Although he had been hit on the head at the start, the spear didn’t split his skull.
The match was not over yet. No matter who his opponent was, Aiden didn’t give up and swung his sword.
The blade, wrapped in sharp aura, sliced through the air, tearing it apart.
Even he could tell it was a much more advanced trajectory than before.
Had his opponent been the Aiden from when he first enrolled, he wouldn’t have been able to block even a single strike and would’ve been cleaved in half by the sword.
Despite his seemingly carefree appearance, Aiden was a hard worker. He had never slacked off during his academy years, nor since entering Shyoram, where he continued to push himself.
He didn’t really know why he ended up at Shyoram… much less through a recomndation, but he considered it a stroke of luck and fully embraced the blessings of growth.
As a result, Aiden had experienced explosive growth, surpassing the average student and now positioned just above the mid-tier ranks.
Clang!
But the blow landed rcilessly.
He gritted his teeth and swung his sword, but the twisting spearhead dug in between the strikes.
He had been caught by that bizarre trajectory several tis already. In panic, he pulled his sword back, but it was already too late—the spear had pierced his solar plexus.
The thick aura that he had wrapped around himself had blocked the spear, but it didn’t absorb all the impact.
Boom! The impact to his chest took his breath away. The shattered aura scattered around him. Aiden clenched his teeth.
‘Shit... Shit… How do I respond...’
In that mont, when his breath was cut off, Aiden’s blurred vision caught sight of the spinning spear.
Clang!
“Ugh!”
A shock struck his jaw, lifting his body off the ground. His head snapped back, and the clean ceiling ca into view.
‘Huh?’
From between the clean ceiling, a long figure shot up—his opponent’s spear.
A long shadow stretched across Aiden’s dazed face.
Clang!
“Agh!”
The spear thrust down with a sharp, powerful strike. Aiden scread, his face slamming into the ground.
“Ugh…”
Dazed from the continuous blows, Aiden tried to rise, but the spearhead brushed past his head.
Thud! The spear’s point dug into the ground. A cold chill ran down Aiden’s neck, making his body shudder.
At the sa ti, an announcent rang from above.
[Ti elapsed, match over.]
[Winner, Ippunban Ha-Yul]
[Good job.]
“…Ugh.”
Aiden, hearing the announcent, groaned and slumped, feeling the pain all over his body. He had been struck all over during the spar, and his body was aching.
[Good job.]
Ha-Yul, standing beside Aiden, extended his hand. Aiden turned his head and looked at Ha-Yul with a sideways glance.
...He looked perfectly fine. His clothes were not even ruffled, and his pale skin was flawless with no scratches. Naturally, there had been no marks on him during the spar.
Throughout the match, Aiden hadn’t even managed to land a scratch on Ha-Yul, let alone a hit.
‘Damn...’
Aiden’s expression was complicated.
‘I tried hard, but I couldn’t even land a blow. How the hell could I not even touch his clothes?’
Every strike he made was blocked. Ha-Yul dodged with incredible precision, even with his eyes closed, and every ti Aiden thought he could strike, the spear ca out of nowhere to intercept.
Whenever Aiden tried to attack, Ha-Yul would simply step back, attacking with the spear, continuously knocking him down.
There was even a mont where he just casually swatted away a flurry of aura with his sword, like a baseball bat. Aiden had stood there, dumbfounded, with his mouth agape. Then Ha-Yul had kindly raised his chin to close his mouth.
‘Tch.’
And this was soone who had only recently beco a superhuman. anwhile, Aiden had received early training since elentary academy.
Yet here he was, getting knocked around with no way to resist.
“Thanks.”
Aiden gathered his thoughts, took Ha-Yul’s hand, and got to his feet.
“Ouch, my head... Is my jaw broken?”
Aiden, standing up, gingerly touched his aching body. When he lifted his shirt, he saw faint bruising starting to form on his skin.
Most notably, his head and jaw hurt... After being hit repeatedly, including a series of strikes that targeted his jaw, he’d been struck three tis.
Ha-Yul shrugged as he noticed Aiden clutching his jaw.
[Based on the detection, there’s no crack, so you’re fine.]
“…You can detect my body? How’s the resistance... no, I’m sure you’ve got it under control.”
Aiden, surprised by the fact that Ha-Yul had precisely sensed his internal condition, quickly dismissed the question, thinking Ha-Yul would handle it.
In truth, he didn’t have much knowledge of detection techniques, and even if he did, it probably wouldn’t work on Ha-Yul.
“Hey, that spear you used during the fight... is that an expansion ability?”
Aiden brought up another question, his mind still focused on the strange spear technique Ha-Yul had used.
It seed like the spear was an embodint of multiple techniques, constantly shifting its form. The most morable was the bizarre trajectory the spear had taken.
[Yes, it’s an expansion ability I learned during the last entrance test.]
The answer reminded Aiden of the previous tournant.
After much effort, Ha-Yul had executed an expansion ability that had stunned him... a shocking mory that completely erased his doubts about his own abilities.
Thinking back, it wasn’t strange at all that Ha-Yul had multiple expansion techniques in his repertoire.
[Aiden’s swordsmanship is like a textbook, straightforward. If you follow the correct form, it produces excellent power, but it’s difficult to counter unconventional attacks, like my spear technique.]
“Ah.”
Aiden couldn’t help but sigh. He had been completely overwheld by the unconventional attacks, unable to respond, and kept getting hit to the ground.
If it had been a real fight, he would have been finished right there.
“I heard that from the professors before. It’s definitely a fatal flaw.”
[Yes, so perhaps you should work on countering unconventional attacks... just a suggestion.]
“Thanks. I’ve been thinking about it, but I definitely need to work on it faster.”
Another flaw to fix...
Sighing deeply, Aiden noticed Ha-Yul hesitating to speak.
As Ha-Yul fiddled with his spear, he casually offered a complint.
[But even with your orthodox swordsmanship, you can handle any situation on average. Compared to the last tournant, you’ve grown a lot.]
“Honestly, I feel like I’m still moving at a turtle’s pace compared to you…”
[Uh… It might be a little unfair to compare to you... ?]
“…Yeah, I guess.”
Aiden briefly felt a sense of discomfort, but then realized Ha-Yul wasn’t wrong.
He looked at Ha-Yul with a fresh perspective, now seeing him differently from the person who had just beaten him.
Despite the person who had just wiped the floor with him, Ha-Yul’s innocent and harmless expression remained the sa.
But in reality, Ha-Yul was a powerhouse, a mass of potential, one that had been predicted by the head of the Tower of Growth. It was uncertain how far he would go, but he was undoubtedly a front-runner for the next generation.
There were plenty of people eager to get closer to Ha-Yul...
“Ah.”
[?]
A thought Aiden had forgotten suddenly resurfaced.
“Hey, do you have ti on the day of the Birth Festival?”
[Ti? Why do you ask?]
“Not the official schedule, but students often et separately. A group of first-year male students are planning to gather and drink, and I was asked to see if you’re interested.”
[Alcohol…]
Ha-Yul clenched his mouth shut. Even now, the word gave him an uncomfortable feeling, and a sudden flash of a past mory filled his senses, making his head dizzy.
...But that mory was quickly overshadowed by the subtle scent of milk left behind in his body. Ha-Yul glanced at his body and shrugged.
[I don’t think I should go on the first or last day. Also, I’m not really fond of staying too long...]
“Ah, well, people often co and go, so it should be fine. The event is supposed to start on the fourth evening.”
[Well, I’ll think about it. But the chances are pretty low.]
“Yeah, you can just stop by if you feel like it.”
[Thanks for letting know.]
During the combat major practical exam, the loser is expected to leave the arena.
Thus, after completing three rounds of sparring, the evaluation concluded.
After the allotted ti passed, Aiden left the arena on his own.
Though there were no serious injuries, the fatigue from his body was imdiately relieved as he stepped outside.
‘A drinking gathering... Honestly, I’m not that interested.’
I stayed behind in the original arena, still holding the spear, and thought for a mont.
‘It’s not mandatory, so I could just ignore it, but it might be good to show my face and leave...’
To be honest, many of the plans I had set when I first arrived in this world had changed.
Especially the side quests, most of them had passed by without even realizing.
I had intended to familiarize myself with potential candidates, but I hadn’t even t most of them.
Though I felt uncomfortable about the drinking gathering, it wasn’t enough for to run away like I did before.
That change ca after the drinking event at the mansion the other day.
I didn’t drink myself, but the mory of it was undoubtedly a happy one spent with people who mattered to .
That mory had helped push away the bad mories, and now alcohol wasn’t sothing I feared.
‘Even if soone causes trouble at the gathering, I can handle it.’
Most importantly, I had changed since then. I wasn’t just soone who took hits anymore; now, I could reverse the situation and overpower my opponent.
Whirr...
While I was deep in thought, the next opponent entered the arena. I had already noticed him from a distance while observing, so I quickly gripped my spear again.
It was already the last match. I should finish this quickly and go back.
‘?’
Then, I felt a sense of unease.
“…Gokwoo Ban, Rigna Krisis?”
The opponent who entered gave a slight bow.
A muscular—no, more accurately, a burly—male student.
He wasn’t soone who had been heavily emphasized in the original, either by appearance or na.
‘Who is this?’
I felt like I had t him sowhere before, but for so reason, his appearance and na didn’t imdiately co to mind.
‘...Manifestation?’
Swish!
I quickly opened my ntal book of past mories. I was sifting through the disorganized fragnts of past recollections. Using the power of knowledge, I quickly found the mory of this student.
‘Ah.’
I recalled the sound I had heard before.
The student who had shoulder-checked at the freshman welcoming ceremony, then disappeared without apologizing.
I hadn’t been able to recognize him properly at the ti due to his spatial perception, only asuring his body dinsions.
‘...Hmm.’
[Ippunban, Ha-Yul.]
After briefly greeting him, I adjusted my grip on the spear. The opponent didn’t engage in small talk.
‘Hmm...’
[Second sester midterm evaluation, combat major, third match starting. Countdown. 10…]
As I pondered, the announcent from the ceiling began.
[3... 2... 1...] [Match start]
The match began, but the opponent didn’t rush at . Instead, he raised his weapon defensively.
The weapon was what is commonly referred to as a halberd.
‘Hmm...’
I hesitated for a mont, then gently adjusted my grip on the spear.
Swoosh...
The spearhead lted away, sinking into the spear itself. The weapon transford into a staff-like shape.
Thud! I tapped the floor with it, nodding to myself.
And then...
[Revenge?]
Boom!
I struck with the halberd, landing a solid hit on the opponent’s shoulder. The burly student wavered as though he might fall, much like a familiar figure from before.
The room was soon filled with the sound of crashing thuds.
“…Junior, did sothing good happen?”
After a brief period, as I finished the practical exam, I ran into Lee Ji-Yeon, who gave a curious look.
She was sipping from a cup filled with warm milk, using a straw, tilting her head slightly.
[Do I look like that?]
“Yes, you seem... how should I put it? You look like you’ve had so kind of satisfying victory.”
[Hmm… sothing similar happened.]
It was a grudge I had almost forgotten about, but after resolving it, I felt quite refreshed in my chest.
Shrugging, I took another sip of my drink through the straw.
[Player adjustnt system: Affinity]
Ha-Yul → Aiden Reynolds
●●●●●○○○○○ (44▷50/100)
"Friendship" "Fool" "Hard Worker"
…
Ha-Yul → Rigna Krisis
●○○○○○○○○○ (19/100)
"Dislike" "Indifferent" "Shoulder-checked"
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