It was already 7:00 PM. My fight ended quite fast. I just went close to the guy and beat him with a quick combo. Making him faint with a karate chop to the back of the neck. I didn’t have to teach him any lessons, so it was better to end it fast.
With that said. While I wanted to watch the last fight of Hajin, I still had a previous compromise with someone else.
“Hey.”-I get close to Rachel, who’s currently waiting for me inside the forest we usually train for.
Last week I talked to her and agreed that since we didn’t train during the theory exams, we should start early this week, starting from Monday, that way she could practice a little bit before her fights on Tuesday.
After I ended my fight, Rachel texted me saying that she was free before 7, so I told her that we should start training then, after all, we did agree that we would train the nights of the combat exam’s week.
“Hi, Cristopher-ssi. How went your combats?”-She asks
“They were fine, what about you? Who did you fight with?”-I ask back while putting my things on the usual spot.
“I won. Thanks to the training we’ve been doing, things went better than I thought.”-She says with a little smile.
“Mm… I’m glad then. It’s good, you’re improving fast.”
“Yes, thanks to you.”
“Oh well, kind of, but it also has to be with your natural disposition. Either way. We’ll go as usual. Spar until you’re dead tired, and then help you adapting to Natural Energy.”-I say while unsheathing my sword and leaving the scabbard on the floor.
“Yes!”-She nodded energetically.
{It seems that being able to win with more ease today gave her energy to train even more. Oh well, that’s good.}-I thought while getting in position.
“Well, let’s start.”-I said while going in to start the spar.
***
After two hours of dueling, Rachel was down on the floor totally tired. And I was sitting behind her while looking a few things on my smartwatch while she recovered her breath.
“Huff… *sigh…* I’m… ready… Let’s start now, Cristopher-ssi.”-She sat up after a little while.
“Sure.”-I sat closer to her and put both my hands on her back. “Ready?”
“Yes.”
“One.”-She breathed while I injected Natural Energy inside her. But this time, not only going one cycle but two. Using the wave of Natural Energy to go through her two times. “Two.”-I said once I finished the second cycle and Rachel breathed out the rest of the natural energy that wasn’t absorbed by her mana.
“Well… It seems you’re advancing fast.”-I said to her.
While doing the double cycle, I noticed that her mana was even more tolerant of the energy than before. It was not only absorbing and adapting to it, it was accepting a few of its properties.
“Really?”
“Yes. One.”-I said and once again repeated the two cycles around her magic circuit. “Two.”
{If things keep going like this, I could shorten it to just this week, then I could help her train her new power.}-I thought to myself, rearranging my plans.
“One.”-I started once again the cycle.
…
After 30 minutes or so, we finally stopped.
“Well, I guess that will be everything for today. You should go back and rest for tomorrow’s fight.”-I said to her while standing up.
“Yes. Also… I’ve heard… That you’ll fight against Shin Jonghak… It’s that true?”
“Mm? Oh yes… The guy nominated me. Why?”
“…”-She looks at me. “You can win, right?”
“*snort* Of course. But it’s not winning what I want. Though, I won’t comment more than that.”
“Well… Good luck then…”
“Yeah, thanks. You too. I know you’ll be fighting against Chae Nayun. Don’t worry. You’ll be able to win.”-I said to her while picking up my stuff.
“She’s a hard adversary.”-She says with a little worried face.
“Maybe. But you’re not the same one as before. You are fighting better each time we spar. And your magic power is slowly increasing bit by bit each time I use Natural Energy on you.”
“…”-She looks at the floor. Then raised her head to look at me. “Is there a way?”
“Mm? A way for what?”
“For me… To use that energy in a fight.”
“Yes. There is. But… For the moments, it will be impossible. Just wait. After this week’s over, you’ll be able to learn. And as I promise. I’ll teach you for a whole month, which means that you’ll still have two more weeks to learn how to use it. And if everything goes right, you’ll be able to make a contract with your own spirit by then.”
“…”-She looks at me while pondering. “Will it be difficult to do?”
“Well, a little bit. Thankfully for you. Most of the work is already done with this little training, or you would need months for it.”
“And… Can I know… What will I be able to do?”
“Well, that depends on you. But, just out of pure curiosity, how do the elementalists here fight?”-I ask her.
“Well… From what I’ve heard… The most famous one is able to command nature to fight for her.”
“Mm… That’s a basic way to do it… But, honestly, not the way that’s good for you. Either way, we’ll talk about this next week.”-I said while turning around. “See you around.”-I waved goodbye to her.
“Yes, thanks for everything Cristopher-ssi. AHH!!! Also! Text me your bank account, so I can pay you for the classes… They’re really good.”
“Sure, I’ll text them to you.”-I said before leaving.
***
*NARRATOR’S POV*
Out in a chilly forest of Cube, a big burly guy dressed in a casual suit was sitting while leaning over a tree.
“He wasn’t much from my standard.”-Spoke the guy, Cheok Jungyeong.
[By your standard?]-A voice answered to him, one of the other members of Chameleon Troupe. Jain.
“Yep, he’s a mouse by my standard. I don’t like him, a tiny guy only shooting from a faraway distance.”
[You mean you don’t like his battle style… Whew, you were supposed to find out why Boss is interested in him.]
“How should I know?”
[What are you getting mad for?]
“You would understand if you saw that little rat’s fight. Rats like him… I need to pop off their heads…”-Answered Jungyeong with bloodshot eyes. Full of intention to fight after seeing the rookies ‘fighting’ in the arena.
[What about Kim Suho and Shin Jonghak?]
“Mm… I think they were okay? Maybe not…”
[Make up your mind.]
“They were fine. Happy? I want to wait until they grow up to fight.”-Said the burly guy while giving a bloody smile.
It was at that moment that the light of a flashlight pointed towards the guy from behind. Making him turn his head back.
“Who are you?”-A police officer was patrolling the site and found Cheok Jungyeong.
[Don’t forget why Boss brought you.]-Jain voice came again.
“Yeah… I know, I’m a master when it comes to recognizing the strong.”
[Right. That’s the only reason.]
“Excuse me, what are you doing here? The forest is off-limits to outsiders. Please come out.”-The police officer talked once again, not seeing the killing intent that was radiating from Jungyeong’s eyes. “Oh right, how did you get in here in the first place? Sir? Come out!”-He continued.
Stolen novel; please report.
“Hahaha…”-Cheok’s laugh resonated inside the forest. “…Hey.”
[What?]-Answered Jain.
“I’ll go after I crack open a nut.”-He said.
“Sir, stop talking to yourself and come out!”-The police officer shouted.
Cheok Jungyeong swung his fist towards the police officer, not even moving from where he was, only sending a blast of air out of pure power. The blast went towards the police officer like a shockwave and crushed him, turning his body into a bloody and unrecognizable mess of a corpse.
[Did you do it?]-Jain voice came again.
“Yep.”-Cheok answered in a happy voice as if it wasn’t anything bad.
[…Boss is going to kill you.]
“Keep it a secret.”
[I will until she finds out. For now, go and do your job.]
The guy went away, smirking at the sounds coming from behind, of people discovering the corpse of the police officer.
“Mm?”-That is until he heard a small buzzing noise. Turning to look towards the noise, he found a mosquito flying close to him.
[What?]
“Nothing. Just a mosquito.”
[How lame. Hurry up before I tell Boss that you killed someone.]
“Yeah, yeah, I’m going.”-Answered Cheok Jungyeong while walking away.
***
*KIM HAJIN’S POV*
I was currently in my dorm room, looking through the camera of a drone in the form of a mosquito.
I received it as a gift from Park Soohyuk, saying that it was for both his first investors. I’m navigating it out in one of the forests of Cube, and that’s when I noticed ‘him’, Cheok Jungyeong… A big mass of muscle that belongs to Chameleon Troupe.
{So, it’s not only Boss that’s here…}-I thought while looking at him from the camera.
At that moment. He threw a punch towards the police. I didn’t know how he did it, but the police officer just turned into a bloody corpse in a mere instant.
“…”-I almost couldn’t resist the vomit going towards my mouth.
I replayed the scene at a lower speed, trying to find how did he do it. But even after reducing the speed eight times the normal speed, it wasn’t impossible for me to see anything, it was just as if an air current literally blew the police officer up.
“He killed someone without even making contact… What a monster… *sigh…*”
*ring~ ring~*
My smartwatch suddenly rang with a message.
[Chae Nayun: Yo, can I nominate you?]
“What?”
I was surprised by her sudden question.
[Kim Hajin: Why?]
[Chae Nayun: What do you mean why? You already provoked me several times.]
“…”-I just looked at the message.
I already dueled three times, that’s the minimum of fights you have to participate in. While the maximum was six. In other words, I didn’t have to fight anymore unless someone nominated me.
And… Honestly, there was no way I would be able to win against her. Her rapid-shot was too fast for me to even react.
[Kim Hajin: No, I’m exhausted.]
[Chae Nayun: You can think about that tomorrow morning. Also, how did you destroy qi reinforcement with a bullet? It didn’t look like you used your personal weapon. That’s all people are talking about. That was your Gift, right?]
“*sigh…*”-I ignored her message while taking off my smartwatch, looking at the hour it was already 12 in the night.
*ring~ ring~*
My smartwatch once again rang.
[Yoo Yeonha: You put on quite a show.]
“Mm? And now what happened with this one?”
[Kim Hajin: I didn’t want to get hit.]
[Yoo Yeonha: Because you destroyed a qi reinforcement with a bullet, many guilds are showing interest in you.]
[Kim Hajin: I know.]
[Yoo Yeonha: They’re already calling your Gift ‘superpower bullet’ or ‘bullet reinforcement’… Speaking of which, what do you think about guilds?]
“Huh? What’s she talking about?”
[Kim Hajin: Those names suck]
[Yoo Yeonha: No, I mean, what do you think about Essence of the Strait?]
“Oh… So, it was about that…”
[Kim Hajin: Contacting cadets beforehand is illegal. That’s a 500 million won penalty.]
[Yoo Yeonha: First, I’m still a cadet. Cadets can try to recruit other cadets without being in trouble with the law. Second, I can afford to pay that much.]
[Kim Hajin: That’s not your money. That’s your parents’]
[Yoo Yeonha: Oh right, your acting was pretty superb on your second and third match.]
“Just… what? What’s she thinking about?”
[Kim Hajin: Were you watching?]
[Yoo Yeonha: I had time. But to be honest, I think your growth speed is too quick. You were rank 934 during the initial exams, but if you corner a rank 18 after switching to a sharpshooter role, it’s too eye-catching no matter how much aptitude you have for it…]
“… Whatever. I’ll ignore her for the moments… I don’t know what’s wrong with these girls… Especially Yoo Yeonha and her weird delusions…”-I said before lying on my bed. “Oh, right.”
[Kim Hajin: Hyung, thanks for the drone. I’ll take good care of it!]-I texted Park Soohyuk to thank him for the drone.
***
*BOSS’ POV*
Right now, I was inside an abandoned factory, everything pitch-black around. I was just sitting here, cross-legged, looking at some reproductions of the fights from today.
{Both Kim Suho and Shin Jonghak are strong. Shin Jonghak in particular fits more with our organization. Brutal when attacking. Not letting his opponents rest for even a little bit.}-I thought to myself after watching both cadets fighting through the videos.
[Next is the man you were talking about, Boss. The one that called you hot]
“…”-I nodded, and the video in front of me changed to a sharpshooter and a warrior confronting each other.
A clear winner should be already decided. The warrior rushed towards the sharpshooter. But it was then, that the sharpshooter did something that surprised me a lot.
“…”-With eyes wide-opened, I looked at how the sharpshooter broke the warrior's qi reinforcement with just one bullet.
{This… This is the power of anti-magic… He has the power that can kill that man…}-I thought to myself while replaying the exact moment when the bullet broke the qi reinforcement.
[Interesting. Isn’t it? I was surprised when I first saw it.]
“Kim Hajin. Write his name down.”-I told Jain.
[…Really?]-She asked back with some hesitation in her voice.
“Yes.”
[But Jungyeon said he didn’t like him.]
“Gyeong hates sharpshooters.”
[I guess so. He did say Kim Suho and Shin Jonghak were okay.]
“Then put their names down too.”
[Then we’ll only have five more slots, it’s that okay?]
“…”-I just nodded.
[Who do we prioritize?]
“…”- I pondered for a moment… “For now. Put Kim Hajin on first priority.”
11 years ago… That ‘man’ betrayed us. Killing our previous leader. And now… Someone who can kill him has appeared… If we can use his power to hunt him… I’ll finally get my revenge against that man…
***
*CRISTOPHER’S POV*
I was currently in my room, looking at a small drone in a mosquito shape that Park Soohyuk sent to me and Hajin, for what he said in the message. I thanked him for it and started to look at it.
“Well, this seems kind of nice, maybe I’ll ask Hajin to add a few settings for it later, or maybe buy one better and ask him to add settings to that one.”-I said while looking at the small drone.
*Vrr… Vrr…*
My smartwatch vibrated, and looking at it, I found a curious name.
[Yoo Yeonha: Hey. Are you up?]
“Well, it’s 12 O’clock. I guess it would be normal for her to ask that.”
[Cristopher: Yes, what do you want?]
[Yoo Yeonha: I heard… That Jonghak asked to fight you. I tried to stop him… But neither he nor Horak listened to me… And well, you already know how Horak was beaten by Kim Hajin.]
[Cristopher: Hajin lost. And, either way, what’s this about? I don’t care who nominates me.]
[Yoo Yeonha: … I just wanted to know… Did you do something to Shin Jonghak? He was kind of angry against you, saying that you were trash that attacked from behind.]
[Cristopher: As if. That’s just his delusions of grandeur. And here I thought there wouldn’t be someone more chuuni than me…]
[Yoo Yeonha: …Chuuni? Either way… Just… I’m sorry okay? I know that you also saved my life… If there’s anything you need, just tell me, I’ll try to get it for you.]
[Cristopher: Sure, whatever. I’m sleeping.]
“What’s wrong with her? *tch.* As if I would… Oh well, maybe later I would need something from her. But not right now.”-I said while laying down and putting the smartwatch on top of the drawers beside my bed.
***
It was already Tuesday. I was in the waiting room that was assigned to me. The time was past 10:30. I was waiting, because at 11:00 AM, would be my fight against Shin Jonghak.
{I knew this would happen… I mean… First, I thought he would look for me out of classes or something. But look at him… Asking for a fight in the middle of the combat exams. He probably thinks he’ll teach me some lesson in front of everyone.}-I thought to myself.
*Vrr… Vrr…*
My smartwatch vibrated.
“Mm?”-I raised my arm to looked at the message.
[Kim Hajin: Good luck, man. Try not to kill him. Please.]
“*snort*”
[Cristopher: What do you take me from? I’m just teaching him some lessons.]
[Kim Hajin: Ha… fine… Just, don’t kill him.]
“Why would I do that?”-I said while flipping my eyes at Hajin’s text, right before another one came in.
[Rachel: Good luck in your fight, Cristopher-ssi. Also… I won my fight! ~\(≧▽≦)/~]
{She does know how to text…}-I thought while looking at Rachel’s text.
[Cristopher: Congratulations. I hope it went well.]
[Rachel: It went spectacular. I had less trouble than I thought. ( •_•)>⌐■-■ (⌐■_■) ヾ(⌐■_■)ノ♪]
“Pffft… Hahahaha oh, man… She’s funny.”
[Cristopher: Great then. Let’s keep training so it can be even easier next time.]
[Rachel: Yeessss!! (～￣▽￣)～]
“Oh well… Still a little bit until my fight. I hope it comes faster… Though. I still don’t know how to kick his ass…”-I said while looking at the floor. I was basically alone in this waiting room, as the other cadet that was here is currently fighting in the arena.
*Vrr… Vrr…*
[Fran: Good luck! We’ll be watching you from here. I came again, this time with Josh and Laura. They were excited to come. Let’s go eat after this!!! XOXO]
“Oh… This is a surprise… *sigh…* Well, I wasn’t planning on losing anyway.”-I said before receiving another text. “Oh, come on! I’m not that popular!”
[Yoo Yeonha: Good luck. Try not to get too beaten… And surrender if you have to… You’ll still win some points. Ok?]
“Mm?”-I said while lifting my eyebrow. “Doesn’t she know that I already knocked him once? Oh well, whatever…”-I merely ignored her message.
[Cadet Joseph wins the fight!!!]-I heard the host announce, and stood up in preparation. As the next fight would me mine with Jonghak.
[NOW!!!! FOR OUR NEXT DUEL!!!!! IT’S TIME FOR ONE OF EVERYONE’S FAVORITE CADET!!! THE GRANDSON OF THE GREAT HERO!!! SHIN JONGHAK!!!!!]-The host announced.
*WAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!*
The arena went wild with the screams of all the spectators.
[And he will fight with…!!!]-He said, before stopping all of a sudden. [With… Rank 915… Cadet Cristopher!!! Will he be able to surpass such a heaven-earth difference!? Or it’ll be as all of us can imagine!? With cadet Shin Jonghak going out as the victor!]
The host tried to announce with as much emotion he could… But the difference was just too much. The second-ranked cadet of the year, fighting against someone over the 900th rank? That’s just an impossible thought.
{Just wait until you see the results.}-I thought to myself as I made my way towards the arena alongside a Cube’s worker who kept giving me weird glances, probably because of my adversary.
{It’s time to teach you the lesson your parent didn’t give you, Shin Jonghak.}