Chapter 5
What's with all the fuss? I just broke some wooden dolls.
"What are you talking about? People only talk at the start. In the end, you with the Divine Sword will be more famous."
"Kuk. Is this the composure of a victor?"
Him wailing to himself like that, beating his own drum, just makes him look stupid.
This guy has 10 heroines? Was the writer out of their fucking mind?
Ah, this is annoying.
Come to think of it, somehow Hunter-related companies found me and spammed my KameoChatTalk.
I blocked them all but it's still a pain in the ass.
The weather's quite nice today.
Would be perfect for a picnic on a day like this. If only this wasn't a dream.
Yoo Eun-ha was originally quite the loner.
That didn't change even after coming to the Academy, and she'd often skip using her Oppa's reputation as an excuse.
But now...
"Chatter chatter chatter jabber jabber."
"Mutter mutter mutter."
Why are the high and mighty Divine Sword successor and his main heroine Reina chattering away with me at the center?
So noisy. I just wish I could wake up from this dream already.
Hm, looks like the weather's getting dark again.
* * *
"Today we'll have sparring matches."
Firebat suddenly declared sparring.
Yesterday was ability testing. Today is sparring, huh.
Seems like they want to check the overall level of the students.
Theory classes probably aren't that important from the Academy's perspective.
Next they'll divide us by department. Magic, swordsmanship, spearmanship, that sort of thing.
"Sparring?"
"Since we tested abilities yesterday, today we'll do practice sparring. First up - Yoo Eun-ha. Kim Gi-tae."
Firebat Kim Ji-hye. That woman keeps trying to make me do things, just how much potential does she think I have?
But I can't reveal my true ability.
If I tell them using Acceleration with Parallel Circuit once turns me half-dead, my evaluation would seriously tank.
I need to maintain my current level of evaluation.
Should I just lose on purpose?
If there was a clear weakness to my ability that'd be one thing, but if I just surrender or throw the match, it can be spun as "fought well despite losing" or whatever.
And so the sparring began.
In front of me stood a boy with messy navy blue hair showing clear hostility.
Seems like Firebat just wants to use Kim Gi-tae as my DPS meter.
"Kuk. How dare you act so casual before me, Kim Gi-tae? Just because you're the Divine Sword's sister? That video was obviously fake anyway!"
"Hey, you're gonna die talking like that."
I'm gonna die.
Using Parallel Circuit again would be overkill for some random NPC-level opponent. And without those two skills, I'd be weaker than Kim Gi-tae.
No reason to try hard at all.
If I use it on Kim Gi-tae and collapse for no reason, that'd be a pain too.
Just becoming a Hunter is enough. This dream will probably only end when I see the ending, so it's better to live quietly without getting too famous.
Everything is the protagonist's job.
"You dare provoke me? Draw your weapon now!"
"Don't need a weapon though."
I threw away the sword hilt I was holding.
Heavy things aren't my style. A small knife suits me better.
It's obvious I'll lose anyway, so why bother? I'll just take one hit and pretend to collapse with a scream.
"Y-you dare ignore me? Hmph. Fine. You attack first then. Those cotton fists of yours... no, even with a weapon they wouldn't hurt!"
"Really?"
Well that changes things.
Seems this guy's stronger than I thought. He had no presence in the story but I didn't know his strength.
With that confidence, there must be a reason.
Probably some physical enhancement type. In that case, I can take one hit. Then I'll just surrender.
"Really."
"Well then, as you so kindly offered."
I wrapped mana around my body and picked up a bat from the allowed weapons before the match.
And then...
I swung upward from below.
THWACK!
Killed millions of Kim Gi-tae's potential children.
As Kim Gi-tae foamed at the mouth and collapsed backwards, I wondered if I went too far.
Wait, for someone so confident this is pretty pathetic.
"Oof. Can't use that move anymore."
"Could you have used it anyway?"
"Good point."
Kim Gi-tae was dragged to the infirmary by some students.
Um, well, he said I could hit him once, so it's fine right?
After the match, opinions were divided again.
Some guys started avoiding me, while some girls praised me as a "girl crush".
And finally it was the protagonist Choi Si-woo's turn.
Si-woo's opponent was Han Soo-ji. Soo-ji was known as the spear user, already nicknamed Spear Girl.
And she's also one of Si-woo's heroines.
To be precise, the second heroine.
Must be some spear-related awakening, that orange ponytail isn't normal. Like an unquenchable flame - would make a good lighter.
"Choi Si-woo. I've been wanting to fight you!"
"Ahaha. Did I do something to make you hate me?"
"Don't get cocky just because you have the Divine Sword! I'll definitely take down both you and Yoo Eun-ha!"
Hey, why drag me into this?
Guess Si-woo needs to take down this woman this time. I don't want to fight that spear bitch? spear woman? whatever that spear user.
I'm more of a fruit knife small dagger type, while she uses a spear. What weapon compatibility bullshit. Looking at the writer's character sheet, she even has a phase 2.
When she goes berserk she becomes the Flame Spear Bitch. Her spear tip gets covered in flames and she swings it around wildly.
"Damn. If it was just me that's one thing, but Eun-ha too? Isn't that cowardly?"
"Hmph! You're just obstacles in my way! I'll quickly take you down then make that white-haired bitch kneel!"
The arrogance is off the charts. Her master was that S-Class Hunter Kim Jae-soo right? He's a spear user too, and this flame spear bitch learned all his techniques.
Then later she loses to the protagonist and falls for him.
Her trait was being a masochist right? That's why after getting beat up by the protagonist she reforms and becomes a total M.
While Reina is more tsundere, that one is... let's not even talk about it.
"Don't call my friend a white-haired bitch!"
I mean, the white hair part is accurate though.
"Hmph, just come at me."
Si-woo's ash-gray hair instantly turned silver, and the sword in his hand gave off a mystical glow.
Unlike fighting the wooden dolls yesterday, this was a sparring match so he fully showed off his ability by summoning the Divine Sword.
The flame spear bitch summoned her spear too.
Why are you guys the only ones summoning weapons? Let me summon too.
CLANG! CLASH! KLING!
The spear and sword clashed intensely.
Tangling and mixing like they were mating.
"A battle between a goddess-given Divine Sword and an the user of a spear granted by the Fire God. Even if it's just sparring, this is quite a sight."
"Indeed."
The instructors gave high praise, saying it was a magnificent scene.
Come to think of it, my fight with Kim Gi-tae was pretty bland compared to these two bastards.
Si-woo entered the flame spear bitch's blind spot and raised his sword high in one breath.
"Kuh!"
The flame spear bitch stepped back and deflected the Divine Sword by swinging her spear.
Wait, is this allowed?
After several exchanges, Si-woo pushed forward relying on his male physical advantage. Yeah! Kill her! Beat her down thoroughly so she can't come after me! For your friend's sake!
Just as I was starting to like this protagonist bastard who was beating up the flame spear bitch, he betrays my expectations.
"Let's stop here. I surrender."
"What?"
After putting his blade to the flame spear bitch's neck, he says he's surrendering instead of taking her surrender.
Lady first or whatever? You were just chattering away next to me like a girl but now you're showing unnecessary chivalry?
No wait. This is different from the original.
"I think you could be stronger if you just got rid of your arrogance. So how about we end today's match here? I'll give you more later."
"S-surrender."
Right. That's how it was supposed to go. But now the protagonist surrendered.
What happens to that flame spear bitch in this case? Any chance for reform?
Don't tell me it's because of my existence?
"Taking you down isn't just my role. It's also for Eun-ha who you insulted."
No really, I'm fine.
"Instructor."
"Hmm, very well. This match goes to Si-woo's defeat. Therefore, the next match will be as Si-woo requested - Yoo Eun-ha versus Han Soo-ji."
No, I said I don't want to! Look at them listening to the protagonist's request just because he has the Divine Sword.
I felt rage building up for a moment.
The sky seems to be getting darker again.
But that Si-woo bastard. His eyes are sparkling.
This isn't my style, accepting things like this, but with him staring and cheering like that, it'd be kind of wrong to just throw the match.
So I had no choice but to go to the sparring ground.
The stares from all around are annoying. Maybe I should stab all their eyes out with Acceleration.
"I may have lost to Choi Si-woo, but I won't lose to you!"
"The sky is quite bright."
"What?"
"On a day like this, it'd be troublesome to just watch while a rabid bitch in heat jumps around not knowing her place."
Yeah. For a masochist that's only natural.
Since the protagonist set this up for me, it's time to show her just how grotesque of a masochist she is.
"You've got a mouth on you. Won't it hurt less if you get skewered by my spear?"
"They say a mad dog needs a beating."
I pulled out a thin, sharp knife from my clothes.
I used this to peel apples before coming home.
"Acting all high and mighty! You think you can beat me with just a knife?"
Seems my provocation really pissed her off. She enchanted her spear with flames.
"Will you make the sky I see darker? Or brighter?"
The weather tends to get bad when I'm in a particularly bad mood. I tried saying something cool but sighed at how ill-fitting it was.
"Alright, enough talking, both of you. Begin!"
TWEET!
The moment the whistle blew to start, she charged at me with her spear.
I used Parallel Circuit.
She's a masochist. Need to thoroughly beat her down like a proper masochist here.
Right. Like a uterus punch for example.
A guy doing it might get MeToo'd and socially buried, but right now I'm a woman.
[Clench those teeth?]
I dove into her guard using Acceleration.
Even Si-woo's Divine Sword would have trouble reacting to this speed. No way a flame spear bitch with just a spear could stop me.
Like time had stopped. I quickly entered the flame spear bitch's guard and clenched my right fist.
Then I punched her lower abdomen with magic power.
THUD!
"Kuk?"
"At this moment, I'm very glad that I'm Yoo Eun-ha."
Not enough. Two hits.
THUD!
"Better than a man hitting a woman."
Not enough. Three hits.
THUD!
"A woman hitting a woman looks better, don't you think?"
"Eek!"
"Too slow."
She desperately swung her spear in resistance, but there's no way she could stab me with it while I freely used Acceleration.
The flame spear bitch who was wildly swinging her spear lost her balance when I dodged and fell over.
[Now's my chance.]
I pulled up the dazed Soo-ji.
Just a few gut punches and she's already this weak.
Now for some public humiliation play. The ass would be good, right?
"W-what are you going to do n-now. S-stop. I was wr-"
SMACK!
* * *