Chapter 96 : Chapter 96

Chapter 96 - Education

“...The stares are really intense.”

Seo Ah-in said, looking around.

Indeed, people around us were constantly sneaking glances this way.

“That guy is the one who... Arklight...”

“His name was definitely...”

It was, in fact, a natural phenomenon.

The weight of simply being a Climber who was quite active in the East was naturally different from beating up an executive of one of the most prominent guilds in the West.

Thanks to that, I was now quite the celebrity even within this event where formidable guilds had gathered.

“Well, even so, the real big shots didn’t come this time either, did they?”

That was true.

Although the year-end settlement grand unification event was something even top-tier guilds like Arklight and Mangrave participated in, there were some who would never show their faces here.

The celestial beings among celestial beings, known as the ‘World’s Top 3 Guilds’.

Guys that neither the Climber Association nor any of the so-called top guilds could lay a finger on.

“...”

Just thinking about them made me sigh.

In the game, they mostly appeared as hostile forces, and they boasted a power that could send the player to their doom with a single mistake, even in the latter half of the game when the player had become considerably strong.

‘In the first place, their guild masters are no ordinary monsters...’

As I was mulling over their personal information one by one, Seo Ah-in, brandishing a wooden sword in her hand, cut through my thoughts.

“By the way, what did you come here for again?”

The place we were in now was a facility of the Mangrave Guild within the city where the event was being held. Among them, this place had the appearance of a training ground focused on sparring.

It was just yesterday that we officially signed a ‘partnership’ agreement with Mangrave.

It probably hadn't been officially announced yet, but it meant that borrowing and using a facility like this was possible.

“Why else would I come to a training ground? I came to train.”

“...You can just train on your own, can’t you? Why did you have to bring me along?”

“When did I say I was the one training? You’re the one who’s going to be rolling on the floor.”

“...”

Seo Ah-in looked at me with an expression that asked why on earth that would be the case, but I just smirked and answered leisurely.

“The tournament is in a few days. You’re entering too.”

“...Excuse me? I haven't heard anything about it.”

“Well, you’ve heard now, so that’s settled. You’re participating with me. In the individual matches.”

“...”

“Make it to at least the semifinals.”

“...No. Why? Why do I have to do that?!”

“After raising you this much, it’s about time you started pleasing me on your own.”

“...”

In my memory, if you managed to get two guild members into the TOP4 of the tournament, a special event would be unlocked.

So, just do as you're told. You’re the most suitable one for it anyway.

To be honest, among the available forces in our guild right now, this girl had the best 1v1 ability.

Thanks to diligently taking her around and letting her gain practical experience, the penalty from her Demonic Beast phobia should have almost disappeared, and through her awakening, she had also unlocked Mind's Eye, which could be called her core skill.

It meant she was no longer at a level where she would die easily if thrown into any real combat situation.

In the first place, there were many other reasons besides that one.

The most important among them was.

“Well, actually, the part about pleasing me was about 3% a joke...”

“Could you at least make it about half a joke?!”

“There’s a person you need to take care of.”

[Crimson Fist] Lina.

Aaron would probably be a no-show since he got beaten to a pulp by me, but this one would definitely participate in the tournament.

The other combat-ready members, Lee Si-yeong and Evangeline, weren't suited for 1v1 due to the nature of their abilities in the first place... and they would be busy with other things during the tournament.

“Take care of... you mean, just winning won’t be enough?”

“She’ll probably try to kill you. So you should give her a proper taste of her own medicine.”

“...Suddenly the story has shifted from participating in a tournament to a life-or-death duel?”

“Right. So you can’t train half-heartedly, can you?”

Saying so, I too drew a wooden sword.

And as soon as she saw that, Seo Ah-in’s face turned pale.

“N-no. Wait a minute. The atmosphere is a bit strange, isn't it? You said it's training, so why are you holding a sword, Mr. Gyu-sik? Why are you aiming it at me?”

“Sorry. I misspoke.”

I received her words with a grin.

“This is ‘education’.”

Of course, I was the instructor.

Well, until now, I had just thrown her into training on her own since I would be looking after her in actual combat situations, but this time…

As I approached Seo Ah-in with light steps, she retreated with a pale, frightened face.

“W-wait a minute! At least let me mentally prepare...!”

Nope.

Words were useless.

The focal point should be to arm this girl's ‘mentality’.

Anyway, minor combat techniques would all be sorted out by Seo Ah-in with her Mind's Eye active.

However, this girl had probably never experienced a battle where she truly ‘killed a person’.

Real combat is different from training. For someone who isn't prepared from the start, their body stiffens and their reactions slow down due to the desperation, the grimness, the suddenness of it all.

So, what I had to do was.

Beat the hell out of this girl with all my might.

To engrave deep into her bones what it feels like to be ‘driven into a corner’.

Well, she was the type to develop on her own with just that much.

[Arcane Burst]

[Observation]

I started by activating the two most basic skills.

“E-eeek-!”

Gritting her teeth, Seo Ah-in similarly drew her sword, and my wooden sword slid along her arm. Her stats were superior. On top of that, seeing the blue light in her eyes, she had even activated her Mind's Eye.

In that case.

Double Pulse while the sword is sliding. Cancel it by cutting off the mana conduction in the middle of the motion and feint with an upward swing.

“Who would fall for such an obvious trick...!”

As expected of Mind's Eye. It saw through a two-stage feint in an instant. Seo Ah-in’s defensive posture was precisely guarding the point I was aiming for.

However.

No matter how excellent Mind's Eye was at providing ‘information’, the one who compiled that information and made the ‘decision’ was Seo Ah-in.

And once she had made a decision and taken action, she couldn't take it back.

In the middle of the upward swing, I redirected my qi and infused it into my feet. I forcibly twisted my entire body. A somersault kick incorporating my whole body followed the trajectory of the upward-swinging sword.

The kick, drawing an elegant arc, broke through her defense and exploded on Seo Ah-in’s jaw.

“Kuh...!”

“Mind’s Eye is a good skill. But if you start losing the psychological battle, it’s useless.”

Well, I could say that because I could also raise my information-gathering ability to a similar level by activating my Observation skill.

But this was education time. I should only say things that would aid the student's development.

“...How am I supposed to beat you in the first place, Mr. Gyu-sik?”

“Then if I try to kill you later, are you just going to accept it and die? What kind of ridiculous...”

“You won’t do that.”

“What?”

“You’re my friend, Mr. Gyu-sik. You wouldn’t do that.”

Seo Ah-in replied, blinking her eyes innocently.

Seeing her, not even considering other possibilities, I felt momentarily at a loss for words.

“...”

Hmm.

How should I put this? Was this how Lee Si-yeong felt when she dealt with me?

Quite impressive.

But that didn't mean I would go easy on her.

“...Well, then let's assume the enemy is as strong as me.”

“No, there’s no way there are two crazy people like you in the world-!”

So what.

If I say so, then it is so.

***

“Guild Master. Those two are?”

When Cornelius turned his head, Ansel, the Vice-Guild Master of Mangrave, was there asking the question.

His gaze was fixed on the man and woman who were in the middle of a duel in the training hall.

“Considering how much attention that fellow is drawing these days, you can’t be asking because you don’t know who he is, can you?”

“I’m asking where on earth people like them suddenly popped out from.”

As Ansel muttered in a hollow voice, Cornelius gave a bitter smile in agreement.

It wasn't just them who were looking over there.

Most of the Mangrave Climbers using the training hall were staring blankly at the duel between those young, almost childish, Climbers.

“...Kooh...! No, you bastard! That combo is cheating! Cheating! How am I supposed to block an attack whose trajectory I can’t even see...! Ack!”

“Seeing as you’re still talking, you seem to have some leeway? Shall I add another pattern?”

“Ack! Aaaargh! Why did I get involved with a person like this-!”

Even while screaming like that, the woman somehow managed to deflect the incoming attacks.

In fact, that itself was absurd.

The series of combination attacks, a colorful mix of all sorts of strikes pouring from the man, was something that Cornelius and Ansel couldn't even ‘grasp’.

“I can see everything. No, it’s actually slow. His overall stats don’t seem to be that high. But...”

If he were placed in that spot with his ‘output’ limited to the same level of stats.

Well. Would he last five minutes?

Cornelius, as if agreeing, nodded with a deeper bitter smile on his face.

And anyone who knew the level of prestige these two held in the Climber community would be utterly astonished.

To think that the descendants of the ‘Demon Hunters’ would be completely unable to keep up with the level of their exchange.

“...Those two, why weren't they famous until now?”

“One of them is recently famous. You should know him too.”

“Even setting aside that man named Kim Gyu-sik, the woman is no pushover either, is she? With a little more nurturing, she has the skill to take on a key position in Mangrave.”

Ansel then added that he couldn't understand why the whereabouts of a Climber of that caliber had never reached his ears.

At this, Cornelius looked back at him with slightly sunken eyes.

“About that. Those two. Their reputation might skyrocket soon.”

“Pardon?”

“That guy, Kim Gyu-sik, brought some very interesting information. If it’s true, a major incident that will turn the entire Climber world upside down will occur.”

Saying that, Cornelius quietly handed something to Ansel.

It was a part of the documents he had received from Kim Gyu-sik just yesterday.

And as Ansel took it and read through the contents, his eyes began to widen.

“...Is this, for real?”

“We’ll find out in two days, when the tournament opens. Isn’t it written there that it will happen then?”

“If things proceed as written here...”

Cornelius let out a sigh and nodded.

“...Those two. They might just surprise the world.”

His eyes, now sunken much deeper than before, were fixed on Seo Ah-in and Kim Gyu-sik, who were rolling around and screaming in the center of the training hall.

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