Episode 84 Week 5 Mentoring, In-person Battle (7)
Let’s go back in time to about two weeks ago.
That day too, An Jeong-mi was handling all her work flawlessly.
As her hands moved with unrivaled speed and yet mechanical precision, the mountain of papers before her quickly dwindled.
They were hands that never stopped working until they had finished all the work they had been given, but that day was an exception.
“What did you say?”
An Jeong-mi jumped up from her seat.
Her face was shaking with horror.
Both of them were not easily seen, which meant that something surprising had happened.
What’s surprising is that I received unexpected news from a ‘reliable informant’ planted within Yongsal Academy.
“The young lady is mentoring?”
I just heard that a calligrapher has applied for mentoring.
The claim that a ‘reliable source’ was coming from was so absurd that it was hard to believe.
As Ahn Jung-mi observed over a long period of time, Seo Ye-in was the person who was the furthest from the word ‘passion for learning.’
A personality that is extremely reluctant to learn or memorize new things.
No, if you think about it, it wasn’t a story limited to academic passion.
The calligrapher simply had no motivation for anything.
Except for sleeping in a corner somewhere.
It was truly frustrating for the onlookers to see how someone with such brilliant talent and potential could be so lazy.
Since An Jeong-mi took on most of the work of teaching calligraphy, her frustration was greater than that of others.
In the midst of all this, the Future Strategy Office decided to try a last resort measure: to have Seo Ye-in enroll in Yongsal Academy.
– Wouldn’t you be a little stimulated by meeting, hanging out with, competing with, and bumping into other students of the same age?
Although I sent it with such hope, An Jeong-mi’s expectations at the time were not very high.
You’ll probably spend the whole day napping in a corner of the library or in your dormitory.
I would appreciate it if you could attend class regularly.
But, one month after Seo Ye-in entered Yongsal Academy.
‘Reliable sources’ continue to send us unbelievable updates.
Not only does the calligrapher attend class every day, but he also diligently participates in weekly competitions and strategy matches.
Even my grades are pretty good!
Did peers really bring about positive change in the calligrapher?
‘No matter what, mentoring.’
But isn’t it too much to apply for mentorship and voluntarily ask for teaching?
So, An Jeong-mi couldn’t believe the news about mentoring.
But after going through several cross-checks and the news becoming more and more solidified as truth, I couldn’t help but believe it.
‘It actually turned out well.’
An Jeong-mi’s brain worked quickly and she came up with a new plan on the spot.
At that time, Yongsal Academy had sent out an official notice saying they were recruiting mentors.
Also, An Jeong-mi is a high-ranking ‘Massager’ and fits the criteria of a ‘graduate’ perfectly.
‘This is an opportunity.’
A golden opportunity to teach a girl who wouldn’t listen to anyone no matter how hard you tried to teach her.
Didn’t the calligrapher himself apply for this mentoring?
Unlike before, it was a doubly good opportunity because I had the will to learn from myself.
So, An Jeong-mi put everything aside and contacted Yongsal Academy to offer to be a mentor.
The bachelor’s side had no reason to turn down someone of her caliber, so they readily accepted the offer.
When looking at the ranged classes, the number of musketeers is significantly smaller than that of archers.
Among them, the number of skilled musketeers is even smaller,
Moreover, there are even fewer generals who have enough free time to step forward and do mentoring.
Due to this lack of manpower, Calligraphy In had no choice but to be assigned under Archer Mentor, but An Jeong-mi took over as mentor and was assigned under her.
This too was exactly as intended.
The result was a one-on-one tutoring session where An Jeong-mi could ‘teach motivated girls,’ which she had always dreamed of.
I trembled with excitement at the overwhelming feeling of stability.
‘This time for sure… … !’
This time, I will truly, wholeheartedly, and do my best to pass on everything I have!
But for now, he hid his true feelings and spoke in a normal tone.
“For the next month, you will be fighting battles and strategy battles with me.”
“… … .”
Seo Ye-in still had a blank expression and showed no reaction, but An Jeong-mi, who had been watching her for a long time, was able to read the subtle emotional changes hidden within her.
‘That’s the expression on your face when you’re really dissatisfied with something… … .’
The fact that the calligrapher is already feeling annoyed by this situation.
Are you sure you really want to mentor?
Is there a misunderstanding that may have resulted in the application being submitted incorrectly?
Many doubts passed through my mind, but I couldn’t back out after coming this far.
An Jeong-mi quickly continued her explanation.
“This week’s [opponent] for the PvP battle is me. And before I explain the details of the PvP battle, I would like to check how much you have grown.”
Even if you used a reliable source, the information that could be leaked outside of Yongsal Academy was quite limited.
At best, there were only fragmentary things like ‘how many wins and losses did the calligrapher have in the match’, and there was no replay to speak of.
So, before mentoring, it was necessary to measure the calligrapher’s exact growth level.
An Jeong-mi gathered a bunch of mana in her hand.
Mana was spread thinly into an octagonal shape, completing the target/shield.
“I will use this again this time.”
The mana shield summoned by An Jeong-mi had previously blocked many of the calligraphers’ shots, so it was perfect for testing their skills.
An Jung-mi added a slight provocation to it.
“I strengthened the shield, believing that you have grown a little. You probably won’t be able to break through it.”
This is because, contrary to the calligrapher’s personality of being annoyed by everything, once he starts something, he secretly hates to give up.
Create a simple shield using minimal magic power,
After blocking the calligrapher’s shot with that,
Second provocation with ‘Miss, can’t you even get through this?’
Then, at least for a while, I would study hard.
This time, firmly believing that it would happen again, An Jeong-mi sent a signal.
“Come.”
“… … .”
The calligrapher silently took out the two pistols one by one, assembled them into a rifle, made a magic bullet, and loaded it.
‘huh?’
An Jeong-mi’s eyebrows rose without her knowing as she watched the scene.
Just a month ago, the calligrapher’s magic bullet was nothing more than a roughly gathered mass of magic.
However, the bullet emitting a blue light in the calligrapher’s hand was a beautifully perfectly formed magic bullet with absolutely no flaws.
‘If it’s a magic bullet of that level… … .’
There was a good chance that he would break through the mana shield that An Jeong-mi had just raised.
Should I strengthen the shield even now?
‘That won’t do.’
Haven’t you already thrown down the gauntlet?
If you get caught adding mana too late, it will have the opposite effect rather than stimulating the calligrapher’s competitive spirit.
Moreover, in this respect, the calligrapher had a ghostly side.
The eyes were so good that they could immediately catch even the smallest flow of mana.
In the end, I had to decide the outcome with the magic shield I had summoned.
An Jeong-mi tried tapping the calculator in a different direction.
‘If you concentrate your mana on one point at the moment of impact… … .’
The chances of blocking greatly increase.
It would require some fairly detailed control, but it wouldn’t be difficult for a musketeer of her level.
As the long rifle was pointed at him,
An Jeong-mi nodded her head for the last time.
– Boom-!
And the muzzle spewed blue fire.
At this time, there were two things that An Jeong-mi had not anticipated.
Even if the calligrapher had great talent, I thought it would have taken a lot of effort to perfect [Magic Bullet] to that degree.
First of all, I never dreamed that he would learn other skills, including [Injection].
And the second is that the calligrapher’s skill did not increase just a little, but increased enormously, exponentially.
The calligrapher spent all of the last week pouring all her spare time into practicing [Magic Bullet] and [Injection], just as Kim Ho had told her to do.
With his tremendous talent and hard work, it was inevitable that his skills would grow.
In addition, as my sleep efficiency increased due to the effect of the B-rank cushion, knowingly or unknowingly, my waking hours increased, and I ended up investing all of that time into training.
As a result, both [Magic Bullet], which was a D-rank, and [Injection], which was an E-rank, achieved a C-rank.
Kim Ho finally achieved what he had thought was ‘ridiculous, but maybe possible.’
And so, what came out of the calligrapher’s rifle was a powerful shot that far exceeded An Jeong-mi’s expectations.
It was a single blow that no matter what I did, I could never block with the shield I raised, thinking it would be a little better than a month ago.
A single blue line was drawn between the rifle muzzle and the magic shield.
The next moment, the magic bullet shattered the thin shield and lodged itself between An Jeong-mi’s eyebrows.
– Boom!!
An Jeong-mi could not bear the tremendous shock that shook her head and slowly fell backwards.
I was able to realize it after experiencing it myself.
‘You’ve even mastered [injection]… … .’
And that too at a pretty high rank.
In the midst of her consciousness fading away, An Jeong-mi let out a soft exclamation of admiration.
“Miss… … . You are truly wonderful… … .”
You’ve grown so much in just one month… … thud.
* * *
An Jeong-mi was hit by an unexpectedly strong blow and fell down loudly, but like a graduate, she quickly came to her senses.
And with a bulging bump in the middle of his forehead, he asked many curious questions.
“How did you learn [Magic Bullet]? [Injection]?”
How did you learn two skills in just one month, and how did you even train to C-rank?
Unfortunately, the calligrapher was a man of few words, and most of his answers were short answers or a nod of the head, so the exchange was almost like a question-and-answer session.
If it had been someone else, I would have been unable to bear it and given up, but An Jeong-mi was a housekeeper who had been with calligraphy for a long time, so she was well-trained.
Nowadays, calligraphers have reached a level where they can understand the overall context with just a few words, even if someone speaks roughly.
Thus, An Jeong-mi nodded, having understood all the circumstances.
“They said that a person named Kim Ho taught them.”
“huh.”
“Then, Miss, maybe mentoring too?”
“He told me to do it.”
“… … !”
An Jeong-mi felt her respect for Kim Ho growing within her.
What on earth did you do to motivate this human sloth girl?
What’s the secret?
An Jeong-mi asked a question casually, thinking that she might be able to learn something if she asked.
“It’s admirable to see you working so hard, young lady, but at the same time I’m curious. May I ask why?”
“… … .”
The calligrapher stood there for a moment, staring blankly into space.
He tilted his head to one side as if he was thinking deeply about something.
After thinking for a long time, the answer came out of her mouth.
“just.”
It just happened that way.
To calligraphers, Kim Ho is a special person.
He is one of the very few special people whose visible status window is filled only with question marks.
But if you ask me if that’s why I’ve been hanging out with Kim Ho for the past month, it doesn’t seem like that’s necessarily the case.
Then for what reason?
Even the calligrapher himself could not give an accurate answer.
As I followed Kim Ho around, I ended up going to class every day without fail, engaging in interpersonal battles, training hard, and even mentoring him.
It will probably be like that in the future too.
So, lumping all these inexplicable things together, it’s ‘just’.
Of course, it was an answer that An Jeong-mi could neither understand nor accept.
But the calligrapher wasn’t the only one who could hear the answer.
“I would like to meet that person named Kim Ho.”
