that her attack would hit me.

'The important thing is… getting hit by the technique I want, in the place I want.'

I glanced down at my abdomen and swallowed nervously.

With my current physical abilities, it was practically impossible for me to withstand Baek Yoorin's attack.

The moment she struck, my defeat would be certain. I would likely collapse, vomiting blood.

However, there was one method.

There was one way I could take Baek Yoorin's attack and survive.

I had practiced it quite a lot, but since this was my ﬁrst time using it in real combat, I was incredibly nervous. But still, I had no other choice.

This was the only way. "…Are you ready?"

I raised my shield with my left hand, protecting my abdomen, then lifted my sword with my right hand, taking a stance for a downward slash.

Baek Yoorin positioned her hand near the tip of her blade, ready to thrust while slightly bending her body.

I could sense the faint confusion in the audience seating among the watching heroes.

This stance wasn't part of the standard Baek Sword Style. But I recognized it.

That was the preparatory stance for the White Fang, a high-speed thrust technique that Baek Yoorin had developed by modifying the Baek Sword Style.

As expected, she was planning to use White Fang.

Of course, she had developed this technique speciﬁcally for situations like this.

"…Are you planning to counter? Do you think you can block it with that shield?"

"...."

Bluish magic shrouded her blade, swirling violently.

With Sword qi of that level, no matter how reinforced my shield or armor was, it would be pierced easily.

I knew that in duels like this, it was common to suffer injuries like getting impaled, breaking bones, or even ruptured organs.

That's why there were plenty of recovery potions and healers on standby.

But still, it was terrifying.

There was a risk of getting hit in a vital spot, and no one in their right mind enjoyed pain.

Ah, come to think of it, wasn't the ranking match being livestreamed for outsiders to watch?

I heard they used mosaics and cognition ﬁlters to lower the intensity, though.

"…Interesting. Let's see what you've got."

Baek Yoorin's previously bored expression shifted into a faint smile.

Of course, I wasn't holding my shield over my abdomen with the intention of blocking her attack.

I knew very well that a mere shield wouldn't be able to stop it.

The shield was nothing more than a decoy.

"Alright, let's give this a try…."

"!"

Whoosh!

Before I even ﬁnished speaking, Baek Yoorin rushed forward.

Like a bullet, she darted toward me, closing the gap in an instant.

At that moment, she exploded her magic and thrust her sword forward with tremendous force. I also swung my sword downward as fast as I could.

Of course, Baek Yoorin's sword was much faster.

It was inevitable that her sword would pierce my body before mine could reach her.

That was an unchangeable future, a predetermined fate. "I'm faster…."

Baek Sword Style (Revised): White Fang.

According to the game's settings, it was a high-speed thrust that used successive bursts of magic to accelerate the sword even further, creating an off-beat rhythm.

Because the speed and timing of the attack were disguised, anyone seeing it for the ﬁrst time would be caught off guard.

Well, in my case…

There was no point in being caught off guard or not. After all, I couldn't even see the sword in the ﬁrst place. "Your response is too slow. What a disappointment…."

"Ugh!"

Thud!

Baek Yoorin's blade plunged deep into my abdomen, piercing through.

Since it was a high-speed thrust ampliﬁed by Sword qi, it cut through both my shield and my armor like tofu.

Judging by where it hit, it looked like it had missed any vital spots, but with my abdomen pierced, it was clear I couldn't continue ﬁghting.

That is, if I had gotten pierced.

"…?"

Baek Yoorin blinked, confused.

Even though she had clearly stabbed me through the shield and into my stomach, for some reason, I seemed perfectly ﬁne.

Not only was I not bleeding, but I also didn't appear to care that I had just been stabbed as I continued my sword swing.

"…You?"

Baek Yoorin voiced her confusion. Why was I okay?

That was simple.

It was because Baek Yoorin hadn't actually stabbed me. "…What is that?"

As I moved the skewered shield aside, Baek Yoorin could ﬁnally see it.

What had been hidden behind the shield. The ﬁssure in space.

Unfortunately for Baek Yoorin, her sword hadn't pierced my body.

It had stabbed right into the crack of a subspace.

'Yep, Space Ring really is useful.'

The Space Ring, which could create a ﬁssure within a 6- meter radius to store or retrieve items.

In the game, it had functioned like an inventory, but in reality, this feature could be exploited in many creative ways.

For example, dropping heavy objects from the air could turn them into makeshift projectiles, opening a ﬁssure in the ground could create traps, or I could hide behind a ﬁssure to block an enemy's attack.

Of course, the ﬁssure opened slowly, so it couldn't be used in sudden situations.

If I wanted to use it, I had to open the ﬁssure in advance.

'I couldn't use it too openly with all the cameras and people watching, but if I opened the ﬁssure right behind the shield and hid it with my body, it should be ﬁne, right? Probably.'

If it got discovered, I could always cover it up as some kind of ability.

"...!"

Suddenly, my sword was right in front of Baek Yoorin's face. She hurriedly tried to pull back, but it was too late.

I had already grabbed hold of her right wrist, the one she had used to thrust her sword, with my left hand.

I had strengthened my body with magic as much as possible and gripped Baek Yoorin's wrist tightly so she couldn't escape.

No matter how strong Baek Yoorin was, she wouldn't be able to shake off my grip in an instant.

If she were someone like Sunari, who specialized in physical enhancement, it might be different, but Baek Yoorin didn't have that kind of brute strength.

Of course, given enough time, she could easily break free from my grasp, but my sword was already right in front of her.

Even if she managed to push me away now, it would be too late.

Not even Baek Yoorin could dodge this. "…Not bad!"

Baek Yoorin quickly drew her secondary sword with her free left hand.

It was an incredibly fast draw technique.

Despite being much slower in drawing her sword than me, she managed to intercept my strike midway.

Clang!

Our swords collided.

Sparks ﬂew everywhere from the impact.

It was quite a powerful strike.

It seemed she hadn't had the time to use Sword qi. It resembled the way lightsabers clashed in a movie. As expected of her.

Even though her weight was shifted forward due to using

*White Fang*, which should've made her stance unstable, she managed to block my attack perfectly with a quick draw.

They didn't call her a monster for nothing, Baek Yoorin.

But… "Hah!"

I had been waiting for the moment our swords collided.

With a shout, I quickly activated the Tears of the Moon, the artifact.

Just like during my midterm ﬁght with Lee Siwoon, it absorbed Baek Yoorin's magic from her sword.

"…Huh?"

For a brief moment, Baek Yoorin's Sword qi faltered as her magic was absorbed.

It was only for a short time, but she was left completely defenseless.

Using all the magic I had absorbed from Baek Yoorin, combined with my own, I swung my sword with full force and shattered her training sword in half.

As her training sword broke in two, Baek Yoorin's face showed a hint of surprise.

Without hesitation, I swung my sword again. I didn't stop—it was a relentless strike.

Finally, my blade reached Baek Yoorin's shoulder.

Even though she was wearing protective gear, my sword still managed to cut through her ﬂesh.

Slash!

A spray of crimson blood splattered into the air.

Baek Yoorin bit her lower lip as she kicked me and leaped backward. Ugh! You little…!

"Hah, damn. You still dodged?"

"...."

Baek Yoorin glanced at the wound on her shoulder.

She had twisted her body at the last second to avoid a severe injury, so the wound wasn't too serious. Damn, she even managed to dodge that?

"…It's been a while since I've bled."

Baek Yoorin muttered quietly as she ran her hand over her shoulder.

She stared at the blood trickling from the wound.

"…There aren't many people my age who can make me bleed."

Baek Yoorin clenched her ﬁst tightly.

Then, she tossed the broken remains of her secondary sword to the ground.

"You… You absorbed my magic just now, didn't you? …And what's with that ﬁssure thing?"

"Hah… Hah… Phew."

I didn't have the energy to answer. I had used up nearly all my magic. "Is that your ability? Interesting…."

Baek Yoorin's lips curled up a little more. She was smiling—enjoying herself.

This Baek Yoorin.

"You've got more hidden, don't you? Show me more…"

"Surrender."

"Huh?"

"I surrender. I lost."

If my surprise attacks using the *Space Ring* and the *Tears of the Moon* didn't work, then I had no other options.

A genius like Baek Yoorin wouldn't fall for the same trick twice.

The reason it worked was because she didn't know about it. Now that she knew, there was no way it would succeed again.

'…With my current abilities, even with all the information I had and using two artifacts, the best I could do was leave a scratch on her shoulder? Tsk. Well, whatever. I guess I'll take comfort in the fact that I managed to injure the great Baek Yoorin.'

Honestly, it wasn't the result I'd hoped for, but this was good enough. This was good enough.

After all, this was just a spar.

It wasn't a life-or-death battle, so I ﬁgured doing this much was enough.

"…Surrender? Just like that, out of nowhere?"

"Yeah."

For a moment.

"Are you playing with me?"

Chapter 96

Baek Yoorin and the Ranking Battle (10)

In the past, at the Baek Family Swordsmanship Dojo training room.

"Ugh?!"

*Whirl, whirl.*

The steel sword spun in the air, twirling as it rose.

The sword soared all the way to the ceiling of the training room, ﬂoating in midair for a moment.

Eventually, the sword began to descend slowly, before listlessly clattering to the ground.

"Urgh… Haa, how…."

Baek Yoorin, having dropped her sword, was gasping intermittently.

Her knees were half-bent, and she bit down on her lower lip hard enough to draw blood.

Her beautiful purple hair was in disarray, and her previously spotless white training uniform was stained with sweat and blood.

It looked like she had gone through quite the battle—her appearance was a complete mess.

"Huﬀ, huﬀ, whew." She had lost.

Lost again.

There was no excuse.

She had been defeated several times already.

To think she had been crushed so badly in front of her grandfather.

"Huﬀ, huﬀ, you…."

Baek Yoorin glared ﬁercely at the man in front of her.

Though she couldn't see his face clearly due to the black mask and hat he wore, she could tell he was around her age.

It seemed like he was intentionally hiding his identity, but judging from his altered voice, speech patterns, mannerisms, build, and size, the most she could assume was that he was a year or two older than her.

It was humiliating.

Baek Yoorin had never lost to someone her age.

As the greatest genius of the Baek Family, there wasn't anyone among her peers who could even come close to her.

Most of the kids who were considered talented in swordsmanship had all knelt before the monster that was Baek Yoorin.

She had already displayed skills that could rival active heroes during her middle school years.

There was no one among her peers who could even hope to defeat Baek Yoorin.

But. She had lost miserably to this unfamiliar boy.

She had been utterly humiliated, as if toyed with, and it wasn't just her defeat that hurt—her pride had taken a deep blow.

Of course, it wasn't as if she had never experienced defeat before.

She had tasted the bitter sting of loss several times to members of the Baek Family or head instructors.

But losing to someone her age—this was the ﬁrst time. The very ﬁrst.

Not once had she ever been beaten by someone her age…

She had swung her sword countless times, ﬂailed in desperation, fought as hard as she could, but in the end, she couldn't bring that boy down.

It felt like she had come up against an insurmountable wall.

She had thought her talents in swordsmanship were so exceptional that even her grandfather wouldn't overshadow her.

But to think she couldn't win a single match against some boy she had never even heard of?

*She*, Baek Yoorin?

"…You, let's, haah, let's ﬁght again!"

For Baek Yoorin, this was an unbearable humiliation. At the same time, she couldn't accept it.

She couldn't accept the reality of being thoroughly defeated by that boy.

It wasn't just talent—he had bested her in skill and experience, too, and she couldn't accept that….

"That's enough."

It was then.

"Grandfather."

"Enough for today, Yoorin."

"But…!"

Baek Yoorin ﬂared up at Baek Yeonghyun's intervention, who had been quietly watching.

She was sure that if she just fought a bit longer, she could win.

Did her grandfather really think she had no chance of winning against that boy?

Did he believe that no matter how hard she tried, she wouldn't be able to beat him even once?

"You don't look to be in the best condition right now. Why don't you call it a day?"

"I can still ﬁght!"

"Sigh. Yoorin."

When Baek Yeonghyun spoke in a gentle, coaxing tone, Baek Yoorin bit her lip and hesitated.

"My granddaughter has put you through quite a lot."

"It's nothing."

Baek Yeonghyun then addressed the boy.

"Your skills are impressive."

It was rare for her grandfather to give such praise.

"Your granddaughter's skills are also very impressive." Baek Yoorin scowled slightly.

The boy's tone seemed like he was looking down on her from above.

So, that's it, huh? You think your skills are better than mine?

"How about it, young man? Would you consider training under me oﬃcially?"

"I'm sorry. I greatly appreciate the oﬀer, but I already have other responsibilities."

The boy declined her grandfather's oﬀer.

It was probably the ﬁrst time her grandfather, once renowned as the peninsula's greatest swordmaster, had personally oﬀered to teach someone—and to think that he'd be refused.

"It was an honor to spar with your granddaughter today. I'll take my leave now."

"The oﬀer remains open. Feel free to come by anytime." After the boy left.

Her grandfather sat in the pavilion, occasionally muttering to himself.

"What a shame… No matter how much innate talent one has, without a teacher to guide him, that talent will hit a limit…."

Her grandfather seemed to lament losing that boy.

It was a reaction she hadn't seen even with her or Lee Siwoon.

Was that boy's talent really that much greater? Greater than Baek Yoorin's?

"...."

Later, when Baek Yoorin realized that the boy had come to be known as Vigilante, she made a ﬁrm decision in her heart.

If, if….

If she ever met him again. She would show him.

She would show him how much Baek Yoorin had changed. To both him and her grandfather.

Baek Yoorin's expression twisted slightly. "Surrender…? You're perfectly ﬁne…?"

Oddly enough, it wasn't Lee Jinhyuk who had taken any real damage—it was Baek Yoorin.

Not only had he blocked her ﬁnishing move beautifully, but he had even injured her. So why was he suddenly surrendering?

Look! Look at her—the blood was still ﬂowing from the wound on her shoulder.

In contrast, Lee Jinhyuk remained unscathed.

Clearly, the situation was in Lee Jinhyuk's favor, so why in the world was he talking about surrendering? Baek Yoorin couldn't accept it. She was furious.

'You think I'm going to accept your surrender?'

Baek Yoorin hadn't even shown her full strength yet.

If Lee Jinhyuk surrendered now, what would become of her?

Her grandfather was probably watching this ranking match on TV. Was he going to see her in this pitiful, injured state, winning only because the other side surrendered?

"Don't be ridiculous… Fight me again."

"You know it too now, don't you? I'm not that man. And you know my skills are nothing compared to his."

It was becoming increasingly clear that Lee Jinhyuk was not the man from her past.

If he were the same man who had once overwhelmed her purely with skill, he wouldn't be struggling this much to face her now.

Absorbing magic and creating spatial ﬁssures—those abilities were completely diﬀerent from what the man from her past had displayed.

…Of course, she couldn't completely rule out the possibility that Lee Jinhyuk was acting to conceal his true identity.

"Lee Jinhyuk."

He was walking toward the referee, signaling his surrender. Ignoring her completely.

Just like that man had once done. "Lee Jinhyuk."

Was he really the same person from the past?

Honestly, it didn't matter anymore.

What mattered now was that Lee Jinhyuk had injured Baek Yoorin and gained the upper hand.

Lee Jinhyuk's movements were sluggish, his swordsmanship was poor, and his physical abilities seemed low—so what?

The fact that he had injured Baek Yoorin was undeniable.

Among the academy students, who were said to be the best of the best, how many could boast of being able to injure Baek Yoorin?

At most, maybe Lee Siwoon and Kang Daehan? No, not even them.

Even after their hellish training and newfound strength surpassing most common heroes, it wouldn't be enough— not enough to wound Baek Yoorin.

Baek Yoorin was a swordsman at the level of a top-tier hero. "Lee Jinhyuk…!"

The ﬁght was just getting started.

Where did he think he was going after landing the ﬁrst blow?

Don't be ridiculous. Was this a joke? Where are you running oﬀ to?

"Stu-student Baek Yoorin?"

Suddenly, the referee cried out in shock as he sensed a chill in the air, stunned by the dark killing intent seeping from Baek Yoorin.

Even a former hero like the referee swallowed nervously under the pressure of her killing aura.

Why was she releasing that kind of intent all of a sudden?

Lee Jinhyuk, noticing Baek Yoorin's strange atmosphere, also realized something wasn't right.

Without paying attention to the referee, Baek Yoorin gripped her sword so tightly that it seemed as if it would shatter, concentrating her magic into the blade.

"Student Baek Yoorin! What are you doing—"

"Lee Jinhyuk, where do you think you're going?"

Without warning, Baek Yoorin ignored the referee and swung her sword.

The dark blue magic surged out, forming a crescent-shaped

Sword qi that ﬂew toward Lee Jinhyuk, leaving a trail of afterimages.

Lee Jinhyuk instinctively raised his sword in defense.

Baek Yoorin's swing had been slow enough that even someone like him had time to react and block it.

"Hey, are you crazy?!"

Who would've thought Baek Yoorin would go this far? "Ugh!"

Crackle, crackle!

Baek Yoorin's Sword qi collided with Lee Jinhyuk's sword.

The sheer ferocity of her Sword qi was enough to slice through the training sword like it was nothing, making it incredibly dangerous.

This wasn't the kind of power meant for a sparring match.

Of course, it was aimed at his shoulder, so it wouldn't kill him, but there was a real risk of his arm being severed.

Even though a healer was on standby and could reattach it quickly, the fact that she had swung with the intent to mutilate was beyond absurd. The earlier thrust had been way too much, and now this. She was going too far.

"Damn it, seriously!"

With no other choice, Lee Jinhyuk used the *Tears of the Moon*.

While he was exhausted, losing his arm wasn't an option.

The Sword qi shattered into pieces, scattering like fragments of magic into the air.

Baek Yoorin watched this with a soft laugh.

Her Sword qi wasn't something a mere trainee could block. Yet, he had done it so eﬀortlessly. Could he really absorb magic? Well, whatever. The important thing was that he had blocked it.

"Hah, hah… Haha."

Her lips curled upward into what could only be described as a sinister smile as she stared at Lee Jinhyuk.

"Good, as expected… you blocked it…?"

"Restrain her immediately!"

At that moment, security guards rushed in. Several guards surrounded Baek Yoorin.

For a moment, Baek Yoorin stared at them. Then, like a bucket of cold water had been poured over her, she felt the weight of the situation. Ah, damn. She'd gotten too worked up and caused a scene.

The ﬁery excitement that had consumed her a moment ago rapidly cooled down.

It had been so long since she had been this excited that she had lost her sense of restraint.

This… this was bad.

"Student Baek Yoorin! Drop your sword and surrender immediately!"

"...."

"Baek Yoorin!"

"...."

What should she do?

Baek Yoorin hesitated for a moment.

Glancing toward the spectators, she realized Baek Nam-il had been watching. Oh right, her uncle was watching the whole time.

"…Lee Jinhyuk."

Suddenly, Baek Yoorin dropped her sword and assumed a submissive posture, surrendering.

"…This match was fun. Next time… I'll see you again." As security led her away, dragging her out of the arena, Baek Yoorin glanced at Lee Jinhyuk and whispered quietly.

Soon, Union Academy convened a disciplinary committee to address Baek Yoorin's actions.

Given that she had unleashed killing intent and nearly used a lethal attack against an opponent who had already surrendered in a match being broadcasted live, the academy couldn't simply overlook her actions, even if she was a direct descendant of the Baek Family.

In the end, Baek Yoorin was suspended for a month and ordered to complete 150 hours of community service as punishment.

Of all the buzz-worthy moments from the ranking matches, the most talked-about, of course, was the Baek Yoorin vs.

Lee Jinhyuk match.

Because Lee Jinhyuk had performed far better than anyone had expected.

He had countered Baek Yoorin's attacks multiple times, broken her sword, and even blocked her Sword qi.

It was nothing short of impressive.

Would any of the other students have been able to do what he did?

Most likely, they wouldn't have even been able to track Baek Yoorin's movements and would have been knocked out by her thrust in one hit.

But Lee Jinhyuk was diﬀerent.

Even though he was ranked the lowest in the practical exams, he had managed to block every one of Baek Yoorin's attacks.

Even though the oﬃcial record showed his defeat due to surrender, many believed that, in terms of the match's content, Lee Jinhyuk had been the real winner.

After all, Baek Yoorin had sustained a serious shoulder injury, while Lee Jinhyuk had walked away without a scratch.

People were puzzled by Lee Jinhyuk's sudden surrender, and many wondered what might have happened if the ﬁght had continued.

As a result, rumors began circulating throughout the academy after the duel.

The rumor was that Lee Jinhyuk had been hiding some kind of special ability all along.

Yoo Seolhyun's comment, "Ah, so he lost in style, huh?" and Lee Siwoon's remark, "As I thought, you've been hiding a lot, Lee Jinhyuk. I enjoyed the match," only fueled the speculation further.

And so, the students continued to gossip about the match between Lee Jinhyuk and Baek Yoorin.

Later that weekend, at Lee Jinhyuk's house.

*Ding-dong!*

With the sound of the doorbell, the front door opened. "…Hello."

Baek Yoorin, now wearing casual clothes after being suspended, had come to visit Lee Jinhyuk at his house.

"…There's no need to be so cautious… I came to apologize for the other day."

After trying to slice him in half with a Sword qi, now she was here to apologize.

Chapter 97 Resolution (1)

Baek Yoorin stood idly in front of the entrance.

Her typical expressionless face and emotionless gray eyes were looking up at me.

Hmm. This was a bit awkward.

"...."

A brief silence fell between us. It was an uncomfortable quiet.

At that moment, the wind suddenly howled, blowing ﬁercely. Baek Yoorin's light purple hair ﬂuttered wildly in the wind.

The sleeves of her clothes and the hem of her skirt also swayed with the breeze, but Baek Yoorin didn't seem to care. She was just waiting for my reply, standing there, unmoving.

"An apology?"

"Yeah."

I glanced at Baek Yoorin's waist.

The training sword she usually carried was nowhere to be seen.

Even though Baek Yoorin was someone obsessed with the sword, she wasn't crazy enough to pull any stunts after being suspended.

Besides, hadn't she said she came to apologize?

Baek Yoorin was a little too obsessed with swords, but she wasn't a bad person or someone who lied.

During the ranking match, she had been quite menacing, leaking intent and using that dangerous Sword qi, but she had been in an excited state then.

Now that she had calmed down, it was hard to imagine she would use a fake apology as an excuse to harm me.

"Well, come on in."

I had something to say to Baek Yoorin as well.

I needed to help resolve her ongoing struggles and make sure she didn't fall into the path of becoming a villain.

"Excuse me…"

Baek Yoorin slowly took off her shoes and walked into the living room.

After guiding her to the soft sofa, I headed to the kitchen.

I grabbed a packet of jujube tea from the instant beverage set I had bought a while ago, brewed it in a cup, and added some honey and ice before placing it on the living room table.

"…Huh?"

Baek Yoorin stared blankly at the jujube tea, blinking a couple of times, and then looked up at me with a hint of curiosity.

She seemed puzzled. "…Is this for me?"

"Yeah, drink it. You're a guest, after all."

"...."

"Not a fan of instant stuff? Well, I get it, you're from a rich family after all."

Though she didn't go out of her way to dress up like Yoo Seolhyun or Joo Jiyeon, Baek Yoorin was just as much of a rich girl as they were.

After all, her grandfather was hailed by many as the greatest swordmaster on the peninsula.

The number of disciples who crossed the threshold of Baek Yeonghyun's Baek Sword Style dojo was enormous.

Even someone as talented as Lee Siwoon had struggled to be accepted as his student.

Now that I think about it, how many Baek Sword Style dojos are there across the country?

Hmm… It's like a franchise.

"…No, I just didn't expect you to serve jujube tea."

"Ah, well."

Your character proﬁle mentioned that you liked it.

Something about how you developed a habit of drinking jujube tea from a young age because your strict grandfather made you.

Since the aftertaste is slightly bitter, it said you preferred it with a bit of honey.

"Anyway… Thanks."

Was it because she had been served tea?

Baek Yoorin took a sip of the jujube tea with a soft *slurp*.

Whether it was because she felt like she should show proper guest etiquette, or for some other reason, Baek Yoorin was calmly drinking the tea I had offered her.

When she wasn't dealing with anything sword-related, Baek Yoorin seemed relatively normal.

"…Lee Jinhyuk."

Baek Yoorin placed her cup down and looked directly at me. "Sorry about the other day."

Her small lips moved a few times before she softly but steadily voiced her apology.

"Even though you told me several times that you weren't him… I didn't listen."

It was a bit ridiculous how she had let it go in one ear and out the other.

"I didn't continue because I was sure you were him… I think I wanted to believe you were him… Sorry."

*Wanted to believe*, huh?

"In truth, I was badly defeated by a guy once, back when he was called Vigilante… So, I really wanted to meet him again and show him… Show him how much I've changed… And also…."

I met Baek Yoorin's gaze.

There was a ﬂicker of intense desire in those dull gray eyes.

"…I also vaguely hoped that I might learn something from ﬁghting him."

Just like in the game, it seemed she had hit a wall.

And that frustration had ultimately driven Baek Yoorin to become a villain, obsessed with the sword.

"I feel like I've only caused you trouble."

Baek Yoorin muttered, sounding a bit conﬂicted. "Baek Yoorin."

"Yeah?"

"But why did you mistake me for him?" "Huh?"

"Was it because I had the man's sword, or because I injured that white-haired girl during the midterms, or maybe because of the Seong Yura incident?"

"...."

Baek Yoorin hesitated for a moment before ﬁnally speaking.

"…That's part of it, but somebody else told me."

"Who?"

"…Sorry, I can't say. It wouldn't do you any good to know." "Just tell me one thing. Is it someone around our age?"

"…Probably."

"Hmm. I see."

"You seem to have some idea." As expected, it was Yoo Dahee.

Among the girls in Rebellion that Baek Yoorin interacted with, the ones around our age were Yoo Dahee and Seong Yura.

With Seong Yura captured, that only left Yoo Dahee.

'So, she was trying to provoke Baek Yoorin by using me.'

Whether Yoo Dahee outright believed I was Vigilante, or was just suspicious, I couldn't be sure. But one thing was clear— she had intended to use me somehow.

'Well, considering what happened during the midterms and the Seong Yura incident, it couldn't be helped that I caught Yoo Dahee's attention.'

Catching the eye of a growing monster like Yoo Dahee was deﬁnitely not a good thing.

"But why did you have his sword…?"

"Oh, that…."

I brieﬂy explained the circumstances to Baek Yoorin.

I also told her about the mysterious ﬁgure who had taken down a signiﬁcant number of villains during the Seong Yura incident.

Though the ﬁre had made it impossible to identify the bodies, the fact that I had the sword Vigilante once used made it likely that…

"…That man is dead?"

"It's not certain."

"…I didn't think he'd die in such an anticlimactic way."

Baek Yoorin sighed, looking up at the ceiling, her tone tinged with a sense of futility.

It must have been quite a shock for her to hear that the man she had viewed as a wall to overcome, even as a rival, was possibly dead.

But if that guy had still been alive, things would've been pretty tough for you.

In the grand scheme of this world, he was like a talent monster, similar to Yoo Dahee, or maybe just slightly below her. If he had survived and continued to grow, you would never have been able to catch up to him.

You were always fated to be overtaken by Lee Siwoon and Kang Daehan, after all.

Unless, of course, you experienced some kind of epiphany and underwent rapid growth, like in one of those *What if* side stories.

Rapid growth through epiphany, huh…

"Baek Yoorin, you've hit a wall, haven't you?" "How did you know…?"

Baek Yoorin's eyes widened slightly in surprise at my sudden statement.

"What would you do if I helped you break through that wall?"

"You?"

She had probably been stuck at this wall for over a year.

She must have been shocked to see how much Lee Siwoon and Kang Daehan had grown during the recent ranking matches.

Watching her peers grow stronger by the day would have ﬁlled her with a sense of frustration and anxiety.

Baek Yeonghyun wasn't pleased with how obsessed she had become with the sword, so he hadn't provided her with proper guidance, and the others were too wary of Baek Yeonghyun to offer any help.

On top of that, Baek Yoorin didn't quite match the Baek Sword Style.

That's why, in one of the side stories, she eventually developed the revised *Baek Sword Style*, custom-tailored to suit her.

"Take a look at this."

I handed Baek Yoorin a few sheets of paper ﬁlled with diagrams and text.

There was a risk that giving this to her could backﬁre.

If she eventually became a villain, I might be helping to make her even stronger with my own hands.

But based on what I had seen of Baek Yoorin so far, I was conﬁdent she wouldn't repay my help with betrayal.

Not just because of her character setting—based on the Baek Yoorin I had observed over the past few weeks, I knew that when it came to swordsmanship, she was sincere to the core.

In a side story, when Soyeon had helped her with her swordsmanship, Baek Yoorin had eventually sided with her.

Baek Yoorin never really cared much about Rebellion in the ﬁrst place.

Whether you were a villain or a hero, for Baek Yoorin, those were just labels.

"…?"

Baek Yoorin looked at the papers with curiosity but accepted them without hesitation.

The papers contained a rough draft of the revised *Baek Sword Style*, reconstructed based on knowledge from the game and the side stories.

It included various forms, principles of the basic techniques, notes about Baek Yoorin's bad habits, magic control methods, and commentary on swordsmanship in general.

I had only written down what I remembered accurately.

And most of the notes were not based on my own interpretations but were taken directly from advice given to Baek Yoorin by Soyeon in the side story.

The wording was a bit vague in some places, but Baek Yoorin had understood it well enough in the story.

After hearing Soyeon's advice, Baek Yoorin had eventually broken through her wall and reached the realm of top-tier heroes.

A one-in-a-million genius indeed. "...."

Baek Yoorin was absorbed in the papers.

Since it was just a sample to gauge her reaction, it didn't contain too much information.

"…Hmm."

After quickly reading through the ﬁrst part, Baek Yoorin glanced around the room.

Her eyes landed on a decorative sword hanging on the wall. Wait, are you serious?

Without a moment's hesitation, Baek Yoorin grabbed the decorative sword and began carefully channeling her magic into it, moving through the forms in the middle of the living room.

"Wait, Baek Yoorin?"

"…Hmm? Mm? Hm."

As if entranced, Baek Yoorin swung the sword several times, moving through the forms with precision.

Each time she stepped, a loud thud echoed through the living room.

After gracefully displaying several sword techniques, Baek Yoorin ﬁnally lowered the sword.

"…It really is different."

She looked at me with an expression of curiosity.

"…The movements feel smoother. The shift in balance… Just subtle adjustments to the stances and the ﬂow of magic… It feels completely different."

"Ah, um? Really?"

I mean, I wouldn't know.

I just wrote down what your future self had thought aloud after training in the side story.

"…Amazing. How did you ﬁgure this out?"

"I'm pretty good at analyzing and systematizing things."

"The content is a bit short… Could you… teach me more?"

"Well, once you've mastered what's written there."

Baek Yoorin had come right up to me, her eyes full of ﬁery determination.

It was a bit intense, honestly.

"…I came to apologize today… but now I owe you another debt."

Baek Yoorin clutched the papers tightly to her chest as she spoke.

"Tell me, Lee Jinhyuk. What do you want…? As long as it's something I can do… I'll do it."

"Well, it's nothing too crazy." Actually, it's pretty important.

"I'm planning to go after some villains soon. I'd like you to help me out."

"Alright."

"Huh? You answered so quickly? Do you even know who I'm talking about?"

"…I've got a good idea. You asked me earlier, didn't you? About Yoo Dahee, right?"

"Huh."

She caught on fast.

But wait, is it really okay to just drop Yoo Dahee's name like that?

Didn't you just say it was too dangerous to tell me earlier?

And aren't you still technically a member of Rebellion? Isn't this a bit disloyal?

Seriously. What kind of an organization is Rebellion? No wonder they get crushed by the protagonist's party, even when they're just a bunch of students.

"…When you asked me about Yoo Dahee earlier, I realized it had something to do with her group. After all, you're the one who captured Seong Yura."

"You're okay with telling me this? I mean, technically, you're still…"

"…Ah, technically a member, right? You know that much, huh… Well, it doesn't matter. Now that the man's dead, it's irrelevant. Yoo Dahee and I were only working together for mutual beneﬁt for a short time."

Baek Yoorin returned the decorative sword back to its place on the wall.

"…Yoo Dahee probably pulled me in to tarnish my grandfather's reputation. Though I'm not sure of her exact goal."

Yoo Dahee's exact goal.

It probably was…

"Oh, looks like I damaged the ﬂoor a bit. Was that my fault…? Sorry… Here, take this."

"A card?"

Noticing the damage, she had caused to the ﬂoor while practicing, Baek Yoorin handed me a card.

"You can spend… up to 250 million won a month. Take it." "Wait, no, I don't need something like this."

Haha. Well, I already had plenty of money, but free money is free money, right?

"Hmm. Now that I think about it, you seem a bit frail… Let me bring you some elixirs… a few of them."

"Huh? Really?"

Elixirs too? Wow, you're generous.

Elixirs are incredibly rare, no matter how much money you have.

And since this is coming from the Baek Family, it's bound to be high-quality stuff.

"…There's no need to feel burdened. Compared to what you've given me… this is nothing."

Baek Yoorin pointed to the papers I had handed her earlier.

Oh, those? That was just me scribbling down whatever I remembered.

You're just such a genius that even my rough notes made perfect sense to you, Baek Yoorin.

"Anyway… I'm sorry about what happened during the ranking match. And thanks for today."

"Oh, um, sure."

"I'll see you after my suspension ends… I'll pay you back for today's debt as well."

Was it because she had ﬁnally found a hint on how to break through her wall?

Baek Yoorin looked more energized than usual. "Well, I'll be going now…."

Baek Yoorin bowed her head slightly as she said her goodbyes.

It seemed that this encounter had signiﬁcantly deepened our connection.

'I hadn't expected to get so involved with Baek Yoorin… but it's not a bad thing.'

Yoo Seolhyun, Seong Yura, Roxanne, Baek Yoorin, and more.

I had either won over or captured the villains who were supposed to appear in the later stages of the game and threaten the protagonist and his party.

Wasn't this turning out quite differently from the game?

It wasn't even the end of the ﬁrst semester, and I had already managed to reform so many villains.

'Soyeon has awakened, I've gotten close to Yoo Seolhyun and Roxanne… Lee Siwoon doesn't seem too jealous… and now it looks like I can count on Baek Yoorin for help too….'

I had a lot more cards to play now. Really.

'With this much power, I don't need to drag this out any longer.'

Sure, the protagonist's party was growing rapidly, but so were the members of Rebellion.

In the future, whether they'd become high-rankers or top- tier monsters, that was still far off—*right now* was what mattered.

'Before they grow any more powerful, I'll strike ﬁrst.' In other words, I would hit them before they hit me.

In the original game, the Rebellion members would cause trouble, and the protagonist's party would band together to resolve the incidents.

But this wasn't a game, it was reality.

I already knew where several Rebellion members were, their names, their weaknesses, their abilities, everything. There was no need to sit around and wait for them to cause trouble.

Don't you agree?

***

"…Ah. I wonder if he'll get mad at me for showing up without notice?"

Jin Soyeon mumbled to herself as she hesitated near Lee Jinhyuk's house.

It wasn't like showing up unannounced would be a problem between childhood friends, but ever since she confessed to him, she had been overly self-conscious.

She had tried her best to act natural, but just being near him made her heart race.

That's why she had been so shocked when Baek Yoorin had suddenly used Sword qi during the ranking match.

Ugh. What's Baek Yoorin's deal, anyway?

Attacking someone after they surrendered—was she out of her mind?

"Haa, I wonder if Jinhyuk… is even home?"

Brushing aside her thoughts about Baek Yoorin, Jin Soyeon ﬁgured that since Lee Jinhyuk didn't have many friends, he was probably at home. She was about to head to the door when—

"Huh?"

Wasn't that Baek Yoorin coming out of Lee Jinhyuk's house?

"Wait, why is she there?"

Baek Yoorin, who always had a stoic expression, was now walking out of Jinhyuk's house with a noticeably ﬂushed face.

Why?

Chapter 98 Resolution (2)

"...."

Jin Soyeon blankly stared at the back of Baek Yoorin, who was closing the gate.

She couldn't understand why that purple-haired girl was coming out of Lee Jinhyuk's house.

Lost in thought for a brief moment, a single realization ﬂashed through Jin Soyeon's mind.

'Wait, hold on.'

A sudden feeling of unease surged within her. 'No way… Did she hurt Jinhyuk?'

It made sense—Baek Yoorin had unleashed killing intent during the ranking match and even used Sword qi against Lee Jinhyuk after he had already declared his surrender.

If that had hit him directly, even an active hero wouldn't have walked away unscathed. It was an incredibly dangerous move.

To think she used something like that on an academy cadet? 'Ugh, I'm worried.'

Normally, if someone had a personal grudge, no matter how deep, they wouldn't dare do something so reckless after having been disciplined.

After all, doing so would likely lead to expulsion.

But when Jin Soyeon recalled Baek Yoorin's past actions… there was a chance.

"Jin Soyeon?" "Ah."

Jin Soyeon ﬂinched in surprise at Baek Yoorin's sudden voice.

Her shoulders jerked as she looked up, realizing that Baek Yoorin was gazing at her with a bored expression.

"...?"

Baek Yoorin tilted her head slightly.

She had sensed a presence and felt a gaze on her, and it turned out to be Jin Soyeon.

She wondered why the black-haired girl was standing here, but then she remembered that Jin Soyeon was Lee Jinhyuk's childhood friend.

"…Hello?"

Baek Yoorin greeted her casually.

Normally, Baek Yoorin didn't show much interest in others, but Jin Soyeon had caught her attention during the ranking match.

The way she easily defeated Joo Jiyeon, a rather strong cadet, had piqued her interest.

In fact, she found Jin Soyeon more interesting than Lee Siwoon or Kang Daehan.

Though Jin Soyeon's overall practical exam scores were mediocre, her performance in the ranking match had been nothing short of impressive.

Almost like Lee Jinhyuk. "You know my name?"

"…I watched your ranking match."

"Really?"

Jin Soyeon bit her lip slightly.

Unlike Baek Yoorin, Jin Soyeon hadn't been able to watch the ranking match properly.

She had been too anxious, worrying that Baek Yoorin might severely injure Lee Jinhyuk.

Although Baek Yoorin hadn't hurt him in the end, when she had used that ﬁnal thrust and Sword qi, Jin Soyeon had been terriﬁed.

She had thought the blade would pierce through Jinhyuk's abdomen after breaking through his shield. Her heart had nearly dropped.

"What business did you have at Jinhyuk's house?" Jin Soyeon asked in a slightly sharp tone.

She didn't know why Baek Yoorin had visited Lee Jinhyuk, but if it wasn't for a good reason, she wasn't going to let it slide.

"To apologize."

"Huh?"

Baek Yoorin? Apologizing?

That was an unexpected answer.

After all, Baek Yoorin had been the one who initiated the ﬁght with Lee Jinhyuk even before the ranking match, constantly brimming with killing intent, and had shown several threatening moves during the match.

It was hard to believe. Also, Baek Yoorin didn't seem like the type to apologize to anyone.

"…I had some misunderstandings and made some mistakes during our match, so I came to apologize."

"Misunderstandings? What kind of misunderstandings?"

"Well… It's not exactly a secret, but I don't feel like explaining it myself."

"Oh."

"If you're really curious… you can ask Lee Jinhyuk. He might tell you."

So, she had a misunderstanding with Lee Jinhyuk, which led her to challenge him to the ranking match?

And now that the misunderstanding was cleared up, they had reconciled?

"If you're still worried, why don't you call Lee Jinhyuk and ask him yourself?"

"No, it's not that."

Baek Yoorin's expression was so emotionless that it was hard to read her thoughts or feelings.

But for some reason, it didn't seem like she was lying.

It looked like her negative feelings toward Lee Jinhyuk had mostly been resolved.

"And I also owe him a debt… so I have no intention of causing him trouble. You don't need to worry too much."

No, it seemed like her feelings had turned positive—almost to the point of gratitude.

A debt?

What had Jinhyuk done to make Baek Yoorin use such a word?

"Well, then, I'll be going… Oh, wait."

Just as she was about to leave, Baek Yoorin paused and turned her head.

"…I was debating whether to say this."

She scratched her cheek lightly and locked eyes with Jin Soyeon.

The emotionless gray eyes met the golden eyes ﬁlled with transparent emotions.

"…You."

Baek Yoorin slowly but deliberately began to speak. "…Why have you been so angry since earlier?"

"Angry? Me?"

Jin Soyeon was taken aback by Baek Yoorin's sudden comment.

Angry? What was she talking about?

"I mean, I've done things that could make you angry… You could be mad at me for worrying about Lee Jinhyuk…."

"...."

"But it doesn't seem like that's the only reason…."

"...."

"And what's more… When I said I came to apologize to Lee Jinhyuk and that we cleared up our misunderstanding… you seemed a little disappointed… Was I imagining that?"

"...."

Jin Soyeon fell silent for a moment in response to Baek Yoorin's series of questions.

Her lips moved a few times before she ﬁnally managed to speak, though her words were evasive.

"N-no, you're imagining things."

"Is that so? Well then."

Whether Baek Yoorin was convinced or not, it was hard to tell.

But she simply nodded and resumed her steps.

"…I guess I said something weird. Anyway, I'll be going now."

"...."

Jin Soyeon bit her lower lip, watching Baek Yoorin disappear into the distance with a frown on her face.

Even after Baek Yoorin was long gone, Jin Soyeon's expression remained as crumpled as a sheet of paper.

"…Ha." Disappointed? Angry?

Jin Soyeon mulled over Baek Yoorin's words.

It wasn't just that she was angry or worried that Baek Yoorin might have hurt Lee Jinhyuk or might still hold a grudge against him.

Of course, she had been worried, but there was another emotion sprouting within her heart.

A quiet jealousy.

Thinking about what Baek Yoorin had done to Jinhyuk made her want to yell at her, but hearing that Baek Yoorin and Lee Jinhyuk had resolved their misunderstanding and were now on good terms left her feeling conﬂicted.

What's more, Baek Yoorin was one of the academy's standout beauties.

She didn't speak much, and her expression was always cold, but her stunning looks and graceful ﬁgure meant there were plenty of boys who secretly admired her.

On top of that, she was the granddaughter of Baek Yeonghyun, the famous swordsman, and a direct descendant of the wealthy Baek family.

Why did Jinhyuk have to get involved with a girl like that? Of all people, why her?

It wasn't like Baek Yoorin was interested in Lee Jinhyuk romantically.

But regardless, it didn't feel good seeing such a talented and beautiful girl hanging around him.

'Honestly… if only… if only they hadn't resolved their misunderstanding….'

If they hadn't reconciled, Jin Soyeon could have hated Baek Yoorin freely.

She could have been angry with her, using her past aggressive actions as an excuse to vent her emotions.

If Baek Yoorin had still harbored negative feelings toward Lee Jinhyuk, Jin Soyeon could have kept her away from him without hesitation.

But now that they had cleared things up and made peace, what could Jin Soyeon possibly say?

"…I'm really pathetic."

Jin Soyeon bit her lip harder, her hands balling into ﬁsts.

Her nails dug into her palms, but she clenched her ﬁsts tighter, undeterred by the pain.

"I'm so pathetic… I really am…."

The fact that she was even thinking this way. It was truly shameful and disappointing.

To think she was jealous and wanted to lash out over something so trivial.

"Jinhyuk must have felt like this all along."

When Lee Jinhyuk had secretly harbored feelings for her, he must have felt the same way whenever other boys were around her.

Jin Soyeon, oblivious to his feelings, had spent time carelessly with other boys.

For that reason, she couldn't bring herself to face Lee Jinhyuk now.

What right did she have to say anything to him?

She had made him suffer for so long and shamelessly confessed her feelings, only to be rejected when he said he liked someone else.

The fact that their childhood friendship had survived this far was nothing short of a miracle.

She wanted to offer him some fake advice, like, 'You should be careful about having too many girls around you. The girl you like might get the wrong idea.'

But she couldn't.

Her intentions were too obvious, and it would have been far too shameless.

"…What am I even doing?"

Jin Soyeon stared blankly at the sky.

If she hadn't carelessly spent time with other boys, would Lee Jinhyuk have accepted her confession?

If they had dated for real instead of pretending, would she be the only one by Lee Jinhyuk's side right now, with no other girls around?

"In the end… it's all my fault, isn't it…?"

Jin Soyeon hung her head low, dragging her feet as she walked away from Lee Jinhyuk's house.

She didn't feel like seeing him today. She wasn't sure she could face him. "But still… I…."

Whether it was good or bad, her complicated feelings for Lee Jinhyuk continued to pile up deep in her heart.

As I said before, whether for better or worse. These thick feelings of hers.

They just kept growing. End of Chapter.

Chapter 99 Dinner with Roxanne and the Villain Hunt

Private oﬃce at the Church of Noon. "...."

Roxanne sat quietly in her chair, diligently attending to her work.

After Seong Yura's downfall, Roxanne had rapidly risen in prominence, which meant there was a mountain of tasks awaiting her attention. She had been completely immersed in her work, sometimes pulling all-nighters to get everything done.

Since she was also juggling her academy studies, it felt like she was constantly working through the night.

"Phew… Should I call it a day?"

Stretching to loosen her stiff body, Roxanne's back straightened, causing her chest to bounce slightly.

Her shoulders felt unusually heavy.

Why did only her shoulders ache so much?

"Ah."

She glanced outside the window.

It was a summer evening, and the soft glow of twilight had begun to settle.

She gazed absentmindedly at the gradually fading horizon.

The sun, which had burned so ﬁercely throughout the day, was now setting, and the cool light of the moon was beginning to take its place.

It's already night…

She had been so busy with work since morning that her sense of time seemed dulled. She had a feeling Cynthia would soon scold her with another worried remark. Cynthia was the type to worry quite a bit.

– Knock, knock.

"Roxanne, are you still working? Can I come in for a moment?"

A familiar female voice called from behind the door. It seemed Cynthia had arrived.

"Ah, it's ﬁne. Come in."

As soon as Roxanne gave her permission, the door handle turned.

With a creak, the oﬃce door slowly opened.

Cynthia Gwyn entered, walking toward Roxanne with a concerned look on her face.

"Don't overdo it. You'll end up hurting yourself."

Cynthia, holding a cup of fragrant herbal tea that gave off a soothing aroma, handed it to Roxanne.

"Drink this. It should help with the fatigue." "Thank you, Cynthia."

Cynthia Gwyn.

She was a former 3rd Executioner of the Combat Division at the Church of Noon, widely known for her fearsome reputation.

As one of the church's sharpest swords, she had defeated countless villains and monsters that threatened the church and its people.

Being a high-ranker from the UK, her skill was so well-known that it needed no further explanation.

After the Seong Yura incident, Cynthia had been deeply impressed by Roxanne's actions. Using the potential dangers as an excuse, she had appointed herself as Roxanne's bodyguard, as Roxanne was a candidate for sainthood.

The UK and the main branch of the Church of Noon expressed some regret that such a powerful asset like Cynthia was stationed in Korea, but they couldn't dissuade her.

She had always been stubborn and headstrong.

"Don't tell me you're staying up all night again today?"

"I'm wrapping up for today. Luckily, there wasn't too much to do this time."

Maybe all her hard work over the past few months was paying off?

She noticed that the workload was starting to decrease, little by little.

Of course, there was still a mountain of tasks left, but at least she was starting to catch her breath.

"Phew. That's good. You've been so busy lately, what with the ranking match and ﬁnal exams."

"Yes… Fortunately, those ﬁnal exams were scaled down, so I had some relief."

Due to the Union Academy incident, many schedules had been reduced, and external activities were restricted, with security heightened.

Just in case anything happened, they were prepared to respond immediately.

"For what's supposedly the top academy in Korea, Union is sure acting scared. Look at how terriﬁed they are that villains might attack again."

"Well, it's fortunate that nothing happened."

Had the villains attacked again and breached security, Union Academy would have faced an existential crisis.

"Oh, right, Cynthia."

"Hmm?"

"There's something personal I've been meaning to ask you. Is that alright?"

Roxanne's question made Cynthia tilt her head slightly. A personal question? From Roxanne?

"What is it?"

"Well… I recently treated a friend to dinner…."

Roxanne hesitated for a moment, glancing at Cynthia as if gauging her reaction.

"But since this is my ﬁrst time doing something like this, I'm a little unsure… Should I invite them to a nice restaurant or something?"

"Hold on."

"Yes?" "Friend~?"

Cynthia, dragging out her words, gave Roxanne a stern look, her face twisting in disbelief.

Roxanne's friend? Weren't those the same academy students who had bullied her?

"Haah. Roxanne… Don't tell me you're talking about those idiots who bullied you because of Seong Yura, right? You're not going to treat *them* to dinner, are you?"

Cynthia sighed and shook her head.

"They're nothing but cowards who are now making excuses because they had no choice but to follow Seong Yura."

Those people were not friends. Not at all.

Claiming they had no choice but to bully her because of

Seong Yura? What a pathetic excuse.

Sure, Seong Yura had immense inﬂuence, and it would have been hard for a mere academy student to oppose her, but that didn't justify isolating Roxanne.

As hero trainees, they should have resisted evil.

These so-called prestigious academy students, known around the world, gave in to such petty external pressure and dared to mistreat our Roxanne?

Even if Roxanne and the heavens forgave them, Cynthia certainly couldn't.

Ahem. Absolutely not.

"Roxanne, listen carefully. You shouldn't consider people like that as friends."

Cynthia pointed her ﬁnger straight up, her face serious as she decided to impart some life wisdom to this overly kind girl.

Roxanne, being too forgiving, might have already let it slide, but those people were probably just looking to take advantage of her kindness.

"Don't get close to those bat-like people. They're only clinging to you because you're doing well these days and

because you're pretty. A real friend is someone who can help you when times are tough."

"In that case… this person would be a real friend, right?" Huh? Cynthia blinked.

Was there really someone who had helped Roxanne during her academy days?

From what she'd heard, everyone had been too busy trying to stay on Seong Yura's good side.

No one would have risked getting on Seong Yura's bad side just to help Roxanne.

If they had the backing to stand up to Seong Yura, they wouldn't have needed to help Roxanne anyway.

"During the Path of Trials, the midterms, and the Seong Yura incident… I received a lot of help."

"Oh… You mean that boy, right? What was his name, Lee Jinhyuk?"

"Yes, that's right."

Cynthia vaguely remembered hearing about him. He was quite a well-known boy.

"I saw him brieﬂy during the ranking match… He left quite an impression."

Honestly, she had thought he would get completely wiped out by Baek Yoorin, but he'd fought quite well.

Even from Cynthia's perspective, Baek Yoorin had the skills of an active hero.

She ﬁgured Baek Yoorin had the strength of a high-ranker.

Yet somehow, Lee Jinhyuk had managed to leave a serious wound.

It had been rather fascinating.

Though, it had been a bit of a letdown when he surrendered midway.

"So, did you two oﬃcially become friends?" "Ah, yes… He asked me if we could be friends."

Roxanne, looking a bit embarrassed, scratched her cheek.

"I received so much help from him, so I agreed to grant one of his requests. He said he'd like to have a meal together sometime."

"Heh… Look at that."

Cynthia clicked her tongue with a knowing smile. "Men are all wolves, I tell you, wolves."

"Cynthia?"

"Roxanne, can't you tell? He's interested in you."

"Wha-what? No, no, that's impossible… Why would he… with someone like me…?"

Roxanne blinked her large eyes, clearly bewildered.

Cynthia let out an exasperated sigh, ﬁlled with indescribable emotions.

Someone like *you*?

Roxanne, are you looking at yourself when you say that? That's practically false modesty!

"…Roxanne. You look in the mirror, right?"

"Yes."

"…What do you think when you see your face?"

"?"

Roxanne's head ﬁlled with question marks, as though she didn't quite understand the point of the question.

Ah, now that she thought about it, hadn't Roxanne mentioned that she had almost no interaction with boys her age because of Seong Yura?

Seong Yura would never have let any boy with a crush on Roxanne approach her.

Honestly, Seong Yura was a real piece of work.

"You probably don't realize it because no boys have approached you thanks to Seong Yura, but Roxanne, you're stunning. Even back in the UK, I've rarely seen anyone as beautiful as you."

"No… It's not that…."

So, you do know you're pretty.

You just haven't fully come to terms with it yet.

"And Lee Jinhyuk is surrounded by plenty of pretty girls. I'm sure he doesn't think of me in that way."

"Roxanne, look at your face and that… voluptuous ﬁgure! Any guy would fall for you. And those… Look at your chest! Do you think there's any girl around Lee Jinhyuk with such a ﬁgure? Men always have a thing for…"

"…That's sexual harassment, Cynthia."

As Cynthia's eyes drifted toward Roxanne's chest with a hint of envy, Roxanne blushed slightly and covered her chest.

Cynthia was great, but she did tend to say the strangest things at times.

"Anyway, what I'm trying to say is, Lee Jinhyuk might have romantic feelings for you."

"Ah."

"Think about it, Roxanne. Do you think a guy would casually ask a girl he's not interested in to be friends or to treat him to a meal?"

"Do they?"

"The Church of Noon's saintess candidate offered to grant him any request, and he asked for a meal? He's clearly in it for the long run."

"...."

Roxanne was starting to feel more confused as Cynthia's words began to sink in.

"Oh, by the way…."

"Something else on your mind?"

"Well… there's something he said that I didn't think much of at the time, but now…"

It was after Seong Yura had been successfully captured.

While thanking him, they had chatted brieﬂy, sitting on a bench in the academy park.

During their conversation, Lee Jinhyuk's childhood friend had shown up, so Roxanne had left, intending to give them some privacy.

But she had accidentally left her phone on the bench and had overheard a rather strange conversation when she returned.

"Jinhyuk and that childhood friend… Jin Soyeon, I think, were talking. It was about someone they liked."

"Mm-hmm."

"I wasn't eavesdropping, but… Jinhyuk told her that he liked me…."

"Huh."

Cynthia let out a small sound of surprise.

"Of course, he immediately said it was a joke."

"A joke, my foot."

Cynthia wagged her ﬁnger.

"This is undeniable, Roxanne. I'm telling you, that boy likes you."

"Ah… Hmm…."

Roxanne looked uncertain, unsure of how to react.

"I know you haven't had much experience with this kind of thing, but it's so obvious that it's hard not to notice."

"But…."

"You don't believe me, huh?"

Cynthia was absolutely convinced now.

That boy, Lee Jinhyuk, deﬁnitely had feelings for their Roxanne.

"Did they say anything else?"

"Ah, well, it's a little embarrassing to say, but…."

"What? Just spit it out."

"He… said I'm pretty and kind… Oh."

Roxanne was clearly embarrassed by her own words. "Well, you *are* pretty and kind, that's true."

"Cin-Cynthia, please…."

"What? Did I say anything wrong?"

Seeing Roxanne get ﬂustered made Cynthia chuckle as she continued teasing her.

"Alright, so you promised to treat him to dinner, right? Let me check my schedule, and when I have time, why don't you invite him here to the church?"

"To the church?"

"Yeah. For dinner, I can hire a top-notch chef with my own money if I have to."

"No, I'm the one inviting him, so I should cover the costs." "When your big sis says she's paying, just let her." Cynthia continued.

"And since it's come to this, I might as well meet him properly."

"Cynthia, you know, you need to refrain from doing anything rude. I'm inviting him as a way to repay a debt, after all."

"Don't worry, don't worry. I won't do anything unnecessary. I'm personally grateful to him, you know? He was a big help in capturing Seong Yura. Not to mention, he provided us with tons of information about corruption within the church."

Since he had done so much for Roxanne, Cynthia had no intention of treating him disrespectfully.

But still…

"I'll deﬁnitely need to check something, though."

To see if he was a decent guy, of course.

***

On the day of the promised dinner with Roxanne. "Ah, it's almost time."

I glanced at my watch, lost in thought for a moment.

A lot had happened leading up to today, but I had managed to get quite close to Roxanne through our conversations.

If the atmosphere during dinner was good, I planned to ask her for a favor.

About taking down the villain organization Seong Yura had been a part of.

Chapter 3 - Ch 94-99