Yoon Si-woo’s sword clashed down with a speed that was almost invisible to the eye.
KWA-POW!!
“Ugh…!”
However, amidst the exploding smoke and flying dust, the first thing that became visible was the sword snatched by Professor Philia’s hand.
Without panicking, Yoon Si-woo evaded the restraints with a side kick, momentarily disappearing from my sight.
What appeared next was right behind the professor’s back.
But somehow, sensing it, she wrapped the sword between her armpit and delivered an attacking blow.
PERRRONG!!
Despite being such a simple and ordinary motion, a sound that should not come from a human body resonated.
Yet, he did not give up.
Continuously reading the professor’s movements, he tried to disrupt her several times while aiming for positions where he couldn’t retaliate due to blocked sight.
KWA-JIK KWA-JIK KWA-JIK.
Having failed multiple times, I marveled at how gradually his speed continued to increase.
Whether that was Yoon Si-woo’s sincerity was unknown, but at that moment, the two were fighting at a level I could not reach.
Initially, the power had shattered the practice room wall, but afterward, only the faint sound of wind could be heard within the limited fighting radius between the two.
In other words, both were adjusting their strength to avoid causing damage around them, though Professor Philia didn’t seem to be using her full power.
In truth, it did not make sense for Yoon Si-woo to win this fight.
No matter how incredible talents and characteristics he possessed, it was implausible for a first-year student to defeat none other than Professor Philia.
In the past, there had been experiments on this.
—————————
Character: Evaluation of Professor Philia’s Stats
‘Physical Strength: SSS
Speed: SSS
Mental Strength: S
Intelligence: A
Mana: F
Total Health: 1,600,000
Base Attack Power: 390,000’
Experiments on what traits must be used to achieve victory based on the stats of a first-year student.
[First Attempt]
Traits: Heavenly Unconsciousness (S), Adaptability (SS), Late Bloomer (S)
Curse: Frenzy (E), Red Curse (F)
Continuing on in hand-to-hand combat, it ended in defeat in just 1 minute and 21 seconds.
After five retries, the duration held out increased to 2 minutes and 11 seconds, but it was confirmed that anything beyond that was impossible.
[Second Attempt]
Traits: Blessing of Luck (S), Future Sight (SSS), Walker of the Path of Mana (SS), Magic King (S)
Curse: Heavenly Life (F), Young Sheep of the End (F), Deadline (E)
When based on defensive magic, it held out for up to 5 minutes.
However, changing even one defensive magic to an attack caused it to last less than a minute.
The same was confirmed even after the tenth attempt.
[Third Attempt]
Traits: Death’s Tool (S), Sword God Fusion (S), Weakness Identification (A), King of All Diseases (S), Guardian of the Mountain (A), Master of Weapons (S), Legend of Weapons (SS), Myth of Weapons (SSS)
Curse: Deleted (FFF)
An extraordinary achievement, managing to endure for 7 minutes.
Additionally, inflicting damage amounting to 10,000.
However, the ‘Preheating’ starting from the 8-minute mark immediately led to defeat.
After verifying 23 times, it was confirmed as impossible.
[Fourth Attempt]
[Five Attempts]
[Six Attempts]
[Seventh Attempts…]
—————————
At no stage during first-year stats could victory over Professor Philia be achieved.
Professor Philia did not possess any extraordinary traits or skills.
It was simply an overwhelming birthright that crushed opponents based purely on physical strength.
As Professor Philia’s physical stats were all measured at SSS level, the conclusion drawn was that at least three SSS-level traits were needed to defeat her using first-year standards.
However, such traits cannot simply be granted to a character.
Three of the minimum worst curses, or curses of equal or higher power, must be affixed to the character’s body before participating.
Even then, the conclusion was that victory cannot be achieved.
If she were to fully unleash her power, the only one who could stop her would be the headmaster of this academy.
It’s uncertain if that can even be referred to as a person, but still.
No matter how much I looked out for her, Yoon Si-woo’s remarkable performance against her spoke volumes about how incredible he truly was.
What kind of traits he possessed was anyone’s guess, but unless one was an inherent monster like Philia, it was improbable to match her with any ordinary traits.
KWA-POW!!!
Once again, as Philia threw a punch, Yoon Si-woo flew towards the distant wall, clutching his abdomen as he stood up.
“KUGH…!”
The liquid flowing onto the floor was so ambiguous it could either be sweat or saliva, pouring down like rain.
In hindsight, it all seemed like a mere joke during the earlier test.
Yet again, I felt the fear from that time.
Perhaps the intimidation I had felt back then was simply the sensation of death from a lightly thrown punch.
To think I was contemplating sacrificing an arm just to endure against such a person.
Oh my, I must have been completely insane!
“Ugh, first-years are still not enough.”
As Professor Philia loosened her hands and removed the cloth, our gazes suddenly met.
Feeling a sense of danger, I cautiously attempted to close the door and turn away, but…
“Ah, Yoon Si-woo. Would you like to spar with him instead of me?”
And soon, clutching his belly, he locked eyes with Yoon Si-woo as well.
“Hik!”
“A-Aesha?”
No, please don’t look at me.
It’s already painful enough without a bracelet causing my hands and feet to hurt.
I need to go to the hospital, but I can’t use the academy’s hospital, so I have to wait until I can get a bracelet or have my injuries treated at another regular hospital.
However, it’s so expensive that I haven’t been able to properly treat my wounds yet.
Moreover, my body isn’t feeling good enough to fight after just waking up…
“Do you think you can handle it? Aesha?”
“Ah… ahaha.”
But I couldn’t refuse…!
I pondered while looking at Professor Philia’s cheerful smile directed at me.
The fight with Yoon Si-woo was pretty awkward from the relationship before the combat… but my brain wasn’t sharp enough to come up with another reason to get out of this fight.
She, being a human-body analysis specialist, must be aware of my condition.
While she might not know what isn’t outwardly apparent, she probably judged that I could fight.
And if I were to reveal anything strange in this situation, she might catch on to my injuries.
Realizing the connection between the bishop and me would be akin to finding a needle in a haystack, but the issue was that it was Yoon Si-woo.
If his hair color and height had just been a bit more ordinary, he could easily have been mistaken for someone else, but with white hair on this small body, I’m the only one at the academy.
“Then… I can do it…”
The good thing, however, was that Yoon Si-woo looked to be rather exhausted while fighting Professor Philia.
Perhaps, in this opportunity, I might discover Yoon Si-woo’s traits, so I chose to endure and participate in the spar.
“Aesha. About that time…”
“Please don’t say it. Let’s focus, shall we?”
“……”
He seemed to want to say something, but I forbade any further conversation.
It would be horrific if things got complicated.
From the fact that I hadn’t received any messages from the doomsayers, it felt like Yoon Si-woo wasn’t one of them.
However, if I ended up acting as a spy among the doomsayers, I shouldn’t let the professors know.
For there may be those hiding among the professors as well.
Even if I don’t know who the main villain is, with the supporting villains changing every turn… no one can easily be trusted.
“Alright then… after this fight is over, if you win, at least have a conversation with me.”
“……Yes.”
I agreed to that to keep my nerves in check in response to Yoon Si-woo’s incessant chatter while right next to Professor Philia.
It’s fine; after all, he must have lost a lot of stamina, and luckily, I have a few chocolates on hand.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen anyone spar since that time. You know the rules, right? We’re not supposed to kill each other, even if I don’t.”
“Yes.”
“Ah… I understand.”
Right, winning is enough.
Then I won’t have to engage in this useless conversation.
“Then let’s start.”
CRUNCH.
The sound echoed as I swallowed a chocolate.
And before I could fully perceive the faint scent of alcohol spreading.
A tremendous speed stab aimed for my shoulder.
[Current Intoxication: 4%]
There’s still some time before reaching the intoxication I maintain, and before raising it further.
But if it reaches 10%, maybe I can win.
Imagining that scenario, I began to steadily dodge Yoon Si-woo’s attacks.
No matter how much stamina I had, I wouldn’t be able to move around for long after getting hit so many times by Philia.
‘That was what I thought.’
“Heavenly Falling Flowers!”
“O…!”
Before my eyes unfolded a whirlwind of unbelievably fast sword strikes.
This wasn’t some martial arts drama; what on earth was this?
Moreover, as the speed increased, the afterimages fell like flower petals.
This must be similar to something else.
What looks trivial from below suddenly feels terrifying when you attempt it!
“Ueee!!!”
And the evasion for survival began.
