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Chapter 128

Though his specs lagged slightly behind others, he had confidence in his skills. So when he heard about the four individuals who were disrupting the special event, he snorted in disbelief.

They must have just been lucky.

No matter how exceptional their skills were said to be, students were still students. The heroes who fell to them must just be weaker than him, and above all, they had probably been caught off guard.

With that conviction in mind, Kang Do-Yoon resolved to teach those four a harsh lesson in real combat.

“Huff...!”

But right now, Kang Do-Yoon was swinging his ax in alarm to respond to a blue sword flashing before his eyes.

Clang!

He felt a jarring sensation in his hands when he parried the sword. Despite successfully diverting it, he still wasn’t able to entirely absorb the shock, leaving him with an astonished expression.

What on earth is that sword made of to deliver such an impact...?

Initially, he thought it was just a fancy sword upon seeing its thin blade that was designed to maximize cutting power. He intended to crush that arrogant nose of theirs by striking down the sword with all his might, but the reality was different.

Boom!

“Ugh...!”

The weight he felt from the thin blade was unbelievable. It was as if he were facing a giant many times his size who was wielding a massive greatsword.

Clang!

Yet the opponent before him was but a young blond man, barely over 170 centimeters tall, still bearing traces of boyhood.

As Kang Do-Yoon was continuously driven back by the light swings of the sword from the young man, he naturally recalled the words he had arrogantly said at the beginning of the duel.

“It doesn’t matter what weapon you will be using. Just know I won\'t be responsible if it breaks.”

He had been planning to shatter the sword and crush their arrogant spirit in an instant, but instead, he now had to come up with a plan to avoid losing this sparring session.

Desperate to not lose, Kang Do-Yoon gritted his teeth and swung his ax with all his might once more. But...

Myers Style Sword Breaking Technique: Azure Compression Light Hammer

Jake’s sword, bursting with blue light, fiercely responded and struck the ax.

Boom!!!

Instead of the sound of clashing metal, a tremendous roar echoed. However, despite the ripping pain in his palms, Kang Do-Yoon had managed to avoid losing a grip on his weapon.

Now that he’s used a big skill...!

This could be a great opportunity for him. Sharpening his combat instincts once again, he swung his ax.

Whoosh!

Yet all that swung down was the bare handle, the ax blade having disappeared without a trace.

“...What?”

Even if it was just a practice weapon provided to him by Babel, it was a top-quality, Rare-tier weapon, which should have been plenty sturdy. Moreover, he hadn’t used it without any special enhancements; he just maximally enhanced it with mana during the fight.

So to see that it had broken so easily was utterly unbelievable; it made Kang Do-Yoon freeze in shock.

His opponent Jake, however, calmly aimed his blue sword, which was free of any nicks, at his neck.

“...As expected of a direct descendant of the Myers family. Your swordsmanship is truly remarkable.”

Kang Do-Yoon had previously been determined to win, but having lost, there was no choice besides praising the opponent’s skills to soften the blow.

With that in mind, Kang Do-Yoon steeled himself to continue his praise, yet was denied by his opponent.

“N-no.”

Lowering his sword, Jake forced out his next words.

“The reason I could win is... well... uh...”

“Hmm

Jake’s lips moved as if he found it hard to speak. Confused by the sight, Kang Do-Yoon suddenly remembered the story of the previous heroes who had lost in the duels before him.

“Try to prepare yourself if you happen to lose.”

He distinctly remembered the humiliated expressions on their faces. Back then, Kang Do-Yoon hadn\'t paid much attention to their advice since he was certain that he wouldn’t lose, but now that it was his turn, he began to dread what might come out of Jake’s mouth.

What is he going to say...?

Was he going to openly denounce him for how pathetic his skills were? Kang Do-Yoon watched and waited with a tense expression.

“Whew...”

Taking a deep breath, Jake closed his eyes tightly and shouted vigorously, “It’s because of the weapon my friend Lee Se-Hoon forged for me!”

The unexpected content of Jake’s shout resounded throughout the entire sparring hall, leaving not only Kang Do-Yoon but also the watching students in a daze. The duel, which had been pretty intense up to that point, turned into a scene from a home shopping broadcast.

...I see. So that’s what this was all about.

In the end, the duel had ultimately been to promote that weapon and the blacksmith who had forged it. That fact made Kang Do-Yoon’s mouth twitch and he had to hold back his anger and embarrassment forcefully.

“Ahem. That is a fine sword. You’re very fortunate.”

“...Thank you.”

Jake, who was inwardly thankful that Kang Do-Yoon had been “supportive,” rushed down the stage to the pleased-looking Se-Hoon, who had been waiting below.

“Well done. Excellent job.”

Unable to determine whether Se-Hon was referring to the duel or the ridiculous promotion, Jake swallowed the words that crept up his throat and asked, “I\'m done for today, right?”

“Yeah. You can sit back and watch for now. Next up is...”

Turning his head, Se-Hoon gazed at the two deliberately avoiding his gaze.

One was Sung-Ha, who was looking elsewhere with his arms crossed, and the other was Luize, who was crouching down and staring at her phone.

Seeing them obviously trying to avoid his gaze, Se-Hoon chuckled and called out the next participant.

“Luize, it\'s your turn.”

“...You bastard.”

While continually muttering curses under her breath, she stepped onto the stage. At the same time, a hero holding a halberd stepped up from the opposite side, signaling the start of the duel.

As they closely watched the proceeding duel, Jake, whose face finally cooled down from embarrassment, asked, “So why are we even doing this?”

“What do you mean by why? We’re just doing it because we can.”

Originally, the sparring sessions for the special event were supposed to only be between the students and the active-duty heroes who were related to their department, allowing the students to have casual duels and gain related advice. However, Kasar had significantly modified the plan after his call with Se-Hoon.

“Weren’t they invited to simulate real combat? Then there’s no guarantee a real opponent will use the same weapon every time. So since we’ve invited a bunch of them here, we should vary the fights a bit.”

Thus any hero who wanted to duel without departmental restrictions could apply or be requested to participate, and if accepted, they could freely fight on the sparring grounds.

It should have ended up as a very unique and interesting event, but the problem was the Hero Brawling Challenge initiated by Se-Hoon.

“Please treat it like real combat.”

“If you don’t want to regret it, fight with all your strength.”

“...Tsk.”

Unlike the other students who took a somewhat relaxed approach to their duels, Jake, Sung-Ha, and Luize wanted the sparring to be as fierce as real combat.

And though initially hesitant, the heroes who received their request complied seriously due to the prior approval given by Kasar.

Crash!

“Ugh?!”

Thud!

“Wait...!”

Slash!

“Ah.”

How the duels actually ended, however, was completely different from what they had expected.

Whenever one of the three was involved, the invited hero’s weapon would be destroyed without fail. They were using practice weapons provided by Babel and not their usual gear, but regardless, it was still a shocking result. That was how every fight ended, with the heroes being unable to put up much of a fight before their weapons were destroyed.

Is there an issue with the weapons provided by Babel?

Are their combat styles specialized in neutralizing the opponent’s weapons?

Maybe those heroes made a mistake while going easy on them?

Both hero and student alike were curious about how the weapons were all broken so easily and about how long this would continue. Curiosity about the latter, extended to the three involved as well.

“It\'s all because of Se-Hoon... aagh!”

Luize, who had just shattered her opponent’s halberd and ended the fight, ran away and descended the stage.

Running toward Se-Hoon, she shouted with her face flushed red, “I can’t do this anymore! I won’t do it!”

At first, she complied with Se-Hoon\'s instructions to repay him for teaching her a new application of Incantation Magic, but she just couldn’t bear it anymore.

Even though it was true that she was able to easily win against active-duty heroes with plenty of combat experience thanks to Se-Hoon’s equipment, it was too embarrassing to express it out loud in front of everyone.

“You said you’d do it anytime,” remarked Se-Hoon nonchalantly.

“How could I have known that you\'d make me do it so many times?! Anyway, I can\'t do this anymore, so—”

“Be quiet,” cut off Sung-Ha with his arms crossed. “If you don\'t want to do it, just leave.”

Unlike Luize, he had originally vehemently refused Se-Hoon’s request, saying he would never do it, yet now he was defending him, wanting to continue.

Sung-Ha stance had changed so drastically that it was a wonder, but the reason was very simple.

“I\'ll deduct your debt each time you do it.”

When Se-Hoon mentioned he would forgive some of Sung-Ha’s accumulated debt from his equipment to get him to cooperate, Sung-Ha immediately took a proactive stance.

Who would have thought that the burden of debt would outweigh his pride...

At this rate, depending on the amount of debt Sung-Ha piled up, Sung-Ha might even be willing to do even more absurd things. Amused by the thought, Se-Hoon began scheming over how to further abuse such a loophole. Unfortunately, he was brought back to reality by Luize’s voice.

“I wasn\'t talking to you,” said Luize with frost lacing her voice.

It was as if her burning anger earlier had been a lie; her current tone and gaze were both subzero.

But Sung-Ha met her eyes head-on, mirroring her demeanor.

“I don\'t care about whatever you have to say. I’m just telling you to get lost if you don\'t want to do it.”

“And who do you think you are?”

“Who do you think you are?”

The atmosphere between Sung-Ha and Luize was heavy, making it clear that they were unable to see eye to eye and that their hostility was brewing every second.

Having met only once before, their relationship worsened even further, almost to the point of others thinking they were born to hate each other.

At this point, they\'re like oil and water.

The thought of having to somehow put them on the same team as he did before the regression made Se-Hoon\'s head start to ache.

“Hey, is there really no reason behind all of this?” Jake, who had been deep in thought this entire time, then continued to say, “I mean, since it\'s you, Se-Hoon, there must be a proper reason for all this...”

“...”

“...”

At Jake’s words, both Sung-Ha and Luize, who had been growling at each other, slowly turned their gazes toward Se-Hoon. They hadn\'t questioned it much before, but after several days, they had also become genuinely curious about why they were being put through this.

Well... I guess it wouldn\'t hurt to tell them.

Se-Hoon took the three of them to a corner and quietly said, “So, there are three reasons why I\'m putting you all through this.”

“Three reasons?” Luize said with surprise, prompting a nod from Se-Hoon.

“Yes. The first reason is to gather more information to forge your new equipment in the future.”

Their faces brightened slightly after hearing that. Who could complain when what they were doing turned out to be a way for their blacksmith to gather information for their future equipment?

But their happiness didn’t last long.

“The second reason is that I want to flex to everyone that I have enough influence to make you do this embarrassing stuff for days.”

The atmosphere grew cold again.

To think Se-Hoon was making them say embarrassing things just to flaunt his influence. On one hand, it seemed a bit childish, but, on the other hand, it was quite a convincing reason. Even though heroes often cooperate for strategic reasons, they often couldn’t tolerate their dignity being challenged, so if Se-Hoon made them do such trivial actions, the sight would adhere to both them and anyone watching.

This bastard...

If it weren\'t for the debt...

Whew... whew...

The fact that it was a convincing reason didn’t stop the three from being angry though. They exchanged glances, silently debating whether or not to beat Se-Hoon up on the spot. Before they could act on it though, Se-Hoon brought up the third reason with a serious expression.

“Now, for the last reason. It’s to lure out the person targeting me.”

The three made a curious expression. There were countless people who might want to target Se-Hoon, so what did he mean by luring them out?

Seeing that they didn’t understand, Se-Hoon added a brief explanation.

“When someone boasts about being strong, it’s human nature to want to test that. I’m exploiting that fact.”

That was especially true when it came to those crazy about experiments; to them, the temptation would be unbearable. And now that it had been several days of continuous victories, they would soon come looking for him.

“Ah, there you are.”

A cheerful voice was heard from behind them right at that moment.

“Got a moment?”

The person asking looked quite young. He had a lanyard with a badge, indicating he was one of the invited active-duty heroes, around his neck.

“I’m Victor, an A-rank hero invited to this event. I’ve heard about your impressive feats... may I request a spar with you all?”

Hearing Victor’s proposal, the three naturally turned to look at Se-Hoon. With their eyes, they asked, “What do you want to do?”

Turning to Victor, Se-Hoon nodded readily and said, “We’d be honored.”

“Great, love the enthusiasm. So, who’s going first? Just so you know, I don’t mind if you all come at me together.”

The absolute confidence in his words made the three narrow their eyes slightly. Even if he was an A-rank, his confidence seemed excessive.

It was to the point that compared to when they fought without much thought before, this time, they felt a strong urge to put the arrogant newcomer in his place.

Wanting to be the one chosen to do so, the three of them looked back at Se-Hoon.

“I’ll face you on,” said Se-Hoon stepping forward boldly, letting down the three.

“Aren’t you from the Department of Blacksmithing?”

“I also have permission to attend this special event too. And besides...”

He glanced back at the three, who had become slightly flustered, and smirked.

“This time, I don’t think the three of them need to step in.”

The implication was clear: he alone was more than enough to handle someone like Victor.

Grasping the implication as well, Victor’s eyes twitched, but he soon smiled and replied, “Alright, I guess it can’t be helped then.”

If his opponent felt that way, he just had to show them otherwise. Walking over, Victor stepped onto the sparring ground, drew a one-handed practice sword, and flicked the tip.

“Come at me.”

“Alright then...”

Taking out his Five-Flamed Sword and the Forgefire Hammer, Se-Hoon walked forward leisurely, showing no indication of taking a stance.

What the...

Victor narrowed his eyes. There was nothing particularly remarkable about Se-Hoon’s physical abilities or anything else that stood out. Yet, despite that, Se-Hoon continued approaching without hesitation.

How arrogant.

Originally, Victor had planned to take it easy as instructed, but he couldn\'t just let that provocation slide. He extended his one-handed sword straight out toward Se-Hoon who was walking toward him.

“You’ll die if you keep walking forward.”

If Se-Hoon wanted to keep moving forward just like that, then he could just walk straight to his death. However, Se-Hoon just ignored Victor’s playful threat and continued forward without a word.

Then, when he was just two steps away from Victor, Se-Hoon’s eyes flashed, and he kicked off the ground.

Thud!

Startling everyone, Victor’s sword tip plunged straight into Se-Hoon’s training uniform.

“What?!”

At the unexpected turn of events, Victor instinctively pulled his sword back. But Se-Hoon immediately swung his hammer as if he had been waiting for that moment.

Clang-!

Sparks flew from the practice sword’s surface. The intense flames of the hammer, capable of melting minerals, burned away the sword\'s surface, revealing a slightly different-colored sword beneath.

“Damn!”

Victor, shocked by the reveal, quickly twisted his wrist and knocked the hammer away.

Kr-krr!

He then pushed Se-Hoon back and immediately regained his stance.

His sword, which had appeared normal just moments ago, was now stained with different colors. And having seen Victor clearly during that fleeting moment, Se-Hoon was now certain.

This is our guy.

He was certain that the person in front of him had received his weapon from Offering.