As I followed Instructor Cho Seo-hyun, I communicated with Armonia.
'So Cho Seo-hyun was the top-ranked student at admission?'
[That's correct. However, it's known that she barely graduated with very low grades.]
'…Is it similar to Seo Ji-eun's case?'
I looked at Cho Seo-hyun's swaying hair and pondered.
Fear of mistakes and variables.
But amid those anxious tendencies, she had a strong sense of responsibility.
Her skills were outstanding, so as long as nothing went wrong mid-process, she performed well.
It was hard to believe that Cho Seo-hyun's grades had dropped by graduation due to fear of mistakes or anxiety.
'If she was the top-ranked student at admission, it means she had no issues up until then.'
[Since Seo Ji-eun also ended up that way for unknown reasons, I suspect Cho Seo-hyun's case is similar.]
'I'll have to look into it step by step. And also…'
[…?]
When I was canceling Dream Invasion, right as Cho Seo-hyun finished her oath, a voice reached my ears.
"So annoying…"
Since it was the moment of cancellation, I couldn't hear clearly, but I knew exactly who it was from the voice.
That 40-year-old female instructor…
'Can you access Cho Seo-hyun's student records or something?'
[I'm sorry. While I have records of Cho Seo-hyun's public activities, I don't have access to her student records.]
'Can't be helped. I'll have to investigate that gradually too.'
So many things to look into!
Given my position, I probably don't have the authority to view Cho Seo-hyun's records at the academy.
Unlike other worlds I've experienced, security here is strict, making even basic information hard to obtain.
While I was lost in thought, Cho Seo-hyun and I arrived at the classroom, and she announced the day's lesson to the cadets.
"Today's lesson, like yesterday, will be sparring."
"…."
Watching Cho Seo-hyun speak with such charisma, I recalled the 'cadet' Cho Seo-hyun I saw in the dream.
They were definitely the same person.
Their appearances were almost identical—so much so that it was hard to believe 13 years had passed.
The only difference was that, unlike now, Cadet Cho Seo-hyun had long hair and a lively expression.
Because of that, the current Cho Seo-hyun and the cadet version looked so different that it was hard to believe they were the same person.
Even though they looked alike in the dream, the sense of dissonance made it hard to recognize them as the same.
Did she change like this because life wore her down?
But Cho Seo-hyun didn't seem like that kind of woman.
The top-ranked cadet Cho Seo-hyun graduated at the bottom, and the confident Cho Seo-hyun now harbored anxiety…
After explaining the lesson's direction to the cadets, Cho Seo-hyun looked at me.
She stared at me as if asking, "What are you looking at?" then spoke.
"Let's get ready."
"Yes."
For now, I pushed aside my thoughts about Cho Seo-hyun and focused on the immediate task—finding the bow.
***
Clang! Clang! Thud!
"Ah! This is insane!"
"There's space next to you!"
"Does that look empty to you!?"
Four cadets surrounded Cho Seo-hyun in close combat, engaged in a fierce battle.
Cho Seo-hyun didn't move a single step, effortlessly deflecting attacks from all directions with the twin daggers she wielded.
And as for the arrows flying toward her—
Whoosh! Thud!
"How the hell is she hitting every single one!?"
Every arrow the cadets fired was deflected midair by the arrows Seong Suho shot.
The cadets struggled desperately to land even a single hit on Cho Seo-hyun.
But as time passed, their patience wore thin, and their usual bright expressions vanished, replaced by harsh words.
"Just shoot randomly!"
"Idiot! Do you wanna hit our own people!?"
"Then what, just sit here twiddling our thumbs!?"
Cho Seo-hyun calmly dodged the four attackers while observing the cadets in the ranged positions.
'…Even the usually calm ones turn like this when they get really frustrated.'
Most cadets in close combat were hot-blooded by nature.
It wasn't that they were quick to anger—more like they had a fierce temperament.
In contrast, the ranged cadets were usually calm.
'But once they start fighting, they're the most troublesome.'
Because they were normally quiet, when their anger boiled over, they often became reckless.
A ranged archer who normally contributed twice as much could forget their composure, harm their allies, and end up being a liability.
As Cho Seo-hyun assessed the first squad, she felt a spear-wielding cadet charging straight at her.
"Haaah!"
'…Amateur.'
The moment the cadet lunged, Cho Seo-hyun deflected the spear with her dagger, planting it into the ground.
The cadet, suddenly halted, fell forward, leaving himself wide open.
Cho Seo-hyun, while dodging the other three attackers, spoke to the fallen cadet.
"If you charge in like that, you're basically offering your neck! Never do that again!"
"Tch… Yes!"
After 30 minutes, the first squad's training ended.
Cho Seo-hyun's gaze shifted to Seong Suho, who was maintaining his distance behind the retreating squad.
'The balance is way off here.'
Seong Suho's skills were far better than Cho Seo-hyun had anticipated.
Originally, this training was meant to teach cadets—who had only sparred with peers of similar skill—how to work together against a superior opponent.
From Cho Seo-hyun's perspective, it would've been easier to train the cadets smoothly.
But she wasn't doing this for her own comfort.
'At this rate, they'll just get angrier and start fighting among themselves.'
She considered giving herself a handicap, but she also had another concern.
'…Song Ara is the biggest worry.'
Against other cadets, she could've managed by handicapping herself, but Song Ara was already a threat even without one.
'If only she'd stop panicking…'
As Cho Seo-hyun wrestled with her thoughts, the second squad entered the training area.
'For now… I'll think about it later.'
She carefully raised her twin daggers as she faced the second squad.
...
...
...
Finally, it was the sixth squad's turn.
Despite not having broken a sweat, Cho Seo-hyun began to feel tense.
She frowned as she sensed a tremor deep within herself.
'Damn it… Even at this age, it hasn't gotten better.'
With that thought, she glanced at Seong Suho.
Though she didn't want to rely on him, she found herself unconsciously depending on him.
'Please, don't let me embarrass myself…'
With that wish, she shouted:
"Begin!"
The moment she gave the signal, Song Ara charged like a soldier in a suicide rush.
'I need to suppress Song Ara as much as possible while… Huh?'
Song Ara, who had seemed to be charging blindly, suddenly changed direction and circled behind Cho Seo-hyun.
Meanwhile, the other three close-combat cadets began attacking her head-on.
'…They're leaving Song Ara completely at the rear?'
It was a brilliant move.
No matter how skilled a hero was, defending against attacks from behind was incredibly difficult.
Against ordinary cadets, she might've managed, but with Song Ara, it was a different story.
'Hoo… Stay calm.'
To steady herself, Cho Seo-hyun blocked the three attackers while keeping an eye on Song Ara's position.
The key was not to panic.
If it were a one-on-one fight against Song Ara, she was confident she wouldn't panic.
But even as a hero, Cho Seo-hyun was notoriously weak in multi-combat situations.
She had been overcoming that weakness with sheer skill, but Song Ara changed everything.
Just as Song Ara lunged at her—
Whoosh!
'Yes!'
Seeing the arrow flying toward Song Ara, Cho Seo-hyun felt relieved.
If Seong Suho could keep Song Ara in check, she was confident she could handle the rest without much trouble.
She already trusted Seong Suho's skill.
Even if his attack power was lacking, his accuracy was undeniable.
But then—
Clang!
'W-What!?'
The arrow meant for Song Ara was deflected by another cadet's sword and clattered to the ground.
The female cadet who blocked Seong Suho's arrow shouted:
"I'll handle Instructor Seong Suho!"
The other cadets and Song Ara grinned and launched a coordinated assault on Cho Seo-hyun.
Since all training was tied to grades—which affected graduation scores—every cadet had the dual goal of teamwork and individual performance.
The first squad had been particularly bad about this, and the sixth squad was no different.
But now, they were genuinely working together for the sake of the exercise.
Cho Seo-hyun smirked as she watched them.
'Damn brats! I didn't expect this…'
She was both pleased and frustrated.
If Song Ara had been the one blocking arrows, it would've been fine, but losing another cadet didn't change much.
In fact, without Seong Suho's support, this was the worst possible situation.
To make matters worse, the ranged cadets had repositioned opposite Seong Suho and were steadily firing arrows.
This was on a completely different level from the previous squads.
'Tch… I-I can't keep this up…'
At some point, sweat began forming on Cho Seo-hyun's hands gripping the daggers, and beads of sweat trickled down her forehead.
Her stamina was still fine—she could've kept this up all day.
But her mental composure was slowly being swallowed by a dark shadow.
'I underestimated the third-years… No, I underestimated Song Ara!'
Even as she blocked the cadets' attacks, she refused to regret conducting this training.
She wanted to teach them to the best of her ability, and this was the result.
But she also hated showing them a weak side.
She clenched her teeth, refusing to let her composure be consumed by the shadow, and swung her arms fiercely.
Only five minutes had passed, but to her, it felt like five hours of grueling battle.
"Haaah!"
"Ugh…!"
She deflected Song Ara's blade at an angle, sending it flying sideways.
But the moment it was parried, Song Ara immediately swung again without pause.
'…Huh?'
In the midst of blocking the cadets' attacks, Cho Seo-hyun felt something dark creeping up from beneath her feet.
'No! Not now!'
Her body, which she had been forcing to move, began slowing down as the dark mass spread.
'Go away! Please!'
With her movements dulled, Song Ara swung her sword with full force.
"Haaah!"
"Ugh!"
She couldn't block it. And she couldn't dodge it either.
Just as Song Ara's blade was about to slash across Cho Seo-hyun's body—
Bang!
"Agh!"
A deafening explosion rang out as Song Ara's sword was sent flying far away.
At the same time, something struck the weapons of the two cadets pressuring Cho Seo-hyun, sending them spinning out of their hands.
Clang! Bang!
"Gah!"
"Ack!"
A ranged cadet who had been firing at Cho Seo-hyun yelled at the one blocking Seong Suho's arrows.
"Hey! Block properly! The others are going all out here!"
"I-I am!"
The female cadet blocking Seong Suho shouted in panic.
"H-How am I supposed to block arrows that curve midair!?"
***
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