Monday.
Seo Ye-in sent a ssage early in the morning.
[Seo Ye-in:(Instructor Cat Emoji)]
[Seo Ye-in:Wake up]
[Kim Ho:(Shocked! Cat Emoji)]
[Kim Ho:Already?]
[Seo Ye-in:Morning training]
[Seo Ye-in:(Super-Motivated Cat Emoji)]
[Seo Ye-in:Help]
So you live long enough to see a human sloth do morning training.
If Ahn Jeong-mi heard this, she’d probably tear up from sheer emotion.
And honestly, I wasn’t exactly mad about it either, so I gladly agreed to help.
Before long, we headed to the Special Training Room.
It was a place where you could simulate more varied environnts than a normal training room.
For example—cooldowns reduced by 90%.
It was to let her use Space Fold more often.
BANG—! BANG—!
The firing sounds kept cracking from the long rifle barrel.
A thin blue line connected to the dummy’s forehead, and its upper body snapped back, then returned upright like one of those wobbling toys.
BANG—!
Sotis the blue line broke mid-way, but the dummy’s body still bent backward.
That ant Space Fold was activating.
“Doing it with a magic rifle feels doable, right?”
“Yeah.”
At first, she’d practiced with relatively slow fireballs, but now that her proficiency had built up enough, she’d moved on to magic rounds.
BANG—! BANG—!
Seo Ye-in was about to pull the trigger a few more tis, then she glanced up at the air and relaxed her stance.
“......It went up.”
“Rank?”
Nod.
Even though it was a space-type Skill, the rank kept climbing fast.
That was probably because Seo Ye-in was ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) absurdly talented to begin with—and now she was training like she ant it.
‘Either way, update too.’
[‘Using ‘Copy-Skill’.]
[Registering the target’s Skill ‘Space Fold (D)’ to the slot.]
▷Copy - Skill[4/4]
Feather Step (B )
Space Fold (D)
Ice Wall (B)
Vendetta (S)
“Want to do more?”
When I asked while clearing the status window, Seo Ye-in stared at the dummy for a mont, then shook her head.
“......I’m hungry.”
“Sure. You’ve done plenty.”
We headed straight to the student cafeteria and handled breakfast with sothing simple.
After that, we walked to the classroom at a leisurely pace—when a familiar-looking girl waved us over.
A third-year senior from the Hye-seong Group scholarship program.
“Co here for a second.”
“.......”
Seo Ye-in, apparently thinking she was here to take back the Special Training Room pass, started rummaging through her Inventory, but the senior raised a hand to stop her.
“I’m not here for that. I’ve got sothing to give you.”
Then she handed over a slim booklet that held a faint glow.
[Skillbook - Trap Toss]
‘So you finally found it.’
From what I’d confird during PvP week, Seo Ye-in’s biggest weakness was her movent speed.
Feather Step alone wasn’t enough to shake off enemies closing in on her, so she needed either a supplental movent tool—or a trap-linked skill to keep them in check.
But most options were either high-grade Skills or so rare they barely circulated, and even the Hye-seong Group had struggled to find anything.
Only now, weeks later, had they managed to secure a copy.
Seo Ye-in bowed her head.
“Thank you.”
“Yeah. Use it well.”
The senior left right away, shuffling off without a hint of hesitation.
I watched her back and said,
“Use it right now.”
“Okay.”
FWOOSH!
The Skillbook dissolved into particles of light and seeped into Seo Ye-in’s body.
[Acquiring ‘Trap Toss (F)’.]
Trap Toss.
Exactly what it sounded like—a Skill that throws traps.
Normally, traps were sothing you installed at a location after taking ti to set them up, but once you linked in Trap Toss, the freedom of use skyrocketed.
Prepare it while moving, then throw it to the target point to deploy it.
Drop it at your feet or hurl it far away—whatever the caster wanted.
“.......”
Seo Ye-in’s head slowly turned toward the training center.
She’d just learned it, so of course she wanted to test it.
But I grabbed her gray crown of hair and turned her back.
“Later. We’ve got class.”
“......Regrettable.”
*****
PvP class.
Lee Soo-dok swept his gaze across the room and spoke.
“First, announcents. Starting next week, finals run for two weeks. The scope is everything you learned in your first year.”
Crystal charging, hostile environnts, Fix Zone—anything could show up.
“If you want to finish your first year with no regrets, you’ll need to review thoroughly.”
.......
A heavy air settled over the classroom.
After laying on the pressure, Lee Soo-dok continued as if nothing had happened.
“Last PvP week’s the was coordinated attacks.”
The goal had been either teaming up to bring down a powerful opponent—or enduring the enemy team’s coordinated assault.
So we’d ford teams of four and had to defeat one buffed target within the ti limit.
“This week’s PvP is an extension of that. With so changes.”
Lee Soo-dok tugged one corner of his mouth up.
From experience, whenever he looked like that, a clean road to misery opened up—and the students’ anxiety only thickened.
And then the anxiety beca reality.
MAP:[Circular Arena]
RULE:[Deathmatch][Rank Reversal]
[Random Matching][2-Person/3-Person][5-Minute Limit]
“[Rank Reversal]—you rember it. It was only a few months ago.”
A rule where there was a 67% chance your opponents would be second-years,
and a 33% chance they’d be third-years.
It had shown up in Week 7, right before the Fix Zone tournant.
Back then, one student cautiously raised a hand.
“Uh......but the [Fix Zone] restrictions.......”
“Good eye. They’re not here this ti.”
aning we’d be fighting second- and third-years at full strength, with no constraints.
The entire class froze in shock, but Lee Soo-dok remained perfectly calm.
“I don’t understand why you’re already scaring yourselves. At the very least, you’ve got the numbers advantage.”
Unlike Fix Zone, which had been one-on-one, this ti included a [2-Person/3-Person] rule.
“Second-years will attack in pairs. Third-years will attack in threes.”
Probably trying to balance it out by adding one more person, given how much stronger third-years were.
Even so, it would still be far easier for them than for us.
“The ti limit is a relatively short five minutes. That said—if anyone tries to run out the clock by stalling or fleeing, I’ll be watching.”
Lee Soo-dok’s eyes flashed wide.
At that, Shin Byeong-cheol—the future teahouse owner, and an expert at running away—lowered his gaze.
“Don’t think of this as a simple weekly practical evaluation. Think of it as a chance to grow. When else will you get to fight third-years?”
After graduation, everyone would scatter. Forget duels—eting each other at all would be difficult.
“Win or lose, do your best. That’s all.”
*****
After class.
The mont the sub quest popped up, I used the Challenge Book.
[Side Quest: Week 16 PvP Match](In Progress....)
▷3rd-Year Matching Fixed
▷Skill Disabled:Imbue
▷Objective 1: Win with HP at 80% or higher(-/2 tis)
▷Objective 2: Total damage dealt accumulates to 60% or higher(-/60%)
▷Reward: Distributed by completion rate
If I queued, it would always be third-years.
Well, it was a Challenge. There was no way it would let relax and fight second-years.
‘The HP condition isn’t that hard.’
No matter who the opponents were, I was confident I wouldn’t allow any aningful hits.
The issue was that I had to win twice.
‘Doesn’t an I have to knock them out.’
A win by decision was still a win.
As long as none of our side ended up incapacitated during the five-minute limit, and our average HP was higher than theirs, it counted.
‘But of course they locked [Imbue].’
If I handed off Retro Recovery at the end, we’d finish with 100% HP and a guaranteed win.
Looks like they predicted I’d try sothing cute and cut it off.
And since I had to shave off 60% of the opponents’ HP, I’d need to fight more aggressively.
‘Hard or not, I’m doing it.’
With a chance that the reward could add a slot, I was going for maximum completion.
As I started toward the arena, I asked Seo Ye-in,
“You just learned it this morning. Using it in a real match is kind of awkward, right?”
“Trap Toss.”
“Practice first. Then do PvP midweek or on the weekend.”
“......Fair point.”
Seo Ye-in bobbed her head slightly.
“Then go to the training center first.”
“Together.”
“I have PvP.”
If the Side Quest reward really was a slot, I’d be able to register Ring of the Great Sage imdiately.
The sooner I finished, the sooner I could start stacking mana again.
Seo Ye-in grabbed my sleeve.
“......I want to go too.”
“What about practice?”
“Later.”
“Suit yourself.”
Honestly, a few more days of practice wouldn’t change much.
The opponents were second- and third-years, and the gap was asured in years.
Soon, I headed to the arena with Go Hyeon-woo and Seo Ye-in.
I scanned my student ID at the terminal and waited.
Go Hyeon-woo opened his mouth with a bold grin.
“If possible, I’d like to receive instruction from third-year seniors.”
“Second-years not good enough for you?”
“Haha, not like that. It’s just—there may not be another chance.”
But the opponent we got matched with, contrary to Go Hyeon-woo’s wish, was a second-year.
In a different sense, his wish ca true.
[Go Hyeon-woo]
[Cha Hyeon-ju]
vs
[Namgung Changcheon]
The Swordsmanship Club president.
Even as a second-year, it was said he had skill that could stand alongside third-years.
In the tournant, he’d only barely lost the championship to Song Cheon-gi.
And Go Hyeon-woo had to face that kind of monster with nothing but a rabid chihuahua at his side—yet his expression was nothing but delighted.
“Today, the bracket luck favors . To see the Namgung sword.”
aning: winning and losing mattered less than testing himself against a strong opponent.
That positive-boss mindset had kicked in again.
I nodded easily.
“Yeah. Go learn a lot.”
“Of course. I’ll return.”
Go Hyeon-woo disappeared into his match.
Not long after, my na rose on the scoreboard too.
[Kim Ho]
[Song Cheon-hye]
[Jeong Jin-myeong]
vs
[Mok Jong-hwa]
“Feels like it’s always familiar faces. Anyway, I’m going.”
“Good luck.”
I waved to Seo Ye-in and stepped onto the teleport magic circle.
My vision snapped—then the familiar circular arena spread out before .
Two teammates appeared at my sides.
Jeong Jin-myeong was the younger sibling of Jeong Chong-myeong, the White Magic Club president, and their skill level was around a 0.9 prospect.
And Song Cheon-hye was a disciplinary committee club mber, so there was nothing to explain.
‘Team luck isn’t bad.’
They were all in the 1,000-point range, so their baseline ability was assured.
Three mages, sure—but two of them were all-rounders, so we could still run flexible.
When our eyes t, Jeong Jin-myeong and Song Cheon-hye each said a line.
“First ti we’ve been on the sa team.”
“Let’s do well.”
The friendly mood lasted only a mont before everyone’s gaze shifted to the opposite side.
Because Mok Jong-hwa—the Erald Magic Tower president—had appeared.
I greeted them with proper respect.
“Hello, senior.”
The other teammates offered courtesy as well, but Mok Jong-hwa’s gaze stayed locked on alone.
“......It’s been a while. I don’t have lingering feelings about last ti, but it wouldn’t be bad to clear even that away.”
“I agree.”
“Do your best. So neither side has regrets.”
The mont Mok Jong-hwa lifted a staff, subspace began yawning open in bursts.
And three massive old trees dropped down.
KRA-KOOM!
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