Even with his extraordinary talent, Gang Han-byeol was still just a new student who had barely set foot inside the Academy.
He was too young to have fully awakened his potential.
His lack of experience was painfully evident; he couldn’t yet wield his gifted power with precision.
Suhoguk, a veteran who had once instilled fear in countless villains and honed his prowess through countless battles, was not someone who could be easily overwhelmed by a novice.
What had started as an evenly matched contest quickly shifted out of balance.
The fight tilted against Gang Han-byeol, and in the end, he failed to seize the ball.
He had no choice but to retreat.
“He’s still unpolished in some areas… but he already knows how to read the flow of battle. As the disciple of Tu-gwi, it makes sense. I can see now why the chairman approved his special admission.”
Even while fending off other students rushing at him, Suhoguk cast an approving glance at the boy catching his breath behind him.
True to the name of Tu-gwi’s disciple, Gang Han-byeol showed the instincts of a born fighter.
He didn’t hesitate to face opponents head-on. He could read the tide of battle, anticipate movements, and knew precisely when to strike and when to retreat.
What pleased Suhoguk the most, however, was the fire still burning in Han-byeol’s eyes. Unlike other students who lost their spirit after one failure, he seemed to relish the chance to try again.
“So, how will you come at me next?”
Gang Han-byeol’s gaze was sharp and unrelenting.
His eyes never stopped moving, analyzing every shift in Suhoguk’s stance. A smile tugged at the corners of his lips, as though he was looking forward to the rematch.
Suhoguk, inwardly admiring the boy’s fighting spirit, found himself looking forward to it too.
And then…
“Looks like he’s ready.”
Gang Han-byeol stepped forward once more.
But this time, he wasn’t alone.
Flanking him were Lisa Grace and Bak Sa-gun.
Suhoguk raised a curious brow at the trio.
“I expected you to charge in alone, but you’ve formed a party of three?”
“You said it yourself, fighting together was allowed. As frustrating as it is to admit… I still can’t beat you on my own, Instructor.”
“Acknowledging the gap in our abilities with clear eyes, I commend you for that. So, you believe the three of you can take me down?”
“Yes. Three is enough.”
“We’ll see whether that’s true or not.”
“Yes, sir.”
That was all the conversation they needed.
Gang Han-byeol sprang forward, the ground cracking beneath his feet.
Bak Sa-gun followed immediately, his massive axe gleaming in his grip.
Lisa chanted, channeling magic through her staff to cast support spells on her allies.
───!!
A sonic boom split the air.
Han-byeol’s blade slashed out first, swiftly followed by Sa-gun’s descending axe.
Suhoguk blocked the attacks just in time and leapt back to gain distance.
Han-byeol’s swordplay was one thing, but Bak Sa-gun’s brute strength was not to be taken lightly either.
Against coordinated attacks from both sides, Suhoguk knew he couldn’t rely on a single hand.
He tossed the mana-imbued ball into the air.
It floated, suspended above, refusing to fall, his mana anchoring it in midair.
As he defended against the three, Suhoguk simultaneously manipulated the ball’s movement with mana, ensuring no one else could grab it.
The ball weaved unpredictably through the air.
───!!
Another deafening clash of steel.
Bak Sa-gun’s axe crashed down with terrifying force.
Trying to block such power head-on would be foolish.
Suhoguk watched for the precise moment the axe landed.
It smashed into the floor.
“…Guh!”
“Your guard after attacking is weak.”
Suhoguk’s elbow slammed into Sa-gun’s chin with brutal precision.
The young man’s head snapped back, grip loosening on the axe.
Without wasting a heartbeat, Suhoguk followed up with a spinning kick.
The axe flew from Sa-gun’s hands as he was hurled backwards.
Whiiiish!
Han-byeol didn’t miss the opening.
Suhoguk had left a gap, and Han-byeol dove for it with a precise thrust of his sword.
“…!”
Suhoguk’s brow twitched.
He twisted his body at the last second, just barely parrying the blade before it pierced his side.
Yet Han-byeol refused to give ground.
Step by step, he pressed the offensive, his sword carving arcs of afterimage through the air.
Suhoguk tightened his stance, waiting for a chance to turn the tables.
And when that moment came—
“…Looks like I’ve won.”
Without hesitation, Suhoguk’s sword accelerated, the tip brushing Han-byeol’s nape in a flash.
The blade stopped just short of contact, but the message was clear.
Han-byeol flinched.
Yet there wasn’t a trace of disappointment on his face.
He grinned from ear to ear.
“Strange, isn’t it? Wasn’t the goal of the class to steal the ball, not to win the fight?”
“…”
Only then did Suhoguk realize he’d become so caught up in the battle, he’d lost sight of the objective.
His gaze shot upward.
The ball should have still been in the air, but it was gone.
Instead, it was cradled in Lisa’s hand.
“When did you…?”
“While you were so focused on us, Lisa secretly took control of the ball. It was hard making sure you didn’t notice.”
“…”
“So maybe I lost the duel… but I think I won the class?”
“Heh…”
“Well, Master always said deception is part of combat, too.”
Lisa and Bak Sa-gun returned to Han-byeol’s side, triumphant grins on their faces.
Realizing he’d been completely outplayed, Suhoguk let out a helpless chuckle and lowered his sword.
He called out their names.
“Gang Han-byeol. Lisa Grace. Bak Sa-gun.”
“Yes, Instructor!”
“You three, bonus five points each.”
The trio erupted in cheers.
And Suhoguk laughed heartily.
Yoo No-eul tied a rope around my waist, and at the other end of it was a tire.
I sighed as I stared at the old tire, wondering where in the world she’d found it.
“Just out of curiosity, how much does it weigh?”
“Tsk-tsk. How could you ask something like that, huh? I’m a lady, you know. Asking a girl her weight is just rude.”
“…I wasn’t asking your weight. I meant the tire.”
“Ohhh. That makes more sense. Well, it’s a 17-inch tire, so probably somewhere between 18 to 20 kilograms.”
She was clearly doing this on purpose.
Even in the game, Yoo No-eul was portrayed as the kind of person who delighted in teasing others and watching their flustered reactions.
Gang Han-byeol had fallen victim to her antics more than once.
So it’s around 20kg, huh…
Heavy for most people, but not for me.
I’d been training my body to be a Hunter practically since birth. This kind of weight wasn’t unfamiliar.
Back in elementary school, I used to run with multiple tires just like this one strapped behind me.
I even tried adding more weight once, I had Ye-eun, Ha-neul, and even Mom ride on top while I ran.
So Yoo No-eul’s tire wasn’t a burden.
Or at least, it shouldn’t have been.
Running across a desert with the tire bound to my waist, treating it as an extension of my own body, was an entirely different challenge.
It required an immense level of mana control.
“Surrounding your own body with mana isn’t too difficult, as long as you know how to manifest it. You know your own body well, after all. But it’s much harder when it comes to objects or beings outside yourself. Especially ones that resist mana flow, like those containing their own mana.”
“So that’s why you want me to run across the desert with this tire?”
“Exactly. You need to learn how to treat it as part of you, so you can extend your mana control to objects beyond yourself.”
“…Ugh.”
If she were just teasing, I wouldn’t have given it a second thought before refusing.
But as an instructor, Yoo No-eul was always serious.
There was logic in what she said, enough that I couldn’t dismiss it outright.
And so, I began dragging the tire behind me.
I knew this wouldn’t be easy, but this… this is something else.
Infusing mana into my military-blue sword, a weapon I had wielded countless times, was second nature.
But the tire?
It was different.
Bound by rope and trailing behind me, I couldn’t sense it clearly.
All I felt was the strain around my waist.
I couldn’t see it unless I turned around.
Lacking that visual and tactile familiarity, I couldn’t maintain consistent mana flow through it.
To make things worse—
The tire doesn’t move when I do. It follows a beat behind.
Every shift in my center of gravity had to account for the tire’s delayed motion.
Just maintaining the mana state was exhausting, but with that added variable, it became downright overwhelming.
My brain felt like it was splitting.
Damn it…
I barely made it past the starting line before I was caught in another pitfall.
Even climbing out of the sand is exhausting…
The tire’s weight dragged me back down whenever I tried to escape.
I fought against that pull, teeth clenched, and managed to scramble out onto the desert surface.
But after just one round-trip, my strength was almost gone.
Fatigue had taken its toll.
Still, I pushed myself back to my feet, planting my palms on my knees.
And once again, I crossed the desert.
“If I just had better stamina, this wouldn’t even be hard…”
It was then that I spotted Min Ah-rin.
She hadn’t even made it out of the pitfall. Hong Ye-na had to pull her out so she could start over from the beginning.
But even then, she was staggering like a zombie.
“I… I’m Min Ah-rin. The youngest of the Arcane Min clan. A baby griffin, they called me. Do you think someone like me would be defeated by something like this…?”
Yikes.
By the time I caught up to her, Min Ah-rin was crawling on trembling limbs like a newborn fawn.
It was kind of pitiful.
“You’re jogging with me every morning from now on. Starting tomorrow.”
“What? Why would I—kyaaa!”
Ah.
Her mana had dispersed.
My sudden words had startled her, breaking her concentration.
And in an instant, she was swallowed by the swirling sands.
“D-Do Gyeon-woo, you jerk!”
“Ah… my bad.”
Like sliding down a playground slide, she was sucked into the center of the pit.
From the bottom, she glared up at me with a tragic expression.
Technically, it wasn’t my fault. Her lack of focus had caused the fall.
Still, I offered an apology and tried to slip away.
But the pit had spread.
You’ve got to be kidding me.
The quicksand expanded right under me.
My foot slipped down the slope, my balance tilted, and the moment I tried to correct it, my mana state wavered.
The desert didn’t miss a beat.
It sensed the disruption and turned the ground beneath me into another trap.
In the end, I fell into the same pit as Min Ah-rin.
“You bread-brained idiot! Because of you—!”
“Min Ah-rin.”
“What? What now?”
“Apologize.”
“Wha—what did you just say?”
“You heard me. It’s your fault I fell in. So, apologize.”
“That’s ridiculous! Why would this be my fault? You’re the one who came too close! You should be apologizing to me!”
“Fine. Sorry. There, happy?”
“…”
“Now it’s your turn.”
“I… I’m not sorry, okay? I didn’t do anythiiiing!”
“Oh, for the love of…”
The pit deepened.
Min Ah-rin was nearly swallowed whole by the sand.
I grabbed her by the back of the collar just in time.
She let out a shriek, but I ignored it.
“C-Can’t… breathe…”
“Hold still.”
Instinct took over.
Still gripping her collar, I adjusted my posture like I was swimming through air.
Eventually, she calmed down and relaxed into a proper position.
The sand stopped shifting. The pit didn’t deepen further.
“Seriously… how are we getting out of here?”
“Hawa… wa…”
The sky above us, seen from the desert floor, was surprisingly blue.
Eventually, Hong Ye-na came back and pulled us out.
We had to start from the very beginning.
That day, Min Ah-rin never made it across the desert. Not even once.
Neither did I.
“But Gyeon-woo has a good sense for things. A few more tries and he’ll get it. You should also practice this outside. Use your coins to rent the gate if you need.”
“Yes, Instructor…”
“As for Ah-rin… hmm… Let’s work on building stamina first, okay? The instructor recommends rock climbing.”
“Okay…”
“Now, as a reward and encouragement to keep trying, I’ll give you both candy!”
“…Thank you. Ah-rin, you gonna eat yours? If not, I’ll—”
“Hmph. Too bad for you. I am eating it. I know you were going to give it to Yeon Ha-neul again, but this one’s mine. Yum.”
“Tch.”
Well, fine.
I’d already had candy once today anyway.
So I slipped Yoo No-eul’s candy into my pocket, saving it for Ha-neul later.
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