Chapter 57: The Hero Goes to the Academy (Part 4)

“…?”

Yoon Seong-il rubbed his forehead.

‘What did I just see?’

He rubbed his eyes, wondering if he had seen things.

But no matter how much he rubbed, nothing changed.

Shihyun was still standing there, and the second-string trainee was sprawled on the floor, having dropped his sword. Shihyun had completely defeated him.

The problem was…

‘How…!’

Yoon Seong-il forced a smile onto his stiff face.

He replayed the match in his mind.

‘She overwhelmed him with pure skill.’

Shihyun’s victory wasn’t a fluke or luck. Her swordsmanship was simply superior, and she exploited the difference effectively.

The trainee had lost because he was outmatched.

Considering he had trained at the Korean Swordsmanship Academy for a year and a half, Shihyun’s skill was likely enough to defeat most of the trainees.

‘This…could be a problem…’

Yoon Seong-il gulped.

While he didn’t want to believe it, if Shihyun’s skill surpassed that of the instructors, it would be a disaster.

There weren’t many instructors present today. If she kept winning against instructors, they would soon run out of opponents.

‘Of course, it’s practically one person against many, so logically, we can’t lose.’

But what if they did?

It would be a complete humiliation.

A true dojo challenge defeat.

And if they lost their sign, the instructors of the Korean Swordsmanship Academy wouldn’t be able to show their faces in public.

‘I can’t let that happen.’

Yoon Seong-il stepped forward.

“How about a match with me?”

He challenged Shihyun.

‘I’m the most skilled instructor here. I have to step up and stop her.’

He intended to defeat Shihyun himself. If her skill was at instructor level, the newer instructors might lose to her.

‘I can’t let the instructors be defeated.’

Yoon Seong-il was confident.

Confident that he wouldn’t lose.

‘I’ve honed my swordsmanship for three years.’

He wouldn’t lose to a mere streamer.

He thought, raising his sword.

There were many types of swords.

The shape of the blade, the degree of curvature, whether it was one-handed or two-handed, single-edged or double-edged, and so on.

Various factors distinguished and classified swords, giving each its unique name.

So, what kind of sword was Shihyun holding?

Judging by the length of the grip, it was meant to be wielded with two hands. The pommel and guard were unadorned, and the balance was perfect. Normally, such a sword would be called a ‘longsword’, but two distinct features altered its identity.

One was the flared ricasso, designed for safety, and the other was the blade, which resembled a long metal rod.

Naturally, it wasn’t sharp. It was for training.

This was a ‘federschwert’.

Commonly known as a ‘feder’ or ‘foil’.

‘Not bad.’

When she first received the feder, she thought it was a toy. But after examining it closely and sparring once, she was impressed by its design.

‘This is practically a longsword.’

The weight and handling were similar.

It was simply ‘safer’ than a real sword.

‘The world has really advanced. To think they have things like this.’

Of course, ‘that world’ didn’t have such things. They used real swords for sparring, resulting in lost fingers and limbs. Unless they were extremely confident in their skill, they couldn’t spar or duel.

‘But I just fought like crazy.’

To improve her skill, she actively sought out sparring matches, which most people avoided. And since people of similar or lower skill refused to spar with her, she always had to face stronger opponents.

‘This is the skill I built. I won’t lose easily.’

Shihyun looked down at the defeated trainee, then glanced at Ji-eun. She smiled at the camera.

“I defeated him within 5 minutes, as requested. Mission clear, right? Thank you for the 50,000 won, Makgora Joongsi (Duel Focus).”

[lololololololololol]
[She beat him again lol]
[Turned a man into a rag doll for 50,000 won ]
[But isn’t being beaten by Shihyun a reward?]
[For real]

Shihyun saw comments scrolling on the screen attached to Ji-eun’s camera. It was a bit far, so she had to focus to read them, but it wasn’t impossible.

“Beaten him? He’s still alive.”

Just then, the trainee groaned.

“Ugh…”

[He sounds like he’s dying lol]
[How hard did she hit him]
[lol]

“He’s fine. Come on, trainee! Get up.”

“Ugh. T-Thank you.”

Shihyun helped him up. He seemed surprised by her strength, glancing at her with a bewildered expression.

Ignoring his gaze, Shihyun smiled and looked around.

“Now, who’s next? Who should I spar with next?”

No one volunteered immediately.

Who would want to spar after witnessing the trainee getting pummeled with a feder?

‘This is a problem…’

Just as Shihyun was about to ask the instructor who had initially greeted them to find her an opponent…

“How about a match with me?”

A man in a black uniform stepped forward.

‘A black uniform…’

She had heard that trainees wore white uniforms and instructors wore black. So, this man was an instructor.

‘Finally, a worthy opponent.’

Shihyun’s lips curled into a smile. The trainee she had just defeated was quite skilled. Trainees with exceptional skill wore a black armband over their white uniform, and he had one.

“You’re an instructor?”

“Yes. Instructor Yoon Seong-il. Is it alright if I step up?”

Instructor Yoon smirked.

“You came here intending to take our dojo’s sign, didn’t you? You should be able to defeat our instructors. Otherwise, giving you the sign would be…unreasonable.”

His tone was slightly aggressive.

Shihyun glanced at Ji-eun and smiled.

“No problem.”

“Then, let’s begin.”

Instructor Yoon stepped into the sparring arena.

The arena resembled a wrestling ring.

He immediately took a stance, aiming his sword at her.

A textbook stance, with the blade centered and his right foot forward. His flawless posture was a testament to his dedication to swordsmanship.

Shihyun was pleased.

‘This will be fun.’

At least he wouldn’t be defeated instantly like the trainee.

She also took a stance. Just then, a notification chimed.

[VitaSancho registered a mission!]
[100,000 won if you defeat him within 1 minute.]
[Mission reward: 100,000 won]

Shihyun’s smile widened as she quickly scanned the notification. She was already planning on going all out to save face, and now there was a mission reward as well?

‘Lucky me.’

Yoon Seong-il took a deep breath.

‘She’s so relaxed.’

The duel had started, but she was looking at the camera, not him. Yoon Seong-il’s lips twisted.

‘She’s underestimating me…’

He would wipe that smug look off her face.

He dashed forward, sword in hand.

‘Close the distance first.’

It was harder to wield a sword in close quarters. There wasn’t enough space to maneuver.

‘And in close quarters, the sword’s movement is restricted to specific trajectories.’

There was no other way. Any other trajectory would be meaningless. It was like a mix-up in a fighting game.

‘Once I force her into that situation, it’ll be easy.’

And Yoon Seong-il had memorized all those trajectories.

He could anticipate her movements and knew how to counter them.

‘And in that situation, I have the advantage.’

He had the initiative, and his years of training gave him a solid foundation.

A guaranteed win!

“…!!”

Or so he thought.

‘W-What is this?’

He was wrong.

He had successfully closed the distance, but he was outmatched technically. Despite having the initiative, he was instantly forced onto the defensive, struggling to keep up.

‘This…this isn’t right.’

Yoon Seong-il’s face paled.

There were things you could only learn by crossing swords with someone.

You could accurately gauge their skill, and you could feel the difference between your abilities and theirs.

And Yoon Seong-il felt a sense of dread.

‘I can’t gauge her skill!’

Shihyun was definitely stronger than him. Probably by a huge margin. He felt the difference acutely the moment their swords clashed.

But…

He couldn’t tell how strong she truly was. It was like looking at the ocean. You couldn’t tell how deep the abyss was from the surface.

“Ugh!”

Having lost the initiative from the start, Yoon Seong-il was quickly defeated, his neck exposed to Shihyun’s blade.

The duel lasted approximately 49 seconds.

Defeated in under a minute, Yoon Seong-il accepted the result humbly. Having experienced the vast difference in their skills, his negative perception of Shihyun vanished.

‘Well, it can’t be helped. If someone this skilled challenges us, what can we do? We just have to accept defeat.’

He was that resigned.

At least he hadn’t been pummeled like the trainee. He was grateful to Shihyun for not humiliating him in front of his students.

Of course, Yoon Seong-il never knew.

The reason Shihyun hadn’t beaten him to a pulp was that she was rushing to complete the mission within the time limit.

Some things were better left unknown.