Episode 157: Dalian (2)
‘At the last moment, Jaehyun could have overpowered me, but he didn’t. He got hit by my attack on purpose.’
Ahn Ho-yeon ruminated on the situation a moment ago and gritted his teeth.
My temper didn’t cool down at all.
It was a very fleeting moment.
Just before Jaehyun’s sword touched him, he overpowered himself by drawing out the huge mana remaining in his body.
High-pressure mana flowing down thick and sticky. This made the tip of his sword shake at once.
‘It’s already been close to 10 years since I trained my sword. I became an Awakener earlier than others, and I’ve been working hard every day until now. Even so, I can’t beat Jaehyun even with my sword?’
It was a battle that even continued with the opponent displaying only 1/2 of their strength. There was no reason to lose. But, why? Why couldn’t he beat Jaehyun?
“Are you considerate of me?”
Ahn Ho-yeon asked in a cool tone. It was clearly different from the tone he used to talk with Jaehyun and other colleagues.
Jaehyun nodded.
“I didn’t want to hurt you. Anyway, losing to you in swordsmanship is also correct.”
“… … okay?”
Ahn Ho-yeon quickly cleared his throat.
I knew. The fact that he is much weaker than Jaehyun. It was like that when we first met, but now I wonder.
Jaehyun was growing faster than he thought.
‘To the extent that the current me can’t even be compared.’
Milles School Festival. Ahn Ho-yeon had told Jae-hyun in the past to fight there again, but looking back now, those words were embarrassing.
He was weak, and while fighting Jaehyun, he felt the gap again.
However.
“I won’t lose next time.”
Knowing that it was a foolish statement, Ahn Ho-yeon had no choice but to say it.
Jaehyun laughed. Ahn Ho-yeon’s hand reaching out toward him.
Holding his hand and raising his body, Jaehyun raised his eyebrows.
“Don’t look at me next time.”
At that, the two couldn’t help but laugh at each other.
Seo In-na and Kim Yoo-jung’s stinging gaze as they watched them. In the eyes of the two, a sense of goodwill begins to flash.
It was the beginning of Circle Nine’s full-fledged training and growth.
* * *
“… … Yoo Jeong-ah! Go there!”
“Ah! Why are you not getting caught?! What did he eat to be so fast?!”
After the sparring with Ahn Ho-yeon.
Jaehyun also had to practice sparring with Yujeong Kim and Inna Seo.
It was because of the earnest request of the two, but Jaehyun was tired from the confrontation with Ahn Hoyeon, so it was difficult to formally fight, so we decided to have an informal fight.
It was a decision made because Ahn Ho-yeon was much stronger than I thought.
Thanks to that, the sparring with the two now is a kind of bell stealing.
The rule was for Jae-hyun to run away from the two without using magic while hanging the bell, and Kim Yoo-jung and Seo In-na to freely use magic and steal the bell Jae-hyun was holding.
By the way, Jaehyun also has a way to win.
Touching the back of the opponent’s neck without using magic.
It was nonsense to touch the opponent’s neck during battle, but considering the gap between Jaehyun and the two, it was a good balance.
‘by the way. Although I said that I could freely use my skills… …
anyway it is Isn’t there too little mercy in your hands?’
Jaehyun was sincerely a little bit unfair.
Kim Yoo-jung and Seo E-na. Neither of them had any intention of seeing Jaehyun.
They just do their best to fight for their victory.
“A raging lightning… … Swallow the enemy in front of you!”
Kwaji Jik!
<Spark>, a light C-class magic, flies towards Jaehyun. An attack aimed at the shoulder and fired accurately. It was Kim Yoo-jung’s.
‘No matter how much it is, I can’t accept it gently.’
Jaehyun quickly dodged the attack using his physical abilities.
As soon as the movement continued, Seo Ina’s fire-type skill flew in next.
A skill previously used in Svartal Fame. It was magic familiar to Jaehyun.
Quaang!
This time, he didn’t dodge the attack, but opened the defense field and knocked it out.
There is an explosion and the earth’s axis is shattered. At the same time, the swirling dust filled the surroundings, blocking Jaehyun and his colleagues’ vision.
“Ha!”
Through that gap, a new model of Seo Eana is launched, and a familiar casting is heard.
“… … Holy light of Alfheim, become a brilliant holy sword!”
‘shit! I never thought I’d even write this here!’
I didn’t even have time to think that it was too much. A familiar and transparent holy sword of light began to emerge from Seo Ina’s hand, and Jaehyun had to do everything in his power to block this skill.
The Sword of Alfheim.
It is Seo In-na’s unique skill, and her representative magic that will make the world go wild in the future.
Alfheim’s sword had also been upgraded and its rank had risen.
Even if it wasn’t as much as Ahn Ho-yeon’s new sword combination, it was at the level of Kim Yoo-jung’s representative skill, Mana Field.
even.
“Helheim’s wind… … !”
As Kim Yoo-jung activated assist magic, the power of Seo In-na’s skill increased even more.
Jaehyun gritted it.
“hey! Anyway, this is too much… … !”
‘Is this because it’s at least A grade or higher… … .’
Jaehyun hesitantly stepped back while watching Seo Eana’s attack.
It’s an attack that’s too fast to dodge anyway. Alfheim’s sword is at least several times faster than other skills, and it is a skill that does not require repeated casting.
then.
‘I stop here.’
Jaehyun stretched out his arm in a straight line.
ugh… … !
A green mana field spreads out, blocking Alfheim’s sword from the front.
Wow!
yet. With the sound of an explosion that exploded again, Jaehyun felt the unfamiliar sensation of mana escaping in chunks.
At the same time, a strong sense of elasticity throughout the body.
‘this… … how… … !’
It was incomprehensible. No matter how much he pushed himself to the limit by undermining himself. Is it really possible to be pushed back this much by the cadet’s attack?
‘At the stationmaster… … cracked.’
Currently, Jaehyun is showing about 1/3 of his ability. During An Ho-yeon, he had no choice but to bring out half of his strength, but this was because he used a sword he was not familiar with after returning.
Even that, if Hoyeon Ahn hadn’t used the blue and white sword, he wouldn’t have brought it out.
But this was really surprising. When did the two of them’s mana grow to this level?
‘After returning, I thought Ahn Ho-yeon’s talent was several times better than Seo In-na and Kim Yoo-jung… … I guess I was wrong.’
All three are great talents.
Jaehyun, who came to a conclusion, smiled as if he couldn’t help it.
Kwajik!
In the meantime, the defense force field continued to break.
After Jaehyun raised his mana for a moment, he poured it out towards Seo Ina’s Alfheim’s sword.
―Active skill «Absolute Calculation».
Kwachang!
The sword imbued with the holy light quickly shattered.
Seo Eana quickly became embarrassed, and Kim Yoo-jung screamed.
“hey! You decided not to use magic!”
“sorry. I don’t think that will happen.”
Jaehyun looked back at Ahn Hoyeon, Seo Eana, and Kim Yoojung, who were lying on the bench.
“You guys seem to be a lot stronger than I thought. Maybe I gave too much of a handicap.”
therefore.
Jaehyun licked his lips like a snake, then opened his magic and accelerated explosively.
He opened up 50% of his magical power at once.
“This… … !”
“From now on, I’ll do a little better.”
just a few seconds from that.
Jaehyun, who touched the back of the necks of the two before he knew it, let out a light breath.
“Today I lost. Because the rules were changed in the middle.
But starting tomorrow, I will fight with half of my mana unlocked.”
“… … cowardly.”
Kim Yoo-jung murmured softly, and Seo Ina smiled.
Why?
At Jaehyun’s words, the faces of the three who collapsed were colored with a little joy.
* * *
For about a week after that, training continued.
Of course, it wasn’t just sparring training.
The party sat cross-legged and meditated, polishing their mana to perfection. During the battle, he repeated many-to-one combat training to increase his concentration, and he went through the process of avoiding arrows fired from a blind spot to widen his field of view.
As befits the Yeonhwa Guild’s training ground, all kinds of facilities were arranged, so there were no special difficulties.
Of course, Yeonhwa Guild is the best in the process! Thanks to Kim Yoo-jung, who admired every moment, there were quite a few annoying situations.
anyway. In just one week, the party’s skills were growing smoothly.
“good. This should be enough for an outdoor training camp.”
Jaehyun smiled proudly and pretended to wipe off the sweat that was not forming. It felt like my heart was somehow filled with the appearance of my comrades who were tattered in the aftermath of the training in hell.
Is this growth? It’s pretty fun to train with my teammates… … .
“Crazy bastard.”
I could hear Kim Yu-jung’s low-pitched voice.
Jaehyun was a bit embarrassed and scratched his nose.
“I… … Was it a bit harsh?”
The appearance of colleagues who are breathing heavily while lying on the floor.
Jaehyun thought it was a bit excessive, but brushed it off.
“Well, I wish it was counted.”
“… … madman.”
“Doing it twice isn’t a mistake, it’s a confirmation kill, right?”
Hearing Kim Yoo-jung’s words while glaring at him, Jae-hyun clicked his tongue in response.
but… … Apparently, this time it was really bad.
Even Ahn Ho-yeon, who was lying sprawled on the floor, added a word.
“This isn’t training, it’s penance… … If your body breaks down like this… … .”
“You have a teacher. He also wears heels, so what’s the problem?”
“… … .”
When Jaehyun responded cleanly, Ahn Hoyeon closed his mouth.
For reference, Kwon So-yul and Lee Jae-sang had different training sessions over the past week.
In the case of Kwon So-yul, he was seeking advice from other established radars to improve the utilization of his unique skill, search, and in the case of Lee Jae-sang, he was confined to a workshop and manufacturing a new potion.
Lee Jae-sang said an incomprehensible word to Jae-hyun and disappeared into the workshop.
That meant something like this.
[Brain brain brain, don’t bribe potion, I’ll make it, so look forward to it!]
‘Princess brother… … I don’t know what kind of bribe they’re making all of a sudden. … … Could it be that Kim Yu-jung had a bad influence on her and got tired of her secular world?’
I thought that if it was Kim Yoo-jung, I would stay like that, but suddenly I came to my senses.
Anyway, that didn’t matter now.
The party is steadily growing, and now the outdoor camp event is approaching.
‘Still, I made a little variable. Even Heimdall couldn’t recover enough strength.’
Jaehyun raised an eyebrow and smiled.
Not too long ago, he asked for a conversation with Yoo Sung-eun.
[I have one condition instead of staying in Yeonhwa.]
[…] … okay. It’s more comfortable.]
[The next event of Milles Academy. outdoor lodging. I’d like to adjust the schedule a bit.]
[…] … … … By any chance, does that have anything to do with staying in the Yeonhwa Guild? It will benefit you.]
[yes. It’s great.]
At this time, the reason why Jaehyun asked Yeonhwa to adjust the schedule for the outdoor camp was simple.
‘To dig into Heimdall’s loopholes.’
Hela’s prediction of Heimdall’s future. This is a fraudulent effect, so it was not possible to use it every day.
At most once a week. If everything could be predicted every moment, it was only natural that Heimdall, not Odin, would be sitting at the top of Asgard.
Because of this, Jaehyun arbitrarily changed the schedule of the outdoor training camp that Heimdall was targeting. By using the power of softening.
‘Doing so creates a gap between the future Heimdall saw and the future I create now. Simply put, it means that Heimdall’s schedule will be ruined by me.’
Only a few days difference. But it will have a big impact on the game.
“Okay then. slowly… … .”
Jaehyun is so lucky. Suddenly, with a clanking sound, two familiar faces opened the door to the secret training ground and entered.
They were Kwon So-yul and Lee Jae-sang.
Kwon So-yul asked Jae-hyun with a sour expression.
“Why did you call me all of a sudden?”
“Re-jae-jae, Jae-jae! Buy, save me!”
Lee Jae-sang wept with a haggard expression as if he had suffered from Kwon So-yul. She recently heard that she is taking Lee Jae-sang around and making him do miscellaneous things… … .
‘I guess I should say something.’
But even this is not important.
What is most urgent right now.
“I have something very important to do.”
Jaehyun nodded and added.
“I prepared a ‘great’ gift for the circle members who followed the training well.”
Jaehyun laughed. I could feel my eyes shining all over the place.
“… … Don’t you usually say ‘weak’ at that time?”
Kwon So-yul responded as if whining, but she seemed to be in a good mood too.
‘I’m sure he’ll give you a nice present this time too!’
It was Kwon So-yul who had received expensive padding for free in the past. Even if I don’t know it properly, I think I’ll give you a pretty good present this time too. She looked at her reenactment with anticipation.
But then.
“… … huh?”
A small burst of astonishment. The faces of the party who saw the present that Jaehyun took out were shocked.
The object that Jaehyun took out was far beyond what his colleagues thought.
Kim Yoo-jung narrowed her eyes and asked in a suspicious voice.
“… … Are you really giving this to us?”
Jaehyun crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows.
“of course.”
