Chapter 51, Sparring
Lee Yeonhee's body slowly began to tilt.
I could feel that all the strength had completely left her body.
She had fainted from the price of using such an excessive miracle.
I moved my body, which felt lighter than ever before, and caught her.
Even after catching her, I was surprised at myself.
Normally, thought came first and action followed.
If I thought, I need to do this, my body would always move afterward.
Maybe that was only natural.
But this time was different.
Thought and action happened at the same time.
The moment I saw Lee Yeonhee falling and thought I should catch her, my body had already moved.
I carefully laid her down, then looked at my companions.
They seemed to be experiencing the same thing I was.
Arlin tested several spells using mana and repeatedly exclaimed in amazement.
Hwa-ryeon stared at me with heated eyes.
I looked back at her.
We silently met each other's gaze.
Our thoughts connected without words.
In the next instant, her fingers curved like hooks and snatched up her sword.
Then she drew it.
Shing!
It was a draw that served as the signal for an improvised spar.
Normally, I would have lost right there.
It was so fast that by the time I recognized the flash, the blade would already have been at my neck.
That level of speed was something Hwa-ryeon only showed occasionally when she was in top condition.
Even while thinking such useless thoughts, I moved quickly.
I flicked my toes against the ground and pulled my body backward.
Hwa-ryeon's sword chased after me.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The moment I lightly stepped on the floor and bounced backward again, sparks burst in the air.
Three times in total.
We exchanged three sword strikes in an instant.
I was surprised.
Hwa-ryeon was surprised too.
But that emotion was quickly swallowed by our fierce competitive spirit.
Hwa-ryeon took a deep breath and immediately went for a decisive move on the second exchange.
“Hup!”
It was such a deep breath that it almost looked as if the air itself was being sucked into her body.
I saw countless openings in Hwa-ryeon while she inhaled.
I didn't let myself be distracted by them.
Calmly, I also took a breath.
We both saw each other's openings.
Countless possible attack paths toward our opponent seemed to take shape, intertwining through the air like threads.
Hwa-ryeon moved first.
Her pale hand grabbed the sheath instead of the sword.
Then she swung it.
Whoooosh!
The sheath tore through the air with a violent pressure.
That was the first attack.
My eyes didn't follow the left hand holding the sheath.
They moved toward her right hand holding the sword.
That hand was also swinging.
She was using the sword and sheath at the same time, almost like dual-wielding.
For someone inexperienced, such a move could cause them to destroy their own balance.
But Hwa-ryeon wasn't inexperienced.
Two beautifully controlled attack paths closed around me from both sides.
If I blocked the sheath, the sword would cut me.
If I blocked the sword, the force behind the sheath was overwhelming.
Even though I processed all of that almost instinctively, there still wasn't enough time.
The sword and sheath slowly approached me.
My own body also moved slowly.
To anyone watching, I was probably moving extremely fast.
But in the world I perceived, everything felt unbelievably slow.
My hand moved.
The sword felt almost like part of my body and moved with it.
Hwa-ryeon's eyes widened at what I did next.
Even that looked so slow that I almost felt like yawning.
No, maybe not that slow.
Still, it was slow enough.
In that desperate moment, I chose instinct over reason.
First, I sheathed my sword.
Even though Hwa-ryeon's sword and sheath were already closing in on me, I put my sword back into its sheath.
Then I kicked off the ground.
The next moment, my body rose into the air and slowly tilted.
In the slowed world, Hwa-ryeon's sword changed its angle and rose upward like a dragon ascending into the sky.
The sheath did the same.
The force behind both the sword and sheath, along with the wind pressure they carried, distorted the surrounding air.
My airborne body shook unsteadily.
I stayed calm and lifted my sheathed sword.
Then I swung it downward.
My body was rising.
My arm was striking downward.
At that moment, angle didn't matter.
A sharp sword strike wasn't needed.
A precise technique wasn't needed.
A great martial art wasn't needed.
The only thing I needed was strength.
Overwhelming strength, enough that the recoil alone could send my body flying.
I squeezed every bit of strength from my muscles and gathered it into one point.
My hand became the center.
Then I swung.
“Hup!”
Clang!
My strike collided with Hwa-ryeon's attack.
The blunt sheaths slammed together, sending a heavy shock through my entire body.
My hand stung so badly that I wanted to throw the sheath away immediately.
My palm had already split open and blood was flowing.
I tightened my grip on the wet handle.
Gravity was pulling my airborne body downward.
I added my weight and all of that force into the strike, pressing down as if trying to crush her.
Hwa-ryeon's sheath couldn't withstand the impact.
It flew from her hand and spun far away.
My own sheath shattered into pieces.
Hwa-ryeon's following second strike missed me and cut through empty air.
The recoil had already sent my body flying upward toward the ceiling.
I converted that rebound force into rotational momentum.
I turned my body until my feet faced the ceiling and my head faced the floor.
Then I kicked off the ceiling.
The ceiling became my foothold.
My body shot toward the ground like a bullet.
Even while falling, I noticed Hwa-ryon's body had staggered from the impact of our previous collision.
That was also an opening.
This time, I didn't let it pass.
I grabbed one of the broken fragments of my sheath that had scattered outward like blooming flower petals.
Then I brought it down toward Hwa-ryeon's head.
At least, that's what happened in my imagination.
If this were a real battle, I would have done it.
But this was a spar.
We were both holding back to some extent.
So the sharp fragment stopped just in front of Hwa-ryeon's head.
The meaning was simple.
I had won.
It felt like a dream.
The numbness in my feet, the burning pain in my palm, and the discomfort in my ankle reminded me that this wasn't a dream.
It was reality.
I had defeated Hwa-ryeon in a spar.
Even though we had both been in top condition!
I had fought and defeated a first-rate martial artist who had spent over ten years training with a sword!
Even though she hadn't used internal energy, it was still an unbelievable achievement.
Even after the spar ended, I remained stunned and pointlessly opened and closed my hand.
Blood trickled down.
Because of the excitement, I barely felt any pain.
“You've grown again. Congratulations.”
Arlin brought over a bandage and wrapped it around my hand.
Her movements were blunt, but they still carried consideration.
I nodded in thanks, then looked toward Hwa-ryeon.
I was curious about her reaction.
At the same time, I was a little worried.
I was unbelievably happy.
But things might feel different from her perspective.
She had held a sword for nearly twenty years.
And she had just lost to me, someone who hadn't even used a sword for half a year.
There was no way her pride wouldn't take at least some damage.
Arlin seemed to think the same thing.
Instead of her usual mocking tone, she spoke carefully.
“...Are you alri...”
“Wow... Yuhyeon! I told you, didn't I? You're a genius! Has it only been about three months since you started using a sword? And you actually beat me! I was even almost serious!”
Her voice was nearly as excited as mine.
Even though I was confident in my ability to read emotions, I could hear nothing but genuine admiration in her tone.
Judging from Hwa-ryeon's usual personality, she probably wasn't pretending.
In other words, she was genuinely amazed by what had just happened.
Arlin stared at her with a completely dead expression.
Unfortunately, Hwa-ryeon didn't notice.
She smiled brightly and played with my injured hand.
I could feel her warmth through the blood-soaked bandage wrapped around my palm.
“You did get hurt, but honestly, compared to what you achieved, this is nothing. Still, I'm a little worried. It's kind of late to ask, but is your hand okay?”
“Yes. I'm fine.”
“Good, then that's all that matters! But... Magic Freak, what are you doing over there?”
Her eyes finally noticed Arlin.
Arlin stood there blankly for a moment.
Then she walked out of the room.
Hwa-ryeon watched her leave with a confused expression.
Then she quickly lost interest.
From that point onward, all of her attention returned to me.
“What was our record again? Was I at 312 wins out of 312 matches?”
“What are you talking about? It was 125 wins out of 125. Now it's 125 wins out of 126.”
“Wow... Honestly, even when I was still part of the Association, other than the Captain, I'd never lost in pure swordsmanship. This is actually kind of shocking!”
“...”
“I mean shocking in a good way! You're a nerd without internal energy, after all. Beating me when I'm not using internal energy is basically like an ordinary person beating a mage in a mental arithmetic contest.”
That still sounds pretty amazing to me.
Anyway, I was relieved that she hadn't taken it badly.
I was about to check Lee Yeonhee's condition again.
But Hwa-ryeon's next words stopped me.
“So you don't need to worry about me! Everyone's different, but I don't really have pride in my swordsmanship, so losing doesn't hurt me.”
“You knew?”
“Knew what? That you and Arlin were worried about me?”
“...”
“Of course I knew. Arlin is usually so sharp and argumentative, yet she was actually worried about me. It was fun to watch.”
“Then why did you act so oblivious if you already knew?”
“Because it's fun!”
Listening to her cheerful voice, I suddenly felt sorry for Arlin.
“Anyway, you don't need to worry about me. Something like this won't hurt my feelings! More importantly, want to spar again?”
Instead of answering, I waved my hand.
The blood-soaked bandage flapped around, releasing the smell of blood into the air.
Hwa-ryeon blinked.
Then she held out a sword toward me.
“Then tomorrow?”
“No. I don't plan on sparring with you anymore.”
“...Huh? Wait, why?”
For the first time, she looked genuinely shocked.
I answered firmly.
“I don't spar with losers. You learn more by sparring against strong opponents, don't you?”
“W, what?”
I walked past her to find Arlin so we could discuss Lee Yeonhee's condition.
Hwa-ryeon remained standing there, completely frozen with shock.
