Chapter 59
"Well, this is certainly convenient,” Do-Jin said while looking down at the holy artifact in his hands.
He was borrowing the same artifact that Ye-Jin had used to form the groups during the group practical training for fusion blessing arrays the other day. Some of the students looking at the match list raised their hands as if they were confused.
"Sir, my name is missing."
"Oh, me too...”
There were quite a few students whose names weren’t on the match list. At first glance, it seemed like over half the names were missing. Among them was In-Ah.
Do-Jin stared into the air with empty eyes for a moment as if he was sleepy and then babbled, "Oh, the students applying for the priest specialization were taken off the list."
"What? Then we'll..."
"You can go to the fusion blessing array in the corner, analyze the blessing array, and then write a report. It’s a blessing array developed by former Inquisitor Sung Yu-Da, so you will have a lot to learn."
After hearing Do-Jin’s words, the students from the priest specialization, who were just about to spew out complaints, breathed out sighs of relief and rushed toward the fusion blessing array.
It was the right choice. Priests didn’t do hand-to-hand combat. Instead, they assisted in battles from the rear. Due to this fact, there was no particular need for them to participate in the sparring matches.
Leaving out the students applying for the priest specialization meant that students that were applying for the paladin and crusader specializations remained. There were only about a hundred people left. It was a very small number compared to before.
“Well then, we’ll start the practical training—”
“Teacher.”
Just before Do-Jin was about to proceed with the practical training, I raised my hand. I had searched through the match list, but no matter how many times I looked through it, I couldn’t find my name.
I felt a sense of déjà vu. It felt like something similar happened to me last time.
"Oh, come to think of it, your name is missing as well. Are you perhaps planning to apply for the priest specialization?"
"No, sir.”
"Then what specialization are you planning to apply for?"
"I was thinking of applying to become either a paladin or a crusader."
Not all priests were good at controlling their divine power. Usually, only students who were relatively good at controlling their divine power would apply for the Department of Priests. Since I was not good at dealing with divine power, I decided to choose either the Department of Paladins or the Department of Crusaders.
"Really? In any case, that means you're not planning to join the priest specialization, right? Hold on a second."
Do-Jin fiddled with the holy artifact. The holographic window from the holy artifact shook while letting out a zapping noise. Soon, my name was added to the corner of the match list.
"I added your name in, so check it out."
I double-checked the match list. At first glance, it looked like a tournament, but it wasn’t in a tournament format.
A one-on-one battle would be held between three randomly selected students. Thus, a total of three matches would be held per person. The final score would be determined based on whether the student won or lost the match.
“The scoring criteria are as follows—three points for victory, two points for a tie, and one point for a defeat. Obviously, the higher your score, the higher your grade for the practical training. I’m too lazy, so I’ll skip over the questions.”
Three wins and zero losses would result in nine points. Two wins and one loss would result in seven points. Zero wins and three losses would result in three points. The scores were set in such a way. It meant that if someone was lucky with the match-up, they’d be able to get a higher score.
“Well then, we will begin the practical training starting from now. The time limit is three minutes. Students whose names I’ve called out, please enter the ring.”
With Do-Jin's rather unkind explanation, the practical training began. I repeatedly checked the list of matches numerous times. Even after rubbing my eyes and looking at the match list again, the reality did not change.
"Teacher, this match list... It was decided randomly, right?”
"Yeah. It's totally random, why?" Do-Jin glanced at the match list.
Then, just like me, he rubbed his eyes multiple times as if he couldn't believe it. Eventually, he let out a dry laugh. "Well, what can you do? It's all about your luck. Anyway, try your best.”
"Oh, yes...."
My first opponent was Jun-Hyuk. My second opponent was Jin-Seo, and my third opponent was Min-Seo.
The luck for my matchups was really bad. It was as if the match list had been manipulated.
*
The ring on the training ground was surrounded by quite a large and sturdy cage. The students entering the ring each put on a shock detection device before starting their match. It was a machine that automatically let out a sound when a certain amount of physical trauma was applied to the body. In other words, once a lethal blow landed on the opponent, the device would play a sound.
Beep!
"Ha-Rin is unable to fight. The winner is Jin-Seo.”
"Well done."
The matches were carried out quickly, and without a doubt, the most unrivaled student was Jin-Seo. With her gifted physical abilities and her excellent use of blessings, she overpowered her opponent and achieved victory in an instant. It happened in just ten seconds. There was not even a slither of mercy.
"She seems a little angry,” I said while blankly staring at Jin-Seo.
"And whose fault do you think that is?" Jun-Hyuk rebuked. It was as if he was implying that it was my fault.
"Who’s fault is it? Mine?”
I didn’t remember doing anything wrong, though. As I tilted my head in confusion, Do-Jin stabbed the floor with the tip of his blade.
Thud.
A dull sound filled the sacred training ground.
"Next is Jun-Hyuk and Sun-Woo. Stop chatting and come out."
"Oh, it's our turn already?" Jun-Hyuk asked innocently. Do-Jin's face crumpled up.
"Shut up and enter the ring," Do-Jin said harshly.
"Yes~," Jun-Hyuk said as he finally entered the ring.
I stood opposite him and put on a shock detection device. With that, my preparations were complete. I could pick and use a practice weapon if I wanted to—there were no weapons that I knew how to handle.
"Well, oh, this is fine.”
On the other hand, Jun-Hyuk took up arms. The weapon he chose was quite unique. Aspiring paladin candidates usually chose an expandable baton or a shield as their weapon of choice because they were versatile enough to be used for both defense and offense. Aspiring crusaders would usually select a gun as their weapon of choice. But if they could not equip a gun, then they would often choose to carry a sword or a spear instead.
Jun-Hyuk said he wanted to be a crusader, so I thought he would choose a sword or a spear.
"Sun-Woo is unarmed and... Jun-Hyuk. Do you call that a weapon?”
"Huh? What? Are you telling me this isn’t a weapon? I selected it because I thought it was,” Jun-Hyuk asked while flinging the thing that he was holding around.
"That's not a weapon, that’s a... Ah, never mind. Just do as you please," Do-Jin sighed and said as if he had given up.
The students stared at the weapon that was Jun-Hyuk’s hand in confusion. The weapon that he had selected was a string. It was a thin string that was used to tie the practice weapons together. Jun-Hyuk thought it was a weapon and brought it into the ring. Several students laughed out loud and made fun of Jun-Hyuk, but Jun-Hyuk had a serious look on his face.
"Hey, let’s not go easy on each other. And no resenting each other, no matter who loses. No hard feelings. You cool with that?”
"Yeah. Whatever floats your boat.”
I wasn’t planning on resenting anyone because I wasn’t planning on losing in the first place. My next opponents were going to be Jin-Seo and Min-Seo. Even with Bossou's power, I wouldn’t be able to guarantee victory against those opponents. Jin-Seo’s movements were so fast and diverse that they introduced many variables, and Min-Seo's existence itself was a variable. That's why I was planning to obtain at least one victory against Jun-Hyuk. That way, I would be able to at least avoid a 0-3 humiliation.
"Well then, let’s start the match.”
Ding–!
Along with Do-Jin's words, a gong rang.
I kept my distance and calmly read Jun-Hyuk's movements. Unexpectedly, Jun-Hyuk didn’t rush in to engage. He simply maintained the activation of a blessing array and checked the condition of the string that he was holding on to.
"Phew. I'll teach you the essence of the 'binding play' I train with every night."
Within the tense atmosphere, Jun-Hyuk pompously spouted out a bunch of nonsense. For a moment, cold sweat ran down my forehead. I was typically unfazed by even the most terrifying events, but this time, I felt fear from the inner depths of my soul. It was an instinctive sense of fear.
"What shenanigans are you doing at night, you crazy–"
Whip!
I could not finish my sentence. It was because Jun-Hyuk had arrived right in front of me and was flinging his string at me. I managed to duck my head and avoid his attack. Jun-Hyuk's face was more serious than ever.
"Hey! If you make fun of me, I'm going to bind you!"
With such a serious expression on his face, Jun-Hyuk continued to spout nonsense. For some reason, it was hard to concentrate. Every time Jun-Hyuk opened his mouth, my concentration was disrupted.
"Shut up, please!"
I widened the distance between us and dodged Jun-Hyuk's attacks. The string that Jun-Hyuk wielded tried to coil around my arms and legs like a living snake. He was very good at handling the string. It seemed that his remark about training every night was not just nonsense.
"One minute has passed. Two minutes are left," Do-Jin said calmly.
I thought that well over two minutes had gone by, but in reality, only one minute had passed. Perhaps because of the psychological pressure of other students watching me, I was already out of breath.
"Hey! Are you tired?! Should have done some more cardio, yeah?" Jun-Hyuk said while whirling the string around as if he was making fun of me.
"Shut up!"
Unlike me, he didn't show any signs of hardship. Relative to Jun-Hyuk, I lacked stamina, so in an extended match, it would be obvious that I would be at a disadvantage. I had to end this as quickly as possible.
Bossou.
I had decided not to use Bossou's power against other students, but there was no other way to win in this situation. At first, I foolishly thought I would be able to comfortably win against Jun-Hyuk without using the power of the Loa. However, in terms of grades, Jun-Hyuk was at the top of the list. It was only because he had a weird personality that it felt like he was easy to deal with.
[Bossou is getting hungry. I’m thinking that there is a lack of offerings.]
I hadn't been in good shape lately because I'd been overusing Bossou's power, but it should be enough to deal with Jun-Hyuk. I kicked off the ground with my leg, which was loaded with Bossou’s power, and quickly narrowed the distance between Jun-Hyuk and me.
His face, which had stiffened up as if flustered, was right in front of me.
"Ah...!"
Jun-Hyuk let out a scream. I grabbed his collar and transferred weight over to my foot. I was going to throw Jun-Hyuk to the floor using the self-defense techniques I learned from Bok-Dong.
Thump!
However, I fell over instead of Jun-Hyuk. I thought I had fallen over due to messing up my footwork while executing the technique, but that wasn't the case. Both my ankles were tied with a string.
“Secret technique, 「Tying Up the Chicken」. Phew... I didn't expect to bring this technique up.”
"Hey, you fu—, huh?"
I hurriedly tried to get back up, but I couldn’t. No, rather, I just couldn’t move my entire body. I couldn’t move anything, including my hands and legs. In this short span of time, both my wrists and ankles had been tied up. Jun-Hyuk looked down at me with a smirk.
"Ah- this is a secret technique called 「Quickly Tying Up」.”
"Can you stop repeating secret technique, secret technique over and over again? You sound like a broken record."
"Even if you try to threaten me while you’re tied up, it doesn’t scare me at all, you know?"
Jun-Hyuk was now deliberately teasing me with a tone of speech that I hated. He really was truly a grand master at provoking people. It was at this moment that I finally understood why Jin-Seo beat Jun-Hyuk down till he was half-dead during every spar.
Jun-Hyuk came behind me while I was struggling and wrapped a string around my neck. "Relax, it will be over soon. It’s not a big deal~”
"...This is fascinating. How did you do it?" I asked with a smile.
It was really fascinating. I couldn't believe that he could perfectly bind a person with such a thin string. Jun-Hyuk was just about to finish me off by pulling the string when he stopped moving his hand.
"It's a secret from the industry~ Anyway, we decided not to resent each other, so let’s end this cleanly."
Jun-Hyuk slowly pulled the string. The string penetrated my flesh and tightened around my neck. My breathing stopped, and my vision slowly blackened.
Snap.
I heard something break off. Of course, it wasn't the sound of my consciousness breaking off. It was the sound of the cord breaking.
With Bossou's strength, I forcefully broke off the string tied around my hands and feet. The method was quite brutal, but what was strength used for in the first place? Strength was meant to be used to resolve problems through brute force.
Jun-Hyuk looked at the broken string with a stupefied expression on his face and then looked at me, who had stood up from the ground.
"Hey, isn't this too unconscionable?" Jun-Hyuk said after letting out an empty chuckle.
"If it were a rope, I would have lost. I was just barely able to snap it because it was a string."
"Oh, this feels like dog shit. Due to equipment differences..."
Bang.
I threw Jun-Hyuk onto the floor.
Beep–!
A sharp noise rang out from the shock detector attached to his body.
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