Unrecognizable (5)

The students were excited. Even Gong Joonpyo, the teacher in charge, looked at the two with curious eyes. Karen clapped, saying it would be fun, and Do Woojin tried to step forward but was firmly blocked by Baek In-ha’s arm.

“Woojin, if you fight now, you won’t be happy with the results.”

“I know I can’t win. Even so, I want to show him the changed me.”

“No, I understand your determination…” Baek whispered quietly to him.

“Because it seems like Shinyuk is hiding his power.”

“He’s doing such a thing…?!”

“You won’t like being beaten by him, so I’ll do it. Sleep, take off, leave it to me.”

“Hey, I hear you.” Wouldn’t it be possible to claim innocence after throttling Baek? Wouldn’t it be okay to aim a sword at someone who talked so badly?

“That’s the case, so Shin-hyuk, let’s fight.”

“…” It seemed like a joke, but Baek’s face was the most serious he had ever seen. Hesitating about what to say, Baek entered the battlefield with a light hand wave.

“Originally, I thought I could wait around until next year…it worked fine, though. The student council has started up smoothly. Let’s fight without hesitation.”

“Without hesitation…”

“It’s the second semester now, the testing period.” Baek In-ha winked, making Shin-hyuk want to hit him.

“It’s time for us to learn from the third years. Didn’t you think that too when you claimed your position in the Wyvern Knights?”

“No, that just happened because the Wyvern showed up.” Kang Shin-hyuk responded to his simple words with a grin. He recalled his defeat at the hands of the Magic Crown, his opponent in the quarter-finals. Didn’t he claim to lose because of the matchmaking? He didn’t see the match, so he couldn’t say for sure, but he kept wondering whether Baek intentionally lost. Baek’s ability was outstanding. Some even argued his talent rivaled the Empress, who had graduated from Shinyoung several years ago. Since Kang Shin-hyuk had awoken the ability to read the source of all things to an extent, he thought if it were Baek, that might be so.

“No matter how strong Kang Shin-hyuk is, Baek…”

“He did beat the Magic Crown last time.”

“Ah, but that was without any artifacts.”

“It’ll still be without any.” The students were gossiping around them, gathering the interest of the students from other classes who were on the other side of the gym. Kang Shin-hyuk sighed. His power had been growing so quickly that now it was rumored he was the vice-captain of the Wyvern Knights. It wasn’t just that his rank was top-tier, either. He had also been gaining combat experience throughout the vacation, culminating in his trait evolving into the SS-rank. If he wasn’t careful to hide his abilities, it could be a problem.

“But what…” Would it be a big problem if things became a little annoying? His eyes grew thin as he grabbed two wooden daggers.

“Let’s not hide from each other.”

“What bullshit. This is right for you.”

“Hoh.” Baek let out a laugh as he prepared the same armaments as Kang Shin-hyuk. He was well aware that Baek had a talent for kicking techniques, so perhaps it was to block.

“Teacher, please signal it.”

“Yes, yes.” The relationship between Shin-hyuk and Gong Joonpyo had changed quite a bit over the past semester. At the start, Kang Shin-hyuk had soundly defeated Do Woojin after learning how to use spiritual power, which had shut down Gong Joonpyo. Nevertheless, he had been unable to admit to reality and sent in the Magic Crown, who wanted to get rid of the man approaching Lee Na-hee. Yet he had been beaten too. Now Baek in-ha, a talented person who might surpass the Magic Crown and Kang Shin-hyuk’s greatest ally, asked to spar against him. The teacher couldn’t understand the two’s hearts, but he wanted to see Kang Shin-hyuk defeated, so he agreed to it.

“Then,…start!” The start signal rang out. At that moment, the two clashed in the middle of the battlefield. It was with perfect timing as if it had been promised in advance. A bursting sound echoed out through the gym.

“Shinyuk… it’s hard!”

“You’re a little soft.” Baek’s right foot collided with Kang Shin-hyuk’s abdomen, but in return, Kang Shin-hyuk had shattered his right arm with the wooden blade. Shinyoung could recover those wounds without any aftereffects, but at least for the match, it wouldn’t function properly.

“I thought I blocked it…” Both of the wooden daggers Baek had held were separated. In exchange for receiving the blow from his foot, Kang Shin-hyuk had been able to strike out with his own dagger to break his arm. Considering that his high stamina (S+ rank) had reduced the damage from the kick to be minimal, the exchange had ended in Kang Shin-hyuk’s favor.

“I’d rather have a shield too.”

“Oh…kh!” As soon as he finished talking, Baek was already spinning with a round kick. The moment he rotated his body, his feet flew in from the other side. He didn’t have time to retreat, so he pulled up the two daggers to block it. His arms shook as his body was pushed back. The kick wasn’t only fast; it was extraordinarily heavy. Kang Shin-hyuk had been able to measure its speed and power from that exchange roughly. Even his trait wouldn’t be enough to block it fully.

‘He’s strong.’ While his stamina was low, Baek’s strength and agility were both exceptional. His trait strengthens his agility, and his magic only further backed it. It wouldn’t have been surprising if Baek was already an active superhuman instead of a student.

‘Still…’ Now Kang Shin-hyuk had his own way of contending with it, however. He pushed his trait to the limit, his eyes glowing golden with joy as golden energy flowed through the two wooden daggers he was holding. Baek’s expression stiffened as he saw it.

“You are…!” He didn’t need to say anything else; he recognized it instinctively. Baek quickly charged, aiming at his chest with a kick. By the time he hit the floor, he had already reached his destination. His movements were more like teleportation. Kang Shin-hyuk parried with one dagger while using the other to stab at his groin.

“Kh.” Just before hitting, Baek disappeared, and instead, a fierce blow came over his head. It wasn’t just fast; his blows contained a dangerous amount of strength that pushed Kang Shin-hyuk back.

“Kh…!” No matter how much he reinforced his status with a trait, it was impossible to move faster than Baek after he activated his own trait. Avoiding wasn’t possible in the first place, so Kang Shin-hyuk focused only on retaliating. His dagger flew in, scraping against Baek’s knee.

“Ah?!”

“Hoo!” Using the two daggers, Kang Shin-hyuk pressured Baek In-ha with a strange movement that resembled a two-headed snake. Baek had an excellent combat sense that went well with his traits, but he couldn’t overcome Kang Shin-hyuk’s fighting ability.

“That’s right!”

“Go down!” Kang Shin-hyuk reacted to the attack as if he had eyes in the back of his yet. His eyes couldn’t keep up, but instinct was guiding his body to respond to the oncoming attacks.

“Monster!”

“You!”

-Bang! Bang! Bang!

Whenever the two collided, a loud vibration spread throughout the gym.

“I can’t see anything, damn.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to have an announcer rather than watch blankly?”

“Do that at the school festival.”

“I just see something flashing…are they fighting?” With agility above A-rank, it would be possible to read their movements. Karen’s agility wasn’t at that level yet, but her trait was strengthening her so that she could clearly capture the fight happening.

‘…Baek was also hiding his power. He’s much faster than before.’ Kang Shin-hyuk wasn’t the only one to double-down on his training during vacation.

‘But…Shin-hyuk…something about him…’ Karen sensed that the energy surrounding him resembled that of Shin Eun-hyuk, that cool task force member who had saved her. She could feel how similar they were now.

“No, it can’t be. There’s no way he can emit such a dark force. Obviously, my man is at least in his twenties…”

“I know your taste well, but don’t talk about it in front of others.”

“Ah, Do Woojin, who was abandoned because he wasn’t a match.”

“I’m standing right here.” Suddenly, Do Woojin was sitting beside her. He seemed a little sad, so Karen decided to stop attacking him more than what was necessary.

“I’ll keep it in my heart.”

“If you’re going to pity me, give me strength instead.”

“…I kind of like that line.”

“Enough.” While the two continued their idle chitchat, Baek and Kang Shin-hyuk kept moving to reach a conclusion.

“Shinyuk, this might hurt a little.”

“Yes, you too.” The two, who had been fighting fiercely, pulled away. Baek’s clothes were tattered, yet Kang Shin-hyuk’s were still in good condition.

“Weapon enhancement… no, it includes armor too.”

“Yeah.” Baek’s legs began to be covered in green mana as his mana created a tangible blade. It was clearly a skill of high rarity and proficiency.

“Here I go.”

Only

“Come.” Baek immediately charged without giving him time to prepare. He was thinking of increasing the attention on him starting in the second semester anyway, so he showed off the maximum speed he could achieve. He was convinced he wouldn’t lose in this attack, so he was giving it his all.

‘Those eyes are really amazing.’ There was no quaking in the eyes of his target. He seemed to stretch out his right leg, but it was a feint. He was planning on knocking out Kang Shin-hyuk clean with his left foot. Exerting his strength with all he had, Baek felt like he had become the wind. It was a moment of ecstasy, halted as he felt the flow shift around him.

‘Wind?’ He saw Kang Shin-hyuk lift his dagger up in front of him, the energy surrounding it that reached out to hinder Baek’s movements.

‘This can’t be blocked!’ Baek cleared his mind of hesitation as he attacked boldly.

“Huh?!” His toes bent away, the trajectory of his attack twisted.

“Okay…!”

He tried to correct his posture, but before he could, Kang Shin-hyuk’s dagger came at his forehead.